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[A_Curious_Cat]

Hi, again…

I’ve recently had a cyclops show up.  I’ve got a civilian alert setup and everyone is inside, but I’m currently keeping the gate open for the Elf merchants that have embarked on their journey.  The problem, of course, is that said merchants are currently still in the depot.  Should I continue waiting for the merchants to leave, or should I close the gate now?  The cyclops is currently busy with my above ground animals, but it’s not too for from there to the entrance.

[DwarfStar]

You have a choice now, between protecting the merchants or using them as human shields. If they get killed that could anger their civilization and lead potentially to war, but probably not if this is the first such incident. If you use them as human shields, though, they could weaken or even kill the cyclops. If they perish, you can take back all the stuff you traded them plus all the other stuff they have. So if there’s something dearly valuable in there, that could be a major plus.

Another huge factor is how good your defense setup is relative to the strength of the caravan. If the caravan fighters are your only hope of defeating the cyclops, you may as well give them their sortie. Also consider what your plan is after closing the door…leaving it locked for too long, trapping the caravan, that will also have negative consequences. Or, after leaving it open…if the cyclops get past this gate, is there anything else to stop them from rampaging through your whole fort?

[Uthimienure]

A cyclops isn't generally that tough of an enemy, I recommend sallying forth to kill it. Help those poor elves out and maybe they'll be grateful... well, probably not.  But don't be afraid of the big one-eyed giant, swarm it with dorfs!

[A_Curious_Cat]

A cyclops isn't generally that tough of an enemy, I recommend sallying forth to kill it. Help those poor elves out and maybe they'll be grateful... well, probably not.  But don't be afraid of the big one-eyed giant, swarm it with dorfs!

I saw it kill a yak with only a little trouble,  how would some unarmed unarmored dwarves fare against it?

[Uthimienure]

A cyclops isn't generally that tough of an enemy, I recommend sallying forth to kill it. Help those poor elves out and maybe they'll be grateful... well, probably not.  But don't be afraid of the big one-eyed giant, swarm it with dorfs!

I saw it kill a yak with only a little trouble,  how would some unarmed unarmored dwarves fare against it?

There's one way to find out for sure! 
(You can save backups, and let us know what happens without risk by hitting "b" to see the backups to choose from during the loading process. Is this a DFHack function or vanilla? Not sure.)

[PatrikLundell]

If the caravan gets into conflict with the invader it will be spooked. However, elves don't use wagons, so there won't be any wagon scuttling and I don't think I've seen animals drop their burdens except as a result of getting killed.

I would open the drawbridge at the exit tunnel at the opposite side of the map to get the caravan to move to a hopefully safe exit. As the cyclops moves towards that exit I'd open a side exit to try to lure the invader into the cage traps at that exit instead.
However, I guess you're not using multiple exits and cage traps...

Another alternative is to open the path to the caverns and have the caravan leave that way. Since elves don't use wagons they can get the whole caravan out that way.

[Thisfox]

The elves might get upset if locked in for too long. The elves might get upset if they are killed by the cyclops. You've got risk either way.

Personally, if you know you're in a migrant-rich world, I'd open your fort to let your miners with their nice heavy picks attack the cyclops, and let the elves offer combat support. You've got little to loose. You could savescum if you want, but I've had a cyclops taken out by a suitably upset turkey once, I find they're not as dangerous as some of the attackers, and it will give your dorfs some combat experience, so go for it.

[A_Curious_Cat]

Well, I just lost the fortress.  I tried to engineer a holding pen for the cyclops (who, btw, is apparently no pushover, having been bitten by and then killed several rattlesnakes along with several water buffaloes and a human axeman).  However, two of my mechanics decided to take turns getting a drink while the other hauled a stone from the furthest possible place on the map to the mechanic’s shop and made a mechanism out of it, until the elves and their animals went berserk and killed everyone.

On the other hand, I had three years to get this all set up…