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[Griffin]

So a minotaur wandered into a cage trap of mine today and I usually just let my military practice on these things or make a zoo out of it, but I wanna have a monster in my basement so I'm going to build a labyrinth. However, I am unsure of how to do this exactly.

I don't think I'll have a problem getting elves goblins into the labyrinth, but how can I seal the maze off so the minotaur doesn't come for my dorfs and how can I get my last dwarf out of the maze after its been dug? Any help would be great, thanks!

[BlackFlyme]

Easiest thing to do would be to build the labyrinth before moving the minotaur anywhere. Once it's done and sealed, then you can pit the minotaur. Or build the minotaur's cage in the labyrinth, hook it to a lever, finish the labyrinth, and pull the lever once the labyrinth is sealed.

Easiest way to seal the labyrinth would probably be to just construct a floor over the stairway out.

Be sure that the pit you are using to drop creatures in has no walls nearby for anything to try and climb up, and put a hatch over the pit for increased security and so that dwarves that wander by won't see things below and get spooked.

[Griffin]

Wouldn't the minotaur just destroy the floor?

[BlackFlyme]

Building destroyers can only destroy buildings, and not constructions.

Constructions include walls, floors, stairs, and fortifications.

[Griffin]

ah okay, I misread the wiki on that one. Thanks for the help.

[wlmartin]

So a minotaur wandered into a cage trap of mine today and I usually just let my military practice on these things or make a zoo out of it, but I wanna have a monster in my basement so I'm going to build a labyrinth. However, I am unsure of how to do this exactly.

I don't think I'll have a problem getting elves goblins into the labyrinth, but how can I seal the maze off so the minotaur doesn't come for my dorfs and how can I get my last dwarf out of the maze after its been dug? Any help would be great, thanks!

If it is sealed, how do you plan on getting things in?

[Griffin]

Well about that... I thought I had a firm grasp on pit traps enough to drop things in from a few z levels above but I am actually really struggling to get it to work properly. Originally was going to use a retractable bridge with a pressure plate to drop them but I'm not sure that will work so well. So any advice on how to do that would be great

[wlmartin]

Pitting is probably the best way
There are other ways (like putting them in a room and triggering the door to open remotely perhaps)

If you have to pit your minotaur anyway, why not follow the same route for the food? other mobs

[celem]

Building destroyer:

They cannot ever destroy something on the z above or below them, so locked hatches over ramps is a fine access, he cannot break the hatch from the ramp and minotaurs cant pick locks.

edit: be aware that thieves you dump in will pick their way out these hatches. and any building destroyer entering your fort might break hatches and release the beast too.

Pits...ugh I hate pits.  I'd make one section of your maze, or a chamber attached to it sealable from the rest (and your fort) by raised bridge into a kind of airlock.  Build prisoner cages in there and lever link them.  Then seal the inner door, open the outer to expose them to the maze and pull the lever.

Bonus points if you can come up with some way for them to have an eventual path to leave the map through the maze yet the beast cannot escape, because on being released from cages they will definately make for an available map-edge, forcing them to run the maze.

One way to keep him contained might be to have the labyrinth open to the outside, for victim pathing, yet a pressure-plate to seal that exit if the beast heads that way, he's gotta be heavier than whats being pitted right? Otherwise i'm sure he'll find them eventually.

[locustgate]

Building destroyer:

They cannot ever destroy something on the z above or below them, so locked hatches over ramps is a fine access, he cannot break the hatch from the ramp and minotaurs cant pick locks.

I thought that was "fixed".

[greycat]

Pitting is probably the best way
There are other ways (like putting them in a room and triggering the door to open remotely perhaps)

There have been issues with pitting monsters in 0.40.  Severe issues.  These are supposedly "fixed", but I saw a post-"fix" report that someone still had an issue....

Given that the minotaur is already in a cage, I'd suggest building the cage in the labyrinth, linking it to a lever, sealing the labyrinth, and pulling the lever.

[Griffin]

Alright I got it working!! I sealed the minotaur in her labyrinth using a raised drawbridge, which looking back i could've designed an airlock with those I suppose to feed her, but I like my way more. Here's what I built:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

###########
#    #b b b b b
#C  p b b b b b  d @
#    #b b b b b
###########
C = cage of whatever is going in
p = pressure plate which retracts the (b)ridge
d = small puppy used for bait

P.S. Is there a way to equip a minotaur with weapons? Will it pick it up weapons lying around?

[BlackFlyme]

It will not pick up weapons on its own. At least, it wouldn't in the last version. I don't think that changed, but I can't say for certain.

Minotaurs sometimes start with a weapon, but it is no guarantee. I'm guessing yours arrived bare-handed?

You could try your luck by letting invaders attack it with weapons and hope that the minotaur will grapple it and take the weapon, but that is very risky.

[Griffin]

Yeah it came with nothing  but its still been pretty cool. Haven't had much to try it on, just a giant rat. But the minotaur stalked the thing around the maze before cornering and then gored it to death. Was great fun to watch!

[Deboche]

After the pitting bug is fixed, it'd be much easier to just have a hole in the ground one z-level above(with no adjacent walls in the floor below, like BlackFlyme said) and drop enemies in through that. You can just have the cages stockpiled around the hole so the enemies don't walk around your fortress and build a hatch on top of it.

It's also a great way to quickly dispose of excess livestock