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v50.12 · v0.47.05 This article is about the current version of DF. Note that some content may still need to be updated. More Info · V

Sites are inhabited locations found on region tiles adjacent to at least one non-mountain land biome. These include settlements of any civilization, and caves habitable by named creatures. The type of site will be represented on maps in any mode with a tile that replaces the region tile. In adventure mode, the site becomes the default arrival location for travel to that region tile. Sites acquire a history that can be viewed in Legends mode.

Site Types

Tile	Sprite	Name	Inhabitated by
☼		Camp	Bandits
•		Cave	Monsters
Π Π		Dark fortress	Goblins (and potentially a special creature)
º		Dark pits	Goblins and Humans
î ¶		Forest retreat	Elves and Dwarves
Ω		Fortress	Dwarves
○		Castle	Humans
○		Fort	Bandits
= ≡ æ Æ		Hamlet	Humans and Goblins
Ω		Hillocks	Dwarves and Humans
#		Labyrinth	Minotaur
• •		Lair	Monsters
○		Monastery
Ω		Mountain halls	Dwarves
μ μ μ μ		Ruins
μ ₧		Forest retreat ruins
Å		Shrine	Megabeast
0		Tomb	Undead
I		Tower	Necromancer(s) and undead
+ * # ☼		Town	Humans
■		Vault	Special creatures

Detailed Description

Sites are grouped by civilizations, which are organized groups of creatures (generally of the same race) which build these sites.

Human sites

Towns / + * # ☼

Humans live in towns comprised of buildings and often a paved road. Human towns are highly modular, and are usually near some source of water, either the coast or a river. Towns appear on the fast travel map (when outside a site) as ■ or ■ symbols, which are small collections of buildings. When you are near a human site, large yellow blocks indicate where various houses and shops are found (though not all houses and shops can be found in these blocks; sometimes you'll find a house or two out in a site's fields). You usually have to follow the roads in a yellow block on the fast travel map. Towns usually have lots of interesting structures which are described fully in the town article.

Hamlets / æ Æ = ≡

Most of the time, the majority of a human civilization's population will live in small hamlets, which tend to be sprawled out along coastlines and through river valleys. Like other sites, they can be invaded, and you'll sometimes find them captured by other civilizations, necromancers, or criminal syndicates. Human adventurers usually spawn in hamlets. Note that hamlets are similar in structure to towns, only they have mead halls instead of keeps, and don't have any defensive walls.

Dwarven sites

Dwarf fortresses / Ω

These are the randomly generated equivalent of the sites you build in fortress mode. Fortresses are described in detail in their own article. Their main function for adventurers is that they have a central, spiraling ramp that connects the underground and above-ground worlds, particularly in that they connect the subterranean tunnel networks to the rest of the dwarf civilization. They are located at the edges of mountain ranges. Player-made fortresses are considered dwarf fortresses by the game, in addition to the randomly-generated ones.

Mountain halls / Ω

Mountain halls are the sites of the "deep dwarves," located far beneath the mountains. They can be accessed via down-stairs found in underground tunnels, and are comprised of a couple of levels that contain bedrooms and large halls filled with smelters or forges.

Hillocks / Ω

Hillocks are the dwarf equivalent to human hamlets. They consist of a few circular mounds, filled with dwarf citizens. There doesn't seem to be any settlement pattern for them; they are equally likely to be found in any land biome.

Elven sites

Forest retreats / î ¶

Elves live in forest retreats located, unsurprisingly, in forest biomes. They are essentially clusters of huge trees with elves standing in and around them.

Goblin sites

Dark fortresses / π π

These are the main goblin sites. Dark fortresses contain a certain spoiler.

Dark pits / º

These are the goblin equivalent of hamlets and hillocks. Dark pits are essentially canyons lined with wooden guard towers. They tend to be built in huge clusters around the dark fortresses, such that large chunks of the map may be covered with them.

Kobold sites

Caves / •

Caves are sometimes home to kobold groups. They are mounds filled with narrow tunnels leading to the caverns and usually contain piles of random loot resulting from kobold thieving incursions. Kobold caves often feature venom-coated traps or fun pets such as giant cave spiders, so beware. Some caves are inhabited by bandits or megabeasts instead.

Beast and night creature sites

Necromancers' towers / I

Necromancers' towers are built by necromancers who have at least 50 followers; younger necromancers may take over towns or camps instead. Usually you can find books written by the necromancer, some of which contain the secret to life and death. Towers require abundant human populations (low savagery, large tracts of neutral land) and a high number of secrets to be generated in world generation. Necromancers will rarely be elves or goblins, because elves and goblins are immortal (they lack a [MAXAGE] token) and therefore can't be obsessed with their own mortality. However, they may still acquire the secrets of life and death by reading them (e.g. in a necromancy book from your library) and gain the ability to raise corpses.

Lairs / •

Lairs are the homes of predatory animals, megabeasts, or night trolls. Lairs are mounds or holes in the ground. Night troll lairs have doors or hatch covers. Most lairs are inhabited by a single creature, but sometimes you'll encounter entire families of them.

Minotaurs' labyrinths / #

A labyrinth is an intricate network of tunnels, often filled with the bodies of previous adventurers slain in worldgen by its resident minotaur. Each labyrinth contains a hidden chamber filled with treasures. As you explore the labyrinth, you will hear the minotaur taunting you.

Shrines / Å

Shrines are huge stone structures surrounded by pillars that are the homes of bronze colossuses and titans. Several of them can be found on a single site, making its exploration particularly hazardous. Clowns have also been reported to inhabit them.

Dwarf Fortresses

During the embark phase of Fortress Mode, sites can be seen in region and local views. Some site types can be included in the embark region; namely caves or previous player fortresses (Reclaim). Embarking on settlements is disabled. On embarking, the fortress becomes a site of the size and location chosen.

Abandoned fortresses are displayed on the map as Ruins.

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Civilization	Sites Camp · Castle · Cave · Dark fortress · Dark pits · Forest retreat · Fort · Fortress · Hamlet · Hillocks · Labyrinth · Lair · Monastery · Mountain halls · Ruins · Shrine · Tomb · Tower · Town · Vault Structures Counting house · Catacombs · Dungeon · Guildhall · Keep · Library · Market · Mead hall · Sewers · Tavern · Temple · Tomb · Tower · Treasure room · Underworld spire Other Holding