Dwarf Fortress Wiki - User contributions [en]

Shop

2014-12-07T23:24:51Z

Ketsuban:

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{{Building|name=Shop|key=z
|job=
None
|construction=
* 3 [[Building material]]s (non-[[economic]])
|construction_job=
Skill appropriate to building material
|purpose=
Allows dwarves to purchase items
}}{{av}}

'''In the current version of Dwarf Fortress, the [[Dwarven economy|economy]] never activates, so shops can never be built''' - [[Main:Toady One|Toady One]] has stated that, after various other changes have been made to the game, he will re-enable the economy and this building will return.

{{buildings}}

Aquifer

2014-12-07T21:43:44Z

Ketsuban: /* Specific pump methods in detail */ no need for the version-specific link

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An '''aquifer''' is a subterranean layer of [[water|groundwater]]-bearing rock or [[soil]]. Attempts to mine through the layer will result in the mined-out squares immediately filling with [[water]], effectively halting excavation at or below the aquifer level. This, in conjunction with the fact that they are often located in areas rich in [[loam]], and [[sand]], makes it difficult to find great quantities of [[stone]] in areas with aquifers, making for more challenging gameplay.

Aquifers can't be drained - the groundwater is limitless. In stone aquifer layers, [[smoothing]] the walls will stop the production of water. Aquifers do not only produce water - an aquifer tile will absorb any amount of pressurized water from neighboring tiles (effectively draining all layers above the aquifer). As with water production, this ability will not be disabled no matter how much water it absorbs.

Aquifers located in [[ocean]] [[biome]]s will produce salty water; aquifers in other biomes will produce freshwater.

== Where they are found ==

Aquifers appear based on the elevation of the terrain. Low elevations, particularly those near rivers and oceans are more prone to having an aquifer present, while locations closer to mountains are much less likely, but still possible.

Layers which '''can''' contain aquifers:
*[[sandy clay loam]]
*[[silty clay loam]]
*[[loam]]
*[[sandy loam]]
*[[silt loam]]
*[[loamy sand]]
*[[silt]]
*[[sand (tan)|sand]]
*[[yellow sand]]
*[[white sand]]
*[[black sand]]
*[[red sand]]
*[[peat]]
*[[pelagic clay]]
*[[calcareous ooze]]
*[[siliceous ooze]]
*[[sandstone]]
*[[conglomerate]]
*[[puddingstone]]
Layers which '''can't''' contain aquifers, despite their names suggesting otherwise:
*[[clay]]
*[[silty clay]]
*[[sandy clay]]
*[[clay loam]]
*[[siltstone]]
*[[mudstone]]

== What they do ==

Aquifers are tiles which produce water in their ''neighboring'' tiles -- north, south, east, west, and below. They do not produce water in the tile above them, or any diagonal tiles. Note that [[smoothing|smoothed]], mined, or channeled aquifer tiles no longer produce water.

If you are digging an up/down staircase in the downward direction, and you hit an aquifer, the aquifer tile will be revealed as damp soil or stone, and the digging job will be un-designated for that tile. If you are mining horizontally, you will similarly be warned of a "damp stone" before breaching the aquifer.

If you are digging an up/down staircase in the ''upward'' direction, or a ramp, and you hit an aquifer from below, the aquifer tile will immediately start producing water in the stairwell, thus leading to a lot of [[Fun]].

== Dealing with aquifers ==

===Probing an aquifer===

You can discover what layer lies below an aquifer layer by digging up/down stairs into the aquifer. This will reveal the tile below the aquifer layer, and if this is non aquifer (for example, clay, ore or bedrock) then you know the aquifer is only 1z deep at that location. This method can only be used to determine whether the aquifer is 1 layer deep, or multiple layers deep, but this is enough to help plan how to penetrate it. Using a pump-based method is highly recommended for multiple layer aquifers.

===Going around===

If your embark site is covered by multiple biomes, there is a chance the aquifer is not present in every biome. In some maps this may be indicated by an outcropping of stone in a landscape otherwise composed of soil; in other maps the change in biome might be visible as a change in soil type or vegetation type or density. You might be able to dig down through a biome that doesn't have an aquifer, to a Z-level below the aquifer, and then (if you wish) tunnel beneath the aquifer to the previously inaccessible region.

Even if all the biomes of your site contain aquifers, they might not all be at the same Z-level. So you still might be able to dig down in one biome, reaching a Z-level beneath the aquifer in another biome.

Additionally, if your biome contains deep cliffs, for instance in the form of a river gorge, it may be possible to build a staircase down the side of the gorge past the aquifer.

===The double slit method===
{{Main|Double-slit method}}
This is one of the most commonly-used methods, due to its convenience and power. It was originally developed by QuantumMenace, and is also mentioned below under [[#The pump method|the pump method]].

=== The hatch trick ===
The hatch trick is a simple method for putting one or two dwarves through a single aquifer layer, this is not be mistaken with only working for a single layer aquifer, you can use the trick to essentially bypass the problematic final layer of a multi-layer aquifer, allowing access to the rock layers and caverns before you've put a sealed staircase through the aquifer.

First you must dig a pair of up/down stairs into the aquifer (i.e. as in twin slit), while draining one of the tiles with a screw pump, simply build a hatch on the tile (the hatch must be built on a downstairs or up/down stairs for the trick to work). Once the hatch is constructed, with the pump still operating, designate an up/down staircase under the hatch, a miner will dig the staircase out while standing 'on top' of the hatch, he can then pass through the hatch to continue digging, the hatch will let 1-2 water through with him before closing and preventing further water from following the miner. The miner is now safely under the aquifer and can dig down to the caverns or to the map edge and establish a drain, allowing you to use the much faster [[#The drainage method|drainage from below method]] to finish penetrating the aquifer. This can save a lot of time for multiple-layer aquifers where the final layer is sand. It is also quicker and cleaner than cave-in for single layer aquifers if you plan to extend a staircase straight down to the caverns anyway (making the drain essentially free).

===The ore method===

On maps where the aquifer is not held in a layer of soil, but instead is held in a [[sedimentary layer]] such as sandstone, it may be possible to tunnel down through deposits of ore such as [[magnetite]]. For this to work you have to find a spot where there is coincidentally an ore deposit on each Z-level you need to dig through. This is only possible through tiresome trial and error, or through the use of a utility like DFHack's <tt>reveal</tt>. The trial and error method can be accomplished somewhat more easily by digging up/down stairs to reveal the layer underneath them without actually digging into the underlying layer. This method is more complicated with aquifers located in layers of [[conglomerate]], as large clusters of [[puddingstone]] will support the aquifer and thus cannot be used to provide a path through it.

===The cave-in method===

Conceptually this method involves removing the aquifer-bearing sand, soil or rock using channeling, and then dropping an island of dry sand, soil or clay into the resulting pond, a staircase can then be dug through the center of the resulting artificial island. This requires at least 2 natural dry layers.

This does not work with [[construction|constructed]] walls since they deconstruct on cave-in.

'''Note:''' There is a bug that may prevent this method from working, collapsed layers may turn into the aquifer layer type that was dug out at that level. So, for example: We have three layers, layer 1 has the caving in section, and is not an aquifer. Layer 2 is a dug out layer that is also not an aquifer. And Layer 3 which is dug out and is an aquifer. Now, the bug, say layer 1's cave-in section lands on layer 3's dug out area, sometimes layer 1's caved in section may change into layer 3's soil type. Making it an aquifer too. Thus making the cave-in method impossible for that area.

====Cave-In Example====

[[File:Aquifer-Plug.png|frame|none|Note: Side View]]

*Dig stairs down to the aquifer. Dig over the aquifer layer but under your "plug". You'll need a 5x5 landmass. (Slide 2)
*Channel out the area the plug will fall into. (Slide 3)
*Leave a single floor tile on top of the plug and dig out the outer layer of your plug. The plug should be a 3x3 landmass now. The single floor tile must keep the plug from falling. (Slide 3)
*Channel out the floor tile holding up the plug. (Slides 4 & 5)
*Construct floor tiles to reach the plug and dig through the middle to get under the aquifer. (Slide 6)

====Cave-In Method for Multiple Layers====

If you build many rings inside one another in your top drop layer, you can breach multi-level aquifers with as little as 2 natural layers of dry soil above it. Drop the rings from the outside to the inside using constructed arms to hold the center rings in place. Once a ring drops into the water below it, pump out the water in the center and dig down another layer. When that is complete, drop the next ring and continue the process until you are through. Since you start dropping rings from the outside it is necessary to know how many levels deep the aquifer is before you begin.<br>
Tutorial for more than one Aquifier can be found here: [[User:Rhenaya/HowtoDualAquifer]]

A more detailed example with pics can be found here: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=108340.0

===The pump method===

The pumping method uses one or more [[screw pump|pumps]] to keep an area dry long enough to smooth or [[wall]] off the sides, stopping the flow of water. It requires no special environment or resources, other than wood and dwarves (and patience). Most commonly, a modestly-sized section of the aquifer layer is channeled out and several screw pumps are built facing it. Directly behind each of the screw pumps a few tiles are channeled out to receive and dispose of the pumped water. When the pumps are activated, they should pump water faster than the aquifer can produce it, allowing masons to smooth or build walls around your future staircase. You ''will'' get job cancellations during this process, as stray 2/7's of water interrupt the building process. Just unsuspend the construction when this happens, as long a dwarf manages to touch the wall before canceling, it will move incrementally toward completion and eventually finish. Depending on the availability of screw pumps and dwarves, you may need to wall off one corner or side at a time, then move the pumps and repeat. When drilling through more than one aquifer layer, be sure to leave yourself enough room to build additional layers of pumps and water disposal channels on lower levels.

Things to consider:
* Flowing water will cause parents to drop their infants, leading to job cancellations and occasionally [[fun]].
* The smaller your work area, the less water your dwarves will have to remove and the faster construction will finish. For a single-layer soil aquifer, you only need to mine five tiles (your stairway and walls directly North, South, East, and West of it); single-layer stone aquifers require only a single tile be channeled.
* Mechanical [[power]] may come in handy, but dwarf power works just fine and is much more portable.
* Channels can sometimes be used in place of walls, causing water produced by the aquifer on one level to immediately fall and be consumed by the aquifer on the level below.
* This method may take a while.
* Aquifers do not create water in diagonal tiles, but do create water in hollow tiles directly below them. Therefore, you will want to dig two z-levels below the lowest aquifer layer before continuing with your fortress.

==== Specific pump methods in detail ====

QuantumMenace's [[double-slit method]] can pierce an aquifer of any depth using only wood and dwarven labor. Taken from [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=79224.15 this forum post].

Earlier in the same thread, Hans Lemurson laid out a very dwarfy method that can also pierce aquifers of any depth, using several pumps and machinery. [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=79224.0#msg2058307 Find it here].

A convenient method without job cancellation using a [[pump stack]] was presented by kingubu in [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=143064.0 this forum post], see [[Pump-stack_method]]

===The freezing method===

If you are playing in a freezing or very cold landscape, where it snows in winter and instantly freezes water on the map, you can dig out a 3x3 hole in the ground using [[channel]]s, and make it deeper and deeper until you reach the aquifer level. Once you reach the damp rock, tunnel into it with up/down staircases, then channel out the downstairs, the exposed water will turn to ice, digging the up/downstairs before channeling allows the tiles to safely fill with 7/7 water before being frozen, this avoids the hazard of miners being encased in ice and avoids a bug(?) where frozen water which is less than 7/7 deep does not produce a floor above it. The central square of the 3x3 hole should be tunnelable ice, so you can get to the rock beneath.

If your fortress is in a zone that gets warm, build walls around the inside of the hole to stop the water coming in once the ice melts. In order to build a wall around a 1x1 staircase it will be necessary to have a 5x5 hole, since you need to leave an outer ring of ice to seal the aquifer.

If the aquifer is multiple layers deep you will need to start with a sufficiently large hole to account for both an ice wall to seal the aquifer and a constructed wall to seal the ice wall for each layer of the aquifer. A pump based method might be preferable.

As an alternative to building a second wall to seal the ice wall, you can establish a drain into the caverns, and build a constructed wall when the melt comes.

===The magma/obsidian method===

If you have access to a supply of magma, you can create your own obsidian caissons. By channeling into the aquifer layer and then filling these channels with magma, or by digging staircases and pouring magma down the staircases, it is possible to create a wall of obsidian between your working area and the [[water]]-bearing rock or [[soil]]. However, changes to world generation with the last version have made this method more difficult than it once was, as it is now harder to find magma vents that extend above the aquifer level.

===The drainage method===

Having made an initial hole in the aquifer, you may wish to punch another larger hole through, say for example to grow wild strawberries in the caverns. Or you may simply want an additional (natural stone!) staircase. Once you have access from below this is much easier than digging from above, and it has the additional benefit of producing a shaft of exactly the size you want.

Locate the caverns and dig a drainage shaft of up/down stairs or downward stairs up from the caverns to the aquifer (downward stairs function as grates and are far safer than channeling). Once the drainage shaft is complete punch the shaft up through the aquifer (using up/down stairs) until you hit dry dirt. Now mine out the walls around the shaft and build constructed walls to seal the aquifer. It's even faster if the walls are dug out using down stairs instead, constructed walls can be built on the stairs and water falls straight through, thus construction can always be started and is never suspended. Always build the walls from the highest layer down, so the dwarves aren't having water dumped on them from above.

This method can be used to create arbitrarily large (and shaped) holes. Large holes, which would be impractical to dig from above, are very easy using this technique. It's also extremely useful for digging straight shafts through "layercake" aquifers where aquifer tiles and non-aquifer tiles are intermixed.

Just be very aware that your framerate is bound to suffer, if you are not fast with plugging the aquifer walls.

===The Chicken Run Technique===

An extremely risky variation of the above is to have a reasonably fast/skilled miner dig a set of up/down staircases faster than the water from the aquifer can actually fall down the stairs and block movement into the mining tile.

If you can hit the caverns, you can drain the water out into the caverns, and build walls into the aquifer as per the drainage method.

If you fail to mine fast enough, or if you miss the caverns, your miner might be able to simply walk up the stairs to safety, and you can just try another shaft, or your miner might <s>drown</s> have fun.

===The modding method===

By editing the raws and removing the [AQUIFER] tag from all of the appropriate entries in inorganic_stone_layer.txt, inorganic_stone_mineral.txt, and inorganic_stone_soil.txt it is possible to remove all aquifers from the world. This can be done before creating a new world or after, if you find a particularly neat location ruined only by the presence of an aquifer. In order to modify an existing world, you must delete the [AQUIFER] tag from the raws in the savegame's folder.

===== Command-line (Linux/OS X) =====

cd df_linux/raw/objects/
sed -i 's/\[AQUIFER\]/(AQUIFER)/g' inorganic_stone_*.txt

and generate world. To edit an already generated world, run the <code>sed</code> command in the <tt>df_linux/data/save/''regionNN''/raw/objects</tt> folder instead.

OS X requires an argument to the <code>-i</code> flag, which is used as an extension to create backup files:

sed -i '.backup' 's/\[AQUIFER\]/(AQUIFER)/g' inorganic_stone_*.txt

If you want to restore the tags later, you can do it with the command:

sed -i 's/(AQUIFER)/[AQUIFER]/g' inorganic_stone_*.txt

=====Text editor (All operating systems)=====

Find the files in Dwarf Fortress/raw/objects (new world) or Dwarf Fortress/data/save/''regionNN''/raw/objects (already saved world).

Open the three files with a text editor (e.g. Notepad). (inorganic_stone_layer.txt, inorganic_stone_mineral.txt, and inorganic_stone_soil.txt)

Use Edit->Replace, and replace [AQUIFER] with (AQUIFER). (Use 'Replace All').

To restore the tags later, do the same in reverse. (Replacing (AQUIFER) with [AQUIFER]).

== Benefits of aquifers ==
While annoying, aquifers can be useful for building a self-sufficient fortress, and for water-related [[megaprojects]]. Since an aquifer can absorb an infinite amount of water, it can function as a drain for anything above it. For instance, digging a pit in a lower Z level of an aquifer, then connecting it to a breached aquifer a level above through a channel dug a level above ''that'' will create a permanently flowing, compact, secure water/power source completely contained within the fortress.

Aquifers outside [[ocean]] biomes also contain fresh water. Since aquifers are almost always located close to the surface, freshwater aquifers can easily be turned into a source of infinite, secure, non-freezing drinking water for your dwarves, eliminating the need for a [[Reservoir|cistern]]. While both of these roles can also be filled by [[Caverns|cavern]] features, an aquifer allows you to get the same advantages without exposing yourself to potentially dangerous cavern creatures.

== External links ==

* [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=79224.15 QuantumMenace's two-slit method] for breaching aquifers of any depth - Illustrated guide
* [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=141600 Hatch trick] described with ascii art.
{{World}}

Goblin

2014-12-07T15:55:49Z

Ketsuban: /* Behavior */

{{Quality|Exceptional|19:17, 13 August 2014 (UTC)}}
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Goblins are intelligent, evil, aggressive humanoid creatures that live in mountains, and are the main opponent in [[fortress mode]]. They often establish settlements in [[Dark fortress|Dark Fortresses]] within regions touched by evil, though it may be hard for some to imagine that goblins are capable of building those obsidian monoliths. They are also playable as adventurers. They quickly become a threat to the great majority of fortresses - except some island or mountain forts.

Goblins will start harassing a fortress early in its life, first with babysnatchers and ambushes, and later with [[siege]]s. Goblin babysnatchers carry a bag for their purpose. Their soldiers are commonly armed with [[copper]] and [[iron]] [[armor]], as well copper, iron and silver [[weapon]]s, generally with no quality levels unless on weaponmasters. These items can be a valuable source of metals for fortresses that embarked on metal-scarce areas (leading some players to refer to the plunder from a defeated goblin attack as [[Goblinite]]). Defeating a majority of an attacking force usually sends the rest of them running.

==Ethics==

Goblins show the least concern for [[ethics]] out of any race in the game, with the sole exception being that treason is punishable by death (which currently has no effect on successful attempts to bump off a leader). It appears that goblins do not enforce punishment, but instead simply ignore crimes and leave any punishment to be determined by the parties involved. It is because of their acceptance of controversial acts that goblins become enemies with nearly every other race. For example, goblins find the torture of animals, the butchering and consuming of sapient beings, oath breaking, and general malice acceptable or consider it a personal matter. Invading goblins are even willing to attack other goblins lounging around at your fortress{{Verify}}.

Goblins tend to inevitably receive a visit from the [[Hell|circus]] during worldgen, their new ringleader taking over after dealing with the prior ruler. This could imply the reason behind their particular (lack of) ethics, except for the obvious fact that goblins in younger worlds will act the same.

Goblins consider power to be of the utmost importance. They also value cunning, independence and martial prowess. Goblins dislike peace, perseverance, hard work, tranquility, cooperation, tradition, decorum and friendship. They don't at all value loyalty, introspection, eloquence, harmony or nature. Goblins abhor law, truth, self-control, fairness and sacrifice.

==Behavior==

In [[Adventurer mode]], "goblin" settlements will sometimes be completely goblin-free, having been displaced by the descendants of children that were captured in ages past. In this respect, whilst they're a goblin ''faction'', they're populated purely by prisoners and brainwashed humanoids.

While aggressive, goblins are notably cowardly. Although they're brutal and sadistic, they will not hold the line against a superior force and are more than willing to sacrifice their wounded comrades in a badly organized retreat. Their strength generally comes from pure numbers, as they're usually weaker than a dwarf one on one (a notable exception is their weapon lords and masters, who can be VERY talented in warfare.)

Interestingly enough, Goblins are effectively immortal, dying only from conflict.

Some <s>traitors</s> dwarves like goblins for their terrifying features.

{{D for Dwarf}}
Despite their bloodthirsty, selfish, unsympathetic and cruel nature, goblins are also recognized as a benevolent and merciful race in some aspects. Goblin Baby-Snatchers claim moral superiority by rescuing innocent lives from the slavery of making [[finished goods|rock trumpets]] until they are eaten by a [[giant cave spider]]. Atrocities such as the so-called [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=91093.0 dwarven day care] institution also spur snatchers to rescue the children from constant abuse. Goblin [[Siege]]s are considered to be a form of mass mercy killings, as a fort can die in the most horrific of ways, such as [[tantrum spiral|social disagreement]]s, an infestation of [[Cat|parasitic organisms]] (some [[Noble|masquerading as dwarve]]s) or worst of all: a visit from the [[Hell|circus]].

In addition, dwarven science has proven that the violence between Goblins and Dwarves does, in fact, start on a purely instinctual level. Leaving a goblin and dwarven child locked in a room together will result in them kicking, punching, and biting each other to death the moment they notice each other. Whether this natural animosity stems from centuries of war or opposing viewpoints on the treatment of children has yet to be determined.

{{gamedata}}
{{Creatures}}
{{Category|Races}}
{{Category|Humanoids}}

Alpaca

2014-12-06T11:59:38Z

Ketsuban:

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|meat=12
|fat=12
|skull=1
|lung=2
|intestine=1
|spleen=1
|kidney=2
|brain=1
|heart=1
|liver=1
|tripe=1
|sweetbread=1
|skin=hide
|wool=7
|nerves=1
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'''Alpacas''' are common domestic livestock available to most any civilization. Alpacas can be [[shearer|sheared]] to yield [[wool]], which can be used to make low-value [[cloth]]. In addition to the standard [[meat industry]] products, alpacas also supply wool when [[butcher]]ed.

Female alpacas can be milked, and that [[milk]] can then be [[cook]]ed or made into [[cheese]].

As [[grazer]]s, alpacas require a moderately-sized [[pasture]] to survive; however they eat far less grass than [[cow|cattle]], and make an excellent base animal for combined meat, cheese, and cloth industries.

Alpaca wool is equivalent in value to the wool of all other shearable creatures.

Some dwarves [[preference|like]] alpacas for their ''long necks'', their ''jutting teeth'', their ''wool'', and their ''resemblance to a miniature [[llama]]''.

== In Real Life ==

In real life, alpacas are bred and kept for their highly valuable wool, which is prized for its softness and color. It is commonly referred to as "The fiber of the Gods" due to its silk-like feeling.

[[File:Alpacas_Sillustani_(pixinn.net)_cropped.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Admired for their ''long necks''.]]

{{Gamedata}}
{{Creatures}}
{{Category|Animals}}

Mead hall

2014-12-06T10:15:42Z

Ketsuban:

{{quality|Tattered}}{{av}}

A '''mead hall''' is a structure built by [[human]]s, serving as the seat of local government for a [[hamlet]]. Mead halls are built separately from the houses of the hamlet itself, and may be near the rest of the buildings or on the edge of town. On the fast travel map, they resemble a 3x3 block of housing with yellow roads, but unlike houses the entire area can be the traveled through. An especially young site may not yet have a mead hall constructed.

The stone building itself consists of one or more floors divided into rooms, with the entryway being the [[throne]]room of the local lord. As with keeps, various rooms will have assorted items and equipment laying around for any adventurer to take. The local ruler and his/her retainers reside in these buildings. Mead halls also tend to be much more expansive than the building within a keep, but they also lack any fortified walls with towers surrounding it.

When creating a human adventurer, choosing to start as a hearthperson in a hamlet will start you off as a member of the local mead hall's soldiers.

{{D for Dwarf}}

Sadly, unlike the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mead_hall real-life inspiration for the structure], there aren't any [[dining room]]s in which to drink [[mead]].

{{Category|Adventurer mode}}

Quickstart guide/Preparing carefully

2014-12-05T04:13:50Z

Ketsuban: /* Medical Supplies */

{{quality|Exceptional|23:57, 25 February 2013 (UTC)}}{{av}}

{{quickstart|advanced=Starting build}}

'''This part is completely optional''' and only applies if you selected
{{DFtext|Prepare for the journey carefully}}. More in-depth discussion is available on the [[Embark]] and [[Starting build]] wiki pages.

==Preparing Carefully==
Since we know certain things about our first site, we can choose our [[skill]]s and equipment knowing what to expect. [[Metal industry|Metal]] will be our primary industry. We won't be hit too hard by enemies right off the bat, so we can concentrate on civilian skills and supplies.

==Chopping and Digging==
Our starting location will have [[Wood]], so we don't need to bring a bunch with us. We will need something to chop down [[tree]]s though, and something to [[dig]] with: [[Pick#Picks|picks]] and an [[axe]].

One copper axe, and two copper picks should suffice to start. Actually a wooden [[training weapon|training axe]] will also chop down a tree, but will be worthless in battle, and you might want at least one real weapon with which to start.

In order to spend fewer points in this domain you can [[make your own weapons]]! It's quite easy, as soon as you know how metalsmithing works. If you don't you should take already made weapons.

==Food and Drink==
Sixty [[Alcohol|drinks]] and forty [[food]] should be enough to see you through until you can produce your own, even if you get large waves of [[immigrant]]s right off the bat. Skip dwarven wine, as that's the very first sort of alcohol you will be producing, from [[Plump helmet]]s, and you will be making a lot of it.

==Seeds==
Five to ten of each type of [[seed]] will be enough to start you off farming, though you may want additional plump helmet spawn.

==Medical Supplies==
As for medical supplies, you can easily make your own [[crutch]]es and [[splint]]s, but you may want to bring along a small amount of [[Thread]], [[Cloth]], and [[Gypsum plaster]] for stitching up dwarves and making casts as these are more difficult to produce initially.

==Other Supplies==
You want at least one [[Rope]], for making a [[Well]]. You could produce your own once you have either metalworking or pig-tail farming and processing set up, but you may want a well before that. They are also useful for chaining animals up near your entrance as a warning system, but this can also be done without ropes in the latest versions (using the [[Pasture]] system).

Bring an [[Anvil]] to set up your first forge. Without anvils, you have the chicken-and-egg problem that you need an anvil to make an anvil. Therefore it is critical to bring an anvil if you plan to make a forge. Otherwise you will have to wait for a [[caravan]] to show up with one and trade for it, and this could take a long time.

==Animals==
You also might want to take two or three [[dog]]s and a breeding pair of [[cat]]s. The dogs can help you hunt and fight if you train them, and the cats catch vermin that infest your food supply. However, cats may not be a good choice for beginners due to the risk of a catastrophic [[catsplosion]]. Both can keep dwarves happy as pets. And in a pinch, they can both make a tasty snack.

Female [[Domestic_animal#Comparison_of_domestic_poultry|birds]] can also be brought to produce [[egg]]s, which are another easy means of acquiring food for your dwarves. Birds are extremely cheap to bring at embark. (You will eventually need to set up a [[nest box]] for the bird to lay eggs in.)

==Skills==
As for dwarves, choosing certain skills will make your life much, much easier starting off. It is recommended that you start with dwarves with at least some points in the following skills:
*[[Carpentry]]
*[[Masonry]]
*[[Architecture|Building Design]]
*[[Mechanic]]
*[[Grower|Farming]] ("Grower")
*[[Cooking]]
*[[Brewing]].

If you chose a site with flowing water, [[fishing]] can help keep your fort fed early on. If not, [[Ambusher|hunting]] can do the same, but keep in mind that safe hunting requires a lot of micromanagement. Your hunters will happily stalk and attack elephants, cougars, and other dangerous animals before they have the skills necessary to deal with them. Fisherdwarves, on the other hand, really only need to worry about [[alligator]]s and [[crocodile]]s (which may not even appear in your [[biome]]).

[[Leatherworker]] can be another useful skill, especially if you hunt or raise animals. If not, your first caravan will likely show up with tons of cheap leather. Leather makes good armor for your marksdwarves, as it is light weight and won't slow them down too much.

Finally, as your economy will be centered around metals, you should choose a metalworking skill, probably [[armorsmith]] but [[weaponsmith]] is also a good choice.

You will probably want one dwarf with medical skills, and another with crucial social skills. For your doctor, put one point into each of [[wound dresser]], [[diagnosis|diagnostician]], [[surgery|surgeon]], [[bone doctor]], and [[suturing|suturer]]. For your leader-dwarf, put one point into [[judge of intent]], [[appraiser]], [[organizer]], and [[record keeper]].

===Intermediate===

Another way to start out, for intermediate players, is to give one dwarf [[organizer]] skills, one [[record keeper]], one [[diagnostician]], one [[appraiser]], and one [[mason]]. The remaining three will be as follows: one dwarf with a melee skill and perhaps [[leader]] skill, one with proficient [[miner]] skill and [[carpenter]], and one with [[mason]] and [[woodcutter]]. This allows for a quick-start fortress with all the starting [[noble]]s, two masons, and one skilled miner. Food stocks should be fine, as you can appoint one of your nobles to be a temporary farmer until the next [[migrant]] wave comes with all the [[peasant]]s and workers.

Aquifer

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Ketsuban: This contradicted the Benefits section; I tested and determined that an aquifer will always give freshwater outside of ocean biomes.

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An '''aquifer''' is a subterranean layer of [[water|groundwater]]-bearing rock or [[soil]]. Attempts to mine through the layer will result in the mined-out squares immediately filling with [[water]], effectively halting excavation at or below the aquifer level. This, in conjunction with the fact that they are often located in areas rich in [[loam]], and [[sand]], makes it difficult to find great quantities of [[stone]] in areas with aquifers, making for more challenging gameplay.

Aquifers can't be drained - the groundwater is limitless. In stone aquifer layers, [[smoothing]] the walls will stop the production of water. Aquifers do not only produce water - an aquifer tile will absorb any amount of pressurized water from neighboring tiles (effectively draining all layers above the aquifer). As with water production, this ability will not be disabled no matter how much water it absorbs.

Aquifers located in [[ocean]] [[biome]]s will produce salty water; aquifers in other biomes will produce freshwater.

== Where they are found ==

Aquifers appear based on the elevation of the terrain. Low elevations, particularly those near rivers and oceans are more prone to having an aquifer present, while locations closer to mountains are much less likely, but still possible.

Layers which '''can''' contain aquifers:
*[[sandy clay loam]]
*[[silty clay loam]]
*[[loam]]
*[[sandy loam]]
*[[silt loam]]
*[[loamy sand]]
*[[silt]]
*[[sand (tan)|sand]]
*[[yellow sand]]
*[[white sand]]
*[[black sand]]
*[[red sand]]
*[[peat]]
*[[pelagic clay]]
*[[calcareous ooze]]
*[[siliceous ooze]]
*[[sandstone]]
*[[conglomerate]]
*[[puddingstone]]
Layers which '''can't''' contain aquifers, despite their names suggesting otherwise:
*[[clay]]
*[[silty clay]]
*[[sandy clay]]
*[[clay loam]]
*[[siltstone]]
*[[mudstone]]

== What they do ==

Aquifers are tiles which produce water in their ''neighboring'' tiles -- north, south, east, west, and below. They do not produce water in the tile above them, or any diagonal tiles. Note that [[smoothing|smoothed]], mined, or channeled aquifer tiles no longer produce water.

If you are digging an up/down staircase in the downward direction, and you hit an aquifer, the aquifer tile will be revealed as damp soil or stone, and the digging job will be un-designated for that tile. If you are mining horizontally, you will similarly be warned of a "damp stone" before breaching the aquifer.

If you are digging an up/down staircase in the ''upward'' direction, or a ramp, and you hit an aquifer from below, the aquifer tile will immediately start producing water in the stairwell, thus leading to a lot of [[Fun]].

== Dealing with aquifers ==

===Probing an aquifer===

You can discover what layer lies below an aquifer layer by digging up/down stairs into the aquifer. This will reveal the tile below the aquifer layer, and if this is non aquifer (for example, clay, ore or bedrock) then you know the aquifer is only 1z deep at that location. This method can only be used to determine whether the aquifer is 1 layer deep, or multiple layers deep, but this is enough to help plan how to penetrate it. Using a pump-based method is highly recommended for multiple layer aquifers.

===Going around===

If your embark site is covered by multiple biomes, there is a chance the aquifer is not present in every biome. In some maps this may be indicated by an outcropping of stone in a landscape otherwise composed of soil; in other maps the change in biome might be visible as a change in soil type or vegetation type or density. You might be able to dig down through a biome that doesn't have an aquifer, to a Z-level below the aquifer, and then (if you wish) tunnel beneath the aquifer to the previously inaccessible region.

Even if all the biomes of your site contain aquifers, they might not all be at the same Z-level. So you still might be able to dig down in one biome, reaching a Z-level beneath the aquifer in another biome.

Additionally, if your biome contains deep cliffs, for instance in the form of a river gorge, it may be possible to build a staircase down the side of the gorge past the aquifer.

===The double slit method===
{{Main|Double-slit method}}
This is one of the most commonly-used methods, due to its convenience and power. It was originally developed by QuantumMenace, and is also mentioned below under [[#The pump method|the pump method]].

=== The hatch trick ===
The hatch trick is a simple method for putting one or two dwarves through a single aquifer layer, this is not be mistaken with only working for a single layer aquifer, you can use the trick to essentially bypass the problematic final layer of a multi-layer aquifer, allowing access to the rock layers and caverns before you've put a sealed staircase through the aquifer.

First you must dig a pair of up/down stairs into the aquifer (i.e. as in twin slit), while draining one of the tiles with a screw pump, simply build a hatch on the tile (the hatch must be built on a downstairs or up/down stairs for the trick to work). Once the hatch is constructed, with the pump still operating, designate an up/down staircase under the hatch, a miner will dig the staircase out while standing 'on top' of the hatch, he can then pass through the hatch to continue digging, the hatch will let 1-2 water through with him before closing and preventing further water from following the miner. The miner is now safely under the aquifer and can dig down to the caverns or to the map edge and establish a drain, allowing you to use the much faster [[#The drainage method|drainage from below method]] to finish penetrating the aquifer. This can save a lot of time for multiple-layer aquifers where the final layer is sand. It is also quicker and cleaner than cave-in for single layer aquifers if you plan to extend a staircase straight down to the caverns anyway (making the drain essentially free).

===The ore method===

On maps where the aquifer is not held in a layer of soil, but instead is held in a [[sedimentary layer]] such as sandstone, it may be possible to tunnel down through deposits of ore such as [[magnetite]]. For this to work you have to find a spot where there is coincidentally an ore deposit on each Z-level you need to dig through. This is only possible through tiresome trial and error, or through the use of a utility like DFHack's <tt>reveal</tt>. The trial and error method can be accomplished somewhat more easily by digging up/down stairs to reveal the layer underneath them without actually digging into the underlying layer. This method is more complicated with aquifers located in layers of [[conglomerate]], as large clusters of [[puddingstone]] will support the aquifer and thus cannot be used to provide a path through it.

===The cave-in method===

Conceptually this method involves removing the aquifer-bearing sand, soil or rock using channeling, and then dropping an island of dry sand, soil or clay into the resulting pond, a staircase can then be dug through the center of the resulting artificial island. This requires at least 2 natural dry layers.

This does not work with [[construction|constructed]] walls since they deconstruct on cave-in.

'''Note:''' There is a bug that may prevent this method from working, collapsed layers may turn into the aquifer layer type that was dug out at that level. So, for example: We have three layers, layer 1 has the caving in section, and is not an aquifer. Layer 2 is a dug out layer that is also not an aquifer. And Layer 3 which is dug out and is an aquifer. Now, the bug, say layer 1's cave-in section lands on layer 3's dug out area, sometimes layer 1's caved in section may change into layer 3's soil type. Making it an aquifer too. Thus making the cave-in method impossible for that area.

====Cave-In Example====

[[File:Aquifer-Plug.png|frame|none|Note: Side View]]

*Dig stairs down to the aquifer. Dig over the aquifer layer but under your "plug". You'll need a 5x5 landmass. (Slide 2)
*Channel out the area the plug will fall into. (Slide 3)
*Leave a single floor tile on top of the plug and dig out the outer layer of your plug. The plug should be a 3x3 landmass now. The single floor tile must keep the plug from falling. (Slide 3)
*Channel out the floor tile holding up the plug. (Slides 4 & 5)
*Construct floor tiles to reach the plug and dig through the middle to get under the aquifer. (Slide 6)

====Cave-In Method for Multiple Layers====

If you build many rings inside one another in your top drop layer, you can breach multi-level aquifers with as little as 2 natural layers of dry soil above it. Drop the rings from the outside to the inside using constructed arms to hold the center rings in place. Once a ring drops into the water below it, pump out the water in the center and dig down another layer. When that is complete, drop the next ring and continue the process until you are through. Since you start dropping rings from the outside it is necessary to know how many levels deep the aquifer is before you begin.<br>
Tutorial for more than one Aquifier can be found here: [[User:Rhenaya/HowtoDualAquifer]]

A more detailed example with pics can be found here: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=108340.0

===The pump method===

The pumping method uses one or more [[screw pump|pumps]] to keep an area dry long enough to smooth or [[wall]] off the sides, stopping the flow of water. It requires no special environment or resources, other than wood and dwarves (and patience). Most commonly, a modestly-sized section of the aquifer layer is channeled out and several screw pumps are built facing it. Directly behind each of the screw pumps a few tiles are channeled out to receive and dispose of the pumped water. When the pumps are activated, they should pump water faster than the aquifer can produce it, allowing masons to smooth or build walls around your future staircase. You ''will'' get job cancellations during this process, as stray 2/7's of water interrupt the building process. Just unsuspend the construction when this happens, as long a dwarf manages to touch the wall before canceling, it will move incrementally toward completion and eventually finish. Depending on the availability of screw pumps and dwarves, you may need to wall off one corner or side at a time, then move the pumps and repeat. When drilling through more than one aquifer layer, be sure to leave yourself enough room to build additional layers of pumps and water disposal channels on lower levels.

Things to consider:
* Flowing water will cause parents to drop their infants, leading to job cancellations and occasionally [[fun]].
* The smaller your work area, the less water your dwarves will have to remove and the faster construction will finish. For a single-layer soil aquifer, you only need to mine five tiles (your stairway and walls directly North, South, East, and West of it); single-layer stone aquifers require only a single tile be channeled.
* Mechanical [[power]] may come in handy, but dwarf power works just fine and is much more portable.
* Channels can sometimes be used in place of walls, causing water produced by the aquifer on one level to immediately fall and be consumed by the aquifer on the level below.
* This method may take a while.
* Aquifers do not create water in diagonal tiles, but do create water in hollow tiles directly below them. Therefore, you will want to dig two z-levels below the lowest aquifer layer before continuing with your fortress.

==== Specific pump methods in detail ====

QuantumMenace's [[DF2012:Double-slit_method|double-slit method]] can pierce an aquifer of any depth using only wood and dwarven labor. Taken from [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=79224.15 this forum post].

Earlier in the same thread, Hans Lemurson laid out a very dwarfy method that can also pierce aquifers of any depth, using several pumps and machinery. [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=79224.0#msg2058307 Find it here].

A convenient method without job cancellation using a [[pump stack]] was presented by kingubu in [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=143064.0 this forum post], see [[Pump-stack_method]]

===The freezing method===

If you are playing in a freezing or very cold landscape, where it snows in winter and instantly freezes water on the map, you can dig out a 3x3 hole in the ground using [[channel]]s, and make it deeper and deeper until you reach the aquifer level. Once you reach the damp rock, tunnel into it with up/down staircases, then channel out the downstairs, the exposed water will turn to ice, digging the up/downstairs before channeling allows the tiles to safely fill with 7/7 water before being frozen, this avoids the hazard of miners being encased in ice and avoids a bug(?) where frozen water which is less than 7/7 deep does not produce a floor above it. The central square of the 3x3 hole should be tunnelable ice, so you can get to the rock beneath.

If your fortress is in a zone that gets warm, build walls around the inside of the hole to stop the water coming in once the ice melts. In order to build a wall around a 1x1 staircase it will be necessary to have a 5x5 hole, since you need to leave an outer ring of ice to seal the aquifer.

If the aquifer is multiple layers deep you will need to start with a sufficiently large hole to account for both an ice wall to seal the aquifer and a constructed wall to seal the ice wall for each layer of the aquifer. A pump based method might be preferable.

As an alternative to building a second wall to seal the ice wall, you can establish a drain into the caverns, and build a constructed wall when the melt comes.

===The magma/obsidian method===

If you have access to a supply of magma, you can create your own obsidian caissons. By channeling into the aquifer layer and then filling these channels with magma, or by digging staircases and pouring magma down the staircases, it is possible to create a wall of obsidian between your working area and the [[water]]-bearing rock or [[soil]]. However, changes to world generation with the last version have made this method more difficult than it once was, as it is now harder to find magma vents that extend above the aquifer level.

===The drainage method===

Having made an initial hole in the aquifer, you may wish to punch another larger hole through, say for example to grow wild strawberries in the caverns. Or you may simply want an additional (natural stone!) staircase. Once you have access from below this is much easier than digging from above, and it has the additional benefit of producing a shaft of exactly the size you want.

Locate the caverns and dig a drainage shaft of up/down stairs or downward stairs up from the caverns to the aquifer (downward stairs function as grates and are far safer than channeling). Once the drainage shaft is complete punch the shaft up through the aquifer (using up/down stairs) until you hit dry dirt. Now mine out the walls around the shaft and build constructed walls to seal the aquifer. It's even faster if the walls are dug out using down stairs instead, constructed walls can be built on the stairs and water falls straight through, thus construction can always be started and is never suspended. Always build the walls from the highest layer down, so the dwarves aren't having water dumped on them from above.

This method can be used to create arbitrarily large (and shaped) holes. Large holes, which would be impractical to dig from above, are very easy using this technique. It's also extremely useful for digging straight shafts through "layercake" aquifers where aquifer tiles and non-aquifer tiles are intermixed.

Just be very aware that your framerate is bound to suffer, if you are not fast with plugging the aquifer walls.

===The Chicken Run Technique===

An extremely risky variation of the above is to have a reasonably fast/skilled miner dig a set of up/down staircases faster than the water from the aquifer can actually fall down the stairs and block movement into the mining tile.

If you can hit the caverns, you can drain the water out into the caverns, and build walls into the aquifer as per the drainage method.

If you fail to mine fast enough, or if you miss the caverns, your miner might be able to simply walk up the stairs to safety, and you can just try another shaft, or your miner might <s>drown</s> have fun.

===The modding method===

By editing the raws and removing the [AQUIFER] tag from all of the appropriate entries in inorganic_stone_layer.txt, inorganic_stone_mineral.txt, and inorganic_stone_soil.txt it is possible to remove all aquifers from the world. This can be done before creating a new world or after, if you find a particularly neat location ruined only by the presence of an aquifer. In order to modify an existing world, you must delete the [AQUIFER] tag from the raws in the savegame's folder.

===== Command-line (Linux/OS X) =====

cd df_linux/raw/objects/
sed -i 's/\[AQUIFER\]/(AQUIFER)/g' inorganic_stone_*.txt

and generate world. To edit an already generated world, run the <code>sed</code> command in the <tt>df_linux/data/save/''regionNN''/raw/objects</tt> folder instead.

OS X requires an argument to the <code>-i</code> flag, which is used as an extension to create backup files:

sed -i '.backup' 's/\[AQUIFER\]/(AQUIFER)/g' inorganic_stone_*.txt

If you want to restore the tags later, you can do it with the command:

sed -i 's/(AQUIFER)/[AQUIFER]/g' inorganic_stone_*.txt

=====Text editor (All operating systems)=====

Find the files in Dwarf Fortress/raw/objects (new world) or Dwarf Fortress/data/save/''regionNN''/raw/objects (already saved world).

Open the three files with a text editor (e.g. Notepad). (inorganic_stone_layer.txt, inorganic_stone_mineral.txt, and inorganic_stone_soil.txt)

Use Edit->Replace, and replace [AQUIFER] with (AQUIFER). (Use 'Replace All').

To restore the tags later, do the same in reverse. (Replacing (AQUIFER) with [AQUIFER]).

== Benefits of aquifers ==
While annoying, aquifers can be useful for building a self-sufficient fortress, and for water-related [[megaprojects]]. Since an aquifer can absorb an infinite amount of water, it can function as a drain for anything above it. For instance, digging a pit in a lower Z level of an aquifer, then connecting it to a breached aquifer a level above through a channel dug a level above ''that'' will create a permanently flowing, compact, secure water/power source completely contained within the fortress.

Aquifers outside [[ocean]] biomes also contain fresh water. Since aquifers are almost always located close to the surface, freshwater aquifers can easily be turned into a source of infinite, secure, non-freezing drinking water for your dwarves, eliminating the need for a [[Reservoir|cistern]]. While both of these roles can also be filled by [[Caverns|cavern]] features, an aquifer allows you to get the same advantages without exposing yourself to potentially dangerous cavern creatures.

== External links ==

* [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=79224.15 QuantumMenace's two-slit method] for breaching aquifers of any depth - Illustrated guide
* [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=141600 Hatch trick] described with ascii art.
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