Dwarf Fortress Wiki - User contributions [en]

Jackal

2022-09-13T23:30:58Z

Anonymous32424q35:

{{Quality|Fine|05:01, 17 May 2015 (UTC)}}
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{{av}}
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'''Jackals''' are very rare [[Creature|animals]] found in a number of [[tropical]] [[biome]]s, where they appear in groups of anywhere between a single to five individuals. While carnivorous, jackals are half the weight of the average [[dog]] and should only be a threat to your smallest [[domestic animal]]s. They possess thick fur which provides them with increased insulation compared to most other animals. A newborn jackal is called a ''pup''.

Jackals can be captured in [[cage]] [[trap]]s and [[Animal trainer|trained]] into low-value exotic [[pet]]s. Their small size means they provide little returns when [[butcher]]ed, which combined with their rarity makes them poor targets for a [[meat industry]]. However, products made from jackal parts are [[Item value|worth]] twice more than those made from common animals.

Some dwarves [[Preferences|like]] jackals for their ''resourceful nature''.
{{D for dwarf}}
Some jackals have been seen standing on their hind legs and wielding *Ademantine* shields. Unfortunately, the only way to kill said jackals, is by shooting their hands with a very "futuristic" crossbow.

{{Translation
| dwarven = soshosh
| elvish = apufi
| goblin = em
| human = baktur
}}
[[File:Flickr - Rainbirder - Golden Jackal (1).jpg|thumb|center|400px|Admired for its ''resourceful nature''.]]

{{gamedata}}
{{creatures}}

Jackal

2022-09-13T23:30:30Z

Anonymous32424q35:

Children

2022-09-11T23:13:03Z

Anonymous32424q35: made a joke at the start.

{{Quality|Exceptional|21:40, 30 November 2020 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
[[File:dwarf_children.jpg|thumb|260px|right|Before they grow up to realize they're in an unwinnable game. ''Art by Devilingo'']]Most [[creature]]s, including [[dwarf|dwarves]], start out as infants, then after a certain number of years become '''children''', and after that become adults - for dwarves, childhood starts after reaching one year of age, and continues until age twelve. Dwarven children are useless pieces of garbage when they are born. However, once grown, could become [[military| dwarven meat-shields]], or possibly even a [[noble|loudmouth]].
{{Translation
| dwarven = tilat
| elvish = imi
| goblin = tox
| human = shin
}}
In fortress mode, some migrant dwarves are [[marriage|married]] and may bring children. Children who immigrate to your [[fortress]] might be any age from 1-12. You can determine the age of any child by viewing their [[thoughts and preferences|thoughts]] screen, which will give you the child's exact age as well as their date of birth. This information is visible regardless of whether or not the child was born in your fortress.

"Resident" heterosexually [[marriage|married]] female dwarves may also give birth to children. This can be stopped or reduced by editing the BABY_CHILD_CAP or the STRICT_POPULATION_CAP setting in [[d_init.txt]]. Dwarves can even have [[miscarriage]]s (if they become dehydrated, starving, or are subjected to certain types of physical trauma), which causes an unhappy thought for the mother but not for the father.

Much of [[goblin]] society is centered around [[thief|stealing the children]] of other races. The appropriate response to a baby-snatcher appearing on the map is the judicious use of [[magma|dwarven diplomacy]].

==Babies==

Babies do not have to be born in [[bed]]s, but are born wherever the mother happens to be, which will interrupt most current actions of the mother. The game will pause and [[announcement|announce]] the arrival of the baby. The mother will cancel whatever task she was in the middle of to seek her infant, and then will ''usually'' resume whatever task she was doing before the child was born. Dwarven mothers can also give birth to twins or triplets, although that is exceedingly rare (1 out of 500), due to their [MULTIPLE_LITTER_RARE] token. Babies are looked after by their mother, who will continue working while carrying the babies.

[[Unconscious]] mothers will not wake up when they give birth – [[sleep]]ing and resting in a [[hospital]] will not be interrupted. Dwarves in a [[strange mood]] will also not interrupt their mood when giving birth – cancelling a mood forces instant insanity, so it is likely a coding choice to protect mothers (and children). Imprisoned mothers can grab their child if they give birth while on a chain, but cannot retrieve an infant that is out of their reach, which can cause massive problems, since a mother carrying a child is forced to drop it before being brought to prison.

If the mother is sleeping or otherwise prevented from collecting her infant, the baby will be free to roam as it pleases. An emancipated baby acts in a similar manner to a [[insanity|raving mad]] adult, wandering freely over the map without any sense of self-preservation, gravitating to [[Activity_zone#Meeting_area|meeting zone]]s. It may be fed and watered by other dwarves, and in recent versions, such care happens regularly enough to keep orphans alive. As long as a baby is not within reach of a hostile creature, no harm will be done to it. "Job cancellation spam" can be generated as the baby is seen by the game to be "insane" (example: "Urist McBabyname, Dwarven baby, cancels Clean Self: Too Insane"), but once it reaches childhood (at 12 months), that will stop, and they go about their business like any other dwarven child.

The sex of a baby is determined upon birth. [[Cheating#Savescumming|Reloading a save]] might get a baby of the other sex.

After giving birth, it is possible for the mother to become pregnant again immediately, and give birth to another child nine months later.

Babies will crawl to burrows when assigned to them.

Any baby being carried by its mother will effectively leech [[food]] and [[Thirst|drink]] from her, causing her to become hungry or thirsty at double the usual rate. This does not, however, count as alcohol consumption – when a baby is close to 1 year old, it will have severe withdrawal.

==Labor==

In [[fortress mode]], children cannot be assigned any labor, but they will perform a few simple tasks on their own, such as:

* Socializing in [[location]]s, perhaps also holding [[performance]]s like singing, or reciting poetry.
* Picking out, and wearing, their own [[clothing]].
* Eating, drinking, and sleeping as necessary.
* [[Farming|Harvesting]] [[crops]], if the "All dwarves harvest" [[standing orders|order]] is on. This will also increase their [[grower]] skill, which only happens very sporadically in the current version.
* When they want to, storing their items.
* Children can play with [[toy]]s such as puzzle boxes or toy axes. They might also play make believe. Both are basically filler jobs without tangible benefits.
* Children may store their toys (specifically, they may perform a Store Item in Bin order for multiple toys).
* Fighting or running from hostiles, depending on circumstances. (Since children are small, can't use armor or weapons, and all start without combat skills, don't expect them to be effective fighters. Nor, for that matter, can they be assigned to squads.)
* Children can enter [[strange mood]]s, and will go about them the same as an adult dwarf. Since they won't have any skills other than social skills, and possibly growing or combat skills if involved in a fight, they will attempt to make one artifact appropriate for a [[bone carver]], [[wood crafter]] or [[stonecrafter]]. They will also gain experience as normal if they complete it, except for possessed moods.
* Children respect [[burrow]] restrictions, including civilian alerts.
* Children will attempt to [[swim]] if submerged in [[water]].

Children may not be assigned to the [[noble|nobility]]. However, they ''can'' be assigned bedrooms.

If no tasks are available, they will gladly loiter in meeting areas, like [[dining room]]s for example, for the duration of their youth. Children born in the fort tend to follow their mother by preference, even (especially?) if their mother is a soldier and is currently going into battle.

Children are also known to be invisible to [[vampire]]s, thus making excellent crime detectors, as they speak truthfully in all cases.

The game will create an [[announcement]] when children reach adulthood and can be assigned labors. This announcement will not pause and/or center the screen by default.

==Dwarven parenthood==

In the eighth [http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/df_talk.html DFTalk], it was mentioned that, due to a programming oversight, children's parents can become so preoccupied with finding their children that they can die of thirst.

==Too many children==

If there are too many children in the fort, [[FPS]] may suffer. [[Unfortunate accident|Removing]] children is difficult, as doing so may quickly lead to [[stress]]. One possibility is to [[burrow]] children outside to aid [[thief|snatchers]]. To prevent a large population of children in the first place, it is preferred to set the BABY_CHILD_CAP and/or the STRICT_POPULATION_CAP in the [[d_init.txt]] file.

In longer-running forts when a parent has more than 10 children of one gender, the 11th onward will merely be referred to as 'son' or 'daughter'. The exception to this is that the youngest will always be referred to as 'youngest son' or 'youngest daughter'.

==Non-dwarven children==

[[Human]]s, goblins, [[Elf|elves]], [[kobold]]s and subterranean [[animal people]] follow the same aging progress of dwarves (born as babies, becoming children at a year old then becomes adults at twelve). The same is true for some races of wild humanoid creatures and [[semi-megabeast]]s, though some possess shorter or longer child states than dwarves do, i.e. [[troll]]s become adults at the age of 10. Regardless of how long their child states are, intelligent non-dwarf children are functionally identical to their dwarven counterparts for gameplay purposes.

Young animals possess limited capabilities compared to their adult stages. Infant [[milk]]-bearing livestock can't be milked, young [[wool]]-bearing animals can't be [[shear]]ed, and bird and reptile hatchlings are unable to lay [[egg]]s. However, unlike intelligent creatures, almost all animals follow a different aging progress; they skip the baby stage entirely and are born as children, who become adults at only 1 year of age (though they usually don't stop growing in size until the age of 2). Certain exceptions exist, however, such as [[elephant]]s, who take 10 years to reach adulthood. Savage [[animal people]] versions of these animals follow this same aging progress.

Certain creatures possess no child state to speak of, and are technically adults at birth, having all the capabilities of an adult immediately after starting existing (though most of them are still subject to growing in size as they get older). These creatures include stuff like all species of snakes, [[crundle]]s, [[giant cave spider]]s, [[creeping eye]]s, [[magma crab]]s and most [[megabeast]]s. Inorganic creatures such as [[Gabbro man|gabbro men]], [[Fire man|fire men]] and [[Amethyst man|amethyst men]] also exist only as adults and never as children. If the creature born as an adult is an intelligent creature, they'll be born with generally mild levels in some skills.

Creatures capable of being [[invader]]s can do so regardless of age - as such, you may be attacked by a [[werebeast]] child, or a young [[roc]], [[giant]], [[cyclops]], [[ettin]] or [[minotaur]]. They will behave exactly like their adult counterparts, but will generally be easier to kill than adults due to their smaller size. Such cases are rare, as they require either children being infected by a werebeast and not dying in the process, or for megabeasts to breed, both being particularly uncommon occurrences.

{{Category|Dwarves}}
{{Category|Relationships}}
[[ru:Children]]

Reports

2022-05-04T17:30:03Z

Anonymous32424q35:

{{Quality|Superior|11:56, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{av}}

{{stub}}

'''Reports''' are messages detailing either combat (both practiced and real) between creatures, or events that took place during a [[mission]]. The list goes on for quite a while (up to 11 pages, in fact), but only relatively recent combat or missions will have detailed reports (accessible with {{k|Enter}}) attached, out to a year.

Combat reports are the best renderings of battles, giving detailed information not otherwise revealed by simple characters standing next to or near one another. Since combat involves two (or more) parties, every battle will give at least two reports, one from either side of the fight. Each combat report is a record of the cumulative actions of the creature in question; [[goblin]]s that get [[wound]]ed, run away, then get struck down will not generate more than one report, for instance. Do not confuse reports with [[announcement]]s, which pertain to non-combat events.

== Types of reports ==
New reports generate flags on the side of the screen while unread. All flags/indicators disappear from the main view after you visit the Reports menu by hitting {{k|r}}. The tiles depicted below are those that appear for the report type.

{{Tile|C|4:0:1}}: A [[combat]] report is red, and will be reported on the main menu as "<creature> is fighting!" Note that a hunted animal will be considered fighting. 
{{Tile|H|2:0:1}}: A [[Ambusher#Hunting|hunting]] report is green, and describes that "the <profession> <name> is hunting." 
{{Tile|S|3:0:1}}: A [[sparring]] report is in cyan, and will be indicated as "<dwarf> is sparring." 
{{Tile|M|6:0:1}}: A [[mission]] report is in yellow, and will be indicated as "Mission Report: <mission name> (Set out <season> <year>)" 
{{Tile|S|6:0:1}}: A [[mission|mission spoils]] report is in yellow, and will be shown as "Spoils Report: <squad>, <season> <year>" 
{{Tile|T|6:0:1}}: A new [[tribute]] report is available, and will appear as "Tribute Report: <site government>, <season> <year>" in yellow 
{{Tile|I|3:0:1}}: A new Interrogation report is available. It will appear in the Alerts in cyan.

== Contents ==
===Combat===
The contents of combat reports are basically textual battle records, and detailed ones at that — every battle event is recorded in the report. Sparring and Hunting reports are identical, save for using different font colours.
[[File:Combat report.png|center|600px]]

===Mission===
Mission reports have an animated map on the left side of the screen. A path is traced out from your fortress to the destination and events are "revealed" on the right side of the screen.
[[File:Mission report example.png|center|700px]]

===Spoils===
Spoils reports are simple listings of all the objects acquired from a mission.
[[File:Spoils report example.png|center|700px]]

===Interrogation===
Interrogation reports first state the name and position of the interrogator, followed by the social skill used in interrogating. They will then describe the outcome of the interrogation, including what crimes the subject confessed to, the organisations they are a part of and what plots they are involved in.
[[File: Interrogation report example.png|center|700px]]
{{D for Dwarf}}
=== The History of Dwarven Interrogation===
Hundreds of years ago, it was decided that there was a need for some form of interrogation. The first attempt was using elite <s>hammermen</s> hammer dwarves. Sadly, the <s>Victims</s> convicts didn't survive the first blow. The second attempt, the screw pump, almost worked, but any dwarf who survived, looked like an elf because he was stretched so much. The third attempt was being tickled by beard, but the dwarves laughed so much that they could not get any information out of them.The last attempt finally succeeded, by paying someone a lot of money to screen at them until they spilled the <s>beans</s> plump helmets.

{{Category|Interface}}
[[ru:Reports]]

Cat

2022-05-03T19:29:33Z

Anonymous32424q35:

{{Quality|Exceptional|17:11, 29 January 2015 (UTC)}}
{{Creaturelookup/0
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}}
{{av}}
{{creaturedesc}}

'''Cats''' are [[domestic animal]]s, and one of the most common [[creature]]s in a typical [[dwarven]] [[fortress]], spending their time killing [[vermin]] and creating [[remains|messes]] for their owners to dispose of. They are fairly weak animals in combat (but combat can be quite random, and they have been known to surprise players on the rare occasion). They also seem to want to wander every room, hall and mineshaft at least once, perhaps due to some modeling of curiosity. Cats do not require any food, are born with Legendary [[skill]] in [[Climber|climbing]] and possess the {{token|AT_PEACE_WITH_WILDLIFE}} token, making them friendly toward most non-intelligent creatures.

Cats are unique among all other creatures in that they cannot be assigned as [[pet]]s; instead, cats choose dwarves as owners. Cats will only choose dwarves who have [[Preferences|preference]] for them. If a cat is [[cage]]d, it will not adopt; however, it may adopt the moment it is taken from the cage (even if assigned for immediate [[butcher]]ing).

Cats are useful around the fort to prevent the unhappy thoughts produced by vermin, and also for producing large numbers of kittens. If you can resist their cuteness and charm, and get to them before they adopt a dwarf, [[:Image:Cat_Meat_Roast.JPG|cats can be butchered]] to provide a small, never-ending trickle of [[leather]], [[bone]]s and [[meat]] for your fort. As a breeding pair of cats only costs 22 embark points, this is well worth considering - just cage and/or butcher the kittens as they are born, lest the kittens grow to adopt a dwarf before their last voyage (see [[Meat industry#Breeding|Breeding]]).

Cats are also infamous for the phenomenon known as a [[catsplosion]]. If you are not careful, your cat population may explode, causing your [[Frames per second|FPS]] to plummet. This can be hard to resolve due to the fact that [[Trap#Upright_Spear.2FSpike|killing]] pets causes a strong unhappy [[thought]] to their owners. As of v0.40.19, however, catplosions can be easier to manage with [[Gelder|gelding]].

Kittens cannot be butchered for bones: only skulls will be created. Immature adult cats (less than 2 years old) may return about 2 meat, fat and bone, 1 skin, and 1 skull, or may only return a skull, while full adults (> 2 yrs) consistently return about 6-7 meat and fat. Unfortunately there is no in-game way to tell for sure whether a particular animal is an immature or full adult. (Note that other animals also have smaller immature sizes and butchering returns, but most other immature domestics return a more reasonable percentage of adult returns; for example, immature dogs consistently return about 50% of adult returns and include byproducts (e.g. bones and skin), compared to cats' 0-30% and sometimes no byproducts but the skull.) If you have a bunch of unwanted kittens, there are many uses for them. For example, use them as bait for a [[forgotten beast]] if it has some sort of poison, in order to determine what the poison does. If there's a desperate need to maximize cat-butchering returns, one can partly work around the lack of age info by slaughtering one-by-one the first-listed (therefore, usually, oldest) cats in the unit or animal screen until the returns drop to immature-sized returns, then waiting some months or a year for the remaining kitties to <s>stew</s> mature for a while.

Cats, by nature, will attempt to haul vermin to their adopted dwarves. The dwarf will then dismiss the cat, at which point the cat will drop the remains for a dwarf with [[hauling|refuse hauling]] enabled to clean up. Cats with any [[contaminant]] on their fur will clean themselves with their tongue, exposing themselves to any ingestion-induced [[syndrome]]s the contaminant may carry.

Inspecting a cat with {{k|v}} reveals a unique message saying {{dftext|This animal isn't interested in your wishes.|7:1}}

Some dwarves like cats for their ''aloofness''.

{{Translation
| dwarven = kun
| elvish = linì
| goblin = sest
| human = usa
}}

[[Image:Feral cat Virginia crop.jpg|thumb|center|250px|Admired for its ''aloofness''.]]

{{D for Dwarf}}

Abnormally large cats "C" can easily be mixed up with a bronze colossus "C", whose effects on a fortress are a lot more "Fun" than a catsplosion.

{{gamedata}}
{{Creatures}}
{{Category|Animals}}

Cat

2022-05-03T19:14:16Z

Anonymous32424q35:

{{Quality|Exceptional|17:11, 29 January 2015 (UTC)}}
{{Creaturelookup/0
|bone=0-4
|meat=0-7
|fat=0-7
|intestine=0-1
|skin=hide
|skull=1
|contrib=no
|wiki=yes
}}
{{av}}
{{creaturedesc}}

'''Cats''' are [[domestic animal]]s, and one of the most common [[creature]]s in a typical [[dwarven]] [[fortress]], spending their time killing [[vermin]] and creating [[remains|messes]] for their owners to dispose of. They are fairly weak animals in combat (but combat can be quite random, and they have been known to surprise players on the rare occasion). They also seem to want to wander every room, hall and mineshaft at least once, perhaps due to some modeling of curiosity. Cats do not require any food, are born with Legendary [[skill]] in [[Climber|climbing]] and possess the {{token|AT_PEACE_WITH_WILDLIFE}} token, making them friendly toward most non-intelligent creatures.

Cats are unique among all other creatures in that they cannot be assigned as [[pet]]s; instead, cats choose dwarves as owners. Cats will only choose dwarves who have [[Preferences|preference]] for them. If a cat is [[cage]]d, it will not adopt; however, it may adopt the moment it is taken from the cage (even if assigned for immediate [[butcher]]ing).

Cats are useful around the fort to prevent the unhappy thoughts produced by vermin, and also for producing large numbers of kittens. If you can resist their cuteness and charm, and get to them before they adopt a dwarf, [[:Image:Cat_Meat_Roast.JPG|cats can be butchered]] to provide a small, never-ending trickle of [[leather]], [[bone]]s and [[meat]] for your fort. As a breeding pair of cats only costs 22 embark points, this is well worth considering - just cage and/or butcher the kittens as they are born, lest the kittens grow to adopt a dwarf before their last voyage (see [[Meat industry#Breeding|Breeding]]).

Cats are also infamous for the phenomenon known as a [[catsplosion]]. If you are not careful, your cat population may explode, causing your [[Frames per second|FPS]] to plummet. This can be hard to resolve due to the fact that [[Trap#Upright_Spear.2FSpike|killing]] pets causes a strong unhappy [[thought]] to their owners. As of v0.40.19, however, catplosions can be easier to manage with [[Gelder|gelding]].

Kittens cannot be butchered for bones: only skulls will be created. Immature adult cats (less than 2 years old) may return about 2 meat, fat and bone, 1 skin, and 1 skull, or may only return a skull, while full adults (> 2 yrs) consistently return about 6-7 meat and fat. Unfortunately there is no in-game way to tell for sure whether a particular animal is an immature or full adult. (Note that other animals also have smaller immature sizes and butchering returns, but most other immature domestics return a more reasonable percentage of adult returns; for example, immature dogs consistently return about 50% of adult returns and include byproducts (e.g. bones and skin), compared to cats' 0-30% and sometimes no byproducts but the skull.) If you have a bunch of unwanted kittens, there are many uses for them. For example, use them as bait for a [[forgotten beast]] if it has some sort of poison, in order to determine what the poison does. If there's a desperate need to maximize cat-butchering returns, one can partly work around the lack of age info by slaughtering one-by-one the first-listed (therefore, usually, oldest) cats in the unit or animal screen until the returns drop to immature-sized returns, then waiting some months or a year for the remaining kitties to <s>stew</s> mature for a while.

Cats, by nature, will attempt to haul vermin to their adopted dwarves. The dwarf will then dismiss the cat, at which point the cat will drop the remains for a dwarf with [[hauling|refuse hauling]] enabled to clean up. Cats with any [[contaminant]] on their fur will clean themselves with their tongue, exposing themselves to any ingestion-induced [[syndrome]]s the contaminant may carry.

Inspecting a cat with {{k|v}} reveals a unique message saying {{dftext|This animal isn't interested in your wishes.|7:1}}

Some dwarves like cats for their ''aloofness''.

{{Translation
| dwarven = kun
| elvish = linì
| goblin = sest
| human = usa
}}

[[Image:Feral cat Virginia crop.jpg|thumb|center|250px|Admired for its ''aloofness''.]]

{{D for Dwarf}}
Abnormally large cats "C" can easily be mixed up with a bronze colossus "C", whose effects on a fortress are a lot more "Fun" than a catsplosion.

{{gamedata}}
{{Creatures}}
{{Category|Animals}}

Elf

2022-05-03T18:51:59Z

Anonymous32424q35:

{{Quality|Superior|12:30, 2 January 2020 (UTC)}}
{{Creaturelookup/0
|wiki=yes}}
{{av}}
{{D for Dwarf}}
{{creaturedesc}}

'''Elves''' (singular, '''Elf''') are <s>smelly, stuck-up, arrogant [[tree]]-fondling hippies</s> [[Creature|humanoids]] dedicated to the protection of ''their'' concept of nature (focused on trees). They often live in [[forest retreat]]s.

<s>Hippie Vans</s> Elven caravans arrive in late spring, bringing only [[plant]] and [[wood]]-related items, [[cage]]d tame animals, or various types of [[clay]] and [[sand]].

During [[trade]], elves will '''not''' accept: '''wood, wooden items, or any goods [[Decoration|decorated]] with wood; this includes ''clear'' and ''crystal'' [[glass]] items and [[soap]], because wood-derived [[lye]] and [[pearlash]] are used in their production.''' (Dwarves cannot normally decorate objects with wood, but other civilizations can, so be careful with objects with decorations) Elves bring their own "grown" wooden items - those were presumably produced without cutting down trees. They will accept elf-made wooden items in trade, but not wooden items made by anyone else.

'''Be also careful not to offer them your wooden [[bin]]s or [[barrel]]s, or [[quiver]]s containing wooden [[bolt]]s/[[arrow]]s - if the contents of bins are marked for trade individually, and are not wooden themselves, the elves will not care that you used wooden bins to haul the goods to the depot'''.

You may also steal from them, or even kill them, without fear of immediate repercussion, as elven caravans are unguarded, and merchants will not resist if you seize their goods, or competently fight back if attacked.

'''They will generally accept:''' items made of green glass, stone, metal, bone and other refuse, silk, leather, plant fiber cloth, meat and fish, [[totem]]s, and even plants, as well as animals in trade, as long as those are not held in dwarf-made wooden cages, and also ''raw'' clear glass and ''raw'' crystal glass, even though these are made using [[pearlash]], and ash-[[glaze]]d items. (Despite the name, [[petrified wood]] is a kind of stone, and therefore acceptable in their religious precepts. Apparently it's okay if the tree died of natural causes a long time ago.)

Offending elves by attempting to trade wooden items normally causes them to refuse further trade that year and leave early. ''Repeatedly'' offending elves by attempting to trade wooden items may cause them to attack your fortress with an [[ambush]], which may later evolve into a full [[siege]].

They have no facial hair, but, rarely, they have at least stubble. Like [[goblin]]s, they are biologically [[immortal]] and will only die to violence and disease. Unlike other races, elves do not worship [[deities]], but rather [[force]]s which permeate the forests. Their life of harmony with the land and its wild beauty and creatures often settling in [[savage|high-savagery]] regions. Elves speak the [[Main:Elvish language|elvish language]].

Some <s>stupid, useless, tree-fondling traitors</s> dwarves [[Preferences|like]] elves for their '''grace'''.

[[File:Lafo-sarasti.jpg|thumb|Artist rendering of an elf by Mechlin ([http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=169691.msg7701761#msg7701761 post])]]

==Fortress mode==
===Diplomats===
The elven diplomat will arrive approximately halfway through the first month in spring. At some point the diplomat may revisit your fortress to establish a treecutting quota.

[[File:Tree-meeting-1.png|350px]]

Although the first screen lists a quota of 100 trees, accepting this offer leads to a negotiation phase, where the limit may be different from 100.

[[File:Tree-meeting-2.png|350px]]

[[File:Tree-meeting-3.png|350px]]

If the player agrees to a treecutting meeting, it will be visible after selecting the elves in the Civilizations screen and pressing Tab a few times.

[[File:Tree-meeting-4.png|350px]]

Note that the quota is measured in '''trees, not logs, so be sure to fell only the largest trees on your map to get the most out of your agreement. Also note this quota also affects subterranean mushrooms like [[tower-cap]]s and [[fungiwood]]s, as, despite being fungi, the game classifies them as trees.'''

=== Trading ===

List of what you can expect in an average elven caravan:
*Wooden logs: Always useful, unless you are in a forest biome and already drowning in wooden logs. Quantity depending on how many logs you have already; lower means more. However, caravans with grown logs tend to be rare.
*Fruits and various other growths from [[tree]]s. Can be made into alcohol or eaten, good for booze variety. Elves can bring a lot of plants and fruit that are otherwise not native to your fort.
*Wooden containers: [[Container|chests]], [[cage]]s, [[bucket]]s, and [[barrel]]s. These all are useful, though generally are easy enough to make locally.
*Soil types: [[sand]] in bags, various types of [[clay]]. In case you have no sand or clay, those are useful. Keep in mind that they don't bring enough of either for long-term, mass production.
*[[Bag]]s and [[rope]]s made from plant cloth. You already should have those, but a few extra bags never hurt, although plant cloth bags are a bit expensive.
*A few aboveground tame animals in wooden cages. May be [[opossum|a]] [[stoat|disappointingly]] [[fox|useless]] [[hoary marmot|animal]] or [[Giant badger|an]] [[Giant tiger|incredibly]] [[Giant elephant|awesome]] [[Giant eagle|one]]. Elves bring the animals they get from their biome, so you may be able to guess what they will bring next. For that matter, elves installed on savage tropical lands are the best. Exotic animals are considered fully tame and will never require [[Animal trainer|training]].
*Caged tame [[vermin]], which have no real use aside from putting in a [[zoo]], or if you want more cages. It's worth noting, however, that occasionally they will sell suitable war-beasts like jaguars and bears.
*Rope reed or other plant cloth [[clothing]], mildly useful if you are lacking clothing and haven't bothered setting up a clothing industry, although you may not deem it dwarven enough to wear.
*Wooden [[crutch]]es and [[Health_care#Splints|splint]]s, which are pretty handy for [[health care]] if you didn't make any.
*Wooden [[armor]] and [[weapon]]s, which are generally useless unless you are [[trap]]-happy, lack metal, or are restricting yourself to wooden weapons.
*Craft goods, such as toys or cups. Typically, it isn't necessary to buy these, since dwarves can make all that they need on their own, but the elves might carry [[instrument]]s that dwarves cannot make.

All wooden products made by elves are called "grown". Unlike regular wood, these may be traded back to the elves without repercussions, otherwise, they are identical to the wood that you can produce.

==Ethics==

[[File:Stasost-sarasti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Artist rendering of an elf by Mechlin ([http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=169691.msg7701761#msg7701761 post])]]

Elven [[civilization]]s' [[ethics]] often differ from those of other races. Their position on moral philosophy will likely put them at odds with [[human]]s, [[goblin]]s, [[dwarf|dwarves]], and sometimes [[kobold]]s and [[animal people]], although they favor war with goblins over other races. At any given point in time, elves and dwarves are likely to be at peace, but it is certainly possible for an elven civilization to be at war with a dwarven one at the end of worldgen. Use the tab button when selecting an [[embark]] site to view whether elves are at war with the currently selected dwarven culture, and cycle dwarven cultures to find out.

As ghastly as the concept may be, elven cultures have become more powerful since the days of [[Main:Tholtig|Tholtig Cryptbrain]], and it is entirely possible for one or more dwarven civilizations to be extinct due to elven aggression. What elves lack in engineering, crafting, intelligence, bravery, skill, or hygiene, they make up for in raw, unwashed numbers, and once-mighty dwarven civilizations may crumble to the hordes. Even more troubling is their employment of [[Mercenary|mercenaries]], often much better equipped than the elves themselves. Embarking with (possibly homeless wandering survivor) dwarves claiming to be from that civilization is possible, but always starts at war with the elves that claimed those poor souls' lives, and you may not get migrants.

Elves are the only race which wholeheartedly accepts the devouring of enemy combatants. Looking in legends mode shows that an elven combatant will sometimes devour the other person they were fighting when they win. In spite of this, elves refuse to butcher and consume intelligent beings under other conditions. Elves find torture as an example acceptable, but condemn other forms of torture and consider torturing for information misguided. To elves, keeping any trophy of any kind is an unthinkable act. Elves begrudgingly allow for killing animals when done in self-defense, and the killing of other elves by an elf is justified if there is an extremely good reason for doing so. For elves, the killing of plants, ''especially'' trees, is unthinkable, on the other hand, the killing of neutral beings and enemies is acceptable. Elven society seems to be regulated by shame from the community, rather than by threat of punishment; as such, elves never offer serious or capital punishment to criminals; instead, elves found to have committed vandalism, trespassing or theft are reprimanded, while those convicted of treason, lying, oath-breaking, assault or participating in slavery are forced into exile.

Elves [[Personality_trait|value]] nature incredibly highly, and they also place a degree of value on family, eloquence, cunning, artwork, fairness, merriment, competition and romance. Elves do not especially respect commerce and have a dislike for self-control.

Note that these are merely the ethics of elven ''civilizations''. Elves may adopt the cultures of other races via wandering individuals joining civilizations, or when conquest absorbs elves into another civilization. Sentient creatures adopt the values and ethics of their culture, regardless of race. Elves living among, [[Main:Cacame Awemedinade|or even leading]], dwarves will have dwarven ethics and values, and vice versa.

==Community outlook==
Due to ''Dwarf Fortress'' making ample use of the "elves as stuck-up jerks who live in trees" stereotype (which is especially noticeable when talking to their diplomats), the race as a whole tends to be widely [[Unfortunate accident|disliked]] by players, who aren't too happy about said stuck-up jerks trying to tell their dwarves how to live their lives. Unlike goblins, however, elves are rarely considered a threat due to their insistence in using equipment purely made out of wood in battle, which is only marginally better than fighting unarmed and generally stands no chance against a half-competent, metal-clad dwarven militia. Because of this, elves have a reputation among the community of being all-''bark''-and-no-bite wimps who serve as the perfect punching bags to be on the receiving end of whatever [[stupid dwarf trick]] the fortress is currently conducting, especially if it's a particularly [[Fun|violent]] one. If a player is telling a story about a gruesome incident of sorts, there's a high chance it'll involve at least one elf as the victim.

The elves' nigh-religious devotion for trees is also a point of note; many players will go as far as to raze their map clean of trees, for no reason but to spite the elves and provoke them into attacking, just for the chance to slaughter them all. Unlike most other fantasy settings, ''Dwarf Fortress'' elves don't really have any redeeming characteristics (they aren't any more attractive than a dwarf, human or goblin, [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Celebrimbor aren't good smiths], and don't have any superhuman abilities beyond biological [[immortality]]), though most long-time players play their antics for laughs, resulting in them essentially being the community's collective chew-toys. It has also been observed that a secret organization of elves that live in cold regions will make millions of grown wooden toys, and give them to the oddly large chief elf, who then distributes them among their civilization's children if the kids don't throw tantrums.

Being compared to an elf is particularly insulting, as it implies you're an unwashed, tree-loving, cannibalistic hippie (''or, as [[DF2014:Dwarf#Community_outlook|some have said]], the kind of being that's prone to sitting around and living '''in''' the world, rather than acting upon it''). That's not to say that elves are universally disliked, however: some have earned the liking of the player base, typically due to them being part of a dwarven civilization (and as such not acting like elves), with [[Main:Cacame Awemedinade|Cacame Awemedinade]] being one of the community's most well known and beloved characters.

==Bugs==
*Elven caravans do not bring cloth, seeds or booze, and rarely bring grown wooden logs.{{bug|7863}}

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{{Category|Races}}