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Author Topic: Gobbo bone bolts, please.  (Read 600 times)

Noobazzah

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Gobbo bone bolts, please.
« on: May 27, 2012, 07:49:03 am »
Just a short question: how long does it take for a goblin copse to decay enough so that it's bones can be used to make bolts? I know it can be done, my bone carvers have made a few stacks, but has anyone found out the exact(ish) rotting time?
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saintjebus

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Re: Gobbo bone bolts, please.
« Reply #1 on: May 27, 2012, 08:20:45 am »
As far as I know, barring a macabre or fell mood, dwarves will not use the bones of sentient creatures.
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Niyazov

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Re: Gobbo bone bolts, please.
« Reply #2 on: May 27, 2012, 08:24:47 am »
Quote from: saintjebus on May 27, 2012, 08:20:45 am
As far as I know, barring a macabre or fell mood, dwarves will not use the bones of sentient creatures.

Dwarves will happily use sentients' arm and leg bones provided that the creature was dismembered before death. It takes a couple of seasons for limbs to rot down into bones. As far as complete skeletons go, I have heard 10 years from other users but have never witnessed it myself.
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Tirion

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Re: Gobbo bone bolts, please.
« Reply #3 on: May 27, 2012, 08:27:33 am »
All hail serrated steel disc traps, suppliers of invader limb bone bolts!

And hammerdwarves, suppliers of *invader ivory scepter*s!
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"Fools dig for water, corpses, or gold. The earth's real treasure is far deeper."

saintjebus

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Re: Gobbo bone bolts, please.
« Reply #4 on: May 27, 2012, 08:31:19 am »
Oh really? I didn't know that - I thought sentient remains were totally off-limits.
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Noobazzah

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Re: Gobbo bone bolts, please.
« Reply #5 on: May 27, 2012, 08:32:22 am »
Excellent. There isn't a more fit way to end an goblin's life than by shooting his grandfathers upper arm through his chest. :D
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Quietust

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Re: Gobbo bone bolts, please.
« Reply #6 on: May 27, 2012, 11:27:52 am »
Quote from: Noobazzah on May 27, 2012, 07:49:03 am
how long does it take for a goblin copse to decay enough so that its bones can be used to make bolts?
Forever - a skeleton will never break down into individual stacks of bones. As mentioned, severed limbs may decay into stacks of bones instead of decaying into a skeletal limb, but once it's a "skeleton" it's going to stay that way forever.
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P.S. If you don't get this note, let me know and I'll write you another.
Quote from: Lord Dakoth on September 17, 2009, 10:47:58 pm
It's amazing how dwarves can make a stack of bones completely waterproof and magmaproof.
Quote from: Neruz on September 18, 2009, 06:58:26 am
It's amazing how they can make an entire floodgate out of the bones of 2 cats.

nanomage

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Re: Gobbo bone bolts, please.
« Reply #7 on: May 27, 2012, 11:52:18 am »
The thing is what tissues are there on the bodypart.
To be transformed into a usable stack of bones upon rotting, the original skeleton must contain no unrottable tissues except bones. So, if a corpse or bodypart contains nails or hair or tooth or shell, it will never become a usable bone stack.
Most common suppliers of sentient bones, goblins, have teeth and hair on their heads and nails on their hands and feet, so for the corpse to rot to usable bones you have to remove those. The easiest way to do so is drop them from 10+z height, because the goblins will explode on impact with legs and arms and head detaching from the body and leaving it to rot to a stack of 6-8 goblin bones.Military dwarves and serrated disc arrays may also remove unrottable tissues from goblins, but this is unreliable.   
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