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[Lectorog]

Helmedkey is a small fortress, though nonetheless an ambitious one. From the beginning two miners to the current eleven, they never simply dug down; no, they dug around.

To get to the point, the fortress is dug out of the ground, in the sense that the ground is dug, not the fortress. Entire layers are removed, except the central keep, leaving only the fortress and map edges standing. The fortress itself, though standing high above the ground, will be made of untouched natural stone. If that doesn't make enough sense, you can skip down to the pictures.

Lately, Helmedkey has grown significantly. Its current population stands at more than 80 dwarves. It has been growing in danger, also. In the late summer of 253, disaster struck. A goblin siege arrived on the borders! Helmedkey had no defense!

I managed to get most everyone inside, and close the fort (that was a serious problem (see gameplay board)), suffering only 3 casualties. Here's where the conundrum begins.


In order to continue operations, the dwarves need access to the exterior of the fortress. However, if the dwarves go outside the fortress, they will almost certainly be attacked by goblins; they will either be completely killed or lead the goblins back to the fortress, to kill everyone else. Simply enough, the goblins must die.

The fortress, unfortunately, has no defense. Not one dwarf in the military, nor a single trap. The fort's entire focus has been on digging.

Mobilizing a militia is a problem, because the fortress has no metal. No metal has been discovered on the map so far, and there is none inside the fortress. The fort's material stocks consist of (endless) food, a (quantum) pile of phyllite, and a forest's worth of wood (see images).

To complicate matters, one dwarf is trapped outside. She is carrying a baby. She has two friends, likely more than anyone else in the fortress. And she is the wife of a legendary miner. She's just standing there at the moment, but she'll start dehydrating soon. After that happens, she'll either get a drink from the pond, alert the goblins, and get killed, or (after a while) die from dehydration. As vital a part as she and her baby are to the miner, it's best they be kept alive. All dwarves are only "content" and likely to tantrum given further tragedy.


Any plausible solution would be greatly appreciated, perhaps even hailed. Be warned that digging any fortress walls, in place or future, will not be allowed, as it would disrupt that part of the project unrecoverably. Extraneous loss of life will not be tolerated. Past that, give it your best. I'll be interested to see what turns up.


Here are images of the fortress, level by level, top to bottom, lined up:

1

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2

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3

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4

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5

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6

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7

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8

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Images hosted by img.ie

And, uh, anyone know how to add spoiler titles?

[Lezard]

If you've wood and stone you could try siege weapons. are you averse to carving fortifications ?

[hairyface]

I'd start by constructing a little pen inside your fort and sealing the legendary miner husband in there, just incase he tantrums. Miners can make good soldiers with their picks, just make sure you disable the mining skill when you draft them, and maybe make them some wooden shields. If you still have lots of stone and wood, maybe you should also stick a few dozen cage traps all around the entrance(s) and then let the goblins in. This is probably the safest method for dealing with them.

Nice fort idea, by the way.

[Khenal]

You could also build a lot of stone fall traps if you just want the gobs dead.  If you wanted to train a military, make cage traps instead.  Build a few temporary walls or raising bridges to turn your first level or two into a maze filled with traps.  Put everyone into a safe burrow away from everything and open the doors.  Gobs run in, get squashed/caged and you have some kind of defense.

[Sandrew]

To get to the point, the fortress is dug out of the ground, in the sense that the ground is dug, not the fortress. Entire layers are removed, except the central keep, leaving only the fortress and map edges standing. The fortress itself, though standing high above the ground, will be made of untouched natural stone. If that doesn't make enough sense, you can skip down to the pictures.

Shouldn't you have channeled the layers around your fortress away, rather than digging them out? Because this way, you'll have your tower in the middle with huge flat disks of ground spanning from it at every z-level.

Maybe I misinterpreted your description.

[Lectorog]

To get to the point, the fortress is dug out of the ground, in the sense that the ground is dug, not the fortress. Entire layers are removed, except the central keep, leaving only the fortress and map edges standing. The fortress itself, though standing high above the ground, will be made of untouched natural stone. If that doesn't make enough sense, you can skip down to the pictures.

Shouldn't you have channeled the layers around your fortress away, rather than digging them out? Because this way, you'll have your tower in the middle with huge flat disks of ground spanning from it at every z-level.

Maybe I misinterpreted your description.

I'm collapsing the layers. In fact, after I deal with the goblins, I'm going to dig out the last edges and set it to drop.

I considered channeling it all, but I figured this way would be easier and dwarfier. It also puts all of the grass down at the bottom of the map, rather than entirely removing it.


As for the suggestions, those sound really good. I'd already considered using my miners (almost all 11 legendary) as a military, but those would be improvements. I can't really let the goblins in, though, because when the fort is open they don't just run for it. The dwarf mom does, and that causes her to get killed.

Thanks all! I'll try these, and more suggestions would definitely be welcome!

[Lezard]

unrelated to the siege, but have you considered keeping an area of the surface attached to the top of the tower as either a fairly safe farm or a penthouse statue garden for a favoured dwarf?  perhaps even including one of the murky pools as a swimming pool...

[Lectorog]

unrelated to the siege, but have you considered keeping an area of the surface attached to the top of the tower as either a fairly safe farm or a penthouse statue garden for a favoured dwarf?  perhaps even including one of the murky pools as a swimming pool...

Not really. I'm keeping the murky pools directly above the fort, probably to have them feed into a resevoir.

I'd probably do that, but the top layers are clay and/or sand - the actualy fortress isn't going to start until the stone. Everything above the stone layer is going to go. That's why there are all those walls in the fourth picture. That's going to be the roof (after the walls are removed, of course.) I'll likely keep the ring of natural stone around its edges, as a wall for the roof. There's going to be a bridge going out to the east, and maybe south, for traders to take. There'll also be an entrance or four on the lowest level, in case the bridges don't work. One or two of the 12x12 sections should be fine for any noble.

[Lectorog]

Project: Rescue Dwarf Mom complete.

I built a wall circle in the fort below her, with a door. Put an up stair in there. Drafted her into the military, had her move to her current spot. Extended burrow and dug a channel above the stair. Built up/down stairs there. Extended burrow, dug channel above stairs (on level with the dwarf). Built down stairs. Ordered her to move down into the fort. Removed burrow extensions, locked door.

She's no longer a problem. Do you guys think I should take the time to train a military, risking possible killings of migrants and/or caravans, or send my miners out soon?

[Nameless Archon]

Training a military is almost a requirement.

If you can find the space, an entryway hall that's a 1-tile-wide "dodge-em" trap requires only wooden weapons and stone mechanisms... and a lot of Z-levels to fall if you dodge off either side.

[Lectorog]

Training a military is almost a requirement.

If you can find the space, an entryway hall that's a 1-tile-wide "dodge-em" trap requires only wooden weapons and stone mechanisms... and a lot of Z-levels to fall if you dodge off either side.

Well, my miners are already legendary...

And no, there's no space. Seriously, there's nowhere I could put that. I was a little surprised when I realized that.

[Lectorog]

The siege has been defeated. I put all my miners in a squad, gave them picks and wooden shields, and sent them out. Two died, but all considered it was a victory.

Now I can continue collapsing millions of squares of land into a crater.