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[Mohawk_Bravo]

Okay, awesome, they are starting to pair off and train their skills abit better. Everyone is at least a novice now, and everyone has an iron breastplate (with iron weapons set aside for when THEY come). Now I'm running into trouble with my Marksdwarf. I've made a single Marksdwarf (I figure, since my entrance and depot have a three bridge design with each corner of the encampment made of fortifications surround by a dirt moat, I should have one to train more later), but he refuses to train. He has an iron crossbow, the schedule is set to 1 Minimum training, and I have 600 wooden bolts (set to 100 in the ammunition menu for training and none for hunters). I have an archery range with it set up with proper shooting direction and he is set to active. He still refuses to train, however. He trained once, and now just sits around doing nothing with "Soldier (no activity)" in the work menu. Anyone know why this might be?

[Lightningfalcon]

I just make all my markdwarves hunters.  As long as there is wildlife to shoot at, they can level up at a good pace.  You might need to fire them from the military thou.  When they reach your desired skill level, re-conscript them.

[krenshala]

For marksdwarves, you need the crossbow, a quiver, bolts for training (I use wood and bone for both training and combat because, as the Empire has shown, Stalin was correct when he said, "Quantity has a quality all its own.") and a training target.  Make an ammo storage spot next to the archery target area.  Also, make sure the marksdwarf squad is assigned bolts via the military screen (lower right corner, can't remember which letter it is right now).  I believe hunters take bolts first, so if you don't have enough for what the hunters want the military will be out as well.

[Mohawk_Bravo]

I just don't get what I'm doing wrong. I want him to train on a range (since I don't want my Marksdwarf trainer caught outside during a siege, should I have to raise my drawbridges). I built a range 5x1, with an archery target at the end and a box in a nook by the bottom of the range. I have it set to fire from bottom to top (from the entrance straight to the target). I have 600 wooden bolts. I have 100 enabled for both combat and training. I disabled hunting ammunition. He has an iron bow, bolts are not forbidden, and he has an iron crossbow. Is there possibly anything else I could have possibly missed?

[mordrax]

Like someone else said, have you assigned them to train at a barracks? Got me before. Also with multiple archery targets, u have to designate each of them for a range, and set training for your squad.. one at a time...

[Mohawk_Bravo]

/Looks like they are starting to train here and there now. I realized a farmer who was perpetually making sure the bar stools didn't float away was actually an 'adequete' marksdwarf. Also, strangely, the fisherdwarf that formed my ranged squad 'The Young Trumpets' (which I admit is not as badass as the generated name for my Axedwarves 'The Halls of Strength') has a long history of being part of organizations and is still listed as the commander of a unit that doesn't exist in my fortress (maybe he commutes when I'm not looking?), so hopefully that translates to him having some martial discipline (though, Dwarf Fortress experience, which is far different from any other experience, has taught me that chances are when you find someone talented or something useful, it tends to explode in a shower of necromantically re-animated troll bones). Any other tips guys? Everyone has iron weapons and breastplates. Should I just train them until they are legendary and give them there own squads to command?

Also, I would just like to note, I was attacked by a werelizard. I raised my drawbridges and dispatched my marksdwarves to the ramparts to take him out (figuring that fins and scales and rubber foreheads might prevent the werelizard from being a capable sharpshooter). He turned into a human without incident and disappeared. I noticed this in another fortress, were the delightfully acursed werepig of the helltrough did essentially the same thing. I have nothing to worry about if it ran away, right?

[Broseph Stalin]

I generally have one squad of trained soldiers hand picked for having the best traits or weapon skills the rest are just selected from anyone who won't be missed. Steel armor is the best iron is serviceable ant coppers better than nothing but it's heavy and won't deflect any serious weapons. Even if your military is covered head to toe in adamantine it won't protect them from wrestling. If you do all that and support your infantry with marksdwarfs well out of the way of real combat you should do fine.

[wuphonsreach]

Werecritters in Fortress mode are non-threats at the moment.  The time passes so fast in Fortress mode that they change in/out of their beast form so fast that they just leave the map.

Personally, I rarely bother with military for the first 2-3 years of the fort (until I hit magma and get metal industry up).  But that's an embark into a non-evil, non-terrifying, flat zone with trees where I can quickly throw up a wall around my main stairs, the wagon and a few surface farms, then create a drawbridge out to a 1x15 long dodge-this-trap walkway.

Once I get up around 60-80 dwarves, I start thinking about creating a few squads of 4-5 (everyone says "3" but I prefer 4-5) of marksdwarves.

[Loud Whispers]

Werecritters in Fortress mode are non-threats at the moment.

Ah, but they are valuable resources!

[Corai]

Werecritters in Fortress mode are non-threats at the moment.

Ah, but they are valuable resources!

Tell that to my Urist mchuman soldiers. Weremammoths are jerks.

[Loud Whispers]

Werecritters in Fortress mode are non-threats at the moment.

Ah, but they are valuable resources!

Tell that to my Urist mchuman soldiers. Weremammoths are jerks.

With some clever management, BAM.

Urist McWeremammoth soldiers.

[Triaxx2]

Hmmm... Ring of cage traps around the edge of the map? Snag the were critters as the try to run?

Though possibly not the werewombat that showed up.

[Mohawk_Bravo]

Quick question, I remember reading something about buidling destroyers always know where buildings are and will be attracted to them. Would it allow me to build a decoy shop in a pit with a pressure plate to trap them with a bridge/cage trap the area?

[Broseph Stalin]

Quick question, I remember reading something about buidling destroyers always know where buildings are and will be attracted to them. Would it allow me to build a decoy shop in a pit with a pressure plate to trap them with a bridge/cage trap the area?

Yeah, in fact if you chain up a kitten by that workshop you can often get the entire siege into one area.

[Urist McSpike]

He has an iron crossbow, the schedule is set to 1 Minimum training, and I have 600 wooden bolts (set to 100 in the ammunition menu for training and none for hunters). I have an archery range with it set up with proper shooting direction and he is set to active. He still refuses to train, however. He trained once, and now just sits around doing nothing with "Soldier (no activity)" in the work menu. Anyone know why this might be?

As it was pointed out before, note this from the wiki - "Please note however that even a squad of only marksdwarves still needs a barracks to train at as well as an archery range, so they can train their other non-ranged skills. If they do not have a barracks assigned, they will spend quite a lot of time in the state "cannot follow order" and may not even use the archery range. "

Also, check out the archery range design notes on open spaces & bolt breakage.