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[alway]

I recently dug a channel enclosing about 80% of my map. There is one entrance way which consists of a main road and 2 side paths. The main road I usually keep blocked off via portcullis (wall grates) and the side paths are coated with a bunch of traps. The main road gets opened when caravans come through, and stay closed the rest of the time. I am also currently working on putting some fortifications and such up on top for marksdwarves.

[Lummox JR]

And just so people know, you can largely eliminate any threats bothering your traders by putting your depot in an airlock. When the season starts, provide access to the depot from the edge of the map, but seal off your fortress from the depot and outside. Traders will path to the depot, but hostiles will remain on the edge of the map because they can't path to the interior of your fortress. Once the traders get in the depot, close off access to the depot from the outside, and open up access to it from the fortress so you can trade. Hostiles will remain at the edge of the map. When the traders have left and collected all of their stuff from the depot (usually some time after the notice), then seal off your fortress again, and let the traders out.

Before my siege I already had a wall built around my (outdoor) depot, with drawbridges blocking both exits, but I had stupidly designed it so that the same lever controlled both bridges. Obviously this is a problem when animals or dwarves mill about when you want to reopen the bridges. However I found that I didn't have to keep both bridges closed long, since I closed them only once the invaders got within crossbow range. Once they had no way in, they milled about near the fortress wall and I had my marksdwarves pick them off. About half the invading force was slaughtered, and the other half ran away. Chances are I could've done just as well letting the caravan's own guards help my military, but I didn't want my relatively inexperienced forces getting decimated in hand-to-hand combat.

For the next siege or ambush, I'm a little better prepared. I dismantled the outer drawbridge and built a trap corridor, then built a new drawbridge outside with a second lever. If any enemies get past the weapon traps, cage traps are built within. Eventually I should be able to work out a grander defense scheme, but this will probably suffice for a bit.

[Glory of Arioch]

My 2 cents:

All fortresses should have one entry point. This is the most effective defense. This one entry point should be protected by a drawbridge. Above this drawbridge, position your crossbowdwarf battlements so they can fire out at anything that would be milling about outside.

Lately, I've been designing my fortresses with a two bridge system. The outer drawbridge is bypassable by way of a one-tile staircase going up one level. There is a perilous catwalk on this upper level, one tile wide, which is both littered with traps and easily covered by aforementioned crossbowdwarves. During a siege, close the outer drawbridge but leave the inner one open, position your crossbowdwarves at the battlements, and watch as the invaders die by the dozens while attempting to navigate the catwalk.

[Demetrious]

If I may forward my own humble suggestion-

If you have thirty extra war dogs kicking around- and who doesn't- just throw them all in a few evenly distributed cages at the edge of the map where the traders usually spawn. When gobbos appear, have somebody in your fort throw the switch and unleash a horde of furry vengeance upon the imprudent invaders. Cheap and effective.

[grendel]

Like others said,make a city/region wall to leave only one entrance. For caravans, you might want to make a road directly to your depot surrounded with statues so that the caravan is guaranteed to take only that route when they are in route to your fortress.

Code: [Select]

                   
 D  S S S S S S S S S gatehouse
========================= depot
 D  S S S S S S S S S gatehouse

D channel/ditch/moat
S statue/ wall
gatehouse is the singe entrance to the fort from outside, you can place your dogs here to spot thieves
When the statues get too close to the edge to place, surround the road with ditches at that point. It might also be a good idea to have a contingent of military escort the liaison as he makes his way to your fortress so that he arrives safely.

[kalida99]

I find that making a couple outposts linked by underground passages make an effective system for dealing with invaders that are across the map away from your dwarves. I also find that if you have magma on your map, by making small pits full of magma then dropping a keg of booze onto it seems to clear a grassy map, and kill everything in a 10 square radius... or at least catch it on fire... if all else fails, just build 5x5 sections on top of a supports scattered throughout the map, then hook'em up to levers or pressure plates so that when some group of unlucky goblins walks there. SPLAT! or they all go flying...