Taming Dragons

[Pete]

One arrived. I managed to retract my bridges in time but it blew one side to my fortress clean off, with the subsequent fire consuming the map (I have moats fortunately, but didn't stop the elves being pissed at me for harming the trees?)

It roamed about for a bit before it hit one of my traps...a willow trap...I managed to get it semi-wild but it soon reverted to its wild state. I got a pop-up telling me my dwarfs learned more about taming dragons...but what is the next step to making them 'pets'?

[zeeb]

https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Dragon

Read the section about "Domestication".

Also, congrats on encountering a dragon, if you play with default world settings.
Some players have played for thousands of hours and never encountered one.

[Ozone]

Dragons will always be dangerous creatures.
You basically have to tame them again and again, until your dwarves learn enough that it becomes almost permanent.
There is a screen where you can see how much your dwarves know about taming each creature.

So basically: a lot of patience, and danger.
Remember that a dragon may blow fire anywhere, so even when tamed, make sure to keep it in a safe area.

If you can, equip your trainer dwarf with a shield, as it can protect him from dragon fire.

[pezenwever]

Never seen a dragon myself. I was able to capture a roc (bird megabeast). Eventhough it has "trained masterfully" status, it did kill an entire merchantparty when I was ordering his master to go on a raid. Since that incident he still wants to fight a certain dwarf who probaly was near mentioned incident. So I build him a nice room in a dead end hallway on a seperate floor.
So there was no real next step in training the roc. I just assigned my best ranger to train him and it popped "masterfully trained" very fast. My other creatures do not get this status. All I get is the occasional "your civ has learned this and that about taming x creature"

[AurelianDio]

Dragons are attracted to your fortress once you hit a certain amount of total value, the last two forts I made once I reached a certain value a dragon popped up immediately, didn't even take that long since I start with a cook preparing meals which are valued way too high imo, in like 4-5 years sure enough a dragon comes.

[Baalthoros]

At least now you can change the settings for when they can show up, or if they even do at any time. It used to be annoyingly hard to do. Now even mid game you can just go to settings and play with it. You can even turn off the beasts and leave sieges on.

[Erei]

Just so everyone knows, dragons are the only creature capable of burning bridges and even built wall, no matter the material. If the material have a burning or metling point, it's not safe. The only safe items can't be used to build in steam (ash, dragon part and a few things here and there). Yes, dragonfire is technically hotter than magma and will melt magma safe material (and burn magma crabs).

Needless to say, they are incredibly dangerous.


As for taming, dragons are born adult (if that wasn't changed), which mean they can never be fully tame. Also, do note a dragon child take 1000years to reach full size.
So huh, good luck.

[Endemonadia]

♥♥♥♥♥♥.. the best ive trapped is a Giant Moose :(

Ive worked out Forgotten Beasts cannot be trapped as ive had about 6 run over my traps without triggering them.

[Baalthoros]

Yea they have trap avoidance. The only way to trap them is to web them while they are on the trap. Even then if they have webs that wont work because they will be immune to that as well.

[POWER WITHIN USER]

Originally posted by Pete:

It roamed about for a bit before it hit one of my traps...a willow trap...I managed to get it semi-wild but it soon reverted to its wild state. I got a pop-up telling me my dwarfs learned more about taming dragons...but what is the next step to making them 'pets'?

As absolutely nobody mentioned this yet, you have to take the creature out of the cage by moving it to a pen, no idea if the training area has to overlap with said pen. If the animals are stuck in a cage no animal trainers will be able to work with them past the initial training attempt which iirc involves someone bringing it food.

Also don't assign them a specific trainer.

[Pete]

I am terrified to let her out of the cage! Especially when she is semi wild. Wouldn't that mean she will defend herself no matter who the trainer is?

Interestingly she obliterated only my basalt bridges (I have an inner and outer moat), the adjacent basalt block walls were fine.

[Bralbaard]

A warning: At least in the pre-steam version dragons were more unreliable and dangerous than normal tamed animals. I think they are innately hostile to military dwarves for example, and fun might ensue.

[pezenwever]

Give him a nice tower or something away from your base and do not forget to spam nestboxes. *jaws tune*

[Pete]

I gave her a tower of her own and she claimed a nestbox but I suspect nothing will come of it. She is 'well-trained' now. I am tempted to bring her down to caverns where two forgotten beasts are endlessly fighting one another.

[Krampus]

I once had a pair of dragons. Took one up from my training pits to stand guards outside of my fort it decided to attack a cranky cat in the heart of my fort. Much fun followed.

I was able to flood the area and minimize the fire damage.

If you want to tame and use dragons be sure to have insane water systems

It was worth the trouble. A siege of 80 or so goblins retreated after a single breath attack.

[pezenwever]

Originally posted by Pete:

I gave her a tower of her own and she claimed a nestbox but I suspect nothing will come of it. She is 'well-trained' now. I am tempted to bring her down to caverns where two forgotten beasts are endlessly fighting one another.

Well, you can eat the eggs if you only have a female. I'm still waiting on my fort with the Roc female for a male to arrive, but so far no luck :/