Editing v0.34:Caverns

'''[[Deep pit]]s:''' Deep pits are... deep pits, that connect one cavern level to the next.  They have a fixed shape. The top z-level, where the pit meets the next cavern level, is un-muddied rough rock floor where the normal space of the deep pit and the random rock spires of the cavern collide.

If your map has an unseen [[cave-in]] at the beginning of embark, the caverns may have a deep pit somewhere. This occurs because some stone in the cavern above the deep pit is unsupported and falls down. This may be a bug.

'''[[Magma pool]]s:''' Despite the name, magma pools are not actual pools, but tubes extending up from the [[magma sea]]. Their shape is fixed and their presence random.  A magma tube might extend all the way to the top cavern, or merely a few z-levels. Magma pools can be distinguished from the magma sea even if they are only a single Z-level high due to two important features: they will always be walled by obsidian as opposed to the standard stone of the layer and, more importantly, will (very slowly) refill to their top if any magma is drained.

'''[[Passage]]s:'''

'''Level one''': a benign (or as nice as caverns get) level has shrubs, [[Tower-cap]]s, and [[Fungiwood]].  

'''Level three''': a level lacking the trees the first level had, while still having those the second introduced, which also has [[Nether-cap]]s and [[Blood thorn]]s.

 

Any cavern layer without a pool of water will have only muddy dense floor fungus and no plants or trees except for [[Blood thorn]]s.  

Removing a layer will cause the layer above to randomly pick from trees that the now removed layer could have handled and that the layer above can handle.

There are many, many <s>dangerous</s> [[fun]] [[animal]]s in a cavern, including [[giant cave spider]]s, [[giant olm]]s, [[troll]]s and [[cave crocodile]]s, but even the seemingly [[gremlin|harmless ones]] can provide great [[Stupid_dwarf_trick#Self_Destruct_Lever|fun]].

[[Hungry head|Flying creatures]] can <s>ruin your day</s> [[Fun|provide some fun]] if your main stairwell leads directly into the cavern (the bottom of up-down/down stairs can be passed by flying creatures).

Caverns provide ever regenerating resources in form of underground [[wood|forests]], animals to hunt, and fish. On breaching a cavern layer, a variety of [[ore]]s and [[gem]]s lining its walls will be revealed. The cavern floors are always [[Farming#Underground Farming|muddied]], providing soil to a variety of underground [[plant]]s. Also, underground caverns and the [[water]] they provide can be used in constructions and traps. In places like [[glacier]]s, caverns will provide the only source of [[water]] and [[farming|farmable]] land.  Throwing your prisoners into a damp hellhole filled with ravaging beasts is a nice addition, too.  Additionally, creating a world without caverns will result in no subterranean plants, plant products (plump helmets/spawn/wine etc.) or fish available on embark. However this is a moot point, as without mods, dwarven civilizations only use indoor farming, and so will never form. Worldgen will stall without a usable dwarven civilization.

[[Cage trap]]s placed in the caverns can capture wild animals to potentially [[animal trainer|tame]]. As with above-ground creatures, subterranean groups of creatures are limited to one group at a time. Many of the more interesting creatures appear in groups of one and have small populations, so you'll have to clear out a lot of bugbats and crundles before being able to grab every giant cave spider or jabberer your site can produce.

 

These small populations may result in all spawned individuals being of the same sex, making breeding programs impossible even for creatures that have the necessary tags. Adding the [CHILD:1] to a creature is a relatively easy mod, but sex changes require the application of a transformational syndrome and possibly changing the creature from an egg-layer to a live-birther.

One standard approach is to wait until you have a working military. The first cavern usually has few hazardous monsters, apart from the occasional [[giant olm]] or [[giant toad|toad]] and [[giant cave spider]]s, but just one giant bat can destroy an early fort, and [[Forgotten beast|uninvited guests]] will wander in sooner or later. The subsequent caverns will become increasingly [[fun]], so don't dig too deep without making adequate preparation. A decent military should be able to handle the cavern fauna, assuming they're not busy dealing with surface [[invader]]s.

Alternatively, you might want to breach the caverns as early as possible, then wall off the entrance. Doing so has several benefits: it will allow you to plan your fortress layout around the underground features, release the spores necessary for an underground [[tree farm]], prevent a calamitous discovery later when [[forgotten beast|powerful enemies]] lie in wait, and minimize the amount of time invested if the caverns prove unsuitable. You can of course continue to explore a cavern without a military, but you will likely get a bunch of dwarves killed.

Not all parts of a cavern are immediately visible; a good portion of a cavern is revealed once you breach it, but other parts remain hidden until your dwarves explore them. Since you often don't know what you'll find in a cavern, they can be exciting places, but also  

very <s>dangerous</s> fun.

:''This section covers methods to explore already discovered caverns; if you're having trouble finding the caverns, check [[Exploratory mining]] for tips.''

 

There are many different methods of exploring, some less [[fun]] than others.

 

'''Military squads''': You can order your [[squads]] into the cavern with move orders. This way you can have dwarves manually explore the cavern by foot. The caverns are dangerous and unpredictable; well equipped dwarves will live longer. The {{k|s}}quad:{{k|a}}ttack:{{k|l}}ist command will help you find and kill enemy creatures which may be located on many different z-levels inside the cavern.

 

Note that creatures may wander into the cavern from the edges, so, if you want to start collecting silk, gems, ore and the other valuable loot in a cavern, and you want to do so safely, you should first kill or capture the creatures in the cavern, then wall off the edges to keep new creatures from wandering in. Note that, if you want to keep flying creatures out, your walls will need to cover the edge of the cavern from the floor to the ceiling. If you'd still like to fight or capture wandering creatures, but don't want them killing your workers, you can leave some room for creatures to get in, and build doors or cages as necessary.

'''Lone woodcutter''': Most cavern creatures are not faster than a normal dwarf, so it may be safer to send out a civilian woodcutter to cut 1 tree at where you want to explore. Unlike exploring with an early unarmed military team that will suicide against [[jabberer]]s, a woodcutter will actually run away when confronted by hostile creatures. Cavern creatures also tend to give up the chase after a while, provided you can dodge the few hits they rarely get in if they catch up (not a problem if your explorer has moderate dodging skill).

This method works in conjunction with the "Digging from above" method. Placing the tunnels as close as possible to the edges of the map will reduce obstruction to the fortress. Magmawiki assumes no liability for any potential damage to lesser surface races resulting from the release of subterranean monsters directly into the surface world.

You can enter a cavern with an [[Adventurer_mode|adventurer]] and explore it.  The dangers are obvious;  Nasty creatures, pitfalls, etc.  But you also have to watch out because you can't fast-travel underground.  That means no easy healing, so you have to be very careful.  Make sure you stock up on food, water and (if you use it) ammunition before you head in, though, as caverns are quite massive and it can be difficult to find your way back.  Luckily, there are tribes of animal men underground;  unlike in fortress mode, they are your friends. Some of them can even be hired.  Camps almost always have food, and usually some other items as well, though probably less useful.  Since you can't fast-travel, you have to rely on sleeping to heal, which can be dangerous due to the [[Giant cave spider|nature]] of caverns.  If you sleep in a camp, the tribe will try and protect you from [[Forgotten beast|whatever]] [[Troll|shows]] [[Blind cave ogre|up]]. Escaping from the caverns by the same route used as an entrance can be very difficult, though if you manage to reach a cavern area immediately underneath a town you will be able to fast-travel to the surface.

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