changing from worker to warrior

[Major Witty]

How do I get gnomes to drop weapons and use tools or hands while not fighting? Is it best to dedicate some gnomes to combat and others as workers? My 6 year old son does most of the playing so I'm not sure how to help him. All his warriors apparently stand around and neglect tasks assigned in their profession.

[The Duck Knight]

My opinion: Yes it is best to have some gnomes only for combat and some only for work.
You can also assign the workers that use tools (woodcutter; miner) to have a fitting combat uniform that includes their tools as asigned weapon.

[Musket Squid]

I give my miners a hammer also and some armor (slows em down a lil) so they can help in the fighting too. I make squads for everyone so they can get the perks, just have then ones you dont want to fight avoid enimies or retreat when bleeding. There is a lot you can do with the military functions.

[chaotix14]

Well, it's actually quite simple, just like you can assign a uniform to a specific millitary role, you can do the same for the civilian roles. Just go to professions and look for the uniform, it should say default, meaning they'll keep the uniform on that they are wearing. So if they are in full metal armor, they'll keep that on, usefull if you have a standing army that does some other jobs, less if you want your haulers run at max efficiency(since it hinders their speed). Simply change that to something that'll work for that profession, so anyone with mining give them a pickaxe and anyone with woodcutting give them a felling axe(specifically a felling axe since any other won't work for woodcutting). Also you could give them torches for their off hand, it's optional, but it'll give you a bit more vision around during the night and underground.

As for whether it's best to have an army be dedicated to millitary and have the rest dedicated to working, it most likely is. I'd suggest going for full millitia in the start(start training around day 8 of spring or so), then move towards a squad of dedicated millitary with millitia backup and then to just a dedicated millitary force.

[Ishan451]

Originally posted by Major Witty:

How do I get gnomes to drop weapons and use tools or hands while not fighting? Is it best to dedicate some gnomes to combat and others as workers? My 6 year old son does most of the playing so I'm not sure how to help him. All his warriors apparently stand around and neglect tasks assigned in their profession.

2 Workarounds.

1) You make a Uniform that includes the Tool in question, which usually means a one handed weapon and the tool in the off hand, or you have them fight with the Tool instead, which is ineffective but can be done. And then assign the uniform to the position in the squad which the Soldier in question is supposed to be in.

2) You make dedicated Soldiers (i even create a soldiers profession), which don't work. Which allows you to place a training area next to the Entrance and have you soldiers train there all day, allowing them to get better and better while waiting for the enemy.


Basically it boils down to the question if you want a Militia or a professional Army. With a Militia you need more gnomes doing the defending, because the time they spend working they cannot train. With a Professional Army you need to basically feed the guys that train all day to protect the rest, but its easier to outfit a few really well, as well as have them train all day to be buff soldiers that rip apart any and all opposition.

Edit: And yes, i know it might seem like a stupid thing, but i actually like it, because it forces you to make an age old decision humanity had to go through a couple times, and each society has to decide at some point, if they want to have a militia or a professional army.

[The Duck Knight]

Originally posted by Ishan451:

Originally posted by Major Witty:

How do I get gnomes to drop weapons and use tools or hands while not fighting? Is it best to dedicate some gnomes to combat and others as workers? My 6 year old son does most of the playing so I'm not sure how to help him. All his warriors apparently stand around and neglect tasks assigned in their profession.

2 Workarounds.

1) You make a Uniform that includes the Tool in question, which usually means a one handed weapon and the tool in the off hand, or you have them fight with the Tool instead, which is ineffective but can be done. And then assign the uniform to the position in the squad which the Soldier in question is supposed to be in.

2) You make dedicated Soldiers (i even create a soldiers profession), which don't work. Which allows you to place a training area next to the Entrance and have you soldiers train there all day, allowing them to get better and better while waiting for the enemy.


Basically it boils down to the question if you want a Militia or a professional Army. With a Militia you need more gnomes doing the defending, because the time they spend working they cannot train. With a Professional Army you need to basically feed the guys that train all day to protect the rest, but its easier to outfit a few really well, as well as have them train all day to be buff soldiers that rip apart any and all opposition.

Edit: And yes, i know it might seem like a stupid thing, but i actually like it, because it forces you to make an age old decision humanity had to go through a couple times, and each society has to decide at some point, if they want to have a militia or a professional army.

I prefer to do both 1) and 2)
Having your none-suvival-based workers (builders, woodcutters, miners, engneers, maybe blackmsmithes/jeweliers or even tailors) equiped and training one shift each day in addition to a few gnomes that are only there to fight keeps you even safer.
You might loose a worker every once in a while, but since these are the workers that will most likely crash into an enemy unexpected, having them ready for a bit of combat might keep them alive till reinforcements arrive.
Especially builders, miners and woodcutters tend to work outside of your safe-zones every once in a while. Well...farmers tend to stumble into wheat-golems a lot...but wheat-golems are no real thread. Saw an alpaca beating 3 of them without getting hurt.

[Major Witty]

Thanks for all the tips. I'll promote using militia for workers then one professional military squad. Using the one tool in one hand and weapon in another for militia.

[Los.Injurus.Bob.Blunderton]

Major, you have the right idea.
Don't give miners or tree fellers two handed weapons, or a weapon in BOTH hands, unless ONE of those weapons is a felling axe (tree logging), or a pickaxe (mining). They will get STUCK or just bumble around near the square. Also, they will also bumble around sometimes if you ask the miner to DIG HOLE in a spot of land with no floor (but a wall underneath where the no-floor is... example is if you remove the floor from the edge of the map), and if you try to dig stairs down where a wall is already (it lets you). If you get the former happening, you can build a floor there, then dig the hole, or go down and mine the wall away and fill the hole back in. If you get the latter, you can just mine wall before digging a stair down. This game doesn't have too many bugs, just make sure your son builds plenty of torches as the carpenter (you'll need a stick and a lump of coal, TREE>log>plank>2x stick@ carpenter , and coal from log or underground mine).

Also, if gnomes just bumble about, they might be unhappy. If they don't have a bed to sleep in (in a barracks/dorm or personal quarter), and a table/chair for eating at in a great hall (or the personal quarter). You'll get more work out of them if you give them a nice room. Attract more gnomes to your kingdom by building a fancy great hall, just beware of the enemies it may attract too!

This game is really awesome, even as deceptively simple as it looks, and is good clean fun and 10000% kid-safe. You might want to try this... it's a quite fun little game, just don't let your cat/kids starve :)

--cheers (for more info, see the kid-friendly http://www.gnomoriawiki.com )