Do human or elven prisoners die of thirst or starvation?

Question

I know that goblin prisoners don't die from thirst or starvation. Do humans or elves die from them?

I'm curious because when I first chained an elven diplomat, she had the description She is fat. After a week and a half, I checked up on her and her description says She is average in size. She also turned berserk.

Is there a way to force feed them so that they maintain their original body size, and also to keep them alive in my dungeon forever?

Answer 1

While I have not held non-invaders indefinitely, I have held non-goblin invaders. I did not check on their fatness, but none ever died of starvation or thirst. I do not believe hostile humans or elves are treated differently than hostile goblins.

In general I believe that only members of your own civilization become hungry or thirsty. Grazing animals only start getting hungry after you tame or buy them. Traders never eat, etc. There is no way to force feed them. This is based on my own experiences, however. I do not have any external references.

Two notes:

• Traders will go mad if kept indefinitely.

• The next version will have a very different, expanded, system for visitors to your fortress, so don't rely on this after the current version (v0.40.24).