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Difference between revisions of "v0.31:Starting build"

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{{quality|Exceptional|10:09, 24 April 2011 (UTC)}}{{av}}
  
'''''Your First Fortress?'''''
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:''This is not a tutorial, a FAQ, or a new players guide.  This is a mildly advanced theoretical treatment for someone ready to take the plunge and make all the decisions about their own fortress. The following are intended for beginners:''
::''If you are a new player looking for a solid basis to survive the first couple of months or years, check out the aptly named guide on {{l|your first fortress}}. It includes a basic starting build aimed at being fail-safe.''
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::*[[Quickstart guide]]
::''If you're trying to plan the future, try {{l|what should I build first}}?''
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::*[[Main:From Caravan to Happy Dwarves|Beginner Flowchart]]
::''If you're looking for specific, personalized examples of starting builds, see {{l|starting build design}}''
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::*[[User:Calite#Jumping_into_Dwarf_Fortress_Mode|Beginner Checklist]]
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:''For an explanation of the interface for starting out, see [[Embark]].''
  
----
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A '''starting build''' is a personal strategy for choosing the initial supplies, equipment, and [[skill]]s of your initial seven dwarves when starting a new game in [[fortress mode]]. (See [[Sample Starting Builds]]). These skills and items which you assign to your dwarves will have a large impact on life in your new fortress, especially in its first year.
  
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This page attempts to provide a discussion about how and why you make the choices on what you bring with you.  This page is not an explanation of the mechanics of doing so, see the [[embark]] page for an explanation of the interface itself.  This page assumes you have already made certain decisions, such as where you plan on settling, and that you are looking at the [[Embark#Prepare_Carefully|Prepare Carefully]] screen.
  
A '''starting build''' is a personal ''strategy'' for choosing the initial supplies, equipment, and {{l|skill}}s of your initial seven dwarves when starting a new game in {{l|fortress mode}}. These skills and items which you assign to your dwarves will have a large impact on life in your new fortress, especially in its first year.
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One thing should be made clear - there is no "best" build, no "perfect" or "clearly superior" final mix of skills and items, if only because there isn't any one goal of play.  The goals you have for a fortress will dictate which sets of items and skills are best suited to achieving that goal - in your opinion.  And then there is the environment, where your dwarves will arrive, the creatures, the resources available, and so forth.  Finally, some people do things solely because it is hard, and that makes it more fun for them.
  
This page attempts to give advice on some of the many gameplay elements which influence the flow of your game based on your goals. These include: choosing a ''fortress site'', the ''starting build'' itself, as well as ''challenge builds'' aimed at providing new or unusual challenges to advanced players.
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__TOC__
  
But one thing should be made clear - there is no "best" build, no "perfect" or "clearly superior" final mix of skills and items.  There are too many variables to connect, not the least of which is... you! Your play style, what you, as an individual player, consider preferable for the proper mix of fun and challenge. And then there is the environment, where your dwarves will arrive, the creatures, the resources available, and so forth.
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== Components of a Starting Build ==
 
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There are two main components of a starting build: skills and items.
Items are tied to starting skills, and starting skills are tied to the expected environment for your chosen embark, and all are tied to your preferences for playing the game - not all sites require (or invite) the same approach, and no two players would take the same approach to the same environment.
 
  
So while suggestions can be made, and new ideas presented for your consideration, ultimately the final "best" mix for you will have to come from your experience, which will begin to grow during your first game. Without understanding "everything", some decisions will just have to be guesswork - and even later you never know "everything".
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Skills for your initial dwarves determine how quickly they will work early on, what industries you are guaranteed to be able to start with skilled workers, how well you can defend your dwarves early on, and what the quality of various goods they produce will be, and possibly many other considerations.  This page considers in detail how you might go about choosing skills for your starting dwarves, and examines the multiple competing perspectives from which you can make that decision.
  
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The items that your dwarves bring with you can be tailored a number of ways.  There are trade-offs to cheaper and more expensive alternatives, and reasons why you might choose either.  This section explores the nature of these trade-offs and the reasons for making a decision.  It also looks at optimizing goods brought in more general contexts.
  
__TOC__
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Starting builds can and should vary based upon a number of other variables.  [[location|Where you choose to settle]] will give you a fortress that supplies different raw materials and thus require different skill sets to utilize, not to mention different threats from native wildlife based on [[biome]], [[surroundings|savagery]], and [[surroundings|alignment]].  Which dwarven civilization you come from will restrict the materials with which you can start.  Making choices about these variables is not part of a starting build.  What you choose for skills and items because of these choices is part of your starting build, and so some general guidelines about different environments is given last.
  
== Components of a Starting Build ==
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This page does not cover the interface for accomplishing these tasksPlease see the [[embark]] page.
A starting build must be seen as a whole - the embark location affects the needed supplies, and influences what skills may be most needed or usefulAlong with this is player preferences - if you wish an economy based on {{l|prepared meal}}s, {{l|glass}}, or {{l|steel}}, each of those have very different requirements. Likewise, if you want to play a military game, fighting off sieges with huge battles, that's a very different mix (and different site requirements) than if you want a calm location to build your perfect {{l|mega construction}}. 
 
  
=== Skills ===
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== Skill Optimization ==
With only 7 dwarves, you can't take every {{l|skill}}, so you have to balance what you do take.  At this starting phase, each dwarf can only be assigned a maximum total of 10 skill levels, with no single skill starting higher than "5".  With 7 starting dwarves, you could no skills at all, or take 70 skills all at level 1, or 14 skills all at level 5* (2 per dwarf), the highest allowed at embark, or (most likely) something close in between the last two, but closer to that last.
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With only 7 dwarves, you can't take every [[skill]], so you have to balance what you do take.  At this starting phase, each dwarf can only be assigned a maximum total of 10 skill levels, with no single skill starting higher than "5".  Actual skill distribution is thus constrained to be something between 1 level in each of 10 skills, or 5 levels in each of two skills, or something in between.  Because dwarves can [[experience|learn]] any and all skills once your fortress starts, these initial choices do not dictate what the dwarves can do, opening up incredible latitude to choose skills for reasons other than survival.
  
 
:''(* Note that an unskilled dwarf starts with all Skills at Level '''0'''.  Adding +5 Levels is then Level '''5'''.  This is true regardless of how many "points" a level costs when first buying skills at embark.)''
 
:''(* Note that an unskilled dwarf starts with all Skills at Level '''0'''.  Adding +5 Levels is then Level '''5'''.  This is true regardless of how many "points" a level costs when first buying skills at embark.)''
  
Once play starts, dwarves can learn any and all skills - these choices only determine what sort of "head start" they have, what they are good at when they first hit the ground.  See {{l|experience}} for a discussion of increasing skills during game play.
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A brief list of considerations governing skill choice:
 
 
The considerations are several:
 
 
 
 
:* Maximizing starting skill ranks vs. generalizing and having more skills covered at lower levels.
 
:* Maximizing starting skill ranks vs. generalizing and having more skills covered at lower levels.
 
:* Balancing multiple skills for a single dwarf, so they aren't constantly needed for two different tasks at critical periods
 
:* Balancing multiple skills for a single dwarf, so they aren't constantly needed for two different tasks at critical periods
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:* Demand for a skill during a game
 
:* Demand for a skill during a game
 
:* Whether quality or speed are significant considerations for tasks/final product
 
:* Whether quality or speed are significant considerations for tasks/final product
:* Balancing the desire to create {{l|wealth}} ''(with high-value products)'' with the need to maintain {{l|thought|morale}} ''(with low-value but commonly used products, like {{l|bed}}s, which normally are made from {{l|wood}})''.
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:* Balancing the desire to create [[wealth]] ''(with high-value products)'' with the need to maintain [[thought|morale]] ''(with low-value but commonly used products, like [[bed]]s, which normally are made from [[wood]])''.
:* & most importantly - ''your playstyle'' - what '''you''' think is "fun"!
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:* most importantly - ''your playstyle'' - what '''you''' think is "fun"!
  
While there are some arguable "no-brainer" choices (or are for each player, according to their playstyle), the final few selections are often a coin toss, or close to.  And there is often more than one way to skin a cat - in fact, while many players recommend ''never'' starting with more than one cat, starting with many cats (breeding them for leather, bones and meat) and a skilled {{l|leatherworker}} and/or {{l|bone carver}} is one way to go with (part of) a starting build.  Until you have some personal experience, the various suggestions and advice may mean little, but will have more meaning after your first fortress inevitably fails - {{l|Losing|losing is fun}}.
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==== Breadth vs. Depth ====
  
So don't over-think it at first - you'll make a good guess, dive in, and learn far more than we can explain here.
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A dwarf with only 2 starting skills at 5 ranks each is pretty good at 2 tasks, but untrained at anything else.  A dwarf with nothing higher than level 1 is passable at many tasks, but not good at anything.  Each dwarf in your party is going to be somewhere along this continuum, and you'll need to choose where.
  
=== Items ===
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Level in a skill dictates how fast a dwarf completes a task (most of the time), and how well he completes it (if applicable).  On one extreme, [[butchery]] has no time variance for slaughtering a tame animal, and has no quality associated with the outcome. On the other extreme, [[Metal industry|metalworking]] tasks can take a long time for an untrained worker to complete and their high material value means the quality multiplier has a large impact on the end value.
The starting items are what is needed for your dwarves to survive until they are self-sufficient, or at least until the first yearly {{l|caravan}}s will keep them afloat. The first won't show up until Autumn, so that's more than 2 seasons your dwarves are on their own.
 
  
A dwarf eats about 2 meals a season, and drinks a little more than 4 drinks in that same time. If you add your expected {{L|migrant}}s, multiply that by the number of seasons, you can estimate how much food and booze will be needed to get you safely through to the first {{L|caravan}} - barring {{L|losing|the unforeseen}}In your starting build, you can bring all of that, or your {{l|hunter}}s, {{l|Plant gathering|plant gatherers}}, {{l|fisherdwarf}}s, {{l|grower}}s and {{l|brewer}}s can provide some or most of it.   
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Dwarves who complete tasks faster can do more total [[job]]s within a given timeframeThe rate at which speed increases with level varies with skill, so some skills will benefit more than others.   
  
Similarly, most of the finished products are expensive to buy pre-embark, and so a minimum is recommended - maybe a pick or two for immediate mining and basic defense, maybe a (cheap?) axe* or two for better defense and cutting wood, thread, cloth or a rope for a {{l|well}}, maybe a few leather to make bags, and call it good.
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Dwarves who make items of higher quality will contribute more to fortress wealth and may have a large impact on fortress happiness if their work is readily available to be seen by other dwarves.  Items which typically contribute to happiness are low value but common public items, like beds and tables.  Items which contribute the most to fortress wealth often cannot be displayed, but make useful trade goods or equipment for your military.
  
:''(* "Wooden practice axes" cost only 17P, and cut down wood just fine. They will be significantly weaker than metal axes in combat, but still far superior to {{L|wrestling}}, and you can {{l|Make your own weapons|DIY}} quickly enough.)''
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A dwarf highly skilled in few areas will work faster at those tasks and produce higher quality work than his more generalized counterpart. However, he will do worse at any other task he is set to.  
  
You can produce any and all of those from scratch if you are willing to wait - and your {{l|surroundings}} don't kill you firstRaw materials are much cheaper, in the form of {{l|ore}}s, {{l|wood}}, {{l|leather}} and so forth, but whether you want to take the time at the start of the game is the questionThe trade-off is always a balance of cost savings vs. time savings when you first strike the earth.  Everything else depends on your strategy and on how tough or leisurely a challenge you want the game to be.
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Aside from the obvious trade off, there is another reason to prefer depth - dwarves can obviously only complete so many total jobs within a given timespan.  If a dwarf is busy doing one thing, he can't simultaneously be doing something else.  So a dwarf who is highly skilled in a few skills may not actually experience any disadvantage thereby if he is kept doing those things in which he specializesThe generalist dwarf, on the other hand, may be able to do many more different tasks adequately, but he can still only do one type of task at a time.  A dwarf with one highly used skill (such as Mechanics or Mining) can feasibly spend all his time using only his primary skill and thus has no need to generalize.  In effect, the generalist is wasting more skill points whenever he does jobs than the specialist, so long as the specialist tends to do jobs he has levels inSpecializing your initial skill investment is therefore superior if you specialize the division of labor in your fortress.
  
====Your civilization====
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Of course, you can still only bring 7 dwarves with 10 total levels of skills each, so covering everything you want to do in 14 skills may be hard, if not impossible. A generalist or two can cover more bases that have little quality need or are otherwise fast even without a high level.  The generalists real problem arises from the fact that any dwarf can do any task, and having 1 level isn't much better than having no levels.  Which isn't to say there isn't a situation where a 1/1/1/1/1/5 dwarf is the right solution (indeed, the typical recommended leader/broker takes 1/1/1/1/1 in appraiser/judge of intent/negotiator/+2 social skills because none of these skills have a time or quality component), but most less-specialized dwarves are more likely to fall in the 5/3/2 or 4/3/3 end of the spectrum solely because there is a minimum investment necessary to be noticeably better than not having any levels at all.
On the map menu, if you hit {{k|Tab}} twice, you will see a list of possible {{l |Civilization}}s that your dwarves can start from, if there is more than one. Each can have access to different starting equipment and material to offer you - some will be significantly better or worse supplied, and some may be lacking one key item you desire, while another will lack something else equally as critical to your plan. Unfortunately you will only find out when selecting your items, after selecting a {{l|location}}. To chose another Civilization requires a start-over. Another important difference is whether your civilization is at {{l|war}} with one of the neighbours; This results in early attacks on your fort and, obviously, no trade {{l|caravan}}s from them.
 
  
If you don't like the civilization you chose, or wish to compare what each has to offer, you must either finish the embark, "abandon" the fortress and then re-embark in the same location (using a '''saved''' copy of the game world!), or use {{k|Ctl}}+{{k|Alt}}+{{k|Del}} (or the equiv for your OS), shut down the game and restart it from scratch, then Start again, reload the game world, and find the same embark site - this is not difficult if you made careful notes, but is still a pain, no doubt. 
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==== Design Constraints: Which skills do I need, really? ====
  
Every such re-start gives you a different mix of dwarves with different names, {{L |attribute|attributes}}, {{L |personality|personalities}} and {{L |preferences}}, but the civilizations are part of the map and stay constant. The default civilization chosen for you will vary, however.
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The only thing that you absolutely must do in the first year is get your food supplies into a food stockpile, preferably inside, otherwise your food will rot on the ground and your dwarves will starve.  Anything else you want to do can be accommodated by sufficient investment in initial food supplies and/or skills.  This means the options for possible starting builds are vast because virtually any set of starting skills for your dwarves is viable (and that's before you even think about equipment, which adds more variables).  So the short answer is: none.
  
===Saving a starting mix===
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That said, there are some skills which will be '''used''', to one extent or another, by virtually every fortress - but that doesn't mean you '''need''' or even want to invest points in them to start.  You could even manipulate the fortress (see [[challenge]]) to completely avoid one or more of the following, but these are the skills you will find it exceptionally hard to avoid creating jobs for:
Once you have the mix of items and skills that you like, you can hit {{k|s}} and save it to a template with a custom nameIn a later game, you can pick that profile when you embarkIf your selected civilization does not have some of the desired items in your template, this is announced clearly, and a different civilization can be tried as described above, or you can continue and change your mix.
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:[[Mining]] - to dig your fortress, and gain stone for projects.  Only possible to avoid using if you're secretly an elf.
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:* Inexperienced [[miner]]s work very slowly and are less likely to recover mined gems or valuable ores. Mining can be leveled up quite quickly by mining [[soil#soil|soil]], but taking two dwarves with at least some points in mining is recommended in many cases.
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:[[Carpentry]] - [[bed]]s can only be produced from [[wood]] (rare [[mood]]s aside).  This skill can also be used to make [[bin]]s without having to have an [[anvil]], use any metal [[bar]]s, or use any [[fuel]].
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:[[Masonry]] - to build walls and stairs, and fashion dwarven furniture from stone.  Possible to work around, but incredibly hard and annoying to do.
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:[[Grower|Growing]] - your farmers' work echoes throughout so many other tasks, it's stunning
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:* While its possible to feed your fortress on nothing but caravan goods, you'll never come by enough alcohol that way, so you'll eventually need to grow crops for brewing, and dwarves will literally go crazy if forced to drink nothing but water for long periodsThus you'll want to plan for farming eventually - not that you need to bring a highly skilled [[Grower]], but it'll certainly be ''very'' helpfulLikewise, a skilled [[brewer]] produces [[alcohol]] quicker, which improves your dwarves' mood as they have constant access to it, as does a skilled [[cook]] with the foods they prepare.  However, most food can be eaten raw, and so long as they are not starving there is life.
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:[[Brewing]] - ''All'' dwarves "need alcohol to get through the working day."
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:[[Mechanics]] - If you want traps, and most people will.  Also needed for most machinery. Mechanisms sell for a high price as a bonus.
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:[[Architecture|Building Designer]] - Mandatory for some buildings and constructions, but skill only improves speed a tad and increases structure [[value]]
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:[[Broker skills]] - Most importantly [[appraiser]] - you will use these whenever you trade with a caravan.  Because of this, a minimum of Broker skills are highly recommended to start with at the Novice (1 pt) level (especially Novice level of [[Appraiser]]
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:[[Record keeper]] - Gives you access to the stocks screen and will let you accurately survey the resources of your fortress. 
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The very fact that you will use these skills can make many of them desirable to choose as starting skills for your dwarves.  Of the above, Mining, Masonry, Growing, Brewing, Cooking, and Mechanics are generally worth considering as "highly desirable".  However, '''any skill can be used untrained, and/or get trained on the job''' - it just means a slower process and/or average lower quality product than if done by a dwarf with a higher [[experience|skill level]].  Some of these skills (eg, Record Keeper) are rarely worth investing initial points in even though you will almost always use it.  Others of them (eg, Mining, Carpentry) may or may not be worth investing points in depending on your goals or the tempo with which you want to achieve them.  (Mining is easy to train so you could forgo initial investment and just train on the job.  A skilled carpenter can contribute a lot to fortress mood, but won't produce much value, see the discussion of Quality below).
  
If you match skills to the {{l|preferences}} and {{L |personality|personalities}} of your dwarves, it may be an idea not to include any skills in such a template, as they will simply be applied in the original order to the current dwarves as they appear on the list.
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The difference between these skills and other skills is that other skills are optional as to whether they'll get used or not.  You need to deliberately want to use them.  These skills are essential to basic aspects of the game, and avoiding one requires a deliberate choice not to use it (and likely a lot of effort spent to avoid doing so).  Ie, a fortress could make its wealth by smithing fine weapons, weaving quality cloth, encrusting precious stones onto furniture, or crafting quality trinkets.  Or all of those.  But it doesn't have a compelling reason to do any one in particular.  A fortress that never designates a tile for mining, however, requires exceptional effort to achieve.
  
If you find additional items that you wish to add (perhaps another type of cheap meat, or an ore not previously available), you can edit those in by hitting {{k|s}}, overwriting your old template.
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But that you can avoid even something as basic as mining *for the lifetime of your fortress* means there is no universal design constraint on which skills to start with.  Ultimately the answer to "What skills do I need?" is "Whichever ''you'' want".  Choosing a mixture of these commonly used skills and your desired specialized skills will make starting up your fortress easier and more efficient, but you don't need to start with any of them.  Choosing to avoid some skills may force you to use some others, but nothing compels you to invest in any skill in particular.
  
:''(You can also go into the .txt file, located at data/init/embark_profiles, and edit in the SKILLS or ITEMS as you want - the syntax is fairly straightforward.)''
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A common skill list (Just as a general quick start):
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2 Miners
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1 Woodcutter
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1 Grower/Cook
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1 Grower/Brewer
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1 Carpenter
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1 Mason
  
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This is not the be all end all of course, it all depends upon your location, your goals, and what you consider fun.
  
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==== Balancing military and economic needs ====
  
= "Play Now!" =
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Not all embarks will require a military presence in the first year, but anyone planning an expedition to a sinister, haunted, or terrifying biome would be foolish not to be prepared for nasty dwarf-killing creatures.  The solution doesn't strictly need to be military skills; quick delving and a skilled mechanic may be sufficient; but starting with a military dwarf will give you the earliest possible protection and a lot more versatility in where that protection can be appliedWhatever you choose to do, understand the risk and be prepared for it.
This option gives you an automatic, low-powered and generalized starting mix with no thinking involvedIf you select this option, you are ''immediately'' advanced to the game map with no chance to alter your starting skills or items.
 
  
When you pick this option, you currently{{version|0.31.01}} start with:
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==== Training considerations ====
  
'''dwarves:'''
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Some skills are harder to gain experience in than others - requiring valuable resources or taking an extended period of time, and thus inconvenient to train from the ground up.  Investing in some of these extensively in your initial dwarves can make those industries much less painful to start.  For example, metal-related skills generally eat metal bars, and thus the less time you spend training metal workers up to a decent level, the faster they'll be churning out high-quality items for you, and the fewer bars they'll waste becoming skilled.  On the other hand, despite its importance, skills like mining train relatively quickly and barring extenuating circumstances (expected need to accomplish particular digging projects in the first month or you'll get mauled by a Giant for example) there's little need to actually invest your starting skills in it - they can learn on the job.
:* one Adequate" {{l|Miner}} (+2 {{l|Experience|skill levels}})
 
& five dwarves with Novice (+1 skill level) in each of the following skills...
 
:* {{l|Carpenter}}/ {{l|Bowyer}}
 
:* {{l|Engraver}}/ {{l|Mason}}/ {{l|Mechanic}}/ {{l|Building designer|Building Designer}}
 
:* {{l|Gem cutter|Gem Cutter}}/ {{l|Gem setter|Gem Setter}}/ {{l|Wood crafter}}/ {{l|Stone crafter}}/ {{l|Bone carver|Bone Carver}}
 
:* {{l|Fisherdwarf}}
 
:* {{l|Fish cleaner|Fish Cleaner}}/ {{l|Butcher}}/ {{l|Tanner}}/ {{l|Weaver}}/ {{l|Clothier}}/ {{l|Leatherworker}}
 
  
:And one "Leader", with Novice in:
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==== Quality, value, and happiness ====
:* {{l|Wood cutter|Wood Cutter}}/ {{l|Brewer}}/ {{l|Cook}}/ {{l|Grower}}/ {{l|Herbalist}}/ {{l|Wood burner|Wood Burner}}/ {{l|Furnace operator|Furnace Operator}}/ {{l|Lye maker|Lye Maker}}/ {{l|Potash maker|Potash Maker}}
 
::''plus'' Adequate in:
 
:: {{l|Wound dresser|Wound Dresser}}, {{l|Diagnostician}}, {{l|Surgeon}}, {{l|Bone doctor|Bone Doctor}}, {{l|Suturer}}.
 
  
:''(Note that that last dwarf has far more "levels" in starting skills (by twice!) for a single dwarf than are allowed by "Planning Carefully", below!)''
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[[Quality]] is an important part of Dwarf Fortress.  Higher quality items produce better and more frequent happy thoughts and are worth more money.  Valuable commodities will trade for more goods from caravans that visit.  When choosing skills that produce objects of quality, the desire to produce valuable goods for trade will often conflict with the desire to produce objects that will make your dwarves happy.  Built items that are frequently encountered tend to be things like furniture, especially beds, which tend to have low material values and thus low total value no matter how high the quality of the work.  Further, these things tend to be inconvenient to trade.  It is often best to strike a balance between dwarves who produce valuable trade goods and dwarves who produce quality items that will make your population happy - and thus be able to achieve both goals simultaneously.
  
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Its worth noting that built furniture and worn clothing counts its value twice, once under the appropriate category and once for displayed value.  If you're trying to maximize your created wealth total, a good metalsmith producing furniture from high-value metals is optimal. A mason or stonecrafter can also build furniture from ore such as gold nuggets, if these are enabled in the stocks screen, presently there is no disadvantage in doing so as the furniture is just as valuable as if it had been made by a metalsmith from metal bars.
  
'''Items'''
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==== Moodable skills ====
:* 2 Copper {{l|pick}}s
 
:* 2 Copper battle {{l|axe}}s
 
:* 1 Iron {{l|anvil}}
 
:* 60 units alcohol (20 each of 3 random types<sup>1</sup>, 12 free barrels)
 
:* 5 ''each'' {{l|seed}}s<sup>2</sup> (& 6 bags)
 
:* 15 units of meat (one random type, 10 + 5 units in 2 barrels<sup>3</sup>)
 
:* 15 units of fish (one random type, 10 + 5 units in 2 barrels<sup>3</sup>)
 
:* 15 units of plump helmets (10 + 5 units in 2 barrels<sup>3</sup>)
 
:* 5 pig tail fiber thread
 
:* 5 pig tail fiber cloth
 
:* 5 pig tail fiber bag
 
:* 3 pig tail fiber ropes
 
:* 3 wooden<sup>4</sup> buckets
 
:* 3 wooden<sup>4</sup> splints
 
:* 3 wooden<sup>4</sup> crutch
 
:* 2 dogs (random sex)
 
:* 2 cats (random sex)
 
:* 1 random cow/ox/mule/horse (random sex)
 
  
::''Notes:''
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[[Strange mood]]s will create a Legendary skill of the "moodable" skill with the highest level, and moods take hold of dwarves with different professions at different ratesSome skills are "moodable" where others are not. You might choose to take certain skills solely because it opens up moods for that skill with that dwarfSome moodable skills are more valuable than others - a legendary weaponsmith is both valuable and useful. A legendary tanner is generally a waste of a mood since tanned hides have no quality.
:::1. ''There are only 4 different {{L |alcohol}}s possible at this stage, so if two or three of the same are randomly chosen, it's quite possible to start with 40 or 60 of the same type(A wider variety is usually better.)''
 
:::2. ''The six underground crops are: dimple cup, cave wheat, plump helmet, sweet pods, pig tail, quarry bush.''
 
:::3. ''A barrel can hold up to 10 dry items (or 5 wet)One of these barrels is only half full. ''
 
:::4. ''All wooden items will be of 1 type of wood.''
 
  
As a challenge for an experienced player, this is not an uncommon choice.  But even as a starting player you can do much better if you choose the "'''Prepare for the journey carefully'''" option and do just that - prepare carefully, as described below...
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Because a dwarf can only have a strange mood in one skill, pairing a moodable skill with a non-moodable skill can protect the moodable skill and ensure that if the dwarf has a mood it will be in the skill you desire.  See the section on combining skills below for more details on ways to pair skills.
  
="Prepare for the Journey Carefully"=
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Dwarves with no moodable skill can be allowed to do one task using a moodable skill to give them a moodable skill with no starting build investment, so moodable skill considerations should not be considered a primary reason to choose particular skills - you should also want to make use of them for other reasons.
Good advice.  This option allows you complete control over your starting mix of skills and beginning items.  By default, your dwarves start with no skills, and you are offered the following items, which are very similar to the "Play Now" mix, but all are optional and can be sold back and changed according to your preferences.  Each item costs a number of "points" - you will buy ''both'' your starting items ''and'' the starting {{L |skills}} for your dwarves with one pool of combined points, 1274 total.
 
  
(This choice also allows you to select/create the {{l|Fortress name}} yourself, rather than have it randomly generated.)
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==== Combining Skills ====
 
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Every dwarf is going to have 2 or more [[skills]].  This means that even once you know which skills you want, you're going to need to pair them up before assigning them. Not all skill combinations are equally functional.
The point costs for the default items are listed below.
 
  
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Some skills are highly time-consuming, either because the skill is in frequent demand (eg, [[mining]]) or because it takes a long time to do an individual job (eg, [[strand extraction]]). If a dwarf is spending most of their time using that skill, they aren't making much use of their other skill. Pairing two time-consuming skills together therefore tends to be a bad idea, as one or both jobs are not going to get the attention they need or deserve. Similarly, pairing a skill with time-critical jobs with a time-consuming skill also tends to be a bad idea. If your [[grower]] is also mining, he may not stop to plant crops one season. Or he might neglect to harvest your crops in a timely fashion and they could rot on the ground (if you only let your growers harvest)Arranging your skill combinations to avoid these situations is generally beneficial. For example, Masons, miners, growers, and any craft that your fortress will base their economy off of (glass, stonecrafts, armour, etc) will take a lot of time, so plan accordingly.
! Default Items !! Cost<br />(in "points") !! Comments
 
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| 2 Copper {{l|pick}}s  || 88 (44 each) || for {{l|mining}}
 
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| 2 Copper battle {{l|axe}}s || 136 (68 each) || weapons and {{l|woodcutting}}
 
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|  1 Iron {{l|anvil}}  || 100 || required for any<br /> metal working
 
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|  20 alcohol, random<sup>1</sup> || 40 (2 each) || 4 free barrels
 
|-
 
|  20 alcohol, random<sup>1</sup> || 40 (2 each) || 4 free barrels
 
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| 20 alcohol, random<sup>1</sup> || 40 (2 each) || 4 free barrels
 
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|  5 of each underground seed<sup>2</sup> || | 30 6*5 (1 each) || 6 free bags
 
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| 15 meat of one random (cheap) type || 30 (2 each) || 2 free barrels<sup>3</sup>
 
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|  15 fish of one random (cheap) type || 30 (2 each) || 2 free barrels<sup>3</sup>
 
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| 15 {{l|Plump helmet}}s || 60 (4 each) || 2 free barrels<sup>3</sup>
 
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|  5 pig tail fiber thread || 60 (12 each) ||
 
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| 5 pig tail fiber cloth || 70 (14 each) ||
 
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|  5 pig tail fiber bag || 100 (20 each) ||
 
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|  3 pig tail fiber ropes || 60 (20 each) ||
 
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|  3 wooden<sup>4</sup> buckets || 30 (10 each) || medical
 
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|  3 wooden<sup>4</sup> splints || 30 (10 each) || medical
 
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|  3 wooden<sup>4</sup> crutch || 30 (10 each) || medical
 
|-
 
|  No dogs, no cats || ||
 
|-
 
|}
 
:1. There are only 4 different {{L|alcohol}}s possible at this stage, so if two or three of the same are randomly chosen, it's quite possible to start with 40 or 60 of the same type(A wider variety is usually better.)
 
:2. The six underground crops are: dimple cup, cave wheat, plump helmet, sweet pods, pig tail, and quarry bush.
 
:3. A barrel can hold up to 10 dry items (or 5 wet).  One of these barrels is only half full.
 
:4. All wooden items will be of 1 type of wood.
 
  
With the above items, your point pool starts at '''300''' (visible in the lower right corner)This is not ''close'' to enough points to buy full skills for all your dwarves, but you can sell back any or all of the above items that you choose and recover the points, spending them as you preferThere is no quick and easy solution to this, but the possible options are infinite*Returning all equipment is worth 1274 points total, but unused points are of no use after embark, once the actual gameplay starts, so spend now or waste them.
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Instead, pairing relatively time-intensive tasks with less time-intensive tasks will let your dwarf accomplish all such tasks adequatelyOnce you get a metal industry rolling, an armorer/weaponsmith will need to make a lot fewer weapons to outfit your soldiers than he will armor componentsThus he can usefully do both jobs without hurting your productivity overly muchSimilarly, a mason might also be your architect, since building designer is a very infrequently used skill.
  
:''(* Note that an anvil is needed to do any metalworking, and in turn cannot be created without another anvil. Selling your anvil back means you will not do any metalworking at least until the Autumn {{L |caravan}}, and then only if they bring one - which they 'usually' do, but not always. Next dwarven caravan is a year after that, and so on.)''
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Working at different jobs levels up specific [[attribute]]s. One could level up a miner until he becomes mighty and ultra-tough - and then turn him into a soldier, or retire him to haul stone. If you plan on doing so, it may not be a good idea to give this guy a second critical job that will demand a lot of time away from their focus.
  
=====Using the menu=====
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Since tasks will take place in specific areas, another approach is to combine tasks into dwarves who will take care of a specific industry, or spend all their time in one generally narrow part of the fortress - the forges, or the kitchens, or outdoors, for instanceSo combining Farming with cooking, rather than mining, for example, and turn on only Haul Food, not Haul Stone.  Metalworkers spending their time in the forge can easily handle more than one type of metalworking skill, and are also well-situated to be furnace operators.
Use {{k|Tab}} to switch between selecting Skills and Items. Use the 4 directional keys or number pad to navigate to highlight the different choices/columns, and {{k|+}} or {{k|-}} to choose more or less of the highlighted item or skillWhen viewing items, hit {{k|n}} to go to a menu for any "new" items, that are not currently listed, including any you removed by reducing the number to 0; select the item, hit {{k|Enter}}, then increase the number desired as above ({{k|+}} or {{k|-}}) in the main menu.
 
  
If you cannot buy additional skill levels, you are out of points and must return some items for additional pointsHigher-priced items will automatically be removed from viewable new items if you do not have enough points for those selections, showing only what you can afford with your current points.
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Similarly, you can also make the craftsmen of your finished products also responsible for the production of intermediate products from raw ingredients.  This way when they run out of materials to make into finished goods they can immediately switch over to working raw products into intermediate products so they'll have more to work with later.  This works better in some industries than in othersA single butcher/tanner/cook trying to process multiple animals simultaneously will likely result in rotten food, carcases, or skins.  But a weaponsmith who doubles as a furnace operator can usefully ensure he has material to work with when you want him to.  Later on, however, a highly skilled craftsdwarf is often better suited at sitting in their [[workshop]] and having others deliver raw materials to them than going out and obtaining their own raw materials themselves, but in the early game dwarf-time is limited, and a single dwarf who can work an entire production chain can do so relatively efficiently and let your other dwarves be used elsewhere.
  
=== Skills ===
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There is no requirement that a dwarves job combination needs to look 'right' or logical. A weaponsmith will most probably not spend nearly 100% of their time creating weapons - what they do with the other part of their time may have nothing at all to do with forges or smithingJobs which require little time in general, or little time early even if time-intensive later, may well be paired with any time-intensive task solely to provide the dwarf with something to usefully and skillfully do with most of their time, and freed from that duty as needed for the other tasks.
At this stage, pre-embark, skills cost a number of starting points, equaling monetary value. Later, during fortress mode, all skills will be trained by practice, and "cost" is no longer a concern. All dwarves start with "No Skill" and the first additional skill level (Novice) costs 5 pointsTo buy the next level would cost 6, and so on.  To buy up Proficient (the max allowed to start with), costs 5+6+7+8+9, or 35 points.
 
  
A dwarf can start with up to 10 additional levels, regardless whether that's 10 skills at Novice, or 2 skills at Proficient. So, if you are going to buy the maximum skills allowed (highly recommended), that can cost from between 50 to 70 points each, but is usually around 400-450+ for all 7 dwarves.
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Another constraint you can impose on your skill combinations is to try to limit dwarves to [[moodable]] skill and one non-moodable skill (or a moodable and a less desired moodable skill at lower level), so any mood will improve the desired one. For example, pairing craft skills with farming skills gives you dwarves that will perform useful food production or raw good processing services while also getting their mood in a valuable finished goods skill.  Example: Clothier/Grower.
  
Each {{l|dwarf}} can (over time) learn any or all {{l|skills}}.  Dwarves with little experience in a skill will work slowly and ineffectively, while dwarves with higher skill work faster and/or produce a significantly higher quality productSome skills are not used often, and/or produce no "quality" in the final product, or produce qualities that have little impact on the game - for these it's questionable whether investing in high starting levels is worthwhile, but that's often a judgment call.
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==== Which dwarf should have which skill? ====
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Dwarves who craft goods they prefer, or work materials they prefer, gain a bonus to the quality of the finished workThis can inform your choice of which skills you choose, for example by choosing a weaver because you notice a preference for sheep wool yarn, or you might choose the skills you want and then try to find a suitable dwarf to use that skill.  In the latter case, since all dwarves have one metal preference you might assign an armorsmithing skill to a dwarf with a preference for iron, steel, or adamantine.
  
* For example inexperienced {{l|herbalist|herbalists}} will gather stacks of only one or two {{l|plant}}s, and often nothing at all, and inexperienced {{l|farming|farmers}} will often plant stacks of only one or two plantsThis results in a small overall output which takes many {{l|container#container|containers}} to store in, less effective {{l|food}} preparation in the {{l|kitchen}}, and more space needed for {{l|stockpiles}}.
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The dwarf with the most social skills will end up being the [[Expedition leader]], who will then become the [[mayor]] and start making [[mandate]]sThus you should avoid giving the most social skills to dwarves who have [[preferences]] for things like [[adamantine]].
* Inexperienced {{l|miner}}s work very slowly and are less likely to recover mined gems or valuable ores. Mining can be leveled up quite quickly by mining {{l|soil#soil|soil}}, but taking two dwarves with at least some points in mining is recommended in many cases.
 
* In nearly all {{l|workshop}}s, inexperienced dwarves who create items will only rarely produce high-quality goods, and take a long time doing so. Skilled dwarves work quickly and produce high-quality items far more reliably.
 
** {{l|Quality}} is a central concept in the game - it affects {{l|food}}, {{l|alcohol}}, and almost anything you will have your dwarves create in the game: {{l|trading}} goods, {{l|barrel}}s, {{l|clothing}}, {{l|armor}}, {{l|furniture}}, {{l|weapon|weapons}}, and so on. Quality also has a large effect on the worth of an item while {{l|trading}}.
 
  
Dwarves improve their skills on a learning-by-doing-basis. Dwarves who have specific labors will attain Dabbling status as soon as they complete one job of that type(Certain jobs, such as building workshops, won't make your dwarves more experienced.  But most will.)  As the number of jobs they do increases, their skill will increase as wellOverall, "leveling up" the dwarves' skills quickly is a good game goal to set.  Doing so may result in your dwarves efficiently creating a magnificent fortress filled to the brim with valuable items and {{l|furniture}}.  (Or it might {{l|losing|not}}.)
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Dwarves have physical and mental attributes that affect the performance of certain skillsYou may wish to give a socially adept and patient dwarf the leadership/broker skills, or a dwarf who doesn't tire easily a skill which will be in frequent use like miningYou can also try to match skills to [[personality]], some of which have obvious implications for their willingness to work long hours or how frequently they might take breaks.
  
Using and seeing high-quality items gives dwarves happy {{l|thought}}s. This tends to decrease the incidences of {{l|tantrum}}s, increasing a fortress's longevity.
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Of course, all combined these represent a lot of possible constraints on where you assign particular skills, and it would be impossible to apply them in total to your entire desired skill load.  Use these as a guide, but don't be upset if all your dwarves are anti-social psychopaths - someone still needs to be the leader, after all.
  
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==== Other considerations ====
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Migrants can and will arrive with a wide selection of decently trained skills. While it is a gamble, chances are pretty decent that migrants will arrive with a highly trained skill that is also highly desirable and would usurp the job of one of the seven starting ones. The first few migration waves are likely to give you a much better talent pool than what you can assign at embark.  On the other hand, you may never get the skill you really want if you don't start with it.
  
==== Which skills do I need, really? ====
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Skills atrophy if not used (they are marked "rusty" and later "very rusty"), and they can eventually decrease in level. Consider that skills which you will use years after embark are going to be rusty or even deleveled.  Embark to the first caravan is long enough for a skill to start rusting, so you might want to make sure you'll use every skill you embark with before the first year ends to avoid catastrophic rusting.
  
The only thing that you absolutely must do in the first year is get your food supplies into a food stockpile, preferably inside, otherwise your food will rot on the ground and your dwarves will starveAnything else you want to do can be accommodated by sufficient investment in initial food supplies and/or skills.  This means the options for possible starting builds are vast because virtually any set of starting skills for your dwarves is viable (and that's before you even think about equipment, which adds more variables).  So the short answer is: none.
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Remember that you need to survive in order to accomplish any goalsHave a plan for lasting to at least the first caravan, if not one for longterm sustainability.
  
That said, there are some skills which will be '''used''', to one extent or another, by virtually every fortress - but that doesn't mean you '''need''' or even want to invest points in them to start.  You could even manipulate the fortress (see {{l|challenge}}) to completely avoid one or more of the following, but these are the skills you will find it exceptionally hard to avoid creating jobs for:
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== Items ==
:{{l|Mining}} - to dig your fortress, and gain stone for projects.  Only possible to avoid using if you're secretly an elf.
 
:{{l|Carpentry}} - {{l|bed}}s can only be produced from {{l|wood}} (rare {{l|mood}}s aside)
 
:{{l|Masonry}} - to build walls and stairs, and fashion dwarven furniture from stone.  Possible to work around, but incredibly hard and annoying to do.
 
:{{l|Grower|Growing}} - your farmers' work echoes throughout so many other tasks, it's stunning
 
:{{l|Brewing}} - all dwarves "need alcohol to get through the working day"
 
:{{L|Butchery}} - to control the inevitable catsplosion.  Killing your processor is not a good idea.
 
:{{l|Mechanics}} - if you want traps, and most people will.  Also needed for most machinery, now more essential than ever since irrigating is no longer optional.
 
:{{l|Architecture|Building Designer}} - mandatory for some buildings and constructions, but skill only improves speed a tad and increases structure {{l|value}}
 
:{{l|Broker skills}} - most importantly {{l|appraiser}} - for {{l|trade|trading}}
 
:{{L|Record keeper}} - Lets you be able to see the exact amount of things you have much faster than training one, and is necessary to view the stocks screen.
 
  
''Note! - Some new skills in 01.30.01 are unclear as to their use/need - Observer, Fighter, Leader and so on.''
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The items you choose to bring with you will need to satisfy a number of needs.  Most importantly, you need to keep yourself alive - at least until the caravan arrives in the fall to resupply yourself. You probably also want to plan on some way of making a shelter, whether that be the traditional delved hall, a majestic castle, a log cabin, or something even more exotic. You may want to plan for mishaps by bringing essential medical supplies, especially those which may be hard to acquire on site.  And you might bring items which will assist in creating items for trade to that first caravan, should you need anything for the skills you're planning on.
  
Of the above, Masonry, Growing, Brewing, Cooking, and Mechanics are generally worth considering as "highly desirable" starting skills for your dwarves.  Carpentry is used, but opinions differ - on one hand, wood items are just not worth that much {{l|value}}-wise ''(10's of dwarfbucks vs 100's for stone furniture or 1000's for armor or prepared foods, for instance)'', so the difference in monetary value between high-quality and no-quality is minor for wood products. However, high-quality {{l|bed}}s are one of the easiest ways to help make and keep your dwarves {{l|thought|happy}} (since every dwarf will encounter a bed regularly), so some players swear by it.  Mining is important but also fast to train, so one or two unskilled miners is usually ample.  You will almost certainly have animals to butcher, but skill in {{l|butchery}} produces nothing of "quality" (meat is meat) and speed is usually not a consideration for the typical demand (butchering unwanted offspring, like kittens).  A minimum of Broker skills are highly recommended to start with at the Novice (1 pt) level - it'll make your life much easier (especially Novice level of {{l|Appraiser}}, at least, as it greatly facilitates trading).
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For the purposes of this article, livestock are considered items.
  
Of course, even near-certainty that you will use these skills doesn't mean you have to start with dwarves already skilled in them.  Remember, '''any skill can be used untrained, and/or get trained on the job''' - it just means a slower process and/or average lower quality product than if done by a dwarf with a higher {{l|experience|skill level}}.  All of the above skills can be used untrained if you so choose, but you will use them.
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All embarks get the following items without paying for them: 2 animals (who pulled the wagon), and the 3 wood that make up the wagon.
  
Ultimately the answer to "What skills do I need?" is "Whichever ''you'' want".  Choosing a mixture of these commonly used skills and your desired specialized skills will make starting up your fortress easier and more efficient.
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=== Motivations ===
  
==== What considerations could inform my skill selection?====
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==== Survival ====
Every skill not listed in the preceeding section is only used if you want it to be, and the benefits of experience in skills vary considerably.  Skills you choose have to be balanced against your play-style, the environment (danger, ores, other resources), the relative value of the final product, and what you must give up to gain those skills.  You will often want some optional skills, often vastly more than something as useful and desirable as even masonry.  For example, any player intending to do more than dabble in the metal industry may well want to start with multiple dwarves each highly skilled in at least one metal industry skill, especially those that produce goods with {{L|Quality|quality}}.
 
  
The following may influence your choices of skills:
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A single dwarf eats about 2x/season, and drinks about 4x/season.  With 7 dwarves that's ~approximately~ 14 meals per season and 28 alcohol per season, or ~42 meals and ~84 alcohol until the end of Fall.  The dwarf caravan tends to arrive in the third month of fall, so you will probably need to plan on a full 3 seasons.  You are also likely to get at least one if not two small waves of migrants before the caravan arrives.
  
#Some skills are harder to gain experience in than others - requiring valuable resources or taking an extended period of time, and thus inconvenient to train from the ground up.  Investing in some of these extensively in your initial dwarves can make those industries much less painful to start.  For example, metal-related skills generally eat metal bars, and thus the less time you spend training metal workers up to a decent level, the faster they'll be churning out high-quality items for you, and the fewer bars they'll waste becoming skilled.  On the other hand, despite its importance, skills like mining train relatively quickly and barring extenuating circumstances (expected need to accomplish particular digging projects in the first month or you'll get mauled by a Giant for example) there's little need to actually invest your starting skills in it - they can learn on the job. 
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It is possible to bring enough food and drink to make it to the caravan - indeed, bringing enough food isn't especially hard (especially once you factor in slaughtering the animals who hauled your wagonBringing sufficient alcohol is harder, although bringing plump helmets to brew can significantly cut the cost.   
#Keep in mind that some skills are used to make {{l|legendary artifact}}s, and successfully making an artifact will give the dwarf a lot of experience in the used skill.  It can be worth investing in some skills solely to bias your artifact skill pool in the hopes of getting a legendary dwarf in an industry you want to really get working on a year or two in. (See {{l|Strange mood}}s for more info.)
 
#While its possible to feed your fortress on nothing but caravan goods, you'll never come by enough alcohol that way, so you'll eventually need to grow crops for brewing, and dwarves will literally go crazy if forced to drink nothing but water for long periodsThus you'll want to plan for farming eventually - not that you need to bring a highly skilled {{l|Grower}}, but it'll certainly be ''very'' helpful.  Likewise, a skilled {{l|brewer}} produces higher quality {{l|alcohol}} (''though the quality is hidden!)'', which improves your dwarves' mood, as does a skilled {{l|cook}} with the foods they prepareHowever, most food can be eaten raw, and so long as they are not starving there is life.
 
#If you plan on settling in a dangerous area, consider including at least some military skills, if not a dedicated {{l|soldier}}, or several.  The nature of the environment should dictate the military skills chosen (for example, marksdwarves will be an ineffective counter to expected roving hordes of {{l|skeletal}} wildlife).
 
  
====Generalist vs Specialist====
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The likely best way to keep your dwarves in drink is also the most labor intensive - setting up farming in the first season or two is perfectly plausible, allowing to grow your own [[plants]] from seeds and brew the products(Keep in mind not all plants can be brewed - don't plant dimple cups and expect to make alcohol)In addition to the necessary seeds, starting your own farming operation is going to require either some [[soil]] or [[irrigation|some way to get the ground muddy]]While sometimes simple digging can accomplish this, many times you're going to need a screw pumpBasic construction requirements are discussed under shelter.
Any dwarf can have any labor designated, and they will perform that task and learn or improve that skill, even if they have no skill related to that labor when they startSo you don't need an example of every skillA skilled dwarf will produce a better {{l|quality}} product, and/or do it faster, but if that's rarely used, "faster" doesn't mean as muchMany jobs have no real "product", and so no quality modifiers - plant gathering, wood cutting, wood burning, smelting, animal trainer, etc. etc. merely produce "stuff", not "quality stuff", or may not be used very often, and/or not be used much after the first year of the fortressThere are as many opinions about balancing generalists with specialists as there are players.
 
  
Some skills are also trained up fairly quickly or cheaply, especially where the task consumes no (valuable) materials, or doesn't matter in the final product - mining, furnace operator, wood cutting, butcher, tanner, glass making and (especially) {{l|administrator}} skills being only a few examples.
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It is possible to make all your alcohol by harvesting aboveground plants, if highly inefficient.  It also only works in biomes with collectable plant life.  Notably evil biomes and glaciers are unlikely to provide.
  
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==== Shelter ====
NEEDS REWRITING ONCE WE HAVE THE NEW DATA
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Bar a convenient cave, you're going to have to do something for shelter.  Shelter is your first defense against roving creatures, keeping them away from where your dwarves are working so they don't spam job cancellations and strew items all over the place.  (As you might guess, most 'convenient caves' aren't actually that convenient, as they tend to have residents).  Basic walls that allow you egress won't stop a dedicated invader, but you don't expect to see those until year 3, so you have time to develop more elaborate defenses.
  
Another consideration are {{l|attributes}} - a dwarf with 10 skills at Novice each has 5000 {{l|Experience#Increasing skills|experience}}, or just over 2 {{l|attribute}}s, while a dwarf with 2 skills at Proficient has 7000 experience, or almost 3 attributes. One extra Agility can make a big difference in tasks, one extra Strength or Toughness make the difference in an unexpected combat, etc. etc.
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Food outside will also spoil a lot faster than food inside, so making a cellar of some sort to store your food in will increase the longevity of your food supplies.  The rate at which food spoils depends on ambient temperature, so the urgency of making a cellar will depend on where you settled.  It might be possible to go without a cellar in a freezing biome.{{verify}}  The only way you can avoid thinking about food storage in the first year is if you collect food and make alcohol as needed - ie, by using an herbalist to collect local plants - which can avoid needing to mine at all.
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==== Combining Skills ====
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Delving a shelter requires mining, which means having picks to dig withOne can always bring one or more picks at embark, but its also possible to bring the supplies necessary to make themSee [[Starting build#Finished product or do it yourself|finished product or do it yourself]].
Some {{l|skills}} are highly time-consuming, and working at different jobs levels up specific {{l|attribute}}s. One could level up a miner until he becomes mighty and ultra-tough - and then turn him into a soldier, or retire him to haul stoneIf you plan on doing so, it may not be a good idea to give this guy a second critical job that will demand a lot of time away from their focus.  There are many parts to a suit of armour, so armoursmithing will take more time than weaponsmithing - once you have one weapon per soldier, he's doneMasons, miners, growers, and any craft that your fortress will base their economy off of (glass, stonecrafts, armour, etc) will take a lot of time.
 
  
Since tasks will take place in specific areas, another approach is to combine tasks into dwarves who will take care of a specific industry, or spend all their time in one generally narrow part of the fortress - the forges, or the kitchens, or outdoors, for instanceSo combining Farming with cooking, rather than mining, for example, and turn on only Haul Food, not Haul Stone.  Woodcutter/Herbalist/Mason/Axedwarf (for outdoor walls/projects) might be another combination - the possibilities are endless.
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An aboveground shelter can be made with stone or wood or possibly more exotic materials.  Stone of course requires mining, and thus picks.  Wood can be had with an axe assuming trees are present, and axes, like picks, can similarly be brought at embark or made on siteIt is of course possible to bring sufficient raw materials to build walls with, but this is far less efficient than just bringing a pick or an axe, although it could make a fun challenge.  Building your initial fort out of soap, while possible, is not recommended, although possibly hilariously entertaining.
  
Some combinations follow naturally in sequence to each other, but also can conflict with each other. One animal is butchered, then the leather is tanned, and the meat is cooked. But if you have 5 animals, several will rot before one dwarf can process all of thoseA highly skilled craftsdwarf is often better suited at sitting in their {{l|workshop}} and having others deliver raw materials to them, than going out and obtaining their own raw materials themselves.
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==== Industry ====
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Most industries require little more than materials you can collect at the site and a workshop. So long as you can get stone, you won't need to bring anything for theseHowever, if you want to get an industry going immediately, it does help to bring a few building materials along (or be willing to use the wood from the wagon, if only temporarily).
  
Many builds recommend combinations such as:
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Some industries require fire-safe materials to build with.  All stone qualifies, as does metal.  Wood can be converted to a fire safe material by burning it to ashes in a wood burners workshop, but of course that workshop requires a fire-safe material.  If you're mining, this condition is easy to satisfy, but if you intend to run any of these industries right away you will need to plan on bringing appropriate materials.
  
* '''Outdoors''': Woodcutter/Plant Gatherer. Add {{l|axeman|Axedwarf}} for added security.
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Some industries require plant or animal matter to work with. Clothiers ultimately need cloth, which comes from certain plants or animals. Leatherworkers need tanned skins. (And while you can get 2 off your pack animals, this isn't sufficient to run an industry). If you plan on running these types of industries you will need to have a plan for providing suitable raw materials. Hunting can cover leatherworking needs (although this requires a hunter and hunting implements), and foraging can find rope reed plants, but its usually better to bring enough appropriate animals or plant seeds to have a good shot at getting started in a predictable and sustainable waySimilarly, milking and cheese making require milkable animals, and bonecarving requires a dependable source of bones.
* '''Mason+____''' : In many fortresses, the Mason is a very busy dwarf. He could be a spare miner, have abilities that are only rarely needed, or do tasks that can be accomplished quickly like {{l|building designer}}.
 
* '''Farmer/Cook, Farmer/Brewer'''. Basic two-person food team.
 
* '''Farmer/Herbalist, Farmer/Brewer/Cook'''. One bold dwarf to farm and venture outside looking for wild plants, the other to keep busy in the {{l|still}}, kitchen, and indoor farms.
 
* '''Boss''': Novice {{l|Negotiator}}/Novice {{l|Judge of intent}}/Novice {{l|Appraiser}}. This guy will be your {{l|Leader}} and {{l|Trader}}; you can make him {{l|record keeper}} too (the default), at least to start with.  Combine this with a single time-intensive task such as {{l|Masonry}} and optionally turn off all hauling tasks right at the start of the gameOr keep him a generalist, or combine with one of the other options.
 
* '''Weaponsmith/Leatherworker''': If they're not arming your military, they're making leather armor for them.
 
* '''{{l|Craftsdwarf}}''', depending on your strategy - e.g. {{l|glass}} maker, {{l|weaponsmith}} or {{l|armorsmith}}, sometimes combined with related tasks from that industry ({{l|furnace operating}}, {{l|wood burner|wood burning}}). Typically an item hauler in the initial months of your fortress, this dwarf may become one of your most valuable dwarves later.
 
  
Not all combinations have to "look right" togetherA weaponsmith will most probably not spend nearly 100% of their time creating weapons - what they do with the other part of their time may have nothing at all to do with forges or smithing.   
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Metal industries require metal and an anvilYou cannot make an anvil on site without already having an anvil, so if you plan on doing any forging before the first caravan you will need to bring one with you.  Metal can be brought as bars or as ores to be smelted in a smelter into bars, or can be mined yourselfYou will need to provide fuel or magma to run these workshops, so bringing some coal can make the operation run smoother.
  
* '''Grower/GemCutter''' (or Grower/x-Craft): When gems are found, he's there, otherwise he's outstanding in his fields.
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Soap requires a lot of wood consumption and a source of tallow to be done in a sustainable way. Lye can be bought at embark to skip the first steps and make soap more directly. You will still need to bring or make buckets and have an empty barrel to actually produce soap though, but fortunately this is just a matter of having sufficient wood.
* '''Mechanic/Brewer''': usually produces the mechanized defenses, but does moonshining when it's called for.
 
* '''Miner/______''': This dwarf will quickly become legendary in mining, and then retire to pursue something else full time. On call for important veins of high-value ore.
 
* '''Brewer/Appraiser/Leatherworker''': several typically low-demand skills
 
* '''StoneCrafter/Herbalist''' - after quickly finding above-ground plants for seeds for the first season, they never go back unless something goes wrong.
 
* '''(x-Craft)/Armor User''': Plan for the future - armor using is slow to train in if this dwarf is ever going to join the military.
 
  
You can max out one skill and have several lower-level skills additionally, or just several skills that are not maxed out - the combinations are (almost) infinite.
+
Jewelers require gems.  Cut gems can be brought at embark, but are too expensive to bring in quantity.  Generally a jeweler requires mining to find sufficient gems or a glassworker to produce raw glass to work with.
  
Combinations like these often have one {{l|moodable}} skill and one non-moodable (or a less desired moodable skill at lower level), so any mood will improve the desired one.
+
Glassmaking and Pottery requires sand or clay and fuel - pay attention to your site report before embarking.  Its hard to run a viable industry solely off imports in these cases.  Like metal workshops, coal can be brought to substitute for fuel fairly efficiently.
  
==== Combining Skills for Moods ====
+
As is probably obvious, certain industries depend on similar inputs.  Planning on a set of industries which require similar complementary inputs can let you more efficiently spend your starting points at embark or more efficiently plan your digging during the first year.  If you plan on a lot of fuel-dependent industries, it may be worthwhile to prioritize finding a source of magma.
  
{{l|Strange mood}}s will create a Legendary skill of the "moodable" skill with the highest level, and moods take hold of dwarves with different professions at different rates.  Some skills are "moodable" where others are not. Another consideration is to place desired moodable skills with non-moodable, to ensure that both the professions and highest skills stay as preferred.  Usually this involves one "craft" skill and one "farmer" type skill, such as Armor/Cook, or Weapon/Brewer.  This can take some manipulation, and is not of primary concern to many players.
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=== Optimization ===
  
 +
==== Container mechanics and free items ====
  
=====Matching skills to a dwarf's personal profile=====
+
Many items come in containers such as barrels and bags, including food, liquids, seeds, and powdersThe cost to embark with these items can be cheaper than the cost of the container itself.  Each different type of item for each category will come in its own container.  Furthermore, you'll get a new container after every 10th instance for food, most liquids, and seeds, and after every item of powders.{{verify}} Alcohol gets a new barrel after every 5th unit.  (Food actually groups by animal type, so if you get horse tripe and horse meat they'll combine them, but they won't combine horse meat and donkey meat).  Thus diversifying your initial food supply with 1 of each low-cost food item will net you a large number of barrels.  Similarly, it is worth taking 1 of each seed you weren't planning on taking more of solely for the bags.  Taking some sand or gypsum powder is also a cheap way to get bags.  Lye (for soap) and milks can be brought for more barrels - and milk can be made into cheese for a low-cost embark option that becomes food.
Once you have your optimal skill mix for all 7 starting dwarves, you can, if you wish, take the time to {{k|v}}iew each of your individual dwarves and match skills to their {{l|preference}}sThis can be very advantageous: if you have a dwarf who likes {{l|steel}}, {{l|clear glass}}, {{l|crossbow}}s, {{l|siege engine}} parts, or something else equally interesting, they're an ideal candidate for matching skills (specifically for these examples, {{l|armorsmith}}, {{l|glassmaker}}, {{l|bowyer}}, or {{l|siege engineer}}).
 
  
Likewise, if they have any obviously relevant {{l|personality}} strengths or weaknesses, those should be factored in. Some are obscure or ambiguous, but some ("Is constantly active and energetic") are a clear sign.
+
As stockpiling and some jobs are container limited, getting as many free containers as you can will free up labor (and possibly valuable materials) that would otherwise be used making containers.
  
 +
==== Finished product or do it yourself ====
 +
Bringing raw materials and making the finished product yourself is often easier on your embark points than bringing the finished product.  On the other hand, making it yourself takes time during which you aren't making use of the finished product. 
  
=== Items ===
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The most common scenario involves [[Make your own weapons|forging your own metal tools and weapons]].  While not usually too much of a hardship, it can be dangerous to make your own weapons or picks if you expect possible hostile creatures.  Furthermore, you will lose time - possibly 1/4 to 1/2 the first month - if you forge your own picks. 
  
An experienced player can start out with no skills for their starting dwarves, 1 copper nugget and an anvil - and nothing else - and have {{l|Make_your_own_weapons#Minimalist_challenge_build|everything they need}}So what is "needed" is up to what you think is "fun" vs. "too hard" etc. etc. etc.
+
Of special note regarding weapons is that a training battle axe is perfectly capable of chopping trees, and is made with nothing more than a carpentry workshop and a logWhile the delay in acquiring one is minimal, a wood battle axe is not a good weapon, and so it loses utility for doing anything other than acquiring more wood.
  
Some basics are recommended for all builds. Unless you plan to {{l|Make your own weapons|DIY}}, you definitely need to bring one {{l|pick}} for each {{l|miner}}, and if you plan to gather wood, you need an {{l|axe}}, which will become a weapon in wartime.  Also a minimum of about 25-30* {{l|food}} and about 55-60* {{l|alcohol}}, which should get 7 dwarves through to the first {{l|caravan}} in Fall.  Everything else depends on your strategy and on how tough or leisurely a challenge you want the game to be.
+
You can also easily plan on making all or most of one's own booze, as plump helmets can be bought at embark and brewed at a still.
  
::''(* A single dwarf eats about 2x/season, and drinks about 4x/season.  With 7 dwarves that's ~approximately~ 14 meals per season and 28 alcohol per season, or ~28 meals and ~56 alcohol until the end of Summer.  The Caravan is due sometime in Autumn, usually early Autumn, in the second week or so, but the first won't have enough to keep you going until whenever the next one arrives.  Hopefully you'll have some food and brewing industry going by the first, or soon after.)''
+
Any finished good can of course be made from raw materials that you bring, but most of them are not essential like the above, and thus you can generally wait until you find suitable resources on site or buy them from caravans.
  
Note: Many builds recommend that you bring many different cheap foods, in quantities ending in a "1" (1, 11, 21, etc.), and alcohols in amounts ending in a "1" or "6"This is to maximize the number of free {{l|barrel|barrels}} you start with; dry foodstuffs fit 10/barrel, and (pre-embark) alcohol fits 5/barrelMore barrels will let you build a larger stockpile for your first winter and conserves the {{l|wood}} you need to cut and shape in the early game for beds and other necessities.  (Seeds are 100/bag, and you don't need near that many of any one type, so 6 bags max with this approach. Even if you don't plan on growing much {{l|cave wheat}}, starting with 1 seed and getting the free bag, and planting that one see later and dumping the result could be worth it.)
+
==== Biome considerations: dude, where's my wood? ====
 +
Some environments have a shortage of trees. While you can direct production of a lot of item types to other materials, beds need to be made out of woodIn addition, it is difficult to make barrels and bins out of non-wood materials early in the game, especially without ready magma (since otherwise you'll probably need to burn wood to make metal equivalents).  If you have an aquifer it can be even worse - stone may be difficult or impossible to access easilyWhile you can ultimately ask for wood from your liaison and buy whatever the humans and elves happen to bring, and eventually you can create a tree farm underground, tight wood will limit storage and sleeping arrangements for at least the first year if not longer. You may wish to plan accordingly if embarking in a site with sparse or no trees.
  
===== Items for moods =====
+
==== Items for moods ====
When a dwarf is taken by a {{l|strange mood}}, they often need obscure material or they will go insane and die, possibly with severe consequences to an entire fortress.  Bringing along some of the harder to find ores ({{l|cassiterite}}, {{l|sphalerite}}, {{l|bismuthinite}}, {{l|garnierite}}) and shells ({{l|cave lobster}}, {{l|turtle}}), and putting those aside, forbidding their use "just in case", is spending a few points on an insurance policy. Bringing along a few bits of cloth thread is a good idea.  Just in case.
+
When a dwarf is taken by a [[strange mood]], he often needs obscure material or he will go insane and die, possibly with severe consequences to an entire fortress.  Bringing along some of the harder-to-find ores ([[cassiterite]], [[sphalerite]], [[bismuthinite]], [[garnierite]]), and putting those aside, forbidding their use "just in case", is spending a few points on an insurance policy. Many players also choose to bring a few items like pig tail cloth and cave spider silk just in case.
  
===== Free Equipment =====
+
Alternately, if you're otherwise being minimalistic on gear you're bringing you can choose to bring a few valuable components to try to maximize the value of mood items.  That artifact animal trap will be worth a lot more if your woodcarver grabs a blue diamond instead of moss agate.
  
Dwarves who start with the ambusher skill may get some leather {{l|armor}}, a crossbow and some bolts for free.
+
==== Free Equipment ====
  
<!--ANOTHER POINT THAT NEEDS MORE RESEARCH
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Dwarves who start with the ambusher skill as their highest non-military non-social skill will get some leather [[armor]], a crossbow, a quiver and a stack of 30 to 40 metal bolts for free.
: As of 27.176.40, this appears to only be true if they have no civilian trade skills - military and social skills are fine, and administrator skills so long as they are not higher than Ambusher.  Replace any of those skills with something civilian and they show up in street clothes.
 
-->
 
  
<!--For DF2010
+
Embarking in a biome where there's snow at the moment of embarkation seems to get the same clothing items dwarves which Ambusher get, though they will not necessarily be made of leather.{{verify}}
So far all my hunters have had no free starting gear (3 Ambush, 5 marks, 1 armor user, 1 hammer)
 
-->
 
  
====Different starting cultures====
+
==Site considerations==
Before actually hitting "embark", you often have the option to choose one of several starting dwarven cultures (one of the options shown when you {{k|Tab}} through the various sub-screens). Different cultures will have different meats, fish, stones and etc to offer, and occasionally even different types of armour. The only way to know which is "best" is to remember ''exactly'' where on the 3 maps your embark site is, select one culture, embark and see what they have to offer, then hit {{k|Esc}} and  "abandon game", and try it again with a different culture and compare. A real pain, sometimes. (Make a note about your exact starting location, don't trust it to memory.)  In general, civilizations that occupy more world-map tiles offer more types of goods, both for embark and for trade. <!-- Somewhat verified on DF2010; this held true on two generated small worlds, saving a 4-tile civ that had 3 more rock types than a 5-tile civ. It seems the same as 40d. 0x517A5D -->
+
Each fortress [[location]] offers particular challenges and opportunities, and can make different demands on your starting build. Your starting build may need to be adjusted depending on the [[region]] your fort occupies, the specific vision you have of your fortress, and what it will take to [[losing|stay alive]] where you're going!
  
= Site considerations =
+
The differences include what [[biome]]s, [[region]]s and likely [[metal]]s are present in your chosen embark site.
Each fortress {{l|location}} offers particular challenges and opportunities, and can make different demands on your starting build. The starting builds below should be adjusted depending on the {{l|region}} your fort occupies, the specific vision you have of your fortress, and what it will take to {{l|losing|stay alive}} where you're going!
 
 
 
The differences include what {{l|biome}}s, {{l|region}}s and stone {{l|layer}}s are present in your chosen embark site, as viewable on the starting menu.
 
  
 
=== General Surroundings ===
 
=== General Surroundings ===
Simply put, if your {{l|surroundings}} are {{l|evil}} or {{l|savage}}, your dwarves have a higher risk of suddenly facing personal combat before they are safely behind their defenses.  Consider bringing extra weaponry, in the form of axes, picks or crossbows (see {{l|Starting_builds#Free_Equipment|free equipment}}).  Hand in hand with those, consider skill mixes that include {{l|axedwarf}}, {{l|mining}} (the skill used to wield a pick), {{l|marksdwarf}}, or {{l|wrestling}} (a solid unarmed-combat skill).
+
Simply put, if your [[surroundings]] are [[evil]] or [[savage]], your dwarves have a higher risk of suddenly facing personal combat before they are safely behind their defenses.  Consider bringing extra weaponry, in the form of axes, picks or crossbows (see [[Starting_builds#Free_Equipment|free equipment]]).  Hand in hand with those, consider skill mixes that include [[axedwarf]], [[mining]] (the skill used to wield a pick), [[marksdwarf]], or [[wrestling]] (a solid unarmed-combat skill).
  
 
The same is true if you are embarking near an exposed magma vent or an open chasm - these features can be seen on the embark map, but it's impossible to tell if they are "open" to the surface or not, until you are there in person.
 
The same is true if you are embarking near an exposed magma vent or an open chasm - these features can be seen on the embark map, but it's impossible to tell if they are "open" to the surface or not, until you are there in person.
  
Be sure to include some source of {{l|water}} on the map, preferably running {{l|water}}.  Water is (almost) essential for any fortress.  In Cold and Freezing climates  streams and {{l|lake}}s will often be frozen year-round and your dwarves may quickly die of exposure, in Hot climates {{l|murky pool}}s will dry up, and in Dry ones rain will only rarely re-fill them, if ever.  Choose Temperate or tropical zones for an easier game.
+
Be sure to include some source of [[water]] on the map, preferably running [[water]].  Water is (almost) essential for any fortress.  In Cold and Freezing climates  streams and [[lake]]s will often be frozen year-round and your dwarves may quickly die of exposure, in Hot climates [[murky pool]]s will dry up, and in Dry ones rain will only rarely re-fill them, if ever.  Choose Temperate or tropical zones for an easier game.
  
 
===Aquifers===
 
===Aquifers===
If an {{l|aquifer}} is present in the first soil or stone layers (visible on the pre-embark menu), it may bar all access to {{l|stone}} and {{l|ore}} until you find a way through the water barrier.  Consider bringing some stone for building, and ore for your first basic needs, may be critical.
+
If an [[aquifer]] is present in the first soil or stone layers (visible on the pre-embark menu), it may bar all access to [[stone]] and [[ore]] until you find a way through the water barrier.  Consider bringing some stone for building, and ore for your first basic needs. This may be critical to getting your fortress running smoothly.
  
 
=== Mountains ===
 
=== Mountains ===
Mountains often have abundant {{l|ore}}s, but at the loss of trees and plants. {{l|Magma}} and rare {{l|metal}}s lure settlers here, but {{l|giant eagle}}s and {{l|chasm}} dwellers are potent threats. You'll want to include a sufficient amount non-mountainous areas in your embark area to obtain lumber and food - or, failing this, to pack a lot of extra food and logs.
+
Mountains often have abundant [[ore]]s, but at the loss of trees and plants. In previous versions lacking [[cavern]]s, this was a serious drawback. In v0.31, brave pioneers can dig down into the caverns to find essentials like water, mud, and plants. However, players should be aware that above-ground crops will not grow in mountain biomes, no matter how muddy you may make the surface.
  
Depending on the exact layers, it's common to find exposed {{l|vein}}s of useful {{l|ore}}s that can be immediately mined for {{l|Make your own weapons|DIY}} weapons and tools.
+
Depending on the exact layers, it's common to find exposed [[vein]]s of useful [[ore]]s that can be immediately mined for [[Make your own weapons|DIY]] weapons and tools.
  
 
=== Wooded/Plains ===
 
=== Wooded/Plains ===
Flatlands with at least some trees and gatherable plants can also make for highly successful fortresses.  Advantages over mountain zones include abundant trees and plants and (unless frozen) more abundant water.  There are even (rare) magma vents. More water also means a high likelyhood of an {{l|aquifer}} being present. Make sure to check on embark.
+
Flatlands with at least some trees and gatherable plants can also make for highly successful fortresses.  Advantages over mountain zones include abundant trees and plants and (unless frozen) more abundant water.  There are even (rare) magma vents. More water also means a high likelihood of an [[aquifer]] being present. Make sure to check on embark.
  
The greatest disadvantage is the potential lack of exposed {{l|stone}} to mine. The first level(s) below the surface is often {{l|soil}} of some type, which offers no building materials.  However, soil is mined much more quickly than stone (x3-x4 faster), and expansive accommodations (rooms) can be achieved quickly even by untrained miners.  You will find stone, you just have to go down a bit for it - but that's what dwarves do, isn't it?
+
The greatest disadvantage is the potential lack of exposed [[stone]] to mine. The first level(s) below the surface is often [[soil]] of some type, which offers no building materials.  However, soil is mined much more quickly than stone (x3-x4 faster), and expansive accommodations (rooms) can be achieved quickly even by untrained miners.  You will find stone, you just have to go down a bit for it - but that's what dwarves do, isn't it?
  
{{l|Experience|Training}} a {{l|Miner}} from No Skill to Proficient takes <NEED NEW TIME> in soil, and to Legendary in less than <DITTO>.
+
[[Experience|Training]] a [[Miner]] from No Skill to Proficient takes less than a month (~20 days with hauling disabled) in soil, and to Legendary in just under a season after. {{version|0.31.12}} From embark, this means you should have legendary miners in early summer if you dig only in soil.  Times increase slightly for each additional miner used.
  
 
=== Oceanside ===
 
=== Oceanside ===
With many features in common with some of the above locations, {{l|beach}}es are often a mix of ease intermingled with bouts of extreme difficulty. Minerals and trees are often abundant, as well as farmland and sand, but there is often no drinking water unless the biome has a flowing {{l|water}} of some sort.  
+
With many features in common with some of the above locations, [[beach]]es are often a mix of ease intermingled with bouts of extreme difficulty. Minerals and trees are often abundant, as well as farmland and sand, but there is often no drinking water unless the biome has a flowing [[water]] of some sort.  
  
By definition, the settlement will fall between (at least) two {{l|biome}}s (one land, one water), potentially hazardous if the player expects a peaceful oceanside meadow, without realizing the {{l|terrifying}} ocean is full of amphibious zombie {{l|whale}}s.
+
By definition, the settlement will fall between (at least) two [[biome]]s (one land, one water), potentially hazardous if the player expects a peaceful oceanside meadow, without realizing the [[terrifying]] ocean is full of amphibious zombie [[whale]]s.
  
 
=== Desert, Glaciers, and Barren ===
 
=== Desert, Glaciers, and Barren ===
Treeless (or near-treeless) {{l|biome}}s are challenging sites for a fortress: you get most of the disadvantages of a flatland site without having access to nearly as many trees and plants.  However, near-lifeless zones such as {{l|glacier}}s are wonderful for those with slower machines, as there's little to burden the CPU but your dwarves and livestock.  {{l|Desert}}s and barren areas often have sand; with a sufficient source of energy (preferably magma), you can build almost anything out of unlimited glass.
+
Treeless (or near-treeless) [[biome]]s are challenging sites for a fortress: you get most of the disadvantages of a flatland site without having access to nearly as many trees and plants.  However, near-lifeless zones such as [[glacier]]s are wonderful for players with slower computers, as there's little to burden the CPU but your dwarves and livestock.  [[Desert]]s and barren areas often have sand; with a sufficient source of energy (preferably magma), you can build almost anything out of unlimited glass.
  
 
Hunters should be replaced with fisherdwarves and a fish cleaner (although the latter can be easily trained).  Depending how much water vs. land, more starting wood and ores might be helpful.  Swimming is rarely useful in Fortress mode, even at the beach, and can be trained.
 
Hunters should be replaced with fisherdwarves and a fish cleaner (although the latter can be easily trained).  Depending how much water vs. land, more starting wood and ores might be helpful.  Swimming is rarely useful in Fortress mode, even at the beach, and can be trained.
 
  
 
==Sample starting builds==
 
==Sample starting builds==
To use an example starting build, open data/init/embark_profiles.txt and paste the text into it. Next time you embark, the profile will appear as a possible group to take. Using embark profiles is faster than planning carefully, but totally skips dwarf personality. Dwarves are simply assigned first come, first served.
+
See [[Sample Starting Builds]]
=== BillyBob and the Rock Nuts ===
 
{| class="wikitable" cellspacing="0" border="1" cellpadding="5"
 
!Profession
 
!Skills
 
|-
 
|FarmerBrewer
 
|Grower-5, Brewer-5
 
|-
 
|MinerMason
 
|Mining-5, Masonry-3, Engraving-2
 
|-
 
|MinerJeweller
 
|Mining-5, Masonry-2, GemCutting-4
 
|-
 
|LumberjackHerbalist
 
|Woodcutting-4,Herbalism-4, Axedwarf, Armor, Carpentry
 
|-
 
|CookDoctor
 
|Cook-3, PlantProcessing-2, Diagnose, DressWounds, Suture, SetBones, Surgery
 
|-
 
|CarpenterLeader
 
|Carpentry-4, Leadership-3, Negotiate, Appraisal, Bookkeeping
 
|-
 
|CrafterArchitect
 
|Stonecraft-5, Architect-3, Mechanic
 
|}
 
The lumberjack is the only one that _has_ to go outside, and all the rest can work indoors. Two main sources of income are farming (Sweet Pods->Dwarven Syrup) and Rock Crafting (to buy elven wood/barrels).
 
 
 
<pre>
 
[PROFILE]
 
[TITLE:BillyBob and the Rock Nuts]
 
[SKILL:1:MINING:5]
 
[SKILL:1:DETAILSTONE:3]
 
[SKILL:1:MASONRY:2]
 
[SKILL:2:MINING:5]
 
[SKILL:2:MASONRY:1]
 
[SKILL:2:CUTGEM:4]
 
[SKILL:3:WOODCUTTING:4]
 
[SKILL:3:CARPENTRY:1]
 
[SKILL:3:HERBALISM:3]
 
[SKILL:3:AXE:1]
 
[SKILL:3:ARMOR:1]
 
[SKILL:4:CARPENTRY:4]
 
[SKILL:4:NEGOTIATION:1]
 
[SKILL:4:APPRAISAL:1]
 
[SKILL:4:RECORD_KEEPING:1]
 
[SKILL:4:LEADERSHIP:3]
 
[SKILL:5:BREWING:5]
 
[SKILL:5:PLANT:5]
 
[SKILL:6:PROCESSPLANTS:2]
 
[SKILL:6:COOK:3]
 
[SKILL:6:DRESS_WOUNDS:1]
 
[SKILL:6:DIAGNOSE:1]
 
[SKILL:6:SURGERY:1]
 
[SKILL:6:SET_BONE:1]
 
[SKILL:6:SUTURE:1]
 
[SKILL:7:STONECRAFT:5]
 
[SKILL:7:MECHANICS:1]
 
[SKILL:7:DESIGNBUILDING:4]
 
[ITEM:2:WEAPON:ITEM_WEAPON_PICK:INORGANIC:COPPER]
 
[ITEM:2:WEAPON:ITEM_WEAPON_AXE_BATTLE:INORGANIC:COPPER]
 
[ITEM:1:ANVIL:NONE:INORGANIC:IRON]
 
[ITEM:11:DRINK:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_WHEAT_CAVE:DRINK]
 
[ITEM:11:DRINK:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_TAIL_PIG:DRINK]
 
[ITEM:11:DRINK:NONE:PLANT_MAT:MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP:DRINK]
 
[ITEM:5:SEEDS:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_TAIL_PIG:SEED]
 
[ITEM:12:SEEDS:NONE:PLANT_MAT:MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP:SEED]
 
[ITEM:11:SEEDS:NONE:PLANT_MAT:POD_SWEET:SEED]
 
[ITEM:11:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:MARMOT_HOARY:STOMACH]
 
[ITEM:11:PLANT:NONE:PLANT_MAT:MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP:STRUCTURAL]
 
[ITEM:1:THREAD:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_TAIL_PIG:THREAD]
 
[ITEM:1:CLOTH:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_TAIL_PIG:THREAD]
 
[ITEM:3:BOX:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_TAIL_PIG:THREAD]
 
[ITEM:2:CHAIN:NONE:PLANT_MAT:GRASS_TAIL_PIG:THREAD]
 
[ITEM:3:BUCKET:NONE:PLANT_MAT:ALDER:WOOD]
 
[ITEM:2:SPLINT:NONE:PLANT_MAT:ALDER:WOOD]
 
[ITEM:2:CRUTCH:NONE:PLANT_MAT:ALDER:WOOD]
 
[ITEM:15:MEAT:NONE:CREATURE_MAT:WARTHOG:MUSCLE]
 
[PET:2:DOG:FEMALE:TRAINED_WAR]
 
[PET:1:DOG:MALE:TRAINED_WAR]
 
[PET:2:CAT:FEMALE:STANDARD]
 
[PET:1:CAT:MALE:STANDARD]
 
</pre>
 
  
 
{{Starting FAQ}}
 
{{Starting FAQ}}
[[Category:Guides]]
+
{{Category|Guides}}
 +
{{Category|Fortress mode}}

Latest revision as of 23:30, 21 June 2024

This article is about an older version of DF.
This is not a tutorial, a FAQ, or a new players guide. This is a mildly advanced theoretical treatment for someone ready to take the plunge and make all the decisions about their own fortress. The following are intended for beginners:
For an explanation of the interface for starting out, see Embark.

A starting build is a personal strategy for choosing the initial supplies, equipment, and skills of your initial seven dwarves when starting a new game in fortress mode. (See Sample Starting Builds). These skills and items which you assign to your dwarves will have a large impact on life in your new fortress, especially in its first year.

This page attempts to provide a discussion about how and why you make the choices on what you bring with you. This page is not an explanation of the mechanics of doing so, see the embark page for an explanation of the interface itself. This page assumes you have already made certain decisions, such as where you plan on settling, and that you are looking at the Prepare Carefully screen.

One thing should be made clear - there is no "best" build, no "perfect" or "clearly superior" final mix of skills and items, if only because there isn't any one goal of play. The goals you have for a fortress will dictate which sets of items and skills are best suited to achieving that goal - in your opinion. And then there is the environment, where your dwarves will arrive, the creatures, the resources available, and so forth. Finally, some people do things solely because it is hard, and that makes it more fun for them.

Components of a Starting Build[edit]

There are two main components of a starting build: skills and items.

Skills for your initial dwarves determine how quickly they will work early on, what industries you are guaranteed to be able to start with skilled workers, how well you can defend your dwarves early on, and what the quality of various goods they produce will be, and possibly many other considerations. This page considers in detail how you might go about choosing skills for your starting dwarves, and examines the multiple competing perspectives from which you can make that decision.

The items that your dwarves bring with you can be tailored a number of ways. There are trade-offs to cheaper and more expensive alternatives, and reasons why you might choose either. This section explores the nature of these trade-offs and the reasons for making a decision. It also looks at optimizing goods brought in more general contexts.

Starting builds can and should vary based upon a number of other variables. Where you choose to settle will give you a fortress that supplies different raw materials and thus require different skill sets to utilize, not to mention different threats from native wildlife based on biome, savagery, and alignment. Which dwarven civilization you come from will restrict the materials with which you can start. Making choices about these variables is not part of a starting build. What you choose for skills and items because of these choices is part of your starting build, and so some general guidelines about different environments is given last.

This page does not cover the interface for accomplishing these tasks. Please see the embark page.

Skill Optimization[edit]

With only 7 dwarves, you can't take every skill, so you have to balance what you do take. At this starting phase, each dwarf can only be assigned a maximum total of 10 skill levels, with no single skill starting higher than "5". Actual skill distribution is thus constrained to be something between 1 level in each of 10 skills, or 5 levels in each of two skills, or something in between. Because dwarves can learn any and all skills once your fortress starts, these initial choices do not dictate what the dwarves can do, opening up incredible latitude to choose skills for reasons other than survival.

(* Note that an unskilled dwarf starts with all Skills at Level 0. Adding +5 Levels is then Level 5. This is true regardless of how many "points" a level costs when first buying skills at embark.)

A brief list of considerations governing skill choice:

  • Maximizing starting skill ranks vs. generalizing and having more skills covered at lower levels.
  • Balancing multiple skills for a single dwarf, so they aren't constantly needed for two different tasks at critical periods
  • Military vs economic needs
  • Your goals vs "basic survival needs" to keep your fortress healthy and happy.
  • Speed that a skill can be trained in game
  • Demand for a skill during a game
  • Whether quality or speed are significant considerations for tasks/final product
  • Balancing the desire to create wealth (with high-value products) with the need to maintain morale (with low-value but commonly used products, like beds, which normally are made from wood).
  • most importantly - your playstyle - what you think is "fun"!

Breadth vs. Depth[edit]

A dwarf with only 2 starting skills at 5 ranks each is pretty good at 2 tasks, but untrained at anything else. A dwarf with nothing higher than level 1 is passable at many tasks, but not good at anything. Each dwarf in your party is going to be somewhere along this continuum, and you'll need to choose where.

Level in a skill dictates how fast a dwarf completes a task (most of the time), and how well he completes it (if applicable). On one extreme, butchery has no time variance for slaughtering a tame animal, and has no quality associated with the outcome. On the other extreme, metalworking tasks can take a long time for an untrained worker to complete and their high material value means the quality multiplier has a large impact on the end value.

Dwarves who complete tasks faster can do more total jobs within a given timeframe. The rate at which speed increases with level varies with skill, so some skills will benefit more than others.

Dwarves who make items of higher quality will contribute more to fortress wealth and may have a large impact on fortress happiness if their work is readily available to be seen by other dwarves. Items which typically contribute to happiness are low value but common public items, like beds and tables. Items which contribute the most to fortress wealth often cannot be displayed, but make useful trade goods or equipment for your military.

A dwarf highly skilled in few areas will work faster at those tasks and produce higher quality work than his more generalized counterpart. However, he will do worse at any other task he is set to.

Aside from the obvious trade off, there is another reason to prefer depth - dwarves can obviously only complete so many total jobs within a given timespan. If a dwarf is busy doing one thing, he can't simultaneously be doing something else. So a dwarf who is highly skilled in a few skills may not actually experience any disadvantage thereby if he is kept doing those things in which he specializes. The generalist dwarf, on the other hand, may be able to do many more different tasks adequately, but he can still only do one type of task at a time. A dwarf with one highly used skill (such as Mechanics or Mining) can feasibly spend all his time using only his primary skill and thus has no need to generalize. In effect, the generalist is wasting more skill points whenever he does jobs than the specialist, so long as the specialist tends to do jobs he has levels in. Specializing your initial skill investment is therefore superior if you specialize the division of labor in your fortress.

Of course, you can still only bring 7 dwarves with 10 total levels of skills each, so covering everything you want to do in 14 skills may be hard, if not impossible. A generalist or two can cover more bases that have little quality need or are otherwise fast even without a high level. The generalists real problem arises from the fact that any dwarf can do any task, and having 1 level isn't much better than having no levels. Which isn't to say there isn't a situation where a 1/1/1/1/1/5 dwarf is the right solution (indeed, the typical recommended leader/broker takes 1/1/1/1/1 in appraiser/judge of intent/negotiator/+2 social skills because none of these skills have a time or quality component), but most less-specialized dwarves are more likely to fall in the 5/3/2 or 4/3/3 end of the spectrum solely because there is a minimum investment necessary to be noticeably better than not having any levels at all.

Design Constraints: Which skills do I need, really?[edit]

The only thing that you absolutely must do in the first year is get your food supplies into a food stockpile, preferably inside, otherwise your food will rot on the ground and your dwarves will starve. Anything else you want to do can be accommodated by sufficient investment in initial food supplies and/or skills. This means the options for possible starting builds are vast because virtually any set of starting skills for your dwarves is viable (and that's before you even think about equipment, which adds more variables). So the short answer is: none.

That said, there are some skills which will be used, to one extent or another, by virtually every fortress - but that doesn't mean you need or even want to invest points in them to start. You could even manipulate the fortress (see challenge) to completely avoid one or more of the following, but these are the skills you will find it exceptionally hard to avoid creating jobs for:

Mining - to dig your fortress, and gain stone for projects. Only possible to avoid using if you're secretly an elf.
  • Inexperienced miners work very slowly and are less likely to recover mined gems or valuable ores. Mining can be leveled up quite quickly by mining soil, but taking two dwarves with at least some points in mining is recommended in many cases.
Carpentry - beds can only be produced from wood (rare moods aside). This skill can also be used to make bins without having to have an anvil, use any metal bars, or use any fuel.
Masonry - to build walls and stairs, and fashion dwarven furniture from stone. Possible to work around, but incredibly hard and annoying to do.
Growing - your farmers' work echoes throughout so many other tasks, it's stunning
  • While its possible to feed your fortress on nothing but caravan goods, you'll never come by enough alcohol that way, so you'll eventually need to grow crops for brewing, and dwarves will literally go crazy if forced to drink nothing but water for long periods. Thus you'll want to plan for farming eventually - not that you need to bring a highly skilled Grower, but it'll certainly be very helpful. Likewise, a skilled brewer produces alcohol quicker, which improves your dwarves' mood as they have constant access to it, as does a skilled cook with the foods they prepare. However, most food can be eaten raw, and so long as they are not starving there is life.
Brewing - All dwarves "need alcohol to get through the working day."
Mechanics - If you want traps, and most people will. Also needed for most machinery. Mechanisms sell for a high price as a bonus.
Building Designer - Mandatory for some buildings and constructions, but skill only improves speed a tad and increases structure value
Broker skills - Most importantly appraiser - you will use these whenever you trade with a caravan. Because of this, a minimum of Broker skills are highly recommended to start with at the Novice (1 pt) level (especially Novice level of Appraiser
Record keeper - Gives you access to the stocks screen and will let you accurately survey the resources of your fortress.

The very fact that you will use these skills can make many of them desirable to choose as starting skills for your dwarves. Of the above, Mining, Masonry, Growing, Brewing, Cooking, and Mechanics are generally worth considering as "highly desirable". However, any skill can be used untrained, and/or get trained on the job - it just means a slower process and/or average lower quality product than if done by a dwarf with a higher skill level. Some of these skills (eg, Record Keeper) are rarely worth investing initial points in even though you will almost always use it. Others of them (eg, Mining, Carpentry) may or may not be worth investing points in depending on your goals or the tempo with which you want to achieve them. (Mining is easy to train so you could forgo initial investment and just train on the job. A skilled carpenter can contribute a lot to fortress mood, but won't produce much value, see the discussion of Quality below).

The difference between these skills and other skills is that other skills are optional as to whether they'll get used or not. You need to deliberately want to use them. These skills are essential to basic aspects of the game, and avoiding one requires a deliberate choice not to use it (and likely a lot of effort spent to avoid doing so). Ie, a fortress could make its wealth by smithing fine weapons, weaving quality cloth, encrusting precious stones onto furniture, or crafting quality trinkets. Or all of those. But it doesn't have a compelling reason to do any one in particular. A fortress that never designates a tile for mining, however, requires exceptional effort to achieve.

But that you can avoid even something as basic as mining *for the lifetime of your fortress* means there is no universal design constraint on which skills to start with. Ultimately the answer to "What skills do I need?" is "Whichever you want". Choosing a mixture of these commonly used skills and your desired specialized skills will make starting up your fortress easier and more efficient, but you don't need to start with any of them. Choosing to avoid some skills may force you to use some others, but nothing compels you to invest in any skill in particular.

A common skill list (Just as a general quick start): 2 Miners 1 Woodcutter 1 Grower/Cook 1 Grower/Brewer 1 Carpenter 1 Mason

This is not the be all end all of course, it all depends upon your location, your goals, and what you consider fun.

Balancing military and economic needs[edit]

Not all embarks will require a military presence in the first year, but anyone planning an expedition to a sinister, haunted, or terrifying biome would be foolish not to be prepared for nasty dwarf-killing creatures. The solution doesn't strictly need to be military skills; quick delving and a skilled mechanic may be sufficient; but starting with a military dwarf will give you the earliest possible protection and a lot more versatility in where that protection can be applied. Whatever you choose to do, understand the risk and be prepared for it.

Training considerations[edit]

Some skills are harder to gain experience in than others - requiring valuable resources or taking an extended period of time, and thus inconvenient to train from the ground up. Investing in some of these extensively in your initial dwarves can make those industries much less painful to start. For example, metal-related skills generally eat metal bars, and thus the less time you spend training metal workers up to a decent level, the faster they'll be churning out high-quality items for you, and the fewer bars they'll waste becoming skilled. On the other hand, despite its importance, skills like mining train relatively quickly and barring extenuating circumstances (expected need to accomplish particular digging projects in the first month or you'll get mauled by a Giant for example) there's little need to actually invest your starting skills in it - they can learn on the job.

Quality, value, and happiness[edit]

Quality is an important part of Dwarf Fortress. Higher quality items produce better and more frequent happy thoughts and are worth more money. Valuable commodities will trade for more goods from caravans that visit. When choosing skills that produce objects of quality, the desire to produce valuable goods for trade will often conflict with the desire to produce objects that will make your dwarves happy. Built items that are frequently encountered tend to be things like furniture, especially beds, which tend to have low material values and thus low total value no matter how high the quality of the work. Further, these things tend to be inconvenient to trade. It is often best to strike a balance between dwarves who produce valuable trade goods and dwarves who produce quality items that will make your population happy - and thus be able to achieve both goals simultaneously.

Its worth noting that built furniture and worn clothing counts its value twice, once under the appropriate category and once for displayed value. If you're trying to maximize your created wealth total, a good metalsmith producing furniture from high-value metals is optimal. A mason or stonecrafter can also build furniture from ore such as gold nuggets, if these are enabled in the stocks screen, presently there is no disadvantage in doing so as the furniture is just as valuable as if it had been made by a metalsmith from metal bars.

Moodable skills[edit]

Strange moods will create a Legendary skill of the "moodable" skill with the highest level, and moods take hold of dwarves with different professions at different rates. Some skills are "moodable" where others are not. You might choose to take certain skills solely because it opens up moods for that skill with that dwarf. Some moodable skills are more valuable than others - a legendary weaponsmith is both valuable and useful. A legendary tanner is generally a waste of a mood since tanned hides have no quality.

Because a dwarf can only have a strange mood in one skill, pairing a moodable skill with a non-moodable skill can protect the moodable skill and ensure that if the dwarf has a mood it will be in the skill you desire. See the section on combining skills below for more details on ways to pair skills.

Dwarves with no moodable skill can be allowed to do one task using a moodable skill to give them a moodable skill with no starting build investment, so moodable skill considerations should not be considered a primary reason to choose particular skills - you should also want to make use of them for other reasons.

Combining Skills[edit]

Every dwarf is going to have 2 or more skills. This means that even once you know which skills you want, you're going to need to pair them up before assigning them. Not all skill combinations are equally functional.

Some skills are highly time-consuming, either because the skill is in frequent demand (eg, mining) or because it takes a long time to do an individual job (eg, strand extraction). If a dwarf is spending most of their time using that skill, they aren't making much use of their other skill. Pairing two time-consuming skills together therefore tends to be a bad idea, as one or both jobs are not going to get the attention they need or deserve. Similarly, pairing a skill with time-critical jobs with a time-consuming skill also tends to be a bad idea. If your grower is also mining, he may not stop to plant crops one season. Or he might neglect to harvest your crops in a timely fashion and they could rot on the ground (if you only let your growers harvest). Arranging your skill combinations to avoid these situations is generally beneficial. For example, Masons, miners, growers, and any craft that your fortress will base their economy off of (glass, stonecrafts, armour, etc) will take a lot of time, so plan accordingly.

Instead, pairing relatively time-intensive tasks with less time-intensive tasks will let your dwarf accomplish all such tasks adequately. Once you get a metal industry rolling, an armorer/weaponsmith will need to make a lot fewer weapons to outfit your soldiers than he will armor components. Thus he can usefully do both jobs without hurting your productivity overly much. Similarly, a mason might also be your architect, since building designer is a very infrequently used skill.

Working at different jobs levels up specific attributes. One could level up a miner until he becomes mighty and ultra-tough - and then turn him into a soldier, or retire him to haul stone. If you plan on doing so, it may not be a good idea to give this guy a second critical job that will demand a lot of time away from their focus.

Since tasks will take place in specific areas, another approach is to combine tasks into dwarves who will take care of a specific industry, or spend all their time in one generally narrow part of the fortress - the forges, or the kitchens, or outdoors, for instance. So combining Farming with cooking, rather than mining, for example, and turn on only Haul Food, not Haul Stone. Metalworkers spending their time in the forge can easily handle more than one type of metalworking skill, and are also well-situated to be furnace operators.

Similarly, you can also make the craftsmen of your finished products also responsible for the production of intermediate products from raw ingredients. This way when they run out of materials to make into finished goods they can immediately switch over to working raw products into intermediate products so they'll have more to work with later. This works better in some industries than in others. A single butcher/tanner/cook trying to process multiple animals simultaneously will likely result in rotten food, carcases, or skins. But a weaponsmith who doubles as a furnace operator can usefully ensure he has material to work with when you want him to. Later on, however, a highly skilled craftsdwarf is often better suited at sitting in their workshop and having others deliver raw materials to them than going out and obtaining their own raw materials themselves, but in the early game dwarf-time is limited, and a single dwarf who can work an entire production chain can do so relatively efficiently and let your other dwarves be used elsewhere.

There is no requirement that a dwarves job combination needs to look 'right' or logical. A weaponsmith will most probably not spend nearly 100% of their time creating weapons - what they do with the other part of their time may have nothing at all to do with forges or smithing. Jobs which require little time in general, or little time early even if time-intensive later, may well be paired with any time-intensive task solely to provide the dwarf with something to usefully and skillfully do with most of their time, and freed from that duty as needed for the other tasks.

Another constraint you can impose on your skill combinations is to try to limit dwarves to moodable skill and one non-moodable skill (or a moodable and a less desired moodable skill at lower level), so any mood will improve the desired one. For example, pairing craft skills with farming skills gives you dwarves that will perform useful food production or raw good processing services while also getting their mood in a valuable finished goods skill. Example: Clothier/Grower.

Which dwarf should have which skill?[edit]

Dwarves who craft goods they prefer, or work materials they prefer, gain a bonus to the quality of the finished work. This can inform your choice of which skills you choose, for example by choosing a weaver because you notice a preference for sheep wool yarn, or you might choose the skills you want and then try to find a suitable dwarf to use that skill. In the latter case, since all dwarves have one metal preference you might assign an armorsmithing skill to a dwarf with a preference for iron, steel, or adamantine.

The dwarf with the most social skills will end up being the Expedition leader, who will then become the mayor and start making mandates. Thus you should avoid giving the most social skills to dwarves who have preferences for things like adamantine.

Dwarves have physical and mental attributes that affect the performance of certain skills. You may wish to give a socially adept and patient dwarf the leadership/broker skills, or a dwarf who doesn't tire easily a skill which will be in frequent use like mining. You can also try to match skills to personality, some of which have obvious implications for their willingness to work long hours or how frequently they might take breaks.

Of course, all combined these represent a lot of possible constraints on where you assign particular skills, and it would be impossible to apply them in total to your entire desired skill load. Use these as a guide, but don't be upset if all your dwarves are anti-social psychopaths - someone still needs to be the leader, after all.

Other considerations[edit]

Migrants can and will arrive with a wide selection of decently trained skills. While it is a gamble, chances are pretty decent that migrants will arrive with a highly trained skill that is also highly desirable and would usurp the job of one of the seven starting ones. The first few migration waves are likely to give you a much better talent pool than what you can assign at embark. On the other hand, you may never get the skill you really want if you don't start with it.

Skills atrophy if not used (they are marked "rusty" and later "very rusty"), and they can eventually decrease in level. Consider that skills which you will use years after embark are going to be rusty or even deleveled. Embark to the first caravan is long enough for a skill to start rusting, so you might want to make sure you'll use every skill you embark with before the first year ends to avoid catastrophic rusting.

Remember that you need to survive in order to accomplish any goals. Have a plan for lasting to at least the first caravan, if not one for longterm sustainability.

Items[edit]

The items you choose to bring with you will need to satisfy a number of needs. Most importantly, you need to keep yourself alive - at least until the caravan arrives in the fall to resupply yourself. You probably also want to plan on some way of making a shelter, whether that be the traditional delved hall, a majestic castle, a log cabin, or something even more exotic. You may want to plan for mishaps by bringing essential medical supplies, especially those which may be hard to acquire on site. And you might bring items which will assist in creating items for trade to that first caravan, should you need anything for the skills you're planning on.

For the purposes of this article, livestock are considered items.

All embarks get the following items without paying for them: 2 animals (who pulled the wagon), and the 3 wood that make up the wagon.

Motivations[edit]

Survival[edit]

A single dwarf eats about 2x/season, and drinks about 4x/season. With 7 dwarves that's ~approximately~ 14 meals per season and 28 alcohol per season, or ~42 meals and ~84 alcohol until the end of Fall. The dwarf caravan tends to arrive in the third month of fall, so you will probably need to plan on a full 3 seasons. You are also likely to get at least one if not two small waves of migrants before the caravan arrives.

It is possible to bring enough food and drink to make it to the caravan - indeed, bringing enough food isn't especially hard (especially once you factor in slaughtering the animals who hauled your wagon. Bringing sufficient alcohol is harder, although bringing plump helmets to brew can significantly cut the cost.

The likely best way to keep your dwarves in drink is also the most labor intensive - setting up farming in the first season or two is perfectly plausible, allowing to grow your own plants from seeds and brew the products. (Keep in mind not all plants can be brewed - don't plant dimple cups and expect to make alcohol). In addition to the necessary seeds, starting your own farming operation is going to require either some soil or some way to get the ground muddy. While sometimes simple digging can accomplish this, many times you're going to need a screw pump. Basic construction requirements are discussed under shelter.

It is possible to make all your alcohol by harvesting aboveground plants, if highly inefficient. It also only works in biomes with collectable plant life. Notably evil biomes and glaciers are unlikely to provide.

Shelter[edit]

Bar a convenient cave, you're going to have to do something for shelter. Shelter is your first defense against roving creatures, keeping them away from where your dwarves are working so they don't spam job cancellations and strew items all over the place. (As you might guess, most 'convenient caves' aren't actually that convenient, as they tend to have residents). Basic walls that allow you egress won't stop a dedicated invader, but you don't expect to see those until year 3, so you have time to develop more elaborate defenses.

Food outside will also spoil a lot faster than food inside, so making a cellar of some sort to store your food in will increase the longevity of your food supplies. The rate at which food spoils depends on ambient temperature, so the urgency of making a cellar will depend on where you settled. It might be possible to go without a cellar in a freezing biome.[Verify] The only way you can avoid thinking about food storage in the first year is if you collect food and make alcohol as needed - ie, by using an herbalist to collect local plants - which can avoid needing to mine at all.

Delving a shelter requires mining, which means having picks to dig with. One can always bring one or more picks at embark, but its also possible to bring the supplies necessary to make them. See finished product or do it yourself.

An aboveground shelter can be made with stone or wood or possibly more exotic materials. Stone of course requires mining, and thus picks. Wood can be had with an axe assuming trees are present, and axes, like picks, can similarly be brought at embark or made on site. It is of course possible to bring sufficient raw materials to build walls with, but this is far less efficient than just bringing a pick or an axe, although it could make a fun challenge. Building your initial fort out of soap, while possible, is not recommended, although possibly hilariously entertaining.

Industry[edit]

Most industries require little more than materials you can collect at the site and a workshop. So long as you can get stone, you won't need to bring anything for these. However, if you want to get an industry going immediately, it does help to bring a few building materials along (or be willing to use the wood from the wagon, if only temporarily).

Some industries require fire-safe materials to build with. All stone qualifies, as does metal. Wood can be converted to a fire safe material by burning it to ashes in a wood burners workshop, but of course that workshop requires a fire-safe material. If you're mining, this condition is easy to satisfy, but if you intend to run any of these industries right away you will need to plan on bringing appropriate materials.

Some industries require plant or animal matter to work with. Clothiers ultimately need cloth, which comes from certain plants or animals. Leatherworkers need tanned skins. (And while you can get 2 off your pack animals, this isn't sufficient to run an industry). If you plan on running these types of industries you will need to have a plan for providing suitable raw materials. Hunting can cover leatherworking needs (although this requires a hunter and hunting implements), and foraging can find rope reed plants, but its usually better to bring enough appropriate animals or plant seeds to have a good shot at getting started in a predictable and sustainable way. Similarly, milking and cheese making require milkable animals, and bonecarving requires a dependable source of bones.

Metal industries require metal and an anvil. You cannot make an anvil on site without already having an anvil, so if you plan on doing any forging before the first caravan you will need to bring one with you. Metal can be brought as bars or as ores to be smelted in a smelter into bars, or can be mined yourself. You will need to provide fuel or magma to run these workshops, so bringing some coal can make the operation run smoother.

Soap requires a lot of wood consumption and a source of tallow to be done in a sustainable way. Lye can be bought at embark to skip the first steps and make soap more directly. You will still need to bring or make buckets and have an empty barrel to actually produce soap though, but fortunately this is just a matter of having sufficient wood.

Jewelers require gems. Cut gems can be brought at embark, but are too expensive to bring in quantity. Generally a jeweler requires mining to find sufficient gems or a glassworker to produce raw glass to work with.

Glassmaking and Pottery requires sand or clay and fuel - pay attention to your site report before embarking. Its hard to run a viable industry solely off imports in these cases. Like metal workshops, coal can be brought to substitute for fuel fairly efficiently.

As is probably obvious, certain industries depend on similar inputs. Planning on a set of industries which require similar complementary inputs can let you more efficiently spend your starting points at embark or more efficiently plan your digging during the first year. If you plan on a lot of fuel-dependent industries, it may be worthwhile to prioritize finding a source of magma.

Optimization[edit]

Container mechanics and free items[edit]

Many items come in containers such as barrels and bags, including food, liquids, seeds, and powders. The cost to embark with these items can be cheaper than the cost of the container itself. Each different type of item for each category will come in its own container. Furthermore, you'll get a new container after every 10th instance for food, most liquids, and seeds, and after every item of powders.[Verify] Alcohol gets a new barrel after every 5th unit. (Food actually groups by animal type, so if you get horse tripe and horse meat they'll combine them, but they won't combine horse meat and donkey meat). Thus diversifying your initial food supply with 1 of each low-cost food item will net you a large number of barrels. Similarly, it is worth taking 1 of each seed you weren't planning on taking more of solely for the bags. Taking some sand or gypsum powder is also a cheap way to get bags. Lye (for soap) and milks can be brought for more barrels - and milk can be made into cheese for a low-cost embark option that becomes food.

As stockpiling and some jobs are container limited, getting as many free containers as you can will free up labor (and possibly valuable materials) that would otherwise be used making containers.

Finished product or do it yourself[edit]

Bringing raw materials and making the finished product yourself is often easier on your embark points than bringing the finished product. On the other hand, making it yourself takes time during which you aren't making use of the finished product.

The most common scenario involves forging your own metal tools and weapons. While not usually too much of a hardship, it can be dangerous to make your own weapons or picks if you expect possible hostile creatures. Furthermore, you will lose time - possibly 1/4 to 1/2 the first month - if you forge your own picks.

Of special note regarding weapons is that a training battle axe is perfectly capable of chopping trees, and is made with nothing more than a carpentry workshop and a log. While the delay in acquiring one is minimal, a wood battle axe is not a good weapon, and so it loses utility for doing anything other than acquiring more wood.

You can also easily plan on making all or most of one's own booze, as plump helmets can be bought at embark and brewed at a still.

Any finished good can of course be made from raw materials that you bring, but most of them are not essential like the above, and thus you can generally wait until you find suitable resources on site or buy them from caravans.

Biome considerations: dude, where's my wood?[edit]

Some environments have a shortage of trees. While you can direct production of a lot of item types to other materials, beds need to be made out of wood. In addition, it is difficult to make barrels and bins out of non-wood materials early in the game, especially without ready magma (since otherwise you'll probably need to burn wood to make metal equivalents). If you have an aquifer it can be even worse - stone may be difficult or impossible to access easily. While you can ultimately ask for wood from your liaison and buy whatever the humans and elves happen to bring, and eventually you can create a tree farm underground, tight wood will limit storage and sleeping arrangements for at least the first year if not longer. You may wish to plan accordingly if embarking in a site with sparse or no trees.

Items for moods[edit]

When a dwarf is taken by a strange mood, he often needs obscure material or he will go insane and die, possibly with severe consequences to an entire fortress. Bringing along some of the harder-to-find ores (cassiterite, sphalerite, bismuthinite, garnierite), and putting those aside, forbidding their use "just in case", is spending a few points on an insurance policy. Many players also choose to bring a few items like pig tail cloth and cave spider silk just in case.

Alternately, if you're otherwise being minimalistic on gear you're bringing you can choose to bring a few valuable components to try to maximize the value of mood items. That artifact animal trap will be worth a lot more if your woodcarver grabs a blue diamond instead of moss agate.

Free Equipment[edit]

Dwarves who start with the ambusher skill as their highest non-military non-social skill will get some leather armor, a crossbow, a quiver and a stack of 30 to 40 metal bolts for free.

Embarking in a biome where there's snow at the moment of embarkation seems to get the same clothing items dwarves which Ambusher get, though they will not necessarily be made of leather.[Verify]

Site considerations[edit]

Each fortress location offers particular challenges and opportunities, and can make different demands on your starting build. Your starting build may need to be adjusted depending on the region your fort occupies, the specific vision you have of your fortress, and what it will take to stay alive where you're going!

The differences include what biomes, regions and likely metals are present in your chosen embark site.

General Surroundings[edit]

Simply put, if your surroundings are evil or savage, your dwarves have a higher risk of suddenly facing personal combat before they are safely behind their defenses. Consider bringing extra weaponry, in the form of axes, picks or crossbows (see free equipment). Hand in hand with those, consider skill mixes that include axedwarf, mining (the skill used to wield a pick), marksdwarf, or wrestling (a solid unarmed-combat skill).

The same is true if you are embarking near an exposed magma vent or an open chasm - these features can be seen on the embark map, but it's impossible to tell if they are "open" to the surface or not, until you are there in person.

Be sure to include some source of water on the map, preferably running water. Water is (almost) essential for any fortress. In Cold and Freezing climates streams and lakes will often be frozen year-round and your dwarves may quickly die of exposure, in Hot climates murky pools will dry up, and in Dry ones rain will only rarely re-fill them, if ever. Choose Temperate or tropical zones for an easier game.

Aquifers[edit]

If an aquifer is present in the first soil or stone layers (visible on the pre-embark menu), it may bar all access to stone and ore until you find a way through the water barrier. Consider bringing some stone for building, and ore for your first basic needs. This may be critical to getting your fortress running smoothly.

Mountains[edit]

Mountains often have abundant ores, but at the loss of trees and plants. In previous versions lacking caverns, this was a serious drawback. In v0.31, brave pioneers can dig down into the caverns to find essentials like water, mud, and plants. However, players should be aware that above-ground crops will not grow in mountain biomes, no matter how muddy you may make the surface.

Depending on the exact layers, it's common to find exposed veins of useful ores that can be immediately mined for DIY weapons and tools.

Wooded/Plains[edit]

Flatlands with at least some trees and gatherable plants can also make for highly successful fortresses. Advantages over mountain zones include abundant trees and plants and (unless frozen) more abundant water. There are even (rare) magma vents. More water also means a high likelihood of an aquifer being present. Make sure to check on embark.

The greatest disadvantage is the potential lack of exposed stone to mine. The first level(s) below the surface is often soil of some type, which offers no building materials. However, soil is mined much more quickly than stone (x3-x4 faster), and expansive accommodations (rooms) can be achieved quickly even by untrained miners. You will find stone, you just have to go down a bit for it - but that's what dwarves do, isn't it?

Training a Miner from No Skill to Proficient takes less than a month (~20 days with hauling disabled) in soil, and to Legendary in just under a season after. v0.31.12 From embark, this means you should have legendary miners in early summer if you dig only in soil. Times increase slightly for each additional miner used.

Oceanside[edit]

With many features in common with some of the above locations, beaches are often a mix of ease intermingled with bouts of extreme difficulty. Minerals and trees are often abundant, as well as farmland and sand, but there is often no drinking water unless the biome has a flowing water of some sort.

By definition, the settlement will fall between (at least) two biomes (one land, one water), potentially hazardous if the player expects a peaceful oceanside meadow, without realizing the terrifying ocean is full of amphibious zombie whales.

Desert, Glaciers, and Barren[edit]

Treeless (or near-treeless) biomes are challenging sites for a fortress: you get most of the disadvantages of a flatland site without having access to nearly as many trees and plants. However, near-lifeless zones such as glaciers are wonderful for players with slower computers, as there's little to burden the CPU but your dwarves and livestock. Deserts and barren areas often have sand; with a sufficient source of energy (preferably magma), you can build almost anything out of unlimited glass.

Hunters should be replaced with fisherdwarves and a fish cleaner (although the latter can be easily trained). Depending how much water vs. land, more starting wood and ores might be helpful. Swimming is rarely useful in Fortress mode, even at the beach, and can be trained.

Sample starting builds[edit]

See Sample Starting Builds