I've constructed a lava moat to help defend my house after entering Hardmode.
Unfortunately it seems like NPCs that are spawning and falling into the moat. I'm getting messages like:
Jake the Guide has arrived!
Jake the Guide was slain!
How can I stop them from committing suicide in my moat?
Best Answer
The simplest way? Cover the moat with a layer of dirt in the short term.
The "this is awesome" way"? Build a "draw bridge". This requires access to the engineer. This is a guide on the official forums explaining how. The video is excellent; he narrates exactly what he has done and even uses annotations in the video to make sure you understand what's going on.
the drawbridge can be toggled via switch. When it's "on", there's a path. When you turn it off, the blocks are not active and so it's open air. Toggle it on when you're waiting for an NPC to spawn and then back off again once they're all moved in.