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Author Topic: [SPOILER]Would this method of fortress defence be viable?  (Read 2108 times)

Meistermoxx

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[SPOILER]Would this method of fortress defence be viable?
« on: June 29, 2012, 05:28:03 am »

So, starting out with one swordsdwarf, walling yourself away from the outside world (but letting immigrants in).
Ignoring iron, gold and all that, you dig straigt for the candy. Then outfitting that one dwarf with full adamantite plate and chain armor, and stationing him in a 1*X corridor.

Wouldnt all that armor make him "invincible" from things that arent ZyclonB?
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jellsprout

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Re: [SPOILER]Would this method of fortress defence be viable?
« Reply #1 on: June 29, 2012, 05:52:00 am »

Blunt attacks would still be dangerous. Just one lucky kick to the head or one copper whip and it is all over.
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Pirate Bob

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Re: [SPOILER]Would this method of fortress defence be viable?
« Reply #2 on: June 29, 2012, 08:24:54 am »

Don't forget the popular "The flying copper bolt strikes Urist in the head, completely ignoring his adamantine helm". ;)

Gizogin

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Re: [SPOILER]Would this method of fortress defence be viable?
« Reply #3 on: June 29, 2012, 08:43:22 am »

If you could pull it off without accidents like falling into the caverns, perhaps.  Even so, you'd need masterwork armor and danger-room training to really make your one soldier the best, and the RNG can be a cruel and unforgiving mistress.
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GreatWyrmGold

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Re: [SPOILER]Would this method of fortress defence be viable?
« Reply #4 on: June 29, 2012, 08:49:39 am »

Don't bother with adamantine chain mail; the weight renders it nigh useless. Invest in a couple adamantine weapons or somesuch instead.
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DTF

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Re: [SPOILER]Would this method of fortress defence be viable?
« Reply #5 on: June 29, 2012, 09:21:10 am »

As has been said: adamantine is no I-WIN material. It is the best metal, but there are so many things that can still screw up your soldiers: FB cloud weapons, bolts, whips, hell even daggers may be able to penetrate ad. and not to mention any blunt attack can cause your shiny warrior to pass out due to broken bones.
I feel just as comfortable with bronze armour as with adamantine - at least against your common goblin.
And if you use danger rooms to max his skills out in no time you won't need top armor anyway since he'll dodge, parry or block almost everything. Then there is the matter of producing high quality armor right off the bat (well you can get VERY lucky if your armor smiths have the right preferances).

Having said that however, you can just go "Fck viability!" and turn this fort into a sort of RPG fort. Maybe you get an amazing story out of it like that CotG from Headshoots.
Just because something isnt viable or realistic has never stopped anyone in DF from doing it - rather quite the opposite, I guess.
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GhostDwemer

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Re: [SPOILER]Would this method of fortress defence be viable?
« Reply #6 on: June 29, 2012, 09:48:23 am »

I can't count the number of times I've lost fully candy coated legendaries to some damn thing or other: whips, arrows, and syndromes being the most common. It's been said many times, candy is not the "I WIN!" metal. There's a few other things wrong with your strategy, too. He still needs to eat, drink and sleep. And wagons can't get through that 1x hallway.
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DrunkenCaveOgre

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Re: [SPOILER]Would this method of fortress defence be viable?
« Reply #7 on: June 29, 2012, 11:35:36 am »

Adamantine is great until that copper bolt strike him in the ankle from behind and he falls over and is then gang raped by hoblin hammerman. Make sure hes legendary in his weapon, decent at using his shield and at least a master dodger before sending him to stop sieges singlehandedly
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ledgekindred

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Re: [SPOILER]Would this method of fortress defence be viable?
« Reply #8 on: June 29, 2012, 11:38:25 am »

Agree with everything everyone has said about addy gear.  It is much better to dedicate it to edged weapons than armor.  Steel, bronze and even iron are pretty much as effective, or ineffective, due to lucky shots generally being what takes your soldiers down.  And much easier to acquire.

However, a 1-tile-wide entryway to your fort is highly effective, I've found.  I have the "normal" entrance - wide enough for caravans to bring their wagons.  In case of invaders, I wall it off with a bridge and open the "Guest Entrance."  It's a twisty (which limits the distance enemy archers can fire) 1-tile wide tunnel that opens into the barracks. 

During one recent siege of about 60 gobbos and trolls, I stationed my military about halfway down the tunnel.  One of my swordsdwarf recruits was at the head of the line when the gobbos came around the corner.  He charged and proceeded to slice his way through the first 8 or 10 without injury, gaining a title and a bit of skill in the process.  The inability of the gobbos to dodge effectively - they can only dodge forward or backward - and the fact that he had steel armor and a steel sword let him walk through like a moving food processor.  The gobbos that dodged behind him, or when he dodged backwards or around the next corner just exposed the next soldier in line.

It's very much a "300" strategy where you prevent the enemy from surrounding or getting behind you by forcing them through a chokepoint.  That way, a few effective soldiers can beat a much larger force since you are forcing them to fight one-on-one.  And they don't need addy gear to do it.
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I don't understand, though that is about right with anything DF related.
I just hope he dies the same death that all dwarfs deserve: liver disease.
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