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[Axe27]

Hi. Recently, in an attempt to create a military, I've outfitted my dwarves in full chain and handed them axes.

However, it's been a freakin' disaster. My one axedwarf has chopped off about 2 heads, and pierced the heart of third. His kill list includes a few wolves, a kobold, and three dwarves. This can't go on.

So, I'm wondering how to fix this dilemma of one dwarf decapitating the other dwarves?

[Dragooble]

well is he using a steel/iron axe? if so you should give him a silver or wood weapon instead.

[TettyNullus]

Start them on wrestling, or just make them patrol the surrounding area after wrestling training. I really don't know of any safe ways to train with weapons, other than outfitting them in heaviest armors you can get and using worse weapon you can find, like silver or wood.

[Axe27]

well is he using a steel/iron axe? if so you should give him a silver or wood weapon instead.

They're using iron weapons.

[Hague]

Make yourself some silver axes and forbid the iron ones. Set them to unarmed and have them train to a reasonable level in wrestling. Then set them back to axes. They should pick up the silver axes and train with those. Since they are effectively 50% of the strength of iron and your dwarves can simply dodge blows much better. Also, while training wrestling, give them a shield. A dwarf without a shield is just a target anyway. The shield combined with the dodging and silver weapons will significantly reduce the casualties in your weapons training.

[Narmio]

Also, ensure your dwarves train with low quality weapons in addition to low damage materials.  Draft a skill-less peasant to make a copper or silver axe and you'll be fine.

I've never had more than very rare broken bones using no-quality copper weapons and low-quality iron plate mail.  To almost completely eradicate the risk of a broken bone or spinal/nervous injury, you'll want silver or wood weapons and steel plate.  It's annoying, especially when you have to somehow quickly switch weapons, but rest easily knowing that revisions to this are apparently on Toady's list right now.

[Lord Dullard]

I train my first batch in wrestling and tend to be careful about them getting injuries, since that first 5-dwarf military squad tends to be important to the fort's survival.

After that, when immigrants start oozing into the fort faster than it can absorb them.. well, let's just say I throw caution to the wind and let Armok sort 'em out.

[JoshuaFH]

wouldn't allowing your newbies to spar with your local weaponmasters reduce their chances of getting hurt also?

[LrZeph]

wouldn't allowing your newbies to spar with your local weaponmasters reduce their chances of getting hurt also?

Who wouldn't get hurt? The weaponmaster or the novice?
'Cos weaponmasters are hardcore, they won't pull punches. Ever.

[Samyotix]

Weaponmasters do pull punches when sparring: Apparently the skill check is made to "miss the attack".
So a highly skilled weaponmaster will succeed at his "attack roll", "missing the attack"; and not kill the brand new fortress guard.
An inexperienced recruit wielding, say, a *steel shortsword*, may miss his "attack roll", therefore striking for real, and gut the same fortress guard like a fish.

[Tormy]

The solution is quite simple. Give them bad quality weapons + make sure that the material damage modifier is the lowest possible. [Adamantine = 500%, while silver is only 50%, so obviously you will give them silver weapons.]
Also equip them with good quality iron/better armors.

[Techhead]

I have 4 champion ax-dwarves, and I use a different method.

I mass-produce stone coffins.

[Haven]

Hm... Oddly, I've got a good 14 champion axedwarves, swinging around iron axes and wearing high-class leather armor, if any at all. No casualties from training at all. I think the difference lies in mandatory iron or leather shields for all my melee troops. Given that they only have to deal with a few 'live fire' attacks for when their buddy misses his check, the shield block rate seems to take care of it nicely.

[Krash]

Yeah, shields really make a lot of difference, no matter what material they're made of.

[Kanil]

I honestly can't recall ever losing a dwarf to a sparring incident. It might've happen, but I don't remember it.

I give my dwarves a shield, and sometimes some armor (if I have it) and have them work on wrestling for a while (about a season, they're usually approaching legendary by then anyway) then give them a weapon and let 'em go. That equipment tends to be the same as what I expect them to fight with, so the highest quality and best material I can find at the time...

Worst injuries I've sustained are maybe a broken or mangled limb or two, and a few nervous systems. Sparring is way safer than playing with goblin crossbowmen.