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[murlocdummy]

Well, the wiki seems to be malfunctioning right now, so I have nowhere else to turn to for my noob questions.  I apologize if this is the bazzilionth noob asking an easy to solve problem.

This game's kind of difficult, not because the dwarves get killed easily or because the natural conditions are tough, but because the interface is totally horrible and convoluted.

Some of the significant issues I'm having:
How do you kill dwarves?  Never figured out how to command one dwarf to go to a specific location and just get themselves killed/drowned.  I've read a few posts mentioning such a thing, but I haven't found where in the ungodly mess that is called the controls how to do that.

I'm also having trouble figuring out how to view previous messages.  There's the report, which gives combat reports, but whenever I look for a message log for things like Dwarf McUrist became an urister, I can't find anything.  Are messages just lost forever after they've disappeared from the bottom of your screen, or is there a message log that can be accessed?

I've barely scratched the surface of this game, I know, but I'm still having trouble with some nuances that regular players seem to be able to easily maneuver around.

[proxn_punkd]

The announcements screen is accessed with (a).

[nerdyboy321123]

like proxn said, a goes to announcements, there is no "kill button" the things people have described involve setting up a drowning traps via pumps, floodgates, and water. And then telling a dwarf to go there. And then giving some command that causes the trap to activate. And you actually get used to the interface surprisingly fast, by the very quick end of my first fortress I had the main hotkeys down (b-b) to build beds. And my personal favorite for my first few fortresses (a-g-c-r) while q'ed on a craftsdwarf workshop. I'm sure most people here know what that does
My advice: don't give up on the game. The learning curve looks something like this: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CnYOXRQxKv4/TeMws0cnrtI/AAAAAAAAASM/hUFTQqTwhYc/s1600/Fjords%2Band%2BThe%2BPreikestolen%2BCliff.jpg
But once you get on top of that, the view is sweet.

[Togre]

There are two ways that I can think of to get a specific dwarf to a specific place--this isn't the same as killing him, but makes it easier.  Burrows ( 'w' key opens their interface) allow to designate an area and then you can assign a dwarf to go there.  Ease way to kill is just leave him there with no food or drink to starve--but you can also put him in harms way by other means.  Also, military squads can be commanded to move around.  But that's a bit complex.

[murlocdummy]

The easiest way to kill a dwarf seems to be to create a dedicated room in some corner with a drawbridge in it.  Just set the dwarf in there, pull the switch associated with said drawbridge, and instant suicide booth.  My main issue is can I assign my bitchy baroness to a squadron and then tell them to move into the suicide booth?

[Naros]

The easiest way to kill a dwarf seems to be to create a dedicated room in some corner with a drawbridge in it.  Just set the dwarf in there, pull the switch associated with said drawbridge, and instant suicide booth.  My main issue is can I assign my bitchy baroness to a squadron and then tell them to move into the suicide booth?

Or you could just lock the door to their bedroom when they're sleeping.

[Loud Whispers]

Ha ha don't worry, I hated dwarf fortress and had no idea what I was doing when I first played it, in fact I believe it took 3 rage quits over a period of 2 months before I actually knew how to do anything >_>

Bottom line is, the wiki is your friend, and error is your teacher.

[Togre]

The easiest way to kill a dwarf seems to be to create a dedicated room in some corner with a drawbridge in it.  Just set the dwarf in there, pull the switch associated with said drawbridge, and instant suicide booth.  My main issue is can I assign my bitchy baroness to a squadron and then tell them to move into the suicide booth?

Probably.  Squad movement is impercise so you may have to tell the squad to move a couple times to get her in the exact spot.  However, I would do the moving using burrows.  Make a 1x1 burrow ('w' and then, ummm...other keys), (N)ame it "Happy Place" or something and then assign 'c' Miss Piggy to the burrow.  Should take her to the action.

[murlocdummy]

Let's hope that this thread becomes a useful FAQ of sorts for incoming noobs!

I've just noticed a few more things that I can't figure out.

My newly constructed bridges are blinking.  No idea why.

My craftdwarf shop has CI.T next to its name when I select it.  No idea why.

I couldn't seem to find clay to mine, as I have never seen it before, as I haven't really mined all that much, so I've been buying the stuff from caravans.  I've set the stockpile where the clay is sitting in as a clay zone, and I've selected a kiln and set it to Collect Clay, but it's still telling me that I need an active clay collection zone.  Did I just waste money on buying clay?

Okay, I just found that I can't used skeletons for bone armors.  What good are the skeletons, anyway?

On a totally non-question related sidenote:
I haven't found metal yet, so I'm still buying pickaxes and equipment from merchants.  The only thing I need to do is find out where to get hard rocks to make swords out of, and I can start up a weapons industry.  So far, I've devoted less than 10% of my entire fort to dedicated military duty of any kind, about 4 warriors.  I have them set to equip anything they can find, which is a hell of alot better than before.  Fighting a sasquatch with 10 guys on full fisticuffs has forced me to dedicate personnel to military duty.  So far, I haven't figured out what the hell half of the workshops do, and I'm still buying all of my arrows from merchants.  Dear GOD, why aren't there tooltips...

[proxn_punkd]

Let's hope that this thread becomes a useful FAQ of sorts for incoming noobs!

I've just noticed a few more things that I can't figure out.

My newly constructed bridges are blinking.  No idea why.

Have they been constructed, or are they in the works?

My craftdwarf shop has CI.T next to its name when I select it.  No idea why.

You're misreading CLT, "cluttered". Hover over it with (t) to see the junk inside. Cluttered workshops produce goods a lot slower than clean ones, so you might want to free up some stockpile space for that stuff.

I couldn't seem to find clay to mine, as I have never seen it before, as I haven't really mined all that much, so I've been buying the stuff from caravans.  I've set the stockpile where the clay is sitting in as a clay zone, and I've selected a kiln and set it to Collect Clay, but it's still telling me that I need an active clay collection zone.  Did I just waste money on buying clay?

You bought clay that someone else already collected. You can just start working with it already. In the future, clay collection needs a clear soil tile of a clay type (clay, clay loam, silty clay, etc.) over which a zone has been designated with (i) and tagged for clay collection.

Okay, I just found that I can't use skeletons for bone armors.  What good are the skeletons, anyway?

Chuck 'em outside in a refuse pile and after a couple of years they'll decay into useable bones. For more immediate bones, slaughter and butcher animals.

Bone armor's not very good, but you've said you don't have any metal yet, so it's better than nothing.

I haven't found metal yet, so I'm still buying pickaxes and equipment from merchants.  The only thing I need to do is find out where to get hard rocks to make swords out of, and I can start up a weapons industry.  So far, I've devoted less than 10% of my entire fort to dedicated military duty of any kind, about 4 warriors.  I have them set to equip anything they can find, which is a hell of alot better than before.  Fighting a sasquatch with 10 guys on full fisticuffs has forced me to dedicate personnel to military duty.  So far, I haven't figured out what the hell half of the workshops do, and I'm still buying all of my arrows from merchants.  Dear GOD, why aren't there tooltips...

Stone swords can only be made from obsidian and require logs. They're basically Aztec maquahuitl, wielded by dwarves. If you do have obsidian, wood, and no metal, I think they're nearly as good as steel at present, so they're definitely worth making.

[murlocdummy]

Thanks for the help proxn_punkd!

And now for another round of questions.

I remember some users mentioning making roofs.  I tried making a wall over open space, but my dwarves don't seem to be able to do that.

As for the skeleton piles, I assume that it takes years for the old turtle shells and skeletons to become usable?  I've got this blinking minotaur skeleton that's been sitting around for a while, and I'm wondering when I can use it.

I've also read that cats don't have any kind of population limit, so they'll have to be dealt with somehow.  So far, I haven't figured out much about animals, but I'm wanting to stick them in cages to prevent breeding.  I assume you just build a cage, select it with q, then assign the cat to it?

Also, one of my babies died of thirst in the middle of the main dining hall.  Do they normally do that?

[Trapezohedron]

1. The dwarves can't build something above them; they must build it at the same level the roof would be. In short, build a ramp leading to the roof and build some floors to cover your housing.

2. You can't use skeletons from intelligent creatures, because dwarves, by default, hate cannibalism and stuff like that.

3. Yes, build a cage from the build menu, after crafting a cage, then assign the cat using q. There's a limit of how many animals in a single species a fort could have. Once that limit is reached, no more pregnancies will happen, but pregnant creatures will still give birth, usually exceeding the aforementioned limit. I forgot the what the limit's number was, but it's there.

4. No, it's parents must have neglected them. Go build a well or designate a drinking spot for them, should you have a safe river in the vicinity.

[proxn_punkd]

Build a wall on the ground, up stairs from the ground and down stairs from the top of the wall, and then build a floor on top of the wall. That's how I've been making "roofs", anyway.

Shells are a different kind of material than skeletons. They're used for shell crafts, which use the bonecarving skill, and a lot of players hoard them indoors where they won't decay, in case some dwarf has a strange mood calling for shells. (ETA: Dwarves can use the bones of sentients for crafts if they've rotted clean, but they won't butcher sentients. It takes years for a skeleton to rot into useable bones.)

Cats have the same population limit 50 as everything else, I think, but 50 cats will slow your framerate to a crawl, and they like to endear themselves to dwarves so they become pets and can't be culled. You do have the caging process correct.

[murlocdummy]

Ah, I see.  Build a wall, climb on top of it with stairs, then build a floor.  Useful stuff!

And, of course, another round of questions!

How do I designate my well as a drinking area?  There's nothing under Designations about it.

I'm also having trouble getting my squadron to train.  The barracks/armory is constantly empty of warriors and only has the regular traffic coming in and out of it.  Dwarf Therapist is showing my warriors having no gain in combat skill.  I set the barracks and armory to both have train on my one squadron.  I removed equip and sleep in case that was interfering with the training, but that didn't seem to have an affect.  I made sure, however, to alternate training months with inactive months to ensure that my dwarves don't end up training themselves to death, but they still don't train.

I'm having trouble finding where my pots are in my Stocks listing under the status menu (z).  I've been having my craftsdwarves build pots for a while to hold goods in, but I haven't a clue how many they actually built.  I assumed it would be under barrels, but I'm not seeing chalk pots anywhere in the listing or sublistings.

On a side note:
I just realized where the option to do engraving and smoothing of walls is!  It seems simple enough:  Just designate the area, and my masons will get right to it.  I'll try it out once I figure out how to ensure that I have a trained army.

[Togre]

How do I designate my well as a drinking area?  There's nothing under Designations about it.

I don't know.  My dwarfs drink tons of booze and I try to have a well in the hospital and in the meeting hall, but I don't know if this is working.

I'm also having trouble getting my squadron to train.  The barracks/armory is constantly empty of warriors and only has the regular traffic coming in and out of it.  Dwarf Therapist is showing my warriors having no gain in combat skill.  I set the barracks and armory to both have train on my one squadron.  I removed equip and sleep in case that was interfering with the training, but that didn't seem to have an affect.  I made sure, however, to alternate training months with inactive months to ensure that my dwarves don't end up training themselves to death, but they still don't train.

You need to select the squad and change training from inactive to active.  I don't think removing equip and sleep is necessary. I also turn off labors, but that may be a personal quirk.

I'm having trouble finding where my pots are in my Stocks listing under the status menu (z).  I've been having my craftsdwarves build pots for a while to hold goods in, but I haven't a clue how many they actually built.  I assumed it would be under barrels, but I'm not seeing chalk pots anywhere in the listing or sublistings.

I believe pots are in the "tools" section of that list.

On a side note:
I just realized where the option to do engraving and smoothing of walls is!  It seems simple enough:  Just designate the area, and my masons will get right to it.  I'll try it out once I figure out how to ensure that I have a trained army.

Depending on how quickly you generate wealth, you may not need a strong military at once.  I'm on year 3 and have only faced 4 scatchers and 1 minotaur.  Depending on what you do with traps, it doesn't take much to handle that.  But...military is fun (and sometimes !!FUN!!) and you'll want it good eventually.  Hope you enjoy this game.  You'll know more than I do pretty soon.