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[Vibex]

So I recently decided to make a new axe squad of 10 after finally having managed to get enough steel from imports and smelted gobbo equipment. The uniform was straightforward - a shield, steel greaves, breastplate, helm gaunts and high boots. I also added a tunic and some pants but dwarves seem to prefer going full commando - still, beside the point. What bothers me are two things:

• They all managed to get broken ears, noses and knocked-out teeth after a training session in the danger room. This did NOT happen to the 2 previous squads of 5 dwarves wearing just a shield, bronze helm, low boots, mail shirt, gaunts and some leather leggings. Not a single injury then. So how the hell can I have a squad of steel-clad dwarves that gets beaten up while those buck-naked fools didn't even get a scratch?
• Second, and this is what I found the most surprising: a couple of months later the whole squad was wiped out by infections. The whole bloody squad. Was it because of broken ears and noses? The dwarves never sought any med treatment and I only noticed they were ill (blood loss) days before their deaths. I'd never had this happen before - danger room injuries have never killed any dwarves, let alone an entire squad.

I would really appreciate any input at all on this. What could've caused the epidemic? How to avoid this kind of crap in the future?

[Sirbug]

What you described sounds statistically improbable. I would suspect glitch in Random Number Generator, though I have no idea how it actually works.

Yes, I think any wound can get infected if not treated. And I think dorfs seek medical attention for any injury they get.

[Vibex]

Well 3 survived in the end. They don't seek medical treatment for everything though - definitely not for broken noses, ears and fingers. Could the infection have been triggered by something else then? Something like miasma or a creature (I had no forgotten beasts though)?

[Sirbug]

Going through wiki, I noticed references to infection from broken nails. So, evidently, no matter how small injury is, dorf can get infected.

[Garath]

unless they get treated and the wound cleaned preferably with soap, infection is possible. Any open wound can get infected. Usually though, a dwarf with a serious infection will at some point get medical treatment to remove infected tissue and clean the wound. One problem though is that things like nails and cartilage don't heal (not without some simple modding) and can present an everlasting infection hazard. One thread a long time ago joked about the bane of an adventurer; the broken fingernail.

[Raphite1]

Hood and cloaks can protect from those kinds of injuries, I believe.

That amount of infection and resultant death really sounds like exposure to FB extract; strange. Any other potentially nasty creatures around?

[Witty]

The exact same thing happened to me when I used danger rooms for the first time. All 6 axe lords struck down by ear infections. Hoods and cloaks will cover ears and noises, and should protect them from any danger room damage. 

[Vibex]

What bothers me though is that this did not happen to dwarves wearing a much skimpier armor set (see first post). Also, is it advisable to layer armour (i.e. breastplate over a mail shirt)?

[Vibex]

And how do I get them to equip hoods and cloaks? Civilians steal them before my military can pick them up.

[Larix]

Just make more. Hoods and cloaks (and gloves, mittens and socks) are not strictly necessary for a dwarf to stay sane, but they're part of normal dwarven attire, and if at all possible, every dwarf will try to get one to wear.

[Garath]

which isn't that horrible, it'll protect them a bit better against accidental accidents (you know, the ones that are truly accidents. They do happen sometimes)

[Astrid]

• They all managed to get broken ears, noses and knocked-out teeth after a training session in the danger room. This did NOT happen to the 2 previous squads of 5 dwarves wearing just a shield, bronze helm, low boots, mail shirt, gaunts and some leather leggings. Not a single injury then. So how the hell can I have a squad of steel-clad dwarves that gets beaten up while those buck-naked fools didn't even get a scratch?

Try to fight in a Leather suit. And then try to fight in a full steel suit.
Difference? You aint going to be a quick nimble fighter in steel.
Steel is heaver and steel does not bend and stretch to adapt to your bodys movements.

A skilled fighter team in leather is fatal for an ambush squad. An skilled fighter team in steel is a moving hill.
A unskilled fighterteam in steel gets slaughtered while an unskilled team in leather has chances of survival.

[Deon]

It's mostly difference in speed due to weight. If your squaddies train armor user skill and strength, they will be fast enough to beat those buck-naked fools.

A good way to train strength is to place pumps which pump nothing and assign your military dwarves to them. Pumping increases strength and endurance nicely.

[Beast Tamer]

Seems like plain bad luck to me.

[Vibex]

Seems like plain bad luck to me.

Yeah, must have been I reckon. I later drafted some more recruits from among the finest spinners, milkers and other reputable craftsdwarves and they came out of the danger room just fine. Still...

It's mostly difference in speed due to weight. If your squaddies train armor user skill and strength, they will be fast enough to beat those buck-naked fools.

A good way to train strength is to place pumps which pump nothing and assign your military dwarves to them. Pumping increases strength and endurance nicely.

I wonder how encumbrance actually affects combat performance. Any data on this?