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[Ebonblade7]

I have never embarked on an evil biome and lived long enough for an undead siege. Now my current fortress is being sieged by what appear to be undead goblins. I'm not entirely sure I did embark on an evil biome. Anyway, should my mostly competent and decently-equipped militia of ~30 "hide while they still can" and pray to Armok for deliverance?

EDIT: Also, the fort is without static defenses. I have yet to lay even a single cage trap.

EDIT: Thanks for telling me about the evil biome stuff. So I am not in an evil biome, but I am near a necromancer tower.

[Witty]

If it's an evil biome, you're really not being sieged per say. The corpses of the dead just happen to 'rise' naturally there.

An undead siege would be led by a necromancer, which can be tricky to deal with. Since the current undead damage system is pretty iffy, you're going to want to focus your efforts on the necromancers themselves, and then deal with their army afterwords. Otherwise the necros will just keep reanimating the fallen corpses.

[zumzz]

1)Is the necromancer present?
- No! Your dwarves stand a chance.
- Yes! Start your blood prayers and tread carefully.
- Yes, there are multiple necromancers! Drain the booze supplies and huddle together. Pray for Armok's deliverance!!

I never embarked in an evil biome, but I did embark relatively close to a necromancer's tower. Got completely surrounded by an army of living dead elves, goblins, and dwarves. Uthal Stramevhol, the Human Siege Operator Necromancer (along with two apprentices) was there and she raised much of my fisherdwarve's waste (damned mussel shells). Needless to say, I was not prepared.

Eager to not give up, I reclaimed this fortress, but was ambushed by the necromancer, who promptly raised all of the recently dead things.

Slightly defeated, I reembarked a few tiles away. This time, my military was much stronger. I atom smashed all of my refuse. Sure enough, the evil lady showed up again with her hordes of zombies. I was ready. But my damned dwarves never got around to pulling the right lever. My second fortress fell.

So. How do you handle a zombie siege?
- Smash your waste (anything that can be reanimated)
- Blunt weapons
- Target the Necromancer (or else...)
- PULL THE DAMN LEVER

I have embarked to make my third fortress, slightly farther away from the necro tower this time. But, on my honor and on the graves of the 187 fallen dwarves, we shall prepare and strike down Uthal Stramevhol! For the Glory of Armok.

[Ebonblade7]

I have yet to see the necromancer, so all hope may not be lost. I built a few emergency fortifications to protect civilians. As far as blunt weapons go, I have ~6-7 hammerdwarves mixed in with other squads. In addition, only one squad appears to be well equipped, the others just with iron mail shirts, (masterwork) bone greaves (yay strange moods), and iron weapons of assorted quality. Butcher shop will probably result in many dead dwarves. And as such, there is unfortunately no "damn lever"

EDIT: Oh Armok, my fortress is full of rat remains because of a stray kitten. Will those reanimate?

[Aristion]

Refuse does not reanimate. Shells, hair, skin(i belive), corpses and body parts do however.

[Ebonblade7]

Hmm...after long, bloody combat, many of my military of 30 have been struck down. Some of the corpses have names, but I'm not sure if that is because my dwarves are being resurrected by a necromancer, or if the zombies are simply being given names because of all the dwarves they've killed.

in addition, many civilian lives have been lost, but the manufacturers of my military equipment (legendary armor/weaponsmith, bone carver, and leatherworker) still live.

EDIT: Offer the blood of elves to Armok and pray for the future of Mabdugteshkad Mostod, for the yak bull hair has arisen. This signifies the presence of a necromancer, no?

[Arcvasti]

Lock some farmers and a miner in a room. Have them dig a new fort. Last resort. Otherwise, minecart grinders are your friends. And the undeads enemies.

[TruePikachu]

Something important, do NOT use coffins in the fort. Use slabs instead. Not only does it make it slightly easier to handle dwarves who fell to the undead (this needs to be done manually, BTW), but it will also prevent all your coffins from being used up on all the unnamed dwarf corpses.

[Skuggen]

Bah. Your dwarves at least deserve a proper burial! I give them all a coffin AND a slab. Also make slabs for notable enemies.
Foreign dwarves just get a slab.

[klefenz]

Just fire up the atom smasher

[Ravendarksky]

Bah. Your dwarves at least deserve a proper burial! I give them all a coffin AND a slab. Also make slabs for notable enemies.
Foreign dwarves just get a slab.

This is sound logic for the first 200 or so deaths.... But you end up doing naught but making and placing slabs and coffins... At least in the hellhole I'm currently playing (Over 700 dead)

[TruePikachu]

Bah. Your dwarves at least deserve a proper burial! I give them all a coffin AND a slab. Also make slabs for notable enemies.
Foreign dwarves just get a slab.

The issue is that when the zombies come, a good number will be dwarf corpses. IIRC, every corpse part would get its own coffin. Compare 200 or so undead verses a normal fort population. It isn't worth it to devote the majority of your graveyard to previously-undead corpses which had no purpose but to attack you (IIRC they are generated not from historical figures, but are generated like the first migrant waves).

If you want a "proper" burial in that kind of area, just go with magma cremation.

[Loud Whispers]

hide while they still can

Also you've embarked near a necromancer tower. This means that it is not the evil biome that sieges you, but it is an ambitious figure who has learned the secrets of life and death.
Does your evil biome reanimate the dead automatically? If not, then you only have to deal with the necromancer.

Blunt weapons, spears and above all else - crossbows are the best weapons to deal with them. Crossbows doubly so, because it allows you to fight the hordes without getting near the hordes and you can take on the necromancers from afar via bolt.
Don't fight the horde with just 20, they'll all die.
Use plenty of traps, cage traps are best but stone traps are also good. Burn all the refuse you have, or failing that, dig a pit and place a hatch over it. Dump everything down there.

[Cattani]

I thought risen dwarves kept their racial traits, like TRAPAVOID, much like a badly-trained animal keeps its trapavoid if it goes wild again(wiki info). Was I wrong all along?

[Ebonblade7]

An update on the siege: 2/3 of the original 63 zombies have been slain. The military have taken 6 casualties. All of the zombie horde appear to be elven or goblin corpses. No dwarves have been seen. I still need to find that necromancer though.