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[ptb_ptb]

OK, that wasn't actually a question as such. So, "Could you please suggest basic improvements to the following defensive arrangement?".

Basically I've got a central way-point where stairs go down underground, and up into a medium-sized above ground fortress. Ground level itself has nothing on it apart from the trade depot.  I find cage trap construction / distribution / maintenance to be a bit fiddly so this time I want to have an actual military squad (w/crossbows) doing the main job.

I've got a 'hollow square' armory hanging from the floor above one-square wide inside with fortifications all the way around inside and out. Also lots of floor grates underfoot. My understanding is that my dwarfs should at least be able to _see_ through the floor grates, and should realize that they can fire through the fortifications (as they have to be standing right next to them).

Here's a piccy:
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/2593/stationk.png

So, whaddya think? Will it work?

At this early point I'll be happy if they can hold off a half-dozen goblins without injuries.

[Hyndis]

Yes, that will work if all of the walls are fortifications.

You can create a room that is a barracks, filling up the entire space between the fortifications. Assign on duty squads to that barracks. They will train there when there is nothing to shoot at, and if a goblin comes into view they will shoot at it until its dead, then go back to training.

However unless you have a huge number of dwarves you may need to make your barracks smaller, so you can focus the attention of all of your dwarves into as narrow an area as possible, so they all get to engage any targets that come into view, rather than most sitting around with nothing to shoot at while one dwarf does all of the fighting.

Also note that they cannot shoot anything next to the wall, so if someone is standing next to the wall below them, they're safe.


I assume that the fort entrance is in the middle of the wall? If so, that will work just fine, because everyone can see the entrance from the upper level, so all of your dwarves will be able to shoot at targets.

You may want some melee guys in the middle though. If you have no melee dwarves, goblins may be able to run past the gauntlet of crossbows and still murder your dwarves.

[ptb_ptb]

I assume that the fort entrance is in the middle of the wall? If so, that will work just fine, because everyone can see the entrance from the upper level, so all of your dwarves will be able to shoot at targets.

The fort entrance is the stairs in the middle of the square. There's just the stairs there, no floor around them (on that level).

Thanks for the advice. I'll see how it goes. I still only have three quivers so I need to fill in the basics first. Are archery ranges worth having? Maybe I should have one built just outside the fort so they can spend their spare time shooting at it. I'll have to get a big stock of ammo first, though.

[EDIT] Er, OK. My troops totally suck. Two dwarven babies just got kidnapped from under their noses.

I'll try making the barracks smaller and maybe a few other things.

[Hyndis]

I wouldn't bother with archery ranges. Simple massed crossbows is more than enough to defeat any siege, even if they're all recruits.

Another extremely powerful defense is to ensure everyone is lined up, so your rookie recruits have a huge mass of goblins they can fire at. They literally cannot miss if you can force the goblins to group up.

Do this:

Code: [Select]

WWW...........WWW  <== to fort
WWW...........WWW
WWWFFFFFFFF...WWW  <== fortifications
WWWA..........WWW  <== barracks from armor stand
WWWFFFFFFFF...WWW  <== fortifications
WWWxxxxxxxx...WWW
WWWxxxxxxxx^^^WWW
WWWxxxxxxxx^^^WWW <== pit in front of fortifications
WWWxxxxxxxx^^^WWW
WWWxxxxxxxx^^^WWW <== weapon traps
WWWxxxxxxxx^^^WWW
WWWxxxxxxxx^^^WWW
WWWxxxxxxxx^^^WWW
WWWxxxxxxxx^^^WWW
WWWxxxxxxxx^^^WWW
WWWxxxxxxxx^^^WWW
WWW...........WWW
WWW...........WWW  <== to outside
Assign your marksdwarves to be training/active all the time, and assign them to that barracks sandwiched between fortifications. This will keep them behind cover, but allow everyone to shoot. The more marksdwarves the better. More dakka is the main idea here.

In front of the pillbox is a large empty pit. The only purposes this serves is to force goblins to walk across a narrow ledge. You can line the walkway with traps, use water pumps to flush them into the pit, or simply pincushion massed goblins with crossbow bolts.

You can even set up a railgun pointed at the walkway if you want to play with minecarts.

Note that the pillbox is open on the side. This is intentional. This allows your marksdwarves to also engage them in melee so that if any goblins survive the gauntlet they will melee with your marksdwarves rather than simply rushing into the fortress and murdering everyone. While your marksdwarves are probably not very good in melee combat, its better than civilians trying to fight. Their melee skills are your last line of defense but hopefully by the time anything gets to melee range, its either dead or severely wounded and so not able to fight back very much.

You can have your pillbox double up as a danger room to toughen up your marksdwarves by installing wooden training spears linked to a lever.

[knutor]

Try the channel a square, remove all the ramps, cept one. 

Then cage trap the snot out of that last ramp access point.  Then layout your DEPOT, butcher, tanner, refuse dump, refuse/corpse stockpile, wood stockpile, plant stockpile.  And raw fish stockpile.  All those topside stockpiles are feeder piles and shouldn't have any containers.  Feed them to larger ones underground.

While your doing all that, you'll accumulate some rock.  Turn it into block, and build a nice drawbridge over to a wall, and ramp, as a main gate.  Then proceed to wall it up, and put ceilings as you get more and more block...  Avoid the 1x10 halls, too much bouncing around in those, when your dorfs dodge.

Never build excessive fortification-murder holes, and somepoint the siege will include ranged goblins who can shoot right back thru.   We just need a 1x1, in the right spot, a good roost overlooking a nice access point.  And remember, balista fire thru fortified walls, just like xbow bolts.  Ya just need one 1x1 for the entire balista bolt to fly thru.

Make sure all points in, have lever controled gates and doors, to seal it up.  Leave the Depot outside if your playing with tower undead sieges.  We never get enough time to safely trade in those.  Take care, Knutor

[Triaxx2]

Your path is too straight and too wide. You've got a perfectly good river, so have miners cut the path down to one wide, and in as intricate a spiral pattern as you can manage, using channels. The far end should have a pressure plate which closes the ends of the path way, so your dwarves can continue to shoot until they're all dead. Of course, me, I'd have just built a flood trap, but if you want  military dorfs that's fine.

[celem]

While there are some good suggestions here from folks, do remember if going down the cage/weapon trap route that mechanic's traps block wagon access to your depot.  I highly recommend building an 'airlock' for your depot and then layering the traps behind it.  Should anything slip into the airlock with a caravan then when you open the internal door to haul to depot, it should wander right into traps.

[_Ivan_]

What Knutor said. But with weapon traps galore. (i dont like having tons of goblin prisoners either)

I have a box wall on the surface and a long 3 tile wide entry hall lined with 3x30 traps. First row is cages but only for megabeasts because i want to try breeding something 'big'. The traps are built with 5xmeanacing wood spikes and 5xspiked wooden balls. Nothing gets in despite everything being wood weapons. In fact, most goblin sieges wind up with 90% running for the hills after a handfull get minced in the hall. Good archery practice for my dwarves on the roof.

[Hyndis]

Fields of weapon traps are highly effective, but I think they're perhaps too effective.

My preferred means of defense is to wall off the entire edge of the map using retracted drawbridges except for a smallish section. Then I station my military at that entrance. There are no traps and no walls between my military and the invaders. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Only dwarven steel against goblins.

[knutor]

Another nice alternative, is a pussy on a pressure plate.  Linked to one or two retractable bridges(RB walls). 

Aslong as the pussy is sitting in her 1x1 activity pen, over the hair-trigger pressure plate, the RB walls will remain open.  But then 100 seconds after she's spooked off the pressure plate, the RB walls come slamming home, sealing up the joint. 

Problem I find with this D, is finding just the right place to pen up the cat.  I haven't done this one in awhile, not sure if it works.  Gonna try it, with this fortress.  Way it'll look is with multiple rampless mountaintops, all connected by retractable bridges, with one housing a Depot.  That one has gotta have 3x3 wagon access. 

This is similar to Celem's airlock method, cept its not air-tight, has no roof.

[Triaxx2]

I'm finding that pill boxes are excellent. A 1x2 box with a stair case and no access except the stairs, then carve fortifications into the walls and station marksdwarves inside. Be sure to carve a moat around it, but once that's done they can sit there and shoot forever, with very little chance of being hit and if they are, since they're in the box and under cover, they can be retrieved with minimal danger to the retriever.

A modified version can be had to with 1x1 boxes, with one exit having a raising bridge, and the inside having a door. They operate on opposite states, so when the door is closed the bridge is open and when the bridge is closed the door is open. So you can have your squad move into the tunnel, and then they can get out with minimal danger to the rest of the fort.