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[ptb_ptb]

So, I read somewhere that it is possible to get rid of dwarves from your fortress without actually killing them. In this thread I will record my attempts at doing so. Suggestions welcomed.

Possible method #1: Flush them out.
This sounds the simplest. I shall drop a dwarf into a river right where it exits the fortress map. Hopefully he will wash away before he drowns. Slight complication - it's a brook, not a river, so he will have to flow TWO tiles to get out, not just one (as I need to channel away some brook surface tiles).

The stage is set for test 1.
An unsuspected dorf will be lured to the dummy lever.


On his way back, I will assign him to a burrow on the floor nearest the edge. Below a watery fate awaits him.


I don't actually expect the first test to work, but we shall see.

Result: The test dorf completely ignores the burrow and goes home to sleep instead. :/

Second trial, and the dorf is successfully 'captured' by the burrow.


Result: Splashdown! Then the dwarf resolutely struggles out of the brook without being stunned or washed away. I'm not even sure that people can be washed under the brook surface tiles. So that plan was ... 'a wash'.

[ptb_ptb]

Possible method #2: First cage your dwarf. For this test I will drop the test dorf on top of a cage trap. If he is stunned on landing, he should be captured in a cage. Once captured other methods can be tried to remove him from the fortress.

Again, the trap is baited with a dummy lever.


Below the cage trap awaits.


Trial one. Test dorf would rather drink that pull a lever that does nothing. Insubordination! I manage to trap him with a burrow.

[Urist McVoyager]

Dump the cage into the brook and see if water will still do the job. He resolutely climbed out, might just be because he wasn't stunned.

[ptb_ptb]

Trial one results continued: I dropped the dwarf onto the cage trap.
Result: The impact of the dwarf, and cave-in, was enough to destroy the cage trap. So, no caged dwarf. I tried to build a cage trap under him while he was in shock (flashing white cross), but it didn't trigger. I think he recovered before the cage was loaded onto the trap, though, so that might explain it.

Trial two: While the dorf is frozen by the burrow bug I build another cage trap to the East of him, and plan to induce a cave in to the west of him. Hopefully the dust will blow him back into the other cage trap, stunning him.

Trial two results: The dorf was blown north by the cave in, not east.

[Thisfox]

With the cage thing, webs might help. With the river passage, I once had an entire goblin siege army attack across a river, fall in, and get washed, stunned, downstream a few tiles (three?) to the edge of the map. They then remained one z below water level for a few months, before suddenly all dying and turning into a large pile of bones and goblinite, up against the edge of the map. If dorfs could be washed off-map, surely goblins could too?

[Urist McVoyager]

That definitely sounds right, about goblins. We might just have to wait for Hill settlements to become active parts of your fortress before we can export our people.

[ptb_ptb]

If dorfs could be washed off-map, surely goblins could too?

It may be that they can only be washed off when in cages. I'm pretty sure I read it somewhere ... lemme google / forum search.

[EDIT] Yeah, you're right that units can't (normally) wash off the map. I think he has to be in a cage.

Trial three.
More cage traps and walls are added, to make it less likely that the dwarf will miss the target when the cave in hits. Lever marks the spot.


Result: Double success! The target dwarf, and the dwarf that caused the cave in, both got caught in cages.

[ptb_ptb]

Possible method #2b: Wash 'em down river
In preparation.

Result: The caged dwarves were successfully smashed into the water and against the edge of the screen. However, nothing seems to be getting washed off. Possibly the wiki needs to be updated.

[Pyrite]

I wonder how legends mode reflects a dwarf's history after you sell them to the caravan.

[tonnot98]

I wonder how legends mode reflects a dwarf's history after you sell them to the caravan.

It wouldn't be dwarven science if the experiment didn't make 10 more questions to be answered.

[ptb_ptb]

Possible method #2a: Sell dem dorfs!
Result: Disappointing. As soon as the cages reach the trade depot, the dwarves inside casually walked out. The remaining methods all require you to temporarily retire your fortress. I'm not going to do that until DF 0.40.24 is out. Because crash.

Unless you guys can think of one I haven't tried?

[Authority2]

Hmm. Can a custom reaction that takes cages be made? Can occupied cages be used in reactions?

[ShinQuickMan]

It's a huge leap, but did you try to sell the Dwarf, or just the cage?

[Authority2]

If they're released as soon as they make it to the depot, it's probably not going to be possible to sell them.

[Iamblichos]

That definitely sounds right, about goblins. We might just have to wait for Hill settlements to become active parts of your fortress before we can export our people.

"What the...?  ANOTHER fishing specialist?  How does the fort end up with so many fisherdwarves, that they can spare these?"