Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Saiko Kila]

Kobolds are stupid, yet it cannot be denied that they are bold. Magmawiki states that they attack fortress when the defences seem weak, but I found otherwise. I have five rings of defences, with guard animals, and kobolds (and other enemies) never breached all of them. The fortress is 15 years old, and the lizardkin were trying to rob it many times. Sometimes they were sending waves of kobold thieves, four or five at once, during sieges performed by more intelligent creatures, like zombie dwarves for instance. They were able to kill a grizzly bear or a two, not counting dogs, but generally they were rather harmless. And hardly successful.

So when one time my dogs reported that a kobold commando attacked I was quite shocked. Six kobold ninjas hacked to pieces a  team of guard animals at one gate, and were content to occupy it. I found it insulting, so sent a team to get rid of kobolds. I also was curious how would they fight, they seemed quite timid and did not press the attack for some reason. It turned out it was a ruse. When the quickest of my dwarves was in the middle ground between the occupied gate and the internal wall, he was suddenly attacked by six other kobold-ninjas, who jumped out from behind the trees. Despite all this the kobolds couldn't stand a chance, they are too small for dwarves and were quickly dispatched. Then I ordered one team to search area beyond the wall, and another to return to the castle. And what happened? The last attack was another ruse, because returning dwarves found a kobold thief, in exactly the same spot the second team of ninjas was lying in ambush.

Now, it would seem that kobold are not that stupid, if they are able to execute such a plan. Probably they were really desperate to steal anything, with their angry wives waiting at home hole and only eggs to eat. But what if they were successful, and the thief would sneak into my castle, assuming he evaded the guards somehow? There's a way in, and a way out, and he couldn't expect than his sword-wielding comrades would help him escape from inside, I think. So, are there more uintelligent sentient critters than kobolds?

[i2amroy]

Did you ever lose any caravans? Kobolds will happily make away with destroyed caravan goods lying outside and it will trigger the same type of response if they manage to make it all of the way into the fortress and steal your stuff.

[whale_biologist]

to answer your question, I've seen goblins, which will send ambush parties and sieges if your civilization is at war with them. It's incredibly rare to be a dwarf and at peace with the goblin civilizations at the same time.

Also, I've found tribes of beastmen that are sometimes hostile, other times content to sit around their camps with their meager food and leather.

[misko27]

Also, I've found tribes of beastmen that are sometimes hostile, other times content to sit around their camps with their meager food and leather.

This happened to me, but a angry FB ended them. Pity, as I had nothing against them, and indeed I would have allowed them to live as protecters of the area.

[Loud Whispers]

Kobold protocol.

1. Send scouts.

• If scouts return with goods, send more Kobolds to liberate more loot.
• If scouts return without goods, send more Kobolds to liberate more loot.
• If scouts don't return, send more Kobolds to find out what's happening to all of the Kobolds. And liberate more loot.

2. Send ambush parties.

• If loot is liberated, send more thieves, scouts and ambush parties until all of the goods belong to Kobold hands.
• If the ambush parties do not return, send more scouts to find out why.

3. Cull the stupid ones.

• If no one is returning, it's likely because the site is infested with Dwarves, or worse. In which case, all Kobolds should be told that within the depths of the Earth, through the gates of a known death trap lies an artifact treasure that has never been reached before.
• Brave Kobolds will attempt to steal the treasure.
• Stupid Kobolds will attempt to steal the treasure.
• Both will die. If they return, they return with treasure.

4. Kobold society is now populated with only the skulkiest and the most cowardice Kobolds the world has seen! A true Kobold no less.

[Saiko Kila]

Did you ever lose any caravans? Kobolds will happily make away with destroyed caravan goods lying outside and it will trigger the same type of response if they manage to make it all of the way into the fortress and steal your stuff.

Yes, I did lose some caravans, or more precisely some guards and merchants (without wares). If kobolds are content with garb and weapons, then it is possible they stole something. I didn't get any announcements though. Do stolen caravan items generate such announcements?

[weenog]

Sometimes the brave rubes unleash HFS instead.