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[alfie275]

Made from leather, it might leak slightly depending on quality, or metal, or perhaps the air bladder of a fish.

[Random832]

Made from leather, it might leak slightly depending on quality, or metal, or perhaps the air bladder of a fish.

Anything usable would be above the tech level. A diving bell, or maybe surface supply (though that's centuries more advanced) might be more feasible. The first diving bell in the modern sense was in 1535, but a similar device was spoken of by Aristotle, and it's hard to argue that dwarves couldn't have made one - it's a question of whether they would have the idea (and, for flavor, whether it's dwarfy enough)

[alfie275]

I never mentioned that it would be the dwarfs who would use them, also I think an air bladder from a fish full or air of beer vapour or whatever dwarves breathe would work without much modification sinse it is naturaly air tight. Mainly I was thinking about adventure mode diving.

[Random832]

I never mentioned that it would be the dwarfs who would use them, also I think an air bladder from a fish full or air of beer vapour or whatever dwarves breathe would work without much modification sinse it is naturaly air tight. Mainly I was thinking about adventure mode diving.

Yeah but how are you going to A) fill it with enough air and B) pressurize it so that it doesn't shrink to nothing when submerged too deep?

Anything usable by one person is too far above the tech level - long-term it might be possible to have it so that you can recruit people to be able to help with a diving bell.

[Silverionmox]

Pearl divers can reach depths up to 40m, without significant apparatus. It's risky, of course.

There was a contraption in Ming China that piped air into a leather face mask from above - 17th century. Close, but no cigar. (although this could be something the tech limit would be waived for: it has no significant military or industrial application whatsoever.)

Diving bells sound sufficiently dwarven to me: it's slow, cumbersome, involves mechanisms and has the risk of a slow, agonizing death in a cramped, dark space.

[praguepride]

Diving bells sound sufficiently dwarven to me: it's slow, cumbersome, involves mechanisms and has the risk of a slow, agonizing death in a cramped, dark space.

But diving underwater isn't very dwarfy. Dwarves are at home in the mountains, not under the oceans. That's the place where fairies and faeries and elf sissies want to go to.

[alfie275]

What about cave diving?

[Mikademus]

You may be surprised, but this has actually been suggested a few times already...

[Foa]

Diving bells sound sufficiently dwarven to me: it's slow, cumbersome, involves mechanisms and has the risk of a slow, agonizing death in a cramped, dark space.

But diving underwater isn't very dwarfy. Dwarves are at home in the mountains, not under the oceans. That's the place where fairies and faeries and elf sissies want to go to.

Is it viably acceptable if it is to hunt whales, and to clear infected rivers?

Or to build a bio-dome in a sunken mountain?

[RAM]

I will be happy if they include cave-crocodile riding goblins with bags over their heads...

[Footkerchief]

But diving underwater isn't very dwarfy. Dwarves are at home in the mountains, not under the oceans. That's the place where fairies and faeries and elf sissies want to go to.

http://dwarffortresswiki.net/index.php/ASCII_Art_Reward#Fish_Dwarf_Begin:_.286_August_2007.29

[G-Flex]

I never mentioned that it would be the dwarfs who would use them, also I think an air bladder from a fish full or air of beer vapour or whatever dwarves breathe would work without much modification sinse it is naturaly air tight. Mainly I was thinking about adventure mode diving.

Yeah but how are you going to A) fill it with enough air and B) pressurize it so that it doesn't shrink to nothing when submerged too deep?

For one, how deep do you expect the dwarves to be going?

Also, just because it shrinks doesn't mean it contains less air. There's just as much air in it, just in a smaller volume. I imagine if you're going deep enough to shrink an air bladder down to nothing, you've got bigger problems to worry about.

[Random832]

Ten meters equals one atmosphere equals cuts the size in half. And you still have to have enough volume to fill your lungs.

If you're not going deep enough for pressure to be an issue, you're not going deep enough to need this in the first place - just have a pipe to the surface. Still needs to be pressurized, but this could be done with an air pump on the surface.

[RAM]

What about tunnels, just because you are not deep doesn't mean that there is air nearby...

For example, you forget to link the drainage gate to the lever, now you don't have any good way of draining your entrance, if only your mechanic could walk to the end of the drainage tunnel and link up the gate...

[Neonivek]

Did people make Airsacs that they breathed in once they got to the bottom?