Dwarf Fortress Wiki - User contributions [en]

DF2014 Talk:Security design

2014-08-12T06:40:58Z

Celem:

Added a note at the top of general suggestions where it is eye-catching. I dont have time to rework all the bits that need it right now, but some stuff has been outdated by jump/climb and needs to reflect the new mechanics. I know the pages all have the migration headers anyway, but some of these tactics like fast embark moat are now actual suicide so i thought i'd point it out more specifically. Also we can now disregard the pillbox suggestion from the previous namepsace discussion page. The thread referred to (which was mine) is incorporated already between this page and the archery tower one, thanks whichever persons were responsible. ~~Celem

DF2014 Talk:Security design

2014-08-12T06:40:22Z

Celem:

Added a note at the top of general suggestions where it is eye-catching. I dont have time to rework all the bits that need it right now, but some stuff has been outdated by jump/climb and needs to reflect the new mechanics. I know the pages all have the migration headers anyway, but some of these tactics like fast embark moat are now actual suicide so i thought i'd point it out more specifically. Also we can now disregard the suggestion from the previous namepsace discussion page. The thread referred to (which was mine) is incorporated already between this page and the archery tower one, thanks whichever persons were responsible. ~~Celem

DF2014 Talk:Security design

2014-08-12T06:38:48Z

Celem:

Added a note at the top of general suggestions where it is eye-catching. I dont have time to rework all the bits that need it right now, but some stuff has been outdated by jump/climb and needs to reflect the new mechanics. I know the pages all have the migration headers anyway, but some of these tactics like fast embark moat are now actual suicide so i thought i'd point it out more specifically. Also we can now disregard the suggestion from the previous namepsace discussion page. The thread referred to (which as mine) is incorporated already between this page and the archery tower one, thanks whichever persons were responsible. ~~Celem

DF2014 Talk:Security design

2014-08-12T06:38:22Z

Celem: Created page with "Added a note at the top of general suggestions where it is eye-catching. I dont have time to rework all the bits that need it right now, but some stuff has been outdated by j..."

Added a note at the top of general suggestions where it is eye-catching. I dont have time to rework all the bits that need it right now, but some stuff has been outdated by jump/climb and needs to reflect the new mechanics. I know the pages all have the migration headers anyway, but some of these tactics like fast embark moat are now actual suicide so i thought i'd point it out more specifically. Also we can now disregard the suggestion from the previous namepsace discussion page. The thread referred to (which as mine) is incorporated already between this page and the archery tower one, thanks whichever persons were responsible

Security design

2014-08-12T06:33:11Z

Celem: /* General suggestions */

{{Migrated_article}}
{{av}}
{{Quality|Exceptional}}

:''This page is one of several inter-related articles on the broader topic of defending your fortress and your dwarves. '''Security design''' focuses on how to turn the physical layout and architecture of a fort into a defensible whole. For a general overview of the threats that will challenge your fortress and things to consider when preparing a standard defence, see the '''[[defense guide]]'''. For complex traps that are not a minor/optional part of a larger defensive plan (but might be adapted or plugged into one), see '''[[trap design]]'''. For specific advice on how to get your soldiers prepared for any threat, see '''[[military design]]'''.

:::::'''''Editors & Contributors''' - Please see the discussion page before posting.''

==Standard key==

'''Key:'''
'''symbol tile'''
· - Empty space
+ - Constructed floor, or top of wall section from lower level
'''0''' - Isolated wall section
╔╦═╗
╠╬═╣ - Connected wall
║║ ║
╚╩═╝
╬ - Fortifications
X - Up/down [[stairs]]
< - Up stair
> - Down stair
▲ - Up ramp/slope
▼ - Down ramp/slope
. - natural ground
☺ - dwarf

==General suggestions==

Note: Many of the following designs and tactics have yet to be re-evaluated for this version of DF. In particular invaders can now [[http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Jump|jump]] and [[http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Climber|climb]] to a degree. Familiarise yourself with these mechanics before implementing these strategies.

General designs should include suggestions that can be "plugged in" to a part of any typical fortress, and/or can be modified to suit a number of purposes.

Any fortress defenses need to be able to protect your dwarves while outside, whether that's military or civilians. On the truly labor-intensive end, you can fully enclose areas of wilderness you wish to utilize in walls or behind moats with the only access being from within your base. Hostile creatures, even 'invisible' ones like ambushers, start at map edges and travel across the map - they will only spawn in regions where they can path to a dwarf. By controlling which areas have access to paths to dwarves, you can force all hostile forces to appear in predictable and limited killing zones and battlefields that you control.

===Castle with a moat===
One of the easiest ways to protect your dwarves is to build a castle with a moat. The first step is to start your journey on a river. The first part of the castle that should be built is a canal about five wide with drawbridges to keep anything from getting into your fort. The next step is to build a two-thick wall with ramps to get up so that the dwarves can shoot from it and keep aquatic threats from simply swimming to the other side of the fort. You can also carve fortifications into the wall to allow your dwarves to more efficiently shoot from the wall.

===Meeting area as defense===

Especially in the very early game, you can use a [[Zone#Meeting_Area|meeting zone]] to attract animals and idle dwarves to a given area. This makes a pretty poor defense in general, but it's not a bad way to create an alarm system against minor threats such as [[thief|thieves]] near your stockpiles, at least until you have something better (which won't be hard). Remove the zone later, or it attracts idle dwarves and children. Note that until you designate something else, the site of your wagon (even once deconstructed) is a default meeting area.

===Guard Animals===

Both [[thief|thieves]] and [[ambush]]es are invisible until something detects them - a dwarf, a [[caravan]], a wild creature, a [[domestic animal]], anything. Once this happens (even if it was triggered by a wild [[groundhog]] on the far edge of the map), the game will pause with the appropriate [[announcement]], forcing your attention to the situation - which is nice. Therefore, it's a common practice to use animals to act as alarm systems, by [[restraint|restrain]]ing or assigning them to a [[pasture]] in entryways.

There are some considerations to good placement of such animals. If you have a 1- or 2-wide hall, one animal is enough. If you have a 3-wide hallway, a single pastured animal placed in the middle is still sufficient, or you can restrain two animals, one at each side of the hall.

══════════ R = restraint
+++1R1++++ 1 = area of animal 1
+++bbb++++ 2 = area of animal 2
+++2R2++++ b = area of both
══════════

Either arrangement creates a thief-proof barrier against unannounced intrusion, as there is no combination of locations where an invisible enemy can sneak by without bumping into an animal. Caravans can pass over [[restraint]]s and [[pasture]]s and their contained creatures without problem (however, do note that wagons will not appear on the map edge if a creature is blocking their intended location). Guard animals can also see hidden enemies one z-level below them, so long as there is no intervening floor, so if space is tight you can also place them above your entranceway.

Unless you're happy losing these animals on a regular basis, you should try to keep them alive.
:* Put them around a corner or behind a U-bend, so archers cannot fire at them from a distance.
:* Don't have them as your "first line of defense"; put them deeper in the entry, behind some traps.
:* Put them inside, so flying creatures have to come down to their level to attack them.
:* Use [[window]]s to protect your guard animal (note, however, that some intruders may not be detected if they are not forced to move directly adjacent to your animal).
:* Consider using a [[pressure plate]] at the extreme entrance to seal off the hall further down and keep your guard animal(s) safe. Thieves won't trigger them, but the animals can deal with those - ambushes ''will'' trigger them, and you don't want them getting to your guard animals.

Remember that anything short of a [[megabeast]] is not a good match for an armoured opponent.{{verify}} While watching your tame [[grizzly bear]] or [[alligator]] tear a thief apart has an amusement value, watching the goblin maceman send them flying across the map, mangled and dying, has less.

[[Animal trainer|Hunting animals]] have better observation (sight range) than their regular or war counterparts.

===Defending the edge===
You're not allowed to wall within five squares of the edge of the map... but this rule has more loopholes than the US federal income tax code. {{verify}} Until more versatile attackers emerge, it is not clear where effective play ends and exploit begins. ''(Note: we disclaim any responsibility for damage involving [[harpy|harpies]] and skeletal [[giant eagle]]s)''

* To start with, you can channel the '''''second''''' square from the edge. This will block the appearance of trade caravan [[wagon]]s and prevent their movement along that edge of the map. If barriers are used to prevent a Trade Depot near the edge of the map from being accessed from any other direction, caravans will be forced to appear in the un-channeled or bridged section of the edge. Your depot can be ready with stockpiles of favored trade goods, offset behind a wall to protect from archers a few squares away.
* You can also build drawbridges all the way up to the edge. A long, skinny, raised bridge is effectively a wall; however, it looks the same whether it's open or closed.
* If you channel to the second square from the edge where the '''''edge square''''' contains a tree then you have an impassible barrier while the tree survives.
* You can with some work use [[Obsidian]] casting to wall to the map edge

Train up diggers in soft soil and you can surround most of the map with a moat by the time the first migrants arrive. Be very, very wary of cave-ins, especially on highly sloped diagonal terrain - note that a downward ramp does not support adjacent floor tiles, and no tiles are supported diagonally.

Diplomats have a strange habit of appearing well inside the moat, but need to be allowed out when finished. ''[Note: On one 6x7 map [[horse]]s and other animals were also found to appear one embark unit (48 squares) left and up from the lower right corner, inside or atop the walls of a 5x5 doorless enclosure. Defend all leaks...]''

==== Design considerations ====

* The moat should be designed to prevent entry except by falling and exit except by climbing, from both sides. (Otherwise inside and outside forces might be tempted to shake hands from adjacent squares, with much annoyance) Despite an abundance of giant corkscrews, grates, ballista bolts, etc., no one has ever invented the ladder, so this keeps anyone from entering or leaving the rest of the map.
* The moat should be dry, because sooner or later you will be tempted to let someone visit the edge to loot goblins or hunt varmints, and next thing you know your Legendary Weaponsmith who outpaces all your smelters will be whiling away his time carrying a leather thong to a stockpile when he runs into a groundhog and decides to react by jumping into the moat and holding his breath beneath the shallow waters until he drowns. (As always, the notice that he has drowned is the first you'll hear of it)
* The moat doesn't actually ''need'' to be adjacent to the edge of the map except when conserving valuable surface terrain (such as [[tree|trees]] on a map that is mostly rock). It is easier to free trapped miners when they can dig further outward, and placing the moat on the sixth or further square in from the edge allows further modification with floodgates, walls, and doors. Any [[channel]]ing permanently changes the dug-out tile to "Light Above Ground", which restricts these features from tiles near the edge even if floors are later constructed to close the space.
* Because migrants might turn up near wild animals or be followed closely by [[goblin|goblins]], it is nice to wall off the last square in shorter segments. Each one or two segments are served by a separate lever bridge. This can be done by:
** Natural barriers. The map edge is mostly continuous ramp, but occasionally a break appears on an uneven surface, by a river channel, etc.
** Trees. If left intact they separate any fertile patches into many small segments.
** Floors. Although you can't directly Remove Stairs/Ramps at the edge, building a single square of floor on an up-ramp at the edge will destroy that up-ramp (and the down-ramp above it) and block movement around the edge. Building a square of floor on a down-ramp and then removing it creates a [[one-way]] path.{{verify}}
** You can build drawbridges *along* the edge and raise them. Combined with a channel right next to the drawbridge, this can completely obstruct passage of anything which can't destroy the bridge.
** You can build up ramps at the edge, which may disrupt passage?Needs testing
** Fortifications carved into the outer edge rock the next layer down? It may be possible to carve fortifications all the way around the edge of a rocky map, allowing entrance only onto designated bridges surrounded by moat and with a steep drop beneath, with some sized appropriately to admit siegers only and one other sized for a trade wagon. In this way combat can be reduced to a simple thumbs up/thumbs down decision at the lever.Probably not.
* Migrants, thieves, and sieges turn up all around the map, and can be allowed in by remote controlled bridges. (Doors will not hold back [[building destroyer|building destroyers]], and remote [[lever]] control is needed because other gates can be "taken by invaders" and become non-lockable) Invaders can be allowed in by small groups and fought if desired, or preferably admitted into underground zigzags with a door waiting to be locked at the far end once they get close to it. If most of the invaders can be trapped inside such spaces, the remainder will stand and be wiped out completely without retreating.

===Simple 5x5 Archer's Tower===
{{main|Archery tower}}

Build a [[archery tower|tower]] specifically to post archers on, possibly away from your main defenses. This lets you open fire before the enemy approaches your gates. A pillbox can be attached to your walls, or separate, so that the only access is from tunnels below. These tunnels can stretch across the map, and only need be 1-tile big if no regular traffic is expected. Construct [[wall]]s up to the second or third floor and then carve fortifications into them, so your dwarves can fire out. For extra usefulness, build a [[barracks]], [[archery target]], [[food]] [[stockpile]], [[well]] and/or [[dining room]] in or near the tower. Add a door or hatch to lock them in.

When placing multiple towers, know that crossbows have a range of 20 tiles, so, depending on whether you want overlapping fire or not (and how intense/accurate), anywhere from maybe 15 to 38 tiles between the edge of the towers is recommended. Crossbows actually have their range ''reduced'' by extra height in DF, so all you need is 1 level up to keep enemy archers from using your fortifications against you, and you're set. (Channeling a defensive moat further out will also work, moving potential enemy archers even further away, but also moving non-missile targets that far as well.)

====Siege engine turrets====
If it's big enough, build a [[siege engine]] inside a pillbox. Since siege engines cannot fire at targets higher or lower than them, the device needs to be on the same [[z-level]] as any targets, but this could be across a large gap to a nearby plateau. Only a single tile of fortifications is needed to fire through the wall. Position the tower to fire where invaders tend to congregate.

You will want to guarantee that enemies do not approach the position and scare the civilian operators - this distance has been reported to be up to 20 tiles or so. Dig a moat, have some intervening valley or build some secondary fortifications to keep enemies at a distance. Unlike walls, fortifications on the same z-level do not block siege engine missiles, at any range. Unfortunately, if an enemy can walk up to them, fortifications will protect enemies from your archery fire (but not siege engine fire.)

===Control Room===
Have one (large?) room (or several stacked on top of each other) for all defense-related levers, and central to idle dwarves - near your [[Activity zone#Meeting Area|meeting area]]s and [[noble]]s quarters, with one or more halls or stairs leading to it for quick access. Connect a lever to all those doors and hatches as the first lever to be pulled in an emergency, and the respondent will lock themselves in for you, guaranteeing that they will then have nothing else to do but stay there and pull levers. This can, however, backfire when your chosen dwarf decides to go [[on break]], take a nap, or throw a [[tantrum]] in the middle of a crisis.

It may also be an idea to have a second lever to at least one door, for emergency access. And possibly to add a stockpile of booze and food or a well for longer sieges.

===AI abuse===
Taking advantage of the game's Artificial Intelligence and [[path]]finding is a whole article in itself. Try leaving a door un-forbidden during an attack. When the bad guys approach the door, forbid it, and the enemy will wander off. Unlock it again, and they turn around and head back towards the door again. You can get enemies to march back and forth over a set of traps this way, or lure them deep into a complex trap. This could be fully automated via [[pressure plate]]s if you're feeling adventurous.

===Bait animal===
[[Restraint|Restraining]] or [[Pasture|pasturing]] a sacrificial animal just outside your walls, but within range of your marksdwarves and/or siege engines, can lure an enemy into attacking that while you cut them down. Make sure to place a pattern of some walls (or statues, see below) so enemy archers cannot simply shoot the creature from a safe distance.

=====Fortifications=====
Adding a ring of fortifications to help defend the animal against missile fire will keep melee troops away, but invite archers to come adjacent to the fortifications - and under your walls and crossbows. If you allow any path, the melee troops will try to follow it to the animal - be creative with that fact.

=====Traps=====
Surround the animal with traps to kill or capture approaching goblins.

Build a long, narrow, and twisty passage, accessible from the outside, possibly even unconnected to your fortress. Build as many simple traps as you like. Place a bait animal inside. Enemy attackers walk right in, and get torn apart by the traps. If any manage to make it to the end, and kill the useless animal, they're surrounded by traps, and no closer to your fortress.

If the animal is underground, you can build a tunnel above it, channel down, and mark the channel a [[Activity_zone|pit/pond]]. That way, you can "reload" a new bait animal from the safety of your fortress. Note that this requires using a non-pet-passable door and that falls more than a couple z-levels may injure your bait.

=====Distractions=====
Releasing a [[cage]] full of surplus animals will keep the enemy archers very busy. They may even be out of ammo when your wrestlers show up. This can be useful as an emergency measure since the animals need to be stored somewhere anyway.

Alternatively, you can use remotely-actuated doors tied to a [[repeater]]: open providing a tempting target for enemy archers, then closed to block their arrows and protect the bait. Similarly, a captured [[necromancer]] can continually raise a few undead to give enemy archers easy targets to pincushion.

=====Vanishing act=====
Having a linked drawbridge that can open/shut (perhaps on both a lever to open and a nearby pressure plate to close), to lure the enemy in under your guns and then protect the animal when they get too close (for multiple uses.)

=====Vs. building destroyers=====
For [[building destroyer|building destroyers]], spare furniture can serve the same purpose as bait animals. Building destroyers will hunt down and destroy structures, so carefully placing them can control their movements.

=====Trap chokepoints=====
Enemies can be herded by constructed features. If you have a particular zone covered by catapults and would like enemies to pass through it, strategically placed walls can make enemy pathfinding more favorable. A trap occupying a single tile in the middle of a barren plain is likely to never get triggered. However, if walls are placed in a cross-hair pattern around the trap, animals and invaders are much more likely to pass over it as they wander across the map. This can be a very useful trick when capturing wildlife with cage traps.

<pre>
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
═════^═════
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
</pre>

=====Pathing slowdowns=====
If you're playing on a low-powered machine and you close up all entrances to your fortress during a siege, your game may grind to a halt and/or crash as the siegers continuously fail at pathfinding into your fortress. Bait animals may alleviate this.

==Entrance designs==

===Airlock defenses/buffer zone===
Build two walls, each with a drawbridge. Build the trade depot in the buffer zone between them. Keep the outer bridge open, and the inner one closed. When the merchants appear, put crossbows on the walls to guard their approach. Once all the merchants are safely inside, close the outer bridge. Once there's no enemies left in the buffer zone, open the inner bridge so your civilians can start loading up the depot.

The airlock pattern can be useful even without putting the depot there. Let a few siegers in at a time, and crush them. Reset the traps, rest up the soldiers, and repeat.

===Siege Engines===
One effective way to have [[siege engine]]s (help) defend your fortress is:

'''One ballista vs 3-wide hallway'''
══════════════════════════╦═════
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····║▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬◄═«
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····║▐▄/
══════════════════════════╩═════

Using this design you can cripple an army using a well timed volley. The hallway can be much longer than shown if you wish, as ballistae have extended ranges well over 100 tiles. The channeled area is necessary, as civilians (siege operators are "civilians") will run when enemies get within about 5-10 tiles of them, regardless of the actual path to that threat.

====Ballista battery====
Three (or more!) ballistae can be put into a "battery" if overlapped - one per tile-width of the hallway, with each ballista aiming down their row of tiles.

╔═══
══════════════════════════╦══╦══╝▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬ ╬▐▀\◄═« (~ammo~)
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬▐▀\◄═«▐▄/
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬◄═«▐▄/ (~ammo~)
══════════════════════════╣▐▄/ (~ammo~)
╚═════════

Be sure to use fortifications to prevent dwarves from wandering in front of the ballista to their deaths. If desired (and you have the <s>man</s>dwarfpower to spare), catapults may be put behind those, as they shoot safely ''over'' workers in front of them. Although less effective than ballistae, it's a little more firepower - and that can't be a bad thing.

For added flavour, channel out one or more tiles down the length of the 3-wide hallway and install retractable bridges. When invaders attack, retract the bridges, forcing them into paths that are only 1-tile wide.

Adding additional channels on either side of the hall will allow stray ammo to be recovered at a later time. Make sure to add locked doors, to prevent siege operators from walking down below enemy archers during a battle.

===Flooded entrance===
Using a chamber as your entrance alongside a chamber full of water and some machinery you can flood or drain the entrance at will.

The basic premise requires two levers, two [[screw pump]]s and two [[Gear assembly|gear assemblies]]. The amount of power required and the number of additional components needed to get the power to the screw pumps varies depending on distance/setup. One pump is placed to draw from chamber 1 and dump into chamber 2. The other is set in reverse. A gear assembly is placed next to each pump and connected to the main power system. Each gear is linked to a lever. Now at the flip of a switch you can submerge your entrance with [[water]] or [[magma]] for easy, secure defense against creatures that aren't amphibious or magma-dwelling, depending.

[[Image:Entflood.jpg|200px]]

The picture above shows the design in action. The green pump is currently on while the red has been disconnected through the grey marked axle. The yellow X is just to mark that there is a channel under the axle.

An alternative that uses gravity rather than screw pumps (but works only if you have a volcano or surface river, a subterranean entrance chamber, and easy access to a cavern layer) is to dig a tunnel fitted with a floodgate or similar valve between a volcano or surface river and your entrance chamber. A second tunnel equipped with an appropriate valve mechanism allows the user to drain the chamber into a cavern layer. A grate can also be integrated into your drainage system to prevent the loss of valuable [[goblinite]] or similar remains.

=== The "Reverse Battlement" design ===

Level Z+0 (ground):
...............
F ═══════════════
O .≥.g≥...g......
R ..≤......g.....
T ...g≤..g....... <-- enemies enter here
R ..≥......g.....
E .g.≤.........g.
S ═══════════════
S ...............

Level Z+1 (bridge):

E ·····║+++║·····
N +++++║+++║+++++
T ·····╬☺++║·····
R ·····╬☺++║·····
A ·····╬☺++║····· <-- archers shoot them from up above
N ·····╬☺++║·····
C ·····╬☺++║·····
E +++++║+++║+++++
·····║+++║·····

Note that in this diagram, the fortress interior is to the West, and the enemy forces come from the East. The marksdwarves on the bridge with the [[fortification]]s are one level above the [[goblin]]s (or other attackers), who will pass under the bridge and charge on toward the west. As the first clear from under the bridge, they are targeted from behind (which is one level above), as the marksdwarves wait in ambush. This allows the marksdwarves to face far fewer enemies at any one time, at least to begin with, and any enemy archers must clear the bridge, take their lumps, and then return fire back the other way before the marksdwarves are ever under attack.

If you're feeling especially nasty, make the tunnel really long into the mountain and add a ballista battery (see above).

''(Adding ammo stockpiles, of your best quality bolts, to these stations will speed up reloading for longer sieges/battles. Even adding small, convenient food and alcohol stockpiles is not unheard of. Some designers place access to/from archery ranges very close to these stations, for faster deployment.)''

===Twisty maze===
A maze of turns and blindspots patrolled by quality military can be a very formidable defense. Wide enough for wagons to pass though, but with no clear shots for any ranged weapons. Missile weapons do have a minimum range, so if a target is closer than that range, they will instead just charge to melee - and meet a dwarf with a much better melee skill. Downside to this is that you'd be mixing it up in melee all the time, but so long as you have at least 10 dwarves greeting the goblins as one coherent mass, you should win.

Variations on the twisty maze include:

*A wagon-wide twisty maze, and a not-so-twisty 1-tile wide hall o'traps, with a drawbridge that can force one or the other as the only [[path]] into your fortress.

*Making the side of the maze into fortifications, with a channel separating the fortifications from the actual floor of the maze, and having your archery targets on the other side of the fortifications so your marksdwarves can practice. When the goblins round the corner, they charge through a hail of crossbow bolts, and drop dead.

===Forced Detour===

This particular design works well with plenty of archers, siege engines, and other ranged weaponry. A walled maze gives melee an advantage, but an open maze gives advantage to ranged attackers.
{{diagram|spaces=yes|
++++++++++++++++++ENTRANCE+
══╦════════════════O╞═╡O╦══ <-- Bridge 1
+☺╬·+++++++++++++++++++·╬☺+
++╬·+···············╞═╡·╬++ <-- Bridge 2
++╬·+·+++·+++·+++·+++++·╬++
+☺╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬☺+
++╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬++
++╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬++
+☺╬·+++·+++·+++·+++·+++·╬☺+
++╬·················+++·╬++
++╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╗·+++·╬++
++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺╬·+++·╬☺+
++++++++++++++++++╬·+++·╬++
++++++++++++++++++╬·+++·╬++
══════════════╗++☺╬·+++·╬☺+
║+++╬·+++·╬++
║+++╬·+++·╬++
║++☺╬·╞═╡·╬☺+ <-- Bridge 3
}}
The 3 tile wide lane is for traders, so if your [[trade depot]] is located before this set-up, cut it down to a 1 tile lane to slow down invaders more.

Another option is to replace bridge 2 with a [[Wagon#Wagon-only_entrances|wagon-only entrance]]

===Bridge Use===

[[Image:defense_3bridges.png|thumb|right]]
An example of bridge construction tactics to deal with vile forces of ''any'' size. (See picture).

*'''Bridge 1''' seals off the entire base
*'''Bridge 2''' forces everyone to take the long, winding, heavily trapped/defended path of death.
*'''Bridge 3''' seals the inside of the fortress

Clever triggering of the bridges allows you to break the hostile forces into smaller chunks to be trapped in the courtyard while being caught in traps and a crossfire of arrows from the fortifications around.

===Pulling it all together===

Using ballistae, marksdwarves, bridges, traps, and guard animals in tandem brings up a few more considerations.

*Given the tendency of ballistae to pierce through enemies and knock out an entire row, forcing invaders along narrow paths can score multiple hits per shot. This is the most efficient use of these valuable pieces.
*Be careful about positioning your marksdwarves and ballistae opposite each other as an unlucky bolt might pierce a battlement on the other side.
*Ballista are operated by Dwarf civilians. Therefore putting your ballista right next to the path the [[Goblin_christmas|friendly neighbors]] use, will cause your BallistaDwarfs to run off right as you want them to fire.
*Adding a stair back at the entrance of a trap hallway allows dwarves to access loot that falls; it also forces anything that dodges off the edge to walk the entire length again.
*Filling the walkway with traps is also highly recommended. Throwing random weapon traps around the map in high-traffic areas isn't a bad idea. Traps are cheap and effective, use them liberally.
*War animals are convenient for catching thieves. They also serve as bait. Don't place them where enemy archers can reach them easily, and keep them well out of range of the inevitable hailstorm of bolts.
*Bridges, and for non-building-destroyers, doors, can be used to control the movement of enemies.
*Don't use cage traps as the front line of defense. Currently, a goblin squad will follow its leader indefinitely, and if its leader is caught in a cage the rest of the goblins will just stand there until they find [[Wood cutter|something]] [[fisherdwarf|to]] [[hunter|do]] rather than exploring the lovely, pointy playground you've created.

Base
║╞═╡║
║D+D║ ╞═╡= Bridge
║D+D║ D = War Dog (chained)
☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ║+++║ ^ = Trap
╔╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬═╝+++╠════
║.......................+++║▐▀\
║.++^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^++++++++╬◄═«
║.+.....................+++║▐▄/
║.+.....................+++║▐▀\
║.++^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+++..+++╬◄═«
║....................+..+++║▐▄/
║....................+..+++║▐▀\
║.++^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+++..+++╬◄═«
║.+.....................+++║▐▄/
║.+.....................╞═╡║▐▀\
║.++^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^++++++++╬◄═«
║.....................+++++║▐▄/
║....................>+++++╠════
╚════════════════════╗+++++║
║╞═══╡║
Entrance

Base
║╞═╡║
║D+D║ ╞═╡= Bridge
║D+D║ D = War Dog (chained)
☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ║+++║ ^ = Trap c= cage trap
╔╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╝+++╚═══╗
/▀▌╔════════════╝.......................+++.+..║ P= Gathering Pit
»=►╬++++++++++++..ccc+^+^+^+^+^+^+^++++++++.+..║ connected to
\▄▌║++++++++++++..+.....................+++.+.P║ Base next
/▀▌║++++++++++++..+.....................+++.+..║ z-level down
»=►╬++++++++++++..ccc+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+++..+++.+..║
\▄▌║++++++++++++.....................+..+++.+..║
/▀▌║++++++++++++.....................+..+++.+..║
»=►╬++++++++++++..ccc+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+++..+++.+..║
\▄▌║++++++++++++..+.....................+++.+..║
/▀▌║++++++++++++..+.....................╞═╡.+..║
»=►╬++++++++++++..ccc+^+^+^+^+^+^+^++++++++.+..║
\▄▌╚════════════╗.....................+++++.+..║
║....................>+++++.+..║
╚════════════════════╗+++++.╔══╝
║╞═══╡.║
Entrance

{{Military}}
{{category|Fortress defense}}
{{category|Design}}

v0.31 Talk:Trap design

2011-06-28T23:36:27Z

Celem: /* Suicide Booth */

:'''Editors & Contributors''' - Please include diagrams or ''clear'' and well-sized [[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Images images]] if appropriate. For diagrams, use [[Character table|standard Dwarf Fortress symbols]] for your diagrams - an x is an up/down stairwell, a ╬ is a fortification, a ▲ is an up-ramp/slope, etc. etc. For screenshots, use the standard tileset, not a custom one that few may recognize.

:Please do NOT add a "theoretical" trap design, that you have not actually tested, unless you are 100% sure it will work.

:If your suggestion is lengthy and complex, consider placing it on your User: page with simpler explanation and a link here.

:Lastly, if you can keep similar or alternate suggestions grouped within like subsections/topics/categories, that would be a good thing. Future wiki users and DF players thank you.

== Quality ==

Changed Quality from dwarven to human, as there are some red links. ~JoshBrickstien

==Needs Revision?==
I'm not sure, but I think the section on cage traps is misleading. It states that cage traps never fail. It's partially true: they never fail to work against things that are vulnerable to them. Aren't some things simply immune to cage traps? (Unless knocked out on top of one.) Forgotten Beasts, (at least some of the ones I encountered,) waltzed right by them.

== Suicide Booth ==

Okay, so I built a glass support with a 5x5 glass floor on top of it, then released a forgotten beast (a guaranteed building destroyer) into the area (it has deadly blood, and I'd rather not deal with that). It walked past the support (even though the same square) several times. '''Nothing happened'''. Fortunately, I took the precaution of linking the support to a lever so I could at least manually drop the ceiling on its head, so it's not a total loss. Has this trap design actually been '''verified''' to work, or is this yet another instance of guesswork? --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 18:03, 3 September 2010 (UTC)

Old comment but yeah, building destroyers dont hit supports. Dont know if they ever did. Use of the building destroyer tag to trigger a trap seems best suited to artifact furniture in combo with lever-linked spikes or the hatch cover over pressurized magma. [[User:Celem|Celem]] 23:36, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

v0.31 Talk:Trap design

2011-06-28T23:36:05Z

Celem: /* Suicide Booth */

v0.31:Trap design

2011-06-28T23:32:40Z

Celem: /* Menacing spikes */ added merchant/diplomat to warning about using traffic zones

{{quality|Masterwork|14:49, 24 January 2011 (UTC)}}{{av}}

:''This page is one of several inter-related articles on the broader topic of defending your fortress and your dwarves. '''Trap design''' focuses on the theory and design of complex traps, mechanical systems and other automation for defending your fortress, and also on unusual uses of simple mechanic's {{l|trap}}s. For a general overview of the threats that will challenge your fortress and things to consider when preparing a standard defense, see the '''{{l|defense guide}}'''. For tips on laying out your architecture to protect your military, see '''{{l|security design}}'''. For specific advice on how to get your soldiers prepared for any threat, see '''{{l|military design}}'''. See '''{{l|trapper}}''' for catching vermin-sized creatures in animal traps.

* For suggestions on disposing of nobles and other unwanted residents, see {{l|unfortunate accident|unfortunate accident}}.
* For a basic overview of how the different machine parts work and work together, see {{l|machinery|machinery}}.

:::::'''''Editors & Contributors''' - Please see the discussion page before posting.''

==Introduction==
Simple one-tile {{l|trap|trap}}s* are just that - they exist only on their own tile, trigger themselves when a target walks onto that one tile, and affect only that one tile. Complex traps and automation rely on linking {{l|door|door}}s, {{l|hatch cover|hatch}}es, {{l|floodgate|floodgate}}s, {{l|bridge|bridge}}s and mechanic's traps to {{l|lever|lever}}s or {{l|pressure plate|pressure plate}}s, along with {{l|machinery|machinery}} to provide the power to run some of the more diabolical designs. When the trigger is activated, it sends a {{l|lever|signal}} to the linked device. That signal is not always as simple as "do it now", but it's specifically either to "open" or to "close". By manipulating what does what and when, and what follows from that, impressive results can be achieved.

:''(* specifically, the {{l|Trap#Stone-fall_Trap|stone-fall trap}}, {{l|Trap#Weapon_Trap|weapon trap}}, and {{l|Trap#Cage_Trap|cage trap}}.)''

* To fully understand how these component objects work individually (before combining them into diabolical and complex combinations), see those main articles.

==Basic traps==
These are the simple {{l|trap|trap}}s that are placed by a mechanic. They require one {{l|mechanism|mechanism}} but do not require levers or triggers. They can be a quick, easy and brutally effective "first defense" for a fledgling fortress, but they can also be combined into key parts of more complex set ups. For tips on using these basic traps effectively, see the Trap Strategies section.

===Stone fall trap===
:This is the easiest trap to build, so you can easily build them in large numbers. Building lots of them is an easy way to earn experience for your {{l|mechanic|mechanic}}, and add to the depth of your fort's defenses at the same time. Surrounding intersections and stairways is a good way of handling threats that make it inside the fortress, including berserk dwarves.

===Weapon trap===
:The gold standard of lethal traps. This is the only simple trap that works repeatedly without reloading. They do get jammed, however. View the trap with the '''items in room''' {{key|t}} mode, and if there's a corpse inside the trap, it's jammed. None of the weapons on a jammed trap will function. It may be wiser to have several weapon traps with fewer weapons, rather than a smaller number of ten-weapon traps.

:Using {{l|crossbow|crossbow}}s or other projectile weapons in weapon traps avoids the problem of jamming, but they must be kept loaded with {{l|ammo|ammo}}. Mechanics will load them with any ammo that is not forbidden. They will load each until each type of weapon has ten rounds of ammo. Hammers seem to jam less than swords or axes, and spears seem to jam the most. Your dwarves will attempt to unjam traps unless otherwise forbidden.

===Cage trap===
:A very powerful type of trap. Maybe even too powerful - currently, even a wooden or glass {{l|cage|cage}} can hold indefinitely any creature short of a [[titan]], even trolls and megabeasts. A cage trap never fails, although creatures with the {{L|creature token|[TRAP_AVOID]}} tag cannot be captured unless knocked unconscious or [[Giant cave spider|webbed]] first. Use cage traps as your outermost traps to catch the occasional wandering animal, angry wounded {{l|elephant|elephant}} or {{l|unicorn|unicorn}}, or even {{l|zombie|zombie}}s. Caged animals and enemies will be safely brought to any animal stockpiles you have, but may escape later if you are not careful. For more information, see {{l|captured creatures}}.

==Linked traps==
These traps require a trigger such as a {{l|pressure plate|pressure plate}} or {{l|lever|lever}}. They will require at least three {{l|mechanisms|mechanisms}}, one for the trigger and two to create the link. The trigger can be located any distance from the trap, typically close for a pressure plate or far away for a lever.

For a system that repeatedly activates automatically and regularly regardless of enemies, see {{l|Repeater}}.

===Menacing spikes===
Menacing {{l|trap component|spike}}s or upright spears appear on the basic mechanic's {{k|T}}rap menu, but must be activated remotely to pop out of the ground and impale anyone standing on that tile. Vast forests of these can make any area a killing field.

While upright spike defense systems never jam, they also do not discriminate. When activated, they will inflict piercing damage on whatever is standing on the tile, whether it be friend or foe. You can use {{L|traffic|traffic designations}} to help somewhat. Designate the spike trap tiles as "restricted" then make a longer path going around the spikes that's designated as "high traffic." Pets and merchants/diplomats will probably still get skewered, though.

==Trap strategies==
These are some basic tricks that can be used with most any trap design, basic or complex.

===Bait animals===
Enemies will hunt down and kill friendly tame animals wandering outside if they have nothing better to do. Put an expendable animal on a {{l|restraint}} in some random spot outside, build a few columns around it to reduce the chance of them shooting it, and trap that area to hell and back. Also known as the "Tar Baby" strategy.

Note that this is a horrible method of getting rid of cats, as they will often adopt a dwarf who will then attempt to free the cat. This may lead to the unfortunate situation of Urist McCatlover getting skewered by an ambush party while on his way to free Mr. Baitykins.

===Trapping efficiently part 1===
As the converse of building many traps everywhere, consider instead herding your enemies into a few traps. A cross-hair pattern of walls or impassable channels with an array of traps in the middle gap will increase the usage of each individual trap. This is particularly useful when capturing wildlife. You may also want a few traps near the edges, to catch the creatures that attempt to go around it.

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
+++++++[#F00]^[#F00]^[#F00]^+++++++ [#FFF]l[#FFF]e[#FFF]g[#FFF]e[#FFF]n[#FFF]d
++++++++▓++++++++ ▓ stone/wall
++++++++▓++++++++ [#F00]^ trap
++++++++▓++++++++ + floor
++++++++▓++++++++
++++++[#F00]^[#F00]^▓[#F00]^[#F00]^++++++
[#F00]^+++++[#F00]^[#F00]^▓[#F00]^[#F00]^+++++[#F00]^
[#F00]^▓▓▓▓▓▓▓[#F00]^▓▓▓▓▓▓▓[#F00]^
[#F00]^+++++[#F00]^[#F00]^▓[#F00]^[#F00]^+++++[#F00]^
++++++[#F00]^[#F00]^▓[#F00]^[#F00]^++++++
++++++++▓++++++++
++++++++▓++++++++
++++++++▓++++++++
++++++++▓++++++++
+++++++[#F00]^[#F00]^[#F00]^+++++++
}}

===Trapping efficiently part 2===

If the path where you will place your traps has bends, expect the enemy to take the most direct path - it's not guaranteed, but they will tend to hug the inside of a corner, and rarely detour to a dead-end (represented by "x").

╔═════════
║ ║xx ??
║ ║x ???
║???║ .???? ? = unpredictable path
║???║ .╔═════
║ ??║ . ║ . = ''most likely'' path
║ .║g ║ g = invader
║x . x║
║xx xx║ x = ''unlikely'' detour
╚═══════╝

Once in a straight hall, anything is possible (represented by "?"), but placing your best (or first) traps on the inside path near "inside" corners (and de-emphasizing outside "dead-end" corners) is the best bet. If two invaders are side-by-side, they will wander, and random actions are always possible, but if you had to guess, this is the way to do it.

===Trapping efficiently part 3===

If there are a lot of hills outside, remove most of the ramps, then trap those last few routes. The only way for creatures to get around will be to go through your traps.

░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲ Before
++++++++++++++++++

░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
+++++++^▲^++++++++ After
+++++++^^^++++++++

===Trapping efficiently part 4===

Have a river or any kind of chasm? Construct a floor over it (not a bridge), then build traps over it. Brooks won't work for this, because everything can already walk over the top of a brook. It also won't work as well in winter on a map that freezes.

+++++++++++░^^░+++++++++++
+++++++++++░^^░+++++++++++
+++++++++++░^^░+++++++++++
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~░^^░~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ Nobody ever said that it had to end at the river banks.
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~░^^░~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ Building walls along the side allows you to make it longer
+++++++++++░^^░+++++++++++ and to fill it with more traps.
+++++++++++░^^░+++++++++++
+++++++++++░^^░+++++++++++

==Crushing weight traps==

===Dropping the Hammer===
Lowering {{l|drawbridge|drawbridge}}s on invaders will {{l|dwarven atom smasher|crush}} them into nothingness. Known as the 'Dwarven Atom Smasher', bridges will destroy most things with some notable exceptions including {{l|wagon}}s and {{l|elephant}}s, who will not only survive unscathed but also destroy the bridge.

Try replacing the side wall of a part of your main entrance with a drawbridge, big enough so it spans the whole hallway. To prevent enemies with the {{l|Creature token|[BUILDINGDESTROYER]}} tag from wrecking it, you can dig a {{l|channel}} in front of it for protection while it's raised. Link the drawbridge to a {{l|lever|trigger}}, and whenever you feel like it activate the trap. This can be done with minimal effort and used to smash {{l|invader}}s, unwanted {{l|immigrants}}, bothersome {{l|nobles}}, or simply to destroy your garbage.

===Intentional cave-in===
{{l|Support|Support}}s can be linked to triggers. Building a section of floor that is deliberately held up only by a trapped support allows for an intentional {{l|cave-in|cave-in}}.
* Invaders dropped into a pit can be wounded or killed.
* Dropping a floor or wall directly onto any creature will ''instantly'' kill it, regardless of its size.
* The cave-in will also knock nearby invaders unconscious. This will stun them, and also make them susceptible to simple traps (even if normally immune).
* Cave-ins will ''not'' reveal invisible invaders, such as {{l|ambush|ambush}}ers unless it kills them outright, in which case their bodies become visible.

The biggest drawback of this sort of trap is the "reload" process, which can be relatively time consuming. Have a drawbridge that can seal off the work area so your {{l|mechanic|mechanic}}s and {{l|mason|mason}}s can reconstruct the setup in peace.

==Water traps==
These traps drown, freeze, boil, or wash targets away. Errors in execution can be quite <s>{{l|flood|harmful}} to your fortress</s> {{l|fun}}, so use with caution.

===Drown and burn===

A flooding room trap combined with an unextinguishable burning Lignite bin. The water will evaporate on the bin's tile, causing the water from the surrounding tiles to move to it, which then get evaporated as well. The water will also push the invaders onto the fire, causing them to burn to death... in a flooding chamber.

NOTE: Traps involving large quantities of water turning into steam are as effective at killing your {{l|framerate}} as they are {{l|goblin|goblins}}. Use with caution, and have the cut-off lever at the ready.

===Drowning hall===

'''Level 0'''

░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ <tt>░</tt> - Wall
->++▼··················▼++-> <tt>-></tt> - Direction of traffic
->++▼··················▼++-> <tt>▼</tt> - Down-Ramps (as visible from one level above = see {{l|ramp|ramp}})
->++▼··················▼++-> <tt>+</tt> - Floor
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ <tt>·</tt> - Open space

'''Level -1'''
░░░░░░XX░░░░░░░░XX░░░░░░ <tt>X </tt> - Inflow
░░▲++▼··▼++++++▼··▼++▲░░
░░▲++▼··▼++++++▼··▼++▲░░ <tt>▲</tt> - Up-Ramps
░░▲++▼··▼++++++▼··▼++▲░░
░░░░░░XX░░░░░░░░XX░░░░░░ <tt>▼</tt> - Down-Ramps

'''Level -2'''
░░░░░░xx░░░░░░░░xx░░░░░░ <tt>x</tt> - Outflow
░░░░░▲++▲░░░░░░▲++▲░░░░░
░░░░░▲++▲░░░░░░▲++▲░░░░░
░░░░░▲++▲░░░░░░▲++▲░░░░░
░░░░░░xx░░░░░░░░xx░░░░░░

If enemies are in the middle of Level -1, open the inflow, then the water will first trap, and then drown them. If the pit is full, close the in- and open the outflow. You can automate this by using {{l|pressure plate|pressure plate}}s, or if you want to have more fun, replace the water with {{l|magma|magma}} (which would require pressure plates and floodgates to be {{l|magma-safe|magma-safe}}).

===Selective smiting tower===

This is a trap that can be built in discrete units. Each unit requires a lot of labor and protects only a small area, though in a dramatic manner. A wall of these around the map sharing a single massive water reservoir makes a very effective {{l|siege}} defense, as each tower component can be linked to a {{l|lever}} and used to wipe out a single invading squad at a time. Note: This may count as a {{l|stupid dwarf trick}}.

While a {{l|pressure plate}} in the center of this trap can trigger it and drown hidden ambushers, such an arrangement is subject to double-activation and failure. A pressure plate that only triggers once will break and the system will be incapable of self-reloading. A lever is highly recommended.

Using a cross-hair pattern of walls, invaders are herded through the trap. Inside the fortress, Urist McLeverpuller does his job. {{l|Floodgate}}s on the ground close, {{l|hatch}}es on the ceiling open, and drowning ensues. When all enemies are dead, the lever is pulled again. The hatches close and the floodgates open, allowing a rush of water and bodies to spill out.

Schematics shown are for a stand-alone tower, though the upper level can be linked with many similar towers for a grid-like defensive system.

'''Level 0'''

░░X░░X░X░░X░░ <tt>░</tt> - Wall
░+++++░+++++░ <tt>+</tt> - Floor
X+++++░+++++X <tt>X</tt> - Floodgate
░+++++░+++++░ <tt>H</tt> - Hatch
░+++++░+++++░ <tt>-</tt> - Water Reservior
X+++++░+++++X
░░░░░░+░░░░░░
X+++++░+++++X
░+++++░+++++░
░+++++░+++++░
X+++++░+++++X
░+++++░+++++░
░░X░░X░X░░X░░

'''Level 1'''
░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░-----------░
░-H--H-H--H-░
░-----------░
░-----------░
░-H-------H-░
░-----------░
░-H-------H-░
░-----------░
░-----------░
░-H--H-H--H-░
░-----------░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░

===Degrinchinator===

Water open to the sky in freezing biomes will freeze instantly, completely destroying anything caught in it. By digging a channel entrance to your fort and selectively allowing it to flood as invaders pass through, you can commit genocide with appalling efficiency. The only disadvantage to this trap is its size: because water freezes so quickly, each entry channel must have a source of non-freezing water right next to it.

Observe: http://mkv25.net/dfma/movie-231-degrinchinator

===Semi-automatic Orcsicle maker===
Similar to the aforementioned Degrinchinator design but widened to permit the freezing of entire caravans. This model also boasts a handy mechanical reset feature.

Observe: http://mkv25.net/dfma/movie-1675-semi-automaticorcsiclemaker

[[User:Vattic/Orcsicle_maker_Explained|In depth design, pictures and caveats for this trap.]]

===Fully Automatic Ice Trap===
The hallway is exposed to the elements, and water there freezes instantly. The rest of the trap is underground. When an enemy steps on the pressure plate, the hallway is flooded with water immediately. Some of the water that doesn't freeze also triggers a second pressure plate. The second pressure plate pumps magma into the room directly beneath the main hallway, which melts the ice. The water is pumped out and retracting bridges then return the water and magma to their original positions. This trap was also inspired by the Degrinchinator.

Observe: http://mkv25.net/dfma/movie-2239-automaticresettingicetrap

Longer explanation: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=63346.0

=== Flusher ===

Have a water reservoir to one side of the path the intruders should take, and a deep chasm at the other side. When invaders are on the path, just pull a lever to flush them out.

A compact version of this can be set up with a reservoir tower and a path circling it:

'''Level 0'''

····························· <tt>░</tt> - Wall
->++++++++++++++++++++++++++· <tt>-></tt> - Direction of traffic
->++++++++++++++++++++++++++· <tt>▼</tt> - Down-Ramps (as visible from one level above = see {{l|ramp|ramp}})
->++++++++++++++++++++++++++· <tt>+</tt> - Floor
░XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX░+++· <tt>·</tt> - Open space
░<nowiki>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</nowiki>X+++· <tt>X</tt> - Floodgate OR retracting bridge
░<nowiki>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</nowiki>X+++· <tt>~</tt> - Water
░<nowiki>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</nowiki>X+++·
░<nowiki>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</nowiki>X+++·
░XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX░+++·
<-++++++++++++++++++++++++++·
<-++++++++++++++++++++++++++·
<-++++++++++++++++++++++++++·
·····························

Be sure that the reservoir can hold enough water to flush everything out (3 levels should be enough), that it can be automatically or easily refilled quickly, and be advised that flushing your own dwarves can be much [[fun]]. Adjust the height of the chasm depending on how much damage you want to cause to intruders or to [[Unfortunate_accident|innocent bystanders]] (7 levels start to do some serious damage).

Once flushed, the victims will try a way out (to re-invade the fortress, or to flee). Make sure there are some maintenance-free traps in their way. If you plan to collect goblinite afterwards, have a way to drain the bottom of the trap dry.

==Magma and fire traps==
These traps incinerate targets, or possibly encase them in obsidian. Magma does not play favorites - read up (again) on {{l|magma|magma}}, and use with ''extreme'' caution. Fire traps are included in this category because magma is often the best method of starting a fire.

===Sealed fate===

Create an airlock using two bridges, two doors or whatever you like best. Make it a medium sized chamber, perhaps 10x10 or so. Channel out the floors around the rim, and rig up a system to pump magma into the room, or drop it from the roof. Enemies will quickly be destroyed, and with the magma in the channels, you can pump it out for future use or just leave it. The idea here is a re-useable magma trap; you can use this with a pressure plate, too. It also leaves behind any magma-proof items the invaders might have been carrying.

Variation: By placing magma-safe hatches on the ceiling and quickly activating and deactivating the trap, you can limit the use of magma. It doesn't take a lot of magma to set a goblin on fire: only 1/7 deep will do it, and using less magma means it will dry on its own. It does take a while for an enemy to burn to death, but what's better than spending the whole summer watching a room full of smoke and dying goblins?

===Dwarven incinerator===

Certain minerals such as {{L|lignite}} and {{L|graphite}} have an ignition point but no melting point, meaning that once they are set on {{L|fire}} they will never stop burning. Any item made out of these materials has this property, which can be used to design horrifying fiery death traps.

Consider a hallway filled with lignite {{L|floor grate}}s, which can be built directly on the floor and do not impede the passage of enemies. Pouring {{L|magma}} on any one of these grates will set it alight, and the fire will spread to all connected grates. The end result is a lot of constant smoke and a hallway that kills anything that passes through it. Consider {{L|traffic|restricting access}} to your dwarves or building this in a pit with a retractable bridge over top: the mere fact that a location is on fire will not stop them from walking through it. On the plus side, {{L|goblin}}s are just as stupid.

==Misc trap designs==
By clever and creative use of various elements, it is possible to create impressive systems that fill a variety of functions.

===Casual impalement===

One method of creating a zone of constant slaughter is to link a pressure plate in your main dining hall or main hallway to a patch of menacing spikes or spears. As your dwarves/pets mill around conversing/mating, they will constantly trigger the spike system without regard to the consequences.

Variation: Drop goblins into a holding pit with various spike traps linked to your pressure plate artfully placed around the chamber. Watch as every dining hall {{l|party}} begins to be measured in goblin blood.

*TESTED: This works ''exceedingly'' well.

===Chasm trap===
The easiest chasm trap is just a retractable bridge, very high up or over a very deep hole; instead of flinging invaders when raised, it just drops them.

A more complicated collapsing spiral trap can take out ten goblins at a time. When finished, it looks like this:

+++
..........+++
.++++++++#+++
.+╔══════. # = retractable bridge
.+║++++++.
.+║+╔══╗+. + = floor
.+║+║A+║+.
.+║+╚═+║+. . = open space
.+║++^+║+.
.+╚════╝+. ^ = pressure plate
.++++++++.
.......... A = bait animal

The goblins are lured in by a {{l|restraint|restrain}}ed bait animal, and can't shoot it due to the surrounding walls. Just before they reach the bait, they trigger a pressure plate that retracts the bridge and collapses the support holding up the whole spiral. Goblins, bait animal, walls and all plummet into the chasm.

When building, you will need to {{l|construction|build}} a span of floor underneath, for the support, as bridges do not support constructions (''which is also why you want a bridge as the access, so it will not hold up the trap*)''. You will also need to have a floor tile between your floor and solid ground or wall while constructing, as the bridge alone will not work as a base, but you can remove it once the support is in place.

Because the outcome of this fairly complex trap can be easily obtained by just using a retractable bridge, it qualifies as a {{l|stupid dwarf trick}}.

===Land mines===
In any suitable open area which hasn't been dug out underneath, build a support and an adjacent multi-use pressure plate set to trigger on creatures (but not citizens), link them together, then build floor tiles above the support and pressure plate. When an enemy steps on the pressure plate, the game will pause and recenter the view with the announcement "''A section of the cavern has collapsed!''", at which point the enemy will be crushed and its companions will be stunned or knocked unconscious by the cloud of dust (though not necessarily revealed, in the case of an {{l|ambush|ambush}}).

===Pitfall trap===
A long retracting bridge in your entrance tunnel, with the pressure plate right in front of the fortress doors. The expression on the face of the point-goblin who reaches them only to watch his comrades plunge to whatever gruesome fate you have prepared for them will be a mental picture to cherish.

You may also consider linking these bridges to levers for more control, just in case a goblin thief triggers the pressure plate while a caravan is on the bridge.

===Door number one===
If you're having trouble dealing with building destroyers that don't set off traps, consider the following design, as seen from the side:

bridge____
MAGMA+^______________________/

Put the magma behind a door (probably with an open floodgate, so you can re-use the trap). In front of the door, place a pressure plate set to go off on magma of 0 to 0. Link the pressure plate to a retracting bridge that covers the exit ramp to the area. Although you can't get the creature to set off traps, as soon as it breaks the door, magma will spill over the pressure plate, locking the creature in the hallway that is rapidly filling with magma. You could combine this with a simple levered hatch for drainage, but it's recommended you combine it instead with a bridged reservoir above for an obsidian trap, as magma kills too slowly to allow you to reuse the trap on the next trapavoid building destroyer.

=== Goblin Grinder ===
Designed by forum member Fenwah in this thread: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=62798.0

This is an extremely effective and nearly maintenance-free way of defending against invading enemies. The simplest design is a straight corridor with a {{L|hatch}} on either end, triggered by a {{L|pressure plate}} immediately before it. A channel is carved under the hatches and the ramp removed. The corridor is then filled with traps.

======================
¢^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^¢
======================

The ends of the corridor are left open, allowing invaders to rush down the corridor, thinking it is an easy entrance into your fort. When they step on the pressure plate at the end, the hatch raises, exposing the uncrossable channel and blocking the exit. The invader's pathfinding decides to run back the other way, as that is now the only exit. As he reaches the other end, that hatch opens, causing him to run back and forth inside the corridor, unable to escape. As he runs back and forth, the traps grind himself into a fine mist with no effort on your part. Creatures will occasionally fall into the pit dug underneath the hatches, but these are easily dealt with such as building a room underneath the channels filled with more traps.

By setting the pressure plates to be unaffected by citizens, it's easy for them to walk through and collect the remaining goblinite unharmed once the siege ends.

Its two main disadvantages are being susceptible to both trap-avoiding creatures and {{L|building destroyer|Building Destroyers}}. These can be safeguarded by any of the other many usual ways of defending against this type of creature. It's also possible for a creature to be "stuck" in only the first few tiles of the trap, as they try to escape after taking enough damage, only walking two or three steps into the trap, then immediately turning around and trying to exit, and so only walking past already-triggered traps. Again, you can get rid of these with your military with no problem.

Some usage ideas from the thread:

* Without traps and placing only one pressure plate/hatch combination at the end leading into your fort, it makes a very simple dwarf-only one-way door into your fort. Non dwarves that attempt to enter will be blocked and turn around and take the exit. Alternately a good way of keeping creatures inside an area while allowing dwarf passage.
* With some additional work (details in the thread), it can be built as a repeater system, with a pressure plate inside hooked up to some other device that you want to repeatedly trigger. A pet running back and forth inside attempting to reach its owner or releasing a trapped prisoner and tempting them with freedom in exchange for running back and forth will repeatedly hit the pressure plate inside.
* Similarly, place a pressure plate inside that will link to some other action such as spike traps outside the entrance, impaling invaders waiting for their turn to enter the grinder as their friends run down the corridor.
* Don't fill with traps; instead, carve fortifications into the walls and use the trapped invaders as target practice and training for your archers.
* Don't fill with traps; instead fill with magma at your convenience.
* Fill with very weak weapon traps that will only maim the prisoner. Put an {{L|dwarven atom smasher|atom smasher}} near the other end that will be triggered as he tries to crawl towards freedom.
* With some effort and design, it could possibly be used as a component in building dwarven logic gates.

{{Military v0.31}}

v0.31:Security design

2011-06-28T23:09:21Z

Celem: /* Defending the edge */ added obsidian casting note

{{av}}
{{Quality|Exceptional}}

:''This page is one of several inter-related articles on the broader topic of defending your fortress and your dwarves. '''Security design''' focuses on how to turn the physical layout and architecture of a fort into a defensible whole. For a general overview of the threats that will challenge your fortress and things to consider when preparing a standard defence, see the '''{{l|defense guide}}'''. For complex traps that are not a minor/optional part of a larger defensive plan (but might be adapted or plugged into one), see '''{{l|trap design}}'''. For specific advice on how to get your soldiers prepared for any threat, see '''{{l|military design}}'''.

:::::'''''Editors & Contributors''' - Please see the discussion page before posting.''

==Standard key==

'''Key:'''
'''symbol tile'''
· - Empty space
+ - Constructed floor, or top of wall section from lower level
'''0''' - Isolated wall section
╔╦═╗
╠╬═╣ - Connected wall
║║ ║
╚╩═╝
╬ - Fortifications
X - Up/down {{l|stairs}}
< - Up stair
> - Down stair
▲ - Up ramp/slope
▼ - Down ramp/slope
. - natural ground
☺ - dwarf

==General suggestions==
General designs should include suggestions that can be "plugged in" to a part of any typical fortress, and/or can be modified to suit a number of purposes.

Any fortress defenses need to be able to protect your dwarves while outside, whether that's military or civilians. On the truly labor intensive end, you can fully enclose areas of wilderness you wish to utilize in walls or behind moats with the only access being from within your base. Hostile creatures, even 'invisible' ones like ambushers, start at map edges and travel across the map - they will only spawn in regions where they can path to a dwarf. By controlling which areas have access to paths to dwarves, you can force all hostile forces to appear in predictable and limited killing zones and battlefields that you control.

===Meeting area as defense===

Especially in the very early game, you can use a {{l|Zone#Meeting_Area|meeting zone}} to attract animals and idle dwarves to a given area. This makes a pretty poor defense in general, but it's not a bad way to create an alarm system against minor threats such as {{l|thief|thieves}} near your stockpiles, at least until you have something better (which won't be hard). Remove the zone later, or it attracts idle dwarves and children. Note that until you designate something else, the site of your wagon (even once deconstructed) is a default meeting area.

===Guard Animals===

Both {{l|thief|thieves}} and {{l|ambush}}es are invisible until something bumps into them - a dwarf, a {{l|caravan}}, a wild creature, a {{l|domestic animal}}, anything. Once this happens (even if it was triggered by a wild {{l|groundhog}} on the far edge of the map), the game will pause with the appropriate {{l|announcement}}, forcing your attention to the situation - which is nice. Therefore, it's a common practice to use animals to act as alarm systems, by {{l|restraint|restrain}}ing or assigning them to a {{L|pasture}} in entryways.

There are some considerations to good placement of such animals. If you have a 1- or 2-wide hall, one animal is enough. If you have a 3-wide hallway, a single pastured animal placed in the middle is still sufficient, or you can restrain two animals, one at each side of the hall.

══════════ R = restraint
+++1R1++++ 1 = area of animal 1
+++bbb++++ 2 = area of animal 2
+++2R2++++ b = area of both
══════════

Either arrangement creates a thief-proof barrier against unannounced intrusion, as there is no combination of locations where an invisible enemy can sneak by without bumping into an animal. Caravans can pass over {{l|restraint}}s and {{L|pasture}}s and their contained creatures without problem. Guard animals can also see hidden enemies one z-level below them, so long as there is no intervening floor, so if space is tight you can also place them above your entranceway.

Unless you're happy losing these animals on a regular basis, you should try to keep them alive.
:* Put them around a corner or behind a U-bend, so archers cannot fire at them from a distance.
:* Don't have them as your "first line of defense"; put them deeper in the entry, behind some traps.
:* Put them inside, so flying creatures have to come down to their level to attack them.
:* Consider using a {{l|pressure plate}} at the extreme entrance to seal off the hall further down and keep your guard animal(s) safe. Thieves won't trigger them, but the animals can deal with those - ambushes ''will'' trigger them, and you don't want them getting to your guard animals.

Remember that anything short of a {{l|megabeast}} is not a good match for an armoured opponent.{{verify}} While watching your tame {{l|grizzly bear}} or {{l|alligator}} tear a thief apart has an amusement value, watching the goblin maceman send them flying across the map, mangled and dying, has less.

Hunting Animals (trained at {{l|kennel}}s) have better observation (sight range) than their regular or war counterparts

===Defending the edge===
You're not allowed to wall within five squares of the edge of the map... but this rule has more loopholes than the US federal income tax code. Until more versatile attackers emerge, it is not clear where effective play ends and exploit begins. ''(Note: we disclaim any responsibility for damage involving {{l|harpy|harpies}} and skeletal {{l|giant eagle}}s)''

* To start with, you can channel the '''''second''''' square from the edge. This blocks entry of trade caravans or their movement along the edge of the map. If barriers are used to prevent a Trade Depot near the edge of the map from being accessed from any other direction, caravans will be forced to appear in the un-channeled or bridged section of the edge. Your depot can be ready with stockpiles of favored trade goods, offset behind a wall to protect from archers a few squares away.
* You can also build drawbridges all the way up to the edge. A long, skinny, raised bridge is effectively a wall; however, it looks the same whether it's open or closed.
* If you channel to the second square from the edge where the '''''edge square''''' contains a tree then you have an impassible barrier while the tree survives.
* You can with some work use {{l|Obsidian}} casting to wall to the map edge

Train up diggers in soft soil and you can surround most of the map with a moat by the time the first migrants arrive. Be very, very wary of cave-ins, especially on highly sloped diagonal terrain - note that a downward ramp does not support adjacent floor tiles, and no tiles are supported diagonally.

Diplomats have a strange habit of appearing well inside the moat, but need to be allowed out when finished. ''[Note: On one 6x7 map {{l|horse}}s and other animals were also found to appear one embark unit (48 squares) left and up from the lower right corner, inside or atop the walls of a 5x5 doorless enclosure. Defend all leaks...]''

==== Design considerations ====

* The moat should be designed to prevent entry except by falling and exit except by climbing, from both sides. (Otherwise inside and outside forces might be tempted to shake hands from adjacent squares, with much annoyance) Despite an abundance of giant corkscrews, grates, ballista bolts, etc., no one has ever invented the ladder, so this keeps anyone from entering or leaving the rest of the map.
* The moat should be dry, because sooner or later you will be tempted to let someone visit the edge to loot goblins or hunt varmints, and next thing you know your Legendary Weaponsmith who outpaces all your smelters will be whiling away his time carrying a leather thong to a stockpile when he runs into a groundhog and decides to react by jumping into the moat and holding his breath beneath the shallow waters until he drowns. (As always, the notice that he has drowned is the first you'll hear of it)
* The moat doesn't actually ''need'' to be adjacent to the edge of the map except when conserving valuable surface terrain (such as {{l|tree|trees}} on a map that is mostly rock). It is easier to free trapped miners when they can dig further outward, and placing the moat on the sixth or further square in from the edge allows further modification with floodgates, walls, and doors. Any {{l|channel}}ing permanently changes the dug-out tile to "Light Above Ground", which restricts these features from tiles near the edge even if floors are later constructed to close the space.
* Because migrants might turn up near wild animals or be followed closely by {{l|goblin|goblins}}, it is nice to wall off the last square in shorter segments. Each one or two segments are served by a separate lever bridge. This can be done by:
** natural barriers. The map edge is mostly continuous ramp, but occasionally a break appears on an uneven surface, by a river channel, etc.
** trees. If left intact they separate any fertile patches into many small segments.
** floors. Although you can't directly Remove Stairs/Ramps at the edge, building a single square of floor on an up-ramp at the edge will destroy that up-ramp (and the down-ramp above it) and block movement around the edge. Building a square of floor on a down-ramp and then removing it creates a {{l|one-way|one-way}} path.was a fix exploit, verify.
** You can build drawbridges *along* the edge and raise them. Combined with a channel right next to the drawbridge, this can completely obstruct passage of anything which can't destroy the bridge.
** You can build up ramps at the edge, which may disrupt passage?Needs testing
** Fortifications carved into the outer edge rock the next layer down? It may be possible to carve fortifications all the way around the edge of a rocky map, allowing entrance only onto designated bridges surrounded by moat and with a steep drop beneath, with some sized appropriately to admit siegers only and one other sized for a trade wagon. In this way combat can be reduced to a simple thumbs up/thumbs down decision at the lever.Probably not.
* Migrants, thieves, and sieges turn up all around the map, and can be allowed in by remote controlled bridges. (Doors will not hold back {{l|building destroyer|building destroyers}}, and remote {{l|lever}} control is needed because other gates can be "taken by invaders" and become non-lockable) Invaders can be allowed in by small groups and fought if desired, or preferably admitted into underground zigzags with a door waiting to be locked at the far end once they get close to it. If most of the invaders can be trapped inside such spaces, the remainder will stand and be wiped out completely without retreating.

===Simple 5x5 Archer's Tower===

Build a {{l|tower|tower}} specifically to post archers on, possibly away from your main defenses. This lets you open fire before the enemy approaches your gates. A pillbox can be attached to your walls, or separate, so that the only access is from tunnels below. These tunnels can stretch across the map, and only need be 1-tile big if no regular traffic is expected. Construct {{l|wall|wall}}s up to the second or third floor and then carve fortifications into them, so your dwarves can fire out. For extra usefulness, build a {{l|barracks|barracks}}, {{l|archery target|archery target}}, {{l|food|food}} {{l|stockpile|stockpile}}, {{l|well|well}} and {{l|dining room|dining room}} in or near the tower. Add a door or hatch to lock them in.

NOTE: It is better to construct walls and then carve fortifications into them, than to construct fortifications. The reason for this is that constructed fortifications do not provide a walkable tile on the layer above them, as walls do. Walls cannot be constructed without access from one of the four compass directions. Because of this, if you were to construct fortifications, when you progress to the level above, you would need to build a walkable path to the corner tiles. This path would need to be deconstructed before the wall or fortification could be built. Once deconstructed, the building material will drop onto the tile below with the fortification, trapping it until the fortification is deconstructed.

As discussed step-by-step in the article on {{l|mega construction|mega construction}}, this particular design is about as basic as it gets. As shown, it assumes entry from an underground tunnel, but a door or drawbridge (with moat!?) could easily be added, or even access via a protected sky-bridge.

When placing multiple towers, know that crossbows have a range of 20 tiles, so, depending on whether you want overlapping fire or not (and how intense/accurate), anywhere from maybe 15 to 38 tiles between the edge of the towers is recommended. Crossbows actually have their range ''reduced'' by extra height in DF, so all you need is 1 level up to keep enemy archers from using your fortifications against you, and you're set. (Channeling a defensive moat further out will also work, moving potential enemy archers even further away, but also moving non-missile targets that far as well.)

Side Below Ground Archer Roof
view: ground: Level: Level: Level:
╔═══╗ ╬╬╬╬╬ ·····
X__ X ║X..║ ╬X++╬ ·X++·
╬X__╬ ║...║ ╬+++╬ ·+++·
___║X__║___ ║...║ ╬+++╬ ·+++·
X ╚═══╝ ╬╬╬╬╬ ·····

This can hold 3 archers/side, and has the potential to be as many "archer levels" tall as you wish. A top-level "down stair" is necessary to build the "roof" - might as well build an up/down stair instead, no real reason not to. Remember to use the "corners first" technique when necessary. (See {{l|Tower}}.)

All told, for a simple 1 archer-level tower, this takes just over 50 stones or blocks (plus 25/extra archer level).

Larger towers (or this with larger floors on higher levels) could house barracks, practice ranges, and other facilities. Just expand to preferred size with floors, and then attach walls to those to act as a base for the next level of building. Add more stairs (adjacent to each other is always better) if high traffic is anticipated.

====Siege engine turrets====
If it's big enough, build a {{l|siege engine}} inside a pillbox. Since siege engines cannot fire at targets higher or lower than them, the device needs to be on the same {{l|z-level}} as any targets, but this could be across a large gap to a nearby plateau. Only a single tile of fortifications is needed to fire through the wall. Position the tower to fire where invaders tend to congregate.

You will want to guarantee that enemies do not approach the position and scare the civilian operators - this distance has been reported to be up to 20 tiles or so. Dig a moat, have some intervening valley or build some secondary fortifications to keep enemies at a distance. Unlike walls, fortifications on the same z-level do not block siege engine missiles, at any range. Unfortunately, if an enemy can walk up to them, fortifications will protect enemies from your archery fire (but not siege engine fire.)

===Control Room===
Have one (large?) room (or several stacked on top of each other) for all defense-related levers, and central to idle dwarves - near your {{l|Activity zone#Meeting Area|meeting area}}s and {{l|noble}}s quarters, with one or more halls or stairs leading to it for quick access. Connect a lever to all those doors and hatches as the first lever to be pulled in an emergency, and the respondent will lock themselves in for you, guaranteeing that they will then have nothing else to do but stay there and pull levers.

It may also be an idea to have a second lever to at least one door, for emergency access. And possibly to add a stockpile of booze and food or a well for longer sieges.

===AI abuse===
Taking advantage of the game's Artificial Intelligence and {{l|path}}finding is a whole article in itself. Try leaving a door un-forbidden during an attack. When the bad guys approach the door, forbid it, and the enemy will wander off. Unlock it again, and they turn around and head back towards the door again. You can get enemies to march back and forth over a set of traps this way, or lure them deep into a complex trap. This could be automated via {{l|pressure plate}}s. This might count as an {{l|exploit}}, or not - that's up to you, and what you consider fun and challenging.

===Bait animal===
{{l|Restraint|Restraining}} or {{L|Pasture|pasturing}} a sacrificial animal just outside your walls, but within range of your marksdwarves and/or siege engines, can lure an enemy into attacking that while you cut them down. Make sure to place a pattern of some walls (or statues, see below) so enemy archers cannot simply shoot the creature from a safe distance.

=====Fortifications=====
Adding a ring of fortifications to help defend the animal against missile fire will keep melee troops away, but invite archers to come adjacent to the fortifications - and under your walls and crossbows. If you allow any path, the melee troops will try to follow it to the animal - be creative with that fact.

=====Traps=====
Surround the animal with traps to kill or capture approaching goblins.

=====U chumps=====
Surround the far side of the animal with a U shaped 3-sided wall, open facing your defenders, so the enemy has to come closer to attack the animal, and you gun them down.

=====Distractions=====
Releasing a {{l|cage}} full of surplus animals will keep the enemy archers very busy. They may even be out of ammo when your wrestlers show up.

=====Vanishing act=====
Having a linked drawbridge that can open/shut (perhaps on both a lever to open and a nearby pressure plate to close), to lure the enemy in under your guns and then protect the animal when they get too close (for multiple uses.)

=====Roach motel=====
Build a long, narrow, and twisty passage, accessible from the outside, but unconnected to your fortress. Build as many simple traps as you like. Place a bait animal inside. Enemy attackers walk right in, and get torn apart by the traps. If any manage to make it to the end, and kill the useless animal, they're surrounded by traps, and no closer to your fortress.

If the roach motel is deep enough underground, you can build a tunnel above it, channel down, and mark the channel a {{l|Activity_zone|pit/pond}}. That way, you can "reload" a new bait animal.

=====Vs. building destroyers=====
For {{l|building destroyer|building destroyers}}, spare statues can serve the same purpose as bait animals.

=====Trap chokepoints=====
Enemies can be herded by constructed features. If you have a particular zone covered by catapults and would like enemies to pass through it, strategically placed walls can make enemy pathfinding more favorable. A trap occupying a single tile in the middle of a barren plain is likely to never get triggered. However, if walls are placed in a cross-hair pattern around the trap, animals and invaders are much more likely to pass over it as they wander across the map. This can be a very useful trick when capturing wildlife with cage traps.

<pre>
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
═════^═════
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
</pre>

=====Pathing slowdowns=====
If you're playing on a low-powered machine and you close up all entrances to your fortress during a siege, your game may grind to a halt and/or crash as the siegers continuously fail at pathfinding into your fortress. Bait animals may alleviate this.



==Entrance designs==

===Airlock defenses/buffer zone===
Build two walls, each with a drawbridge. Build the trade depot in the buffer zone between them. Keep the outer bridge open, and the inner one closed. When the merchants appear, put crossbows on the walls to guard their approach. Once all the merchants are safely inside, close the outer bridge. Once there's no enemies left in the buffer zone, open the inner bridge so your civilians can start loading up the depot.

The airlock pattern can be useful even without putting the depot there. Let a few siegers in at a time, and crush them. Reset the traps, Rest up the soldiers, and repeat.

===Siege Engines===
One effective way to have {{l|siege engine}}s (help) defend your fortress is:

'''One ballista vs 3-wide hallway'''
══════════════════════════╦═════
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····║▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬◄═«
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····║▐▄/
══════════════════════════╩═════

Using this design you can cripple an army using a well timed volley. The hallway can be much longer than shown if you wish, as ballistae have extended ranges well over 100 tiles. The channeled area is necessary, as civilians (siege operators are "civilians") will run when enemies get within about 5-10 tiles of them, regardless of the actual path to that threat.

====Ballista battery====
Three (or more!) ballistae can be put into a "battery" if overlapped - one per tile-width of the hallway, with each ballista aiming down their row of tiles.

╔═══
══════════════════════════╦══╦══╝▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬ ╬▐▀\◄═« (~ammo~)
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬▐▀\◄═«▐▄/
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬◄═«▐▄/ (~ammo~)
══════════════════════════╣▐▄/ (~ammo~)
╚═════════

Be sure to use fortifications to prevent dwarves from wandering in front of the ballista to their deaths. If desired (and you have the <s>man</s>dwarfpower to spare), catapults may be put behind those, as they shoot safely ''over'' workers in front of them. Although less effective than ballistae, it's a little more firepower - and that can't be a bad thing.

For added flavour, channel out one or more tiles down the length of the 3-wide hallway and install retractable bridges. When invaders attack, retract the bridges, forcing them into paths that are only 1-tile wide.

Adding additional channels on either side of the hall will allow stray ammo to be recovered at a later time. Make sure to add locked doors, to prevent siege operators from walking down below enemy archers during a battle.

===Flooded entrance===
Using a chamber as your entrance alongside a chamber full of water and some machinery you can flood or drain the entrance at will.

The basic premise requires two levers, two {{l|screw pump}}s and two {{l|Gear assembly|gear assemblies}}. The amount of power required and the number of additional components needed to get the power to the screw pumps varies depending on distance/setup. One pump is placed to draw from chamber 1 and dump into chamber 2. The other is set in reverse. A gear assembly is placed next to each pump and connected to the main power system. Each gear is linked to a lever. Now at the flip of a switch you can submerge your entrance with {{l|water}} or {{l|magma|magma}} for easy, secure defense against creatures that aren't amphibious or magma-dwelling, depending.

[[Image:Entflood.jpg|200px]]

The picture above shows the design in action. The green pump is currently on while the red has been disconnected through the grey marked axle. The yellow X is just to mark that there is a channel under the axle.

=== The "Reverse Battlement" design ===

Level Z+0 (ground):
...............
F ═══════════════
O .≥.g≥...g......
R ..≤......g.....
T ...g≤..g....... <-- enemies enter here
R ..≥......g.....
E .g.≤.........g.
S ═══════════════
S ...............

Level Z+1 (bridge):

E ·····║+++║·····
N +++++║+++║+++++
T ·····╬☺++║·····
R ·····╬☺++║·····
A ·····╬☺++║····· <-- archers shoot them from up above
N ·····╬☺++║·····
C ·····╬☺++║·····
E +++++║+++║+++++
·····║+++║·····

Note that in this diagram, the fortress interior is to the West, and the enemy forces come from the East. The marksdwarves on the bridge with the {{l|fortification}}s are one level above the {{l|goblin}}s (or other attackers), who will pass under the bridge and charge on toward the west. As the first clear from under the bridge, they are targeted from behind (which is one level above), as the marksdwarves wait in ambush. This allows the marksdwarves to face far fewer enemies at any one time, at least to begin with, and any enemy archers must clear the bridge, take their lumps, and then return fire back the other way before the marksdwarves are ever under attack.

If you're feeling especially nasty, make the tunnel really long into the mountain and add a ballista battery (see above).

''(Adding ammo stockpiles, of your best quality bolts, to these stations will speed up reloading for longer sieges/battles. Even adding small, convenient food and alcohol stockpiles is not unheard of. Some designers place access to/from archery ranges very close to these stations, for faster deployment.)''

==Scenic route==

[[Image:defense_3bridges.png|thumb|right]]
An example of some advanced defensive construction tactics to deal with vile forces of ''any'' size. (See picture).

*'''Bridge 1''' seals off the entire base
*'''Bridge 2''' forces everyone to take the long, winding, heavily trapped/defended path of death.
*'''Bridge 3''' seals the inside of the fortress

Clever triggering of the bridges allows you to break the hostile forces into smaller chunks to be trapped in the courtyard while being caught in traps and a crossfire of arrows from the fortifications around.

===Goblin detour===

This particular design works well with plenty of archers, siege engines, and other ranged weaponry.

++++++++++++++++++ENTRANCE+
══╦════════════════O╞═╡O╦══ <-- Bridge 1
+☺╬·+++++++++++++++++++·╬☺+
++╬·+···············╞═╡·╬++ <-- Bridge 2
++╬·+··+···+···+···++++·╬++
+☺╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬☺+
++╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬++
++╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬++
+☺╬··+···+···+···+··+++·╬☺+
++╬·················+++·╬++
++╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╗·+++·╬++
++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺╬·+++·╬☺+
++++++++++++++++++╬·+++·╬++
++++++++++++++++++╬·+++·╬++
══════════════╗++☺╬·+++·╬☺+
║+++╬·+++·╬++
║+++╬·+++·╬++
║++☺╬·╞═╡·╬☺+ <-- Bridge 3

The 3 tile wide lane is for traders, so if your {{l|trade depot}} is located before this set-up, cut it down to a 1 tile lane to slow down invaders more.

===Twisty maze===
A maze of turns and blindspots patrolled by quality military can be a very formidable defense. Wide enough for wagons to pass though, but with no clear shots for any ranged weapons. Missile weapons do have a minimum range, so if a target is closer than that range, they will instead just charge to melee - and meet a dwarf with a much better melee skill. Downside to this is that you'd be mixing it up in melee all the time, but so long as you have at least 10 dwarves greeting the goblins as one coherent mass, you should win.

Variations on the twisty maze include:

*A wagon-wide twisty maze, and a not-so-twisty 1-tile wide hall o'traps, with a drawbridge that can force one or the other as the only {{l|path}} into your fortress.

*Making the side of the maze into fortifications, with a channel separating the fortifications from the actual floor of the maze, and having your archery targets on the other side of the fortifications so your marksdwarves can practice. When the goblins round the corner, they charge through a hail of crossbow bolts, and drop dead.

{{Military v0.31}}

v0.31:Security design

2011-06-28T23:07:10Z

Celem: /* Defending the edge */

{{av}}
{{Quality|Exceptional}}

:''This page is one of several inter-related articles on the broader topic of defending your fortress and your dwarves. '''Security design''' focuses on how to turn the physical layout and architecture of a fort into a defensible whole. For a general overview of the threats that will challenge your fortress and things to consider when preparing a standard defence, see the '''{{l|defense guide}}'''. For complex traps that are not a minor/optional part of a larger defensive plan (but might be adapted or plugged into one), see '''{{l|trap design}}'''. For specific advice on how to get your soldiers prepared for any threat, see '''{{l|military design}}'''.

:::::'''''Editors & Contributors''' - Please see the discussion page before posting.''

==Standard key==

'''Key:'''
'''symbol tile'''
· - Empty space
+ - Constructed floor, or top of wall section from lower level
'''0''' - Isolated wall section
╔╦═╗
╠╬═╣ - Connected wall
║║ ║
╚╩═╝
╬ - Fortifications
X - Up/down {{l|stairs}}
< - Up stair
> - Down stair
▲ - Up ramp/slope
▼ - Down ramp/slope
. - natural ground
☺ - dwarf

==General suggestions==
General designs should include suggestions that can be "plugged in" to a part of any typical fortress, and/or can be modified to suit a number of purposes.

Any fortress defenses need to be able to protect your dwarves while outside, whether that's military or civilians. On the truly labor intensive end, you can fully enclose areas of wilderness you wish to utilize in walls or behind moats with the only access being from within your base. Hostile creatures, even 'invisible' ones like ambushers, start at map edges and travel across the map - they will only spawn in regions where they can path to a dwarf. By controlling which areas have access to paths to dwarves, you can force all hostile forces to appear in predictable and limited killing zones and battlefields that you control.

===Meeting area as defense===

Especially in the very early game, you can use a {{l|Zone#Meeting_Area|meeting zone}} to attract animals and idle dwarves to a given area. This makes a pretty poor defense in general, but it's not a bad way to create an alarm system against minor threats such as {{l|thief|thieves}} near your stockpiles, at least until you have something better (which won't be hard). Remove the zone later, or it attracts idle dwarves and children. Note that until you designate something else, the site of your wagon (even once deconstructed) is a default meeting area.

===Guard Animals===

Both {{l|thief|thieves}} and {{l|ambush}}es are invisible until something bumps into them - a dwarf, a {{l|caravan}}, a wild creature, a {{l|domestic animal}}, anything. Once this happens (even if it was triggered by a wild {{l|groundhog}} on the far edge of the map), the game will pause with the appropriate {{l|announcement}}, forcing your attention to the situation - which is nice. Therefore, it's a common practice to use animals to act as alarm systems, by {{l|restraint|restrain}}ing or assigning them to a {{L|pasture}} in entryways.

There are some considerations to good placement of such animals. If you have a 1- or 2-wide hall, one animal is enough. If you have a 3-wide hallway, a single pastured animal placed in the middle is still sufficient, or you can restrain two animals, one at each side of the hall.

══════════ R = restraint
+++1R1++++ 1 = area of animal 1
+++bbb++++ 2 = area of animal 2
+++2R2++++ b = area of both
══════════

Either arrangement creates a thief-proof barrier against unannounced intrusion, as there is no combination of locations where an invisible enemy can sneak by without bumping into an animal. Caravans can pass over {{l|restraint}}s and {{L|pasture}}s and their contained creatures without problem. Guard animals can also see hidden enemies one z-level below them, so long as there is no intervening floor, so if space is tight you can also place them above your entranceway.

Unless you're happy losing these animals on a regular basis, you should try to keep them alive.
:* Put them around a corner or behind a U-bend, so archers cannot fire at them from a distance.
:* Don't have them as your "first line of defense"; put them deeper in the entry, behind some traps.
:* Put them inside, so flying creatures have to come down to their level to attack them.
:* Consider using a {{l|pressure plate}} at the extreme entrance to seal off the hall further down and keep your guard animal(s) safe. Thieves won't trigger them, but the animals can deal with those - ambushes ''will'' trigger them, and you don't want them getting to your guard animals.

Remember that anything short of a {{l|megabeast}} is not a good match for an armoured opponent.{{verify}} While watching your tame {{l|grizzly bear}} or {{l|alligator}} tear a thief apart has an amusement value, watching the goblin maceman send them flying across the map, mangled and dying, has less.

Hunting Animals (trained at {{l|kennel}}s) have better observation (sight range) than their regular or war counterparts

===Defending the edge===
You're not allowed to wall within five squares of the edge of the map... but this rule has more loopholes than the US federal income tax code. Until more versatile attackers emerge, it is not clear where effective play ends and exploit begins. ''(Note: we disclaim any responsibility for damage involving {{l|harpy|harpies}} and skeletal {{l|giant eagle}}s)''

* To start with, you can channel the '''''second''''' square from the edge. This blocks entry of trade caravans or their movement along the edge of the map. If barriers are used to prevent a Trade Depot near the edge of the map from being accessed from any other direction, caravans will be forced to appear in the un-channeled or bridged section of the edge. Your depot can be ready with stockpiles of favored trade goods, offset behind a wall to protect from archers a few squares away.
* You can also build drawbridges all the way up to the edge. A long, skinny, raised bridge is effectively a wall; however, it looks the same whether it's open or closed.
*If you channel to the second square from the edge where the '''''edge square''''' contains a tree then you have an impassible barrier while the tree survives.

Train up diggers in soft soil and you can surround most of the map with a moat by the time the first migrants arrive. Be very, very wary of cave-ins, especially on highly sloped diagonal terrain - note that a downward ramp does not support adjacent floor tiles, and no tiles are supported diagonally.

Diplomats have a strange habit of appearing well inside the moat, but need to be allowed out when finished. ''[Note: On one 6x7 map {{l|horse}}s and other animals were also found to appear one embark unit (48 squares) left and up from the lower right corner, inside or atop the walls of a 5x5 doorless enclosure. Defend all leaks...]''

==== Design considerations ====

* The moat should be designed to prevent entry except by falling and exit except by climbing, from both sides. (Otherwise inside and outside forces might be tempted to shake hands from adjacent squares, with much annoyance) Despite an abundance of giant corkscrews, grates, ballista bolts, etc., no one has ever invented the ladder, so this keeps anyone from entering or leaving the rest of the map.
* The moat should be dry, because sooner or later you will be tempted to let someone visit the edge to loot goblins or hunt varmints, and next thing you know your Legendary Weaponsmith who outpaces all your smelters will be whiling away his time carrying a leather thong to a stockpile when he runs into a groundhog and decides to react by jumping into the moat and holding his breath beneath the shallow waters until he drowns. (As always, the notice that he has drowned is the first you'll hear of it)
* The moat doesn't actually ''need'' to be adjacent to the edge of the map except when conserving valuable surface terrain (such as {{l|tree|trees}} on a map that is mostly rock). It is easier to free trapped miners when they can dig further outward, and placing the moat on the sixth or further square in from the edge allows further modification with floodgates, walls, and doors. Any {{l|channel}}ing permanently changes the dug-out tile to "Light Above Ground", which restricts these features from tiles near the edge even if floors are later constructed to close the space.
* Because migrants might turn up near wild animals or be followed closely by {{l|goblin|goblins}}, it is nice to wall off the last square in shorter segments. Each one or two segments are served by a separate lever bridge. This can be done by:
** natural barriers. The map edge is mostly continuous ramp, but occasionally a break appears on an uneven surface, by a river channel, etc.
** trees. If left intact they separate any fertile patches into many small segments.
** floors. Although you can't directly Remove Stairs/Ramps at the edge, building a single square of floor on an up-ramp at the edge will destroy that up-ramp (and the down-ramp above it) and block movement around the edge. Building a square of floor on a down-ramp and then removing it creates a {{l|one-way|one-way}} path.was a fix exploit, verify.
** You can build drawbridges *along* the edge and raise them. Combined with a channel right next to the drawbridge, this can completely obstruct passage of anything which can't destroy the bridge.
** You can build up ramps at the edge, which may disrupt passage?Needs testing
** Fortifications carved into the outer edge rock the next layer down? It may be possible to carve fortifications all the way around the edge of a rocky map, allowing entrance only onto designated bridges surrounded by moat and with a steep drop beneath, with some sized appropriately to admit siegers only and one other sized for a trade wagon. In this way combat can be reduced to a simple thumbs up/thumbs down decision at the lever.Probably not.
* Migrants, thieves, and sieges turn up all around the map, and can be allowed in by remote controlled bridges. (Doors will not hold back {{l|building destroyer|building destroyers}}, and remote {{l|lever}} control is needed because other gates can be "taken by invaders" and become non-lockable) Invaders can be allowed in by small groups and fought if desired, or preferably admitted into underground zigzags with a door waiting to be locked at the far end once they get close to it. If most of the invaders can be trapped inside such spaces, the remainder will stand and be wiped out completely without retreating.

===Simple 5x5 Archer's Tower===

Build a {{l|tower|tower}} specifically to post archers on, possibly away from your main defenses. This lets you open fire before the enemy approaches your gates. A pillbox can be attached to your walls, or separate, so that the only access is from tunnels below. These tunnels can stretch across the map, and only need be 1-tile big if no regular traffic is expected. Construct {{l|wall|wall}}s up to the second or third floor and then carve fortifications into them, so your dwarves can fire out. For extra usefulness, build a {{l|barracks|barracks}}, {{l|archery target|archery target}}, {{l|food|food}} {{l|stockpile|stockpile}}, {{l|well|well}} and {{l|dining room|dining room}} in or near the tower. Add a door or hatch to lock them in.

NOTE: It is better to construct walls and then carve fortifications into them, than to construct fortifications. The reason for this is that constructed fortifications do not provide a walkable tile on the layer above them, as walls do. Walls cannot be constructed without access from one of the four compass directions. Because of this, if you were to construct fortifications, when you progress to the level above, you would need to build a walkable path to the corner tiles. This path would need to be deconstructed before the wall or fortification could be built. Once deconstructed, the building material will drop onto the tile below with the fortification, trapping it until the fortification is deconstructed.

As discussed step-by-step in the article on {{l|mega construction|mega construction}}, this particular design is about as basic as it gets. As shown, it assumes entry from an underground tunnel, but a door or drawbridge (with moat!?) could easily be added, or even access via a protected sky-bridge.

When placing multiple towers, know that crossbows have a range of 20 tiles, so, depending on whether you want overlapping fire or not (and how intense/accurate), anywhere from maybe 15 to 38 tiles between the edge of the towers is recommended. Crossbows actually have their range ''reduced'' by extra height in DF, so all you need is 1 level up to keep enemy archers from using your fortifications against you, and you're set. (Channeling a defensive moat further out will also work, moving potential enemy archers even further away, but also moving non-missile targets that far as well.)

Side Below Ground Archer Roof
view: ground: Level: Level: Level:
╔═══╗ ╬╬╬╬╬ ·····
X__ X ║X..║ ╬X++╬ ·X++·
╬X__╬ ║...║ ╬+++╬ ·+++·
___║X__║___ ║...║ ╬+++╬ ·+++·
X ╚═══╝ ╬╬╬╬╬ ·····

This can hold 3 archers/side, and has the potential to be as many "archer levels" tall as you wish. A top-level "down stair" is necessary to build the "roof" - might as well build an up/down stair instead, no real reason not to. Remember to use the "corners first" technique when necessary. (See {{l|Tower}}.)

All told, for a simple 1 archer-level tower, this takes just over 50 stones or blocks (plus 25/extra archer level).

Larger towers (or this with larger floors on higher levels) could house barracks, practice ranges, and other facilities. Just expand to preferred size with floors, and then attach walls to those to act as a base for the next level of building. Add more stairs (adjacent to each other is always better) if high traffic is anticipated.

====Siege engine turrets====
If it's big enough, build a {{l|siege engine}} inside a pillbox. Since siege engines cannot fire at targets higher or lower than them, the device needs to be on the same {{l|z-level}} as any targets, but this could be across a large gap to a nearby plateau. Only a single tile of fortifications is needed to fire through the wall. Position the tower to fire where invaders tend to congregate.

You will want to guarantee that enemies do not approach the position and scare the civilian operators - this distance has been reported to be up to 20 tiles or so. Dig a moat, have some intervening valley or build some secondary fortifications to keep enemies at a distance. Unlike walls, fortifications on the same z-level do not block siege engine missiles, at any range. Unfortunately, if an enemy can walk up to them, fortifications will protect enemies from your archery fire (but not siege engine fire.)

===Control Room===
Have one (large?) room (or several stacked on top of each other) for all defense-related levers, and central to idle dwarves - near your {{l|Activity zone#Meeting Area|meeting area}}s and {{l|noble}}s quarters, with one or more halls or stairs leading to it for quick access. Connect a lever to all those doors and hatches as the first lever to be pulled in an emergency, and the respondent will lock themselves in for you, guaranteeing that they will then have nothing else to do but stay there and pull levers.

It may also be an idea to have a second lever to at least one door, for emergency access. And possibly to add a stockpile of booze and food or a well for longer sieges.

===AI abuse===
Taking advantage of the game's Artificial Intelligence and {{l|path}}finding is a whole article in itself. Try leaving a door un-forbidden during an attack. When the bad guys approach the door, forbid it, and the enemy will wander off. Unlock it again, and they turn around and head back towards the door again. You can get enemies to march back and forth over a set of traps this way, or lure them deep into a complex trap. This could be automated via {{l|pressure plate}}s. This might count as an {{l|exploit}}, or not - that's up to you, and what you consider fun and challenging.

===Bait animal===
{{l|Restraint|Restraining}} or {{L|Pasture|pasturing}} a sacrificial animal just outside your walls, but within range of your marksdwarves and/or siege engines, can lure an enemy into attacking that while you cut them down. Make sure to place a pattern of some walls (or statues, see below) so enemy archers cannot simply shoot the creature from a safe distance.

=====Fortifications=====
Adding a ring of fortifications to help defend the animal against missile fire will keep melee troops away, but invite archers to come adjacent to the fortifications - and under your walls and crossbows. If you allow any path, the melee troops will try to follow it to the animal - be creative with that fact.

=====Traps=====
Surround the animal with traps to kill or capture approaching goblins.

=====U chumps=====
Surround the far side of the animal with a U shaped 3-sided wall, open facing your defenders, so the enemy has to come closer to attack the animal, and you gun them down.

=====Distractions=====
Releasing a {{l|cage}} full of surplus animals will keep the enemy archers very busy. They may even be out of ammo when your wrestlers show up.

=====Vanishing act=====
Having a linked drawbridge that can open/shut (perhaps on both a lever to open and a nearby pressure plate to close), to lure the enemy in under your guns and then protect the animal when they get too close (for multiple uses.)

=====Roach motel=====
Build a long, narrow, and twisty passage, accessible from the outside, but unconnected to your fortress. Build as many simple traps as you like. Place a bait animal inside. Enemy attackers walk right in, and get torn apart by the traps. If any manage to make it to the end, and kill the useless animal, they're surrounded by traps, and no closer to your fortress.

If the roach motel is deep enough underground, you can build a tunnel above it, channel down, and mark the channel a {{l|Activity_zone|pit/pond}}. That way, you can "reload" a new bait animal.

=====Vs. building destroyers=====
For {{l|building destroyer|building destroyers}}, spare statues can serve the same purpose as bait animals.

=====Trap chokepoints=====
Enemies can be herded by constructed features. If you have a particular zone covered by catapults and would like enemies to pass through it, strategically placed walls can make enemy pathfinding more favorable. A trap occupying a single tile in the middle of a barren plain is likely to never get triggered. However, if walls are placed in a cross-hair pattern around the trap, animals and invaders are much more likely to pass over it as they wander across the map. This can be a very useful trick when capturing wildlife with cage traps.

<pre>
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
═════^═════
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
</pre>

=====Pathing slowdowns=====
If you're playing on a low-powered machine and you close up all entrances to your fortress during a siege, your game may grind to a halt and/or crash as the siegers continuously fail at pathfinding into your fortress. Bait animals may alleviate this.



==Entrance designs==

===Airlock defenses/buffer zone===
Build two walls, each with a drawbridge. Build the trade depot in the buffer zone between them. Keep the outer bridge open, and the inner one closed. When the merchants appear, put crossbows on the walls to guard their approach. Once all the merchants are safely inside, close the outer bridge. Once there's no enemies left in the buffer zone, open the inner bridge so your civilians can start loading up the depot.

The airlock pattern can be useful even without putting the depot there. Let a few siegers in at a time, and crush them. Reset the traps, Rest up the soldiers, and repeat.

===Siege Engines===
One effective way to have {{l|siege engine}}s (help) defend your fortress is:

'''One ballista vs 3-wide hallway'''
══════════════════════════╦═════
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····║▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬◄═«
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····║▐▄/
══════════════════════════╩═════

Using this design you can cripple an army using a well timed volley. The hallway can be much longer than shown if you wish, as ballistae have extended ranges well over 100 tiles. The channeled area is necessary, as civilians (siege operators are "civilians") will run when enemies get within about 5-10 tiles of them, regardless of the actual path to that threat.

====Ballista battery====
Three (or more!) ballistae can be put into a "battery" if overlapped - one per tile-width of the hallway, with each ballista aiming down their row of tiles.

╔═══
══════════════════════════╦══╦══╝▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬ ╬▐▀\◄═« (~ammo~)
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬▐▀\◄═«▐▄/
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬◄═«▐▄/ (~ammo~)
══════════════════════════╣▐▄/ (~ammo~)
╚═════════

Be sure to use fortifications to prevent dwarves from wandering in front of the ballista to their deaths. If desired (and you have the <s>man</s>dwarfpower to spare), catapults may be put behind those, as they shoot safely ''over'' workers in front of them. Although less effective than ballistae, it's a little more firepower - and that can't be a bad thing.

For added flavour, channel out one or more tiles down the length of the 3-wide hallway and install retractable bridges. When invaders attack, retract the bridges, forcing them into paths that are only 1-tile wide.

Adding additional channels on either side of the hall will allow stray ammo to be recovered at a later time. Make sure to add locked doors, to prevent siege operators from walking down below enemy archers during a battle.

===Flooded entrance===
Using a chamber as your entrance alongside a chamber full of water and some machinery you can flood or drain the entrance at will.

The basic premise requires two levers, two {{l|screw pump}}s and two {{l|Gear assembly|gear assemblies}}. The amount of power required and the number of additional components needed to get the power to the screw pumps varies depending on distance/setup. One pump is placed to draw from chamber 1 and dump into chamber 2. The other is set in reverse. A gear assembly is placed next to each pump and connected to the main power system. Each gear is linked to a lever. Now at the flip of a switch you can submerge your entrance with {{l|water}} or {{l|magma|magma}} for easy, secure defense against creatures that aren't amphibious or magma-dwelling, depending.

[[Image:Entflood.jpg|200px]]

The picture above shows the design in action. The green pump is currently on while the red has been disconnected through the grey marked axle. The yellow X is just to mark that there is a channel under the axle.

=== The "Reverse Battlement" design ===

Level Z+0 (ground):
...............
F ═══════════════
O .≥.g≥...g......
R ..≤......g.....
T ...g≤..g....... <-- enemies enter here
R ..≥......g.....
E .g.≤.........g.
S ═══════════════
S ...............

Level Z+1 (bridge):

E ·····║+++║·····
N +++++║+++║+++++
T ·····╬☺++║·····
R ·····╬☺++║·····
A ·····╬☺++║····· <-- archers shoot them from up above
N ·····╬☺++║·····
C ·····╬☺++║·····
E +++++║+++║+++++
·····║+++║·····

Note that in this diagram, the fortress interior is to the West, and the enemy forces come from the East. The marksdwarves on the bridge with the {{l|fortification}}s are one level above the {{l|goblin}}s (or other attackers), who will pass under the bridge and charge on toward the west. As the first clear from under the bridge, they are targeted from behind (which is one level above), as the marksdwarves wait in ambush. This allows the marksdwarves to face far fewer enemies at any one time, at least to begin with, and any enemy archers must clear the bridge, take their lumps, and then return fire back the other way before the marksdwarves are ever under attack.

If you're feeling especially nasty, make the tunnel really long into the mountain and add a ballista battery (see above).

''(Adding ammo stockpiles, of your best quality bolts, to these stations will speed up reloading for longer sieges/battles. Even adding small, convenient food and alcohol stockpiles is not unheard of. Some designers place access to/from archery ranges very close to these stations, for faster deployment.)''

==Scenic route==

[[Image:defense_3bridges.png|thumb|right]]
An example of some advanced defensive construction tactics to deal with vile forces of ''any'' size. (See picture).

*'''Bridge 1''' seals off the entire base
*'''Bridge 2''' forces everyone to take the long, winding, heavily trapped/defended path of death.
*'''Bridge 3''' seals the inside of the fortress

Clever triggering of the bridges allows you to break the hostile forces into smaller chunks to be trapped in the courtyard while being caught in traps and a crossfire of arrows from the fortifications around.

===Goblin detour===

This particular design works well with plenty of archers, siege engines, and other ranged weaponry.

++++++++++++++++++ENTRANCE+
══╦════════════════O╞═╡O╦══ <-- Bridge 1
+☺╬·+++++++++++++++++++·╬☺+
++╬·+···············╞═╡·╬++ <-- Bridge 2
++╬·+··+···+···+···++++·╬++
+☺╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬☺+
++╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬++
++╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬++
+☺╬··+···+···+···+··+++·╬☺+
++╬·················+++·╬++
++╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╗·+++·╬++
++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺╬·+++·╬☺+
++++++++++++++++++╬·+++·╬++
++++++++++++++++++╬·+++·╬++
══════════════╗++☺╬·+++·╬☺+
║+++╬·+++·╬++
║+++╬·+++·╬++
║++☺╬·╞═╡·╬☺+ <-- Bridge 3

The 3 tile wide lane is for traders, so if your {{l|trade depot}} is located before this set-up, cut it down to a 1 tile lane to slow down invaders more.

===Twisty maze===
A maze of turns and blindspots patrolled by quality military can be a very formidable defense. Wide enough for wagons to pass though, but with no clear shots for any ranged weapons. Missile weapons do have a minimum range, so if a target is closer than that range, they will instead just charge to melee - and meet a dwarf with a much better melee skill. Downside to this is that you'd be mixing it up in melee all the time, but so long as you have at least 10 dwarves greeting the goblins as one coherent mass, you should win.

Variations on the twisty maze include:

*A wagon-wide twisty maze, and a not-so-twisty 1-tile wide hall o'traps, with a drawbridge that can force one or the other as the only {{l|path}} into your fortress.

*Making the side of the maze into fortifications, with a channel separating the fortifications from the actual floor of the maze, and having your archery targets on the other side of the fortifications so your marksdwarves can practice. When the goblins round the corner, they charge through a hail of crossbow bolts, and drop dead.

{{Military v0.31}}

v0.31:Security design

2011-06-28T23:06:42Z

Celem: added channel to tree - defending the edge

{{av}}
{{Quality|Exceptional}}

:''This page is one of several inter-related articles on the broader topic of defending your fortress and your dwarves. '''Security design''' focuses on how to turn the physical layout and architecture of a fort into a defensible whole. For a general overview of the threats that will challenge your fortress and things to consider when preparing a standard defence, see the '''{{l|defense guide}}'''. For complex traps that are not a minor/optional part of a larger defensive plan (but might be adapted or plugged into one), see '''{{l|trap design}}'''. For specific advice on how to get your soldiers prepared for any threat, see '''{{l|military design}}'''.

:::::'''''Editors & Contributors''' - Please see the discussion page before posting.''

==Standard key==

'''Key:'''
'''symbol tile'''
· - Empty space
+ - Constructed floor, or top of wall section from lower level
'''0''' - Isolated wall section
╔╦═╗
╠╬═╣ - Connected wall
║║ ║
╚╩═╝
╬ - Fortifications
X - Up/down {{l|stairs}}
< - Up stair
> - Down stair
▲ - Up ramp/slope
▼ - Down ramp/slope
. - natural ground
☺ - dwarf

==General suggestions==
General designs should include suggestions that can be "plugged in" to a part of any typical fortress, and/or can be modified to suit a number of purposes.

Any fortress defenses need to be able to protect your dwarves while outside, whether that's military or civilians. On the truly labor intensive end, you can fully enclose areas of wilderness you wish to utilize in walls or behind moats with the only access being from within your base. Hostile creatures, even 'invisible' ones like ambushers, start at map edges and travel across the map - they will only spawn in regions where they can path to a dwarf. By controlling which areas have access to paths to dwarves, you can force all hostile forces to appear in predictable and limited killing zones and battlefields that you control.

===Meeting area as defense===

Especially in the very early game, you can use a {{l|Zone#Meeting_Area|meeting zone}} to attract animals and idle dwarves to a given area. This makes a pretty poor defense in general, but it's not a bad way to create an alarm system against minor threats such as {{l|thief|thieves}} near your stockpiles, at least until you have something better (which won't be hard). Remove the zone later, or it attracts idle dwarves and children. Note that until you designate something else, the site of your wagon (even once deconstructed) is a default meeting area.

===Guard Animals===

Both {{l|thief|thieves}} and {{l|ambush}}es are invisible until something bumps into them - a dwarf, a {{l|caravan}}, a wild creature, a {{l|domestic animal}}, anything. Once this happens (even if it was triggered by a wild {{l|groundhog}} on the far edge of the map), the game will pause with the appropriate {{l|announcement}}, forcing your attention to the situation - which is nice. Therefore, it's a common practice to use animals to act as alarm systems, by {{l|restraint|restrain}}ing or assigning them to a {{L|pasture}} in entryways.

There are some considerations to good placement of such animals. If you have a 1- or 2-wide hall, one animal is enough. If you have a 3-wide hallway, a single pastured animal placed in the middle is still sufficient, or you can restrain two animals, one at each side of the hall.

══════════ R = restraint
+++1R1++++ 1 = area of animal 1
+++bbb++++ 2 = area of animal 2
+++2R2++++ b = area of both
══════════

Either arrangement creates a thief-proof barrier against unannounced intrusion, as there is no combination of locations where an invisible enemy can sneak by without bumping into an animal. Caravans can pass over {{l|restraint}}s and {{L|pasture}}s and their contained creatures without problem. Guard animals can also see hidden enemies one z-level below them, so long as there is no intervening floor, so if space is tight you can also place them above your entranceway.

Unless you're happy losing these animals on a regular basis, you should try to keep them alive.
:* Put them around a corner or behind a U-bend, so archers cannot fire at them from a distance.
:* Don't have them as your "first line of defense"; put them deeper in the entry, behind some traps.
:* Put them inside, so flying creatures have to come down to their level to attack them.
:* Consider using a {{l|pressure plate}} at the extreme entrance to seal off the hall further down and keep your guard animal(s) safe. Thieves won't trigger them, but the animals can deal with those - ambushes ''will'' trigger them, and you don't want them getting to your guard animals.

Remember that anything short of a {{l|megabeast}} is not a good match for an armoured opponent.{{verify}} While watching your tame {{l|grizzly bear}} or {{l|alligator}} tear a thief apart has an amusement value, watching the goblin maceman send them flying across the map, mangled and dying, has less.

Hunting Animals (trained at {{l|kennel}}s) have better observation (sight range) than their regular or war counterparts

===Defending the edge===
You're not allowed to wall within five squares of the edge of the map... but this rule has more loopholes than the US federal income tax code. Until more versatile attackers emerge, it is not clear where effective play ends and exploit begins. ''(Note: we disclaim any responsibility for damage involving {{l|harpy|harpies}} and skeletal {{l|giant eagle}}s)''

* To start with, you can channel the '''''second''''' square from the edge. This blocks entry of trade caravans or their movement along the edge of the map. If barriers are used to prevent a Trade Depot near the edge of the map from being accessed from any other direction, caravans will be forced to appear in the un-channeled or bridged section of the edge. Your depot can be ready with stockpiles of favored trade goods, offset behind a wall to protect from archers a few squares away.
* You can also build drawbridges all the way up to the edge. A long, skinny, raised bridge is effectively a wall; however, it looks the same whether it's open or closed.
*If you channel to the '''''second''''' square from the edge where the edge square contains a tree then you have an impassible barrier while the tree survives.

Train up diggers in soft soil and you can surround most of the map with a moat by the time the first migrants arrive. Be very, very wary of cave-ins, especially on highly sloped diagonal terrain - note that a downward ramp does not support adjacent floor tiles, and no tiles are supported diagonally.

Diplomats have a strange habit of appearing well inside the moat, but need to be allowed out when finished. ''[Note: On one 6x7 map {{l|horse}}s and other animals were also found to appear one embark unit (48 squares) left and up from the lower right corner, inside or atop the walls of a 5x5 doorless enclosure. Defend all leaks...]''

==== Design considerations ====

* The moat should be designed to prevent entry except by falling and exit except by climbing, from both sides. (Otherwise inside and outside forces might be tempted to shake hands from adjacent squares, with much annoyance) Despite an abundance of giant corkscrews, grates, ballista bolts, etc., no one has ever invented the ladder, so this keeps anyone from entering or leaving the rest of the map.
* The moat should be dry, because sooner or later you will be tempted to let someone visit the edge to loot goblins or hunt varmints, and next thing you know your Legendary Weaponsmith who outpaces all your smelters will be whiling away his time carrying a leather thong to a stockpile when he runs into a groundhog and decides to react by jumping into the moat and holding his breath beneath the shallow waters until he drowns. (As always, the notice that he has drowned is the first you'll hear of it)
* The moat doesn't actually ''need'' to be adjacent to the edge of the map except when conserving valuable surface terrain (such as {{l|tree|trees}} on a map that is mostly rock). It is easier to free trapped miners when they can dig further outward, and placing the moat on the sixth or further square in from the edge allows further modification with floodgates, walls, and doors. Any {{l|channel}}ing permanently changes the dug-out tile to "Light Above Ground", which restricts these features from tiles near the edge even if floors are later constructed to close the space.
* Because migrants might turn up near wild animals or be followed closely by {{l|goblin|goblins}}, it is nice to wall off the last square in shorter segments. Each one or two segments are served by a separate lever bridge. This can be done by:
** natural barriers. The map edge is mostly continuous ramp, but occasionally a break appears on an uneven surface, by a river channel, etc.
** trees. If left intact they separate any fertile patches into many small segments.
** floors. Although you can't directly Remove Stairs/Ramps at the edge, building a single square of floor on an up-ramp at the edge will destroy that up-ramp (and the down-ramp above it) and block movement around the edge. Building a square of floor on a down-ramp and then removing it creates a {{l|one-way|one-way}} path.was a fix exploit, verify.
** You can build drawbridges *along* the edge and raise them. Combined with a channel right next to the drawbridge, this can completely obstruct passage of anything which can't destroy the bridge.
** You can build up ramps at the edge, which may disrupt passage?Needs testing
** Fortifications carved into the outer edge rock the next layer down? It may be possible to carve fortifications all the way around the edge of a rocky map, allowing entrance only onto designated bridges surrounded by moat and with a steep drop beneath, with some sized appropriately to admit siegers only and one other sized for a trade wagon. In this way combat can be reduced to a simple thumbs up/thumbs down decision at the lever.Probably not.
* Migrants, thieves, and sieges turn up all around the map, and can be allowed in by remote controlled bridges. (Doors will not hold back {{l|building destroyer|building destroyers}}, and remote {{l|lever}} control is needed because other gates can be "taken by invaders" and become non-lockable) Invaders can be allowed in by small groups and fought if desired, or preferably admitted into underground zigzags with a door waiting to be locked at the far end once they get close to it. If most of the invaders can be trapped inside such spaces, the remainder will stand and be wiped out completely without retreating.

===Simple 5x5 Archer's Tower===

Build a {{l|tower|tower}} specifically to post archers on, possibly away from your main defenses. This lets you open fire before the enemy approaches your gates. A pillbox can be attached to your walls, or separate, so that the only access is from tunnels below. These tunnels can stretch across the map, and only need be 1-tile big if no regular traffic is expected. Construct {{l|wall|wall}}s up to the second or third floor and then carve fortifications into them, so your dwarves can fire out. For extra usefulness, build a {{l|barracks|barracks}}, {{l|archery target|archery target}}, {{l|food|food}} {{l|stockpile|stockpile}}, {{l|well|well}} and {{l|dining room|dining room}} in or near the tower. Add a door or hatch to lock them in.

NOTE: It is better to construct walls and then carve fortifications into them, than to construct fortifications. The reason for this is that constructed fortifications do not provide a walkable tile on the layer above them, as walls do. Walls cannot be constructed without access from one of the four compass directions. Because of this, if you were to construct fortifications, when you progress to the level above, you would need to build a walkable path to the corner tiles. This path would need to be deconstructed before the wall or fortification could be built. Once deconstructed, the building material will drop onto the tile below with the fortification, trapping it until the fortification is deconstructed.

As discussed step-by-step in the article on {{l|mega construction|mega construction}}, this particular design is about as basic as it gets. As shown, it assumes entry from an underground tunnel, but a door or drawbridge (with moat!?) could easily be added, or even access via a protected sky-bridge.

When placing multiple towers, know that crossbows have a range of 20 tiles, so, depending on whether you want overlapping fire or not (and how intense/accurate), anywhere from maybe 15 to 38 tiles between the edge of the towers is recommended. Crossbows actually have their range ''reduced'' by extra height in DF, so all you need is 1 level up to keep enemy archers from using your fortifications against you, and you're set. (Channeling a defensive moat further out will also work, moving potential enemy archers even further away, but also moving non-missile targets that far as well.)

Side Below Ground Archer Roof
view: ground: Level: Level: Level:
╔═══╗ ╬╬╬╬╬ ·····
X__ X ║X..║ ╬X++╬ ·X++·
╬X__╬ ║...║ ╬+++╬ ·+++·
___║X__║___ ║...║ ╬+++╬ ·+++·
X ╚═══╝ ╬╬╬╬╬ ·····

This can hold 3 archers/side, and has the potential to be as many "archer levels" tall as you wish. A top-level "down stair" is necessary to build the "roof" - might as well build an up/down stair instead, no real reason not to. Remember to use the "corners first" technique when necessary. (See {{l|Tower}}.)

All told, for a simple 1 archer-level tower, this takes just over 50 stones or blocks (plus 25/extra archer level).

Larger towers (or this with larger floors on higher levels) could house barracks, practice ranges, and other facilities. Just expand to preferred size with floors, and then attach walls to those to act as a base for the next level of building. Add more stairs (adjacent to each other is always better) if high traffic is anticipated.

====Siege engine turrets====
If it's big enough, build a {{l|siege engine}} inside a pillbox. Since siege engines cannot fire at targets higher or lower than them, the device needs to be on the same {{l|z-level}} as any targets, but this could be across a large gap to a nearby plateau. Only a single tile of fortifications is needed to fire through the wall. Position the tower to fire where invaders tend to congregate.

You will want to guarantee that enemies do not approach the position and scare the civilian operators - this distance has been reported to be up to 20 tiles or so. Dig a moat, have some intervening valley or build some secondary fortifications to keep enemies at a distance. Unlike walls, fortifications on the same z-level do not block siege engine missiles, at any range. Unfortunately, if an enemy can walk up to them, fortifications will protect enemies from your archery fire (but not siege engine fire.)

===Control Room===
Have one (large?) room (or several stacked on top of each other) for all defense-related levers, and central to idle dwarves - near your {{l|Activity zone#Meeting Area|meeting area}}s and {{l|noble}}s quarters, with one or more halls or stairs leading to it for quick access. Connect a lever to all those doors and hatches as the first lever to be pulled in an emergency, and the respondent will lock themselves in for you, guaranteeing that they will then have nothing else to do but stay there and pull levers.

It may also be an idea to have a second lever to at least one door, for emergency access. And possibly to add a stockpile of booze and food or a well for longer sieges.

===AI abuse===
Taking advantage of the game's Artificial Intelligence and {{l|path}}finding is a whole article in itself. Try leaving a door un-forbidden during an attack. When the bad guys approach the door, forbid it, and the enemy will wander off. Unlock it again, and they turn around and head back towards the door again. You can get enemies to march back and forth over a set of traps this way, or lure them deep into a complex trap. This could be automated via {{l|pressure plate}}s. This might count as an {{l|exploit}}, or not - that's up to you, and what you consider fun and challenging.

===Bait animal===
{{l|Restraint|Restraining}} or {{L|Pasture|pasturing}} a sacrificial animal just outside your walls, but within range of your marksdwarves and/or siege engines, can lure an enemy into attacking that while you cut them down. Make sure to place a pattern of some walls (or statues, see below) so enemy archers cannot simply shoot the creature from a safe distance.

=====Fortifications=====
Adding a ring of fortifications to help defend the animal against missile fire will keep melee troops away, but invite archers to come adjacent to the fortifications - and under your walls and crossbows. If you allow any path, the melee troops will try to follow it to the animal - be creative with that fact.

=====Traps=====
Surround the animal with traps to kill or capture approaching goblins.

=====U chumps=====
Surround the far side of the animal with a U shaped 3-sided wall, open facing your defenders, so the enemy has to come closer to attack the animal, and you gun them down.

=====Distractions=====
Releasing a {{l|cage}} full of surplus animals will keep the enemy archers very busy. They may even be out of ammo when your wrestlers show up.

=====Vanishing act=====
Having a linked drawbridge that can open/shut (perhaps on both a lever to open and a nearby pressure plate to close), to lure the enemy in under your guns and then protect the animal when they get too close (for multiple uses.)

=====Roach motel=====
Build a long, narrow, and twisty passage, accessible from the outside, but unconnected to your fortress. Build as many simple traps as you like. Place a bait animal inside. Enemy attackers walk right in, and get torn apart by the traps. If any manage to make it to the end, and kill the useless animal, they're surrounded by traps, and no closer to your fortress.

If the roach motel is deep enough underground, you can build a tunnel above it, channel down, and mark the channel a {{l|Activity_zone|pit/pond}}. That way, you can "reload" a new bait animal.

=====Vs. building destroyers=====
For {{l|building destroyer|building destroyers}}, spare statues can serve the same purpose as bait animals.

=====Trap chokepoints=====
Enemies can be herded by constructed features. If you have a particular zone covered by catapults and would like enemies to pass through it, strategically placed walls can make enemy pathfinding more favorable. A trap occupying a single tile in the middle of a barren plain is likely to never get triggered. However, if walls are placed in a cross-hair pattern around the trap, animals and invaders are much more likely to pass over it as they wander across the map. This can be a very useful trick when capturing wildlife with cage traps.

<pre>
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
═════^═════
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
</pre>

=====Pathing slowdowns=====
If you're playing on a low-powered machine and you close up all entrances to your fortress during a siege, your game may grind to a halt and/or crash as the siegers continuously fail at pathfinding into your fortress. Bait animals may alleviate this.



==Entrance designs==

===Airlock defenses/buffer zone===
Build two walls, each with a drawbridge. Build the trade depot in the buffer zone between them. Keep the outer bridge open, and the inner one closed. When the merchants appear, put crossbows on the walls to guard their approach. Once all the merchants are safely inside, close the outer bridge. Once there's no enemies left in the buffer zone, open the inner bridge so your civilians can start loading up the depot.

The airlock pattern can be useful even without putting the depot there. Let a few siegers in at a time, and crush them. Reset the traps, Rest up the soldiers, and repeat.

===Siege Engines===
One effective way to have {{l|siege engine}}s (help) defend your fortress is:

'''One ballista vs 3-wide hallway'''
══════════════════════════╦═════
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····║▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬◄═«
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····║▐▄/
══════════════════════════╩═════

Using this design you can cripple an army using a well timed volley. The hallway can be much longer than shown if you wish, as ballistae have extended ranges well over 100 tiles. The channeled area is necessary, as civilians (siege operators are "civilians") will run when enemies get within about 5-10 tiles of them, regardless of the actual path to that threat.

====Ballista battery====
Three (or more!) ballistae can be put into a "battery" if overlapped - one per tile-width of the hallway, with each ballista aiming down their row of tiles.

╔═══
══════════════════════════╦══╦══╝▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬ ╬▐▀\◄═« (~ammo~)
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬▐▀\◄═«▐▄/
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬◄═«▐▄/ (~ammo~)
══════════════════════════╣▐▄/ (~ammo~)
╚═════════

Be sure to use fortifications to prevent dwarves from wandering in front of the ballista to their deaths. If desired (and you have the <s>man</s>dwarfpower to spare), catapults may be put behind those, as they shoot safely ''over'' workers in front of them. Although less effective than ballistae, it's a little more firepower - and that can't be a bad thing.

For added flavour, channel out one or more tiles down the length of the 3-wide hallway and install retractable bridges. When invaders attack, retract the bridges, forcing them into paths that are only 1-tile wide.

Adding additional channels on either side of the hall will allow stray ammo to be recovered at a later time. Make sure to add locked doors, to prevent siege operators from walking down below enemy archers during a battle.

===Flooded entrance===
Using a chamber as your entrance alongside a chamber full of water and some machinery you can flood or drain the entrance at will.

The basic premise requires two levers, two {{l|screw pump}}s and two {{l|Gear assembly|gear assemblies}}. The amount of power required and the number of additional components needed to get the power to the screw pumps varies depending on distance/setup. One pump is placed to draw from chamber 1 and dump into chamber 2. The other is set in reverse. A gear assembly is placed next to each pump and connected to the main power system. Each gear is linked to a lever. Now at the flip of a switch you can submerge your entrance with {{l|water}} or {{l|magma|magma}} for easy, secure defense against creatures that aren't amphibious or magma-dwelling, depending.

[[Image:Entflood.jpg|200px]]

The picture above shows the design in action. The green pump is currently on while the red has been disconnected through the grey marked axle. The yellow X is just to mark that there is a channel under the axle.

=== The "Reverse Battlement" design ===

Level Z+0 (ground):
...............
F ═══════════════
O .≥.g≥...g......
R ..≤......g.....
T ...g≤..g....... <-- enemies enter here
R ..≥......g.....
E .g.≤.........g.
S ═══════════════
S ...............

Level Z+1 (bridge):

E ·····║+++║·····
N +++++║+++║+++++
T ·····╬☺++║·····
R ·····╬☺++║·····
A ·····╬☺++║····· <-- archers shoot them from up above
N ·····╬☺++║·····
C ·····╬☺++║·····
E +++++║+++║+++++
·····║+++║·····

Note that in this diagram, the fortress interior is to the West, and the enemy forces come from the East. The marksdwarves on the bridge with the {{l|fortification}}s are one level above the {{l|goblin}}s (or other attackers), who will pass under the bridge and charge on toward the west. As the first clear from under the bridge, they are targeted from behind (which is one level above), as the marksdwarves wait in ambush. This allows the marksdwarves to face far fewer enemies at any one time, at least to begin with, and any enemy archers must clear the bridge, take their lumps, and then return fire back the other way before the marksdwarves are ever under attack.

If you're feeling especially nasty, make the tunnel really long into the mountain and add a ballista battery (see above).

''(Adding ammo stockpiles, of your best quality bolts, to these stations will speed up reloading for longer sieges/battles. Even adding small, convenient food and alcohol stockpiles is not unheard of. Some designers place access to/from archery ranges very close to these stations, for faster deployment.)''

==Scenic route==

[[Image:defense_3bridges.png|thumb|right]]
An example of some advanced defensive construction tactics to deal with vile forces of ''any'' size. (See picture).

*'''Bridge 1''' seals off the entire base
*'''Bridge 2''' forces everyone to take the long, winding, heavily trapped/defended path of death.
*'''Bridge 3''' seals the inside of the fortress

Clever triggering of the bridges allows you to break the hostile forces into smaller chunks to be trapped in the courtyard while being caught in traps and a crossfire of arrows from the fortifications around.

===Goblin detour===

This particular design works well with plenty of archers, siege engines, and other ranged weaponry.

++++++++++++++++++ENTRANCE+
══╦════════════════O╞═╡O╦══ <-- Bridge 1
+☺╬·+++++++++++++++++++·╬☺+
++╬·+···············╞═╡·╬++ <-- Bridge 2
++╬·+··+···+···+···++++·╬++
+☺╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬☺+
++╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬++
++╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬++
+☺╬··+···+···+···+··+++·╬☺+
++╬·················+++·╬++
++╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╗·+++·╬++
++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺╬·+++·╬☺+
++++++++++++++++++╬·+++·╬++
++++++++++++++++++╬·+++·╬++
══════════════╗++☺╬·+++·╬☺+
║+++╬·+++·╬++
║+++╬·+++·╬++
║++☺╬·╞═╡·╬☺+ <-- Bridge 3

The 3 tile wide lane is for traders, so if your {{l|trade depot}} is located before this set-up, cut it down to a 1 tile lane to slow down invaders more.

===Twisty maze===
A maze of turns and blindspots patrolled by quality military can be a very formidable defense. Wide enough for wagons to pass though, but with no clear shots for any ranged weapons. Missile weapons do have a minimum range, so if a target is closer than that range, they will instead just charge to melee - and meet a dwarf with a much better melee skill. Downside to this is that you'd be mixing it up in melee all the time, but so long as you have at least 10 dwarves greeting the goblins as one coherent mass, you should win.

Variations on the twisty maze include:

*A wagon-wide twisty maze, and a not-so-twisty 1-tile wide hall o'traps, with a drawbridge that can force one or the other as the only {{l|path}} into your fortress.

*Making the side of the maze into fortifications, with a channel separating the fortifications from the actual floor of the maze, and having your archery targets on the other side of the fortifications so your marksdwarves can practice. When the goblins round the corner, they charge through a hail of crossbow bolts, and drop dead.

{{Military v0.31}}

v0.31:Security design

2011-06-28T23:02:48Z

Celem: /* Guard Animals */

{{av}}
{{Quality|Exceptional}}

:''This page is one of several inter-related articles on the broader topic of defending your fortress and your dwarves. '''Security design''' focuses on how to turn the physical layout and architecture of a fort into a defensible whole. For a general overview of the threats that will challenge your fortress and things to consider when preparing a standard defence, see the '''{{l|defense guide}}'''. For complex traps that are not a minor/optional part of a larger defensive plan (but might be adapted or plugged into one), see '''{{l|trap design}}'''. For specific advice on how to get your soldiers prepared for any threat, see '''{{l|military design}}'''.

:::::'''''Editors & Contributors''' - Please see the discussion page before posting.''

==Standard key==

'''Key:'''
'''symbol tile'''
· - Empty space
+ - Constructed floor, or top of wall section from lower level
'''0''' - Isolated wall section
╔╦═╗
╠╬═╣ - Connected wall
║║ ║
╚╩═╝
╬ - Fortifications
X - Up/down {{l|stairs}}
< - Up stair
> - Down stair
▲ - Up ramp/slope
▼ - Down ramp/slope
. - natural ground
☺ - dwarf

==General suggestions==
General designs should include suggestions that can be "plugged in" to a part of any typical fortress, and/or can be modified to suit a number of purposes.

Any fortress defenses need to be able to protect your dwarves while outside, whether that's military or civilians. On the truly labor intensive end, you can fully enclose areas of wilderness you wish to utilize in walls or behind moats with the only access being from within your base. Hostile creatures, even 'invisible' ones like ambushers, start at map edges and travel across the map - they will only spawn in regions where they can path to a dwarf. By controlling which areas have access to paths to dwarves, you can force all hostile forces to appear in predictable and limited killing zones and battlefields that you control.

===Meeting area as defense===

Especially in the very early game, you can use a {{l|Zone#Meeting_Area|meeting zone}} to attract animals and idle dwarves to a given area. This makes a pretty poor defense in general, but it's not a bad way to create an alarm system against minor threats such as {{l|thief|thieves}} near your stockpiles, at least until you have something better (which won't be hard). Remove the zone later, or it attracts idle dwarves and children. Note that until you designate something else, the site of your wagon (even once deconstructed) is a default meeting area.

===Guard Animals===

Both {{l|thief|thieves}} and {{l|ambush}}es are invisible until something bumps into them - a dwarf, a {{l|caravan}}, a wild creature, a {{l|domestic animal}}, anything. Once this happens (even if it was triggered by a wild {{l|groundhog}} on the far edge of the map), the game will pause with the appropriate {{l|announcement}}, forcing your attention to the situation - which is nice. Therefore, it's a common practice to use animals to act as alarm systems, by {{l|restraint|restrain}}ing or assigning them to a {{L|pasture}} in entryways.

There are some considerations to good placement of such animals. If you have a 1- or 2-wide hall, one animal is enough. If you have a 3-wide hallway, a single pastured animal placed in the middle is still sufficient, or you can restrain two animals, one at each side of the hall.

══════════ R = restraint
+++1R1++++ 1 = area of animal 1
+++bbb++++ 2 = area of animal 2
+++2R2++++ b = area of both
══════════

Either arrangement creates a thief-proof barrier against unannounced intrusion, as there is no combination of locations where an invisible enemy can sneak by without bumping into an animal. Caravans can pass over {{l|restraint}}s and {{L|pasture}}s and their contained creatures without problem. Guard animals can also see hidden enemies one z-level below them, so long as there is no intervening floor, so if space is tight you can also place them above your entranceway.

Unless you're happy losing these animals on a regular basis, you should try to keep them alive.
:* Put them around a corner or behind a U-bend, so archers cannot fire at them from a distance.
:* Don't have them as your "first line of defense"; put them deeper in the entry, behind some traps.
:* Put them inside, so flying creatures have to come down to their level to attack them.
:* Consider using a {{l|pressure plate}} at the extreme entrance to seal off the hall further down and keep your guard animal(s) safe. Thieves won't trigger them, but the animals can deal with those - ambushes ''will'' trigger them, and you don't want them getting to your guard animals.

Remember that anything short of a {{l|megabeast}} is not a good match for an armoured opponent.{{verify}} While watching your tame {{l|grizzly bear}} or {{l|alligator}} tear a thief apart has an amusement value, watching the goblin maceman send them flying across the map, mangled and dying, has less.

Hunting Animals (trained at {{l|kennel}}s) have better observation (sight range) than their regular or war counterparts

===Defending the edge===
You're not allowed to wall within five squares of the edge of the map... but this rule has more loopholes than the US federal income tax code. Until more versatile attackers emerge, it is not clear where effective play ends and exploit begins. ''(Note: we disclaim any responsibility for damage involving {{l|harpy|harpies}} and skeletal {{l|giant eagle}}s)''

* To start with, you can channel the '''''second''''' square from the edge. This blocks entry of trade caravans or their movement along the edge of the map. If barriers are used to prevent a Trade Depot near the edge of the map from being accessed from any other direction, caravans will be forced to appear in the un-channeled or bridged section of the edge. Your depot can be ready with stockpiles of favored trade goods, offset behind a wall to protect from archers a few squares away.
* You can also build drawbridges all the way up to the edge. A long, skinny, raised bridge is effectively a wall; however, it looks the same whether it's open or closed.

Train up diggers in soft soil and you can surround most of the map with a moat by the time the first migrants arrive. Be very, very wary of cave-ins, especially on highly sloped diagonal terrain - note that a downward ramp does not support adjacent floor tiles, and no tiles are supported diagonally.

Diplomats have a strange habit of appearing well inside the moat, but need to be allowed out when finished. ''[Note: On one 6x7 map {{l|horse}}s and other animals were also found to appear one embark unit (48 squares) left and up from the lower right corner, inside or atop the walls of a 5x5 doorless enclosure. Defend all leaks...]''

==== Design considerations ====

* The moat should be designed to prevent entry except by falling and exit except by climbing, from both sides. (Otherwise inside and outside forces might be tempted to shake hands from adjacent squares, with much annoyance) Despite an abundance of giant corkscrews, grates, ballista bolts, etc., no one has ever invented the ladder, so this keeps anyone from entering or leaving the rest of the map.
* The moat should be dry, because sooner or later you will be tempted to let someone visit the edge to loot goblins or hunt varmints, and next thing you know your Legendary Weaponsmith who outpaces all your smelters will be whiling away his time carrying a leather thong to a stockpile when he runs into a groundhog and decides to react by jumping into the moat and holding his breath beneath the shallow waters until he drowns. (As always, the notice that he has drowned is the first you'll hear of it)
* The moat doesn't actually ''need'' to be adjacent to the edge of the map except when conserving valuable surface terrain (such as {{l|tree|trees}} on a map that is mostly rock). It is easier to free trapped miners when they can dig further outward, and placing the moat on the sixth or further square in from the edge allows further modification with floodgates, walls, and doors. Any {{l|channel}}ing permanently changes the dug-out tile to "Light Above Ground", which restricts these features from tiles near the edge even if floors are later constructed to close the space.
* Because migrants might turn up near wild animals or be followed closely by {{l|goblin|goblins}}, it is nice to wall off the last square in shorter segments. Each one or two segments are served by a separate lever bridge. This can be done by:
** natural barriers. The map edge is mostly continuous ramp, but occasionally a break appears on an uneven surface, by a river channel, etc.
** trees. If left intact they separate any fertile patches into many small segments.
** floors. Although you can't directly Remove Stairs/Ramps at the edge, building a single square of floor on an up-ramp at the edge will destroy that up-ramp (and the down-ramp above it) and block movement around the edge. Building a square of floor on a down-ramp and then removing it creates a {{l|one-way|one-way}} path.was a fix exploit, verify.
** You can build drawbridges *along* the edge and raise them. Combined with a channel right next to the drawbridge, this can completely obstruct passage of anything which can't destroy the bridge.
** You can build up ramps at the edge, which may disrupt passage?Needs testing
** Fortifications carved into the outer edge rock the next layer down? It may be possible to carve fortifications all the way around the edge of a rocky map, allowing entrance only onto designated bridges surrounded by moat and with a steep drop beneath, with some sized appropriately to admit siegers only and one other sized for a trade wagon. In this way combat can be reduced to a simple thumbs up/thumbs down decision at the lever.Probably not.
* Migrants, thieves, and sieges turn up all around the map, and can be allowed in by remote controlled bridges. (Doors will not hold back {{l|building destroyer|building destroyers}}, and remote {{l|lever}} control is needed because other gates can be "taken by invaders" and become non-lockable) Invaders can be allowed in by small groups and fought if desired, or preferably admitted into underground zigzags with a door waiting to be locked at the far end once they get close to it. If most of the invaders can be trapped inside such spaces, the remainder will stand and be wiped out completely without retreating.

===Simple 5x5 Archer's Tower===

Build a {{l|tower|tower}} specifically to post archers on, possibly away from your main defenses. This lets you open fire before the enemy approaches your gates. A pillbox can be attached to your walls, or separate, so that the only access is from tunnels below. These tunnels can stretch across the map, and only need be 1-tile big if no regular traffic is expected. Construct {{l|wall|wall}}s up to the second or third floor and then carve fortifications into them, so your dwarves can fire out. For extra usefulness, build a {{l|barracks|barracks}}, {{l|archery target|archery target}}, {{l|food|food}} {{l|stockpile|stockpile}}, {{l|well|well}} and {{l|dining room|dining room}} in or near the tower. Add a door or hatch to lock them in.

NOTE: It is better to construct walls and then carve fortifications into them, than to construct fortifications. The reason for this is that constructed fortifications do not provide a walkable tile on the layer above them, as walls do. Walls cannot be constructed without access from one of the four compass directions. Because of this, if you were to construct fortifications, when you progress to the level above, you would need to build a walkable path to the corner tiles. This path would need to be deconstructed before the wall or fortification could be built. Once deconstructed, the building material will drop onto the tile below with the fortification, trapping it until the fortification is deconstructed.

As discussed step-by-step in the article on {{l|mega construction|mega construction}}, this particular design is about as basic as it gets. As shown, it assumes entry from an underground tunnel, but a door or drawbridge (with moat!?) could easily be added, or even access via a protected sky-bridge.

When placing multiple towers, know that crossbows have a range of 20 tiles, so, depending on whether you want overlapping fire or not (and how intense/accurate), anywhere from maybe 15 to 38 tiles between the edge of the towers is recommended. Crossbows actually have their range ''reduced'' by extra height in DF, so all you need is 1 level up to keep enemy archers from using your fortifications against you, and you're set. (Channeling a defensive moat further out will also work, moving potential enemy archers even further away, but also moving non-missile targets that far as well.)

Side Below Ground Archer Roof
view: ground: Level: Level: Level:
╔═══╗ ╬╬╬╬╬ ·····
X__ X ║X..║ ╬X++╬ ·X++·
╬X__╬ ║...║ ╬+++╬ ·+++·
___║X__║___ ║...║ ╬+++╬ ·+++·
X ╚═══╝ ╬╬╬╬╬ ·····

This can hold 3 archers/side, and has the potential to be as many "archer levels" tall as you wish. A top-level "down stair" is necessary to build the "roof" - might as well build an up/down stair instead, no real reason not to. Remember to use the "corners first" technique when necessary. (See {{l|Tower}}.)

All told, for a simple 1 archer-level tower, this takes just over 50 stones or blocks (plus 25/extra archer level).

Larger towers (or this with larger floors on higher levels) could house barracks, practice ranges, and other facilities. Just expand to preferred size with floors, and then attach walls to those to act as a base for the next level of building. Add more stairs (adjacent to each other is always better) if high traffic is anticipated.

====Siege engine turrets====
If it's big enough, build a {{l|siege engine}} inside a pillbox. Since siege engines cannot fire at targets higher or lower than them, the device needs to be on the same {{l|z-level}} as any targets, but this could be across a large gap to a nearby plateau. Only a single tile of fortifications is needed to fire through the wall. Position the tower to fire where invaders tend to congregate.

You will want to guarantee that enemies do not approach the position and scare the civilian operators - this distance has been reported to be up to 20 tiles or so. Dig a moat, have some intervening valley or build some secondary fortifications to keep enemies at a distance. Unlike walls, fortifications on the same z-level do not block siege engine missiles, at any range. Unfortunately, if an enemy can walk up to them, fortifications will protect enemies from your archery fire (but not siege engine fire.)

===Control Room===
Have one (large?) room (or several stacked on top of each other) for all defense-related levers, and central to idle dwarves - near your {{l|Activity zone#Meeting Area|meeting area}}s and {{l|noble}}s quarters, with one or more halls or stairs leading to it for quick access. Connect a lever to all those doors and hatches as the first lever to be pulled in an emergency, and the respondent will lock themselves in for you, guaranteeing that they will then have nothing else to do but stay there and pull levers.

It may also be an idea to have a second lever to at least one door, for emergency access. And possibly to add a stockpile of booze and food or a well for longer sieges.

===AI abuse===
Taking advantage of the game's Artificial Intelligence and {{l|path}}finding is a whole article in itself. Try leaving a door un-forbidden during an attack. When the bad guys approach the door, forbid it, and the enemy will wander off. Unlock it again, and they turn around and head back towards the door again. You can get enemies to march back and forth over a set of traps this way, or lure them deep into a complex trap. This could be automated via {{l|pressure plate}}s. This might count as an {{l|exploit}}, or not - that's up to you, and what you consider fun and challenging.

===Bait animal===
{{l|Restraint|Restraining}} or {{L|Pasture|pasturing}} a sacrificial animal just outside your walls, but within range of your marksdwarves and/or siege engines, can lure an enemy into attacking that while you cut them down. Make sure to place a pattern of some walls (or statues, see below) so enemy archers cannot simply shoot the creature from a safe distance.

=====Fortifications=====
Adding a ring of fortifications to help defend the animal against missile fire will keep melee troops away, but invite archers to come adjacent to the fortifications - and under your walls and crossbows. If you allow any path, the melee troops will try to follow it to the animal - be creative with that fact.

=====Traps=====
Surround the animal with traps to kill or capture approaching goblins.

=====U chumps=====
Surround the far side of the animal with a U shaped 3-sided wall, open facing your defenders, so the enemy has to come closer to attack the animal, and you gun them down.

=====Distractions=====
Releasing a {{l|cage}} full of surplus animals will keep the enemy archers very busy. They may even be out of ammo when your wrestlers show up.

=====Vanishing act=====
Having a linked drawbridge that can open/shut (perhaps on both a lever to open and a nearby pressure plate to close), to lure the enemy in under your guns and then protect the animal when they get too close (for multiple uses.)

=====Roach motel=====
Build a long, narrow, and twisty passage, accessible from the outside, but unconnected to your fortress. Build as many simple traps as you like. Place a bait animal inside. Enemy attackers walk right in, and get torn apart by the traps. If any manage to make it to the end, and kill the useless animal, they're surrounded by traps, and no closer to your fortress.

If the roach motel is deep enough underground, you can build a tunnel above it, channel down, and mark the channel a {{l|Activity_zone|pit/pond}}. That way, you can "reload" a new bait animal.

=====Vs. building destroyers=====
For {{l|building destroyer|building destroyers}}, spare statues can serve the same purpose as bait animals.

=====Trap chokepoints=====
Enemies can be herded by constructed features. If you have a particular zone covered by catapults and would like enemies to pass through it, strategically placed walls can make enemy pathfinding more favorable. A trap occupying a single tile in the middle of a barren plain is likely to never get triggered. However, if walls are placed in a cross-hair pattern around the trap, animals and invaders are much more likely to pass over it as they wander across the map. This can be a very useful trick when capturing wildlife with cage traps.

<pre>
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
═════^═════
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
</pre>

=====Pathing slowdowns=====
If you're playing on a low-powered machine and you close up all entrances to your fortress during a siege, your game may grind to a halt and/or crash as the siegers continuously fail at pathfinding into your fortress. Bait animals may alleviate this.



==Entrance designs==

===Airlock defenses/buffer zone===
Build two walls, each with a drawbridge. Build the trade depot in the buffer zone between them. Keep the outer bridge open, and the inner one closed. When the merchants appear, put crossbows on the walls to guard their approach. Once all the merchants are safely inside, close the outer bridge. Once there's no enemies left in the buffer zone, open the inner bridge so your civilians can start loading up the depot.

The airlock pattern can be useful even without putting the depot there. Let a few siegers in at a time, and crush them. Reset the traps, Rest up the soldiers, and repeat.

===Siege Engines===
One effective way to have {{l|siege engine}}s (help) defend your fortress is:

'''One ballista vs 3-wide hallway'''
══════════════════════════╦═════
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····║▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬◄═«
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····║▐▄/
══════════════════════════╩═════

Using this design you can cripple an army using a well timed volley. The hallway can be much longer than shown if you wish, as ballistae have extended ranges well over 100 tiles. The channeled area is necessary, as civilians (siege operators are "civilians") will run when enemies get within about 5-10 tiles of them, regardless of the actual path to that threat.

====Ballista battery====
Three (or more!) ballistae can be put into a "battery" if overlapped - one per tile-width of the hallway, with each ballista aiming down their row of tiles.

╔═══
══════════════════════════╦══╦══╝▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬ ╬▐▀\◄═« (~ammo~)
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬▐▀\◄═«▐▄/
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬◄═«▐▄/ (~ammo~)
══════════════════════════╣▐▄/ (~ammo~)
╚═════════

Be sure to use fortifications to prevent dwarves from wandering in front of the ballista to their deaths. If desired (and you have the <s>man</s>dwarfpower to spare), catapults may be put behind those, as they shoot safely ''over'' workers in front of them. Although less effective than ballistae, it's a little more firepower - and that can't be a bad thing.

For added flavour, channel out one or more tiles down the length of the 3-wide hallway and install retractable bridges. When invaders attack, retract the bridges, forcing them into paths that are only 1-tile wide.

Adding additional channels on either side of the hall will allow stray ammo to be recovered at a later time. Make sure to add locked doors, to prevent siege operators from walking down below enemy archers during a battle.

===Flooded entrance===
Using a chamber as your entrance alongside a chamber full of water and some machinery you can flood or drain the entrance at will.

The basic premise requires two levers, two {{l|screw pump}}s and two {{l|Gear assembly|gear assemblies}}. The amount of power required and the number of additional components needed to get the power to the screw pumps varies depending on distance/setup. One pump is placed to draw from chamber 1 and dump into chamber 2. The other is set in reverse. A gear assembly is placed next to each pump and connected to the main power system. Each gear is linked to a lever. Now at the flip of a switch you can submerge your entrance with {{l|water}} or {{l|magma|magma}} for easy, secure defense against creatures that aren't amphibious or magma-dwelling, depending.

[[Image:Entflood.jpg|200px]]

The picture above shows the design in action. The green pump is currently on while the red has been disconnected through the grey marked axle. The yellow X is just to mark that there is a channel under the axle.

=== The "Reverse Battlement" design ===

Level Z+0 (ground):
...............
F ═══════════════
O .≥.g≥...g......
R ..≤......g.....
T ...g≤..g....... <-- enemies enter here
R ..≥......g.....
E .g.≤.........g.
S ═══════════════
S ...............

Level Z+1 (bridge):

E ·····║+++║·····
N +++++║+++║+++++
T ·····╬☺++║·····
R ·····╬☺++║·····
A ·····╬☺++║····· <-- archers shoot them from up above
N ·····╬☺++║·····
C ·····╬☺++║·····
E +++++║+++║+++++
·····║+++║·····

Note that in this diagram, the fortress interior is to the West, and the enemy forces come from the East. The marksdwarves on the bridge with the {{l|fortification}}s are one level above the {{l|goblin}}s (or other attackers), who will pass under the bridge and charge on toward the west. As the first clear from under the bridge, they are targeted from behind (which is one level above), as the marksdwarves wait in ambush. This allows the marksdwarves to face far fewer enemies at any one time, at least to begin with, and any enemy archers must clear the bridge, take their lumps, and then return fire back the other way before the marksdwarves are ever under attack.

If you're feeling especially nasty, make the tunnel really long into the mountain and add a ballista battery (see above).

''(Adding ammo stockpiles, of your best quality bolts, to these stations will speed up reloading for longer sieges/battles. Even adding small, convenient food and alcohol stockpiles is not unheard of. Some designers place access to/from archery ranges very close to these stations, for faster deployment.)''

==Scenic route==

[[Image:defense_3bridges.png|thumb|right]]
An example of some advanced defensive construction tactics to deal with vile forces of ''any'' size. (See picture).

*'''Bridge 1''' seals off the entire base
*'''Bridge 2''' forces everyone to take the long, winding, heavily trapped/defended path of death.
*'''Bridge 3''' seals the inside of the fortress

Clever triggering of the bridges allows you to break the hostile forces into smaller chunks to be trapped in the courtyard while being caught in traps and a crossfire of arrows from the fortifications around.

===Goblin detour===

This particular design works well with plenty of archers, siege engines, and other ranged weaponry.

++++++++++++++++++ENTRANCE+
══╦════════════════O╞═╡O╦══ <-- Bridge 1
+☺╬·+++++++++++++++++++·╬☺+
++╬·+···············╞═╡·╬++ <-- Bridge 2
++╬·+··+···+···+···++++·╬++
+☺╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬☺+
++╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬++
++╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬++
+☺╬··+···+···+···+··+++·╬☺+
++╬·················+++·╬++
++╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╗·+++·╬++
++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺╬·+++·╬☺+
++++++++++++++++++╬·+++·╬++
++++++++++++++++++╬·+++·╬++
══════════════╗++☺╬·+++·╬☺+
║+++╬·+++·╬++
║+++╬·+++·╬++
║++☺╬·╞═╡·╬☺+ <-- Bridge 3

The 3 tile wide lane is for traders, so if your {{l|trade depot}} is located before this set-up, cut it down to a 1 tile lane to slow down invaders more.

===Twisty maze===
A maze of turns and blindspots patrolled by quality military can be a very formidable defense. Wide enough for wagons to pass though, but with no clear shots for any ranged weapons. Missile weapons do have a minimum range, so if a target is closer than that range, they will instead just charge to melee - and meet a dwarf with a much better melee skill. Downside to this is that you'd be mixing it up in melee all the time, but so long as you have at least 10 dwarves greeting the goblins as one coherent mass, you should win.

Variations on the twisty maze include:

*A wagon-wide twisty maze, and a not-so-twisty 1-tile wide hall o'traps, with a drawbridge that can force one or the other as the only {{l|path}} into your fortress.

*Making the side of the maze into fortifications, with a channel separating the fortifications from the actual floor of the maze, and having your archery targets on the other side of the fortifications so your marksdwarves can practice. When the goblins round the corner, they charge through a hail of crossbow bolts, and drop dead.

{{Military v0.31}}

v0.31:Security design

2011-06-28T23:02:25Z

Celem: /* Guard Animals */

{{av}}
{{Quality|Exceptional}}

:''This page is one of several inter-related articles on the broader topic of defending your fortress and your dwarves. '''Security design''' focuses on how to turn the physical layout and architecture of a fort into a defensible whole. For a general overview of the threats that will challenge your fortress and things to consider when preparing a standard defence, see the '''{{l|defense guide}}'''. For complex traps that are not a minor/optional part of a larger defensive plan (but might be adapted or plugged into one), see '''{{l|trap design}}'''. For specific advice on how to get your soldiers prepared for any threat, see '''{{l|military design}}'''.

:::::'''''Editors & Contributors''' - Please see the discussion page before posting.''

==Standard key==

'''Key:'''
'''symbol tile'''
· - Empty space
+ - Constructed floor, or top of wall section from lower level
'''0''' - Isolated wall section
╔╦═╗
╠╬═╣ - Connected wall
║║ ║
╚╩═╝
╬ - Fortifications
X - Up/down {{l|stairs}}
< - Up stair
> - Down stair
▲ - Up ramp/slope
▼ - Down ramp/slope
. - natural ground
☺ - dwarf

==General suggestions==
General designs should include suggestions that can be "plugged in" to a part of any typical fortress, and/or can be modified to suit a number of purposes.

Any fortress defenses need to be able to protect your dwarves while outside, whether that's military or civilians. On the truly labor intensive end, you can fully enclose areas of wilderness you wish to utilize in walls or behind moats with the only access being from within your base. Hostile creatures, even 'invisible' ones like ambushers, start at map edges and travel across the map - they will only spawn in regions where they can path to a dwarf. By controlling which areas have access to paths to dwarves, you can force all hostile forces to appear in predictable and limited killing zones and battlefields that you control.

===Meeting area as defense===

Especially in the very early game, you can use a {{l|Zone#Meeting_Area|meeting zone}} to attract animals and idle dwarves to a given area. This makes a pretty poor defense in general, but it's not a bad way to create an alarm system against minor threats such as {{l|thief|thieves}} near your stockpiles, at least until you have something better (which won't be hard). Remove the zone later, or it attracts idle dwarves and children. Note that until you designate something else, the site of your wagon (even once deconstructed) is a default meeting area.

===Guard Animals===

Both {{l|thief|thieves}} and {{l|ambush}}es are invisible until something bumps into them - a dwarf, a {{l|caravan}}, a wild creature, a {{l|domestic animal}}, anything. Once this happens (even if it was triggered by a wild {{l|groundhog}} on the far edge of the map), the game will pause with the appropriate {{l|announcement}}, forcing your attention to the situation - which is nice. Therefore, it's a common practice to use animals to act as alarm systems, by {{l|restraint|restrain}}ing or assigning them to a {{L|pasture}} in entryways.

There are some considerations to good placement of such animals. If you have a 1- or 2-wide hall, one animal is enough. If you have a 3-wide hallway, a single pastured animal placed in the middle is still sufficient, or you can restrain two animals, one at each side of the hall.

══════════ R = restraint
+++1R1++++ 1 = area of animal 1
+++bbb++++ 2 = area of animal 2
+++2R2++++ b = area of both
══════════

Either arrangement creates a thief-proof barrier against unannounced intrusion, as there is no combination of locations where an invisible enemy can sneak by without bumping into an animal. Caravans can pass over {{l|restraint}}s and {{L|pasture}}s and their contained creatures without problem. Guard animals can also see hidden enemies one z-level below them, so long as there is no intervening floor, so if space is tight you can also place them above your entranceway.

Unless you're happy losing these animals on a regular basis, you should try to keep them alive.
:* Put them around a corner or behind a U-bend, so archers cannot fire at them from a distance.
:* Don't have them as your "first line of defense"; put them deeper in the entry, behind some traps.
:* Put them inside, so flying creatures have to come down to their level to attack them.
:* Consider using a {{l|pressure plate}} at the extreme entrance to seal off the hall further down and keep your guard animal(s) safe. Thieves won't trigger them, but the animals can deal with those - ambushes ''will'' trigger them, and you don't want them getting to your guard animals.

Remember that anything short of a {{l|megabeast}} is not a good match for an armoured opponent.{{verify}} While watching your tame {{l|grizzly bear}} or {{l|alligator}} tear a thief apart has an amusement value, watching the goblin maceman send them flying across the map, mangled and dying, has less.
Hunting Animals (trained at {{l|kennel}}s) have better observation (sight range) than their regular or war counterparts

===Defending the edge===
You're not allowed to wall within five squares of the edge of the map... but this rule has more loopholes than the US federal income tax code. Until more versatile attackers emerge, it is not clear where effective play ends and exploit begins. ''(Note: we disclaim any responsibility for damage involving {{l|harpy|harpies}} and skeletal {{l|giant eagle}}s)''

* To start with, you can channel the '''''second''''' square from the edge. This blocks entry of trade caravans or their movement along the edge of the map. If barriers are used to prevent a Trade Depot near the edge of the map from being accessed from any other direction, caravans will be forced to appear in the un-channeled or bridged section of the edge. Your depot can be ready with stockpiles of favored trade goods, offset behind a wall to protect from archers a few squares away.
* You can also build drawbridges all the way up to the edge. A long, skinny, raised bridge is effectively a wall; however, it looks the same whether it's open or closed.

Train up diggers in soft soil and you can surround most of the map with a moat by the time the first migrants arrive. Be very, very wary of cave-ins, especially on highly sloped diagonal terrain - note that a downward ramp does not support adjacent floor tiles, and no tiles are supported diagonally.

Diplomats have a strange habit of appearing well inside the moat, but need to be allowed out when finished. ''[Note: On one 6x7 map {{l|horse}}s and other animals were also found to appear one embark unit (48 squares) left and up from the lower right corner, inside or atop the walls of a 5x5 doorless enclosure. Defend all leaks...]''

==== Design considerations ====

* The moat should be designed to prevent entry except by falling and exit except by climbing, from both sides. (Otherwise inside and outside forces might be tempted to shake hands from adjacent squares, with much annoyance) Despite an abundance of giant corkscrews, grates, ballista bolts, etc., no one has ever invented the ladder, so this keeps anyone from entering or leaving the rest of the map.
* The moat should be dry, because sooner or later you will be tempted to let someone visit the edge to loot goblins or hunt varmints, and next thing you know your Legendary Weaponsmith who outpaces all your smelters will be whiling away his time carrying a leather thong to a stockpile when he runs into a groundhog and decides to react by jumping into the moat and holding his breath beneath the shallow waters until he drowns. (As always, the notice that he has drowned is the first you'll hear of it)
* The moat doesn't actually ''need'' to be adjacent to the edge of the map except when conserving valuable surface terrain (such as {{l|tree|trees}} on a map that is mostly rock). It is easier to free trapped miners when they can dig further outward, and placing the moat on the sixth or further square in from the edge allows further modification with floodgates, walls, and doors. Any {{l|channel}}ing permanently changes the dug-out tile to "Light Above Ground", which restricts these features from tiles near the edge even if floors are later constructed to close the space.
* Because migrants might turn up near wild animals or be followed closely by {{l|goblin|goblins}}, it is nice to wall off the last square in shorter segments. Each one or two segments are served by a separate lever bridge. This can be done by:
** natural barriers. The map edge is mostly continuous ramp, but occasionally a break appears on an uneven surface, by a river channel, etc.
** trees. If left intact they separate any fertile patches into many small segments.
** floors. Although you can't directly Remove Stairs/Ramps at the edge, building a single square of floor on an up-ramp at the edge will destroy that up-ramp (and the down-ramp above it) and block movement around the edge. Building a square of floor on a down-ramp and then removing it creates a {{l|one-way|one-way}} path.was a fix exploit, verify.
** You can build drawbridges *along* the edge and raise them. Combined with a channel right next to the drawbridge, this can completely obstruct passage of anything which can't destroy the bridge.
** You can build up ramps at the edge, which may disrupt passage?Needs testing
** Fortifications carved into the outer edge rock the next layer down? It may be possible to carve fortifications all the way around the edge of a rocky map, allowing entrance only onto designated bridges surrounded by moat and with a steep drop beneath, with some sized appropriately to admit siegers only and one other sized for a trade wagon. In this way combat can be reduced to a simple thumbs up/thumbs down decision at the lever.Probably not.
* Migrants, thieves, and sieges turn up all around the map, and can be allowed in by remote controlled bridges. (Doors will not hold back {{l|building destroyer|building destroyers}}, and remote {{l|lever}} control is needed because other gates can be "taken by invaders" and become non-lockable) Invaders can be allowed in by small groups and fought if desired, or preferably admitted into underground zigzags with a door waiting to be locked at the far end once they get close to it. If most of the invaders can be trapped inside such spaces, the remainder will stand and be wiped out completely without retreating.

===Simple 5x5 Archer's Tower===

Build a {{l|tower|tower}} specifically to post archers on, possibly away from your main defenses. This lets you open fire before the enemy approaches your gates. A pillbox can be attached to your walls, or separate, so that the only access is from tunnels below. These tunnels can stretch across the map, and only need be 1-tile big if no regular traffic is expected. Construct {{l|wall|wall}}s up to the second or third floor and then carve fortifications into them, so your dwarves can fire out. For extra usefulness, build a {{l|barracks|barracks}}, {{l|archery target|archery target}}, {{l|food|food}} {{l|stockpile|stockpile}}, {{l|well|well}} and {{l|dining room|dining room}} in or near the tower. Add a door or hatch to lock them in.

NOTE: It is better to construct walls and then carve fortifications into them, than to construct fortifications. The reason for this is that constructed fortifications do not provide a walkable tile on the layer above them, as walls do. Walls cannot be constructed without access from one of the four compass directions. Because of this, if you were to construct fortifications, when you progress to the level above, you would need to build a walkable path to the corner tiles. This path would need to be deconstructed before the wall or fortification could be built. Once deconstructed, the building material will drop onto the tile below with the fortification, trapping it until the fortification is deconstructed.

As discussed step-by-step in the article on {{l|mega construction|mega construction}}, this particular design is about as basic as it gets. As shown, it assumes entry from an underground tunnel, but a door or drawbridge (with moat!?) could easily be added, or even access via a protected sky-bridge.

When placing multiple towers, know that crossbows have a range of 20 tiles, so, depending on whether you want overlapping fire or not (and how intense/accurate), anywhere from maybe 15 to 38 tiles between the edge of the towers is recommended. Crossbows actually have their range ''reduced'' by extra height in DF, so all you need is 1 level up to keep enemy archers from using your fortifications against you, and you're set. (Channeling a defensive moat further out will also work, moving potential enemy archers even further away, but also moving non-missile targets that far as well.)

Side Below Ground Archer Roof
view: ground: Level: Level: Level:
╔═══╗ ╬╬╬╬╬ ·····
X__ X ║X..║ ╬X++╬ ·X++·
╬X__╬ ║...║ ╬+++╬ ·+++·
___║X__║___ ║...║ ╬+++╬ ·+++·
X ╚═══╝ ╬╬╬╬╬ ·····

This can hold 3 archers/side, and has the potential to be as many "archer levels" tall as you wish. A top-level "down stair" is necessary to build the "roof" - might as well build an up/down stair instead, no real reason not to. Remember to use the "corners first" technique when necessary. (See {{l|Tower}}.)

All told, for a simple 1 archer-level tower, this takes just over 50 stones or blocks (plus 25/extra archer level).

Larger towers (or this with larger floors on higher levels) could house barracks, practice ranges, and other facilities. Just expand to preferred size with floors, and then attach walls to those to act as a base for the next level of building. Add more stairs (adjacent to each other is always better) if high traffic is anticipated.

====Siege engine turrets====
If it's big enough, build a {{l|siege engine}} inside a pillbox. Since siege engines cannot fire at targets higher or lower than them, the device needs to be on the same {{l|z-level}} as any targets, but this could be across a large gap to a nearby plateau. Only a single tile of fortifications is needed to fire through the wall. Position the tower to fire where invaders tend to congregate.

You will want to guarantee that enemies do not approach the position and scare the civilian operators - this distance has been reported to be up to 20 tiles or so. Dig a moat, have some intervening valley or build some secondary fortifications to keep enemies at a distance. Unlike walls, fortifications on the same z-level do not block siege engine missiles, at any range. Unfortunately, if an enemy can walk up to them, fortifications will protect enemies from your archery fire (but not siege engine fire.)

===Control Room===
Have one (large?) room (or several stacked on top of each other) for all defense-related levers, and central to idle dwarves - near your {{l|Activity zone#Meeting Area|meeting area}}s and {{l|noble}}s quarters, with one or more halls or stairs leading to it for quick access. Connect a lever to all those doors and hatches as the first lever to be pulled in an emergency, and the respondent will lock themselves in for you, guaranteeing that they will then have nothing else to do but stay there and pull levers.

It may also be an idea to have a second lever to at least one door, for emergency access. And possibly to add a stockpile of booze and food or a well for longer sieges.

===AI abuse===
Taking advantage of the game's Artificial Intelligence and {{l|path}}finding is a whole article in itself. Try leaving a door un-forbidden during an attack. When the bad guys approach the door, forbid it, and the enemy will wander off. Unlock it again, and they turn around and head back towards the door again. You can get enemies to march back and forth over a set of traps this way, or lure them deep into a complex trap. This could be automated via {{l|pressure plate}}s. This might count as an {{l|exploit}}, or not - that's up to you, and what you consider fun and challenging.

===Bait animal===
{{l|Restraint|Restraining}} or {{L|Pasture|pasturing}} a sacrificial animal just outside your walls, but within range of your marksdwarves and/or siege engines, can lure an enemy into attacking that while you cut them down. Make sure to place a pattern of some walls (or statues, see below) so enemy archers cannot simply shoot the creature from a safe distance.

=====Fortifications=====
Adding a ring of fortifications to help defend the animal against missile fire will keep melee troops away, but invite archers to come adjacent to the fortifications - and under your walls and crossbows. If you allow any path, the melee troops will try to follow it to the animal - be creative with that fact.

=====Traps=====
Surround the animal with traps to kill or capture approaching goblins.

=====U chumps=====
Surround the far side of the animal with a U shaped 3-sided wall, open facing your defenders, so the enemy has to come closer to attack the animal, and you gun them down.

=====Distractions=====
Releasing a {{l|cage}} full of surplus animals will keep the enemy archers very busy. They may even be out of ammo when your wrestlers show up.

=====Vanishing act=====
Having a linked drawbridge that can open/shut (perhaps on both a lever to open and a nearby pressure plate to close), to lure the enemy in under your guns and then protect the animal when they get too close (for multiple uses.)

=====Roach motel=====
Build a long, narrow, and twisty passage, accessible from the outside, but unconnected to your fortress. Build as many simple traps as you like. Place a bait animal inside. Enemy attackers walk right in, and get torn apart by the traps. If any manage to make it to the end, and kill the useless animal, they're surrounded by traps, and no closer to your fortress.

If the roach motel is deep enough underground, you can build a tunnel above it, channel down, and mark the channel a {{l|Activity_zone|pit/pond}}. That way, you can "reload" a new bait animal.

=====Vs. building destroyers=====
For {{l|building destroyer|building destroyers}}, spare statues can serve the same purpose as bait animals.

=====Trap chokepoints=====
Enemies can be herded by constructed features. If you have a particular zone covered by catapults and would like enemies to pass through it, strategically placed walls can make enemy pathfinding more favorable. A trap occupying a single tile in the middle of a barren plain is likely to never get triggered. However, if walls are placed in a cross-hair pattern around the trap, animals and invaders are much more likely to pass over it as they wander across the map. This can be a very useful trick when capturing wildlife with cage traps.

<pre>
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
═════^═════
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
</pre>

=====Pathing slowdowns=====
If you're playing on a low-powered machine and you close up all entrances to your fortress during a siege, your game may grind to a halt and/or crash as the siegers continuously fail at pathfinding into your fortress. Bait animals may alleviate this.



==Entrance designs==

===Airlock defenses/buffer zone===
Build two walls, each with a drawbridge. Build the trade depot in the buffer zone between them. Keep the outer bridge open, and the inner one closed. When the merchants appear, put crossbows on the walls to guard their approach. Once all the merchants are safely inside, close the outer bridge. Once there's no enemies left in the buffer zone, open the inner bridge so your civilians can start loading up the depot.

The airlock pattern can be useful even without putting the depot there. Let a few siegers in at a time, and crush them. Reset the traps, Rest up the soldiers, and repeat.

===Siege Engines===
One effective way to have {{l|siege engine}}s (help) defend your fortress is:

'''One ballista vs 3-wide hallway'''
══════════════════════════╦═════
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····║▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬◄═«
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····║▐▄/
══════════════════════════╩═════

Using this design you can cripple an army using a well timed volley. The hallway can be much longer than shown if you wish, as ballistae have extended ranges well over 100 tiles. The channeled area is necessary, as civilians (siege operators are "civilians") will run when enemies get within about 5-10 tiles of them, regardless of the actual path to that threat.

====Ballista battery====
Three (or more!) ballistae can be put into a "battery" if overlapped - one per tile-width of the hallway, with each ballista aiming down their row of tiles.

╔═══
══════════════════════════╦══╦══╝▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬ ╬▐▀\◄═« (~ammo~)
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬▐▀\◄═«▐▄/
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬◄═«▐▄/ (~ammo~)
══════════════════════════╣▐▄/ (~ammo~)
╚═════════

Be sure to use fortifications to prevent dwarves from wandering in front of the ballista to their deaths. If desired (and you have the <s>man</s>dwarfpower to spare), catapults may be put behind those, as they shoot safely ''over'' workers in front of them. Although less effective than ballistae, it's a little more firepower - and that can't be a bad thing.

For added flavour, channel out one or more tiles down the length of the 3-wide hallway and install retractable bridges. When invaders attack, retract the bridges, forcing them into paths that are only 1-tile wide.

Adding additional channels on either side of the hall will allow stray ammo to be recovered at a later time. Make sure to add locked doors, to prevent siege operators from walking down below enemy archers during a battle.

===Flooded entrance===
Using a chamber as your entrance alongside a chamber full of water and some machinery you can flood or drain the entrance at will.

The basic premise requires two levers, two {{l|screw pump}}s and two {{l|Gear assembly|gear assemblies}}. The amount of power required and the number of additional components needed to get the power to the screw pumps varies depending on distance/setup. One pump is placed to draw from chamber 1 and dump into chamber 2. The other is set in reverse. A gear assembly is placed next to each pump and connected to the main power system. Each gear is linked to a lever. Now at the flip of a switch you can submerge your entrance with {{l|water}} or {{l|magma|magma}} for easy, secure defense against creatures that aren't amphibious or magma-dwelling, depending.

[[Image:Entflood.jpg|200px]]

The picture above shows the design in action. The green pump is currently on while the red has been disconnected through the grey marked axle. The yellow X is just to mark that there is a channel under the axle.

=== The "Reverse Battlement" design ===

Level Z+0 (ground):
...............
F ═══════════════
O .≥.g≥...g......
R ..≤......g.....
T ...g≤..g....... <-- enemies enter here
R ..≥......g.....
E .g.≤.........g.
S ═══════════════
S ...............

Level Z+1 (bridge):

E ·····║+++║·····
N +++++║+++║+++++
T ·····╬☺++║·····
R ·····╬☺++║·····
A ·····╬☺++║····· <-- archers shoot them from up above
N ·····╬☺++║·····
C ·····╬☺++║·····
E +++++║+++║+++++
·····║+++║·····

Note that in this diagram, the fortress interior is to the West, and the enemy forces come from the East. The marksdwarves on the bridge with the {{l|fortification}}s are one level above the {{l|goblin}}s (or other attackers), who will pass under the bridge and charge on toward the west. As the first clear from under the bridge, they are targeted from behind (which is one level above), as the marksdwarves wait in ambush. This allows the marksdwarves to face far fewer enemies at any one time, at least to begin with, and any enemy archers must clear the bridge, take their lumps, and then return fire back the other way before the marksdwarves are ever under attack.

If you're feeling especially nasty, make the tunnel really long into the mountain and add a ballista battery (see above).

''(Adding ammo stockpiles, of your best quality bolts, to these stations will speed up reloading for longer sieges/battles. Even adding small, convenient food and alcohol stockpiles is not unheard of. Some designers place access to/from archery ranges very close to these stations, for faster deployment.)''

==Scenic route==

[[Image:defense_3bridges.png|thumb|right]]
An example of some advanced defensive construction tactics to deal with vile forces of ''any'' size. (See picture).

*'''Bridge 1''' seals off the entire base
*'''Bridge 2''' forces everyone to take the long, winding, heavily trapped/defended path of death.
*'''Bridge 3''' seals the inside of the fortress

Clever triggering of the bridges allows you to break the hostile forces into smaller chunks to be trapped in the courtyard while being caught in traps and a crossfire of arrows from the fortifications around.

===Goblin detour===

This particular design works well with plenty of archers, siege engines, and other ranged weaponry.

++++++++++++++++++ENTRANCE+
══╦════════════════O╞═╡O╦══ <-- Bridge 1
+☺╬·+++++++++++++++++++·╬☺+
++╬·+···············╞═╡·╬++ <-- Bridge 2
++╬·+··+···+···+···++++·╬++
+☺╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬☺+
++╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬++
++╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬++
+☺╬··+···+···+···+··+++·╬☺+
++╬·················+++·╬++
++╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╗·+++·╬++
++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺╬·+++·╬☺+
++++++++++++++++++╬·+++·╬++
++++++++++++++++++╬·+++·╬++
══════════════╗++☺╬·+++·╬☺+
║+++╬·+++·╬++
║+++╬·+++·╬++
║++☺╬·╞═╡·╬☺+ <-- Bridge 3

The 3 tile wide lane is for traders, so if your {{l|trade depot}} is located before this set-up, cut it down to a 1 tile lane to slow down invaders more.

===Twisty maze===
A maze of turns and blindspots patrolled by quality military can be a very formidable defense. Wide enough for wagons to pass though, but with no clear shots for any ranged weapons. Missile weapons do have a minimum range, so if a target is closer than that range, they will instead just charge to melee - and meet a dwarf with a much better melee skill. Downside to this is that you'd be mixing it up in melee all the time, but so long as you have at least 10 dwarves greeting the goblins as one coherent mass, you should win.

Variations on the twisty maze include:

*A wagon-wide twisty maze, and a not-so-twisty 1-tile wide hall o'traps, with a drawbridge that can force one or the other as the only {{l|path}} into your fortress.

*Making the side of the maze into fortifications, with a channel separating the fortifications from the actual floor of the maze, and having your archery targets on the other side of the fortifications so your marksdwarves can practice. When the goblins round the corner, they charge through a hail of crossbow bolts, and drop dead.

{{Military v0.31}}

v0.31:Security design

2011-06-28T23:01:55Z

Celem: added hunting animal - observation note.

{{av}}
{{Quality|Exceptional}}

:''This page is one of several inter-related articles on the broader topic of defending your fortress and your dwarves. '''Security design''' focuses on how to turn the physical layout and architecture of a fort into a defensible whole. For a general overview of the threats that will challenge your fortress and things to consider when preparing a standard defence, see the '''{{l|defense guide}}'''. For complex traps that are not a minor/optional part of a larger defensive plan (but might be adapted or plugged into one), see '''{{l|trap design}}'''. For specific advice on how to get your soldiers prepared for any threat, see '''{{l|military design}}'''.

:::::'''''Editors & Contributors''' - Please see the discussion page before posting.''

==Standard key==

'''Key:'''
'''symbol tile'''
· - Empty space
+ - Constructed floor, or top of wall section from lower level
'''0''' - Isolated wall section
╔╦═╗
╠╬═╣ - Connected wall
║║ ║
╚╩═╝
╬ - Fortifications
X - Up/down {{l|stairs}}
< - Up stair
> - Down stair
▲ - Up ramp/slope
▼ - Down ramp/slope
. - natural ground
☺ - dwarf

==General suggestions==
General designs should include suggestions that can be "plugged in" to a part of any typical fortress, and/or can be modified to suit a number of purposes.

Any fortress defenses need to be able to protect your dwarves while outside, whether that's military or civilians. On the truly labor intensive end, you can fully enclose areas of wilderness you wish to utilize in walls or behind moats with the only access being from within your base. Hostile creatures, even 'invisible' ones like ambushers, start at map edges and travel across the map - they will only spawn in regions where they can path to a dwarf. By controlling which areas have access to paths to dwarves, you can force all hostile forces to appear in predictable and limited killing zones and battlefields that you control.

===Meeting area as defense===

Especially in the very early game, you can use a {{l|Zone#Meeting_Area|meeting zone}} to attract animals and idle dwarves to a given area. This makes a pretty poor defense in general, but it's not a bad way to create an alarm system against minor threats such as {{l|thief|thieves}} near your stockpiles, at least until you have something better (which won't be hard). Remove the zone later, or it attracts idle dwarves and children. Note that until you designate something else, the site of your wagon (even once deconstructed) is a default meeting area.

===Guard Animals===

Both {{l|thief|thieves}} and {{l|ambush}}es are invisible until something bumps into them - a dwarf, a {{l|caravan}}, a wild creature, a {{l|domestic animal}}, anything. Once this happens (even if it was triggered by a wild {{l|groundhog}} on the far edge of the map), the game will pause with the appropriate {{l|announcement}}, forcing your attention to the situation - which is nice. Therefore, it's a common practice to use animals to act as alarm systems, by {{l|restraint|restrain}}ing or assigning them to a {{L|pasture}} in entryways.

There are some considerations to good placement of such animals. If you have a 1- or 2-wide hall, one animal is enough. If you have a 3-wide hallway, a single pastured animal placed in the middle is still sufficient, or you can restrain two animals, one at each side of the hall.

══════════ R = restraint
+++1R1++++ 1 = area of animal 1
+++bbb++++ 2 = area of animal 2
+++2R2++++ b = area of both
══════════

Either arrangement creates a thief-proof barrier against unannounced intrusion, as there is no combination of locations where an invisible enemy can sneak by without bumping into an animal. Caravans can pass over {{l|restraint}}s and {{L|pasture}}s and their contained creatures without problem. Guard animals can also see hidden enemies one z-level below them, so long as there is no intervening floor, so if space is tight you can also place them above your entranceway.

Unless you're happy losing these animals on a regular basis, you should try to keep them alive.
:* Put them around a corner or behind a U-bend, so archers cannot fire at them from a distance.
:* Don't have them as your "first line of defense"; put them deeper in the entry, behind some traps.
:* Put them inside, so flying creatures have to come down to their level to attack them.
:* Consider using a {{l|pressure plate}} at the extreme entrance to seal off the hall further down and keep your guard animal(s) safe. Thieves won't trigger them, but the animals can deal with those - ambushes ''will'' trigger them, and you don't want them getting to your guard animals.

Remember that anything short of a {{l|megabeast}} is not a good match for an armoured opponent.{{verify}} While watching your tame {{l|grizzly bear}} or {{l|alligator}} tear a thief apart has an amusement value, watching the goblin maceman send them flying across the map, mangled and dying, has less.
Hunting Animals (trained at {{l|kennel}}s have better observation (sight range) than their regular or war counterparts

===Defending the edge===
You're not allowed to wall within five squares of the edge of the map... but this rule has more loopholes than the US federal income tax code. Until more versatile attackers emerge, it is not clear where effective play ends and exploit begins. ''(Note: we disclaim any responsibility for damage involving {{l|harpy|harpies}} and skeletal {{l|giant eagle}}s)''

* To start with, you can channel the '''''second''''' square from the edge. This blocks entry of trade caravans or their movement along the edge of the map. If barriers are used to prevent a Trade Depot near the edge of the map from being accessed from any other direction, caravans will be forced to appear in the un-channeled or bridged section of the edge. Your depot can be ready with stockpiles of favored trade goods, offset behind a wall to protect from archers a few squares away.
* You can also build drawbridges all the way up to the edge. A long, skinny, raised bridge is effectively a wall; however, it looks the same whether it's open or closed.

Train up diggers in soft soil and you can surround most of the map with a moat by the time the first migrants arrive. Be very, very wary of cave-ins, especially on highly sloped diagonal terrain - note that a downward ramp does not support adjacent floor tiles, and no tiles are supported diagonally.

Diplomats have a strange habit of appearing well inside the moat, but need to be allowed out when finished. ''[Note: On one 6x7 map {{l|horse}}s and other animals were also found to appear one embark unit (48 squares) left and up from the lower right corner, inside or atop the walls of a 5x5 doorless enclosure. Defend all leaks...]''

==== Design considerations ====

* The moat should be designed to prevent entry except by falling and exit except by climbing, from both sides. (Otherwise inside and outside forces might be tempted to shake hands from adjacent squares, with much annoyance) Despite an abundance of giant corkscrews, grates, ballista bolts, etc., no one has ever invented the ladder, so this keeps anyone from entering or leaving the rest of the map.
* The moat should be dry, because sooner or later you will be tempted to let someone visit the edge to loot goblins or hunt varmints, and next thing you know your Legendary Weaponsmith who outpaces all your smelters will be whiling away his time carrying a leather thong to a stockpile when he runs into a groundhog and decides to react by jumping into the moat and holding his breath beneath the shallow waters until he drowns. (As always, the notice that he has drowned is the first you'll hear of it)
* The moat doesn't actually ''need'' to be adjacent to the edge of the map except when conserving valuable surface terrain (such as {{l|tree|trees}} on a map that is mostly rock). It is easier to free trapped miners when they can dig further outward, and placing the moat on the sixth or further square in from the edge allows further modification with floodgates, walls, and doors. Any {{l|channel}}ing permanently changes the dug-out tile to "Light Above Ground", which restricts these features from tiles near the edge even if floors are later constructed to close the space.
* Because migrants might turn up near wild animals or be followed closely by {{l|goblin|goblins}}, it is nice to wall off the last square in shorter segments. Each one or two segments are served by a separate lever bridge. This can be done by:
** natural barriers. The map edge is mostly continuous ramp, but occasionally a break appears on an uneven surface, by a river channel, etc.
** trees. If left intact they separate any fertile patches into many small segments.
** floors. Although you can't directly Remove Stairs/Ramps at the edge, building a single square of floor on an up-ramp at the edge will destroy that up-ramp (and the down-ramp above it) and block movement around the edge. Building a square of floor on a down-ramp and then removing it creates a {{l|one-way|one-way}} path.was a fix exploit, verify.
** You can build drawbridges *along* the edge and raise them. Combined with a channel right next to the drawbridge, this can completely obstruct passage of anything which can't destroy the bridge.
** You can build up ramps at the edge, which may disrupt passage?Needs testing
** Fortifications carved into the outer edge rock the next layer down? It may be possible to carve fortifications all the way around the edge of a rocky map, allowing entrance only onto designated bridges surrounded by moat and with a steep drop beneath, with some sized appropriately to admit siegers only and one other sized for a trade wagon. In this way combat can be reduced to a simple thumbs up/thumbs down decision at the lever.Probably not.
* Migrants, thieves, and sieges turn up all around the map, and can be allowed in by remote controlled bridges. (Doors will not hold back {{l|building destroyer|building destroyers}}, and remote {{l|lever}} control is needed because other gates can be "taken by invaders" and become non-lockable) Invaders can be allowed in by small groups and fought if desired, or preferably admitted into underground zigzags with a door waiting to be locked at the far end once they get close to it. If most of the invaders can be trapped inside such spaces, the remainder will stand and be wiped out completely without retreating.

===Simple 5x5 Archer's Tower===

Build a {{l|tower|tower}} specifically to post archers on, possibly away from your main defenses. This lets you open fire before the enemy approaches your gates. A pillbox can be attached to your walls, or separate, so that the only access is from tunnels below. These tunnels can stretch across the map, and only need be 1-tile big if no regular traffic is expected. Construct {{l|wall|wall}}s up to the second or third floor and then carve fortifications into them, so your dwarves can fire out. For extra usefulness, build a {{l|barracks|barracks}}, {{l|archery target|archery target}}, {{l|food|food}} {{l|stockpile|stockpile}}, {{l|well|well}} and {{l|dining room|dining room}} in or near the tower. Add a door or hatch to lock them in.

NOTE: It is better to construct walls and then carve fortifications into them, than to construct fortifications. The reason for this is that constructed fortifications do not provide a walkable tile on the layer above them, as walls do. Walls cannot be constructed without access from one of the four compass directions. Because of this, if you were to construct fortifications, when you progress to the level above, you would need to build a walkable path to the corner tiles. This path would need to be deconstructed before the wall or fortification could be built. Once deconstructed, the building material will drop onto the tile below with the fortification, trapping it until the fortification is deconstructed.

As discussed step-by-step in the article on {{l|mega construction|mega construction}}, this particular design is about as basic as it gets. As shown, it assumes entry from an underground tunnel, but a door or drawbridge (with moat!?) could easily be added, or even access via a protected sky-bridge.

When placing multiple towers, know that crossbows have a range of 20 tiles, so, depending on whether you want overlapping fire or not (and how intense/accurate), anywhere from maybe 15 to 38 tiles between the edge of the towers is recommended. Crossbows actually have their range ''reduced'' by extra height in DF, so all you need is 1 level up to keep enemy archers from using your fortifications against you, and you're set. (Channeling a defensive moat further out will also work, moving potential enemy archers even further away, but also moving non-missile targets that far as well.)

Side Below Ground Archer Roof
view: ground: Level: Level: Level:
╔═══╗ ╬╬╬╬╬ ·····
X__ X ║X..║ ╬X++╬ ·X++·
╬X__╬ ║...║ ╬+++╬ ·+++·
___║X__║___ ║...║ ╬+++╬ ·+++·
X ╚═══╝ ╬╬╬╬╬ ·····

This can hold 3 archers/side, and has the potential to be as many "archer levels" tall as you wish. A top-level "down stair" is necessary to build the "roof" - might as well build an up/down stair instead, no real reason not to. Remember to use the "corners first" technique when necessary. (See {{l|Tower}}.)

All told, for a simple 1 archer-level tower, this takes just over 50 stones or blocks (plus 25/extra archer level).

Larger towers (or this with larger floors on higher levels) could house barracks, practice ranges, and other facilities. Just expand to preferred size with floors, and then attach walls to those to act as a base for the next level of building. Add more stairs (adjacent to each other is always better) if high traffic is anticipated.

====Siege engine turrets====
If it's big enough, build a {{l|siege engine}} inside a pillbox. Since siege engines cannot fire at targets higher or lower than them, the device needs to be on the same {{l|z-level}} as any targets, but this could be across a large gap to a nearby plateau. Only a single tile of fortifications is needed to fire through the wall. Position the tower to fire where invaders tend to congregate.

You will want to guarantee that enemies do not approach the position and scare the civilian operators - this distance has been reported to be up to 20 tiles or so. Dig a moat, have some intervening valley or build some secondary fortifications to keep enemies at a distance. Unlike walls, fortifications on the same z-level do not block siege engine missiles, at any range. Unfortunately, if an enemy can walk up to them, fortifications will protect enemies from your archery fire (but not siege engine fire.)

===Control Room===
Have one (large?) room (or several stacked on top of each other) for all defense-related levers, and central to idle dwarves - near your {{l|Activity zone#Meeting Area|meeting area}}s and {{l|noble}}s quarters, with one or more halls or stairs leading to it for quick access. Connect a lever to all those doors and hatches as the first lever to be pulled in an emergency, and the respondent will lock themselves in for you, guaranteeing that they will then have nothing else to do but stay there and pull levers.

It may also be an idea to have a second lever to at least one door, for emergency access. And possibly to add a stockpile of booze and food or a well for longer sieges.

===AI abuse===
Taking advantage of the game's Artificial Intelligence and {{l|path}}finding is a whole article in itself. Try leaving a door un-forbidden during an attack. When the bad guys approach the door, forbid it, and the enemy will wander off. Unlock it again, and they turn around and head back towards the door again. You can get enemies to march back and forth over a set of traps this way, or lure them deep into a complex trap. This could be automated via {{l|pressure plate}}s. This might count as an {{l|exploit}}, or not - that's up to you, and what you consider fun and challenging.

===Bait animal===
{{l|Restraint|Restraining}} or {{L|Pasture|pasturing}} a sacrificial animal just outside your walls, but within range of your marksdwarves and/or siege engines, can lure an enemy into attacking that while you cut them down. Make sure to place a pattern of some walls (or statues, see below) so enemy archers cannot simply shoot the creature from a safe distance.

=====Fortifications=====
Adding a ring of fortifications to help defend the animal against missile fire will keep melee troops away, but invite archers to come adjacent to the fortifications - and under your walls and crossbows. If you allow any path, the melee troops will try to follow it to the animal - be creative with that fact.

=====Traps=====
Surround the animal with traps to kill or capture approaching goblins.

=====U chumps=====
Surround the far side of the animal with a U shaped 3-sided wall, open facing your defenders, so the enemy has to come closer to attack the animal, and you gun them down.

=====Distractions=====
Releasing a {{l|cage}} full of surplus animals will keep the enemy archers very busy. They may even be out of ammo when your wrestlers show up.

=====Vanishing act=====
Having a linked drawbridge that can open/shut (perhaps on both a lever to open and a nearby pressure plate to close), to lure the enemy in under your guns and then protect the animal when they get too close (for multiple uses.)

=====Roach motel=====
Build a long, narrow, and twisty passage, accessible from the outside, but unconnected to your fortress. Build as many simple traps as you like. Place a bait animal inside. Enemy attackers walk right in, and get torn apart by the traps. If any manage to make it to the end, and kill the useless animal, they're surrounded by traps, and no closer to your fortress.

If the roach motel is deep enough underground, you can build a tunnel above it, channel down, and mark the channel a {{l|Activity_zone|pit/pond}}. That way, you can "reload" a new bait animal.

=====Vs. building destroyers=====
For {{l|building destroyer|building destroyers}}, spare statues can serve the same purpose as bait animals.

=====Trap chokepoints=====
Enemies can be herded by constructed features. If you have a particular zone covered by catapults and would like enemies to pass through it, strategically placed walls can make enemy pathfinding more favorable. A trap occupying a single tile in the middle of a barren plain is likely to never get triggered. However, if walls are placed in a cross-hair pattern around the trap, animals and invaders are much more likely to pass over it as they wander across the map. This can be a very useful trick when capturing wildlife with cage traps.

<pre>
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
═════^═════
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
</pre>

=====Pathing slowdowns=====
If you're playing on a low-powered machine and you close up all entrances to your fortress during a siege, your game may grind to a halt and/or crash as the siegers continuously fail at pathfinding into your fortress. Bait animals may alleviate this.



==Entrance designs==

===Airlock defenses/buffer zone===
Build two walls, each with a drawbridge. Build the trade depot in the buffer zone between them. Keep the outer bridge open, and the inner one closed. When the merchants appear, put crossbows on the walls to guard their approach. Once all the merchants are safely inside, close the outer bridge. Once there's no enemies left in the buffer zone, open the inner bridge so your civilians can start loading up the depot.

The airlock pattern can be useful even without putting the depot there. Let a few siegers in at a time, and crush them. Reset the traps, Rest up the soldiers, and repeat.

===Siege Engines===
One effective way to have {{l|siege engine}}s (help) defend your fortress is:

'''One ballista vs 3-wide hallway'''
══════════════════════════╦═════
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····║▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬◄═«
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····║▐▄/
══════════════════════════╩═════

Using this design you can cripple an army using a well timed volley. The hallway can be much longer than shown if you wish, as ballistae have extended ranges well over 100 tiles. The channeled area is necessary, as civilians (siege operators are "civilians") will run when enemies get within about 5-10 tiles of them, regardless of the actual path to that threat.

====Ballista battery====
Three (or more!) ballistae can be put into a "battery" if overlapped - one per tile-width of the hallway, with each ballista aiming down their row of tiles.

╔═══
══════════════════════════╦══╦══╝▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬ ╬▐▀\◄═« (~ammo~)
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬▐▀\◄═«▐▄/
Entrance++++++++++++▼·····╬◄═«▐▄/ (~ammo~)
══════════════════════════╣▐▄/ (~ammo~)
╚═════════

Be sure to use fortifications to prevent dwarves from wandering in front of the ballista to their deaths. If desired (and you have the <s>man</s>dwarfpower to spare), catapults may be put behind those, as they shoot safely ''over'' workers in front of them. Although less effective than ballistae, it's a little more firepower - and that can't be a bad thing.

For added flavour, channel out one or more tiles down the length of the 3-wide hallway and install retractable bridges. When invaders attack, retract the bridges, forcing them into paths that are only 1-tile wide.

Adding additional channels on either side of the hall will allow stray ammo to be recovered at a later time. Make sure to add locked doors, to prevent siege operators from walking down below enemy archers during a battle.

===Flooded entrance===
Using a chamber as your entrance alongside a chamber full of water and some machinery you can flood or drain the entrance at will.

The basic premise requires two levers, two {{l|screw pump}}s and two {{l|Gear assembly|gear assemblies}}. The amount of power required and the number of additional components needed to get the power to the screw pumps varies depending on distance/setup. One pump is placed to draw from chamber 1 and dump into chamber 2. The other is set in reverse. A gear assembly is placed next to each pump and connected to the main power system. Each gear is linked to a lever. Now at the flip of a switch you can submerge your entrance with {{l|water}} or {{l|magma|magma}} for easy, secure defense against creatures that aren't amphibious or magma-dwelling, depending.

[[Image:Entflood.jpg|200px]]

The picture above shows the design in action. The green pump is currently on while the red has been disconnected through the grey marked axle. The yellow X is just to mark that there is a channel under the axle.

=== The "Reverse Battlement" design ===

Level Z+0 (ground):
...............
F ═══════════════
O .≥.g≥...g......
R ..≤......g.....
T ...g≤..g....... <-- enemies enter here
R ..≥......g.....
E .g.≤.........g.
S ═══════════════
S ...............

Level Z+1 (bridge):

E ·····║+++║·····
N +++++║+++║+++++
T ·····╬☺++║·····
R ·····╬☺++║·····
A ·····╬☺++║····· <-- archers shoot them from up above
N ·····╬☺++║·····
C ·····╬☺++║·····
E +++++║+++║+++++
·····║+++║·····

Note that in this diagram, the fortress interior is to the West, and the enemy forces come from the East. The marksdwarves on the bridge with the {{l|fortification}}s are one level above the {{l|goblin}}s (or other attackers), who will pass under the bridge and charge on toward the west. As the first clear from under the bridge, they are targeted from behind (which is one level above), as the marksdwarves wait in ambush. This allows the marksdwarves to face far fewer enemies at any one time, at least to begin with, and any enemy archers must clear the bridge, take their lumps, and then return fire back the other way before the marksdwarves are ever under attack.

If you're feeling especially nasty, make the tunnel really long into the mountain and add a ballista battery (see above).

''(Adding ammo stockpiles, of your best quality bolts, to these stations will speed up reloading for longer sieges/battles. Even adding small, convenient food and alcohol stockpiles is not unheard of. Some designers place access to/from archery ranges very close to these stations, for faster deployment.)''

==Scenic route==

[[Image:defense_3bridges.png|thumb|right]]
An example of some advanced defensive construction tactics to deal with vile forces of ''any'' size. (See picture).

*'''Bridge 1''' seals off the entire base
*'''Bridge 2''' forces everyone to take the long, winding, heavily trapped/defended path of death.
*'''Bridge 3''' seals the inside of the fortress

Clever triggering of the bridges allows you to break the hostile forces into smaller chunks to be trapped in the courtyard while being caught in traps and a crossfire of arrows from the fortifications around.

===Goblin detour===

This particular design works well with plenty of archers, siege engines, and other ranged weaponry.

++++++++++++++++++ENTRANCE+
══╦════════════════O╞═╡O╦══ <-- Bridge 1
+☺╬·+++++++++++++++++++·╬☺+
++╬·+···············╞═╡·╬++ <-- Bridge 2
++╬·+··+···+···+···++++·╬++
+☺╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬☺+
++╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬++
++╬·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+·+++·╬++
+☺╬··+···+···+···+··+++·╬☺+
++╬·················+++·╬++
++╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╗·+++·╬++
++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺╬·+++·╬☺+
++++++++++++++++++╬·+++·╬++
++++++++++++++++++╬·+++·╬++
══════════════╗++☺╬·+++·╬☺+
║+++╬·+++·╬++
║+++╬·+++·╬++
║++☺╬·╞═╡·╬☺+ <-- Bridge 3

The 3 tile wide lane is for traders, so if your {{l|trade depot}} is located before this set-up, cut it down to a 1 tile lane to slow down invaders more.

===Twisty maze===
A maze of turns and blindspots patrolled by quality military can be a very formidable defense. Wide enough for wagons to pass though, but with no clear shots for any ranged weapons. Missile weapons do have a minimum range, so if a target is closer than that range, they will instead just charge to melee - and meet a dwarf with a much better melee skill. Downside to this is that you'd be mixing it up in melee all the time, but so long as you have at least 10 dwarves greeting the goblins as one coherent mass, you should win.

Variations on the twisty maze include:

*A wagon-wide twisty maze, and a not-so-twisty 1-tile wide hall o'traps, with a drawbridge that can force one or the other as the only {{l|path}} into your fortress.

*Making the side of the maze into fortifications, with a channel separating the fortifications from the actual floor of the maze, and having your archery targets on the other side of the fortifications so your marksdwarves can practice. When the goblins round the corner, they charge through a hail of crossbow bolts, and drop dead.

{{Military v0.31}}

Pathfinding

2011-06-28T22:48:53Z

Celem: fixed bad syntax

#REDIRECT [[DF2010:Path]]

Pathfinding

2011-06-28T22:48:22Z

Celem: redirect

#REDIRECT [[2010:Path]]

v0.31 Talk:Monarch

2010-12-28T01:33:08Z

Celem: /* Death of a King */

== monarch bug ==

The monarch showed up before promotion to duchy, and simply sat on the edge of the map with her consort. Her entourage joined, including various legendary weapon masters. When I used Runesmith to move her inside, she and her consort ran all the way back to the border. Sounds similar to the old 'non-dwarven king' bug.[[User:Uzu Bash|Uzu Bash]] 15:53, 26 October 2010 (UTC)

==Arrival of the king==
This might be a stupid question, but I don't really get the "wealth in roads"-part of the arrival condition. Does it mean exports, building paved roads or something else? [[User:Aavemursu|Aavemursu]] 28 October 2010
The Wealth In Roads is just the worth of the items you used to build paved roads. You can use Steel bars to fulfill the requirement really fast.
::You can also use bridges which count toward road value - Celem

==Adamantine King==
This seems completely removed from 2010 Df. Only trigger to monarch seems to be previously known requirements and duchy -Celem

==Death of a King==
What happens to the state of the world if your monarch dies at your fortress? – [[template:unsigned|unsigned]] comment by [[User:70.76.91.114|70.76.91.114]]

I believe you get another one. [[User:Doomdome|Doomdome]] 00:29, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

:I havent yet tested this in 2010. However there is usually no mechanism for replacing a monarch lost like this. Monarchs that die during worldgen are succeeded by their heir or a new line begins. Those that die at your fortress do not get replaced. -Celem

v0.31 Talk:Monarch

2010-12-28T01:31:07Z

Celem: /* Arrival of the king */

v0.31:Trap

2010-12-27T09:03:08Z

Celem: /* Cage Trap */

{{quality|Exceptional|08:00, 22 May 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}

'''Traps''' are a comparatively quick and easy method for defending a fortress. Unlike {{L|soldier}}s, they're always on duty, and, once set up, need less management. On the other hand, they are immobile and can only lie in wait for foes to walk over them. To build a trap, go to the {{k|b}}uild->{{k|T}}raps/Levers menu. You'll generally need one {{L|mechanism}}, a dwarf with the {{L|mechanic}} labor designated (ranks in this {{L|skill}} reduce the time to place a trap), and at least one other component depending on the type of trap - a stone, a cage, or one or more weapons. They can be built indoors or outdoors, and require a level ground square with no other constructions in them.

Stone-fall, weapon and cage traps will be triggered by most hostile entities entering their tile, with the possible exception of {{L|thief|thieves}}, flying creatures and other occasional nasty surprises. Any unconscious creature will trigger traps, including your own dwarves.

Note that only dwarfs with the mechanic labor enabled will reload traps (cage, stone or weapon). In combat situations, {{L|mechanic}}s have a nasty habit of wanting to reload (or clean) traps when they are triggered, regardless of who or what might be out there as well. {{L|Forbid}}ding traps after they are built will keep [[Urist|Urist McSuicide]] from deciding to reload a trap in the middle of a {{L|siege}}. Just remember to unforbid them when things calm down, so the traps are all ready for next time. Note that forbidding a trap after it has been triggered doesn't help, as the job to refill the trap has already been issued in that case, so a Mechanic will carry a stone out to the trap anyway. Alternatively, simply order your dwarves to stay within a safe {{L|burrow}} until any threats have been dealt with.

It is possible to determine the state of a trap (loaded/unloaded) and the components it contains using the 't' query.
Deconstructing a trap leaves the components used in its creation on the ground around the tile. Traps destroyed by hostile action may return damaged objects.

==Stone-fall Trap==
The simplest trap to construct, a stone-fall trap is essentially a {{L|stone}} suspended up in the air which is dropped on intruders when the trap is triggered. These are a popular defensive measure early on, as the components needed are readily available as soon as you start mining. A single stone trap will usually '''not''' severely wound or kill most animals and enemies, to the extent that this may be a bug. After being used they need to be reloaded with another stone by any {{L|dwarf}} with {{L|mechanic}} {{L|skill}} enabled, a task which your dwarves will see to automatically. The dwarf will generally not use the stone that just dropped, but a new one (would you want to put your hands on that gory mess?). Being that stonefall traps do not alert you of ambushes when triggered by hidden invaders{{verify}}, this can frequently lead your mechanics into peril.

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|s}}
:*Components used: {{L|mechanism}} and an ordinary {{L|stone}}

==Weapon Trap==
Weapon traps are similar in nature to stone-fall traps, and are triggered when any hostile creature stands on the trap. They contain between one and ten weapons, and tend to be much more reliable for outright killing or critically injuring invading creatures. Before you write off stone-fall traps as worse versions of weapon traps, note that weapon traps require you to have previously made {{L|weapon}}s, making them more of an option somewhat later in the game. Any weapon can be used, including human weapons, training weapons, bows, traded weapons and weapons recovered from dead goblins. Think of it as fair retribution when goblins are sliced to pieces by their own axes!

You can also use the corkscrews that are normally used in {{L|screw pump}}s, or menacing spikes that are normally used in spike traps, or any of three specialist trap only weapons:

{{L|Metalsmith's forge}}
*menacing <metal> spike
*large, serrated <metal> disc
*spiked <metal> ball
*enormous <metal> corkscrew
*giant <metal> axe blade

{{L|Carpenter's workshop}}
*menacing <wooden> spike
*spiked <wooden> ball
*enormous <wooden> corkscrew

{{L|Glass furnace}}
*menacing <glass> spike
*large, serrated <glass> disc
*spiked <glass> ball
*enormous <glass> corkscrew
*giant <glass> axe blade

Don't know which to make? -> '''Detailed {{L|Trap component}} information'''

These weapons have all the material property advantages and disadvantages that normal weapons have. It should be noted that the trap weapons are larger than normal dwarf weapons meaning they should be more effective in the new combat system than normal weapons made of equivalent materials (this is all subject to change in future revisions of the combat system). When triggered, this trap will "attack" the creature with all the weapons available to it, normally doing massive damage.

Weapon traps do not cause slightly suicidal mechanics to reset them after each triggering but instead reset automatically after an unknown period of time. However it is possible for the traps to jam when the unfortunate victim gets stuck in the mechanism (use "t" to check the trap), requiring a dwarf to remove the body. When the trap jams, the mechanic will automatically attempt to clean it, so forbidding the body may be necessary to save him from the victim's friends.

When placing the trap you will be asked for a type of mechanism as normal, then asked to select weapons to use. At this point you will get a list of all stockpiled weapons in your fortress. {{k|+}}{{k|-}} will select different weapons and pressing "Enter/Return" adds 1 of the selected weapon to the trap. Up to 10 weapons can be put in each trap and all weapons in the trap will attack at once when it is triggered (10 large serrated disks normally results in the unfortunate triggering creature leaving with less limbs than it came in with). When happy with your weapon selection press {{k|d}} to set the trap.

It also appears that there's a chance that invaders may dodge the traps: in fact, the triggering creature will defend from the trap's attacks just like from a dwarf's, by jumping away, dodging and blocking. This can be used in your favor if the trapped tile happens to be surrounded by pits...

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|w}}
:*Components used: {{L|mechanism}} and 1 to 10 weapons.

==Cage Trap==
Cage traps are different to the other trap types in that they do not directly kill or injure invaders. Instead, they capture the unfortunate creature that triggers them in a {{L|cage}}. Despite the lack of violence, this is still very effective as it completely neutralizes the target so that it can be dealt with later. After a creature is captured, it's stored in an animal {{L|stockpile}}. The trap must then be reset by hauling an empty cage to the trap's location (this is done automatically by any dwarf with the {{L|Mechanic}}s labor enabled). '''Most''' captured creatures do not require any nourishment and will survive being in a cage indefinitely; in fact, even submersion in water appears to have no effect on caged creatures. Cage traps will also alert you to ambushes when triggered by hidden invaders, making them a useful forward defense mechanism.

It is possible for dwarves to bring {{L|water}} to cages, but this will only occur if you have someone friendly also locked in the cage - like a dwarf child snatched by a goblin. In this case remove the poor fellow using the goblin's inventory screen.

'''Cage traps cannot always capture every creature in the game''', so you will need alternative defenses - {{L|titan}}s and {{L|forgotten beast}}s (as well as certain other types of creatures) are immune to traps entirely and will waltz right past all of your carefully placed cages unless the cage has a giant cave spider web on it. A webbed cage trap '''will''' capture absoloutely '''anything''' in the current version.

Cage traps are also useful for catching animals. This can be done by simply placing traps in areas where wild animals roam (this does '''not''' require a dwarf with the {{L|trapping}} labor enabled). The captured animals can be used to fuel your meat industry, or can be tamed (and sometimes trained into war animals!) at the {{L|kennel|kennels}}. Note that many animals require the presence of the {{L|dungeon master}} to be tamable.

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|c}}
:*Components used: {{L|mechanism}} and a {{L|cage}}.
:*If the trap is a Dark Green, then it does not have a cage in it.
:*If the trap is a Light Green, then it does have a cage in it.
:*Note that cage material has no effect (beyond weight for hauling and value of finished trap)

To release a tame creature from a cage, build the cage ({{k|b}} {{k|j}}) and use {{k|q}} to unassign it. To release a hostile creature, you must build it and link it to a {{L|lever}} or designate the creature inside to be dumped in a pit.

==Upright Spear/Spike==

A variation of the weapon trap, the Upright Spear/Spike itself requires no mechanisms, and can be fitted with up to 10 {{L|Weapon|spears}} or {{L|Trap component|spikes}}. However, it requires an external trigger to actually impale things. Either a {{L|pressure plate}} or a {{L|lever}} must be connected to this trap for it to be operated. An advantage of this trap is it doesn't require a mechanic to set it up - just to link it to a trigger.

An often overlooked ability of an upright spike trap is that it also inflicts damage on a creature that falls onto it while it is deployed. And since they are built in the deployed state they can be quickly built to make a pit trap more lethal, without the need for extra mechanisms. However, you will still need the mechanisms that cause your victims to fall onto the spike from above in the first place, and the pit must be more than 1 z level deep for the spikes to cause damage.

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|S}}
:*Components used: between 1 and 10 spears or spikes.

==Mechanism Quality==

All of the above traps other than Upright Spear use mechanisms in their construction. The quality of the mechanism used impacts weapon traps beyond their value however, in weapons traps the mechanism quality seems to act similarly to weapon skill in an entity and will play a part in determining whether a strike lands. No visible effect of mechanism quality has been observed in cage traps beyond the usual value.

==Other Traps==
You can create even more elaborate traps with imaginative use of pits, {{L|pressure plate}}s, {{L|lever}}s, {{L|grate}}s, {{L|support}}s, {{L|water}}, and/or {{L|magma}}, creating sacrificial altars (blood for the Blood God!) and whatever else you can think of. Watching those goblins try to find a way out of your drowning chamber as it begins to fill is really quite satisfying. These are best made in a large, repeatable mass killing way. If you make a trap that kills 10 or so goblins that only works once and you have to rebuild it, wasting time you don't have during a {{L|siege}}, then you're not trying hard enough.

==See Also==
*{{L|Trap design}}

{{buildings}}

v0.31 Talk:Trap

2010-12-27T09:01:43Z

Celem: /* taming */

I had a horse-mounted goblin swordsman pass over six layers of cage traps and at least 20 layers of stonefall traps without triggering any of them. The prior year, against unmounted goblins, the traps worked fine (with reduced effectiveness compared to earlier versions, as has been reported), though I did have to flood the passage to kill them because three of them simply stopped moving and started shooting cats, waiting for dwarves to come for their pets, apparently.

I have had goats, goblins and alligators happily walk right through a stone trap bomb carpet of 3-5 layers (per person) and walk away wounded, but still walking. This certainly seems new.

Experiences with this? --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 19:42, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Maybe that´s because they deal only blunt damage (I think), which has been severely nerfed (because it seldom deals critical wounds and bleeding). I had the same experience with a goblin siege in year 2, which then also doomed my entire fortress (because I only got mildly trained soldiers with leather armor and copper weapons and marksdwarfs are bugged). I think they will regain their usefulness, when damage types get balanced again. On the other hand, they really were quite overpowered before, considering the needed setup-time and material. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 20:34, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::Makes sense. I'm not even complaining - I like a challenge. The wooden spears, bows and arrows in my weapon traps btw may be a bit overpowered now.

== Spike Trap ==
Spike traps seem to be seriously dependent on weapon material now for their damage. The same 10x glass menacing spike will cause serious damage to a clothes-wearing dwarf (several red external and internal wounds), but will do nothing to a Goblin wearing copper armour. Well, after about 50 spikings all his fingers and toes were red, as was his nose and ears, and for some reason right lower leg, but the rest of him was fine - or was once he'd had time to heal the bruises.

Also, they appear to train people being attacked by them, as said Goblin pikeman became a pikemaster before I let him out, and was able to bat spikes out of the way before they touched him.--[[Special:Contributions/131.111.254.209|131.111.254.209]] 05:01, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Someone posted this under spike traps:

`An often overlooked ability of an upright spike trap is that it also inflicts damage on a creature that falls onto it while it is deployed.

From 40d that is not correct. Did this change?--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 18:18, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

:(I'm new at this wiki editing stuff I'm afraid, sorry if I don't format this right.)
:Actually I'm fairly certain it was wrong that spike traps didn't damage things that fell on them in 40D as well. It wasn't actually 40D but I remember back when DC's combat reports worked a creature falling onto a deployed spike did indeed take a hit from the spike before it hit the ground. I cannot locate the quote, but I recall Toady specifically mentioning he built that into their functionality when they were implemented during the 2D to 3D update. And I recently confirmed it to still be the case in version .31 prompting me to make the edit. I've had dwarves accidentally fall into a pit that has a spike at the bottom, and it generates a one like combat report of the "spinning" spike striking the target before they hit the ground. It should actually be easy to test now, if folks don't believe me. Dig a pit 2 or 3 tiles deep put a spike trap at the bottom and pit some animal in there. That should generate a combat report of the animal hitting the spike. Even without the combat log, it should be easy to identify the stab wound from the bludgeoning falling wounds. EDIT: Located the quote. "falling damage and corpse impalement for unretracted spike buildings" from the devlog, 10/16/2007--[[User:Greiger|Greiger]]

::No worries, good bit of sleuthing there. I haven't played with the spikes much, but it makes sense.--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 11:56, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

== Stonefall ==

It's my recollection that stonefall traps outright destroy the stone when they are triggered, so they always need to be reloaded with a fresh rock from somewhere else. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 20:56, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Well, try it out? Certainly not the case here, and never was IIRC. --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 21:20, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::I second that. I always have the stone of the trap lying on it after it was triggered, so it was not destroyed. I´m not even sure if the dwarfes always need a different one, but I never payed close attention to that. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 21:26, 14 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I think the wisdom of the old ages on that was that the reloader picks the closest stone at the time he is tasked with the job. So if one guy reloads 6 traps he might well pick some of the stones right there - never checked really. --[[Special:Contributions/92.202.32.216|92.202.32.216]] 02:02, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

== Weapon ==

Hi guys, been playing DF for a long while but the improvements in the latest versions have inspired me to try to contribute a bit to the wiki for the first time. If you think any information is incorrect then feel free to shout out about it. [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:23, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Can ARROWS be loaded in weapon traps, or only BOLTS?
--[[Special:Contributions/208.81.12.34|208.81.12.34]] 15:07, 28 May 2010 (UTC)
::Arrows used to be fine (40d) not sure about the newest version. I don't use weapon traps that often, they generate too many body parts/mess for cleanup!--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 16:42, 28 May 2010 (UTC)

== Cage Traps? ==

are they still as effective as in 40d? the current article doesn't have anything on them .-Slothen--[[Special:Contributions/99.96.100.228|99.96.100.228]] 21:29, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
: Yes they are: Dragons as well as colossi are no threat as long as you have cage traps at your entrance - wooden cages are still sufficient to contain them savely. --[[User:Doub|Doub]] 21:47, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
::I was attempting to test all this in my latest fort. Can someone else please verify that this is still the case by writing in here that they've seen it happen. I know that titans(not sure about traditional megabeasts) have "trap avoid" tags and are not affected by stone-fall or weapon traps (I've tested that myself in a previous fort) but have yet to try to cage them. -- [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 15:01, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I can verify that Dragons are still captured, as of 0.31.06. None of the Forgotten Beasts that I've encountered have been captured, though. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
::Forgotten beast safely traveled through a corridor with two cage traps in it. I hardly had time to build a floor above the stairway to the caverns, pheeew... Damn it was such a brilliant idea to get a Beast for my zoo! --[[User:Peregarrett|Peregarrett]] 13:52, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
:::Ok thanks, I think I'll just say "Some rare creatures" are immune to cage traps to avoid any spoiler action. People can put all that spoilery stuff in the forgotten beast section! [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:32, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
::::i have several (20+) cage traps leading into the back entrance of my fort, and a forgotten beast was not captured by any of them. infact, quite the opposite; at the end of the long, narrow stretch of traps lay a crew of soldiers awaiting it. and after a bit of a skirmish, i've ended up with TWO 'dwarf cage's - should this be in the article, too? seems relatively important to me, and the poor soldiers trapped inside..--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]] 02:15, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
:::::Unconscious dwarves will fall victim to otherwise 'friendly' traps. --[[Special:Contributions/67.163.255.238|67.163.255.238]] 02:33, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
::::i didnt know that. both were severely injured, so them being unconscious was highly likely. should that fact be on the page?--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]]

Cage traps require a certain skill to reload. It is either mechanics or masonry (I'm assuming mechanics but haven't been able to verify yet since my traps aren't being used atm). Would be nice to include this in the article.
:I'm 99% sure it's mechanics. I'll edit it in, someone correct me if it's wrong. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Cage traps can be used to catch dwarves in a berserk rage. This can be useful when your Strange Moods are requiring items you do not have. Rather than have a violent murder occur, or having to starve him to death in the workshop. You are now free to be creative with how he meets his end (releasing amongst the elves is recommended). [[Special:Contributions/74.192.98.80|74.192.98.80]] 17:15, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Added a section to cage traps concerning webbed traps. A cage trap with a GCS web on it will capture titans, FBs and clowns. Tested on titans/fbs in 31.18. Clown info is lore from forums but logical since all 3 of these types are trapavoid, nostun. -Celem 29 Nov 2010

:I cant find a relation between the materials and the traps. Are there any?
::Material of a cage has no effect other than on its weight/value when used in traps. When used as a prison I believe only metal works. -Celem 2010-12-27

==taming==
I'm not sure who put the "taming isn't working" notice up, but I have tamed mountain goats caught in a trap in my latest fort. What evidence are you basing this on? Has anyone else not been able to tame creatures? Remember '''some''' creatures (with [PET_EXOTIC]) require the dungeonmaster (who seems to never turn up at the moment) to tame.

:Taming seems to be working fine. If you fix the appointment method for DM his functions all work fine too. (31.18) -Celem 2010.12.27

== Caging normally uncagable creatures? ==
I was able to cage a gremlin, but only after it was injured. Before that it just walked over my traps. Not sure if it was because it was injured, or because it was knocked on to the floor, or stunned... can other normally uncagable creatures be caught the same way? Someone confirm.
Edit: looked around in the wiki a bit more. Turns out gremlins (as well as kobalds) can avoid traps, but will not always. It would be nice to have a list of creatures who can avoid traps. Can't find one. Also forgot to sign last time. --[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 23:06, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
:All creatures will trigger traps if they fall unconscious on top of them, including those with TRAPAVOID. This was rather famously used back in 40d to trap frog demons and tentacle demons, but '''not''' spirits of fire (due to them being un-knockout-able). All titans, forgotten beasts, and demons in version 0.31 have TRAPAVOID and are, like the spirit of fire of 40d and earlier, similarly immune to being knocked unconscious and are thus impossible to trap. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 00:37, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

The above no longer appears true....see note a few lines up under cage trap main entry. re: web on cage will trap anything including fbs and titans. i expect demons too - Celem 29 Nov 2010

== Note for deconstruction ==

Can we put a note about deconstruction of a weapon trap noting if you get the weapons back or not? I checked the wiki to learn this and there isn't that piece of information. – [[template:unsigned|unsigned]] comment by [[User:Pathaugen|Pathaugen]]
:Yes. You do. Just like every other building or construction - you use parts to build it, you get the parts back when you un-build it. But if it's destroyed by an enemy rather than deconstructed by a dwarf, the parts get damaged. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 22:34, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

Added in intro. -Celem 2010-12-27

== Determining if a snow/blood covered trap is loaded ==

Is there any way to determine if a cage trap is loaded if it is covered with snow or blood (and therefore looks the same whether loaded or not?)--[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 03:01, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
: Press {{k|t}} (Check Building I{{k|t}}ems) and cursor over the trap. A ''built'' cage trap will list the mechanism used to build it, with a {{Tile|[B]|7:0:1}} beside the name. A ''loaded'' cage trap will additionally list the cage used to load it, with a {{Tile|[B]|1:0:1}} there too. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 21:12, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

::Added an intro note on this, thanks DeMatt. -Celem 2010-12-27

== Mechanism Quality ==

Does the mechanism quality have any effect other than how long it takes to construct the trap? Does it effect reload time or damage/attack power, etc? [[User:Rembrandtq|Rembrandtq]] 22:56, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

Mechanism quality is the most important factor in determining if a weapon trap succeeds in striking a target, it basically represents weapon skill. added a note on this, but dont know if quality affects stone-fall traps, need some !!science!! -Celem 2010-12-27

v0.31 Talk:Trap

2010-12-27T09:00:36Z

Celem: /* Note for deconstruction */

I had a horse-mounted goblin swordsman pass over six layers of cage traps and at least 20 layers of stonefall traps without triggering any of them. The prior year, against unmounted goblins, the traps worked fine (with reduced effectiveness compared to earlier versions, as has been reported), though I did have to flood the passage to kill them because three of them simply stopped moving and started shooting cats, waiting for dwarves to come for their pets, apparently.

I have had goats, goblins and alligators happily walk right through a stone trap bomb carpet of 3-5 layers (per person) and walk away wounded, but still walking. This certainly seems new.

Experiences with this? --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 19:42, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Maybe that´s because they deal only blunt damage (I think), which has been severely nerfed (because it seldom deals critical wounds and bleeding). I had the same experience with a goblin siege in year 2, which then also doomed my entire fortress (because I only got mildly trained soldiers with leather armor and copper weapons and marksdwarfs are bugged). I think they will regain their usefulness, when damage types get balanced again. On the other hand, they really were quite overpowered before, considering the needed setup-time and material. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 20:34, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::Makes sense. I'm not even complaining - I like a challenge. The wooden spears, bows and arrows in my weapon traps btw may be a bit overpowered now.

== Spike Trap ==
Spike traps seem to be seriously dependent on weapon material now for their damage. The same 10x glass menacing spike will cause serious damage to a clothes-wearing dwarf (several red external and internal wounds), but will do nothing to a Goblin wearing copper armour. Well, after about 50 spikings all his fingers and toes were red, as was his nose and ears, and for some reason right lower leg, but the rest of him was fine - or was once he'd had time to heal the bruises.

Also, they appear to train people being attacked by them, as said Goblin pikeman became a pikemaster before I let him out, and was able to bat spikes out of the way before they touched him.--[[Special:Contributions/131.111.254.209|131.111.254.209]] 05:01, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Someone posted this under spike traps:

`An often overlooked ability of an upright spike trap is that it also inflicts damage on a creature that falls onto it while it is deployed.

From 40d that is not correct. Did this change?--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 18:18, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

:(I'm new at this wiki editing stuff I'm afraid, sorry if I don't format this right.)
:Actually I'm fairly certain it was wrong that spike traps didn't damage things that fell on them in 40D as well. It wasn't actually 40D but I remember back when DC's combat reports worked a creature falling onto a deployed spike did indeed take a hit from the spike before it hit the ground. I cannot locate the quote, but I recall Toady specifically mentioning he built that into their functionality when they were implemented during the 2D to 3D update. And I recently confirmed it to still be the case in version .31 prompting me to make the edit. I've had dwarves accidentally fall into a pit that has a spike at the bottom, and it generates a one like combat report of the "spinning" spike striking the target before they hit the ground. It should actually be easy to test now, if folks don't believe me. Dig a pit 2 or 3 tiles deep put a spike trap at the bottom and pit some animal in there. That should generate a combat report of the animal hitting the spike. Even without the combat log, it should be easy to identify the stab wound from the bludgeoning falling wounds. EDIT: Located the quote. "falling damage and corpse impalement for unretracted spike buildings" from the devlog, 10/16/2007--[[User:Greiger|Greiger]]

::No worries, good bit of sleuthing there. I haven't played with the spikes much, but it makes sense.--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 11:56, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

== Stonefall ==

It's my recollection that stonefall traps outright destroy the stone when they are triggered, so they always need to be reloaded with a fresh rock from somewhere else. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 20:56, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Well, try it out? Certainly not the case here, and never was IIRC. --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 21:20, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::I second that. I always have the stone of the trap lying on it after it was triggered, so it was not destroyed. I´m not even sure if the dwarfes always need a different one, but I never payed close attention to that. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 21:26, 14 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I think the wisdom of the old ages on that was that the reloader picks the closest stone at the time he is tasked with the job. So if one guy reloads 6 traps he might well pick some of the stones right there - never checked really. --[[Special:Contributions/92.202.32.216|92.202.32.216]] 02:02, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

== Weapon ==

Hi guys, been playing DF for a long while but the improvements in the latest versions have inspired me to try to contribute a bit to the wiki for the first time. If you think any information is incorrect then feel free to shout out about it. [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:23, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Can ARROWS be loaded in weapon traps, or only BOLTS?
--[[Special:Contributions/208.81.12.34|208.81.12.34]] 15:07, 28 May 2010 (UTC)
::Arrows used to be fine (40d) not sure about the newest version. I don't use weapon traps that often, they generate too many body parts/mess for cleanup!--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 16:42, 28 May 2010 (UTC)

== Cage Traps? ==

are they still as effective as in 40d? the current article doesn't have anything on them .-Slothen--[[Special:Contributions/99.96.100.228|99.96.100.228]] 21:29, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
: Yes they are: Dragons as well as colossi are no threat as long as you have cage traps at your entrance - wooden cages are still sufficient to contain them savely. --[[User:Doub|Doub]] 21:47, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
::I was attempting to test all this in my latest fort. Can someone else please verify that this is still the case by writing in here that they've seen it happen. I know that titans(not sure about traditional megabeasts) have "trap avoid" tags and are not affected by stone-fall or weapon traps (I've tested that myself in a previous fort) but have yet to try to cage them. -- [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 15:01, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I can verify that Dragons are still captured, as of 0.31.06. None of the Forgotten Beasts that I've encountered have been captured, though. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
::Forgotten beast safely traveled through a corridor with two cage traps in it. I hardly had time to build a floor above the stairway to the caverns, pheeew... Damn it was such a brilliant idea to get a Beast for my zoo! --[[User:Peregarrett|Peregarrett]] 13:52, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
:::Ok thanks, I think I'll just say "Some rare creatures" are immune to cage traps to avoid any spoiler action. People can put all that spoilery stuff in the forgotten beast section! [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:32, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
::::i have several (20+) cage traps leading into the back entrance of my fort, and a forgotten beast was not captured by any of them. infact, quite the opposite; at the end of the long, narrow stretch of traps lay a crew of soldiers awaiting it. and after a bit of a skirmish, i've ended up with TWO 'dwarf cage's - should this be in the article, too? seems relatively important to me, and the poor soldiers trapped inside..--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]] 02:15, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
:::::Unconscious dwarves will fall victim to otherwise 'friendly' traps. --[[Special:Contributions/67.163.255.238|67.163.255.238]] 02:33, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
::::i didnt know that. both were severely injured, so them being unconscious was highly likely. should that fact be on the page?--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]]

Cage traps require a certain skill to reload. It is either mechanics or masonry (I'm assuming mechanics but haven't been able to verify yet since my traps aren't being used atm). Would be nice to include this in the article.
:I'm 99% sure it's mechanics. I'll edit it in, someone correct me if it's wrong. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Cage traps can be used to catch dwarves in a berserk rage. This can be useful when your Strange Moods are requiring items you do not have. Rather than have a violent murder occur, or having to starve him to death in the workshop. You are now free to be creative with how he meets his end (releasing amongst the elves is recommended). [[Special:Contributions/74.192.98.80|74.192.98.80]] 17:15, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Added a section to cage traps concerning webbed traps. A cage trap with a GCS web on it will capture titans, FBs and clowns. Tested on titans/fbs in 31.18. Clown info is lore from forums but logical since all 3 of these types are trapavoid, nostun. -Celem 29 Nov 2010

:I cant find a relation between the materials and the traps. Are there any?
::Material of a cage has no effect other than on its weight/value when used in traps. When used as a prison I believe only metal works. -Celem 2010-12-27

==taming==
I'm not sure who put the "taming isn't working" notice up, but I have tamed mountain goats caught in a trap in my latest fort. What evidence are you basing this on? Has anyone else not been able to tame creatures? Remember '''some''' creatures (with [PET_EXOTIC]) require the dungeonmaster (who seems to never turn up at the moment) to tame.

== Caging normally uncagable creatures? ==
I was able to cage a gremlin, but only after it was injured. Before that it just walked over my traps. Not sure if it was because it was injured, or because it was knocked on to the floor, or stunned... can other normally uncagable creatures be caught the same way? Someone confirm.
Edit: looked around in the wiki a bit more. Turns out gremlins (as well as kobalds) can avoid traps, but will not always. It would be nice to have a list of creatures who can avoid traps. Can't find one. Also forgot to sign last time. --[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 23:06, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
:All creatures will trigger traps if they fall unconscious on top of them, including those with TRAPAVOID. This was rather famously used back in 40d to trap frog demons and tentacle demons, but '''not''' spirits of fire (due to them being un-knockout-able). All titans, forgotten beasts, and demons in version 0.31 have TRAPAVOID and are, like the spirit of fire of 40d and earlier, similarly immune to being knocked unconscious and are thus impossible to trap. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 00:37, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

The above no longer appears true....see note a few lines up under cage trap main entry. re: web on cage will trap anything including fbs and titans. i expect demons too - Celem 29 Nov 2010

== Note for deconstruction ==

Can we put a note about deconstruction of a weapon trap noting if you get the weapons back or not? I checked the wiki to learn this and there isn't that piece of information. – [[template:unsigned|unsigned]] comment by [[User:Pathaugen|Pathaugen]]
:Yes. You do. Just like every other building or construction - you use parts to build it, you get the parts back when you un-build it. But if it's destroyed by an enemy rather than deconstructed by a dwarf, the parts get damaged. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 22:34, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

Added in intro. -Celem 2010-12-27

== Determining if a snow/blood covered trap is loaded ==

Is there any way to determine if a cage trap is loaded if it is covered with snow or blood (and therefore looks the same whether loaded or not?)--[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 03:01, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
: Press {{k|t}} (Check Building I{{k|t}}ems) and cursor over the trap. A ''built'' cage trap will list the mechanism used to build it, with a {{Tile|[B]|7:0:1}} beside the name. A ''loaded'' cage trap will additionally list the cage used to load it, with a {{Tile|[B]|1:0:1}} there too. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 21:12, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

::Added an intro note on this, thanks DeMatt. -Celem 2010-12-27

== Mechanism Quality ==

Does the mechanism quality have any effect other than how long it takes to construct the trap? Does it effect reload time or damage/attack power, etc? [[User:Rembrandtq|Rembrandtq]] 22:56, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

Mechanism quality is the most important factor in determining if a weapon trap succeeds in striking a target, it basically represents weapon skill. added a note on this, but dont know if quality affects stone-fall traps, need some !!science!! -Celem 2010-12-27

v0.31 Talk:Trap

2010-12-27T09:00:03Z

Celem: /* Determining if a snow/blood covered trap is loaded */

I had a horse-mounted goblin swordsman pass over six layers of cage traps and at least 20 layers of stonefall traps without triggering any of them. The prior year, against unmounted goblins, the traps worked fine (with reduced effectiveness compared to earlier versions, as has been reported), though I did have to flood the passage to kill them because three of them simply stopped moving and started shooting cats, waiting for dwarves to come for their pets, apparently.

I have had goats, goblins and alligators happily walk right through a stone trap bomb carpet of 3-5 layers (per person) and walk away wounded, but still walking. This certainly seems new.

Experiences with this? --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 19:42, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Maybe that´s because they deal only blunt damage (I think), which has been severely nerfed (because it seldom deals critical wounds and bleeding). I had the same experience with a goblin siege in year 2, which then also doomed my entire fortress (because I only got mildly trained soldiers with leather armor and copper weapons and marksdwarfs are bugged). I think they will regain their usefulness, when damage types get balanced again. On the other hand, they really were quite overpowered before, considering the needed setup-time and material. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 20:34, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::Makes sense. I'm not even complaining - I like a challenge. The wooden spears, bows and arrows in my weapon traps btw may be a bit overpowered now.

== Spike Trap ==
Spike traps seem to be seriously dependent on weapon material now for their damage. The same 10x glass menacing spike will cause serious damage to a clothes-wearing dwarf (several red external and internal wounds), but will do nothing to a Goblin wearing copper armour. Well, after about 50 spikings all his fingers and toes were red, as was his nose and ears, and for some reason right lower leg, but the rest of him was fine - or was once he'd had time to heal the bruises.

Also, they appear to train people being attacked by them, as said Goblin pikeman became a pikemaster before I let him out, and was able to bat spikes out of the way before they touched him.--[[Special:Contributions/131.111.254.209|131.111.254.209]] 05:01, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Someone posted this under spike traps:

`An often overlooked ability of an upright spike trap is that it also inflicts damage on a creature that falls onto it while it is deployed.

From 40d that is not correct. Did this change?--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 18:18, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

:(I'm new at this wiki editing stuff I'm afraid, sorry if I don't format this right.)
:Actually I'm fairly certain it was wrong that spike traps didn't damage things that fell on them in 40D as well. It wasn't actually 40D but I remember back when DC's combat reports worked a creature falling onto a deployed spike did indeed take a hit from the spike before it hit the ground. I cannot locate the quote, but I recall Toady specifically mentioning he built that into their functionality when they were implemented during the 2D to 3D update. And I recently confirmed it to still be the case in version .31 prompting me to make the edit. I've had dwarves accidentally fall into a pit that has a spike at the bottom, and it generates a one like combat report of the "spinning" spike striking the target before they hit the ground. It should actually be easy to test now, if folks don't believe me. Dig a pit 2 or 3 tiles deep put a spike trap at the bottom and pit some animal in there. That should generate a combat report of the animal hitting the spike. Even without the combat log, it should be easy to identify the stab wound from the bludgeoning falling wounds. EDIT: Located the quote. "falling damage and corpse impalement for unretracted spike buildings" from the devlog, 10/16/2007--[[User:Greiger|Greiger]]

::No worries, good bit of sleuthing there. I haven't played with the spikes much, but it makes sense.--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 11:56, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

== Stonefall ==

It's my recollection that stonefall traps outright destroy the stone when they are triggered, so they always need to be reloaded with a fresh rock from somewhere else. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 20:56, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Well, try it out? Certainly not the case here, and never was IIRC. --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 21:20, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::I second that. I always have the stone of the trap lying on it after it was triggered, so it was not destroyed. I´m not even sure if the dwarfes always need a different one, but I never payed close attention to that. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 21:26, 14 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I think the wisdom of the old ages on that was that the reloader picks the closest stone at the time he is tasked with the job. So if one guy reloads 6 traps he might well pick some of the stones right there - never checked really. --[[Special:Contributions/92.202.32.216|92.202.32.216]] 02:02, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

== Weapon ==

Hi guys, been playing DF for a long while but the improvements in the latest versions have inspired me to try to contribute a bit to the wiki for the first time. If you think any information is incorrect then feel free to shout out about it. [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:23, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Can ARROWS be loaded in weapon traps, or only BOLTS?
--[[Special:Contributions/208.81.12.34|208.81.12.34]] 15:07, 28 May 2010 (UTC)
::Arrows used to be fine (40d) not sure about the newest version. I don't use weapon traps that often, they generate too many body parts/mess for cleanup!--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 16:42, 28 May 2010 (UTC)

== Cage Traps? ==

are they still as effective as in 40d? the current article doesn't have anything on them .-Slothen--[[Special:Contributions/99.96.100.228|99.96.100.228]] 21:29, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
: Yes they are: Dragons as well as colossi are no threat as long as you have cage traps at your entrance - wooden cages are still sufficient to contain them savely. --[[User:Doub|Doub]] 21:47, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
::I was attempting to test all this in my latest fort. Can someone else please verify that this is still the case by writing in here that they've seen it happen. I know that titans(not sure about traditional megabeasts) have "trap avoid" tags and are not affected by stone-fall or weapon traps (I've tested that myself in a previous fort) but have yet to try to cage them. -- [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 15:01, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I can verify that Dragons are still captured, as of 0.31.06. None of the Forgotten Beasts that I've encountered have been captured, though. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
::Forgotten beast safely traveled through a corridor with two cage traps in it. I hardly had time to build a floor above the stairway to the caverns, pheeew... Damn it was such a brilliant idea to get a Beast for my zoo! --[[User:Peregarrett|Peregarrett]] 13:52, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
:::Ok thanks, I think I'll just say "Some rare creatures" are immune to cage traps to avoid any spoiler action. People can put all that spoilery stuff in the forgotten beast section! [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:32, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
::::i have several (20+) cage traps leading into the back entrance of my fort, and a forgotten beast was not captured by any of them. infact, quite the opposite; at the end of the long, narrow stretch of traps lay a crew of soldiers awaiting it. and after a bit of a skirmish, i've ended up with TWO 'dwarf cage's - should this be in the article, too? seems relatively important to me, and the poor soldiers trapped inside..--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]] 02:15, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
:::::Unconscious dwarves will fall victim to otherwise 'friendly' traps. --[[Special:Contributions/67.163.255.238|67.163.255.238]] 02:33, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
::::i didnt know that. both were severely injured, so them being unconscious was highly likely. should that fact be on the page?--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]]

Cage traps require a certain skill to reload. It is either mechanics or masonry (I'm assuming mechanics but haven't been able to verify yet since my traps aren't being used atm). Would be nice to include this in the article.
:I'm 99% sure it's mechanics. I'll edit it in, someone correct me if it's wrong. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Cage traps can be used to catch dwarves in a berserk rage. This can be useful when your Strange Moods are requiring items you do not have. Rather than have a violent murder occur, or having to starve him to death in the workshop. You are now free to be creative with how he meets his end (releasing amongst the elves is recommended). [[Special:Contributions/74.192.98.80|74.192.98.80]] 17:15, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Added a section to cage traps concerning webbed traps. A cage trap with a GCS web on it will capture titans, FBs and clowns. Tested on titans/fbs in 31.18. Clown info is lore from forums but logical since all 3 of these types are trapavoid, nostun. -Celem 29 Nov 2010

:I cant find a relation between the materials and the traps. Are there any?
::Material of a cage has no effect other than on its weight/value when used in traps. When used as a prison I believe only metal works. -Celem 2010-12-27

==taming==
I'm not sure who put the "taming isn't working" notice up, but I have tamed mountain goats caught in a trap in my latest fort. What evidence are you basing this on? Has anyone else not been able to tame creatures? Remember '''some''' creatures (with [PET_EXOTIC]) require the dungeonmaster (who seems to never turn up at the moment) to tame.

== Caging normally uncagable creatures? ==
I was able to cage a gremlin, but only after it was injured. Before that it just walked over my traps. Not sure if it was because it was injured, or because it was knocked on to the floor, or stunned... can other normally uncagable creatures be caught the same way? Someone confirm.
Edit: looked around in the wiki a bit more. Turns out gremlins (as well as kobalds) can avoid traps, but will not always. It would be nice to have a list of creatures who can avoid traps. Can't find one. Also forgot to sign last time. --[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 23:06, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
:All creatures will trigger traps if they fall unconscious on top of them, including those with TRAPAVOID. This was rather famously used back in 40d to trap frog demons and tentacle demons, but '''not''' spirits of fire (due to them being un-knockout-able). All titans, forgotten beasts, and demons in version 0.31 have TRAPAVOID and are, like the spirit of fire of 40d and earlier, similarly immune to being knocked unconscious and are thus impossible to trap. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 00:37, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

The above no longer appears true....see note a few lines up under cage trap main entry. re: web on cage will trap anything including fbs and titans. i expect demons too - Celem 29 Nov 2010

== Note for deconstruction ==

Can we put a note about deconstruction of a weapon trap noting if you get the weapons back or not? I checked the wiki to learn this and there isn't that piece of information. – [[template:unsigned|unsigned]] comment by [[User:Pathaugen|Pathaugen]]
:Yes. You do. Just like every other building or construction - you use parts to build it, you get the parts back when you un-build it. But if it's destroyed by an enemy rather than deconstructed by a dwarf, the parts get damaged. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 22:34, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

== Determining if a snow/blood covered trap is loaded ==

Is there any way to determine if a cage trap is loaded if it is covered with snow or blood (and therefore looks the same whether loaded or not?)--[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 03:01, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
: Press {{k|t}} (Check Building I{{k|t}}ems) and cursor over the trap. A ''built'' cage trap will list the mechanism used to build it, with a {{Tile|[B]|7:0:1}} beside the name. A ''loaded'' cage trap will additionally list the cage used to load it, with a {{Tile|[B]|1:0:1}} there too. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 21:12, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

::Added an intro note on this, thanks DeMatt. -Celem 2010-12-27

== Mechanism Quality ==

Does the mechanism quality have any effect other than how long it takes to construct the trap? Does it effect reload time or damage/attack power, etc? [[User:Rembrandtq|Rembrandtq]] 22:56, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

Mechanism quality is the most important factor in determining if a weapon trap succeeds in striking a target, it basically represents weapon skill. added a note on this, but dont know if quality affects stone-fall traps, need some !!science!! -Celem 2010-12-27

v0.31 Talk:Trap

2010-12-27T08:58:52Z

Celem: /* Mechanism Quality */

I had a horse-mounted goblin swordsman pass over six layers of cage traps and at least 20 layers of stonefall traps without triggering any of them. The prior year, against unmounted goblins, the traps worked fine (with reduced effectiveness compared to earlier versions, as has been reported), though I did have to flood the passage to kill them because three of them simply stopped moving and started shooting cats, waiting for dwarves to come for their pets, apparently.

I have had goats, goblins and alligators happily walk right through a stone trap bomb carpet of 3-5 layers (per person) and walk away wounded, but still walking. This certainly seems new.

Experiences with this? --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 19:42, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Maybe that´s because they deal only blunt damage (I think), which has been severely nerfed (because it seldom deals critical wounds and bleeding). I had the same experience with a goblin siege in year 2, which then also doomed my entire fortress (because I only got mildly trained soldiers with leather armor and copper weapons and marksdwarfs are bugged). I think they will regain their usefulness, when damage types get balanced again. On the other hand, they really were quite overpowered before, considering the needed setup-time and material. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 20:34, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::Makes sense. I'm not even complaining - I like a challenge. The wooden spears, bows and arrows in my weapon traps btw may be a bit overpowered now.

== Spike Trap ==
Spike traps seem to be seriously dependent on weapon material now for their damage. The same 10x glass menacing spike will cause serious damage to a clothes-wearing dwarf (several red external and internal wounds), but will do nothing to a Goblin wearing copper armour. Well, after about 50 spikings all his fingers and toes were red, as was his nose and ears, and for some reason right lower leg, but the rest of him was fine - or was once he'd had time to heal the bruises.

Also, they appear to train people being attacked by them, as said Goblin pikeman became a pikemaster before I let him out, and was able to bat spikes out of the way before they touched him.--[[Special:Contributions/131.111.254.209|131.111.254.209]] 05:01, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Someone posted this under spike traps:

`An often overlooked ability of an upright spike trap is that it also inflicts damage on a creature that falls onto it while it is deployed.

From 40d that is not correct. Did this change?--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 18:18, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

:(I'm new at this wiki editing stuff I'm afraid, sorry if I don't format this right.)
:Actually I'm fairly certain it was wrong that spike traps didn't damage things that fell on them in 40D as well. It wasn't actually 40D but I remember back when DC's combat reports worked a creature falling onto a deployed spike did indeed take a hit from the spike before it hit the ground. I cannot locate the quote, but I recall Toady specifically mentioning he built that into their functionality when they were implemented during the 2D to 3D update. And I recently confirmed it to still be the case in version .31 prompting me to make the edit. I've had dwarves accidentally fall into a pit that has a spike at the bottom, and it generates a one like combat report of the "spinning" spike striking the target before they hit the ground. It should actually be easy to test now, if folks don't believe me. Dig a pit 2 or 3 tiles deep put a spike trap at the bottom and pit some animal in there. That should generate a combat report of the animal hitting the spike. Even without the combat log, it should be easy to identify the stab wound from the bludgeoning falling wounds. EDIT: Located the quote. "falling damage and corpse impalement for unretracted spike buildings" from the devlog, 10/16/2007--[[User:Greiger|Greiger]]

::No worries, good bit of sleuthing there. I haven't played with the spikes much, but it makes sense.--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 11:56, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

== Stonefall ==

It's my recollection that stonefall traps outright destroy the stone when they are triggered, so they always need to be reloaded with a fresh rock from somewhere else. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 20:56, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Well, try it out? Certainly not the case here, and never was IIRC. --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 21:20, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::I second that. I always have the stone of the trap lying on it after it was triggered, so it was not destroyed. I´m not even sure if the dwarfes always need a different one, but I never payed close attention to that. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 21:26, 14 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I think the wisdom of the old ages on that was that the reloader picks the closest stone at the time he is tasked with the job. So if one guy reloads 6 traps he might well pick some of the stones right there - never checked really. --[[Special:Contributions/92.202.32.216|92.202.32.216]] 02:02, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

== Weapon ==

Hi guys, been playing DF for a long while but the improvements in the latest versions have inspired me to try to contribute a bit to the wiki for the first time. If you think any information is incorrect then feel free to shout out about it. [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:23, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Can ARROWS be loaded in weapon traps, or only BOLTS?
--[[Special:Contributions/208.81.12.34|208.81.12.34]] 15:07, 28 May 2010 (UTC)
::Arrows used to be fine (40d) not sure about the newest version. I don't use weapon traps that often, they generate too many body parts/mess for cleanup!--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 16:42, 28 May 2010 (UTC)

== Cage Traps? ==

are they still as effective as in 40d? the current article doesn't have anything on them .-Slothen--[[Special:Contributions/99.96.100.228|99.96.100.228]] 21:29, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
: Yes they are: Dragons as well as colossi are no threat as long as you have cage traps at your entrance - wooden cages are still sufficient to contain them savely. --[[User:Doub|Doub]] 21:47, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
::I was attempting to test all this in my latest fort. Can someone else please verify that this is still the case by writing in here that they've seen it happen. I know that titans(not sure about traditional megabeasts) have "trap avoid" tags and are not affected by stone-fall or weapon traps (I've tested that myself in a previous fort) but have yet to try to cage them. -- [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 15:01, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I can verify that Dragons are still captured, as of 0.31.06. None of the Forgotten Beasts that I've encountered have been captured, though. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
::Forgotten beast safely traveled through a corridor with two cage traps in it. I hardly had time to build a floor above the stairway to the caverns, pheeew... Damn it was such a brilliant idea to get a Beast for my zoo! --[[User:Peregarrett|Peregarrett]] 13:52, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
:::Ok thanks, I think I'll just say "Some rare creatures" are immune to cage traps to avoid any spoiler action. People can put all that spoilery stuff in the forgotten beast section! [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:32, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
::::i have several (20+) cage traps leading into the back entrance of my fort, and a forgotten beast was not captured by any of them. infact, quite the opposite; at the end of the long, narrow stretch of traps lay a crew of soldiers awaiting it. and after a bit of a skirmish, i've ended up with TWO 'dwarf cage's - should this be in the article, too? seems relatively important to me, and the poor soldiers trapped inside..--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]] 02:15, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
:::::Unconscious dwarves will fall victim to otherwise 'friendly' traps. --[[Special:Contributions/67.163.255.238|67.163.255.238]] 02:33, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
::::i didnt know that. both were severely injured, so them being unconscious was highly likely. should that fact be on the page?--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]]

Cage traps require a certain skill to reload. It is either mechanics or masonry (I'm assuming mechanics but haven't been able to verify yet since my traps aren't being used atm). Would be nice to include this in the article.
:I'm 99% sure it's mechanics. I'll edit it in, someone correct me if it's wrong. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Cage traps can be used to catch dwarves in a berserk rage. This can be useful when your Strange Moods are requiring items you do not have. Rather than have a violent murder occur, or having to starve him to death in the workshop. You are now free to be creative with how he meets his end (releasing amongst the elves is recommended). [[Special:Contributions/74.192.98.80|74.192.98.80]] 17:15, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Added a section to cage traps concerning webbed traps. A cage trap with a GCS web on it will capture titans, FBs and clowns. Tested on titans/fbs in 31.18. Clown info is lore from forums but logical since all 3 of these types are trapavoid, nostun. -Celem 29 Nov 2010

:I cant find a relation between the materials and the traps. Are there any?
::Material of a cage has no effect other than on its weight/value when used in traps. When used as a prison I believe only metal works. -Celem 2010-12-27

==taming==
I'm not sure who put the "taming isn't working" notice up, but I have tamed mountain goats caught in a trap in my latest fort. What evidence are you basing this on? Has anyone else not been able to tame creatures? Remember '''some''' creatures (with [PET_EXOTIC]) require the dungeonmaster (who seems to never turn up at the moment) to tame.

== Caging normally uncagable creatures? ==
I was able to cage a gremlin, but only after it was injured. Before that it just walked over my traps. Not sure if it was because it was injured, or because it was knocked on to the floor, or stunned... can other normally uncagable creatures be caught the same way? Someone confirm.
Edit: looked around in the wiki a bit more. Turns out gremlins (as well as kobalds) can avoid traps, but will not always. It would be nice to have a list of creatures who can avoid traps. Can't find one. Also forgot to sign last time. --[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 23:06, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
:All creatures will trigger traps if they fall unconscious on top of them, including those with TRAPAVOID. This was rather famously used back in 40d to trap frog demons and tentacle demons, but '''not''' spirits of fire (due to them being un-knockout-able). All titans, forgotten beasts, and demons in version 0.31 have TRAPAVOID and are, like the spirit of fire of 40d and earlier, similarly immune to being knocked unconscious and are thus impossible to trap. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 00:37, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

The above no longer appears true....see note a few lines up under cage trap main entry. re: web on cage will trap anything including fbs and titans. i expect demons too - Celem 29 Nov 2010

== Note for deconstruction ==

Can we put a note about deconstruction of a weapon trap noting if you get the weapons back or not? I checked the wiki to learn this and there isn't that piece of information. – [[template:unsigned|unsigned]] comment by [[User:Pathaugen|Pathaugen]]
:Yes. You do. Just like every other building or construction - you use parts to build it, you get the parts back when you un-build it. But if it's destroyed by an enemy rather than deconstructed by a dwarf, the parts get damaged. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 22:34, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

== Determining if a snow/blood covered trap is loaded ==

Is there any way to determine if a cage trap is loaded if it is covered with snow or blood (and therefore looks the same whether loaded or not?)--[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 03:01, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
: Press {{k|t}} (Check Building I{{k|t}}ems) and cursor over the trap. A ''built'' cage trap will list the mechanism used to build it, with a {{Tile|[B]|7:0:1}} beside the name. A ''loaded'' cage trap will additionally list the cage used to load it, with a {{Tile|[B]|1:0:1}} there too. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 21:12, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

== Mechanism Quality ==

Does the mechanism quality have any effect other than how long it takes to construct the trap? Does it effect reload time or damage/attack power, etc? [[User:Rembrandtq|Rembrandtq]] 22:56, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

Mechanism quality is the most important factor in determining if a weapon trap succeeds in striking a target, it basically represents weapon skill. added a note on this, but dont know if quality affects stone-fall traps, need some !!science!! -Celem 2010-12-27

v0.31:Trap

2010-12-27T08:57:49Z

Celem: added 't' status query note, added deconstruction info, added note on mechanism quality in weapon traps

{{quality|Exceptional|08:00, 22 May 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}

'''Traps''' are a comparatively quick and easy method for defending a fortress. Unlike {{L|soldier}}s, they're always on duty, and, once set up, need less management. On the other hand, they are immobile and can only lie in wait for foes to walk over them. To build a trap, go to the {{k|b}}uild->{{k|T}}raps/Levers menu. You'll generally need one {{L|mechanism}}, a dwarf with the {{L|mechanic}} labor designated (ranks in this {{L|skill}} reduce the time to place a trap), and at least one other component depending on the type of trap - a stone, a cage, or one or more weapons. They can be built indoors or outdoors, and require a level ground square with no other constructions in them.

Stone-fall, weapon and cage traps will be triggered by most hostile entities entering their tile, with the possible exception of {{L|thief|thieves}}, flying creatures and other occasional nasty surprises. Any unconscious creature will trigger traps, including your own dwarves.

Note that only dwarfs with the mechanic labor enabled will reload traps (cage, stone or weapon). In combat situations, {{L|mechanic}}s have a nasty habit of wanting to reload (or clean) traps when they are triggered, regardless of who or what might be out there as well. {{L|Forbid}}ding traps after they are built will keep [[Urist|Urist McSuicide]] from deciding to reload a trap in the middle of a {{L|siege}}. Just remember to unforbid them when things calm down, so the traps are all ready for next time. Note that forbidding a trap after it has been triggered doesn't help, as the job to refill the trap has already been issued in that case, so a Mechanic will carry a stone out to the trap anyway. Alternatively, simply order your dwarves to stay within a safe {{L|burrow}} until any threats have been dealt with.

It is possible to determine the state of a trap (loaded/unloaded) and the components it contains using the 't' query.
Deconstructing a trap leaves the components used in its creation on the ground around the tile. Traps destroyed by hostile action may return damaged objects.

==Stone-fall Trap==
The simplest trap to construct, a stone-fall trap is essentially a {{L|stone}} suspended up in the air which is dropped on intruders when the trap is triggered. These are a popular defensive measure early on, as the components needed are readily available as soon as you start mining. A single stone trap will usually '''not''' severely wound or kill most animals and enemies, to the extent that this may be a bug. After being used they need to be reloaded with another stone by any {{L|dwarf}} with {{L|mechanic}} {{L|skill}} enabled, a task which your dwarves will see to automatically. The dwarf will generally not use the stone that just dropped, but a new one (would you want to put your hands on that gory mess?). Being that stonefall traps do not alert you of ambushes when triggered by hidden invaders{{verify}}, this can frequently lead your mechanics into peril.

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|s}}
:*Components used: {{L|mechanism}} and an ordinary {{L|stone}}

==Weapon Trap==
Weapon traps are similar in nature to stone-fall traps, and are triggered when any hostile creature stands on the trap. They contain between one and ten weapons, and tend to be much more reliable for outright killing or critically injuring invading creatures. Before you write off stone-fall traps as worse versions of weapon traps, note that weapon traps require you to have previously made {{L|weapon}}s, making them more of an option somewhat later in the game. Any weapon can be used, including human weapons, training weapons, bows, traded weapons and weapons recovered from dead goblins. Think of it as fair retribution when goblins are sliced to pieces by their own axes!

You can also use the corkscrews that are normally used in {{L|screw pump}}s, or menacing spikes that are normally used in spike traps, or any of three specialist trap only weapons:

{{L|Metalsmith's forge}}
*menacing <metal> spike
*large, serrated <metal> disc
*spiked <metal> ball
*enormous <metal> corkscrew
*giant <metal> axe blade

{{L|Carpenter's workshop}}
*menacing <wooden> spike
*spiked <wooden> ball
*enormous <wooden> corkscrew

{{L|Glass furnace}}
*menacing <glass> spike
*large, serrated <glass> disc
*spiked <glass> ball
*enormous <glass> corkscrew
*giant <glass> axe blade

Don't know which to make? -> '''Detailed {{L|Trap component}} information'''

These weapons have all the material property advantages and disadvantages that normal weapons have. It should be noted that the trap weapons are larger than normal dwarf weapons meaning they should be more effective in the new combat system than normal weapons made of equivalent materials (this is all subject to change in future revisions of the combat system). When triggered, this trap will "attack" the creature with all the weapons available to it, normally doing massive damage.

Weapon traps do not cause slightly suicidal mechanics to reset them after each triggering but instead reset automatically after an unknown period of time. However it is possible for the traps to jam when the unfortunate victim gets stuck in the mechanism (use "t" to check the trap), requiring a dwarf to remove the body. When the trap jams, the mechanic will automatically attempt to clean it, so forbidding the body may be necessary to save him from the victim's friends.

When placing the trap you will be asked for a type of mechanism as normal, then asked to select weapons to use. At this point you will get a list of all stockpiled weapons in your fortress. {{k|+}}{{k|-}} will select different weapons and pressing "Enter/Return" adds 1 of the selected weapon to the trap. Up to 10 weapons can be put in each trap and all weapons in the trap will attack at once when it is triggered (10 large serrated disks normally results in the unfortunate triggering creature leaving with less limbs than it came in with). When happy with your weapon selection press {{k|d}} to set the trap.

It also appears that there's a chance that invaders may dodge the traps: in fact, the triggering creature will defend from the trap's attacks just like from a dwarf's, by jumping away, dodging and blocking. This can be used in your favor if the trapped tile happens to be surrounded by pits...

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|w}}
:*Components used: {{L|mechanism}} and 1 to 10 weapons.

==Cage Trap==
Cage traps are different to the other trap types in that they do not directly kill or injure invaders. Instead, they capture the unfortunate creature that triggers them in a {{L|cage}}. Despite the lack of violence, this is still very effective as it completely neutralizes the target so that it can be dealt with later. After a creature is captured, it's stored in an animal {{L|stockpile}}. The trap must then be reset by hauling an empty cage to the trap's location (this is done automatically by any dwarf with the {{L|Mechanic}}s labor enabled). '''Most''' captured creatures do not require any nourishment and will survive being in a cage indefinitely; in fact, even submersion in water appears to have no effect on caged creatures. Cage traps will also alert you to ambushes when triggered by hidden invaders, making them a useful forward defense mechanism.

It is possible for dwarves to bring {{L|water}} to cages, but this will only occur if you have someone friendly also locked in the cage - like a dwarf child snatched by a goblin. In this case remove the poor fellow using the goblin's inventory screen.

'''Cage traps cannot always capture every creature in the game''', so you will need alternative defenses - {{L|titan}}s and {{L|forgotten beast}}s (as well as certain other types of creatures) are immune to traps entirely and will waltz right past all of your carefully placed cages unless the cage has a giant cave spider web on it. A webbed cage trap '''will''' capture absoloutely '''anything''' in the current version.

Cage traps are also useful for catching animals. This can be done by simply placing traps in areas where wild animals roam (this does '''not''' require a dwarf with the {{L|trapping}} labor enabled). The captured animals can be used to fuel your meat industry, or can be tamed (and sometimes trained into war animals!) at the {{L|kennel|kennels}}. Note that many animals require the presence of the {{L|dungeon master}} to be tamable.

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|c}}
:*Components used: {{L|mechanism}} and a {{L|cage}}.
:*If the trap is a Dark Green, then it does not have a cage in it.
:*If the trap is a Light Green, then it does have a cage in it.

To release a tame creature from a cage, build the cage ({{k|b}} {{k|j}}) and use {{k|q}} to unassign it. To release a hostile creature, you must build it and link it to a {{L|lever}} or designate the creature inside to be dumped in a pit.

==Upright Spear/Spike==

A variation of the weapon trap, the Upright Spear/Spike itself requires no mechanisms, and can be fitted with up to 10 {{L|Weapon|spears}} or {{L|Trap component|spikes}}. However, it requires an external trigger to actually impale things. Either a {{L|pressure plate}} or a {{L|lever}} must be connected to this trap for it to be operated. An advantage of this trap is it doesn't require a mechanic to set it up - just to link it to a trigger.

An often overlooked ability of an upright spike trap is that it also inflicts damage on a creature that falls onto it while it is deployed. And since they are built in the deployed state they can be quickly built to make a pit trap more lethal, without the need for extra mechanisms. However, you will still need the mechanisms that cause your victims to fall onto the spike from above in the first place, and the pit must be more than 1 z level deep for the spikes to cause damage.

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|S}}
:*Components used: between 1 and 10 spears or spikes.

==Mechanism Quality==

All of the above traps other than Upright Spear use mechanisms in their construction. The quality of the mechanism used impacts weapon traps beyond their value however, in weapons traps the mechanism quality seems to act similarly to weapon skill in an entity and will play a part in determining whether a strike lands. No visible effect of mechanism quality has been observed in cage traps beyond the usual value.

==Other Traps==
You can create even more elaborate traps with imaginative use of pits, {{L|pressure plate}}s, {{L|lever}}s, {{L|grate}}s, {{L|support}}s, {{L|water}}, and/or {{L|magma}}, creating sacrificial altars (blood for the Blood God!) and whatever else you can think of. Watching those goblins try to find a way out of your drowning chamber as it begins to fill is really quite satisfying. These are best made in a large, repeatable mass killing way. If you make a trap that kills 10 or so goblins that only works once and you have to rebuild it, wasting time you don't have during a {{L|siege}}, then you're not trying hard enough.

==See Also==
*{{L|Trap design}}

{{buildings}}

User talk:Furlion

2010-12-09T17:05:03Z

Celem:

=Military Tutorial=
Please ask any questions regarding my tutorial here. I also frequent the Penny Arcade forums and Dwarf Fortress forums under Furlion as well.

Thoughts: Maybe advise 1 member less than number in squad for training minimum. Allows for rotation, sleep, drink, eat etc.
Also maybe have the beginner tutorial setup no food carried, since theres still a few lurking bugs in the military claiming rations (if following this the first becomes more important)
-Celem 9 Dec 2010

v0.31 Talk:Trap

2010-11-29T02:13:10Z

Celem: /* Caging normally uncagable creatures? */

I had a horse-mounted goblin swordsman pass over six layers of cage traps and at least 20 layers of stonefall traps without triggering any of them. The prior year, against unmounted goblins, the traps worked fine (with reduced effectiveness compared to earlier versions, as has been reported), though I did have to flood the passage to kill them because three of them simply stopped moving and started shooting cats, waiting for dwarves to come for their pets, apparently.

I have had goats, goblins and alligators happily walk right through a stone trap bomb carpet of 3-5 layers (per person) and walk away wounded, but still walking. This certainly seems new.

Experiences with this? --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 19:42, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Maybe that´s because they deal only blunt damage (I think), which has been severely nerfed (because it seldom deals critical wounds and bleeding). I had the same experience with a goblin siege in year 2, which then also doomed my entire fortress (because I only got mildly trained soldiers with leather armor and copper weapons and marksdwarfs are bugged). I think they will regain their usefulness, when damage types get balanced again. On the other hand, they really were quite overpowered before, considering the needed setup-time and material. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 20:34, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::Makes sense. I'm not even complaining - I like a challenge. The wooden spears, bows and arrows in my weapon traps btw may be a bit overpowered now.

== Spike Trap ==
Spike traps seem to be seriously dependent on weapon material now for their damage. The same 10x glass menacing spike will cause serious damage to a clothes-wearing dwarf (several red external and internal wounds), but will do nothing to a Goblin wearing copper armour. Well, after about 50 spikings all his fingers and toes were red, as was his nose and ears, and for some reason right lower leg, but the rest of him was fine - or was once he'd had time to heal the bruises.

Also, they appear to train people being attacked by them, as said Goblin pikeman became a pikemaster before I let him out, and was able to bat spikes out of the way before they touched him.--[[Special:Contributions/131.111.254.209|131.111.254.209]] 05:01, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Someone posted this under spike traps:

`An often overlooked ability of an upright spike trap is that it also inflicts damage on a creature that falls onto it while it is deployed.

From 40d that is not correct. Did this change?--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 18:18, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

:(I'm new at this wiki editing stuff I'm afraid, sorry if I don't format this right.)
:Actually I'm fairly certain it was wrong that spike traps didn't damage things that fell on them in 40D as well. It wasn't actually 40D but I remember back when DC's combat reports worked a creature falling onto a deployed spike did indeed take a hit from the spike before it hit the ground. I cannot locate the quote, but I recall Toady specifically mentioning he built that into their functionality when they were implemented during the 2D to 3D update. And I recently confirmed it to still be the case in version .31 prompting me to make the edit. I've had dwarves accidentally fall into a pit that has a spike at the bottom, and it generates a one like combat report of the "spinning" spike striking the target before they hit the ground. It should actually be easy to test now, if folks don't believe me. Dig a pit 2 or 3 tiles deep put a spike trap at the bottom and pit some animal in there. That should generate a combat report of the animal hitting the spike. Even without the combat log, it should be easy to identify the stab wound from the bludgeoning falling wounds. EDIT: Located the quote. "falling damage and corpse impalement for unretracted spike buildings" from the devlog, 10/16/2007--[[User:Greiger|Greiger]]

::No worries, good bit of sleuthing there. I haven't played with the spikes much, but it makes sense.--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 11:56, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

== Stonefall ==

It's my recollection that stonefall traps outright destroy the stone when they are triggered, so they always need to be reloaded with a fresh rock from somewhere else. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 20:56, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Well, try it out? Certainly not the case here, and never was IIRC. --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 21:20, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::I second that. I always have the stone of the trap lying on it after it was triggered, so it was not destroyed. I´m not even sure if the dwarfes always need a different one, but I never payed close attention to that. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 21:26, 14 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I think the wisdom of the old ages on that was that the reloader picks the closest stone at the time he is tasked with the job. So if one guy reloads 6 traps he might well pick some of the stones right there - never checked really. --[[Special:Contributions/92.202.32.216|92.202.32.216]] 02:02, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

== Weapon ==

Hi guys, been playing DF for a long while but the improvements in the latest versions have inspired me to try to contribute a bit to the wiki for the first time. If you think any information is incorrect then feel free to shout out about it. [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:23, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Can ARROWS be loaded in weapon traps, or only BOLTS?
--[[Special:Contributions/208.81.12.34|208.81.12.34]] 15:07, 28 May 2010 (UTC)
::Arrows used to be fine (40d) not sure about the newest version. I don't use weapon traps that often, they generate too many body parts/mess for cleanup!--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 16:42, 28 May 2010 (UTC)

== Cage Traps? ==

are they still as effective as in 40d? the current article doesn't have anything on them .-Slothen--[[Special:Contributions/99.96.100.228|99.96.100.228]] 21:29, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
: Yes they are: Dragons as well as colossi are no threat as long as you have cage traps at your entrance - wooden cages are still sufficient to contain them savely. --[[User:Doub|Doub]] 21:47, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
::I was attempting to test all this in my latest fort. Can someone else please verify that this is still the case by writing in here that they've seen it happen. I know that titans(not sure about traditional megabeasts) have "trap avoid" tags and are not affected by stone-fall or weapon traps (I've tested that myself in a previous fort) but have yet to try to cage them. -- [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 15:01, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I can verify that Dragons are still captured, as of 0.31.06. None of the Forgotten Beasts that I've encountered have been captured, though. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
::Forgotten beast safely traveled through a corridor with two cage traps in it. I hardly had time to build a floor above the stairway to the caverns, pheeew... Damn it was such a brilliant idea to get a Beast for my zoo! --[[User:Peregarrett|Peregarrett]] 13:52, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
:::Ok thanks, I think I'll just say "Some rare creatures" are immune to cage traps to avoid any spoiler action. People can put all that spoilery stuff in the forgotten beast section! [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:32, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
::::i have several (20+) cage traps leading into the back entrance of my fort, and a forgotten beast was not captured by any of them. infact, quite the opposite; at the end of the long, narrow stretch of traps lay a crew of soldiers awaiting it. and after a bit of a skirmish, i've ended up with TWO 'dwarf cage's - should this be in the article, too? seems relatively important to me, and the poor soldiers trapped inside..--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]] 02:15, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
:::::Unconscious dwarves will fall victim to otherwise 'friendly' traps. --[[Special:Contributions/67.163.255.238|67.163.255.238]] 02:33, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
::::i didnt know that. both were severely injured, so them being unconscious was highly likely. should that fact be on the page?--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]]

Cage traps require a certain skill to reload. It is either mechanics or masonry (I'm assuming mechanics but haven't been able to verify yet since my traps aren't being used atm). Would be nice to include this in the article.
:I'm 99% sure it's mechanics. I'll edit it in, someone correct me if it's wrong. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Cage traps can be used to catch dwarves in a berserk rage. This can be useful when your Strange Moods are requiring items you do not have. Rather than have a violent murder occur, or having to starve him to death in the workshop. You are now free to be creative with how he meets his end (releasing amongst the elves is recommended). [[Special:Contributions/74.192.98.80|74.192.98.80]] 17:15, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Added a section to cage traps concerning webbed traps. A cage trap with a GCS web on it will capture titans, FBs and clowns. Tested on titans/fbs in 31.18. Clown info is lore from forums but logical since all 3 of these types are trapavoid, nostun. -Celem 29 Nov 2010

==taming==
I'm not sure who put the "taming isn't working" notice up, but I have tamed mountain goats caught in a trap in my latest fort. What evidence are you basing this on? Has anyone else not been able to tame creatures? Remember '''some''' creatures (with [PET_EXOTIC]) require the dungeonmaster (who seems to never turn up at the moment) to tame.

== Caging normally uncagable creatures? ==
I was able to cage a gremlin, but only after it was injured. Before that it just walked over my traps. Not sure if it was because it was injured, or because it was knocked on to the floor, or stunned... can other normally uncagable creatures be caught the same way? Someone confirm.
Edit: looked around in the wiki a bit more. Turns out gremlins (as well as kobalds) can avoid traps, but will not always. It would be nice to have a list of creatures who can avoid traps. Can't find one. Also forgot to sign last time. --[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 23:06, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
:All creatures will trigger traps if they fall unconscious on top of them, including those with TRAPAVOID. This was rather famously used back in 40d to trap frog demons and tentacle demons, but '''not''' spirits of fire (due to them being un-knockout-able). All titans, forgotten beasts, and demons in version 0.31 have TRAPAVOID and are, like the spirit of fire of 40d and earlier, similarly immune to being knocked unconscious and are thus impossible to trap. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 00:37, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

The above no longer appears true....see note a few lines up under cage trap main entry. re: web on cage will trap anything including fbs and titans. i expect demons too - Celem 29 Nov 2010

== Note for deconstruction ==

Can we put a note about deconstruction of a weapon trap noting if you get the weapons back or not? I checked the wiki to learn this and there isn't that piece of information. – [[template:unsigned|unsigned]] comment by [[User:Pathaugen|Pathaugen]]
:Yes. You do. Just like every other building or construction - you use parts to build it, you get the parts back when you un-build it. But if it's destroyed by an enemy rather than deconstructed by a dwarf, the parts get damaged. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 22:34, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

== Determining if a snow/blood covered trap is loaded ==

Is there any way to determine if a cage trap is loaded if it is covered with snow or blood (and therefore looks the same whether loaded or not?)--[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 03:01, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
: Press {{k|t}} (Check Building I{{k|t}}ems) and cursor over the trap. A ''built'' cage trap will list the mechanism used to build it, with a {{Tile|[B]|7:0:1}} beside the name. A ''loaded'' cage trap will additionally list the cage used to load it, with a {{Tile|[B]|1:0:1}} there too. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 21:12, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

v0.31 Talk:Trap

2010-11-29T02:11:53Z

Celem: /* Caging normally uncagable creatures? */

I had a horse-mounted goblin swordsman pass over six layers of cage traps and at least 20 layers of stonefall traps without triggering any of them. The prior year, against unmounted goblins, the traps worked fine (with reduced effectiveness compared to earlier versions, as has been reported), though I did have to flood the passage to kill them because three of them simply stopped moving and started shooting cats, waiting for dwarves to come for their pets, apparently.

I have had goats, goblins and alligators happily walk right through a stone trap bomb carpet of 3-5 layers (per person) and walk away wounded, but still walking. This certainly seems new.

Experiences with this? --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 19:42, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Maybe that´s because they deal only blunt damage (I think), which has been severely nerfed (because it seldom deals critical wounds and bleeding). I had the same experience with a goblin siege in year 2, which then also doomed my entire fortress (because I only got mildly trained soldiers with leather armor and copper weapons and marksdwarfs are bugged). I think they will regain their usefulness, when damage types get balanced again. On the other hand, they really were quite overpowered before, considering the needed setup-time and material. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 20:34, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::Makes sense. I'm not even complaining - I like a challenge. The wooden spears, bows and arrows in my weapon traps btw may be a bit overpowered now.

== Spike Trap ==
Spike traps seem to be seriously dependent on weapon material now for their damage. The same 10x glass menacing spike will cause serious damage to a clothes-wearing dwarf (several red external and internal wounds), but will do nothing to a Goblin wearing copper armour. Well, after about 50 spikings all his fingers and toes were red, as was his nose and ears, and for some reason right lower leg, but the rest of him was fine - or was once he'd had time to heal the bruises.

Also, they appear to train people being attacked by them, as said Goblin pikeman became a pikemaster before I let him out, and was able to bat spikes out of the way before they touched him.--[[Special:Contributions/131.111.254.209|131.111.254.209]] 05:01, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Someone posted this under spike traps:

`An often overlooked ability of an upright spike trap is that it also inflicts damage on a creature that falls onto it while it is deployed.

From 40d that is not correct. Did this change?--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 18:18, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

:(I'm new at this wiki editing stuff I'm afraid, sorry if I don't format this right.)
:Actually I'm fairly certain it was wrong that spike traps didn't damage things that fell on them in 40D as well. It wasn't actually 40D but I remember back when DC's combat reports worked a creature falling onto a deployed spike did indeed take a hit from the spike before it hit the ground. I cannot locate the quote, but I recall Toady specifically mentioning he built that into their functionality when they were implemented during the 2D to 3D update. And I recently confirmed it to still be the case in version .31 prompting me to make the edit. I've had dwarves accidentally fall into a pit that has a spike at the bottom, and it generates a one like combat report of the "spinning" spike striking the target before they hit the ground. It should actually be easy to test now, if folks don't believe me. Dig a pit 2 or 3 tiles deep put a spike trap at the bottom and pit some animal in there. That should generate a combat report of the animal hitting the spike. Even without the combat log, it should be easy to identify the stab wound from the bludgeoning falling wounds. EDIT: Located the quote. "falling damage and corpse impalement for unretracted spike buildings" from the devlog, 10/16/2007--[[User:Greiger|Greiger]]

::No worries, good bit of sleuthing there. I haven't played with the spikes much, but it makes sense.--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 11:56, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

== Stonefall ==

It's my recollection that stonefall traps outright destroy the stone when they are triggered, so they always need to be reloaded with a fresh rock from somewhere else. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 20:56, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Well, try it out? Certainly not the case here, and never was IIRC. --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 21:20, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::I second that. I always have the stone of the trap lying on it after it was triggered, so it was not destroyed. I´m not even sure if the dwarfes always need a different one, but I never payed close attention to that. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 21:26, 14 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I think the wisdom of the old ages on that was that the reloader picks the closest stone at the time he is tasked with the job. So if one guy reloads 6 traps he might well pick some of the stones right there - never checked really. --[[Special:Contributions/92.202.32.216|92.202.32.216]] 02:02, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

== Weapon ==

Hi guys, been playing DF for a long while but the improvements in the latest versions have inspired me to try to contribute a bit to the wiki for the first time. If you think any information is incorrect then feel free to shout out about it. [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:23, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Can ARROWS be loaded in weapon traps, or only BOLTS?
--[[Special:Contributions/208.81.12.34|208.81.12.34]] 15:07, 28 May 2010 (UTC)
::Arrows used to be fine (40d) not sure about the newest version. I don't use weapon traps that often, they generate too many body parts/mess for cleanup!--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 16:42, 28 May 2010 (UTC)

== Cage Traps? ==

are they still as effective as in 40d? the current article doesn't have anything on them .-Slothen--[[Special:Contributions/99.96.100.228|99.96.100.228]] 21:29, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
: Yes they are: Dragons as well as colossi are no threat as long as you have cage traps at your entrance - wooden cages are still sufficient to contain them savely. --[[User:Doub|Doub]] 21:47, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
::I was attempting to test all this in my latest fort. Can someone else please verify that this is still the case by writing in here that they've seen it happen. I know that titans(not sure about traditional megabeasts) have "trap avoid" tags and are not affected by stone-fall or weapon traps (I've tested that myself in a previous fort) but have yet to try to cage them. -- [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 15:01, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I can verify that Dragons are still captured, as of 0.31.06. None of the Forgotten Beasts that I've encountered have been captured, though. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
::Forgotten beast safely traveled through a corridor with two cage traps in it. I hardly had time to build a floor above the stairway to the caverns, pheeew... Damn it was such a brilliant idea to get a Beast for my zoo! --[[User:Peregarrett|Peregarrett]] 13:52, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
:::Ok thanks, I think I'll just say "Some rare creatures" are immune to cage traps to avoid any spoiler action. People can put all that spoilery stuff in the forgotten beast section! [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:32, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
::::i have several (20+) cage traps leading into the back entrance of my fort, and a forgotten beast was not captured by any of them. infact, quite the opposite; at the end of the long, narrow stretch of traps lay a crew of soldiers awaiting it. and after a bit of a skirmish, i've ended up with TWO 'dwarf cage's - should this be in the article, too? seems relatively important to me, and the poor soldiers trapped inside..--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]] 02:15, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
:::::Unconscious dwarves will fall victim to otherwise 'friendly' traps. --[[Special:Contributions/67.163.255.238|67.163.255.238]] 02:33, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
::::i didnt know that. both were severely injured, so them being unconscious was highly likely. should that fact be on the page?--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]]

Cage traps require a certain skill to reload. It is either mechanics or masonry (I'm assuming mechanics but haven't been able to verify yet since my traps aren't being used atm). Would be nice to include this in the article.
:I'm 99% sure it's mechanics. I'll edit it in, someone correct me if it's wrong. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Cage traps can be used to catch dwarves in a berserk rage. This can be useful when your Strange Moods are requiring items you do not have. Rather than have a violent murder occur, or having to starve him to death in the workshop. You are now free to be creative with how he meets his end (releasing amongst the elves is recommended). [[Special:Contributions/74.192.98.80|74.192.98.80]] 17:15, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Added a section to cage traps concerning webbed traps. A cage trap with a GCS web on it will capture titans, FBs and clowns. Tested on titans/fbs in 31.18. Clown info is lore from forums but logical since all 3 of these types are trapavoid, nostun. -Celem 29 Nov 2010

==taming==
I'm not sure who put the "taming isn't working" notice up, but I have tamed mountain goats caught in a trap in my latest fort. What evidence are you basing this on? Has anyone else not been able to tame creatures? Remember '''some''' creatures (with [PET_EXOTIC]) require the dungeonmaster (who seems to never turn up at the moment) to tame.

== Caging normally uncagable creatures? ==
I was able to cage a gremlin, but only after it was injured. Before that it just walked over my traps. Not sure if it was because it was injured, or because it was knocked on to the floor, or stunned... can other normally uncagable creatures be caught the same way? Someone confirm.
Edit: looked around in the wiki a bit more. Turns out gremlins (as well as kobalds) can avoid traps, but will not always. It would be nice to have a list of creatures who can avoid traps. Can't find one. Also forgot to sign last time. --[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 23:06, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
:All creatures will trigger traps if they fall unconscious on top of them, including those with TRAPAVOID. This was rather famously used back in 40d to trap frog demons and tentacle demons, but '''not''' spirits of fire (due to them being un-knockout-able). All titans, forgotten beasts, and demons in version 0.31 have TRAPAVOID and are, like the spirit of fire of 40d and earlier, similarly immune to being knocked unconscious and are thus impossible to trap. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 00:37, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

The above no longer appears true....see note a few lines up under cage trap main entry. re: web on cage will trap anything - Celem 29 Nov 2010

== Note for deconstruction ==

Can we put a note about deconstruction of a weapon trap noting if you get the weapons back or not? I checked the wiki to learn this and there isn't that piece of information. – [[template:unsigned|unsigned]] comment by [[User:Pathaugen|Pathaugen]]
:Yes. You do. Just like every other building or construction - you use parts to build it, you get the parts back when you un-build it. But if it's destroyed by an enemy rather than deconstructed by a dwarf, the parts get damaged. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 22:34, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

== Determining if a snow/blood covered trap is loaded ==

Is there any way to determine if a cage trap is loaded if it is covered with snow or blood (and therefore looks the same whether loaded or not?)--[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 03:01, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
: Press {{k|t}} (Check Building I{{k|t}}ems) and cursor over the trap. A ''built'' cage trap will list the mechanism used to build it, with a {{Tile|[B]|7:0:1}} beside the name. A ''loaded'' cage trap will additionally list the cage used to load it, with a {{Tile|[B]|1:0:1}} there too. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 21:12, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

v0.31 Talk:Trap

2010-11-29T02:10:21Z

Celem: /* Cage Traps? */

I had a horse-mounted goblin swordsman pass over six layers of cage traps and at least 20 layers of stonefall traps without triggering any of them. The prior year, against unmounted goblins, the traps worked fine (with reduced effectiveness compared to earlier versions, as has been reported), though I did have to flood the passage to kill them because three of them simply stopped moving and started shooting cats, waiting for dwarves to come for their pets, apparently.

I have had goats, goblins and alligators happily walk right through a stone trap bomb carpet of 3-5 layers (per person) and walk away wounded, but still walking. This certainly seems new.

Experiences with this? --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 19:42, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Maybe that´s because they deal only blunt damage (I think), which has been severely nerfed (because it seldom deals critical wounds and bleeding). I had the same experience with a goblin siege in year 2, which then also doomed my entire fortress (because I only got mildly trained soldiers with leather armor and copper weapons and marksdwarfs are bugged). I think they will regain their usefulness, when damage types get balanced again. On the other hand, they really were quite overpowered before, considering the needed setup-time and material. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 20:34, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::Makes sense. I'm not even complaining - I like a challenge. The wooden spears, bows and arrows in my weapon traps btw may be a bit overpowered now.

== Spike Trap ==
Spike traps seem to be seriously dependent on weapon material now for their damage. The same 10x glass menacing spike will cause serious damage to a clothes-wearing dwarf (several red external and internal wounds), but will do nothing to a Goblin wearing copper armour. Well, after about 50 spikings all his fingers and toes were red, as was his nose and ears, and for some reason right lower leg, but the rest of him was fine - or was once he'd had time to heal the bruises.

Also, they appear to train people being attacked by them, as said Goblin pikeman became a pikemaster before I let him out, and was able to bat spikes out of the way before they touched him.--[[Special:Contributions/131.111.254.209|131.111.254.209]] 05:01, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Someone posted this under spike traps:

`An often overlooked ability of an upright spike trap is that it also inflicts damage on a creature that falls onto it while it is deployed.

From 40d that is not correct. Did this change?--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 18:18, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

:(I'm new at this wiki editing stuff I'm afraid, sorry if I don't format this right.)
:Actually I'm fairly certain it was wrong that spike traps didn't damage things that fell on them in 40D as well. It wasn't actually 40D but I remember back when DC's combat reports worked a creature falling onto a deployed spike did indeed take a hit from the spike before it hit the ground. I cannot locate the quote, but I recall Toady specifically mentioning he built that into their functionality when they were implemented during the 2D to 3D update. And I recently confirmed it to still be the case in version .31 prompting me to make the edit. I've had dwarves accidentally fall into a pit that has a spike at the bottom, and it generates a one like combat report of the "spinning" spike striking the target before they hit the ground. It should actually be easy to test now, if folks don't believe me. Dig a pit 2 or 3 tiles deep put a spike trap at the bottom and pit some animal in there. That should generate a combat report of the animal hitting the spike. Even without the combat log, it should be easy to identify the stab wound from the bludgeoning falling wounds. EDIT: Located the quote. "falling damage and corpse impalement for unretracted spike buildings" from the devlog, 10/16/2007--[[User:Greiger|Greiger]]

::No worries, good bit of sleuthing there. I haven't played with the spikes much, but it makes sense.--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 11:56, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

== Stonefall ==

It's my recollection that stonefall traps outright destroy the stone when they are triggered, so they always need to be reloaded with a fresh rock from somewhere else. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 20:56, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Well, try it out? Certainly not the case here, and never was IIRC. --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 21:20, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::I second that. I always have the stone of the trap lying on it after it was triggered, so it was not destroyed. I´m not even sure if the dwarfes always need a different one, but I never payed close attention to that. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 21:26, 14 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I think the wisdom of the old ages on that was that the reloader picks the closest stone at the time he is tasked with the job. So if one guy reloads 6 traps he might well pick some of the stones right there - never checked really. --[[Special:Contributions/92.202.32.216|92.202.32.216]] 02:02, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

== Weapon ==

Hi guys, been playing DF for a long while but the improvements in the latest versions have inspired me to try to contribute a bit to the wiki for the first time. If you think any information is incorrect then feel free to shout out about it. [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:23, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Can ARROWS be loaded in weapon traps, or only BOLTS?
--[[Special:Contributions/208.81.12.34|208.81.12.34]] 15:07, 28 May 2010 (UTC)
::Arrows used to be fine (40d) not sure about the newest version. I don't use weapon traps that often, they generate too many body parts/mess for cleanup!--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 16:42, 28 May 2010 (UTC)

== Cage Traps? ==

are they still as effective as in 40d? the current article doesn't have anything on them .-Slothen--[[Special:Contributions/99.96.100.228|99.96.100.228]] 21:29, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
: Yes they are: Dragons as well as colossi are no threat as long as you have cage traps at your entrance - wooden cages are still sufficient to contain them savely. --[[User:Doub|Doub]] 21:47, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
::I was attempting to test all this in my latest fort. Can someone else please verify that this is still the case by writing in here that they've seen it happen. I know that titans(not sure about traditional megabeasts) have "trap avoid" tags and are not affected by stone-fall or weapon traps (I've tested that myself in a previous fort) but have yet to try to cage them. -- [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 15:01, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I can verify that Dragons are still captured, as of 0.31.06. None of the Forgotten Beasts that I've encountered have been captured, though. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
::Forgotten beast safely traveled through a corridor with two cage traps in it. I hardly had time to build a floor above the stairway to the caverns, pheeew... Damn it was such a brilliant idea to get a Beast for my zoo! --[[User:Peregarrett|Peregarrett]] 13:52, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
:::Ok thanks, I think I'll just say "Some rare creatures" are immune to cage traps to avoid any spoiler action. People can put all that spoilery stuff in the forgotten beast section! [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:32, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
::::i have several (20+) cage traps leading into the back entrance of my fort, and a forgotten beast was not captured by any of them. infact, quite the opposite; at the end of the long, narrow stretch of traps lay a crew of soldiers awaiting it. and after a bit of a skirmish, i've ended up with TWO 'dwarf cage's - should this be in the article, too? seems relatively important to me, and the poor soldiers trapped inside..--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]] 02:15, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
:::::Unconscious dwarves will fall victim to otherwise 'friendly' traps. --[[Special:Contributions/67.163.255.238|67.163.255.238]] 02:33, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
::::i didnt know that. both were severely injured, so them being unconscious was highly likely. should that fact be on the page?--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]]

Cage traps require a certain skill to reload. It is either mechanics or masonry (I'm assuming mechanics but haven't been able to verify yet since my traps aren't being used atm). Would be nice to include this in the article.
:I'm 99% sure it's mechanics. I'll edit it in, someone correct me if it's wrong. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Cage traps can be used to catch dwarves in a berserk rage. This can be useful when your Strange Moods are requiring items you do not have. Rather than have a violent murder occur, or having to starve him to death in the workshop. You are now free to be creative with how he meets his end (releasing amongst the elves is recommended). [[Special:Contributions/74.192.98.80|74.192.98.80]] 17:15, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Added a section to cage traps concerning webbed traps. A cage trap with a GCS web on it will capture titans, FBs and clowns. Tested on titans/fbs in 31.18. Clown info is lore from forums but logical since all 3 of these types are trapavoid, nostun. -Celem 29 Nov 2010

==taming==
I'm not sure who put the "taming isn't working" notice up, but I have tamed mountain goats caught in a trap in my latest fort. What evidence are you basing this on? Has anyone else not been able to tame creatures? Remember '''some''' creatures (with [PET_EXOTIC]) require the dungeonmaster (who seems to never turn up at the moment) to tame.

== Caging normally uncagable creatures? ==
I was able to cage a gremlin, but only after it was injured. Before that it just walked over my traps. Not sure if it was because it was injured, or because it was knocked on to the floor, or stunned... can other normally uncagable creatures be caught the same way? Someone confirm.
Edit: looked around in the wiki a bit more. Turns out gremlins (as well as kobalds) can avoid traps, but will not always. It would be nice to have a list of creatures who can avoid traps. Can't find one. Also forgot to sign last time. --[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 23:06, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
:All creatures will trigger traps if they fall unconscious on top of them, including those with TRAPAVOID. This was rather famously used back in 40d to trap frog demons and tentacle demons, but '''not''' spirits of fire (due to them being un-knockout-able). All titans, forgotten beasts, and demons in version 0.31 have TRAPAVOID and are, like the spirit of fire of 40d and earlier, similarly immune to being knocked unconscious and are thus impossible to trap. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 00:37, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

== Note for deconstruction ==

Can we put a note about deconstruction of a weapon trap noting if you get the weapons back or not? I checked the wiki to learn this and there isn't that piece of information. – [[template:unsigned|unsigned]] comment by [[User:Pathaugen|Pathaugen]]
:Yes. You do. Just like every other building or construction - you use parts to build it, you get the parts back when you un-build it. But if it's destroyed by an enemy rather than deconstructed by a dwarf, the parts get damaged. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 22:34, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

== Determining if a snow/blood covered trap is loaded ==

Is there any way to determine if a cage trap is loaded if it is covered with snow or blood (and therefore looks the same whether loaded or not?)--[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 03:01, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
: Press {{k|t}} (Check Building I{{k|t}}ems) and cursor over the trap. A ''built'' cage trap will list the mechanism used to build it, with a {{Tile|[B]|7:0:1}} beside the name. A ''loaded'' cage trap will additionally list the cage used to load it, with a {{Tile|[B]|1:0:1}} there too. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 21:12, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

v0.31 Talk:Trap

2010-11-29T02:09:44Z

Celem: /* Cage Traps? */

I had a horse-mounted goblin swordsman pass over six layers of cage traps and at least 20 layers of stonefall traps without triggering any of them. The prior year, against unmounted goblins, the traps worked fine (with reduced effectiveness compared to earlier versions, as has been reported), though I did have to flood the passage to kill them because three of them simply stopped moving and started shooting cats, waiting for dwarves to come for their pets, apparently.

I have had goats, goblins and alligators happily walk right through a stone trap bomb carpet of 3-5 layers (per person) and walk away wounded, but still walking. This certainly seems new.

Experiences with this? --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 19:42, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Maybe that´s because they deal only blunt damage (I think), which has been severely nerfed (because it seldom deals critical wounds and bleeding). I had the same experience with a goblin siege in year 2, which then also doomed my entire fortress (because I only got mildly trained soldiers with leather armor and copper weapons and marksdwarfs are bugged). I think they will regain their usefulness, when damage types get balanced again. On the other hand, they really were quite overpowered before, considering the needed setup-time and material. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 20:34, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::Makes sense. I'm not even complaining - I like a challenge. The wooden spears, bows and arrows in my weapon traps btw may be a bit overpowered now.

== Spike Trap ==
Spike traps seem to be seriously dependent on weapon material now for their damage. The same 10x glass menacing spike will cause serious damage to a clothes-wearing dwarf (several red external and internal wounds), but will do nothing to a Goblin wearing copper armour. Well, after about 50 spikings all his fingers and toes were red, as was his nose and ears, and for some reason right lower leg, but the rest of him was fine - or was once he'd had time to heal the bruises.

Also, they appear to train people being attacked by them, as said Goblin pikeman became a pikemaster before I let him out, and was able to bat spikes out of the way before they touched him.--[[Special:Contributions/131.111.254.209|131.111.254.209]] 05:01, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Someone posted this under spike traps:

`An often overlooked ability of an upright spike trap is that it also inflicts damage on a creature that falls onto it while it is deployed.

From 40d that is not correct. Did this change?--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 18:18, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

:(I'm new at this wiki editing stuff I'm afraid, sorry if I don't format this right.)
:Actually I'm fairly certain it was wrong that spike traps didn't damage things that fell on them in 40D as well. It wasn't actually 40D but I remember back when DC's combat reports worked a creature falling onto a deployed spike did indeed take a hit from the spike before it hit the ground. I cannot locate the quote, but I recall Toady specifically mentioning he built that into their functionality when they were implemented during the 2D to 3D update. And I recently confirmed it to still be the case in version .31 prompting me to make the edit. I've had dwarves accidentally fall into a pit that has a spike at the bottom, and it generates a one like combat report of the "spinning" spike striking the target before they hit the ground. It should actually be easy to test now, if folks don't believe me. Dig a pit 2 or 3 tiles deep put a spike trap at the bottom and pit some animal in there. That should generate a combat report of the animal hitting the spike. Even without the combat log, it should be easy to identify the stab wound from the bludgeoning falling wounds. EDIT: Located the quote. "falling damage and corpse impalement for unretracted spike buildings" from the devlog, 10/16/2007--[[User:Greiger|Greiger]]

::No worries, good bit of sleuthing there. I haven't played with the spikes much, but it makes sense.--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 11:56, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

== Stonefall ==

It's my recollection that stonefall traps outright destroy the stone when they are triggered, so they always need to be reloaded with a fresh rock from somewhere else. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 20:56, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

:Well, try it out? Certainly not the case here, and never was IIRC. --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 21:20, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::I second that. I always have the stone of the trap lying on it after it was triggered, so it was not destroyed. I´m not even sure if the dwarfes always need a different one, but I never payed close attention to that. ~ [[User:Felcis|Felcis]] 21:26, 14 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I think the wisdom of the old ages on that was that the reloader picks the closest stone at the time he is tasked with the job. So if one guy reloads 6 traps he might well pick some of the stones right there - never checked really. --[[Special:Contributions/92.202.32.216|92.202.32.216]] 02:02, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

== Weapon ==

Hi guys, been playing DF for a long while but the improvements in the latest versions have inspired me to try to contribute a bit to the wiki for the first time. If you think any information is incorrect then feel free to shout out about it. [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:23, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Can ARROWS be loaded in weapon traps, or only BOLTS?
--[[Special:Contributions/208.81.12.34|208.81.12.34]] 15:07, 28 May 2010 (UTC)
::Arrows used to be fine (40d) not sure about the newest version. I don't use weapon traps that often, they generate too many body parts/mess for cleanup!--[[User:Kwieland|Kwieland]] 16:42, 28 May 2010 (UTC)

== Cage Traps? ==

are they still as effective as in 40d? the current article doesn't have anything on them .-Slothen--[[Special:Contributions/99.96.100.228|99.96.100.228]] 21:29, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
: Yes they are: Dragons as well as colossi are no threat as long as you have cage traps at your entrance - wooden cages are still sufficient to contain them savely. --[[User:Doub|Doub]] 21:47, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
::I was attempting to test all this in my latest fort. Can someone else please verify that this is still the case by writing in here that they've seen it happen. I know that titans(not sure about traditional megabeasts) have "trap avoid" tags and are not affected by stone-fall or weapon traps (I've tested that myself in a previous fort) but have yet to try to cage them. -- [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 15:01, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
:::I can verify that Dragons are still captured, as of 0.31.06. None of the Forgotten Beasts that I've encountered have been captured, though. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
::Forgotten beast safely traveled through a corridor with two cage traps in it. I hardly had time to build a floor above the stairway to the caverns, pheeew... Damn it was such a brilliant idea to get a Beast for my zoo! --[[User:Peregarrett|Peregarrett]] 13:52, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
:::Ok thanks, I think I'll just say "Some rare creatures" are immune to cage traps to avoid any spoiler action. People can put all that spoilery stuff in the forgotten beast section! [[User:Akkie|Akkie]] 18:32, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
::::i have several (20+) cage traps leading into the back entrance of my fort, and a forgotten beast was not captured by any of them. infact, quite the opposite; at the end of the long, narrow stretch of traps lay a crew of soldiers awaiting it. and after a bit of a skirmish, i've ended up with TWO 'dwarf cage's - should this be in the article, too? seems relatively important to me, and the poor soldiers trapped inside..--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]] 02:15, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
:::::Unconscious dwarves will fall victim to otherwise 'friendly' traps. --[[Special:Contributions/67.163.255.238|67.163.255.238]] 02:33, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
::::i didnt know that. both were severely injured, so them being unconscious was highly likely. should that fact be on the page?--[[User:DJ Devil|DJ Devil]]

Cage traps require a certain skill to reload. It is either mechanics or masonry (I'm assuming mechanics but haven't been able to verify yet since my traps aren't being used atm). Would be nice to include this in the article.
:I'm 99% sure it's mechanics. I'll edit it in, someone correct me if it's wrong. --[[User:Kyle Solo|Kyle Solo]] 19:42, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Cage traps can be used to catch dwarves in a berserk rage. This can be useful when your Strange Moods are requiring items you do not have. Rather than have a violent murder occur, or having to starve him to death in the workshop. You are now free to be creative with how he meets his end (releasing amongst the elves is recommended). [[Special:Contributions/74.192.98.80|74.192.98.80]] 17:15, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Added a section to cage traps concerning webbed traps. A cage trap with a GCS web on it will capture titans, FBs and clowns. Tested on titans/fbs in 31.18. Clown info is lore from forums but logical since all 3 of these types are trapavoid, nostun.

==taming==
I'm not sure who put the "taming isn't working" notice up, but I have tamed mountain goats caught in a trap in my latest fort. What evidence are you basing this on? Has anyone else not been able to tame creatures? Remember '''some''' creatures (with [PET_EXOTIC]) require the dungeonmaster (who seems to never turn up at the moment) to tame.

== Caging normally uncagable creatures? ==
I was able to cage a gremlin, but only after it was injured. Before that it just walked over my traps. Not sure if it was because it was injured, or because it was knocked on to the floor, or stunned... can other normally uncagable creatures be caught the same way? Someone confirm.
Edit: looked around in the wiki a bit more. Turns out gremlins (as well as kobalds) can avoid traps, but will not always. It would be nice to have a list of creatures who can avoid traps. Can't find one. Also forgot to sign last time. --[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 23:06, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
:All creatures will trigger traps if they fall unconscious on top of them, including those with TRAPAVOID. This was rather famously used back in 40d to trap frog demons and tentacle demons, but '''not''' spirits of fire (due to them being un-knockout-able). All titans, forgotten beasts, and demons in version 0.31 have TRAPAVOID and are, like the spirit of fire of 40d and earlier, similarly immune to being knocked unconscious and are thus impossible to trap. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 00:37, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

== Note for deconstruction ==

Can we put a note about deconstruction of a weapon trap noting if you get the weapons back or not? I checked the wiki to learn this and there isn't that piece of information. – [[template:unsigned|unsigned]] comment by [[User:Pathaugen|Pathaugen]]
:Yes. You do. Just like every other building or construction - you use parts to build it, you get the parts back when you un-build it. But if it's destroyed by an enemy rather than deconstructed by a dwarf, the parts get damaged. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 22:34, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

== Determining if a snow/blood covered trap is loaded ==

Is there any way to determine if a cage trap is loaded if it is covered with snow or blood (and therefore looks the same whether loaded or not?)--[[User:Peglegpenguin|Peglegpenguin]] 03:01, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
: Press {{k|t}} (Check Building I{{k|t}}ems) and cursor over the trap. A ''built'' cage trap will list the mechanism used to build it, with a {{Tile|[B]|7:0:1}} beside the name. A ''loaded'' cage trap will additionally list the cage used to load it, with a {{Tile|[B]|1:0:1}} there too. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 21:12, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

v0.31:Trap

2010-11-29T02:07:16Z

Celem: /* Cage Trap */

{{quality|Exceptional|08:00, 22 May 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}

'''Traps''' are a comparatively quick and easy method for defending a fortress. Unlike {{L|soldier}}s, they're always on duty, and, once set up, need less management. On the other hand, they are immobile and can only lie in wait for foes to walk over them. To build a trap, go to the {{k|b}}uild->{{k|T}}raps/Levers menu. You'll generally need one {{L|mechanism}}, a dwarf with the {{L|mechanic}} labor designated (ranks in this {{L|skill}} reduce the time to place a trap), and at least one other component depending on the type of trap - a stone, a cage, or one or more weapons. They can be built indoors or outdoors, and require a level ground square with no other constructions in them.

Stone-fall, weapon and cage traps will be triggered by most hostile entities entering their tile, with the possible exception of {{L|thief|thieves}}, flying creatures and other occasional nasty surprises. Any unconscious creature will trigger traps, including your own dwarves.

Note that only dwarfs with the mechanic labor enabled will reload traps (cage, stone or weapon). In combat situations, {{L|Mechanic}}s have a nasty habit of wanting to reload (or clean) traps when they are triggered, regardless of who or what might be out there as well. {{L|Forbid}}ding traps after they are built will keep [[Urist|Urist McSuicide]] from deciding to reload a trap in the middle of a {{L|siege}}. Just remember to unforbid them when things calm down, so the traps are all ready for next time. Note that forbidding a trap after it has been triggered doesn't help, as the job to refill the trap has already been issued in that case, so a Mechanic will carry a stone out to the trap anyway. Alternatively, simply order your dwarves to stay within a safe {{L|burrow}} until any threats have been dealt with.

==Stone-fall Trap==
The simplest trap to construct, a stone-fall trap is essentially a {{L|stone}} suspended up in the air which is dropped on intruders when the trap is triggered. These are a popular defensive measure early on, as the components needed are readily available as soon as you start mining. A single stone trap will usually '''not''' severely wound or kill most animals and enemies, to the extent that this may be a bug. After being used they need to be reloaded with another stone by any {{L|dwarf}} with {{L|mechanic}} {{L|skill}} enabled, a task which your dwarves will see to automatically. The dwarf will generally not use the stone that just dropped, but a new one (would you want to put your hands on that gory mess?). Being that stonefall traps do not alert you of ambushes when triggered by hidden invaders{{verify}}, this can frequently lead your mechanics into peril.

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|s}}
:*Components used: {{L|mechanism}} and an ordinary {{L|stone}}

==Weapon Trap==
Weapon traps are similar in nature to stone-fall traps, and are triggered when any hostile creature stands on the trap. They tend to be a much more reliable trap for outright killing or critically injuring invading creatures. Before you write off stone-fall traps as worse versions of weapon traps, it's important to note that weapon traps require you to have previously made {{L|Weapon}}s to put inside the trap, making them more of an option somewhat later in the game. Any weapon can be used, including human ones, training weapons, bows, traded weapons and presents from goblins, as well as specialist "trap only" weapons. (Think of it as fair retribution when goblins are sliced in pieces by their own axes!)

The specialist weapons can be built in 3 workshops:

{{L|Metalsmith's forge}}
*menacing <metal> spike
*large, serrated <metal> disc
*spiked <metal> ball
*enormous <metal> corkscrew
*giant <metal> axe blade

{{L|Carpenter's workshop}}
*menacing <wooden> spike
*spiked <wooden> ball
*enormous <wooden> corkscrew

{{L|Glass furnace}}
*menacing <glass> spike
*large, serrated <glass> disc
*spiked <glass> ball
*enormous <glass> corkscrew
*giant <glass> axe blade

Don't know which to make? -> '''Detailed {{L|Trap component}} information'''

These weapons have all the material property advantages and disadvantages that normal weapons have. It should be noted that the trap weapons are larger than normal dwarf weapons meaning they should be more effective in the new combat system than normal weapons made of equivalent materials (this is all subject to change in future revisions of the combat system). When triggered, this trap will "attack" the creature with all the weapons available to it, normally doing massive damage.

Weapon traps do not cause slightly suicidal mechanics to reset them after each triggering but instead reset automatically in a period of time (unknown time period). However it is possible for the traps to jam when the unfortunate victim gets stuck in the mechanism (use "t" to check the trap) but the body can be removed by a dwarf. When the trap jams, the mechanic will automatically attempt to clean it, so forbidding the body may be necessary to save him from the victim's friends.

When placing the trap you will be asked for a type of mechanism as normal, then asked to select weapons to use. At this point you will get a list of all stockpiled weapons in your fortress. {{k|+}}{{k|-}} will select different weapons and pressing "Enter/Return" adds 1 of the selected weapon to the trap. Up to 10 weapons can be put in each trap and all weapons in the trap will attack at once when it is triggered (10 large serrated disks normally results in the unfortunate triggering creature leaving with less limbs than it came in with). When happy with your weapon selection press {{k|d}} to set the trap.

It also appears that there's a chance that invaders may dodge the traps: in fact, the triggering creature will defend from the trap's attacks just like from a dwarf's, by jumping away, dodging and blocking. (This can be used in your favor if the trapped tile happens to be surrounded by pits...)

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|w}}
:*Components used: {{L|mechanism}} and 1 to 10 weapons.

==Cage Trap==
Cage traps are different to the other trap types in that they do not directly kill or injure invaders. Instead, they capture the unfortunate creature that triggers them in a {{L|cage}}. Despite the lack of violence, this is still very effective as it completely neutralizes the target so that they can be dealt with later. After a creature is captured, it's stored in an animal {{L|stockpile}}. The trap must then be reset by hauling an empty cage to the trap's location (this is done automatically by any dwarf with the {{L|Mechanic}}s labor enabled). '''Most''' captured creatures do not require any nourishment and will survive being in a cage indefinitely (submerging them in water also appears to have no effect on the captured creature). Cage traps will also alert you to ambushes when triggered by hidden invaders, making them a useful forward defense mechanism.

It is possible for dwarves to bring {{L|water}} to cages, but this will only occur if you have someone friendly also locked in the cage - like a dwarf child snatched by a goblin. In this case remove the poor fellow using the goblin's inventory screen.

'''Cage traps cannot always capture every creature in the game''', so you will need alternative defenses - {{L|titan}}s and {{L|forgotten beast}}s (as well as certain other types of creatures) are immune to traps entirely and will waltz right past all of your carefully placed cages unless the cage has a giant cave spider web on it. A webbed cage trap '''will''' capture absoloutely '''anything''' in the current version.

Cage traps are also useful for catching animals. This can be done by simply placing traps in areas where wild animals roam (this does '''not''' require a dwarf with the {{L|Trapping}} labor enabled). The captured animals can be used to fuel your meat industry, or can be tamed (and sometimes trained into war animals!) at the {{L|kennel|kennels}}. Note that many animals require the presence of the {{L|Dungeon Master}} to be tamable.

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|c}}
:*Components used: {{L|mechanism}} and a {{L|cage}}.
:*If the trap is a Dark Green, then it does not have a cage in it.
:*If the trap is a Light Green, then it does have a cage in it.

To release a tame creature from a cage, build the cage ({{k|b}} {{k|j}}) and use {{k|q}} to unassign it. To release a hostile creature, you must build it and link it to a {{L|lever}} or designate the creature inside to be dumped in a pit.

==Upright Spear/Spike==

A variation of the weapon trap, the Upright Spear/Spike itself requires no mechanisms, and can be fitted with up to 10 {{L|Weapon|spears}} or {{L|Trap component|spikes}}. However, it requires an external trigger to actually impale things. Either a {{L|pressure plate}} or a {{L|lever}} must be connected to this trap for it to be operated. The advantage of this trap is it doesn't require a Mechanic to set it up - just to link it to a trigger.

An often overlooked ability of an upright spike trap is that it also inflicts damage on a creature that falls onto it while it is deployed. And since they are built in the deployed state they can be quickly built to make a pit trap more lethal, without the need for extra mechanisms. However, you will still need the mechanisms that cause your victims to fall onto the spike from above in the first place, and the pit must be more than 1 z level deep for the spikes to cause damage.

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|S}}
:*Components used: between 1 and 10 spears or spikes.

==Other Traps==
You can create even more elaborate traps with imaginative use of pits, {{L|pressure plate}}s, {{L|lever}}s, {{L|grate}}s, {{L|support}}s, {{L|water}}, and/or {{L|magma}}, creating sacrificial altars (blood for the Blood God!) and whatever else you can think of. Watching those goblins try to find a way out of your drowning chamber as it begins to fill is really quite satisfying. These are best made in a large, repeatable mass killing way. If you make a trap that kills 10 or so goblins that only works once and you have to rebuild it, wasting time you don't have during a {{L|siege}}, then you're not trying hard enough.

==See Also==
*{{L|Trap design}}

{{buildings}}

v0.31:Trap

2010-11-29T02:06:29Z

Celem: added web note for trapping titan/fb

{{quality|Exceptional|08:00, 22 May 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}

'''Traps''' are a comparatively quick and easy method for defending a fortress. Unlike {{L|soldier}}s, they're always on duty, and, once set up, need less management. On the other hand, they are immobile and can only lie in wait for foes to walk over them. To build a trap, go to the {{k|b}}uild->{{k|T}}raps/Levers menu. You'll generally need one {{L|mechanism}}, a dwarf with the {{L|mechanic}} labor designated (ranks in this {{L|skill}} reduce the time to place a trap), and at least one other component depending on the type of trap - a stone, a cage, or one or more weapons. They can be built indoors or outdoors, and require a level ground square with no other constructions in them.

Stone-fall, weapon and cage traps will be triggered by most hostile entities entering their tile, with the possible exception of {{L|thief|thieves}}, flying creatures and other occasional nasty surprises. Any unconscious creature will trigger traps, including your own dwarves.

Note that only dwarfs with the mechanic labor enabled will reload traps (cage, stone or weapon). In combat situations, {{L|Mechanic}}s have a nasty habit of wanting to reload (or clean) traps when they are triggered, regardless of who or what might be out there as well. {{L|Forbid}}ding traps after they are built will keep [[Urist|Urist McSuicide]] from deciding to reload a trap in the middle of a {{L|siege}}. Just remember to unforbid them when things calm down, so the traps are all ready for next time. Note that forbidding a trap after it has been triggered doesn't help, as the job to refill the trap has already been issued in that case, so a Mechanic will carry a stone out to the trap anyway. Alternatively, simply order your dwarves to stay within a safe {{L|burrow}} until any threats have been dealt with.

==Stone-fall Trap==
The simplest trap to construct, a stone-fall trap is essentially a {{L|stone}} suspended up in the air which is dropped on intruders when the trap is triggered. These are a popular defensive measure early on, as the components needed are readily available as soon as you start mining. A single stone trap will usually '''not''' severely wound or kill most animals and enemies, to the extent that this may be a bug. After being used they need to be reloaded with another stone by any {{L|dwarf}} with {{L|mechanic}} {{L|skill}} enabled, a task which your dwarves will see to automatically. The dwarf will generally not use the stone that just dropped, but a new one (would you want to put your hands on that gory mess?). Being that stonefall traps do not alert you of ambushes when triggered by hidden invaders{{verify}}, this can frequently lead your mechanics into peril.

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|s}}
:*Components used: {{L|mechanism}} and an ordinary {{L|stone}}

==Weapon Trap==
Weapon traps are similar in nature to stone-fall traps, and are triggered when any hostile creature stands on the trap. They tend to be a much more reliable trap for outright killing or critically injuring invading creatures. Before you write off stone-fall traps as worse versions of weapon traps, it's important to note that weapon traps require you to have previously made {{L|Weapon}}s to put inside the trap, making them more of an option somewhat later in the game. Any weapon can be used, including human ones, training weapons, bows, traded weapons and presents from goblins, as well as specialist "trap only" weapons. (Think of it as fair retribution when goblins are sliced in pieces by their own axes!)

The specialist weapons can be built in 3 workshops:

{{L|Metalsmith's forge}}
*menacing <metal> spike
*large, serrated <metal> disc
*spiked <metal> ball
*enormous <metal> corkscrew
*giant <metal> axe blade

{{L|Carpenter's workshop}}
*menacing <wooden> spike
*spiked <wooden> ball
*enormous <wooden> corkscrew

{{L|Glass furnace}}
*menacing <glass> spike
*large, serrated <glass> disc
*spiked <glass> ball
*enormous <glass> corkscrew
*giant <glass> axe blade

Don't know which to make? -> '''Detailed {{L|Trap component}} information'''

These weapons have all the material property advantages and disadvantages that normal weapons have. It should be noted that the trap weapons are larger than normal dwarf weapons meaning they should be more effective in the new combat system than normal weapons made of equivalent materials (this is all subject to change in future revisions of the combat system). When triggered, this trap will "attack" the creature with all the weapons available to it, normally doing massive damage.

Weapon traps do not cause slightly suicidal mechanics to reset them after each triggering but instead reset automatically in a period of time (unknown time period). However it is possible for the traps to jam when the unfortunate victim gets stuck in the mechanism (use "t" to check the trap) but the body can be removed by a dwarf. When the trap jams, the mechanic will automatically attempt to clean it, so forbidding the body may be necessary to save him from the victim's friends.

When placing the trap you will be asked for a type of mechanism as normal, then asked to select weapons to use. At this point you will get a list of all stockpiled weapons in your fortress. {{k|+}}{{k|-}} will select different weapons and pressing "Enter/Return" adds 1 of the selected weapon to the trap. Up to 10 weapons can be put in each trap and all weapons in the trap will attack at once when it is triggered (10 large serrated disks normally results in the unfortunate triggering creature leaving with less limbs than it came in with). When happy with your weapon selection press {{k|d}} to set the trap.

It also appears that there's a chance that invaders may dodge the traps: in fact, the triggering creature will defend from the trap's attacks just like from a dwarf's, by jumping away, dodging and blocking. (This can be used in your favor if the trapped tile happens to be surrounded by pits...)

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|w}}
:*Components used: {{L|mechanism}} and 1 to 10 weapons.

==Cage Trap==
Cage traps are different to the other trap types in that they do not directly kill or injure invaders. Instead, they capture the unfortunate creature that triggers them in a {{L|cage}}. Despite the lack of violence, this is still very effective as it completely neutralizes the target so that they can be dealt with later. After a creature is captured, it's stored in an animal {{L|stockpile}}. The trap must then be reset by hauling an empty cage to the trap's location (this is done automatically by any dwarf with the {{L|Mechanic}}s labor enabled). '''Most''' captured creatures do not require any nourishment and will survive being in a cage indefinitely (submerging them in water also appears to have no effect on the captured creature). Cage traps will also alert you to ambushes when triggered by hidden invaders, making them a useful forward defense mechanism.

It is possible for dwarves to bring {{L|water}} to cages, but this will only occur if you have someone friendly also locked in the cage - like a dwarf child snatched by a goblin. In this case remove the poor fellow using the goblin's inventory screen.

'''Cage traps cannot always capture every creature in the game''', so you will need alternative defenses - {{L|titan}}s and {{L|forgotten beast}}s (as well as certain other types of creatures) are immune to traps almost entirely and will waltz right past all of your carefully placed cages unless the cage has a giant cave spider web on it. A webbed cage trap '''will''' capture absoloutely '''anything''' in the current version.

Cage traps are also useful for catching animals. This can be done by simply placing traps in areas where wild animals roam (this does '''not''' require a dwarf with the {{L|Trapping}} labor enabled). The captured animals can be used to fuel your meat industry, or can be tamed (and sometimes trained into war animals!) at the {{L|kennel|kennels}}. Note that many animals require the presence of the {{L|Dungeon Master}} to be tamable.

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|c}}
:*Components used: {{L|mechanism}} and a {{L|cage}}.
:*If the trap is a Dark Green, then it does not have a cage in it.
:*If the trap is a Light Green, then it does have a cage in it.

To release a tame creature from a cage, build the cage ({{k|b}} {{k|j}}) and use {{k|q}} to unassign it. To release a hostile creature, you must build it and link it to a {{L|lever}} or designate the creature inside to be dumped in a pit.

==Upright Spear/Spike==

A variation of the weapon trap, the Upright Spear/Spike itself requires no mechanisms, and can be fitted with up to 10 {{L|Weapon|spears}} or {{L|Trap component|spikes}}. However, it requires an external trigger to actually impale things. Either a {{L|pressure plate}} or a {{L|lever}} must be connected to this trap for it to be operated. The advantage of this trap is it doesn't require a Mechanic to set it up - just to link it to a trigger.

An often overlooked ability of an upright spike trap is that it also inflicts damage on a creature that falls onto it while it is deployed. And since they are built in the deployed state they can be quickly built to make a pit trap more lethal, without the need for extra mechanisms. However, you will still need the mechanisms that cause your victims to fall onto the spike from above in the first place, and the pit must be more than 1 z level deep for the spikes to cause damage.

:*Shortcut {{k|b}} {{k|T}} {{k|S}}
:*Components used: between 1 and 10 spears or spikes.

==Other Traps==
You can create even more elaborate traps with imaginative use of pits, {{L|pressure plate}}s, {{L|lever}}s, {{L|grate}}s, {{L|support}}s, {{L|water}}, and/or {{L|magma}}, creating sacrificial altars (blood for the Blood God!) and whatever else you can think of. Watching those goblins try to find a way out of your drowning chamber as it begins to fill is really quite satisfying. These are best made in a large, repeatable mass killing way. If you make a trap that kills 10 or so goblins that only works once and you have to rebuild it, wasting time you don't have during a {{L|siege}}, then you're not trying hard enough.

==See Also==
*{{L|Trap design}}

{{buildings}}

v0.31:Forgotten beast

2010-11-29T02:04:03Z

Celem:

{{quality|Masterwork|11:32, 2 October 2010 (UTC)}}{{AV}}
{{minorspoiler}}

''In the deep, there are beasts so fell and terrible, that only they know what they are, for none who have met them have lived to tell of it... they are the Forgotten Beasts, born of the chaos from before the world's birth... they have waited, brooding in the dark places of the world... and now... by digging too deep... we have awakened them.''
::--From the Bay12 Games Forums

'''Forgotten Beasts''' are subterranean {{L|Titan}}s; Forgotten Beasts are, essentially, randomized creatures (or procedurally generated for you fancy big-city developer types) composed from a variety of material types, creature bodies / limbs and other additions. These other additions include everything from venomous stings to flame breath.

The venom of a forgotten beast is randomly generated also, along with the symptoms, along with its [[Syndrome#Breath_attacks|breath attack]] if it has one. Venom attacks come in a variety of forms, from boiling ichor to trailing dust, and the effects can range from mild pain to complete and instantaneous necrosis or paralysis. Some forms of venom can spread from spatters and contact with your dwarves, eventually infecting your entire fort. Decontaminating your soldiers in shallow running water is one way to deal with this problem.

The number of forgotten beasts cannot be controlled directly, but is influenced by the size of the world. They dwell most often in caverns. All appear to be {{L|building destroyer}}s, and are almost entirely immune to {{L|trap}}s (They are trapavoid and nostun but can be caged if a web is on the cage trap). {{L|Bridge}}s are also less useful, as they cannot be raised or lowered as long as the beast is standing on (or under) them, preventing the traditional {{L|magma}} pit / {{L|dwarven atom smasher}} designs from working. This is probably one of [[Toady One]]'s ways of making the encounters even more {{L|fun}}.

Most forgotten beasts can be butchered. Some are quite massive and may leave you with hundreds of meat and bone units and dozens of prepared organ units. Some are not.

When a forgotten beast appears, the game pauses and you will get a message. 
[[Image:DF2010ForgottenBeast1.png]]

If you need to kill a Forgotten Beast, order your military to move to the location of the beast. Some beasts however are content not to path to your fortress and will stay dormant underground.

* Some Forgotten Beasts whose bodies are made of liquid or gas die or lose limbs on the first hit; in previous versions, these FBs were effectively immortal. Version 0.31.09 changed "made material-based random headless beasts killable" (by combat). That includes randomly generated Titans too.
* Other Forgotten Beasts are extremely difficult to kill due to some body compositions, such as being made of "grime and filth" or very hard materials. When confronted with such near-invulnerable creatures the only option is usually to use your brain and try to lock it away somehow. Walls stop them. If you can put it in a pit, a clever trapmaker can feed it invaders.
* One method of defeating nearly combat-invulnerable Forgotten Beasts (those whose bodies are made of rock, for instance) is to cause a {{L|Cave-in}} on top of them. They'll be killed by dropping either natural or constructed walls on them.

{{Category|Megabeasts}}

v0.31:Forgotten beast

2010-11-29T02:03:36Z

Celem: added web note for caging fb's

{{quality|Masterwork|11:32, 2 October 2010 (UTC)}}{{AV}}
{{minorspoiler}}

''In the deep, there are beasts so fell and terrible, that only they know what they are, for none who have met them have lived to tell of it... they are the Forgotten Beasts, born of the chaos from before the world's birth... they have waited, brooding in the dark places of the world... and now... by digging too deep... we have awakened them.''
::--From the Bay12 Games Forums

'''Forgotten Beasts''' are subterranean {{L|Titan}}s; Forgotten Beasts are, essentially, randomized creatures (or procedurally generated for you fancy big-city developer types) composed from a variety of material types, creature bodies / limbs and other additions. These other additions include everything from venomous stings to flame breath.

The venom of a forgotten beast is randomly generated also, along with the symptoms, along with its [[Syndrome#Breath_attacks|breath attack]] if it has one. Venom attacks come in a variety of forms, from boiling ichor to trailing dust, and the effects can range from mild pain to complete and instantaneous necrosis or paralysis. Some forms of venom can spread from spatters and contact with your dwarves, eventually infecting your entire fort. Decontaminating your soldiers in shallow running water is one way to deal with this problem.

The number of forgotten beasts cannot be controlled directly, but is influenced by the size of the world. They dwell most often in caverns. All appear to be {{L|building destroyer}}s, and are almost entirely immune to {{L|trap}}s (They are trapavoid and nostun but can be caged if web is on the cage trap). {{L|Bridge}}s are also less useful, as they cannot be raised or lowered as long as the beast is standing on (or under) them, preventing the traditional {{L|magma}} pit / {{L|dwarven atom smasher}} designs from working. This is probably one of [[Toady One]]'s ways of making the encounters even more {{L|fun}}.

Most forgotten beasts can be butchered. Some are quite massive and may leave you with hundreds of meat and bone units and dozens of prepared organ units. Some are not.

When a forgotten beast appears, the game pauses and you will get a message. 
[[Image:DF2010ForgottenBeast1.png]]

If you need to kill a Forgotten Beast, order your military to move to the location of the beast. Some beasts however are content not to path to your fortress and will stay dormant underground.

* Some Forgotten Beasts whose bodies are made of liquid or gas die or lose limbs on the first hit; in previous versions, these FBs were effectively immortal. Version 0.31.09 changed "made material-based random headless beasts killable" (by combat). That includes randomly generated Titans too.
* Other Forgotten Beasts are extremely difficult to kill due to some body compositions, such as being made of "grime and filth" or very hard materials. When confronted with such near-invulnerable creatures the only option is usually to use your brain and try to lock it away somehow. Walls stop them. If you can put it in a pit, a clever trapmaker can feed it invaders.
* One method of defeating nearly combat-invulnerable Forgotten Beasts (those whose bodies are made of rock, for instance) is to cause a {{L|Cave-in}} on top of them. They'll be killed by dropping either natural or constructed walls on them.

{{Category|Megabeasts}}

v0.31:Site

2010-11-27T02:31:35Z

Celem: added note, can no longer embark on settlements in .18

{{quality|Tattered|08:00, 22 May 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}

'''Sites''' are inhabited locations found on regions tile adjacent to at least one non-mountain land {{L|biome}}. These include settlements of any civilization, and caves habitable by named creatures. The type of site will be represented on maps in any mode with a tile that replaces the region tile. In adventure mode, the site becomes the default arrival location for travel to that region tile. Sites acquire a history that can be viewed in Legends mode.

== Dwarf Fortresses ==

During the embark phase of Fortress Mode, sites can be seen in region and local views. Some site types can be included in the embark region namely caves or previous player fortresses (Reclaim). In the current version of DF2010 embarking on settlements is disabled. On embarking, the fortress becomes a site of the size and location chosen.

Abandoned fortresses are displayed on the map as Ruins.

{{World}}

[[Category:World]]

v0.31:Currency

2010-11-27T02:20:00Z

Celem: added note on coins in 2010

{{quality|Tattered|20:53, 16 August 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}

The game's currency is measured in "☼", called "dwarfbucks" or "db's" by some players.

Aside from "dwarfbucks" physical coins can be minted at the metalsmiths forge using a single metal bar and one unit of fuel. Each bar produces 500 coins which have a total value based on which metal they were made from. For example 500 gold coins have a value of 300☼ whereas 500 silver coins have a value of 100☼. Coins have their own stockpile p->n with which bins can be used to store 6 stacks of coins (3000 total). Coins are named based on the year they are minted and the name of your fortress e.g Thidalsokt 108 Gold coins. The coins also depict scenes like statues.

Unlike other crafted metal items coins do not seem to have a value modifier based on quality(verify?)



Coins are intended for use with the dwarven economy. Basically dwarves are paid for work and then pay for their room and to buy new posessions with coins as the currency.

The dwarven economy is not currently implemented in DF2010 (this written 31.18) and as such coins serve no purpose.

v0.31:Freezing

2010-11-27T02:16:04Z

Celem: /* Freezing Water */

v0.31:Freezing

2010-11-27T02:15:44Z

Celem: /* Freezing Water */

v0.31:Freezing

2010-11-27T02:13:26Z

Celem:

v0.31:Freezing

2010-11-27T02:13:04Z

Celem: added freezing mechanism for water

{{av}}{{quality|Tattered}}



= Freezing Water =
Water in Dwarf Fortress can freeze to become ice if the temperature is low enough and the water is exposed to the air.

1/7 of water freezes to become an ice floor
2/7 or greater of water freezes to become an ice wall (cube) which will return 7/7 water when melted.

== Melting ==
Ice can melt when the temperature rises as part of the natural cycle of seasons, some biomes may be frozen year round. Ice can also be melted by proximity to magma. A tile of magma beneath an ice tile will melt it, the same principle can be used to prevent freezing in the first place.

= Climate =

Freezing {{l|climate}}s are the coldest climates available for embarking in. Choosing to embark in one poses an interesting challenge and substantial amounts of {{l|losing|fun}}.

== Settling ==
One of the first challenges presented by a freezing climate is the lack of {{l|water}}, and instantaneous freezing of any exposed water. Water may be the hardest resource to come across, aside from trees, despite the abundance of ice chunks left behind while digging ice. Penetrating the first or so layer of ice may also prove difficult, as ice takes some time to dig. The are several ways to approach a freezing area. One of them is embarking with a {{l|volcano}} in site, utilizing the natural obsidian surrounding it to create {{l|magma-safe}} floodgates and mechanisms to effectively melt ice. {{l|Ice}} can be used to create buildings and workshops, as long as they are not melted by {{l|magma}} or other various sources of heat.

== Cautions ==
While channeling ice and magma, supervise your miners to ensure they are not encased in cooling magma.

= Climate=

Freezing {{l|climate}}s are the coldest climates available for embarking in. Choosing to embark in one poses an interesting challenge and substantial amounts of {{l|losing|fun}}.

== Settling ==
One of the first challenges presented by a freezing climate is the lack of {{l|water}}, and instantaneous freezing of any exposed water. Water may be the hardest resource to come across, aside from trees, despite the abundance of ice chunks left behind while digging ice. Penetrating the first or so layer of ice may also prove difficult, as ice takes some time to dig. The are several ways to approach a freezing area. One of them is embarking with a {{l|volcano}} in site, utilizing the natural obsidian surrounding it to create {{l|magma-safe}} floodgates and mechanisms to effectively melt ice. {{l|Ice}} can be used to create buildings and workshops, as long as they are not melted by {{l|magma}} or other various sources of heat.

== Cautions ==
While channeling ice and magma, supervise your miners to ensure they are not encased in cooling magma.