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Difference between revisions of "40d:Trading"

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m (→‎Miscellaneous Trading Advice: highlight the "undamaged" on the cloth - just had an Elven caravan loaded with cloth because my stockpiles are so old)
 
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Trading in Dwarf Fortress first occurs in the first autumn of building your fort, with the arrival of the [[dwarf|Dwarven]] [[caravan]]. Trading is a good way to acquire resources that are not available or are rare in the local area. It also improves your freedom of choice on what item to [[embark]] with because you can always trade for them later, e.g. dropping the expensive [[anvil]] to bring 500 extra units of booze. New players can look [[Your_first_fortress#Trading|here]] for advice on trading with your first caravan.
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{{av}}
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{{Quality|Exceptional}}
  
== Requirements ==
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'''Trading''' in Dwarf Fortress first occurs in the first [[autumn]] after establishing your fortress, with the arrival of the [[dwarf|Dwarven]] [[Trading#Caravans|caravan]]. Trading is a good way to acquire resources that are not available or are rare in the local area. It also allows for more freedom in selecting starting gear, because items can always be obtained through trade later, e.g. one can drop the expensive [[anvil]] to bring 500 extra units of [[alcohol|booze]] or purchase additional skills for the expedition party.  New players can [[Your_first_fortress#Trading|look here]] for advice on trading with the first caravan.
Building a [[trade depot]] will allow you the opportunity to trade with caravans that arrive at your [[fortress]].  Trade depots require three [[stone]]s or [[log]]s to build, and the [[architecture]] [[skill]] along with either [[masonry]] or [[carpentry]].
 
  
== Using Trade Depot ==
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A '''Trader''' is the term used at your Trade Depot to refer to your fortress Broker when dealing with merchants in a visiting caravan ({{key|r}} - "''Trader requested at Depot"'').  As a [[profession]], the term usually only applies to those merchants, and to a dwarf whose highest [[skill]] is [[Appraiser]].
Hit {{key|q}} to bring up the building interaction menu, and then move your cursor over the trade depot to gain access to the following options.  
 
  
=== Move Goods to/from Depot ===
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== Trade Depot ==
When a caravan arrives, it is time to move local goods ready for trade. Selecting items in the categorized view will mark them [PENDING] and they will be moved to the depot. (Note: any dwarf can move goods to depot, even if his hauling labors are disabled) When ready for trade, an item is marked [TRADE]. The depot can be emptied in the same manner.
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Building a [[Trade depot]] will allow you the opportunity to trade with caravans that arrive at your fortress.
  
=== Trader requested at depot/No trader needed at depot ===
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While it may be convenient to build a Trade Depot outside first, it is usually a good idea to move it inside or build fortifications around it to protect caravans and your goods from [[thief|thieves]] and [[goblin]]s.
Hit {{key|r}} to toggle between these two options. If a trader is requested then someone will come to the depot on behalf of your dwarves to trade with the the merchants. Who exactly comes is dependent on the option you have selected for who is allowed to trade (see below).
 
  
=== Only broker may trade/Anyone may trade ===
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Do not build two Trade Depots however, as then neither will work properly.
A [[broker]] is not required but is preferable for getting better deals. To toggle whether anyone can trade or just the broker is done with {{K|b}}.
 
{{K|r}}equesting a trader at the trade depot will queue a job on the traders list. A higher level of brokerage will give you greater returns, so if you're dependent on trade it's recommended to keep one dwarf as broker and level up his appraisal skill as high as possible. It is advised to deactivate all labors from the broker during trading (including "all dwarves harvest" in the options menu). However, eating drinking and sleeping are always at a higher priority than trading.
 
  
== Trading ==
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Everything that is on your map belongs to you, except:
When merchants have arrived and unloaded their goods, it's time to trade.  Access trading view by selecting building options for the Trade Depot with {{key|q}} and then pressing {{key|t}}.  ({{key|t}}rade will be disabled until a trader from your fortress arrives.) In the trading view, merchants' goods are displayed on the left and player's on the right. Items from each side are selected for trade with {{key|enter}} and then traded with {{key|t}}.
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* the items of non-fortress members (only if they are alive, when they are dead they belong to you if you claim the items),
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* the items that are in trade wagons or on merchant animals
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* the items that are on the trade depot (they belong to nobody until they are moved out of it)
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So, merchant goods that ''were'' on the trade depot belong to you if they are not on trade wagons/merchant animals. So a [[Exploit|little hint]]: when the merchants have finished unloading, deconstruct the depot...
  
There are two factors to consider in making a balanced trade: weight and [[item value]]. Caravans have weight limits and the allowed additional weight is shown in the bottom right corner. The merchants must also profit from the deal. The amount of profit depends on the broker skill of the trader. It is strongly advised to use an allocated broker to do the transaction with the merchants. Having one person being a broker means that only he gains experience in [[social skills]] from successful trades, thus being able to negotiate more favorable deals in the future.
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See the [[Trade depot]] article for more information on how to interact with it.
  
=== Caravans ===
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==Trading==
Each of the three friendly races will send a caravan once per year, however they will not arrive unless your region is marked as accessible by them. Dwarves will always arrive regardless of location, howeverSince trading caravans arrive from the direction of their civilization, it is currently preferable to build the depot as close to the middle of the map as possible if the civilizations are in different directionsThis reduces the chance of the caravan traveling across the whole map then turning around because it is time to leave.
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{{:Trading/Flowchart}}
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After entering the trade menu, select the items to offer from the right, and the desired items from the left. All caravans have a weight limit which cannot be exceeded, and the allowed additional weight is displayed in the lower right corner. If the acting broker has at least Novice or better [[Appraisal]] skill, the value of all items will be displayedOnce the proposal is ready, press {{K|t}} to make an offer, but merchants will not agree unless they make adequate profit.  Be sure to use '''trade''', not '''offer''' {{K|o}}, as this will make a gift of the selected items. The amount of acceptable profit is determined by the broker's [[Broker skills|skills]] and the merchant's mood, described belowMerchants may attempt to propose counteroffers if they do not accept the proposal, which can then be accepted, rejected, or further amended by the broker.
  
Dwarves and humans also send a [[liaison]] with whom the local broker has a meeting. Import and export requests are made, adjusting the prices for the next year. Desired items become more valuable.
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A good rule of thumb for inexperienced brokers is to give merchants a 50% or better profit. For example, if the desired goods are worth 500☼, make sure their profit is at least 250☼ (which would make the total worth of the offered goods 750☼). This should ensure that the merchants are happy with the trading and that they accept the trade immediately without making ridiculous counteroffers. With more experienced brokers or pleased merchants, even marginally profitable trades can be successful, and counteroffers can be rejected safely, offering the same trade again. Note however that a low profit margin for the traders may not be desirable - it has been suggested that both export and profit numbers influence the size of next year's caravan and, in the case of the dwarven caravan, immigration numbers.
  
==== Dwarves ====
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Goods brought from caravans do not have base quality higher than superior, but decorations on a good may be of any quality.
Dwarves arrive every year in the [[Calendar|fall]], typically bringing [[food]], [[alcohol|booze]], [[leather]] and miscellaneous supplies.  They are the only caravan that can bring [[steel]] in any form, either as equipment, crafts or unworked metal bars. The caravan will have wagons 3 tiles wide that require an adequate path.
 
  
Unlike other races, the dwarven civilization will never attack you even if their traders don't make it home.
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=== Trading cue colors ===
  
==== Elves ====
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* Items in brown have been created (or modified) by your fortress. They can be traded away or offered as a gift.
Elves send small caravans of only muskoxen or mules, no wagons, in [[Calendar|spring]], loaded with [[cloth]], [[rope]], various [[plants]], and [[wood]]en items. The may also bring some [[tame]] [[animal]]s. They are very picky about what they will accept in return.
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* Items in white were created by another source. They can be traded, but if one of these items has been selected, the entire selection cannot be offered as a gift.
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* Items in purple are under a no-export mandate and should not be traded away unless exceptional circumstances (or masochism) push you to do this.
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* Items in green have just been gifted to the caravan and they will not trade it back.
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* Items in red have been seized from another caravan and cannot be traded as is; you will need to decorate them or turn them into other items for them to become "valid" trading items. However, usually a caravan from a different civilization will accept stolen goods without changing them first.
  
Elven traders do not like to be offered any dead animal or tree byproducts. Forbidden items include{{ver|0.23.130.23a}}:
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=== Merchant mood ===
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If your broker has Novice or better [[Judge of intent]] skill, there will be a line added below the merchant's dialogue describing the caravan's attitude. Their attitude rises with successful trades (especially if they get lots of profit) and falls when you propose deals they don't like.  
  
* [[Bone]], [[shell]], [[leather]], or [[chitin]] items
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* (trader) seems ecstatic with the trading
* [[Wood]]en items, and items derived from wood, such as [[charcoal]] and [[pearlash]]
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* (trader) seems very happy about the trading
* Clear and crystal [[glass]] (because [[pearlash]] is used in their creation)
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* (trader) seems pleased with the trading
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* (trader) seems willing to trade (Default, at least for humans)
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* (trader) seems to be rapidly losing patience
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* (trader) is not going to take much more of this
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* (trader) is unwilling to trade
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The happier you make a merchant, the less profit margin he will demand in a trade. If merchants reach the lowest level, no further trade will be possible, and they will immediately pack up and leave your depot. Since annoyed traders are more likely to reject deals, you should be generous in initial negotiations. Skilled negotiators seem less likely to offend traders with unsuccessful deals.
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An easy way to capitalize on this mood system is to perform several partial trades. First trade for a few items, offering goods twice the value of the items you ask for (e.g., offer 2000☼ for 1000☼ of his stuff). This will likely make the merchant ecstatic about trading with you. Exit the trade screen, unpause briefly, and then return to trading with a vengeance. With the merchant in such a good mood, he is more likely to counteroffer than reject a trade outright.
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=== Seizing items ===
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Pressing {{K|s}} from the trade menu will seize the selected items of the merchant's.  If you seize goods from a caravan, the merchant will respond "Take what you want. I can't stop you." and then leave immediately without the seized goods.  Items cannot be seized from the dwarven caravan, and other races will not buy goods stolen from one of their caravans (then marked in red) unless they are tricked into asking for them via counteroffer, or the items are "laundered" by decoration or used to create other goods.  Seizing goods will hurt diplomatic relations, but is not grounds for an automatic [[siege]].
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Pressing the seize button while no goods are selected will result in the merchant interpreting your seizure as a joke. This apparently does nothing to benefit or hinder your trading.
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As a side note, if you deconstruct your trade depot with a caravan in it, the wagons will be killed and all the caravan's items will drop to the ground, to be readily hauled away by your Dwarves. This does not mark the items as stolen, and the caravan will leave. However, ''next'' year's caravan is partly based on the profits from the previous year - so if you are relying on that race's caravans for needed items, you're hurting yourself in the long run.
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Another way to steal without marking as stolen is to forbid the trade depot just before they leave, causing them to leave their goods at the depot.
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<span name="Note_that_the_civ" id="Note_that_the_civ"></span><!-- that anchored span added to allow a reference from the DF2010:Exploit page. 0x517A5D. -->Note that the civilization attached to a particular caravan will keep track of the value of items the caravan was carrying when they set out to trade, and they will compare this value with the value of items they return home with. Regardless of what method you use to confiscate items from a caravan, even if you came to possess the goods through no fault of your own (an [[ambush]] killed the caravaners, for example) the parent civilization may decide that you stole from them and send a [[siege]] instead of a caravan the following year. It is prudent to take measures to protect caravans visiting your lands!
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...or at least that's what's ''supposed'' to happen - due to a bug in this version, merchants fail to record their hardships in history, so no negative effects will occur. See below for more details.
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===Offering items===
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{{key|o}} You can also give away items, as gifts to the leaders of the [[civilization]] you are trading with. This presumably helps relations between yourself and the other faction. The exact effects are unknown but it is believed that offering goods increases the quantity and variety of trade goods brought by next year's caravan. Also the [[King]] usually requires offerings to be made before his arrival.
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'''''Note:''' There are no benefits to offering goods in this manner; [[Main:Toady|Toady]] has stated that this is to be changed in future versions.'' ("''Req174, REASON FOR OFFERING, (Future): There's no point of offering goods to your own king right now.)"''. For now offerings only increase your fortress' Exported Wealth, and all the FUN that entails.
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=== Miscellaneous Trading Advice ===
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* Several small trades, exiting the trade window each time, will increase the Broker's relevant skills during the early game.
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* Food inside the Trade Depot can go bad. Have a food stockpile nearby so you can quickly haul goods inside.
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* Thieves and thieving critters tend to follow caravans. Expect assaults and intruders.
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* Be careful about asking traders to bring lots of individual lightweight items (such as meat and fish) as it can result in traders taking a very long time to unload their goods. Unless the path to your depot is extremely long, though, this is unlikely to cause significant problems.
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* All caravans will bring extra food (meat and edible plants), wooden logs, and cloth/leather (for making clothes) if the supplies of your fortress are low enough, independent of whether or not you requested them. This does not apply in the case that the weight limit is exceeded by (other) items you requested. The supply situation, as observed by traders, is based solely on the number of unforbidden items in your fortress, stockpiled or not; thus, it is possible to trick caravans into thinking your supplies are low by [[forbid]]ding all of your relevant stocks immediately prior to their arrival.
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**In order to '''avoid''' this behavior, you should make sure that, for each dwarf in your fortress, you have the following ''unforbidden'' items:
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*** 5 pieces of food - meat, fish, plants, or "other" in your [[Status]] screen (even though "other" includes inedible items)
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*** 1 wood log
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*** 5 pieces of ''[[wear|undamaged]]'' cloth, pieces of leather, or complete sets of [[wear|pristine]] clothing (shirt+pants+shoe)
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== Caravans ==
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Each friendly race will send a caravan each season that they are active, which is once per year for humans, elves, and dwarves.  Caravans will only show up if that race considers the fortress site accessible (as denoted on the embark screen), with the exception of dwarves, who always arrive unless they are extinct.  Caravans appear to enter the map from a random direction which does not coincide with the relative direction of the originating [[civilization]], and they may appear from different directions or z-levels each year.  Caravans may leave without trading if it takes too long to reach the trade depot, and they cannot use stairs.  Caravans will embark on their journey back exactly one month after their arrival, whether they have succeeded in reaching the depot or not.
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Note that if traders or their animals are prevented from leaving, they will eventually go [[insane]].
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Human and dwarven caravans may bring [[wagon]]s to carry a larger quantity of trade goods.
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=== Races ===
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The following races send caravans.
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==== [[Dwarves]] ====
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The dwarven caravan:
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* arrives in [[Calendar|autumn]].
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* employs wagons to bring more goods.
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* typically carries [[food]], [[alcohol|booze]], [[leather]] and more.  Dwarves alone may carry [[steel]] and steel goods.
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* tends to be well guarded.
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* sends a liaison who will speak with the [[Expedition leader]] (or [[Mayor]]) to negotiate prices.
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* influences the number of immigrants received (if the caravan leaves intact).{{verify}}
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* will not cause sieges when repeatedly destroyed or lost.
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* is the only caravan to arrive during a fortress' first year.
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* always arrives regardless of embark location.
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* cannot have its goods seized from the trade menu.
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==== [[elf|Elves]] ====
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[[Image:Evil_elves.png|thumb|400px|A typical elven caravan.]]
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The elven caravan:
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* arrives in [[Calendar|spring]].
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* does not send wagons.
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* typically carries [[cloth]], [[Restraint|rope]], various above ground [[plant]]s and their byproducts, [[log]]s, [[wood]]en [[craft]]s & [[weapon]]s, large-sized clothing and [[armor]], and may carry tame [[creature]]s (may arrive dead; a freezing biome, either at your fort or during travel, is suspected to be the cause).
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* tends to be unguarded.
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* does not accept some items in trade:
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Elven traders do not like to be offered any tree byproducts.  Forbidden items include:
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* [[Wood]]en items, and items derived from wood (including [[tower-cap]] logs), such as [[charcoal]] and [[pearlash]]
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* Items made from clear and crystal [[glass]] (because [[pearlash]] is used in their creation) - green glass appears to be perfectly acceptable
 
* Items [[decoration|decorated]] with any of the above materials
 
* Items [[decoration|decorated]] with any of the above materials
 
* [[Obsidian]] shortswords (since they have wooden handles)
 
* [[Obsidian]] shortswords (since they have wooden handles)
* [[Soap]]
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* [[Soap]] (made with [[ash]])
* [[Cheese]]
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* Any item they normally would accept that has [[Blood|blood]] on it, for instance from a slain enemy.
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Offering or trading forbidden items will cause the mood of the trader to drop rapidly, quickly (possible after first offer) causing him to refuse to trade any more that season and leave immediately.  Additionally you will be called uncouth, crude, and barbaric for suggesting it.  Tragic incidents can befall name callers which if repeated can lead to [[siege|interesting times]] and even great [[fun]]!
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However, [[stone]] and [[metal]] items, even when [[charcoal]] is used in production, are acceptable. Items made from [[silk]] are acceptable, as are all non-wooden plant-derived products such as [[cloth]] and [[thread]]. Different from previous versions, items made of bone and shell are acceptable. You can also transport your goods to the [[trade depot]] in a wooden [[bin]], as long as you do not try to sell the bin. Living animals are acceptable, as long as the [[cage]] or [[trap]] is not made of [[wood]].
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Be especially careful with reselling decorated items from other caravans, as non-wood/glass items may have decorations of wood or clear/crystal glass.  All items that elven caravans sell are also unacceptable to sell back to elves, as the dwarves have no means of proving that they were made in an "elf kosher" way &mdash; and all dwarves know that elves have terrible memory.
  
[[Metal]] items are acceptable, even when [[charcoal]] is used in their production. Items made from [[silk]] are acceptable, as are all non-wooden plant-derived products. You can also transport your goods to the [[trade depot]] in a wooden [[bin]], as long as you do not try to sell the bin. Living animals are acceptable, as long as the cage or trap is not made of [[wood]].
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==== [[Human]]s ====
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The human caravan:
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* arrives in [[Calendar|summer]].
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* employs wagons to bring more goods.
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* typically carries a very large quantity and variety of goods.
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* tends to be moderately guarded.
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* sends a liaison who will speak with the broker to negotiate prices.
  
Although [[tower-cap]]s are giant mushrooms, they are considered trees by the elves.
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==== [[Goblin]]s ====
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A goblin caravan may arrive if your civilization is at peace with the goblins.
  
==== Humans ====
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The goblin caravan:
The first human caravan will arrive in the summer of your second year, provided a human [[civilization]] has access to your site. The caravan will have wagons 3 tiles wide like the dwarven one, but which some players believe to be especially slow or having trouble finding a route, although there is no evidence of this in the current version(38a).
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*will arrive every season, four times per year
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*does not send wagons
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*tends to be unguarded
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*brings mostly food and cloth
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*does not send a liaison or a guild representative
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*does not make import/export agreements
  
There must be a path at least three tiles wide from the edge of the map where humans enter. You do not need to have an actual road, but you will usually need to {{K|d}}esignate {{K|s}}moothing of some boulders (outside) and {{K|t}}ree-cutting to clear the path. Use {{K|D}} to verify that there is a wagon accessible path to the depot. If there is not a wide enough path then the humans will only send pack mules greatly reducing the amount of stuff you can trade for.
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=== Nobles ===
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[[Outpost liaison]]s (from your own civilization) and [[Guild representative]]s (from Human civilizations) may be sent with caravans to speak to important dwarves. They will allow you to choose the type of items that your fortress is interested in, and will focus on bringing more of that kind of item on the next caravan (however those items will also be more expensive). They will also present you with a list of the items they're willing to pay more for, which will be effective upon their next arrival.
  
If the caravan must take a very long path to reach the depot, this is reduced from the time to trade. If the time is up while they are still moving, they will turn back and leave. To prevent this make it so that the depot is only accessible from one spot on the map which is close to the depot.
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Trade agreements can be viewed at a later time through the Civilization menu ({{k|c}}). These trade agreements are cleared when a liaison of the corresponding civilization enters the screen, so they are generally not accessible after the caravan has arrived.
  
Humans may also send a Representative, and having more skilled trading nobles will upgrade him to a Merchant Baron or Merchant Prince, who have larger caravans. The Representative will set up [[Trade agreement]]s with your trading noble, which lets you order the goods you want the next caravan to bring. Humans value weapons, and will usually negotiate to pay more for them in their trade agreements.
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Note that if a liaison is prevented from leaving, it will eventually go [[insane]]. Liaisons are irreplaceable, so it is essential to protect them at all costs.
  
=== Trader Mood ===
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=== Destruction ===
If your trader has Novice or better [[Judge of Intent]] skill, there will be a line added below the traders' dialogue describing the traders' attitude. Their attitude rises with successful trades (especially if they get lots of profit) and falls when you propose deals they don't like.  
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If caravans are destroyed (intentionally or unintentionally), the items may remain for use. Traders caught in a [[cave-in]] will flee as if they were attacked but will leave all the items dropped by the caravan behind. Pack animals carrying items are affected just like a normal tamed [[mule]] and must be killed in the cave-in for them to drop items on the ground. It is however much more likely that the pack animal(s) will only be stunned or rendered unconscious and flee shortly after recovering from the hit. Wagons will collapse if caught in a cave-in, leaving all that it was carrying on the ground as a result. Wagons can also be destroyed by [[ocean]] waves coming up onto the shore if you have settled in the appropriate area. The only difference between collapsing under waves or a cave-in is a higher probably of recovering items if the wagon is destroyed by a wave.
  
* (trader) seems ecstatic with the trading
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While caravans can defend themselves, they don't like being ambushed. An encounter with unfriendly creatures may cause them to retreat and forget about trading with you for the season.  Repeated caravan destruction (intentional or unintentional) will strain diplomatic relations and may result in a [[siege]]. Due to a bug, however, this does not occur.
* (trader) seems very happy about the trading
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* (trader) seems pleased with the trading
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=== Caravan Delay ===
* (trader) seems willing to trade (Default, at least for humans)
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If a caravan has arrived at your trade depot and is unable to leave for about six months after they arrived, the merchants and animals will go insane.  This can result in a bunch of merchants attacking your dwarves, or just standing around moping until they starve to death.  It is not known for certain if this hurts diplomatic relations, but most likely it's the same as any case where the entire caravan fails to return home.
* (trader) seems to be rapidly losing patience
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* (trader) is not going to take much more of this
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If you have locked the caravan into your fortress to hold out against a siege, it's a good idea to station a squad of soldiers near the trade depot in case the merchants [[Insanity#Types|go berserk]]. You may also want to make the depot a restricted area to encourage civilians to go around it. Alternatively, you can design the trade depot using drawbridges so that it can be sealed off from the rest of the fortress during a siege.
* (trader) is unwilling to trade
 
  
Happy merchants seem more likely to take your deals, although the exact mechanics of trader happiness and negotiation are unknown. If the traders reach the lowest level (unwilling to trade) as a result of repeated failed deals, they will immediately pack up and no further trade will be possible. Since traders who are annoyed with you are more likely to reject deals, you should tread cautiously in initial negotiations; the more times you fail to make a deal, the less happy they'll be and the less inclined they'll be to accept further deals. Skilled negotiators seem to be more likely to get traders to accept offers that include little or no profit for them, and less likely to offend traders with unsuccessful deals.  
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If you want the merchants to leave safely, you can build four or more tunnels to each corner of the map, connected to your fortress only by drawbridges. As long as there is no other way to enter and exit your fortress, invaders and merchants will both go towards any tunnel that you activate. You can lock the merchants into the trade depot, and then open a tunnel entrance on one side of the map to make the invaders head towards that tunnel. When they get close to it, you can close it, and then open the entrance on the other side of the map, and let the traders out of the depot. If your fortress and depot are in the middle of the map, this will give the traders quite a head-start to get away.
  
=== Seizing Goods ===
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== Bugs ==
When trading with Elves and Humans, it is possible to {{K|s}}eize goods from the caravan.  This will cause them to respond with the message "Take what you want. I can't stop you." and they will leave immediately, leaving you with the seized goods. You cannot seize goods from the Dwarven caravan.
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Hardships experienced by caravans are not properly recorded in the world's history, so future caravans will not be influenced by them. The following patch for version 0.28.181.40d for Windows fixes this:
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{{spoil small|<nowiki>0x3778D8 : 10 -> 28
 +
0x3778DE : 0C -> 24
 +
0x3778EB : 10 -> 28
 +
0x3778F1 : 0C -> 24
 +
0x377900 : 10 -> 28
 +
0x377906 : 0C -> 24
 +
0x377915 : 10 -> 28
 +
0x37791B : 0C -> 24
 +
0x37792F : 10 -> 28
 +
0x377935 : 0C -> 24
 +
</nowiki>|Binary Patch Enclosed}}

Latest revision as of 23:59, 21 May 2024

This article is about an older version of DF.

Trading in Dwarf Fortress first occurs in the first autumn after establishing your fortress, with the arrival of the Dwarven caravan. Trading is a good way to acquire resources that are not available or are rare in the local area. It also allows for more freedom in selecting starting gear, because items can always be obtained through trade later, e.g. one can drop the expensive anvil to bring 500 extra units of booze or purchase additional skills for the expedition party. New players can look here for advice on trading with the first caravan.

A Trader is the term used at your Trade Depot to refer to your fortress Broker when dealing with merchants in a visiting caravan (r - "Trader requested at Depot"). As a profession, the term usually only applies to those merchants, and to a dwarf whose highest skill is Appraiser.

Trade Depot[edit]

Building a Trade depot will allow you the opportunity to trade with caravans that arrive at your fortress.

While it may be convenient to build a Trade Depot outside first, it is usually a good idea to move it inside or build fortifications around it to protect caravans and your goods from thieves and goblins.

Do not build two Trade Depots however, as then neither will work properly.

Everything that is on your map belongs to you, except:

  • the items of non-fortress members (only if they are alive, when they are dead they belong to you if you claim the items),
  • the items that are in trade wagons or on merchant animals
  • the items that are on the trade depot (they belong to nobody until they are moved out of it)

So, merchant goods that were on the trade depot belong to you if they are not on trade wagons/merchant animals. So a little hint: when the merchants have finished unloading, deconstruct the depot...

See the Trade depot article for more information on how to interact with it.

Trading[edit]

Suggested trading procedure
Arrive at fortress location
Create goods Build Trade Depot
Check depot is accessible
Wait for caravan
Set goods to be traded Wait for caravan to arrive at depot and merchants to finish unloading Wait for the diplomat (if any) to reach your leader
Wait for goods to be hauled Turn your leader's labors off so they don't get distracted
Conduct meetings with the diplomat
Request trader at depot
Turn your trader's labors off so they don't get distracted
Trade
Turn trader's and leader's labors back on
Retrieve bins from depot to reuse


After entering the trade menu, select the items to offer from the right, and the desired items from the left. All caravans have a weight limit which cannot be exceeded, and the allowed additional weight is displayed in the lower right corner. If the acting broker has at least Novice or better Appraisal skill, the value of all items will be displayed. Once the proposal is ready, press t to make an offer, but merchants will not agree unless they make adequate profit. Be sure to use trade, not offer o, as this will make a gift of the selected items. The amount of acceptable profit is determined by the broker's skills and the merchant's mood, described below. Merchants may attempt to propose counteroffers if they do not accept the proposal, which can then be accepted, rejected, or further amended by the broker.

A good rule of thumb for inexperienced brokers is to give merchants a 50% or better profit. For example, if the desired goods are worth 500☼, make sure their profit is at least 250☼ (which would make the total worth of the offered goods 750☼). This should ensure that the merchants are happy with the trading and that they accept the trade immediately without making ridiculous counteroffers. With more experienced brokers or pleased merchants, even marginally profitable trades can be successful, and counteroffers can be rejected safely, offering the same trade again. Note however that a low profit margin for the traders may not be desirable - it has been suggested that both export and profit numbers influence the size of next year's caravan and, in the case of the dwarven caravan, immigration numbers.

Goods brought from caravans do not have base quality higher than superior, but decorations on a good may be of any quality.

Trading cue colors[edit]

  • Items in brown have been created (or modified) by your fortress. They can be traded away or offered as a gift.
  • Items in white were created by another source. They can be traded, but if one of these items has been selected, the entire selection cannot be offered as a gift.
  • Items in purple are under a no-export mandate and should not be traded away unless exceptional circumstances (or masochism) push you to do this.
  • Items in green have just been gifted to the caravan and they will not trade it back.
  • Items in red have been seized from another caravan and cannot be traded as is; you will need to decorate them or turn them into other items for them to become "valid" trading items. However, usually a caravan from a different civilization will accept stolen goods without changing them first.

Merchant mood[edit]

If your broker has Novice or better Judge of intent skill, there will be a line added below the merchant's dialogue describing the caravan's attitude. Their attitude rises with successful trades (especially if they get lots of profit) and falls when you propose deals they don't like.

  • (trader) seems ecstatic with the trading
  • (trader) seems very happy about the trading
  • (trader) seems pleased with the trading
  • (trader) seems willing to trade (Default, at least for humans)
  • (trader) seems to be rapidly losing patience
  • (trader) is not going to take much more of this
  • (trader) is unwilling to trade

The happier you make a merchant, the less profit margin he will demand in a trade. If merchants reach the lowest level, no further trade will be possible, and they will immediately pack up and leave your depot. Since annoyed traders are more likely to reject deals, you should be generous in initial negotiations. Skilled negotiators seem less likely to offend traders with unsuccessful deals.

An easy way to capitalize on this mood system is to perform several partial trades. First trade for a few items, offering goods twice the value of the items you ask for (e.g., offer 2000☼ for 1000☼ of his stuff). This will likely make the merchant ecstatic about trading with you. Exit the trade screen, unpause briefly, and then return to trading with a vengeance. With the merchant in such a good mood, he is more likely to counteroffer than reject a trade outright.

Seizing items[edit]

Pressing s from the trade menu will seize the selected items of the merchant's. If you seize goods from a caravan, the merchant will respond "Take what you want. I can't stop you." and then leave immediately without the seized goods. Items cannot be seized from the dwarven caravan, and other races will not buy goods stolen from one of their caravans (then marked in red) unless they are tricked into asking for them via counteroffer, or the items are "laundered" by decoration or used to create other goods. Seizing goods will hurt diplomatic relations, but is not grounds for an automatic siege.

Pressing the seize button while no goods are selected will result in the merchant interpreting your seizure as a joke. This apparently does nothing to benefit or hinder your trading.

As a side note, if you deconstruct your trade depot with a caravan in it, the wagons will be killed and all the caravan's items will drop to the ground, to be readily hauled away by your Dwarves. This does not mark the items as stolen, and the caravan will leave. However, next year's caravan is partly based on the profits from the previous year - so if you are relying on that race's caravans for needed items, you're hurting yourself in the long run.

Another way to steal without marking as stolen is to forbid the trade depot just before they leave, causing them to leave their goods at the depot.

Note that the civilization attached to a particular caravan will keep track of the value of items the caravan was carrying when they set out to trade, and they will compare this value with the value of items they return home with. Regardless of what method you use to confiscate items from a caravan, even if you came to possess the goods through no fault of your own (an ambush killed the caravaners, for example) the parent civilization may decide that you stole from them and send a siege instead of a caravan the following year. It is prudent to take measures to protect caravans visiting your lands!

...or at least that's what's supposed to happen - due to a bug in this version, merchants fail to record their hardships in history, so no negative effects will occur. See below for more details.

Offering items[edit]

o You can also give away items, as gifts to the leaders of the civilization you are trading with. This presumably helps relations between yourself and the other faction. The exact effects are unknown but it is believed that offering goods increases the quantity and variety of trade goods brought by next year's caravan. Also the King usually requires offerings to be made before his arrival.

Note: There are no benefits to offering goods in this manner; Toady has stated that this is to be changed in future versions. ("Req174, REASON FOR OFFERING, (Future): There's no point of offering goods to your own king right now.)". For now offerings only increase your fortress' Exported Wealth, and all the FUN that entails.

Miscellaneous Trading Advice[edit]

  • Several small trades, exiting the trade window each time, will increase the Broker's relevant skills during the early game.
  • Food inside the Trade Depot can go bad. Have a food stockpile nearby so you can quickly haul goods inside.
  • Thieves and thieving critters tend to follow caravans. Expect assaults and intruders.
  • Be careful about asking traders to bring lots of individual lightweight items (such as meat and fish) as it can result in traders taking a very long time to unload their goods. Unless the path to your depot is extremely long, though, this is unlikely to cause significant problems.
  • All caravans will bring extra food (meat and edible plants), wooden logs, and cloth/leather (for making clothes) if the supplies of your fortress are low enough, independent of whether or not you requested them. This does not apply in the case that the weight limit is exceeded by (other) items you requested. The supply situation, as observed by traders, is based solely on the number of unforbidden items in your fortress, stockpiled or not; thus, it is possible to trick caravans into thinking your supplies are low by forbidding all of your relevant stocks immediately prior to their arrival.
    • In order to avoid this behavior, you should make sure that, for each dwarf in your fortress, you have the following unforbidden items:
      • 5 pieces of food - meat, fish, plants, or "other" in your Status screen (even though "other" includes inedible items)
      • 1 wood log
      • 5 pieces of undamaged cloth, pieces of leather, or complete sets of pristine clothing (shirt+pants+shoe)

Caravans[edit]

Each friendly race will send a caravan each season that they are active, which is once per year for humans, elves, and dwarves. Caravans will only show up if that race considers the fortress site accessible (as denoted on the embark screen), with the exception of dwarves, who always arrive unless they are extinct. Caravans appear to enter the map from a random direction which does not coincide with the relative direction of the originating civilization, and they may appear from different directions or z-levels each year. Caravans may leave without trading if it takes too long to reach the trade depot, and they cannot use stairs. Caravans will embark on their journey back exactly one month after their arrival, whether they have succeeded in reaching the depot or not.

Note that if traders or their animals are prevented from leaving, they will eventually go insane.

Human and dwarven caravans may bring wagons to carry a larger quantity of trade goods.

Races[edit]

The following races send caravans.

Dwarves[edit]

The dwarven caravan:

  • arrives in autumn.
  • employs wagons to bring more goods.
  • typically carries food, booze, leather and more. Dwarves alone may carry steel and steel goods.
  • tends to be well guarded.
  • sends a liaison who will speak with the Expedition leader (or Mayor) to negotiate prices.
  • influences the number of immigrants received (if the caravan leaves intact).[Verify]
  • will not cause sieges when repeatedly destroyed or lost.
  • is the only caravan to arrive during a fortress' first year.
  • always arrives regardless of embark location.
  • cannot have its goods seized from the trade menu.

Elves[edit]

A typical elven caravan.

The elven caravan:

  • arrives in spring.
  • does not send wagons.
  • typically carries cloth, rope, various above ground plants and their byproducts, logs, wooden crafts & weapons, large-sized clothing and armor, and may carry tame creatures (may arrive dead; a freezing biome, either at your fort or during travel, is suspected to be the cause).
  • tends to be unguarded.
  • does not accept some items in trade:

Elven traders do not like to be offered any tree byproducts. Forbidden items include:

  • Wooden items, and items derived from wood (including tower-cap logs), such as charcoal and pearlash
  • Items made from clear and crystal glass (because pearlash is used in their creation) - green glass appears to be perfectly acceptable
  • Items decorated with any of the above materials
  • Obsidian shortswords (since they have wooden handles)
  • Soap (made with ash)

Offering or trading forbidden items will cause the mood of the trader to drop rapidly, quickly (possible after first offer) causing him to refuse to trade any more that season and leave immediately. Additionally you will be called uncouth, crude, and barbaric for suggesting it. Tragic incidents can befall name callers which if repeated can lead to interesting times and even great fun!

However, stone and metal items, even when charcoal is used in production, are acceptable. Items made from silk are acceptable, as are all non-wooden plant-derived products such as cloth and thread. Different from previous versions, items made of bone and shell are acceptable. You can also transport your goods to the trade depot in a wooden bin, as long as you do not try to sell the bin. Living animals are acceptable, as long as the cage or trap is not made of wood.

Be especially careful with reselling decorated items from other caravans, as non-wood/glass items may have decorations of wood or clear/crystal glass. All items that elven caravans sell are also unacceptable to sell back to elves, as the dwarves have no means of proving that they were made in an "elf kosher" way — and all dwarves know that elves have terrible memory.

Humans[edit]

The human caravan:

  • arrives in summer.
  • employs wagons to bring more goods.
  • typically carries a very large quantity and variety of goods.
  • tends to be moderately guarded.
  • sends a liaison who will speak with the broker to negotiate prices.

Goblins[edit]

A goblin caravan may arrive if your civilization is at peace with the goblins.

The goblin caravan:

  • will arrive every season, four times per year
  • does not send wagons
  • tends to be unguarded
  • brings mostly food and cloth
  • does not send a liaison or a guild representative
  • does not make import/export agreements

Nobles[edit]

Outpost liaisons (from your own civilization) and Guild representatives (from Human civilizations) may be sent with caravans to speak to important dwarves. They will allow you to choose the type of items that your fortress is interested in, and will focus on bringing more of that kind of item on the next caravan (however those items will also be more expensive). They will also present you with a list of the items they're willing to pay more for, which will be effective upon their next arrival.

Trade agreements can be viewed at a later time through the Civilization menu (c). These trade agreements are cleared when a liaison of the corresponding civilization enters the screen, so they are generally not accessible after the caravan has arrived.

Note that if a liaison is prevented from leaving, it will eventually go insane. Liaisons are irreplaceable, so it is essential to protect them at all costs.

Destruction[edit]

If caravans are destroyed (intentionally or unintentionally), the items may remain for use. Traders caught in a cave-in will flee as if they were attacked but will leave all the items dropped by the caravan behind. Pack animals carrying items are affected just like a normal tamed mule and must be killed in the cave-in for them to drop items on the ground. It is however much more likely that the pack animal(s) will only be stunned or rendered unconscious and flee shortly after recovering from the hit. Wagons will collapse if caught in a cave-in, leaving all that it was carrying on the ground as a result. Wagons can also be destroyed by ocean waves coming up onto the shore if you have settled in the appropriate area. The only difference between collapsing under waves or a cave-in is a higher probably of recovering items if the wagon is destroyed by a wave.

While caravans can defend themselves, they don't like being ambushed. An encounter with unfriendly creatures may cause them to retreat and forget about trading with you for the season. Repeated caravan destruction (intentional or unintentional) will strain diplomatic relations and may result in a siege. Due to a bug, however, this does not occur.

Caravan Delay[edit]

If a caravan has arrived at your trade depot and is unable to leave for about six months after they arrived, the merchants and animals will go insane. This can result in a bunch of merchants attacking your dwarves, or just standing around moping until they starve to death. It is not known for certain if this hurts diplomatic relations, but most likely it's the same as any case where the entire caravan fails to return home.

If you have locked the caravan into your fortress to hold out against a siege, it's a good idea to station a squad of soldiers near the trade depot in case the merchants go berserk. You may also want to make the depot a restricted area to encourage civilians to go around it. Alternatively, you can design the trade depot using drawbridges so that it can be sealed off from the rest of the fortress during a siege.

If you want the merchants to leave safely, you can build four or more tunnels to each corner of the map, connected to your fortress only by drawbridges. As long as there is no other way to enter and exit your fortress, invaders and merchants will both go towards any tunnel that you activate. You can lock the merchants into the trade depot, and then open a tunnel entrance on one side of the map to make the invaders head towards that tunnel. When they get close to it, you can close it, and then open the entrance on the other side of the map, and let the traders out of the depot. If your fortress and depot are in the middle of the map, this will give the traders quite a head-start to get away.

Bugs[edit]

Hardships experienced by caravans are not properly recorded in the world's history, so future caravans will not be influenced by them. The following patch for version 0.28.181.40d for Windows fixes this: