v50 Steam/Premium information for editors
  • v50 information can now be added to pages in the main namespace. v0.47 information can still be found in the DF2014 namespace. See here for more details on the new versioning policy.
  • Use this page to report any issues related to the migration.
This notice may be cached—the current version can be found here.

Fire imp

From Dwarf Fortress Wiki
Revision as of 23:09, 24 January 2017 by OluapPlayer (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Fire imp
i
Urist likes fire imps for their terrifying features.
Portrait

No portrait

Biome

  • Underground Depth: 0-4
Attributes

· Genderless · Fire immune · Humanoid

Cannot be tamed 
Size
Max: 6,000 cm3

Age
Adult at: Birth
Max age: Immortal
Butchering returns

(Value multiplier ×3)

Food items

Meat 7
Fat 7
Intestines 1

Raw materials

Bones 4
Skull 1
Skin Raw hide
This article is about the current version of DF.
Note that some content may still need to be updated.

A small humanoid surrounded by fire which they can hurl at their enemies.

Fire imps are small hostile creatures straight from the magma sea, emerging in groups of 3 to 4 mayhem-minded individuals. Only a little bigger than a cat, the threat they pose comes in the form of their special attacks; they are able to throw large fireballs and launch jets of flame from their hands, which can ignite whole landscapes and immediately turn your dwarves into !!dwarves!!. All fire imps are born with Legendary skill in climbing.

If breaching the magma sea to use its magma, one should expect to face fire imps sooner or later. Take measures when you spot some in a near magmapipe, and equip your military with shields in hope they won't be ignited when facing them. Attempting to drown fire imps is futile, as like all other magma-dwellers, they don't need to breathe. To avoid unwanted fun when dealing with fire imps and other nasty magma-dwelling creatures, you can have a narrow channel leading between your source and the point you want to send it to, then put in a magma-safe grate or set of bars (fortifications are useless when submerged, as creatures can swim through them). Beware, though, that magma men and fire men can and will destroy such barriers.

A safer, but more complicated way to do this is having a floor grate cover the magma intake point and getting magma from it through a pump. Due to building destroying mechanics, floor grates can't be destroyed from below. Pumps can take magma from a grated source. The pump and grate should obviously be magma-safe. Also, the pump should be powered, not manually operated - a dwarf operating the pump would be in line of fire should an imp find itself under the grate.

Fire imps are glass cannons (a dog can take care of them, provided they're not ignited), but resist heat much more than most creatures, only taking damage at 15000 °U . This makes them immune to fire and magma (obviously), but not dragonfire. It is possible for fire imps (and other magma creatures) to travel to the surface via a volcano; if you are building near a volcano and your dwarves get set on fire for no apparent reason, look around for a fire imp in the volcano. You can try channeling to the surface of the magma and baiting it or just dump water on it from above.

In an amusing example of the intricacies of Dwarf Fortress, fire imps can not get fevers. It makes sense when you know what a fever is (higher body temperature, by a few degrees), and the fact that fire imps are extremely resistant to high temperatures. This is not likely to affect gameplay unless you expose them to an appropriate evil weather or if modding is involved. Despite their humanoid anatomy, fire imps are not intelligent creatures and therefore your dwarves will be more than eager to butcher them for a small quantity of returns. Curiously, fire imps are all genderless and biologically immortal, and rather than blood, they have gray-colored goo as their bodily fluids. Adventurers are able to smell fire imps with o, with them being described as smelling like "smoke".

Some dwarves like fire imps for their terrifying features.

Admired for its terrifying features.