Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[treczoks]

I thought this could have been a good idea. It wasn't:

I built and connected-to-lever a bunch of goblin cages. I built a wall on three sides and a line of fortifications on the fourth. Goal: Life target practice for my new crossbow dwarfs.

I pulled the lever, the cages opened, and I told the squad to station in front of the fortifications. I had the impression that they would attack them on sight, but no, they just stood and stared. So I told them: "Attack!". They kept standing and staring vigorously, declaring that they could not reach the enemies.

After a few attempts, I gave up and sent them to bed without supper.

Problem is, that whenever a dwarf running some errand sees them (through the fortification) he cancels his job and runs away. I can't wall them in because the masons are shit scared (although the stripped gobbos are still safe behind the fortifications), and for the same reason I cannot break the room open to storm in and butcher them.

No, I cannot drown them (The room is basically in the top level of the fortress, next to the animal stockpile which is readily next to the cage-trap-ridden entrance).

My options are slim now. I'm basically waiting for them to either berserk or starve.

But how long does a goblin last?

[FleshForge]

Pretty sure you can build pumps on constructed floor, which means you could drown them if you really wanted to, but in answer to your question, they'll never starve or die of thirst.  Maybe die of old age, I don't know about that.

Getting dwarves of lower archery skill to shoot through fortifications seems to require that you get them to stand right next to the fortification tile, although in my experience sometimes that still won't work.  For future attempts there's no particular reason to do this with fortifications, put them in a 1-deep hole with no ramps.  Since they're disarmed anyway it doesn't really matter, they can't flick their boogers or anything.

[treczoks]

Thanks for your answer!

Pretty sure you can build pumps on constructed floor, which means you could drown them if you really wanted to,

I learned a lot about pumps & co in my last fortress, and I could have drowned them, but for that I would have had to change significant parts of my fortress.

but in answer to your question, they'll never starve or die of thirst.  Maybe die of old age, I don't know about that.

Thats what I thought, although DF is sometimes so detailed that I would not consider it outlandish if goblins would stop a fight to eat and drink, too.

Getting dwarves of lower archery skill to shoot through fortifications seems to require that you get them to stand right next to the fortification tile, although in my experience sometimes that still won't work.  For future attempts there's no particular reason to do this with fortifications, put them in a 1-deep hole with no ramps.  Since they're disarmed anyway it doesn't really matter, they can't flick their boogers or anything.

OK, my crossbowmennoobs were probably not yet up to that level.

I already considered such a pit for that purpose, but dismissed it for the extra work, and for messing up with the layout of the fortress. Looks like I'll have to build a separate "fun room" for dealing with the goblins.
Do you know whether this is safe for those nasty rhesus macaques, too? They occupy quite some cages by now, and my attempt in stockpiling them into one cage was.... fun.

In the meantime I took care of the gobbos by digging a hole from the rear (difficult enough, as by the time the miner came, the squads have ambled off with the old complaint of "can't reach enemy"), but the g's headed straight for the exit, ending up in cages again...

[FleshForge]

My advice in six simple steps:
1) Build a 2x2 drawbrige somewhere and connect it to a lever
2) Pull the lever and raise the new drawbridge
3) Define a dump zone in the tiles beneath the raised drawbridge
4) Dump all cages that you own at this new zone
5) Lower the drawbridge and deconstruct it
6) Don't build cage traps any more

[TolyK]

cage traps are great IMO though, fleshforge, just add weapons before and after them. also remember that the stupid goblins like to stay around their leader, if they're caged then they just stay around them...

if you don't want to atomsmash stuff, you can try dumping them into a long (~15 z-level) pit connected to a long hallway of traps, water, magma, whatever you want. i would prefer just making a 3x3 room at the bottom and digging a hallway (with fortifications. also add another entrance with a forbidden door) and put a catapult (ballista if you have enough logs and want to train your siege engineers too) and set it to "Fire at will". Profit.

plus gobbos are fun to play with. (wow that kinda sounds wrong...  )

[FleshForge]

They're very effective, just gosh they require a lot of irritating micromanagement.  I know a lot of people enjoy that part of the game, and for a while I did too, but it got old after a while.

[plynxis]

They occupy quite some cages by now, and my attempt in stockpiling them into one cage was.... fun.

priceless... i loled so hard. 

anyway, i cant think of any useful advice but i can mention what i like to do to empty those cages (i've mentioned this method too many times already but i'm so proud of it i cant stop!)

in my last fortress, i had lots of cage traps (like 60+, in lines leading to my gate - yeah, hehe) after my main attraction. when they got full, i placed them on the sides of the main attraction which was a lattice about 10x10 of interleaved weapon and spike traps, conveniently placed in an overground room leading to my gate. connect them to levers and release them with the false hope of freedom - watch as they take their first steps out of their cages onto 10x serrated blades. the only times anything got past the traps was when they were so stuffed with goblin meat and blood they couldnt work.

i just loved that room so much... i called it "chewey"... too bad the fort died a horrible fps death.