40d:Ambusher

Skill: Ambusher

Association
Profession	Ranger
Job Title	Ambusher
Labor	Hunting
Tasks
Hunt
Workshop
None

Dwarves with the hunting labor enabled automatically use the ambusher skill while hunting outside of the fortress, which allows them to sneak up on their prey. Dwarves using the ambush skill move slower, but cannot be seen by enemies.

As an ambusher gets closer to his prey, there is a greater and greater chance he or she will be spotted and stop ambushing. Higher skill allows dwarves to get closer before being spotted, and also increases the speed at which a dwarf can move while sneaking.

In adventurer mode, ambusher skill is gained by moving around while Sneaking. This will greatly reduce your speed just as it does in dwarf mode, but will cause hostile creatures not to attack you. Until you unSneak or someone spots you, you will gain a small amount of experience in ambushing with every step. Presently, smashing a creature's skull in with your bare hands does not count as being spotted, so the best way to tell if you're still sneaking is to check your speed in the bottom right of the screen.

Hunting

A hunter picks a mark which he pursues. Upon killing the mark, a hunter will carry it home to the butcher's shop. A hunter may kill other creatures that are closer to them than the fleeing mark he is intent on catching. This happens frequently with crossbows due to their range. They will ignore the accidental carcass and only bring home a carcass they have marked beforehand. This means that sometimes multiple dead critters per hunt will be lying about and start rotting around the map if you do not set the refuse orders to 'gather refuse from outside' (corpses count as refuse). If you do this and have a good system of stockpiles, available dwarf haulers and a map free of menacing critters (the hunters should accomplish this just fine), then you should have the outside of your fort just as tidy as the inside, and will be able to salvage the corpses.

The same caution is advised to the slaughtering process. Hunters will drop carcasses directly into the butchery, which will make it cluttered very fast. Animals upon being butchered explode into chunks, meat, skin, bones, fat and skull, and the clutter will make the butcher work many times slower. Stockpiles and haulers are required, or your animal corpses will rot even while in the butchery and you will lose the skin, the meat and the fat (food). Bones and skulls can be salvaged even from rotting corpses.

If you don't have a good stocking and hauling system, you will not get more than half of the kill, and the craftsdwarf unfortunate enough to need the bones from the rotted critters will have to go out alone several times to get them every time which places a huge strain on production speed and safety.

You can assign hunting dogs to hunters, as they will sneak just as the hunter. War dogs die more often for hunters even if they are stronger, since the dogs outrun the sneaking hunter and thus the hunter never gets the first shot and sometimes never even has time to arrive at the combat before the dog is either dead or wounded.

Dwarves can hunt with any weapon, or even unarmed, but a crossbow is the most sensible choice, due to its range.

You should consider training hunters with hammers and in wrestling in order for them to defend themselves. This is because hunters will fight to the death even if they run out of bolts. Without bolts, he must fight with the butt of the crossbow which is counted as a weak hammer. Wrestling is his last resort if the hunter drops his crossbow in the fight. Wrestling will help him to break the jaw-grips that the enemy critter places on him, and will help the dwarf wrestle on his own and even place his own jaw grips if both of his hands are incapacitated.

Free equipment

Any dwarf given ambusher skill at Novice level or better before embarking will get a free set of leather armor (leather armor, leather leggings, leather low or high boots, and leather helm or steel cap), a crossbow (made of copper, bronze, bismuth bronze, iron, or steel), and a quiver with 30-40 steel bolts. All of these items will be of ordinary quality.

This equipment will only be given if ambusher is the dwarf's highest skill; a Proficient Ambusher/Proficient Cook will have farmer as a profession, and will not receive any equipment. However, ambushers with other ranger skills, even ones higher than their ambusher skill, will still receive this equipment, as will ambushers with military skills at any level. (Separately, military skills will not influence what equipment is given: speardwarves will arrive at the site carrying nothing, and speardwarf/ambushers will arrive with the crossbow given to all ambushers. Armor user and shield user have no effect either.)

Any immigrating rangers with ambusher skill will also receive this equipment.

See also

• Meat industry

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Miner	Miner
Woodworker	Bowyer · Carpenter · Wood cutter
Stoneworker	Engraver · Mason
Ranger	Ambusher · Animal caretaker · Animal dissector · Animal trainer · Trapper
Farmer	Brewer · Butcher · Cheese maker · Cook · Dyer · Grower · Herbalist · Lye maker · Milker · Miller · Potash maker · Soaper · Tanner · Thresher · Wood burner
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Jeweler	Gem cutter · Gem setter
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Engineer	Mechanic · Pump operator · Siege engineer · Siege operator
Administrator	Appraiser · Building designer · Organizer · Record keeper
Military	General Armor user · Shield user · Wrestler Dwarven Axeman · Crossbowman · Hammerman · Maceman · Spearman · Swordsman Other Blowgunner · Bowman · Knife user · Lasher · Pikeman
Social	Broker Comedian · Conversationalist · Flatterer · Intimidator · Judge of intent · Liar · Negotiator · Persuader Other Consoler · Pacifier
Other/Peasant	Swimmer · Thrower
Unused	Alchemist · Druid · Tracker