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v0.34:Mount
| This article is about an older version of DF. |
Enemies in sieges will often come mounted on other creatures, their mounts. These mounts can not only add to the attacks of those mounted on them, but also give their riders more battle ability: their mounts might be able to fly, might be building destroyers, they might be faster and fleeter than the creature would regularly be on foot, or they might just be plain scary in combat.
Mounts can arrive in one of three forms: as individual rides for a squad captain, with whole squads mounted on them, or as rider-less squads, that is, ordinary creatures under control of the attacking army. Some mounts, such as giant bats or giant cave swallows, possess the ability to fly, pathing over whatever walls and traps you have set up for them. This can lead to a great deal of Fun if you do not have sufficient marksdwarves to deal with them. However, mounted squads tend to come with mixed mounts, all of which must be capable of flight in order for the besiegers to attack from the skies. This means that if a squad of bat-riders has a single elk bird in it, the squad will behave like any other land unit. Some siegers also come on amphibious mounts, such as cave crocodiles and giant toads. Humorously, these units will disregard their rider's inability to breathe underwater or swim, and reports of amphibious mounts pathing into moats or rivers, only to have their goblin riders drown, are fairly common.
There are three types of mounts: ordinary [MOUNT]s, ridden by Humans; above-ground (or "good") [MOUNT_EXOTIC]s, ridden by Elves; and underground (or "evil") [MOUNT_EXOTIC]s, ridden by Goblins. As of the current version, Dwarves cannot train or ride mounts. There are many animals that have [MOUNT] or [MOUNT_EXOTIC] in their raw files, but below are the most commonly found when an army besieges your fortress.
- Goblin sieges have been known to ride elk birds, giant cave swallows, giant olms, giant bats, and giant cave spiders, cave crocodiles, rutherers, jabberers, blind cave bears, and voracious cave crawlers. Cave dragons and trolls can also appear riderless alongside their sieges. These are usually the only sieges where you need to worry about enemies flying into your fortress from above.
- Elves prefer arriving on foot, but when they do ride mounts, they usually use the dreaded unicorn, although it is theoretically possible for them to arrive riding any exotic land animal, such as elephants, giant hamsters, or giant mantises. Because of this, be prepared for flying enemies when elves besiege your fortress.
- Human seiges will come riding camels (of both varieties), horses, and grizzly bears, in addition to bringing along squads of trained war animals, like giant cheetahs.
Beyond acting like a force multiplier, dead mounts can be butchered after the battle to feed your meat industry. A squad of cave dragons that is killed and hauled back inside your fort will produce a lot of meat products, making mounted sieges convenient food resupplies, if you are prepared to handle them that is. Note that goblins only have a single animal trainer, their general; if he falls (or, because of a bug, leaves the map), you will never see mounted goblin units again.