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[Vinnie]

Sooooo. I've realized I'm about three or four years into my current fortress, and I haven't been bothered to getting around to setting up any really viable defense (army, traps, et cetera). Mainly because my dwarves spend more time partying and staring at walls than doing real work (as dwarves are wont to do).

I do have myself a legendary carpenter, however, so I decided to employ him in making wooden menacing spikes en masse. Rather than wasting my precious fuel and iron. But are they really that effective? I mean, I understand that a wooden spike, even of exceptional or masterpiece quality probably won't hold a candle to a well made steel spike, but employed en masse are they a viable alternative?

[ZergSpartan]

Wooden spikes are good for military training "Danger Rooms" that way your dwarfs can admire a really awsome spike that just erupted from their leg.
Also, do deployed spikes still do extra damage to creatures falling on them?

[celem]

They can be.....if you stick em in weapon traps then...not so much, they'll cause dodges but against an armored foe like a goblin your basically 'danger rooming' him on his way into your fort.

A combo however, spikes in the traps as a 'dodge me' on a 1-wide catwalk above a pit.  line the bottom with upright spikes.....dropping onto them is a whole nother ball-game

To be safe the only exit (if any) from the drop shaft should be a ramp to outside so they have to run it again, if the drop is 3 or so z-levels you can probably just leave 'em to bleed out

EDIT: Im not certain on deployed spikes still doing drop-damage, i've read yes, i want to believe yes since it works awesomely on my fort (goblins rarely get their second go around, a named legendary ettin had 3 goes and died).  Its always possible however that its the fall doing the work

[RandomNumberGenerator]

Also, do deployed spikes still do extra damage to creatures falling on them?

No, and they never did. Falling onto a spike will not damage the creature.

On the other hand, if you link all those spikes up a a repeater mechanism(either water-powered or dwarf-powered) then they will kill enemies quite handily.

[Sphalerite]

No, and they never did. Falling onto a spike will not damage the creature.

Actually, they do now.  They did not in 40d, but in the current version falling on spikes will cause the spikes to damage the creature.

[Uzu Bash]

if you stick em in weapon traps then...not so much, they'll cause dodges

I have a set of defenses that counts on this, quite effectively. If they dodge, well done...I'll see them 5 z-levels down in the disposal chute, where I have the option to send soldiers to finish them off, or simply open the magma gates. The more they dodge the menacing pieces of wood, the less I have to clean the obsidian and serrated disc traps further down the line.

[RandomNumberGenerator]

No, and they never did. Falling onto a spike will not damage the creature.

Actually, they do now.  They did not in 40d, but in the current version falling on spikes will cause the spikes to damage the creature.

Does it? My bad... I apologize for the misinformation.

[fivex]

Wooden spikes are good for military training "Danger Rooms" that way your dwarfs can admire a really awsome spike that just erupted from their leg

Thats training spears

[Ten_Tacles]

I guess they are acutally very useful in tiring out your enemies.
Goblins that collapsed from overexhaustion don't fight back.

I also moded once a trap weapon that attacked its target 35 times, each attack glanced away even at skin, but most attacks will make the creature dodge away, even when a previous dodged attack made the creature leave the trap.
I once "teledodged" while testing it in adventure mode in a wolf group, collapsed from overexaustion and died.
While cladded in steel armor.

So, 7 traps in line with wooden spiked balls won't kill any intruder (maybe unarmored ones) but the dwarves stationed after the line of traps will happily kill all unconcious goblins.

[Daetrin]

Wooden spikes are good for military training "Danger Rooms" that way your dwarfs can admire a really awsome spike that just erupted from their leg

Thats training spears

Let's take a moment to emphasize this.  Wooden training spears.  Using spikes for your danger room will result in empty barracks and a full hospital.  And coffins.

[Hyndis]

Even wooden training spears do take their toll, but the toll is small enough that its a worthwhile training proceedure.

[Quietust]

Even wooden training spears do take their toll, but the toll is small enough that its a worthwhile training proceedure.

Add a robe to your military uniform, assign the uniform to your soldiers (ideally one at a time so they don't end up dropping all of their gear and starting over from scratch), then make a bunch of robes. Due to the rather buggy way in which they work, they'll protect the toes, fingers, ears, and teeth, while the rest of their armor (breast plate, mail shirt, greaves, gauntlets, boots, helm) will protect everything else.

[gopa4]

Wooden spikes are good for military training "Danger Rooms" that way your dwarfs can admire a really awsome spike that just erupted from their leg

Thats training spears

Let's take a moment to emphasize this.  Wooden training spears.  Using spikes for your danger room will result in empty barracks and a full hospital.  And coffins.

A looooooong moment to emphasize this. Way back when I used menacing wooden spikes and they pierced straight through full iron armor. So just be sure to use wooden training spears in order to keep your military alive. I would suspect that menacing wooden spiekes could and would kill goblins easily. As fully armored dwarves died painfully to them.

[Earthquake Damage]

Add a robe to your military uniform, assign the uniform to your soldiers (ideally one at a time so they don't end up dropping all of their gear and starting over from scratch), then make a bunch of robes. Due to the rather buggy way in which they work, they'll protect the toes, fingers, ears, and teeth, while the rest of their armor (breast plate, mail shirt, greaves, gauntlets, boots, helm) will protect everything else.

Maybe "robe" should be renamed "deflector shield".

[Traece]

Would it be overkill to make a retractable bridge over a set of menacing steel wooden spikes and then flood the pit with magma?