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[MetalGear]

After my first migration wave, me fortress pop went up to 16 and I decided to make some soldiers. I recruited 2 peasants and told them to spar until they became elite wrestlers, then I gave them obsidian swords . But now, I'm afraid to let them spar with swords because all they have for armor is leather armor and wooden shields (I made a mistake of giving them them armor and shields too late, so they probably haven't got any armor/shield user yet). So, will they cut each other to pieces or will their wrestling skill allow them to avoid much damage?

EDIT: A stray fire imp just got out of his pipe and caused a !!forest fire!! . Fortunately, none of the dorfs were hurt, but the nice field has been turned into a charred wasteland. The little bastard gotta pay. Should my wrestlers engage him in unarmed combat or should they use their swords (and hopefully get some practice with them)? Also, is using a wooden shield against fire imps a bad idea?

[kurisukun]

It's possible, but unlikely.

I just put a new recruit into spar with my 4 elite dwarfs (axe, hammer, spear, and mace.  I've gotten quite lucky with the fey weaponsmiths)  And he's just fine, and he doesn't have any wrestling at all

Wrestling is great for avoiding damage.  They should be fine.

(Fire imps die really easily. A normal untrained dwarf drafted can usually take one out with no problem.. unless he gets hit in the face with a fireball.  That's their only danger)

[Bricks]

I've never had any sparing injuries MAIM anyone, but its been known to happen.  I've had a few injuries that had to be slept off.

Wood shields should be fine, I don't think that they are any more of a liability than the dwarf just bursting into flames.

[MetalGear]

Thanks for the quick response.  Now I'll just get my awesome wrestlers to kill the stupid imp and then we'll all have delicious !!fire imp steaks!!

EDIT: do fire imps respawn? I have about 5 in my magma pipe and I want to get rid of them before setting up my forge. What would be the best way to lure them out?

[Quietust]

Fire imps do not respawn, nor do any other creatures inhabiting a magma pool/pipe (excluding fire snakes, which are vermin and follow their own rules for movement). Personally, I got rid of mine by dropping a large stone pancake through the top of the vent while they were hanging around directly beneath it (see video here).

[martinuzz]

I just lost 2 champions to sparring in my 12 year old fortress. A royal guard and a normal guard.
I forgot to upgrade them with proper armor, now that I have 3 of my regular champions walking around with artefact weapons.

So.. Yes.. Sparring does kill. Experience does reduce the chance of sparring accidents but does not negate it. Armor and shield reduce casualties GREATLY. Apart from that, you train up the armor and shield skills as a bonus.
Furthermore, piercing weapons (spears) are most dangerous to spar with, as an accidental hit has a chance of piercing vital organs. If you want to train speardwarves, best make some silver weapons for less damage, and again, put your dwarves in armor.

[AtomicPaperclip]

I've never had any sparing injuries MAIM anyone, but its been known to happen.  I've had a few injuries that had to be slept off.

Wood shields should be fine, I don't think that they are any more of a liability than the dwarf just bursting into flames.

WHAT?

Sparring is my #1 cause of death

[kefkakrazy]

For sparring: Generally, your best bet is to give them the best armor you can produce (make sure they have a shield and at least leather, so they're at LEAST training the skills) and let them wrestle for a while. I usually don't let them even touch weapons until they're high-level wrestlers with good armor and shield user skills. Wrestling affects dodging, so it's important for defense. The fact that your Champions now have the stats to reduce other recruits to hamburger is a bad thing, admittedly.

I know that it's good to equip dwarves with crappy metals, like silver, for training. Especially if you're training bladed weapons. I've had squads bash each other with steel warhammers all the way up to Hammer Lord status, and I've had squads of axedwarves get halfway there before they suddenly stopped sparring due to a mysterious outbreak of the mysterious disease known as "big sharp metal bit in my spine-itis".

[Quietust]

The fact that your Champions now have the stats to reduce other recruits to hamburger is a bad thing, admittedly.

Others have reported that it isn't the Champions that kill the Recruits, but the other way around - legendary weapon users almost always hit their opponents (which, when sparring, means "no damage"), while recruits are likely to hit in the wrong place and inflict serious damage.

[Simmura McCrea]

The fact that your Champions now have the stats to reduce other recruits to hamburger is a bad thing, admittedly.

Others have reported that it isn't the Champions that kill the Recruits, but the other way around - legendary weapon users almost always hit their opponents (which, when sparring, means "no damage"), while recruits are likely to hit in the wrong place and inflict serious damage.

True, but if you've trained your Champions in Shield and Armour using, then he recuits will never get a hit on them.

[Elliott_Thinas]

My dwarfs occasionally kill each other when sparring but the main issue is they cause spinal injuries, which ruin a military career in any area but crossbow firing. I've never seen a limb hacked off but even with legendary wrestling and shield usership I often see yellow limb wounds.

[Malsqueek]

I usually don't let them even touch weapons until they're high-level wrestlers with good armor and shield user skills.

This.

I used to lose a dwarf or two a season by saying "you are in the military now. go play with this axe while we make... your... armor..... he's dead!?".

Always give them good wrestling skills, and at least chain mail armor/helm before letting them handle the sharp stuff.

I also tend to leave my champions on duty for two seasons while the "little ones" train, then give the recruits a season "on" so the champions can train their weapon skills.

Otherwise, as noted above, you get some bizarre Kung Fu Theatre stuff with dwarves ripping out the eyeballs of recruits while sparring, and "taking joy in slaughter" as the newly drafted recruit whimpers in a bed for three months before dying of shock.

[MetalGear]

Well, after defeating the fiery menace, I send my dudes to hit each other with swords for a while. One of them got a brown head wound, so I panicked, but it healed in seconds

[Lord Dakoth]

Well, after defeating the fiery menace, I send my dudes to hit each other with swords for a while. One of them got a brown head wound, so I panicked, but it healed in seconds

No problem then. The more "tough" a dwarf is, the quicker he/she recovers from wounds.
You might want to check the Wiki article on wounds to check the different kinds of wounds.

[MetalGear]

Oh crap, one of my elite wrestlers just got killed during sparring  (first death of the fortress)
It happened just as a wave of migrants arrived, so I got replacements, but I still feel sorry for loosing him.
My dorfs just kinda dumped his corpse in the graveyard, but is any way to put him in a coffin (too upset to check wiki )?  He deserves a hero's burial for his bravery in our battle against the fire imps.

*21 crossbow salute*