Editing v0.34:Losing

There is no internal end point, single goal, final Easter egg or "You Win!" announcement in Dwarf Fortress.  Therefore, eventually, almost every fortress will fall.  The only ones that don't tend to be very conservative and very boring—and what fun is that?  Therefore, DF = losing ∧ DF = fun ⇒ losing = fun, and that's okay!  It's a game philosophy, so embrace it, own it, and have ''fun'' with it!

Most new players will lose their first few forts sooner rather than later; when you lose a [[fortress]], don't feel like you don't understand the game.  Dwarf Fortress has a steep learning curve (often referred to as a "cliff"), and part of the process (and fun!) is discovering things for yourself.  However, this Wiki serves as an excellent place to speed up the learning process.

If you're looking for more ways to <s>lose horribly</s> test yourself, try either the [[mega construction]] or the [[Challenges]] articles.

===Dwarf vs. Wild===

Goblins aren't the only creatures that want you dead.  [[grizzly bear|The]] [[elephant|obvious]] [[cougar|threats]] aside, some [[creature]]s with benign [[unicorn|natures]], [[carp|names]], or [[giant sponge|descriptions]] can be surprisingly deadly. A sudden wildlife attack can quickly cripple or destroy an unprepared fortress.  Before you unpause a new game for the first time, hit {{k|u}}nits, and switch to the "Others" tab to see what's sharing your map.  Learn to do this regularly — new creatures will frequently migrate onto your map, and then off again, to be replaced by others.

Outdoor [[titan]]s and other [[megabeast]]s are a later-stage hazard.

Underground Forgotten Beasts are a later stage hazard—and one that cage traps will offer very little protection against. Even if all the other creatures in the cavern are stopped by your cage traps, don't allow yourself to become complacent. That's not to mention what lies [[HFS|even deeper]]...

[[Magma]] by itself is dangerous enough to destroy a fortress that fails to contain it properly, but magma sources are also home to [[fire imp|many]] [[fire man|dangerous]] [[magma crab|creatures]] that can destroy buildings, kill even the most skilled soldiers, and spread destruction throughout your fortress. While careful designs using [[fortification]]s, [[magma-safe]] [[floor grate]]s, and [[magma-safe]] [[bridge]]s can mitigate much of the danger, magma remains a prime source of [[fun]] even in experienced fortresses.

When embarking on an evil biome, it's a fairly good idea to skip a [[meat industry]] of any kind.  Though meat obtained from [[butcher|butchering]] doesn't rise up, hair, skin and bones are fully capable of turning to kill you - and bringing [[hunter]]s in your party is near-suicidal.  Embarking with a [[military]] is a must, if you want to stand any chance against the zombies.  Of course, if things are ''really'' bad outside (for example, the aforementioned thralling clouds), you're best off just sealing yourself inside forever and never turning back.  As with cavern wildlife, a row of [[cage trap]]s is a great boon to the safety of your fortress.

===Dwarf vs. You===

Don't forget your alternative sources of [[food]].  If your [[farm]]s aren't doing the job and a [[caravan|trade caravan]] is months away, try [[butcher]]ing your [[domestic animal]]s, [[plant gathering|gathering plants]], [[hunting]] local wildlife, and [[cook]]ing any excess [[alcohol]].

Equally as bad is no [[alcohol]], which dwarves ''require'' to be happy and productive. Some alcohol can be acquired from [[caravan]]s, but not enough for an entire fort until the next caravan arrives. You must gather or [[farm]] certain plants to then [[brew]] those in a [[still]] with an empty [[barrel]]—it's just part of being a dwarf. Be sure to make lots of barrels. Often a shortage of barrels is just as bad as a shortage of beer. A dwarf would rather die than lower themselves to drinking from a [[mug]] (though it doesn't stop them being produced by the tonne in your [[workshop]]s).

=====Too Much Water (aka "Flooding accidents"or"Dwarven Plumbing")=====

The opposite side of the dehydration spectrum is having too ''much'' water.  Remember that water can [[flow]] in 10 directions (the 8 horizontal ones as well as down, and up to the level of its source.)  

If your fortress is beginning to flood from [[Water#Sourced Water|sourced water]], abandon all of the levels the water can reach immediately—create a [[civilian alert]] and order your dwarves to a burrow upstairs.  You will never be able to recover those areas unless you can manage to [[pump]] out the water faster than it floods in, which can take over a year or two of game time to establish a functioning automated pump system.  Generally, a flooding accident spells doom for your fortress. Before you activate your neat little underground water hole you designed yourself and that your so proud of, always make sure your irrigation system is fool-proof before you pull the lever.

Sometimes, a fortress is flooded with [[magma]].  This is even more [[fun]], and even harder to recover from.  Magma doesn't rise as aggressively (via [[pressure]]) as water, and can be [[pump]]ed out with [[magma-safe]] equipment. Read up on it. Good luck.

Simply put, you need [[pick]]s to mine [[ore]], which is then [[smelting|smelted]] to make [[metal]] for items like more picks.  If you are careless (or ignorant) of how to dig safely, and your [[miner]]s create a [[cave-in|collapse]] or flood and their equipment gets lost/destroyed/unrecoverable, ''and'' you have no materials to make more picks, you will be at a severe handicap until the problem is solved.  Any dwarf can be given the [[mining]] [[labor]], but without a pick they can do nothing.  There is no way to get new metals or stone (clay excluded) for any purpose (except from foreign traders and smelting other items) nor any way to dig new rooms/tunnels unless you have picks.

If you have [[ore]] or [[bar]]s to create a [[Arms industry|weapons-grade metal]] (other than silver), and a [[forge]] (and [[smelter]] if you need one), you can create new picks and continue. In a pinch, you can even [[melt]] other metal objects for metal.  You might get lucky with a [[caravan]] - elves never carry picks, but humans sometimes have bronze ones, and dwarves generally bring some along.  If the first dwarven caravan doesn't bring any, you can try to keep your fortress running long enough to request additional [[pick]]s from your [[outpost liaison]], who will arrive with the next dwarven trade [[caravan]] in a year.  Or you can [[abandon]] and try again.

Averting this fate is simple:  stockpile at least one additional pick at the first possible opportunity, or some of the [[Metal#Weapon_and_armor_quality|raw material]] to make more, and away from current digging operations.

See also: [[Arms industry]]

If there is little in a fortress to give your dwarves happy [[thoughts]] and enough to give them unhappy [[thoughts]], then your dwarves will start to throw [[tantrum]]s, grow melancholy, and/or cause general chaos. In extreme (but sadly not ''rare'') examples, this can lead to a [[tantrum spiral]] and the loss of the entire fortress. Immigrants are typically [[marriage|married]], often with [[children]] in tow, and are primed and ready to start pumping out even more babies. This means that the loss of one dwarf is likely to lead to a whole family of very unhappy dwarves, and potentially a tantrum spiral.  Unhappiness is more likely to occur if your fortress is suffering other kinds of downfall as well, so try to keep all the bases covered.

Another problem is if you don't have a [[justice]] system in place at the time of a spiral and manage to recover. If you later implement the justice system, the hammerer may kill the former tantrum throwers, starting another tantrum because of their deaths.

With v0.34 have come the additions of several [[night creature]]s that can potentially undo a fortress from within.  A werebeast raid can not only bring trouble if you're lacking of a military, but its cursed bite can make more of its kind from your population.  If you see a civilian survive a werebeast attack, you might be in for a surprise when he suddenly turns into a ravenous monster at the full moon and starts killing everything around him.  

Goblin and elven [[ambush]]ers alike will infiltrate your map and charge into your fortress after they are discovered. They will retreat after suffering enough casualties or waiting around several seasons. Elves still arrive with caravans, and goblins can attack at any time. Even if your dwarves do not venture onto the surface, caravans will eventually trigger the ambushes. At least, caravans and sieges/ambushes have the amazing tendency to occur at the end of each season.

====Hidden Fun Stuff====

 

Hidden fun stuff awaits those who delve too deeply and too greedily. Due to the concentrated amounts of [[fun]], HFS has been the downfall of many a fortress.

 

===Dwarf vs. Player ===

 

 

Sometimes a fort's downfall comes not from fire and [[Fun]], but by the player deciding that enough's enough, and it's time to give in.

 

Even the most well-managed of forts will eventually fall. And if they don't, then what? Once you've fended off [[goblin]]s, [[bronze colossus]]es, and [[HFS|other]] [[Giant cave spider|fun]] [[Forgotten beast|things]], what's left to challenge your might defenses and legendary champions?

 

So your dwarves are too busy punching each other to do any work, and the casualties are mounting while the goblins just point and laugh. Think the final chapter of your fort's saga will be a short one? Don't be so sure. Sometimes a little old-fashioned anarchy is enough to cripple a fortress, but not destroy it.

With good defenses and enough supplies, a well-managed fortress can run quite a while without any player input. And when you find this out the hard way, a few in-game months of fistfights might not be entertaining enough to offset the fact that you're not able to actually DO anything. If things don't calm down (or explode hilariously) soon enough, that "abandon fort" option will look awfully tempting...