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[Nilik]

No, not Dragons. Not Demons, Giant Cave Spiders or Goblins either. I refer of course to that most despicable and deceptive foe... the trees.

I've just started in what looked like a near-perfect map. No magma (decided to do without for a change), but bountiful flux, iron ore, wildlife and wood. Too much wood in fact. For the first two years the caravans couldn't get through to my fort in fact, so i've had to hastily put up some dirt roads while my masons work furiously on a more long-term solution. This isn't my main problem though. The real problem with this forest is that it's inhabited by wolves. Quite a lot of them in fact. I've lost two hunters and one Sheriff (who was wearing full plate at the time) to the buggers and i've finally realised why it keeps happening; i'm relying on marksdwarves to do all the hunting, and they often can't get a decent shot off at their targets because of, you've guessed it, the trees! So now i'm wondering just how I should proceed. I can think of a few solutions:

1. Arm my hunters with axes instead of crossbows (with approprite training beforehand of course)
2. Cross-train my hunters as hammerdwarves so that they can hold their own in melee if necessary
3. Forget hunting, declare war on the forest!

I'm personally leaning towards option three

Option three involves regular patrols of the forest itself with a squad of melee-armed dwarves (of which I currently have none). While this will keep the wolves away to some extent, the logistics of doing this are tricky given my limited number of dwarves, and the fact that the immigrants are now too scared to make the journey here! I will also be trying to clear as much of the forest as possible, but if I understand the mechanics of forest growth in DF correctly this is going to be up uphill and ultimitely futile effort.

Just wondered if anyone else has engaged in pitched battle with a forest and won, and if they can share any tips with me

[Mulch Diggums]

Option 4: Build a archer towers around the area you want to defend and station three archers in there at a time with a food supply, lock the archers in there using raising bridges for keeping the wolves from tearing off your archers legs. I suggest you make it at least three levels high, by the way, with ample bolt supplys inside, suggest you make it three times the size you expect you will need, incase somthing bad happens.

[Rilder]

The thousand branches of the pine forest descend upon you!  Our needles will blot out the sun!

[Boksi]

Option 5: All of the above.

Overkill is the most dwarven way of doing it. Also, with the towers, make them inaccessible from the outside and connect them via tunnels to the fortress proper instead.

[Mulch Diggums]

Option 6: All of the above, then coat it all in magma and water, while the dwarves are in their posts. THERE IS NOTHING MORE DWARVEN

[Nilik]

Option 4: Build a archer towers around the area you want to defend and station three archers in there at a time with a food supply, lock the archers in there using raising bridges for keeping the wolves from tearing off your archers legs. I suggest you make it at least three levels high, by the way, with ample bolt supplys inside, suggest you make it three times the size you expect you will need, incase somthing bad happens.

The problem is, the area I want to protect is the entire map. My entrance is already secured in this way, the problem is that I can't control where my hunters go to hunt. They will inevitably chase a fox into a pack of wolves and suffer the same fate as my first two hunters.

Incidentally, my first attempt at taming the forest involved promoting my best hunter to sherrif, and giving him full iron plate (steel industry still in its infancy). It did not go well. I'm wondering whether he was just incompetant, or got unlucky, or if the plate armor weighed him down too much to hunt effectively. I'm betting all three.

[WJLIII3]

Option 7: Forest fire instigation system (won't get rid of the trees, but it'll handle the wolves real nice)

[Nilik]

Option 7: Forest fire instigation system (won't get rid of the trees, but it'll handle the wolves real nice)

I like the cut of your jib! I'm going to call this plan B though

If I were to do such a thing, I would need a source of ignition; lacking any magma. Ideas?

[Rhenaya]

No, not Dragons. Not Demons, Giant Cave Spiders or Goblins either. I refer of course to that most despicable and deceptive foe... the trees.

I've just started in what looked like a near-perfect map. No magma (decided to do without for a change), but bountiful flux, iron ore, wildlife and wood. Too much wood in fact. For the first two years the caravans couldn't get through to my fort in fact, so i've had to hastily put up some dirt roads while my masons work furiously on a more long-term solution. This isn't my main problem though. The real problem with this forest is that it's inhabited by wolves. Quite a lot of them in fact. I've lost two hunters and one Sheriff (who was wearing full plate at the time) to the buggers and i've finally realised why it keeps happening; i'm relying on marksdwarves to do all the hunting, and they often can't get a decent shot off at their targets because of, you've guessed it, the trees! So now i'm wondering just how I should proceed. I can think of a few solutions:

1. Arm my hunters with axes instead of crossbows (with approprite training beforehand of course)
2. Cross-train my hunters as hammerdwarves so that they can hold their own in melee if necessary
3. Forget hunting, declare war on the forest!

I'm personally leaning towards option three

Option three involves regular patrols of the forest itself with a squad of melee-armed dwarves (of which I currently have none). While this will keep the wolves away to some extent, the logistics of doing this are tricky given my limited number of dwarves, and the fact that the immigrants are now too scared to make the journey here! I will also be trying to clear as much of the forest as possible, but if I understand the mechanics of forest growth in DF correctly this is going to be up uphill and ultimitely futile effort.

Just wondered if anyone else has engaged in pitched battle with a forest and won, and if they can share any tips with me

Option 1 and also make them woodcutters to proceed into option 3, give them a bunch of hunting dogs as additional meatshield. Option 2 could be a idea too, but in my opinion crossbows are far too strong anway it got that a foret map will behold this ;p

[Hamster Man]

I'd go with that too. Once you get a couple of woodcutters up to the higher levels, they can mow down a forest really fast. Then just have your marksdwarves go nuts on whatever wildlife you find.

[Mel_Vixen]

You could breed some wolves by yourself then tame them to war-wolves and chain them to some spots in this forrest. That gives more Wolf-meat and leather too.

[Tormy]

If you are playing with the vanilla game, a couple of champions/uberskilled dwarves equipped with melee weapons and good armors can solve the "wolf" problem easily. Just send them out to the forest, and watch the wolves flying in the air in all possible directions. 

[Soadreqm]

If you don't have magma, the forest fire option is not really feasible. Unless you manage to catch a dragon, or something. While waiting for one to show up, I suggest the war on nature. A highly trained meleedwarf can easilly take on a pack of wolves, and it would have the added bonus of a higher chance of spotting goblin ambushes. Your worst enemy will be your own careless dwarves, who just can't help aiming for the spinal cord.

[Seryntas]

I...I'm the only one?  Really?  Dwarves vs. trees, and NO ONE?

I actually thought the whole first post was leading up to this.

[DanielLC]

You posted that while I was looking up that comic.