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[assimilateur]

i believe he was making a joke.

I've misread "arm bears" as "bear arms", obviously. Otherwise my response wouldn't have made any sense.

[Jakkarra]

sorry, i didnt mean to seem condecending.

love, jakkarra

[assimilateur]

No problem.

[chucks]

i believe he was making a joke.

I've misread "arm bears" as "bear arms", obviously. Otherwise my response wouldn't have made any sense.

Wait, I thought bears already had TWO arms!  We don't need 4 and 6 armed bears running around!

[Jakkarra]

i believe he was making a joke.

I've misread "arm bears" as "bear arms", obviously. Otherwise my response wouldn't have made any sense.

Wait, I thought bears already had TWO arms!  We don't need 4 and 6 armed bears running around!

this gives me an idea...

(in retrospect, you mean "legs")

[Tack]

ok, so is everyone in agreement:

1. That we should be able to give animal caretakers and trainers the ability to put (large) armor on bears, and arm them with whatever bears can (or really would need to) carry.

(N.B. My bad, topic swerving. Back to it...)

2. That by agreeing to give dwarves the "right to bear arms" we aren't americanising DF with their constitutional problems, and therefore must give the user the "ability to tell a dwarf to bear arms", which could just be made into a militia force.

3. That we need to make two handed weapons.

4. That blacksmiths should want gauntlets (leather or up) for their job.

5. That a dwarf with the ability to bear arms on, should ideally go for a weapon that suits their proffession - and if there is none, find an available weapon - and if there is none, pick up a rock. Until further notice- until further notice and so on and so forth.

6. That bears should be trainable as warbears - same with dragons and cougars and leapords etc.

Yes. That giving dwarves the right to arm bears is AWESOME.

Yea or Nay it them at your leisure :p

[RavingManiac]

During the medieval era, not many peasants walked around with swords or daggers. I personally think that dwarves should start equipping themselves only when the economy kicks in, and if they are rich enough to afford it.

Such dwarves will occasionally spar with each other, so they will have some skill with their weapons.

[Sunken]

Most people would wear a knife, though, I think.

As for war-trained wild beasts: yes, it should be possible, but difficult. Dogs are easily trained by nature, cougars aren't (to my knowledge). Animal training skill should figure heavily, and not just into time taken but also into quality of the training. A poorly trained warbeast would be prone to attacking dwarfs, refusing to follow its master into combat, or running away.

[Silverionmox]

During the medieval era, not many peasants walked around with swords or daggers. I personally think that dwarves should start equipping themselves only when the economy kicks in, and if they are rich enough to afford it.

Such dwarves will occasionally spar with each other, so they will have some skill with their weapons.

Swords, rapiers and other fancy weapons were usually to be found in the upper classes: either by legal restrictions (nobility only) or financial ones (as a way to show off wealth). Serfs that were called upon as levies often had to make do with adapted farm tools as weapons (hence the multitude of pole weapons), and a few extra layers of clothing as armour (hence padded armour etc.). Our dwarves should use tools for more jobs, and they should use them to defend themselves if pressed. That includes objects they're carrying: there's no point in using your fists if you're carrying a load of metal bars.

[Vucar Fikodastesh]

During the medieval era, not many peasants walked around with swords or daggers. I personally think that dwarves should start equipping themselves only when the economy kicks in, and if they are rich enough to afford it.

During the medieval era, not many peasants walked around with swords or daggers. I personally think that dwarves should start equipping themselves only when the economy kicks in, and if they are rich enough to afford it.

Such dwarves will occasionally spar with each other, so they will have some skill with their weapons.

Swords, rapiers and other fancy weapons were usually to be found in the upper classes: either by legal restrictions (nobility only) or financial ones (as a way to show off wealth). Serfs that were called upon as levies often had to make do with adapted farm tools as weapons (hence the multitude of pole weapons), and a few extra layers of clothing as armour (hence padded armour etc.). Our dwarves should use tools for more jobs, and they should use them to defend themselves if pressed. That includes objects they're carrying: there's no point in using your fists if you're carrying a load of metal bars.

If I have fifty dwarves in my fortress, and I make them fifty shortswords and fifty scabbards. Then, I should bloody well be able to equip them with swords, realism be danged.

[Silverionmox]

Sure, but in an emergency they're going to prefer whatever there is their hands, rather than drawing a weapon. If they're working with an axe or butcher's cleaver they'll opt to train a bit with that, rather than carrying around a 3 pound shortsword that gets in the way of their job, which they can trip over etc.

[sweitx]

I like the idea of non-military dwarf carrying weapons for self-defense.
In addition, I like the idea of being able to armor "war" animals.
Here are a list of suggestions.

1. Allow dwarfs to carry weapons suitable for them.  Such as a small dagger or a crossbow.  When economy active, the dwarf will receive happy thoughts for acquiring a good defensive weapon.
2. Allow dwarfs to wear leather armor when they work.  Of course, this would cause the dwarf to either receive unhappy thoughts or get tired quicker.
3. Allow the armoring of war-animals, increasing their survivability.
4. A belt-type equipment that allows the dwarf to carry their weapon without taking up a hand slot.
5. With the new military system, maybe a way to assign a military escort for certain dwarfs.  The escort will "only" rest/eat when the escorted eat/rest ("only" means they only break away from their escort to rest/eat/drink when their stats officially reach hungry and thirsty). 

[chucks]

The encumberance of leather armor would best depend on their armor user skill above anything else.  The time they spend training and wearing it, the more comfortable they are going to be walking around with it on.  Also, some jobs would require some sort of leather smock or long gloves.  Butchers, fishery workers, furance operators, glassmakers, and smiths come to mind.  Pretty much any job where the tools or material you work with are most likely to soil you or injure you (by heat, blade, or debris), the more comfortable the dwarves would be performing their task in a leather smock or poncho or jerkin.

Also, there is an item kicking around the eternal voting list about jobs utilizing rooms defined by the tools laying around and job related tasks utilizing a cache of tools and items in the possession of the worker.  These sorts of task could lend some improvised weapons such as picks, axes, cleavers, saws, hammers, knives, hooks, etc.  Hell, some of the early roots of martial weaponry comes from makeshift weapons from farming and cultivating implements.  How would that goblin like a gardening hoe across their face or a sickle slicing across their guts?  Then your fisher worker cuts them with a filet knife!