Editing v0.34:Pit trap

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{{quality|Masterwork|02:19, 10 May 2012 (UTC)}}

A pit trap is a type of large and extremely effective [[trap design|trap]]. In essence, a pit trap is a long corridor leading into your fortress from a secondary entrance, with two [[bridge]]s linked to levers on either side. It makes use of AI [[path|pathfinding]]; when you come under attack and seal off your main entrance, enemies will look for any additional paths, and find one in your "detour". They will then walk in, and as soon as they cross the first bridge, you pull both levers to raise the bridges and trap the creatures inside. This is one hundred percent effective: raised bridges act as [[construction|constructed]]ed walls, and thus cannot be destroyed by [[building destroyer]]s. This works equally well both above and below ground, and only takes some mining, some masonry, some architecture, and six mechanisms (two for the levers and four for the links).

Although you can just leave a pitted foe as is, it's much more fun and dwarfy to turn them into something useful. A pitted goblin [[siege]] or [[titan]] can be used in a large variety of ways, all of them violent. Note that this is a distinct idea from [[mass pitting]], although one can certainly lead into the other...

== Militaristic amenities ==
If you build a bridge in the middle and a second detour, you can trap two enemies with one trap. Simply lower the middle bridge and watch with satisfaction as the remnants of last month's goblin siege fight for their lives against a bloodthristy [[hydra]]. To winner goes next month's elven caravan!

You can also use it for [[unfortunate accident|organic waste disposal]]. The more amusing way to do this is to build a bridge so that it can fling useless nobles through a hole in the roof into the dragon's mouth, but the easier way to do it is to build a small holding room, draft them into their own little squad, tell them to move to that point, close the gate behind them, and then let whatever's inside have at it.

A pit with [[fortification]]s constructed or dug into its sides can be used for training your [[marksdwarf|marksdwarves]] on live targets, provided whatever is inside doesn't have a ranged attack of its own. Simply order them to move in behind the fortifications, and they will render whatever is inside into bloody pincushions. If it's something really big, even better; you may want to temporarily ban your military from metal [[bolt]]s, as weaker wooden and bone bolts means more shots to kill and thus more experience. As crossbow skill cannot be trained with [[danger room]]s, a pitted stone or metal [[titan]] is thus a blessing to a properly equipped fortress, as they can be pelted with bolts for a very, very long time.

A pit with fortifications constructed or dug into it from the back can be used to train your siege operators. A couple of floodgates leading into your fortress from the side of the room is fine, and will not block the view of a stack of idle [[ballista]]s at the end. This works much like marksdwarf training, except that it such quicker - when the shots actually connect, of course. It also works against everything, as siege equipment has a longer reach then any ranged attack, and is thus (usually) safe to use against enemy bowmen and the like.

All of these design ideas can be combined to build one truly all-purpose trap!

== Drowning chambers ==
[[Drowning chamber]]s are basically just extra-fancy pit traps that can be filled with [[water]] (or [[magma]]) to drown (or melt) you assailants. A large drowning chamber is a bit of a [[megaproject]], and is a more complicated alternative to a military pit. It's a big enough topic to warrant its own, separate article.
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-{{Quality|Exceptional|13:12, 4 March 2014 (UTC)}}
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+{{quality|Masterwork|02:19, 10 May 2012 (UTC)}}
-{{Projects}}
+A pit trap is a type of large and extremely effective [[trap design|trap]]. In essence, a pit trap is a long corridor leading into your fortress from a secondary entrance, with two [[bridge]]s linked to levers on either side. It makes use of AI [[path|pathfinding]]; when you come under attack and seal off your main entrance, enemies will look for any additional paths, and find one in your "detour". They will then walk in, and as soon as they cross the first bridge, you pull both levers to raise the bridges and trap the creatures inside. This is one hundred percent effective: raised bridges act as [[construction|constructed]]ed walls, and thus cannot be destroyed by [[building destroyer]]s. This works equally well both above and below ground, and only takes some mining, some masonry, some architecture, and six mechanisms (two for the levers and four for the links).
-A pit trap is a type of large and extremely effective [[trap design|trap]]. In essence, a pit trap is a multiple z-level drop with optional nasty surprises waiting at the bottom. Retracting [[bridge]]s can be used to drop enemies to their doom; raising bridges can lob them in from afar. Fluid [[flow]] can wash your enemies into your pit, while [[weapon trap]]s and marksdwarves can convince enemies to dodge right on in. A barrage of [[minecart]]s can also motivate your foes to experience the wonders at the bottom of your trap.
+Although you can just leave a pitted foe as is, it's much more fun and dwarfy to turn them into something useful. A pitted goblin [[siege]] or [[titan]] can be used in a large variety of ways, all of them violent. Note that this is a distinct idea from [[mass pitting]], although one can certainly lead into the other...
-Pit traps are sadly ineffective against [[flying]] enemies, and [[list of creatures by adult size#bridge|"large"]] enemies are immune to bridge-traps (but can still be pitted by other means).
+== Militaristic amenities ==
+If you build a bridge in the middle and a second detour, you can trap two enemies with one trap. Simply lower the middle bridge and watch with satisfaction as the remnants of last month's goblin siege fight for their lives against a bloodthristy [[hydra]]. To winner goes next month's elven caravan!
-Although you can just leave a captured foe as is, it's much more fun and dwarfy to turn them into something useful. A pitted goblin [[siege]] or [[titan]] can be used in a large variety of ways, all of them violent. Note that this is a distinct idea from [[mass pitting]], although one can certainly lead into the other.
+You can also use it for [[unfortunate accident|organic waste disposal]]. The more amusing way to do this is to build a bridge so that it can fling useless nobles through a hole in the roof into the dragon's mouth, but the easier way to do it is to build a small holding room, draft them into their own little squad, tell them to move to that point, close the gate behind them, and then let whatever's inside have at it.
-The nature of a pit trap means that you can simply keep dropping more visitors in. Any current occupants may suffer injury from falling arrivals; the new arrivals, meanwhile, suffer the falling damage. When you combine different enemy forces, the survivors will likely fight to be lord of the pit.
+A pit with [[fortification]]s constructed or dug into its sides can be used for training your [[marksdwarf|marksdwarves]] on live targets, provided whatever is inside doesn't have a ranged attack of its own. Simply order them to move in behind the fortifications, and they will render whatever is inside into bloody pincushions. If it's something really big, even better; you may want to temporarily ban your military from metal [[bolt]]s, as weaker wooden and bone bolts means more shots to kill and thus more experience. As crossbow skill cannot be trained with [[danger room]]s, a pitted stone or metal [[titan]] is thus a blessing to a properly equipped fortress, as they can be pelted with bolts for a very, very long time.
-You can also use it for [[unfortunate accident|organic waste disposal]]. Your own dwarves will gleefully march across bridges and along precarious drops. If your pit trap should happen to engage while a [[noble]] is leading a group of legendary [[cheese maker]]s across, just consider it an in-depth inspection.
+A pit with fortifications constructed or dug into it from the back can be used to train your siege operators. A couple of floodgates leading into your fortress from the side of the room is fine, and will not block the view of a stack of idle [[ballista]]s at the end. This works much like marksdwarf training, except that it such quicker - when the shots actually connect, of course. It also works against everything, as siege equipment has a longer reach then any ranged attack, and is thus (usually) safe to use against enemy bowmen and the like.
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-''A simple pit trap''
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-== Improvements ==
-Once your visitors have graciously volunteered to enter your pit, you'll want to have some fun surprises for them. Lining the floor of your pit with the [[density|heaviest]] material you can find will maximize falling damage; if your pit is deep enough creatures may explode upon impact. Pit traps naturally make great [[drowning chamber]]s, but, if you've got some spare [[magma]], why not entomb your enemies in [[obsidian]]? Install some lever-operated [[spike]]s and perforate your captives. Add some raising bridges and fling your enemies around. Drop in some spare socks and crack some skulls. Install flammable floor [[grate]]s and light the floor on fire. Add [[syndrome]]-inducing creatures or extracts. Add a [[necromancer]] on a balcony and watch siegers battle their departed kin. Or introduce your captives to the denizens of the deepest depths.
-A pit with [[fortification]]s constructed or dug into its sides can be used for training your [[marksdwarf|marksdwarves]] on live targets, provided whatever is inside doesn't have a ranged attack of its own. Simply order them to move in behind the fortifications, and they will render whatever is inside into bloody pincushions. If it's something really big, even better; you may want to temporarily ban your military from [[metal]] [[bolt]]s, as weaker [[wood]]en and [[bone]] bolts means more shots are needed to kill and thus more [[experience]]. Because the crossbow [[skill]] cannot be trained with [[danger room]]s, a pitted [[stone]] or metal [[titan]] is a blessing to a properly equipped fortress, as they can be pelted with wooden bolts for eternity without suffering any ill effects.
-A pit with fortifications constructed or dug into the sides can also be used to train your siege operators. This works much like marksdwarf training, except that it slower and less effective. It does work against ranged attackers, though, since siege equipment has a longer reach, and is thus (usually) safe to use against enemy bowmen and the like from a good distance away.
 All of these design ideas can be combined to build one truly all-purpose trap!
+== Drowning chambers ==
-{{TipBox2|titlebg=#c00|textbg=#ffd|Warning!|Use care when combining a pit trap that has fortifications with a drowning chamber. It might be obvious to some, but sometimes players overlook this kind of detail, resulting in a very aquatic [[fun]] experience.}}
+[[Drowning chamber]]s are basically just extra-fancy pit traps that can be filled with [[water]] (or [[magma]]) to drown (or melt) you assailants. A large drowning chamber is a bit of a [[megaproject]], and is a more complicated alternative to a military pit. It's a big enough topic to warrant its own, separate article.
-{{Category|Fortress defense}}
-{{Category|Design}}