Petition

xTATTEREDx  · +FINE+  · *SUPERIOR*  · ≡EXCEPTIONAL≡  · ☼MASTERWORK☼

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

Petitions are formal demands from foreign entities, be they single visitors or armies. They may range from relatively mundane to dramatic with far-ranging consequences for your fort. Petitions are distinct from diplomatic agreements with other civilizations, such as the tree-cutting quota with elves, or peace treaties.

Petitions may be delivered by a foreign petitioner meeting with your mayor at their office, or they may be more abstract. In both cases, a blinking 'P' will appear on the game screen, indicating that one is pending and awaiting review by the player. It is not possible to consult the petitions screen if none are pending. When a petition announcement appears, the following icon will be shown:

There are currently eight kinds of petitions:

Example of a petition of someone wanting to enter your fort and entertain inebriated dwarves.

• Petition for long-term residency by a passing visitor; stating the purpose of their stay (entertainment, soldiering, study, or slaying monsters) which you are free to accept or not. If you do, they will reside at your tavern and will not do any other labors than those they were intent on doing. Soldiering visitors can be assigned to squads, but they cannot be appointed as Militia captains.

• Petition for sanctuary by non-citizens of your civilization that you rescue during missions. These grateful souls will remain at your fort once granted sanctuary, and can be assigned rooms or work preferences like your actual citizens. However, they cannot be assigned to the military or nobility roles.

• Petition for citizenship by a long-term resident, usually after living in the fort for two years or so (mercenaries and monster slayers do not ever request this). Accepting the petition turns the resident into a full-fledged citizen of your fort, the same as your dwarves, and their labor preferences can be assigned.

• Petition for an artifact by a passing quester. If you accept, a job will be created to deliver the artifact to the visitor, who will then leave. Otherwise, they may do one of the following: turn hostile, leave and sneak back in to attempt to steal it, or report back to the entity they represent, with possible adverse consequences for your fort in the form of a siege.

• Petition for parley by an invading army. This one is delivered abstractly (presumably at shouting distance). The army will camp at the edge of the map, waiting for your response (they will attack if ignored for too long). If you accept, a dwarf will be sent out for the parley, which will inevitably involve the surrender of an artifact that you failed to give to a quester previously. The parley is fair: the army will not betray you and attack anyway if you give in to their demand, and even if you do not, they will give the herald sufficient time to retreat back to your fortress before they attack.

• Petition for a temple or guildhall: If you have many dwarves worshiping the same god, or members of a guild, they may request that you construct them a meeting location with enough value to be considered a Guildhall or Temple (2000☼). Accepting the petition will give these dwarves a positive thought, while rejecting it will give a negative thought. Building a guild hall after accepting it will give them another positive thought.

• Petition for a grand guildhall: Similarly to the previous one, once numerous dwarves are members of a guild, they may request to upgrade their guildhall to a grand guillhall (10000☼). Again, accepting and fulfilling the petition will give the dwarves positive thoughts, while rejecting it will give them a negative thought.

• Petition for a priest: Once you have many dwarves worshiping at a temple or shrine, they will request a specially-designated priest for that location - the priest must be chosen from among that temple's members.

Currently, there is no way for the player to review petitions to which they have agreed (or denied), without the use of a third-party tool like DFHack's list-agreements.