So, I’ve allowed the population to reach 80 dwarves.

I was actually fairly nervous once I hit the number 80, ordering everyone inside for a siege which I was sure would happen instantly. Well, it didn’t, so I relaxed a bit. The population kept increasing, with a few immigrants and births.

I was at about 86 population, and this happens:

A bronze colossus? I was expecting an easily-dispatched goblin siege. This is something else entirely. I’ve heard stories… terrible stories… will this be the end of Scouredbridged?

Instead of heading towards the fortress, however, the colossus begins destroying some hatch covers which lead to a simple rock quarry. The quarry isn’t connected to the main fort at all.

Then, the colossus starts destroying an experimental pump stack I long since abandoned.  It’s not even TRYING to kill my dwarves.

So, fearing the worst, I send my entire dwarven army to kill it.

Will my army be slaughtered like pigs? Will the fortress drown in its own blood?

Uh, no, actually. The bronze colossus is killed INSTANTLY.

Those two purple items are its head and left hand. And not a single injury to my dwarves.

But… but I wanted a glorious bloody ending to this laggy fortress! I suppose it will have to happen some other way.

…

I’m curious, though, about just how powerful my military is. So, I save and quit the game, and reload from the previous save, when the colossus had just arrived.

This time, I pick two soldiers at random and place them into a single squad, and order them to drop all armor and weapons.

Curiously, since their clothes have become so ragged and worn underneath all that armor, they drop most of their clothes, too. These two dwarves will be going into battle naked. One of them is wearing only a backpack and shoes.

But hey, the colossus is naked too, right? It’s only fair!

I send them out to face what I am sure will be their doom. Without weapons or armor, they’ll be slaughtered, right?

Wrong.

They fight the colossus, unarmed and unafraid. Two stout, incredibly strong figures against a metal behemoth. They wrestle, raining down powerful blows upon each other. When the colossus is injured, it heals immediately. So do my dwarves.  This goes on FOR DAYS. Eventually, one dwarf receives a “mangled” injury, and retreats. The other dwarf, though tired, continues to fight for nearly half a day more until retreating after suffering a broken arm.

So, wow. I guess my military dwarves are really powerful. Each one of them, nearly as powerful as a bronze colossus – without weapons and armor. I’m impressed. It’s going to take  more than even an army of bronze colossi in order to take down this fort.

I quit this game and re-load the save where the colossus had been beheaded, and none of my dwarves injured. It has left behind a masterwork bronze statue.

Someone picks it up, and it receives a place of honor in the statue garden.

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