Editing Adventurer mode character creation

* '''Dwarves''' have the advantage of being able to go into a [[martial trance]] when fighting multiple foes at once, giving them many combat bonuses, which aids their survival greatly. They are the only race that can start with steel weapons, but they wear "small"-sized clothing which means that they're unable to wear human clothes and armor. Goblin armor fits them, making [[dark fortress]]es (if your computer can handle them) and [[dark pits]] a viable source of armor; if you're up for it, you could also just rob some dwarves or a dwarven fortress. They can start with almost the same weapon skills as civilized humans. Many larger weapons must be wielded two-handed by dwarves, due to their size.

* '''Kobolds''' are playable (by modding) in newer versions but not in older versions. They are very weak in combat, and a huge challenge compared to other races - even smaller than the other main races, and it is next-to-impossible to find properly-fitting armor for them, unless you are absurdly lucky and run into armored kobolds.{{verify}}

* '''Intelligent Wilderness Creatures'''{{version|0.42.01}} are playable wild animals - any creature with {{token|LOCAL_POPS_CONTROLLABLE|c}} fits into this category. A wilderness creature can be played as long as a particular population of them exists in an {{tt|[ALL_MAIN_POPS_CONTROLLABLE]}} civilization. Most wilderness creatures are [[animal people]] - they come in various sizes, shapes and abilities, and as such, a short description cannot be given. Before 47.01 they started without any armor; in 47.01 you can choose the items you start with, including armor, but animal people still have the problem of finding appropriate armor during gameplay, making Dodger and Shield User more important as defensive skills. Some useful features will be copied from the species to your character, such as the ability to fly, a poisonous bite, extravision, large size, various immunities (e.g. pain, stunning, exertion, traps, fear, dizziness, fevers, fire, poison, or drowning), special abilities (e.g. shooting webs, hurling fireballs), intrinsic starting skills, or the absence of vulnerable internal organs. Some features can also be uselessly amusing (e.g. [[Snakeman|snakemen]] talk with a {{token|LISP|c}}) or more crippling: [[Plump helmet man|plump helmet men]] can't talk, and characters from a {{token|MEANDERER|c}} species stroll very slowly in lieu of normal movement. [[Guide to intelligent wilderness creatures in adventurer mode|Here]] you can read more.

Outsiders are adventurers that aren't from a civilization - they can begin at any site and are strangers to all. Only humans can currently be outsiders in vanilla by default - other races can be played as outsiders if {{token|OUTSIDER_CONTROLLABLE|c}} is added to the creature's raws. At least one {{tt|[ALL_MAIN_POPS_CONTROLLABLE]}} civilization must have existed in the world in order to play as an outsider, though the civilization does not need to be alive. A human (or in this case, dwarven) civilization is not strictly required.

The game will always try to start Outsiders in a populated site - [[cave]]s, and even lairs with [[megabeast]]s, will be chosen when there are no occupied civ sites. When starting from a lair, be sure to escape from the site '''immediately''', as soon as the game starts, to avoid an instant death.

Playing as an outsider has many initial limitations - they possess no pre-existing relationships or knowledge of various events and wildlife. Also, because they lack a cultural identity or (supposedly) knowledge of laws, outsiders cannot worship deities or [[claim]] sites, and are unable to perform dance, music, or poetry due to having no held art forms. When selecting skills for outsiders during creation, many more skills may be available than would otherwise be, if they were part of a civilization.  

An outsider may become a member of a civilization: retire your outsider in a civilized area, causing them to be "reformed" the next time you unretire the character. You can also join a civ if you can get a site leader to accept you as a hearthperson (or maybe, entertainer). You can make people like you by giving them gifts, especially named gifts. E.g.: carve some bones into trinkets, name them, give them to some lord or lady, then ask them to make you a hearthperson.

The number of skill points is less significant than the number of attribute points, because the time it takes to go from Peasant to Demigod in skill terms is much less than what it would take to go from Peasant to Demigod in attribute terms.

This decides where you start the game at, and what local government you initially belong to. Generally, this is not very important, as you can always make your way to "better" sites later, but there are advantages and disadvantages to certain site types. For example, [[mountain halls]] and [[fortress|fortresses]] can prove difficult to get out of, so they are not recommended to the new player. When creating multiple adventurers, party members can start at different sites (and even from different civilizations). The last screen of party creation has an option to choose which of their homes the party starts at.

This also affects your "childhood friends" (what people your adventurers already know by the start of the game). If you start in an important (well-populated) site, your friends may very well encompass royalty or semi-important priests.

Note: As you have already selected a civilization in the previous screen, all sites you will be able to choose from will be of that civilization, and that civilization only. If you want other sites to choose from, you have to go back.

The occupation selection might seem glamorous, but most of the occupations are presently only there for flavor - they do grant [[skill]]s, however most of these are not currently usable in adventurer mode.  

Notable occupations are '''[[hearthperson]]''', '''fortress guard''', and '''soldier''', which grant you a position as the vassal of a local [[noble]] (lord/lady, captain of the guard or mercenary/bandit leader) instead of any skills. The '''Hunter''' occupation also has several skills usable in adventurer mode.

The level of skill granted is dependent on your adventurer status (peasant, hero, or demigod), with the greater statuses getting more skill levels. For this reason, the list below doesn't include any set skill levels, instead using the terms "Low-level", "Mid-level" and "High-level". To see what those correspond to, see the table below.

*'''Miner''': Mid-level [[miner]] (Potentially useful, since miner is the combat skill for picks)

This decides what [[deity]] or [[religion]] you put your faith in. You may also be atheist/have no faith, and sometimes this is the only option given to you. With {{k|w}} and {{k|q}} you control how ardent your faith is. The stronger your faith, the more likely you will get the [[need]] to {{DFtext|Pray}} to your deity.

*'''Creativity''': This influences quality of poems, songs, dances and crafts. It may also influence "make believe", now able to be performed by children.{{version|0.42.01}}

*'''Memory''': Memory is applied to the Student and Reading skills. Higher Student skill improves the ability to learn from demonstrations in fortress mode, but it isn't certain whether it has any application in adventurer mode. It's also unknown what benefits come from higher Reading capability.

Not all races have the same sets of skills available at character creation time, but keep in mind that (almost - an exception would seem to currently be Reader skill) all starting [[skill]]s, as well as ones not available at character creation, can be improved through use in-game.  

Since version 0.47, weapons may be chosen on the embark screen before starting an adventure. The weapons available to a given adventurer are decided in their civilization's entity raws: humans will be able to start with a whip, while the same will not be available to a dwarf, and so on. Outsiders will have a wide array of weapons to choose from, some of which may be made of non-weapon grade material.

Not all races/civilizations can start with all of these skills - dwarves can't start with Bowman, Pikeman, or Lasher, while elves can only use Swordsman, Bowman, and Spearman. Of the other playable races, only humans have access to Pikeman and Lasher. Strangely, only outsiders can start with Knife User.

*'''[[Hammerman]]''': allows characters to use crossbows, [[maul]]s, and war hammers more effectively in melee. Useful for breaking limbs.

*'''[[Archer]]''': This increases with, and contributes to, ranged combat including throwing. It works similarly to Fighter except for ranged attacks. It can be easily raised by repeatedly throwing rocks, making it advisable for archers to practice their marksmanship with rock throwing before using up the more finite and expensive forms of ammunition. Shooting at a wall with adjacent upward ramp one level below and picking back projectiles is also a good idea (such places often happen to be in keeps and fortresses). See the FAQ section on [[Adventurer mode F.A.Q.#How do I increase my skills and attributes?|increasing your skills and attributes]] for information on raising bowman/marksman skills.

*'''[[Striker]]''': Punching ability - comes in handy when weapons get stuck, and there is no time to wrest them back.

*'''[[Kicker]]''': Kicking ability,same as Striker. Kicks are slower but more deadly than punches; heavy kicks are particularly good at crushing and exploding heads.

*'''[[Biter]]''': Biting ability; surprisingly effective even with non-animal races, as, after biting, you can shake opponents around by your teeth, causing great damage and possibly ripping off body parts, although with sapient races, this tends to lean more towards fingers or toes, perhaps the occasional hand or foot.

*'''[[Observer]]''': Helps one to notice things like ambushes, enemies who are "sneaking" (stealth movement), and traps. Detection range increases with skill, up to a maximum of 3 tiles away. Higher levels give more information regarding opponents. Hard to train - adding some points here is advisable.

*'''[[Swimmer]]''': Allows movement through water without drowning. A Novice swimmer can swim, but will revert to being unable to swim if stunned, which happens when falling even 1 z-level into the water, or possibly after an unfriendly encounter with a creature ''in'' the water. An Adequate swimmer can swim normally (not drown) while stunned. For this reason, ''starting out as an Adequate swimmer is advisable.'' If you don't, at least start as Novice and go get some swimming practice right away.

Mounts are pets you can ride. Some pets can be used as pack animals to carry stuff. The [[vermin|smallest]] pets can ride you (you carry them as an item). Unfortunately, there is no indication on this screen as to which is which. You can check the wiki page for an animal to see if it has the {{token|MOUNT|c}}, {{token|MOUNT_EXOTIC|c}}, {{token|PACK_ANIMAL|c}}, or VERMIN [[Creature_token|tokens]]. Pets may also fight for you - and some can be rather formidable - or they may get scared and run away.

When an animal is added as a pet, it will be given a random name. You can then select it, and rename it with {{k|n}}, or remove it with {{k|r}}. There is no known limit - other than cost and sanity - to how many you can take.

Getting to this page enables a new option at the top of the screen: {{DFtext|N|2:0}}{{DFtext|: Add a new character to the party|7:1}}.

== Party summary ==

[[File:Party-summary.png|500px|thumb|right|Party summary]]

The final screen of character creation is a list of the party members. You can choose which character's home the party will start at with {{k|8|2}}, with the general location shown on the map and the name of the site below. Pressing {{k|ESC}} will take you back to modifying the party, where you can cycle through existing party members with {{k|TAB}} or add another with {{k|N}}.

Once the party is ready to go, press {{k|y}} to start the adventure.