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[shikijiyu]

I just got the vile darkness notice and was checking out the enemy when I realized that there were two soldiers near the enemy.  Both appear to be humans (one called a guard an the other an axe lord) from a caravan that there is no sign of (I assume they are from a caravan anyway - but I never got any notice of traders arriving).

The goblins rushed these two guards, but there doesn't seem to be any combat between them.  Hoards of goblins clump around the guards, who are wandering around, but nothing happens to any of them (no bloodshed and no wounds).

Anyway, my fortress is defended entirely by traps at the moment.  Normally the goblins hang out for a while, but eventually try to rush in, a bunch die, and the rest run away.  But since all these goblins seem to be distracted by the soldiers in this case, they aren't running down into my traps, and consequently this siege is lasting forever.

Can anyone explain this or offer advice as to what I should do?

[Shakma]

Could be babysnatched humans, which do show up sometimes, but I wouldn't think one would be labled guard. 

[kalida99]

Probably goblin POW's captured when they where children, they're likely leading the siege... But the fact that they're just standing around them seems odd.

I would give more insight into this, but i've never had to deal with any goblin POW's other than an elf spearman who poped up on a little island...

[RedWarrior0]

Look at the guards in the (u)nit list. that should deal with the babysnatched issue.
why the gobbos don't atack the fortress is a different problem

[shikijiyu]

So, you're right.  They're a part of the invaders...

...which means they just aren't invading my fortress.  Admittedly there are traps right inside the entrance.  A ton of them.  Is that why they aren't invading?  I thought they would eventually just rush the fortress anyway...

Any explanations?  Suggestions?

[RedWarrior0]

They can't find a path? Is your entrance open and unlocked?

[JadeFalcon]

Do have have doors locked into the fortress? That's the only time I've seen them just hang around is when there is no path inside.

[kalida99]

Well my guess is that if a human is in fact leading them, they might use human siege tactics and stand around for 1/2 to 1 season, then charge in...

[Quietust]

Well my guess is that if a human is in fact leading them, they might use human siege tactics and stand around for 1/2 to 1 season, then charge in...

That shouldn't be the case - most of the goblin sieges against my fort have been led by humans, and they just charge in like usual. Sometimes they'll even be led by dwarves, which gets quite annoying when they die, since all of my dwarves start relentlessly spamming "Urist McDwarf cancels Place Item in Tomb: item inaccessible" because I've ordered them to stay inside.

As with the previous 2 posts, it's likely a pathing issue - they need a reachable target before they'll come rushing in. If you don't want to actually open the doors of your fort, consider chaining an animal near the traps (but preferably behind some walls so it doesn't just get shot down by archers).

[Shakma]

Probably just bugged.  Sometimes sieges can stall.  I've had it consistently on some maps and not at all on others.  Some sort of pathfinding problem I think.  Some said it has something to do with crossing biomes.  When I've had it I could snap them out of it by bringing someone close to them either underground or above or sometimes just toggling on and off the all dwarves inside order.

[shikijiyu]

   Yup - It was a locked door.  I set it to forbidden so my super-smart dwarfs wouldn't wander into the trap passage and soak up a face full of goblin arrows while trying to do some sort of awesome stock pile hauling task.

So is there anyway to keep dwarfs out of the dangerous entrance area without forbidding doors?

[smjjames]

Channel over the entrance area so that it gets the inside/light status when loo 'k' ing at the tile. Alternatively, you could forbid the items so that they don't get hauled.

You could also turn on 'dwarves stay indoors'....

[Quietust]

The best way to keep them away from the entrance is to make sure they don't have any reason to be there - suspend or cancel any tasks that involve going outside, and use the Orders menu to forbid death drops so they don't rush out to claim the goblin remains.

The "stay inside" order generally works well, provided that all of your traps have been exposed to daylight at some point.

[shikijiyu]

Right now all the traps are inside, which makes the "Dwarves stay inside" thing fairly ineffective for keeping them out of trouble.

So my question is:  If I were to channel out the roof of this trap hallway, and therefore make it outside (and so prevent dwarves from wandering into it when told to stay inside), I believe I can still rebuild the roof and the tiles will remain "outside."  But, as a constructed element, will the new roof be destroyable by Trolls or other creatures who can destroy doors and buildings?

[Shakma]

That will work fine.  If you build floors it will still be outside.  Building destroyers can't destroy floors and I'm 99% sure you won't see any trolls anyway.  A megabeast might wander over though but he won't destroy them either.