Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[schlake]

I had a corpse drained of blood.  There were about a dozen witnesses, all children.  A bit suspicious there, but what's the chance that Toady implemented mass false accusation by gangs of children, right?

So I had the vampire beaten, then I drafted him to fight an ettin.  I'm pretty certain he lost both a foot and a hand.  He seems to be better now though.  Which I wasn't expecting.  I was sort of looking forward to have a gimp vampire that had to hobble around.  Is it normal for vampires to heal like that?

I built a slab, and the slab says he is a vampire and killed the dwarf as accused by all those children, so I'm pretty sure I have the right vampire.  But if he was seen doing it, why doesn't he have a kill list when I view him?

But now I'm looking at him, and he is "unfocused after being unable to acquire alcohol" (I'd run out, and the whole fort was drinking water).  Is it normal for a vampire to crave alcohol?  I thought they didn't drink anymore?

His relationships list a master for him.  I've never seen anyone with a master.  Should that have been a red flag before the death?

His thoughts indicate that he was horrified to see the dwarf he killed die.  Is it normal for vampires to be affected by what they do?

Since I've never had a vampire before, I've left him alone after the initial beating.  He seems to spend all his time socializing, and no one else has turned up dead.  But it hasn't been a year yet. How often should I expect him to kill someone?

UPDATE:  He is discussing pulmonary medicine with someone.   I'm not sure if I should find that amusing or if I should prepare a coffin.

[Khalari]

Vampires don't drink any alcohol but their status screen still says they crave it after the appropriate amount of time. That's a red flag if you have alcohol in your fortress (which you should, really)

Vampires also lie about a lot of things in their status (name, kills, etc).

AFAIK only werebeasts regenerate (once a month when they transform).

[sivistojko]

I think that 100% reliable way to tell who the vamp is by checking the kill numbers. If the guy is a vampire then his/her kill number should be very high, like in thousands. I don't know how to see that in the game interface because I always used Dwarf Therapist for such things in which case you just check the military screen. If that particular person doesn't have kill list, is there anyone else who has a large kill list?

By the way, it is actually pretty useful to keep a live vampire because they are immortal in terms of age, don't have needs, and can perform any skill with high efficiency. I still didn't have one yet, but I will try to keep him.

[PatrikLundell]

The kill list of a vampire is faked by DF, which is why the vampire kill doesn't show up. DT used to show the vampire kills (as well as the vampire's true name), but I think that has been corrected.

Vampires don't regenerate like weres, but dorfs to heal things mangled beyond recognition.

As stated, vampires still have alcohol craving (and the attendant alcohol withdrawal slowdown), but don't drink normally. However, the DO drink alcohol served in taverns, which can cure both the tell and the slowdown symptoms.

sivistojko, where have you gotten the info that vampires don't have needs? This is the first I hear about that (but I have heard of no evidence to the contrary). Also, the high skills of vampires are due to their (usually) long life during which they've learned a lot of skills, plus the undead boost of stats.

[sivistojko]

sivistojko, where have you gotten the info that vampires don't have needs? This is the first I hear about that (but I have heard of no evidence to the contrary). Also, the high skills of vampires are due to their (usually) long life during which they've learned a lot of skills, plus the undead boost of stats.

I was merely referring to the most basic of needs such as hunger, thirst and sleep. They can survive on their own in an isolated areas, right?....Riiiight?
I was reading on Reddit about a fortress with a single citizen, a vampire lord, who managed to single-handedly defeat entire army of 144 goblins.

[PatrikLundell]

I see, it's a confusion of terms then, where you referred to the basic needs (which is correct), and I interpreted that as fulfillment of the new needs system desires (which wasn't what you meant).

A single dwarven weapon master can defeat a goblin army as well, but that requires some care, as taking them all on at once will lead to exhaustion and thus death.

Edit:
By the way, the "isolate a vampire to make the fortress undefeatable" trick can be achieved with a goblin or elven citizen in 0.42.X. You just have to supply it with a farm plot, seeds and a still.

[Mostali]

I haven't had a vampire citizen in .42, only one vampire visitor.  I used to get them pretty much every fort in migrant waves within the first couple of years.  They get to be pretty easy to spot once you know the signs.  I would always set them up in their own 3x3 room with a chair and table (not needed, just funny) and carved fortification walls near an entrance to the fort.  They were my eternal naked watch dogs (- yes, their clothes do rot off their bodies and that does make them mad).

[Dozebôm Lolumzalìs]

I haven't had a vampire citizen in .42, only one vampire visitor.  I used to get them pretty much every fort in migrant waves within the first couple of years.  They get to be pretty easy to spot once you know the signs.  I would always set them up in their own 3x3 room with a chair and table (not needed, just funny) and carved fortification walls near an entrance to the fort.  They were my eternal naked watch dogs (- yes, their clothes do rot off their bodies and that does make them mad).

Make it 1x1, and it's perfect. Or use Spearbreakers' (I think) Bird Watcher, where the watcher is set above the 3-wide hallway, unable to be shot and killed and yet 1 tile from all three tiles in a row.

I see, it's a confusion of terms then, where you referred to the basic needs (which is correct), and I interpreted that as fulfillment of the new needs system desires (which wasn't what you meant).

A single dwarven weapon master can defeat a goblin army as well, but that requires some care, as taking them all on at once will lead to exhaustion and thus death.

Edit:
By the way, the "isolate a vampire to make the fortress undefeatable" trick can be achieved with a goblin or elven citizen in 0.42.X. You just have to supply it with a farm plot, seeds and a still.

If it's a goblin, you don't even need the farm. They don't eat or drink.

[PatrikLundell]

I believe I've seen goblin residents eat and/or drink outside of the tavern, although I'm not 100% sure of that.

I build dog boxes above the entrance tunnel entrances, i.e. a 1*1 room with a grate as the floor and a drawbridge for door and station a guard dog there. I've tired of building destroyers getting stuck trying to destroy the door but screwing up their positioning, hence the drawbridge. The dogs die of old age after a number of years, so they have to be replaced from time to time. I assume that's a variation of the Bird Watcher theme.

[schlake]

What about the master relationship?  What does that mean?

[PatrikLundell]

Master is the master part of a Master-Apprentice relationship, so it doesn't mean anything in this context (I guess a necromancer could take on an apprentice...). If you've got enough scholars with sufficient skill some of the more skilled ones may take on others as apprentices. As far as I understand, it doesn't do much in terms of skill gain.

[schlake]

Ok, this vampire is hilarious.  Using the noble screen I assigned him to be the hammerer.  Every time he kills someone I convict him.  AND HE DOES HIS JOB.  After each murder he ends up in the hospital because he beats the holy crap out of himself.  He is still horrified that he kills people, and feels shaken by his self inflicted injuries, and loathing because he beat himself.  This last murder, he beat himself twice!

[DMT]

Ok, this vampire is hilarious.  Using the noble screen I assigned him to be the hammerer.  Every time he kills someone I convict him.  AND HE DOES HIS JOB.  After each murder he ends up in the hospital because he beats the holy crap out of himself.  He is still horrified that he kills people, and feels shaken by his self inflicted injuries, and loathing because he beat himself.  This last murder, he beat himself twice!

I didn't know your citizens could beat themselves up

[schlake]

Apparently they can.  My only installed chain is an artifact chain in the baron's room, which is also right next to the hospital.  So when I convict him I get the notification that VAMPIRE has become a hammerer.  He trundles off to the nobles bedroom, chains himself up, and goes to town on his left arm, torso, and both legs.  Then someone will carry him to the hospital, where he gets better.  This last conviction he went from the hospital back to the barons room, became a hammerer again, and beat himself again.  When I checked on him in the hospital, he was glad his sentence had been reduced.

[Killgoth]

I am very intrigued about him attacking himself too. I was not aware of any option that allowed you to order a dwarf citizen or an adventurer to attack themselves. Is it just a quirk/function of the job? This is an interesting/unique situation. Could you share the save for study?