Editing 40d:Losing

Most new players will lose their first few forts; <s>if</s> when you lose a [[fortress]], don't feel like you don't understand the game.  Dwarf Fortress has a slow learning curve, and part of the appeal is discovering things for yourself.  However, this Wiki serves as an excellent place to speed up the learning process.

If you're looking for more ways to <s>die horribly</s> test yourself, try either the [[Mega Constructions]], or the [[Challenges]] pages.

Various things can cause you to lose a fortress.

A serious danger, generally in the more inhospitable [[climate]]s, is the loss of your [[dwarves]] due to starvation; if you are in the heart of a [[mountain]] with no [[soil]] to build on, it is possible you will not be able to establish [[farm]]s.  As dwarves begin to starve, they will become Hungry, then Starving.  This will cause them to become very angry.  When they die, their friends will become upset and will become even angrier, potentially causing the remainder of your fortress to break out in a terminal brawl.

Don't forget your alternative sources of [[food]]. Try [[butchering]] your [[animals]], [[plant gathering|gathering plants]], or resorting to [[hunting]] of local wildlife.

In the current version{{version|0.28.181.40d}} rain will refill stagnant pools of water slowly.  In a hot [[climate]], this may evaporate almost immediately. What's more, if the map is in a dry [[climate]], such as a desert (hot or cold), then there can be long periods of time with no water anywhere - in extreme cases, none ever.  Snow will not refill pools, so you can also have a lack of water in very cold [[climate]]s.  Also, if weather has been turned off in the [[init.txt]] file then there will be no rain and no water will accumulate, though it may be there at the beginning of the game.

===Flooding accidents===

Sometimes a fortress is flooded with [[magma]].  This is even more [[fun]], and even harder to recover from.  Most doors will stop magma, it doesn't rise as aggressively (via [[pressure]]) as water, and magma can be pumped out with the right equipment. Read up on it. Good luck.

===Ambush===

The [[goblin]]s may not be your only enemy; remember that time you accidentally pulled the [[lever]] and flung that poor [[elf]] trader into the sky? Well turns out they got pretty annoyed, prepare for an elven [[war]]! It may only take a simple accident (like killing a preachy hippy elf) to start a war you can't possibly win. War is especially difficult to overcome when your fort is taking its first steps, however, it is easy to prevent unless you really hate elves. The usual goblin skirmishes and sieges do not even count as war - a proper war will be signaled on the embark screen and will be denoted in-game on the {{k|c}}ivilization screen. (NOTE: You cannot be at war with your own race, so no epic dwarf showdowns.)

Goblins aren't the only creatures that want you dead. Be it [[unicorn|unicorns]], [[hippo|hippos]], [[undead]] [[elephant|elephants]] or a [[giant cave spider]], a sudden wildlife attack can quickly cripple or destroy an unprepared fortress.

{{Colored Notice Box|#00f|There is dispute over whether volcanoes actually erupt or if this behavior is the product of a bug where a [[bottomless pit]] and volcano are placed on top of each other.}}

Oh, that's right, you never installed any front doors. You were hoping that you could just dump the invaders into the volcano as they walked up to your front entrance, which is (conveniently) right on the edge of the lava. Whoops. Say goodbye to half your fort.

This advice also applies if you're trying to pull a [[Boatmurdered]] (i.e. flood the world with magma) or if you just want to roast those sieges sitting at your front door.

===General Unhappiness===

 

Think it's no big deal to leave your dwarves with a mediocre [[dining room]], living room, and a generally inadequate fortress?

If there is little in a fortress to give your dwarves happy [[thoughts]] and enough to give them unhappy [[thoughts]], then your dwarves will start to throw [[tantrum]]s, go melancholy, and destroy your [[civilization]]. Unhappiness is more likely to occur if your fortress is suffering other kinds of downfall.

Should hosts of goblins besiege your gates and drive your peasantry inside, trolls beat down your doors and force you to seal off from the outside world, you may have already lost the game. Even if you have built an utterly impenetrable fortress with drawbridges and moats, siegers may stick around for a long time. Although a dwarven fortress can be made self-contained, with [[list of crops|crops]], [[metal]] and [[fuel]] readily available, underground [[tree farm|wood source]] and your own [[livestock]], a fortress may not sustain such a state indefinitely. For example, [[trade]] with the outside world has now been shut off, leaving you only what [[ore]]s are on your map for the production of mandate goods. In the (very) long run even those will run out. This can result in a breakdown of social order if you do not prevent your [[Hammerer]] from killing or maiming your dwarves. [[Shell]], [[bone]] and [[leather]] commonly acquired by [[hunting]] and [[fishing]] need to be supplied by previously established livestock, an [[underground river]] and a sealed off channel from a murky pool or river. If these resources are no longer available to your workers, moody [[craftsdwarf|craftsdwarves]] will be driven into suicide or worse. Rotten [[vermin]] [[corpse]]s begin to heap in your food supply, forcing you to dump these into inside [[refuse|refuse pile]]s, generating [[miasma]]. One small miscalculation of your [[fuel]] reserves may leave you without [[coke]] to refine further coal, and without a supply of timber for your wood burning [[furnace]] this can end your vital [[weapon]]s and [[armor]] production for a future counterattack. Unless an [[well|interior watersupply]] was established your wounded will die of dehydration.

With all these critical industries unproductive, dwarves dying, and friends mourning over the rotting heaps of slain loved ones, its important to remember your dwarves have nothing to do but throw funeral receptions, grief counseling sessions, and the occasional keg stand. This means they've all become one big happy family of friends, manically depressed from the loss of any dwarf.