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[Darthlawsuit]

So I keep having thiefs and snatchers come by. I don't know if my people are fighting them or not. I setup a milita. Do they automatically attack them or do I have to tell them to? They have weapons and armor.

[Garath]

thiefs of any kind tend to run without doing much harm, ambushes will be sent after a while, later, sieges

[Deathworks]

Hello!

While I don't have current experience with the military system, I think there is need for clarification. While thieves will usually run without causing harm, there is the odd chance of them striking at your dwarves or pets. And unless this was changed with the latest update, they may have daggers, which in turn do have the potential to cause serious harm to pets or civilians. So, while thieves are not a major threat, you should probably try to keep them away from your vulnerable pets and civilians, just to be on the safe side.

Yours,
Deathworks

[Sphalerite]

So I keep having thiefs and snatchers come by. I don't know if my people are fighting them or not. I setup a milita. Do they automatically attack them or do I have to tell them to? They have weapons and armor.

If a military dwarf sees a thief, they will attack them without you telling them to.  However, if someone else sees a thief, and your military dwarves are elsewhere, then your military dwarves won't go chasing them without your orders.

[greycat]

The characteristic of a thief is that he goes where he wishes, and you can't quite predict where he'll be discovered (except by total physical isolation).  Thieves have a metal dagger (typically copper or silver), and little or no armor.

When a thief is discovered, it is because he has moved next to one of your units (dwarf, animal, or friendly merchant).  At that point, the game will pause, and you'll get an announcement.  You can zoom to the location if you wish.

As soon as you unpause, the thief and the units near it will act according to their nature.  There may be combat; more typically, civilian units will run in some random direction away from the thief, and the thief will run toward one of the map edges.

Earlier today, some human merchants were visiting my fort, and one of them discovered a kobold thief, just inside my walls.  The merchant took a swing at the thief, and missed; the thief counterattacked, and stabbed his dagger straight into the merchant's brain, killing him instantly.  The merchant's guard ran straight off the map; the other merchants, some of whom were already inside my trade depot, packed up and left.

But that's an atypical outcome.  More often, one of these things happens:

(1) One of your civilians stumbles upon the thief.  The thief slashes the civilian unit in the foot, sending her to the hospital, and then runs off.

(2) One of your military units stumbles upon the thief, and kills him, either in one attack, or by wounding him so that the dwarf and his squadmates can dogpile the thief.

(3) One of your military units stumbles upon the thief, but fails to kill him.  The thief runs, and the military unit chases him.  Unless the military unit has ranged weapons, the thief will probably escape, because the military unit can't outrun him.

Also remember that kobold thieves avoid all traps.  Goblin snatchers do not.

[Darthlawsuit]

I was hoping they would auto-attack XD

So theives can move undetected... Can a dog detect them?

[Deathworks]

Dear Darthlawsuit,

Any unit should detect thieves if the thief enters a tile adjacent to their location. This is regularly used by fortress designers who place chained animals (dogs, but also bears or other non-herbivores) around entrances or other places likely to be visited by a thief entering the fortress.

As far as I know, dogs do not get a bonus, so any animal that does not need to graze would do.

Yours,
Deathworks

[ClawlessVictory]

Dumb question:  how do I find iron ore?  I've dug around a good bit, all the way down to the magma sea, and still no iron ore.  Plenty of flux.  No iron.

Is this common?

[greycat]

Most places simply don't have iron.  If you do have it, it is generally going to be shallow, close to the surface, in layers of sedimentary rock or soil.

If you don't have it, you'll have to import it, or do without.

[Sphalerite]

In my experience iron is rare, but if you have it, you are likely to have a lot of it, near the surface.  If you've dug all the way to the magma sea and haven't seen it, your embark site probably doesn't have any.

[Darthlawsuit]

Dumb question:  how do I find iron ore?  I've dug around a good bit, all the way down to the magma sea, and still no iron ore.  Plenty of flux.  No iron.

Is this common?

You refine Iron Ore From Limonite. Or do you mean you cannot find limonite?


How do you get moss that animals can eat to grow in your cave? I am now getting ambushed and want to protect my animals.

[Sphalerite]

Dumb question:  how do I find iron ore?  I've dug around a good bit, all the way down to the magma sea, and still no iron ore.  Plenty of flux.  No iron.

Is this common?

You refine Iron Ore From Limonite. Or do you mean you cannot find limonite?

Actually, Limonite, Hematite, and Magnetite are the three different types of iron ore found in the ground.  You smelt them to make iron.

How do you get moss that animals can eat to grow in your cave? I am now getting ambushed and want to protect my animals.

Once you dig down into any of the cavern layer, cave moss will start growing on soil or muddied stone floors underground.

[NTJedi]

Is it worthwhile to build silver walls for a prison  OR   does only quality furniture and quality food make a difference?

[Darthlawsuit]

I have started in a mountain biome. So far the only water to be found is above ground. Do mountains have aquifers or should I try to just use the ponds.

[FuzzyZergling]

Is it worthwhile to build silver walls for a prison  OR   does only quality furniture and quality food make a difference?

I don't think room quality affects the moods of prisoners. I could be wrong.

I have started in a mountain biome. So far the only water to be found is above ground. Do mountains have aquifers or should I try to just use the ponds.

Mountains don't generally have aquifers, since very few types of stone carry the [AQUIFER] tag.