NPCs Felling Trees

[spamgoose]

Something said in another thread by PALU reminded me of an old question I never entirely figured out. PALU mentioned that Njerpez fell trees (which I wasn't sure of, but suspected). I had a trap fence become a bit of a rough neighbourhood after I heard trees being cut down, and then had 3 Njerps show up. I was never sure if they were the ones cutting the trees, but now I assume they were.

I know that foreign traders fell trees. Do any other NPCs do it (Robbers, random adventurers, villagers etc.)? Also, why do they fell trees? Does something cause it to happen? Are they trying to accomplish something?

[PALU]

The characters most commonly felling trees are vagabonds in my experience. I've had vagabonds who'd been around my character's homestead (including on it) felling trees by the hundreds (at least if you combine them). In one case I had a particularly stupid one who was felling trees on my property and cut down trees that formed part of my trap array, and after cutting down the trees on each side of a pit trap the bugger stepped into the pit and broke his leg. It took him about two months to recover, and all the while he insisted he was fine...

As to why they fell trees? Have axe...fell tree? I guess it's an attempt at some active character behavior.

[spamgoose]

Interesting. By Vagabonds do you mean random wandering vagabonds, or even vagabond villagers?

I really wonder about the tree cutting logic. I had a working theory that foreign traders would do it when their pathfinding was getting too complicated. They always seem to be walking in circles and have trouble in thick forest, so it was nice to think they were trying to clear a path.

[PALU]

"My" vagabonds are usually vagabond woodsmen, hunters,  or adventurers, not villagers. In most cases they're milling around my homestead, as that's the most likely spot for my character to see them, and my homesteads are located just outside if a cultures territory. It ought to be possible for a culture associated adventurer in the wild to do it too, but I don't think I've encountered many of those. I've never seen traders cutting trees, though (which should not be interpreted to mean I doubt that has been observed).