Dwarf Fortress Wiki - User contributions [en]

v0.34:Object testing arena

2012-06-30T21:17:20Z

Leafbarrett: /* Modifying the Arena layout */

{{av}}
{{Quality|Exceptional|08:10, 8 June 2010 (UTC)}}
The '''object testing arena''' is a fun place; you can test things, or just have some fun carnage. The arena is accessed through the main menu. Note that the object testing arena is not the same as an arena created in [[fortress mode]].

== Spawning creatures ==
Creatures can be spawned while in the loo{{key|k}} menu. Press {{key|c}} to create a creature. Select the creature type, skills and equipment, and then press {{key|enter}}. Press {{key|Esc}} (or whatever you bound "leave screen" to) to cancel without creating the creature. You cannot delete creatures. You can, however, press {{key|w}} then {{key|l}} to create a stone wall, instantly killing anything on that tile.

=== Inventory and skills ===
While in the creature placement menu, it is possible to add skills to your creatures such as the fighter skill. It is also possible to add weapons, ammo, and armour to your creatures. Creatures unable to use the weapons given to them will drop them upon unpausing, but creatures such as dwarves will happily use the weapon as long as they at least have dabbling in the weapon skill. You can also set exactly how much of a certain item you want when you select it, by using the {{key|+}} or {{key|-}} keys, which is the only way to get a creature to hold more than one piece of ammo, as the arena lacks an option for spawning quivers or backpacks.

=== Teams ===
It is possible to 'Team' creatures up by pressing {{k|s}} and {{k|d}} in the Creation menu which is shown on the top left hand side. There are 99 teams, as well as "Independent", which is the default and acts as every creature for himself.

In this way you can create simulated battles against beasts or enemies. For example, you can test twenty sword-users versus twenty macemen and analyze the battle from the gamelog.txt.

[[Necromancer]]s and [[mummy|disturbed dead]] that are marked as Independent will not be at peace with the [[undead|zombies]] that they raise. This is not a bug because arena independence overrides anything else.

== Fighting in the Arena yourself ==
Loo{{key|k}} at any creature, and press {{key|a}} to play as them, and {{key|ctrl+a}} to exit back to the main mode.
*The controls here are exactly the same as in [[Adventurer mode]], if you are playing a previous version of Dwarf Fortress you may be unable to set combat preference (as it used to require the same key to stop controlling a unit)

*Attempting to {{key|a}} a corpse results in the corpse being butchered.

== Spawning liquids ==
From the loo{{key|k}} menu, press {{key|l}} to spawn a 7/7 unit of lava, or {{key|w}} to spawn 7/7 water on the currently selected tile. If you place water and then lava in the same tile, they will immediately form a 'Rough-hewn Rock Wall' (i.e. before you unpause, or immediately as you do), resulting in no spillage. However, placing lava and then water simply fills the tile with water, with the same effect as placing water without magma. You can place fluids in a tile that also has a wall in it; the result is a tile with both a wall ''and'' 7/7 units of the fluid you placed (water or lava). This combination behaves exactly the same normal water without the wall would, except the area is still considered inaccessible for water to move through.

==Modifying the Arena layout==
The layout of the arena zone is stored in <Dwarf Fortress dir>\data\init\arena.txt

This .txt doesnt change the arena space, just whats in it when you enter.

The arena is composed of 9 z-levels (including 0, from Z=-4 to Z=4) of 144 x 144 tiles; the contents of each tile are specified by a single character:

{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! Character
! Description

|-
| {{k|#}}
| Empty tile<sup>1</sup>
|-
| {{k|C}}
| Chasm

|-
| {{k|.}}
| Block floor

|-
| {{k|P}}
| Block pillar/wall

|-
| {{k|R}}
| Block ramp

|-
| {{k|F}}
| Block fortification

|-
| {{k|+}}
| Water source?<sup>1 2</sup>
|-
| {{k|W}}
| 7/7 water<sup>1</sup>
|-
| {{k|w}}
| 7/7 water + ramp

|-
| {{k|L}}
| 7/7 magma/lava<sup>1</sup>
|-
| {{k|l}}
| 7/7 magma/lava + ramp

|}

# Tile will have no floor unless a pillar/wall is constructed on the z-level below.
# Only seems to work when placed on map edge; behaves identically to {{k|W}} otherwise.

There is no way of altering the temperature of the arena directly, and the arena temperature is considerably higher than what would be encountered in most areas of a world generated with the default temperatures. However, tiles that have formerly had lava or magma on them are considerably cooler.

The standard arena temperature is {{ct|10069}}, and for some reason the temperature of magma-cooled tiles is {{ct|10037}} {{version|0.34.11}}. Note that the temperature of magma that has not been removed remains at {{ct|12000}}. For comparison, the temperature of a subterranean tile is {{ct|10015}} and the dwarven homeotherm is {{ct|10067}}.

v0.34:Cave-in

2012-06-27T22:55:59Z

Leafbarrett: /* Results of a cave-in */

{{quality|Fine|21:06, 6 October 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}
:''A section of the cavern has collapsed!''

A '''cave-in''' is when walls, floors, and objects plummet downwards to lower [[Z-axis|Z-levels]] under the influence of [[gravity]]. A cave-in will occur if constructions or ground tiles are detached from all support (bridges do not support constructions). Since it is only a placeholder, the system is highly unrealistic—you can hold up a giant megafortress by a slender pillar of soap. [[Main:Toady One|Toady One]] has stated he intends to implement more realistic cave-ins in future versions.

Cave-ins can be disabled through the [[Technical tricks|init]] file, by changing [CAVEINS:YES] to [CAVEINS:NO].

== How cave-ins work ==

Any ''disconnected'' [[construction]] or section of [[rock]] or [[soil]] will cave in. The game checks for connections along the X, Y, and Z axes (that's left/right, up/down, and above/below). Any construction, even [[Stair]]s (natural or constructed), and [[support]]s (naturally) provide support/connections. '''Diagonal connections and [[bridge]]s do not.'''

Note that supports and fortifications, but '''not''' [[statue]]s, create an invisible floor on the level above them. No dwarf can enter the invisible floor, but it will hold an area attached to the floor tiles in four directions alongside it or the constructed/natural wall above it.

== Results of a cave-in ==

* Any [[creature]] caught directly underneath (on the same tile underneath) a cave-in is killed, the only exception being [[Ghost]]s.
* Any item caught under falling natural walls is destroyed completely. Natural floors and constructed walls and floors have a chance of destroying items.{{verify}}
* Anything standing on the area that caves in falls and may get away with being stunned. The fall victim has a chance of being unable to walk away, somewhat proportional to the distance fallen but not set in stone. <s>No</s> Pun intended.
* A large amount of dust is generated. Any creature caught by the dust from the collapse is knocked [[unconscious]] and can be thrown a few tiles, which may cause them to fall off, say, a narrow bridge fifty z-levels above the ground, or can mash them into a fine paste against the wall. Dwarves will receive an unhappy thought from choking on dust clouds (which won't matter if they're dead).
* All [[building]]s and non-wall [[construction]]s under the falling area are destroyed. Buildings above the cave-in will deconstruct if they are no longer supported.
* Natural terrain will remain intact during the cave-in; the only effect is they are revealed. {{verify}}
* Constructions will deconstruct when they collide with solid terrain.
* Any terrain crashes through multiple [[floor]]s, and stops only upon reaching solid ground, a constructed wall, or a support. Natural terrain piles up and constructions deconstruct.
* Mined stairs and [[ramp]]s will settle like unmined rock; Stairs that fall down onto previously empty [[floor]]s will reveal the level below. If there's rock or a floor above them, it'll cover the stairs.
* Anything falling into a fluid sinks to the bottom. Therefore, it is not a good idea to punch a skylight into your meeting area if you forgot that e.g. your [[gem]] pile was directly below and you had a [[magma]] tube three Z levels afterwards... you get the idea.
* Any water displaced by falling natural walls is not destroyed, but displaced upwards(!) to directly on top of the fallen walls.
* Soil walls tend to turn into a different soil type when they fall into a stone layer.
* [[Magma mist]] will be generated in all tiles of magma that were in the path of the cave-in.
* Any mined minerals or stone in the area directly under the cave-in will be forced out from under the cave-in.

== Avoiding cave-ins ==

Do not make unconnected sections of rock.

Actually, you're quite unlikely to cause cave-ins unless you are actively trying to cause them. In which case, you'd be wondering how to avoid cave-ins that ''cause damage'' to your folks. That's simple: Add a [[support]] under the stone mass, and link it to a distant [[lever]]. When you're done, hide everyone, pull the lever and watch the fireworks. If you're feeling lazier, use statues to keep dwarves off the wrong squares. Provided they move directly away from the cave-in area, the dust may not catch them - and they don't blunder off edges and die unless the dust catches them.

One of the more common accidental cave-ins results when you're taking out the floor in a checker-pattern (dwarves [[channel]]ing may sometimes tend to make this mistake) and the area below isn't supported, resulting in a situation like the diagram below:

Floor -1
▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒ ▒
▒ X +▒ <-- The X is a floor tile. It's not attached, so it will fall down.
▒ +>▒
▒ ▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒

Floor -2
▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒....▒
▒...▒▒ <-- Causing this area to receive a cave-in flow and knocking out any dwarves in its reach.
▒...<▒
▒....▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒

Another thing to watch out for is if you want to dig away a hill above ground, to make room for your fancy overground fort. You may dig away the hill on one level, and then have a huge platform of "floor" on the z-level above that falls on your [[miner]] if they get disconnected from the ground. Easy thing to miss the first time you do it.

The solution here is to dig ramps instead, since these take away both the [[soil]] on the level you are digging on and the floor on the level above. This is not foolproof, however, as [[tree]]s will prevent the floor it's on from being removed, resulting a free-hanging floor when you carve the ramp around it. In addition, ramps do not provide support for other tiles on the higher z-level; depending upon the order they are constructed, cave-ins may still occur.

== Using cave-ins ==
Intentional cave-ins serve several purposes:
* '''Defense'''
*: Use cave-ins to block off water approaches to underground cavern levels. Combined with walls higher up, a cavern can (with great effort) be rendered completely safe from all intruding vermin.<sup>1</sup>
* '''Death'''
*: Since a cave-in kills all [[creatures]] instantly, it can provide a [[Unfortunate accident|convenient]] or amusing way to off a group of creatures. This is also one of the most effective ways of dealing with [[titan]]s and [[forgotten beast]]s with dangerous [[syndrome]]s, especially airborne contaminants (deadly dust/vapors) and poisonous blood. For certain randomly generated creatures, they may be so indestructible that a cave-in is the ''only'' way to kill them. Also, it's a great way to 'spare' an [[Wound|'injured']] dwarf who likes 'laying' a bed all to [[Noble|himself.]]
* '''Removal of floor tiles'''
*: Causing a cave-in will destroy non-reinforced (no wall or support underneath) floor tiles directly underneath the falling terrain - this is a good way to e.g. hollow out a large area. All that's left to do is a little bit of cleanup on the edges, but look at all the channeling you save yourself!
* '''Breaking through multiple aquifer levels'''
*: Showcase with two levels: [[User:Rhenaya/HowtoDualAquifer]]
* '''Trapping [TRAPAVOID] creatures:'''
*: Since the dust from a cave-in can knock creatures unconscious, and any unconscious creature triggers a trap (including your dwarves and other friendly creatures), combine a cave-in with nearby cage traps for the capture. Note that this is only useful for kobolds and gremlins, as all other creatures which avoid traps are also immune to being knocked unconscious.
* '''Moving Water / Magma faster than [[Pump Stack]]s'''
*: Main article: [[Magma piston]]

=== Caving-in the toplevel/terrain from inside ===

You can cause terrain above you to cave in without going outside by first mining up stairs below the "borderline" you want to channel, channel the tiles above them, and removing the stairs afterwards.
The tiles above the up stairs can be mined from below while standing on the stair, so you don't have to go outside. Ramps would also work for that alone, but the ramps would allow enemies to enter, whereas the up-stairs alone do not allow passage to above as there is no corresponding down-stair above them.

<sup>1</sup>Not literal vermin, those won't be blocked.

=== Note ===
Rarely, a cave-in may happen right at the start of the game.This can have several effects depending on where it happens:from releasing underground tree spores, to revealing an [[HFS|upright adamantine weapon]] in the Room list.
{{Category|Physics}}

{{buildings}}

v0.34:Trap component

2012-06-26T10:28:05Z

Leafbarrett: /* Spiked ball */

{{quality|Exceptional|17:13, 13 August 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}
Any [[weapon]] in Fortress Mode can be placed into a [[Trap#Weapon Trap|weapon trap]]. However, there are five '''trap components''', or '''trap weapons''', that are ''specifically'' for weapons traps (and two also have additional uses). As with any weapon, a total of up to 10 of these can be put in a single weapon trap, creating a true "Indiana Jones" type of threat to any beast of any size, and potentially simply making a fine mince (or paste, depending on the weapons) of lesser creatures.
In the order they appear on the various menus, they are the '''menacing spike''', the '''serrated disc''', the '''spiked ball''', the '''enormous corkscrew''', and the '''giant axe blade'''.



All trap component weapons can be made out of [[metal]]s (by a [[weaponsmith]]) or [[glass]] (by a [[glassmaker]]), with appropriate damage. Three can also be made out of [[wood]] (by a [[carpenter]]), as noted below, which can be useful in getting some heavy weapons traps set up before you have a steady [[smelting]] operation going, or if you are short on metal. Each trap component takes one unit of the material that you are using (eg. Each menacing iron spike will take one [[bar]] of [[iron]])


Trap components are a separate sub-section of a [[forge]] menu, but are at the bottom of the general [[glass furnace]] or [[carpenter's workshop]] menus.

==The 5 trap weapons==
===Menacing spike===

The '''menacing spike''' can be mounted in both traditional [[Trap#Weapon_trap|weapon traps]] and [[Trap#Upright_Spear/Spike|upright spike traps]], which act quite differently. Its small contact size and high penetration depth makes it a decent choice against enemies with impale-able internal organs.

Menacing spikes can also be made from [[wood]].

===Large, serrated disc===
'''Large, serrated discs''' deal large amounts of damage, and have a tendency to sever their victims' limbs. While amusing, this can create several [[hauling]] tasks for [[dwarves]] as they have to move each severed body part to a [[butcher's shop]] or [[stockpile|refuse pile]]. Large serrated discs attack three times, giving them a very high damage potential.

===Spiked ball===
The '''spiked ball''' doesn't deal a blunt attack at all, but it does do three attacks with its spikes. Like the menacing spike, it has only a small contact area, but has a very low penetration depth compared to the menacing spike.

Low penetration depth edged attacks can still break bones with impact damage, just like blunt attacks do. In addition, if an edged weapon is unable to cut the material of the target's armor, its attack is converted to blunt type. Because the small contact area concentrates the force, spiked balls should be more effective against targets in superior armor than either serrated discs or giant axes.

Spiked balls can also be made from [[wood]]. If trees are not in short supply then wooden spiked balls make [[exploit|excellent]] trade items due to the fact that spiked balls have an extremely high item value, almost to the extent of being a bug.

===Enormous corkscrew===

'''Enormous corkscrews''' can be used as components in [[Trap]]s as well as for [[screw pump]]s. As a result, the corkscrews from unneeded screw pumps can be used to make serviceable weapon traps.

The enormous corkscrew performs a small contact area deeply penetrating attack, much like the menacing spike. It is currently unknown which of these two trap components is the strongest over all.

Enormous corkscrews can also be made from [[wood]].

===Giant axe blade===

The '''giant axe blade''' is a very similar weapon to the large, serrated disc, but only strikes once, compared to the disc's three attacks. However, due to its larger size, its single attack is stronger than each of the large, serrated disc's. It is currently unknown which of these two trap components is the strongest over all.

However, if the variables behave like those of the wieldable weapons, size determines mass (along with material density) and mass determines impact (BLUNT) damage. An edged weapon, like the giant axe, only deals this type of damage when it is unable to penetrate armor, or if the target is large compared to its penetration depth.

This suggests that a steel serrated disc's multiple attacks will outweigh the giant axe blade's somewhat larger size in most cases. If only inferior materials are available, the giant axe '''might''' be better at hurting armored targets, but the disc's three attacks probably still outweigh this advantage.

==Data & comparison==

{|cellpadding="2" border="1"
! Name !! Size !! Number of hits !! Contact Area !! Penetration Depth !! Wood?
|-
| Giant axe blade || 1600 || 1 || 100000 || 10000 || No
|-
| Enormous corkscrew&dagger; || 1600 || 1 || 100 || 10000 || Yes
|-
| Spiked ball || 1000 || 3 || 10 || 200 || Yes
|-
| Large, serrated disc || 1000 || 3 || 100000 || 10000 || No
|-
| Menacing spike&Dagger; || 1600 || 1 || 10 || 6000 || Yes
|-
| colspan=6 | &dagger; ''This trap component is a screw and can also be used in [[screw pump]]s.'' <br> &Dagger; ''This trap component is a spike and can also be used in [[Trap#Upright_Spear/Spike|upright spike traps]].''
|-
|}
:''(This data has been compiled from raw/objects/item_trapcomp.txt)''

----
'''See also:'''
:*[[Weapon]]
:*[[Trap]]

{{Category|Weapons}}
{{Category|Traps}}

On the origins of dwarves

2012-06-25T18:04:29Z

Leafbarrett: /* "War, Peace and Fell Moods" */

{{D for Dwarf}}

Piecewise's <s>article</s> <s>masterstroke</s> work of art on the forums needs to go here, so all can admire it.

== "On the Origin of Dwarves" ==

Long before our times, during the times of yore when great beasts stalked the darkness and tore civilization’s forebears asunder, there came to this world a strange new race: the dwarves. The ancestry of the dwarves is muddled and confused, often times contradictory, impossible, incestuous or all three. This can mainly be contributed to the dwarven tendency to keep their history through the use of engravings, rather than books or even oral tradition. Dwarves, being a subterranean people, rarely create paper and lack the memories to pass down stories of their ancestors in any reasonable fashion; this inability is mostly blamed on their near constant state of inebriation. Also unfortunate to would be historians is the dwarven tendency to place these historical engravings 60 feet underground and surrounded by all manner of deadly traps, questionable architecture and various slavering beasts. If one didn’t know better it would seem as though they are deliberately hiding their past.

Through what can be recovered the origin of dwarven kind (according to their creation myths) is as follows:

Once, long ago, a particularly ugly and foul tempered mountain goat raped a particularly hairy and insane Mandrill atop a pile of stones and vomit. From this coupling was born the first of dwarven kind, the Mountain King. He was born with a battle axe and bottomless tankard clutched in his tiny hands and his body was covered in such copious amounts of hair that he might easily have been mistaken for a bearded bear cub. The Mountain King was raised by a Granite Boulder and grew strong upon a diet of booze, cave mushrooms and the blood of his enemies. At age 4 he killed a bear in a staring contest and at age 7 he domesticated the first wagon. Upon his ascendancy into manhood he destroyed the boulder which had raised him and reshaped it into the first anvil, proclaiming:

“Reg limar, abod ber, avuz thol, or mabdug, nokor buket!”

These words would echo forever through dwarvenkind, though it is said that another phrase was within this motto. The lost phrase is said to have been:

“Gatiz emar agak.”

Though what this phrase means has been lost to us and inquiries to dwarven historians often end in violence. What little can be gathered is that it seems to relate to animal husbandry.

His childhood behind him, the Mountain King set about founding the first Mountain Home, digging out most of the mountain by himself using only his bare hands and frighteningly calloused manhood. His lavish home now complete and balanced entirely upon a single pillar he set out to make his name known and to find a wife worthy of baring his fuzzy offspring. The first civilization he came upon were the elves, a race of naked and eternally beautiful feyfolk who abhorred the use of trees or animals for any means. It was said that when they met the Mountain King was in the process of beating a mountain lion to death with a wolf. The elves, in their kindness, attempted to persuade the Mountain King to follow their naturalistic ways. In response the Mountain King tore off the head druid’s face and promptly began using it as his undergarments. Before the shocked elven masses he announced:

“Etar linem etes gubel lor."

Which, roughly translated, means:

“Your king blows my bulbous tool.”

Since this epochal meeting the relations between the elves and dwarves have continued to be tense, often times ending in massive forest fires, rampant cannibalism, horrifying dismemberment or, worst of all, crossbreeding. His duty done, the Mountain King continued his journey through the primal world. He next came upon the goblins and was delighted to find that their skinny limbs and necks broke with even the gentlest of hammer blows. After a brief campaign of recreational genocide the Mountain King grew bored of his new playthings and continued on, leaving the goblins broken and scattered, connected only by their intense hatred of small, bearded people. This hatred continues to this day, resulting in nearly constant goblin raids against dwarven settlements. Unfortunately, goblins' limbs and neck still snap with the ease of twigs, making these valiant efforts more or less meaningless.

The last race which the Mountain King discovered was that of Humans, still in their fragile and frightened infancy. Taking rare pity upon the gangly and awkward race, the Mountain King gifted them with weapons, armor and booze, ensuring a stable business and war partner as well as drinking buddy for generations to come. It was after finding this last race that the Mountain King realized he was still without a wife and was beginning to feel the effects of his decades of celibacy. After a tour of countless brothels and leaving a swath of broken pelvises and dislocated jaws behind him The Mountain king finally returned to his home. Determined to have his bride, the Mountain King built a tower to the heavens themselves and petitioned Armok, God of Blood, to grant him a wife. Armok agreed, on the condition that all their descendants from first to last be cursed with a tendency to die horribly. The Mountain King gladly agreed.

The wife which he was given, The Queen of All Stone, was truly a rightful receiver of his seed and wore a beard that could match his own. It was from these two that all dwarven kind sprang (or walked, being that dwarves don't really spring, hop, jump, skip or do anything that means removing more than one foot from the ground).

From this common ancestor onward the genealogy is scattered and unsure, engraved upon bars of soap and metal beds across the world. Many believe that the first child of the Mountain King was a girl by the name of Urist. Records become scarce beyond this but what little can be found indicate that she was notorious trickster and prone to paranoid mania, preferring to remain isolated. From this point on we can only guess.

== Urist's Anatomy ==

Dwarves are, by weight, 40% Body hair, 30% alcohol, 6% calluses, 12% anger, 7% muscle, 1% skin and 4% miscellaneous. Their blood does not have different “types”; rather it has a variety of “proofs”. Their bone structure is not unlike that of a man, though much stouter and more dense. The exceptions to this comparison come mostly from two places: the legs and the head. Dwarves, for whatever reason, lack knees and are therefore incapable of things like hopping, skipping, running in a dignified manner or bending down without falling prone. Dwarves, however, seem to prefer it this way and regard anything requiring knees as being the actions of “elvish silly nannys”. Several of the other strange anatomical designs are centered in the head and the curious structure of the dwarvish skull. A dwarf’s beard is actually connected directly to the bones of his jaw and palate and is comprised of a thick mane of hair like cartilage growths. These growths are actually quite sensitive to certain stimuli and allow a dwarf to detect things like an abandoned pigtail sock, even from miles away.

The dwarven skull is composed of only two very thick bones, one being the mandible and the other consisting of the entire rest of the cranium. This strange configuration seems to be an adaptation to generations of cave-ins and the popular dwarven drinking game “Smash rock with face”. Unfortunately the thick and solid skull compresses the dwarven brain and induces a species wide mental syndrome not unlike severe bipolar disorder. This means that dwarves are highly susceptible to sudden and often violent mood swings, shifting between murderous rage and enthralled stupor with only a particularly nice sock or table as the cause. Another interesting anomaly, or lack of anomaly, is that of the dwarven liver. Dwarves, as a race, are dependent on alcohol from birth; it has been proven that it is not simply conditioning but that the dwarven body is actually dependent on alcohol to perform at its best. While the exact process that makes them dependent and why it is so necessary is still unknown, it does appear as though the dwarven body is paradoxically not equipped to deal with the massive amounts of alcohol it must imbibe. The dwarven liver is by no means more effective or efficient when it comes to filtering the massive amounts of booze that a dwarf drinks, leading to liver failure to be the leading cause of death among dwarven kind (followed closely by “bludgeoned to death by enraged soap maker”).

Beyond these obvious abnormalities are the less known and harder to distinguish differences in dwarven anatomy. Dwarves are a methodical and stubborn race to the point that every aspect of their life is directly influenced. Dwarves work, party, drink and sleep in marathon-like stints, often times continuing a single party or drinking binge for months on end and their inherent stubbornness makes it nearly impossible to change tasks quickly even if their lives depend on it. It is far from unknown to hear of a dwarven fortress falling to invading hordes simply because the fortress guard were in the middle of a 6 month nap or drinking themselves comatose. This tendency has lead to the adage “oblivious as a dwarf on break”.

Beyond their stubbornness dwarves also exhibit a variety of odd behaviors, some of which seem to be related to their physiology while others are more idiosyncratic. A dwarf’s chosen profession seems to influence his thought patterns in radical ways, often leading to specific phobias and reckless behavior. Non-military dwarves, for example, seem to universally develop a crippling fear of all animals, even the most harmless. It’s not uncommon to see panicking works-dwarves running in abject terror from things like mountain goats and perturbed llamas. Military dwarfs, on the other hand, seem to completely lose their sense of self preservation and run heedlessly into battle, ignoring tactics in favor of fanatic yelling. So removed from their sense of fear are the warrior women that they often carry their children into battle, a tactic which often ends in tragedy; It should be noted, however, that there are few sights more frightening then a dwarven woman, bare from the waist up, holding a suckling newborn in one hand and a battleaxe in the other, charging toward you.

The debate on the subject of dwarven depression and anger is a complex one at best and is hard to study without significant risk to life and limb. It’s a well known fact that dwarves are particularly mentally unstable and subject a great many psychoses. One, as yet unproven, theory asserts that this tendency toward madness is actually a inborn limiting mechanism to control the number of dwarves occupying a certain area. It is a documented fact that, as a dwarven civilization grows in population the risk of insanity and depression also increases. Indeed it is impossible to walk into a thriving dwarven civilization and not see at least a handful of raving mad-dwarves screaming at the walls. The Theory asserts, however, that these harmless, though insane, individuals are not the purpose of the madness, merely a unforeseen failing. The true purpose of the madness is to limit population numbers through murder, suicide and random dwarfslaughter. Indeed it does seem that large dwarven civilizations are often brought down by internal subterfuge, mass suicide and ritual murder (or by poor architectural planning).

This inherent tendency toward insanity, whatever its cause, seems to have given dwarves an odd sense of art as well as particular building talents. Dwarves are known world over for their proficiency in metal working and weapon crafting as well as mechanical skill, however it is their decorative arts that are perhaps the most interesting. Take for instance a random piece of dwarven armor, a copper gauntlet in this case. Its construction is of the highest order and it is menacing with iron spikes, however perhaps the most frightening thing is its decoration. Recreated in painstaking detail is an image of a horse. The horse is screaming. Often times things such as dining room walls and children’s toys are adorned with images of violent slaughter, terrible holocausts and the occasional giant mushroom. Its not known exactly why dwarves would decorate their homes in such manner, but the scenes of violence actually seem to stave off fits of madness and violence, perhaps acting in some sort of primitive cathartic manner. Or perhaps Dwarves just genuinely enjoy images of bloody dismemberment and triangles.

== "War, Peace and Fell Moods" ==

The dwarven society is a complex and puzzling one, when compared to our relatively simple human society. Where as we seem to be guided mostly by instinct and desire, dwarves are driven by an entirely different kind of morals and ambitions. For instance, it is still completely unknown, even by the dwarves themselves, where their orders come from. Despite the existence of nobles within their society dwarves seem to act independently yet, paradoxically, also as a whole. For the non-informed imagine it like this. One dwarf may decide to mine out some stone, while another may decided to cut stone blocks and yet another may decide to assemble these blocks into a wall. These dwarves do these actions without the knowledge of what their fellow dwarves are doing and they seem only to do this on a whim. Theories of hivemindism abound, but perhaps the most interesting theory is that, in line with dwarven creation myth, the dwarves are being influenced and semi-puppeted by Armok, the dwarven god of blood, or His helpers. However, these speculations remain simply blind guesses.

A brief glance at dwarven society reveals it to be something like Feudalism, with many settlements under the ultimate control of a Monarchy. However, in depth study reveals that the tiny fraction of nobles actually seem to have very little to do with anything outside of trade relations. The prevailing opinion of the dwarven working class is that nobles are slightly touched in the head and their orders border on delusional. Its common for nobles to attempt to restrict the trade of items that do not exist and often can not exist in a specific settlement; they’re also known for their strange obsessions over seemingly random objects and will demand their manufacture, much to the annoyance of the general masses. Some believe that nobles are simply dwarves which have some how escaped whatever force binds and orders the rest of the workers, leading them to be unreliable and mentally unsound without the external control. In this situation the Aristocracy is seen more as an aggravating and demanding elephant graveyard, a position that the worthless and potentially dangerous of dwarven society are “promoted” to in order to keep them away from weapons or heavy machinery.

The possible exceptions of this rule lie within the dwarven justice system, specifically with the sheriff and the Hammerer. Dwarven law is seemingly draconian in many ways, but is also rather progressive. Dwarves put a great emphasis on the lives of living creatures (so much so that they consider the killing of a tame, non-food animal equivalent to murder) and as such have no capital punishment. What they have instead though, could be said to be even worse. Dwarves have three forms of punishment: Imprisonment, beating and Hammering. The first two are relatively minor, with even the harshest of beatings generally resulting in only minor injuries, it is the final punishment which is the most feared. The Hammering is doled out by the Hammerer, the dwarven equivalent of an executioner who wields a war hammer rather then an ax or sword. Hammering is simply that, the condemned receives repeated blows with the war hammer until either the sentence is carried out or the criminal is dead. While death is not the express purpose of the hammering it is often a side effect, with the other outcome usually being serious, crippling injury. Unfortunately one of the crimes which can possibly net this debilitating consequence is that of failure to comply with work orders, meaning that innocent dwarves may have their heads caved in for their inability to make glass in the middle of a frozen tundra. Its not surprising that nobles tend to meet their ends under suspicious circumstances and are often found under mysterious cave ins or floating face down in the moat.

Despite their warrior mentalities and fierce personalities dwarves have shown themselves to be passive aggressive at best (and aggressively passive at worst). While they are known for their fighting ability and boastful nature they rarely conduct war as an invading force, preferring instead to let the foolhardy enemies break themselves upon the fortresses walls. A common dwarvish saying that of “The best place to insult your enemies is behind forty feet of stone.” Its not to say that the most famous dwarven conflicts were those between dwarves and other sentient beings, far from it in fact. Perhaps the greatest example of the, ahem, quirkiness of dwarven culture is that the grand fortress of Boatmurdered. Boatmurdered endured the normal hardships of a dwarven settlement, namely constant raids from goblins and an inherently unstable society, but there was one main difference: elephants. It is, to this day, not known as to why the settlement was founded so close to the forest of “Tuskydeath”, but the outcome was nothing less then horrifying on all sides. For years the dwarves and elephants traded blows, usually resulting in the brutal impalement or trampling of dwarves or the imprisonment or death of the elephants. This conflict culminated in the creation of a “doomsday device” which was used to halt aggressive flooding as well as to flash boil most of the wildlife. Since the final fiery end of Boatmurdered a fragile truce seems to have been enacted between the elephants and the dwarves, if only to prevent such slaughter from ever occurring again.

Unfortunately one creature continues to be a continuous hazard to dwarven kind is that of carp. The official myth of the dwarves is that Armok created the carp out of river rocks and instructed them to mutilate random passersby. Regardless of their origin carp are considerably dangerous to dwarves, fisher dwarves in particular. Its not uncommon for fisher dwarves to be dragged into the river by swarms of these blood thirsty beasts. Some dwarves die as they are snatched off bridges or while gathering water and are never seen again, at least in one piece. Worse then river carp are the popularly named “death pool carp” or carp that have become trapped in murky pools. These pools are death traps and can be fatal to anything which wanders too close. Perhaps the most terrifying is the idea of what dwarves refer to (in hushed tones) as skeletal carp. These creatures are the remains of carp, animated through dark means, and are reported to be “faster then a beak dog and stronger then an ogre” as well as nearly immune to any sort of conventional weapons. There are reports of hordes of these strangely animate corpses galloping across the bleak and blasted wastes, tearing apart anything which gets in their way. Exactly how a fish, undead or not, can gallop is something beyond this writer’s comprehension.

== The Book of Job(s) ==

Dwarven culture is one dominated by toil and greed, leading most dwarves to be little more then glorified workhorses for the vast majority of their lives. It was once remarked of a dwarven miner that “there has never been a life as cruel or mercifully short as his”. In general dwarven labor is separated into two categories, crafting and hauling things about. For instance, a carpenter is considered a craftdwarf, as he creates useful objects from a raw material; a woodcutter is considered a hauler because his job consists mainly of chopping trees and lugging them around till he inevitably dies during some sort of animal attack. Almost all known dwarven professions have been complied and documented here for the sake of…well, record keeping.

[[Mining]]:
The noble, humble and very crushable miner is a job of both great importance and great ineptitude. On one hand the lives and livelihoods of all other dwarves depend on their ability to carve away the mountain and protect their comrades from the harshness of outdoor living. On the other hand their only discernible skill is the ability to swing a pick and (usually) not get crushed by falling rocks (maybe). It should be noted that, though both the job and the worker are relatively simple, the work does tend to produce sculpted, muscular dwarves ripe for military usage. Let us not forget the tales of dwarven work camps being defended by Herculean miners, their massive arms bulging as they embed pickaxes into elven hearts and minds.

[[Wood cutting]]:
The wood cutter is much like his miner counterpart: essential to many facets of the modern fortress and yet requiring the rough mental equivalency of a wagon wheel. However the wood cutter faces many more dangers in his line of work, from braving the horror of the wide open sky to battling the various forest creatures (sometimes including elven assassins). Unfortunately the woodcutter gains even less recognition than the miner, probably because the material he harvests only has a small set of uses within a well established fortress.

[[Carpentry]]:
Carpenters make various things out of wood, a practice that was deemed “Dangerously elf-like” many generations ago. Because of this carpenters are viewed either as outcasts (if they enjoy their job) or as unfortunate souls doing a terrible duty out of necessity (if they don’t like their job). While it is grudgingly acknowledged that some wooden things are necessary, at least early on, this does not mean that dwarves have to like this fact. In the grand scheme of things dwarves view carpentry as somewhere between manure shoveler and rapist on the scale of social agreeability.

Generally Carpenters and Wood cutters are tolerated as essential for the sheer fact that they make elves cry.

[[Masonry]]:
A mason has a strange place within dwarven society. They're generally seen as respectable by most, their job being one of the more useful and in demand; however they are also sometimes seen as heretical and dangerous. This belief stems from a common dwarven idea that the mountain and natural stone are all around better then anything that they or any of the other races could throw together; as such it’s seen as rather impertinent that a mason would try to “improve” on the natural rock by making unnatural things out of it. However the groups that think this tend to be small fringe groups, many of which also believe that the masons are a world spanning cabal intent on taking over the world and then carving all the mountains into giant cheese statues.

[[Stone detailing]]/[[Engraving]]:
Engravers are an odd bunch, perhaps the most innately subversive group in any dwarven fortress. During times of relative calm they enjoy carving things like triangles and mushrooms, perhaps in an attempt to create some sort of weaponized boredom. However, in troubled times they delight in covering every flat surface in an endless array of disturbing images; it's not uncommon for dwarven bedrooms to be adorned with mosaics of the inhabitant’s loved ones being gored by elephants or trampled by goats. Engravers are often described by their peers as “arseholes”.

[[Animal training]]:
Despite the job title this dwarf seems to have the perplexing task of randomly releasing various terrifying animals from their cages and promptly getting mauled. It seems that occasionally they may accidentally domesticate one of these snarling beasts but this can probably be chalked up to chance. Very rarely they also teach dogs to bite goblins where it hurts.

[[Animal care]]:
See Butcher

[[Health care]]:
See Burial

[[Fish cleaning]], [[small animal dissection]], [[fish dissection]];
Dwarves with any of these jobs seem rather unbalanced and are prone to fire starting and bed wetting. It’s advised that one should keep at least ten feet from them, for a variety of very good reasons, not the least of which being that they are coated in the internal fluids of untold house pets.

[[Butchery]]:
The butcher serves essentially the same purpose a human butcher does, though dwarven butchers seem to prefer battle axes to meat cleavers and enjoy their job a great deal more. While dwarves can live quite healthily on a diet of Plump Helmets they are renown for their delight in all manners of carnivorousness and as such the Butcher is seen as a welcome friend, a bloody and wide eyed bartender. The difference here is that the drinks are undercooked and made from cats.

[[Leatherworking]]:
Dwarves have a code of morals surrounding animals that is strangely familiar. They abhor the torture or mistreatment of their furry companions but seem to have no problem slaughtering, skinning, and eating them wholesale as long as it’s done in a specific manner. This means that there is often a vast amount of usable leather from various beasts and house pets just laying around the fortress, making leatherworking a stable job in deed. Dwarves seem to possess a strange affinity for elf leather products, perhaps a hold over from the leather thong of their great forefather the Mountain King.

[[Tanning]]:
This is the middle man between pet and sock, the great equalizer of life and upholstery. The tanner has the glorious job of taking the semi-rotten skin of various animals (and occasionally people) and transforming it into fine leather to be used as a raw material. It’s unknown how dwarves go about this process, as the human method of tanning requires large tracts of time, various foul chemicals and generally produces an odor that is noticeable for miles. The dwarven Tanneries are, by comparison, tiny workshops often located next to living quarters or even within kitchens. When questioned about this perplexity dwarven tanners whistle and attempt to look uninterested

[[Farming]]:
Dwarven farming takes two paths, the normal above-ground farming which we are familiar with and more exotic underground growing. Dwarves seem to prefer the act of farming underground, even if they occasionally delight in the exotic brews made possible by above ground plants. Beyond the dwarven nutritional staple of booze the farms serve a lesser purpose of producing food and raw materials. Dwarves seem unconcerned about what they eat in most cases and can easily live out their lives subsisting on a diet of Dwarven wine, plump helmet and the occasional side of cat meat; This leads to an overwhelming majority of plump helmet farms which in turn leads a dwarven farm to resemble a scene from Alice in wonderland, albeit a dark, dank, vomit reeking wonderland populated by manic-depressive midgets.

[[Fishing]]:
Depending on the area the job of a fisherdwarf can either be a luxury or a death sentence. In most areas the work of a fisherdwarf is dangerous only because of its need to be outside, amongst wild animals and horrible sky. However if carp are involved this normally menial job becomes a game of roulette, with every moment being just another chance to die. From the few historical carvings we have we know that the dwarves once had a 4th punishment, in addition to their current triad of prison, pummeling, and pounding; this fourth punishment entailed forcing the condemned to fish in a carp infested river till he was finally set upon by the beasts. This punishment was eventually banned, partially because it was deemed too cruel and partially because it tended to have a mortality rate of 4 or 5 rather then the intended 1 as guards and spectators were also dragged to their fishy end.

[[Soap making]]:
Strange does not begin to describe this particular labor, The strangeness of it stems from the fact that dwarves are seemingly incapable of using soap for its intended washing purposes, choosing instead to stacking it about or simply trade it away. The soap maker himself seems perplexed by his creation yet continues to make it. Various men have tried to instruct the dwarves in the use of their creation however they remain seemingly mentally blocked from comprehending its purpose. However, men have also tried to teach the dwarves the meaning of being on fire and were equally unsuccessful, so perhaps there is simply some sort of cognitive dissonance involved.

[[Furnace operating]]:
There is a saying which goes “When a dwarf and fire are wed, the former will inevitably end up dead.” This, above all else, accurately describes the dwarven relationship with things hotter then body temperature. As such it’s surprising that furnace operation is such a safe job, indeed there are no reports of fatalities directly relating to the furnace operator’s job (unless being caught in a cave in counts). How this record is maintained appears to be a complete mystery to all involved, including the Operators themselves. However, since it seems to take the average Operator something like a week to do even the simplest of tasks one could surmise that the record is the result of extreme safety measures or simple cowardice.

[[Wood burning]]:
Wood burners lead a charmed life, revered as heroes for their use of fire to destroy the scourge that is above-ground nature, yet constantly hunted by elven assassins for the same reason. Wood burners are often local celebrities and are the pride of a fortress but the position is rarely volunteered for. The elves, in their endless attempts to destroy dwarven values, have singled wood burners out for death. The term of a Wood burner is usually ended when he his found face down with an oak arrow embedded in his spine.

[[Lye making]]/[[Potash making]]:
This labor includes letting ash float in water and then letting that water dry out (maybe). It also includes setting one’s hair on fire in a desperate attempt to liven up one’s bleak, ashy existence.

[[Weaponsmithing]]:
The act of making a hammer with another hammer, creating the paradox of “where did the first hammer come from?” Weaponsmiths are often hulking brutes of considerable strength, perhaps second only to dwarven accountants in sheer muscle mass. Their job mainly consists of lifting something heavy and smacking it against something hot till something sharp is made. They are considered the backbone of the army, both for their skill in weapon creation and for their general propensity to cave in goblin skulls with their hammers.

[[Armoring]]:
The rival of weaponsmithing, it’s not uncommon for inter-fortress arms races to pop up as weaponsmiths and armorers compete to one up each other. (in this case however I’m referring to the ancient dwarven tradition of “arms races” in which the participants drag themselves around the fortress using only one arm.) The armorers say they are more valuable because you only need one weapon, but many items of armor.

[[Blacksmithing]] and [[Metalcrafting]]:
The work that doesn’t fall into either armoring or weaponsmithing is relegated to the humble blacksmith. The Metalsmith makes the much more mundane objects needed by the fortress, including cups which no one uses and coins that generally have no value.

[[Gem cutting]] and [[Gem setting]]
Gem cutters are the jewelers of the dwarven world and are known for their flamboyant nature and sequin cloaks. They are often found, prancing about the tunnels with small hammers, gathering the raw material for their labor before returning to the shop to gently chisel away. While not a particularly proud part of the fortress gem cutters are tolerated for the vast wealth they bring in. Curiously they’re all named Shirley. Gem setters are a fair bit more dignified, even if their casual attire is a jewel encrusted codpiece.

[[Bonecarving]]:
A habit most pick up in jail is actually a time honored tradition within dwarven society. It’s well known that dwarves prefer to use just about every part of an animal (not because of any sort of ethical ideal, but because it increases profit) and that they have a vicious sense of ironic humor; as such the act of turning elephant bones into arrows with which to shoot more elephants is seen not only as cost effective but as a genocidal good time.

[[Stonecrafting]]:
One thing that dwarven society is never short of is spare rocks and it is the stoneworker’s job to turn all this useless debris into equally useless trade goods. Some of the strangest things a stonecrafter can make are stone musical instruments. How exactly one is expected to play a stone harp is lost on this author.

[[Woodcrafting]]:
Like carpenters, woodcrafters are often the object of ridicule and anger. They do, however, have one talent which brings them some social standing: the ability to make wood bolts for crossbows. As mentioned before dwarves have a love of poetic justice and as such greatly enjoy killing elves with wooden arrows. A famous dwarven general once said of a particular conflict with the elves: “They demanded to know what we had done with all their precious trees. So our archers showed them.”

[[Glassmaking]]:
Dwarves have a perilous relationship with glass. On one hand it’s fragile, a quality dwarves detest. On the other it’s shiny and involves fire in its creation, both qualities which they love. Regardless of their opinions on the substance glass tends to have few if any practical uses within a fortress, being that windows aren’t exactly a necessity a mile beneath the earth. Much like the stonecrafter the glass maker seems to focus his efforts on building things like Goblets which dwarves never use and toys which will invariably shatter into some child’s hands and eyes. However, unlike the stonecrafter, the glassmaker’s raw material is time and resource consuming to create. This leads to the common impression that dwarven glassmakers are insane.

[[Siege engineering]] and [[Siege operating]]:
Merchants of death on a grand scale, Siege engineers create the dwarven weapons of mass destruction: the ballista and the catapult. Regarded as talented though a bit off, as they tend to test their wares on migrants and unsuspecting wildlife, much to their own delight.

[[Mechanics]]:
The dwarven mechanic is usually considered one of the most intelligent of dwarven society, capable of constructing everything from power generators to deadly traps. Oddly enough they require only one type of mechanism to do this, though the number of these mechanisms varies from machine to machine. Humans have for years tried to discover the method by which such complex apparatuses can be constructed with only 2-3 parts and have in-so-far been unsuccessful. Another mystery is the way in which mechanics can mechanically connect two objects, even across massive distances, with only two of these mechanisms. When we questioned a dwarven mechanic by the name of Hertz about this seemingly impossible phenomenon he merely shrugged and replied “Ich habe keine Idee, aber es ist recht interessant.”

[[Weaving]]:
While the task of weaving is usually relegated to the women of other races dwarves hold no such sexist policies. Instead they have much more dangerous policies, like capturing enormous spiders and feeding them a constant diet of crippled goblins in order to harvest the spider’s web for high value silk production. It should be noted that the dwarves also do not discriminate who to feed to said spider based on sex, race or age; in other words it’s equal opportunity murder all around.

[[Dyeing]]:
A favorite activity of dwarves, especially those near volcanoes or cliffs.

[[Clothes making]]:
Dwarves are a simple race when it comes to clothing, many wear and in fact prefer to wear simple clothing. Of course this simple clothing invariably degenerates into rags prompting the creation of new clothing. After all, spending is better then mending. Counter intuitively though the post as clothier is rarely filled, meaning that the demand for new clothing often goes unanswered. When asked why so few are willing to become a clothier most dwarves will simply scream and run, while the few braver souls will recount stories of horrible carnage and destruction. It is believed, after careful study, that the loom is actually a distant cousin of the Wagon; however, unlike the wagon, the loom is capable of moving of its own accord. Loss of life and limb is rife.

[[Milling]]:
Dwarves tend to do this when they should otherwise be working.

[[Hunting]]:
In theory this is the practice of bludgeoning, stabbing or shooting various wildlife to death in order to use their carcass as food or raw materials. In reality it’s the practice of wandering into the forest, getting trampled or gored and then dragging one’s crippled self back to the fortress where one then occupies a bed for the rest of one’s natural life.

[[Brewing]]:
Brewers are loved above all others in their community and in the cases of exceptional brewers almost worshiped. A master brewer will often have a harem of comely young women (or nubile young boys) along with substantial treasure and fame. However a brewer who disgraces the practice by brewing sub-par drinks will be ridiculed and despised, or in some extreme cases publicly lynched. It should be noted that many of the aforementioned actions and decisions happen while the participants are extremely inebriated on said brewers beer. This has lead to the adage “Madder then a Dwarf on Sewer Brew”

[[Plant gathering]]:
The act of tearing various plants out of the ground for various purposes, the favorite of which is “just to annoy the blasted elves”. The brewers do thank the gatherers - sometimes.

[[Milking]]:
Dwarves are quite odd in their choice of which animal to milk. While all manner of mammals are available to dwarves, including the cow, camel, ox and goat, dwarves instead choose a insect as their only source of milk. Beyond this they chose a maggot that many dwarves find detestable and that can only be milked one a season. When asked why they would do something so counter-intuitive most dwarves look embarrassed and attempt to change the subject.

[[Cheese making]]:
Because milk is a rather rare commodity in dwarven society, for aforementioned reasons, the prospect of cheese is rather dubious. Because of this dwarven cheese is actually extremely valuable, equal to dragon meat. This author wonders if the choice of “dwarven” cheese rather then “purring maggot” cheese has something to do with this, though dwarven cheese implies rather disturbing things in and of itself.

[[Cooking]]:
Dwarven cooks are only grudgingly accepted into society, mainly because they are seen as an unnecessary step between the raw meat of the butcher and a potential meal. The dwarves are not particularly unreasonable in this either as it is a well documented fact that dwarven cooks do not, in fact, cook anything. Raw meat, plant products and Minced wine are simply mixed together to create “roasts” and “biscuits”. While these names may sound appetizing the reality of the matter is that they are gelatinous masses of grayish moist unhappiness. While many outsiders think that the miasma found around kitchens is the result of rotting food, it is actually a byproduct of successful cooking.

[[Trapping]]:
Imagine, if you will, a great and grizzled mountain man with a long flowing beard and eyes shining like two great lumps of coal. Imagine this man holding a bear trap. Imagine this man chasing a mouse with this bear trap. This is the basic scenario of dwarven Trapping.

[[Architecture]]:
The dwarven architect is often uneducated and inexperienced, sometimes picked simply because he is the closest to the current construction job. Thus thrust into his new position the unfortunate victim usually fails terribly, often ending in the deaths of several masons and the stranding of many more. In order to avoid embarrassment the project foreman has the architect jailed and supposedly executed. However, rather then actually executing him the foreman simply gives the victim a false beard to wear over his real one and then reintroduces him into society. By the end of his life time the average dwarf is reported to be wearing no fewer then 3 false beards over his real one.

v0.34:Creature token

2012-06-23T21:37:27Z

Leafbarrett: /* N */

{{av}}{{Quality|Exceptional}}

A full list of all known creature tokens.

__NOTOC__

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==A==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| ADOPTS_OWNER
| Caste
|
| Tame creature cannot be made available for adoption, instead automatically adopting whoever it wants. It appears that the basic requirements for adoption are intact; for example, the creature is more likely to adopt an owner which likes creatures of that species.{{verify}}

|-
| ALCOHOL_DEPENDENT
| Caste
|
| Creature needs alcohol to get through the working day.

|-
| ALL_ACTIVE
| Caste
|
| Sets if the creature is active in day, night, and twilight. Seems to be a separate value from DIURNAL/NOCTURNAL/CREPUSCULAR, rather than implying them.

|-
| ALTTILE
| Creature
|
| If set, the creature will blink between its [TILE] and its [ALTTILE].

|-
| AMBUSHPREDATOR
| Caste
|
| Instead of charging relentlessly at prey, a creature with this tag will wait till the prey is within a few squares before charging.{{verify}}

|-
| AMPHIBIOUS
| Caste
|
| Allows a creature to breathe with or without [[water]]. Implies [AQUATIC].

|-
| APP_MOD_DESC_RANGE
| Caste
|
*Range
| [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=60554.msg1766793#msg1766793 Forum post describing how description ranges work]

|-
| APP_MOD_GENETIC_MODEL
| Caste
|
*Model (Accepts DOMINANT_MORE, DOMINANT_LESS, and MIX)
| Defines a genetic model for the relevant appearance modifier(s). May or may not do anything significant at present.

|-
| APP_MOD_IMPORTANCE
| Caste
|
*number
| Determines how important the appearance modifier is, for determining whether it shows up in the creature description.{{verify}}

|-
| APP_MOD_NOUN
| Caste
|
*noun
*SINGULAR or PLURAL
| creates a noun for the appearance and whether it is singular or plural

|-
| APP_MOD_RATE
| Caste
|
*Rate (integer)
*Scale (DAILY, YEARLY)
*min:max of growth
*start year:start day
*end year:end day
| setting the growth rate of the modifier. The last two tokens can be replaced by NO_END to have growth continue indefinitely.

|-
| APPLY_CREATURE_VARIATION
| Special
|
*CV TEMPLATE NAME
| Loads the Creature Variation Template specified.

|-
| APPLY_CURRENT_CREATURE_VARIATION
| Special
|
| Applies loaded Creature Variation

|-
| AQUATIC
| Caste
|
| Allows a creature to breathe underwater, but causes it to "drown" out of [[water]].

|-
| ARENA_RESTRICTED
| Caste
|
| Does not appear in arena mode list

|-
| ARTIFICIAL_HIVEABLE
| Creature
|
| Can be kept in artificial hives by beekeepers.

|-
| AT_PEACE_WITH_WILDLIFE
| Caste
|
| Does not attack or frighten wildlife.

|-
| ATTACK
| Caste
|
*token
*bodypart
*selection criteria
*location
| Defines the attack name, and the body part used. See [[#Attack Tokens|below]] for valid subtokens
'''Example:'''<br />
[ATTACK:GORE:BODYPART:BY_CATEGORY:HORN]<br />
''GORE'' : name of the attack<br />
''BODYPART:BY_CATEGORY:HORN'' : the horn is used to attack (presuming the creature has one)

|-
| ATTACK_TRIGGER
| Caste
| pop:exported wealth:created wealth
| Specifies when a [[megabeast]] will attack the fortress.

|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==B==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| BABY
| Caste
| integer
| Age at which creature is considered a child. Default is zero. One can think of this as the duration of the baby stage.

|-
| BABYNAME
| Caste
| singular:plural
| Defines a new name for a creature in baby state at the caste level. For non-caste-specific baby names, see GENERAL_BABY_NAME.

|-
| BEACH_FREQUENCY
| Caste
|
| [[Whale]]s and [[Sea nettle jellyfish|jellyfish]] have this. Controls the beaching frequency of the creature.

|-
| BENIGN
| Caste
|
| The creature will only show up in "tame" biomes. Such creatures will generally avoid dwarves, although they may chase and/or attack them if they get too close, notably including [[elephant]]s.

|-
| BIOME
| Creature
|
* [[biome token]]
| Select a [[Biome]] the creature may appear in.

|-
| BLOOD
| Caste
|
* [[material token]]
*matter state (LIQUID, GAS, SOLID)
| Specifies what the creature's blood is made of.

|-
| BLOODSUCKER
| Caste
|
| ?

|-
| BODY
| Caste
| body parts
| Draws body parts from OBJECT:BODY files (such as body_default.txt)
'''Example:'''<br />
[BODY:BODY_WITH_HEAD_FLAG:HEART:GUTS:BRAIN:MOUTH] <br />
This is the body from a [[Purring maggot]]. It creates a body with head, a heart, some guts, a brain, and a mouth. Thats all a maggot needs.

|-
| BODY_APPEARANCE_MODIFIER
| Caste
|
*ATTRIBUTE
*lowest:lower:low:median:high:higher:highest
| These body modifiers give individual creatures different characteristics. In the case of HEIGHT, BROADNESS and LENGTH, the modifier is also a percentage change to the BODY_SIZE of the individual creature. The seven numbers afterward give a distribution of ranges. Each interval has an equal chance of occurring.
'''Example:'''<br />
[BODY_APPEARANCE_MODIFIER:HEIGHT:90:95:98:100:102:105:110] <br />
''HEIGHT'' : marks the height to be changed <br />
''90:95:98:100:102:105:110'' : sets the range from the shortest (90% of the average height) to the tallest (110% of the average height) creature variation.

|-
| BODY_DETAIL_PLAN
| Caste
| PlanName, PlanName:type:type:type:etc
| loads a plan listed OBJECT:BODY_DETAIL_PLAN files, such as b_detail_plan_default.txt. Mass applies USE_MATERIAL_TEMPLATE, mass alters RELSIZE, alters body part positions, and will allow tissue layers to be defined. Tissue layers are defined in order of skin to bone here.
'''Example:'''<br />
[BODY_DETAIL_PLAN:VERTEBRATE_TISSUE_LAYERS:SKIN:FAT:MUSCLE:BONE:CARTILAGE] <br />
This creates the detailed body of a [[fox]], the skin, fat, muscle, bones and cartilage out of the vertebrate tissues.<br />
A [[Purring maggot|maggot]] would only need:<br />
''[BODY_DETAIL_PLAN:EXOSKELETON_TISSUE_LAYERS:SKIN:FAT:MUSCLE]''

|-
| BODY_SIZE
| Caste
| years:days:size
| sets up size at a given time. Size is in cubic centimeters (milliliters), and for normal body materials is roughly equal to the creature's average weight in grams.
'''Example:'''<br />
[BODY_SIZE:0:0:10000]<br />
[BODY_SIZE:1:168:50000]<br />
[BODY_SIZE:12:0:220000]<br />
This describes the size of a [[minotaur]]. His birth size would be 10000 (10000 mL, ~10 kg). With 1 year and 168 days he would be 50000 tall (~50 kg). As an adult (with 12 years) he would weight roughly 220 kg

|-
| BODYGLOSS
| Caste
| gloss
| Substitutes body part text with replacement text. Draws gloss information from OBJECT:BODY files (such as body_default.txt)

|-
| BONECARN
| Caste
|
| Creature 'eats' bones. Eating bones makes their happiness go up, but can cause death (suffocation){{verify}}. Implies CARNIVORE. Civilized creatures (ex. Kobolds) with this tag tend to die out during world generation.

|-
| BP_APPEARANCE_MODIFIER
| Caste
|
*QUALITY
*lowest:lower:low:median:high:higher:highest
| sets up the breadth of possibilities for appearance qualities for a selected BP group. EG. Eyes (CLOSE_SET, DEEP_SET, ROUND_VS_NARROW, LARGE_IRIS),Lips (THICKNESS), Nose (BROADNESS, LENGTH, UPTURNED, CONVEX), Ear (SPLAYED_OUT, HANGING_LOBES, BROADNESS, HEIGHT), Tooth (GAPS), Skull (HIGH_CHEEKBONES, BROAD_CHIN, JUTTING CHIN, SQUARE_CHIN), Neck (DEEP_VOICE, RASPY_VOICE), Head (BROADNESS, HEIGHT)

|-
| BUILDINGDESTROYER
| Caste
| 1 or 2
| Allows a creature to destroy furniture and buildings. Value [1] targets mostly doors, hatches, furniture and the like. Value [2] targets anything not made with the b + C commands.
|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==C==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| CAN_DO_INTERACTION
| Caste
| interaction token
| The creature can perform an interaction. See [[interaction token]].

|-
| CAN_LEARN
| Caste
|
| The creature gets skills and professions. Note that this token makes the creature unable to be butchered by an adventurer so it is not recommended for uncivilized monsters. Adventurers lacking this token can allocate but not increase attributes and skills. skills allocated will disappear on start.

|-
| CAN_SPEAK
| Caste
|
| Can talk. Note that it is not necessary for a creature to gain social skills. If a member of a civilization (such as a pet) has this token, it'll need to eat and drink.{{verify}}

|-
| CANNOT_UNDEAD
| Caste
|
| Alias for NOT_LIVING

|-
| CANOPENDOORS
| Caste
|
| Allows the creature to open doors.

|-
| CARNIVORE
| Caste
|
| Creature ''only'' eats meat. Note that carnivorous species will not be able to survive worldgen if they do not also have NO_EAT.

|-
| CASTE
| Creature
|
*name
| defines a caste

|-
| CASTE_ALTTILE
| Caste
|
*tile number or "letter"
| Caste-specific alternate tile. Requires CASTE_TILE.

|-
| CASTE_COLOR
| Caste
|
*fg
*bg
*brightness
| Creature tile color of the caste.

|-
| CASTE_GLOWCOLOR
| Caste
|
*fg
*bg
*brightness
| GLOWTILE color of the caste.

|-
| CASTE_GLOWTILE
| Caste
|
*tile value or "letter"
| Caste-specific glowtile

|-
| CASTE_NAME
| Caste
| singular:plural:adjective
| The name of the caste of the creature in the game.

|-
| CASTE_PROFESSION_NAME
| Caste
|
*[[Unit type token]] (Profession)
*singular
*plural
| alters the name of the given profession, caste-specific

|-
| CASTE_SOLDIER_ALTTILE
| Caste
| 'character' or tile number
| Creatures of this caste active in their civilization's military will blink between their default soldier tile and this one. Requires CASTE_SOLDIER_TILE.

|-
| CASTE_SOLDIER_TILE
| Caste
| 'character' or tile number
| Creatures of this caste active in their civilization's military will use this tile instead.

|-
| CASTE_SPEECH
| Caste
| speech file?
| Possibly a caste-specific instance of the SPEECH token

|-
| CASTE_TILE
| Caste
|
* tile number or "letter"
| Caste-specific creature tile.

|-
| CAVE_ADAPT
| Caste
|
| Gives the creature a bonus in caves. Also causes [[Cave adaptation]].

|-
| CDI
| Caste
| Varies
| Specifies details for the preceding CAN_DO_INTERACTION token. See [[Interaction token]].

|-
| CHANGE_BODY_SIZE_PERC
| Caste
|
|

|-
| CHILD
| Caste
| integer
| age at which creature is considered an adult. One can think of this as the duration of the child stage. Without this token, a creature will not reproduce in Fortress mode.

|-
| CHILDNAME
| Caste
| singular:plural
| Defines a new name for a creature in child state at the caste level. For non-caste-specific child names, see GENERAL_CHILD_NAME.

|-
| CLUSTER_NUMBER
| Creature
|
*min
*max
| The minimum/maximum numbers of how many creatures per spawned cluster. Certain vermin fish use this token in combination with temperate ocean and river biome tokens to perform seasonal migrations.
e.g. [CLUSTER_NUMBER:1:3]

|-
| CLUTCH_SIZE
| Caste
|
*min
*max
|Number of eggs laid in one sitting.

|-
| COLONY_EXTERNAL
| Caste
|
| Caste hovers around colony.

|-
| COLOR
| Creature
| foreground:background:brightness
| Color of the creature's tile.

|-
| COMMON_DOMESTIC
| Caste
|
| Allows the creature to be brought with immigrants and when creating a new fortress, as long as the creature also includes at least one of the following tokens: PET, PACK_ANIMAL, WAGON_PULLER, MOUNT. In addition, the creature must be NATURAL rather than FANCIFUL

|-
| CONVERTED_SPOUSE
| Caste
|
| Creatures of this caste's species with the SPOUSE_CONVERTER and NIGHT_CREATURE_HUNTER tokens will kidnap SPOUSE_CONVERSION_TARGETs of an appropriate sex and convert them into castes with CONVERTED_SPOUSE.

|-
| COOKABLE_LIVE
| Caste
|
| Set this to allow the creature to be cooked in meals without first being butchered / fishcleaned.

|-
| CRAZED
| Caste
|
| Attacks all creatures, including undead and inorganic ones.

|-
| COPY_TAGS_FROM
| Special
|
*CREATURE NAME
| Copies tags from another specified creature.

|-
| CREATURE_CLASS
| Caste
|
*classname
| Creature class. Can be anything, but only existing use is GENERAL_POISON. Appears to only be used for Syndromes. Supposedly can also be used for entity positions.

|-
| CREATURE_SOLDIER_TILE
| Creature
| 'character' or tile number
| Creatures active in their civilization's military will use this tile instead.

|-
| CREATURE_TILE
| Creature
| 'character' or tile number
| The symbol of the creature in ASCII mode.

|-
| CREPUSCULAR
| Caste
|
| Sets if the creature is active at twilight.

|-
| CURIOUSBEAST_EATER
| Caste
|
| Allows a creature to steal and eat edible items from a site.

|-
| CURIOUSBEAST_GUZZLER
| Caste
|
| Allows a creature to (very quickly) drink your alcohol. Or spill the barrel to the ground. Also affects undead versions of the creature.

|-
| CURIOUSBEAST_ITEM
| Caste
|
| Allows a creature to steal things (apparently the highest value it can find). Semimegabeast thievery is in Legends mode. Lightweight creatures can probably steal heavy items.

|-
| CV_ADD_TAG
| Special
|
*TAG NAME
| Adds a tag. Used in conjunction with creature variation templates.

|-
| CV_REMOVE_TAG
| Special
|
*TAG NAME
| Removes a tag. Used in conjunction with creature variation templates.
|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==D==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| DEMON
| Caste
|
| Found on generated [[demon]]s. Cannot be specified in user-defined raws.

|-
| DESCRIPTION
| Caste
| text
| A brief description of the creature type.

|-
| DIE_WHEN_VERMIN_BITE
| Caste
|
| Dies upon attacking. Used for bee stings.

|-
| DIFFICULTY
| Caste
| integer
| Toady: "Difficulty determines how deep it places them in adventure mode/reclaim caves, and the chance that they are wounded the first few river attacks." (Outdated? This particular quote referred to version .23a) Also increases experience gain during adventure mode.

|-
| DIURNAL
| Caste
|
| Sets if the creature is active in day.

|-
| DIVE_HUNTS_VERMIN
| Caste
|
| Found on [[peregrine falcon]]s. The creature hunts vermin by diving from the air. May be bugged due to fortress pets remaining earthbound.

|-
| DOES_NOT_EXIST
| Creature
|
| Creature does not actually exist; used for fanciful creatures.
|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==E==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| EBO_ITEM
| Caste
| [[item token]]:[[material token]] (ANY_HARD_STONE can be used for the material)
| Defines the item that the creature drops upon being butchered. Used with EXTRA_BUTCHER_OBJECT.

|-
| EBO_SHAPE
| Caste
| gem shape
| The shape of the extra item of the creature upon butchering. Used with EXTRA_BUTCHER_OBJECT.

|-
| EGG_MATERIAL
| Caste
|
* [[material token]]
*state (SOLID, LIQUID, or GAS)
| Egg material. Egg-laying creatures will define this 3 times, using LOCAL_CREATURE_MAT:EGGSHELL, LOCAL_CREATURE_MAT:EGG_WHITE, and then LOCAL_CREATURE_MAT:EGG_YOLK. Eggs will be made out of eggshell. Edibility is determined by tags on whites or yolk, but they otherwise do not exist.

|-
| EGG_SIZE
| Caste
|
*size
| Determines how long it takes for eggs to hatch{{verify}}. The larger the number, the longer it takes.

|-
| EQUIPMENT_WAGON
| Creature
|
| Makes the creature into a large 3x3 creature responsible for carrying trade goods, pulled by two [WAGON_PULLER]s and driven by a merchant.

|-
| EQUIPS
| Caste
|
| Allows the creature to wear or wield items.

|-
| EVIL
| Creature
|
| Creature is considered evil and will only show up in evil biomes. Has no effect on cavern creatures.

|-
| EXTRA_BUTCHER_OBJECT
| Caste
|
* BY_CATEGORY, BY_TYPE, BY_TOKEN
* TYPE, CATEGORY, or TOKEN
| The creature drops an additional object when butchered (typically a gizzard stone), defined by EBO_ITEM and EBO_SHAPE.

|-
| EXTRACT
| Caste
|
* [[material token]]
| Defines a creature extract which can be obtained via [[small animal dissection]].

|-
| EXTRAVISION
| Caste
|
| Creature can see regardless of whether it has working eyes.
|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==F==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| FANCIFUL
| Creature
|
| Makes every civilization know about the creature. The creature won't occur in regular material preference lists. The tag also adds some art value modifiers. Used for things like dragons and other legendary creatures. Conflicts with [COMMON_DOMESTIC]

|-
| FEATURE_ATTACK_GROUP
| Caste
|
| Found on subterranean animalmen.

|-
| FEATURE_BEAST
| Caste
|
| Found on [[forgotten beast]]s. Cannot be specified in user-defined raws.

|-
| FEMALE
| Caste
|
| Inside a female caste, sets femaleness. Outside of a caste, sets all individuals female unless overridden by caste.

|-
| FIREIMMUNE
| Caste
|
| Renders a creature immune to being damaged by FIREBREATH's short range cone attack.

|-
| FIREIMMUNE_SUPER
| Caste
|
| The creature is immune to DRAGONFIREBREATH. Implies FIREIMMUNE.

|-
| FISHITEM
| Caste
|
| Needs to be cleaned at a fishery

|-
| FIXED_TEMP
| Caste
| temperature
| The natural heat generated by the creature.

|-
| FLEEQUICK
| Caste
|
| Determines how soon a creature flees in a losing battle. Creatures with this tag will flee at the first sign of resistance.

|-
| FLIER
| Caste
|
| Allows a creature to fly. Fortress Mode pathfinding only partially incorporates pathfinding - flying dwarves need a land path to exist between them and an area in order to access it, but as long as one such path exists, they do not need to use it, instead being able to fly over intervening obstacles.

|-
| FREQUENCY
| Creature
|
*number, max 100
| Determines the time between creature spawns in Fortress Mode. Higher is more occurrences per time unit. Creatures without a frequency statement default to 50. Almost all others have either [FREQUENCY:5] or [FREQUENCY:100]. Not to be confused with POP_RATIO
|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==G==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| GENERAL_BABY_NAME
| Creature
| singular:plural
| name at creature level

|-
| GENERAL_CHILD_NAME
| Creature
| singular:plural
| name at creature level

|-
| GENERAL_MATERIAL_FORCE_MULTIPLIER
| Caste
| A:B
| Attacks against the creature have their force modified by A/B. For example, 1:2 will halve the force of an attack made against the creature. {{verify}}

|-
| GENERATED
| Creature
|
| Found on procedurally generated creatures like [[Forgotten beast]]s, (biome name) [[titan]]s, [[Demon]]s, and [[night creature]]s. Cannot be specified in user-defined raws.

|-
| GETS_INFECTIONS_FROM_ROT
| Caste
|
| Creature can get infections from necrotic tissue.

|-
| GETS_WOUND_INFECTIONS
| Caste
|
| Creature's wounds can become infected.

|-
| GLOWCOLOR
| Creature
|
*foreground
*background
*brightness
| The colour of the GLOWTILE of the creature.

|-
| GLOWTILE
| Creature
| ascii character
| If present, the being glows in the dark (generally used for Adventure Mode). The tile is what replaces the being's current tile when it is obscured from your sight by darkness. The default setting for kobolds (a yellow quotation mark) provides a nice "glowing eyes" effect. The game is also hardcoded to automatically convert quotation mark GLOWTILES into apostrophes if the creature has lost one eye. This works at the generic creature level - for caste-specific glow tiles, use CASTE_GLOWTILE instead.

|-
| GNAWER
| Caste
| verb
| The creature chews on food barrels and bags. The verb is past tense, for example [GNAWER:gnawed].

|-
| GOBBLE_VERMIN_CLASS
| Caste
| class
| The creature eats vermin of the specified caste.

|-
| GOBBLE_VERMIN_CREATURE
| Caste
| creature:caste
| The creature eats a specified vermin.

|-
| GO_TO_END
| Special
|
| When using tags from an existing creature, inserts new tags at the end of the creature.

|-
| GO_TO_START
| Special
|
| When using tags from an existing creature, inserts new tags at the beginning of the creature.

|-
| GO_TO_TAG
| Special
|
| When using tags from an existing creature, inserts new tags after the specified tag.

|-
| GOOD
| Creature
|
| Creature is considered good and will only show up in good biomes, for example [[unicorn]]s. Presumably has no effect on cavern creatures.

|-
| GRASSTRAMPLE
| Caste
| value
| The value determines how rapidly grass is trampled when a creature steps on it - a value of 0 causes the creature to never damage grass, while a value of 100 causes grass to be trampled as rapidly as possible. Defaults to 5.

|-
| GRAVITATE_BODY_SIZE
| Caste
| target value
| Used in Creature Variants. This token changes the adult body size to the average of the old adult body size and the target value and scales all intermediate growth stages by the same factor.

|-
| GRAZER
| Caste
|
*number
| Animals is a grazer. The higher the number, the less frequently it needs to eat in order to survive.
|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==H==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| HABIT
| Caste
| type:probability
| Defines certain behaviors for the creature. The habit types are COLLECT_TROPHIES, COOK_PEOPLE, COOK_VERMIN, GRIND_VERMIN, COOK_BLOOD, GRIND_BONE_MEAL, EAT_BONE_PORRIDGE, USE_ANY_MELEE_WEAPON, GIANT_NEST, and COLLECT_WEALTH. These may require the creature to have a lair to work properly.

|-
| HABIT_NUM
| Caste
| number or TEST_ALL
| "If you set HABIT_NUM to a number, it should give you that exact number of habits according to the weights.".<sup>[[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=60554.msg1719248#msg1719248 source post]]</sup> All lists of HABITs are preceded by [HABIT_NUM:TEST_ALL]

|-
| HAS_NERVES
| Caste
|
| This makes the creature susceptible to severed motor and sensory nerves when muscles are torn in limb, grasp and stance parts. Some butchering yields nervous tissue.

|-
| HASSHELL
| Caste
|
| The creature has a shell. Seemingly no longer used - holdover from previous versions.

|-
| HIVE_PRODUCT
| Creature
|
*number
*[[time]]
*[[item token]]s
| What product is harvested from [[Beekeeping industry|beekeeping]].

|-
| HOMEOTHERM
| Caste
|
| Default 'NONE'. The creature's normal body [[temperature]]

|-
| HUNTS_VERMIN
| Caste
|
| Creature hunts and kills nearby vermin.

|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==I==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| IMMOBILE
| Caste
|
| The creature cannot move. Found on [[sponge]]s. Will also stop a creature from breeding in Fortress Mode (MALE and FEMALE are effected, if one is IMMOBILE no breeding will happen)

|-
| IMMOBILE_LAND
| Caste
|
| The creature is immobile while on land. Only works on AQUATIC creatures which can't breathe on land.

|-
| IMMOLATE
| Caste
|
| Will ignite, and potentially completely destroy, items the creature is standing on. Keep booze away from critters with this tag.

|-
| INTELLIGENT
| Caste
|
| Shortcut for [CAN_SPEAK] + [CAN_LEARN].

|-
| ITEMCORPSE
| Caste
|
* [[item token]]
* [[material token]]
| Determines if the creature leaves behind a non-standard corpse (i.e. wood, statue, bars, ash from ghost etc).

|-
| ITEMCORPSE_QUALITY
| Caste
|
| The quality of an item-type corpse left behind; 5 is masterpiece-level.
|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==L==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| LAIR
| Caste
| type:probability
| Found on megabeasts, semimegabeasts, and night creatues. The creature will seek out sites of this type and take them as lairs. The lair types are SIMPLE_BURROW, SIMPLE_MOUND, WILDERNESS_LOCATION, SHRINE, and LABYRINTH.

|-
| LAIR_CHARACTERISTIC
| Caste
| characteristic:probability
| Defines certain features of the creature's lair. The only valid characteristic is HAS_DOORS.

|-
| LAIR_HUNTER
| Caste
|
| This creature will actively hunt adventurers in its lair.

|-
| LAIR_HUNTER_SPEECH
| Caste
| speech file
| What this creature says while hunting adventurers in its lair.

|-
| LARGE_PREDATOR
| Caste
|
| Will attack things that are smaller than it (like dwarves). Only one group of "large predators" will appear on any given map (possibly two groups on "savage" maps). In adventure mode, large predators will try to ambush and attack you (and your party will attack them back). Also, they can be mentioned in the intro paragraph when starting a fortress e.g. "ere the wolves get hungry."

|-
| LARGE_ROAMING
| Creature
|
| In Fortress Mode, spawns outdoors and is not a vermin creature.

|-
| LAYS_EGGS
| Caste
|
| Creature lays eggs instead of giving birth to live young.

|-
| LAYS_UNUSUAL_EGGS
| Caste
|
* [[item token]]
* [[material token]]
| Creature lays a particular item instead of regular eggs.

|-
| LIGAMENTS
| Caste
|
* [[material token]]
*healing rate
| Defines the material and healing rate of ligaments.

|-
| LIGHT_GEN
| Caste
|
| The creature will generate light, such as in adventurer mode at night.

|-
| LIKES_FIGHTING
| Caste
|
| The creature will attack enemies rather than flee from them. This tag has the same effect on player-controlled creatures - included modded dwarves.

|-
| LISP
| Caste
|
| Creature uses "sssssnake talk" (multiplies 'S' when talking - "My name isss Recisssiz.")

|-
| LITTERSIZE
| Caste
|
* minumum
* maximum
| Determines the random chance of how many creatures are generated when giving birth. [LITTERSIZE:1:2]

|-
| LOCKPICKER
| Caste
|
| Lets a creature open doors that are set to forbidden in Fortress Mode.

|-
| LOOSE_CLUSTERS
| Creature
|
| The creatures will scatter if they have this tag, or form tight packs if they don't.
|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==M==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| MAGICAL
| Caste
|
| Unknown.

|-
| MAGMA_VISION
| Caste
|
| Creature's able to see while covered in magma.

|-
| MALE
| Caste
|
| The species or caste is all male.

|-
| MANNERISM_*
| Caste
|
*occasionally body part
| Adds a possible mannerism to the creature's profile.
Refer to [[Creature mannerism token]]s

|-
| MATERIAL
| Creature
|
*material id
| Begins defining a new material.{{verify}}

|-
| MATERIAL_FORCE_MULTIPLIER
| Caste
|
*[[Material token]]
*A:B
| Set the force multiplier of a specific material against the creature to A/B. For example, 10:1 multiplies the force by 10. {{verify}}

|-
| MATUTINAL
| Caste
|
| Sets if the creature is active in dawn.

|-
| MAXAGE
| Caste
| min:max
| Range of time in years in which death from old age may occur. Once a creature reaches the min value, it has a random chance each season of dying from old age. Unknown if the chance increases with further age.

|-
| MEANDERER
| Caste
|
| Gives a creature random movement.

|-
| MEGABEAST
| Caste
|
| Appears on fortress territory in Fortress Mode occasionally. Can also be worshipped.

|-
|MENT_ATT_CAP_PERC
| Caste
|
*[[DF2012:Attribute|ATTRIBUTE]] Token
*Cap %
|Default is 200. This means you can increase your attribute to 200% of its starting value (or the average value + your starting value if that is higher).

|-
| MENT_ATT_RANGE
| Caste
|
*[[DF2012:Attribute|ATTRIBUTE]]
*lowest:lower:low:median:high:higher:highest
| Sets up a mental attribute's range of values (0-5000). All mental attribute ranges default to 200:800:900:1000:1100:1300:2000.

|-
| MENT_ATT_RATES
| Caste
|
*[[DF2012:Attribute|ATTRIBUTE]] Token
*cost to improve
*unused counter rate
*rust counter rate
*demotion counter rate
| Mental attribute gain/decay rates. Defaults are 500:4:5:4.

|-
| MILKABLE
| Caste
|
* [[material token]]
* frequency
| Allows the creature to be milked.

|-
| MISCHIEVIOUS
| Caste
|
| Alias for MISCHIEVOUS

|-
| MISCHIEVOUS
| Caste
|
| Will pull any levers it comes across. Also makes creature spawn invisible and with several ranks in Ambusher. "They go on little missions to mess with various fortress buildings, not just levers."

|-
| MODVALUE
| Caste
|
| Seemingly no longer used.

|-
| MOUNT
| Caste
|
| Creature may be used as a mount.

|-
| MOUNT_EXOTIC
| Caste
|
| ?

|-
| MULTIPLE_LITTER_RARE
| Caste
|
| Makes litters with more than one offspring rare.

|-
| MUNDANE
| Creature
|
| Marks if the creature is an actual real-life creature. Only used for age-names at present, and determining whether a creature will attack creatures with the AT_PEACE_WITH_WILDLIFE token.
|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==N==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| NAME
| Creature
| singular:plural:adjective
| The generic name for any creature of this type - will be used when distinctions between caste are unimportant. For names for specific castes, use CASTE_NAME instead. If left undefined, the creature will be labeled as "nothing" by the game.

|-
| NATURAL
| Caste
|
| Alias for NATURAL_ANIMAL

|-
| NATURAL_ANIMAL
| Caste
|
| Animal is considered to be natural.

|-
| NATURAL_SKILL
| Caste
| [[Skill_token|Skill token]]:value
| The creature possesses this skill at this level inherently. It begins with this skill at this level, and the skill may never rust below this level. Requires CAN_LEARN or INTELLIGENT to function (changed in .25 or earlier that CAN_LEARN is no longer required).

|-
| NIGHT_CREATURE_BOGEYMAN
| Caste
|
| Found on bogeymen. Creatures with this tag will join other bogeymen in attacking adventurers at night, and will also adopt their other behaviors, such as vanishing in smoke upon being killed. This does not affect the creature's presence elsewhere, such as for generated megabeasts, normal creatures, entity members, etc. Setting the number of bogeyman types to zero in the world gen parameters will remove only the randomly-generated bogeymen.

|-
| NIGHT_CREATURE_HUNTER
| Caste
|
| If this creature has SPOUSE_CONVERTER, it will actively attempt to seek out potential conversion targets, abduct them, and convert them. Night creatures will seek out one SPOUSE_CONVERSION_TARGET <s>of the opposite sex</s>(seems to choose anyone of any sex of the caste/s that have the CONVERTED_SPOUSE tag), convert them, and then have children with them(if possible). Setting the number of night creatures to zero in the world gen parameters will remove only the randomly-generated night creatures.

This tag also seems to cause the usual behaviour of [[werebeast]]s in worldgen, that is, fleeing towns upon being cursed and conducting raids from a lair. If this tag is absent from a deity curse, the accursed will simply be driven out of towns in a similar manner to [[vampire]]s.

|-
| NO_AUTUMN
| Caste
|
| This creature caste does not appear in [[Calendar|autumn]].

|-
| NO_CONNECTIONS_FOR_MOVEMENT
| Caste
|
| Creature doesn't require connected body parts to move{{verify}}; generally used on undead creatures with connections that have rotted away.

|-
| NO_DIZZINESS
| Caste
|
| Creature cannot become dizzy

|-
| NO_DRINK
| Caste
|
| Creature does not need to drink.

|-
| NO_EAT
| Caste
|
| Creature does not need to eat.

|-
| NO_FEVERS
| Caste
|
| Creature cannot suffer fevers

|-
| NO_GENDER
| Caste
|
| Creature has no gender.

|-
| NO_PHYS_ATT_GAIN
| Caste
|
| The affected caste cannot gain any physical skills.

|-
| NO_PHYS_ATT_RUST
| Caste
| ?
| ?

|-
| NO_SLEEP
| Caste
|
| Creature does not need to sleep.

|-
| NO_SPRING
| Caste
|
| This creature caste does not appear in [[Calendar|spring]].

|-
| NO_SUMMER
| Caste
|
| This creature caste does not appear in [[Calendar|summer]].

|-
| NO_THOUGHT_CENTER_FOR_MOVEMENT
| Caste
|
| Creature doesn't require an organ with the [THOUGHT] tag to survive; generally used on creatures that don't have brains.

|-
| NO_WINTER
| Caste
|
| This creature caste does not appear in [[Calendar|winter]].

|-
| NOBONES
| Caste
|
| Creature has no bones.

|-
| NOBREATHE
| Caste
|
| Creature doesn't need to breathe or have [BREATHE] parts in body. Cannot drown or be strangled.

|-
| NOCTURNAL
| Caste
|
| Sets if the creature is active in night.

|-
| NOEMOTION
| Caste
|
| The creature has no emotions, and does not rage.

|-
| NOEXERT
| Caste
|
| Creature can't become tired or over-exerted.

|-
| NOFEAR
| Caste
|
| Creature doesn't feel fear and will never run away from battle.

|-
| NOMEAT
| Caste
|
| Creature will not drop meat on butcher.

|-
| NONAUSEA
| Caste
|
| Creature can't vomit.

|-
| NOPAIN
| Caste
|
| Creature doesn't feel pain.

|-
| NOSKIN
| Caste
|
| Creature will not drop skin on butcher.

|-
| NOSKULL
| Caste
|
| Creature will not drop skull on butcher, rot, or decay of severed head.

|-
| NOSMELLYROT
| Caste
|
| Does not produce miasma when rotting

|-
| NOSTUCKINS
| Caste
|
| Weapons can't be stuck in creature.

|-
| NOSTUN
| Caste
|
| Creature can't be stunned. Creatures with this tag never wake up from sleep in Fortress Mode and stay drowsy. If this creature must eat and drink while playing, it WILL die.

|-
| NOT_BUTCHERABLE
| Caste
|
| Cannot be butchered

|-
| NOT_LIVING
| Caste
|
| Cannot be raised from the dead.

|-
| NOTHOUGHT
| Caste
|
| Creature doesn't think, or doesn't require a [BRAIN] body part.
|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==O==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| OPPOSED_TO_LIFE
| Caste
|
| Is hostile to all creatures except undead and other non-living ones. Used for [[Undead]].

|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==P==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| PACK_ANIMAL
| Caste
|
| Allows the creature to be used as a pack animal. Currently only used by merchants. Also prevents creature from dropping hauled items on its own -- do not use for player-controllable creatures.

|-
| PARALYZEIMMUNE
| Caste
|
| The creature is immune to all paralyzing special attacks.

|-
| PATTERNFLIER
| Caste
|
|

|-
| PEARL
| Caste
|
| Creature will generate pearls.

|-
| PENETRATEPOWER
| Caste
| value
| Controls the ability of vermin to find a way into containers when they are eating food from your stockpiles. Wood and cloth objects roll a 0-9 and if it's greater than the penetrate power, their contents escape for the time being. Other objects roll a 0-99.

|-
| PERSONALITY
| Caste
|
*ATTRIBUTE
*lowest:median:highest
| Determines the range and chance of personality traits. Standard is 0:50:100. See [[Personality trait]] for more info.

|-
| PET
| Caste
|
| Allows the creature to be tamed. Also allows all females of the species to breed regardless of marital status.

|-
| PET_EXOTIC
| Caste
|
| The creature can be tamed, but it is much harder to tame and most civilizations have limited knowledge.

|-
| PETVALUE
| Caste
| value
| How valuable a tamed animal/pet is. Actual cost in points in the embarking screen is (PETVALUE/2)+1 for an untrained animal, PETVALUE+1 for a trained(War or Hunting) one. Note that for an animal to be selectable in this screen, it must have the COMMON_DOMESTIC token.

|-
| PETVALUE_DIVISOR
| Caste
| value
| Divides the creature's PETVALUE by the specified number. Used for bees to prevent a single hive from being worth a fortune.

|-
|PHYS_ATT_CAP_PERC
| Caste
|
*[[DF2012:Attribute|ATTRIBUTE]] Token
*Cap %
|Default is 200. This means you can increase your attribute to 200% of its starting value (or the average value + your starting value if that is higher).

|-
| PHYS_ATT_RANGE
| Caste
|
*[[DF2012:Attribute|ATTRIBUTE]]
*lowest:lower:low:median:high:higher:highest
| Sets up a physical attribute's range of values (0-5000). All physical attribute ranges default to 200:700:900:1000:1100:1300:2000.

|-
| PHYS_ATT_RATES
| Caste
|
*[[DF2012:Attribute|ATTRIBUTE]] Token
*cost to improve
*unused counter rate
*rust counter rate
*demotion counter rate
| Physical attribute gain/decay rates. Defaults for STRENGTH, AGILITY, TOUGHNESS, and ENDURANCE are 500:3:4:3, while RECUPERATION and DISEASE_RESISTANCE default to 500:NONE:NONE:NONE.

|-
| PLUS_BP_GROUP
| Caste
|
*BY_TYPE, BY_CATEGORY, or BY_TOKEN
*body type, category, or token
| Adds a body part group to selected body part group. Presumably used immediately after SET_BP_GROUP.

|-
| PLUS_MATERIAL
| Creature
|
*material
| Adds a material to selected materials. Used immediately after SELECT_MATERIAL.

|-
| POP_RATIO
| Caste
|
| Weighted population of caste; Lower is rarer. Not to be confused with FREQUENCY.

|-
| POPULATION_NUMBER
| Creature
| min:max
| old guess: "The minimum/maximum numbers of how many of these creatures can show up on a map per year."<br>Toady: "Pop number is the number per square of the region, I think."

|-
| POWER
| Caste
|
| Allows the being to represent itself as a deity. Requires CAN_SPEAK to actually do anything more than settle at a location (e.g. write books, lead armies, profane temples). Doesn't appear to do anything for creatures that are already civilized.

|-
| PREFSTRING
| Creature
| string
| Sets what other creatures like about this creature. "Urist likes dwarves for their beards." Multiple entries will be chosen from at random

|-
| PROFESSION_NAME
| Creature
|
*[[Unit type token]] (Profession)
*singular
*plural
| The generic name for members of this profession, at the creature level. In order to give members of specific castes different names for professions, use CASTE_PROFESSION_NAME instead.

|-
| PRONE_TO_RAGE
| Caste
| number
| Untested effect, though it clearly affects how likely a creature is to become enraged. Number may be percentage chance of becoming enraged during combat. As described in file_changes.txt, creatures with this token "follow its normal behavior, but flip out on occasion, higher rate = more flipping out".

|-
| PUS
| Caste
|
* [[material token]]
*matter state (LIQUID, GAS, SOLID)
| Specifies what the creature's wounds will ooze when infected.
|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==R==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| RELSIZE
| Caste
|
*BY_CATEGORY, BY_TYPE, BY_TOKEN
*body category, type, or token
*Relsize
| Specifies a new relative size for a part than what is stated in the body plan. For example, Dwarves have larger livers.

|-
| REMAINS
| Caste
| singular:plural
| What creature's remains are called.

|-
| REMAINS_COLOR
| Caste
|
| What color creature's remains are.

|-
| REMAINS_ON_VERMIN_BITE_DEATH
| Caste
|
| Leaves remains when its attack causes it to die? Seems to go with DIE_WHEN_VERMIN_BITE.

|-
| REMAINS_UNDETERMINED
| Caste
|
| Unknown.

|-
| REMOVE_MATERIAL
| Creature
|
*material token
| Removes a material from a creature.

|-
| REMOVE_TISSUE
| Creature
|
*material token
| Removes a tissue from a creature.

|-
| RETRACT_INTO_BP
| Caste
|
*BY_TYPE, BY_CATEGORY or BY_TOKEN
*TYPE, CATEGORY or TOKEN
| The creature will retract a body part when threatened.

|-
| RETURNS_VERMIN_KILLS_TO_OWNER
|
|
| Used with HUNTS_VERMIN, causes the creature to return killed vermin to its owner.

|-
| ROOT_AROUND
| Caste
| ?
| ?

|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==S==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| SAVAGE
| Creature
|
| The creature will only show up in "savage" biomes.

|-
| SECRETION
| Caste
|
* [[material token]]
*Material State
*location secreted from (by_type, by_category, by_token)
*body part
*tissue layer
| creates a secreted material on given tissue on a given part of the body.

|-
| SELECT_ADDITIONAL_CASTE
| Creature
|
*caste name
| adds an additional previously defined caste to the selection. Used immediately after SELECT_CASTE.

|-
| SELECT_CASTE
| Creature
|
*caste name, or ALL
| selects a previously defined caste

|-
| SELECT_MATERIAL
| Creature
|
*Material token
| Selects a locally defined material. Can be ALL.

|-
| SEMIMEGABEAST
| Caste
|
| Appears as boss creature in quests. Makes history by rampaging around towns. Appears on fortress territory in Fortress Mode occasionally. Possibly inhabits non-mountain caves.

|-
| SET_BP_GROUP
| Caste
|
*selection criteria BY_TYPE, BY_CATEGORY, BY_TOKEN
*category, type, or token
| Begins a selection of body parts.

|-
| SET_TL_GROUP
| Caste
|
*TISSUE
*BY_CATEGORY, BY_TYPE, BY_TOKEN
*Location - category, type, or token
*tissue
| begins a selection of tissue layers

|-
| SHEARABLE_TISSUE_LAYER
| Caste
|
* tissue modifier
* required value
| Tissue layer can be sheared for its component material. The specified modifier must be at least of the desired value for shearing to be possible (a llama's wool must have a LENGTH of 300 before it is shearable).

|-
| SKILL_LEARN_RATE
| Caste
| [[skill_token]]:percentage
| The rate at which this creature learns this skill. Requires CAN_LEARN or INTELLIGENT to function.

|-
| SKILL_LEARN_RATES
| Caste
| percentage
| The rate at which this creature learns all skills. Requires CAN_LEARN or INTELLIGENT to function.

|-
| SKILL_RATE
| Caste
| [[skill_token]]:percentage:value:value:value
| As SKILL_RATES for individual skills. Requires CAN_LEARN or INTELLIGENT to function.

|-
| SKILL_RATES
| Caste
|
*% of improvement points you get
*unused counter rate
*rust counter rate
*demotion counter rate
| Affects skill gain and decay. Lower numbers in the last three slots make decay occur faster ([SKILL_RATES:100:1:1:1] would cause rapid decay). The counter rates may also be replaced with NONE.
Default is [SKILL_RATES:100:8:16:16]. [SLOW_LEARNER] changes the 100 to a 50. Requires CAN_LEARN or INTELLIGENT to function.

|-
| SKILL_RUST_RATE
| Caste
| [[skill_token]]:value:value:value
| The rate at which this skill decays. Lower values cause the skill to decay faster. Requires CAN_LEARN or INTELLIGENT to function.

|-
| SKILL_RUST_RATES
| Caste
| value:value:value
| The rate at which all skills decay. Lower values cause the skills to decay faster. Requires CAN_LEARN or INTELLIGENT to function.

|-
| SLOW_LEARNER
| Caste
|
| Similar to [CAN_LEARN], but slower; skills are gained at a fraction of the rate. Present in the entries for ogres and giants; can be applied to civ or player races.

|-
| SMALL_REMAINS
| Caste
|
| If a creature has this token, it'll leave "remains" instead of a corpse.

|-
| SOLDIER_ALTTILE
| Creature
| 'character' or tile number
| If this creature is active in its civilization's military, it will blink between its default tile and this one.

|-
| SOUND
| Caste
|
* Sound application (currently accepts ALERT or PEACEFUL_INTERMITTENT)
* Sound range (in tiles)
* Sound delay (lower values = sound is produced more often)
* VOCALIZATION or NONE (determines whether the sound requires breathing or not)
* First-person description
* Third-person description
* Description when out of sight
| Creature makes sounds periodically, which can be heard in Adventure mode.

|-
| SPECIFIC_FOOD
| Caste
|
* PLANT or CREATURE
* Plant/creature ID
| Indicates that the creature is only capable of eating a particular type of food.

|-
| SPEECH
| Creature
| speech file
| Boasting speeches relating to killing this creature. Examples include dwarf.txt and elf.txt in data\speech.

|-
| SPEECH_FEMALE
| Creature
| speech file
| Boasting speeches relating to killing females of this creature.

|-
| SPEECH_MALE
| Creature
| speech file
| Boasting speeches relating to killing males of this creature.

|-
| SPEED
| Caste
| value
| Sets the creatures' movement and work speed, 1000/[100 + SPEED X] is the resulting effect on creatures movement and work rates from default. See [[Speed]] for more information.

|-
| SPHERE
| Creature
|
*sphere name
| Sets what religious spheres the creature is aligned to, for purposes of being worshipped via the [POWER] token. Also affects the layout of hidden fun stuff, and the creature's name.

|-
| SPOUSE_CONVERSION_TARGET
| Caste
|
| This creature can be converted by a night creature with SPOUSE_CONVERTED.

|-
| SPOUSE_CONVERTER
| Caste
|
| Enables the creature to convert SPOUSE_CONVERSION_TARGETs into CONVERTED_SPOUSE castes of its species. The creature won't actually actively do this unless it also has NIGHT_CREATURE_HUNTER, however.

|-
| SUPERNATURAL
| Caste
|
| Gives the creature knowledge of any secrets with SUPERNATURAL_LEARNING_POSSIBLE that match its spheres. Other effects are unknown.

|-
| SWIM_SPEED
| Caste
|
*speed
| How fast the creature swims. Typically 2500 (0.38 times the default speed).

|-
| SWIMS_INNATE
| Caste
|
| The creature naturally knows how to swim, as opposed to [SWIMS_LEARNED] below. Currently, an AI bug prevents this from being useful on PC races in fortress mode.

|-
| SWIMS_LEARNED
| Caste
|
| The creature doesn't know how to swim unless it has learned the skill. Requires [CAN_LEARN], obviously.

|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==T==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| TENDONS
| Caste
|
* [[material token]]
*healing rate
| Defines the material and healing rate of tendons.

|-
| THICKWEB
| Caste
|
| The creature's webs can catch larger creatures.

|-
| TISSUE
| Creature
| name
| Begins defining a tissue in the creature file.

|-
| TITAN
| Caste
|
| Found on [[titan]]s. Cannot be specified in user-defined raws.

|-
| TL_COLOR_MODIFIER
| Caste
| COLOR:freq:COLOR:freq etc
| Creates a list of color patterns, giving each a frequency.

|-
| TLCM_GENETIC_MODEL
| Caste
|
| tissue layer color modifier is passed to offspring genetically?

|-
| TLCM_IMPORTANCE
| Caste
|
*number
| Presumably modifies the importance of the tissue layer color modifier, for description purposes.
HOWEVER using this appears to remove all mention of colour from creature descriptions. It does not appear in any default creatures.

|-
| TLCM_NOUN
| Caste
|
*name
*SINGULAR or PLURAL
| names the tissue layer color modifier, and determines the noun

|-
| TLCM_TIMING
| Caste
|
*ROOT
*start change window years:days:end change window years:days
| determines the point in the creature's life where the color change begins

|-
| TRADE_CAPACITY
| Caste
|
| How much the creature can carry when used by merchants.

|-
| TRAINABLE
| Caste
|
| Shortcut for [TRAINABLE_HUNTING] + [TRAINABLE_WAR].

|-
| TRAINABLE_HUNTING
| Caste
|
| Can be trained as hunting beasts by way of kennels.

|-
| TRAINABLE_WAR
| Caste
|
| Can be trained as war beasts by way of kennels.

|-
| TRANCES
| Caste
|
| Allows the creature to go into martial trances.

|-
| TRAPAVOID
| Caste
|
| The creature is immune to traps. Probably every procedurally generated megabeast has this.

|-
| TRIGGERABLE_GROUP
| Creature
| min:max
| A large swarm of vermin can be disturbed, usually in Adventure mode.{{verify}}

|-
| TSU_NOUN
| Caste
|
*noun
*SINGULAR or PLURAL
| Noun for the TISSUE_STYLE_UNIT, used in the description of the tissue layer's style.
|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==U==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| UBIQUITOUS
| Creature
|
| Creature will occur in every region with the correct biome. Does not apply to evil/good tags.

|-
| UNDERGROUND_DEPTH
| Creature
|
*mindepth
*maxdepth
| Depth the creature appears underground. Numbers can be from 1 to 5. Only magma creatures use 4 or 5 in the default raws. A single argument may be used instead of min and max. Dwarven civilizations will only export (via the embark screen or caravans) things that available at depth 1.

|-
| UNDERSWIM
| Caste
|
| Creature swims under the water and can't be seen. Currently appears to have no effect as of 31.25.

|-
| UNIQUE_DEMON
| Caste
|
| Typically found on generated [[demon]]s; causes the game to create a single named instance of the demon which will emerge from the underworld and take over civilizations during worldgen. Cannot be specified in user-defined raws.

|-
| USE_CASTE
| Creature
|
*new caste token
*old caste token
| Defines a new caste derived directly from a previous caste. The new caste inherits all properties of the old one. The effect of this tag is automatic if one has not yet defined any castes: "Any caste-level tag that occurs before castes are explicitly declared is saved up and placed on any caste that is declared later, unless the caste is explicitly derived from another caste."

|-
| USE_MATERIAL
| Creature
|
*new material ID
*old material ID
| Defines a new local creature material and populates it with all properties defined in the specified local creature material.

|-
| USE_MATERIAL_TEMPLATE
| Creature
|
*new material token
*material template
| Defines a new local creature material and populates it with all properties defined in the specified template.

|-
| USE_TISSUE
| Creature
|
*new tissue token
*old tissue id
| Defines a new local creature tissue and populates it with all properties defined in the local tissue specified in the second argument.

|-
| USE_TISSUE_TEMPLATE
| Creature
|
*new tissue token
*tissue template
| Loads a tissue template listed in OBJECT:TISSUE_TEMPLATE files, such as tissue_template_default.txt.

|-
| UTTERANCES
| Caste
|
| Changes the language of the creature into an unintelligible mess.
|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==V==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| VEGETATION
| Caste
|
| unknown

|-
| VERMIN_BITE
| Caste
|
*chance of occurance{{verify}}
*verb (bitten, stung, etc)
* [[material token]]
| Vermin bites, and injects something.

|-
| VERMIN_EATER
| Creature
|
| The vermin creature will attempt to eat exposed food. See PENETRATEPOWER. Distict from VERMIN_ROTTER.

|-
| VERMIN_FISH
| Creature
|
| The vermin appears in water and will attempt to swim around.

|-
| VERMIN_GROUNDER
| Creature
|
| The creature appears in "general" surface ground locations. Note that this doesn't stop the creature from flying if it can (most vermin birds have this tag).

|-
| VERMIN_HATEABLE
| Caste
|
| Some dwarves will hate the creature and get unhappy thoughts when around it.

|-
| VERMIN_MICRO
| Caste
|
| This makes the creature move in a swarm of creatures of the same race as it. I.E. Swarm of flies, swarm of ants, etc.

|-
| VERMIN_NOFISH
| Caste
|
| The creature cannot be caught by fishing.

|-
| VERMIN_NOROAM
| Caste
|
| The creature will not be observed randomly roaming about the map.

|-
| VERMIN_NOTRAP
| Caste
|
| The creature cannot be caught in baited animal traps; however, a "catch live land animal" task may still be able to capture one if a dwarf finds one roaming around.

|-
| VERMIN_ROTTER
| Creature
|
| Present on flies, knuckle worms, acorn flies, and blood gnats. Probably means either the creature is attracted to rot, the creature speeds rotting, or both.

|-
| VERMIN_SOIL
| Creature
|
| The creature randomly appears near dirt or mud.

|-
| VERMIN_SOIL_COLONY
| Creature
|
| The vermin will appear in a single tile cluster of many vermin, such as a colony of ants.

|-
| VERMINHUNTER
| Caste
|
| Shortcut for [AT_PEACE_WITH_WILDLIFE] + [RETURNS_VERMIN_KILLS_TO_OWNER] + [HUNTS_VERMIN] + [ADOPTS_OWNER].

|-
| VESPERTINE
| Caste
|
| Sets if the creature is active in evening.

|-
| VIEWRANGE
| Caste
| value
| Value should determine how close you have to get to a critter before it attacks (or prevents adv mode travel etc.) Default is 20.
|}

<div align="center">
{{alphabetical TOC}}
</div>

==W==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| WAGON_PULLER
| Caste
|
| Allows the creature to pull caravan wagons.

|-
| WEBBER
| Caste
|
* [[material token]]
| Allows the creature to create webs, and defines what the webs are made of.

|-
| WEBIMMUNE
| Caste
|
| The creature will not get caught in thick webs.
|}

==Attack Tokens==
{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| ATTACK_SKILL
| Caste
|
*skill used ([[Skill token]])
| defines the attack skill used

|-
| ATTACK_VERB
| Caste
| 2nd person:3rd person
| descriptive text for the attack

|-
| ATTACK_CONTACT_PERC
| Caste
|
*% value
| amount of available tissue used in attack, or possibly percent chance the attack makes contact

|-
| ATTACK_PENETRATION_PERC
| Caste
|
*% value
| probably amount of material that makes contact when penetration is done, or possibly percent chance the attack penetrates (as in sharp items. Default is 0, so it can be left out for blunt attacks, if this is what it does)

|-
| ATTACK_PRIORITY
| Caste
|
*MAIN or SECOND
| use of the attack in combat. Secondary attacks are only used if main attacks are impossible.

|-
| ATTACK_VELOCITY_MODIFIER
| Caste
| number
| Modifies the attack velocity. Almost certainly based on a scale where 1000 is normal, same as weapon velocity.

|-
| ATTACK_FLAG_CANLATCH
| Caste
|
| Enables an attacker to occasionally latch on with the bodypart used by an attack when an attack with this flag in its definition is made.

|-
| ATTACK_FLAG_WITH
| Caste
|
| In adventure mode, displays the name of the body part used by an attack when announcing the attack.

|-
| ATTACK_FLAG_EDGE
| Caste
|
| attack type

|-
| SPECIALATTACK_INJECT_EXTRACT
| Caste
|
* [[material token]]
*state (SOLID, LIQUID, GAS)
*min:max
| attack type addition that injects a material into the victim.

|-
| SPECIALATTACK_INTERACTION
| Caste
| ?
| ?

|-
| SPECIALATTACK_SUCK_BLOOD
| Caste
| min:max
| Successful attack draws out an amount of blood randomized between the min and max value.
|}

==Important Related Tokens==
These next groups of tokens include several tokens that are not technically classified as creature tokens in string dump, but bear mentioning in this as they are used frequently in creature raws. (Some regular creature tokens may also be reprinted for the sake of ease of navigation)

===Tissue Modification===
This next group of tokens deals setting and modifying tissue properties. (See also [[Tissue definition token]])

{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#ddd"
! width="20%" | Token
! width="10%" | Type
! width="20%" | Arguments
! width="50%" | Description

|-
| PLUS_TISSUE_LAYER
| Caste
|
*TISSUE
*BY_CATEGORY, BY_TYPE, BY_TOKEN
*Location - category, type, or token
| Adds a tissue to those selected

|-
| PLUS_TL_GROUP
| Caste
|
*TISSUE
*BY_CATEGORY, BY_TYPE, BY_TOKEN
*Location - category, type, or token
*tissue
| continues a selection of tissue layers

|-
| SELECT_TISSUE
| Creature
|
*tissue token
| Selects a tissue for editing.

|-
| SELECT_TISSUE_LAYER
| Caste
|
*TISSUE
*BY_CATEGORY, BY_TYPE, BY_TOKEN
*Location - category, type, or token | Selects a tissue at a location
* (optional) FRONT, BACK, LEFT, RIGHT, TOP, BOTTOM, AROUND.
| Selects a tissue layer for descriptor and cosmetic purposes.

|-
| SET_LAYER_TISSUE
| Caste
|
| Sets a tissue layer to be made of a different tissue.

|-
| TISSUE_LAYER
| Caste
|
*BY_TYPE, BY_CATEGORY, BY_TOKEN
*TYPE,CATEGORY, or TOKEN
*TISSUE
*LOCATION
| Adds the tissue layer to wherever it is required.
Non-argument Locations can be FRONT, RIGHT, LEFT, TOP, BOTTOM. Argument locations are AROUND and CLEANS, requiring a further body part and a % of coverage/cleansing

|-
| TISSUE_LAYER_OVER
| Caste
|
*BY_TYPE, BY_CATEGORY, BY_TOKEN
*TYPE,CATEGORY, or TOKEN
*TISSUE
*LOCATION
| Presumably a counterpart to TISSUE_LAYER_UNDER (see below).

|-
| TISSUE_LAYER_UNDER
| Caste
|
*BY_TYPE, BY_CATEGORY, BY_TOKEN
*TYPE,CATEGORY, or TOKEN
*TISSUE
| Adds the tissue layer under a given part.
For example an Iron Man has a gaseous poison within and this tissue (GAS is its name) has the token [TISSUE_LEAKS] and its state is GAS so when you puncture the iron outside and damage this tissue it leaks gas (can have a syndrome by using a previous one in the creature sample.) [TISSUE_LAYER_UNDER:BY_CATEGORY:ALL:{tissue}] {tissue} is what will be under the TISSUE_LAYER here is an example Tissue from Iron Man
[TISSUE:GAS]
[TISSUE_NAME:gas:NP] [TISSUE_MATERIAL:LOCAL_CREATURE_MAT:GAS] [TISSUE_MAT_STATE:GAS] [RELATIVE_THICKNESS:50] [TISSUE_LEAKS] [TISSUE_SHAPE:LAYER]

|-
| TISSUE_LAYER_APPEARANCE_MODIFIER
| Caste
|
*QUALITY
*lowest:lower:low:median:high:higher:highest
| sets the range of qualities, including LENGTH, DENSE, HIGH_POSITION, CURLY, GREASY, WRINKLY

|-
| TISSUE_STYLE_UNIT
| Caste
|
*tissue
*shaping
| sets tissue to be in a certain shape, mostly used with tissues HAIR, BEARD, MOUSTACHE, SIDEBURNS.

|-
| TL_CONNECTS
| Caste
|
| Presumably gives the CONNECTS attribute to selected layers.

|-
| TL_HEALING_RATE
| Caste
|
| Presumably changes the HEALING_RATE of the selected tissue layers.

|-
| TL_MAJOR_ARTERIES
| Caste
|
| Gives Major Artery attribute to selected layers.

|-
| TL_PAIN_RECEPTORS
| Caste
|
| Seems to set new number of pain receptors for selected tissue layers.

|-
| TL_RELATIVE_THICKNESS
| Caste
|
| Seems to set new relative thickness for selected tissue layers.

|-
| TL_VASCULAR
| Caste
|
| Seems to set new a VASCULAR value (which modulates bleeding) for selected tissue layers.

|}

==See Also==
*[[Body detail plan token]]
*[[Body token]]
*[[Material definition token]]
*[[Syndrome]]
*[[Tissue definition token]]

{{Category|Modding}}
{{Category|Tokens}}

v0.34:Adventurer mode

2012-06-17T07:40:10Z

Leafbarrett: /* How do I increase my skills and attributes? (powerleveling) */

{{quality|Exceptional|15:19, 17 April 2011 (UTC)}}{{av}}

:''This is a detailed reference guide for Adventurer Mode. For a tutorial see the [[Adventure mode quick start|Adventure Mode Quickstart Guide]].
:''See [[Adventure Mode quick reference]] to quickly look up key commands.

In '''adventurer mode''' (also called "adventure mode") you create a single adventurer ([[dwarf]], [[human]], or [[elf]]) who starts out somewhere in one of your generated worlds. You can receive [[quest]]s, venture into the wilderness to find [[cave]]s, shrines, lairs, abandoned towers, and other [[Site|towns and settlements]]. You can even visit your abandoned [[fortress]]es and find whatever riches were left to be guarded by the [[creature]]s that sealed their fate.

Unlike [[fortress mode]], adventurer mode is a sort of advanced [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandbox_game open world] version of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_%28computer_game%29 rogue] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nethack nethack] taking place in the same procedurally generated worlds used for fortress mode, but you control a single character in a turn-based manner rather than manage a group of creatures acting in real time.

=World Selection=

You can play Adventurer mode in any world that has a civilization with the [[Entity_token#Gameplay|ADVENTURE_TIER]] token (which are elf, dwarf, and human in unmodded raws) but as of the current version only human civilizations have towns, NPC fortresses, or shops {{v|0.34.07}}. As a result you need at least one human civilization if you want quests or anything but basic wilderness survival. Alternately, you can alter the other races to also use human towns -- see the talk page under "Dwarven Fortresses."

If you have previously built a fort in the world that you select, your adventurer will be able to go visit it. However, the fort must be abandoned because you will not be able to start an adventure mode game in the same world with an active fortress mode game. Note, though, that you can always save your fortress mode game, duplicate the save folder (copy ''regionX'' to ''regionX-copy'' or something), abandon the fortress in the copy of the world, then start adventure mode in the new clone world.

=Character Creation=

==Race and Civilization==

Any race with the [[Entity_token#Gameplay|ADVENTURE_TIER]] token is playable in adventure mode. In an unmodded game this means [[Dwarves]], [[Elves]], and [[Human|Humans]]. All three races can complete the same quests.

*'''Civilized Humans''' begin with bronze or iron weapons and can use any of the items sold by shopkeepers (who, for the time being, are only found in human towns and only sell human-sized clothing/armor). They also start with the widest variety of weapon skills.

*'''Human Outsiders''' can only start with Spear User and Knife User as weapon skills, and they cannot start with Armor User or Shield User. They also start out literally naked with no clothing, but can wear any human-sized armor that they trade for, steal, or loot. "Outsiders" of other races can be played if you add the [[Entity_token#Gameplay|INDIV_CONTROLLABLE]] token to the race's entity definition.

*'''Dwarves''' have the advantage of being able to go into a [[Martial trance|martial trance]] when fighting multiple foes at once. They are the only race which can start with steel weapons, but they wear "small" sized clothing (like goblins and elves) which means that they're unable to wear human clothing and armor found in shops. They can start with almost all of the same weapon skills as civilized humans. Most human-sized weapons (such as long swords) must be wielded two-handed by dwarves, due to their size.

*'''Elves''' start with very weak wooden weapons and have a more limited list of weapon skills during character creation. They have the advantage that they have higher natural speed. Like dwarves they wear small sized clothing so will have the same problem finding suitable armor in shops.

*'''Kobolds''' can be played only if there are no other civilizations and there are kobolds.

If no civilization for the given race exists in a world, you won't be able to play as that race except perhaps as a human outsider.{{Verify}}

== Status ==

Determines the number of starting skill and attribute points, which does not change based on race:
*'''Peasant:''' 15 attribute, 35 skill
*'''Hero:''' 35 attribute, 95 skill
*'''Demigod:''' 105 attribute, 161 skill
The number of skill points is less significant than the number of attribute points because the time it takes to go from Peasant to Demigod in skill terms is much less than what it would take to go from Peasant to Demigod in attribute terms.

== Starting Attributes ==

[[Attribute|Attributes]] are divided into Body and Soul attributes. This section provides some guidance for allocating attributes as it relates to adventurer mode.

=== Body ===

*'''Strength''' - Alters the damage done in melee, increases muscle mass (thicker muscle layer also resists damage more), and increases how much a creature can carry. Increasing strength, at least in adventurers, increases movement speed (albeit not as much as agility) due to better carrying capacity.
*'''Agility''' - This attribute is directly related to a character's Speed and is also used in combat skills.
*'''Toughness''' - Reduces physical damage. Also relates to defensive combat skills.
*'''Endurance''' - Reduces the rate at which the adventurer becomes exhausted. Used in Wrestling.
*'''Recuperation''' - Increases the rate of wound healing. Not as important as Toughness. Recuperation isn't that useful in adventurer mode since you usually have as much time to rest as you need assuming you can escape a situation alive.
*'''Disease Resistance''' - Reduces the risk of disease. Reduces the "risk" of becoming a vampire in adventurer mode.

Strength, Agility, and Toughness are the Body attributes that most impact combat skills, and Endurance to a lesser extent.

=== Soul ===

Some of these are useful for adventure-mode-applicable skills, but some are totally useless except as dump stats. (The useless ones are in ''italics''.)

*'''Analytical Ability''' - Useful for certain crafting skills, the only one currently being Knapping.
*'''Focus''' - Affects Archer, Ambusher, Observer.
*'''Willpower''' - Fighter, Crutch Walker, Swimmer, and helps resist ''pain effects'' such as those caused by chipped bones.
*'''''Creativity''''' - Currently completely useless in adventure mode. Normally it impacts crafting skills.
*'''Intuition''' - Only helps with Observer.
*'''''Patience''''' - Currently useless.
*'''Memory''' - Records more of previously traveled areas when you return to them. Deletes all memory when you travel.
*'''''Linguistic Ability''''' - Currently useless because adventurers don't have social skills.
*'''Spatial Sense''' - Important. Affects combat skills, Ambusher, Crutch Walker, Swimmer, Observer, Knapping.
*'''''Musicality''''' - Completely useless as of yet.
*'''Kinesthetic Sense''' - Important. Combat skills, Crutch Walker, Swimming, Knapping,
*'''Empathy''' - Might increase chance of persuading people to Join you.{{Verify}}
*'''Social Awareness''' - Increases the number of followers you can have at a given "fame" level. Normally you start with a limit of two. Increasing this stat by one level raises that to three.

=== Attribute Advancement Cap ===

Adventure mode attributes are capped at double the starting value or the starting value plus the racial average, whichever is greater. Humans, for example, have a racial average strength of 1,000. If a human adventurer starts with an ''above average'' strength of 1,100, then his strength will ultimately be capped at 2,200. Had this human started with a ''below average'' strength of 900, then his strength would be capped at 1,900 instead. For the purpose of maximizing final attributes, this makes it important to start with as many attributes in the ''superior'' range as possible (more attributes per point allocated), while avoiding taking any penalties to even remotely important attributes (big attribute deductions per point recovered). As a consequence of the attribute cap, demigod adventurers will always have a much higher potential for advancement than mere peasants and heroes.

== Starting Skills ==

Not all races have the same sets of skills available at character creation time, but keep in mind that all starting [[skill]]s, as well as ones not available at character creation, can be improved through use in game. [[Reader]] is an exception to this.

This section will specifically address starting skills as they relate to adventure mode. For a full description of combat skills see [[Combat skill]]. Other skills that you can't start with, but which can be increased in game (such as Butchery) are described elsewhere.

=== Weapon ===

The weapon you start out with will be based on which of these, plus the unarmed combat skills, is the highest. In other words, even if Swordsman is your highest weapon skill, you won't start with a sword if your Wrestler or Striker skills are better. Usually the best choice anyway is to specialize in just one melee weapon skill.Regardless of weapon skills, a '''large copper dagger''' will always be included in the starting equipment, which is handy for throwing to enemies that are just a step away or finishing off a foe pinned down by a stuck weapon.

Because these tend to take a bit longer to increase in game, it makes sense to put some points into one at the beginning.

Not all races/civilizations can start with all of these skills. (For example, Dwarves can't start with Bowman or Lasher).

*'''Axeman''' - allows characters to use axes, great axes, and halberds more effectively.
*'''Bowman''' - skill allows characters to use bows more effectively.
*'''Crossbowman''' - allows characters to use crossbows more effectively. The dwarven version is called '''Marksdwarf'''.
*'''Hammerman''' - allows characters to use crossbows in melee, mauls, and war hammers more effectively.
*'''Knife User''' - allows characters to use large daggers and knives more effectively.
*'''Lasher''' - allows characters to use whips and scourges more effectively.
*'''Maceman''' - allows characters to use flails, maces, and morningstars more effectively.
*'''Pikeman''' - allows characters to use pikes more effectively.
*'''Spearman''' - allows characters to use spears more effectively.
*'''Swordsman''' - allows characters to use blowguns and bows in melee, long swords, scimitars, short swords, and two-handed swords more effectively.

=== General Combat ===

These two skills can be raised rather quickly in game and so you probably want to skip spending any points on them at the start.

*'''Fighter''' - This increases with, and contributes to, melee combat whether armed or unarmed. It appears that the purpose of it is to allow melee experience to contribute to melee combat in general regardless of weapon. Repeatedly wrestling (grabbing and releasing) even a small creature will raise this skill.
*'''Archer''' - This increases with, and contributes to, ranged combat including throwing. It works similarly to Fighter except for ranged attacks. It can be easily raised by repeatedly throwing rocks, making it advisable for archers to practice their marksmanship with rock throwing before using up the more finite and expensive forms of ammunition. Shooting at a wall with adjacent upward ramp one level below and picking back projectiles is also a good idea (such places often happen to be in castles). See the FAQ section on [[#powerleveling|powerleveling]] for information on raising bowman/marksman skills.

=== Defensive ===

These skills are critical for survival. Starting out with good ability in one (especially Shield User or Armor User) if not all is strongly advised.

*'''Shield User''' - Ability to block attacks with shields. Starting with skill in this means that the adventurer will start with a shield.
*'''Armor User''' - Related to how well an adventurer moves in armor, and increases whenever an adventurer wearing armor is attacked. A higher level of this skill reduces the encumbrance penalties of armor, allowing up to normal speed movement when wearing full steel plate. Unfortunately, starting with this skill does not provide any starting armor.
*'''Dodger''' - Ability to dodge out of the way of attacks.

=== Unarmed Combat and Improvised Weapons ===

While some of them come in handy at times, they can generally be raised fairly easily in game, especially Wrestler and Thrower.

*'''Wrestler''' - Ability to grapple, restrain, take-down, throw opponents, etc. See [[#Wrestling and Unarmed Attacks]] for details. Can be raised very easily in game.
*'''Striker''' - Punching ability.
*'''Kicker''' - Kicking ability.
*'''Biter''' - Biting ability.
*'''Thrower''' - Throwing any miscellaneous object including rocks, knives, axes, swords, heads, etc.
*'''Misc. Object User''' - Ability to beat things to death with their own severed body parts, basically. Also somewhat more commonly used for shield bashing.

=== Movement and Awareness ===

*'''[[Observer]]''' - Helps one to notice things like ambushes and enemies who are "sneaking" (stealth movement). Detection range increases with skill. Hard to train. Adding some points here is advisable.
*'''[[Swimmer]]''' - Allows movement through water without drowning. A Novice swimmer can swim but will revert to being unable to swim if stunned, which happens when falling even 1 z-level into the water. An Adequate swimmer can swim normally (not drown) while stunned. For this reason, ''starting out as an Adequate swimmer is advisable.'' If you don't, at least start as Novice and go get some swimming practice right away.
*'''[[Ambusher]]''' - The skill of {{K|S}}neaking around unobserved. This can be raised fairly easily by sneaking around while traveling from place to place when speed is not important. At lower skill levels, speed is greatly reduced, but the penalty gradually reduces until negated at Legendary skill and it's possible to sneak at full movement rate. Chance of detection is also reduced at higher skill levels; a more skilled ambusher can remain in close combat for longer without being detected.

=== Crafting ===

These allow your character to create things. There is only one skill currently available in an unmodified game.

*'''Knapper''' - The fine art of sharpening rocks by banging them together in a clever manner. The resulting rocks become sharp rocks which do more damage when thrown and can be used for things requiring a sharp edge like butchering. Easy to raise in game and doing so helps with Kinesthetic and Spatial Sense.

=== Other ===

*'''[[Reader]]''' - Allows you to read books, signs, and writing in Adventurer mode. Novice level is required in order to become a [[Necromancer]]. There is no way to increase this skill.
*'''[[Butcher]]''' - The art of cutting bodies into many pieces. You cannot allocate points here during character creation.

= Gameplay =

== Common UI Concepts ==
{{KeyConventions|3}}

== Moving Around ==

=== Local Movement ===
[[File:adventure-local-map.png|thumb|400px|The local travel screen. The lower left shows a small overview map of the area. The upper right shows a small area 1 z-level above the adventurer in the middle. The adventurer is standing in front of the door to a house full of humans, and visibility behind the house is obscured. In the upper left is a small box showing the direction to various sites (which may be quite far away).]]
{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|8}} {{k|2}} {{k|4}} {{k|6}} {{k|7}} {{k|9}} {{k|1}} {{k|3}}
| Move
|-
| {{k|↑}} {{k|↓}} {{k|←}} {{k|→}}
| Move
|-
| {{k|Alt}} and a direction key
| Move carefully / Deliberately enter dangerous terrain
|-
| {{k|<}} or {{k|Shift}}+{{key|5}} (num lock off)
| Ascend
|-
| {{k|>}} or {{k|Ctrl}}+{{key|5}} (num lock off)
| Descend
|-
| {{k|.}}
| Wait for a step
|-
| {{k|s}}
| Stand or lie down
|-
| {{k|S}}
| Sneak
|}

Unless your character is an outsider, you will start out in a human town or hamlet; in the standard tileset the @ sign is your character. In the lower left-hand corner of the screen is a mini-map, with the @ sign showing your relative location to other things in the town/hamlet. The ▐ symbols are small collections of buildings.

The directional keys allow movement. Diagonal movement is particularly important especially when chasing or running away from things.

Use {{k|Alt}}+direction to enter water, jump off of cliffs, or otherwise attempt to enter anything that you can't enter using normal movement commands. Note that when entering water it's best to enter the actual water and not the open space over the water as, in the later case, you will fall in causing you to become stunned which may lead to drowning.

Hitting {{k|.}} allows you to stay in one place and wait for other things to move.

Use {{k|s}} to sit/lay down. Moving while laying down (crawling) will let you move past NPCs which are standing in your way. Also note that you will frequently get knocked to the ground in combat, and if you don't hit {{k|s}} to stand back up then you will crawl slowly along the ground, giving your opponent a lot of opportunity to attack you.

{{k|S}}neak will allow you to move around invisibly, limited by your Ambusher skill and the Observer skill of nearby creatures. The closer you get to a creature, the more likely you are to be detected. Your movement rate will also be very slow at low Ambusher skill levels while sneaking. If you are within observation range of anything then you will be unable to go into stealth mode. Hiding somewhere you can't be seen (such as the inside edge of a murky pool, if you can swim) will allow you to go into stealth mode when creatures are around.

=== Fast Travel ===
[[Image:adventurer-fast-travel.png|thumb|400px|Fast Travel screen. A fort is on the west side, and a town is on the east side of the map. The regional map is displayed on the far right.]]
{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|T}}
| Fast Travel
|-
| {{k|>}}
| Exit fast travel mode
|}

Entering Fast Travel mode will allow you to move large distances in a single keypress. Of course, the same amount of time will go by and you can also be interrupted (ambushed) while moving in fast travel mode.

See the [[Map legend]] for information on what the map symbols mean. Settlements are indicated by {{Tile|■|7:0:1}} tiles and you can find houses by exiting fast travel while standing on one of these tiles. Yellow tiles of the same shape {{Tile|■|6:0:1}} indicate the presence of shops rather than houses.

Pressing {{K|m}} will put a fully zoomed-out map on the right side of the screen, with your current location marked by a blinking "X". When seeking out a quest, move in the direction of the quest site until the blinking "X" is on top of the symbols indicated in the Adventure Log (you can press {{K|Q}} at any time to look at it again).

Along the top of the map is a line showing the sky, and the position of the sun and/or moon from west to east. This primarily helps you determine how long you have before it gets dark at which point you won't be able to see very far and will be more vulnerable to attack.

While in the fast travel screen you can:

* {{k|c}} - Display/hide clouds/weather
* {{k|m}} - Display/hide the regional map on the right
* {{k|Q}} - Display the Quest log
* {{k|Z}} - Display the sleep menu

Other commands are not available until you exit fast travel with {{k|>}}.

== Status and Information ==

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|l}}
| Look around
|-
| {{k|Space}}
| Advance/Clear Messages
|-
| {{k|a}}
| View Announcements
|-
| {{k|z}}
| Status
|}

=== Looking Around ===

If you're not sure what a tile is, the {{k|l}}ook command will tell you. In addition to being useful for identifying tiles and creatures, you can also view creatures' equipment and what items are sitting on the ground in a given tile. If in doubt, try the look command.

Move the cursor to the tile you want to look at using direction keys and {{k|Shift}}+direction. It's possible to look up and down z-levels (assuming you have line of sight) using the {{k|<}} and {{k|>}} keys. This, for example, allows you to find out if any flying creatures are above you. Hit {{k|Esc}} to exit look mode and go back to movement mode.

=== Messages ===

The game makes frequent use of messages on the screen to tell you what is going on. If there are a lot of these you may need to use {{k|Space}} to display the rest of the messages that won't fit on the screen. You can always go back and view old messages by pressing {{k|a}}.

=== Status Screen ===

This screen shows your skills, attributes, wounded body parts, health (along with more detailed descriptions of your wounds), lets you view your description, and change your nickname if you want.

=== Saving the Game ===

Hit the {{k|Esc}} key at any time and select {{DFtext|Save Game}} to save your game. You can then come back to it later by using the {{DFtext|Continue Playing}} option in the main menu.

== Searching and Manipulating ==

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|u}}
| Interact with building, furniture, or mechanism
|-
| {{k|L}}
| Search the nearby area very carefully
|}

The {{k|u}} key can be used to do stuff like pull levers in your abandoned forts. It is also used to lower and raise the bucket when standing right next to a well so you can get water to refill your waterskin with.

{{k|L}} will perform a thorough search of the area that you're standing in, possibly revealing some small creatures.

== Managing Equipment ==

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|i}}
| Show Inventory
|-
| {{k|d}}
| Drop an item
|-
| {{k|g}}
| Get (pickup) an item off the ground
|-
| {{k|p}}
| Put an item into a container
|-
| {{k|r}}
| Remove an item you are wearing or from a container
|-
| {{k|w}}
| Wear an item
|-
| {{k|I}}
| Interact with an object in an advanced way. (unstick a weapon, refill waterskin etc)
|}

=== Inventory ===

Press {{k|i}} to display a list of what you are currently carrying. Press {{k|-}} {{k|+}} to scroll the list. This list will show you if items are being worn, held in hands, stuck in your body, or are inside a container. Detailed information about an object can be viewed by pressing the key associated with the item.

=== Getting/Dropping Things ===

You can {{k|d}}rop items in your inventory, as well as {{k|g}}et items on the ground on the same tile that you are standing on. If there is more than one item a menu will be listed. Press {{k|-}} {{k|+}} to scroll the list if the list is too long to fit on the screen.

{{k|g}} will also allow you to ignite foliage/any flammable objects adjacent to you. Fires aren't as devastating as one might imagine, but they will cause (most)enemies to path around them, making your crowd control slightly more effective when taking on multiple enemies. As an added bonus, it will also surely piss off the elves.

=== Containers ===

Items can be placed into containers with {{k|p}} and removed with {{k|r}}.

=== Wearing ===

Items can be worn using {{k|w}} and removed using {{k|r}} (the same command used for removing from containers). If an item you want to wear does not show up as an option, then it means you are already wearing too many items in the location used by that item. Try {{K|r}}emoving items in that location and then wear them again in order of priority.

''Note that "large" or "small" clothing items are too big / small for your race'' (e.g. a '''large''' giant cave spider silk sock). If you have that problem, try getting clothing from a different source.

After acquiring [[armor]] from one source or another, you'll most likely want to equip it. To do this, first make sure it is in your possession--not on the ground. You can then {{key|w}}ear it, granted you don't already have too much on that equipment slot already. You can {{key|r}}emove or {{key|d}}rop inferior equipment as necessary.

See [[Armor]] for more information on wearing things. One thing to note in particular, DF allows you to wear more than one item in the same location in many situations.

=== Wielding ===

There is no command for wielding items such as [[Weapon]]s in specific hands. Instead, they are automatically equipped when you either {{k|g}}et them from the ground or {{k|r}}emove them from your [[backpack]] - provided the hand that would wield them is free. So in order to change [[weapon]]s or [[shield]]s you should drop items or place them into containers (such as your backpack) until your hands are free, then get items from the floor or remove them from containers which will place them in your hands. For example, put all items into backpack, remove sword from backpack, remove shield from backpack. The items will end up in the right and left hand. Simply remember the {{k|r}}emove command and the {{k|p}}ut into container command.

It should be noted that the world of DF seems to have a lot of left handers, so do not be surprised if your character holds the weapon with the left hand and the [[Armor#Shields and Bucklers|shield]] with the right hand.

=== Advanced Interaction ===

The {{k|I}} key allows "complex interaction" with objects in your inventory. This is used for removing arrows and weapons stuck in wounds, and refilling waterskins, but in theory various types of objects could implement some sort of behavior to be activated. Basically this is similar to "use" commands in other games.

This command is particularly useful for getting water. When standing next to a well you press the {{k|u}} key to lower, then raise the bucket, yielding 10 units of water in the bucket. Then you can press the {{k|I}} key to fill your waterskin from the full bucket (alternatively you can press the {{k|e}} key to drink directly from the bucket).

More importantly, this can be used next to a campfire to heat things, such as any frozen liquids you have in your inventory(or snow lying on the ground) and need to drink.

== Time and Weather ==

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|D}}
| Date/Time
|-
| {{k|P}}
| Temperature
|-
| {{k|W}}
| Weather
|}

The game has a day/night cycle with time passing as various actions take place. When in the fast travel screen you can just look at the bar along the top to see where the sun is an estimate the time, but in local travel mode you'll have to use the {{k|W}} command.

When using quick travel mode the top line of the screen will indicate the position of the sun in the sky with a yellow "☼"; further to the right of the screen is earlier in the day and further to the left is later in the day.

At night you won't be able to see nearly as well and you will be more vulnerable to ambush.

The game also has weather and temperature. Weather is, to some extent, directly viewable on the fast travel screen. Temperature is important because if it happens to drop below freezing while you're swimming through water, you're dead instantly. Therefore you might want to keep an eye on the temperature while swimming, especially if it's getting cold. Also, unlike fortress mode, rivers/other bodies of water can be liquid during the day, and freeze at night. The cycles of freezing can also be erratic from day to day.

Weather can also reduce visibility.

== Sleep ==

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|Z}}
| Sleep
|}

Eventually your character will become {{DFtext|Drowsy|3:1}} and this will get worse until you get sufficient sleep.

Sleep does not necessarily have to coincide with night, but if you're traveling alone when night comes you'll be in danger of being attacked by [[bogeymen]]. To avoid this while traveling solo you need to make it to shelter before nightfall and sleep the night away inside a building or abandoned lair. Enter a building, use {{K|k}} to talk to a human, and ask for permission to stay the night. Next press {{K|Z}} to sleep, {{K|d}} to sleep until dawn, then {{K|Enter}} to confirm. ('''NOTE''': If you stay the night in a castle, you have to sleep in the keep which houses the lord/lady of the castle. Sleeping inside the castle but outside the keep still leaves you vulnerable to attack.) Sleeping on an ocean beach also prevents bogeymen from attacking. ('''NOTE''': You can disable bogeymen by going into advanced world builder and setting "Number of Night creatures" to 0)

Though sleeping inside can be safe, it's also limiting: any quest site you want to go to has to be within a daytime's round-trip time of a safe habitation, and you have to make your way to there by hopping from one habitation to the next, sleeping at each along the way. A way to avoid this is to travel with companions. If you have any companions with you then [[bogeymen]] won't attack you. You'll still have to sleep at night, though, both to avoid sleep deprivation and because there's no visibility at night. You can still be ambushed at night by wildlife, but that's much less likely than being ambushed by [[bogeymen]] when traveling alone. If you find yourself alone at night with nowhere safe to sleep, the safest best is to keep traveling until dawn, even if that means running around in circles. You will eventually feel unwell from sleep deprivation, but this can take a considerable time. You can make up for lost sleep once you've found your way to safety.

Note that sleeping in lairs, shrines, and labyrinths makes you safe from ambush, assuming that you or someone has killed whatever was living there. If you have sufficient shrines/lairs/etc between you and your goal and they are either uninhabited or inhabited by things you are capable of killing then you can travel from lair to lair using each lair as a safe lodging. This is much much safer than sleeping out in the open, day or night, even with companions.

If no other options are available, completely surrounding yourself with campfires will keep night marauders at bay as they cannot pass through the fires; the fires will go out after several hours and enable you to move on. The bogeymen or other enemies may be outside your line of sight, which will prevent you from firing arrows or throwing things at them. In this case, you will have to stand up and lie down {{K|s}} repeatedly until the enemies wander into your range, the fires go out and the enemies can path to you, or dawn breaks.

== Food and Drink ==

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|e}}
| Eat or drink something
|}

The easiest way to stay hydrated and full when starting out is by finding and fighting something weak (say, a vulture, or a raccoon, or a fox). You will almost certainly end up covered in blood. You can drink any liquid covering you using 'e' and then simply selecting the fluid - perhaps a little salty in real life, but in Dwarf Fortress it works. The corpse can then be butchered for edible parts, to cure your hunger - the first two problems are solved. It is possible that drinking vampire blood will lead to infection.

== Combat ==

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|8}} {{k|2}} {{k|4}} {{k|6}} {{k|7}} {{k|9}} {{k|1}} {{k|3}}
| Attack adjacent hostile creature
|-
| {{k|↑}} {{k|↓}} {{k|←}} {{k|→}}
| Attack adjacent hostile creature
|-
| {{k|A}}
| Attack an adjacent creature.
|-
| {{k|A}} then {{k|Enter}}
| Wrestle an adjacent creature.
|-
| {{k|f}}
| Fire a projectile
|-
| {{k|t}}
| Throw an item
|-
| {{k|C}}
| Open combat preferences interface
|}

[[Combat]] is the fine art of using physical force to cause injury and death, and it is particularly fun in Dwarf Fortress.

=== Melee Attacks ===

Hostile creatures can be attacked using a non-aimed attack by simply advancing towards your enemy using the arrow keys. Doing a non-aimed attack will also free up any stuck weapon.

Any creature can be attacked by standing next to it and pressing {{k|Shift}}+{{k|A}}. Attacking a friendly or unconscious creature (which includes wild animals for elves) will further require a confirmation, given using {{k|alt}}+{{k|y}}.

Attacking a creature with {{k|A}} will allow you to make an '''aimed attack'''. You must first select the body part that you want to attack. Look at the difficulty rating for various possible attacks. Impossible attacks will be impossible to land and Easier attacks will be very easy to land. The difficulty rating for an attack does not change depending on your weapon skill. Based on player experiences, a Grand Master weapon user can almost always land a "Tricky" strike, while a Novice generally cannot. Attacks on various locations will also have limits on how "squarely" they can land (due to being out of reach, for example). Square and very square attacks will deal more damage.{{Verify}} Attacks which "can't land squarely" are generally still effective.

Attacks aimed at the head are the most effective; a single attack to the cranium with a weapon will usually put an end to the fight. Aimed attacks are especially useful for dismembering opponents. Opponents who are missing a foot will fall over, thereby greatly lowering their speed, and giving you an immediate edge in the fight. Cutting off both hands also highly recommended for obvious reasons. After all, a field full of armless, one-legged enemies can be a big experience booster for your companions.

Aimed attacks are also especially helpful when fighting giant beasts. Some enemies like giant desert scorpions have lots of redundant body parts, and random attacks waste valuable time on low priority areas while the scorpion is busy injecting venom into the whole party. Very large enemies, like giants and hydras, are too tall for effective strikes at the head. Fighting such beasts with random attacks will prove mostly futile until the monster has been knocked over, either due to spinal injuries or loss of feet. Lastly, aimed attacks allow you to grab trophies that are not available via butchering. For example, a minotaur's horns can be cut off during a fight, but since its a humanoid, most adventurers will refuse to butcher its corpse after the fight.

=== Ranged Attacks ===

To attack with a ranged weapon press the {{k|f}} key and select the square where you want to attack. Similarly use the {{k|t}} key to throw any random object in the same manner. Random objects appear to make a random attack if they happen to have more than one possible type.{{Verify}} For example, if you throw a sword it may hit with a blunt impact, a stabbing impact, or a slicing impact. Throwing crossbow bolts with sufficient throwing skill and strength seems to have an affect similar to firing them, although less powerful. On the plus side, you will never lose ammo if you throw it.

It is not possible to aim for specific body parts with ranged or thrown attacks.

Throwing is generally a good skill to have for any adventurer, as it allows you to slow down fleeing foes, both on the ground and in the air without the need of equipping a (cross)bow. Just like {{k|l}}ooking, you can use throwing to view and hit enemies multiple Z levels away from you. If you're lucky, you can simply land a hit that causes the flying enemy to give into pain, and then let gravity do the rest of the work. Even if the fall doesn't kill them, they will most likely be stunned long enough for you to run up and slaughter them.

=== Wrestling and Unarmed Attacks ===

:''Main article: [[Wrestling]]''

'''[[Wrestling]]''' (grappling) can be performed by standing next to an enemy and pressing {{k|A}} followed by {{k|Enter}} to switch to wrestling. You can wrestle any enemy. Wrestling works somewhat like a targeted attack. Once you grab a creature by some body part, you may be able to make another wrestling attempt that will allow you to perform a throw or takedown.

For a detailed list of moves such as takedowns, throws, choke holds, etc, see [[Wrestling]].

It's also possible to punch, kick, and bite. These are not in the wrestling menu but are performed like normal targeted attacks with {{k|A}}.

=== Weapons ===

[[Weapon]]s are basically divided into axe, sword, spear, pike, mace, whip, bow and hammer, with various versions of these taking up the gray area.

=== Wounds ===

If you get wounded during combat, there's not much that you can do except perhaps run before you get more wounded. Your wounds will heal over time, so just travel around or sleep in a safe place. Some wounds however may never heal, leaving you permanently crippled. Obtaining a crutch may help with this. Or if you are not already a vampire, then you can get bitten by a werebeast during full moon, which will heal all injuries once per month.

If you have some bolts or arrows stuck in your body, they can be removed by using the complex interaction menu {{k|I}}. Select the stuck bolt or arrow from the list and then pull it out with {{k|a}} You'll probably start bleeding after you pull it out, but the bleeding is rarely anything to worry about.

=== Combat Preferences ===

At any time during gameplay (Except travel mode), you can press {{k|C}} to open the Combat Preferences menu. There are three different preferences you can set: Attack, Dodge and Charge Defense. These have a few different preferences each:

*'''{{k|a}}ttack'''
**'''According to Opponent''' - The default setting. When set to this, charging happens more or less frequently, depending on the difference in size between you and the opponent. Bigger opponents get charged less, smaller more often. Can be very risky, since a random charge against a huge opponent is likely to get you knocked down and stunned. In the same vein, charging when close to obstacles or other environmental hazards is very dangerous, potentially fatal, if the enemy dodges you.
**'''Strike''' - This setting ensures that you never charge an opponent, but rather just swing your weapon at them. This carries less risk than the above, but you're never going to knock anyone down without hitting their legs or spine. Very preferable against large opponents.
**'''Charge''' - When set to this, you ALWAYS charge. When faced with numerous small enemies (Bogeymen in particular), this can be extremely useful, but remember to switch back when facing something bigger. Charging a large dragon is almost a certain death sentence.
**'''Close Combat''' - With this setting, all your auto-attacks are grapples. Generally not very useful, since the random nature of it tends to prevent you from actually doing any damage with it.

*'''{{k|d}}odge'''
**'''Move Around''' - This means you can jump away from attacks, physically moving in a random direction. While this lets you dodge attacks more often, it can also result in you jumping into a wall or down a lake. If you're fighting in really tight spaces, you might want to switch it off.
**'''Stand Ground''' - As can be expected, you stand your ground. No jumping around, which is useful in the above situation, but risky in the open. If you have room for jumping around, go with Move Around, but otherwise this could be a good idea.

*'''{{k|c}}harge Defense'''
**'''According to Opponent''' - Again, the default setting. You're more likely to stand still against small enemies charging, but will probably prefer moving away from larger ones. Somewhat risky, in that even a somewhat small enemy can stun you by charging.
**'''Dodge Away''' - With this, you'll dodge away from charging enemies, if you can. It's not a sure bet, but it's very much worth it against enemies who like to charge. This is probably the most preferable mode, since you're not losing a whole lot by dodging a small foe charging, but dodging an angry night beast can save you from a world of pain.
**'''Stand Ground''' - If you're certain of your physical superiority to the opponent, you can choose this. Standing your ground like a real man/woman might feel hardcore, but getting knocked down in a fight can be extremely dangerous. It probably has some use against bogeymen though, since they're quite small. If you really are much bigger than the enemy, you'll end up knocking THEM down. Most of the time though, charges heavily favor the attacker, so dodging away is probably preferable.

Using Combat Preferences properly can actually save your hide, so it's worth fiddling with. Just don't forget that you've fiddled with them, since a malplaced charge or dodge could end up killing you.

== Talking ==
[[File:adventurer-talking.png|thumb|400px|Talking to someone in Adventurer mode.]]
{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|k}}
| Talk to somebody
|}

Now that you know how to kill people, you may also want to know how to talk to and otherwise interact with them in a less violent manner. While this is less entertaining, it can sometimes be useful.

Press {{k|k}} to enter tal{{k|k}} mode. Move the cursor over a being and a list of language-capable beings on that tile will be shown in the lower left of the screen. If there is more than one creature on the tile, you can select the one you want to talk to using the {{k|-}}/{{k|+}} keys. Hit {{k|Enter}} to begin the conversation.

Normally you will need to Greet someone first, then you will have the following options when it comes to subjects of discussion:
*'''Trade''' - Attempt to initiate [[#Shops|trade]]. This only works for NPCs in shops.
*'''Join''' - Ask the individual to join you as one of your [[#Companions|Companions]]. Soldiers will join you 100% of the time if you don't already have too many companions, but the chance of regular townsfolk joining you will be highly impacted by your reputation.
*'''Surroundings''' - Ask about sites and things in the general geographical area. This may reveal hidden sites (such as lairs) on the map, and may also reveal bits of history such as "in 123 Urist McSucker founded Boatmurdered". This can be selected repeatedly to reveal multiple facts about the area.
*'''Capital''' - Ask where the capital of the current civilization is. As with the '''Surroundings''' topic, a random bit of the capitol's history will also be given.
*'''Service''' - Ask for a [[#Quests|quest]].
*'''Profession''' - Ask the individual about their profession. If the person is willing to '''Join''' you, they will add a line such as "How I long for some excitement in my life..".
*'''Family''' - Ask about a random family member. If the person has more than one family member then selecting this option repeatedly will eventually reveal all of them. Like Surroundings this can also reveal bits of information about history such as "Gor Lorthor was my son. In 123, Gor Lorthor was struck down by Trogdor the Flames of Burninating the Dragon."
*'''Accuse of being a night creature''' - If the individual is a vampire in hiding, then they will become hostile to all around them and will fight you. Note, if said vampire has a cult (vampire law-givers always do from what I've seen) the cultists will reveal themselves as well and become hostile to any non-vampire (the one the cult is based around, that is) non-cultist they see, including you.
*'''Report success/spread news''' - This option will only appear once you have completed a quest. Selecting it will cause you to regale people with tales of your amazing adventures, increasing your fame/reputation level. After you have done this once, with one person, the option will not appear again anywhere in any conversation until another quest has been completed. Basically everyone is telepathic and doesn't want to hear the same story again.
*'''Goodbye''' - End the conversation.

Sometimes other options may also appear. Experiment with them and see what happens.

== Companions ==

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|c}}
| View companion interface
|}

Companions are the guys who follow you around after you've asked them to Join and they've accepted. Your character will have a limit on the maximum number of companions that is based on fame/reputation level and the ''Social Awareness'' attribute. With average social awareness and the maximum level of fame, the limit is 19 companions.

You can use the {{k|c}} key to open up a list showing your companions and their relative position to you. This can be useful if one of them runs off somewhere and you want to find them. You can select specific companions who are in visual range in order to view them. This is the same as viewing them with {{k|l}}ook.

Short of using special utilities and hacks, you can't change your companions' equipment. When they die you can loot their corpses however. (One devious and evil way to get equipment is to intentionally get your companions killed and then take their stuff.)

However, if they survive long enough/are trained well enough they seem to be capable of leveling stats or skills in some way, and are susceptible to having title or job title changed as well.

Your companions will continue to follow you and fight hostile creatures around you until they either die or are left behind by entering fast travel mode while they are too far away from you. Companions with missing feet and legs will attempt to hobble along behind you. If you need to ditch '''ALL''' of your companions, retire your adventurer in a settlement, and start playing that adventurer again. You will lose all companions by doing this(as well as resetting your thirst/hunger/sleep needs.)

If you keep losing your companions while traveling through rivers, try going to a spot where the river becomes a "minor river(single dark blue line.)" Brooks are obviously also safe to cross.

== Civilization ==

Civilizations are organized groups of creatures (generally of the same race) which build sites such as towns.

=== Towns ===

Humans live in towns comprised of buildings and often a paved road. Human villages are highly modular. The small 5x5 buildings are citizen houses and shops.

Towns appear on the fast travel map as {{Tile|■|7:0:1}} or {{Tile|■|6:0:1}} symbols which are small collections of buildings. Yellow buildings indicate the presences of shops where you can trade. The buildings can be spaced rather far apart, so even when you get your @ on top of a {{Tile|■|7:0:1}} it might take some wandering about in local travel mode to find a building.

Once you find a building, step through the door. It should have multiple U's, each of which is a human.

=== Fortresses ===

Humans also live in fortresses which appear on the fast travel map as large buildings. You can't walk over them. Instead you must move over to what looks like the entrance, exit fast travel with {{k|>}}, and walk toward the direction of the fortress.

Fortresses, if they haven't been abandoned, will be populated by soldiers, a Lord or Lady of some sort, and possibly others. If they have been abandoned then they may be overrun by various wild animals. They do not contain shops.

If control of a civilization has been taken over by a Demon, the fortress may be empty except for that demon, who acts as the Lord. He will behave as any human lord. Sometimes in an abandoned fort you might also find a demon that is a prisoner, who you can actually recruit without any significant amount of fame. If they can be trusted or not is more or less up for debate, but it is still better than Urist McFaceplant.

=== Other Sites ===

'''Note:''' Currently, only humans have civilization sites.

Elves live out in the forest, literally. Although defined to specific regions on the map, they have no structural wealth whatsoever. Some trees are named.

Dwarves live underground. Their entrances are large square pits with stairs around the perimeter, and a row of leading down into the fortress halls at the bottom. The main halls are wide and have pillars near the walls, long and occasionally turn corners. Different levels in the fortress are marked by a row of ramps with two pillars on the side (walk towards the side of the ramp that has the pillars) and, although the number of floors in a fortress can vary, they are usually little and only become deep if the lay of the land above is variable. There are two-tile-wide hallways, empty 5x5 rooms, and scant Dwarves in these pre-fab fortresses. It's obvious the computer is playing a completely different game than you are in [[Fortress mode]]!

Goblins live in [[obsidian]] towers, usually found built in twos, though they both don't necessarily have to be built up. One could be a "tower," one could be an over-glorified "basement." There is probably a temple nearby, completely similar to human temples. Goblin towers have tight 1-wide hallways, spacious and empty rooms, and strange hall extensions that end in remote cross-like dead-ends. Like dwarf fortresses, there is rarely anything in a Goblin tower asides from Goblins, and they have a strange tendency not to attack non-Goblin visitors. They seem to have lots of children.

You may come across what the map defines as a "Goblin" city that is actually populated by Humans or Dwarves living in or around the towers.

=== Shops ===

==== Trading (barter) ====
In human towns (not hamlets or castles), you can find [[building|shops]]. Once you're inside of a shop and right next to any of the NPCs, you can use {{K|k}} to talk to him/her, then select trade. Use {{K|Enter}} to select which items to trade, left/right arrow keys to switch between the list of shop items and your items, and up/down arrow keys to scroll through the lists. Once done, press {{K|t}} to trade. The shopkeeper won't get angry if you're not offering enough in trade, so you can start offering just a few items, keep trying again with a little more until the trade is accepted. Once the trade is accepted all of the items you offered will be on the floor underneath you.

After buying an item, you must pick it up manually from somewhere in the shop. {{K|l}}ook around for an item without $ signs around it. If NPCs are standing directly over the items you just bought, go prone with the {{K|s}} key so you can move onto the same space as them and pick them up.

Due to some limitations, there are only "human town" shopkeepers in a pre-fab Adventure mode civilization.

====Theft====
You may also pick up the item before buying it, but you should never walk out of a shop carrying an unbought item, as that is theft. It is punishable by death if you are caught, and excommunication if you are not. On any occasion when you have stolen goods from a store, i.e. goods bounded by the $$ signs, the game requires you to exit the site ''and'' move a considerable distance before allowing you to quick travel. This may make a getaway more difficult if your adventurer is not already faster than anyone else. This only applies to goods in stores; killing townsfolk and taking their personal things, including those of the shopkeep still only requires exiting the site. The moment you are out of sight, you will be able to warp out as usual. Theft and murder remain within entities; even depopulating one country and stealing all its things will not generate ill response in another country.

In recent versions, you may find towns that are entirely deserted. In this case, you can steal from their shops with no consequences.

'''Note that if you steal anything, then nobody in that civilization will talk to you anymore, making it impossible for you to get new quests, use the shops, or get new companions.'''

==== Selling and buying with money ====
In addition to bartering, you can sell items to a shop for coins, then use the coins to buy stuff at another shop. Just select the items you want to sell or buy, and then set a price using the following buttons:
* {{k|a}}sking for money for your goods.
* {{k|o}}ffering money for their goods.

Shopkeepers are used to adventurers with inflated ideas about the value of their goods, so it may be simplest to ask for 9000☼ for your goods, or offer 1☼ for theirs and suggest a {{k|t}}rade. The shopkeeper will counteroffer with the actual value of the goods, and will be quite delighted to accept a {{k|t}}rade at the price they've just quoted to you. You can then purchase things with your store credit.

When you end the trade session ({{k|esc}}), the items you sold will be dropped at your feet, and the balance of your coins and the items you bought will appear in your hands.

====Managing coins====
You will find that coins from one civilization are nearly worthless in other civilizations. This will typically result in adventurers carrying around lots of now useless coins. Coins can and will encumber your adventurer, eventually reducing your speed. To reduce that effect you can try to exchange your copper and silver coins for gold ones. To do that you can purchase goods from a merchant to the sum of your copper coins, then sell them back. Check the merchant's chest to see how much gold and silver coins they have. You can delay the problem by selling your loot to many merchants, as they will try to pay you in higher denomination currency first. Alternatively, you can take your excess coinage and use it to purchase [[Gem|large gems]] at a trinket shop. Large gems make good investments because they are 1) light, 2) variably priced, and 3) equally valuable between different civilizations.

A few goods are strictly superior to all forms of coinage as a store of value, most notably giant cave spider silk items. A suitably sneaky (or powerful) adventurer can murder a few dwarves or goblins for such items for trade and sale for human goods. Giant cave spider silk is a non-renewable resource in a given world - please harvest responsibly.

==== Where to get items to sell ====
The best place to get items to sell is at bandit camps, after you've slaughtered all the bandits. You can loot the clothes and equipment off of the corpses of the bandits (and off your fallen companions, too), plus at the very center of camp there'll be a few scattered weapons and a few bags/chests containing various goods.

The next best way to get items to sell is to kill non-talking monsters, butcher their corpses (see below for how), and pick up the edible bits. Butchered bits from the corpses of people (dwarves, elves, humans, etc) can sometimes be found in monster lairs and these seem to be just as desired by shopkeepers as the products you gain from your own butchering.

Another good early source of income can be bags left in abandoned houses/shops, which usually contain plants and food.No one will complain, and the plants inside can be sold at about 2☼ each plus the value of the bag.

At the bottom of the list comes {{k|L}}ooking Carefully and selling any small creatures you might find. However, shops will not accept live creatures unless they are in cages. Some rocks, piles of sand, and other things found on the ground nearly everywhere can also be sold for 1☼ each.

You can also try filling your backpack from river - it can hold up to 100 units of water which is worth 100☼ total. After your sell it, water will drop to the floor as a pool, and backpack can be refilled instantly and for free from there. In fact, you can infinitely fill any container from any pool/pile of any liquid/powder, so if you happen to find some precious substance like [[sunshine]] or [[dwarven sugar]], money won't be a problem for you anymore. This may be considered an [[exploit]] by some, though.

== Quests ==

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|Q}}
| Adventure (Quest) log (tasks, map, et cetera...)
|}

Once you have a quest, press {{K|Q}} to look at them (this screen is called the Adventure Log). The world map is on the left, with your current location highlighted by a blinking "O", while on the right is the list of your quests. You can select a quest and press {{K|z}} to find the location of the quest site: the blinking "O" will move to the quest site, with a green line drawing the path you need to take. Pressing {{K|m}} will tell you the species of the monster you're supposed to kill. You can also use the arrow keys to move the "O" around to examine the surrounding terrain and sites.

Note that once you complete a quest that you can report your success to ''any'' human. Once you tell one human, everyone in the same civilization will know about it. The Adventure Log will tell you to report back to a particular hamlet/town/castle, but you can safely ignore that.

If you're having trouble finding the site on the fast travel map for some reason, exit quick travel mode by pressing {{K|>}}. In the upper left-hand corner of the screen will be a box with symbols running down the left-hand side. At the top of the box will be the symbol of your quest site, with the compass direction to the site at to its right, and "TSK" to the right of the direction indicating an unfinished quest at that site. You can then go back into fast travel mode and head in that direction.

Once you get to the quest site, you'll be unable to enter it when using quick travel mode. Attempting to do so will give the message "You cannot travel through the [site]". You must exit quick travel mode by pressing {{K|>}} and move the rest of the way using the normal movement mode. The box in the upper left-hand corner will tell you the direction to go. When you complete the quest the "TSK" will be gone from the site's line in the box, and looking at the Adventure Log ({{K|Q}}) will show "Report Death of ..." instead of "Kill ...". You then have to move off the site using the slow travel method before entering quick travel mode again with {{K|T}} (trying to do so on the site will tell you "You cannot travel until you leave this site".)

The difficulty of the quests a certain civilization will give you goes up as your fame/reputation with that civilization increases. This is important to remember, you may want to increase your adventurer's skills or gather more companions in-between quests to keep up with the rising difficulty level.

==Crafting==
{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|x}}
| Perform action (butcher, create item...)
|}

Adventurers can perform limited crafting, (also known as "reactions"). To access the crafting menu, press {{k|x}}.

'''Knapping''' allows an adventurer to sharpen a rock. '''Knapping does not work with stones in containers, only ones on the ground or in your hand.'''<br />Stones can only be {{k|d}}ropped if the stone type does not naturally exist in the biome you are in, so to use ground stones it is worthwhile to {{k|T}}ravel far from the area you {{k|g}}ot the stones. Otherwise, you can place both stones into your hands. This can be achieved by {{k|d}}ropping whatever is held in your left and right hands, then {{k|g}}etting small stones from the ground. Next, press {{k|x}} to open the action menu, and press {{k|c}}reate and then {{k|→}} to select "Make sharp stone". You will be prompted to choose a rock to sharpen ("tool stone"), and then the hammerstone. The tool stone will be replaced in your hand by a sharp version.

'''Butchering''' acts similarly to Fortress Mode's [[Butchery]] by converting a corpse into edible products, bones, and skin. A corpse must be {{k|d}}ropped onto the ground to be butchered, or held in one hand. With a sharp object (such as a dagger or knapped stone or even a bolt/arrow) in your hand or on the same tile of the corpse, press {{k|x}}, {{k|b}}, and {{k|→}} to select the corpse, and then the sharp tool. The corpse will be replaced by its butchering returns.

These are the only reactions possible in an unmodified game though others can be added through modding.

== FAQ ==

===How do I get past NPCs which are in my way?===
Press {{K|s}} to sit, then move to roll between their legs. Once you're done press {{K|s}} to stand again.

===How do I find an entrance to the underworld?===
You cannot find caves by asking for quests. Instead, repeatedly ask NPCs about the surroundings, and they might tell you about the location of a cave. If this doesn't show any caves, travel to a hamlet/town/castle some distance away and try again.

===I keep getting maimed and killed! How can I fight without getting seriously hurt?===
The best offense is a good defense. If you let your enemies attack you, you're (unsurprisingly) likely to get hurt eventually.
* Try to ''avoid fighting difficult enemies until you get some armor''. Don't fight enemies at all unless you're sure you can beat them. If you're unsure, you're probably going to get hurt.
* If you have good speed, try to ''fight enemies one-by-one'' - keep moving backwards and only attack when you're within range of just one enemy.
* If you have a slashing weapon, try to ''chop parts off of your enemy'' - it makes them stop fighting for a turn, allowing you to keep attacking them without being attacked in exchange. Chopping off limbs will also weaken your enemies - taking their arms can prevent them from using weapons, taking their legs can make them slow and knock them down.
* Remember that ''it's better to let your enemy come to you, than to go to your enemy''. You have to either move or attack. If you move, you can't attack, so if you move within range to attack your enemy, you allow them to have the first strike (unless you're much faster than them). On the other hand, if you let them move within range of you, then you get to have the first strike.
* Follow the advice under [[#Combat Preferences|Combat Preferences]].

===How can I obtain armor as quickly as possible?===
* Here's the evil way. If you don't mind causing an entire civilization to be hostile to you (preventing trade, et al, with that civ):
** It's relatively easy to obtain some armor by killing a sleeping soldier in a fort and taking his stuff.
** Most villagers are pretty easy to kill and while their stuff isn't usually too valuable it is worth something. Instead of killing animals you can go around killing villagers and taking their stuff, then travel to another civilization that doesn't know (or maybe care) how evil you are in order to trade.
** Don't try this in the beginning if the next civilization over is more than a day or so away. You need to be able to flee to another country in order to escape justice and continue to quest/trade.
* Pick companions with good equipment so you can "inherit" it when they get killed. Letting them do all of the fighting for a while might help speed up this process. While this might be kind of evil, it's not as evil as the first option and will cause you much less trouble.

<div id="powerleveling"></div>

===How do I increase my skills and attributes? (powerleveling)===

Here are some techniques for raising your skills, very rapidly in some cases.

Most of these skill-raising techniques involve repeatedly entering the same keystrokes. To assist with this you can use a [[Main:Macro|Macro]] to make entering the same sequence of keystrokes over and over again much easier.

Increasing skills increases associated attributes which may in turn benefit other skills. For example, sharpening rocks using {{k|x}} will increase Knapping which will increase a number of attributes that help with combat skills. See [[Attribute#Skills_and_associated_attributes|Skills and Associated Attributes]] for a mostly complete list.

*'''Fighting and Wrestling''' - A good way to raise your Fighting and Wrestling skills and related attributes is to go find a small relatively harmless animal and wrestle with it over and over again. You can wrestle using {{k|A}} followed by {{k|Enter}}. Continually grabbing and releasing a creature is sufficient to raise your skill, and this will not injure the animal so you can do it infinitely with the same one. Wrestling will increase Endurance as well as other stats.
*'''Shield User, Armor User, and Dodging''' - In addition to wrestling the creature, you can also sit and let it attack you to raise your defensive skills. If you have metal armor then a small animal like a gopher can't do any real damage to you even if it hits. Also change your {{K|C}}ombat preferences to "stand ground" to increase the amount of shield blocking you do, unless you want more dodging practice than shield practice.
*'''Weapon Skills and Fighting''' - Once your defensive skills are getting up there and your agility is high enough to make your speed 1300+, you might want to try fighting bogeymen to increase your weapon skill. Just make sure to fight them one at a time while running away. If you don't know what a bogeyman is yet then you are probably not ready to try this. Also, doing difficult targeted shots will gain more experience and keep the training dummy alive longer. Another tactic, provided your swimming skill is high enough and you're lucky, is to find a [[Giant_sponge|giant sponge]] and continuously attack it by simply holding an arrow key in its direction. Since it is effectively immortal, and seems to pose a far smaller threat in Adventure mode than it does in Fortress mode, it makes an ideal training dummy.
*'''Throwing and Archery''' - Throwing rocks with {{k|t}} will raise your Throwing and Archery skills. Being able to throw objects at creatures, while not terribly devastating (In fact, it used to be. In early 31.xx, somebody killed a bronze colossus by throwing a fluffy wambler at its head. We can only hope the wambler survived.), can still come in handy. Since throwing also raises your archery skill, you can improve your aim with bows and crossbows by throwing, but it is also possible to improve bow/crossbow skills without wasting ammunition.
*'''Marksman, Bowman, and Archery''' - Raising the bow and crossbow weapon-specific skills is best done by shooting at a wall or cliff with no floor in front of it. If bolts or arrows hit a wall that has a floor (or ground) in front of it on the same z-level the ammunition will be destroyed, however ''ammunition that falls at least one z-level after hitting a wall will remain intact.'' So, you just need to find something like a hill inside a castle, stand on the hill, then shoot at the wall on the same z-level that you're on. The arrows will hit the wall and fall one z-level to the ground, remaining intact. You can then go pick up the arrows and fire them at the wall from the hill again, ad infinitum. You can also stand next to a wall that's at least 2 z-levels high, then shoot up a z-level at the wall by hitting {{k|<}} after you hit {{k|f}}. How ever you decide to do it, the key is that the arrow needs to be able to fall at least one z-level after it hits a wall in order to remain intact. Using a macro will speed this up greatly.
*'''Ambushing and Swimming''' - When approaching a camp or other site, you may want to use {{k|S}} to sneak in and loot any loose items first. While it's very slow, you can sneak over large distances instead of using fast travel in order to increase your sneaking skill (Ambushing). It's also possible to sneak and swim at the same time, so training these things can be combined. Just make sure you '''start with at least Adequate in swimming''' or you will find it practically impossible to train swimming.
*'''Observer''' - You can't really powerlevel this skill as it is slow and difficult to train, which is why you're advised to sink some points into it during character creation. One way to train this skill appears to be sleeping or walking around in the wilderness, repeatedly getting ambushed. Running away from the ambush, if you can, will probably allow you to repeat this cycle faster if you live. Detecting traps found in tombs and catacombs successfully (done automatically) will also raise Observer, though without decent starting skill to begin with, you would be torn to pieces by the traps you failed to see. Once you've found one or more traps, it is possible to grind experience by sleeping/waiting an hour, which will reset them, then re-detect them, and repeat.
*'''Spatial and Kinesthetic Sense''' - Sharpening rocks with {{k|x}} will improve your Knapping skills, but more importantly, raising these skills with raise your Spatial Sense and Kinesthetic Sense attributes which help with a number of other skills. This can be combined with throwing, using a macro, to keep your inventory from filling up.
*'''Other Stats''' - Other useful stats like Strength, Agility, and Toughness will increase significantly as the fighting and defense skills increase, so you don't need to do anything other than what you'd normally be doing to increase these.

===I managed to escape but my limbs are chopped off. Now what?===

It's just a flesh wound!

Unfortunately, there is currently no way to get them back, but as long as you have at least one leg and one arm left you can actually do pretty well. First, get a crutch from somewhere, such as a general store, and make sure it's in one of your hands. Once you do that you should be able to {{k|s}}tand back up again. You will notice that your speed is now much slower than before.

Now go find someplace reasonably safe and walk back and forth until your Crutch Walking skill gets up to Legendary or above. You will notice your speed increasing as your skill levels up until your speed is completely back to normal. As a bonus you'll probably see some stat increases as well. You can continue to dodge with a crutch just as well as before.

You can wield a sword, shield, and crutch all in one hand, so even if you are missing an arm then you're all set. If you are missing both arms but still have both legs then unfortunately you'll be limited to biting, dodging, and wrestling with legs. If you're missing both arms and one leg then your movement will be limited and you'll be limited to biting and wrestling with your one remaining leg. And if all limbs are missing then you'll be limited to rolling around on the ground biting things.

Though you might actually be able to do surprisingly well as a Legendary Biter, especially if you powerlevel your strength to the point where you can shake things around by the teeth ripping limbs off, if you lose both legs then your character is going to be severely limited just due to the poor movement rate, so at that point it's probably best to opt for retirement or a glorious death in battle.

Becoming a [[werebeast]] will enable you to regenerate limbs during the transformation to your animal form every Full Moon.
=== How do I keep my companions from running off after random wildlife? ===

In unmodified games, only human companions are typically available and humans currently seem to have the philosophy that all wildlife MUST DIE AN IMMEDIATE BRUTAL DEATH ASAP. While there's currently no way to order them to ignore wildlife and other neutral creatures, you can modify the ''raw\objects\entity_default.txt'' file and add the '''<nowiki>[AT_PEACE_WITH_WILDLIFE]</nowiki>''' to the entity definition for humans. This will cause humans to have an elf-like attitude toward wildlife, and vice versa. Humans will then avoid killing animals and animals will not run away from humans, also giving you somewhat of an advantage when hunting as a human.

Animals... you either love them and they love you, or they must die a horrible death right now.

===How do I become a vampire?===

The only way to become one is to first find one, kill it, and then "eat" its blood. More about vampires [[Vampire|here]].

=See Also=
*[[Main:Adventure Mode quick reference|Adventure Mode quick reference]]
*[[Adventure mode quick start|quick start guide]]

{{Getting Started}}
{{Category|Adventurer mode}}
{{Category|Interface}}

Speech mods

2012-06-15T19:41:19Z

Leafbarrett: /* threat */

{{mod}}

[[Dwarf Fortress]]' [[Speech]] files determine the exact dialog (mostly in [[adventurer mode]]) between two characters, such as the threats an important enemy will make to you before attacking, or the response when you ask a [[child]] his or her profession. The files may be found in the Dwarf Fortress folder, in the directory "data/speech". These files are easily modified by adding additional lines of text, one entry per line. Take for instance, the file "positive.txt":

fantastic!
wonderful!
I'm thrilled to hear that.
I'm pleased to hear that.
that is good news.
that is wonderful news.
this is encouraging.
very good.
I'm proud of you.
that is a good turn of affairs.

A file may also contain a variable in brackets. Instead of displaying the variable, Dwarf Fortress will display its contents (often the age of the speaker, their profession, or someone they killed.) For instance, the file "hist_fig_slayer.txt":

It is I that felled [CONTEXT:HIST_FIG:TRANS_NAME] the [CONTEXT:HIST_FIG:RACE].

This can be thought of as the speaker saying "It is I that felled (translated name of a historical figure) the (race)". The result may look like:

It is I that felled Urist Skyseal the dwarf.

To figure out the exact meaning of the variable(s) involved, it is usually sufficient to see how they are used in the actual game. In other cases, their meaning is obvious by the name of the file and the dialog before or after their usage.

== The Usage of this Page ==

The contents of speech files are to be placed here with the intention of any user adding new possible replies to them as they see fit. Another user may then copy the new dialog to their appropriate files and enrich their [[Dwarf Fortress]] experience. They may also neglect to include entries they do not like, if they should choose.

=== How do I add a new entry? ===

Simply place it at the ''bottom'' of the appropriate table. Be sure to check that your entry isn't already in the table to avoid duplicates. If an entire file is missing from the page, feel free to create the table for it yourself, but please include the default entry or entries along with any you add. Please do not ''remove'' an entry from a file unless it is obviously vandalism. When in doubt, leave a message on the talk page expressing your concern.

It is also worth noting that these entries should ''not'' break the fourth wall. As an example, the character speaking should not be aware that they are in a computer game.

= Mods =

== wandering_profession ==

I wander [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I roam the lands. My travels have taken me all around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I live the life of a nomad in [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I am a vagabond. I have wandered [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I wander [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME], do you not also believe it beautiful?

== wandering_profession_year ==

I have wandered [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] of my years.
I am a wanderer. I have roamed [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for around [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.
I have roamed the land alone for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.
I have lived a nomadic life in [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years. Where I lay my head is home.
I have gone where the wind has taken me for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.

== thief_profession ==

I seek treasures and bring them back to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I am a treasure hunter and what I find goes to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I do a little of this, a little of that.
What I do isn't important.
I acquire things that have been lost and bring them back to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I retrieve trinkets from lost ages.
I help circulate wealth, keeping it from standing still and stagnating
What's it to ya?

== thief_profession_year ==

I seek treasures and bring them back to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] and have done so for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] of the years of my life.
I am a treasure hunter and what I find goes to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME]. I've been doing this for about [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.
I do a little of this, a little of that.
What I do isn't important.
For [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years I have acquired things that have been lost for [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].

== scouting_profession ==

It is my duty to scout the area around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I find danger before it finds us at [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I scout the land around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I know this area like the back of my hand.
I watch for the enemy.

== scouting_profession_year ==

I have been scouting the area around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] of my years.
For [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years I have found danger before it has found us at [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I have scouted the land around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.

== past_snatcher_profession ==

Once it was my calling to rescue lost children.
For [CONTEXT:NUMBER] of my years, I rescued lost children.
I'm ashamed of my past. Please do not ask.
...I wonder what happened to them... Hm? My job? Oh, it was nothing.
Let's just say I helped poor children find new homes.

== soldier_profession ==

I am a soldier.
I live by the sword.
My profession is war.
I bring death to those who would see [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] fall to ruin.
I simply do as I am told.

== general ==

whose bones you now stand on
who wore [PRO_POS] entrails around [PRO_POS] neck
who tried to fight, but was scattered before my strikes like wheat to a scythe
who tried to change things that were not meant to be changed
who lost all in [PRO_POS] attempt at battle
who couldn't fight on a real battlefield
whose skill in fighting couldn't match [PRO_POS] tormentor's
whose passion was only a candle compared to my forest fire
who tried to fly, only to find that [PRO_SUB] lacked wings
who wished upon a star, only to have it shoot [PRO_OBJ] down
whose questionable parentage shamed [PRO_POS] name
who had no spouse nor child to seek vengeance
who has been forever silenced
who was lost
who was an unfortunate discoverer of concealed recreational things
for whom the bell now tolls
who walks with the gods now
whose voice cried out and was suddenly silenced
whose story is ended
who recently became a martyr for mediocrity
who will never know another day
who tried to fight [PRO_POS] fate
who was made to swallow [PRO_POS] own weapon
whose face met my foot at high velocity
whose name shall be buried by the sands of time, forgotten by all

== threat ==

Your blood shall be spilled this day!
I shall delight in your torture!
I shall feast on your entrails!
I damn you to oblivion!
Pray while you still can!
Ding fries are done! Ding fries are done!
Pray to your maker!
Submit to the cold embrace of death!
I am going to split you like a ripe melon!
ohhh! ohhhhh! OHHHH! and I'm done.
Your head will hang on my wall!
Give in to darkness and despair!
Your life belongs to me!
I shall couple with your skull upon your death!
You will beg for death before I am done!
Die! Die! DIE!
Your phallus shall shrivel in agony!
You will be proud to die at my hands!
Perhaps you will be a worthy prey!
There is no escape!
Are you yet afraid? If not, you will be!
You will know nothing but terror when I am through!
Your body will fall like a limp bag!
Scream now, for you will soon be unable to speak!
Imma wear you like a coat! LIKE A COAT!
I shall flatten you!
It is already over; stand still and embrace death!
Please do not hurt me!
I am destined to be your last foe.
Embrace the end that awaits you!
You DARE challenge me?!
Fool! Perish at my hand!
It tis hammer time!
Cower before my might and I might just crush you quickly.
Do you not see? You are dead already.
It's time to suffer!
I shall strike you down!
You have already made your final mistake!
You have not felt suffering yet!
N'wah!
You may pry your weapon out of your own face!
Gwowowowowowowowowowow!
Your bones will be my dinner!
Die, fetcher!
You dare bring light to my lair? YOU MUST DIE!
I, [SPEAKER:TRANS_NAME], shall knock you all down!
I have fury!

Speech mods

2012-06-15T19:40:09Z

Leafbarrett: /* threat */ I'm surprised someone hadn't already made this reference

Speech mods

2012-06-15T19:35:30Z

Leafbarrett: /* general */ added a few entries and fixed one entry that had "his" instead of [PRO_POS]

{{mod}}

[[Dwarf Fortress]]' [[Speech]] files determine the exact dialog (mostly in [[adventurer mode]]) between two characters, such as the threats an important enemy will make to you before attacking, or the response when you ask a [[child]] his or her profession. The files may be found in the Dwarf Fortress folder, in the directory "data/speech". These files are easily modified by adding additional lines of text, one entry per line. Take for instance, the file "positive.txt":

fantastic!
wonderful!
I'm thrilled to hear that.
I'm pleased to hear that.
that is good news.
that is wonderful news.
this is encouraging.
very good.
I'm proud of you.
that is a good turn of affairs.

A file may also contain a variable in brackets. Instead of displaying the variable, Dwarf Fortress will display its contents (often the age of the speaker, their profession, or someone they killed.) For instance, the file "hist_fig_slayer.txt":

It is I that felled [CONTEXT:HIST_FIG:TRANS_NAME] the [CONTEXT:HIST_FIG:RACE].

This can be thought of as the speaker saying "It is I that felled (translated name of a historical figure) the (race)". The result may look like:

It is I that felled Urist Skyseal the dwarf.

To figure out the exact meaning of the variable(s) involved, it is usually sufficient to see how they are used in the actual game. In other cases, their meaning is obvious by the name of the file and the dialog before or after their usage.

== The Usage of this Page ==

The contents of speech files are to be placed here with the intention of any user adding new possible replies to them as they see fit. Another user may then copy the new dialog to their appropriate files and enrich their [[Dwarf Fortress]] experience. They may also neglect to include entries they do not like, if they should choose.

=== How do I add a new entry? ===

Simply place it at the ''bottom'' of the appropriate table. Be sure to check that your entry isn't already in the table to avoid duplicates. If an entire file is missing from the page, feel free to create the table for it yourself, but please include the default entry or entries along with any you add. Please do not ''remove'' an entry from a file unless it is obviously vandalism. When in doubt, leave a message on the talk page expressing your concern.

It is also worth noting that these entries should ''not'' break the fourth wall. As an example, the character speaking should not be aware that they are in a computer game.

= Mods =

== wandering_profession ==

I wander [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I roam the lands. My travels have taken me all around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I live the life of a nomad in [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I am a vagabond. I have wandered [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I wander [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME], do you not also believe it beautiful?

== wandering_profession_year ==

I have wandered [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] of my years.
I am a wanderer. I have roamed [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for around [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.
I have roamed the land alone for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.
I have lived a nomadic life in [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years. Where I lay my head is home.
I have gone where the wind has taken me for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.

== thief_profession ==

I seek treasures and bring them back to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I am a treasure hunter and what I find goes to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I do a little of this, a little of that.
What I do isn't important.
I acquire things that have been lost and bring them back to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I retrieve trinkets from lost ages.
I help circulate wealth, keeping it from standing still and stagnating
What's it to ya?

== thief_profession_year ==

I seek treasures and bring them back to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] and have done so for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] of the years of my life.
I am a treasure hunter and what I find goes to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME]. I've been doing this for about [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.
I do a little of this, a little of that.
What I do isn't important.
For [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years I have acquired things that have been lost for [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].

== scouting_profession ==

It is my duty to scout the area around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I find danger before it finds us at [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I scout the land around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I know this area like the back of my hand.
I watch for the enemy.

== scouting_profession_year ==

I have been scouting the area around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] of my years.
For [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years I have found danger before it has found us at [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I have scouted the land around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.

== past_snatcher_profession ==

Once it was my calling to rescue lost children.
For [CONTEXT:NUMBER] of my years, I rescued lost children.
I'm ashamed of my past. Please do not ask.
...I wonder what happened to them... Hm? My job? Oh, it was nothing.
Let's just say I helped poor children find new homes.

== soldier_profession ==

I am a soldier.
I live by the sword.
My profession is war.
I bring death to those who would see [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] fall to ruin.
I simply do as I am told.

== general ==

whose bones you now stand on
who wore [PRO_POS] entrails around [PRO_POS] neck
who tried to fight, but was scattered before my strikes like wheat to a scythe
who tried to change things that were not meant to be changed
who lost all in [PRO_POS] attempt at battle
who couldn't fight on a real battlefield
whose skill in fighting couldn't match [PRO_POS] tormentor's
whose passion was only a candle compared to my forest fire
who tried to fly, only to find that [PRO_SUB] lacked wings
who wished upon a star, only to have it shoot [PRO_OBJ] down
whose questionable parentage shamed [PRO_POS] name
who had no spouse nor child to seek vengeance
who has been forever silenced
who was lost
who was an unfortunate discoverer of concealed recreational things
for whom the bell now tolls
who walks with the gods now
whose voice cried out and was suddenly silenced
whose story is ended
who recently became a martyr for mediocrity
who will never know another day
who tried to fight [PRO_POS] fate
who was made to swallow [PRO_POS] own weapon
whose face met my foot at high velocity
whose name shall be buried by the sands of time, forgotten by all

== threat ==

Your blood shall be spilled this day!
I shall delight in your torture!
I shall feast on your entrails!
I damn you to oblivion!
Pray while you still can!
Ding fries are done! Ding fries are done!
Pray to your maker!
Submit to the cold embrace of death!
I am going to split you like a ripe melon!
ohhh! ohhhhh! OHHHH! and im done.
Your head will hang on my wall!
Give in to darkness and despair!
Your life belongs to me!
I shall couple with your skull upon your death!
You will beg for death before I am done!
Die! Die! DIE!
Your phallus shall shrivel in agony!
You will be proud to die at my hands!
Perhaps you will be a worthy prey!
There is no escape!
Are you yet afraid? If not, you will be!
You will know nothing but terror when I am through!
Your body will fall like a limp bag!
Scream now, for you will soon be unable to speak!
Imma wear you like a coat! LIKE A COAT!
I shall flatten you!
It is already over; stand still and embrace death!
Please do not hurt me!
I am destined to be your last foe.
Embrace the end that awaits you!
You DARE challenge me?!
Fool! Perish at my hand!
It tis hammer time!
Cower before my might and I might just crush you quickly.
Do you not see? You are dead already.
It's time to suffer!
I shall strike you down!
You have already made your final mistake!
You have not felt suffering yet!
N'wah!
You may pry your weapon out of your own face!
Gwowowowowowowowowowow!
Your bones will be my dinner!
Die, fetcher!
You dare bring light to my lair? YOU MUST DIE!

Speech mods

2012-06-15T19:29:01Z

Leafbarrett: /* Mods */ added a soldier section, and removed a duplicate in threat

{{mod}}

[[Dwarf Fortress]]' [[Speech]] files determine the exact dialog (mostly in [[adventurer mode]]) between two characters, such as the threats an important enemy will make to you before attacking, or the response when you ask a [[child]] his or her profession. The files may be found in the Dwarf Fortress folder, in the directory "data/speech". These files are easily modified by adding additional lines of text, one entry per line. Take for instance, the file "positive.txt":

fantastic!
wonderful!
I'm thrilled to hear that.
I'm pleased to hear that.
that is good news.
that is wonderful news.
this is encouraging.
very good.
I'm proud of you.
that is a good turn of affairs.

A file may also contain a variable in brackets. Instead of displaying the variable, Dwarf Fortress will display its contents (often the age of the speaker, their profession, or someone they killed.) For instance, the file "hist_fig_slayer.txt":

It is I that felled [CONTEXT:HIST_FIG:TRANS_NAME] the [CONTEXT:HIST_FIG:RACE].

This can be thought of as the speaker saying "It is I that felled (translated name of a historical figure) the (race)". The result may look like:

It is I that felled Urist Skyseal the dwarf.

To figure out the exact meaning of the variable(s) involved, it is usually sufficient to see how they are used in the actual game. In other cases, their meaning is obvious by the name of the file and the dialog before or after their usage.

== The Usage of this Page ==

The contents of speech files are to be placed here with the intention of any user adding new possible replies to them as they see fit. Another user may then copy the new dialog to their appropriate files and enrich their [[Dwarf Fortress]] experience. They may also neglect to include entries they do not like, if they should choose.

=== How do I add a new entry? ===

Simply place it at the ''bottom'' of the appropriate table. Be sure to check that your entry isn't already in the table to avoid duplicates. If an entire file is missing from the page, feel free to create the table for it yourself, but please include the default entry or entries along with any you add. Please do not ''remove'' an entry from a file unless it is obviously vandalism. When in doubt, leave a message on the talk page expressing your concern.

It is also worth noting that these entries should ''not'' break the fourth wall. As an example, the character speaking should not be aware that they are in a computer game.

= Mods =

== wandering_profession ==

I wander [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I roam the lands. My travels have taken me all around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I live the life of a nomad in [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I am a vagabond. I have wandered [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I wander [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME], do you not also believe it beautiful?

== wandering_profession_year ==

I have wandered [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] of my years.
I am a wanderer. I have roamed [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for around [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.
I have roamed the land alone for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.
I have lived a nomadic life in [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years. Where I lay my head is home.
I have gone where the wind has taken me for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.

== thief_profession ==

I seek treasures and bring them back to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I am a treasure hunter and what I find goes to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I do a little of this, a little of that.
What I do isn't important.
I acquire things that have been lost and bring them back to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I retrieve trinkets from lost ages.
I help circulate wealth, keeping it from standing still and stagnating
What's it to ya?

== thief_profession_year ==

I seek treasures and bring them back to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] and have done so for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] of the years of my life.
I am a treasure hunter and what I find goes to [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME]. I've been doing this for about [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.
I do a little of this, a little of that.
What I do isn't important.
For [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years I have acquired things that have been lost for [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].

== scouting_profession ==

It is my duty to scout the area around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I find danger before it finds us at [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I scout the land around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I know this area like the back of my hand.
I watch for the enemy.

== scouting_profession_year ==

I have been scouting the area around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] of my years.
For [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years I have found danger before it has found us at [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME].
I have scouted the land around [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] for [CONTEXT:NUMBER] years.

== past_snatcher_profession ==

Once it was my calling to rescue lost children.
For [CONTEXT:NUMBER] of my years, I rescued lost children.
I'm ashamed of my past. Please do not ask.
...I wonder what happened to them... Hm? My job? Oh, it was nothing.
Let's just say I helped poor children find new homes.

== soldier_profession ==

I am a soldier.
I live by the sword.
My profession is war.
I bring death to those who would see [CONTEXT:PLACE:TRANS_NAME] fall to ruin.
I simply do as I am told.

== general ==

whose bones you now stand on
who wore [PRO_POS] entrails around [PRO_POS] neck
who tried to fight, but was scattered before my strikes like wheat to a scythe
who tried to change things that were not meant to be changed
who lost all in [PRO_POS] attempt at battle
who couldn't fight on a real battlefield
whose skill in fighting couldn't match his tormentor's
whose passion was only a candle compared to my forest fire
who tried to fly, only to find that [PRO_SUB] lacked wings
who wished upon a star, only to have it shoot [PRO_OBJ] down
whose questionable parentage shamed [PRO_POS] name
who had no spouse nor child to seek vengeance
who has been forever silenced
who was lost
who was an unfortunate discoverer of concealed recreational things
for whom the bell now tolls
who walks with the gods now
whose voice cried out and was suddenly silenced
whose story is ended
who recently became a martyr for mediocrity
who will never know another day
who tried to fight [PRO_POS] fate

== threat ==

Your blood shall be spilled this day!
I shall delight in your torture!
I shall feast on your entrails!
I damn you to oblivion!
Pray while you still can!
Ding fries are done! Ding fries are done!
Pray to your maker!
Submit to the cold embrace of death!
I am going to split you like a ripe melon!
ohhh! ohhhhh! OHHHH! and im done.
Your head will hang on my wall!
Give in to darkness and despair!
Your life belongs to me!
I shall couple with your skull upon your death!
You will beg for death before I am done!
Die! Die! DIE!
Your phallus shall shrivel in agony!
You will be proud to die at my hands!
Perhaps you will be a worthy prey!
There is no escape!
Are you yet afraid? If not, you will be!
You will know nothing but terror when I am through!
Your body will fall like a limp bag!
Scream now, for you will soon be unable to speak!
Imma wear you like a coat! LIKE A COAT!
I shall flatten you!
It is already over; stand still and embrace death!
Please do not hurt me!
I am destined to be your last foe.
Embrace the end that awaits you!
You DARE challenge me?!
Fool! Perish at my hand!
It tis hammer time!
Cower before my might and I might just crush you quickly.
Do you not see? You are dead already.
It's time to suffer!
I shall strike you down!
You have already made your final mistake!
You have not felt suffering yet!
N'wah!
You may pry your weapon out of your own face!
Gwowowowowowowowowowow!
Your bones will be my dinner!
Die, fetcher!
You dare bring light to my lair? YOU MUST DIE!