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[Zombie]

So, I've been wondering for a while... What would be the best way to capture and utilize cave spiders to produce silk?

Do they trigger cage traps? If so, can I restrain one with some chains and use another restrained animal (like one of the millions of kittens I have running around) to get it to shoot web all over?

Damn things keep trying to kill the dwarves that go off to collect webs.

[Christes]

I assume you mean giant cave spiders?

I believe they don't trigger traps, but I could be wrong.  You can still trap them in a room with a lever.

I have heard that they won't shoot web at something they can't walk to.

[soup_alex]

I have heard that they won't shoot web at something they can't walk to.

...like how marksdwarves can't train at an archery range if there's a channel in front? Interesting...

[eerr]

if it hasn't killed any dwarves yet you can probably tame it with a dungeon master

[Zombie]

I mean any kind of cave spider. Normal ones shoot webbing too, you know. GCS are a bit too... killacious for my 20-dwarf generational right now. XD

I just wanted to know if I could trap a cave spider to use for my nefarious plots. I suppose tossing kittens into its restraints would work, but I'm not too sure how to pull that off without my collection dwarf getting webbed too.

[Qmarx]

Normal cave spiders?  They're vermin, so they pretty much can't be tamed (IIRC, pet ones don't spin webs, although I'm not entirely certain).  Get rid of all your cats, mine out some nice areas for them to spin their webs, and let your weavers go wild.

[Zombie]

>.> I doubt my cats can kill these cave spiders. They've already killed a few cats to begin with...

I do have a GCS on the map, though. Could I catch it and name it Silky and have it spew webbing at the walls on command?

[Duke 2.0]

>.> I doubt my cats can kill these cave spiders. They've already killed a few cats to begin with...

I do have a GCS on the map, though. Could I catch it and name it Silky and have it spew webbing at the walls on command?

Naw, webbing on-

 Wait a second...

 Say you have a captured tamed GCS, and you put it in an arena with come captured gobbos...

[Teldin]

Tamed or pet giant spiders -do- spit webs at anyone they are attacking. I modded it so I could get a lesser variety of giant spiders as war spiders for my dwarves and gave them GCS webbing, and when kobolds/etc wandered in they immediately spat webs and hacked the thing to pieces when it was caught.

The downside: the webs don't distinguish between your dwarves and the enemy, so expect them to get caught in it from time to time as they're collecting.

[pavlov]

I had a chamber split in half by a drawbridge (aka controllable wall) that was home to my captured GCS.

1) Drop puppy into chamber
2) Check back later, wait for miasma to clear if there is any
3) Raise bridge
4) Unlock door on side without GCS
5) Weavers profit!

[Hyndis]

The best way to farm silk from regular spiders is to dig out a decent area around any chasms or underground rivers/lakes, so that the spiders will go onto the rock and then spin their webs. Just build a bunch of looms and your weavers will automatically harvest the webs and make cloth. Its an absurdly easy way to get massive amounts of silk cloth and highly skilled weavers, which you can then turn into socks to take care of all of those dorfs with sock fetishes, or make silk crafts for export. It helps to clear out any hostile critters in the area first. First send in your military to sanitize the place, then mine out a good area for the spiders and set up the looms, then profit.

For chasms you can also build these web platforms on every level with some stairs for your weavers to access all of that silk.

Often times I need 4 looms running continually just to keep pace.

[Mohreb el Yasim]

will it fire througth fortifications? will it be less accurate(so more shots) with more fortifications?

[WCG]

will it fire througth fortifications? will it be less accurate(so more shots) with more fortifications?

It might be less accurate if forced to shoot at something else behind a fortification. (Although, the comment has been made that they won't shoot at something they can't walk to.) I don't think that shooting out of a fortification lowers accuracy.

PS. I'm a newbie and haven't seen any cave spiders at all. Is this something which requires a chasm or underground river, then? I still haven't found anything like that.

Bill

[Granite26]

I think that the pathing issue can be solved by a chain and a door at the other end of the room...  (too far for the chain)

If not, there's always the pressure plate locks the door two-way plan.  (GCS goes one way, plate closes the door he's heading towards and opens one at the other side of the room, for a good way to keep an idiot busy turn over)

[dragonflare]

I'm not sure if it has changed, as I tried this a while ago, but I found that all you need is a room with an open door - pet forbidden. Although I'm not sure if it was the spider or the prey that was tame.

This way, a 1 square room with a fortification/pit/(some other kind of opening) and a door is all you need.