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[tj333]

Would having all my non-military dwarves be either wood cutters or miners give them a weapon they would carry around and if needed fight with? Or does the AI not have them use the weapon when they could?

[toomanysecrets]

You COULD do this but then you need a LOT of picks and axes because everyone would need their own. Yes, this would equip your civilians but it would not skill them up in the weapon (that is to say, they would suck at combat) plus the fact that they would not have any armor or fighting skills so it would not really be beneficial.  Also remember that civilians run from threatening creatures.  I like to make a sqaud for woodcutters (1-2 in the early game, increase as you see fit) and fit them with leather armor so they are somewhat protected while outdoors. Bottom line: civilians will never really be able to defend themselves.  If you want your whole fortress to have some self-defense training they will all have to go through some military training at some point.

[Garath]

You COULD do this but then you need a LOT of picks and axes because everyone would need their own. Yes, this would equip your civilians but it would not skill them up in the weapon (that is to say, they would suck at combat) plus the fact that they would not have any armor or fighting skills so it would not really be beneficial.  Also remember that civilians run from threatening creatures.  I like to make a sqaud for woodcutters (1-2 in the early game, increase as you see fit) and fit them with leather armor so they are somewhat protected while outdoors. Bottom line: civilians will never really be able to defend themselves.  If you want your whole fortress to have some self-defense training they will all have to go through some military training at some point.

is the issue with miners, woodcutters and hunters dropping their armor when off duty due to the invisible uniform of their job conflicting with the military one solved?

[Maxmurder]

If dwarves are in a crossbow squad they will still fire at enemies while off duty. They will also run from enemies who come close to them. The best stratagy for arming civvies (but not miners or woodcutters) is to put them all into inactive crossbow squads. They will shoot enemies who they can see but will not engage in melee combat and will flee if they do not have any ammo.

[tj333]

That matches what I have been seeing. They will use the weapon in a fight but the lack of skill, running away, and no armor leaves only a small difference. I saw a number of deflected shots and a kill in an ambush but the unlucky miner still went down.

Simular to the inative crossbow squards I've seen hunters handle undead and thieves in short order.

[GhostDwemer]

AFAIK, there is still a problem with miners, woodcutters and hunters being in the military. Each of those professions requires tools. Tools are assigned through the use of uniforms. You can't see or edit the uniforms, but that is what the game uses. The miner/woodcutter/hunter uniform interferes with the military uniform.

[evileeyore]

AFAIK, there is still a problem with miners, woodcutters and hunters being in the military. Each of those professions requires tools. Tools are assigned through the use of uniforms. You can't see or edit the uniforms, but that is what the game uses. The miner/woodcutter/hunter uniform interferes with the military uniform.

i haven't tried but...

Can't we just assign them the exact same uniform?  Or would they go through the convoluted process of taking off their uniform and getting another (nearly) identical uniform?

[greycat]

It is completely and utterly impossible for a miner, woodcutter or hunter to wear armor while performing his civilian duty.  This bug has not been fixed yet.

Everyone else can be placed in an off-duty squad with a uniform that includes armor, shield, weapon, etc.  They'll wear their armor (subject to whatever other military equipment-wearing bugs are still floating around), and their clothing as well if you left them on "over clothing" (the default), while they perform all their duties.

[snoop]

Hmm.  Does this mean I could put hunters in a hunter-only marksdwarf squad and set them to not wear armour while inactive? Same with miners and woodcutters in melee squads? Or do the weapons cause trouble too?

[Garath]

I'm not sure, but my gut feeling tells me yes, they'll find some way to cause trouble as soon as they activate. Probably by looking at the crossbow and realize it's for hunting, get a new one, then dump the quiver since the bolts were for a hunter too, not a marksdwarf etc.

feel free to experiment and tell us the results. In many of us there is a lack of knowledge about these exact questions because we followed the advice "don't do it"

[Tirion]

If dwarves are in a crossbow squad they will still fire at enemies while off duty. They will also run from enemies who come close to them. The best stratagy for arming civvies (but not miners or woodcutters) is to put them all into inactive crossbow squads. They will shoot enemies who they can see but will not engage in melee combat and will flee if they do not have any ammo.

This. Even with a nerfed rate of fire, a hostile stumbling into the dining hall where 50+ civilians pull out crossbows and fire is a sight to behold.

At least until Toady implements friendly fire from crossbows.

[Sutremaine]

It's another way to play kick the kobold, as even a bone bolt has a high chance of dropping a kobold through pain or leg injury. Getting a kill takes more time, and may lead to half the fortress crowding around the unfortunate thief trying to put a bolt somewhere fatal.

A meeting area with a captive in view is a good way of training up civilian marksdwarves. Anybody with nothing better to do will go to the meeting area, see the captive, and fire until they run out of bolts. Then they'll run away out of LOS, and decide to pick up some more bolts before heading back to the meeting area to chill.