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[Iamblichos]

So... I have gotten fairly good at fielding gobbos, trolls, rutherers, and the occasional were-whatsits, but I **suck** at dealing with the undead.

Any tips?

Although it's a nice bit of immersion to have the same reaction as my dwarves to the announcement "The dead walk!  Run for your lives!", I am a bit tired of mining that particular vein of ass-clenching fear.  Some recommendations to minimize the pain would be welcome.

NB: This seems to be a jungle-related problem.  I am almost always on a "Wilderness" or "Calm" embark, and yet 8-10 zombies just wander in from offscreen and start attacking anything that lives.  Goodbye, stray (yeah) (tame)... farewell, oh woodcutter, who cut too deep(?)  So long, Urist McElf who wanted to fish outside under the big shiny yellow thing that makes real dwarves vomit.  They are like roaches and they won't leave on their own.  Never seen a necromancer, just zombies.

[smjjames]

Are you SURE you didn't embark on an evil biome? Or even right next to one? If you embark on the edge of a biome, that biome can 'leak' a little into your embark even if you didn't technically embark on the evil biome.

Also, necromancers will come in ambush mode and are sneaking, so they are there, just not visible to you. I actually had zombie sieges later on though, after I had captured/killed most of the necromancers, but according to legends, there is one, maybe two, necromancer(s) that are/is unaccounted for. Earlier though they harrassed me with raising corpses and got themselves captured trying to get into the fort.

[Urist McVoyager]

I'd say you have an Evil biome somewhere on your map, or in an adjoining square.

Embark with soldiers using Silver Warhammers. Those are the best hammers, and you don't want to use sharp stuff while fighting zombies, unless you're sure there's no reanimating factors on your map.

[smjjames]

I'd say you have an Evil biome somewhere on your map, or in an adjoining square.

Embark with soldiers using Silver Warhammers. Those are the best hammers, and you don't want to use sharp stuff while fighting zombies, unless you're sure there's no reanimating factors on your map.

Silver? Hm, maybe I should upgrade my hammerdwarves weapons to silver from iron.

[Urist McVoyager]

Silver's density, IIRC, makes it the best hammer-metal out there. And you really don't want severed heads and limbs coming back to life and clogging up your FPS.

[Iamblichos]

Cool, thanks!  I didn't think to scan around the area when I embarked, I just saw "calm" and assumed it meant, well, calm    Is there something I should be looking for?  I am nowhere near a purple zone on the map...

Live and learn, I guess.  The zombies always seem to get in.  Either they ignore the traps (which taught me to use more weapon traps), or swim in through the underground fishing zone (which taught me to use grates and floodgates), or, in the latest example, they show up when I have less than 10 dwarves and Urist McLazypants hasn't bothered to finish hooking up the drawbridge to the conveniently located lever.  :/  They are MUCH worse to deal with than the greenies.

[Urist McVoyager]

They're supposed to be worse. When you pick embark sites, use the function keys (F1, F2, etc.) to see the different biomes in your area. Just cause you don't see purple doesn't mean you shouldn't be seeing it. There's also the possibility that there's necro-towers nearby. Apparently their range is twenty tiles, and their towers look like Purple I's.

[smjjames]

Silver's density, IIRC, makes it the best hammer-metal out there. And you really don't want severed heads and limbs coming back to life and clogging up your FPS.

Not to mention the fact that you'd be dealing with MORE zombies if you cut a corpse apart.

[Iamblichos]

More than enough show up the first time.

[Urist Da Vinci]

Crossbows (with any metal bolt), whips, and hammers are the best anti-animated corpse weapons.

I recommend forming some untrained civilian crossbow militia squads. They don't need armor - just a crossbow (any material), quiver, and metal bolts.

Necromancers home in on animate-able body parts, so you can set up cage traps for them. It is essential that the necromancer can get caught in the cage before he/she has line-of-sight to the body parts, or any of your creatures.

[PDF urist master]

can necromancers raise the dead while unconscious? crossbows, whips and hammers are all pretty slow weapons to kill with.

[wooks]

I believe they have to be able to see the intended animatee, so no I don't think they can while unconsious. Also, blinding them, Armok knows how, would probably work.

[Urist Da Vinci]

can necromancers raise the dead while unconscious? crossbows, whips and hammers are all pretty slow weapons to kill with.

Unlike husks and most living creatures, animated corpses can survive having their heads cut off. What DOES collapse them is several hits with a heavy and fast weapon (or a weapon that is really fast or really heavy). It doesn't actually matter where on the animated corpse that you hit.

The weapons are for dealing with the necromancer's constant retinue of bodies. Necromancers run away when your dwarves get close, so I doubt you will kill them in actual combat. Essentially, they are griefers.

[Urist McVoyager]

You won't kill them from up close. Crossbows are probably the best bet against the Necromancer, just . . . bury or memorialize them ASAP. Necromancer GHOSTS can raise the dead, including their own corpses . . .

[KingBacon]

You won't kill them from up close. Crossbows are probably the best bet against the Necromancer, just . . . bury or memorialize them ASAP. Necromancer GHOSTS can raise the dead, including their own corpses . . .

Parts of which can raise more dead....