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[jww]

Hi.  I've read about DF, and I decided to give it a try when I saw it was coming to Steam.  I migrated from Rimworld to DF.  After watching tutorials and doing the PeridexisErrant’s DF Walkthrough, package, I decided to embark on an unguided fortress.  I stumbled through it fairly well at first.  A couple of migrant waves.  Digging down too far and finding the caverns and deciding I didn't want to try that yet so sealing the entrance.  Making the Elves mad apparently be bringing wooden barrels full of trade goods to the trading platform.  I had just formed my first squad but had not done anything else regarding defending my fortress when I got the alert that a wereass -- yes, a wereass -- was coming.  Some monster hunters who had made their way to my fortress attacked the wereass and didn't fare too well.  Even though I figured it was a bad idea, I sent my squad to kill the wereass, mainly to see what would happen, since I really had no idea but didn't want to just sit there.  They got mauled.  But then the wereass changed back into human form.  I don't think I ever killed it. It was a little confusing, and I was just getting used to reading the reports. After that the dwarves seemed in shock and did not to want to work, except the dwarf operating the still, who kept the drinks flowing.  I ordered some defenses built, but nothing happened, and then one of my dwarves turned into a wereass in my fortress.  More mayhem and destruction and miasma.  I really didn't know how to cope with it.  In the end I was left after the last attack with 8 people in my fortress, 6 monster hunters and 2 original dwarves, one of whom continue to selflessly make liquor.  He deserved a medal.  So I ended that game.  I made a mess of it, I know, and I'm not looking for detailed advice.  But I do have a couple of questions.

1.  What is the best initial way to defend against werebeasts?  From looking at the wiki, I assume it is to construct early defenses including a drawbridge to seal the fort if one appears.  And have a safe zone inside the fort and alert all dwarves to go to the safe zone until the trouble passes?  What works best?

2.  If I do that, will the werebeast simply eventually go away?

3.  Any other simple advice about werebeasts?  Can I prevent werebeasts from appearing somehow?

And an unrelated question.

Before this happened I had a dwarf die in my main stockpile room.  I didn't notice it until I saw the miasma.  At that time I tried to get the dwarves to dispose of the body.  I assigned an area outside for corpse disposal.  They would not take the body there.  I built a casket and a room for it.  I even assigned it to the dead dwarf.  Nothing happened.  I think I read my first mistake was not having something prepared in advance, according to the wiki or something I read.  But how do I get dwarves to move dead dwarves? 

Thanks for any help.

I've embarked on a new game following the DF 2014 Quickstart Guide step by step, so I want to know in advance how to deal with these problems.

What a fascinating game.  I'm 65 and have usually played complex military simulations, like Command Modern Air Naval Operations, or sometimes sci fi or fantasy things like Distant Worlds Universe, etc.  I ended up one day trying Rimworld because it just looked like fun, and I do play some "light" games sometimes.  Not that Rimworld is light, but it isn't overly complex with my background.  I saw references in the Steam forums to DF, and then noted it was coming to steam.  So I did some reading, watched some tutorial videos, and dove in.  Again, just an amazing game.  I think I will be playing this for some time. 

[Zeeneri]

1.  What is the best initial way to defend against werebeasts?  From looking at the wiki, I assume it is to construct early defenses including a drawbridge to seal the fort if one appears.  And have a safe zone inside the fort and alert all dwarves to go to the safe zone until the trouble passes?  What works best?

The werebeast attacks only get announced when they are spotted by your dorfs, which is dissimilar from most other attacks on the fortress that get announced as soon as they're on a visible tile, so the seal-bridge method is typically a very messy process. It leads to situations where either your dorfs are out on the surface where they can spot the beast early near the edge of the map and they get sealed out, destined to die, or the werebeast isn't spotted till it's right next to the entrance and there's no time to shut it out.

You can alleviate some of this by either creating a sentry tower with a single military dorf stationed in it in broad view of the map and the entrance of your fortress ( If you're unsure of how to do military stuff, that maybe is another discussion/topic) or by chaining/tying dogs to various points on the map to act as sentries. using the (b)uild>(v)ropes/chains and then assigning with (q)

Hosting your general livestock outside is also a viable, if similarly messy, option. If your livestock are suitably fast then it will have to chase them down one by one, giving you plenty of time. If they all die then there's always the option to trade for more, and if you have a butchery/tanners workshop nearby then this turns into a mechanism of automatic butchery without having to do it manually.

The reason this works ties into your second question:

2.  If I do that, will the werebeast simply eventually go away?

Yes. Werebeasts are only active for a few days of the month. In-game days aren't terribly long, though definitely long enough to allow an unchecked werebeast to wreck havoc. If you manage to successfully seal them off from your fortress, or distract them long enough, they will revert to their pre-were creature, usually naked, and they will flee the map.

3.  Any other simple advice about werebeasts?  Can I prevent werebeasts from appearing somehow?

Engaging with Werebeasts with military typically results in more werebeasts. Dealing with residents that are werebeasts is usually a very tedious, manual and delicate process to prevent further contamination/fun. The werebeast curse is only spread through bites, so carefully check the (r)eport logs of the beast's activities to see if it had bitten anyone during its uninvited stay. Traps are typically your best bet. I believe werebeasts are succeptable to cage traps, so if you line the inner-entrance of your fort with cage traps it will more than likely be able to catch them and keep them isolated. You can then put them on display, or seal them off, or do whatever you want.

I believe werebeasts are a form of savagery, as such low savagery usually means fewer werecreatures. I don't know if theres more complicated means of removing were creatures. There's probably something in the RAW/WORLDGEN files you can modify to stop them, but not other forms of attack.

[PatrikLundell]

As Zeeneri said, werebeast enter the map stealthed, and you're not alerted to it until it's detected by your citizens (including livestock), so they can kill visitors without you noticing.
Early defenses consist of a simple door that you order locked. While weres are building destroyers and will destroy the door in time, it probably doesn't have time to destroy a second one (or even the first one) before turning back to their base form and fleeing. Also note that weres in their were form are also trap avoiders (contrary to what was assumed in the previous post), so they can't be targeted by traps (but they can be when fleeing in their original form).
Note that locking a door (or pulling a lever to raise a drawbridge, which can't be destroyed) frequently means you'll have to make a judgement call as to when to do it, as there's a significant risk you'll have to lock some dorfs out.

I typically have several entrance tunnels with a "dog box" above each close to the remote end to detect stealthed invaders and have drawbridges in both ends of those tunnels (plus doors in the ones that aren't intended for caravan access, as that one is too broad for doors). Cage traps in the corridors capture the were when leaving, a door keeps the were occupied while the levers are pulled, and the outer drawbridge lowered when the were has turned back to ensure it tries to leave.

Welcome to DF, a community that's not quite sane, but not quite insane...

The were curse is spread by bites that draw blood. Other injuries and bites that don't draw blood do not spread the curse. Isolation (each bricked into a separate room, unless you want the turned ones to slaughter the ones who aren't) over the next full moon will allow you to screen them for the curse.

The were forms are curses bestowed on defilers by gods, and those cursed then spread the curse further without any divine intervention. Savagery is completely unrelated to weres, and I can't recall off the top of my head if there's any where blocking parameter in advanced world gen.

Your best source for just about anything about DF is found at the wiki http://dwarffortresswiki.org/. The search function there usually works.

[Ulfarr]

I cast my vote to the double doors and chained animals method. It's more than enough to detect a werebeast and stall it long enough for it to change back to its non beast form.

Now to add my two cents in the discussion:

Werebeast visits have a trigger at a fort population of 20. Setting the cap below that will prevent them from coming and you can then raise the pop cap when you feel ready to face them (changing the cap doesn't require to start a new fort/world).

Alternatively you can (supposedly, I haven't check it myself) disable werebeasts from being created in the first place by setting the "number of werebeast curses to 0" in the advanced world generator when you create new worlds. (requires a new world to take effect).

A couple of well trained soldiers (with sharp weapons, helmets, leather armor and shields)* are usually good enough against most werebeast. Have them train outside to prevent any cave adaptation.

*This is what I consider the bare minimum of equipment, it servisable against wild life but there is a lot of room for improvement. More importantly blunt weapons usually need too many hits before disabling a target which increases the chances to get bitten.

Welcome to DF

[anewaname]

For the corpse hauling issue; if the dwarf was a citizen of your civilization, usually you only need to build the casket in a tile, then 'q' the built casket to set it for 'b'urial. This can be done after the dwarf is dead.

If the corpse was forbidden or in an inaccessible tile (occasionally a body or body part will be flung into a solid tile of a workshop), it will not be moved.

There are two types of stockpiles that hold corpses... Corpse stockpiles and Refuse stockpiles with the Corpse sub-type activated. The first holds corpses of sentients, and the second holds corpses of non-sentients (bodies for the butcher's shop).

[Worblehat]

My strategy for were-beast early warning is to put statues out on the surface a fair distance from the entrance in each cardinal direction. As a building destroyer, it should go for those first, alerting me to its presence in time to raise the drawbridge. "Should" is probably the key word in that sentence...  (Haven't yet implemented this plan because my site is insanely rainy and I'm a bit obsessive about trying to minimize bad thoughts).

Dealing with were-beasts: the one I encountered was easily hacked to pieces by four axe lords. I'd think that would work with substantially less skilled soldiers too, as long as they're in full iron or steel armor. Not sure how a bite would break the skin through that. Shields would be nice but I don't have my guys train with shields and there was no time to grab them thanks to the stealthy approach.

General defensive advice - what you said in item 1. Always get your fort set up so you can pull up a drawbridge and turtle if you need to, with a civilian alert burrow defined to get civilians inside ASAP. There shouldn't be many (if any) in unsecured parts of the surface anyway.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your next fort!

[jww]

Thanks for all the answers and information.  I have started a new fort as I noted above using the DF2014 Quickstart Guide.  First one using the PeridexisErrant’s DF Walkthrough, which I stopped after I finished the walkthrough because it uses a slightly older version of DF with a stripped down Lazy Newb Pack, but that still taught me a lot.  Second one which ended with  my bungling of werebeast defense.  And now a third one with the Quickstart.   

[Blue_Dwarf]

Making the Elves mad apparently be bringing wooden barrels full of trade goods to the trading platform.

Not bad for a first playthrough.

[Iduno]

I believe werebeasts are a form of savagery, as such low savagery usually means fewer werecreatures. I don't know if theres more complicated means of removing were creatures. There's probably something in the RAW/WORLDGEN files you can modify to stop them, but not other forms of attack.

In fact, there's a number of types of werebeasts in the advanced worldgen options. If there are zero types, you get zero werebeasts. They're a bit strong for how early in the game they show up (and do almost nothing as soon as you have armor).

They are, however, a good way to learn that those warnings at the top of the screen mean it. Also, I guess, a lesson that most threats are neutralized by appropriate armor.

[absimiliard]

I feel like most troubles in DF yield best to planning, even if there in the moment solutions.  So I'd go with:

....  Also, I guess, a lesson that most threats are neutralized by appropriate armor PLANNING.

[jww]

Thanks to the advice, I survived the first werebeast attack in my latest game, the one using the DF2014 Quickstart Guide.  Had a drawbridge built at the entrance, and it worked.  Unfortunately one citizen was outside, a long way from the drawbridge, and was killed.  I had not yet made a burrow yet, but he was a long way from the entrance and was attacked almost immediately anyway.  Glad I had the drawbridge because, following the guide sequence, I have no military yet, just entrance defenses.  I built a coffin, made a room for it, lowered the drawbridge when things were safe, and dwarves brought the deceased dwarf's body parts to the coffin.  So I think I have that covered, too.  And reading through the narrative, I think everything else is okay. 

[Fleeting Frames]

Your citizen was the bait that made your bridge work. A bridge takes 100 ticks (=10 squares of walking at normal speed) to raise after lever pull, plus time to detect new job which can be ~six squares of walking and time to walk to the lever besides.

Versus the vision limit of 25 standard tiles doesn't apply as werebeasts have ambusher skill allowing them to appear much closer before being detected due sneaking/being in underbrush/next to obstacle/etc. , and they run at your citizens/livestock.


With default settings, safely harvesting things from near the map edge is not really possible without your harvester being well-armed and/or -trained or isolating that place from outside; neither of which may be desirable or possible in first autumn in your current fort.


Regarding the earlier worldgen notes; you can limit the number of werebeasts without preventing them entirely by having vampire types outnumber werebeast types; the curse is randomly picked in both. (Personally, I've done other way around as while vampires are much less dangerous than bad case of werebeasts in fort mode they're much more harmful to civs in worldgen.)

[Loomy]

What is a wereass lol? I can't think of any combinations other than were creature and ass?

[Iduno]

Donkey.

How have you made it this far in life without learning the names of things with slightly naughty names?

[Blue_Dwarf]

What is a wereass lol? I can't think of any combinations other than were creature and ass?

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