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Author Topic: Elf Diplomat Questions  (Read 1526 times)

Mook

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Elf Diplomat Questions
« on: December 04, 2008, 08:57:20 pm »

So, I just had an elf diplomat arrive.  Apparently he lost his hand at some point in worldgen, because he kept falling unconscious every three steps.  This is a problem because my entrance corridor is filled with weapon traps.  I'm talking 10 rows deep. 

So he reaches the entrance, and a siege arrives.  A squad of crossbow gobs and a hammer squad.  I figure he's dead no matter what, since either the gobbos or the traps will get him.  Turns out he steps onto the first trap and passes out, dying instantly.

So my questions are:
- Do elven diplomats arrive prior to sieges whenever a siege is scheduled?  I had a human diplomat do the same thing the year before, but he isn't being made into bone bolts at the moment.

- Will the elves start assaulting me as well?  I was kind of irritated that they no longer ship me anything except rope reed, so I'm hoping I can wipe out their civ as a result of this accident.

Thanks in advance.
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hotcakes

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Re: Elf Diplomat Questions
« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2008, 09:05:28 pm »

they might or might not siege you depending on how pissed i don't think it comes a direct result of killing their diplomat but im sure that helps but hey any good marksdwarf can kill an elf with less bone bolts than an elf can "make" so who cares if they siege you.
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BurnedToast

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Re: Elf Diplomat Questions
« Reply #2 on: December 04, 2008, 09:40:56 pm »

Diplomats arrive every year, regardless of sieges/ambushes. It's just bad luck if they end up getting killed (though, given enough time, they will almost certainly end up dead).

As far as if the elves will attack you now - probably, but not certainly. I'd get ready for them, because it's a very good chance they will.

Unfortunately, you can't wipe out their civ though, maybe next version. You can, however, kill every important figure (the guys listed on the civ screen) because a few of them (usually 1 or 2 in my experience) will show up with every attack.

It's always fun to note the important figures you kill, then later go to legends mode and check them out. The common rank and file Elves (and goblins/humans/kobolds) are just generated on the spot to attack you (so they will never run out) but some of the important figures have pretty impressive histories from world gen before they get slaughtered by whatever you decide to use on them.
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An ambush! curse all friends of nature!

Axe27

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Re: Elf Diplomat Questions
« Reply #3 on: December 05, 2008, 12:07:12 am »

I wouldn't be too worried. The wonderful hairless pansies generally arrive in smaller numbers than your average 100 man siege, with WOODEN arrows and WOODEN weapons, with NO armor. If your military doesn't flat out steamroll them, you have some serious issues with your fort.
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Pilsu

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Re: Elf Diplomat Questions
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2008, 02:05:46 am »

If this was world gen, you'd be looking at about 3621 elves right about now. Man I wish Toady let us face stuff like this, even if they wouldn't arrive all at once. The battle would last for years

Steal their goods and impale their merchants on spikes. Make some totems out of their skulls
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Warlord255

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Re: Elf Diplomat Questions
« Reply #5 on: December 05, 2008, 02:28:26 am »

If this was world gen, you'd be looking at about 3621 elves right about now. Man I wish Toady let us face stuff like this, even if they wouldn't arrive all at once. The battle would last for years

Steal their goods and impale their merchants on spikes. Make some totems out of their skulls

Multi-wave sieges that would force you into an exterior lockdown would be great.
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JoRo

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Re: Elf Diplomat Questions
« Reply #6 on: December 05, 2008, 02:34:08 am »

If this was world gen, you'd be looking at about 3621 elves right about now. Man I wish Toady let us face stuff like this, even if they wouldn't arrive all at once. The battle would last for years

Steal their goods and impale their merchants on spikes. Make some totems out of their skulls

Multi-wave sieges that would force you into an exterior lockdown would be great.

The battle itself would be great, but it would take forever and a day to dump all their corpses and crap.  I guess you could just let it sit in the fields forbidden; that's what I do with most of the garbage the goblins bring.
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neo1096

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Re: Elf Diplomat Questions
« Reply #7 on: December 05, 2008, 02:37:38 am »

The result of sieges is why you have your friendly neighborhood kobold clean-up squad.
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Mook

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Re: Elf Diplomat Questions
« Reply #8 on: December 05, 2008, 02:41:25 am »

Ironically the elves would have to send a ridiculous number to have any chance, as the goblin sieges so far haven't even made it two rows in before retreating.  Using Zap Brannigan tactics is pretty much the only way to get close enough to make my military stop drinking and actually fight.

I think my trade relations are too good to cause the elves to go to war over a trap mishap, but we'll see what happens next season.  Annoyingly enough the goblins were routed after only two casualties, and a stonecrafter who decided to hang out outside of the fortress managed to wrestle a straggler with a broken leg to death  :-\

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Footkerchief

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Re: Elf Diplomat Questions
« Reply #9 on: December 05, 2008, 03:37:35 am »

You spam traps and then complain that the goblins are running away?
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BurnedToast

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Re: Elf Diplomat Questions
« Reply #10 on: December 05, 2008, 05:23:41 pm »

You spam traps and then complain that the goblins are running away?

As if it matters, a single champion can solo a whole siege (including the bowmen) and come out without a scratch. Usually it's faster then waiting for them to shuffle into the traps, and has a higher killrate too.

I don't blame anyone for using traps, it's a pain to manage troops and it accomplishes the same thing. The worst part of sieges is dealing with the garbage not killing the enemies.
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Plank of Wood

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Re: Elf Diplomat Questions
« Reply #11 on: December 05, 2008, 06:09:04 pm »

"Sorry Elves, we're a desert fortress that manafactures +Pig Tail Socks+. You're at the wrong fortress"
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Mook

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Re: Elf Diplomat Questions
« Reply #12 on: December 05, 2008, 08:15:17 pm »

You spam traps and then complain that the goblins are running away?

Just because I'm playing on easy mode doesn't mean I don't enjoy war profiteering.  ;)

In other news, turns out that I won't ever have an answer for this question on my game, as I messed up while save-scumming to get rid of a ridiculous unfulfillable mood by a popular dwarf and ended up abandoning the fortress completely.

Let me tell you, reclaiming all of the junk of a fully stocked 100 man fortress with only seven dwarves is a pain in the ass, but at  least the nobles and paraplegics have been temporarily removed without resorting to dwarf-on-dwarf violence.
« Last Edit: December 05, 2008, 08:19:40 pm by Mook »
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Hamster Man

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Re: Elf Diplomat Questions
« Reply #13 on: December 05, 2008, 11:15:04 pm »

I recently created a world where the elves are set to "War"... I thought "OH cool I finally get to war with them!"

Well... it turns out they show up every spring like clockwork. But they don't leave - another band just shows up. Usually on horseback.

I walled off my entire fortress by the third year. Poor immigrants.
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Rafal99

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Re: Elf Diplomat Questions
« Reply #14 on: December 06, 2008, 11:37:34 am »

I have killed a Human Diplomat and got a siege next year.
The diplomat as usually came in summer with a human caravan, but my broker is also a miner and mason, so he had no time to conduct the meeting, while the diplomat was following him everywhere. When the winter come I noticed that the diplomat was accidentally walled off in my freshly built part of above ground wall, and has no way to escape. I decided I will kill him for fun and built a steel floor above his head, then deconstructed supporting wall, and the floor fell in his head. Instant death.
As I expected the next summer "The enemy has come and is laying a siege!" and a squad of humans show up. 7 lashers, 8 wrestlers and bowman who is riding a horse (the first time I see someone riding an animal!).
My squad of 24 champion wrestlers in leather armor had no problems with them. The only wounds were two broken hands.
Then some minutes later when all human corpses turned into bones lying in my refuse stockpile, my Animal Trainer enters a fey mood, claims a Craftsdwarf's Workshop, grabs 3 bones and creates this:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
:D
« Last Edit: December 06, 2008, 11:39:25 am by Rafal99 »
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The spinning Tantrum Spiral strikes The Fortress in the meeting hall!
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