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[Oddible]

This is my 2nd fort (the first was so bland and uneventful and I couldn't even find caverns so I bailed) and I've found a huge cavern network around 20-25 z-levels down.  It has the only iron sources I've discovered.  I've build a fortification to block off one tunnel that poked into the cavern and have a bridge near my stair well so I can shut down access if something truly disturbing comes up. 

The question though is that my miners and haulers keep getting attacked by random cave beasts.  I've used digv to harvest the hematite veins and they're spread across the caverns so blocking access isn't an option.  Likewise, traps won't really help much (though there are a couple choke points I could put something nasty).  Is my best bet to just set up patrols down there and divide up my squads between training and guard duty?  They are training rather slowly (despite me having them 2 per squad training continuously) so I was really hoping to keep them training as much as possible. 

[mavj96]

The best training is live training so it's never bad to have them fight.

What sort of creatures are killing?

[Oddible]

Draltha, giant toad, cave crocodiles... nothing that big and when the squad gets down there they dispatch them quite handily.  I've put some traps in a single wide hall leading back to the main stair so my miners can get some breathing room when running back home.

[Icefire2314]

Btw, when using digv, use digvx (unless it's otherwise inconvenient) because it harvests across z levels.

Monitor your job cancellations, usually the miners will flee from the cave monsters, and set a squad to patrol, so they'll be on hand if anything goes bad.

[smjjames]

The Draltha shouldn't cause problems, though their size means that they have the potential to hurt a dwarf if provoked.. You're more likely to get annoyed by crundles, naked mole dogs, and elk birds.

[FrankMcFuzz]

The Draltha shouldn't cause problems, though their size means that they have the potential to hurt a dwarf if provoked.. You're more likely to get annoyed by crundles, naked mole dogs, and elk birds.

CRUUUUUUUUUUNNNNDDDDDDLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLES!

Catch crundles, train crundles, breed crundles, eat the bastards.

In regards to the original question, if you're swimming in puppies, it wouldn't hurt to assign war dogs to the key people who frequent the caves.

[Grim Portent]

CRUUUUUUUUUUNNNNDDDDDDLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLES!

Catch crundles, train crundles, breed crundles, eat the bastards.

In regards to the original question, if you're swimming in puppies, it wouldn't hurt to assign war dogs to the key people who frequent the caves.

I modded in war crundles and throw them in suicide waves at sieges.

[DarkArtemisFowl]

My strategy is to clear out and terraform. Have the military go first and dispose of threats, then send in the lumberjacks to cut down some of the trees. Next, the miners, and dig a square area that you feel is secure enough for your needs. Remove ramps also. Finally, send the masons to wall off the area and place a floodgate (or bridge, which is not destroyable) to lock the area. Make sure you door off the staircase, too, lest the flying Giant Bats maul your legendary gem cutters that happened to pass by the staircase. Provided you walled off the area correctly, you should be dandy to start mining.

Another alternative is simply to have your military squad stationed near your miners. This doesn't offer as much protection however.

[Aslandus]

The strategy I went with was to hire a dozen or so hunters, they naturally go to the caves and slaughter the beasties that give you trouble... couldn't hurt to have a few cage traps scattered about too, in case you want some pet Dralthas or something...

[Ravendarksky]

The strategy I went with was to hire a dozen or so hunters, they naturally go to the caves and slaughter the beasties that give you trouble... couldn't hurt to have a few cage traps scattered about too, in case you want some pet Dralthas or something...

This is what I do. It also makes your fort nice and safe once they train up. You will also end up with a large surplus of leather and bones as a result which never hurts for making more bolts/crossbows/bone Armour/strange moods.

[PDF urist master]

my fort rarely gets anything other than elk birds, so it's pretty safe.

personally, i like to put traps everywhere.

[Skuggen]

I tend to wall off the caves as soon as I find them early on, then mine around them to get to the goodies from inside the walls. I don't open the caves until I've got a decent military.

[misko27]

When I judge that my military can deal with a FB attack and still have the reserves to fight off goblins, that is the time I let them open.

[Oddible]

I thought FBs only came from the deeper caverns?  I've had my caverns open for years and never seen an FB.

[PDF urist master]

FBs can come from any cavern, but only when you have 80 dwarves or a wealth of 100000 dwarfbucks.

they are completely random and have different compositions and attacks. ones made of minerals, metals or ice are quite tough. ones made of fire, water, mud or vomit are very fragile.