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Embark

2023-01-19T15:04:38Z

Kyrosive: /* Supplies */ corrected previous edit from run-on to bullet-point

{{migrated article}}
{{Quality|Unrated}}
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[[File:embark_prev.jpg|301px|right]]'''Embark''' is the time at the very beginning of [[Fortress mode]] before actual gameplay begins (but after [[World generation|generating a world]]), when you and your initial [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Dwarfs 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 wagonful of supplies.

==Choosing a Site==
The main considerations to keep in mind when [[Site finder|choosing a site]] are: the presence of aquifers, the availability of wood, ores, and 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 16×16 grid of embark area tiles (each representing 48×48 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.

Currently, an embark must be entirely within a tile on the "Region" view. This restriction will be removed in the future. [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf//index.php?topic=169696.msg8341484#msg8341484]

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 48×48 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]]. When there's more than one biome in the embark location you'll be able to press F1, F2, etc to see their specifics.

====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, being devoid of trees, and lacking a river. Very hot climates may see all their 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 [[seed]]s for some very helpful above-ground [[crops]] which are generally only available through [[trading]] with Elves.

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

[[File:non_embark_area.png|thumb|300px|right|A red overlay, showing an area a player can't embark on.]]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 axis 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. As of v50, if there are metal ores, the metals are directly named instead of vague reports of ''Shallow metal(s)'' and/or ''Deep metal(s)''. [[Flux]] is also reported if present; you can now guarantee yourself the raw materials for a [[steel]] industry if you embark on an area with both flux and [[iron]].

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 also reported here as of v50.

====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 or "WAR". The latter means you will get [[siege]]d by that race, while "------" stands only for diplomatic hostility (usually from baby snatching in worldgen). They'll still siege (eventually), and the first time they do will constitute a declaration of war{{verify}}. 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!===
[[File:Embark krugg2.jpg|thumb|Venture forth]]

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]]: Proficient Miner, Skilled Appraiser, and Novice Judge of Intent
* [[Woodworker]]: Proficient Carpenter, Competent Woodcutter, Novice Bowyer, and Novice Wood Burner
* [[Stoneworker]]: Proficient Mason, Adequate Stonecutter, Adequate Stone Carver, and Novice Engraver
* [[Metalcrafter]]: Proficient Metal Crafter, and either Proficient Stone Crafter or Competent Gem Cutter and Adequate Gem Setter {{verify}}
* [[Fisherdwarf]]: Proficient Fisherdwarf, and Proficient Fighter
* [[Planter]]: Proficient Planter, and Proficient Record Keeper
* [[Expedition leader|Expedition Leader]]: Adequate Organizer, Adequate Persuader, Adequate Negotiator, Adequate Conversationalist, Novice Liar, and Novice Intimidator

The default embark value for a custom embark is 1504 embark points. Either 1104 or 1304 points are spent in [[#Supplies|pre-chosen goods]] (depending on if an iron or steel anvil is used), 54 points in [[dog]]s and [[cat]]s, and 200 or 400 unassigned (depending on if a steel or iron anvil was given). The Play Now! embark only uses either 1158 or 1358 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===
[[File:embark_list_preview.png|thumb|200px|right|Small list of custom-chosen embark items.]]

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 1,504 points, though all but 200 or 400 of these are pre-spent on an array of [[#Supplies|basic equipment]] (the same equipment Play Now! uses). It stands to reason that one should try to maximize the value of their embark by spending all available points. Remember that raw materials cost less embark points than their pre-made counterparts. By preparing carefully it is also possible to [[Fortress name|name]] your fortress and your embark group.

It is possible to change the amount of available embark points when playing via [[DF2014:Advanced world generation|advanced world generation]], where presets can be created and/or customized. The maximum amount of embark points a generation setting can have is 10,000. With DFHack, the command ``points [#]`` (with "[#]" being any number) will set the amount of available embark points to the specified number.

====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}}

At embark, all seven settlers begin with no rank in all skills. Each dwarf can be assigned 10 additional ranks to be allocated however you please among the entire Dwarven skill list – including military – with the restriction that no single skill can be increased beyond 'proficient' (level 5). Therefore, you can trade off specialisation against versatility: each dwarf may be 'proficient' in two skills, or minimally skilled (rank 1, 'Novice') across 10 skills, or anything in between. Not all ranks need be allocated, and since ranks cost points there is a further trade-off to be made against other uses of embark points. The current skill rank is shown to the left of the skill (e.g. Novice), while the point cost of the next rank increment is displayed at the right; novice rank costs 5 points and each subsequent rank costs one additional point (so Adequate costs 6 points, Competent costs 7 points, and so on). Reaching 'Proficient' thus costs a total of 35 points. The most expensive allocation is granting all settlers 'proficient' in two skills; this costs a total of 490 points, which is nearly a third of the total budget. By contrast, allocating each dwarf 'novice' in 10 skills costs only 350 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. Additionally, embarking with Novice or higher skill will automatically enable the corresponding labor, avoiding manual labor assignments upon arrival.

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 reassigned 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
:* 2 Copper [[battle axe]]s
:* 1 Iron [[anvil]] (or steel anvil if your home civilization has no access to iron)
:* 1 [[Wheelbarrow]] (if possible)
:* 1 [[Stepladder]]
:* 60 units dwarven [[alcohol]] (at least 20 each of up to 3 random types, in 12 barrels)
:* 6 bags containing 5 [[seed]]s of each of [[dimple cup]], [[cave wheat]], [[plump helmet]], [[sweet pod]], [[pig tail]], and [[quarry bush]].
:* 15 units of [[meat]] (one random type, 3 stacks of 5 units in 1 barrel)
:* 15 units of [[fish]] (one random type, 3 stacks of 5 units in 1 barrel)
:* 15 units of [[plump helmet]]s (3 stacks of 5 units in 1 barrel)
:* 5 pig tail fiber [[thread]]
:* 5 pig tail fiber [[cloth]]
:* 5 pig tail fiber [[bag]]s
:* 3 pig tail fiber [[rope]]s
:* 3 leather quivers
:* 3 wooden [[bucket]]s
:* 3 wooden [[splint]]s
:* 3 wooden [[crutch]]es
:* 2 female [[dog]]s†
:* 2 female [[cat]]s†
:* 2 random of [[horse]], [[yak]], or [[water buffalo]] (These 2 pack animals are always given and don't cost embark points for players "preparing carefully".)

'''Considering Metals'''
* If your civilization lacks copper or iron (or both), the increased costs for standard-issue metal equipment can eat up the embark point advantage that Prepare Carefully has over Play Now!, but the option to customise point allocation still gives careful preparation an edge.
* Previously, if your home civilization did not have access to copper, you would start with bronze picks and battle axes instead, but there has not been evidence of this occurring since v0.44 of ''Dwarf Fortress''.

'''Considering Materials'''
* When settling on a site with few trees, one should definitely consider bringing extra logs to cover the early demand for beds and such.
* 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.
*Pre-made items (weapons, armor, furniture, etc.) cost more embark points than their constituent raw materials, consider this when maximizing embark efficiency.

'''Considering Animals'''
* Do not overlook the value of bringing animals. Dogs in particular can provide an excellent early warning system, good fighters against [[kobold]]s 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]].

† Cats and dogs are only included by default in the Play Now! package. To start with them when you "Prepare Carefully", you need to go into the pets list to add them.

'''Those Parentheses'''
* All the items (not animals or dwarves) that you are bringing with you from embark will appear with between [[Item_designations#Provenance_.2F_Ownership|parentheses]]. Example: {{dftext|(copper pick)|7:1}}
* Items you manufacture (or obtain by mining/farming/foraging/scavenging) will not have the parentheses.

====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 [[embark_profiles.txt]] and edit in the SKILLS or ITEMS as you want - the syntax is fairly straightforward. [[Embark profile repository]] contains examples of different profiles you can experiment with.

==Embark Strategies==
{{Main|Starting build}}
[[File:Embark krugg.jpg|thumb|Prepare carefully for the hardship ahead.]]

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.

'''FPS''' - often overlooked, this is perhaps the most consequential decision you will make during embark. FPS drops slowly as fortresses get more people, and create more stuff (the game has to simulate all of these people and the stuff they are making). Having a site that takes little resources to simulate can go a long way to mitigating this problem. The major FPS-eaters to look out for are trees (deciduous trees especially, as they shed their leaves annually), and flowing and/or falling water (the latter being worse on FPS). See the article on [[Maximizing framerate]] for considerations. Of all the things you can do to help with FPS, picking a new site is not one of them. Planning for this early on will save you a lot of headaches if you manage to keep a fort alive for more than a decade.

===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 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". [[Alcohol]] will come in a new barrel after every 5th unit.
* 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. Pick 1 unit of milk from each species and each one will come with a free barrel.
* To save on alcohol (you should probably still bring some of it, though) get plump helmets for 4 embark points 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 micromanagement), a 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☼ (training axes no longer cut trees in newer versions), 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''' - 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). Be sure to bring multiple types of alcohol, as your dwarves will be happier this way, because the different types will encompass their numerous preferences.

'''More Means Better... Right?''' - Perhaps you once thought that the default amount of embark points aren't enough for you, and that you could give your fortress a serious leg up in getting started if you embark with ''much'' more animals and supplies. This can be done in a few ways: The first way is entering the "advanced world generation" screen and creating a custom world generation preset with higher embark points. Note that only a maximum of 10,000 points can be entered without cheating or hacking. The second way is to repeat the first step, but modify the world_gen.txt file found in the [game dir]\data\init\ directory - modifying the [EMBARK_POINTS:#] line with any custom number and saving, which '''can''' be set above 10,000. The third way is to simply use the "points" command if using [[DFHack]], once a world is generated.

Back to the original question, does more mean "better"? The answer: yes and no. Starting with way more supplies and animals can give you a huge starting advantage in already having the materials and then some to get your fortress going, and having the extra animals can be useful for early breeding and butchering. The extra supplies/animals can also provide a huge advantage in trading. However, having extra supplies can also hurt gameplay, as having too much of something can hamper the chance for a dwarf to make something themselves, giving them less opportunities to increase their skill levels. And having too many animals can be a pain to manage, especially once they start breeding and make this task harder. Also, bringing too many supplies with you can have dwarves putting things away from the wagon for a much longer time than normal. This can be a massive nuisance if starting out in harder embark locations where early attacks are likely, or if thieving creatures come by.

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

==Trivia==
*It is possible for animals to be stuck up in trees at the moment of embarking. This will cause them to starve to death after a while as they have no means of getting down. So the player should check higher z-levels above the wagon once the playing area is generated, and immediately cutting down any trees animals are stuck in.

{{Category|Guides}}
{{Category|Fortress mode}}
{{Category|Interface}}
[[Ru:Embark]]

Embark

2023-01-19T15:02:43Z

Kyrosive: /* Prepare Carefully */ premade items vs raw material embark cost clarification

{{migrated article}}
{{Quality|Unrated}}
{{av}}
[[File:embark_prev.jpg|301px|right]]'''Embark''' is the time at the very beginning of [[Fortress mode]] before actual gameplay begins (but after [[World generation|generating a world]]), when you and your initial [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Dwarfs 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 wagonful of supplies.

==Choosing a Site==
The main considerations to keep in mind when [[Site finder|choosing a site]] are: the presence of aquifers, the availability of wood, ores, and 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 16×16 grid of embark area tiles (each representing 48×48 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.

Currently, an embark must be entirely within a tile on the "Region" view. This restriction will be removed in the future. [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf//index.php?topic=169696.msg8341484#msg8341484]

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 48×48 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]]. When there's more than one biome in the embark location you'll be able to press F1, F2, etc to see their specifics.

====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, being devoid of trees, and lacking a river. Very hot climates may see all their 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 [[seed]]s for some very helpful above-ground [[crops]] which are generally only available through [[trading]] with Elves.

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

[[File:non_embark_area.png|thumb|300px|right|A red overlay, showing an area a player can't embark on.]]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 axis 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. As of v50, if there are metal ores, the metals are directly named instead of vague reports of ''Shallow metal(s)'' and/or ''Deep metal(s)''. [[Flux]] is also reported if present; you can now guarantee yourself the raw materials for a [[steel]] industry if you embark on an area with both flux and [[iron]].

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 also reported here as of v50.

====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 or "WAR". The latter means you will get [[siege]]d by that race, while "------" stands only for diplomatic hostility (usually from baby snatching in worldgen). They'll still siege (eventually), and the first time they do will constitute a declaration of war{{verify}}. 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!===
[[File:Embark krugg2.jpg|thumb|Venture forth]]

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]]: Proficient Miner, Skilled Appraiser, and Novice Judge of Intent
* [[Woodworker]]: Proficient Carpenter, Competent Woodcutter, Novice Bowyer, and Novice Wood Burner
* [[Stoneworker]]: Proficient Mason, Adequate Stonecutter, Adequate Stone Carver, and Novice Engraver
* [[Metalcrafter]]: Proficient Metal Crafter, and either Proficient Stone Crafter or Competent Gem Cutter and Adequate Gem Setter {{verify}}
* [[Fisherdwarf]]: Proficient Fisherdwarf, and Proficient Fighter
* [[Planter]]: Proficient Planter, and Proficient Record Keeper
* [[Expedition leader|Expedition Leader]]: Adequate Organizer, Adequate Persuader, Adequate Negotiator, Adequate Conversationalist, Novice Liar, and Novice Intimidator

The default embark value for a custom embark is 1504 embark points. Either 1104 or 1304 points are spent in [[#Supplies|pre-chosen goods]] (depending on if an iron or steel anvil is used), 54 points in [[dog]]s and [[cat]]s, and 200 or 400 unassigned (depending on if a steel or iron anvil was given). The Play Now! embark only uses either 1158 or 1358 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===
[[File:embark_list_preview.png|thumb|200px|right|Small list of custom-chosen embark items.]]

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 1,504 points, though all but 200 or 400 of these are pre-spent on an array of [[#Supplies|basic equipment]] (the same equipment Play Now! uses). It stands to reason that one should try to maximize the value of their embark by spending all available points. Remember that raw materials cost less embark points than their pre-made counterparts. By preparing carefully it is also possible to [[Fortress name|name]] your fortress and your embark group.

It is possible to change the amount of available embark points when playing via [[DF2014:Advanced world generation|advanced world generation]], where presets can be created and/or customized. The maximum amount of embark points a generation setting can have is 10,000. With DFHack, the command ``points [#]`` (with "[#]" being any number) will set the amount of available embark points to the specified number.

====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}}

At embark, all seven settlers begin with no rank in all skills. Each dwarf can be assigned 10 additional ranks to be allocated however you please among the entire Dwarven skill list – including military – with the restriction that no single skill can be increased beyond 'proficient' (level 5). Therefore, you can trade off specialisation against versatility: each dwarf may be 'proficient' in two skills, or minimally skilled (rank 1, 'Novice') across 10 skills, or anything in between. Not all ranks need be allocated, and since ranks cost points there is a further trade-off to be made against other uses of embark points. The current skill rank is shown to the left of the skill (e.g. Novice), while the point cost of the next rank increment is displayed at the right; novice rank costs 5 points and each subsequent rank costs one additional point (so Adequate costs 6 points, Competent costs 7 points, and so on). Reaching 'Proficient' thus costs a total of 35 points. The most expensive allocation is granting all settlers 'proficient' in two skills; this costs a total of 490 points, which is nearly a third of the total budget. By contrast, allocating each dwarf 'novice' in 10 skills costs only 350 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. Additionally, embarking with Novice or higher skill will automatically enable the corresponding labor, avoiding manual labor assignments upon arrival.

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 reassigned 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
:* 2 Copper [[battle axe]]s
:* 1 Iron [[anvil]] (or steel anvil if your home civilization has no access to iron)
:* 1 [[Wheelbarrow]] (if possible)
:* 1 [[Stepladder]]
:* 60 units dwarven [[alcohol]] (at least 20 each of up to 3 random types, in 12 barrels)
:* 6 bags containing 5 [[seed]]s of each of [[dimple cup]], [[cave wheat]], [[plump helmet]], [[sweet pod]], [[pig tail]], and [[quarry bush]].
:* 15 units of [[meat]] (one random type, 3 stacks of 5 units in 1 barrel)
:* 15 units of [[fish]] (one random type, 3 stacks of 5 units in 1 barrel)
:* 15 units of [[plump helmet]]s (3 stacks of 5 units in 1 barrel)
:* 5 pig tail fiber [[thread]]
:* 5 pig tail fiber [[cloth]]
:* 5 pig tail fiber [[bag]]s
:* 3 pig tail fiber [[rope]]s
:* 3 leather quivers
:* 3 wooden [[bucket]]s
:* 3 wooden [[splint]]s
:* 3 wooden [[crutch]]es
:* 2 female [[dog]]s†
:* 2 female [[cat]]s†
:* 2 random of [[horse]], [[yak]], or [[water buffalo]] (These 2 pack animals are always given and don't cost embark points for players "preparing carefully".)

'''Considering Metals'''
* If your civilization lacks copper or iron (or both), the increased costs for standard-issue metal equipment can eat up the embark point advantage that Prepare Carefully has over Play Now!, but the option to customise point allocation still gives careful preparation an edge.
* Previously, if your home civilization did not have access to copper, you would start with bronze picks and battle axes instead, but there has not been evidence of this occurring since v0.44 of ''Dwarf Fortress''.

'''Considering Materials'''
* When settling on a site with few trees, one should definitely consider bringing extra logs to cover the early demand for beds and such.
* 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. Pre-made items (weapons, armor, furniture, etc.) cost more embark points than their constituent raw materials, consider this when maximizing embark efficiency.

'''Considering Animals'''
* Do not overlook the value of bringing animals. Dogs in particular can provide an excellent early warning system, good fighters against [[kobold]]s 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]].

† Cats and dogs are only included by default in the Play Now! package. To start with them when you "Prepare Carefully", you need to go into the pets list to add them.

'''Those Parentheses'''
* All the items (not animals or dwarves) that you are bringing with you from embark will appear with between [[Item_designations#Provenance_.2F_Ownership|parentheses]]. Example: {{dftext|(copper pick)|7:1}}
* Items you manufacture (or obtain by mining/farming/foraging/scavenging) will not have the parentheses.

====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 [[embark_profiles.txt]] and edit in the SKILLS or ITEMS as you want - the syntax is fairly straightforward. [[Embark profile repository]] contains examples of different profiles you can experiment with.

==Embark Strategies==
{{Main|Starting build}}
[[File:Embark krugg.jpg|thumb|Prepare carefully for the hardship ahead.]]

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.

'''FPS''' - often overlooked, this is perhaps the most consequential decision you will make during embark. FPS drops slowly as fortresses get more people, and create more stuff (the game has to simulate all of these people and the stuff they are making). Having a site that takes little resources to simulate can go a long way to mitigating this problem. The major FPS-eaters to look out for are trees (deciduous trees especially, as they shed their leaves annually), and flowing and/or falling water (the latter being worse on FPS). See the article on [[Maximizing framerate]] for considerations. Of all the things you can do to help with FPS, picking a new site is not one of them. Planning for this early on will save you a lot of headaches if you manage to keep a fort alive for more than a decade.

===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 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". [[Alcohol]] will come in a new barrel after every 5th unit.
* 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. Pick 1 unit of milk from each species and each one will come with a free barrel.
* To save on alcohol (you should probably still bring some of it, though) get plump helmets for 4 embark points 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 micromanagement), a 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☼ (training axes no longer cut trees in newer versions), 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''' - 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). Be sure to bring multiple types of alcohol, as your dwarves will be happier this way, because the different types will encompass their numerous preferences.

'''More Means Better... Right?''' - Perhaps you once thought that the default amount of embark points aren't enough for you, and that you could give your fortress a serious leg up in getting started if you embark with ''much'' more animals and supplies. This can be done in a few ways: The first way is entering the "advanced world generation" screen and creating a custom world generation preset with higher embark points. Note that only a maximum of 10,000 points can be entered without cheating or hacking. The second way is to repeat the first step, but modify the world_gen.txt file found in the [game dir]\data\init\ directory - modifying the [EMBARK_POINTS:#] line with any custom number and saving, which '''can''' be set above 10,000. The third way is to simply use the "points" command if using [[DFHack]], once a world is generated.

Back to the original question, does more mean "better"? The answer: yes and no. Starting with way more supplies and animals can give you a huge starting advantage in already having the materials and then some to get your fortress going, and having the extra animals can be useful for early breeding and butchering. The extra supplies/animals can also provide a huge advantage in trading. However, having extra supplies can also hurt gameplay, as having too much of something can hamper the chance for a dwarf to make something themselves, giving them less opportunities to increase their skill levels. And having too many animals can be a pain to manage, especially once they start breeding and make this task harder. Also, bringing too many supplies with you can have dwarves putting things away from the wagon for a much longer time than normal. This can be a massive nuisance if starting out in harder embark locations where early attacks are likely, or if thieving creatures come by.

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

==Trivia==
*It is possible for animals to be stuck up in trees at the moment of embarking. This will cause them to starve to death after a while as they have no means of getting down. So the player should check higher z-levels above the wagon once the playing area is generated, and immediately cutting down any trees animals are stuck in.

{{Category|Guides}}
{{Category|Fortress mode}}
{{Category|Interface}}
[[Ru:Embark]]

DF2014:Carpenter's workshop

2023-01-17T19:42:10Z

Kyrosive: /* Adventure Mode */ added several Key press indicators, expanded/clarified instructions

{{Quality|Exceptional|19:11, 12 June 2010 (UTC)}}
{{Workshop
|name=Carpenter's workshop
|key=c
|job=*[[Carpentry]]
*[[Trapping]] (See [[Carpenter's_workshop#Notes|Notes]])
|construction=
* [[Building material]] (non-[[economic]])
|construction_job=
*[[Carpentry]]
*[[Trapping]]
|use=
*[[Wood]]
|production=
*[[Animal trap]]s
*[[Armor stand]]s
*[[Barrel]]s
*[[Bed]]s
*[[Bin]]s
*[[Block]]s
*[[Bookcase]]s{{version|0.42.01}}
*[[Bucket]]s
*[[Buckler]]s
*[[Cabinet]]s
*[[Cage]]s
*[[Casket]]s
*[[Chest]]s
*[[Chair]]s
*[[Crutch]]es
*[[Door]]s
*[[Display case]]s{{version|0.44.01}}
*[[Enormous corkscrew]]s
*[[Floodgate]]s
*[[Grate]]s
*[[Hatch cover]]s
*[[Instrument|Instrument piece]]s{{version|0.42.01}}
*[[Menacing spike]]s
*[[Pedestal]]s{{version|0.44.01}}
*[[Pipe section]]s
*[[Shield]]s
*[[Spiked ball]]s
*[[Splint]]s
*[[Stepladder]]s
*[[Table]]s
*[[Training weapon|Training Swords]]
*[[Training weapon|Training Spears]]
*[[Training weapon|Training Axes]]
*[[Weapon rack]]s
}}{{av}}

A '''carpenter's workshop''' is a [[Workshop#Tier_1_Workshops|Tier 1]] [[workshop]] used by a [[carpenter]] to make most types of [[furniture]], with the exception of [[statue]]s. The workshop can also make wooden [[block]]s or items like [[bucket]]s, [[crutch]]es, [[shield]]s, and [[training weapon]]s. [[Bed]]s can only be made at a carpenter's workshop.

The carpenter's workshop can be built from any building material, and must be built by a [[dwarf]] with the Carpentry [[labor]] enabled.

==Menu==
'''Carpenter's Workshop'''
*Make [[wood]]en [[shield]]
*Make [[wood]]en [[buckler]]
*Make [[wood]]en [[Training weapon|training spear]]
*Make [[wood]]en [[Training weapon|training sword]]
*Make [[wood]]en [[Training weapon|training axe]]
*{{K|V}} Make [[wood]]en [[barrel]]
*{{K|o}} Construct [[wood]]en [[block]]s
*{{K|e}} Make [[wood]]en [[bucket]]
*{{K|p}} Make [[wood]]en [[animal trap]]
*{{K|j}} Make [[wood]]en [[cage]]
*{{K|a}} Construct [[wood]]en [[armor stand]]
*{{K|b}} Construct [[bed]]
*{{K|c}} Construct [[wood]]en [[chair]]
*{{K|k}} Construct [[wood]]en [[casket]]
*{{K|d}} Construct [[wood]]en [[door]]
*{{K|l}} Construct [[wood]]en [[floodgate]]
*{{K|H}} Construct [[wood]]en [[hatch cover]]
*{{K|G}} Construct [[wood]]en [[grate]]
*{{K|f}} Construct [[wood]]en [[cabinet]]
*{{K|n}} Construct [[wood]]en [[Bin]]
*{{K|h}} Construct [[wood]]en [[chest]]
*{{K|w}} Construct [[wood]]en [[Weapon rack]]
*{{K|t}} Construct [[wood]]en [[table]]
*Make enormous [[wood]]en [[Trap component|corkscrew]]
*Make spiked [[wood]]en [[Trap component|ball]]
*Make menacing [[wood]]en [[Trap component|spike]]
*Make [[wood]]en [[minecart]]
*Make [[wood]]en [[wheelbarrow]]
*Make [[wood]]en [[stepladder]]
*Make [[wood]]en [[bookcase]]{{version|0.42.01}}
*Make [[wood]]en [[pedestal]]{{version|0.44.01}}
*Make [[wood]]en [[pipe section]]
*Construct [[wood]]en [[splint]]
*Construct [[wood]]en [[crutch]]
*Make [[Instrument|instrument piece]]{{version|0.42.01}}
*Make [[display case]]{{version|0.44.01}}

==Common Uses==
[[File:carpenter_workshop_preview.png|thumb|300px|right|An [[elf|elf's]] least favorite place.]]
*Make wooden [[barrel]]s for storage of [[alcohol]], [[plant]]s, and [[seed]]s.
*<s>Make wooden [[Training weapon|training axes]] for [[wood cutter]]s.</s> This bug was [http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/index.html#2016-05-22 fixed in 0.43.03].
*Make wooden [[bed]]s, [[chair]]s, [[table]]s, and [[door]]s for [[room]]s. Beds in particular can only be made from wood at a carpenter's workshop.
*Make wooden [[bin]]s for storage.

==Adventure Mode==
As of version 43.01, carpenter's workshops can be constructed using the {{K|b}}uild menu. While standing anywhere within its 3x3 space press {{K|x}} to access the relevant options in the crafting menu. Each item consumes one log which can be either in your {{K|i}}nventory or lying on the ground in the center tile of the 3x3 work space. An (in-hand) equipped sharp item such as a sharp stone or stone axe is required. Note that crafting a piece of furniture seems instantaneous but placing it from within the {{K|b}}uild menu will consume one hour of time working (excepting chests, see below.) The following items can be made this way:

*Chairs
*Tables
*Beds
*Chests (placed by dropping via the {{K|d}}rop menu)
*Cabinets
*Doors
*Barrels
*Buckets
*Caskets
*Hatch covers
*Grates
*Bins
*Stepladders (used by pressing ({{K|h}}) when dropped)
*Bookcases
*Splints
*Crutches
*Shields
*Bucklers
*Training axes
*Training short swords
*Training spears

Of these items, chests are the only furniture that cannot be placed using the build menu and thus have the benefit of avoiding the one hour work timer when usually placing furniture. You can instead place them at your feet by dropping via the {{K|d}}rop menu. Unfortunately, splints are not usable in adventure mode.

==Notes==
*[[Animal trap]]s ({{K|p}}) need the [[Trapping]] labor enabled, not the [[Carpentry]] labor.

==See also==
:*[[Training weapon]]s
:*[[Bedroom design]]

{{Workshops}}

DF2014:Need

2023-01-14T19:53:12Z

Kyrosive: confirmed solution to unfulfilled need "unable to make merry", minor formatting homogenization

{{Quality|Superior|01:25, 31 October 2016 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
{{new in v0.42}}

'''Needs''' affect a creature's focus - needs that are unmet for long enough will cause [[stress]], become bad [[thought]]s, and increasingly damage the creature's '''focus''', while sufficiently well-satisfied needs will improve it.

The need system replaces the generalized [[on break]] feature of previous versions. Dwarves will sometimes perform jobs that satisfy their personal needs, instead of working for the betterment of the fortress. These personal-fulfilment jobs generally come in two varieties: low-priority (indicated by green text, e.g. {{DFtext|Listen to Poetry|2:1}}), or high-priority (magenta text with an exclamation point, e.g. {{DFtext|Pray to Lorsïth!|5:1}}). Low-priority jobs may be cancelled to undertake a fortress job. High-priority jobs will not be cancelled for fortress jobs.

== Focus ==
:''Overall, Urist is unfocused by unmet needs.''
Focus affects a dwarf's ability to perform. A dwarf with high focus will work faster and produce better results, while a distracted dwarf will take longer to do everything poorly. Focus is separate and independent of overall mood; a dwarf can be happy even with largely-unmet needs, or unhappy yet focused. However, prolonged insufficiency in meeting needs is a cause for both low focus and bad thoughts. Thus, Focus can, with prudence, be used to predict future mood developments.

Focus represents the percentage of the combined totals of met over unmet need values. The ratio of 1:1 (100%) represents a neutral state.

Focus statuses:
{| class = "wikitable sortable"
|-
| {{DFtext|Very focused|2:1}}|| + 140% (?)
|-
| {{DFtext|Quite focused|2:0}}|| 120-139% (-149%?)
|-
| {{DFtext|Focused|7:1}}|| 101-119%
|-
| {{DFtext|Untroubled|7:0}}|| 100%
|-
| {{DFtext|Unfocused|6:0}}|| 80-99%
|-
| {{DFtext|Distracted|6:1}}|| ...-79% (?)
|-
| {{DFtext|Badly distracted|4:1}}|| (?)
|}

A highly-focused dwarf can receive an effective-skill bonus of up to 50%; a badly distracted dwarf can receive an effective skill penalty of up to 50%.{{cite|Dev Log 2015-04-12|http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/dev_2015.html#2015-04-12}}
== Diversity ==
:''She is unfocused by a lack of trouble-making.''

An individual creature's set of needs and their weights (levels) are affected by [[personality trait]]s. For instance, a dwarf that values romance will be unfocused "after being unable to make romance", while a dwarf that personally values nature will be unfettered "after seeing animals". Unreligious dwarves will have no need to pray or meditate; dubious and casual worshippers will have low or medium level needs to pray; committed believers will have high level need; and dwarves following multiple deities will have a separate prayer need, with separate level for each of their deities. Proposed weights per need level are 1, 2, 5, and 10.

As expected, high-level needs hold a much larger sway in a dwarf's overall focus than low-level needs. For example, immoderation controls the need for [[alcohol]]; dwarves, thus, are more likely to have a need for alcohol than humans (but most of the time won't have a very strong one). A small percentage have no need for alcohol at all, though they'll still slow down without it, due to dwarves' alcohol dependence.

Needs are shown in a dwarf's [[thoughts and preferences]] description page, which can be accessed by {{k|v}}iewing that dwarf then {{k|z}}, {{k|Enter}}, or from the {{k|u}}nit menu with {{k|v}}iew, {{k|Enter}}.

Degree of fulfillment:
{| class = "wikitable"
!Descriptor
!Range
|-
| {{DFtext|Unfettered|2:1}}|| 400 to 300
|-
| {{DFtext|Level-headed|2:0}}|| 299 to 200
|-
| {{DFtext|Untroubled|7:1}}|| 199 to 100
|-
| {{DFtext|Not distracted|7:0}}|| 99 to -999
|-
| {{DFtext|Unfocused|6:0}}|| -1,000 to -9,999
|-
| {{DFtext|Distracted|6:1}}|| -10,000 to -99,999
|-
| {{DFtext|Badly distracted|4:1}}|| -100,000 and below
|}

When a need is satisfied, its value is refreshed to maximum (400), regardless of previous value. There is no minimum to how {{DFtext|Badly distracted|4:1}} a need can get. A deeper negative value won't further reduce total Focus, which is based on a ratio of all needs' Focus rating.

In the absence of needs rated as "Badly distracted" the focus score is expressed as the ratio of:

[6 * number of Unfettered scores +
5 1/3 * number of Level-headed scores +
4 2/3 * number of Untroubled scores +
4 * number of Not distracted scores +
3 1/3 * number of Unfocused scores +
2 2/3 * number of Distracted scores] / (4 * number of scores total)

where the numerator is rounded down to a whole number.

It is currently unknown how "Badly distracted" needs contribute to focus, pending further science, but it is likely that they contribute 2 points each to the numerator.

== Fortress actions per need (unconfirmed denoted by (?)) ==

{| class = "wikitable sortable"
!Positive
!Negative
!Related [[Belief]] or [[Facet]]
!Job
|-
|spending time with people
|being away from people
|GREGARIOUSNESS
|Socialize.
|-
|drinking
|being kept from alcohol
|IMMODERATION, SELF-CONTROL
|Drink alcohol.
|-
|communing with [deity] / meditation
|being unable to pray (to [deity])
|
|Pray/meditate in a [[Temple]]
|-
|staying occupied
|being unoccupied
|HARD_WORK, ACTIVITY_LEVEL
|(assumedly a sufficient amount of fortress tasks*)
|-
|doing something creative
|doing nothing creative
|ARTWORK
|Create or perform any artistic work.
|-
|doing something exciting
|leading an unexciting life
|EXCITEMENT_SEEKING
|Varied; including at least being in danger or catching live vermin.
|-
|learning something
|not learning anything
|KNOWLEDGE, CURIOUS
|Gain a rank in any Skill, learn a new subject from written content.
|-
|being with family
|being away from family
|FAMILY
|(Socialize with close family members?)
|-
|being with friends
|being away from friends
|FRIENDSHIP
|(Socialize with friends?)
|-
|hearing eloquent speech
|being unable to hear eloquent speech
|ELOQUENCE
|Hear or recite poetry.
|-
|upholding tradition
|being away from traditions
|TRADITION
|(Perform any improvisational form?)
|-
|self-examination
|a lack of introspection
|INTROSPECTION
|Read anything, compose song or poetry (automatically self-indulgent)
|-
|making merry
|being unable to make merry
|MERRIMENT, HUMOR
|Be delighted after witnessing a performance.
|-
|practicing a craft
|being unable to practice a craft
|CRAFTMANSHIP
|Craft any item.
|-
|practicing a martial art
|being unable to practice a martial art
|MARTIAL_PROWESS
|Gain a rank in any combat skill.
|-
|practicing a skill
|being unable to practice a skill
|SKILL
|(Use relevant skill?)
|-
|taking it easy
|being unable to take it easy
|LEISURE_TIME
|(Spend time idle or fulfilling personal desires?)
|-
|making romance
|being unable to make romance
|ROMANCE, LOVE PROPENSITY
|''Interact'' with spouse/partner.
|-
|seeing animals
|being away from animals
|NATURE
|Animal must also see the dwarf.*
|-
|seeing a great beast
|being away from great beasts
|EXCITEMENT_SEEKING, NATURE, CURIOSITY
|(Uncertain, possibly encounter LARGE_ROAMING?)
|-
|acquiring something
|being unable to acquire something
|GREED, COMMERCE
|Acquire any trinket (happens automatically when performing a "Store item in stockpile" job on an eligible [[trade good]])
|-
|eating a good meal
|a lack of decent meals
|IMMODERATION
|Eating a preferred food (or a preferred alcohol [[cook]]ed into a meal), or a sufficiently valuable meal{{version|0.47.05}}.
|-
|fighting
|being unable to fight
|VIOLENT
|Partake in a fight or any combat.
|-
|causing trouble
|a lack of trouble-making
|HARMONY, DISCORD
|Fight or argue with another.
|-
|arguing
|being unable to argue
|FRIENDLINESS
|Argue with another individual.
|-
|being extravagant
|being unable to be extravagant
|IMMODESTY
|Wear any item with a quality modifier.
|-
|wandering
|being unable to wander
|NATURE, ACTIVITY LEVEL
|Complete a [[Main:Fisherdwarf|fishing]], [[Main:Ambusher|hunting]], or [[Main:Herbalist|plant gathering]] job.
|-
|helping somebody
|being unable to help anybody
|ALTRUISM, SACRIFICE
|Bring water or food to patient/prisoner/animal*; bring wounded units to rest; leading demonstration; being yelled at by unhappy citizens (for relevant nobles.)
|-
|thinking abstractly
|a lack of abstract thinking
|ABSTRACT_INCLINED
|Read or write any written content, or compose music or a poem. Playing make-believe. (Using Architect skill does not satisfy this need.)
|-
|admiring art
|being unable to admire art
|ARTWORK
|Be exposed to artful furniture, artistic crafts, or engravings. Watch certain performances.
|}
: (* See also [[animal caretaker]])

Satisfying any need will result in a good thought and a decrease in stress.

== Adventurer actions per need ==

{| class = "wikitable sortable"
!Positive
!Negative
!Related [[Belief]] or [[Facet]]
!Adventurer activity
|-
|spending time with people
|being away from people
|GREGARIOUSNESS
|Spea{{k|k}} to anyone or reply to greeting. They don't have to be able to reply back.
|-
|drinking
|being kept from alcohol
|IMMODERATION, SELF-CONTROL
|Drink alcohol.
|-
|communing with [deity] / meditation
|being unable to pray (to [deity])
|
|Spea{{k|k}}, Pray to <Deity> or begin a performance, give a sermon.
|-
|staying occupied
|being unoccupied
|HARD_WORK, ACTIVITY_LEVEL
|Very wide variety of actions.
|-
|doing something creative
|doing nothing creative
|ARTWORK
|Perform or compose any work.
|-
|doing something exciting
|leading an unexciting life
|EXCITEMENT_SEEKING
|A wide variety of actions.
|-
|learning something
|not learning anything
|KNOWLEDGE, CURIOUS
|Gain a rank in any Skill, learn a new subject from written content.
|-
|being with family
|being away from family
|FAMILY
|Implemented, but inaccessible without modding. If your character has close family members, this need will be filled by spending time with them (seems to only apply to blood [[relationship|relations]]). However, there is currently no way to actually do this outside of mods.
|-
|being with friends
|being away from friends
|FRIENDSHIP
|Unimplemented.
|-
|hearing eloquent speech
|being unable to hear eloquent speech
|ELOQUENCE
|Hear or recite poetry.
|-
|upholding tradition
|being away from traditions
|TRADITION
|Perform any improvisational form.
|-
|self-examination
|a lack of introspection
|INTROSPECTION
|Read anything, compose song or poetry (automatically self-indulgent), craft a figurine of yourself.
|-
|making merry
|being unable to make merry
|MERRIMENT, HUMOR
|Recite any poem.
|-
|practicing a craft
|being unable to practice a craft
|CRAFTMANSHIP
|Craft an item via Knapping, Bone Carving, etc.
|-
|practicing a martial art
|being unable to practice a martial art
|MARTIAL_PROWESS
|Gain a rank in any combat skill.
|-
|practicing a skill
|being unable to practice a skill
|SKILL
|Use any skill.
|-
|taking it easy
|being unable to take it easy
|LEISURE_TIME
|Unknown (Possibly engage in or witness a [[Main:Performer|performance]]?) (I fulfilled this need by going to sleep at a tavern, getting interrupted in the middle of the night by a giant alligator (which the bards killed by the time I went down the stairs) and performing with them for a while.)
|-
|making romance
|being unable to make romance
|ROMANCE, LOVE PROPENSITY
|Unimplemented.
|-
|seeing animals
|being away from animals
|NATURE
|See an animal, animal must also see you.
|-
|seeing a great beast
|being away from great beasts
|EXCITEMENT_SEEKING, NATURE, CURIOSITY
|Uncertain, possibly encounter LARGE_ROAMING?{{Verify}}
|-
|acquiring something
|being unable to acquire something
|GREED, COMMERCE
|Acquire any item by trade or demand.
|-
|eating a good meal
|a lack of decent meals
|IMMODERATION
|Unknown. If the same as in Fortress mode, eating a preferred food, or a sufficiently valuable meal{{version|0.47.05}}.
|-
|fighting
|being unable to fight
|VIOLENT
|Engage in any combat, minor or major.
|-
|causing trouble
|a lack of trouble-making
|HARMONY, DISCORD
|Fight or argue with another individual.
|-
|arguing
|being unable to argue
|FRIENDLINESS
|Get into any disagreement about values.
|-
|being extravagant
|being unable to be extravagant
|IMMODESTY
|Wear any item with a quality modifier on a body part - a waterskin will not work, as it can only be worn ''in'' another item of clothing.
|-
|wandering
|being unable to wander
|NATURE, ACTIVITY LEVEL
|Move to/from any site or region tile.
|-
|helping somebody
|being unable to help anybody
|ALTRUISM, SACRIFICE
|Reunite family members.
|-
|thinking abstractly
|a lack of abstract thinking
|ABSTRACT_INCLINED
|Read or write any written content, compose music or a poem.
|-
|admiring art
|being unable to admire art
|ARTWORK
|Expose yourself to artistic crafts, examine adornments and coins.
|}

Satisfying any need will result in a good thought and a decrease in stress.

Creatures with {{token|NOEMOTION|c}} cannot satisfy any need and will inevitably become 'distracted'. In unmodded games, this concerns only [[Intelligent undead]].

==Adventure mode meta-strategy==

Upon creating your adventurer you may want to avoid having any of the non-fulfillable needs: romance, family, friends. Otherwise, you will suffer never-ending [[focus]] disadvantages. Immoderation too is only technically fulfillable for the itinerant adventurer, without a fortress's industry to reliably produce their preferred food.

Some precaution is necessary in sacrifice/altruism -> helping capability is not available as long as you're quite weak (fighting; companions), and maybe in martial prowess if you're not constantly fighting and so increasing your stats. To fulfill your booze needs, you'll have to visit human towns' taverns or dwarven fortresses quite often (and fill your extra water storage containers with ale from the barrels for on the road).

[[Category:DF2014:Dwarves]]

[[ru:Need]]

DF2014:Design strategies

2023-01-13T02:21:18Z

Kyrosive: expanded security preface, added new player tip to early considerations list

{{Quality|Exceptional|13:23, 18 July 2014 (UTC)}}
{{av}}

There are at least three basic factors to consider when designing your fort.
* '''Security:''' Every fort needs some basic [[Security design|security]] measures. Without them you won't survive the first serious [[kobold]] attack, much less a full-blown [[Siege|goblin siege]]. These include basic things like [[digging]] and using [[construction]] to direct invaders, setting up [[trap]]s to injure or capture them, as well as setting up [[burrow]]s to keep vulnerable dwarves in safer areas or to keep troublemakers away from civilized folk.
* '''Efficiency:''' Whether hauling rocks, making a booze run, or just checking the contents of a cabinet, dwarves do a lot of walking. A good fortress layout -- especially the proper placement of workshops and stockpiles -- can significantly reduce the time your dwarves spend walking.
* '''Aesthetics:''' Hey, everybody wants a fortress that looks good.

In addition to the considerations above, it's also important to remember that long-term design strategies can easily be disrupted by the discovery of underground terrain features. Don't plan ''too'' far ahead, as you might need to adapt to unforeseen obstacles. As a beginner try to focus on modular and compact designs as they're the most easily adapted to new situations.

Also, there are several [[Main:Blueprint Library|design idioms]] of common usage like [[pump stack]]s.

==Security==
Everyone will have their own preferences regarding fortress defense and how to deal with undead, wildlife, hostiles and goblin invaders. Regardless of specifics, it's important to have a plan for dealing with the several different types of inevitable attacks. A few security tips are given below.

The single most important thing to remember is that in an emergency, your dwarves will be too panicked to react to orders. Prepare for every type of threat (both military and engineering, in the form of floods or other [[Fun]]) ''before'' it finds you, or it will be too late.

===Walls===
[[Wall]]s are, by far and away, the single most powerful tool you have to combat enemies. Walls are currently invincible against any known force but the mighty dwarven [[pick]]. Putting a wall between your vulnerable and valuable civilians (and the others, too, why not?) and the things trying to kill them is the highest priority you have.

Building walls can take time and micromanagement, but building a maze (and stuffing it with traps) is a good way to slow invaders down, especially if you get forewarning from scouts. The longer invaders take to reach you, the more time you have to get your militia in place. However, since the advent of [[climb]]ing, keep in mind that just having 1-z-level walls are not enough. Place [[fortifications]] at the tops to stop climbers.

Digging ditches/[[moat]]s, then removing the ramps can also be useful as a faster method of creating impassable terrain for non-fliers, which have the added advantage of allowing [[Crossbowman|marksdwarves]] to shoot over them. Easier still is just using the "natural walls" of a hill, and removing all the ramps on one side or the other of the hill while building walls between the gaps. Climbing, however, makes this not enough for all circumstances. Either carve or build unclimbable [[fortifications]], or else dig another z-level down, and then dig two tiles under the rim of your platform to create an overhang that is impossible to climb.

Excavating fortresses by digging them out naturally creates walls, and makes for easy defenses, since it is far easier to designate for digging than to build a wall. Enclosed caves are also proof against flying monsters. At first, you might simply dig into a wall and put up a door, but consider making a large, extended underground tunnel, or preferably several tunnels, all of which can be locked down, and then walling over your initial entrance so that you can force enemies to approach your fort on your terms, and at a time and place of your choosing. If defenses in one tunnel don't work, lock it down, and leave a different one open, so that they have to run back through your killzone to try approaching a different one.

===Lockdown===
Have a way to lock down your fortress. In the event of an attack by hostiles you can't handle, you need a way to lock them out. This can buy you some time while your dwarves prepare their defenses.

For small forts, this could be as simple as placing [[door]]s at all the entrances to your fort. Doors can be locked instantly in an emergency. Don't rely on doors alone for security, though, as you'll eventually encounter enemies that can [[Building destroyer|break down doors]] and [[Thief|pick locks]].

Doors are important even within your fortress. [[Tantrum]]ing dwarves are the bane of every established fort. Having a way to segregate your dwarves so that they don't run into a dwarf on a rampage can save whole forts, much less individual lives. Doors can also stop flooding, and act as bulkheads that isolate breaches if you accidentally flood your fort. Having secondary hallways to route around problem areas is also a sound strategy for making doubly sure your fortress can survive a breach of defenses. If everything in your fort must travel through a single hallway or central staircase, anything that reaches that point can almost be guaranteed to kill your fort.

For more security, place [[Bridge|drawbridges]] at all the entrances. You don't need a moat; the bridge itself is sufficient since it functions as a wall when raised. Just be sure to connect it to a [[lever]] that your dwarves can access quickly ''and safely'' in an emergency. Unfortunately, even drawbridges can be rendered inoperable in rare circumstances....

To have a dwarf ready to pull a lever in case of an ambush it's best to place them near the meeting hall. You can also make dedicated leverdwarves by turning off all their labors and assigning the levers to them. [[Vampires]] and [[necromancer]]s are very good for this job, as they do not require sleep, however their [[mood]] may be a problem because they will not drink anything. To avoid this, make sure you have a tavern keeper to give them alcohol.

Finally, don't forget about attackers from above and below!
Flying attackers might use skylights to bypass your doors and drawbridges. [[Farming|Farms]], even "aboveground" farms, can be placed underground with exploits, but some of the best [[tree]]s grow aboveground. Use drawbridges on even the walled-in exits to the surface in case of [[giant kea]]s or [[roc]]s.

Swimming beasts might crawl up through your [[well]]. It is best to use water from sources that are completely walled off from the outside world, like a [[reservoir]] fed by an [[aquifer]]. You can also use a [[screw pump]] pulling through a floor [[grate]] to prevent hostiles (and [[building destroyer]]s) from swimming into your fortress. (The same holds doubly true for magma cisterns.)

Creating multiple entrances that can be locked down can force an invasion to stop in its tracks, reverse course, and march all the way around the map to get access to your fort. Repeatedly yanking the drawbridge up, forcing them to go back to a different entrance, and letting that drawbridge back down while pulling up the one the assault was going for then can keep an invasion in limbo for a very long time, giving sleeping or drinking milita dwarves a chance to get their act together, or to let a repeater spike [[trap]] murder everything on the 12th pass.

===Scouts===
Ambushes and thieves can sneak up on your fortress. A party of goblin archers might sneak past your main gate before being spotted, or a kobold could make off with your masterpiece crafts when nobody is looking. The way to avoid these unfortunate events is to use scouts / lookouts.

For small forts, effective scouting could be as simple as [[Restraint|tying]] a [[Dog|war dog]] (or even a donkey) up near the entrance of your fort. In the event of an ambush the animal will spot the attackers (shortly before dying). If your scouts are far enough from your main gate then you ought to have enough warning to lock down the fort, activate the militia, etc.

For more established forts, placing any sort of non-eating domestic animal in a 1-tile pasture on top of a grate that allows it to look downwards, or behind windows from a single z-level above the hallways protects your stalwart watch-geese so that you don't have to keep sending out more replacement dogs. Save the good war animals for a "Doberman Bomb" (cage linked to a release lever) that unleashes dozens of animals on invaders at once, rather than letting the invaders murder your dogs one at a time.

===Caravan security===
Is your trade depot going to be inside or outside your main line of defenses? This is another factor to consider when designing your fort. Although you don't have to protect the traders, their [[civilization]]s might hold your fortress responsible for any casualties.

Consider that merchants may go [[insane]] if kept in place, or if they get affected with a [[syndrome]], so it is possibly best to have a means of segregating the rest of your fort from the trade depot, like a drawbridge-wall. At the same time, you need to load goods into and out of the depot quickly, so it should be near major stockpiles and where your haulers usually spend their time.

A [[caravan]] needs a 3-tile-wide entrance (preferably a [[road]] where you aren't placing traps to prevent a [[tree]] from growing in the path) so they tend to complicate defenses. Consider using a retractable drawbridge to allow/disallow certain entrance and exit routes from your fort. An "elevated highway" exit from your fortress that is only accessible after throwing a switch leaves an exit that allows merchants to leave in safety if a siege happens while they are trading, but entrance paths need to be kept clear, regardless. [[Siege]]s and [[ambush]]es only start from map edges that can path to your dining hall, while a caravan starts from areas that path to a valid trade depot. If you use drawbridges to cut off access to your fort from the trade depot until after the caravan passes (and you raise) a drawbridge that cuts off outsider access to the trade depot, and you then let down a drawbridge to an elevated walkway that normally grants access to nothing, you can generally ensure no [[ambush]] will follow your trading partners in. (Although the degree of engineering may force you to wait several years...)

===Traps===
[[Trap]]s are a great way to protect your fort from small groups of attackers. When designing your fort, think about where you want to place traps. Choke points at major entrances (including entrances to the [[caverns]]) make good trap locations. However, be warned that some enemies are immune to traps....

Spikes/spear traps set to levers you order dwarves to repeatedly pull or attach to a repeater are capable of hurting creatures that can avoid traps, but require great stretches of killzone to operate effectively.

Deliberately-induced [[Cave-in|cave-ins]], such as by linking a [[support|pillar]] to a lever, and dropping an otherwise unsupported wall, creates deadly dust that can knock even trap-immune creatures unconscious, which renders them vulnerable to ordinary traps. Cage a titanic beast, and put it in your zoo for the kids to marvel at!

Advanced dwarven techniques include methods of flooding and draining killzones with dangerous fluids like [[water]] or [[magma]], or both to [[obsidian]]-cast the problem, which is guaranteed to kill any physical threat in existence. Other methods include controlled fires (often caused by controlled magma release). These, however, are potentially very [[Fun]] tools, so be sure you understand what you are dealing with before you set yourself to it. (Or just make it a learning experience when you mess up an early fort. Hey, Fun IS fun, after all!)

===Staging area===
Many players like to design their forts with a militia staging area at the main entrance. Usually this includes placing [[fortification]]s (possibly in archer towers), ammunition stockpiles, and cover for your melee dwarves to protect them from approaching archers.

If you want to rely on marksdwarves, consider fortress entrance designs that favor their method of attack. Make the only entrance a snaking series of bridges that force invaders to zig-zag in front of your marksdwarves. If that doesn't provide enough time to kill them all, stack several floors of snaking bridges, and let your marksdwarves simply climb a couple stairs to get to the next killzone between rounds. If you rely heavily on marksdwarves, remember that sieges can also contain elite archers that fire through fortifications. Prepare a 1-tile-wide drawbridge "shutter" that can block sight in front of the fortifications to protect vulnerable marksdwarves or allow for recovery of the wounded if you want to try out-shooting an elite archer.

Some players also like to place a [[Barracks|training barracks]] near the entrance to the fort so that the militia can quickly respond to attackers. Putting it outside is even better as it also prevents cave adaption on your soldiers which can give you an edge in a siege, as more serious cases of cave adaption severely cut the speed of the affected dwarf. If you don't let your military dwarves outside that often, let them fight in the shade; Make your staging area underground, and just wait for the siege to roll into your staging area, instead.

Staging areas can also come with some extra help - a cage filled with every random potentially dangerous creature you don't need pastured can, when released, provide a massive (and potentially hilarious) distraction. Even a barrage of 40 kittens can bog down invaders enough that a lone swordsdwarf can fight enemies one-by-one.

==Efficiency==

Although many actions in the game take time, and skill levels significantly reduce the time the actual crafting of items or resource gathering takes, by and large, the OVERWHELMING majority of wasted productivity comes from dwarves having to march great distances to reach a raw material for their crafting needs. Even worse, if they get thirsty while hunting down that stray boulder at the bottom floor of the mines, they'll go all the way back up for their drink, and have to take the trek back down again, later. As such, efficiency is all about shortening the trips your craftsdwarves must take as much as possible.

Proper placement of [[stockpile]]s is key. Almost every workshop job needs raw materials. Is your [[still]] near some empty barrels and plants? Does your mason have easy access to stone? A smelter must have quick access to both ore and fuel.

As a general rule of thumb, each workshop should have at least a 3x3 stockpile area associated with it. Some workshops will need more if multiple raw ingredients are needed. [[Workshop design]] is a science in of itself but one efficient arrangement is to place output stockpiles directly above or below your workshops and connect them with stairs. Another common design is to carve out a 5x5 room and place the 3x3 workshop in the center, leaving 16 surrounding tiles for input storage.

When utilizing a large storage stockpile, for food or wood for example, the optimal approach is to place a small stockpile next to the workshop and have the small stockpile [[Stockpile#Take_from_a_stockpile/workshop|take]] from the large stockpile.

There are a few other things to consider for basic fortress efficiency:
* Major hallways should be at least two tiles wide, preferably three tiles. Otherwise your dwarves will be constantly running into each other causing productivity and possible [[Maximizing_framerate#Fortress_Design|framerate]] to be slowed.
* To reduce the amount of time that your dwarves spend walking, common areas should be placed near the center of your fort. Dwarves drink frequently. It's a good idea to store your booze in a centralized location, and to designate a [[meeting hall]] in a similarly centralized place.
* An efficient fortress must make good use of all three dimensions. A dwarf climbs or descends one [[z-level]] in the same time it takes to move one step horizontally. For example, when you need to build more bedrooms it can be a lot more efficient to dig down one level than to place the new rooms 20 tiles farther from the center of your fortress.
* Moving one step diagonally takes about 1.4 times as long as moving one step orthogonally. This matches the real world, where Pythagoras tells us that it should take √2 (about 1.414) times as long. You can optimize floor plans for [[pathfinding]] by adopting more circular shapes into your design.
* Similarly, since vertical Z-movement is cheap, the more spherical your fortress is in shape, the less walking there is, overall. Placing workshops side-by-side on a single floor means each additional workshop requires a dwarf move at least 3 more tiles (and if there is a wall or space, 4 or 5 tiles) to reach their destination, and they will be frequently running back and forth between stockpile and workshop. Vertical stacking means a dwarf only moves 1 tile.
* With [[burrow]]s, it is possible to keep some dwarves working in a specific area, so that they never try to take a task half-way across the map, or haul items a long distance through high-volume corridors. For example, you might keep your furnace operators and your weaponsmiths hard at work in their smelters and forges by designating a burrow for them. Make sure you understand burrows before attempting this - if there is no source of food or drink in the burrows a dwarf is restricted to, you may run into some [[tantrum|problems]]. (This means possibly making additional dining rooms just for these dwarves.) Also make sure the dwarves' quarters (or at least a dormitory) are inside the burrow.
* A more advanced technique is to segregate your fortress by raw material, and have separate "wings" or "nodes" of the fortress for different types of material. All woodworking workshops, for example, are connected to a vertical shaft dug down from a stockpile near the front gate that takes in lumber from outside, where craftsdwarves only need to travel 3 tiles horizontally to the stairs, 1-4 z-levels up the stairs, and a tile to the side to reach their lumber supply. Since most industry takes only one general type of raw material (wood, stone, metal/ore, gem, food, cloth,) you can easily segregate by raw material. Put "finished product" stockpiles on a separate floor, as well.
* Place your residential sectors (housing, food, and drink) as close to the workplace as possible. Dwarves waste most of their non-working time just walking to the drink supply. Make that as short as possible. Don't be afraid to make secondary alcohol stockpiles, and you can actually put residences for craftsdwarves right under the stack of workshops. Legendary dining halls are tougher to make in droves, but not so tough you can't do it with an established fort.
* [[Block]]s can substitute for raw rock for construction purposes, but are much lighter. If you are digging in a depth of 100z and need many rocks for building structures at the surface, you should set up a rock storage and a mason´s workshop at 100z to permanently make blocks, and use the blocks for the construction. This is a full-time job for one mason, but the speed of the construction dwarves is increased a lot.

==Aesthetics==
Aesthetics are completely subjective, of course, but it's still something you may want to consider when designing your fort.
* Symmetry is often the ''easiest'' path to visual appeal, but it may be hard to balance with function. Asymmetry can look great but requires more skill to look graceful.
* Conform to either mostly organic shapes or mostly inorganic shapes. A mixture ''probably'' won't look very good.
* Try digging passages out of [[stone]] rather than [[soil]]. Although digging in stone is slower and messier, stone can eventually be smoothed and engraved, and yields a usable material. Soil, on the other hand, is ugly and much less dwarfy (although being excessive and paving stone over everything is arguably ''more'' dwarfy).
* Use stockpile settings to consistently build your furniture and blocks from a single type of material. Bedrooms tend to look nicer when the furniture is uniform.
* Alternatively, if you like lots of [[color]] and [[Style_project|variety]], you can use the stockpile and workshop settings to make sure your dwarves use lots of different materials.
* [[Ramp]]s are generally more aesthetically pleasing than the extremely narrow switchback [[stairs]], but carry a much larger cost in efficiency and ease of construction.

== Further Reading ==
For an in-depth examination of topics relating to fortress layout, these pages focus on specific aspects, mostly with an eye to improving survivability. Some of these are not directly related to architecture but are useful nonetheless.
* [[Defense guide]]
* [[Security design]]
* [[Trap design]]
* [[Military design]]
* [[Stockpile design]]
* [[Workshop design]]
* [[Bedroom design]]
* [[Megaproject]]
* [[Stupid dwarf trick]]
* [[Style project]]

{{Category|Design}}
{{Category|Guides}}
[[ru:Design strategies]]

DF2014:Fire

2023-01-13T02:17:06Z

Kyrosive: oops

{{Quality|Exceptional|17:12, 29 January 2015 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
[[File:Running around on fire.gif|thumb|'''‼'''Dwarves'''‼''' on fire (flashing red/yellow), and trailing [[smoke]].]]

'''Fire''', like its real-life counterpart, is an immensely [[fun|destructive]] force. Fires can spread and burn dwarves and furniture, generating [[smoke]]. Fire spreads over flammable surfaces, items and creatures. Dwarves caught in the blaze might end up dying, and items will slowly get [[wear|damaged]] until they get destroyed. In-game, entities which are on fire flash red and yellow. In item lists, anything which is on fire will also be surrounded by double exclamation marks, similarly to ‼THIS‼.

== Cause ==
[[File:bonfire.jpg|thumb|240px|right|🔥 Got a light?]]A fire can stem from several sources, for example:
*[[Dragon]]s breathe [[dragonfire]], which can set most organic things on fire and melt fire-safe stone, at anything hostile they see. The dragonfire spreads out in a conical shape and ignites anything it touches. It is not the same as regular fire.
*[[Fire imp]]s can throw fireballs, which may set things alight.
*[[Magma crab]]s can spit globs of liquid [[basalt]], which may set [[grass]] or [[cave moss]] alight, causing fires.
*[[Magma]] will burn anything flammable it touches. However, any item set alight by this method will likely just be doused in magma until it is completely destroyed.
*[[Magma mist]] burns stuff just as well as magma.
*Some [[titan]]s, [[forgotten beast]]s, and [[demon]]s can breathe fire/throw fireballs, too.
*[[Fire man|Fire men]] and [[magma man|magma men]], as well as other procedurally-generated beasts composed of flame, have high fixed body temperatures, causing them to spread fires (and [[fun]]) in their path.

Note that it is currently difficult to safely start (and then, control) a fire. Fire is most easily started by either [[magma]] or a fire-breathing attack. An area enclosed by [[water]], metal, stone or Z-level difference can be used to start a fire, which can be used as a way of increasing [[FPS]] by removing objects or as part of a complex trap, though this may lead to [[fun]] when something comes out burning which then sets the rest of the fort on fire.

== Spread & Effect ==
Fire will spread to adjacent tiles containing flammable materials, including [[grass]], [[shrub]]s, [[log]]s, [[clothes]], [[dwarves]] (and generally all creatures that are not composed of [[fire-safe]] materials), multi-tile trees, wooden [[furniture]], [[building]]s, and [[road]]s, [[lignite]] and [[bituminous coal]] rocks, and bars of [[charcoal]], or [[coke]]. Except for dragonfire, fire won't burn rock or metal. Constructions (wall, floor, etc.) will currently never burn, no matter what, even if made of wood. Consider this when fireproofing your fortress-- especially when embarking in a heavily wooded biome.

Fire will not spread across z-levels by itself. Walls with trapped passages block the fire, too. Both shrubs and trees can catch fire, and burning branches can potentially spread fires uphill. When aboveground, spreading fire can cause trees to collapse, and if it spreads too much, this can cause spam as the game repeatedly announces "Something outside has collapsed!" and pauses. Note that these collapses can cause holes in the ceiling of your fortress if it is directly below. Therefore, some forest fires are sadly best left controlled, or not started.

Fires burning in the environment (e.g. burning [[grass]]) start at a temperature of {{ct|10508}} and quickly heat up to {{ct|10708}}, while burning items rapidly heat up to 200 degrees above their ignition point (but stay slightly below that, because the surrounding air cools them a bit). Items experience rapid [[wear]]-based damage while burning, and continue to degrade until entirely destroyed. [[Fire-safe]]ty for any material is defined as being stable at a [[temperature]] of {{ct|11000}}.

=== Artifacts ===
[[Artifact|Artifacts]] constructed from a flammable base material can burn, but will not experience any [[wear]], potentially leaving them burning forever. This includes artifacts used as part of a building. If an artifact is not stored in a bin, water will extinguish it. Artifacts with a melting or boiling point can still be destroyed if the items exceed those temperatures (as a result of combustion, [[magma]], or [[dragonfire|other sources]]).

Interestingly, because [[books]] are considered artifacts, they too will burn indefinitely, but because their copies aren't, such copies ''will'' burn up.

=== Ghosts ===
One thing to note is that dwarves that burn to death do not leave remains, and will produce ghosts even if buried in a coffin. Be sure to engrave a memorial to all dwarves that burn to ashes, unless, of course, you ''want'' a ghost infestation.

== Dragonfire ==
{{main|Dragonfire}}

Dragonfire is a very powerful form of fire that is capable of igniting or melting many fire-safe materials. Specifically, organic materials ignite (including [[nether-cap]]), and non-flammable stones and metals melt and boil away. Objects ignited by dragonfire burn at their standard combustion temperature - only the initial blast of dragonfire is able to destroy [[fire-safe]] materials. Dragonfire can only naturally be emitted by [[dragon]]s.

== Dangers ==
In recent versions of ''Dwarf Fortress'', dwarves see fire as a danger to themselves and try to avoid becoming ‼Dwarves‼. However, burning dwarves will carry out typical dwarven activities, despite the fact the dwarf is burning to death, and will spread the fiery destruction to their peers. {{verify}} This may not only kill your dwarves, but more importantly, also incinerate a good many useful items. Dwarves will not path through smoke reliably, so if you see a bunch of job cancellations due to pathing issues, a fiery dwarf is probably running around (or other [[fun]] is afoot). Alternatively, sometimes the smoke on the burning dwarf's tile prevents them from pathing anywhere, forcing them to be stationary while they burn. And don't, for Armok's sake, let the flaming dwarves anywhere near the booze. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't ''explode'' (and never did), but it ''will'' boil away into nothing, which is always [[fun#No_Booze|fun]].

A dwarf catching fire is not an automatic death sentence - dwarves have been observed catching fire, then extinguishing and surviving.

[[File:dwarf_fire_preview.png|thumb|289px|center|!!Punctuation marks have never been so painful!! ''Art by Locus'']]

{{Translation
| dwarven = ziril
| elvish = inira
| goblin = zedan
| human = usmok
}}

{{Category|Physics}}
[[ru:Fire]]

DF2014:Fire

2023-01-13T01:52:27Z

Kyrosive: /* Spread & Effect */

{{Quality|Exceptional|17:12, 29 January 2015 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
[[File:Running around on fire.gif|thumb|'''‼'''Dwarves'''‼''' on fire (flashing red/yellow), and trailing [[smoke]].]]

'''Fire''', like its real-life counterpart, is an immensely [[fun|destructive]] force. Fires can spread and burn dwarves and furniture, generating [[smoke]]. Fire spreads over flammable surfaces, items and creatures. Dwarves caught in the blaze might end up dying, and items will slowly get [[wear|damaged]] until they get destroyed. In-game, entities which are on fire flash red and yellow. In item lists, anything which is on fire will also be surrounded by double exclamation marks, similarly to ‼THIS‼.

== Cause ==
[[File:bonfire.jpg|thumb|240px|right|🔥 Got a light?]]A fire can stem from several sources, for example:
*[[Dragon]]s breathe [[dragonfire]], which can set most organic things on fire and melt fire-safe stone, at anything hostile they see. The dragonfire spreads out in a conical shape and ignites anything it touches. It is not the same as regular fire.
*[[Fire imp]]s can throw fireballs, which may set things alight.
*[[Magma crab]]s can spit globs of liquid [[basalt]], which may set [[grass]] or [[cave moss]] alight, causing fires.
*[[Magma]] will burn anything flammable it touches. However, any item set alight by this method will likely just be doused in magma until it is completely destroyed.
*[[Magma mist]] burns stuff just as well as magma.
*Some [[titan]]s, [[forgotten beast]]s, and [[demon]]s can breathe fire/throw fireballs, too.
*[[Fire man|Fire men]] and [[magma man|magma men]], as well as other procedurally-generated beasts composed of flame, have high fixed body temperatures, causing them to spread fires (and [[fun]]) in their path.

Note that it is currently difficult to safely start (and then, control) a fire. Fire is most easily started by either [[magma]] or a fire-breathing attack. An area enclosed by [[water]], metal, stone or Z-level difference can be used to start a fire, which can be used as a way of increasing [[FPS]] by removing objects or as part of a complex trap, though this may lead to [[fun]] when something comes out burning which then sets the rest of the fort on fire.

== Spread & Effect ==
Fire will spread to adjacent tiles containing flammable materials, including [[grass]], [[shrub]]s, [[log]]s, [[clothes]], [[dwarves]] (and generally all creatures that are not composed of [[fire-safe]] materials), multi-tile trees, wooden [[furniture]], [[building]]s, and [[road]]s, [[lignite]] and [[bituminous coal]] rocks, and bars of [[charcoal]], or [[coke]]. Except for dragonfire, fire typically won't burn rock or metal although some metals have low enough melting points they will melt in a grass fire. Constructions (wall, floor, etc.) will currently never burn, no matter what, even if made of wood. Consider this when fireproofing your fortress-- especially when embarking in a heavily wooded biome.

Fire will not spread across z-levels by itself. Walls with trapped passages block the fire, too. Both shrubs and trees can catch fire, and burning branches can potentially spread fires uphill. When aboveground, spreading fire can cause trees to collapse, and if it spreads too much, this can cause spam as the game repeatedly announces "Something outside has collapsed!" and pauses. Note that these collapses can cause holes in the ceiling of your fortress if it is directly below. Therefore, some forest fires are sadly best left controlled, or not started.

Fires burning in the environment (e.g. burning [[grass]]) start at a temperature of {{ct|10508}} and quickly heat up to {{ct|10708}}, while burning items rapidly heat up to 200 degrees above their ignition point (but stay slightly below that, because the surrounding air cools them a bit). Items experience rapid [[wear]]-based damage while burning, and continue to degrade until entirely destroyed. [[Fire-safe]]ty for any material is defined as being stable at a [[temperature]] of {{ct|11000}}.

=== Artifacts ===
[[Artifact|Artifacts]] constructed from a flammable base material can burn, but will not experience any [[wear]], potentially leaving them burning forever. This includes artifacts used as part of a building. If an artifact is not stored in a bin, water will extinguish it. Artifacts with a melting or boiling point can still be destroyed if the items exceed those temperatures (as a result of combustion, [[magma]], or [[dragonfire|other sources]]).

Interestingly, because [[books]] are considered artifacts, they too will burn indefinitely, but because their copies aren't, such copies ''will'' burn up.

=== Ghosts ===
One thing to note is that dwarves that burn to death do not leave remains, and will produce ghosts even if buried in a coffin. Be sure to engrave a memorial to all dwarves that burn to ashes, unless, of course, you ''want'' a ghost infestation.

== Dragonfire ==
{{main|Dragonfire}}

Dragonfire is a very powerful form of fire that is capable of igniting or melting many fire-safe materials. Specifically, organic materials ignite (including [[nether-cap]]), and non-flammable stones and metals melt and boil away. Objects ignited by dragonfire burn at their standard combustion temperature - only the initial blast of dragonfire is able to destroy [[fire-safe]] materials. Dragonfire can only naturally be emitted by [[dragon]]s.

== Dangers ==
In recent versions of ''Dwarf Fortress'', dwarves see fire as a danger to themselves and try to avoid becoming ‼Dwarves‼. However, burning dwarves will carry out typical dwarven activities, despite the fact the dwarf is burning to death, and will spread the fiery destruction to their peers. {{verify}} This may not only kill your dwarves, but more importantly, also incinerate a good many useful items. Dwarves will not path through smoke reliably, so if you see a bunch of job cancellations due to pathing issues, a fiery dwarf is probably running around (or other [[fun]] is afoot). Alternatively, sometimes the smoke on the burning dwarf's tile prevents them from pathing anywhere, forcing them to be stationary while they burn. And don't, for Armok's sake, let the flaming dwarves anywhere near the booze. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't ''explode'' (and never did), but it ''will'' boil away into nothing, which is always [[fun#No_Booze|fun]].

A dwarf catching fire is not an automatic death sentence - dwarves have been observed catching fire, then extinguishing and surviving.

[[File:dwarf_fire_preview.png|thumb|289px|center|!!Punctuation marks have never been so painful!! ''Art by Locus'']]

{{Translation
| dwarven = ziril
| elvish = inira
| goblin = zedan
| human = usmok
}}

{{Category|Physics}}
[[ru:Fire]]