Artifact Thieves

[[Brizby]]

Are really stupid annoying how do I deal with this?

I get the notification someone took an artifact, check every dwarf and visitors inventory, get pissed off, an hour later another is missing, spend an hour looking at every dwarf and their inventory including visitors.

Still can’t find my artifact, later half my artifacts are gone, my temples lost 90% of their worth, my baroness is pissed because her room just dropped to peasant levels of worth.

Screw this feature how do I turn it off or get my 8 or 9 artifacts back.

Thanks in advance

An angry furry…..

[[MadTs] Phyrys]

Make your guard captain the most accessible dwarf of your colony : Wherever he is, he must always be within reach of any dwarf wanting to report a stealing. This way, you'll be able to lockdown your fortress before any spy can extract with your things.

After than, interrogate anyone you suspect of the deed, be it the dwarf hired or any stranger. If no one spills the beans (meaning your captain is socially a waste of talking ability), do it again until some name pops. After that, you'll have two short-terms solutions : Kill the ♥♥♥♥♥♥ by having your army pay him a visit or convict it and see it coming later to try again.

The most efficient, long-term solution is to go on a crusade to wherever the guys comes from and raze the ♥♥♥♥ out of their country.

[Savok]

Dogs are good for sniffing out thieves.

[[Brizby]]

How do I know who reported it? It just says “someone reported a theft of “artifact”

[Commisar Jon Fuklaw]

There are many, many ways of preventing artifact theft. So many, in fact, that you almost have to try to lose artifacts to thieves. To cite a few not already mentioned:

• judicious use of doors (and locking those that lead out of the fort the instant a theft is witnessed/reported)
  
• not placing artifacts in rarely traveled parts of the fort
  
• placing artifacts in an expansive tavern/temple and severely limiting the number of similar meeting areas
  
• placing all artifacts in a vault surrounded by water/magma/clowns
  
• not allowing visitors, especially in taverns

[[MadTs] Phyrys]

Originally posted by Brizby:

How do I know who reported it? It just says “someone reported a theft of “artifact”

It's not "who" the important one, it's who they accuse to have lurked around the artifact an unhealthy amount of time who's sus, and they often do so.

[Stealthkibbler]

Check the groups the agent belongs to after you've confirmed who is responsible and which site government they belong to, then march an army over to their homeland and kindly ask them to stop the Dwarven way.

They can be dead giveaways since they usually have a history as a prisoner or may be apart of an outcast group.

After a few forts and some inquisitive diligence you'll get use to spotting them, it can be quite obvious to tell agents apart from real adventurers, the premium art style is amazing because it shows displays descriptive features, when a human 'monster slayer' arrives with the same lushious white beard as that last guy with a different name earlier in the year its obvious hes using a fake alias.

[[Brizby]]

Originally posted by Commisar Jon Fuklaw:

There are many, many ways of preventing artifact theft. So many, in fact, that you almost have to try to lose artifacts to thieves. To cite a few not already mentioned:

• judicious use of doors (and locking those that lead out of the fort the instant a theft is witnessed/reported)
  
• not placing artifacts in rarely traveled parts of the fort
  
• placing artifacts in an expansive tavern/temple and severely limiting the number of similar meeting areas
  
• placing all artifacts in a vault surrounded by water/magma/clowns
  
• not allowing visitors, especially in taverns

how do I keep visitors out of my fort? I have all my zones, tavern, inn ect set to dwarf citizens only and still see elves and humans in there. While I get spammed for hours on end for the same person wanting to come in for monster eradication...omg thats another annoyance entierly.

[Archaist]

What I do to avoid thieves and still be able to use my artefacts is to place them on pedestals to raise room value and then surround the pedestal with iron vertical bars, after all they only need to see the artefact to get a mood buff and to raise the value of a guildhall/tavern/etc and as it's behind bars good luck stealing that! I have yet to lose an artefact stored this way.

[Grimmrog_SIG]

Originally posted by MadTs Phyrys:

Make your guard captain the most accessible dwarf of your colony : Wherever he is, he must always be within reach of any dwarf wanting to report a stealing. This way, you'll be able to lockdown your fortress before any spy can extract with your things.

After than, interrogate anyone you suspect of the deed, be it the dwarf hired or any stranger. If no one spills the beans (meaning your captain is socially a waste of talking ability), do it again until some name pops. After that, you'll have two short-terms solutions : Kill the ♥♥♥♥♥♥ by having your army pay him a visit or convict it and see it coming later to try again.

The most efficient, long-term solution is to go on a crusade to wherever the guys comes from and raze the ♥♥♥♥ out of their country.

my captain had to interrogate the human multiple times before he confessed and gave the artifact back, but then he died on the way out of the last interrogation.

Originally posted by Archaist:

What I do to avoid thieves and still be able to use my artefacts is to place them on pedestals to raise room value and then surround the pedestal with iron vertical bars, after all they only need to see the artefact to get a mood buff and to raise the value of a guildhall/tavern/etc and as it's behind bars good luck stealing that! I have yet to lose an artefact stored this way.

they only get the mood buff if they are ON the tile of the artifact, they otherwise cannot "see" it

[Archaist]

Originally posted by Grimmrog_SIG:

Originally posted by MadTs Phyrys:

Make your guard captain the most accessible dwarf of your colony : Wherever he is, he must always be within reach of any dwarf wanting to report a stealing. This way, you'll be able to lockdown your fortress before any spy can extract with your things.

After than, interrogate anyone you suspect of the deed, be it the dwarf hired or any stranger. If no one spills the beans (meaning your captain is socially a waste of talking ability), do it again until some name pops. After that, you'll have two short-terms solutions : Kill the ♥♥♥♥♥♥ by having your army pay him a visit or convict it and see it coming later to try again.

The most efficient, long-term solution is to go on a crusade to wherever the guys comes from and raze the ♥♥♥♥ out of their country.

my captain had to interrogate the human multiple times before he confessed and gave the artifact back, but then he died on the way out of the last interrogation.

Originally posted by Archaist:

What I do to avoid thieves and still be able to use my artefacts is to place them on pedestals to raise room value and then surround the pedestal with iron vertical bars, after all they only need to see the artefact to get a mood buff and to raise the value of a guildhall/tavern/etc and as it's behind bars good luck stealing that! I have yet to lose an artefact stored this way.

they only get the mood buff if they are ON the tile of the artifact, they otherwise cannot "see" it

Thank you for the clarification, it seems I need to go back to the drawing board then.

[pezenwever]

Originally posted by Brizby:

how do I turn it off

If you take no sheriff in your next fort you will not have thieves. Going 24 years now, including visitors and artifacts for grabs in my tavern and no thefts whatsoever.

[MorsDux]

Originally posted by pezenwever:

Originally posted by Brizby:

how do I turn it off

If you take no sheriff in your next fort you will not have thieves. Going 24 years now, including visitors and artifacts for grabs in my tavern and no thefts whatsoever.

contrary to your experience, I have not ever had sheriff or captain of guard and got an artifact crown stolen. No witnesses (it was raising the value of a guild with moderate traffic)

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by Brizby:

Are really stupid annoying how do I deal with this?
..
Screw this feature how do I turn it off or get my 8 or 9 artifacts back.
...

First, know that the mechanic is not well-tuned and Bay12 knows it. They have said they are going to tone it down quite a bit, but the Conspiracy/Justice/Nemesis/Cabal mechanics are unfinished. What we have of those mechanics in-game are largely placeholders, IMO.

If you wish to maximize the value of artifacts by displaying them so your citizens can gain benefits, you may have to forbid Visitors, else you will be flooded with Thieves and Conspiracy "Plot" mechanics. Dorfs can still elect to steal on their own, though I don't know if they require outside contact with a faction or if they can bring that in with them when they migrate. (It may note that in the wiki, dunno)

You can not theft-proof an artifact on public display. A Dorf has to be in a tile next to it with an unobstructed view in order to get a bonus. Glass and other attempts do not work to achieve both. Either you get the bonus or you theft-proof the artifact - there is no third option.

Many of the above suggestions will work to help reduce the success-chances of an artifact being plotted against/stolen. If you want to display them with the accompanying chances of benefits, I'll add:

Put artifacts on display only in areas where Visitors are not allowed.

If you have an open Tavern, you will get Conspiracy messages from time to time if there is a plot afoot and conversation is overheard. Pay attention to those.

Make sure that in order for anyone to access such an area, they have to pass through enough doors so that you could have a chance of sealing off the area if you are alerted, hopefully trapping them.

Dogs work to help ferry out plotters in disguise and sneaking. Post guard dogs at your main entrance and/or along a typical route out of your fortress.

I run patrol routes for Militia that include the likely routes and artifact areas. It just... feels right to organize Militia to do that. :)

You can create a "Treasure Room" and just shove everything in there. But, if word will get out if any are on display and if anyone has access to them.

Lastly - Yes, it's probably the most annoying issue in the game for me, running neck-and-neck with Combat Squads, Training, and some other high-profile issues. But, this untuned "Thievery/Conspiracy" mechanic actually penalizes the player and forces the player to make gameplay choices that reduce the value of other mechanics, as well. So, in essence, the choices are "not benefit from artifacts" or "not allow Visitors in a hope to reduce the problem" and that's... it.

If you have an old fortress with many artifacts, you just can't put them on display so your citizens can benefit from them.. They die on the vine unless you're willing to not participate with several different mechanics.


Note: "Installed" artifact quality items can not be stolen. So, if you happen to craft an Artifact quality Chair, that is an awesome item to put in a heavily trafficked space. The best item of this type to try to craft are Doors - Dorfs LOVE them some artifact-quality doors and such doors are indestructible, making them excellent proof against all attacks. You can put such doors in very high traffic areas with no fear at all of them ever being stolen or harmed. It's a smart thing to try to craft, so focus some effort on such things if you can. :)