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[Urist MacNoob]

As the humans came to trade, a goblin tried to steal my children. Doors slammed shut behind her as she took her time attacking and killing a dog I had for years. I was not pleased and sent thirty dwarves to beat her to death, as we have no metal and I'm afraid of breaching caverns without any so digging any deeper than my current fort is nerve-wracking. I refuse to give my dwarves wooden weapons and I have nothing to sharpen into stone shortswords but rock salt and it doesn't count as sharpenable, but I digress~.

The goblin panicked and went invisibru mode as my dwarves filed in. She tried to sneak by us and a cage trap suddenly sprung around her. I cackled maniacally, my first prisoner! Oh, what horrors await you, little goblin--

Then I checked my trading post and saw 'Pets' with cages. I frowned. What. I had no pets. Checking up on it, I found that she was now a pet. I ordered her to be moved to the trade depot, cackling more maniacally than before. A SLAVE! A pet! She is mine, mine to sell for lumber so I don't piss off my seven elvish neighbors while I have no metal to defend myself!

...And then the guards stabbed her to death with spears as she was hauled in. No explanation, not even a combat report. Just shank shank deadaedehdded.

I still made a profit selling her junk to them, but what the hell, humans? That was my property and I was going to give you a discount if we worked out yearly trading in slaves, lumber and metal bars!

...Can anyone tell me why they did that, how to keep it from happening again and if this is a rare occurrence, how to maximize my cage trap slave industry? I've thought of trying to sell a slave to the elves, as they have no guards that would murder them on-sight. They just stand there all elfy, awkward and defenseless.

[wierd]

The problem is that she is hostile.  A caged friendly can most certainly be sold. I have sold nobles this way.

(You drop them on the cage trap so that they are stunned from the fall, making the trap spring. This catches them in the trap.)

You might try "confiscating" the caravan's weapons first, then "giving" them back as an offering.

To do that, unforbid their weapons in their inventories. Your dwarves will happily take away their weapons, and they won't even fight back.

[Loud Whispers]

"The Mayor went insane. Told us to throw the goblin at the humans, not sure why. So yeah, this goblin, after talking to the mayor just kept shouting at the humans: 'Kill me.'
That's why they stopped trading with us."

[Rogue Yun]

The goblin, knowing that death is preferable to dwarven servitude, threw himself on the mercy of the human. Pleading for them to end his existence.

[skyte100]

It knew that dwarven slavery would be centurys of nothing but making socks.

[Vid_the_Impaler]

Two possible reasons:

One, as has been said, you can't trade unfriendly prisoners. There's a bug where if you try to trade them, they get set loose from their cage and are free to go on a rampage.

Two, humans will always try to kill goblins because their entities are opposed. Even when one of your dwarves is hauling a goblin somewhere- for example, to a pit- the humans will chase after your dwarf to attack his goblin prisoner. Because of this, you always have to be careful hauling prisoners around while a human caravan is around.

[Szkeptik]

Could slavery actually become a thing? It would be nice to have goblin slaves in low population forts doing the dangerous chores. Also, slaves of other races if you were at war with them and took prisoners. We already have lashes...*Evil grin*

[Urist MacNoob]

Thanks for the information, gentledwarves. I'll try to find a way around both the bug and the human hatred of goblin prisoners. I -will- find a way to sell them, I promise you. That, or I'll find a way to work them to death making socks and stone crafts to sell to elves.

[CaptainLambcake]

@Szkeptik

Dwarves are morally "opposed" to slave labor in the RAWs, i'd personally like to see it, but many people wouldn't.

[Button]

Could slavery actually become a thing? It would be nice to have goblin slaves in low population forts doing the dangerous chores. Also, slaves of other races if you were at war with them and took prisoners. We already have lashes...*Evil grin*

If you make animal people [PET_EXOTIC], elves will sometimes bring them in cages to trade. They'll have elvish names and come with profession levels, though they can't work in the fortress - they just hang around and eat all your food. NB: They also need to drink water and will die of thirst without it.

Similarily you can train and tame any animal people you catch, and any children they have are born with Dwarvish names.

It's possible they'd do some work if you changed Dwarven ethics, but I suspect it's not implemented.

[Watcher]

The problem is that she is hostile.  A caged friendly can most certainly be sold. I have sold nobles this way.

(You drop them on the cage trap so that they are stunned from the fall, making the trap spring. This catches them in the trap.)

You might try "confiscating" the caravan's weapons first, then "giving" them back as an offering.

To do that, unforbid their weapons in their inventories. Your dwarves will happily take away their weapons, and they won't even fight back.

oh my god that is genius.
(do i have to give the weapons back? any consequences for selling your dwarves, or are they just counted as missin'?)

[wierd]

No, you don't have to give it back, but the next caravan will be smaller if you don't offset the lost value of the equipment.

You can flood select reclaim the whole trade depot, and 5-finger every last item inside too (including the merchant's clothes!). Same consequence. Next caravan will be much smaller.

Dwarves that leave the map with the caravan simply disapear from the unit list, IIRC. Relationship pages will still list them, but they are no longer at the site.

I suppose that is ONE way to deal with impish dwarven child rabble rousers... since you don't have to slab them or cause bad thoughts in the parents when they die....

Hmm...

[Watcher]

No, you don't have to give it back, but the next caravan will be smaller if you don't offset the lost value of the equipment.

You can flood select reclaim the whole trade depot, and 5-finger every last item inside too (including the merchant's clothes!). Same consequence. Next caravan will be much smaller.

Dwarves that leave the map with the caravan simply disapear from the unit list, IIRC. Relationship pages will still list them, but they are no longer at the site.

I suppose that is ONE way to deal with impish dwarven child rabble rousers... since you don't have to slab them or cause bad thoughts in the parents when they die....

Hmm...

Awesome. So I can sell all the useless ones that I don't want (FUCKING FISH CLEANERS WITH NO OTHER USEFUL SKILLS), and just trade the traders so that they go with profit, and take the guards' weapons.
OR I just take the humans/treehugger-guards' stuff without trading.

[Avis-Mergulus]

Do dwarves actually fetch a decent amount of cash, or is it just a method for getting rid of wax-workers?

[Matoro]

... so you can actually sell your own dwarves to the caravans if they are caged?

This is hilarious.

I'll have to do some science. What happens to the dwarves leaving with the caravan? I guess there is something in the legends, they can't just disappear.