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[Old Skool]

So, I've returned to Dwarf Fortress after a fairly long hiatus. I got my fortress up and running and survived the first winter; everything seemed to be going fine.

Then Urcrist McTroublemaker the Miner decided to have a strange mood. I hoped it wouldnt cause any problems but of course he is now running amok and killing anyone and anything he can.

I dont (yet) have any military set up and Mr. McTroublemaker has already killed a pet and several dwarves. I do have some crossbows and bolts manufactured.

I had thought to just let him work out his angst and frustration while pretending he didnt exist, but when I woke up this morning I wondered what (if anything) I can do to help the problem.

I guess I should bury the dead? What is this I hear about ghosts? Should I even care?

How do I "take care" of my little problem? I have not played in a really long time and I think military has been reworked several times over the past couple years (When I last played my default military strategy would be to spam marksdwarfs in leather armor).

Losing is fun, but I would at least like to know if there is anything "helpful" I can do and  what I might want to do next time.

Thanks!

[Mishrak]

The moods are where they seize a workshop and make something, provided you have the materials.  If you have the majority of workshops built, it shouldn't be that big of an issue.  However, if they don't get what they want within a reasonable timeframe, they either a) go berserk and start killing things, or b) slip into a melancholy and die of thirst while standing idle in a corner.  If they seize a workshop, hit Q over it and you can see what they want.  If it doesn't show a small list of "needs xyz" then he's building stuff and you can leave him alone.  Also, they'll list everything they need even if they only need one item, so look around your fort and see what you might be missing.

Ghosts happen when dwarves die and are not properly memorialized.  You need to make a slab at a mason, and engrave it with their name at a craftdwarf shop.  Then build a slab (Alt+s) and they will be "Put to rest" and stop haunting things.  The hauntings aren't always bad, but sometimes the ghosts can kill your dwarves.

[i2amroy]

The easiest way that I know of to deal with failed moods has to be enacted before the dwarf goes insane. Basically all you need to do is fit a door on the entrances to the workshop, then if you know the mood will fail (such as if they are asking for an item you don't have) then you can simple lock the door and wait for them to starve. More information on moods and how exactly they work is available on the wiki.

As for ghosts, keep in mind that the state of the dwarf when it dies can effect the state of the ghost. Normal deaths can just create ghosts that make other family members sad. Berserk dwarves, on the other hand (and what it sounds like your failed mood produced) can create murderous ghosts that can go around ripping of limbs and killing other dwarves.

[Larix]

Seems pretty clear that you have a berserk dwarf on your hands. They will _not_ calm down, a berserker is hostile to everything and will attack and kill your fortress population on sight. You could follow this dwarf around and try to catch them between two doors by locking them; berserkers are still ordinary dwarfs and won't deconstruct doors.

Apart from the super-cheap method of making your mood workshops lockable, you could also station a bunch of dogs on top of the workshop, easiest with a pasture zone and preferably war-trained dogs. Then, if the dwarf goes berserk, the dogs will keep it occupied until the militia shows up. Still pretty cheap, but at least you give the crazy the opportunity to go down fighting.

The problem you're facing is that there's not much really effective you can do once a berserker is loose in a fort without standing military - your best bet would probably be to recruit all adult dwarfs into no-uniform squads and order them to attack. Against a miner, it's likely to get ugly, but if you manage to herd them into one big charge instead of one-on-one engagements, chances shouldn't be too bad. You might also try mustering as many marksdwarfs as you can equip and unleash them once they're geared up. They'll take a while picking up their crossbow, quiver and bolts, all the time vulnerable to getting picked apart by your crazy miner.

[Old Skool]

Two dwarfs dead. One pet chicken dead. Various body parts still stinking up the place.

Urist McBerzerk dismembered and hopefully buried soon.

Thanks for the answers, I guess I will keep on digging and see what happens next

[Xinael]

Basically all you need to do is fit a door on the entrances to the workshop, then if you know the mood will fail (such as if they are asking for an item you don't have) then you can simple lock the door and wait for them to starve.

I prefer to have most of my workshops in large, open areas, so all I did was leave at least a 1-tile gap on all sides of each workshop, and then if I thought they were going to fail, I'd create a bunch of level 0 masons and have them build a wall round the workshop. The mental image of the dwarves quitely bricking up the entrances to the workshop where Urist McMood is brooding and scribbling notes about his wonderful designs for a silk-encrusted goblet was too much

[hiroshi42]

Basically all you need to do is fit a door on the entrances to the workshop, then if you know the mood will fail (such as if they are asking for an item you don't have) then you can simple lock the door and wait for them to starve.

I prefer to have most of my workshops in large, open areas, so all I did was leave at least a 1-tile gap on all sides of each workshop, and then if I thought they were going to fail, I'd create a bunch of level 0 masons and have them build a wall round the workshop. The mental image of the dwarves quitely bricking up the entrances to the workshop where Urist McMood is brooding and scribbling notes about his wonderful designs for a silk-encrusted goblet was too much

Urist McFortunato  : "For the love of god Montresor"