Dwarf Fortress Wiki - User contributions [en]

Channel

2016-07-11T14:59:34Z

Twredfish: Added a fourth option to make rampless channels.

{{av}}{{Quality|Exceptional|10:51, 16 June 2010 (UTC)}}
A '''channel''' is a hole dug in the ground or wall which will mine out the [[z-level]] below too. The [[designations menu]] can be accessed by {{K|d}} and provides the means to designate tiles for the dwarves to channel with the submenu {{K|h}}. You can use long channels to act as [[moat]]s, to move liquids such as [[water]] and [[magma]] from one point to another, and other creative purposes. With this option it is possible to either select floor tiles or wall (solid or "full") tiles. When channeled out, the floor (as well as a wall if it exists) on your layer will be removed and the tile on the layer below will be [[mine]]d out. Creating a channel could be described as "strip mining".

In layman's terms: mining an area will carve out a tunnel in the rock to crawl through, whereas channelling an area will also remove the bottom of that tunnel and make a second tunnel one level below, creating a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench trench] of sorts.

Digging a channel creates a [[ramp]] on the level below (indicated by {{Raw Tile|▼|#FFFFFF|#000000}} on the current level). It can be removed with {{K-|d|z}}. Channels dug above a dug-out area will not create ramps.

A miner can channel straight down for as far as he likes. This ''will'' happen even if you don't intend it - the dwarf will walk down into the channel he's just made, and dig the next channel down, seemingly in preference to digging a tunnel to access that next channel from the side as perhaps you'd intended. As there is (usually) no surface adjacent to the channel, the dwarf stands atop it and digs under his feet. This can get your elevator shaft dug in a hurry, with the dwarf emerging at the bottom atop an absurdly large pile of stones. (Pity they haven't invented the elevator...). However, the miner can become seriously injured if the shaft intersects a [[cavern]] or another open area underground.

Note that, if you designate a large area for channeling, most ramps in the middle will be automatically removed while the ramps at the edges will remain to be removed manually. This allows you to very quickly build large artificial lakes.

----

Some notes on dealing with channels:

'''Removing ramps''':
[[Image:Rampremoval.png|thumb|154px|Support and floor collapse removing a ramp (cross section). Not shown: clouds of lethal dust and a hole punched through to your dining area]]

:If you want a channel with no exits at all, then you will have difficulty, as dwarves will only be able to remove the exit stairs/ramps from inside the channel. The easy option is to wall off a separate exit area.

:If this offends your aesthetic sense and you are willing to go to the effort, there is another solution: Make a constructed ramp to get your miners out, then collapse a tile of constructed floor to reduce the ramp to rubble (which you can then hide).

:Another way to create a channel with no exit is to use a staircase in the center of the moat not adjacent to the edge but accessible by a floor tile or a bridge. Remove, raise or accordingly retract it after your last miner has left.

:Most types of constructed stairs or ramps can also be removed, with more style, by flooding the channel with [[magma]]. If the channel is flooded (1/7) depth or less, the magma will eventually evaporate, leaving behind an empty channel.

'''Preventing channel access''':
[[Image:Safechannel.png|thumb|154px|The miner will not be able to access the ramp from a floor tile (cross section)]]

:You will sometimes want to dig a channel without risking your dwarves entering it (e.g. [[fun]] with [[magma]]). This can be achieved if you (ab)use the ramp access rules. If the tiles adjacent to the critical channeling tile are either impassable or have empty space below, then the ramp will not be accessible after being dug, so your dwarf will remain safely on the upper level.
[[Image:Unsafechannel.png|thumb|154px|A solid tile allows the miner to reach the level below (cross section)]]

'''Be careful of cave-ins'''
:Unsupervised channeling of large areas tends to cause cave-ins. Like a cartoon character that unthinkingly saws the branch he's sitting in, your dwarves will happily punch through the only remaining wall or floor supporting the area he's standing on. This can ''mostly'' be avoided by mining from the top down, one level at a time, but when channeling floors that have already been mined under, further micromanagement may be needed.

{{Translation
| dwarven = catten
| elvish = teze
| goblin = osnaz
| human = innah
}}

{{category|designations}}

Legendary artifact

2016-07-11T14:35:37Z

Twredfish: Doors and hatches are furniture, note weapons.

{{av}}
{{Quality|Exceptional|18:18, 13 March 2012 (UTC)}}

[[File:Announce.png|thumb|right|500px|Example of an [[announcement]]...announcing...the creation of a legendary artifact: in this case, a glorified [[millstone]].]]
Dwarves in [[strange mood]]s will create '''legendary artifacts''': unique, "named" [[item]]s which are of unsurpassable [[Item quality|quality]] (and often [[value]] as well). An artifact is the ultimate expression of a [[dwarf]]'s desires, fears, memories and hopes in art form, and each dwarf will produce at most one in their lives (or [[insanity|die]] trying). Dwarves that create an artifact immediately gain enough [[experience]] to boost them to [[legendary]] level in the affected [[Strange mood#Skills and workshops|skill]], unless they were [[Strange mood#Possessed|possessed]].

Dwarves drop artifacts in the [[workshop]] as soon as they are made. They cannot be traded, but most can be used just like any item of its type. A list of all artifacts in the fortress can be seen by pressing {{k|L}} ({{k|l}} in version 0.40).

== Uses ==
Artifacts are normally of extremely high [[value]] and [[quality]], and can be used just like normal items of their type; they're therefore extremely useful in any situation where value or quality are important. Note that material and weight calculations still apply, so an artifact sword made of dingo bone or an artifact breast plate made of gold are not going to be overwhelmingly powerful.

=== Furniture ===
Artifact [[door]]s and [[hatch]]es provide indestructible, instantly lockable gates.

Artifact [[furniture]] of high value can be placed in [[room]]s to greatly increase the room's value (and hence quality), which can be useful to meet the room quality requirements of [[noble]]s. They can also be placed in high traffic areas of the fort, so that dwarves that pass by (or over) them will get happy [[thought]]s from admiring them. Artifact [[mechanism]]s can be turned into [[lever]]s and [[trap]]s, which count as furniture.

Certain artifact types (barrels, buckets, mechanisms, etc.) can be used as components in some buildings; doing so will multiply the artifact's effect on fortress value.

=== Weapons ===
Artifact weapons get a large ×3 quality bonus to their weapon accuracy and armor deflection values (compared to ×2 to masterwork); this is not enough to make totally inappropriate materials competitive with [[steel]] masterwork equipment. Also note that while they will be half again more accurate, artifact blades do not have a sharper edge than masterwork items of their material; in other words, their material type modifiers remain unchanged, and they will do no more damage than a regular item of their type (though they will never dull.)

Artifact [[weapon]]s (if not being used in the military) can be put into a [[trap#Weapon Trap|weapon trap]], which will make it count as valuable [[furniture]].

=== Finished Goods ===
[[File:Artifact Storage.png|thumb|right|300px|Finished goods are not particularly useful, only adding to your [[wealth]] (and all of the things that entails). This bin is clutter for the fortress, but any and every thief's dream score, an object of worship for three different [[kobold]] [[civilization]]s.]]
An artifact [[gem]] is called a perfect gem and functions the same as a large gem, having all the same uses, i.e., none. However, unlike large gems, you can't trade artifact gems, and is therefore only useful for adding created wealth.

Artifact [[finished goods]] solely add to value of your fortress, or they can be traded in Adventurer Mode. A simple mod adds [[Modification:display case|display cases]] to showcase otherwise unusable artifacts and increase your fortress's room values and displayed wealth.

=== Cages ===

Artifact cages and animal traps are unique in that they are capable of containing '''any''' type of vermin creature without them ever escaping - by comparison, certain types of vermin can gnaw, fly, or immolate their way out of ordinary cages depending on their materials.

== Adventure Mode ==

Artifacts can include books written by historical figures. Where they are stored is recorded during worldgen, and can be discovered in Legends mode.

== Other notes ==
Sometimes dwarves will grow particularly attached to [[weapon]]s and [[armor]], and if they become attached enough, they will name their armor/weapons. The armor/weapon will then be listed as an artifact, although its value and effectiveness will remain the same.

What causes dwarves to name their weapons is unknown - time alone will suffice (though it may take a very long time), but slaying an important historical figure such as a [[forgotten beast]] will often be enough. A weapon having a long kill list will also contribute to its naming. A weapon or piece of armor (even a shield) may be named if it only had a single kill.

After the weapon has been named, it will become fixed{{verify}} to the dwarf that named it. It then becomes impossible to melt. If the dwarf dies, the weapon will be forbidden for use, until all dwarves that slayed something with that particular weapon (according to its kill list) at any given moment (before and after its naming) are properly buried in a coffin. If any of the slayers' bodies have been destroyed, the weapon cannot be used again.

Artifacts cannot be damaged by temperature extremes, building destroyers, or fire, although they will ignite and burn as is normal for their material type. They can be lost in pits, carried off the map by flows, stolen by thieves, atom-smashed by bridges, or melted by extreme heat. The loss of an artifact does not appear to affect the happiness of its creator.

After creation, an artifact cannot be further decorated (by encrusting it with gems, studding it with metal, or have images sewn into it). Your pitiful gabbro scepter cannot be made more valuable.

Artifacts disappear from the artifact list upon abandoning a fortress.

Artifact creation has a wider selection of possible item types for several skills, occasionally resulting in artifact items that could not be made normally, like bone shields or metal beds.

Artifacts and their mechanics were the topic of [[Main:Dwarf Fortress Talk|Dwarf Fortress Talk]] [http://www.bay12games.com/media/df_talk_7_transcript.html #7]. The future of artifacts was discussed in a [http://www.bay12games.com/media/df_talk_7_transcript_2.html separate portion] of that cast.

Artifacts can be disabled in [[d_init.txt]]

Artifacts created by happy dwarves (i.e. not fell or macabre moods) have a 1% chance to be named after the dwarf who created them.

{{Category|Items}}
{{Category|Lore}}

v0.34:Arms industry

2013-08-20T19:07:24Z

Twredfish: Undo revision 191555 by Twredfish (talk) Whoops, read it wrong.

{{quality|Superior|20:33, 17 April 2013 (UTC)}}{{av}}

The '''arms industry''' deals with the production and processing of [[weapon]]s and [[ammunition]]. As with other [[Industry|industries]], it deals with the use of raw materials to create usable items.

== Getting Started ==

To create a decent arms industry, you will need weapon-grade [[metal]] [[bar]]s, an [[anvil]], and a source of [[fuel]] (either [[coke]] or [[magma]]). Anvils can be purchased at embark, or traded from most [[caravan]]s, while [[tree]]s (for [[charcoal]]) and [[magma]] are generally quite plentiful on most maps. When selecting a site, the game will inform you if one or more metals are available, but not if the metal is suitable for use in weapons and armor. Should your chosen site only have vast deposits of [[gold]] and [[bismuthinite]], your arms production will be severely limited.

The first step to establishing your arms industry is to build a [[smelter]] and a [[forge]] or [[magma forge]].

== Creating Melee Weapons ==

Effective melee [[weapon]]s are made of metal. Metal weapons require a single bar of weapons-grade metals such as [[copper]], [[iron]], [[steel]], [[bronze]], [[silver]], and [[bismuth bronze]], or several wafers of [[adamantine]]. Metal weapons are made at a [[forge]] or [[magma forge]] by a [[weaponsmith]].

Note that weapon [[quality]] influences effectiveness - a skilled weaponsmith is quite valuable.

Wooden training weapons can be made at a [[carpenter's workshop]] by a [[carpenter]].

== Creating Ranged Weapons ==

The only ranged weapon suitable for production by dwarves is the [[crossbow]]. Crossbows can be made out of weapons-grade metal, [[bone]], and [[wood]]. Wood and bone crossbows are created at a [[bowyer's workshop]] with the bowyer skill, while metal crossbows are created at a [[forge]] or a [[magma forge]] with the weaponsmithing skill.

Crossbows fire [[bolt]]s, created out of wood or bone at a [[craftsdwarf's workshop]], or out of metal at a [[forge]]. One bar of metal or pile of wood will give 25 bolts, while one bone will give 5 bolts.

The [[material]] of a ranged weapon is of use only when in melee combat, since crossbows function as hammers in such instances. For purely ranged use, the quality of the bow is much more important than its material.

== Tips ==

* Low-value metals like [[copper]] and [[bronze]] are great for training your weaponsmith, and the resulting goods can be [[trade]]d to a [[caravan]] for supplies, including raw materials for more arms production.
*Blunt weapons are effective with almost any type of metal; making [[war hammer]]s out of copper, bronze, iron or silver is a good use for these low-grade materials. Dwarven science advances have, however, determined that [[silver]] is, due to its high density, the best material against non-metal opponents.
* Weaponsmiths produce higher-quality results when working with a metal they [[preference|prefer]]. Choosing a weaponsmith with a preference for [[adamantine]] (and [[axe]]s or [[sword]]s, if possible) will result in very high quality adamantine weapons.

{{Category|Industry}}
{{Industry}}

v0.34:Arms industry

2013-08-20T19:05:25Z

Twredfish: /* Creating Ranged Weapons */

{{quality|Superior|20:33, 17 April 2013 (UTC)}}{{av}}

The '''arms industry''' deals with the production and processing of [[weapon]]s and [[ammunition]]. As with other [[Industry|industries]], it deals with the use of raw materials to create usable items.

== Getting Started ==

To create a decent arms industry, you will need weapon-grade [[metal]] [[bar]]s, an [[anvil]], and a source of [[fuel]] (either [[coke]] or [[magma]]). Anvils can be purchased at embark, or traded from most [[caravan]]s, while [[tree]]s (for [[charcoal]]) and [[magma]] are generally quite plentiful on most maps. When selecting a site, the game will inform you if one or more metals are available, but not if the metal is suitable for use in weapons and armor. Should your chosen site only have vast deposits of [[gold]] and [[bismuthinite]], your arms production will be severely limited.

The first step to establishing your arms industry is to build a [[smelter]] and a [[forge]] or [[magma forge]].

== Creating Melee Weapons ==

Effective melee [[weapon]]s are made of metal. Metal weapons require a single bar of weapons-grade metals such as [[copper]], [[iron]], [[steel]], [[bronze]], [[silver]], and [[bismuth bronze]], or several wafers of [[adamantine]]. Metal weapons are made at a [[forge]] or [[magma forge]] by a [[weaponsmith]].

Note that weapon [[quality]] influences effectiveness - a skilled weaponsmith is quite valuable.

Wooden training weapons can be made at a [[carpenter's workshop]] by a [[carpenter]].

== Creating Ranged Weapons ==

The only ranged weapon suitable for production by dwarves is the [[crossbow]]. Crossbows can be made out of weapons-grade metal, [[bone]], and [[wood]]. Wood and bone crossbows are created at a [[bowyer's workshop]] with the bowyer skill, while metal crossbows are created at a [[forge]] or a [[magma forge]] with the weaponsmithing skill.

Crossbows fire [[bolt]]s, created out of wood or bone at a [[craftsdwarf's workshop]], or out of metal at a [[forge]]. Bolt material [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=116151.30 does not appear to affect damage.] One bar of metal or pile of wood will give 25 bolts, while one bone will give 5 bolts.

The [[material]] of a ranged weapon is of use only when in melee combat, since crossbows function as hammers in such instances. For purely ranged use, the quality of the bow is much more important than its material.

== Tips ==

* Low-value metals like [[copper]] and [[bronze]] are great for training your weaponsmith, and the resulting goods can be [[trade]]d to a [[caravan]] for supplies, including raw materials for more arms production.
*Blunt weapons are effective with almost any type of metal; making [[war hammer]]s out of copper, bronze, iron or silver is a good use for these low-grade materials. Dwarven science advances have, however, determined that [[silver]] is, due to its high density, the best material against non-metal opponents.
* Weaponsmiths produce higher-quality results when working with a metal they [[preference|prefer]]. Choosing a weaponsmith with a preference for [[adamantine]] (and [[axe]]s or [[sword]]s, if possible) will result in very high quality adamantine weapons.

{{Category|Industry}}
{{Industry}}

v0.34:Ramp

2013-08-20T18:53:19Z

Twredfish: /* Movement Using Ramps */

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

A '''ramp''' is a map feature that allows dwarves, [[wagon]]s, and other [[creature]]s to move between levels. When viewed with {{k|k}} they are called '''slopes''', and they occur naturally on most maps, acting as hillsides. Dwarves may make them by digging with {{k|d}} + {{k|r}} from below or with {{k|d}} + {{k|h}} from above, or construction with {{k|b}} + {{k|C}} + {{k|r}}.

Ramps are the only way that [[wagon]]s can move between levels in order to access a [[trade depot]]. Unless you build your depot above ground or set into a cliff, you will probably have to create ramps to allow access to it.

Ramps are shown with the ▲ symbol (pointing "up"). The space above a ramp is shown as a ▼ and called a "downward slope". A downward slope is not an independent feature (as opposed to a downward stair), but rather a counterpoint to the upward slope below it; it functions otherwise as open space -- the ▼ symbol is more of a display nicety than a type of terrain. When the rest of this article refers to ramps, the upward (▲) space is meant.

Note that ramps function similarly to [[floor]]s in that units can walk on them without any problems, even if they are over open space. They will also support adjacent buildings.

== Movement Using Ramps ==

[[File:invalidramp.png|200px|thumb|right|'''Example A:''' An unusable ramp]]

For the purposes of unit movement, a ramp connects the ramp bottom to the '''tops of walls adjacent to the ramp bottom'''. So unlike stairs, where a dwarf moves directly up or down, a dwarf moving via a ramp will change both horizontal and vertical location in a single move. This can make it seem like a ramp has "direction" or "flow" by itself, but in fact this depends entirely on the spaces adjacent to the ramp.

More formally, for a creature to use a ramp, all of the following are necessary:

# The space directly above the ramp must be open.
# The ramp must have a wall next to it (including diagonals)
# The space above at least one of the adjacent walls must be open.

If these conditions are met, creatures will be able to move back and forth between the ramp space and the walkable space above the adjacent wall. Otherwise, the ramp will be labeled as "Unusable" when examined using the Loo{{K|k}} cursor.

'''Example A''' shows a situation where a ramp might be created that is actually unusable. Dwarves cannot ascend or descend (or cross) the ramp as shown because the walkable spaces above the ramp are not walled underneath, therefore dwarves cannot move between the ramp bottom and the spaces by the top of the ramp. If walls were added under the upper floor spaces, the ramp would become usable.

'''Note:''' [[Fortification|Fortifications]] CAN be used by ramps as the adjacent 'wall', provided those fortifications have walkable space above them (which would apply to all carved out fortifications, or those constructed with additional flooring).

Finally, wagons follow a completely different set of movement rules on ramps. This can be <s>exploited</s> used to create [[Wagon#Wagon-only_entrances|separate paths for wagons and other (walking) creatures]], for example to allow wagons to proceed directly to a depot while directing all other visitors through a trap filled maze.

{{Template:-}}

== Creating Ramps ==

Dwarves may [[construction|construct]] ramps out of building materials such as [[stone]], [[wood]], [[block]]s, and [[bar]]s, but it is more common to dig them from natural walls (see [[mining]]).

Digging ramps can be accomplished in two ways. Dwarves can carve ramps from adjacent spaces on the same z-level, and dwarves can [[channel]] from above, which will carve a ramp out of the natural wall below (if any). In both cases the space and floor above the ramp will be carved out as well to make an open space.

Note that dwarves will happily dig out or construct ramps that are not immediately usable. Check the criteria above if dwarves do not seem to be using the ramps they have made.

== Collapse ==

Natural or carved ramps that are adjacent to [[wall]]s will collapse (disappear) if those walls are mined out. This can strand dwarves, so be careful when removing walls near those ramps. In addition, trying to carve a ramp under something that cannot be dug out (such as a [[construction]], [[building]], or [[tree]]) will result a slope, but leave the upper floor intact. This may create a [[cave-in]] situation dangerous to your miners.

Constructed ramps will not collapse, and it is possible to create carved free-standing ramps as well, but the ramps will still not be usable without adjacent walls.

== Removing Ramps ==

Natural and carved ramps can be destroyed via the designation menu using the Remove Up Stairs/Ramps selection ({{k|d}} -> {{k|z}}, using the ingame interface). Like the selection says, only upwards slopes (and carved stairs) can be removed in such a manner, and only from the same level as the (upward) ramp. Selecting a downwards ramp in such a manner has no effect, and removing the upward ramp will automatically remove the downward ramp designation from the level above, replacing it with "open space". Ramps at the edge of the map cannot be removed this way.

Constructed ramps can be removed like any other construction via the designation menu with the Remove Construction selection ({{k|d}} -> {{k|n}}, using the ingame interface).

== Ramps Versus Stairways ==

As explained above, ramps have important limitations, but if constructed correctly they can allow slightly faster movement than stairways. For example, if a dwarf wants to go down and to the north using a stairway, it will have to take two steps: one step down a stairway and one step to the north. Going to the same place using a ramp only requires 1 step. Walking up or down a ramp has the same movement cost as walking on level ground.

== Ramps and Channeling ==

In previous versions, ramps were considered preferable to a large amount of channeling, since they would remove the floor above. However, in 2010, most situations with channeling will create a ramp instead of just open space.

However, channeling a single pillar of stone, or a floor without stone or dirt wall beneath, will still cause open space, and this can cause injuries to your [[miner]]s.

{{Buildings}}
{{Category|Constructions}}
{{Category|Designations}}

v0.34:Security design

2013-08-20T18:47:27Z

Twredfish: /* Forced Detour */

{{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==
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. 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?<sup>Needs testing</sup>
** 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.<sup>Probably not.</sup>
* 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===

Build a [[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.

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 [[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__║___ ║.║ ║...║ ╬++B╬ ·+++·
<...... ║.║ ╚═══╝ ╬╬╬╬╬ ·····
(Fortress->)

This can hold 3 archers/side, and has the potential to be as many "archer levels" tall as you wish. The fortification in the center of the building prevents low-level archers from standing there (since they are unable to fire through any non-adjacent fortifications) while allowing high-level archers a full 360 field of fire. Including a [[bed]] allows the room to be designated as a [[barracks]], so your marksdwarves can train while serving as lookouts and defending your fortress. Adding [[bridge]]s outside the fortifications will allow you to protect your marksdwarves when an elite enemy archer threatens. Building a secure "roof" will require a temporary exterior stairway. Alternately you can build stairs at the Archer Level in place of a non-corner wall to allow roof access, then once the roof is completed remove the stairs, put a wall in its place and finally carve fortifications into it. Remember to use the "corners first" technique when necessary. (See [[40d:Mega_construction#Towers]].)

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 [[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.

=== 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.

++++++++++++++++++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}}

v0.34:Meat industry

2013-08-20T18:10:03Z

Twredfish: /* Breeding */

{{quality|Exceptional|02:40, 25 October 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}

This article is a quick guide to running a '''meat and related goods industry'''. If you decide to base your economy on such then keep in mind that the amount available depends on the breeding rate of your tame animals (how long the offspring takes to be born and mature), the spawning of wild animals, and/or the amount of meat and leather that traders bring.

Note that the meat industry involves many materials which can [[rot]] and so requires slightly more micromanagement than other [[industry|industries]].

'''Summary''': Obtain some animals; kill and [[butcher]] them to obtain [[bone]]s, (organ-)[[meat]], [[fat]], [[skull]]/[[horn]]s and [[skin|raw hide]]s; the meat can be used immediately but the hide needs to be [[tanner|tanned]] into [[leather]] and the fat needs to be processed into [[tallow]]; finally [[cook]] the tallow into a meal (or make [[soap]] with it), and craft the bones, skull, horns and leather into an end product.

== Acquisition ==
The basic units of the meat industry are its [[Animals|animals]], and there are a number of methods to acquire said animals (note that the related [[fishing industry]] is its own matter).

===Embark===
You can buy animals on [[embark]], and doing so even allows you to chose from male and female animals. Since you need only one male to [[#Breeding|breed]], an example way to kick-start your meat industry is to embark you could embark with one bull and 3 cows. Note, though, that with the exception of cats, dogs and poultry, buying animals on embark is extremely expensive. You also get two random [[Domestic animal|draft animal]]s on embark for each wagon (usually one wagon with two draft animals). These can be butchered when needed, or be kept in the hopes that [[Trade#Liaisons|traders]] or [[Immigration|immigrants]] will supply matching animals for breeding. This doesn't necessarily mean that you need to buy one: If you happen to have a female, chances are that sooner rather than later it will meet a companion among the traders' many pack animals; see [[#Breeding|breeding]], below.

=== Trading ===
As with most industry goods, you can purchase both animals and processed [[meat]] and [[leather]] from [[caravan]]s, allowing you to vary your dwarves' diet without having to establish a meat industry proper. Note however that trading will never give you [[hair]], [[horn]]s, [[skull]]s, or [[bone]]s in general. If you want to keep your [[leatherworker]]s constantly occupied, buying up caravans' (often vast) collections of leather is cheap way to get your fort [[clothing|clothed]] quickly.

It might be necessary that you request every type of leather at low priority in order to ensure the merchant comes back with a large quantity next year (they usually bring excessive amounts even if you don't). You can only buy leather from [[human]] and [[dwarf|dwarven]] caravans. [[Elf|Elven]] caravans are interesting in that they often bring a small number of tame caged animals with them, which may be useful as [[pet]]s (such as [[silvery gibbon]]s) or for defense purposes (such as [[grizzly bear]]s).

=== Hunting ===
In all but the most inhospitable of places, there will be some <s>running food</s> wildlife frolicking in the biome. An [[ambusher]] armed with a [[crossbow]] and a [[quiver]] full of [[bolts]] can and will attack these animals, cautiously approaching them ("ambushing", their speed and chances of not being noticed being dependent on their skill) before opening fire at their quarry with crossbow bolts. Hunting is a very outdoorsy activity, and will take your hunters well past where you can establish reasonable defenses; in addition hunters will occasionally do stupid things that will get them maimed, such as hunting [[lion]]s, or worse still, killed in grisly ways, such as attacking [[elephant]] families.

Upon a successful kill the dwarf will return the kill, carrying the [[corpse]] back to the nearest [[butcher's shop]] to be torn apart, or the nearest refuse stockpile if no shop has been built yet. Hunters are rather single-minded; when hunting, they will ignore other animals besides their quarry, even if others are more easily attacked or less dangerous to do so against. Although multiple kills happen, hunters generally only return their quarry, or quit when they run out of bolts. To avoid wasting perfectly edible corpses, you need to change your [[standing orders]] ({{k|o}}) to Gather refuse from outside, although this will enable much more than ambusher kill returning.

Hunting makes an erratic but, when done by a skilled ambusher, very worthy meat source. It takes the bother of pasturing animals away, but comes at the trade off of defensibility. Many players on mature fortresses are simply too concerned with enemy sieges and the like to send dwarves out too far, and will thus disable hunting jobs on their dwarves.

=== Military ===
You can order your soldiers out to kill wild animals by selecting their squads or the soldiers individually (for a basic outline of such actions, see [[attack]]). This takes some management, but is particularly useful if a large herd appears and you want to get them all before they emigrate to less blood-soaked pastures; be prepared to process them all, however, as you do not want your potential foodstuffs to rot away if your butcheries are overloaded. Soldiers will not kill or butcher [[Domestic animal|domestic]] or [[tame]] animals. Take note that soldiers will attack animals regardless of the target you've given them, as they will attack the nearest non-friendly creature in sight when told to move somewhere or kill a target.

Your soldiers must generally be very [[Attribute#Agility|agile]] to catch up with a running animal before it leaves the edge of the map, and attacking with melee always carries the risk of getting your soldiers maimed or killed, so as you might expect military hunting is mainly for the crossbow dwarves.

=== Trapping ===
It is also possible to catch animals through judicious use of [[cage trap]]s. Building cage traps where animals will walk will ensure that some of them will be caught; [[trapper]]s can then haul the occupied [[cage]]s away and reset them with fresh cages. You can increase your chances of catching something by baiting the trap.

Cage traps should be built where animals will walk, not where they are when you decide to trap them. Any dwarves sent out to create and arm traps in the animals' midst will scare them away or (worse) trigger their aggression. As such most of the animals that you will end up caging will be small [[vermin]], which cannot be turned into meat and, besides low-value pets, cannot be turned into anything particularly useful, except for the few that can be processed into extracts - see below.

To successfully trap large animals you need to build choke points into your map. The destruction of ramps to create sheer cliffs is the easiest way to force them to go down a particular route; with the construction of walls, ponds, channels, and so forth, you can force them to walk right through your cage traps. This is additionally interesting for defense, which is probably your primary goal: anything that will funnel animals will funnel invaders too, and caged goblins make good target practice once [[mass pitting|pitted]].

Leave a small gap one or two tiles wide (depending on how many of the critters you want to trap) and build your cage traps there. If the animals haven't moved off or been scared off by the time you're done, and they're docile enough to not attack once they see your dwarves, use military orders to send a dwarf (or several) around behind the animals and herd them toward the choke point.

Note that when using channels and ponds together to create a choke point, connecting the channel all the way up to the pond's edge will end up draining the pond. If this is undesirable for your fort's water supply plans, be sure to leave a tile between the edge of the pond and the edge of the channel, and build a cage trap or wall instead.

Note also that cage traps cannot be built within a certain number of tiles of the map edge, so when planning your funnels and choke points, be sure to leave four or five tiles as a buffer zone.

=== Breeding ===
When a male and a female of the same species are present on the map, sooner or later the male will impregnate the female. Animal reproduction requires absolutely no contact between them, and in fact will occur regardless of distance, physical obstacles such as walls or locked doors, number of each gender, and even ownership. This has been jokingly referred to by players as spore-based breeding; even a male in a herd of wild animals outside the fortress walls can impregnate a female locked deep in the lowest level, and females can get pregnant again immediately after giving birth (much like dwarves). The only thing that has been reported to prevent pregnancy is caging, but females that are already pregnant can give birth while caged (also much like dwarves).

Some [[immigrant]]s will bring [[pet]]s or stray animals with them, often to the effect of forming or completing breeding pairs. Remember that you only ever need one male: the only non-butchering product male animals produce, besides reproduction, is [[wool]], and only a few of them. For this reason having one male bull and ten female cows is a good idea. As an aside, bulls love that arrangement.

Using [[cage trap|cage traps]] judiciously (or taking advantage of the animals [[elf|elves]] trade) can sometimes snag you a breeding pair of wild animals. These can be used to establish crazy schemes, like [[alligator]] farms and [[giant eagle]] [[egg production|hatcheries]]. Tame something unusual and start something crazy if you get lucky enough! All tamable creatures can be tamed, but it can take a long time for exotic animals and they will slowly revert to wild state if left unattended; a skilled [[animal trainer]] is a real blessing in this regard.

There is currently a per type population cap, currently observed to be around 50, past which animals will not get pregnant; existing pregnancies will mature to term, and once some adults are slaughtered, the population can begin moving up again.

== Management ==
=== Pastures ===
Tame animals with the [GRAZER:<value>] token (most herbivores) need to constantly munch on grass to survive, and as such require a [[pasture]] containing [[grass]], [[cave moss]], or [[floor fungus]] to graze upon, or they will starve to death. [[Elephant]]s and [[rhinoceros]]es in particular are bugged at the moment; they cannot eat fast enough to keep up with their grazing needs, and as such will slowly starve to death if tamed.

Pastures are simple enough to build (unless you've embarked someplace where it [[evil weather|rains]] [[fun]]). Designate a grassy area as a pasture [[activity zone]] ({{k|i}}-{{k|n}}), set ({{k|N}}) the animals to be released onto the pasture, and your dwarves will haul the designated animals to it - this does not require any specific labor, and much like harvesting food, will be performed by all dwarves, even those with all hauling jobs disabled. Once in the pasture, the animals will munch on all the grass they need, as long as there is enough of it.

Pastures can be easily depleted if the herd of animals on it is large enough; in addition, having too many animals on a pasture at once will lead to fights, which can seriously maim and injure your livestock. Since an above-ground pasture requires a significant plot of land, it is a major security concern - having enough grazing land for your animals while also keeping them protected from invading goblins is an important concern. A solution is to use the fact that livestock can graze on [[floor fungus]] and the like as easily as on regular old grass, and wall off a pasture inside of a [[cavern]] layer or set them loose in your underground [[tree farm]].

Animals that don't require a constant stream of plant matter, like poultry, can be put in any pasture and do fine in them. The basis of [[egg production]] is a pasture with [[nest box]]es in it.

=== Pens ===
A strategy to improve your framerate is to [[restraint|restrain]] most of your livestock near your [[butcher's shop]], as a large number of free-roaming animals will reduce your game speed. Additionally it reduces the amount of time it takes butchers to track down and retrieve animals they are to slaughter.

Animals on [[restraint|restraints]] still can [[path]] (1 tile in any direction from the chain/rope), and that can hurt your [[Maximizing framerate|framerate]]. By making a series of 1x1 rooms with doors set to "non-pet-passable", and restraining the animals there, the animals have nowhere to go and so [[path|pathing]] is not a problem. The door keeps them from wandering; the restraint is necessary to get them into the room in the first place (see [[restraint]] for proper removal technique). [[Activity zone#Pit/Pond|Pits]] can also be adapted for this purpose, without the restraint and with multiple animals.

The pens idea would be a good idea if pets actually understood non-pet-passable during calculation of paths. Instead they believe they can get through during mental calculations. Cold, hard, reality stops them at the door, but they continue to path as if they could get through, so they just stand there (until a dwarf comes by and opens the door, at which point they gleefully run past). Pets in cages helps framerate the most, followed closely by restraints, since the search space bottoms out after only 2 moves (corner to corner). Pits, with no access besides (raised) bridges and (closed) floodgates, are also very effective, as pathing will stop as soon as the space of the pit is exhausted, so it's like a restraint with a slightly longer leash. Pens using floodgates would work, although loading the pets in would be nigh impossible without dropping them in from above, as anything in the way of a closing floodgate stops it from closing. It would be quite extreme, but such a collection of 1x1 pits could be an effective way of stopping pathfinding while retaining breeding. One could even use bars instead of floodgates, and have a really proper zoo/cage.

A common strategy is to cage all your young until matured because they do not give the same amount of bones, meat, and fat as adults. Some tamed wild species take more than 1 year to mature, unlike most domestic animals; this makes it excusable to butcher, for instance, elephant calves right away, as they take ten years to mature.

Furthermore:
* Cages can hold an unlimited number of animals, so you only need one.
* Caged animals do not path, and therefore, do not consume a lot of processor speed.
* Distinguishing between breeding animals and butcherable livestock is easier when clearly separated.
* Caged cats cannot adopt owners (thus decreasing the chances of a [[catsplosion]]).
* You can define a [[zoo]] from a cage, increasing overall fortress wealth, dwarven happiness, and so on.

=== Internal pastures ===
The livestock of a large meat industry requires a lot of pasture space that might not be safe on the surface. Creating an underground pasture is more secure and relatively simple after discovering the [[cavern]]s. [[Floor fungus]] and other such underground "grass" will begin to grow anywhere there is [[soil]] or [[mud]]. You can take advantage of this by digging out a large room in a soil layer and waiting for floor fungus to grow. You can also create pastures in stone layers, but it will need to be cleared of all excess stone and irrigated to create mud. Drain the water and wait for the floor fungus to grow. Keep your dwarves away from that level to prevent plant trampling, and then wait a bit for it to grow dense enough to support your livestock. Forbidden doors and hatches or a restricted area [[traffic]] designation can be helpful for this. Once ready, make a new pasture and move the livestock underground.

You can further [[irrigation|irrigate]] the level to boost growth by emptying a body of water into it such that it spreads over it before evaporating. The easiest way to do this, and the easiest way to create an internal pasture is to dig out the topmost layer of [[soil]] (if your map has any) or rock and then either redirect some river flow or drain some small lakes to provide the necessary water.

== Processing ==
=== Slaughtering and butchering ===
Animals can be marked for slaughter in the [[Status#Animal Status Screen|animal status screen]]. Animals marked for slaughter will queue a "Slaughter animal" task at a [[butcher's shop]], be dragged to there by an idle dwarf and put down; this is instant and doesn't require a butcher.

Once an animal has been killed (be it by slaughtering or hunting) you only have a limited amount of time to butcher the corpse before it rots. If your butcher is distracted by other tasks it is quite possible to lose the foodstuffs, so make sure to keep a number of [[butcher]]s ready. An animal corpse or body part is available if it is taken to the butcher's shop or in a refuse stockpile within a certain distance of the shop; it is not available if it is merely lying around, so a corpse stockpile near your butcher's shop may be necessary. The skill of the butcher only affects the time taken for the butcher animal task, not the amount produced, nor the quality.

To keep your animal population growing you should preferably butcher the males except for one of each species you are breeding, because one male is enough to impregnate all the females. The number of males does not affect how frequently the females give birth as long as you have at least one (which can also be a pet).

Once butchered the animal will yield one skull (though [[hydra|hydras]] produce more than one), one raw hide and depending on the animal type a number of (prepared)(organ-)meat pieces, bones, and potentially [[horn|horns]], [[hoof|hoofs]], [[fat]] and [[cartilage]]. Meat and fat goes to your food stockpile. Bones, horns, hoofs, hair, cartilage and raw hides go to the refuse stockpile. Cartilage has no use and should be disposed of, but you would be well put to create custom stockpiles for hides next to your tanner's shop (see [[#Tanning|''Tanning'' below]]), for bones/horns/hoofs next to your craftsdwarves workshop (see [[#Bone carving|''Bone carving'' below]]), and changing the settings on your main refuse pile to not accept bones, horns/hoofs and hides. Hair can be weaved into low-value thread, but not into cloth, so it is useless outside hospital (note that it doesn't rot, so it has to be dumped manually).

If it takes too long for the butchered parts to be hauled into the stockpile, the food will rot and miasma spread. To prevent this, it is advisable to build the butcher's workshop outside of the fortress, near refuse piles (you may want it inside the walls though). The fresh air prevents miasma spreading. Miasma doesn't spread through diagonal openings, so a clever architect might isolate the smell in a 3x3 room with the shop.

If the animal is butchered just before it rots, the products of the animal MAY not rot. It is unknown whether the time of rotting for butchering products is based on the time of death of the animal or the time of production of the butchering returns.{{verify}}

==== Overdrive ====
In some instances - most notably, after [[rhesus macaque]] or [[mandrill]] invasions, or killing some other large herd with your soldiers - you may find yourself with more bodies and [[severed body part|severed body parts]] than you can process. In this case it is a good idea to set up some temporary extra butcher and tanners' shops (and butcher and tanner workers) to process them all before they rot. Butchers are more important because these workshops have a tendency to get [[clutter|cluttered]] quickly. Setting up a new workshop takes but a moment, so one might even construct a whole chamber of them and suspend the butchering job in all the cluttered shops.

== Animal products ==
The [[value]] of an animal product is multiplied by the species' [[multiply value]]; items from common domestic animals like [[cow]]s and [[horse]]s have a multiplier of 1x, which pales in comparison with those made from more exotic wild animals (usually between 2x and 4x, although some, like [[elephant]]s, hit 5x); the distinction for the highest value multiplier goes to the [[dragon]] and the [[roc]], whose meat is worth 15 times that of an ordinary cow's. An animal's value multiplier can be found in the creature raw files.

===Meat===
The primary output of the meat industry is the titular [[meat]]. Meat comes in two flavors: meat proper, that is the muscle tissue removed from the animal, and [[prepared organs]] like prepared brain, tripe, sweetbread, and so on. Both can be either eaten raw or [[cooking|cooked]] into a meal.

===Fat===
Butchering an animal also produces some number of units of [[fat]], which can be cooked into a proper meal, or processed into [[tallow]] at the kitchen, a very valuable input in the making of [[soap]]. Soap plays an important role in staving off [[infection]]s when performing operations and cleaning wounds in your [[Healthcare|hospital]], as well as increasing happiness from dwarves being able to clean themselves; it's recommended to stock your hospitals and baths with at least some bars of them. See [[soap]] on the exact details of processing.

Tallow can also be cooked, however, tallow is a small unit of food and as such will reduce the size of the resultant stacks, and is more useful as a soap input anyway. For this reason you're usually better off turning cooking off in the kitchen [[status]] screen.

===Bones===
Butchering an animal produces a number of [[bone]]s. Craftsdwarves with [[bone carving]] enabled can turn these into bone [[craft]]s or bone [[bolt]]s at a [[craftsdwarf's workshop]], or a bone [[crossbow]] at a [[bowyer's workshop]]. These in turn can be traded, used to equip your [[marksdwarf|marksdwarves]], and used for practice, respectively (bone bolts are better than wooden ones, but inferior to metal bolts, and thus should not be used extensively militarily).

===Skull===
[[Skull]]s are special in that unlike bones, they can only be used to make [[totem]]s at a craftdwarf's workshop, for [[trading]]. Virtually all animals produce a single skull when they die; the only exception is the [[hydra]], which produces seven. Totems do not fall under any category in the "Move trade goods to depot" screen, so you need to {{k|s}}earch for them. Usually however they will be in a [[finished goods]] [[bin]], so just transport the bins to the depot.

===Hooves and horns===
Animals with hooves and/or horns will produce generic "[[horn]]" once butchered. These can be used to either create horn trade goods or decorated finished goods with horn at a craftsdwarf's workshop.

===Raw hides===
Butching produces a [[skin|raw hide]], or scales or chitin (currently unusable), depending on the animal. Raw hides can be [[tanner|tanned]] at a [[tanner's shop]] and made into usable [[leather]], an input into the leather industry. It's quite difficult to have a meat industry large enough to keep a leather industry fully occupied, and caravans arrive with tons of it for cheap anyway, so your meat industry will be at best a supplement in that regard. As with the butcher's shop, the tanner's shop will queue a "tan raw hide" job automatically; the tanner's skill has no effect on quantity nor quality of the leather produced, and the task is time-sensitive because of rot.

It is quite sensible to have a single dwarf as both the butcher and tanner, as you will never need to begin tanning until you finish butchering. You could also make this same dwarf your leatherworker. However, there is no outstanding reason to do this. It may be advisable (or not) to simply ensure that there are ''no'' stockpiles that will accept Fresh Raw Hides and to have the tanner's shops in the immediate area of the butcher's shop - if fresh raw hides can be stored in any refuse stockpile, they will instantly be designated for hauling and cannot be tanned until they have been stored. Ensuring that raw hides will not be stockpiled means that they will be available for tanning fresh off the former owner.

===Hair===
Some animals drop [[hair]] when butchered, which can be [[spinner|spun]] into [[thread]] at a [[farmer's workshop]]. However, animal hair thread cannot be used to make [[cloth]], which means that the only use of hair thread is for [[suturing]] in [[hospital]]s and stitching decorative images on clothing. Hair thread can be [[dye]]d.

===Cartilage and nervous tissue===
[[Cartilage]] and [[nervous tissue]] are both butchering byproducts with no current uses, and should be dumped as garbage once stripped of their former owner.

===Ivory===
[[Ivory]] is used to decorate things at a craftsdwarf's workshop. Besides the obvious elephant tusks and so forth, teeth are actually also considered ivory for the purpose of decoration.

==Secondary products==
You don't necessarily have to slaughter your animals to get something useful out of them, as specific creatures can also produce some products while alive.

===Eggs===
Tame female egg-laying animals will produce [[egg]]s at intervals, which in turn can be used to feed your fortress on a more interim basis than butchering. [[Egg production]] is a viable way to keep a fortress fed, and in areas where setting up a farm will be difficult, starting out with some poultry can be essential to survival. Animals that can lay eggs are [[poultry]] (easily acquired), reptiles like [[alligator]]s (only if you're particularly [[elf]]ish), and some more exotic animals like [[dragon]]s and [[giant eagle]]s (only if you're very lucky). Female egg-laying animals will claim a nest box, and lay a clutch of [[egg]]s. These can be allowed to hatch into young animals (to replace the ones sent to the butcher), or collected into [[food]] stockpiles and [[cook]]ed into [[prepared meal|meals]] at a [[kitchen]].

=== Milk ===
You can also [[milking|milk]] tame female mammals such as horses, cows, and so forth at the [[farmers workshop]] with an empty [[bucket]] and a dwarf with the milking labor enabled. The resulting [[milk]] can be used as a cooking ingredient or turned into high-value edible [[cheese]] at the farmers workshop by a dwarf with cheesemaking enabled (it cannot, however, be eaten raw).

Many animals can be milked in Dwarf Fortress that would not normally be, for example [[pig|pigs]].

===Wool===
[[Wool]] can be produced by [[shearing]] one of three animals: [[llama]]s, [[alpaca]]s, and [[sheep]] (also [[troll]]s, but only goblins can do so). It can be woven into wool [[thread]] and then wool [[cloth]]; for a full discussion on the uses of wool, see the [[textile industry]].

== Summary ==
''Worker type / Labor''

*[[Ambusher]] / [[Hunting]]
** A [[crossbow]] or other [[weapon]]
** [[Bolt|Bolts]], [[quiver]]
** Leather [[armor]]
** [[Cross-training|Stats buffing]]
** [[Archery target|Archery practice]]

*[[Soldier|Soldiers]]/[[Military]]
**[[Soldier|Soldiers]]
**Some form of [[armor]]
**Any [[weapon]]

*[[Cage trap]]ping
** [[Mechanic]]
** [[Mechanic's workshop]]
** [[Mechanisms]]
** [[Cage|Cages]]

*Breeding
** [[Animals]]
** [[Cage|Cages]]
** [[Restraint|Restraints]]

*Processing
** [[Butcher]] / Butchery
*** [[Butcher's shop]]
** [[Tanner]] / Tanning
*** [[Tanner's shop]]
** [[Leatherworker]] / Leatherworking
*** [[Leather works]]
** [[Bone carver]] / Bone carving
*** [[Craftsdwarf's workshop]]
** [[Cook]] / Cooking
*** [[Kitchen]]
*** [[Barrel]]s

==See also==
*[[Leather]]
*[[Industry]]

{{Workshops FAQ}}
{{Category|Guides}}
{{Category|Industry}}
{{Industry}}
[[ru:DF2012:Meat industry]]

v0.34:Wagon

2013-08-19T23:07:33Z

Twredfish: /* Wagon-only entrances */

{{quality|Exceptional|18:27, 28 April 2011 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
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{{creaturelookup/0|contrib=no|death=item|item=Wagon wood|wiki=yes}}
''(For information on the wagon carrying your goods during embark, see [[Wagon (embark)]].)''
----
{{creaturedesc}}


'''Wagons''' are special "creatures" used by [[Human]] and [[Dwarf|Dwarven]] [[caravan]]s. Wagons have a much greater hauling capacity than pack animals, increasing the imported goods available to your fortress and the capacity for exported goods. Unfortunately, wagons require specific accommodations to reach your fortress: wagon-accessible paths must be three tiles wide, extend from natural-land tiles at the screen border to your [[trade depot]], and cannot contain [[trap]]s or [[pressure plate]]s. If wagons are unable to find a path to your trade depot (or if you have not built a depot at all), they will bypass your site and you will only be able to trade for what is available on the merchants' pack animals.

Wagons '''cannot''' move through [[trap]]s, [[pressure plate]]s, [[door]]s (even if the doors span an area ordinarily wide enough for the wagon to pass) or cross upward or downward [[stair]]s, though wagons can move across downward stairs covered by a (closed) [[hatch cover]]. Obstructing [[boulder]]s must be smoothed ( {{K|d}} - {{K|s}} ), and [[tree]]s must be cut down ( {{K|d}} - {{K|t}} ). [[Shrub]]s do not obstruct wagons, and neither do [[ramp]]s, [[bridge]]s, [[road]]s, or [[floor]] tiles. (However, ramps covered by a [[Hatch cover|hatch]] do obstruct.) The impassable tiles of [[workshop]]s and other buildings will obstruct, but the passable tiles of those buildings will not. Any other buildings which are normally passable, including [[restraint]]s, will not obstruct wagons either, nor will creatures (except other wagons). A drained [[murky pool]] tile will block trade depot access; paving over the tile (and optionally removing the road/floor) will allow wagons to cross it. To keep trees and boulders from growing and blocking a path, you should build roads, bridges, or floor tiles over any [[soil]] tiles that make up part of the path.

Ramps can be used by wagons to adjust [[z-level]] elevation. Note that wagons use different rules for movement on ramps - namely, they are able to ascend a ramp to a raised floor over empty space, but cannot cross the line of ramps while remaining at the same level. With some careful design it is possible to make bridges that control depot accessibility without actually allowing anything to cross them, or paths that can be traversed only by wagons but not dwarves or ''vice versa''.

After a trade depot is built, you can use {{K|D}} to check wagon accessibility. The decisive element is that you see the 'depot accessible' message on the right. Accessibility is calculated from your depot towards the map edges; even though you see a green area around your depot, it may not be accessible from outside. You need to make sure the path extends all the way to some edge of the map. The display is somewhat misleading in that a one tile wide green path is sufficient for the 3 tile wide wagons; the green {{Raw Tile|W|2:2:1}}s represent only the ''center'' of a wagon although the whole 3x3 can fit around it - so a three-tile wide path, which can fit a wagon, will only show up as one-tile wide line of {{Raw Tile|W|2:2:1}}s. When the route they would take goes over hills (ramps), it's hard to eye whether it is continuous all the way to the edge of the map, so be sure you see the words "depot accessible" on the depot access screen.

As long as you have a three-tile wide path to the depot that reaches ''any'' natural-land tiles at the edge of the map, wagons will be able to reach the depot. If there is only one path they can take, they will take that path. You can force them to enter and exit the map in an exact spot -- preferably very near your depot -- by erecting walls or digging channels so that all paths but the one you want them to take are blocked. Note that all caravans will prefer to enter the map at a wagon-accessible point, so this can also be used for [[Elf|Elven]] caravans as well.

Wagons will not appear on non-natural surface tiles at a map edge (such as a "bridge to nowhere"), though they can sometimes be encouraged to leave the map edge in such a manner. Wagons will also delay appearing at the map edge if their intended location is currently blocked by any other creature.

Wagons which are destroyed, abandoned, or scuttled will leave behind a unique type of wood: [[wagon wood]]. Since they count as creatures, dead wagons can be [[memorial]]ized (though a [[ghost]]ly wagon has not yet been observed).

==Wagon-only entrances==
Wagons are able to navigate through certain entrances which other (walking) creatures cannot. Specificially, wagons can climb ramps that walking creatures consider to be "unusuable". By building a set of ramps which are exclusively unusable, you can send wagons on a direct route, while filtering all other traffic through your trap-covered route.

An example: [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=125977.0]:
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
[#0ff]Z[#0ff]{{=}}[#0ff]0 [#0ff]Z[#0ff]{{=}}[#0ff]1
▓+++▓ ▓▓▓▓▓
▓▲▲▲▓ ▓▼▼▼▓
▓▓▓▓▓ ▓+++▓
▓+++▓ ▓+++▓
▓▲▲▲▓ ▓▼▼▼▓
▓+++▓ ▓▓▓▓▓
}}

Another example, which uses slightly less space.
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
[#0ff]Z[#0ff]{{=}}[#0ff]0 [#0ff]Z[#0ff]{{=}}[#0ff]-[#0ff]1
▓+++▓ ▓▓▓▓▓
▓+++▓ ▓+++▓
▓▼▼▼▓ ▓▲▲▲▓
▓+++▓ ▓+++▓
▓+++▓ ▓▓▓▓▓
}}

==Bugs==
*Wagons can become "stuck" in obstacles.{{bug|5418}}
*Wagon pathing problems can result in caravan collisions.{{bug|5687}}
*It's possible for a dwarf to have a preference for "wagon wood".{{Bug|3676}}
*It is possible for a wagon to be listed as "deceased" after removing it.

{{gamedata}}
{{Creatures}}