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[Strangething]

I don't mean the usual methods of merchant-plundering, either. Apparently, if you have a cage set up, you can assign the merchant's small animals to it.

By the time the elves left, I had a dozen birds of various species, about five squirrels, a couple lizards, a rat, and a large roach. I only did it to test the bug, but now I have all these useless animals.

Try it yourself! Get some pets other than cats for your dwarves to adopt.

[daemoria]

I've yet to get anything other than wood, cloth, and some food from anyone other than the mountain homes. Do you just keep giving them massively favorable trade each time they show up?

[Absentia]

Actually it's the reverse: angry elves bring animals, happy elves bring more (and more, and more) cloth and leather. Not sure why this is, but it is a fine excuse to piss off the elves.

[lanceleoghauni]

Sounds like the caravan is going to be hit by the drawbridge on their way out. 

[Flaede]

Note: I think vermin count towards the value of cages, so steal them after you've completed all trading, or they will count against  you (maybe).

[Deathworks]

Hi!

Doing trade with the elves in all my fortress I can point out the following:

* Vermin does have a trade value which varies from species to species (turtles are worth 10, for instance, while some of the birds are worth 30).

* Yes, the vermin are incorrectly listed for your cage assigning. It can be quite annoying if you actually buy vermin and want to experiment with it.

* I can't confirm that myth about the cloth and the angry elves bringing the good stuff. In my experience, elves trade like everyone else - you buy a lot of animals, they bring more animals next year; you buy lots of drinks, they bring even more drinks next year. I vaguely recall the tendency towards cloth in the 2D versions, but trading with elves has never been a problem in the 3D versions.

Deathworks

[Flaede]

I think maybe the people who believe this always buy out all of everything, and then wonder why so much cloth shows up.

[hjd_uk]

Also, not all cages with contents are listed as such, ie a cage with a chipmunk in it will be listed as "Alder Cage" and not "Chipmunk Cage" so you can inadvertedly buy vermin with your cages.

it also makes placing critters in the zoo a pain in the ass as you have to examine every single cage (after listing all individual cages with 'x').

[Flaede]

Also, not all cages with contents are listed as such, ie a cage with a chipmunk in it will be listed as "Alder Cage" and not "Chipmunk Cage" so you can inadvertedly buy vermin with your cages.

it also makes placing critters in the zoo a pain in the ass as you have to examine every single cage (after listing all individual cages with 'x').

You just pick a cage, and designate all vermin to that one cage. Move them later if you really need a  wambler in that rose gold cage in the meeting hall.
As for cage contents not being mentioned - no vermin are listed in cage contents. They do change the value, however.

[Satarus]

In the 40d version, if you traded favorably with the elves they would bring more stuff.  However they only use pack animals.  Pack animals can only carry a limited amount of stuff so animals often were left behind.  If you modded your pack animals to have a very high trade capacity, they would bring lots and lots of animals as you traded favorably.

In 30.X, pack animals can carry a lot of stuff ('cause wagons are broken right now).  The more favorably you trade with the elves, the more stuff they bring.  This includes cages of animals. 

[Deathworks]

Hi!

In the 40d version, if you traded favorably with the elves they would bring more stuff.  However they only use pack animals.  Pack animals can only carry a limited amount of stuff so animals often were left behind.  If you modded your pack animals to have a very high trade capacity, they would bring lots and lots of animals as you traded favorably.

In 30.X, pack animals can carry a lot of stuff ('cause wagons are broken right now).  The more favorably you trade with the elves, the more stuff they bring.  This includes cages of animals.

Yes, the amount carried has changed. However, I have been buying giant eagles and grizzly bears in 40d, and even though I gave the elves sweet deals, they never reverted to just bringing cloth but instead brought me a constant supply of exotic animals. The philosophy "I don't want cloth so I don't buy cloth" worked very well with them in 40d for me.

Deathworks

[Absentia]

Eh, I read that "angry elves = animals" somewhere and just assumed it was true. I don't have any personal experience with happy elves because all my elf caravans tend to meet with unfortunate accidents.

[Quietust]

Thinking about it more carefully, it's probably more likely that what triggered elves to bring nothing but cloth in 40d was not only giving them good deals but also your fortress value increasing rapidly (due to artifacts or Adamantine) - when your fortress suddenly becomes really rich, they catch wind of it and decide to bring a bit too much stuff.

[Alkyon]

Sounds like the caravan is going to be hit by the drawbridge on their way out. 

Ugh, make sure it's a BIG bridge in case the items start to spew forth when the pack animal is smashed.  You never know, and if you don't, you'll have to atomsmash all that cloth by hand.

[Hyperturtle]

uh if you look at the cage price, and view the cage, you can see whats in it.  just hit V when it's highlighted in the trade menu to see if there is a two legged lizard in it, or whatever.  Your $110 alder cage that is the same quality as the $10 alder cage is that way because it contains something!

I generally make sure to buy only $10 cages so I DO NOT get the vermin.  I have a dozen worms no one wants to adopt, gee I wonder why?  If I buy something other than a $10 cage its a $3000 cage for use in a zoo.

So with all the vermin I accidentally purchased at first I had designated them to a pit and they went ALL OVER THE PLACE instead, so I later set up a worm cage, a bird cage, a lizard cage, etc, in the zoo and emptied out the stuff.