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[wuphonsreach]

Only about 1 goblin in 100 will get past a dodge-this walkway that is 1x11.  If you do 2-tile wide walkways, you should increase the length into the 15-20 range to be sure.  Put some cage traps on the inner side of these walkways to catch the tricky goblins who manage to get lucky.

My surface level dodge-this walkways are filled with training weapons.  On the Z level below, to the sides of each walkway, I have a parallel set of walkways where those who dodge will land and be stunned.  In order to get off that level and back up to the surface, they have to cross at least 10 more tiles of dodge-this traps.  Which puts them back in the middle of the upper walkway.

Repeat the above for another Z level or three below the surface.  The goal is to slowly get them to dodge deeper and deeper, increasing the number of traps they have to successfully navigate to escape, while not wounding them until we get past the "catcher" levels.  Note that I do *not* put traps on the "catch" walkways, I want them stunned, but alive and mostly unharmed.  So I put my dodge-traps instead on the exit points of the "catcher" levels.  This maximizes the number of goblins you can catch as they all try to chase their leader down the rabbit hole.

Eventually, they should either continue to fall down 1-3 levels, run back up, repeat the process, or make the final plunge to their doom and fall to the bottom of the pit (which can be anything from 5-50 levels deep).

To get out of the very bottom of the pit, if it's not insta-kill depth, they have to cross my line of really nasty masterwork traps.  Which is a 2-tile wide walkway filled with as many weapons as I can cram into a trap.

[Hyndis]

I've had mixed results with dodge-me traps. My traps have 10 wooden training spears, made out of the lightest wood and with the least skilled carpenter I have available. Preferably no quality featherwood training spears. They're all in weapon traps. The nice thing about weapon traps is that the fire automatically rather than relying on a lever. This lets them hit even stealthed goblins. Kobolds are trap immune so they can simply walk through, but a kobold isn't a threat at all, so its not a big deal.

I've noticed that these traps can cause a goblin to become tired. If the goblin is tired it simply will not dodge anything at all, so it will slowly advanced through the gauntlet of traps, each time getting hit by them and becoming tired again, but because its tired it cannot dodge, so they just sort of slog their way through the gauntlet without actually falling into the pit.

If they dodge while they're still rested and not tired, then the dodge-me trap works great.

I have them fall only a single Z level. I'm not trying to kill them. I just want to capture the entire siege all at once. THEN I unleash my military on them. I don't want any goblins escaping.

I prefer not using splatter pits, magma pits, drowning pits, or anything of that nature. I actually prefer using just direct combat if at all possible. This means either dwarves with steel, or a horde of zombies.

[MenacesWithSpikes]

Large, green glass serrated discs! 

Mass produce them, stick them in lots (and I mean LOTS) of traps (throw in a few goblinite weapons too), 10 weapons per trap, use your best mechanisms, and read the resulting combat logs.

Downside:  In the case of a large siege, it may take an entire season for your dwarves to dispose of the goblin and troll body parts.

[Trojanhamster]

My favorite is steel picks, one per trap. They cut and penetrate just enough that they tend to disembowel enemies without dismembering them which makes them very lethal without being instantly so. You still end up with a lot of severed noses and ears, but it's worth it given how dwarfy they are conceptually.

[Hyndis]

Try using spears instead. Spears do piercing damage rather than hacking off limbs.

Giant spiked balls can be made out of glass and also do piercing damage. You get 3 piercing attacks per giant spiked ball. This should limit the number of bodyparts you need to haul around.


Also you can drastically improve the efficiency of cleanup by using mine carts. Have an outdoor refuse stockpile linked to a minecart. Load up the minecart from that stockpile. You can do the same thing with goblinite as well.

[MenacesWithSpikes]

Try using spears instead. Spears do piercing damage rather than hacking off limbs.

Giant spiked balls can be made out of glass and also do piercing damage. You get 3 piercing attacks per giant spiked ball. This should limit the number of bodyparts you need to haul around.


Also you can drastically improve the efficiency of cleanup by using mine carts. Have an outdoor refuse stockpile linked to a minecart. Load up the minecart from that stockpile. You can do the same thing with goblinite as well.

Excellent ideas!

[Loud Whispers]

Surely its more Dwarfy to have such powerful traps theres nothing left but gibs?

Being Dwarfy doesn't mean everything has to be set in stone.

 

[Urist_McDrowner]

!!SCIENTIFIC!! RESULTS

Despite having a max of 10 spaces between traps, and staggering the traps so it wasn't a straight shot, those ebil gobbos dodged most my weapon traps. I was content with the wound traps that a gobbo rarely stepped on, someone got a busted leg, someone else got a shattered foot.

[Mura]

Warning: Giant Spiked Balls have a value multiplier of 126, essentially making them an "invade me" sign for anything that pays attention to wealth.

I'd stick to the serrated discs.

[Hyndis]

Warning: Giant Spiked Balls have a value multiplier of 126, essentially making them an "invade me" sign for anything that pays attention to wealth.

I'd stick to the serrated discs.

But if you have giant spiked balls in weapon traps, don't you want invaders to show up?

Otherwise what are you going to do with all of the giant spiked balls in the weapon traps?

[Mura]

Make a dwarfy discotheque.

[Urist_McDrowner]

Warning: Giant Spiked Balls have a value multiplier of 126, essentially making them an "invade me" sign for anything that pays attention to wealth.

I'd stick to the serrated discs.

I love getting invaded now. Minotaurs? Please. Urist McDerp out for a hunt always fills them with bolts and then the military wipes them up. Goblin Claus has become my friend and its always fun to watch them get torn apart in the pit I made.

[Mura]

Eh. Mind the megabeasts and nobles, then.

[MenacesWithSpikes]

!!SCIENTIFIC!! RESULTS

Despite having a max of 10 spaces between traps, and staggering the traps so it wasn't a straight shot, those ebil gobbos dodged most my weapon traps. I was content with the wound traps that a gobbo rarely stepped on, someone got a busted leg, someone else got a shattered foot.

You need higher-quality mechanisms.  Use only the best ones for weapon traps... If they're still not that good, churn out lots of mechanisms until your mechanics increase their skill levels.

[acetech09]

OK. All this talk about traps has made me want to build one of my own.... but a completely automated no-clean-up goblinite harvesting system. I have room for it.

Another thing - I can't remember for sure - will your dwarves butcher skeletons of sentient creatures? I think not, but almost remember so.