Dwarf Fortress Wiki - User contributions [en]

Building destroyer

2015-04-02T15:56:28Z

DavidC: Undo revision 217424 by DavidC (talk)

{{quality|unrated}}{{av}}

'''Building destroyers''' are creatures with the [[Creature token#B|BUILDINGDESTROYER token]] and will actively seek out various [[furniture|furnishings]], [[workshop]]s and other [[building]]s and topple or destroy them. They come in two varieties, the first being annoying, and the second dangerous. Buildings made from raw materials will be toppled, leaving the materials on the ground, while buildings made from furniture will be destroyed, not leaving behind any items.

Creatures with this tag are gifted with an incredible ability to sense exactly where your buildings are, and will generally charge a building from 10 tiles away, with the exception of forgotten beasts and (semi-)megabeasts. Plan your [[defense guide|defenses]] accordingly. Building destroyers still prefer to attack creatures, and if a valid creature target for their aggression is or becomes visible to them, they will abandon building destruction in favor of classic creature destruction.

The time it takes for a building destroyer to destroy a building depends on the [[quality]] of the the building. [[Artifact]] quality furniture can never be damaged or destroyed, but some kinds of artifact furniture will be deconstructed by a building destroyer, given enough time: for instance, artifact statues will eventually be deconstructed; artifact hatch covers never will.

Building destroyers will destroy nearly '''all''' types of buildings they can reach, whether or not they block their path - [[door]]s, [[floodgate]]s, [[hatch]] covers, vertical/horizontal [[bars]], floor/wall [[grate]]s, [[statue]]s, [[workshop]]s, and even furniture are vulnerable. The only buildings that will be spared by a building destroyer are [[well]]s, [[bridge]]s, [[road]]s, [[trap]]s (including [[lever]]s and track stops), [[animal trap]]s, [[chain]]s, [[cage]]s, [[stockpile]]s, and [[Trap#Upright Spear/Spike|upright weapon]]s. They can destroy most furniture and buildings from a lower [[z-level]] when a valid path exists to that furniture, though locked hatches and closed grates are safe as long as no alternative paths exist. They can only destroy things orthogonally. Building destroyers will path to and destroy even opened (or stuck open) doors, hatches, floodgates, or vertical bars. They will cause damage to any attached mechanisms during building destruction, sometimes leading to the unlinking of furniture to a lever before the furniture in question is fully destroyed.

==Destroying from underneath==

Building destroyers cannot destroy buildings unless they can path to the building on the building's z-level. This means that building destroyers cannot destroy, for instance, a forbidden hatch above them (note that non-forbidden, i.e. passable, hatches are vulnerable!), or a magma forge from the magma underneath it '''unless''' a clear alternate path to the building exists.

Building destroyers can destroy buildings from the z-level below while standing on a ramp or stairs that leads up to the building's z-level.

Building destroyers cannot destroy closed floodgates or locked doors from a ramp leading up to the level of those buildings unless there is an open path to the same level. This was tested with trolls, in an entrance-way accessed by both lever-controlled floodgates and a manually locked door. Ramps led up to the floodgates and the door. When both were closed, the trolls showed no interest. When the door was unlocked, a troll began to destroy it. When the door was locked again, the troll went away. When the floodgates were opened, a troll returned and destroyed the locked door from the ramp outside, while the open floodgates were also apparently being destroyed from the ramps by other trolls. This may be related to the bug where Dwarves appear to be building diagonally as long as they can access the spot orthogonally. It is unknown whether this applies to an open path extending through the full length of a fortress, rather than just a few steps away through open floodgates.

Consider the following diagrams, as viewed from the side:

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\

╔════
═╝ [#0FF]+
[#F00]B▲╔══
═══╝
}}

Here, the {{Raw Tile|B|#F00|#000}}uilding destroyer cannot pass through the cyan door while it is forbidden, but the instant the door becomes unforbidden, the building destroyer will destroy the door-- from the tile on which it stands.

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\

╔════
═╝[#0FF]¢
[#F00]B▲╔══
═══╝
}}

Here, the cyan hatch cannot be destroyed while it is forbidden, but when it is unforbidden, the {{Raw Tile|B|#F00|#000}}uilding destroyer will destroy it.

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\

╔════
═╝ [#0FF]+
[#F00]B▲╔══
═══╝
}}

Here, the {{Raw Tile|B|#F00|#000}}uilding destroyer will stand on the ramp and destroy the door (or any other furniture), regardless of whether the door is forbidden.

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\

╔═══╗
═╝ [#0FF]+ ╚
[#F00]B▲║▲
═══╩══
}}

Here, the {{Raw Tile|B|#F00|#000}}uilding destroyer will be unable to pass the door if it's forbidden; should it become unforbidden, the building destroyer will ignore the door (probably passing through in order to target a different piece of furniture).

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\

╔══════
═╝ [#0FF]+ >
[#F00]B>▲╔═╗X╔
╗X═╩═╝X║
║< <║
╚══════╝
}}

Here, the {{Raw Tile|B|#F00|#000}}uilding destroyer has path to a square from which it can destroy the cyan door-- thus, '''it can destroy the door, even if forbidden, from the tile directly in front of it.'''

==Annoying Variety==
When the value is '''1''', the creature will go after [[statue]]s, [[window]]s (glass or gem), [[archery target]]s, [[slab]]s, wooden [[door]]s, and wooden [[hatch]]es. They can't destroy homes during world gen as (semi)megabeasts.

'''[BUILDINGDESTROYER:1] creatures:'''
*[[Cave crocodile]]
*[[Giant cave spider]]
*[[Giant desert scorpion]]
*[[Giant olm]]
*[[Giant toad]]

==<s>Dangerous</s> Fun Variety==
When the value is '''2''' the creature will actively seek out [[building]]s and destroy them. They can also destroy buildings during world-gen with this tag. Megabeasts rely on this token for their pathing when attacking your fort. [[Construction]]s (walls, staircase, floors, etc.) are still safe, since they're processed the same way natural terrain is for most situations.

The simplest way to keep building destroyer 2's from targets is with walls or channels. The outside of a raised [[bridge|drawbridge]] will act like a constructed wall, blocking building destroyer 2's without that danger of being destroyed.

Tame animals still carry their building destroyer tokens, and have been observed to occasionally topple a statue.

'''[BUILDINGDESTROYER:2] creatures:'''
*[[Amethyst man]]
*[[Blind cave ogre]]
*[[Bronze colossus]]
*[[Cave dragon]]
*[[Cyclops]]
*[[Dragon]]
*[[Ettin]]
*[[Fire man]]
*[[Gabbro man]]
*[[Giant]]
*[[Hydra]]
*[[Iron man]]
*[[Magma man]]
*[[Minotaur]]
*[[Mud man]]
*[[Ogre]]
*[[Sasquatch]]
*[[Troll]]
*[[Voracious cave crawler]]
*[[Yeti]]
*All [[forgotten beast]]s, [[titan]]s, and [[demon]]s
*[[Werebeast]]s (in werebeast form only)

See the [[Modding guide]] for more information on creature tokens.

==Capture==

Considering a good part of the building destroyers are useful to capture, and that most of them are not trapavoid, you can easily trap them with the right arrangement of cage traps, furniture and walls.

See [[Trap design]] for more information on this subject.

==Undead==
All [[undead]] building destroyers also gain the ability to destroy wooden [[support]]s, which generally ends poorly for the creature.

Due to the way undeath is classified, "non-living" creatures such as [[magma man|magma men]], [[bronze colossus]]es, and inorganic [[forgotten beast]]s/[[titan]]s are also considered to be undead.

==Bugs==
* Building destroyers can, and will, destroy buildings even if there's one tile of empty space between them and the building. {{Bug|4585}} In fact, they cannot destroy immediately adjacent buildings, and they can become stuck if they start destroying the building while adjacent. This can be a result of a fight, for instance when a Forgotten Beast kills the last defender while standing in such a spot, then it won't move to a better suiting position and will stand idling, unless killed or distracted.

[[ru:Building destroyer]]

Building destroyer

2015-04-02T15:55:50Z

DavidC: /* Capture */

{{quality|unrated}}{{av}}

'''Building destroyers''' are creatures with the [[Creature token#B|BUILDINGDESTROYER token]] and will actively seek out various [[furniture|furnishings]], [[workshop]]s and other [[building]]s and topple or destroy them. They come in two varieties, the first being annoying, and the second dangerous. Buildings made from raw materials will be toppled, leaving the materials on the ground, while buildings made from furniture will be destroyed, not leaving behind any items.

Creatures with this tag are gifted with an incredible ability to sense exactly where your buildings are, and will generally charge a building from 10 tiles away, with the exception of forgotten beasts and (semi-)megabeasts. Plan your [[defense guide|defenses]] accordingly. Building destroyers still prefer to attack creatures, and if a valid creature target for their aggression is or becomes visible to them, they will abandon building destruction in favor of classic creature destruction.

The time it takes for a building destroyer to destroy a building depends on the [[quality]] of the the building. [[Artifact]] quality furniture can never be damaged or destroyed, but some kinds of artifact furniture will be deconstructed by a building destroyer, given enough time: for instance, artifact statues will eventually be deconstructed; artifact hatch covers never will.

Building destroyers will destroy nearly '''all''' types of buildings they can reach, whether or not they block their path - [[door]]s, [[floodgate]]s, [[hatch]] covers, vertical/horizontal [[bars]], floor/wall [[grate]]s, [[statue]]s, [[workshop]]s, and even furniture are vulnerable. The only buildings that will be spared by a building destroyer are [[well]]s, [[bridge]]s, [[road]]s, [[trap]]s (including [[lever]]s and track stops), [[animal trap]]s, [[chain]]s, [[cage]]s, [[stockpile]]s, and [[Trap#Upright Spear/Spike|upright weapon]]s. They can destroy most furniture and buildings from a lower [[z-level]] when a valid path exists to that furniture, though locked hatches and closed grates are safe as long as no alternative paths exist. They can only destroy things orthogonally. Building destroyers will path to and destroy even opened (or stuck open) doors, hatches, floodgates, or vertical bars. They will cause damage to any attached mechanisms during building destruction, sometimes leading to the unlinking of furniture to a lever before the furniture in question is fully destroyed.

==Destroying from underneath==

Building destroyers cannot destroy buildings unless they can path to the building on the building's z-level. This means that building destroyers cannot destroy, for instance, a forbidden hatch above them (note that non-forbidden, i.e. passable, hatches are vulnerable!), or a magma forge from the magma underneath it '''unless''' a clear alternate path to the building exists.

Building destroyers can destroy buildings from the z-level below while standing on a ramp or stairs that leads up to the building's z-level.

Building destroyers cannot destroy closed floodgates or locked doors from a ramp leading up to the level of those buildings unless there is an open path to the same level. This was tested with trolls, in an entrance-way accessed by both lever-controlled floodgates and a manually locked door. Ramps led up to the floodgates and the door. When both were closed, the trolls showed no interest. When the door was unlocked, a troll began to destroy it. When the door was locked again, the troll went away. When the floodgates were opened, a troll returned and destroyed the locked door from the ramp outside, while the open floodgates were also apparently being destroyed from the ramps by other trolls. This may be related to the bug where Dwarves appear to be building diagonally as long as they can access the spot orthogonally. It is unknown whether this applies to an open path extending through the full length of a fortress, rather than just a few steps away through open floodgates.

Consider the following diagrams, as viewed from the side:

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\

╔════
═╝ [#0FF]+
[#F00]B▲╔══
═══╝
}}

Here, the {{Raw Tile|B|#F00|#000}}uilding destroyer cannot pass through the cyan door while it is forbidden, but the instant the door becomes unforbidden, the building destroyer will destroy the door-- from the tile on which it stands.

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\

╔════
═╝[#0FF]¢
[#F00]B▲╔══
═══╝
}}

Here, the cyan hatch cannot be destroyed while it is forbidden, but when it is unforbidden, the {{Raw Tile|B|#F00|#000}}uilding destroyer will destroy it.

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\

╔════
═╝ [#0FF]+
[#F00]B▲╔══
═══╝
}}

Here, the {{Raw Tile|B|#F00|#000}}uilding destroyer will stand on the ramp and destroy the door (or any other furniture), regardless of whether the door is forbidden.

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\

╔═══╗
═╝ [#0FF]+ ╚
[#F00]B▲║▲
═══╩══
}}

Here, the {{Raw Tile|B|#F00|#000}}uilding destroyer will be unable to pass the door if it's forbidden; should it become unforbidden, the building destroyer will ignore the door (probably passing through in order to target a different piece of furniture).

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\

╔══════
═╝ [#0FF]+ >
[#F00]B>▲╔═╗X╔
╗X═╩═╝X║
║< <║
╚══════╝
}}

Here, the {{Raw Tile|B|#F00|#000}}uilding destroyer has path to a square from which it can destroy the cyan door-- thus, '''it can destroy the door, even if forbidden, from the tile directly in front of it.'''

==Annoying Variety==
When the value is '''1''', the creature will go after [[statue]]s, [[window]]s (glass or gem), [[archery target]]s, [[slab]]s, wooden [[door]]s, and wooden [[hatch]]es. They can't destroy homes during world gen as (semi)megabeasts.

'''[BUILDINGDESTROYER:1] creatures:'''
*[[Cave crocodile]]
*[[Giant cave spider]]
*[[Giant desert scorpion]]
*[[Giant olm]]
*[[Giant toad]]

==<s>Dangerous</s> Fun Variety==
When the value is '''2''' the creature will actively seek out [[building]]s and destroy them. They can also destroy buildings during world-gen with this tag. Megabeasts rely on this token for their pathing when attacking your fort. [[Construction]]s (walls, staircase, floors, etc.) are still safe, since they're processed the same way natural terrain is for most situations.

The simplest way to keep building destroyer 2's from targets is with walls or channels. The outside of a raised [[bridge|drawbridge]] will act like a constructed wall, blocking building destroyer 2's without that danger of being destroyed.

Tame animals still carry their building destroyer tokens, and have been observed to occasionally topple a statue.

'''[BUILDINGDESTROYER:2] creatures:'''
*[[Amethyst man]]
*[[Blind cave ogre]]
*[[Bronze colossus]]
*[[Cave dragon]]
*[[Cyclops]]
*[[Dragon]]
*[[Ettin]]
*[[Fire man]]
*[[Gabbro man]]
*[[Giant]]
*[[Hydra]]
*[[Iron man]]
*[[Magma man]]
*[[Minotaur]]
*[[Mud man]]
*[[Ogre]]
*[[Sasquatch]]
*[[Troll]]
*[[Voracious cave crawler]]
*[[Yeti]]
*All [[forgotten beast]]s, [[titan]]s, and [[demon]]s
*[[Werebeast]]s (in werebeast form only)

See the [[Modding guide]] for more information on creature tokens.

==Capture==

A good part of the building destroyers are useful to capture but most of them are not trapavoid. However, you can easily trap them with the right arrangement of cage traps, furniture and walls.

See [[Trap design]] for more information on this subject.

==Undead==
All [[undead]] building destroyers also gain the ability to destroy wooden [[support]]s, which generally ends poorly for the creature.

Due to the way undeath is classified, "non-living" creatures such as [[magma man|magma men]], [[bronze colossus]]es, and inorganic [[forgotten beast]]s/[[titan]]s are also considered to be undead.

==Bugs==
* Building destroyers can, and will, destroy buildings even if there's one tile of empty space between them and the building. {{Bug|4585}} In fact, they cannot destroy immediately adjacent buildings, and they can become stuck if they start destroying the building while adjacent. This can be a result of a fight, for instance when a Forgotten Beast kills the last defender while standing in such a spot, then it won't move to a better suiting position and will stand idling, unless killed or distracted.

[[ru:Building destroyer]]

Cave dragon

2015-03-24T17:46:22Z

DavidC:

{{Quality|Exceptional|07:22, 10 August 2010 (UTC)}}
{{Creaturelookup/0
|wiki=no
|contrib=no
|bone=174-225
|meat=247-622
|fat=35-195
|eye=2
|lung=24-32
|heart=6-8
|intestine=37-48
|liver=12-16
|tripe=12-16
|sweetbread=6-8
|spleen=6-8
|kidney=12-14
|brain=12-15
|ivory=3
|skull=1
|skin=scale
}}
{{av}}
{{creaturedesc}}

'''Cave dragons''' are gigantic beasts which were once [[dragon]]s who have adapted to life underground. Unlike their above-ground [[dragon|brethren]], they do not breathe fire, but they do appear to be immune to the effects of fire. Happily, they are not immune to the effects of a [[magma|dwarf's best friend]]. They have wings (which lack the ability to fly) and white scales, but besides this are not nearly as dangerous as their above ground cousins (due to being smaller and not breathing fire). Oddly, despite their description, regular dragons do not have wings, much less functional ones, though cave dragons do.

Cave dragons are very rare in the underground, but can be also be ridden as a war mount by goblins, which may be a lot more [[fun]] than you can handle. Cave dragons lay eggs, and are marginally easier to start a breeding program with than standard dragons.

Cave dragons are among the largest creatures in the game, and grow into their adult size of 15,000,000 after 1000 years. The butchery values in the right-hand column assume that an adult is being butchered: worlds younger than 1000 years will only have juvenile cave dragons, which drop far less meat.

Cave dragons are [[building destroyer]]s which means, among other things, that [[door]]s are useless as defense. You may also encounter them in large amounts as mounts or war animals during a goblin [[siege]].

Cave dragons provide the insanely wonderful pet value of 10,000 and are very good war animals, due to high natural fighting skills and sheer size.

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

Embark

2015-03-23T15:08:49Z

DavidC: /* Preparation Strategies */

{{quality|fine}}{{av}}

'''Embark''' is the time at the very beginning of [[Fortress mode]] before actual game play begins (but after [[World generation|generating a world]]), when you and your initial 7 dwarves:
# Choose a site.
# Assign starting [[skill]]s to each dwarf.
# Select an initial load of [[Embark#Supplies|supplies and equipment]].
# Arrive at the site with your wagon full of supplies.

==Choosing a Site==
The main considerations to keep in mind when choosing a site are the presence of aquifers, the availability of wood, ores, & soil, the climate, and your neighbors.
There is just ONE BIG RULE: when your home civilization is too small, you will recognize after the second winter that you won't get any more [[Immigration|immigrants]], which can be [[Fun|extremely fun]]. To avoid this situation, select a home civilization with ''at least'' two dwarven sites on the map.

[[File:Embark.jpg|center|Choose Fortress Location screen (v0.31.19)]]

The Choose Fortress Location screen shows four separate sections, with three of them being views of the land at different levels of magnification: Local, Region, and World. A section of highlighted tiles in the Local view indicates the current embark location within the region. The local view constitutes a 16x16 grid of embark area tiles (each representing 48x48 tiles when you are playing the game) that is within a single region tile. The world map cannot be directly controlled, and exists only to give you the overall view of where, relative to the rest of the features of the world, the region map is focused on.

The arrow keys control the X cursor in the center "Region" view while {{k|u}}, {{k|m}}, {{k|k}}, and {{k|h}} move the embark location around within the Local view. {{k|U}}, {{k|M}}, {{k|K}}, and {{k|H}} will resize the embark location.

The size of the embark location directly affects how much data about a map the game will have to store in your computer's memory and the size of your save files. This may correspondingly make pathfinding more resource-intensive, generally [[Frames per second|slow your game down]], and have a dramatic effect on the save and load times for your map. As such, smaller maps are recommended, especially for less powerful computers. Remember that each tile on your embark screen is 48x48 tiles large.

On the far right of the screen is a list of local features in the dominant biome. Individual biomes, which form at least one map-tile of your embark location, can be cycled with the {{k|F#}}-keys; for example, an area with 3 biomes present can be cycled using {{k|F1}}, {{k|F2}} and {{k|F3}}. The selected biome will be highlighted with flashing Xs on the Local Map, and the biome's information will be displayed on the right side of the screen.

===Biomes===
{{Main|Biome}}

A '''biome''' is a biotic area with homogeneous features, characterized by distinctive [[plant]]s, [[creature|animal species]] and [[climate]].

In the above image, the biome is "Temperate Savanna", and the region the biome is part of is given a specific name: "The Velvety Hill", part of the continent "The Jade Horn-Land".

Biomes will also contain only one set of stone layers, though these usually expand beyond a single biome. Your [[dwarf|dwarves]] will find different resources depending on which biomes they select when starting a fort.

Biomes are important when choosing a fortress location in order to understand your [[surroundings]].

====Climate====
{{Main|Climate}}

Climate determines the maximum temperature range of the region, which in turn impacts the severity of exposure to the outside, whether water will freeze in winter, and how quickly water evaporates.

The climate is displayed as "Temperature: Warm" in the above image.

Very hot and very cold biomes bring their own challenges which may be further compounded with overlapping features, such as a glacier being frozen for half the year, and being devoid of trees, and lacking a river. Very hot climates may see all its surface water quickly evaporate, making finding a water supply more dangerous, as underground caves filled with hostile creatures may be the only supply of water.

====Plant Life====
{{Main|Tree|Shrub}}

Seen in the above image as "Trees: Sparse" and "Other Vegetation: Moderate".

Trees are useful for the [[wood]] they provide, and wood is a basic building material, important for being the only material that can be used to create beds. Also, because creating bins and barrels from metal is an involved process involving more steps, less common resources, and fuel, wood is often preferred for making these items as well. Wood is also a source of [[fuel|charcoal]], one possible [[fuel]] used to make metal products in standard smelters and forges and required for making steel even when you have magma forges. Wood is also useful in making [[potash]], for soap or fertilizing farms.

Despite wood's many uses, it is entirely possible to play without any trees in your biomes. Due to the inexpensive nature of wood, it is possible to simply embark with a large quantity and rely on trade caravans from the elves, humans, and dwarves for your wood needs. Also, at a certain point, trees can be farmed in muddied underground areas regardless of how barren the surface is.

Shrubs can provide some quick food through the [[herbalist]] skill, [[still|brewable materials]], and [[seeds]] for some very helpful above-ground [[crops]] which are generally only available through trading with Elves.

====Surroundings====
{{Main|Surroundings}}

Surroundings affect how powerful and hostile local wildlife will be, and some forms of plants are available only in specific types of surroundings.

The surroundings of the example image are listed as "Surroundings: Wilderness".

Any biome can have any set of surroundings; for example a glacier could be haunted, wilderness or mirthful. However, a named region (which is a contiguous area of one category of biomes, such as forests or wetlands) will be either good, neutral, or evil.

There are two axes for surroundings: savagery and alignment. Calm and neutral savagery are functionally identical. Savage lands are like normal lands, except they will frequently have giant or hostile humanoid versions of normal animals. For example, you might have a [[Tigerman]] instead of "merely" a [[tiger]] in a savage jungle.

Good biomes are similar to neutral biomes, except have more fanciful (and generally benign) creatures like [[pixie]]s, [[fluffy wambler]]s, or [[unicorn]]s, and are generally no more dangerous than neutral biomes. Evil biomes are home to many dangerous creatures, often dead vegetation and even including undead versions of normal creatures, making for a far more hostile environment specifically for players who want to face a greater challenge to stay alive, especially early on. Trees might not grow in an evil area.

It is possible to start a fortress that overlaps multiple alignment types (for example good, evil, savage, and benign). Some players consider this desirable, as it provides diversity in your little corner of the world, but it also has its dangers in the form of more ferocious wildlife.

====Layers====
{{Main|Layer|Ore|Stone}}

At the bottom right of the biome view, some of the main features of the site are reported. You will be told whether the biome has a layer of soil on top of it (and how thick it is), and whether that soil includes [[clay]]. Deep soil layers make underground farming extremely quick to set up, as no [[irrigation]] will be needed. If there are metal ores, ''Shallow metal(s)'' and/or ''Deep metal(s)'' are reported. [[Flux]] is also reported if present.

The depth of the soil layers is indicated by light brown text: ''Little soil'', ''Some soil'', ''Deep soil'' or ''Very deep soil''. Clay is reported as either ''Shallow Clay'' or ''Clay''. [[Sand]] is ''not'' reported here; the only way to be sure you'll have sand is to embark on a Sand Desert.

You won't be told which kinds of metals are present. Your best bet for finding the raw materials for making [[steel]] is to look for a site with ''Shallow metals'' (note the plural) and ''Flux''. A biome with shallow metals listed has an extremely high chance of containing [[iron]]-bearing ores in a sedimentary layer near the surface. Failing that, you're practically guaranteed to get some [[copper]] ore (tetrahedrite).

====Aquifer====
{{Main|Aquifer}}

An aquifer is a layer of soil or stone saturated with water, and a biome may contain up to 3 aquifer layers (theoretically more, but such would be rare to say the least). Embarking on an aquifer brings up a warning before embark as an aquifer can significantly raise the difficulty of starting a fort. For specific tactics on working with an aquifer, see ''[[Aquifer]]''.

===Changing Views===
Pressing {{k|Tab}} will cycle the presented information through a variety of different views and panels.
*Neighbors - other civilizations that are closest to your current location. Proximity increases the chance of interaction, though at present this largely means "nearby goblins are more likely to attack you." If any race is not represented on this page, it means that the civilization cannot reach you if you are in that location. Embarking on an [[island]], or a location completely surrounded by mountains will make it impossible for any civilization but your own dwarven civilization to reach you, as world map travel across oceans or mountains is impossible. If not even "Dwarves" appears, it means that your home civilization is dead, and there will be no [[immigration]] waves or [[Trading#Caravans|trade caravans]] from your home civilization. If this is the case, it is recommended you change to a still-existent civilization unless you want the challenge of having no support from the mountainhomes. Races that are hostile to you are represented by a series of red "-" marks. In vanilla DF, goblins are always hostile, but humans or elves may also be at war with particular dwarven civilizations.
*Your Civilization - indicates all Dwarven civilizations in the world. {{k|+}} and {{k|-}} will cycle through the civilizations allowing you to choose which your settlers will be embarking from. Civilization choice will affect who is at war with you, what goods are available for trade and at embark, who your regent will be (considering [[Main:Cacame Awemedinade|one might be surprised by who turns out to be one's regent]]), and if there are any surviving members of your civilization left to migrate to or trade with your fort. Some of this information is only viewable in [[Legends]] Mode, but you can view accessible goods and materials after hitting {{k|e}}mbark by looking at what items you can choose to embark with. If you don't like the options, simply {{k|Esc}} to get the main menu and choose Abort Game. You will have to find the site again, but it saves you from needing to abandon the fortress.
*Relative Elevation - Shows the land height relative to the lowest point in the region.
*Cliff Indicator - Shows the severity of cliffs. With the exception of rivers that cut through mountains, even apparently very steep cliffs will still have ramps that make it perfectly accessible for any creature or even the wagons in caravans (unless you have turned erosion off).

===Reclaiming a fortress===
{{Main|Reclaim fortress mode}}
If you [[Reclaim fortress mode|reclaim the site]] of an abandoned fortress, upon arrival you may see goods, materials, and corpses left from the previous effort. These items will initially be [[forbid|forbidden]] and you will have to [[Reclaim|reclaim items]] before your dwarves will acknowledge their existence, for example to haul them to a graveyard or refuse [[stockpile]].

==Creating Your Settlers==
===Play Now!===
You can forgo the process of assigning skills and supplies and instead select '''Play Now!''' This option will give you a selection of Dwarves with the following profiles:

* Miner: Adequate Miner
* Woodworker: Novice Carpenter, Bowyer
* Woodcutter: Novice Wood Cutter, Furnace Operator, Wood Burner, Grower, Herbalist, Brewer, Cook, Lye Maker, and Potash Maker
* Stoneworker: Novice Mason, Engraver, Building Designer, and Mechanic
* Jeweler: Novice Stone Crafter, Wood Crafter, Bone Carver, Gem Cutter, and Gem Setter
* Fisherdwarf: Novice Fisherdwarf
* Fish Cleaner: Novice Weaver, Clothier, Butcher, Tanner, Leatherworker, and Fish Cleaner
One of these will be randomly flagged as Expedition Leader at the start.

The default embark value for a custom embark is 1274: 974 in pre-chosen goods and 300 unassigned. The Play Now! embark only uses 1038 points. While a Play Now! embark is no more doomed than any other embark, it is always better to Prepare Carefully once you know what you're doing with the set up of an early fort.

===Prepare Carefully===
Preparing allows the player to customize their embarking party and supplies by spending a pool of points which is shared between skills and equipment, with each skill rank and equipment item having a set value. The total value of embarking is set at 1,274 points, though all but 300 of these are pre-spent on an array of basic equipment (the same equipment Play Now! uses). It stands that one should try to maximize the value of their embark by spending all available points. By preparing carefully it is also possible to [[Fortress name|name]] your fortress and your embark group.

====Using the menu====
Use {{k|Tab}} to switch between selecting Skills and Items. Use the 4 directional keys or number pad to navigate to highlight the different choices/columns, and {{k|+}} or {{k|-}} to choose more or less of the highlighted item or skill. When viewing items, hit {{k|n}} to go to a menu for any "new" items, that are not currently listed, including any you removed by reducing the number to 0; select the item, hit {{k|Enter}}, then increase the number desired as above ({{k|+}} or {{k|-}}) in the main menu.

If you cannot buy additional skill levels, you are out of points and must return some items for additional points. Higher-priced items will automatically be removed from view when selecting new items if you do not have enough points for those selections, showing only what you can afford with your current points.

====Skills====
{{Main|Skill}}

The seven settlers you begin with can be assigned up to ten skill ranks picked from the entire Dwarven skill list, including military, though only a maximum of 5 ranks can be bought in any one skill (for a maximum starting rank of "Proficient"). Skill ranks are bought from the shared pool at a cost of 5 for the first rank, 6 for the second, 7 for the third, and so on. Maxing out a skill thus costs a total of 35 points. Although this is already fairly involved, between the long skill list and the floating cost, the value of a rank is subject to further scrutiny given the early-game value, or lack thereof, of certain skills as well as the relative ease or difficulty of training ranks in a given skill. Many skills are performed just as well by a Novice (skill level 1) or even a Dabbler (level 0) as they are by a Legendary (level 15+). A Novice Furnace Operator won't produce Coke as fast as a Legendary Furnace Operator, but they will produce it fast enough to keep their neighbor smelting hematite until the cows come home.

For a more complex example, there is much overlap between what can be produced out of wood and what can be produced out of metal, but wood is plentiful in the early game (often throughout, if a tree farm is established, and caravans will bring in several pages worth of wood if you request it) while metalworking can take much longer to establish, or would take several times longer to produce a given product in the early game due to the multiple steps required. Metalworking skills also train slower than woodworking, and metal products have a longer base production time than wood products.

From one point of view, the Woodworking skills would be of more immediate use in producing quick goods of higher value in the early game, especially given the high volume needed; however furniture quality is of little concern in the early game, and the high volume of value-independent goods (such as barrels which you won't be trading away on their own or using to furnish chambers) will cause your carpenter to train his skills fairly quickly. Even on a strictly functional level, a Novice carpenter can produce beds, barrels, and bins fast enough to keep up with a fledgling base. Lastly, once metal production is up and running, it can be agonizingly slow if a Farmer or Peasant has to be re-assigned to learn from scratch, thus a proficient Metalsmith stands to pay off much more in time than starting with a proficient Carpenter. Consider as well that you may receive a highly skilled Metalsmith during an [[immigration]] wave, if you care to take that chance.

====Supplies====
The default array of supplies covers a broad range of foodstuffs, seeds, drink, tools, and medical equipment, and is reasonable, though extra food and drink never hurt anyone.

:* 2 Copper [[pick]]s (or bronze picks if your home civilization has no access to copper)
:* 2 Copper battle [[axe]]s (or bronze battle axes if your home civilization has no access to copper)
:* 1 Iron [[anvil]] ( or Steel [[anvil]] if your home civilization has no access to iron)
:* 1 Wheelbarrow (If possible)
:* 60 units alcohol (20 each of 3 random types<sup>1</sup>, 12 free barrels)
:* 6 bags containing 5x dimple cup, cave wheat, plump helmet, sweet pods, pig tail, and quarry bush [[seed]]s
:* 15 units of meat (one random type, 10 + 5 units in 2 barrels)
:* 15 units of fish (one random type, 10 + 5 units in 2 barrels)
:* 15 units of plump helmets (10 + 5 units in 2 barrels)
:* 5 pig tail fiber thread
:* 5 pig tail fiber cloth
:* 5 pig tail fiber bags
:* 3 pig tail fiber ropes
:* 3 wooden buckets
:* 3 wooden splints
:* 3 wooden crutches
:* 2 dogs (random sex)
:* 2 cats (random sex)
:* 2 random cow/ox/mule/horse (random sex)

Embark sites with minimal Trees should definitely consider bringing extra logs to cover the early demand for beds and such.

Cats and dogs are only included in the Play Now! package, you have to go into the pets list and add them when you Prepare Carefully.

Do not overlook the value of bringing animals. Dogs in particular can provide an excellent early warning system, good fighters against kobolds and other thieves, and a healthy supply of meat and bones. Cats are useful for controlling the vermin population, but beware the [[Fun|dangers]] of a [[catsplosion]].

You may also want to consider replacing the pig tail fiber items with much cheaper cave spider silk items (regular, not giant).

Note that the types of supplies available can vary depending on what materials are available at the nearest capital of your civilization. For example, certain types of stone or bars may not be listed at all if they are not available at your Mountainhome.

If your civilization lacks copper or iron (or both), the increased costs for standard-issue metal equipment can eat up the embark point advantage Prepare Carefully has over Play Now!, but the option to customise point allocation still gives careful preparation an edge.

====Saving a starting mix====
Once you have the mix of items and skills that you like, you can hit {{k|s}} and save it to a template with a custom name. In a later game, you can pick that profile when you embark. If your selected civilization does not have some of the desired items in your template, this is announced clearly, and a different civilization can be tried as described above, or you can continue and change your mix.

If you match skills to the [[preferences]] and [[personality|personalities]] of your dwarves, it may be an idea not to include any skills in such a template, as they will simply be applied in the original order to the current dwarves as they appear on the list.

If you find additional items that you wish to add (perhaps another type of cheap meat, or an ore not previously available), you can edit those in by hitting {{k|s}}, overwriting your old template. You can also go into the .txt file, located at data/init/embark_profiles, and edit in the SKILLS or ITEMS as you want - the syntax is fairly straightforward.

==Embark Strategies==
{{Main|Starting build}}

The strategies below are suggestions. They are not universal, and many are even contradictory. This is because there is no one true way to play Dwarf Fortress. Some may not work for you because of unstated assumptions about priority, value, fun, or procedure. However, since Losing is Fun, it's always worth it to try something out, even if it doesn't go well.

===Picking the Right Location===
'''Need More Dirt''' - three layers of soil before the stone layers begin provides a very large area that can be used to quickly carve out efficient storage rooms, as well as easy construction of large farms and tree farms without the need to flood/muddy large areas of stone.

'''Flowing Water (and Its Inverse)''' - flowing water (river or stream) is a must have for the infinite power it supplies for working machinery and because underground water supplies are too dangerous to tap into. There is no guarantee of infinite water underground, you could embark on a map with completely dry caverns. However, rainier climates will always have murky pools, which with careful management can be refilled from the rain. Infinite power for working machinery can be created using a limited amount of water in a perpetual motion machine. Although, being limited in quantity, murky pools simply do not have the capacity to permanently flood your fortress, while a single mistake with an infinite source can easily do so.

===Preparation Strategies===
'''Free Barrels''' - many products are stored in bins, barrels, or bags and do not stack with other items even if they're in the same broad classification. Plump Helmets and Horse Meat come in separate barrels even though they're both food. Purchasing a single item of food (or increasing the number to one above the storage limit of the barrel i.e. 11, 21, 31) will also produce a free barrel for it to be stored in. As barrels have a cost of 10 to buy empty, buying a single unit of cost 2 foodstuffs gets you a value of 5. Anything above cost 2 bought for the express purpose of getting barrels would be better off just buying barrels empty or raw logs. This concept can be extended to many different goods, and for any stored good you were "going to buy anyway" you should avoid buying exactly a containerful. Do not get 20, get 21. One unit of milk comes in a single barrel.
* Note that meat products from the same animal will store in the same barrel, thus 1 unit of Horse Meat and 1 unit of Horse Tripe will only get you one barrel, not two.
* Upon arrival you can build a kitchen and prepare lavish meals out of all those single units of meat. This will "compress" your food, and free up some barrels for brewing. Size of stacks of food from cooking is equal to sum of stack sizes of ingredients, so you lose nothing.

'''Cheaper food''' - you can bring lots of [[milk]] (worth 1 embark point each), build a [[farmer's workshop]], and make [[cheese]] out of that milk. Combine this with the trick for free barrels, cook lavish meals out of that cheese and meat, and you will get some free barrels, and good quality food for cheap. Making milk into cheese is very fast and requires no skill, you just need to enable cheese making on your cook or brewer.
* To save on alcohol (you should probably still bring some of it, though) get plump helmets for 4 embark point each. Remember to disable cooking them in z -> Kitchen menu. Build a still, and brew them all, each will make 5 units of alcohol. You can supplement this with gathering and brewing local plants.
* Cooking lavish meals out of 1 unit of meat, and full barrels of alcohol made on the spot from plump helmets (known as booze cooking) can produce even more food, but only if one knows how to do it.
* When choosing all that different food, be smart. Press "n" Go to "Meat" section, press "e", and search for one particular kind of food, "meat", for example. Press enter, rinse and repeat. This way, you can quickly add food from different animals and be sure you don't have any 2 foods from the same species. Also, it's good to make a template so you won't have to do the whole thing all over again when you start another fortress.

'''Cheap Bags''' - while even the cheapest bags (made from cave spider silk and low-value leather) cost 10 points each, you can instead simply bring several units of [[sand]] costing 1 point each, as each unit of sand will be stored in its own bag made from a randomly selected material (including giant cave spider silk and valuable creature leather).

'''Don't Really Need That''' - unless you have tailored your embark for metal production quick and early, an anvil is typically unnecessary and the 100 points you get from refunding it can be better spent on skills or additional foodstuffs (can't really have enough foodstuffs). By the time the Dwarven caravan arrives in the fall, a 100☼ iron anvil, or even a 300☼ steel anvil, should be little more than an inconvenience. This can sometimes be <s>problematic</s> [[Fun]] if you are unlucky and the caravan does not bring an anvil.

'''REALLY Don't Need That''' - For players more familiar with the game. Bring no pre-constructed goods (weapons, buckets, etc.), just the materials to make them with. This requires several (3-10, though you're likely to bring way more) logs, some fire-safe stone (ores are fine if you don't mind some micromanagment), few nuggets of copper ore, and an anvil. Upon arrival, build a Wood Furnace and a Forge, make charcoal, then picks for the [[miner]]s and an axe for [[wood cutter]]s. Medical supplies should be unnecessary to start with, because if you need them <s>you're screwed</s> you'll have [[Fun]]. You may want to bring some [[rope]] (or just [[thread]]) along though. You can start your fortress with just 106☼ worth of items (iron anvil - 100☼, 1 copper nuggets for 1 pick - 6☼, logs can be gathered from deconstructing the wagon and made into 1 training axe - 0☼, fire-safe building material = ash - 0☼, everything else can be made with the raw materials you get from wood-cutting and mining.).

'''Yes, I Do Need That''' - <s>never</s> <s>don't</s> <s>NEVER</s> DON'T EVER leave without alcohol unless you have a [[brewer]] and a way to gather plants early (untrained [[herbalist]]s designated after embarking are enough) or a safe water source (preferably flowing).

==See Also==
*New players may find the [[Quickstart guide]] useful.
*The [[Starting build]] article has more detailed embark strategies.

{{Category|Interface}}

Dacite

2015-03-20T13:32:53Z

DavidC:

{{quality|unrated}}{{stonelookup/0}}{{av}}

'''Dacite''' is one of the types of [[stone]] that forms entire [[stone#Stones forming entire layers |layer]]s. It is functionally identical to [[andesite]] and [[rhyolite]]. It does, however, have a slightly different melting point. '''Dacite is not [[magma safe]].'''

In real life, this stone is similar to [[felsite]], which is a [[Calendar|month]] representing late spring in Dwarf Fortress.

<gallery>
File:Mineraly.sk_-_dacit.jpg|Dacite
</gallery>

{{gamedata}}
{{stones}}

Rhyolite

2015-03-20T13:32:32Z

DavidC:

{{layerlookup/0}}{{av}}{{Quality|Exceptional|21:21, 8 June 2010 (UTC)}}

Rhyolite is an [[igneous extrusive]] [[stone]] and is functionally identical to [[andesite]] and [[dacite]]. It is not [[magma-safe]].

<gallery>
File:rhyolite.jpg|Rhyolite
</gallery>

{{gamedata}}
{{stones}}

Rhyolite

2015-03-20T13:31:59Z

DavidC:

{{layerlookup/0}}{{av}}{{Quality|Exceptional|21:21, 8 June 2010 (UTC)}}

Rhyolite is an [[igneous extrusive]] [[stone]] and is functionally identical to [[andesite]] and [[dacite]]. It is not [[magma-safe].

<gallery>
File:rhyolite.jpg|Rhyolite
</gallery>

{{gamedata}}
{{stones}}

Dacite

2015-03-20T13:31:45Z

DavidC: Undo revision 217191 by DavidC (talk)

{{quality|unrated}}{{stonelookup/0}}{{av}}

'''Dacite''' is one of the types of [[stone]] that forms entire [[stone#Stones forming entire layers |layer]]s. It is functionally identical to [[andesite]] and [[rhyolite]]. It does, however, have a slightly different melting point. '''Dacite is not magma safe.'''

In real life, this stone is similar to [[felsite]], which is a [[Calendar|month]] representing late spring in Dwarf Fortress.

<gallery>
File:Mineraly.sk_-_dacit.jpg|Dacite
</gallery>

{{gamedata}}
{{stones}}

Dacite

2015-03-20T13:31:21Z

DavidC:

{{quality|unrated}}{{stonelookup/0}}{{av}}

'''Dacite''' is one of the types of [[stone]] that forms entire [[stone#Stones forming entire layers |layer]]s. It is functionally identical to [[andesite]] and [[rhyolite]]. It does, however, have a slightly different melting point. '''Dacite is not [[magma-safe]'''

In real life, this stone is similar to [[felsite]], which is a [[Calendar|month]] representing late spring in Dwarf Fortress.

<gallery>
File:Mineraly.sk_-_dacit.jpg|Dacite
</gallery>

{{gamedata}}
{{stones}}

Rhyolite

2015-03-20T13:30:28Z

DavidC: Undo revision 217187 by DavidC (talk)

{{layerlookup/0}}{{av}}{{Quality|Exceptional|21:21, 8 June 2010 (UTC)}}

Rhyolite is an [[igneous extrusive]] [[stone]] and is functionally identical to [[andesite]] and [[dacite]].

<gallery>
File:rhyolite.jpg|Rhyolite
</gallery>

{{gamedata}}
{{stones}}

Rhyolite

2015-03-20T13:29:11Z

DavidC: Undo revision 217188 by DavidC (talk)

{{layerlookup/0}}{{av}}Rhyolite is an [[igneous extrusive]] [[stone]] and is functionally identical to [[andesite]] and [[dacite]].

<gallery>
File:rhyolite.jpg|Rhyolite
</gallery>

{{gamedata}}
{{stones}}

Rhyolite

2015-03-20T13:27:10Z

DavidC:

{{layerlookup/0}}{{av}}Rhyolite is an [[igneous extrusive]] [[stone]] and is functionally identical to [[andesite]] and [[dacite]]. Rhyolite is not magma-safe.

<gallery>
File:rhyolite.jpg|Rhyolite
</gallery>

{{gamedata}}
{{stones}}

Rhyolite

2015-03-20T13:25:19Z

DavidC: Removed quality rating (was "Exceptional") using the rating script

Bitter orange

2015-03-15T22:13:05Z

DavidC:

{{Quality|unrated}}
{{Treelookup/0|wiki=Bitter_orange}}
{{av}}

'''Bitter orange''' is one of the many genera of trees found above ground. Like the vast majority of above ground trees, bitter orange [[wood]] is brown and produces brown products.

Bitter orange trees bear '''bitter oranges''' that can harvested by setting up a gathering [[Zone]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}
{{Category|Surface trees}}

Orange

2015-03-15T22:12:24Z

DavidC:

{{Quality|Superior|18:31, 23 August 2014 (UTC)}}
{{Treelookup/0}}
{{av}}

'''Orange''' is one of the many genera of trees found above ground. Contrary to its name, orange [[wood]] is in fact brown, and produces brown products.

Orange trees bear '''oranges''' that can harvested by setting up a gathering [[Zone]].

{{Translation
| dwarven = mostib
| elvish = ÿare
| goblin = tustong
| human = omthu
}}

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}
{{Category|Surface trees}}

Bitter orange

2015-03-15T22:06:25Z

DavidC:

{{Quality|unrated}}
{{Treelookup/0|wiki=Bitter_orange}}
{{av}}

'''Bitter orange''' is one of the many genera of trees found above ground. Like the vast majority of above ground trees, bitter orange [[wood]] is brown and produces brown products. The tree produces fruit.

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}
{{Category|Surface trees}}

Undead

2015-03-15T12:50:29Z

DavidC: /* Traits */

{{Quality|Superior|18:33, 23 August 2014 (UTC)}}

{{av}}
The '''animated dead''' (or '''undead''') {{Tile|Ñ|3:0}} are the [[corpse|bodies]] of formerly living creatures animated through fell magic. These [[night creature|night creatures]] can be created intentionally by a [[necromancer]] to serve him, or arise naturally from the dark energies of [[surroundings|evil regions]].

==What is an undead?==
An undead may be formed of either the rotting husk or the bones and shell of a being. The former is considered a zombie, and the latter a skeleton. Although [[vampire]]s are no longer performing the bodily functions of a living being, they are not considered the "animated dead", this term being reserved for a corpse which has begun to move and act on its own or by the will of another, but lacking any form of intelligence beyond a primitive urge to hunt and kill any living thing it can find. Where zombies and skeletons cannot think or behave in any sophisticated manner beyond "kill everything", vampires are willful beings, generally indistinguishable from living persons (and capable of great deception to ensure that nobody learns about their condition). [[Ghost]]s are called Undead in-game, but they are also not considered animated dead (as they lack a corporeal form).

As long as the remains of a creature contain a body part capable of grasping, be it a hand or head or the entire upper half, those remains can be animated. This can lead to animated hands and heads, which seems comical until you consider the implications of a swarm of such monstrosities and the havoc that they might wreak. Even some parts of creatures which should be incapable of autonomous movement can be raised, such as the hair or skin or even ''[[mussel]] shells''. They are, however, predictably nonlethal, mostly serving as a B-movie terror monster to scare your dwarves into running around. A body part can be resurrected as a zombie even if it has already done so and been de-animated again. However, pulping damage (that is, "exploding into gore", "cloven asunder", "torn into shreds" and so on) to the head, lower body, or upper body will turn the corpse into a "mangled corpse", ensuring that the zombie cannot rise up again. Likewise, destroying the structural integrity of an animate body-part will stop its reanimation.

==Traits==
Upon animation, an undead gains a [[syndrome]] that fundamentally changes its physical characteristics and behaviour. Some of the traits they generally possess are:
*Severely increased [[attribute|strength and toughness]] and reduced [[speed]];
*Opposition to life;
*Lack of emotion, pain, thought, or need for sustenance or breath;
*Undead status (NOT_LIVING), sterility, and inability to attribute rust or gain.

Undead retain the wounds that killed them in life, as well as any they have sustained since or from a temporary de-animation. Undead vary in levels of strength depending on their form. Certain types of animal are likely the most dangerous that it is common to encounter, and can have dangerous strength, speed, aggression, and piercing attacks. The undead of butcherable creatures can still be butchered once de-animated, as long as they have not rotted; doing so will prevent them from re-animating again, though their untanned skins and hair can potentially become undead.

Larger undead with the BUILDINGDESTROYER tag can still destroy buildings, though undead with special attacks like webbing will not be able to use them (Zombie Dragons, however, still use their breath). Undead thieves can still pick locks, but will not path to a locked door unless in pursuit of the living. If found underground, undead will usually path into a fort if they can.

Undead from [[necromancer]] [[tower]]s are reported to carry ''[[armor]] and [[weapon]]s'', giving the terror of the announcement ''"The dead walk! Hide while you can!"'' far more weight than before.

===Thralls, Husks, and Zombies===
Certain kinds of evil [[weather]] can instantly turn any [[syndrome]]-vulnerable creature into a bloodthirsty undead killer, opposed to all life. These creatures are referred to be the sort of weather that transformed them, an identifier as a thrall, husk, or zombie, and their original creature name-- for example, a ''stray guineahen unholy gloom husk''. The specific procedurally generated syndromes of thralling evil clouds are functionally identical to that of animate dead, with the same extreme gains in physical stats, lack of pain or breath, etc.

Because the interaction can happen without first killing the target, thrall-like creatures retain any armor or weapons they were carrying. Perhaps worst of all, they may still be contaminated with the material leading to the transformation, "infecting" those with whom they wrestle in a chain reaction that can rapidly destroy a fortress if they are not stopped immediately.

==Destruction==
The undead should in general be considered a serious threat, far beyond the average [[goblin]] garbage. They are far greater in strength and durability than the living, are tireless, feel no pain, have no useful articulations to damage, ignore injuries to their now- useless organs, and are impervious to the effects of morale. All of these traits make the undead highly dangerous; one can compare the effect to fighting a smaller and somewhat more fragile [[bronze colossus]].

You would not wish to attempt to kill them with puncture wounds for this reason, and likewise, choking is ineffective against their lack of breath. Pulping an important structural body-part is guaranteed to kill an undead. Blunt weapons are effective weapons to use for animated corpses for they are not only less likely to sever off parts for further reanimation, but are likely to inflict pulping damage, mangling the zombies so badly that they cannot rise up again. Of those available to dwarves, maces are more efficient at pulping than warhammers. Flails are better still if one can acquire them. Beheading appears to work less reliably - this is possibly related to the neck being cut off rather than the head itself, which the game does not register as decapitation{{Verify}}. Cutting apart the physical form of undead can be dangerous if the source of reanimation is still active and present. The more body parts are about, the more fodder for animation is present. In this case, it is wisest to either butcher the corpses (if they can be butchered), throw them into [[magma]], or [[dwarven atom smasher|pulverize them with a drawbridge]], which will destroy the bodies so thoroughly that they cannot be reanimated again. A thrall may be "safely" fought with cutting weapons however, as long as there is no risk of infection at hand. Undead animals can be disposed of by cage-trapping them and trading them away to passing <s>merchants</s> [[Elves]].

Undead from necromancer sieges should be treated with far more caution, as they can carry equipment. These are exceedingly dangerous, for their already heightened strength and toughness are further augmented by weapons-grade metal. You may want to eschew direct combat altogether in this situation, especially as necromancer sieges already tend to summon the walking dead in pages of a hundred, and one is enough to rout an entire squad.

[[Evil weather]] thralls may also require utmost caution. Any thrall carrying a melee weapon or armour (let alone any combat skills of its own, which it will retain the use of) can dispatch a full squad in short order even with average combat skills, making direct confrontation an unwise choice- Armok help you if the thrall in question used to be one of your best soldiers. A particularly dire possibility is that, if the responsible evil cloud is in dust form, the thrall is still contaminated with whatever substance transformed it. If this is the case, any dwarves sent to fight the thrall will become thralls themselves if the thrall tries to wrestle them. From there, the new thralls might spread the contaminant further still, which can easily lead to a [[Fun|full-fledged zombie apocalypse]].

In these and other dire cases, it is often better to not fight them directly at all, instead resorting to traps, [[dwarven atom smasher|atom smashers]] and other indirect ways to neutralise them. It is not advised to directly fight a zombie horde that outnumbers your military, even a highly trained one. A legendary squad can take down zombies in roughly equal numbers, but a continuous onslaught of undead [[Fun|will quickly show a major disadvantage of living soldiers in over-exertion]]. [[Magma]], that classic solution to all dwarven problems, is another effective weapon, as is fire in general. The sheer heat of magma will eventually destroy the corpse, rendering it unable to rise again. Magma kills zombies fairly slowly though.

[[Morale]] is a big obstacle to directly confronting a zombie horde. Without enough [[discipline]], a troop sent to fight them may instead decide to flee in terror from such abominations of nature. As you may imagine, this can lead to endless amounts of [[Fun]], for unlike your dwarves, the undead cannot feel fear or any other emotion, and any dead dwarves may in turn rise up and add to the horde's numbers. It is important that any undead-fighting squad consists of severely hardened and disciplined soldiers. Any soldiers you bring to embark on an evil biome should have ''at least'' two points in [[discipline]], as morale is currently buggy and leads to ordinary dwarves fleeing even from living wildlife{{bug|7161}}. This may also be worked around with a little [[modding]], by adding at least {{token|NATURAL_SKILL:DISCIPLINE:1|c}} to all civilised races and trainable pets. Additionally, the very act of fighting undead makes dwarves more vulnerable to insanity (particularly if the undead was acquainted with the dwarf fighting it in its former life), which must be countered with as many sources of good thoughts if possible.

Reports have been made of zombies animated by the ambient evil of a region deanimating on their own when wandering away from such a vile place.

==Undead Fun Facts==

* Undead can animate from hauled corpses.
* Undead will not attack vampires.
* Undead will not attack inorganic enemies like the [[bronze colossus]].
* Undead risen from starved animals in cages are not caged.
* Undead attack all organic megabeasts as well as invaders, except necromancers (as their sorcery allows them to control undead easily).
* Creatures capable of evading traps or bypassing locked doors retain that ability as undead.
* Enthralled dwarves from your fortress are not affected by traps.
* Dwarves who like an animal will also enjoy that undead animal.
* Enthralled dwarves in a fortress which is retired or abandoned can appear as part of a migrant wave, causing lots of [[Fun]].

==Bugs==
* Certain types of undead tissue such as hair and feathers cannot be damaged, nor can they damage dwarves.{{bug|5356}}
* Dwarves will not report someone missing as dead even if the corpse is gnawing on their ear.
* Animated creatures can somehow become stuck in mid-air, and will not move at all, even if killed. Spatters of blood from the animated party also float in this manner. This has been known to occur in cases ranging from a deer's animated head to a goblin's partial skeleton.

{{category|Creatures}}