Favorite ways to handle werebeasts?

[KnightGoblin8]

I had a werebull attack my fort as first external threat and it bit one of the dwarves. I made a manual save in case things went south so I could come up with a strategy to best take care of the condition of 1 dwarf that got bit several times. I already reloaded once because he refused to bleed out but instead turned while in the hospital and started to kill civilians.

I guess the situation could be worse - the primary reason why I survived with so few losses was that I had 2 full squads with at least mostly complete uniform to meet the beast on the battlefield. So dozen dwarves would beat at the monster while it tried to strike maybe 1 or 2.

Please share your favorite use cases for werecreatures. :)

[amade]

Originally posted by KnightGoblin8:

I already reloaded once because he refused to bleed out but instead turned while in the hospital and started to kill civilians.

Bleeding usually stops within a day, a few days at most for severe wounds. So if you don't see the bleeding status on the dorf, they're not gonna lose any more blood unless the wounds are infected (which, depending on severity and how quickly they recuperate, might take months to bleed out or they replenish blood faster than they lose it).

If they haven't died from their wounds during the first few days, you can safely assume they won't die before the next full moon, which should give you a bit over 3 weeks to prepare for the transformation.

[Tou1on]

one of best ways, have rooms for each bed in hospital - this way you can close doors, and think carefull your next move.

[KnightGoblin8]

Originally posted by Tou1on:

one of best ways, have rooms for each bed in hospital - this way you can close doors, and think carefull your next move.

Right, I think I will try to be fast with this. Unfortunately I know next full moon will come very fast so I probably need to make just a micro hospital first, wait for him to turn and then continue expanding.

[KnightGoblin8]

Yes! I got him locked up in a room. So I can work on rest of the hospital now while waiting until he turns. Maybe my military can kill him then.

[Winter Rabbit]

I turn it off immediately when generating the world. So far (for many years) the werewolf system is in an absolutely unplayable state - there is no way to cure them, or even isolate the infected, any clash with werewolves is simply unnecessary deaths of the dwarves.

[Winter Rabbit]

Originally posted by KnightGoblin8:

Right, I think I will try to be fast with this. Unfortunately I know next full moon will come very fast so I probably need to make just a micro hospital first, wait for him to turn and then continue expanding.

Please note that at least some werewolves can break down locked doors. The room must be walled up with fortifications in order to shoot the werewolf when he turns.

[Dagmar]

You build a quarantine ward in your Hospital or somewhere out of the way by assigning infected dwarves to their own small burrow (which you then activate) containing their own stockpile of hooch and enough beds to go around, and then wall them in like Fortunato. Trying to handle the situation with a light touch is misguided at best. If you like taking risks, you can try using a door and merely locking it but that might get opened someday and lycanthropy tends to be very contagious.

You can also look at this as an opportunity to use one problem to solve another. Have you accidentally captured something large and extremely nasty in a cage? Well, decorate the isolation ward with that cage (and maybe optionally connect that cage to a lever). ...then if they turn (and they happen to be a building destroyer) at least one of the problems will go away and you'll know not bothering with a door was the right choice to make.

This method also works for dealing with Vampires, except Vampires don't get any booze, or a bed. ...and the room will be 2x2 at best with an alcove in front so you can put up a statue of them cowering in terror as a warning to any others.

Remember, if Urist is hammered to death this can be extremely traumatic for the witnesses, but if they're merely never seen again it's not much of a problem at all.

[KnightGoblin8]

Heh, this might be a bit over my skill level in dwarf engineering but something that came to my mind was to make a separate burrow for the werebeast but not to wall it in necessarily but instead if it is not a building destroyer, build the isolation chamber somewhere close by the entrance so that when goblin siege comes, if it happens during full moon then you could let the werecreature kill the goblins for you.

[Dagmar]

Originally posted by KnightGoblin8:

Heh, this might be a bit over my skill level in dwarf engineering but something that came to my mind was to make a separate burrow for the werebeast but not to wall it in necessarily but instead if it is not a building destroyer, build the isolation chamber somewhere close by the entrance so that when goblin siege comes, if it happens during full moon then you could let the werecreature kill the goblins for you.

You might wish to rethink this (or make an extra save), because you may wind up having 200+ were-goblin-wolves on your lands and who knows if they'll ever leave or not.

...or worse, go back home and make a ton of were-goblin-wolves and were-troll-wolves that will come back next year.

TL;DR: I think that plan is likely to go one of two ways: Badly, or very, very badly.

[HueSatLight]

I had one show up as a visitor, which got caught in a cage trap. I put them in a two-room suite, with bridges for doors. I considered letting them out to petition for residency, but I didn't want to risk it. They were a handy clock though, reminding me every full moon.
In my next fortress, a werecat showed up around the same time as a monster slayer, which slayed them, but got scratched. The monster slayer did petition for residency, but I couldn't get them isolated in time. But I had my whole military standing by for the next full moon. No scratches, but a number of dwarves had a change in worldview after the killing.