Merchants bugged?

[Axident]

I have had this happen in two different forts with two different world gens now. I am not using any mods. Basically I build a Trade Depot and the traders come just fine. I trade with them normally but when it comes time for them to leave they just hang around even after it says they have departed. They leave all their goods at the trade depot including the items I traded them. The merchants will stick around for a good while but eventually do leave my map abandoning everything at my Trade Depot. This happened on my first non-tutorial fort and after 2 years of no other caravans coming buy I just claimed all the items in the Depot the merchants abandoned. Has anyone else experienced this or something similar?

[Cockle]

Happened to me, too. The merchants never left. They stood in the wilderness, occasionally fighting animals while leaving everything at the depot. The liaison hung out in the hospital, probably conversing with my bedridden expedition leader who had been grievously wounded by a giant eagle. After the expedition leader suddenly died, the liaison got mad and left the map, but the merchants were still there. I'm not sure if they would have eventually left, because during my second year my dwarves were quickly wiped out by a small marauding army of undead elves.

[A Bull Moose]

I have the same issue!

Very concerning if they are treated as lost caravans, this would mean eventually you will be seiged or abandoned by all of those who visit to trade because each lost caravan is a negative hit to relations.

[Sr_Tregras]

I only have one merchant caravan (dwarft caravan) but it works as usual

[Teemo]

Is there a chance you built something to block their exit? Their carts need a 3x3 path to get to and from the depot.

[ViiK]

Sometimes trees will grow and block their path, if you uncovered caverns then giant mushrooms can do that too.

[Axident]

Originally posted by Teemo:

Is there a chance you built something to block their exit? Their carts need a 3x3 path to get to and from the depot.

No the depot was placed outside in an open field in both forts

[Dagmar]

I haven't checked if the same feature exists in the GUI client, but there was a key to show available pathing for the caravans. You need a 3-wide path all the way to the edge of the map, and it's not uncommon for some sapling to spring up and block the last remaining path back home.

Find that tree and cut it down. Traders aren't generally very bright, but they can be very blameful if they're kept trapped at your fortress for an extended period of time.

[Romeroberto]

same problem

[Empath demon]

It happened to me a couple times, but I think one of them I accidentally butchered one of their donkeys (if true, new bug). But I've traded more times without this issue, and my money is actually on the more aggressive wildlife in 50.01 injuring members of trade party, keeping them from leaving. Maybe birds which stay on the map but aren't accessible so the caravan guards just stay in combat? IDK.

[Garret Wayne]

Originally posted by Empath demon:

It happened to me a couple times, but I think one of them I accidentally butchered one of their donkeys (if true, new bug). But I've traded more times without this issue, and my money is actually on the more aggressive wildlife in 50.01 injuring members of trade party, keeping them from leaving. Maybe birds which stay on the map but aren't accessible so the caravan guards just stay in combat? IDK.

This one could be the cause!
I even had a merchant's guard that went battle frenzy or what not and killed a bunch of keas that were trying to steal things near my base, and next time they came it engaged them again, without the frenzy but now they are stuck halfway to the map edge.

EDIT: I tried to channel beneath them to make them move, to no avail, so the only solution was that I removed my trading post and they left!

[McOrigin]

This is a know bug that has been around for years: If traders are spooked by wildlife, they may get lost. Only known solution is to deconstruct the trade depot which will make them leave the map behind, but leave behind everythin in the trade depot.
And that is quite bad für your rep.

Some tipps to avoid that issue are:
- build your trade depot inside, but leave a 3 wide entrance, of couse.
- station a military squad close to your depot when traders arrive.

[ViiK]

Something else to keep in mind.
Don't request too many goods from the envoy and don't sell too many heavy items to the traders. Either of these can lead to trader cart moving extremely slow, to a point that it can take years between when caravan enters the map and gets to depot and vice/versa.
While traders are in depot, some vegetation can grow over their path, like trees, bushes and mushrooms. Water bodies can get unfrozen too. Build roads or smooth rock at the path that caravan is suppose to take, that prevents vegetation from growing there.

[Diarmuhnd]

Originally posted by McOrigin:

...
Some tipps to avoid that issue are:
- build your trade depot inside, but leave a 3 wide entrance, of couse.
- station a military squad close to your depot when traders arrive.

This seems to have been working for me.
My first fort had this problem, but the 3 forts since have not.

I build my 1st trade depot underground a few levels down a slope and at the end of a hallway. I place hunting dogs and war dogs in a pasture along the hallway and I put all my starting dorfs into a military squad just in case I need them to swarm something hostile at the entrance to help out the animals.

Hope it helps, good luck

[Eqqsquizitine Buble-Schwinslow]

When it happened to me it was after the merchants were attacked by hostiles.

Deconstructing the trading post got them to leave.

[Garret Wayne]

Originally posted by McOrigin:

This is a know bug that has been around for years: If traders are spooked by wildlife, they may get lost. Only known solution is to deconstruct the trade depot which will make them leave the map behind, but leave behind everythin in the trade depot.
And that is quite bad für your rep.

Some tipps to avoid that issue are:
- build your trade depot inside, but leave a 3 wide entrance, of couse.
- station a military squad close to your depot when traders arrive.

Awesome! Thank you for your answer!