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[Stormbuilder]

The architecture is fairly straightforward - make sure enemy can't escape or get close to the marksdorfs.

But how do I get him there without freeing him for the cage, and freeing him remotely once he is behind locked doors?
I've got this vampire lord I am dying to rid with bolts (well, axe heads, playing Mastercraft), but I don't want him to run amok in the fortress...saw what he did to the traders outside before coming towards me and right into the cage trap.

[Garath]

I don't know if it works in masterwork, but this is easy in vanilla

rig up his cage to a lever and make sure it's in a room where the 'walls' are carved and smoothed into fortifications, with just a 1 tile walkway around it. Also make sure this cell is closed with a raising bridge, don't want building destroyers to escape.

put his cage in there and link it to the lever or walk him to a cave there, don't know what is best in masterwork. Make sure the bridge is closed before stationing the marksdwarfs there, to prevent accidents. Wait a while for everyone who is going to attend to arrive. Then pull the lever. The fact that the walkway is just 1x1 means that all marksdwarfs stand next to the fortifications, which is crucial for new recruits, elites have less trouble. And you call in the dwarfs before releasing the vampire because then they spread out better. They have a tendency to stop walking and pile up on 1 tile to shoot otherwise, and kneeling dwarfs don't shoot very fast.

[toomanysecrets]

I don't play master work either. But, in vanilla if you channel a floor out, then put a "Pit" zone on the channeled out floor you can de-cage monsters and trap them in the pit (by adding them into the zone).  In 34.07 this works flawlessly, even with geared baddies, and the dorves don't get scared.

A side note is that my first attempts involved a "pit" with fortifications on one side so that marksdwarves could shoot in but the inexperienced ones are not likely to get right next to the fortifications so they don't really shoot much. It works WAY better to just make sure you don't dump and ranged gobbos into the pit without stripping them of their weapon and have a un-crossable pit between your practicing archers and their live targets.

[Garath]

A side note is that my first attempts involved a "pit" with fortifications on one side so that marksdwarves could shoot in but the inexperienced ones are not likely to get right next to the fortifications so they don't really shoot much. It works WAY better to just make sure you don't dump and ranged gobbos into the pit without stripping them of their weapon and have a un-crossable pit between your practicing archers and their live targets.

even if you used the fortification thing, goblins standing next to fortifications can shoot through them too, so no matter what method you use, always disarm bow or xbow gobs. Specially once they start showing up as elite.

[Firehawk45]

my normal set up is a fortification, behind which my dwarfs stand (burrow defend command).
In front of that, a pit, which prevents enemys from coming close (you never know if you havent missed some bows...).
Then comes the area with the cages (same high as the fortification), which is closed by a raised bridge, which allows for easy "maintance" operations, like clearing bodies and refilling target material.

I also used a bridge in front of the fortifications, as some enemies in Masterwork DF are not so much.... "useful" for this set up

[Stormbuilder]

Done and done!

Is it bad that I am cackling in an evil way right now?

[Garath]

Done and done!

Is it bad that I am cackling in an evil way right now?

we're used to dealing with people who want to make children disappear without making their parent get a bad thought. The fact that you think your training room is worth cackling about only means you havn't explored the full meaning of DF.

[Firehawk45]

But its a good start, welcome to this perfect world Where everyone lives in peace, eats delicious mushrooms (and cats) and plays funny games together.

"funny" Dwarf-games: Suicide, homocide, genozide, The "apply-lava-to-everything"-game..... you see, everything is going the way it should go.

Btw: I give you bonus points if you use elves for this training range. And even more if you build it completely out of wood while doing so.

[Stormbuilder]

Meh, elves don't bother me...their diplomat keeps dying before he can speak with my leaders. All those nasty ambushes beyond my walls...shame.

Unfortunately the training range is not getting used a lot...most enemies I am getting right now seem to avoid the cage traps. Which only means that they get skewered by the axe throwers.


Incidentally, I ah...just got 8 dragons from the elves. Went a little bit overboard.

And now I am thinking...can dragons fire through fortifications?

[Firehawk45]

if they have a ranged attack (they breath fire, right?), then nothing speaks against a dragon-powered defense. Should be the same with turrets and other ranged units

[Azated]

Incidentally, I ah...just got 8 dragons from the elves. Went a little bit overboard.

And now I am thinking...can dragons fire through fortifications?

if they have a ranged attack (they breath fire, right?), then nothing speaks against a dragon-powered defense. Should be the same with turrets and other ranged units

I've been building a dragon defense tower just outside my fortress. It's basically a 3x3 room of fortifications carved from walls and covered over the top. The dragon is chained in the middle and raised drawbridges are placed on all four sides. When an enemy comes, I lower the bridges and watch my flame tower burn the map.

[Stormbuilder]

Incidentally, I ah...just got 8 dragons from the elves. Went a little bit overboard.

And now I am thinking...can dragons fire through fortifications?

if they have a ranged attack (they breath fire, right?), then nothing speaks against a dragon-powered defense. Should be the same with turrets and other ranged units

I've been building a dragon defense tower just outside my fortress. It's basically a 3x3 room of fortifications carved from walls and covered over the top. The dragon is chained in the middle and raised drawbridges are placed on all four sides. When an enemy comes, I lower the bridges and watch my flame tower burn the map.

Hehe, that sounds amusing. Why the bridges, though? You want control over when he fires and when he doesn't?

I actually don't want to use the dragons as a first line defense - I have winding corridor in which I trap incoming invasions, and then proceed to make target practice out of them from one floor above, behind fortification. I think I am going to put a dragon or two at the end, in case something goes awry (levers not pulled in time etc.)

I guess that sending them into battle is death sentence for their handlers?

[ResMar]

http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2012:Pit_trap

[Argelle]

Are the 3 rectangles with a + inside floodgate in the drawing?
I'm asking because I do not see how it let the ballista shot through.

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A more fully featured trap

[Garath]

Hehe, that sounds amusing. Why the bridges, though? You want control over when he fires and when he doesn't?

I actually don't want to use the dragons as a first line defense - I have winding corridor in which I trap incoming invasions, and then proceed to make target practice out of them from one floor above, behind fortification. I think I am going to put a dragon or two at the end, in case something goes awry (levers not pulled in time etc.)

I guess that sending them into battle is death sentence for their handlers?

The bridges are indeed to controll when and if they fire. You may want to prevent them from roasting your own dwarfs. In general, messing around with dragons causes a lot of dead dwarfs. Sending them into battle will work as follows: dwarf spots goblins and charges, dragon spots goblins and breathes fire. Goblins spots burning, dying dwarf and kill a dragon.

In most cases, by the way, dragon fire damages everything. I don't know if masterwork uses special dragonfire that is less hot than the one used in vanilla, but that dragonfire actually destroys a lot of things that are magma safe, so it's a bit tricky to use.