Dwarf Fortress Wiki - User contributions [en]

Weather

2014-08-31T19:50:44Z

Lue: /* Normal Weather */ Add Altostratus symbol

{{Quality|Exceptional|00:18, 8 August 2014 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
'''Weather''' refers to any type of weather effect in DF. It includes snow, rain, and special features in evil surroundings.

Weather can be disabled by changing [WEATHER:YES] to [WEATHER:NO] in [[d_init.txt]]. Disabling weather is a quick and largely harmless fix to improve [[FPS|framerate]] on older machines if required.

== Normal Weather ==

=== Clouds ===

Dwarf Fortress has three layers of clouds: cumulus, cirrus, and stratus. When using the {{k|W}} key in adventure mode, any number of messages about the weather may appear, and corresponding symbols are shown when {{k|c}} is enabled on the fast travel mode. The types of clouds that are possible are:

* '''Clear sky (no clouds)''' — The sky is clear above you.

* {{Tile|α|7:0:1}} '''Scattered cumulus''' — There are scattered puffy clouds above you.
* {{Tile|β|7:0:0}} '''Many cumulus (causes rain)''' — There are mounds of clouds above you, smooth on the bottom with prominent upward bulges.
* {{Tile|¶|0:0:1}} '''Cumulonimbus (causes rain)''' — A dark, menacing cloud towers above you, crowned by an anvil.

* {{Tile|≡|7:0:1}} '''Cirrus''' — The sky is striped with thin clouds.

* {{Tile|█|7:0:1}} '''Altostratus''' — The sky above you is hazy and white.
* {{Tile|█|7:0:0}} '''Stratus (causes rain)''' — The sky above you is gray.
* {{Tile|█|0:0:1}} '''Nimbostratus (causes rain)''' — The sky above you is a uniform and dark gray.

Additionally, some unique messages occur when there are clouds in multiple layers:

* '''Scattered cumulus and cirrus''' — There are scattered clouds underneath a striped sky.
* '''Many cumulus and cirrus''' — Mounds of clouds are clustered through a striped sky.
* '''Cumulonimbus and cirrus''' — A dark, towering cloud rises into a striped sky.
* '''Altostratus and cumulonimbus''' — A towering gray cloud descends from the white sky above you.
* '''Stratus cumulonimbus''' — The sky above you is completely gray, with dark cloud pillars pressing through it.
* '''Nimbostratus and cumulonimbus''' — The sky above you is nearly black, ripped through with towering clouds.

Otherwise, stratus clouds prevent you from seeing if there are any cirrus or cumulus clouds.

=== Fog / Mist ===

Fog is another aspect of the weather, and is described separately from the state of clouds when using {{k|W}}. (However, thick fog prevents you from being able to tell what the clouds are like via {{k|W}}.) There are three kinds of fog that may appear:

* {{Tile|░|7:0:1}} '''Thin Mist''' — There is a thin mist here.
* {{Tile|▒|7:0:1}} '''Fog''' — Fog enshrouds the area.
* {{Tile|▓|7:0:1}} '''Thick Fog''' — There is a heavy blanket of fog enveloping everything.

The symbols shown appear on the fast travel map are shown regardless of whether you have {{k|c}} enabled or not. If you have cloud viewing enabled, clouds in the same position as the fog will obscure that fog. When in the midst of fog on the fast travel map, a small circle around your adventurer will blink to show the surrounding area.

=== Precipitation ===
==== Rain ====
{{DFtext|It is raining.|1:1}}

Normal rain cleans any tile it lands on, removing blood, [[vomit]] and other bodily fluids on contact. Any dwarf caught outside when it rains will receive a minor unhappy [[thought]].

When rain hits a tile labeled as a [[murky pool]], it will begin to fill it up with 1/7 [[water]], and if that does not evaporate the water will grow deeper, until the pool is full. Murky pools do not overflow from rain, but this extra water can be drained off and stored or used. (See the [[Well guide#Using ponds/pools in areas with heavy rain|Well Guide]].) While not much, it can really help maps without 'unlimited' water supplies such as [[river]]s and [[brook]]s.

==== Snow and Cold ====
{{DFtext|Winter is here.|7:1}}

{{DFtext|A snow storm has come.|7:1}}

When water comes into contact with a [[freezing]] climate, such as winter months in a moderate [[biome]], or at any time in a [[tundra]] or [[glacier]], it will freeze into a wall of [[ice]] if at least 4/7 deep, or a floor otherwise. Freezing ice acts much like [[obsidian]], and will instantly kill anything caught inside of it -- including creatures otherwise extremely hard to kill. In moderate biomes after winter has passed, ice will melt back into ponds. Ice walls will always thaw back into a full 7 units of liquid, regardless of the original water level, but ice floors will produce the original water depth when thawed. {{cite talk/this|Freezing/thawing ice}}

Dwarfs outside during a snowstorm can also freeze to death, so a very high priority when embarking on a glacier is to dig out some place warm for your idlers to rest.

[[Magma]] running under a snow-covered ground will melt it, but unlike [[ice]], molten snow doesn't turn into [[water]].

== Evil weather ==
Certain [[surroundings|evil surroundings]] feature freakish weather, such as fogs, clouds, and rains. They may afflict those caught in them with various kinds of [[syndrome]]s or curses, such as poisonings or transformation into [[Undead|zombies]]. Names for evil weather are randomly generated, typically something along the lines of "abominable mist", "unholy gloom" (clouds) or "creeping murk", "horrid goo" (rain).

Two kinds of evil weather exist - evil rain and evil clouds. The type of weather effect and their associated syndromes (if any) are different and randomly chosen for every evil biome in a generated world. Usually there will be only one weather effect for a given evil biome, often in conjunction with the effect of [[Undead|corpse animation]].

=== Evil Clouds ===
{{DFtext|A cloud of haunting fog has drifted nearby!|4:1}}

Evil clouds are made of a generated inorganic gas or dust. They start in one tile and spread out in a similar manner to [[miasma]] vapor; when the game announces the cloud's presence, it will zoom into this tile. Evil clouds cause more serious syndromes than evil rains, similar to those of [[forgotten beast]]s, [[titan]]s and [[demon]]s. Certain evil clouds transform living beings caught in them into dangerous [[Undead|zombie]]-like thralls, turning them against all life while significantly increasing their strength and toughness [[attribute]]s.

Evil clouds inflict worse syndromes than evil rains; thralling clouds are especially dangerous in the extreme, as the zombies produced are much stronger than those produced via ambient effects. These [[undead]] are very hard to kill and are '''much''' stronger than the unit they inflicted. Evil clouds have a tendency to roll over your outdoor trade depot and convert traveling merchants into a band of dwarf-hungry savages, which can be crippling to a fortress reliant on trade.

Thralling clouds are also dangerous in adventure mode. Undead status means hostility from civilized beings, reduced speed and no regeneration. However, other undead will ignore you.

=== Evil Rain ===
Evil rain can be made of either the [[blood]] of a civilized race (dwarves, goblins, etc.) or a randomly generated inorganic substance. Blood rain typically causes no [[syndrome]]s, only giving whomever caught in it an unhappy [[thought]]. Generated substances are more dangerous, causing minor symptoms such as vomiting, blisters and fevers, as well as inspiring the aforementioned unhappy thought. Evil rain can also cause wounds and injure dwarves and other creatures caught in them, although the extent of injury depends on the substance. Dwarves spattered with evil rain will seek a bath after any outdoor work, wasting time and [[soap]]. There are rumors of rain composed of other substances, such as [[alcohol]]; however, this seems to be rare.

=== Dangers of evil weather ===
One of the dangers of evil weather is that ponds will never refill. Store water into underground basins and plan accordingly. Another annoyance is the total lack of wild bees in an evil climate. Though evil rains (excluding rains of blood) usually cause the "milder" types of [[syndrome]]s, these may still cause death as a secondary result of that syndrome: e.g. suffocation from blisters, dehydration from chronic nausea.

Some evil weather effects condense on creatures, making their effects semi-permanent - symptoms won't go away until the source is washed. Those effects also can spread like a disease. In most cases, it will just infect dwarves that carry contaminated bodies to caskets. Thralling dust clouds, however, [[fun|can quickly lead to an unstoppable zombie apocalypse]] if the dust is not completely washed off somehow.

==== Movement of evil weather and safeguarding ====
Evil weather forms on the edge of the map and moves about the screen in one direction as the wind blows. Because the clouds inflate similarly to [[miasma]], they can very quickly dissipate, fly out of the map immediately, carry on at a steady pace, or spread rapidly engulfing very large areas. They will not, however, change direction.

Although it will glide along a single Z-level, it will climb straight walls and pass over structures. It will not move through a closed door or raised drawbridge, but it can descend from an open roof and it will pass through fortifications with ease. If you choose to fortify outside, be sure to have any open areas secured with floodgates to act as shutters to keep the clouds out. Adding doors throughout the structure to stop any accidentally contained clouds from moving further inward does not hurt.

Undead created by evil weather gain immediate strength bonuses and acquire a status of {{DFtext|Opposed to Life|0:1}}. They will tirelessly seek out living things to kill until they are struck down, which can take considerable effort.

{{Category|World}}

Weather

2014-08-10T06:15:11Z

Lue: /* Normal Weather */ Add Many cumulus symbol, fix a couple of tile colors.

{{Quality|Exceptional|00:18, 8 August 2014 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
'''Weather''' refers to any type of weather effect in DF. It includes snow, rain, and special features in evil surroundings.

Weather can be disabled by changing [WEATHER:YES] to [WEATHER:NO] in [[d_init.txt]]. Disabling weather is a quick and largely harmless fix to improve [[FPS|framerate]] on older machines if required.

== Normal Weather ==

=== Clouds ===

Dwarf Fortress has three layers of clouds: cumulus, cirrus, and stratus. When using the {{k|W}} key in adventure mode, any number of messages about the weather may appear, and corresponding symbols are shown when {{k|c}} is enabled on the fast travel mode. The types of clouds that are possible are:

* '''Clear sky (no clouds)''' — The sky is clear above you.

* {{Tile|α|7:0:1}} '''Scattered cumulus''' — There are scattered puffy clouds above you.
* {{Tile|β|0:0:1}} '''Many cumulus (causes rain)''' — There are mounds of clouds above you, smooth on the bottom with prominent upward bulges.
* {{Tile|¶|0:0:1}} '''Cumulonimbus (causes rain)''' — A dark, menacing cloud towers above you, crowned by an anvil.

* {{Tile|≡|7:0:1}} '''Cirrus''' — The sky is striped with thin clouds.

* '''Altostratus''' — The sky above you is hazy and white.
* {{Tile|█|7:0:0}} '''Stratus (causes rain)''' — The sky above you is gray.
* {{Tile|█|0:0:1}} '''Nimbostratus (causes rain)''' — The sky above you is a uniform and dark gray.

Additionally, some unique messages occur when there are clouds in multiple layers:

* '''Scattered cumulus and cirrus''' — There are scattered clouds underneath a striped sky.
* '''Many cumulus and cirrus''' — Mounds of clouds are clustered through a striped sky.
* '''Cumulonimbus and cirrus''' — A dark, towering cloud rises into a striped sky.
* '''Altostratus and cumulonimbus''' — A towering gray cloud descends from the white sky above you.
* '''Stratus cumulonimbus''' — The sky above you is completely gray, with dark cloud pillars pressing through it.
* '''Nimbostratus and cumulonimbus''' — The sky above you is nearly black, ripped through with towering clouds.

Otherwise, stratus clouds prevent you from seeing if there are any cirrus or cumulus clouds.

=== Fog / Mist ===

Fog is another aspect of the weather, and is described separately from the state of clouds when using {{k|W}}. (However, thick fog prevents you from being able to tell what the clouds are like via {{k|W}}.) There are three kinds of fog that may appear:

* {{Tile|░|7:0:1}} '''Thin Mist''' — There is a thin mist here.
* {{Tile|▒|7:0:1}} '''Fog''' — Fog enshrouds the area.
* {{Tile|▓|7:0:1}} '''Thick Fog''' — There is a heavy blanket of fog enveloping everything.

The symbols shown appear on the fast travel map are shown regardless of whether you have {{k|c}} enabled or not. If you have cloud viewing enabled, clouds in the same position as the fog will obscure that fog. When in the midst of fog on the fast travel map, a small circle around your adventurer will blink to show the surrounding area.

=== Precipitation ===
==== Rain ====
{{DFtext|It is raining.|1:1}}

Normal rain cleans any tile it lands on, removing blood, [[vomit]] and other bodily fluids on contact. Any dwarf caught outside when it rains will receive a minor unhappy [[thought]].

When rain hits a tile labeled as a [[murky pool]], it will begin to fill it up with 1/7 [[water]], and if that does not evaporate the water will grow deeper, until the pool is full. Murky pools do not overflow from rain, but this extra water can be drained off and stored or used. (See the [[Well guide#Using ponds/pools in areas with heavy rain|Well Guide]].) While not much, it can really help maps without 'unlimited' water supplies such as [[river]]s and [[brook]]s.

==== Snow and Cold ====
{{DFtext|Winter is here.|7:1}}

{{DFtext|A snow storm has come.|7:1}}

When water comes into contact with a [[freezing]] climate, such as winter months in a moderate [[biome]], or at any time in a [[tundra]] or [[glacier]], it will freeze into a wall of [[ice]] if at least 4/7 deep, or a floor otherwise. Freezing ice acts much like [[obsidian]], and will instantly kill anything caught inside of it -- including creatures otherwise extremely hard to kill. In moderate biomes after winter has passed, ice will melt back into ponds. Ice walls will always thaw back into a full 7 units of liquid, regardless of the original water level, but ice floors will produce the original water depth when thawed. {{cite talk/this|Freezing/thawing ice}}

Dwarfs outside during a snowstorm can also freeze to death, so a very high priority when embarking on a glacier is to dig out some place warm for your idlers to rest.

[[Magma]] running under a snow-covered ground will melt it, but unlike [[ice]], molten snow doesn't turn into [[water]].

== Evil weather ==
Certain [[surroundings|evil surroundings]] feature freakish weather, such as fogs, clouds, and rains. They may afflict those caught in them with various kinds of [[syndrome]]s or curses, such as poisonings or transformation into [[Undead|zombies]]. Names for evil weather are randomly generated, typically something along the lines of "abominable mist", "unholy gloom" (clouds) or "creeping murk", "horrid goo" (rain).

Two kinds of evil weather exist - evil rain and evil clouds. The type of weather effect and their associated syndromes (if any) are different and randomly chosen for every evil biome in a generated world. Usually there will be only one weather effect for a given evil biome, often in conjunction with the effect of [[Undead|corpse animation]].

=== Evil Clouds ===
{{DFtext|A cloud of haunting fog has drifted nearby!|4:1}}

Evil clouds are made of a generated inorganic gas or dust. They start in one tile and spread out in a similar manner to [[miasma]] vapor; when the game announces the cloud's presence, it will zoom into this tile. Evil clouds cause more serious syndromes than evil rains, similar to those of [[forgotten beast]]s, [[titan]]s and [[demon]]s. Certain evil clouds transform living beings caught in them into dangerous [[Undead|zombie]]-like thralls, turning them against all life while significantly increasing their strength and toughness [[attribute]]s.

Evil clouds inflict worse syndromes than evil rains; thralling clouds are especially dangerous in the extreme, as the zombies produced are much stronger than those produced via ambient effects. These [[undead]] are very hard to kill and are '''much''' stronger than the unit they inflicted. Evil clouds have a tendency to roll over your outdoor trade depot and convert traveling merchants into a band of dwarf-hungry savages, which can be crippling to a fortress reliant on trade.

Thralling clouds are also dangerous in adventure mode. Undead status means hostility from civilized beings, reduced speed and no regeneration. However, other undead will ignore you.

=== Evil Rain ===
Evil rain can be made of either the [[blood]] of a civilized race (dwarves, goblins, etc.) or a randomly generated inorganic substance. Blood rain typically causes no [[syndrome]]s, only giving whomever caught in it an unhappy [[thought]]. Generated substances are more dangerous, causing minor symptoms such as vomiting, blisters and fevers, as well as inspiring the aforementioned unhappy thought. Evil rain can also cause wounds and injure dwarves and other creatures caught in them, although the extent of injury depends on the substance. Dwarves spattered with evil rain will seek a bath after any outdoor work, wasting time and [[soap]]. There are rumors of rain composed of other substances, such as [[alcohol]]; however, this seems to be rare.

=== Dangers of evil weather ===
One of the dangers of evil weather is that ponds will never refill. Store water into underground basins and plan accordingly. Another annoyance is the total lack of wild bees in an evil climate. Though evil rains (excluding rains of blood) usually cause the "milder" types of [[syndrome]]s, these may still cause death as a secondary result of that syndrome: e.g. suffocation from blisters, dehydration from chronic nausea.

Some evil weather effects condense on creatures, making their effects semi-permanent - symptoms won't go away until the source is washed. Those effects also can spread like a disease. In most cases, it will just infect dwarves that carry contaminated bodies to caskets. Thralling dust clouds, however, [[fun|can quickly lead to an unstoppable zombie apocalypse]] if the dust is not completely washed off somehow.

==== Movement of evil weather and safeguarding ====
Evil weather forms on the edge of the map and moves about the screen in one direction as the wind blows. Because the clouds inflate similarly to [[miasma]], they can very quickly dissipate, fly out of the map immediately, carry on at a steady pace, or spread rapidly engulfing very large areas. They will not, however, change direction.

Although it will glide along a single Z-level, it will climb straight walls and pass over structures. It will not move through a closed door or raised drawbridge, but it can descend from an open roof and it will pass through fortifications with ease. If you choose to fortify outside, be sure to have any open areas secured with floodgates to act as shutters to keep the clouds out. Adding doors throughout the structure to stop any accidentally contained clouds from moving further inward does not hurt.

Undead created by evil weather gain immediate strength bonuses and acquire a status of {{DFtext|Opposed to Life|0:1}}. They will tirelessly seek out living things to kill until they are struck down, which can take considerable effort.

{{Category|World}}

Dwarf Fortress Wiki talk:Namespace migration

2014-08-10T03:48:57Z

Lue: Add question.

Report any namespace-migration problems here.
----

* <s>Hard bug here : [[Dwarf_Fortress_Wiki:Quality]]</s> Fixed. —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 11:41, 1 July 2014 (UTC)
* <s>{{tl|attrib_proc}} and related templates are broken on v0.34 pages.</s> Fixed (actually a problem with {{tl|Creaturelookup/0}}) —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 17:12, 2 July 2014 (UTC)

*A number of DF2014 pages are still missing (the [http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php?title=Special:WantedPages&limit=500&offset=0 wanted pages] list would be useful here if it wasn't crammed full of missing masterwork pages). (ex. [[DF2014:Brain]]‏‎, [[DF2014:Attributes]], [[DF2014:Pump stack]], etc.)
** We intentionally did not migrate any redirects, just to be sure everything was working properly. <s>I will probably go through and migrate redirects tonight.</s> --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 22:07, 9 July 2014 (UTC)
*** Copying over the redirects is a lot of manual work that could have been easily automated. In the mean time, editors are fixing the plethora of red links in different ways, resulting in a hodge-podge of "solutions" that may cause problems down the road.--[[User:Loci|Loci]] ([[User talk:Loci|talk]]) 19:11, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

*The {{tl|UtilityVersion}} template is claiming 40.01 is an "older version" on [[Utility:Lazy Newb Pack|utility pages]].
** This is functioning correctly. It will say older version until an editor updates the page for the most recent version.
*** The older version note is right, but the note claiming the page was for version 40.01 was incorrect. It should have claimed version 34.11, but a bug in the {{tl|nsv}} template was causing it to return the current version for unrecognized input. I have fixed the template to be more discerning.--[[User:Loci|Loci]] ([[User talk:Loci|talk]]) 19:11, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

* Redirects like [[v0.34:Animal]] need to be fixed. Besides categories are displayed as empty, but this seems to be normal lag. [[User:BartekChom|BartekChom]] ([[User talk:BartekChom|talk]]) 19:28, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

* Anyone have an idea why [[Special:List of redirects]] shows almost all redirects going to the v0.34 namespace? I'm fairly sure this is either the origin or a symptom of the problems with redirects I've been encountering. [[User:Brightgalrs|Brightgalrs]] ([[User talk:Brightgalrs|talk]]) 19:29, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
** Isn't there a wiki extension used here that redirects from the Main namespace to the appropriate versioned one? Maybe something about that is improperly redirecting to the old version's pages. —[[User:Lue|Lue]] ([[User talk:Lue|talk]]) 00:03, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
*** It's most likely another cache issue - I'll see if rebuilding the links table fixes it. —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 21:10, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

* http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php?title=DF2014:Quickstart_guide/Preparing_carefully&action=edit&redlink=1 didn't make it.
** Subpages weren't migrated by BriessBot, which I'm assuming was intended to avoid migrating raw pages. Briess should be back in a couple days to fix it. —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 19:06, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

*[[How_do_I_manage_my_seeds_and_crops]] redirects to [[DF2014:Farming]]. [[DF2014:How_do_I_manage_my_seeds_and_crops]] doesn't.
[[Special:Contributions/90.193.208.27|90.193.208.27]] 23:33, 6 August 2014 (UTC)
:Cache problem, fixed. —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 02:40, 7 August 2014 (UTC)

* Is there anything I can do to fix redirects (such as [[World Generation]] (''not'' [[World generation]])) when they redirect to v0.34 instead of DF2014? Or is this just something that requires more purging of the cache(s)? —[[User:Lue|Lue]] ([[User talk:Lue|talk]]) 03:48, 10 August 2014 (UTC)

Weather

2014-08-09T04:52:29Z

Lue: /* Fog / Mist */ Add tile for fog.

{{Quality|Exceptional|00:18, 8 August 2014 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
'''Weather''' refers to any type of weather effect in DF. It includes snow, rain, and special features in evil surroundings.

Weather can be disabled by changing [WEATHER:YES] to [WEATHER:NO] in [[d_init.txt]]. Disabling weather is a quick and largely harmless fix to improve [[FPS|framerate]] on older machines if required.

== Normal Weather ==

=== Clouds ===

Dwarf Fortress has three layers of clouds: cumulus, cirrus, and stratus. When using the {{k|W}} key in adventure mode, any number of messages about the weather may appear, and corresponding symbols are shown when {{k|c}} is enabled on the fast travel mode. The types of clouds that are possible are:

* '''Clear sky (no clouds)''' — The sky is clear above you.

* {{Tile|α|7:0:0}} '''Scattered cumulus''' — There are scattered puffy clouds above you.
* '''Many cumulus (causes rain)''' — There are mounds of clouds above you, smooth on the bottom with prominent upward bulges.
* {{Tile|¶|0:0:1}} '''Cumulonimbus (causes rain)''' — A dark, menacing cloud towers above you, crowned by an anvil.

* {{Tile|≡|7:0:0}} '''Cirrus''' — The sky is striped with thin clouds.

* '''Altostratus''' — The sky above you is hazy and white.
* {{Tile|█|7:0:0}} '''Stratus (causes rain)''' — The sky above you is gray.
* {{Tile|█|0:0:1}} '''Nimbostratus (causes rain)''' — The sky above you is a uniform and dark gray.

Additionally, some unique messages occur when there are clouds in multiple layers:

* '''Scattered cumulus and cirrus''' — There are scattered clouds underneath a striped sky.
* '''Many cumulus and cirrus''' — Mounds of clouds are clustered through a striped sky.
* '''Cumulonimbus and cirrus''' — A dark, towering cloud rises into a striped sky.
* '''Altostratus and cumulonimbus''' — A towering gray cloud descends from the white sky above you.
* '''Stratus cumulonimbus''' — The sky above you is completely gray, with dark cloud pillars pressing through it.
* '''Nimbostratus and cumulonimbus''' — The sky above you is nearly black, ripped through with towering clouds.

Otherwise, stratus clouds prevent you from seeing if there are any cirrus or cumulus clouds.

=== Fog / Mist ===

Fog is another aspect of the weather, and is described separately from the state of clouds when using {{k|W}}. (However, thick fog prevents you from being able to tell what the clouds are like via {{k|W}}.) There are three kinds of fog that may appear:

* {{Tile|░|7:0:1}} '''Thin Mist''' — There is a thin mist here.
* {{Tile|▒|7:0:1}} '''Fog''' — Fog enshrouds the area.
* {{Tile|▓|7:0:1}} '''Thick Fog''' — There is a heavy blanket of fog enveloping everything.

The symbols shown appear on the fast travel map are shown regardless of whether you have {{k|c}} enabled or not. If you have cloud viewing enabled, clouds in the same position as the fog will obscure that fog. When in the midst of fog on the fast travel map, a small circle around your adventurer will blink to show the surrounding area.

=== Precipitation ===
==== Rain ====
{{DFtext|It is raining.|1:1}}

Normal rain cleans any tile it lands on, removing blood, [[vomit]] and other bodily fluids on contact. Any dwarf caught outside when it rains will receive a minor unhappy [[thought]].

When rain hits a tile labeled as a [[murky pool]], it will begin to fill it up with 1/7 [[water]], and if that does not evaporate the water will grow deeper, until the pool is full. Murky pools do not overflow from rain, but this extra water can be drained off and stored or used. (See the [[Well guide#Using ponds/pools in areas with heavy rain|Well Guide]].) While not much, it can really help maps without 'unlimited' water supplies such as [[river]]s and [[brook]]s.

==== Snow and Cold ====
{{DFtext|Winter is here.|7:1}}

{{DFtext|A snow storm has come.|7:1}}

When water comes into contact with a [[freezing]] climate, such as winter months in a moderate [[biome]], or at any time in a [[tundra]] or [[glacier]], it will freeze into a wall of [[ice]] if at least 4/7 deep, or a floor otherwise. Freezing ice acts much like [[obsidian]], and will instantly kill anything caught inside of it -- including creatures otherwise extremely hard to kill. In moderate biomes after winter has passed, ice will melt back into ponds. Ice walls will always thaw back into a full 7 units of liquid, regardless of the original water level, but ice floors will produce the original water depth when thawed. {{cite talk/this|Freezing/thawing ice}}

Dwarfs outside during a snowstorm can also freeze to death, so a very high priority when embarking on a glacier is to dig out some place warm for your idlers to rest.

[[Magma]] running under a snow-covered ground will melt it, but unlike [[ice]], molten snow doesn't turn into [[water]].

== Evil weather ==
Certain [[surroundings|evil surroundings]] feature freakish weather, such as fogs, clouds, and rains. They may afflict those caught in them with various kinds of [[syndrome]]s or curses, such as poisonings or transformation into [[Undead|zombies]]. Names for evil weather are randomly generated, typically something along the lines of "abominable mist", "unholy gloom" (clouds) or "creeping murk", "horrid goo" (rain).

Two kinds of evil weather exist - evil rain and evil clouds. The type of weather effect and their associated syndromes (if any) are different and randomly chosen for every evil biome in a generated world. Usually there will be only one weather effect for a given evil biome, often in conjunction with the effect of [[Undead|corpse animation]].

=== Evil Clouds ===
{{DFtext|A cloud of haunting fog has drifted nearby!|4:1}}

Evil clouds are made of a generated inorganic gas or dust. They start in one tile and spread out in a similar manner to [[miasma]] vapor; when the game announces the cloud's presence, it will zoom into this tile. Evil clouds cause more serious syndromes than evil rains, similar to those of [[forgotten beast]]s, [[titan]]s and [[demon]]s. Certain evil clouds transform living beings caught in them into dangerous [[Undead|zombie]]-like thralls, turning them against all life while significantly increasing their strength and toughness [[attribute]]s.

Evil clouds inflict worse syndromes than evil rains; thralling clouds are especially dangerous in the extreme, as the zombies produced are much stronger than those produced via ambient effects. These [[undead]] are very hard to kill and are '''much''' stronger than the unit they inflicted. Evil clouds have a tendency to roll over your outdoor trade depot and convert traveling merchants into a band of dwarf-hungry savages, which can be crippling to a fortress reliant on trade.

Thralling clouds are also dangerous in adventure mode. Undead status means hostility from civilized beings, reduced speed and no regeneration. However, other undead will ignore you.

=== Evil Rain ===
Evil rain can be made of either the [[blood]] of a civilized race (dwarves, goblins, etc.) or a randomly generated inorganic substance. Blood rain typically causes no [[syndrome]]s, only giving whomever caught in it an unhappy [[thought]]. Generated substances are more dangerous, causing minor symptoms such as vomiting, blisters and fevers, as well as inspiring the aforementioned unhappy thought. Evil rain can also cause wounds and injure dwarves and other creatures caught in them, although the extent of injury depends on the substance. Dwarves spattered with evil rain will seek a bath after any outdoor work, wasting time and [[soap]]. There are rumors of rain composed of other substances, such as [[alcohol]]; however, this seems to be rare.

=== Dangers of evil weather ===
One of the dangers of evil weather is that ponds will never refill. Store water into underground basins and plan accordingly. Another annoyance is the total lack of wild bees in an evil climate. Though evil rains (excluding rains of blood) usually cause the "milder" types of [[syndrome]]s, these may still cause death as a secondary result of that syndrome: e.g. suffocation from blisters, dehydration from chronic nausea.

Some evil weather effects condense on creatures, making their effects semi-permanent - symptoms won't go away until the source is washed. Those effects also can spread like a disease. In most cases, it will just infect dwarves that carry contaminated bodies to caskets. Thralling dust clouds, however, [[fun|can quickly lead to an unstoppable zombie apocalypse]] if the dust is not completely washed off somehow.

==== Movement of evil weather and safeguarding ====
Evil weather forms on the edge of the map and moves about the screen in one direction as the wind blows. Because the clouds inflate similarly to [[miasma]], they can very quickly dissipate, fly out of the map immediately, carry on at a steady pace, or spread rapidly engulfing very large areas. They will not, however, change direction.

Although it will glide along a single Z-level, it will climb straight walls and pass over structures. It will not move through a closed door or raised drawbridge, but it can descend from an open roof and it will pass through fortifications with ease. If you choose to fortify outside, be sure to have any open areas secured with floodgates to act as shutters to keep the clouds out. Adding doors throughout the structure to stop any accidentally contained clouds from moving further inward does not hurt.

Undead created by evil weather gain immediate strength bonuses and acquire a status of {{DFtext|Opposed to Life|0:1}}. They will tirelessly seek out living things to kill until they are struck down, which can take considerable effort.

{{Category|World}}

Weather

2014-08-08T00:05:02Z

Lue: /* Evil weather */ Update in-game text to use DFtext

{{Migrated_article}}
{{av}}{{Quality|Fine}}
'''Weather''' refers to any type of weather effect in DF. It includes snow, rain, and special features in evil surroundings.

Weather can be disabled by changing [WEATHER:YES] to [WEATHER:NO] in the [[d_init.txt]] file. Disabling weather is a quick and largely harmless fix to improve framerate on older machines if required.

== Normal Weather ==

=== Clouds ===

Dwarf Fortress has three layers of clouds: cumulus, cirrus, and stratus. When using the {{k|W}} key in adventure mode, any number of messages about the weather may appear, and corresponding symbols are shown when {{k|c}} is enabled on the fast travel mode. The types of clouds that are possible are:

* '''Clear sky (no clouds)''' — The sky is clear above you.

* {{Tile|α|7:0:0}} '''Scattered cumulus''' — There are scattered puffy clouds above you.
* '''Many cumulus (causes rain)''' — There are mounds of clouds above you, smooth on the bottom with prominent upward bulges.
* {{Tile|¶|0:0:1}} '''Cumulonimbus (causes rain)''' — A dark, menacing cloud towers above you, crowned by an anvil.

* {{Tile|≡|7:0:0}} '''Cirrus''' — The sky is striped with thin clouds.

* '''Altostratus''' — The sky above you is hazy and white.
* {{Tile|█|7:0:0}} '''Stratus (causes rain)''' — The sky above you is gray.
* {{Tile|█|0:0:1}} '''Nimbostratus (causes rain)''' — The sky above you is a uniform and dark gray.

Additionally, some unique messages occur when there are clouds in multiple layers:

* '''Scattered cumulus and cirrus''' — There are scattered clouds underneath a striped sky.
* '''Many cumulus and cirrus''' — Mounds of clouds are clustered through a striped sky.
* '''Cumulonimbus and cirrus''' — A dark, towering cloud rises into a striped sky.
* '''Altostratus and cumulonimbus''' — A towering gray cloud descends from the white sky above you.
* '''Stratus cumulonimbus''' — The sky above you is completely gray, with dark cloud pillars pressing through it.
* '''Nimbostratus and cumulonimbus''' — The sky above you is nearly black, ripped through with towering clouds.

Otherwise, stratus clouds prevent you from seeing if there are any cirrus or cumulus clouds.

=== Fog / Mist ===

Fog is another aspect of the weather, and is described separately from the state of clouds when using {{k|W}}. (However, thick fog prevents you from being able to tell what the clouds are like via {{k|W}}.) There are three kinds of fog that may appear:

* {{Tile|░|7:0:1}} '''Thin Mist''' — There is a thin mist here.
* '''Fog''' — Fog enshrouds the area.
* {{Tile|▓|7:0:1}} '''Thick Fog''' — There is a heavy blanket of fog enveloping everything.

The symbols shown appear on the fast travel map are shown regardless of whether you have {{k|c}} enabled or not. If you have cloud viewing enabled, clouds in the same position as the fog will obscure that fog. When in the midst of fog on the fast travel map, a small circle around your adventurer will blink to show the surrounding area.

=== Precipitation ===
==== Rain ====
{{DFtext|It is raining.|1:0}}

Normal rain cleans any tile it lands on, removing blood, [[vomit]] and other bodily fluids on contact. Any dwarf caught outside when it rains will receive a minor unhappy [[thought]].

When rain hits a tile labeled as a [[murky pool]], it will begin to fill it up with 1/7 [[water]], and if that does not evaporate the water will grow deeper, until the pool is full. Murky pools do not overflow from rain, but this extra water can be drained off and stored or used. (See the [[Well guide#Using ponds/pools in areas with heavy rain|Well Guide]].) While not much, it can really help maps without 'unlimited' water supplies such as [[river]]s and [[brook]]s.

==== Snow and Cold ====
{{DFtext|Winter is here.|7:1}}

{{DFtext|A snow storm has come.|7:1}}

When water comes into contact with a [[freezing]] climate, such as winter months in a moderate [[biome]], or at any time in a [[tundra]] or [[glacier]], it will freeze into a wall of [[ice]]. Freezing ice acts much like [[obsidian]], and will instantly kill anything caught inside of it -- including creatures otherwise extremely hard to kill. In moderate biomes after winter has passed, walls of ice will melt back into ponds. No matter what the height of the water was before freezing, it will always thaw back into a full 7 units of liquid.

Dwarfs outside during a snowstorm can also freeze to death, so a very high priority when embarking on a glacier is to dig out some place warm for your idlers to rest.

== Evil weather ==
Certain [[surroundings|evil surroundings]] feature freakish weather, such as fogs, clouds, and rains. They may afflict those caught in them with various kinds of [[syndrome]]s or curses, such as poisonings or transformation into [[Undead|zombies]]. Names for evil weather are randomly generated, typically something along the lines of "abominable mist", "unholy gloom" (clouds) or "creeping murk", "horrid goo" (rain).

Two kinds of evil weather exist - evil rain and evil clouds. The type of weather effect and their associated syndromes (if any) are different and randomly chosen for every evil biome in a generated world. Usually there will be only one weather effect for a given evil biome, often in conjunction with the effect of [[Undead|corpse animation]].

=== Evil Clouds ===
{{DFtext|A cloud of haunting fog has drifted nearby!|4:1}}

Evil clouds are made of a generated inorganic gas or dust. They start in one tile and spread out in a similar manner to [[miasma]] vapor; when the game announces the cloud's presence, it will zoom into this tile. Evil clouds cause more serious syndromes than evil rains, similar to those of [[forgotten beast]]s, [[titan]]s and [[demon]]s. Certain evil clouds transform living beings caught in them into dangerous [[Undead|zombie]]-like thralls, turning them against all life while significantly increasing their strength and toughness [[attribute]]s.

Evil clouds inflict worse syndromes than evil rains; thralling clouds are especially dangerous in the extreme, as the zombies produced are much stronger than those produced via ambient effects. These [[undead]] are very hard to kill and are '''much''' stronger than the unit they inflicted. Evil clouds have a tendency to roll over your outdoor trade depot and convert traveling merchants into a band of dwarf-hungry savages, which can be crippling to a fortress reliant on trade.

Thralling clouds are also dangerous in adventure mode. Undead status means hostility from civilized beings, reduced speed and no regeneration. However, other undead will ignore you.

=== Evil Rain ===
Evil rain can be made of either the [[blood]] of a civilized race (dwarves, goblins, etc.) or a randomly generated inorganic substance. Blood rain typically causes no [[syndrome]]s, only giving whomever caught in it an unhappy [[thought]]. Generated substances are more dangerous, causing minor symptoms such as vomiting, blisters and fevers, as well as inspiring the aforementioned unhappy thought. Evil rain can also cause wounds and injure dwarves and other creatures caught in them, although the extent of injury depends on the substance. Dwarves spattered with evil rain will seek a bath after any outdoor work, wasting time and [[soap]]. There are rumors of rain composed of other substances, such as [[alcohol]]; however, this seems to be rare.

=== Dangers of evil weather ===
One of the dangers of evil weather is that ponds will never refill. Store water into underground basins and plan accordingly. Another annoyance is the total lack of wild bees in an evil climate. Though evil rains (excluding rains of blood) usually cause the "milder" types of [[syndrome]]s, these may still cause death as a secondary result of that syndrome: e.g. suffocation from blisters, dehydration from chronic nausea.

Some evil weather effects condense on creatures, making their effects semi-permanent - symptoms won't go away until the source is washed. Those effects also can spread like a disease. In most cases, it will just infect dwarves that carry contaminated bodies to caskets. Thralling dust clouds, however, [[fun|can quickly lead to an unstoppable zombie apocalypse]] if the dust is not completely washed off somehow.

==== Movement of evil weather and safeguarding ====
Evil weather forms on the edge of the map and moves about the screen in one direction as the wind blows. Because the clouds inflate similarly to [[miasma]], they can very quickly dissipate, fly out of the map immediately, carry on at a steady pace, or spread rapidly engulfing very large areas. They will not, however, change direction.

Although it will glide along a single Z-level, it will climb straight walls and pass over structures. It will not move through a closed door or raised drawbridge, but it can descend from an open roof and it will pass through fortifications with ease. If you choose to fortify outside, be sure to have any open areas secured with floodgates to act as shutters to keep the clouds out. Adding doors throughout the structure to stop any accidentally contained clouds from moving further inward does not hurt.

Undead created by evil weather gain immediate strength bonuses and acquire a status of {{DFtext|Opposed to Life|0:1}}. They will tirelessly seek out living things to kill until they are struck down, which can take considerable effort.

{{Category|World}}

Weather

2014-08-08T00:00:38Z

Lue: /* Normal Weather */ Add information about clouds and fog

{{Migrated_article}}
{{av}}{{Quality|Fine}}
'''Weather''' refers to any type of weather effect in DF. It includes snow, rain, and special features in evil surroundings.

Weather can be disabled by changing [WEATHER:YES] to [WEATHER:NO] in the [[d_init.txt]] file. Disabling weather is a quick and largely harmless fix to improve framerate on older machines if required.

== Normal Weather ==

=== Clouds ===

Dwarf Fortress has three layers of clouds: cumulus, cirrus, and stratus. When using the {{k|W}} key in adventure mode, any number of messages about the weather may appear, and corresponding symbols are shown when {{k|c}} is enabled on the fast travel mode. The types of clouds that are possible are:

* '''Clear sky (no clouds)''' — The sky is clear above you.

* {{Tile|α|7:0:0}} '''Scattered cumulus''' — There are scattered puffy clouds above you.
* '''Many cumulus (causes rain)''' — There are mounds of clouds above you, smooth on the bottom with prominent upward bulges.
* {{Tile|¶|0:0:1}} '''Cumulonimbus (causes rain)''' — A dark, menacing cloud towers above you, crowned by an anvil.

* {{Tile|≡|7:0:0}} '''Cirrus''' — The sky is striped with thin clouds.

* '''Altostratus''' — The sky above you is hazy and white.
* {{Tile|█|7:0:0}} '''Stratus (causes rain)''' — The sky above you is gray.
* {{Tile|█|0:0:1}} '''Nimbostratus (causes rain)''' — The sky above you is a uniform and dark gray.

Additionally, some unique messages occur when there are clouds in multiple layers:

* '''Scattered cumulus and cirrus''' — There are scattered clouds underneath a striped sky.
* '''Many cumulus and cirrus''' — Mounds of clouds are clustered through a striped sky.
* '''Cumulonimbus and cirrus''' — A dark, towering cloud rises into a striped sky.
* '''Altostratus and cumulonimbus''' — A towering gray cloud descends from the white sky above you.
* '''Stratus cumulonimbus''' — The sky above you is completely gray, with dark cloud pillars pressing through it.
* '''Nimbostratus and cumulonimbus''' — The sky above you is nearly black, ripped through with towering clouds.

Otherwise, stratus clouds prevent you from seeing if there are any cirrus or cumulus clouds.

=== Fog / Mist ===

Fog is another aspect of the weather, and is described separately from the state of clouds when using {{k|W}}. (However, thick fog prevents you from being able to tell what the clouds are like via {{k|W}}.) There are three kinds of fog that may appear:

* {{Tile|░|7:0:1}} '''Thin Mist''' — There is a thin mist here.
* '''Fog''' — Fog enshrouds the area.
* {{Tile|▓|7:0:1}} '''Thick Fog''' — There is a heavy blanket of fog enveloping everything.

The symbols shown appear on the fast travel map are shown regardless of whether you have {{k|c}} enabled or not. If you have cloud viewing enabled, clouds in the same position as the fog will obscure that fog. When in the midst of fog on the fast travel map, a small circle around your adventurer will blink to show the surrounding area.

=== Precipitation ===
==== Rain ====
{{DFtext|It is raining.|1:0}}

Normal rain cleans any tile it lands on, removing blood, [[vomit]] and other bodily fluids on contact. Any dwarf caught outside when it rains will receive a minor unhappy [[thought]].

When rain hits a tile labeled as a [[murky pool]], it will begin to fill it up with 1/7 [[water]], and if that does not evaporate the water will grow deeper, until the pool is full. Murky pools do not overflow from rain, but this extra water can be drained off and stored or used. (See the [[Well guide#Using ponds/pools in areas with heavy rain|Well Guide]].) While not much, it can really help maps without 'unlimited' water supplies such as [[river]]s and [[brook]]s.

==== Snow and Cold ====
{{DFtext|Winter is here.|7:1}}

{{DFtext|A snow storm has come.|7:1}}

When water comes into contact with a [[freezing]] climate, such as winter months in a moderate [[biome]], or at any time in a [[tundra]] or [[glacier]], it will freeze into a wall of [[ice]]. Freezing ice acts much like [[obsidian]], and will instantly kill anything caught inside of it -- including creatures otherwise extremely hard to kill. In moderate biomes after winter has passed, walls of ice will melt back into ponds. No matter what the height of the water was before freezing, it will always thaw back into a full 7 units of liquid.

Dwarfs outside during a snowstorm can also freeze to death, so a very high priority when embarking on a glacier is to dig out some place warm for your idlers to rest.

== Evil weather ==
Certain [[surroundings|evil surroundings]] feature freakish weather, such as fogs, clouds, and rains. They may afflict those caught in them with various kinds of [[syndrome]]s or curses, such as poisonings or transformation into [[Undead|zombies]]. Names for evil weather are randomly generated, typically something along the lines of "abominable mist", "unholy gloom" (clouds) or "creeping murk", "horrid goo" (rain).

Two kinds of evil weather exist - evil rain and evil clouds. The type of weather effect and their associated syndromes (if any) are different and randomly chosen for every evil biome in a generated world. Usually there will be only one weather effect for a given evil biome, often in conjunction with the effect of [[Undead|corpse animation]].

=== Evil Clouds ===
A cloud of haunting fog has drifted nearby!

Evil clouds are made of a generated inorganic gas or dust. They start in one tile and spread out in a similar manner to [[miasma]] vapor; when the game announces the cloud's presence, it will zoom into this tile. Evil clouds cause more serious syndromes than evil rains, similar to those of [[forgotten beast]]s, [[titan]]s and [[demon]]s. Certain evil clouds transform living beings caught in them into dangerous [[Undead|zombie]]-like thralls, turning them against all life while significantly increasing their strength and toughness [[attribute]]s.

Evil clouds inflict worse syndromes than evil rains; thralling clouds are especially dangerous in the extreme, as the zombies produced are much stronger than those produced via ambient effects. These [[undead]] are very hard to kill and are '''much''' stronger than the unit they inflicted. Evil clouds have a tendency to roll over your outdoor trade depot and convert traveling merchants into a band of dwarf-hungry savages, which can be crippling to a fortress reliant on trade.

Thralling clouds are also dangerous in adventure mode. Undead status means hostility from civilized beings, reduced speed and no regeneration. However, other undead will ignore you.

=== Evil Rain ===
Evil rain can be made of either the [[blood]] of a civilized race (dwarves, goblins, etc.) or a randomly generated inorganic substance. Blood rain typically causes no [[syndrome]]s, only giving whomever caught in it an unhappy [[thought]]. Generated substances are more dangerous, causing minor symptoms such as vomiting, blisters and fevers, as well as inspiring the aforementioned unhappy thought. Evil rain can also cause wounds and injure dwarves and other creatures caught in them, although the extent of injury depends on the substance. Dwarves spattered with evil rain will seek a bath after any outdoor work, wasting time and [[soap]]. There are rumors of rain composed of other substances, such as [[alcohol]]; however, this seems to be rare.

=== Dangers of evil weather ===
One of the dangers of evil weather is that ponds will never refill. Store water into underground basins and plan accordingly. Another annoyance is the total lack of wild bees in an evil climate. Though evil rains (excluding rains of blood) usually cause the "milder" types of [[syndrome]]s, these may still cause death as a secondary result of that syndrome: e.g. suffocation from blisters, dehydration from chronic nausea.

Some evil weather effects condense on creatures, making their effects semi-permanent - symptoms won't go away until the source is washed. Those effects also can spread like a disease. In most cases, it will just infect dwarves that carry contaminated bodies to caskets. Thralling dust clouds, however, [[fun|can quickly lead to an unstoppable zombie apocalypse]] if the dust is not completely washed off somehow.

==== Movement of evil weather and safeguarding ====
Evil weather forms on the edge of the map and moves about the screen in one direction as the wind blows. Because the clouds inflate similarly to [[miasma]], they can very quickly dissipate, fly out of the map immediately, carry on at a steady pace, or spread rapidly engulfing very large areas. They will not, however, change direction.

Although it will glide along a single Z-level, it will climb straight walls and pass over structures. It will not move through a closed door or raised drawbridge, but it can descend from an open roof and it will pass through fortifications with ease. If you choose to fortify outside, be sure to have any open areas secured with floodgates to act as shutters to keep the clouds out. Adding doors throughout the structure to stop any accidentally contained clouds from moving further inward does not hurt.

Undead created by evil weather gain immediate strength bonuses and acquire a status of Opposed to Life. They will tirelessly seek out living things to kill until they are struck down, which can take considerable effort.

{{Category|World}}

Wrestling

2014-07-21T03:46:34Z

Lue: Remove migration template, add Buggy template

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

The '''Wrestler''' skill pertains to incapacitating enemies by grabbing a hold of limbs and other body parts. This is distinct from [[Striker]], [[Kicker]], and [[Biter]] which are separate skills that pertain to punching/scratching, kicking, and biting attacks respectively. Note that the skill for [[Thrower]] is used for throwing miscellaneous objects at creatures, not throwing the opponents themselves.

While striking and kicking are basic one-shot attacks like weapon attacks, biting can be used in conjunction with wrestling even though it uses a different skill to determine if the bite "hits" (see [[#Biting and ripping off body parts|Biting and Ripping Off Body Parts]] below).

Wrestling maneuvers include:
*'''Grabbing''' The simplest move, a grabbed body part cannot be used to attack you, and the opponent will be unable to dodge to a different square or move until be breaks all your grabs (though you will also be unable to move without releasing them).
*'''Take-down''' maneuvers that render an opponent prone
*'''Throws''' (as in throwing a creature, not an object) which render an opponent prone and stunned
*'''Choke Holds''' and '''Strangling''' which can render an opponent unconscious
*'''Joint Locks''' and '''Breaking Bones''' which can break limbs
*'''Shaking''' around by the teeth, after latching on from biting, which can do extra damage or sever body parts
*'''Gouging''' (eyes, for example) and '''Pinching''' which can damage, destroy, or even sever body parts
*'''Disarming''' maneuvers which can remove weapons, shields, clothing, or armor from an opponent.

See [[Combat skill]] for more information on other combat skills.

== Fortress Mode ==
While the same wrestling "moves" described here can be used by dwarves in [[Dwarf fortress mode]], it isn't possible to force particular wrestling maneuvers to be used. About all you can do is take away a dwarf's weapons to encourage wrestling and hope that he picks effective wrestling tactics in combat.

In fortress mode, wrestlers are generally unable to kill very effectively, but they may make killing easier for their armed comrades. Unfortunately, the AI is rather unlikely to do some of the more elaborate moves even if they are possible.

== Adventure Mode ==

Wrestling in [[Adventure mode]] can be performed by standing next to an enemy and pressing {{k|A}}, selecting (and perhaps confirming) the enemy you wish to fight, and then {{k|b}} to select a wrestling move. You can wrestle any enemy, but the effectiveness of your wrestling attempts will be limited by relative size and strength differences. For example, a dwarf is unlikely to be able to throw or choke hold an elephant or dragon.

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 more elaborate and useful move. You may have to press {{k|,}} once or twice before you can do a second wrestling maneuver.

Below are instructions on how to perform various wrestling moves in adventure mode.

See [[Status icon]] for a legend of icons used when creatures are prone, thrown, stunned, etc.

=== Take-down ===

This knocks an opponent to the ground similar to how they fall to the ground when one of their legs is cut off (apart from the loss of limbs, obviously). Once on the ground they'll have to take time to stand back up, or their movement rate will be limited as they try to crawl. This move can only be performed if the opponent is standing up.

To perform a takedown:
#Select {{DFtext|Grab with right upper arm|7:1}} or with some other body part
#Select {{DFtext|Grab upper body with right upper arm |7:1}} or some other part of the body. If the grab is successful you will see:
#*{{DFtext| You grab the Xxxx by the upper body with your right upper arm! |3:1}} and you and your opponent's icons will change to indicate that you are wrestling.
#Select the enemy for wrestling again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle using right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Take-down by upper body with right upper arm|3:1}}
#You will then see one of:
#*{{DFtext|You take the Xxxxx down by the upper body with Your right upper arm!|5:1}} Success! The creature's [[status icon]] will change to indicate prone.
#*{{DFtext|You adjust the grip of Your right upper arm on The Xxxxx's upper body.|5:1}} Failure. You have not lost your grip but you will have to try the takedown again.
#*{{DFtext|The Xxxxx breaks the grip of Your right upper arm from The Xxxxx's upper body!|5:1}} Bigger failure. You have completely lost your grip on your opponent and will have to start over from the beginning.

=== Throw ===

You perform a throw the same way as a take-down, using the same procedure as above, except that you select {{DFtext|Throw by x with y|3:1}} when the opponent is not on the ground. A throw will cause an opponent to become stunned and prone, with the possibility of throwing them back a certain distance (depending on your strength and relative size). However, it is more difficult to successfully throw a creature than it is to perform a take-down on one.

=== Chokehold and strangling ===

Choke holds can be extremely effective, if you can pull them off. A choke hold will cause an opponent to become unconscious making it extremely easy to kill them with a followup shot.

To perform a choke hold:
#Select {{DFtext|Grab with right upper arm|7:1}} or some other body part
#Select {{DFtext|Grab '''throat''' with right upper arm|7:1}}. Choking requires grabbing the throat, ''not'' the neck.
#Choose the enemy for wrestling again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Choke throat with right upper arm|3:1}}
#You will then see:
#*{{DFtext|You place a chokehold on The Xxxxx's throat with Your right upper arm!|5:1}} Success, so far anyway.
#*{{DFtext|You adjust the grip of Your right upper arm on The Xxxxx's throat.|5:1}} Failure. You have not lost your grip but you will have to try the chokehold again.
#Choose the enemy for wrestling yet again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Strangle throat with right upper arm|3:1}}
#If successful you will see:
#*{{DFtext|You strangle Xxxxx's throat!|5:1}}
#*{{DFtext|The Xxxxx passes out.|6:0}} (not necessarily on the first try)
#If the creature passes out (some are immune to strangling) the next attack will hit very easily, so followup with a targeted headshot or, if you want to be more gruesome, a bite to the throat. (See below.)

=== Joint locks and breaking limbs ===

With some body parts it's possible to put them into joint locks and break them. This works almost exactly like strangling.

#Select {{DFtext|Grab with right upper arm|7:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Grab right upper arm with right upper arm|7:1}}
#Choose to wrestle the enemy again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Lock right shoulder with right upper arm|3:1}}. If successful you will see:
#*{{DFtext|You lock The Xxxxx's right shoulder with Your right upper arm!|5:1}}
#Choose to wrestle the enemy yet again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Break right shoulder with right upper arm|3:1}} If successful you will see
#*{{DFtext|You bend The Xxxxx's right upper arm with Your right upper arm, shattering the right shoulder's bone!|5:1}}

=== Biting and ripping off body parts ===

When biting a creature you will usually get a message saying {{DFtext|You latch on firmly!|5:1}}. If you have latched on with a bite, you can enter the wrestling menu and shake the creature around with your teeth. This can be extremely effective.

To bite down on and attempt to rip off a body part with your teeth:
#After selecting an enemy, choose to strike ('''not''' to wrestle!).
#Select a body part, preferably one you can actually hit
#Select "bite" as the attack type
#If the attack hits, you should do some damage and see {{DFtext|You latch on firmly!|5:1}}
#Choose your enemy, this time opting to wrestle.
#You will now see an option like {{DFtext|Wrestle with upper front tooth|3:1}}. Select that option.
#Select {{DFtext|Shake <nowiki><part></nowiki> with upper front tooth|3:1}}
#This should do some amount of damage ranging from tissue layer damage to ripping the body part completely off. If you bit down on the throat, for example, and were very successful you will see:
#*{{DFtext|You shake The Xxxxx around by the throat, tearing apart the throat!|3:1}}
#*{{DFtext|A major artery in the throat has been opened by the attack!|3:1}}

=== Pinching and gouging ===

To pinch or gouge you have to have at least one hand free, meaning that it can't be holding something like a weapon or shield.

#Select {{DFtext|Grab with left hand|7:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Grab head with left hand|7:1}}
#If this succeeds, choose to wrestle the enemy again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with left hand|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Gouge left eye with left hand|3:1}} or {{DFtext|Pinch <nowiki><part></nowiki> with left hand|3:1}}, or whatever seems good. If successful you will see something like:
#*{{DFtext|You gouge The Xxxxx's left eye with Your left hand, tearing it apart!|3:1}}

Pinching can do anything from tissue damage to severing the body part.

=== Disarming ===

To disarm a creature you must have a hand free (Use {{k|q}} to strap any weapons you're holding to your upper body, if necessary).

#Select {{DFtext|Grab with left hand|7:1}}
#Now, scroll down toward the bottom of the list of body parts and you will see items that you can grab a hold of. Select {{DFtext|Grab <nowiki><item></nowiki> with left hand|7:1}}
#Assuming you hit, press {{k|I}} (advanced interaction) and scroll through your inventory until you see the item in your left hand listed in red. Select it.
#Select {{DFtext|Gain possession}}
#If successful you will now have sole possession of the item in your left hand. You may now do whatever you want with it.

You can remove weapons, shields, armor, clothing, or anything that shows up in the list of things to grab.

See [[Adventurer_mode#Combat|adventurer mode combat]] for more information on combat in adventure mode.

==Bugs==
* Currently most creatures (everything except humans, goblins, kobolds, elves and dwarves) do not have joints, which means they are immune to joint locks and breaking limbs through wrestling.

* {{bug|6715}} If you attack a creature, and your blade lodges firmly in the wound, you can use wrestling to put a weapon in both hands. Attack a creature, and have the weapon you wish to duplicate lodge in the wound. Then enter wrestling and grab that weapon with your free hand, and move away. You will now appear to have two distinct weapons in your inventory, and you will get a list of attack choices for the weapon twice. '''''However''''', you do not actually get two distinct weapons. You are merely holding one weapon in two hands, it's just that the game doesn't properly handle this.

{{Skills}}

{{Category|Adventurer mode}}
{{Category|Skills}}

Wrestling

2014-07-21T03:42:28Z

Lue: /* Bugs */ Update bug list

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

The '''Wrestler''' skill pertains to incapacitating enemies by grabbing ahold of limbs and other body parts. This is distinct from [[Striker]], [[Kicker]], and [[Biter]] which are separate skills that pertain to punching/scratching, kicking, and biting attacks respectively. Note that the skill for [[Thrower]] is used for throwing miscellaneous objects at creatures, not throwing the opponents themselves.

While striking and kicking are basic one-shot attacks like weapon attacks, biting can be used in conjunction with wrestling even though it uses a different skill to determine if the bite "hits" (see [[#Biting and ripping off body parts|Biting and Ripping Off Body Parts]] below).

Wrestling maneuvers include:
*'''Grabbing''' The simplest move, a grabbed body part cannot be used to attack you, and the opponent will be unable to dodge to a different square or move until be breaks all your grabs (though you will also be unable to move without releasing them).
*'''Take-down''' maneuvers that render an opponent prone
*'''Throws''' (as in throwing a creature, not an object) which render an opponent prone and stunned
*'''Choke Holds''' and '''Strangling''' which can render an opponent unconscious
*'''Joint Locks''' and '''Breaking Bones''' which can break limbs
*'''Shaking''' around by the teeth, after latching on from biting, which can do extra damage or sever body parts
*'''Gouging''' (eyes, for example) and '''Pinching''' which can damage, destroy, or even sever body parts
*'''Disarming''' maneuvers which can remove weapons, shields, clothing, or armor from an opponent.

See [[Combat skill]] for more information on other combat skills.

== Fortress Mode ==
While the same wrestling "moves" described here can be used by dwarves in [[Dwarf fortress mode]], it isn't possible to force particular wrestling maneuvers to be used. About all you can do is take away a dwarf's weapons to encourage wrestling and hope that he picks effective wrestling tactics in combat.

In fortress mode, wrestlers are generally unable to kill very effectively, but they may make killing easier for their armed comrades. Unfortunately, the AI is rather unlikely to do some of the more elaborate moves even if they are possible.

== Adventure Mode ==

Wrestling in [[Adventure mode]] can be performed by standing next to an enemy and pressing {{k|A}}, selecting (and perhaps confirming) the enemy you wish to fight, and then {{k|b}} to select a wrestling move. You can wrestle any enemy, but the effectiveness of your wrestling attempts will be limited by relative size and strength differences. For example, a dwarf is unlikely to be able to throw or choke hold an elephant or dragon.

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 more elaborate and useful move. You may have to press {{k|,}} once or twice before you can do a second wrestling maneuver.

Below are instructions on how to perform various wrestling moves in adventure mode.

See [[Status icon]] for a legend of icons used when creatures are prone, thrown, stunned, etc.

=== Take-down ===

This knocks an opponent to the ground similar to how they fall to the ground when one of their legs is cut off (apart from the loss of limbs, obviously). Once on the ground they'll have to take time to stand back up, or their movement rate will be limited as they try to crawl. This move can only be performed if the opponent is standing up.

To perform a takedown:
#Select {{DFtext|Grab with right upper arm|7:1}} or with some other body part
#Select {{DFtext|Grab upper body with right upper arm |7:1}} or some other part of the body. If the grab is successful you will see:
#*{{DFtext| You grab the Xxxx by the upper body with your right upper arm! |3:1}} and you and your opponent's icons will change to indicate that you are wrestling.
#Select the enemy for wrestling again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle using right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Take-down by upper body with right upper arm|3:1}}
#You will then see one of:
#*{{DFtext|You take the Xxxxx down by the upper body with Your right upper arm!|5:1}} Success! The creature's [[status icon]] will change to indicate prone.
#*{{DFtext|You adjust the grip of Your right upper arm on The Xxxxx's upper body.|5:1}} Failure. You have not lost your grip but you will have to try the takedown again.
#*{{DFtext|The Xxxxx breaks the grip of Your right upper arm from The Xxxxx's upper body!|5:1}} Bigger failure. You have completely lost your grip on your opponent and will have to start over from the beginning.

=== Throw ===

You perform a throw the same way as a take-down, using the same procedure as above, except that you select {{DFtext|Throw by x with y|3:1}} when the opponent is not on the ground. A throw will cause an opponent to become stunned and prone, with the possibility of throwing them back a certain distance (depending on your strength and relative size). However, it is more difficult to successfully throw a creature than it is to perform a take-down on one.

=== Chokehold and strangling ===

Choke holds can be extremely effective, if you can pull them off. A choke hold will cause an opponent to become unconscious making it extremely easy to kill them with a followup shot.

To perform a choke hold:
#Select {{DFtext|Grab with right upper arm|7:1}} or some other body part
#Select {{DFtext|Grab '''throat''' with right upper arm|7:1}}. Choking requires grabbing the throat, ''not'' the neck.
#Choose the enemy for wrestling again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Choke throat with right upper arm|3:1}}
#You will then see:
#*{{DFtext|You place a chokehold on The Xxxxx's throat with Your right upper arm!|5:1}} Success, so far anyway.
#*{{DFtext|You adjust the grip of Your right upper arm on The Xxxxx's throat.|5:1}} Failure. You have not lost your grip but you will have to try the chokehold again.
#Choose the enemy for wrestling yet again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Strangle throat with right upper arm|3:1}}
#If successful you will see:
#*{{DFtext|You strangle Xxxxx's throat!|5:1}}
#*{{DFtext|The Xxxxx passes out.|6:0}} (not necessarily on the first try)
#If the creature passes out (some are immune to strangling) the next attack will hit very easily, so followup with a targeted headshot or, if you want to be more gruesome, a bite to the throat. (See below.)

=== Joint locks and breaking limbs ===

With some body parts it's possible to put them into joint locks and break them. This works almost exactly like strangling.

#Select {{DFtext|Grab with right upper arm|7:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Grab right upper arm with right upper arm|7:1}}
#Choose to wrestle the enemy again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Lock right shoulder with right upper arm|3:1}}. If successful you will see:
#*{{DFtext|You lock The Xxxxx's right shoulder with Your right upper arm!|5:1}}
#Choose to wrestle the enemy yet again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Break right shoulder with right upper arm|3:1}} If successful you will see
#*{{DFtext|You bend The Xxxxx's right upper arm with Your right upper arm, shattering the right shoulder's bone!|5:1}}

=== Biting and ripping off body parts ===

When biting a creature you will usually get a message saying {{DFtext|You latch on firmly!|5:1}}. If you have latched on with a bite, you can enter the wrestling menu and shake the creature around with your teeth. This can be extremely effective.

To bite down on and attempt to rip off a body part with your teeth:
#After selecting an enemy, choose to strike ('''not''' to wrestle!).
#Select a body part, preferably one you can actually hit
#Select "bite" as the attack type
#If the attack hits, you should do some damage and see {{DFtext|You latch on firmly!|5:1}}
#Choose your enemy, this time opting to wrestle.
#You will now see an option like {{DFtext|Wrestle with upper front tooth|3:1}}. Select that option.
#Select {{DFtext|Shake <nowiki><part></nowiki> with upper front tooth|3:1}}
#This should do some amount of damage ranging from tissue layer damage to ripping the body part completely off. If you bit down on the throat, for example, and were very successful you will see:
#*{{DFtext|You shake The Xxxxx around by the throat, tearing apart the throat!|3:1}}
#*{{DFtext|A major artery in the throat has been opened by the attack!|3:1}}

=== Pinching and gouging ===

To pinch or gouge you have to have at least one hand free, meaning that it can't be holding something like a weapon or shield.

#Select {{DFtext|Grab with left hand|7:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Grab head with left hand|7:1}}
#If this succeeds, choose to wrestle the enemy again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with left hand|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Gouge left eye with left hand|3:1}} or {{DFtext|Pinch <nowiki><part></nowiki> with left hand|3:1}}, or whatever seems good. If successful you will see something like:
#*{{DFtext|You gouge The Xxxxx's left eye with Your left hand, tearing it apart!|3:1}}

Pinching can do anything from tissue damage to severing the body part.

=== Disarming ===

To disarm a creature you must have a hand free (Use {{k|q}} to strap any weapons you're holding to your upper body, if necessary).

#Select {{DFtext|Grab with left hand|7:1}}
#Now, scroll down toward the bottom of the list of body parts and you will see items that you can grab a hold of. Select {{DFtext|Grab <nowiki><item></nowiki> with left hand|7:1}}
#Assuming you hit, press {{k|I}} (advanced interaction) and scroll through your inventory until you see the item in your left hand listed in red. Select it.
#Select {{DFtext|Gain possession}}
#If successful you will now have sole possession of the item in your left hand. You may now do whatever you want with it.

You can remove weapons, shields, armor, clothing, or anything that shows up in the list of things to grab.

See [[Adventurer_mode#Combat|adventurer mode combat]] for more information on combat in adventure mode.

==Bugs==
* Currently most creatures (everything except humans, goblins, kobolds, elves and dwarves) do not have joints, which means they are immune to joint locks and breaking limbs through wrestling.

* {{bug|6715}} If you attack a creature, and your blade lodges firmly in the wound, you can use wrestling to put a weapon in both hands. Attack a creature, and have the weapon you wish to duplicate lodge in the wound. Then enter wrestling and grab that weapon with your free hand, and move away. You will now appear to have two distinct weapons in your inventory, and you will get a list of attack choices for the weapon twice. '''''However''''', you do not actually get two distinct weapons. You are merely holding one weapon in two hands, it's just that the game doesn't properly handle this.

{{Skills}}

{{Category|Adventurer mode}}
{{Category|Skills}}

Wrestling

2014-07-21T02:57:12Z

Lue: /* Adventure Mode */ Update lists of maneuvers.

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

The '''Wrestler''' skill pertains to incapacitating enemies by grabbing ahold of limbs and other body parts. This is distinct from [[Striker]], [[Kicker]], and [[Biter]] which are separate skills that pertain to punching/scratching, kicking, and biting attacks respectively. Note that the skill for [[Thrower]] is used for throwing miscellaneous objects at creatures, not throwing the opponents themselves.

While striking and kicking are basic one-shot attacks like weapon attacks, biting can be used in conjunction with wrestling even though it uses a different skill to determine if the bite "hits" (see [[#Biting and ripping off body parts|Biting and Ripping Off Body Parts]] below).

Wrestling maneuvers include:
*'''Grabbing''' The simplest move, a grabbed body part cannot be used to attack you, and the opponent will be unable to dodge to a different square or move until be breaks all your grabs (though you will also be unable to move without releasing them).
*'''Take-down''' maneuvers that render an opponent prone
*'''Throws''' (as in throwing a creature, not an object) which render an opponent prone and stunned
*'''Choke Holds''' and '''Strangling''' which can render an opponent unconscious
*'''Joint Locks''' and '''Breaking Bones''' which can break limbs
*'''Shaking''' around by the teeth, after latching on from biting, which can do extra damage or sever body parts
*'''Gouging''' (eyes, for example) and '''Pinching''' which can damage, destroy, or even sever body parts
*'''Disarming''' maneuvers which can remove weapons, shields, clothing, or armor from an opponent.

See [[Combat skill]] for more information on other combat skills.

== Fortress Mode ==
While the same wrestling "moves" described here can be used by dwarves in [[Dwarf fortress mode]], it isn't possible to force particular wrestling maneuvers to be used. About all you can do is take away a dwarf's weapons to encourage wrestling and hope that he picks effective wrestling tactics in combat.

In fortress mode, wrestlers are generally unable to kill very effectively, but they may make killing easier for their armed comrades. Unfortunately, the AI is rather unlikely to do some of the more elaborate moves even if they are possible.

== Adventure Mode ==

Wrestling in [[Adventure mode]] can be performed by standing next to an enemy and pressing {{k|A}}, selecting (and perhaps confirming) the enemy you wish to fight, and then {{k|b}} to select a wrestling move. You can wrestle any enemy, but the effectiveness of your wrestling attempts will be limited by relative size and strength differences. For example, a dwarf is unlikely to be able to throw or choke hold an elephant or dragon.

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 more elaborate and useful move. You may have to press {{k|,}} once or twice before you can do a second wrestling maneuver.

Below are instructions on how to perform various wrestling moves in adventure mode.

See [[Status icon]] for a legend of icons used when creatures are prone, thrown, stunned, etc.

=== Take-down ===

This knocks an opponent to the ground similar to how they fall to the ground when one of their legs is cut off (apart from the loss of limbs, obviously). Once on the ground they'll have to take time to stand back up, or their movement rate will be limited as they try to crawl. This move can only be performed if the opponent is standing up.

To perform a takedown:
#Select {{DFtext|Grab with right upper arm|7:1}} or with some other body part
#Select {{DFtext|Grab upper body with right upper arm |7:1}} or some other part of the body. If the grab is successful you will see:
#*{{DFtext| You grab the Xxxx by the upper body with your right upper arm! |3:1}} and you and your opponent's icons will change to indicate that you are wrestling.
#Select the enemy for wrestling again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle using right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Take-down by upper body with right upper arm|3:1}}
#You will then see one of:
#*{{DFtext|You take the Xxxxx down by the upper body with Your right upper arm!|5:1}} Success! The creature's [[status icon]] will change to indicate prone.
#*{{DFtext|You adjust the grip of Your right upper arm on The Xxxxx's upper body.|5:1}} Failure. You have not lost your grip but you will have to try the takedown again.
#*{{DFtext|The Xxxxx breaks the grip of Your right upper arm from The Xxxxx's upper body!|5:1}} Bigger failure. You have completely lost your grip on your opponent and will have to start over from the beginning.

=== Throw ===

You perform a throw the same way as a take-down, using the same procedure as above, except that you select {{DFtext|Throw by x with y|3:1}} when the opponent is not on the ground. A throw will cause an opponent to become stunned and prone, with the possibility of throwing them back a certain distance (depending on your strength and relative size). However, it is more difficult to successfully throw a creature than it is to perform a take-down on one.

=== Chokehold and strangling ===

Choke holds can be extremely effective, if you can pull them off. A choke hold will cause an opponent to become unconscious making it extremely easy to kill them with a followup shot.

To perform a choke hold:
#Select {{DFtext|Grab with right upper arm|7:1}} or some other body part
#Select {{DFtext|Grab '''throat''' with right upper arm|7:1}}. Choking requires grabbing the throat, ''not'' the neck.
#Choose the enemy for wrestling again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Choke throat with right upper arm|3:1}}
#You will then see:
#*{{DFtext|You place a chokehold on The Xxxxx's throat with Your right upper arm!|5:1}} Success, so far anyway.
#*{{DFtext|You adjust the grip of Your right upper arm on The Xxxxx's throat.|5:1}} Failure. You have not lost your grip but you will have to try the chokehold again.
#Choose the enemy for wrestling yet again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Strangle throat with right upper arm|3:1}}
#If successful you will see:
#*{{DFtext|You strangle Xxxxx's throat!|5:1}}
#*{{DFtext|The Xxxxx passes out.|6:0}} (not necessarily on the first try)
#If the creature passes out (some are immune to strangling) the next attack will hit very easily, so followup with a targeted headshot or, if you want to be more gruesome, a bite to the throat. (See below.)

=== Joint locks and breaking limbs ===

With some body parts it's possible to put them into joint locks and break them. This works almost exactly like strangling.

#Select {{DFtext|Grab with right upper arm|7:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Grab right upper arm with right upper arm|7:1}}
#Choose to wrestle the enemy again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Lock right shoulder with right upper arm|3:1}}. If successful you will see:
#*{{DFtext|You lock The Xxxxx's right shoulder with Your right upper arm!|5:1}}
#Choose to wrestle the enemy yet again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with right upper arm|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Break right shoulder with right upper arm|3:1}} If successful you will see
#*{{DFtext|You bend The Xxxxx's right upper arm with Your right upper arm, shattering the right shoulder's bone!|5:1}}

=== Biting and ripping off body parts ===

When biting a creature you will usually get a message saying {{DFtext|You latch on firmly!|5:1}}. If you have latched on with a bite, you can enter the wrestling menu and shake the creature around with your teeth. This can be extremely effective.

To bite down on and attempt to rip off a body part with your teeth:
#After selecting an enemy, choose to strike ('''not''' to wrestle!).
#Select a body part, preferably one you can actually hit
#Select "bite" as the attack type
#If the attack hits, you should do some damage and see {{DFtext|You latch on firmly!|5:1}}
#Choose your enemy, this time opting to wrestle.
#You will now see an option like {{DFtext|Wrestle with upper front tooth|3:1}}. Select that option.
#Select {{DFtext|Shake <nowiki><part></nowiki> with upper front tooth|3:1}}
#This should do some amount of damage ranging from tissue layer damage to ripping the body part completely off. If you bit down on the throat, for example, and were very successful you will see:
#*{{DFtext|You shake The Xxxxx around by the throat, tearing apart the throat!|3:1}}
#*{{DFtext|A major artery in the throat has been opened by the attack!|3:1}}

=== Pinching and gouging ===

To pinch or gouge you have to have at least one hand free, meaning that it can't be holding something like a weapon or shield.

#Select {{DFtext|Grab with left hand|7:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Grab head with left hand|7:1}}
#If this succeeds, choose to wrestle the enemy again.
#Select {{DFtext|Wrestle with left hand|3:1}}
#Select {{DFtext|Gouge left eye with left hand|3:1}} or {{DFtext|Pinch <nowiki><part></nowiki> with left hand|3:1}}, or whatever seems good. If successful you will see something like:
#*{{DFtext|You gouge The Xxxxx's left eye with Your left hand, tearing it apart!|3:1}}

Pinching can do anything from tissue damage to severing the body part.

=== Disarming ===

To disarm a creature you must have a hand free (Use {{k|q}} to strap any weapons you're holding to your upper body, if necessary).

#Select {{DFtext|Grab with left hand|7:1}}
#Now, scroll down toward the bottom of the list of body parts and you will see items that you can grab a hold of. Select {{DFtext|Grab <nowiki><item></nowiki> with left hand|7:1}}
#Assuming you hit, press {{k|I}} (advanced interaction) and scroll through your inventory until you see the item in your left hand listed in red. Select it.
#Select {{DFtext|Gain possession}}
#If successful you will now have sole possession of the item in your left hand. You may now do whatever you want with it.

You can remove weapons, shields, armor, clothing, or anything that shows up in the list of things to grab.

See [[Adventurer_mode#Combat|adventurer mode combat]] for more information on combat in adventure mode.

==Bugs==
Currently most creatures (everything except humans, goblins, kobolds, elves and dwarves) do not have joints, which means they are immune to joint locks and breaking limbs through wrestling.

If you attack a creature, and your blade lodges firmly in the wound, you can use wrestling to duplicate the weapon. Attack a creature, and have the weapon you wish to duplicate lodge in the wound. Then enter wrestling and grab that weapon with your free hand, and move away. You will now have 2 weapons.

{{Skills}}

{{Category|Adventurer mode}}
{{Category|Skills}}

DF2014 Talk:Quickstart guide

2014-07-21T02:42:16Z

Lue: /* Change name to "Fortress Mode Quick start"? */ new section

Some of this article still assumes that the fortress will start in Spring, but that's not necessarily true any more. I don't know how to fix it without making things more complicated though. --[[User:Dree12|Dree12]] ([[User Talk:Dree12|talk]]) 20:31, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
:I decided to go with "in the first six month", "by your third season", or similar. --[[User:Dree12|Dree12]] ([[User Talk:Dree12|talk]]) 02:19, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

== Change name to "Fortress Mode Quick start"? ==

I feel like this page should be moved to [[Fortress mode quick start]], not only to be consistent with the name [[Adventure mode quick start]], but also to make it so that the name is more descriptive. "Quickstart guide" could mean anything, really. (For me at least, the current title feels like the name for some hypothetical "how to get DF running" guide, moreso than a fortress mode guide.) As a bonus, the new name doesn't imply that fortress mode is somehow the "default" or "main" mode of play <code>:)</code> . —[[User:Lue|Lue]] ([[User talk:Lue|talk]]) 02:42, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

Vampire

2014-07-19T06:36:29Z

Lue: /* Playing as a vampire */ Add info on how to tell if you're a vampire.

{{Migrated_article}}
{{quality|unrated}}{{av}}
{{buggy}}
{{minorspoiler}}

'''Vampires''' {{Tile|Ñ|4:0}} are [[night creature]]s that feed on blood, cursed during [[world generation]] by profaning against their [[Deity|gods]]. In [[fortress mode]], they occasionally appear in migrant waves and hide themselves amongst your dwarves. Vampirism can be further spread by [[thirst|drinking]] either vampire [[blood]] or [[water]] contaminated by said vampire blood.

==Description==
Vampires, like other [[night creature]]s, are created during [[world generation]]. Every once in a while a deity will curse a worshiper who smites their temple or otherwise offends them, cursing them to become either a vampire or [[werebeast]]. Only [[human]] and [[dwarf|dwarven]] civilizations worship gods, and thus only their members can become vampires. By far most vampires will be human or dwarven, but since civilizations can have members not of their foundation race, the occasional vampiric [[goblin]] or [[elf]] will also occur. The amount of vampires created during world generation is closely related with world size, population, and history.

Vampires are much more powerful than normal humanoids, possessing enhanced speed, strength, stamina, and pain resistance in combat, don't need [[food|food]], do not need to breathe (and thus cannot drown), and never get [[sleep|drowsy]]. They do, however, get thirsty, albeit not in the normal way; vampires thirst for warm fresh [[blood]], and will suck [[unconscious]] [[creature]]s (usually others of their own kind) dry given the chance, usually killing them. In the rare case that the victims survive and recover, they will not remember what happened to them, and may very well fall victim once more. It appears that when a vampire feeds successfully they receive a large happiness boost.

Vampires do not [[age]], and most vampires live for hundreds or even thousands of years. Thus all but the youngest vampires are more [[skill]]ed and more experienced than their peers, spurred on by the countless lives detailed on their [[kill list]]s and they are hiding their true identities. This makes them natural candidates for leadership, and thus vampiric [[monarch]]s are a not uncommon sight atop [[civilization]]s, which do not seem to wonder as to how their king has been alive for so many centuries.

Younger vampires stalk the streets of towns and cities, indistinguishable from the average mortal, and drink the blood of unsuspecting innocents. Elder vampires, those with power and ambition, mislead the gullible and power-hungry into forming vampire cults dedicated to worshipping and feeding their master. Should a vampire rise to a position of power in mortal society, it may deign to expose itself and impose a rule of tyranny upon the subjects who so unknowingly elevated it to power.

None of your seven starting dwarves will ever be vampires, nor will [[child]]ren or babies, [[caravan]]s, [[siege]]s{{verify}}, [[ambush]]es{{verify}}, [[outpost liaison]]s{{verify}}, or [[thief|thieves]]{{verify}}, but any of the rest of your dwarves can be. (Foreign diplomats can be vampires, and will be labeled as such.)

== Habits ==
Vampires are secretive and, for better or for worse, a fairly common occurrence. Many fortresses can expect to see a vampire resident by the time they hit a population of 80, and some may see two or more. Vampires arrive with a false name and hide their true name and kill list until they are discovered. They act as do any other dwarves, except for differences too small to notice easily in any sizable population[which?], performing jobs which are assigned to them and generally acting as expected. They can be [[military|drafted]], assigned to [[burrow]]s, be given [[room]]s (but do not claim them{{verify}}), and own items. They do not, however, eat, drink or sleep.

The most important difference is that when they go [[on break]]s they will use them for drinking the blood of dwarves that they catch sleeping. If any tame animals somehow fall asleep (for instance, via a syndrome), vampires will drink their blood as willingly as they will a dwarf's. If a vampire is in the military and has current station orders he may ignore them and search out a victim, still displaying 'station'. If the orders are canceled they will switch to 'on break'.

If vampires are caught in the act of draining a victim, their crime will be reported in the [[justice]] [[menu|screen]] as murder (they will not, however, stop drinking when caught). If only the corpse is discovered, the crime will be labeled as a murder sans suspects, and the player can accuse dwarves of the act. Even in the case that someone is accused, be aware that the deceitful vampire is capable of framing others for its crimes to send suspicion away for a time.

If a vampire is killed, the corpse will bear the original name of the creature rather than that of the dwarf who was seen to die, which might lead to some confusion among managers of such things. A [[coffin]] will be designated for burial of the vampire's cover identity, with the corpse bearing the original name entombed in it. Memorial slabs will be dedicated to the vampire's original name.

== Identification ==
It might be smart to scan the [[thoughts and preferences]] screens of incoming migrants before welcoming them to their new home, as a safety measure; it really sucks when you don't discover you have a vampire until ''after'' they've drained your only legendary [[armorsmith]] of blood.

A dwarf who is suddenly pale or faint for no explained reason is a good but rare indicator that a vampire is around. He was most likely fed upon by a vampire, but survived. Dwarven [[corpse]]s being discovered "drained of blood" are more common; a vampire fed upon them and killed them, and their body was discovered. These dwarves should be buried well, lest an axe-crazy [[ghost]] arise from their death. Dwarves inexplicably going missing for more than a week are another indicator, although this might be the result of dwarven stupidity (e.g. falling down a [[well]], walking off a [[waterfall]], etc.) as well.

Once you suspect you have a vampire, you probably want to know who it is. There are a number of good indicators of a vampire and the more points a dwarf hits, the more likely he is, indeed, a vampire. The difficult vampires to identify are young ones, as they have not had time to build up the indicators that are obvious on older bloodsuckers.

Firstly, there are the consequences of their age. Vampires tend to be high in multiple (4-5+) [[social skill|social]], high in at least one [[military]] [[skill]], and "great" or better in at least one domestic skill. The biggest indicator of a vampire in v0.34.11 is that they will almost always have more skills (10-15+ easily) at Novice or better than any of your other dwarves. If your new Great Hunter is also a Novice Milker, Shearer, Farmer, Tanner, Carpenter, Stonecrafter, Furnace Operator, Soap Maker, Fisherdwarf, Fish Cleaner, and Fish Dissector... they're almost certainly a vampire. They also tend to have very long lists of [[Thoughts and preferences#Civilization membership|group associations]], on the order of dozens, far more than your normal dwarves. They have abnormally long lists of [[relationships|relations]] and often many, many children, but none of them are present in the fortress (in stark contrast to the spouses, children and siblings whom most dwarves will share their home with). If they are married to a dwarf that is not present in the fortress, this should be treated as especially strong evidence. Note, however, that lacking relatives within the fortress is not a good indicator of being a vampire.

In addition to the brevity of surface thoughts, if you were unfortunate enough to have a dwarf die to a vampire, the culprit will have the "took joy in slaughter lately" thought.

Their [[Personality trait|personality]] can also be scrutinized for abnormalities. Their biographies may indicate that they "have the appearance of somebody who is (x) years old," a very good indicator of a vampire in cases where they have too many children or too many civilization associations to be that young. As vampires do not eat, sleep, or drink, they will never have recent thoughts about meals, drinks, beds, dining rooms, or chairs, leaving their thoughts especially bare and suspicious. In the case of vampires who have been in the fort for a while, a comment may be added to the effect that "s/he could really use a drink," "s/he has not had a drink in far, far too long," or "can't even remember the last time s/he had some." This is an indicator that they need blood. In any case, if alcohol is available, it makes an excellent distinguishing mark.

There are two "normal" ways to be absolutely sure a dwarf is a vampire. The first is to catch them in the act; the dwarf will be clearly marked for the duration of the attack (i.e. Urist McUrist, Vampire on the [[unit list]], in red). A vampire does not mind if the player is currently "watching" or even following it. The second is to have a dwarf witness the event happening. This will permanently uncover their identities, but almost always results in a dead dwarf first. More arcane are indicators based on their physical abilities; vampires with injured guts do not [[vomit]], vampires with injured lungs have no problem "breathing", and submerged vampires will not [[drown]] (evoking the concept of an olden witch test for finding vampirism). Technically being undead, animated corpses will not evoke cancellation spam when a vampire sees them. An easy (albeit, [[cheating|cheap]]) way of screening migrants is to send them through a hallway with a zombie on the other side of fortifications/windows in clear sight. Normal dwarves will run away from the horrible sight of a harmless zombie but vampire dwarves will walk right through.

Feeding is treated as a job by the game, and thus appears in the Job List with the text 'On Break' in cyan. It is possible that the genuine 'On Break' (teal) and the fake 'On Break' (cyan) occupy different positions in the Job List.

Looking at the [[deity|deities]] that the dwarf believes in (in the {{k|r}}elationships screen) can be quite helpful. As long as only "cursed" vampires immigrate (and not blood drinking ones), one of the deities of a vampire should have a "cursed the dwarf [untrue alias] . . ." Lacking this clause in their deities seems to be a clear sign that you do ''not'' have a vampire. This non-bugged way of checking a vampire is linked to the "cheap" bugged way of checking of vampires, which is described in the final paragraph.

Then there are the (in Dwarf Fortress, inevitable) bugged ways. As mentioned in the [[#Bugs|bugs]] section, vampires can be discovered and identified in [[statue]]s and [[engraving]], through their refusal to claim [[bed]]rooms, through [[pet|adoption events]], and through [[weapon]] [[kill list]]s. Additionally, if you have the vampire on follow, their title will change from their usual one ("Dwarf A") to "Dwarf A Vampire" when they are doing certain activities.

There are a few "cheap" ways as well. If you use [[DF2012:Utilities#Dwarf Therapist|Dwarf Therapist]], dwarves will be listed by their true name there, and if you find a dwarf on the games' unit screen that is not in the Dwarf Therapist list, or the other way round, you know you've got a vampire. [[DF2012:Utilities#DFHack|DFHack]] has a special command, "cursecheck," which returns the count of cursed creatures on a tile, and will report vampires. Checking out a drained dwarf in [[Legends]] mode will tell you that "In the year Z X was drained of all blood by Y."

To see if a vampire was cursed by a deity that it worships, look under the <s>vampire's</s> dwarf's relationships and view the deities that are listed. Give the dwarf a nickname and, when viewing the deity relationship, it will say: "In the [season description] of [year], [deity] cursed the dwarf vampire [nickname you chose] [dwarf's original name] to prowl the night in search of blood in [original location]". Since the nickname applies retroactively, this is a sure way to identify a vampire that happens to worship the deity that cursed it. This method is very tedious when looking at many suspects, and may apply to only a small fraction of vampires, so you should probably use it after trying the more obvious signs (like many former associations, or tags after "needs alcohol to get through the working day").

== Defense ==
Vampires attack and drink from dwarves who are sleeping, so one defense is to force all dwarves to sleep and meet in the same room, increasing the likelihood of eyewitnesses catching the monster in the act. Curiously, even if convicted of a vampiric murder, a vampire will not necessarily be killed, but given a normal justice penalty such as temporary imprisonment. If you want to get rid of him/her you will have to take [[justice]] into your own hands and introduce the leech to a pit of lava, bottomless pit, arena fight, dropping tower, or other elimination method of your choice. This can be facilitated through the use of burrows, but you will need to be fast when using those because vampires do ''not'' respect burrow restrictions if they decide to get another [[Blood|drink]]. However, one must take care that the vampire is properly memorialized because even the ghosts of vampires will seek out your sleeping citizens and kill them.

== Uses ==
If you can correctly identify a vampire and isolate it from the rest of your population, you can make use of them without fear of blood feedings. A lone vampire in a sealed room will never die of hunger or thirst, doesn't need to sleep, and will never age. The only way a vampire can die (without your vengeful intervention) is in combat or through syndromes. Sealing it somewhere prevents those. The only remaining risk is that the vampire may turn mad eventually, which without access to other dwarfs to [[relationships|relate to]] shouldn't be very likely. Even [[insanity]] is not the end for a vampire - since they remain physically needless, an insane vampire can still live forever, and non-berserk insane vampires remain citizens of your fort. They will be completely unusable for any work, but a locked-up melancholic or stark raving mad vampire is just as immortal as a sane one and can't be elected mayor. If they get loose, they will not drain your citizens of blood, but melancholic vampires may attempt to end their own existence, given the opportunity.

Once you have your sealed vampire, your fortress becomes effectively eternal, since the vampire will always be alive even if the infamous [[Losing|fun]] claims your entire population. Be wary of [[ghost]]s, though, as they are the only being capable of reaching your vampire's eternal prison. Simply wait for the fun to pass and new immigrants to repopulate your otherwise abandoned fort.

Consider placing a chair and table in your vampire's sealed room and making them an undead accountant. As they have nothing to do but sit around for eternity, once they get their skills up, they may make exceedingly effective [[manager]]s/[[record keeper]]s. Work orders and stockpile updates currently seem to be psychically transmitted from the desk of the dwarf assigned to those labors, so entombing them in their office isn't an issue. However, vampire dwarves are still alcoholics, yet cannot drink anything but blood; the resulting job performance penalty from the "can't even remember the last time he/she had some" level of [[Drink|alcohol withdrawal]] significantly reduces the usefulness of vampires in this sort of role.

A cloistered vampire can also be used as a sleepless, un-eating and drinking dwarf who is always ready for some [[pull lever|lever pulling]], even if the rest of your dwarves die. With all that said, having an eternally cloistered vampire is not without drawbacks. As vampires do not drink, yet are still alcohol-dependent, they will eventually suffer performance penalties and take longer breaks. This can have fatal consequences if you need the lever to keep the goblin siege outside pulled ''now''. Since dwarves get unhappy [[thought]]s from having their clothes rot away, a vampire that's been naked for years is quite prone to [[tantrum]]ing or going [[insanity|insane]], which can lead to [[Fun|even worse outcomes]] should he be assigned to the lever room. Of course, you could drop him some clothes from a chute, but what fun is that when there are [[cave-in|other]] [[dwarven atom smasher|things]] to drop from above? Or you could assign the vampire to a squad and supply him with a set of armor, as armor doesn't wear out. Another way to mitigate cloistered vampire unhappiness is to convict them of one or more of their murders after they've been sealed in; they will eventually derive happiness from having their punishment "delayed".

Vampires do increase their stats like other dwarves, so that a weak vampire may be easily upgraded into a mighty one by using him as a miner or easily trained into a legendary swimmer. A vampire craftsdwarf may be burrow-limited to his workshop plus a stockpile or a miner restricted to specific mining levels, avoiding any other miners. It will be safe, if all of the miners have separate, assigned bedrooms.

If a vampire gets injured enough to lose teeth and control of their limbs, the vampire may be in and out of the [[hospital]] frequently for a long time which gives your medical team lots experience fast. This can be very useful if the [[biome]] and [[surroundings]] make it so the hospital doesn't see too many patients.

If you have no better idea you can use a vampire to explore the caverns; they are usually good fighters with military experience and will not run off to refill their waterskin.

So, in general, when under control, vampires tend to be much more useful and valuable than most of your non-bloodsucking dwarves. Without access to any sleeping places or hospitals, they tend to be totally harmless to other dwarves.

== Unfortunate accidents ==
Although keeping a single vampire in eternal solitary confinement can be a bonus for any fortress, it is always important to be capable of killing them whenever necessary (especially if the peasants unwittingly elect one as their leader and an [[unfortunate accident]] becomes necessary). However, vampires have certain abilities which will make it more difficult to properly take care of them - they cannot drown, and their physical strengths could make them tougher to kill with regular weapons. Fortunately, they are not resistant to [[Dwarven atom smasher|high-tech particle physics experimentation]].

==Playing as a vampire==
By drinking the blood of a vampire in adventure mode, you immediately become a vampire. You will be able to feed on other creatures by using {{k|e}} and choosing the "Feed" option on an unconscious target. On becoming a vampire, Strength, Agility and Toughness are doubled. Physical attributes such as endurance are still able to increase after becoming a vampire.

If you have become a vampire, all warm, blood-bearing bodies that you can't directly see from your position will appear as {{Raw Tile|☼|4:0:1}} tiles. Your {{DFtext|Thirsty}} indicator will also show up as red, instead of blue.

Due to such conditions, it is relatively impossible to quench your thirst (on any member of a civilization) without antagonizing any of your companions, and even if you don't have any, there's still that chance that your victim might wake up in the middle of your feast and effectively set a whole civilization against you. One way to counter this is to raid goblin/bandit camps, concentrating on one lone weak unit far from any comrades, beat them till they give in to pain (but not to death) and then feed on them directly. You can do the same with wildlife, although some of them may be more aggressive and most might die too quickly. You can also try to strangle your foes; they instantly pass out and will not die unless you keep on strangling them for a long time. For instructions on chokeholds, see the [[Wrestler#Chokehold and strangling|relevant article]]. Another solution is finding some indoor place with people inside and Sleep so you wake up while they are sleeping. Your companions go wait outside while you sleep, so you have a brief time-window to suck someone who is asleep.

After becoming a vampire, you become invincible to zombies, since you're now a night creature. It is usually preferred to raid a necromancer tower alone, because bringing companions will only get them killed, and your agility when you become a vampire will rise drastically anyway, causing you to outrun them. This increased agility will also give you better odds against bogeymen and night trolls, since you'll be quicker than both.

Playing as a vampire is a strong advantage, assuming you can manage your bloodthirst. The most convenient method of drinking blood is to wield a blunt weapon such as a mace: as long as you don't strike the head, enemies rarely bleed out or suffocate from blunt damage and it's easy to force them to give into the pain. Interestingly, your allies don't seem to care if you drink blood from enemies, and blood can be drunk in a single turn in combat (occasionally killing the creature, depending on its size and your thirst). Vampire bloodthirst shows up less often than normal thirst, and can usually be sated in a single feeding from a human-sized opponent. Feeding from smaller animals, such as dingos, is possible but multiple feedings may be necessary.

Vampires, as noted before, do not need to eat, nor drink (normal fluids), nor sleep. As an adventurer, this is a huge advantage, as you don't need to stop, or worry about carrying consumables. As long as there's living, pain-feeling enemies, you can feed. Vampires also do not need to breathe and do not tire. They can swim as long as necessary and cannot drown, even to the extent of being able to swim oceans. A sufficiently skilled and armed vampire is essentially immortal for all intents and purposes.

== Adventure Mode ==

=== Finding the Vampire ===

Finding a vampire in Adventure mode is quite simple.

# Get a quest to kill a Vampire. Just keep doing quests and one will come along eventually.
# Get to the village/town where the vampire is said to be.
# Once at the village/town, ask a random villager or citizen about service. He/she will tell you of the vampire and mention where to start looking. Unfortunately, a vampire lurking in a city's sewers may be much harder to find as citizens will only tell you to look in the "sewers", which can get rather large and twisty.
# Use process of elimination to locate the correct house. In each new house ask a villager about service. Pay attention to what direction villagers say to begin looking in each time you ask one about service until you find a villager inside a house that doesn't mention a direction in their service dialogue. That house contains the vampire.
# You may accuse everyone in that house of being a night creature until you find him, but in most cases, you will be able to recognize the vampire by his flashing sprite. He will announce his true name and become hostile to everyone around him.

=== Killing the Vampire ===

Vampires in Adventure Mode that are in hiding always wield the basic knife all villagers wield and basic clothing. They may also wear jewellery. Their lousy weapons make them a lower threat than you might think. Old vampires with large kill lists still may not be all that effective in combat, since most of their kills are likely stealthy, non combat kills a la Fortress Mode vampires.

Vampires don't breathe or feel pain, so don't bother trying to strangle them or trying to use blunt weapons. Instead just slice them up with something edged, so they rapidly bleed to death, try to decapitate them or use wrestling to break their weapon arm and then finish them off at your leisure.

Vampires attack anyone around them once exposed, so if you like you can allow him to begin attacking random civilians and target him while he's busy or even allow them to weaken him.

== Bugs ==
* Dwarven vampires remain dependent on alcohol but will not drink anything except blood in fortress mode, so inevitably end up showing symptoms of [[Alcohol#Consequences of a Sober Fortress|alcohol withdrawal]]. This has not been acknowledged as a bug. {{bug|5189}}
* Statues and engravings may identify dwarves as vampires before it is common knowledge, and may even depict them sucking blood.{{bug|5209}}
* Likewise, [[pet]]s adopted by vampires will identify them as vampires in the adoption [[announcement]].{{bug|5942}}
* Vampires do not bother claiming bedrooms, which doesn't help their disguise.{{bug|5642}}
* Weapon kill lists identify vampires.{{bug|5635}}
* Soldiers will not attack vampires caught red-handed, and can be fooled by their counter-accusations.{{bug|5087}}
* Even though vampires do not need to eat, if you abandon a fortress with a vampire citizen, legends mode will still report "In the <season> of <year> the dwarf vampire <vampire's name> starved to death in <fortress name>" (Bug not yet reported due to account creation issues.)
* Drinking blood permanently lowers one's speed, due to uninhibited tooth and muscle growth.{{bug|5231}}

{{category|humanoids}}

Dwarf Fortress Wiki talk:Namespace migration

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Adventurer mode

2014-07-17T23:44:39Z

Lue: Update introduction, fix a link, and remove the migrated article template

{{Quality|Masterwork|00:47, 29 September 2013 (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 learn about what ails the world and go on [[quest|quests]] to end those troubles, venture into the wilderness to find [[cave|caves]], shrines, lairs, abandoned towers, and other [[Site|towns and settlements]]. You can even visit your abandoned and retired [[fortress|fortresses]] and take all the precious items you yourself once created.

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. Whereas in fortress mode you are in charge of a large group of people in real-time, in adventurer mode you control a single character in a turn-based manner.

=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). Humans inhabit cities, towns, and the occasional above-ground fortress. Elves inhabit forest retreats. Dwarves are spread between "deep sites" which sometimes do not contain a direct connection to the surface, and "hill dwarves" which inhabit a loose collection of mounds built into hillsides. Human cities and towns are currently the only sites with shops and other places to officially buy goods.

If you have previously built a fort in the world that you select, your adventurer will be able to go visit it. If you have selected to "retire" the fortress rather than abandon it, you will likely be able to encounter all of the inhabitants from fortress mode. However, they will likely not have the same level of activity as they would in a bustling fortress-mode fort.

=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.

*'''Humans''' Always originate from one of the villages in the world. 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''' Human Outsiders are humans that aren't from that world or any of its villages. They simply appear in the wilderness, a stranger to all. You may always play as an outsider, even if the world is otherwise completely uninhabited. 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. This gives them many combat bonuses, which aids their survival greatly. 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 armour found in shops. Goblin armor fits them, making Dark Fortresses (if your computer can handle them) and bandits a viable source of armor; if you're up for it, you could also just rob some dwarves. They can start with almost all of the same weapon skills as civilized humans. Many larger 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. Elves also have the AT_PEACE_WITH_NATURE tag. This makes all wildlife passive towards them. Like dwarves they wear small sized clothing and will have the same problem finding suitable armour.

*'''Kobolds''' can be played only if there are no other civilizations and there are kobolds. They are very small and weak in combat and a huge challenge compared to the other races. They wear even smaller armour than the other races and armour will be impossible to find for them, unless you are absurdly lucky and run into armoured kobolds.

If no civilization for the given race exists in a world you can only play as an outsider.

== 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 you inflict in melee regardless of weapon used. Increases muscle size. This increased muscular layer helps prevent damage, although this is a pretty minor effect. 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. Agility is really, really important as being faster than the enemies allows you to get more hits in before they can fight back and lets you run away more easily.
*'''Toughness''': Reduces physical damage inflicted on you. Also relates to defensive combat skills.
*'''Endurance''': Reduces the rate at which the adventurer becomes exhausted. Becoming exhausted causes you to collapse, helpless and immobile and can cause you to pass out.
*'''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''': Seems to have some effect on vampirism infectivity; may have to do with infected wounds.

=== Soul ===

Some of these are useful for adventure-mode-applicable skills, but some are totally useless except as dump stats.

*'''Analytical Ability''': Useful only for Knapping; should be reduced to minimum.{{Verify}}

*'''Focus''': Affects Archer, Ambusher, Observer.

*'''Willpower''': Affects Fighter, Crutch Walker and Swimmer. Willpower is really important as it governs how easily you'll pass out from extreme pain. Low willpower is a death sentence if you are seriously wounded, as you'll pass out and have your head caved in. Broken bones currently cause enough pain that even very high willpower usually won't keep you conscious. For non bone injuries however willpower can keep you going long enough to kill enemies, or at least get away from them.

*'''Creativity''': Useless at the moment.

*'''Intuition''': Helps with Observer, which aids in spotting concealed enemies,ambushes and identifying attacks from opponents.

*'''Patience''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

*'''Memory''': Memory aids greatly in mapping out areas as the higher your memory the longer you'll remember an area. As you explore you'll forget previously explored areas, causing them to appear blank, as if you had never been there. If you have low enough memory you'll forget areas of large locations like underground catacombs while you're still in them, making finding your way very confusing, as things like the exit wont be visible anymore until you find it again. Best to have at least average memory.

*'''Linguistic Ability''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

*'''Spatial Sense''': Important. Affects combat skills, Ambusher, Crutch Walker, Swimmer, Observer, Knapping.

*'''Musicality''': Completely useless. Use this as a dump stat.

*'''Kinaesthetic Sense''': Affects most combat skills, walking with crutches and swimming.

*'''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. Your fame still plays a bit part in whenever you can recruit followers or not.

=== 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 at enemies that are just a step away or finishing off a foe pinned down by a stuck weapon.

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

Note that different races have different names for their weapon skills. Axegoblin, Axedwarf etc.

Crossbowman is an exception. Dwarves call this skill Marksdwarf, although bow skill is referred to as Bow Dwarf as you'd expect. Elite Axe and Hammer dwarves are referred to as Lords.

*'''Axeman''': allows characters to use axes, great axes, and halberds more effectively. Useful for cleaving off limbs.
*'''Bowman''': skill allows characters to use bows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.
*'''Crossbowman''': allows characters to use crossbows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.
*'''Hammerman''': allows characters to use crossbows in melee, mauls, and war hammers more effectively. Useful for breaking limbs.
*'''Knife User''' - allows characters to use large daggers and knives more effectively. Useful for stabbing things.
*'''Lasher''' - allows characters to use whips and scourges more effectively. Very deadly weapons.
*'''Maceman''' - allows characters to use flails, maces, and morningstars more effectively. Similar to hammers.
*'''Pikeman''' - allows characters to use pikes more effectively. Like spears, but much bigger.
*'''Spearman''' - allows characters to use spears more effectively. Useful for stabbing things.
*'''Swordsman''' - allows characters to use blowguns and bows in melee, long swords, scimitars, short swords, and two-handed swords more effectively. Useful for cutting, stabbing, and whacking, but less effective than more dedicated weapons.

=== 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 keeps and fortresses). See the FAQ section on [[#How do I increase my skills and attributes?|increasing your skills and attributes]] 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 even novice skill in this means that the adventurer will start with a shield. This is a no-brainer unless you're creating a two handed weapon user.
*'''Armor User''': A higher level of this skill reduces the encumbrance penalties of armour, allowing you to move faster when wearing it. It also affects how well armour protects you and this makes a huge difference. Unskilled armour users gain little protection. This is noticeable as you'll begin seeing far more combat reports about hits either striking you though armour, (you managed to use your armour to lessen the force of the blow) or being deflected by your armour (you used your amour to avoid the hit entirety) as your skill rises and you learn to actually use your armour to deflect hits. It is highly advised to train your armour skill before entering battle with it as the speed penalties of lower levels can be a serious handicap.
*'''Dodger''' - Ability to dodge out of the way of attacks. Dodger is incredibly important and will allow you to avoid many, many hits that would have otherwise injured you. Especially important when you are fighting unarmoured and can't afford a battle axe in the chest. Boost this to talented or at least close to it.

=== 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. Higher skill means all of these moves succeed more often. See [[#Wrestling and Unarmed Attacks]] for details. Can be raised very easily in game.
*'''Striker''' - Punching ability. Turns handy when weapons get stuck and there is no time to wrest them back.
*'''Kicker''' - Kicking ability. Same as Striker. Kicks are slower but more deadly than punches; heavy kicks are particularly good at crushing and exploding heads.
*'''Biter''' - Biting ability. Biting is surprisingly effective even with non animal races as after biting you can shake opponents around by your teeth, causing great damage and possibly ripping off body parts, although with sapient races this tends to lean more towards fingers or toes, perhaps the occasional hand or foot.
*'''Thrower''' - Throwing any miscellaneous object including rocks, knives, axes, swords, heads, etc. Skill affects accuracy and damage caused.
*'''Misc. Object User''' - Ability to beat things to death with anything that comes at hand, from bags to coins to their own severed body parts. Also somewhat more commonly used for shield bashing. This skill affects combat with any object, from a rock to a beehive. There are no separate skills for different items. Items actually intended to be weapons, like swords or axes, are unaffected by this skill.

=== Movement and Awareness ===

*'''[[Observer]]''' - Helps one to notice things like ambushes, enemies who are "sneaking" (stealth movement), and traps. Detection range increases with skill, but up to a maximum of 3 tiles away. 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, or possibly after an unfriendly encounter with a creature in 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. Enemies will have "sight ranges" from where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The red zone of sight is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; the yellow is where they might see you. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.
*'''[[Climber]]''' - The skill of climbing up walls, into trees, and around the edges of gorges. Higher levels reduce the chance of falling and increase the speed of a climbing character.
*'''[[Tracker]]''' - The skill of tracking your quarry, whether it be animals or goblins. Higher levels will let you spot more tracks and help you distinguish different tracks.

=== 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. Adding more points is a waste, as novice allows you to read anything.
*'''[[Butcher]]''' - The art of turning corpses into piles of delicious prepared brains and meat for food. You cannot allocate points here during character creation, but that's OK since skill doesn't really affect anything anyway.

= Gameplay =

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

== Moving Around ==

=== Local Movement ===
[[File:Advmode_normaltravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|An image of normal travel mode. A list of the closest (but not necessarily close) sites is in the top-left corner. On the right side are minimaps of the next two levels down, relative to the player. Along the bottom is information about the player.]]
{| 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 10 instants
|-
| {{k|,}}
| Wait for 1 instant
|-
| {{k|s}}
| Stand or lie down
|-
| {{k|S}}
| Open Movement Speed/Sneak Menu
|}

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.

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.

If you hit {{k|j}}, you can jump. This is mostly useful for crossing gorges and crevices, where you have to get to the other side. Occasionally, you can manage to jump onto an opponent and tackle them, which typically causes them to go flying a short distance.

Hitting {{k|.}} allows you to stay in one place and wait for other things to move. {{k|,}} does the same but with a tenth of the time it takes for {{k|.}}.

Use {{k|s}} to sit/lie 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. Enemies will have sight cones indicating where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The central zone of sight (red, violet, or cyan) is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; their peripheral vision (yellow) is where they might see you. Violet and cyan central zones indicate the enemy is on a different level than yours, while red means they are on the same level. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.

If you {{k|h}}old onto a wall or tree, you can climb the wall or tree by using the movement keys. In towns and tamer parts of the countryside, this isn't particularly useful. However, in a combat situation, climbing a tree or wall can give you a height advantage, possibly allowing you to dive-tackle your opponents. Sometimes, mountains will be too steep to walk up the edge, or you will find a deep drop into a ravine. In these cases, you will have to climb up to reach the top, or perhaps jump or climb down one face, then climb up the other.

=== Fast Travel ===
[[File:Advmode_fasttravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|Fast Travel screen. The player is in a hamlet, between the houses to the right and the mead hall in the top-left area of the map. The asterisk represents a group of creatures (in this case unfriendly goblins). The world map (in sepia) is on the far right.]]
{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|T}}
| Fast Travel
|-
| {{k|d}}
| Exit fast travel mode
|-
| {{k|K}}
| Display detected tracks and odors
|-
| {{k|c}}
| Toggle display of clouds on region map
|-
| {{k|s}}
| Walk around in sneak mode. Exiting fast travel starts you in sneak mode.
|-
| {{k|m}}
| Cycle through maps and significant structures
|-
| {{k|Q}}
| View Quest Log
|-
| {{k|Z}}
| Bring up sleep menu
|-
| {{k|h}}
| Hide parts of the bottom bar
|-
| {{k|>}} and {{k|<}}
| Enter/exit tunnel
|-
|}

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.

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.

If you are not near any sites, the {{k|m}} key will toggle a world map, colored in sepia tone (matching the map you see in the quest log). If you are near a site, then {{k|m}} cycles between a list of significant structures where your player is, a regional map (matching what you travel on when away from any site), and the aforementioned world map.

The {{k|c}} key will only show clouds on the region map (the one you travel on outside of sites). Some clouds will be visible regardless of the state of this option.

The {{k|h}} key will cycle through various amounts of the bottom bar of content hidden. The effects of each press are:

* 1 press: hide key reference. Allows you to see status effects on your character if obscured by the key list.
* 2 presses: hide most local name, reducing the bar to one line of text.
* 3 presses: hide less local name, eliminating the bar entirely.
* 4 presses: shows all information

== 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.)
|-
| {{k|q}}
| Sheath your weapons and shield. (Frees your hands for tasks such as climbing or grabbing)
|}

=== Inventory ===

Press {{k|i}} to display a list of what you are currently carrying. Press {{k|-}} {{k|+}} {{k|*}} {{k|/}} to scroll the list. This list will show you if items are being worn, held in hands, stuck on 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|+}} {{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. You also must put on equipment in an order that makes sense,. for example a shirt first ''then'' the armor, not the other way around. Armour must also be put on in a sensible manner with flexible layers such as chainmail first then rigid plate armour second. After all, who, in real life, would wear chainmail over a hard plate?

''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, for example a copper mail shirt and a copper breastplate. The thin, flexible chain can be worn under the breastplate, but not the other way around.

=== 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.

While normally one would only be able to equip one item in each hand, removing items from your inventory results in them being wielded regardless of whether one's hands are full. This is especially useful with shields, as every shield will contribute a block chance to each incoming attack.

It should be noted that Dwarf Fortress does not enforce one particular hand as dominant for everyone, so do not be surprised if your character holds the weapon and [[Armor#Shields and Bucklers|shield]] in hands you yourself would not hold them in.

=== 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 which will appear in your inventory when they become stuck in you. Removing stuck arrows can cause bleeding so it is not always a good idea mid combat, but stuck objects will slow you down as you are encumbered by their weight. It s best to remove them as soon as possible when it is safe and you are not in danger of bleeding to death.

Advanced interaction can also be used to steal enemy equipment. Use [[wrestling]] to grab hold of a piece of enemy equipment, such as their weapon, or a helmet protecting their squishy brain and it will appear in the advanced interaction menu. Simply grab the item with a free hand and pull away. If successful, you will now be holding that item in your hands.

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).

Advanced interactions 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. You can refill waterskins from a nearby liquid source as well

===Sheathing===
The {{k|q}} key lets you strap your weapons to your back.

This is useful because you can't climb or wrestle with your hands unless your hands are free.

People will also be less likely to scared of you on first sight if you don't appear to be ready to attack.

== Time and Weather ==

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

The game has a day/night cycle with time passing as various actions take place.

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.

In local travel mode you'll have to use the {{k|W}} command to learn the position of the sun, when you're in a place where the sun is visible.

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. The most common weather you'll experience is rain. Rain is shown as blue moving dots on the local travel screen and will unsurprisingly cause everything outside to become wet. Temperature is important because if it happens to drop below freezing while you're swimming through water, you'll instantly die from being encased in the ice.

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.

Freezing weather can also freeze liquids in your inventory solid, making them undrinkable. If your water freezes and you are thirsty, make a campfire and {{k|I}}nteract with your waterskin to heat it over the fire and melt the ice.

== Sleep ==

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

Eventually your character will become {{DFtext|Drowsy|1:0}} 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. (If you'd rather not deal with bogeymen, you can disable them by generating a world using [[advanced world generation]] 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 bet 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 amount of 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 else 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 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 (you may also be able to jump over the fires). 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
|}

To find water, you must find a river, stream, or well in a town and fill your waterskin from it, or drink from it directly. Water that may be covering you or your items will not be able to satisfy your thirst.

Note that drinking vampire blood will turn you into a vampire instantly.

Make sure to eat or drink regularly even if you're not hungry or thirsty, as you can only eat or drink thrice at a time: after that you'll need to rest, or wait until you can consume another meal. If you find yourself in need of both food and hydration, make sure to take care of the most urgent problem first, as if you are moderately hungry but severely dehydrated and eat three times, you may die before you have another chance to drink.

If the temperature is low enough you might have trouble finding liquid water. Snow and ice can be heated into water by first making a campfire with {{k|g}} and then performing an advanced interaction with {{k|I}} on the ice or snow in your inventory to heat it. Advanced interactions with your waterskin can also be used to gather water from water sources, or snow from the ground.

== 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|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 have a chance of freeing up any stuck weapon, though you are more likely to accomplish this by moving away from the enemy, or complexly interacting with the weapon.

Any creature can be attacked by standing next to it and pressing {{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}}.

After selecting (and maybe confirming) which creature you want to attack, {{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. 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.

There are several options below the hitting menu. Quick attacks are faster than regular attacks but weaker. Heavy attacks are slower but attack harder. Wild attacks are faster and hit harder but are inaccurate. Precise attacks are very slow but are much more likely to hit. Multi-attacks allow you to attack several times in a row at a great cost to the effectiveness of any one of the chosen attacks.

=== Ranged Attacks ===

To attack with a ranged weapon press the {{k|f}} key with a ranged weapon (bow, crossbow, etc.) equipped on one hand and select the square where you want to attack. Note that you need to have some sort of ammo, corresponding to the type of ranged weapon you are using (for example, bows use arrows, crossbows use bolts). Otherwise, a message stating "You have nothing left to fire." is displayed in brown. 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 effect 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 in to 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 selecting an enemy via {{k|A}} followed by {{k|b}} to wrestle. 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 fast 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, but if you continually auto-attack a harmless creature with it your wrestling-skill will be legendary in no time.

*'''{{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, or areas with large pits, you might want to switch to the other option.
**'''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 safely 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 misplaced charge or dodge could end up killing you.

== Talking ==
[[File:Advmode_conversation_DF2014.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.

To begin a conversation, press {{k|k}}. Unless someone else has already started a conversation with you (see below is someone has), you will get a cyan X that can be positioned over people you want to talk to with the normal directional keys. Use {{k|-}} and {{k|+}} to select who you want to talk to. Aside from individuals, you can also {{DFtext|Shout out to everybody}}, which will have you talking with everyone in earshot, or you can talk to your deity.

Whenever you want to advance the conversation, you have to press {{k|k}} again and choose the ongoing conversation you wish to continue. You will also see ongoing conversations from people who have started a conversation with you. If you want to talk to someone else during this time, simply {{DFtext|Start a new conversation}}.

* {{DFtext|Greet listener}} — Has you offering a greeting to someone, when you're initiating the conversation.
* {{DFtext|Bypass greeting (new menu)}} — Skips the greeting, taking you straight to the normal conversation menus.
* {{DFtext|Reply to greeting}} — If you aren't the one who started the conversation, this option will let you reply to someone's greeting. They will then talk about some trouble.
* {{DFtext|Refuse conversation}} — Causes you to explicitly refuse to talk to someone who started a conversation with you. Unknown if this has a different effect from simply not doing anything.{{Verify}}
* {{DFtext|Reply to greeting (impersonation)}} — Like {{DFtext|Reply to greeting}}, except you're impersonating a deity.
* {{DFtext|Nevermind}} — This has you back out of having a conversation.

When you start talking to someone, you are presented with a wide array of things to talk about. (If the person you are talking to started the conversation and told you about some trouble, you'll first get a menu related to that trouble. Just press {{k|-}}-{{k|Enter}} to {{DFtext|Change the subject (new menu)}} and get to this first menu.) Your choices are as follows:

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
| style="text-align:right;width:30%;" | {{DFtext|Return to current topic (new menu)}}
| You'll see this option only if you chose to change the subject in another menu. This will, predictably, take you back to that subject.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Bring up specific incident or rumor (new menu)}}
| Allows you to spread rumors or summarize conflicts you've been a part of. The next step of the conversation will bring up a menu of choices that allow you to ask for directions to places or state your opinion on the incident/rumor.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask to become a hearthperson}}
| Only appears when talking to a leader who you aren't under the command of. Allows to become one the leader's guards.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Request duty or advice pertaining to service as a hearthperson}}
| Only appears when talking to a leader who are under the command of. You will receive some task to accomplish for the group, if there is anything that needs doing.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Bring up the journey together}}
| Only appears when talking to a companion. The next step of the conversation will allow you to cancel the agreement you made with that person, if you so choose.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Inquire about any troubles}}
| Asks the listener what things in the world are bothering them and their people.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask for directions (new menu)}}
| Allows you to ask for the location of a specific creature or site. People aren't guaranteed to know, and may instead direct you to someone who does.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about the local ruler}}
| As you might imagine, this gets you some information on who controls this particular area.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Trade}}
| Allows you to trade with a merchant. Note that you have to be right next to them for this to work.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Exchange, give, or take personal items}}
| Like {{DFtext|Trade}}, only that it works with non-merchants.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask favor, place request, make demand or issue order (new menu)}}
| Takes to a menu of various request you can make, including asking the listener to yield, stay put, or pay homage to your group. The options available depends on who you're talking to.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask listener to join you (new menu)}}
| This is how you get companions. You can either ask them to join you on an adventure, or to lead you to some location.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Claim this site for yourself (group naming menu)}}
| This option allows you to stake a claim on the site you are in.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask for permission to stay a day}}
| Allows you to sleep in the listener's building for the night.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about the structure you are in}}
| Tells you about whatever structure you are standing in, if you are standing in one.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about this site's neighbors and trade partners}}
| Lets you learn what sites this site is neighboring and/or trading with.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about the surrounding area}}
| Choosing this will tell you about some location nearby, and why it's significant.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Comment on weather}}
| Small talk about the weather. Really.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Comment on natural surroundings}}
| Same as the weather, only about the nature around you.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Accuse listener of being a night creature}}
| If chosen against a night creature, such as a vampire, it will expose them. Normal individuals will just think you're losing it.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Inquire about listener's profession}}
| Learn what it is the listener does. Useful for lords and ladies and anyone else whose profession isn't listed next to them.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about listener's family}}
| Discover what family the listener has, expectedly.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Brag about your past violent acts}}
| Causes you to brag about whatever last violent act you did. Doesn't seem to have an affect, or at least severely less impactful than summarizing the conflict.{{Verify}}
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Say goodbye}}
| Ends the conversation.
|}

Note that you can press {{k|Esc}} to not choose anything. The conversation is still ongoing, you have to explicitly say goodbye to end it. Pressing {{k|Esc}} is useful if you need to double-check something before talking.

== 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 you 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.

You can give or take equipment with a companion by choosing to talk to them and selecting {{DFtext|Exchange, give or take personal items}}. In addition to this screen, you can loot your companions' corpses when they die. (An evil but arguably inefficient 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 die (if you asked them to join you on an adventure) or get you to the proper location (if you asked them to guide you some place). If you want to get rid of your companions at any time, the safe way is to talk to each one of them, ask them about their journey with you, and then cancel the agreement.

If your companions are too far away from you when you enter fast travel, they will become an asterisk on the map where you started fast travel from. This asterisk may try to join up with you during travel. If you keep losing your companions while traveling through rivers, try going to a spot where the river becomes a "minor river" (shown by a single dark blue line). Brooks are obviously also safe to cross.

== Personal Finance ==

=== Trading (barter) ===

In human towns (not hamlets or castles), you can find shops. Once you're inside of a [[shop]] and right next to any of the NPCs, you can use {{K|k}} to {{DFtext|Trade}} with them. 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. You can also either {{k|a}}sk for or {{k|o}}ffer currency as part of the process. 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 trading, you will find the stuff you gave on the floor at your feet, and the stuff you got in your inventory.

Currently only human towns have shops.

=== 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 (indicated by dollar signs on either side of the item in your inventory), 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 some cases, the shop will be abandoned. This will be made clear by the presence of unbought items and the lack of any merchants in the area. You will not be considered a thief by the relevant entity for taking stuff from an abandoned shop.

If the item name is not surrounded by dollar signs, it is never considered stealing, even in situations where it would be in real life.

=== 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 as well as sell all of your loot directly for gold coins. Remember, merchants will always try to pay you in higher denomination currency first but will resort to lower value coins if they run out of anything higher. First, check the merchant's chest to see how much of each type of coins they have.

Coin values are as follows:
* Copper Coin = 1☼
* Silver Coin = 5☼
* Gold Coin = 15☼

To receive the maximum amount of gold coins from that merchant, make sure the amount "they owe you" during the trade is equal to (total amount of gold coins the shop has)*15☼ . If you are selling loot, simply make sure you only trade this worth of goods, and move on to other merchants for the rest. If you wish to exchange copper and silver coins for gold, buy random goods from the merchant until their price is around this value and then sell back all of the goods for their original value but in gold.

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 a creature, butcher their corpse (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 houses and 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 is of course an [[exploit]], liable to be fixed at any time. It may be useful in a pinch, but don't rely on it.

Another devious method is to go outside the shop, {{k|g}}rab handfuls of mud and throw it into your backpack, then sell them for 1☼ each. The merchants will gladly buy your rare and valuable mud despite the unlimited free mud just outside their shop.

== Quest Log ==

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|Q}}
| Open quest log
|-
| {{k|Esc}}
| Exit quest log
|-
| {{k|e}} {{k|p}} {{k|s}} {{k|r}} {{k|b}}
| Access various lists
|-
| {{k|m}}
| Switch between the world map and additional info
|-
| {{k|z}}
| Center cursor on location of selected list item, if known
|-
| {{k|c}}
| Center cursor on your location
|-
| {{k|l}}
| Toggle the visibility of the line between you and some other point on the map.
|-
| {{k|f}}
| Filter the list
|-
| {{k|+}} {{k|-}} {{k|*}} {{k|/}}
| Navigate the list
|}

The quest log contains everything you know about the world, such as various events going on, people you know, and various sites. The {{k|m}} key will alternate between a world map that you can navigate, and information on whatever item is highlighted in the list to the right.

There are various kinds of lists you can check on the quest log:

* '''Events''' — A list of events that are happening or have happened. Formatting of the list is {{DFtext|(type)/(description)}}. You can center on the location of the event if you know this. This list is the closest you'll get to some formal quest system.
* '''People''' — A list of people you know. At the start of the game, this list will contain people in your site.
* '''Sites''' — A list of various sites around the world.
* '''Groups''' — A list of groups you know of and your relation to them. Note that you have to press {{k|e}} when you're on the events list in order to reach this list, requiring you to press {{k|e}} at most twice.
* '''Regions''' — A list of regions. The additional information will list the biomes a region possesses.
* '''Bestiary''' — A list of creatures, their characteristics, and where you could find them.

==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}}.

* '''[[Knapper|Knapping]]''' allows an adventurer to sharpen a rock. Knapping only works on stones on the ground or in your hands. Choose the {{k|c}}reate option and then select "Make sharp stone". You will be prompted to choose a rock to sharpen ("tool stone"), and then the rock that is to be 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 on the ground or in your 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, select the {{k|b}}utcher option, and then you can select the corpse and the sharp tool to butcher with. The corpse will be replaced by its butchering returns.

* '''Spitting''' gives you spit, which can be aimed at someone in much the same way as any projectile. To get this, choose natural ability and then spit in the reactions menu.

You may also gain acquired abilities when you become a creature of the night, such as a necromancer.

= Sites =

More information on each type of site can be found in the site's specific article.

== Civilization ==

[[Civilization]]s are organized groups of creatures (generally of the same race) which build sites such as towns.

=== Human Sites ===

==== Towns {{Raw Tile|+|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|*|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|#|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|☼|7:0:0}} ====
Humans live in towns comprised of buildings and often a paved road. Human towns are highly modular, and are usually near some source of water, either the coast or a river.

Towns appear on the fast travel map (when outside a site) as {{Tile|■|7:0:1}} or {{Tile|■|6:0:1}} symbols which are small collections of buildings. When you are near a human site, large yellow blocks indicate where various houses and shops are found (though not all houses and shops can be found in these blocks; sometimes you'll find a house or two out in a site's fields). You usually have to follow the roads in a yellow block on the fast travel map.

Towns usually have lots of interesting structures which are described fully in the [[town]] article.

==== Hamlets {{Raw Tile|æ|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|Æ|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|{{=}}|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|≡|7:0:0}} ====
Most of the time, the majority of a human civilization's population will live in small [[hamlet]]s, which tend to be sprawled out along coastlines and through river valleys. Like other sites, they can be invaded, and you'll sometimes find them captured by other civilizations, [[necromancer]]s, or criminal syndicates. Human adventurers usually spawn in hamlets.

Note that hamlets are similar in structure to towns, only they have mead halls instead of keeps, and don't have any defensive walls.

=== Dwarven Sites ===

==== Dwarf Fortresses {{Raw Tile|Ω|7:0:1}} ====
These are the randomly generated equivalent of the sites you build in [[dwarf fortress mode]]. [[Fortress]]es are described in detail in the own article. Their main function for adventurers is that they have a central, spiraling ramp that connects the underground and above-ground worlds, particularly in that they connect the subterranean mountain halls to the rest of the dwarf civilization. They are located at the edges of mountain ranges.

Player-made fortresses are considered dwarf fortresses by the game, in addition to the randomly-generated ones.{{Verify}}

==== Mountain Halls {{Raw Tile|Ω|0:0:1}} ====
These are the "deep sites" of the dwarves, located far beneath the mountains. Not much is known about [[Mountain Halls|mountain halls]] yet. They can be entered by descending the central ramp of the major dwarf fortresses, and are usually over a hundred z-levels deep.

==== Hillocks {{Raw Tile|Ω|7:0:0}} ====
[[Hillock]]s are the dwarf equivalent to human hamlets. They consist of a few holes in the ground filled with dwarf citizens. There doesn't seem to be any settlement pattern for them; they are equally likely to be found in any land [[biome]].

=== Elven Sites ===

==== Forest Retreats {{Raw Tile|î|6:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|¶|6:0:1}} ====
Elves live in [[forest retreat]]s located, unsurprisingly, in [[forest]] biomes. They are essentially clusters of huge [[tree]]s with elves standing in and around them.

=== Goblin Sites ===

==== Dark Fortresses {{Raw Tile|π|0:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|π|5:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|π|5:0:1}} ====
These are the main goblin sites. Some [[dark fortress]]es may contain a [[Underworld spire|certain spoiler]].

==== Dark Pits {{Raw Tile|º|5:0:0}}====
These are the goblin equivalent of hamlets and hillocks. [[Dark Pit]]s are essentially canyons lined with wooden guard towers. They tend to be built in huge clusters around the dark fortresses, such that large chunks of the map may be covered with them.

= FAQ =

== How do I find an entrance to the underworld? ==
Although it may be possible to learn of some trouble which originates from a cave{{verify}}, your best bet is to ask people about the surroundings, and hope that they mention a cave at some point. If they don't, travel to another site a fair bit away from where you are and ask someone else.

== I keep getting maimed and killed! How can I fight without getting seriously hurt? ==
The best defense is a good offense. 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 body 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. If your enemy is one space away from you, use that as an opportunity to throw a knife or a rock at them; worst case, they will get a bruise or a cut; best case, they will start the melee severely crippled. If you're fast enough, then you can simply step back after getting in that first hit, and they'll have to spend their turn approaching you again. Lather, rinse, repeat.
* Follow the advice under [[#Combat Preferences|Combat Preferences]].

== How can I obtain armor as quickly as possible? ==
* The best way would be to rummage through mead halls, keeps, and fortresses, or whatever other strongholds your race makes use of. Not all places will be stocked with equipment, but usually they have something.
** There are also underground locations, such as the dungeons underneath keeps, or the catacombs under temples, that contain plenty of equipment. These underground places are liable to be populated with unfriendly creatures, so beware.
* You can also take along companions and have them killed, or just plainly murder people and loot their corpses for stuff. Actively murdering people will have a negative effect on your reputation, however.

== How do I increase my skills and attributes? ==

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 [[DF2014: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_by_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 repeatedly. You can wrestle hitting {{k|b}} for the wrestling option after selecting the creature to fight. Continually grabbing and releasing a creature is sufficient to raise your skill, and you can do it indefinitely with the same animal as it won't be injured (unless you auto-wrestle it). Wrestling will increase Kinesthetic Sense, Spatial Sense, and to a lesser extent, Endurance. You may also somewhat increase Dodging and Shield User this way as the creature takes swipes at you.It's possible to change your {{k|C}}ombat preferences for attacking and dodging to ''Close Combat'' and ''Stand Ground'', respectively, allowing you to simply walk into the helpless critter to wrestle it. (Standing your ground prevents you from moving to dodge attacks, so your wrestling can continue almost uninterrupted.) You will, however, perform occasional throws and take-downs as long as the creature remains standing, which may result in their eventual bleeding to death. Strangulation is also a repeated concern, as it will render the victim unconscious, thus making you have to wait until it regains consciousness before you can continue auto-wrestling it (though you may still raise your Wrestler and Fighter skills by 10 points for every time you ''release'' a limb - though this must be done manually and must be repeatedly confirmed, once the creature is rendered unconscious). Another concern with auto-wrestling some animals is that you will perform joint locks, and break hips, knees, and ankles in the process, which can cause the creature to bleed to death. If you can wrangle a creature incapable of blood-loss and strangulation in a high-FPS area (such as a crab on a frozen beach), you can easily raise all associated skills and attributes to Legendary and Superhuman in the course of a few minutes.
*'''Shield User, Armor User, and Dodging''' - In addition to wrestling the creature, you can also sit back 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 when it hits. Also, to place emphasis more heavily on shield blocking, you can change your attack {{K|C}}ombat preference to ''Stand Ground''. The wrestling-a-crab-on-a-frozen-beach method also works fantastically for this.
*'''Weapon Skills and Fighting''' — Once your defensive skills are getting up there and your agility is high enough, you might want to try fighting [[bogeyman|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.
*'''Throwing and Archery''' — Throwing rocks with {{k|t}} will raise your Throwing and Archery skills. Throwing objects at creatures, while not terribly effective, can still be a quite handy skill. Although throwing is a way to raise Archery without wasting ammunition, there is a non-wasteful method that additionally increases bow/crossbow skills.The most efficient way to level via throwing is to forgo using a macro and separate training into two phases: {{k|g}}etting and {{k|t}}hrowing. First, find a tile with an indefinite amount of throwable objects (e.g., snow, rocks, mud, etc.). Then, sequentially mash {{k|g}} and whatever key the rocks are assigned to until both your forearms explode. Rest. Then, sequentially mash {{k|t}}, followed by some consistent key assigned to your rocks, then {{k|Enter}}, until you've emptied your inventory. Rest. Rinse and repeat. (You may wish to empty your inventory beforehand such that the rocks are assigned to a key close to {{k|t}}, allowing you to keep one hand on {{k|Enter}} and another on {{k|t}}.)
*'''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 directly beneath it. If bolts or arrows hit a wall that has floor/ground on the same z-level, then the ammunition will be destroyed. ''However'', ammunition that falls at least one z-level after hitting a wall will remain intact. So, simply find something like a hill inside a castle, stand on it, then shoot at a wall which is on the same z-level you are. The arrows will hit the wall and fall one z-level to the ground, remaining intact. You can then {{k|g}}et the arrows and {{k|f}}ire them at the wall again from the hill, ad infinitum. You can also stand next to a wall that's two or more z-levels high, aiming at the wall one z-level up by hitting {{k|<}} after hitting {{k|f}}. Whatever method you employ, the key is that the arrow needs to fall at least one z-level after hitting a wall to remain intact. Using a macro will speed this up greatly.
*'''Ambushing and Swimming''' — An efficient way to raise Ambushing is to sneak over large stretches of land. Sneaking on the fast travel screen may work as well.{{Verify}} Ideally, this would be done in a biome containing sparse vegetation and few threatening creatures to blunder into and reduce FPS (e.g., a frozen beach).Although less efficient for raising only Ambushing, it's also possible to sneak and swim at the same time, thus combining their training. '''Just make sure you start with at least Novice in swimming''', or you'll find swimming practically impossible to train. Swimming can very quickly improve your Strength, Agility, and Endurance. Additionally, if you can safely drown and then recover (e.g., by moving under a bridge and then back before suffocating), this will raise both Toughness and Endurance at a ''ridiculous'' pace— a single step spent drowning will raise both attributes by a fifth of a point apiece.
*'''Observer''' — You can't really power-level 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. However, one way to train it appears to be sleeping or walking around in the wilderness, allowing yourself to be repeatedly ambushed. This is, however, inherently dangerous. Running away from these encounters would probably be faster than slaying your assailants, if not generally safer for your character (but not for your companions, hoh boy).Successfully detecting traps found in tombs and catacombs (performed automatically) will also raise Observer. However, without decent skill to begin with, you'll be torn to pieces by the many traps you'll fail to see. Otherwise, once you've found one or more traps, it's possible to grind experience by sleeping/waiting an hour, thus resetting the traps. Rinse and repeat.
*'''Spatial and Kinesthetic Sense''' - While sharpening rocks with {{k|x}} will improve your Knapping skill, it more importantly increases your Spatial Sense and Kinesthetic Sense attributes, which affect a number of other skills. Knapping can be combined with throwing via 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? ==

'Tis but a scratch!

Unfortunately, there is only one way to get them back, and that is by being bitten by a [[werebeast]] and surviving until the next full moon. 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. (However, if spinal nervous tissue damage is what has disabled your ability to stand, crutches ''will not'' help you in that regard.) 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.

== What creatures of night can I become? ==

You basically have four different choices.

Firstly, you can become a [[necromancer|'''necromancer''']].
* That gives you some traits of an undead. Namely, you don't need to eat, sleep or drink, don't tire or age, zombies or mummies don't attack you and your physical stats are permanently fixed.
* The last one means it's wise to train them beforehand.
* You also can raise dead from the {{K|x}} menu. Depending on the flavor of your spell, zombies can be slow, very slow or not slow at all. They will be listed as companions.
* To become a necromancer, find a necromancer tower and obtain a book or slab containing secrets of life and death from there, then read it. Note that most of the books are useless. In younger worlds necromancers may not have built their towers yet, in which case they'll be hanging at a zombie bandit camp, slab under the arm.

Secondly, you can become a [[vampire|'''vampire''']].
* That gives you most traits of an undead. In addition to the listed above, you don't feel pain, don't breathe and immune to most syndromes.
* Your strength, agility and toughness are doubled.
* They're still fixed forever, so, again, be prepared.
* Despite not needing to drink water, you have a hunger for warm blood. To satisfy it, beat someone or something unconscious and {{K|e}}at their blood. However, if you become a necromancer after becoming a vampire, you will not need to drink blood.{{Verify}}
* To become a vampire, defeat one in combat and drink his blood.

Thirdly, you can become a [[werebeast|'''werebeast''']].
* This gives you the (uncontrolled) ability to transform into a powerful half-man, half-beast on a full moon.
* There's a fixed list of animals on which the werebeast is based, including goat, llama, lizard, horse, monitor, buffalo, moose, tortoise, camel, kangaroo, ape, gecko, bear, hyena, warthog, iguana, skink, shrew, elk, skunk, pig, raccoon, panda, mole, badger, armadillo, mammoth and more.
* Most importantly, upon transformation (both ways) all your wounds, including missing limbs, are instantly healed.
* You don't show any abnormalcy outside of beast form. You are still mortal.
* When in beast form, everything is hostile to you, you don't need to drink, eat, sleep or breathe, don't feel pain, don't tire and are immune to some syndromes.
* One randomly chosen metal is ten times as deadly to you than usual. All other materials deal you half damage.
* Werebeast's size is several times their base animal size, but no less than 80000. This means all armor will be too small for you while in beast form. But you can still use a shield.
* Also, some werebeasts are truly gigantic — weremammoth has a size of 9000000, on par with demons.
* To become a werebeast, make one bite you. It has to be in the beast form.
* You cannot be a werebeast and a vampire at the same time.

And finally, you can become a mist [[zombie|'''zombie''']].
* This makes you undead. In addition to vampire traits, you can see without eyes and can't die via blood loss or beheading. Note that you don't have health point limit raised zombies have.
* You become permanently hostile to everyone except other undead.
* Your strength and toughness are tripled and fixed. Train beforehand.
* Depending on the flavor of zombie virus, your speed may or may not drop to 20% or 60% of its normal value.
* To become a mist zombie, find a mist/fog cloud that zombifies creatures and run into it.
* You cannot become a vampire or a werebeast if you are already a zombie. The other way, however, is fine.

=See Also=
*[[Main:Adventure Mode quick reference|Adventure Mode Quick Reference]]
*[[Main:Adventure mode quick start|Adventure Mode Quickstart Guide]]

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

Adventurer mode

2014-07-17T23:33:45Z

Lue: /* FAQ */ Update section for this version

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{{Quality|Masterwork|00:47, 29 September 2013 (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). Humans inhabit cities, towns, and the occasional above-ground fortress. Elves inhabit forest retreats. Dwarves are spread between "deep sites" which sometimes do not contain a direct connection to the surface, and "hill dwarves" which inhabit a loose collection of mounds built into hillsides. Human cities and towns are currently the only sites with shops and other places to officially buy goods.

If you have previously built a fort in the world that you select, your adventurer will be able to go visit it. If you have selected to "retire" the fortress rather than abandon it, you will likely be able to encounter all of the inhabitants from fortress mode. However, they will likely not have the same level of activity as they would in a bustling fortress-mode fort.

=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.

*'''Humans''' Always originate from one of the villages in the world. 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''' Human Outsiders are humans that aren't from that world or any of its villages. They simply appear in the wilderness, a stranger to all. You may always play as an outsider, even if the world is otherwise completely uninhabited. 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. This gives them many combat bonuses, which aids their survival greatly. 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 armour found in shops. Goblin armor fits them, making Dark Fortresses (if your computer can handle them) and bandits a viable source of armor; if you're up for it, you could also just rob some dwarves. They can start with almost all of the same weapon skills as civilized humans. Many larger 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. Elves also have the AT_PEACE_WITH_NATURE tag. This makes all wildlife passive towards them. Like dwarves they wear small sized clothing and will have the same problem finding suitable armour.

*'''Kobolds''' can be played only if there are no other civilizations and there are kobolds. They are very small and weak in combat and a huge challenge compared to the other races. They wear even smaller armour than the other races and armour will be impossible to find for them, unless you are absurdly lucky and run into armoured kobolds.

If no civilization for the given race exists in a world you can only play as an outsider.

== 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 you inflict in melee regardless of weapon used. Increases muscle size. This increased muscular layer helps prevent damage, although this is a pretty minor effect. 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. Agility is really, really important as being faster than the enemies allows you to get more hits in before they can fight back and lets you run away more easily.
*'''Toughness''': Reduces physical damage inflicted on you. Also relates to defensive combat skills.
*'''Endurance''': Reduces the rate at which the adventurer becomes exhausted. Becoming exhausted causes you to collapse, helpless and immobile and can cause you to pass out.
*'''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''': Seems to have some effect on vampirism infectivity; may have to do with infected wounds.

=== Soul ===

Some of these are useful for adventure-mode-applicable skills, but some are totally useless except as dump stats.

*'''Analytical Ability''': Useful only for Knapping; should be reduced to minimum.{{Verify}}

*'''Focus''': Affects Archer, Ambusher, Observer.

*'''Willpower''': Affects Fighter, Crutch Walker and Swimmer. Willpower is really important as it governs how easily you'll pass out from extreme pain. Low willpower is a death sentence if you are seriously wounded, as you'll pass out and have your head caved in. Broken bones currently cause enough pain that even very high willpower usually won't keep you conscious. For non bone injuries however willpower can keep you going long enough to kill enemies, or at least get away from them.

*'''Creativity''': Useless at the moment.

*'''Intuition''': Helps with Observer, which aids in spotting concealed enemies,ambushes and identifying attacks from opponents.

*'''Patience''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

*'''Memory''': Memory aids greatly in mapping out areas as the higher your memory the longer you'll remember an area. As you explore you'll forget previously explored areas, causing them to appear blank, as if you had never been there. If you have low enough memory you'll forget areas of large locations like underground catacombs while you're still in them, making finding your way very confusing, as things like the exit wont be visible anymore until you find it again. Best to have at least average memory.

*'''Linguistic Ability''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

*'''Spatial Sense''': Important. Affects combat skills, Ambusher, Crutch Walker, Swimmer, Observer, Knapping.

*'''Musicality''': Completely useless. Use this as a dump stat.

*'''Kinaesthetic Sense''': Affects most combat skills, walking with crutches and swimming.

*'''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. Your fame still plays a bit part in whenever you can recruit followers or not.

=== 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 at enemies that are just a step away or finishing off a foe pinned down by a stuck weapon.

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

Note that different races have different names for their weapon skills. Axegoblin, Axedwarf etc.

Crossbowman is an exception. Dwarves call this skill Marksdwarf, although bow skill is referred to as Bow Dwarf as you'd expect. Elite Axe and Hammer dwarves are referred to as Lords.

*'''Axeman''': allows characters to use axes, great axes, and halberds more effectively. Useful for cleaving off limbs.
*'''Bowman''': skill allows characters to use bows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.
*'''Crossbowman''': allows characters to use crossbows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.
*'''Hammerman''': allows characters to use crossbows in melee, mauls, and war hammers more effectively. Useful for breaking limbs.
*'''Knife User''' - allows characters to use large daggers and knives more effectively. Useful for stabbing things.
*'''Lasher''' - allows characters to use whips and scourges more effectively. Very deadly weapons.
*'''Maceman''' - allows characters to use flails, maces, and morningstars more effectively. Similar to hammers.
*'''Pikeman''' - allows characters to use pikes more effectively. Like spears, but much bigger.
*'''Spearman''' - allows characters to use spears more effectively. Useful for stabbing things.
*'''Swordsman''' - allows characters to use blowguns and bows in melee, long swords, scimitars, short swords, and two-handed swords more effectively. Useful for cutting, stabbing, and whacking, but less effective than more dedicated weapons.

=== 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 even novice skill in this means that the adventurer will start with a shield. This is a no-brainer unless you're creating a two handed weapon user.
*'''Armor User''': A higher level of this skill reduces the encumbrance penalties of armour, allowing you to move faster when wearing it. It also affects how well armour protects you and this makes a huge difference. Unskilled armour users gain little protection. This is noticeable as you'll begin seeing far more combat reports about hits either striking you though armour, (you managed to use your armour to lessen the force of the blow) or being deflected by your armour (you used your amour to avoid the hit entirety) as your skill rises and you learn to actually use your armour to deflect hits. It is highly advised to train your armour skill before entering battle with it as the speed penalties of lower levels can be a serious handicap.
*'''Dodger''' - Ability to dodge out of the way of attacks. Dodger is incredibly important and will allow you to avoid many, many hits that would have otherwise injured you. Especially important when you are fighting unarmoured and can't afford a battle axe in the chest. Boost this to talented or at least close to it.

=== 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. Higher skill means all of these moves succeed more often. See [[#Wrestling and Unarmed Attacks]] for details. Can be raised very easily in game.
*'''Striker''' - Punching ability. Turns handy when weapons get stuck and there is no time to wrest them back.
*'''Kicker''' - Kicking ability. Same as Striker. Kicks are slower but more deadly than punches; heavy kicks are particularly good at crushing and exploding heads.
*'''Biter''' - Biting ability. Biting is surprisingly effective even with non animal races as after biting you can shake opponents around by your teeth, causing great damage and possibly ripping off body parts, although with sapient races this tends to lean more towards fingers or toes, perhaps the occasional hand or foot.
*'''Thrower''' - Throwing any miscellaneous object including rocks, knives, axes, swords, heads, etc. Skill affects accuracy and damage caused.
*'''Misc. Object User''' - Ability to beat things to death with anything that comes at hand, from bags to coins to their own severed body parts. Also somewhat more commonly used for shield bashing. This skill affects combat with any object, from a rock to a beehive. There are no separate skills for different items. Items actually intended to be weapons, like swords or axes, are unaffected by this skill.

=== Movement and Awareness ===

*'''[[Observer]]''' - Helps one to notice things like ambushes, enemies who are "sneaking" (stealth movement), and traps. Detection range increases with skill, but up to a maximum of 3 tiles away. 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, or possibly after an unfriendly encounter with a creature in 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. Enemies will have "sight ranges" from where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The red zone of sight is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; the yellow is where they might see you. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.
*'''[[Climber]]''' - The skill of climbing up walls, into trees, and around the edges of gorges. Higher levels reduce the chance of falling and increase the speed of a climbing character.
*'''[[Tracker]]''' - The skill of tracking your quarry, whether it be animals or goblins. Higher levels will let you spot more tracks and help you distinguish different tracks.

=== 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. Adding more points is a waste, as novice allows you to read anything.
*'''[[Butcher]]''' - The art of turning corpses into piles of delicious prepared brains and meat for food. You cannot allocate points here during character creation, but that's OK since skill doesn't really affect anything anyway.

= Gameplay =

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

== Moving Around ==

=== Local Movement ===
[[File:Advmode_normaltravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|An image of normal travel mode. A list of the closest (but not necessarily close) sites is in the top-left corner. On the right side are minimaps of the next two levels down, relative to the player. Along the bottom is information about the player.]]
{| 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 10 instants
|-
| {{k|,}}
| Wait for 1 instant
|-
| {{k|s}}
| Stand or lie down
|-
| {{k|S}}
| Open Movement Speed/Sneak Menu
|}

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.

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.

If you hit {{k|j}}, you can jump. This is mostly useful for crossing gorges and crevices, where you have to get to the other side. Occasionally, you can manage to jump onto an opponent and tackle them, which typically causes them to go flying a short distance.

Hitting {{k|.}} allows you to stay in one place and wait for other things to move. {{k|,}} does the same but with a tenth of the time it takes for {{k|.}}.

Use {{k|s}} to sit/lie 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. Enemies will have sight cones indicating where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The central zone of sight (red, violet, or cyan) is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; their peripheral vision (yellow) is where they might see you. Violet and cyan central zones indicate the enemy is on a different level than yours, while red means they are on the same level. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.

If you {{k|h}}old onto a wall or tree, you can climb the wall or tree by using the movement keys. In towns and tamer parts of the countryside, this isn't particularly useful. However, in a combat situation, climbing a tree or wall can give you a height advantage, possibly allowing you to dive-tackle your opponents. Sometimes, mountains will be too steep to walk up the edge, or you will find a deep drop into a ravine. In these cases, you will have to climb up to reach the top, or perhaps jump or climb down one face, then climb up the other.

=== Fast Travel ===
[[File:Advmode_fasttravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|Fast Travel screen. The player is in a hamlet, between the houses to the right and the mead hall in the top-left area of the map. The asterisk represents a group of creatures (in this case unfriendly goblins). The world map (in sepia) is on the far right.]]
{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|T}}
| Fast Travel
|-
| {{k|d}}
| Exit fast travel mode
|-
| {{k|K}}
| Display detected tracks and odors
|-
| {{k|c}}
| Toggle display of clouds on region map
|-
| {{k|s}}
| Walk around in sneak mode. Exiting fast travel starts you in sneak mode.
|-
| {{k|m}}
| Cycle through maps and significant structures
|-
| {{k|Q}}
| View Quest Log
|-
| {{k|Z}}
| Bring up sleep menu
|-
| {{k|h}}
| Hide parts of the bottom bar
|-
| {{k|>}} and {{k|<}}
| Enter/exit tunnel
|-
|}

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.

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.

If you are not near any sites, the {{k|m}} key will toggle a world map, colored in sepia tone (matching the map you see in the quest log). If you are near a site, then {{k|m}} cycles between a list of significant structures where your player is, a regional map (matching what you travel on when away from any site), and the aforementioned world map.

The {{k|c}} key will only show clouds on the region map (the one you travel on outside of sites). Some clouds will be visible regardless of the state of this option.

The {{k|h}} key will cycle through various amounts of the bottom bar of content hidden. The effects of each press are:

* 1 press: hide key reference. Allows you to see status effects on your character if obscured by the key list.
* 2 presses: hide most local name, reducing the bar to one line of text.
* 3 presses: hide less local name, eliminating the bar entirely.
* 4 presses: shows all information

== 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.)
|-
| {{k|q}}
| Sheath your weapons and shield. (Frees your hands for tasks such as climbing or grabbing)
|}

=== Inventory ===

Press {{k|i}} to display a list of what you are currently carrying. Press {{k|-}} {{k|+}} {{k|*}} {{k|/}} to scroll the list. This list will show you if items are being worn, held in hands, stuck on 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|+}} {{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. You also must put on equipment in an order that makes sense,. for example a shirt first ''then'' the armor, not the other way around. Armour must also be put on in a sensible manner with flexible layers such as chainmail first then rigid plate armour second. After all, who, in real life, would wear chainmail over a hard plate?

''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, for example a copper mail shirt and a copper breastplate. The thin, flexible chain can be worn under the breastplate, but not the other way around.

=== 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.

While normally one would only be able to equip one item in each hand, removing items from your inventory results in them being wielded regardless of whether one's hands are full. This is especially useful with shields, as every shield will contribute a block chance to each incoming attack.

It should be noted that Dwarf Fortress does not enforce one particular hand as dominant for everyone, so do not be surprised if your character holds the weapon and [[Armor#Shields and Bucklers|shield]] in hands you yourself would not hold them in.

=== 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 which will appear in your inventory when they become stuck in you. Removing stuck arrows can cause bleeding so it is not always a good idea mid combat, but stuck objects will slow you down as you are encumbered by their weight. It s best to remove them as soon as possible when it is safe and you are not in danger of bleeding to death.

Advanced interaction can also be used to steal enemy equipment. Use [[wrestling]] to grab hold of a piece of enemy equipment, such as their weapon, or a helmet protecting their squishy brain and it will appear in the advanced interaction menu. Simply grab the item with a free hand and pull away. If successful, you will now be holding that item in your hands.

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).

Advanced interactions 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. You can refill waterskins from a nearby liquid source as well

===Sheathing===
The {{k|q}} key lets you strap your weapons to your back.

This is useful because you can't climb or wrestle with your hands unless your hands are free.

People will also be less likely to scared of you on first sight if you don't appear to be ready to attack.

== Time and Weather ==

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

The game has a day/night cycle with time passing as various actions take place.

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.

In local travel mode you'll have to use the {{k|W}} command to learn the position of the sun, when you're in a place where the sun is visible.

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. The most common weather you'll experience is rain. Rain is shown as blue moving dots on the local travel screen and will unsurprisingly cause everything outside to become wet. Temperature is important because if it happens to drop below freezing while you're swimming through water, you'll instantly die from being encased in the ice.

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.

Freezing weather can also freeze liquids in your inventory solid, making them undrinkable. If your water freezes and you are thirsty, make a campfire and {{k|I}}nteract with your waterskin to heat it over the fire and melt the ice.

== Sleep ==

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

Eventually your character will become {{DFtext|Drowsy|1:0}} 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. (If you'd rather not deal with bogeymen, you can disable them by generating a world using [[advanced world generation]] 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 bet 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 amount of 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 else 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 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 (you may also be able to jump over the fires). 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
|}

To find water, you must find a river, stream, or well in a town and fill your waterskin from it, or drink from it directly. Water that may be covering you or your items will not be able to satisfy your thirst.

Note that drinking vampire blood will turn you into a vampire instantly.

Make sure to eat or drink regularly even if you're not hungry or thirsty, as you can only eat or drink thrice at a time: after that you'll need to rest, or wait until you can consume another meal. If you find yourself in need of both food and hydration, make sure to take care of the most urgent problem first, as if you are moderately hungry but severely dehydrated and eat three times, you may die before you have another chance to drink.

If the temperature is low enough you might have trouble finding liquid water. Snow and ice can be heated into water by first making a campfire with {{k|g}} and then performing an advanced interaction with {{k|I}} on the ice or snow in your inventory to heat it. Advanced interactions with your waterskin can also be used to gather water from water sources, or snow from the ground.

== 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|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 have a chance of freeing up any stuck weapon, though you are more likely to accomplish this by moving away from the enemy, or complexly interacting with the weapon.

Any creature can be attacked by standing next to it and pressing {{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}}.

After selecting (and maybe confirming) which creature you want to attack, {{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. 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.

There are several options below the hitting menu. Quick attacks are faster than regular attacks but weaker. Heavy attacks are slower but attack harder. Wild attacks are faster and hit harder but are inaccurate. Precise attacks are very slow but are much more likely to hit. Multi-attacks allow you to attack several times in a row at a great cost to the effectiveness of any one of the chosen attacks.

=== Ranged Attacks ===

To attack with a ranged weapon press the {{k|f}} key with a ranged weapon (bow, crossbow, etc.) equipped on one hand and select the square where you want to attack. Note that you need to have some sort of ammo, corresponding to the type of ranged weapon you are using (for example, bows use arrows, crossbows use bolts). Otherwise, a message stating "You have nothing left to fire." is displayed in brown. 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 effect 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 in to 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 selecting an enemy via {{k|A}} followed by {{k|b}} to wrestle. 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 fast 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, but if you continually auto-attack a harmless creature with it your wrestling-skill will be legendary in no time.

*'''{{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, or areas with large pits, you might want to switch to the other option.
**'''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 safely 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 misplaced charge or dodge could end up killing you.

== Talking ==
[[File:Advmode_conversation_DF2014.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.

To begin a conversation, press {{k|k}}. Unless someone else has already started a conversation with you (see below is someone has), you will get a cyan X that can be positioned over people you want to talk to with the normal directional keys. Use {{k|-}} and {{k|+}} to select who you want to talk to. Aside from individuals, you can also {{DFtext|Shout out to everybody}}, which will have you talking with everyone in earshot, or you can talk to your deity.

Whenever you want to advance the conversation, you have to press {{k|k}} again and choose the ongoing conversation you wish to continue. You will also see ongoing conversations from people who have started a conversation with you. If you want to talk to someone else during this time, simply {{DFtext|Start a new conversation}}.

* {{DFtext|Greet listener}} — Has you offering a greeting to someone, when you're initiating the conversation.
* {{DFtext|Bypass greeting (new menu)}} — Skips the greeting, taking you straight to the normal conversation menus.
* {{DFtext|Reply to greeting}} — If you aren't the one who started the conversation, this option will let you reply to someone's greeting. They will then talk about some trouble.
* {{DFtext|Refuse conversation}} — Causes you to explicitly refuse to talk to someone who started a conversation with you. Unknown if this has a different effect from simply not doing anything.{{Verify}}
* {{DFtext|Reply to greeting (impersonation)}} — Like {{DFtext|Reply to greeting}}, except you're impersonating a deity.
* {{DFtext|Nevermind}} — This has you back out of having a conversation.

When you start talking to someone, you are presented with a wide array of things to talk about. (If the person you are talking to started the conversation and told you about some trouble, you'll first get a menu related to that trouble. Just press {{k|-}}-{{k|Enter}} to {{DFtext|Change the subject (new menu)}} and get to this first menu.) Your choices are as follows:

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
| style="text-align:right;width:30%;" | {{DFtext|Return to current topic (new menu)}}
| You'll see this option only if you chose to change the subject in another menu. This will, predictably, take you back to that subject.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Bring up specific incident or rumor (new menu)}}
| Allows you to spread rumors or summarize conflicts you've been a part of. The next step of the conversation will bring up a menu of choices that allow you to ask for directions to places or state your opinion on the incident/rumor.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask to become a hearthperson}}
| Only appears when talking to a leader who you aren't under the command of. Allows to become one the leader's guards.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Request duty or advice pertaining to service as a hearthperson}}
| Only appears when talking to a leader who are under the command of. You will receive some task to accomplish for the group, if there is anything that needs doing.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Bring up the journey together}}
| Only appears when talking to a companion. The next step of the conversation will allow you to cancel the agreement you made with that person, if you so choose.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Inquire about any troubles}}
| Asks the listener what things in the world are bothering them and their people.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask for directions (new menu)}}
| Allows you to ask for the location of a specific creature or site. People aren't guaranteed to know, and may instead direct you to someone who does.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about the local ruler}}
| As you might imagine, this gets you some information on who controls this particular area.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Trade}}
| Allows you to trade with a merchant. Note that you have to be right next to them for this to work.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Exchange, give, or take personal items}}
| Like {{DFtext|Trade}}, only that it works with non-merchants.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask favor, place request, make demand or issue order (new menu)}}
| Takes to a menu of various request you can make, including asking the listener to yield, stay put, or pay homage to your group. The options available depends on who you're talking to.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask listener to join you (new menu)}}
| This is how you get companions. You can either ask them to join you on an adventure, or to lead you to some location.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Claim this site for yourself (group naming menu)}}
| This option allows you to stake a claim on the site you are in.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask for permission to stay a day}}
| Allows you to sleep in the listener's building for the night.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about the structure you are in}}
| Tells you about whatever structure you are standing in, if you are standing in one.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about this site's neighbors and trade partners}}
| Lets you learn what sites this site is neighboring and/or trading with.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about the surrounding area}}
| Choosing this will tell you about some location nearby, and why it's significant.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Comment on weather}}
| Small talk about the weather. Really.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Comment on natural surroundings}}
| Same as the weather, only about the nature around you.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Accuse listener of being a night creature}}
| If chosen against a night creature, such as a vampire, it will expose them. Normal individuals will just think you're losing it.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Inquire about listener's profession}}
| Learn what it is the listener does. Useful for lords and ladies and anyone else whose profession isn't listed next to them.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about listener's family}}
| Discover what family the listener has, expectedly.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Brag about your past violent acts}}
| Causes you to brag about whatever last violent act you did. Doesn't seem to have an affect, or at least severely less impactful than summarizing the conflict.{{Verify}}
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Say goodbye}}
| Ends the conversation.
|}

Note that you can press {{k|Esc}} to not choose anything. The conversation is still ongoing, you have to explicitly say goodbye to end it. Pressing {{k|Esc}} is useful if you need to double-check something before talking.

== 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 you 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.

You can give or take equipment with a companion by choosing to talk to them and selecting {{DFtext|Exchange, give or take personal items}}. In addition to this screen, you can loot your companions' corpses when they die. (An evil but arguably inefficient 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 die (if you asked them to join you on an adventure) or get you to the proper location (if you asked them to guide you some place). If you want to get rid of your companions at any time, the safe way is to talk to each one of them, ask them about their journey with you, and then cancel the agreement.

If your companions are too far away from you when you enter fast travel, they will become an asterisk on the map where you started fast travel from. This asterisk may try to join up with you during travel. If you keep losing your companions while traveling through rivers, try going to a spot where the river becomes a "minor river" (shown by a single dark blue line). Brooks are obviously also safe to cross.

== Personal Finance ==

=== Trading (barter) ===

In human towns (not hamlets or castles), you can find shops. Once you're inside of a [[shop]] and right next to any of the NPCs, you can use {{K|k}} to {{DFtext|Trade}} with them. 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. You can also either {{k|a}}sk for or {{k|o}}ffer currency as part of the process. 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 trading, you will find the stuff you gave on the floor at your feet, and the stuff you got in your inventory.

Currently only human towns have shops.

=== 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 (indicated by dollar signs on either side of the item in your inventory), 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 some cases, the shop will be abandoned. This will be made clear by the presence of unbought items and the lack of any merchants in the area. You will not be considered a thief by the relevant entity for taking stuff from an abandoned shop.

If the item name is not surrounded by dollar signs, it is never considered stealing, even in situations where it would be in real life.

=== 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 as well as sell all of your loot directly for gold coins. Remember, merchants will always try to pay you in higher denomination currency first but will resort to lower value coins if they run out of anything higher. First, check the merchant's chest to see how much of each type of coins they have.

Coin values are as follows:
* Copper Coin = 1☼
* Silver Coin = 5☼
* Gold Coin = 15☼

To receive the maximum amount of gold coins from that merchant, make sure the amount "they owe you" during the trade is equal to (total amount of gold coins the shop has)*15☼ . If you are selling loot, simply make sure you only trade this worth of goods, and move on to other merchants for the rest. If you wish to exchange copper and silver coins for gold, buy random goods from the merchant until their price is around this value and then sell back all of the goods for their original value but in gold.

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 a creature, butcher their corpse (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 houses and 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 is of course an [[exploit]], liable to be fixed at any time. It may be useful in a pinch, but don't rely on it.

Another devious method is to go outside the shop, {{k|g}}rab handfuls of mud and throw it into your backpack, then sell them for 1☼ each. The merchants will gladly buy your rare and valuable mud despite the unlimited free mud just outside their shop.

== Quest Log ==

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|Q}}
| Open quest log
|-
| {{k|Esc}}
| Exit quest log
|-
| {{k|e}} {{k|p}} {{k|s}} {{k|r}} {{k|b}}
| Access various lists
|-
| {{k|m}}
| Switch between the world map and additional info
|-
| {{k|z}}
| Center cursor on location of selected list item, if known
|-
| {{k|c}}
| Center cursor on your location
|-
| {{k|l}}
| Toggle the visibility of the line between you and some other point on the map.
|-
| {{k|f}}
| Filter the list
|-
| {{k|+}} {{k|-}} {{k|*}} {{k|/}}
| Navigate the list
|}

The quest log contains everything you know about the world, such as various events going on, people you know, and various sites. The {{k|m}} key will alternate between a world map that you can navigate, and information on whatever item is highlighted in the list to the right.

There are various kinds of lists you can check on the quest log:

* '''Events''' — A list of events that are happening or have happened. Formatting of the list is {{DFtext|(type)/(description)}}. You can center on the location of the event if you know this. This list is the closest you'll get to some formal quest system.
* '''People''' — A list of people you know. At the start of the game, this list will contain people in your site.
* '''Sites''' — A list of various sites around the world.
* '''Groups''' — A list of groups you know of and your relation to them. Note that you have to press {{k|e}} when you're on the events list in order to reach this list, requiring you to press {{k|e}} at most twice.
* '''Regions''' — A list of regions. The additional information will list the biomes a region possesses.
* '''Bestiary''' — A list of creatures, their characteristics, and where you could find them.

==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}}.

* '''[[Knapper|Knapping]]''' allows an adventurer to sharpen a rock. Knapping only works on stones on the ground or in your hands. Choose the {{k|c}}reate option and then select "Make sharp stone". You will be prompted to choose a rock to sharpen ("tool stone"), and then the rock that is to be 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 on the ground or in your 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, select the {{k|b}}utcher option, and then you can select the corpse and the sharp tool to butcher with. The corpse will be replaced by its butchering returns.

* '''Spitting''' gives you spit, which can be aimed at someone in much the same way as any projectile. To get this, choose natural ability and then spit in the reactions menu.

You may also gain acquired abilities when you become a creature of the night, such as a necromancer.

= Sites =

More information on each type of site can be found in the site's specific article.

== Civilization ==

[[Civilization]]s are organized groups of creatures (generally of the same race) which build sites such as towns.

=== Human Sites ===

==== Towns {{Raw Tile|+|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|*|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|#|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|☼|7:0:0}} ====
Humans live in towns comprised of buildings and often a paved road. Human towns are highly modular, and are usually near some source of water, either the coast or a river.

Towns appear on the fast travel map (when outside a site) as {{Tile|■|7:0:1}} or {{Tile|■|6:0:1}} symbols which are small collections of buildings. When you are near a human site, large yellow blocks indicate where various houses and shops are found (though not all houses and shops can be found in these blocks; sometimes you'll find a house or two out in a site's fields). You usually have to follow the roads in a yellow block on the fast travel map.

Towns usually have lots of interesting structures which are described fully in the [[town]] article.

==== Hamlets {{Raw Tile|æ|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|Æ|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|{{=}}|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|≡|7:0:0}} ====
Most of the time, the majority of a human civilization's population will live in small [[hamlet]]s, which tend to be sprawled out along coastlines and through river valleys. Like other sites, they can be invaded, and you'll sometimes find them captured by other civilizations, [[necromancer]]s, or criminal syndicates. Human adventurers usually spawn in hamlets.

Note that hamlets are similar in structure to towns, only they have mead halls instead of keeps, and don't have any defensive walls.

=== Dwarven Sites ===

==== Dwarf Fortresses {{Raw Tile|Ω|7:0:1}} ====
These are the randomly generated equivalent of the sites you build in [[dwarf fortress mode]]. [[Fortress]]es are described in detail in the own article. Their main function for adventurers is that they have a central, spiraling ramp that connects the underground and above-ground worlds, particularly in that they connect the subterranean mountain halls to the rest of the dwarf civilization. They are located at the edges of mountain ranges.

Player-made fortresses are considered dwarf fortresses by the game, in addition to the randomly-generated ones.{{Verify}}

==== Mountain Halls {{Raw Tile|Ω|0:0:1}} ====
These are the "deep sites" of the dwarves, located far beneath the mountains. Not much is known about [[Mountain Halls|mountain halls]] yet. They can be entered by descending the central ramp of the major dwarf fortresses, and are usually over a hundred z-levels deep.

==== Hillocks {{Raw Tile|Ω|7:0:0}} ====
[[Hillock]]s are the dwarf equivalent to human hamlets. They consist of a few holes in the ground filled with dwarf citizens. There doesn't seem to be any settlement pattern for them; they are equally likely to be found in any land [[biome]].

=== Elven Sites ===

==== Forest Retreats {{Raw Tile|î|6:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|¶|6:0:1}} ====
Elves live in [[forest retreat]]s located, unsurprisingly, in [[forest]] biomes. They are essentially clusters of huge [[tree]]s with elves standing in and around them.

=== Goblin Sites ===

==== Dark Fortresses {{Raw Tile|π|0:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|π|5:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|π|5:0:1}} ====
These are the main goblin sites. Some [[dark fortress]]es may contain a [[Underworld spire|certain spoiler]].

==== Dark Pits {{Raw Tile|º|5:0:0}}====
These are the goblin equivalent of hamlets and hillocks. [[Dark Pit]]s are essentially canyons lined with wooden guard towers. They tend to be built in huge clusters around the dark fortresses, such that large chunks of the map may be covered with them.

= FAQ =

== How do I find an entrance to the underworld? ==
Although it may be possible to learn of some trouble which originates from a cave{{verify}}, your best bet is to ask people about the surroundings, and hope that they mention a cave at some point. If they don't, travel to another site a fair bit away from where you are and ask someone else.

== I keep getting maimed and killed! How can I fight without getting seriously hurt? ==
The best defense is a good offense. 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 body 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. If your enemy is one space away from you, use that as an opportunity to throw a knife or a rock at them; worst case, they will get a bruise or a cut; best case, they will start the melee severely crippled. If you're fast enough, then you can simply step back after getting in that first hit, and they'll have to spend their turn approaching you again. Lather, rinse, repeat.
* Follow the advice under [[#Combat Preferences|Combat Preferences]].

== How can I obtain armor as quickly as possible? ==
* The best way would be to rummage through mead halls, keeps, and fortresses, or whatever other strongholds your race makes use of. Not all places will be stocked with equipment, but usually they have something.
** There are also underground locations, such as the dungeons underneath keeps, or the catacombs under temples, that contain plenty of equipment. These underground places are liable to be populated with unfriendly creatures, so beware.
* You can also take along companions and have them killed, or just plainly murder people and loot their corpses for stuff. Actively murdering people will have a negative effect on your reputation, however.

== How do I increase my skills and attributes? ==

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 [[DF2014: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_by_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 repeatedly. You can wrestle hitting {{k|b}} for the wrestling option after selecting the creature to fight. Continually grabbing and releasing a creature is sufficient to raise your skill, and you can do it indefinitely with the same animal as it won't be injured (unless you auto-wrestle it). Wrestling will increase Kinesthetic Sense, Spatial Sense, and to a lesser extent, Endurance. You may also somewhat increase Dodging and Shield User this way as the creature takes swipes at you.It's possible to change your {{k|C}}ombat preferences for attacking and dodging to ''Close Combat'' and ''Stand Ground'', respectively, allowing you to simply walk into the helpless critter to wrestle it. (Standing your ground prevents you from moving to dodge attacks, so your wrestling can continue almost uninterrupted.) You will, however, perform occasional throws and take-downs as long as the creature remains standing, which may result in their eventual bleeding to death. Strangulation is also a repeated concern, as it will render the victim unconscious, thus making you have to wait until it regains consciousness before you can continue auto-wrestling it (though you may still raise your Wrestler and Fighter skills by 10 points for every time you ''release'' a limb - though this must be done manually and must be repeatedly confirmed, once the creature is rendered unconscious). Another concern with auto-wrestling some animals is that you will perform joint locks, and break hips, knees, and ankles in the process, which can cause the creature to bleed to death. If you can wrangle a creature incapable of blood-loss and strangulation in a high-FPS area (such as a crab on a frozen beach), you can easily raise all associated skills and attributes to Legendary and Superhuman in the course of a few minutes.
*'''Shield User, Armor User, and Dodging''' - In addition to wrestling the creature, you can also sit back 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 when it hits. Also, to place emphasis more heavily on shield blocking, you can change your attack {{K|C}}ombat preference to ''Stand Ground''. The wrestling-a-crab-on-a-frozen-beach method also works fantastically for this.
*'''Weapon Skills and Fighting''' — Once your defensive skills are getting up there and your agility is high enough, you might want to try fighting [[bogeyman|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.
*'''Throwing and Archery''' — Throwing rocks with {{k|t}} will raise your Throwing and Archery skills. Throwing objects at creatures, while not terribly effective, can still be a quite handy skill. Although throwing is a way to raise Archery without wasting ammunition, there is a non-wasteful method that additionally increases bow/crossbow skills.The most efficient way to level via throwing is to forgo using a macro and separate training into two phases: {{k|g}}etting and {{k|t}}hrowing. First, find a tile with an indefinite amount of throwable objects (e.g., snow, rocks, mud, etc.). Then, sequentially mash {{k|g}} and whatever key the rocks are assigned to until both your forearms explode. Rest. Then, sequentially mash {{k|t}}, followed by some consistent key assigned to your rocks, then {{k|Enter}}, until you've emptied your inventory. Rest. Rinse and repeat. (You may wish to empty your inventory beforehand such that the rocks are assigned to a key close to {{k|t}}, allowing you to keep one hand on {{k|Enter}} and another on {{k|t}}.)
*'''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 directly beneath it. If bolts or arrows hit a wall that has floor/ground on the same z-level, then the ammunition will be destroyed. ''However'', ammunition that falls at least one z-level after hitting a wall will remain intact. So, simply find something like a hill inside a castle, stand on it, then shoot at a wall which is on the same z-level you are. The arrows will hit the wall and fall one z-level to the ground, remaining intact. You can then {{k|g}}et the arrows and {{k|f}}ire them at the wall again from the hill, ad infinitum. You can also stand next to a wall that's two or more z-levels high, aiming at the wall one z-level up by hitting {{k|<}} after hitting {{k|f}}. Whatever method you employ, the key is that the arrow needs to fall at least one z-level after hitting a wall to remain intact. Using a macro will speed this up greatly.
*'''Ambushing and Swimming''' — An efficient way to raise Ambushing is to sneak over large stretches of land. Sneaking on the fast travel screen may work as well.{{Verify}} Ideally, this would be done in a biome containing sparse vegetation and few threatening creatures to blunder into and reduce FPS (e.g., a frozen beach).Although less efficient for raising only Ambushing, it's also possible to sneak and swim at the same time, thus combining their training. '''Just make sure you start with at least Novice in swimming''', or you'll find swimming practically impossible to train. Swimming can very quickly improve your Strength, Agility, and Endurance. Additionally, if you can safely drown and then recover (e.g., by moving under a bridge and then back before suffocating), this will raise both Toughness and Endurance at a ''ridiculous'' pace— a single step spent drowning will raise both attributes by a fifth of a point apiece.
*'''Observer''' — You can't really power-level 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. However, one way to train it appears to be sleeping or walking around in the wilderness, allowing yourself to be repeatedly ambushed. This is, however, inherently dangerous. Running away from these encounters would probably be faster than slaying your assailants, if not generally safer for your character (but not for your companions, hoh boy).Successfully detecting traps found in tombs and catacombs (performed automatically) will also raise Observer. However, without decent skill to begin with, you'll be torn to pieces by the many traps you'll fail to see. Otherwise, once you've found one or more traps, it's possible to grind experience by sleeping/waiting an hour, thus resetting the traps. Rinse and repeat.
*'''Spatial and Kinesthetic Sense''' - While sharpening rocks with {{k|x}} will improve your Knapping skill, it more importantly increases your Spatial Sense and Kinesthetic Sense attributes, which affect a number of other skills. Knapping can be combined with throwing via 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? ==

'Tis but a scratch!

Unfortunately, there is only one way to get them back, and that is by being bitten by a [[werebeast]] and surviving until the next full moon. 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. (However, if spinal nervous tissue damage is what has disabled your ability to stand, crutches ''will not'' help you in that regard.) 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.

== What creatures of night can I become? ==

You basically have four different choices.

Firstly, you can become a [[necromancer|'''necromancer''']].
* That gives you some traits of an undead. Namely, you don't need to eat, sleep or drink, don't tire or age, zombies or mummies don't attack you and your physical stats are permanently fixed.
* The last one means it's wise to train them beforehand.
* You also can raise dead from the {{K|x}} menu. Depending on the flavor of your spell, zombies can be slow, very slow or not slow at all. They will be listed as companions.
* To become a necromancer, find a necromancer tower and obtain a book or slab containing secrets of life and death from there, then read it. Note that most of the books are useless. In younger worlds necromancers may not have built their towers yet, in which case they'll be hanging at a zombie bandit camp, slab under the arm.

Secondly, you can become a [[vampire|'''vampire''']].
* That gives you most traits of an undead. In addition to the listed above, you don't feel pain, don't breathe and immune to most syndromes.
* Your strength, agility and toughness are doubled.
* They're still fixed forever, so, again, be prepared.
* Despite not needing to drink water, you have a hunger for warm blood. To satisfy it, beat someone or something unconscious and {{K|e}}at their blood. However, if you become a necromancer after becoming a vampire, you will not need to drink blood.{{Verify}}
* To become a vampire, defeat one in combat and drink his blood.

Thirdly, you can become a [[werebeast|'''werebeast''']].
* This gives you the (uncontrolled) ability to transform into a powerful half-man, half-beast on a full moon.
* There's a fixed list of animals on which the werebeast is based, including goat, llama, lizard, horse, monitor, buffalo, moose, tortoise, camel, kangaroo, ape, gecko, bear, hyena, warthog, iguana, skink, shrew, elk, skunk, pig, raccoon, panda, mole, badger, armadillo, mammoth and more.
* Most importantly, upon transformation (both ways) all your wounds, including missing limbs, are instantly healed.
* You don't show any abnormalcy outside of beast form. You are still mortal.
* When in beast form, everything is hostile to you, you don't need to drink, eat, sleep or breathe, don't feel pain, don't tire and are immune to some syndromes.
* One randomly chosen metal is ten times as deadly to you than usual. All other materials deal you half damage.
* Werebeast's size is several times their base animal size, but no less than 80000. This means all armor will be too small for you while in beast form. But you can still use a shield.
* Also, some werebeasts are truly gigantic — weremammoth has a size of 9000000, on par with demons.
* To become a werebeast, make one bite you. It has to be in the beast form.
* You cannot be a werebeast and a vampire at the same time.

And finally, you can become a mist [[zombie|'''zombie''']].
* This makes you undead. In addition to vampire traits, you can see without eyes and can't die via blood loss or beheading. Note that you don't have health point limit raised zombies have.
* You become permanently hostile to everyone except other undead.
* Your strength and toughness are tripled and fixed. Train beforehand.
* Depending on the flavor of zombie virus, your speed may or may not drop to 20% or 60% of its normal value.
* To become a mist zombie, find a mist/fog cloud that zombifies creatures and run into it.
* You cannot become a vampire or a werebeast if you are already a zombie. The other way, however, is fine.

=See Also=
*[[Main:Adventure Mode quick reference|Adventure Mode Quick Reference]]
*[[Main:Adventure mode quick start|Adventure Mode Quickstart Guide]]

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

Adventurer mode

2014-07-17T21:40:12Z

Lue: /* Sites */ Update for this version

{{Migrated_article}}
{{Quality|Masterwork|00:47, 29 September 2013 (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). Humans inhabit cities, towns, and the occasional above-ground fortress. Elves inhabit forest retreats. Dwarves are spread between "deep sites" which sometimes do not contain a direct connection to the surface, and "hill dwarves" which inhabit a loose collection of mounds built into hillsides. Human cities and towns are currently the only sites with shops and other places to officially buy goods.

If you have previously built a fort in the world that you select, your adventurer will be able to go visit it. If you have selected to "retire" the fortress rather than abandon it, you will likely be able to encounter all of the inhabitants from fortress mode. However, they will likely not have the same level of activity as they would in a bustling fortress-mode fort.

=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.

*'''Humans''' Always originate from one of the villages in the world. 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''' Human Outsiders are humans that aren't from that world or any of its villages. They simply appear in the wilderness, a stranger to all. You may always play as an outsider, even if the world is otherwise completely uninhabited. 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. This gives them many combat bonuses, which aids their survival greatly. 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 armour found in shops. Goblin armor fits them, making Dark Fortresses (if your computer can handle them) and bandits a viable source of armor; if you're up for it, you could also just rob some dwarves. They can start with almost all of the same weapon skills as civilized humans. Many larger 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. Elves also have the AT_PEACE_WITH_NATURE tag. This makes all wildlife passive towards them. Like dwarves they wear small sized clothing and will have the same problem finding suitable armour.

*'''Kobolds''' can be played only if there are no other civilizations and there are kobolds. They are very small and weak in combat and a huge challenge compared to the other races. They wear even smaller armour than the other races and armour will be impossible to find for them, unless you are absurdly lucky and run into armoured kobolds.

If no civilization for the given race exists in a world you can only play as an outsider.

== 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 you inflict in melee regardless of weapon used. Increases muscle size. This increased muscular layer helps prevent damage, although this is a pretty minor effect. 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. Agility is really, really important as being faster than the enemies allows you to get more hits in before they can fight back and lets you run away more easily.
*'''Toughness''': Reduces physical damage inflicted on you. Also relates to defensive combat skills.
*'''Endurance''': Reduces the rate at which the adventurer becomes exhausted. Becoming exhausted causes you to collapse, helpless and immobile and can cause you to pass out.
*'''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''': Seems to have some effect on vampirism infectivity; may have to do with infected wounds.

=== Soul ===

Some of these are useful for adventure-mode-applicable skills, but some are totally useless except as dump stats.

*'''Analytical Ability''': Useful only for Knapping; should be reduced to minimum.{{Verify}}

*'''Focus''': Affects Archer, Ambusher, Observer.

*'''Willpower''': Affects Fighter, Crutch Walker and Swimmer. Willpower is really important as it governs how easily you'll pass out from extreme pain. Low willpower is a death sentence if you are seriously wounded, as you'll pass out and have your head caved in. Broken bones currently cause enough pain that even very high willpower usually won't keep you conscious. For non bone injuries however willpower can keep you going long enough to kill enemies, or at least get away from them.

*'''Creativity''': Useless at the moment.

*'''Intuition''': Only helps with Observer, which aids in spotting concealed enemies and ambushes. A useless skill since you rarely see these in adventure mode.

*'''Patience''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

*'''Memory''': Memory aids greatly in mapping out areas as the higher your memory the longer you'll remember an area. As you explore you'll forget previously explored areas, causing them to appear blank, as if you had never been there. If you have low enough memory you'll forget areas of large locations like underground catacombs while you're still in them, making finding your way very confusing, as things like the exit wont be visible anymore until you find it again. Best to have at least average memory.

*'''Linguistic Ability''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

*'''Spatial Sense''': Important. Affects combat skills, Ambusher, Crutch Walker, Swimmer, Observer, Knapping.

*'''Musicality''': Completely useless. Use this as a dump stat.

*'''Kinaesthetic Sense''': Affects most combat skills, walking with crutches and swimming.

*'''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. Your fame still plays a bit part in whenever you can recruit followers or not.

=== 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 at enemies that are just a step away or finishing off a foe pinned down by a stuck weapon.

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

Note that different races have different names for their weapon skills. Axegoblin, Axedwarf etc.

Crossbowman is an exception. Dwarves call this skill Marksdwarf, although bow skill is referred to as Bow Dwarf as you'd expect. Elite Axe and Hammer dwarves are referred to as Lords.

*'''Axeman''': allows characters to use axes, great axes, and halberds more effectively. Useful for cleaving off limbs.
*'''Bowman''': skill allows characters to use bows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.
*'''Crossbowman''': allows characters to use crossbows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.
*'''Hammerman''': allows characters to use crossbows in melee, mauls, and war hammers more effectively. Useful for breaking limbs.
*'''Knife User''' - allows characters to use large daggers and knives more effectively. Useful for stabbing things.
*'''Lasher''' - allows characters to use whips and scourges more effectively. Very deadly weapons.
*'''Maceman''' - allows characters to use flails, maces, and morningstars more effectively. Similar to hammers.
*'''Pikeman''' - allows characters to use pikes more effectively. Like spears, but much bigger.
*'''Spearman''' - allows characters to use spears more effectively. Useful for stabbing things.
*'''Swordsman''' - allows characters to use blowguns and bows in melee, long swords, scimitars, short swords, and two-handed swords more effectively. Useful for cutting, stabbing, and whacking, but less effective than more dedicated weapons.

=== 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 even novice skill in this means that the adventurer will start with a shield. This is a no-brainer unless you're creating a two handed weapon user.
*'''Armor User''': A higher level of this skill reduces the encumbrance penalties of armour, allowing you to move faster when wearing it. It also affects how well armour protects you and this makes a huge difference. Unskilled armour users gain little protection. This is noticeable as you'll begin seeing far more combat reports about hits either striking you though armour, (you managed to use your armour to lessen the force of the blow) or being deflected by your armour (you used your amour to avoid the hit entirety) as your skill rises and you learn to actually use your armour to deflect hits. It is highly advised to train your armour skill before entering battle with it as the speed penalties of lower levels can be a serious handicap.
*'''Dodger''' - Ability to dodge out of the way of attacks. Dodger is incredibly important and will allow you to avoid many, many hits that would have otherwise injured you. Especially important when you are fighting unarmoured and can't afford a battle axe in the chest. Boost this to talented or at least close to it.

=== 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. Higher skill means all of these moves succeed more often. See [[#Wrestling and Unarmed Attacks]] for details. Can be raised very easily in game.
*'''Striker''' - Punching ability. Turns handy when weapons get stuck and there is no time to wrest them back.
*'''Kicker''' - Kicking ability. Same as Striker. Kicks are slower but more deadly than punches; heavy kicks are particularly good at crushing and exploding heads.
*'''Biter''' - Biting ability. Biting is surprisingly effective even with non animal races as after biting you can shake opponents around by your teeth, causing great damage and possibly ripping off body parts, although with sapient races this tends to lean more towards fingers or toes, perhaps the occasional hand or foot.
*'''Thrower''' - Throwing any miscellaneous object including rocks, knives, axes, swords, heads, etc. Skill affects accuracy and damage caused.
*'''Misc. Object User''' - Ability to beat things to death with anything that comes at hand, from bags to coins to their own severed body parts. Also somewhat more commonly used for shield bashing. This skill affects combat with any object, from a rock to a beehive. There are no separate skills for different items. Items actually intended to be weapons, like swords or axes, are unaffected by this skill.

=== Movement and Awareness ===

*'''[[Observer]]''' - Helps one to notice things like ambushes, enemies who are "sneaking" (stealth movement), and traps. Detection range increases with skill, but up to a maximum of 3 tiles away. 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, or possibly after an unfriendly encounter with a creature in 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. Enemies will have "sight ranges" from where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The red zone of sight is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; the yellow is where they might see you. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.
*'''[[Climber]]''' - The skill of climbing up walls, into trees, and around the edges of gorges. Higher levels reduce the chance of falling and increase the speed of a climbing character.
*'''[[Tracker]]''' - The skill of tracking your quarry, whether it be animals or goblins. Higher levels will let you spot more tracks and help you distinguish different tracks.

=== 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. Adding more points is a waste, as novice allows you to read anything.
*'''[[Butcher]]''' - The art of turning corpses into piles of delicious prepared brains and meat for food. You cannot allocate points here during character creation, but that's OK since skill doesn't really affect anything anyway.

= Gameplay =

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

== Moving Around ==

=== Local Movement ===
[[File:Advmode_normaltravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|An image of normal travel mode. A list of the closest (but not necessarily close) sites is in the top-left corner. On the right side are minimaps of the next two levels down, relative to the player. Along the bottom is information about the player.]]
{| 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 10 instants
|-
| {{k|,}}
| Wait for 1 instant
|-
| {{k|s}}
| Stand or lie down
|-
| {{k|S}}
| Open Movement Speed/Sneak Menu
|}

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.

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.

If you hit {{k|j}}, you can jump. This is mostly useful for crossing gorges and crevices, where you have to get to the other side. Occasionally, you can manage to jump onto an opponent and tackle them, which typically causes them to go flying a short distance.

Hitting {{k|.}} allows you to stay in one place and wait for other things to move. {{k|,}} does the same but with a tenth of the time it takes for {{k|.}}.

Use {{k|s}} to sit/lie 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. Enemies will have sight cones indicating where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The central zone of sight (red, violet, or cyan) is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; their peripheral vision (yellow) is where they might see you. Violet and cyan central zones indicate the enemy is on a different level than yours, while red means they are on the same level. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.

If you {{k|h}}old onto a wall or tree, you can climb the wall or tree by using the movement keys. In towns and tamer parts of the countryside, this isn't particularly useful. However, in a combat situation, climbing a tree or wall can give you a height advantage, possibly allowing you to dive-tackle your opponents. Sometimes, mountains will be too steep to walk up the edge, or you will find a deep drop into a ravine. In these cases, you will have to climb up to reach the top, or perhaps jump or climb down one face, then climb up the other.

=== Fast Travel ===
[[File:Advmode_fasttravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|Fast Travel screen. The player is in a hamlet, between the houses to the right and the mead hall in the top-left area of the map. The asterisk represents a group of creatures (in this case unfriendly goblins). The world map (in sepia) is on the far right.]]
{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|T}}
| Fast Travel
|-
| {{k|d}}
| Exit fast travel mode
|-
| {{k|K}}
| Display detected tracks and odors
|-
| {{k|c}}
| Toggle display of clouds on region map
|-
| {{k|s}}
| Walk around in sneak mode. Exiting fast travel starts you in sneak mode.
|-
| {{k|m}}
| Cycle through maps and significant structures
|-
| {{k|Q}}
| View Quest Log
|-
| {{k|Z}}
| Bring up sleep menu
|-
| {{k|h}}
| Hide parts of the bottom bar
|-
| {{k|>}} and {{k|<}}
| Enter/exit tunnel
|-
|}

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.

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.

If you are not near any sites, the {{k|m}} key will toggle a world map, colored in sepia tone (matching the map you see in the quest log). If you are near a site, then {{k|m}} cycles between a list of significant structures where your player is, a regional map (matching what you travel on when away from any site), and the aforementioned world map.

The {{k|c}} key will only show clouds on the region map (the one you travel on outside of sites). Some clouds will be visible regardless of the state of this option.

The {{k|h}} key will cycle through various amounts of the bottom bar of content hidden. The effects of each press are:

* 1 press: hide key reference. Allows you to see status effects on your character if obscured by the key list.
* 2 presses: hide most local name, reducing the bar to one line of text.
* 3 presses: hide less local name, eliminating the bar entirely.
* 4 presses: shows all information

== 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.)
|-
| {{k|q}}
| Sheath your weapons and shield. (Frees your hands for tasks such as climbing or grabbing)
|}

=== Inventory ===

Press {{k|i}} to display a list of what you are currently carrying. Press {{k|-}} {{k|+}} {{k|*}} {{k|/}} to scroll the list. This list will show you if items are being worn, held in hands, stuck on 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|+}} {{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. You also must put on equipment in an order that makes sense,. for example a shirt first ''then'' the armor, not the other way around. Armour must also be put on in a sensible manner with flexible layers such as chainmail first then rigid plate armour second. After all, who, in real life, would wear chainmail over a hard plate?

''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, for example a copper mail shirt and a copper breastplate. The thin, flexible chain can be worn under the breastplate, but not the other way around.

=== 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.

While normally one would only be able to equip one item in each hand, removing items from your inventory results in them being wielded regardless of whether one's hands are full. This is especially useful with shields, as every shield will contribute a block chance to each incoming attack.

It should be noted that Dwarf Fortress does not enforce one particular hand as dominant for everyone, so do not be surprised if your character holds the weapon and [[Armor#Shields and Bucklers|shield]] in hands you yourself would not hold them in.

=== 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 which will appear in your inventory when they become stuck in you. Removing stuck arrows can cause bleeding so it is not always a good idea mid combat, but stuck objects will slow you down as you are encumbered by their weight. It s best to remove them as soon as possible when it is safe and you are not in danger of bleeding to death.

Advanced interaction can also be used to steal enemy equipment. Use [[wrestling]] to grab hold of a piece of enemy equipment, such as their weapon, or a helmet protecting their squishy brain and it will appear in the advanced interaction menu. Simply grab the item with a free hand and pull away. If successful, you will now be holding that item in your hands.

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).

Advanced interactions 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. You can refill waterskins from a nearby liquid source as well

===Sheathing===
The {{k|q}} key lets you strap your weapons to your back.

This is useful because you can't climb or wrestle with your hands unless your hands are free.

People will also be less likely to scared of you on first sight if you don't appear to be ready to attack.

== Time and Weather ==

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

The game has a day/night cycle with time passing as various actions take place.

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.

In local travel mode you'll have to use the {{k|W}} command to learn the position of the sun, when you're in a place where the sun is visible.

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. The most common weather you'll experience is rain. Rain is shown as blue moving dots on the local travel screen and will unsurprisingly cause everything outside to become wet. Temperature is important because if it happens to drop below freezing while you're swimming through water, you'll instantly die from being encased in the ice.

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.

Freezing weather can also freeze liquids in your inventory solid, making them undrinkable. If your water freezes and you are thirsty, make a campfire and {{k|I}}nteract with your waterskin to heat it over the fire and melt the ice.

== Sleep ==

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

Eventually your character will become {{DFtext|Drowsy|1:0}} 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. (If you'd rather not deal with bogeymen, you can disable them by generating a world using [[advanced world generation]] 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 bet 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 amount of 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 else 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 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 (you may also be able to jump over the fires). 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
|}

To find water, you must find a river, stream, or well in a town and fill your waterskin from it, or drink from it directly. Water that may be covering you or your items will not be able to satisfy your thirst.

Note that drinking vampire blood will turn you into a vampire instantly.

Make sure to eat or drink regularly even if you're not hungry or thirsty, as you can only eat or drink thrice at a time: after that you'll need to rest, or wait until you can consume another meal. If you find yourself in need of both food and hydration, make sure to take care of the most urgent problem first, as if you are moderately hungry but severely dehydrated and eat three times, you may die before you have another chance to drink.

If the temperature is low enough you might have trouble finding liquid water. Snow and ice can be heated into water by first making a campfire with {{k|g}} and then performing an advanced interaction with {{k|I}} on the ice or snow in your inventory to heat it. Advanced interactions with your waterskin can also be used to gather water from water sources, or snow from the ground.

== 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|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 have a chance of freeing up any stuck weapon, though you are more likely to accomplish this by moving away from the enemy, or complexly interacting with the weapon.

Any creature can be attacked by standing next to it and pressing {{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}}.

After selecting (and maybe confirming) which creature you want to attack, {{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. 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.

There are several options below the hitting menu. Quick attacks are faster than regular attacks but weaker. Heavy attacks are slower but attack harder. Wild attacks are faster and hit harder but are inaccurate. Precise attacks are very slow but are much more likely to hit. Multi-attacks allow you to attack several times in a row at a great cost to the effectiveness of any one of the chosen attacks.

=== Ranged Attacks ===

To attack with a ranged weapon press the {{k|f}} key with a ranged weapon (bow, crossbow, etc.) equipped on one hand and select the square where you want to attack. Note that you need to have some sort of ammo, corresponding to the type of ranged weapon you are using (for example, bows use arrows, crossbows use bolts). Otherwise, a message stating "You have nothing left to fire." is displayed in brown. 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 effect 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 in to 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 selecting an enemy via {{k|A}} followed by {{k|b}} to wrestle. 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 fast 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, but if you continually auto-attack a harmless creature with it your wrestling-skill will be legendary in no time.

*'''{{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, or areas with large pits, you might want to switch to the other option.
**'''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 safely 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 misplaced charge or dodge could end up killing you.

== Talking ==
[[File:Advmode_conversation_DF2014.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.

To begin a conversation, press {{k|k}}. Unless someone else has already started a conversation with you (see below is someone has), you will get a cyan X that can be positioned over people you want to talk to with the normal directional keys. Use {{k|-}} and {{k|+}} to select who you want to talk to. Aside from individuals, you can also {{DFtext|Shout out to everybody}}, which will have you talking with everyone in earshot, or you can talk to your deity.

Whenever you want to advance the conversation, you have to press {{k|k}} again and choose the ongoing conversation you wish to continue. You will also see ongoing conversations from people who have started a conversation with you. If you want to talk to someone else during this time, simply {{DFtext|Start a new conversation}}.

* {{DFtext|Greet listener}} — Has you offering a greeting to someone, when you're initiating the conversation.
* {{DFtext|Bypass greeting (new menu)}} — Skips the greeting, taking you straight to the normal conversation menus.
* {{DFtext|Reply to greeting}} — If you aren't the one who started the conversation, this option will let you reply to someone's greeting. They will then talk about some trouble.
* {{DFtext|Refuse conversation}} — Causes you to explicitly refuse to talk to someone who started a conversation with you. Unknown if this has a different effect from simply not doing anything.{{Verify}}
* {{DFtext|Reply to greeting (impersonation)}} — Like {{DFtext|Reply to greeting}}, except you're impersonating a deity.
* {{DFtext|Nevermind}} — This has you back out of having a conversation.

When you start talking to someone, you are presented with a wide array of things to talk about. (If the person you are talking to started the conversation and told you about some trouble, you'll first get a menu related to that trouble. Just press {{k|-}}-{{k|Enter}} to {{DFtext|Change the subject (new menu)}} and get to this first menu.) Your choices are as follows:

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
| style="text-align:right;width:30%;" | {{DFtext|Return to current topic (new menu)}}
| You'll see this option only if you chose to change the subject in another menu. This will, predictably, take you back to that subject.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Bring up specific incident or rumor (new menu)}}
| Allows you to spread rumors or summarize conflicts you've been a part of. The next step of the conversation will bring up a menu of choices that allow you to ask for directions to places or state your opinion on the incident/rumor.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask to become a hearthperson}}
| Only appears when talking to a leader who you aren't under the command of. Allows to become one the leader's guards.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Request duty or advice pertaining to service as a hearthperson}}
| Only appears when talking to a leader who are under the command of. You will receive some task to accomplish for the group, if there is anything that needs doing.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Bring up the journey together}}
| Only appears when talking to a companion. The next step of the conversation will allow you to cancel the agreement you made with that person, if you so choose.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Inquire about any troubles}}
| Asks the listener what things in the world are bothering them and their people.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask for directions (new menu)}}
| Allows you to ask for the location of a specific creature or site. People aren't guaranteed to know, and may instead direct you to someone who does.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about the local ruler}}
| As you might imagine, this gets you some information on who controls this particular area.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Trade}}
| Allows you to trade with a merchant. Note that you have to be right next to them for this to work.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Exchange, give, or take personal items}}
| Like {{DFtext|Trade}}, only that it works with non-merchants.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask favor, place request, make demand or issue order (new menu)}}
| Takes to a menu of various request you can make, including asking the listener to yield, stay put, or pay homage to your group. The options available depends on who you're talking to.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask listener to join you (new menu)}}
| This is how you get companions. You can either ask them to join you on an adventure, or to lead you to some location.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Claim this site for yourself (group naming menu)}}
| This option allows you to stake a claim on the site you are in.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask for permission to stay a day}}
| Allows you to sleep in the listener's building for the night.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about the structure you are in}}
| Tells you about whatever structure you are standing in, if you are standing in one.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about this site's neighbors and trade partners}}
| Lets you learn what sites this site is neighboring and/or trading with.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about the surrounding area}}
| Choosing this will tell you about some location nearby, and why it's significant.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Comment on weather}}
| Small talk about the weather. Really.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Comment on natural surroundings}}
| Same as the weather, only about the nature around you.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Accuse listener of being a night creature}}
| If chosen against a night creature, such as a vampire, it will expose them. Normal individuals will just think you're losing it.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Inquire about listener's profession}}
| Learn what it is the listener does. Useful for lords and ladies and anyone else whose profession isn't listed next to them.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about listener's family}}
| Discover what family the listener has, expectedly.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Brag about your past violent acts}}
| Causes you to brag about whatever last violent act you did. Doesn't seem to have an affect, or at least severely less impactful than summarizing the conflict.{{Verify}}
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Say goodbye}}
| Ends the conversation.
|}

Note that you can press {{k|Esc}} to not choose anything. The conversation is still ongoing, you have to explicitly say goodbye to end it. Pressing {{k|Esc}} is useful if you need to double-check something before talking.

== 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 you 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.

You can give or take equipment with a companion by choosing to talk to them and selecting {{DFtext|Exchange, give or take personal items}}. In addition to this screen, you can loot your companions' corpses when they die. (An evil but arguably inefficient 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 die (if you asked them to join you on an adventure) or get you to the proper location (if you asked them to guide you some place). If you want to get rid of your companions at any time, the safe way is to talk to each one of them, ask them about their journey with you, and then cancel the agreement.

If your companions are too far away from you when you enter fast travel, they will become an asterisk on the map where you started fast travel from. This asterisk may try to join up with you during travel. If you keep losing your companions while traveling through rivers, try going to a spot where the river becomes a "minor river" (shown by a single dark blue line). Brooks are obviously also safe to cross.

== Personal Finance ==

=== Trading (barter) ===

In human towns (not hamlets or castles), you can find shops. Once you're inside of a [[shop]] and right next to any of the NPCs, you can use {{K|k}} to {{DFtext|Trade}} with them. 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. You can also either {{k|a}}sk for or {{k|o}}ffer currency as part of the process. 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 trading, you will find the stuff you gave on the floor at your feet, and the stuff you got in your inventory.

Currently only human towns have shops.

=== 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 (indicated by dollar signs on either side of the item in your inventory), 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 some cases, the shop will be abandoned. This will be made clear by the presence of unbought items and the lack of any merchants in the area. You will not be considered a thief by the relevant entity for taking stuff from an abandoned shop.

If the item name is not surrounded by dollar signs, it is never considered stealing, even in situations where it would be in real life.

=== 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 as well as sell all of your loot directly for gold coins. Remember, merchants will always try to pay you in higher denomination currency first but will resort to lower value coins if they run out of anything higher. First, check the merchant's chest to see how much of each type of coins they have.

Coin values are as follows:
* Copper Coin = 1☼
* Silver Coin = 5☼
* Gold Coin = 15☼

To receive the maximum amount of gold coins from that merchant, make sure the amount "they owe you" during the trade is equal to (total amount of gold coins the shop has)*15☼ . If you are selling loot, simply make sure you only trade this worth of goods, and move on to other merchants for the rest. If you wish to exchange copper and silver coins for gold, buy random goods from the merchant until their price is around this value and then sell back all of the goods for their original value but in gold.

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 a creature, butcher their corpse (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 houses and 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 is of course an [[exploit]], liable to be fixed at any time. It may be useful in a pinch, but don't rely on it.

Another devious method is to go outside the shop, {{k|g}}rab handfuls of mud and throw it into your backpack, then sell them for 1☼ each. The merchants will gladly buy your rare and valuable mud despite the unlimited free mud just outside their shop.

== Quest Log ==

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|Q}}
| Open quest log
|-
| {{k|Esc}}
| Exit quest log
|-
| {{k|e}} {{k|p}} {{k|s}} {{k|r}} {{k|b}}
| Access various lists
|-
| {{k|m}}
| Switch between the world map and additional info
|-
| {{k|z}}
| Center cursor on location of selected list item, if known
|-
| {{k|c}}
| Center cursor on your location
|-
| {{k|l}}
| Toggle the visibility of the line between you and some other point on the map.
|-
| {{k|f}}
| Filter the list
|-
| {{k|+}} {{k|-}} {{k|*}} {{k|/}}
| Navigate the list
|}

The quest log contains everything you know about the world, such as various events going on, people you know, and various sites. The {{k|m}} key will alternate between a world map that you can navigate, and information on whatever item is highlighted in the list to the right.

There are various kinds of lists you can check on the quest log:

* '''Events''' — A list of events that are happening or have happened. Formatting of the list is {{DFtext|(type)/(description)}}. You can center on the location of the event if you know this. This list is the closest you'll get to some formal quest system.
* '''People''' — A list of people you know. At the start of the game, this list will contain people in your site.
* '''Sites''' — A list of various sites around the world.
* '''Groups''' — A list of groups you know of and your relation to them. Note that you have to press {{k|e}} when you're on the events list in order to reach this list, requiring you to press {{k|e}} at most twice.
* '''Regions''' — A list of regions. The additional information will list the biomes a region possesses.
* '''Bestiary''' — A list of creatures, their characteristics, and where you could find them.

==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}}.

* '''[[Knapper|Knapping]]''' allows an adventurer to sharpen a rock. Knapping only works on stones on the ground or in your hands. Choose the {{k|c}}reate option and then select "Make sharp stone". You will be prompted to choose a rock to sharpen ("tool stone"), and then the rock that is to be 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 on the ground or in your 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, select the {{k|b}}utcher option, and then you can select the corpse and the sharp tool to butcher with. The corpse will be replaced by its butchering returns.

* '''Spitting''' gives you spit, which can be aimed at someone in much the same way as any projectile. To get this, choose natural ability and then spit in the reactions menu.

You may also gain acquired abilities when you become a creature of the night, such as a necromancer.

= Sites =

More information on each type of site can be found in the site's specific article.

== Civilization ==

[[Civilization]]s are organized groups of creatures (generally of the same race) which build sites such as towns.

=== Human Sites ===

==== Towns {{Raw Tile|+|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|*|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|#|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|☼|7:0:0}} ====
Humans live in towns comprised of buildings and often a paved road. Human towns are highly modular, and are usually near some source of water, either the coast or a river.

Towns appear on the fast travel map (when outside a site) as {{Tile|■|7:0:1}} or {{Tile|■|6:0:1}} symbols which are small collections of buildings. When you are near a human site, large yellow blocks indicate where various houses and shops are found (though not all houses and shops can be found in these blocks; sometimes you'll find a house or two out in a site's fields). You usually have to follow the roads in a yellow block on the fast travel map.

Towns usually have lots of interesting structures which are described fully in the [[town]] article.

==== Hamlets {{Raw Tile|æ|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|Æ|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|{{=}}|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|≡|7:0:0}} ====
Most of the time, the majority of a human civilization's population will live in small [[hamlet]]s, which tend to be sprawled out along coastlines and through river valleys. Like other sites, they can be invaded, and you'll sometimes find them captured by other civilizations, [[necromancer]]s, or criminal syndicates. Human adventurers usually spawn in hamlets.

Note that hamlets are similar in structure to towns, only they have mead halls instead of keeps, and don't have any defensive walls.

=== Dwarven Sites ===

==== Dwarf Fortresses {{Raw Tile|Ω|7:0:1}} ====
These are the randomly generated equivalent of the sites you build in [[dwarf fortress mode]]. [[Fortress]]es are described in detail in the own article. Their main function for adventurers is that they have a central, spiraling ramp that connects the underground and above-ground worlds, particularly in that they connect the subterranean mountain halls to the rest of the dwarf civilization. They are located at the edges of mountain ranges.

Player-made fortresses are considered dwarf fortresses by the game, in addition to the randomly-generated ones.{{Verify}}

==== Mountain Halls {{Raw Tile|Ω|0:0:1}} ====
These are the "deep sites" of the dwarves, located far beneath the mountains. Not much is known about [[Mountain Halls|mountain halls]] yet. They can be entered by descending the central ramp of the major dwarf fortresses, and are usually over a hundred z-levels deep.

==== Hillocks {{Raw Tile|Ω|7:0:0}} ====
[[Hillock]]s are the dwarf equivalent to human hamlets. They consist of a few holes in the ground filled with dwarf citizens. There doesn't seem to be any settlement pattern for them; they are equally likely to be found in any land [[biome]].

=== Elven Sites ===

==== Forest Retreats {{Raw Tile|î|6:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|¶|6:0:1}} ====
Elves live in [[forest retreat]]s located, unsurprisingly, in [[forest]] biomes. They are essentially clusters of huge [[tree]]s with elves standing in and around them.

=== Goblin Sites ===

==== Dark Fortresses {{Raw Tile|π|0:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|π|5:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|π|5:0:1}} ====
These are the main goblin sites. Some [[dark fortress]]es may contain a [[Underground Spire|certain spoiler]].

==== Dark Pits {{Raw Tile|º|5:0:0}}====
These are the goblin equivalent of hamlets and hillocks. [[Dark Pit]]s are essentially canyons lined with wooden guard towers. They tend to be built in huge clusters around the dark fortresses, such that large chunks of the map may be covered with them.

= FAQ =

== 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. If you ever get lost, you can quickly get back to the surface by traveling under a village and retiring there. When you unretire, you'll be aboveground.

== I keep getting maimed and killed! How can I fight without getting seriously hurt? ==
The best defense is a good offense. 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. If your enemy is one space away from you, use that as an opportunity to throw a knife or a rock at them; worst case, they will get a bruise or a cut; best case, they will start the melee severely crippled. If you're fast enough, then you can simply step back after getting in that first hit, and they'll have to spend their turn approaching you again. Lather, rinse, repeat.
* Follow the advice under [[#Combat Preferences|Combat Preferences]].

== How can I obtain armor as quickly as possible? ==
* Here's the evil way. In some cases, this will lead to several people being angry at you, spitting on you, and hating you, but other times the weaklings nearby will just start crying in the fetal position in the corner, which can actually speed up the process by giving you easy pickings for more armor.
** It's relatively easy to obtain some armor by killing a sleeping soldier in a fort and taking his stuff. Alternatively, you can recruit the soldier, and get them killed by natural means, such as drowning.
** 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 a store and sell your loot. Unless you've killed enough people to get a national reputation or have killed somebody the shopkeeper knows, they generally won't care.
* Loot friendly fortress keeps and the dungeons of towns. All equipment and items held within containers in fortresses and keeps are free for the taking, and will not result in being branded as a thief. Be wary of the dungeons, however; you're not the only one attracted to shiny things.
* 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 (murder) and will cause you much less trouble. Even better: if you have Novice or better in Swimmer, you can take a dip in a lake or river (or any other body of water) and they will follow suit; drowning in the process, if they have Dabbling or lower in Swimmer.

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

== How do I increase my skills and attributes? (Power-leveling) ==

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_by_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 repeatedly. You can wrestle using {{k|A}} followed by {{k|b}}. Continually grabbing and releasing a creature is sufficient to raise your skill, and you can do it indefinitely with the same animal as it won't be injured (unless you auto-wrestle it). Wrestling will increase Kinesthetic Sense, Spatial Sense, and to a lesser extent, Endurance. You may also somewhat increase Dodging and Shield User this way as the creature takes swipes at you.It's possible to change your {{k|C}}ombat preferences for attacking and dodging to ''Close Combat'' and ''Stand Ground'', respectively, allowing you to simply walk into the helpless critter to wrestle it. (Standing your ground prevents you from moving to dodge attacks, so your wrestling can continue almost uninterrupted.) You will, however, perform occasional throws and take-downs as long as the creature remains standing, which may result in their eventual bleeding to death. Strangulation is also a repeated concern, as it will render the victim unconscious, thus making you have to wait until it regains consciousness before you can continue auto-wrestling it (though you may still raise your Wrestler and Fighter skills by 10 points for every time you ''release'' a limb - though this must be done manually and must be repeatedly confirmed, once the creature is rendered unconscious). Another concern with auto-wrestling some animals is that you will perform joint locks, and break hips, knees, and ankles in the process, which can cause the creature to bleed to death. If you can wrangle a creature incapable of blood-loss and strangulation in a high-FPS area (such as a crab on a frozen beach), you can easily raise all associated skills and attributes to Legendary and Superhuman in the course of a few minutes.
*'''Shield User, Armor User, and Dodging''' - In addition to wrestling the creature, you can also sit back 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 when it hits. Also, to place emphasis more heavily on shield blocking, you can change your attack {{K|C}}ombat preference to ''Stand Ground''. The wrestling-a-crab-on-a-frozen-beach method also works fantastically for this.
*'''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.
*'''Throwing and Archery''' - Throwing rocks with {{k|t}} will raise your Throwing and Archery skills. Throwing objects at creatures, while not as completely devastating as it once was, can still come in handy. (In early 31.xx, somebody killed a bronze colossus by throwing a fluffy wambler at its head. We can only hope the wambler survived.) Although throwing is a way to raise Archery without wasting ammunition, there is a non-wasteful method that additionally increases bow/crossbow skills.The most efficient way to level via throwing is to forgo using a macro and separate training into two phases: {{k|g}}etting and {{k|t}}hrowing. First, find a tile with an indefinite amount of throwable objects (e.g., snow, rocks, mud, etc.). Then, sequentially mash {{k|g}} and whatever key the rocks are assigned to until both your forearms explode. Rest. Then, sequentially mash {{k|t}}, followed by some consistent key assigned to your rocks, then {{k|enter}}, until you've emptied your inventory. Rest. Rinse and repeat. (You may wish to empty your inventory beforehand such that the rocks are assigned to a key close to {{k|t}}, allowing you to keep one hand on {{k|enter}} and another on {{k|t}}.)
*'''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 directly beneath it. If bolts or arrows hit a wall that has floor/ground on the same z-level, then the ammunition will be destroyed. ''However'', ammunition that falls at least one z-level after hitting a wall will remain intact. So, simply find something like a hill inside a castle, stand on it, then shoot at a wall which is on the same z-level you are. The arrows will hit the wall and fall one z-level to the ground, remaining intact. You can then {{k|g}}et the arrows and {{k|f}}ire them at the wall again from the hill, ad infinitum. You can also stand next to a wall that's two or more z-levels high, aiming at the wall one z-level up by hitting {{k|<}} after hitting {{k|f}}. Whatever method you employ, the key is that the arrow needs to fall at least one z-level after hitting a wall to remain intact. Using a macro will speed this up greatly.
*'''Ambushing and Swimming''' - An efficient way to raise Ambushing is to sneak over large stretches of land, possibly in preference to fast {{k|T}}raveling. Ideally, this would be done in a biome containing sparse vegetation and few threatening creatures to blunder into and reduce FPS (e.g., a frozen beach).Although less efficient for raising only Ambushing, it's also possible to sneak and swim at the same time, thus combining their training. ''Just make sure you start with at least Novice in swimming'', or you'll find swimming practically impossible to train. Swimming can very quickly improve your Strength, Agility, and Endurance. Additionally, if you can safely drown and then recover (e.g., by moving under a bridge and then back before suffocating), this will raise both Toughness and Endurance at a ''ridiculous'' pace-- a single step spent drowning will raise both attributes by a fifth of a point apiece.
*'''Observer''' - You can't really power-level 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. However, one way to train it appears to be sleeping or walking around in the wilderness, allowing yourself to be repeatedly ambushed. This is, however, inherently dangerous. Running away from these encounters would probably be faster than slaying your assailants, if not generally safer for your character (but not for your companions, hoh boy).Successfully detecting traps found in tombs and catacombs (performed automatically) will also raise Observer. However, without decent skill to begin with, you'll be torn to pieces by the many traps you'll fail to see. Otherwise, once you've found one or more traps, it's possible to grind experience by sleeping/waiting an hour, thus resetting the traps. Rinse and repeat.
*'''Spatial and Kinesthetic Sense''' - While sharpening rocks with {{k|x}} will improve your Knapping skill, it more importantly increases your Spatial Sense and Kinesthetic Sense attributes, which affect a number of other skills. Knapping can be combined with throwing via 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? ==

'Tis but a scratch!

Unfortunately, there is only one way to get them back, and that is by being bitten by a [[werebeast]] and surviving until the next full moon. 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.

== What creatures of night can I become? ==

You basically have four different choices.

Firstly, you can become a [[necromancer]].
* That gives you some traits of an undead. Namely, you don't need to eat, sleep or drink, don't tire or age, zombies or mummies don't attack you and your physical stats are permanently fixed.
* The last one means it's wise to train them beforehand.
* You also can raise dead from the {{K|x}} menu. Depending on the flavor of your spell, zombies can be slow, very slow or not slow at all. They will be listed as companions.
* To become a necromancer, find a necromancer tower and obtain a book or slab containing secrets of life and death from there, then read it. Note that most of the books are useless. In younger worlds necromancers may not have built their towers yet, in which case they'll be hanging at a zombie bandit camp, slab under the arm.

Secondly, you can become a [[vampire]].
* That gives you most traits of an undead. In addition to the listed above, you don't feel pain, don't breathe and immune to most syndromes.
* Your strength, agility and toughness are doubled.
* They're still fixed forever, so, again, be prepared.
* Despite not needing to drink water, you have a hunger for warm blood. To satisfy it, beat someone or something unconscious and {{K|e}}at their blood. However, if you become a necromancer after {{verify}} becoming a vampire, you will not need to drink blood.
* To become a vampire, defeat one in combat and drink his blood.

Thirdly, you can become a [[werebeast]].
* This gives you the (uncontrolled) ability to transform into a powerful half-man, half-beast on a full moon.
* There's a fixed list of animals on which the werebeast is based, including goat, llama, lizard, horse, monitor, buffalo, moose, tortoise, camel, kangaroo, ape, gecko, bear, hyena, warthog, iguana, skink, shrew, elk, skunk, pig, raccoon, panda, mole, badger, armadillo, mammoth and more.
* Most importantly, upon transformation (both ways) all your wounds, including missing limbs, are instantly healed.
* You don't show any abnormalcy outside of beast form. You are still mortal.
* When in beast form, everything is hostile to you, you don't need to drink, eat, sleep or breathe, don't feel pain, don't tire and are immune to some syndromes.
* One randomly chosen metal is ten times as deadly to you than usual. All other materials deal you half damage.
* Werebeast's size is several times their base animal size, but no less than 80000. This means all armor will be too small for you while in beast form. But you can still use a shield.
* Also, some werebeasts are truly gigantic — weremammoth has a size of 9000000, on par with demons.
* To become a werebeast, make one bite you. It has to be in the beast form.
* You cannot be a werebeast and a vampire at the same time.

And finally, you can become a mist [[zombie]].
* This makes you undead. In addition to vampire traits, you can see without eyes and can't die via blood loss or beheading. Note that you don't have health point limit raised zombies have.
* You become permanently hostile to everyone except other undead.
* Your strength and toughness are tripled and fixed. Train beforehand.
* Depending on the flavor of zombie virus, your speed may or may not drop to 20% or 60% of its normal value.
* To become a mist zombie, find a mist/fog cloud that zombifies creatures and delve headdeep into it.
* You cannot become a vampire or a werebeast if you are already a zombie. The other way, however, is fine.

=See Also=
*[[Main:Adventure Mode quick reference|Adventure Mode Quick Reference]]
*[[Main:Adventure mode quick start|Adventure Mode Quickstart Guide]]

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

Adventurer mode

2014-07-17T21:21:29Z

Lue: /* Gameplay */ Update rest of this section.

{{Migrated_article}}
{{Quality|Masterwork|00:47, 29 September 2013 (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). Humans inhabit cities, towns, and the occasional above-ground fortress. Elves inhabit forest retreats. Dwarves are spread between "deep sites" which sometimes do not contain a direct connection to the surface, and "hill dwarves" which inhabit a loose collection of mounds built into hillsides. Human cities and towns are currently the only sites with shops and other places to officially buy goods.

If you have previously built a fort in the world that you select, your adventurer will be able to go visit it. If you have selected to "retire" the fortress rather than abandon it, you will likely be able to encounter all of the inhabitants from fortress mode. However, they will likely not have the same level of activity as they would in a bustling fortress-mode fort.

=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.

*'''Humans''' Always originate from one of the villages in the world. 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''' Human Outsiders are humans that aren't from that world or any of its villages. They simply appear in the wilderness, a stranger to all. You may always play as an outsider, even if the world is otherwise completely uninhabited. 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. This gives them many combat bonuses, which aids their survival greatly. 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 armour found in shops. Goblin armor fits them, making Dark Fortresses (if your computer can handle them) and bandits a viable source of armor; if you're up for it, you could also just rob some dwarves. They can start with almost all of the same weapon skills as civilized humans. Many larger 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. Elves also have the AT_PEACE_WITH_NATURE tag. This makes all wildlife passive towards them. Like dwarves they wear small sized clothing and will have the same problem finding suitable armour.

*'''Kobolds''' can be played only if there are no other civilizations and there are kobolds. They are very small and weak in combat and a huge challenge compared to the other races. They wear even smaller armour than the other races and armour will be impossible to find for them, unless you are absurdly lucky and run into armoured kobolds.

If no civilization for the given race exists in a world you can only play as an outsider.

== 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 you inflict in melee regardless of weapon used. Increases muscle size. This increased muscular layer helps prevent damage, although this is a pretty minor effect. 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. Agility is really, really important as being faster than the enemies allows you to get more hits in before they can fight back and lets you run away more easily.
*'''Toughness''': Reduces physical damage inflicted on you. Also relates to defensive combat skills.
*'''Endurance''': Reduces the rate at which the adventurer becomes exhausted. Becoming exhausted causes you to collapse, helpless and immobile and can cause you to pass out.
*'''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''': Seems to have some effect on vampirism infectivity; may have to do with infected wounds.

=== Soul ===

Some of these are useful for adventure-mode-applicable skills, but some are totally useless except as dump stats.

*'''Analytical Ability''': Useful only for Knapping; should be reduced to minimum.{{Verify}}

*'''Focus''': Affects Archer, Ambusher, Observer.

*'''Willpower''': Affects Fighter, Crutch Walker and Swimmer. Willpower is really important as it governs how easily you'll pass out from extreme pain. Low willpower is a death sentence if you are seriously wounded, as you'll pass out and have your head caved in. Broken bones currently cause enough pain that even very high willpower usually won't keep you conscious. For non bone injuries however willpower can keep you going long enough to kill enemies, or at least get away from them.

*'''Creativity''': Useless at the moment.

*'''Intuition''': Only helps with Observer, which aids in spotting concealed enemies and ambushes. A useless skill since you rarely see these in adventure mode.

*'''Patience''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

*'''Memory''': Memory aids greatly in mapping out areas as the higher your memory the longer you'll remember an area. As you explore you'll forget previously explored areas, causing them to appear blank, as if you had never been there. If you have low enough memory you'll forget areas of large locations like underground catacombs while you're still in them, making finding your way very confusing, as things like the exit wont be visible anymore until you find it again. Best to have at least average memory.

*'''Linguistic Ability''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

*'''Spatial Sense''': Important. Affects combat skills, Ambusher, Crutch Walker, Swimmer, Observer, Knapping.

*'''Musicality''': Completely useless. Use this as a dump stat.

*'''Kinaesthetic Sense''': Affects most combat skills, walking with crutches and swimming.

*'''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. Your fame still plays a bit part in whenever you can recruit followers or not.

=== 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 at enemies that are just a step away or finishing off a foe pinned down by a stuck weapon.

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

Note that different races have different names for their weapon skills. Axegoblin, Axedwarf etc.

Crossbowman is an exception. Dwarves call this skill Marksdwarf, although bow skill is referred to as Bow Dwarf as you'd expect. Elite Axe and Hammer dwarves are referred to as Lords.

*'''Axeman''': allows characters to use axes, great axes, and halberds more effectively. Useful for cleaving off limbs.
*'''Bowman''': skill allows characters to use bows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.
*'''Crossbowman''': allows characters to use crossbows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.
*'''Hammerman''': allows characters to use crossbows in melee, mauls, and war hammers more effectively. Useful for breaking limbs.
*'''Knife User''' - allows characters to use large daggers and knives more effectively. Useful for stabbing things.
*'''Lasher''' - allows characters to use whips and scourges more effectively. Very deadly weapons.
*'''Maceman''' - allows characters to use flails, maces, and morningstars more effectively. Similar to hammers.
*'''Pikeman''' - allows characters to use pikes more effectively. Like spears, but much bigger.
*'''Spearman''' - allows characters to use spears more effectively. Useful for stabbing things.
*'''Swordsman''' - allows characters to use blowguns and bows in melee, long swords, scimitars, short swords, and two-handed swords more effectively. Useful for cutting, stabbing, and whacking, but less effective than more dedicated weapons.

=== 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 even novice skill in this means that the adventurer will start with a shield. This is a no-brainer unless you're creating a two handed weapon user.
*'''Armor User''': A higher level of this skill reduces the encumbrance penalties of armour, allowing you to move faster when wearing it. It also affects how well armour protects you and this makes a huge difference. Unskilled armour users gain little protection. This is noticeable as you'll begin seeing far more combat reports about hits either striking you though armour, (you managed to use your armour to lessen the force of the blow) or being deflected by your armour (you used your amour to avoid the hit entirety) as your skill rises and you learn to actually use your armour to deflect hits. It is highly advised to train your armour skill before entering battle with it as the speed penalties of lower levels can be a serious handicap.
*'''Dodger''' - Ability to dodge out of the way of attacks. Dodger is incredibly important and will allow you to avoid many, many hits that would have otherwise injured you. Especially important when you are fighting unarmoured and can't afford a battle axe in the chest. Boost this to talented or at least close to it.

=== 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. Higher skill means all of these moves succeed more often. See [[#Wrestling and Unarmed Attacks]] for details. Can be raised very easily in game.
*'''Striker''' - Punching ability. Turns handy when weapons get stuck and there is no time to wrest them back.
*'''Kicker''' - Kicking ability. Same as Striker. Kicks are slower but more deadly than punches; heavy kicks are particularly good at crushing and exploding heads.
*'''Biter''' - Biting ability. Biting is surprisingly effective even with non animal races as after biting you can shake opponents around by your teeth, causing great damage and possibly ripping off body parts, although with sapient races this tends to lean more towards fingers or toes, perhaps the occasional hand or foot.
*'''Thrower''' - Throwing any miscellaneous object including rocks, knives, axes, swords, heads, etc. Skill affects accuracy and damage caused.
*'''Misc. Object User''' - Ability to beat things to death with anything that comes at hand, from bags to coins to their own severed body parts. Also somewhat more commonly used for shield bashing. This skill affects combat with any object, from a rock to a beehive. There are no separate skills for different items. Items actually intended to be weapons, like swords or axes, are unaffected by this skill.

=== Movement and Awareness ===

*'''[[Observer]]''' - Helps one to notice things like ambushes, enemies who are "sneaking" (stealth movement), and traps. Detection range increases with skill, but up to a maximum of 3 tiles away. 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, or possibly after an unfriendly encounter with a creature in 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. Enemies will have "sight ranges" from where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The red zone of sight is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; the yellow is where they might see you. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.
*'''[[Climber]]''' - The skill of climbing up walls, into trees, and around the edges of gorges. Higher levels reduce the chance of falling and increase the speed of a climbing character.
*'''[[Tracker]]''' - The skill of tracking your quarry, whether it be animals or goblins. Higher levels will let you spot more tracks and help you distinguish different tracks.

=== 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. Adding more points is a waste, as novice allows you to read anything.
*'''[[Butcher]]''' - The art of turning corpses into piles of delicious prepared brains and meat for food. You cannot allocate points here during character creation, but that's OK since skill doesn't really affect anything anyway.

= Gameplay =

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

== Moving Around ==

=== Local Movement ===
[[File:Advmode_normaltravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|An image of normal travel mode. A list of the closest (but not necessarily close) sites is in the top-left corner. On the right side are minimaps of the next two levels down, relative to the player. Along the bottom is information about the player.]]
{| 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 10 instants
|-
| {{k|,}}
| Wait for 1 instant
|-
| {{k|s}}
| Stand or lie down
|-
| {{k|S}}
| Open Movement Speed/Sneak Menu
|}

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.

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.

If you hit {{k|j}}, you can jump. This is mostly useful for crossing gorges and crevices, where you have to get to the other side. Occasionally, you can manage to jump onto an opponent and tackle them, which typically causes them to go flying a short distance.

Hitting {{k|.}} allows you to stay in one place and wait for other things to move. {{k|,}} does the same but with a tenth of the time it takes for {{k|.}}.

Use {{k|s}} to sit/lie 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. Enemies will have sight cones indicating where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The central zone of sight (red, violet, or cyan) is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; their peripheral vision (yellow) is where they might see you. Violet and cyan central zones indicate the enemy is on a different level than yours, while red means they are on the same level. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.

If you {{k|h}}old onto a wall or tree, you can climb the wall or tree by using the movement keys. In towns and tamer parts of the countryside, this isn't particularly useful. However, in a combat situation, climbing a tree or wall can give you a height advantage, possibly allowing you to dive-tackle your opponents. Sometimes, mountains will be too steep to walk up the edge, or you will find a deep drop into a ravine. In these cases, you will have to climb up to reach the top, or perhaps jump or climb down one face, then climb up the other.

=== Fast Travel ===
[[File:Advmode_fasttravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|Fast Travel screen. The player is in a hamlet, between the houses to the right and the mead hall in the top-left area of the map. The asterisk represents a group of creatures (in this case unfriendly goblins). The world map (in sepia) is on the far right.]]
{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|T}}
| Fast Travel
|-
| {{k|d}}
| Exit fast travel mode
|-
| {{k|K}}
| Display detected tracks and odors
|-
| {{k|c}}
| Toggle display of clouds on region map
|-
| {{k|s}}
| Walk around in sneak mode. Exiting fast travel starts you in sneak mode.
|-
| {{k|m}}
| Cycle through maps and significant structures
|-
| {{k|Q}}
| View Quest Log
|-
| {{k|Z}}
| Bring up sleep menu
|-
| {{k|h}}
| Hide parts of the bottom bar
|-
| {{k|>}} and {{k|<}}
| Enter/exit tunnel
|-
|}

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.

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.

If you are not near any sites, the {{k|m}} key will toggle a world map, colored in sepia tone (matching the map you see in the quest log). If you are near a site, then {{k|m}} cycles between a list of significant structures where your player is, a regional map (matching what you travel on when away from any site), and the aforementioned world map.

The {{k|c}} key will only show clouds on the region map (the one you travel on outside of sites). Some clouds will be visible regardless of the state of this option.

The {{k|h}} key will cycle through various amounts of the bottom bar of content hidden. The effects of each press are:

* 1 press: hide key reference. Allows you to see status effects on your character if obscured by the key list.
* 2 presses: hide most local name, reducing the bar to one line of text.
* 3 presses: hide less local name, eliminating the bar entirely.
* 4 presses: shows all information

== 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.)
|-
| {{k|q}}
| Sheath your weapons and shield. (Frees your hands for tasks such as climbing or grabbing)
|}

=== Inventory ===

Press {{k|i}} to display a list of what you are currently carrying. Press {{k|-}} {{k|+}} {{k|*}} {{k|/}} to scroll the list. This list will show you if items are being worn, held in hands, stuck on 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|+}} {{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. You also must put on equipment in an order that makes sense,. for example a shirt first ''then'' the armor, not the other way around. Armour must also be put on in a sensible manner with flexible layers such as chainmail first then rigid plate armour second. After all, who, in real life, would wear chainmail over a hard plate?

''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, for example a copper mail shirt and a copper breastplate. The thin, flexible chain can be worn under the breastplate, but not the other way around.

=== 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.

While normally one would only be able to equip one item in each hand, removing items from your inventory results in them being wielded regardless of whether one's hands are full. This is especially useful with shields, as every shield will contribute a block chance to each incoming attack.

It should be noted that Dwarf Fortress does not enforce one particular hand as dominant for everyone, so do not be surprised if your character holds the weapon and [[Armor#Shields and Bucklers|shield]] in hands you yourself would not hold them in.

=== 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 which will appear in your inventory when they become stuck in you. Removing stuck arrows can cause bleeding so it is not always a good idea mid combat, but stuck objects will slow you down as you are encumbered by their weight. It s best to remove them as soon as possible when it is safe and you are not in danger of bleeding to death.

Advanced interaction can also be used to steal enemy equipment. Use [[wrestling]] to grab hold of a piece of enemy equipment, such as their weapon, or a helmet protecting their squishy brain and it will appear in the advanced interaction menu. Simply grab the item with a free hand and pull away. If successful, you will now be holding that item in your hands.

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).

Advanced interactions 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. You can refill waterskins from a nearby liquid source as well

===Sheathing===
The {{k|q}} key lets you strap your weapons to your back.

This is useful because you can't climb or wrestle with your hands unless your hands are free.

People will also be less likely to scared of you on first sight if you don't appear to be ready to attack.

== Time and Weather ==

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

The game has a day/night cycle with time passing as various actions take place.

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.

In local travel mode you'll have to use the {{k|W}} command to learn the position of the sun, when you're in a place where the sun is visible.

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. The most common weather you'll experience is rain. Rain is shown as blue moving dots on the local travel screen and will unsurprisingly cause everything outside to become wet. Temperature is important because if it happens to drop below freezing while you're swimming through water, you'll instantly die from being encased in the ice.

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.

Freezing weather can also freeze liquids in your inventory solid, making them undrinkable. If your water freezes and you are thirsty, make a campfire and {{k|I}}nteract with your waterskin to heat it over the fire and melt the ice.

== Sleep ==

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

Eventually your character will become {{DFtext|Drowsy|1:0}} 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. (If you'd rather not deal with bogeymen, you can disable them by generating a world using [[advanced world generation]] 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 bet 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 amount of 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 else 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 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 (you may also be able to jump over the fires). 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
|}

To find water, you must find a river, stream, or well in a town and fill your waterskin from it, or drink from it directly. Water that may be covering you or your items will not be able to satisfy your thirst.

Note that drinking vampire blood will turn you into a vampire instantly.

Make sure to eat or drink regularly even if you're not hungry or thirsty, as you can only eat or drink thrice at a time: after that you'll need to rest, or wait until you can consume another meal. If you find yourself in need of both food and hydration, make sure to take care of the most urgent problem first, as if you are moderately hungry but severely dehydrated and eat three times, you may die before you have another chance to drink.

If the temperature is low enough you might have trouble finding liquid water. Snow and ice can be heated into water by first making a campfire with {{k|g}} and then performing an advanced interaction with {{k|I}} on the ice or snow in your inventory to heat it. Advanced interactions with your waterskin can also be used to gather water from water sources, or snow from the ground.

== 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|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 have a chance of freeing up any stuck weapon, though you are more likely to accomplish this by moving away from the enemy, or complexly interacting with the weapon.

Any creature can be attacked by standing next to it and pressing {{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}}.

After selecting (and maybe confirming) which creature you want to attack, {{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. 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.

There are several options below the hitting menu. Quick attacks are faster than regular attacks but weaker. Heavy attacks are slower but attack harder. Wild attacks are faster and hit harder but are inaccurate. Precise attacks are very slow but are much more likely to hit. Multi-attacks allow you to attack several times in a row at a great cost to the effectiveness of any one of the chosen attacks.

=== Ranged Attacks ===

To attack with a ranged weapon press the {{k|f}} key with a ranged weapon (bow, crossbow, etc.) equipped on one hand and select the square where you want to attack. Note that you need to have some sort of ammo, corresponding to the type of ranged weapon you are using (for example, bows use arrows, crossbows use bolts). Otherwise, a message stating "You have nothing left to fire." is displayed in brown. 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 effect 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 in to 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 selecting an enemy via {{k|A}} followed by {{k|b}} to wrestle. 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 fast 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, but if you continually auto-attack a harmless creature with it your wrestling-skill will be legendary in no time.

*'''{{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, or areas with large pits, you might want to switch to the other option.
**'''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 safely 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 misplaced charge or dodge could end up killing you.

== Talking ==
[[File:Advmode_conversation_DF2014.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.

To begin a conversation, press {{k|k}}. Unless someone else has already started a conversation with you (see below is someone has), you will get a cyan X that can be positioned over people you want to talk to with the normal directional keys. Use {{k|-}} and {{k|+}} to select who you want to talk to. Aside from individuals, you can also {{DFtext|Shout out to everybody}}, which will have you talking with everyone in earshot, or you can talk to your deity.

Whenever you want to advance the conversation, you have to press {{k|k}} again and choose the ongoing conversation you wish to continue. You will also see ongoing conversations from people who have started a conversation with you. If you want to talk to someone else during this time, simply {{DFtext|Start a new conversation}}.

* {{DFtext|Greet listener}} — Has you offering a greeting to someone, when you're initiating the conversation.
* {{DFtext|Bypass greeting (new menu)}} — Skips the greeting, taking you straight to the normal conversation menus.
* {{DFtext|Reply to greeting}} — If you aren't the one who started the conversation, this option will let you reply to someone's greeting. They will then talk about some trouble.
* {{DFtext|Refuse conversation}} — Causes you to explicitly refuse to talk to someone who started a conversation with you. Unknown if this has a different effect from simply not doing anything.{{Verify}}
* {{DFtext|Reply to greeting (impersonation)}} — Like {{DFtext|Reply to greeting}}, except you're impersonating a deity.
* {{DFtext|Nevermind}} — This has you back out of having a conversation.

When you start talking to someone, you are presented with a wide array of things to talk about. (If the person you are talking to started the conversation and told you about some trouble, you'll first get a menu related to that trouble. Just press {{k|-}}-{{k|Enter}} to {{DFtext|Change the subject (new menu)}} and get to this first menu.) Your choices are as follows:

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
| style="text-align:right;width:30%;" | {{DFtext|Return to current topic (new menu)}}
| You'll see this option only if you chose to change the subject in another menu. This will, predictably, take you back to that subject.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Bring up specific incident or rumor (new menu)}}
| Allows you to spread rumors or summarize conflicts you've been a part of. The next step of the conversation will bring up a menu of choices that allow you to ask for directions to places or state your opinion on the incident/rumor.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask to become a hearthperson}}
| Only appears when talking to a leader who you aren't under the command of. Allows to become one the leader's guards.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Request duty or advice pertaining to service as a hearthperson}}
| Only appears when talking to a leader who are under the command of. You will receive some task to accomplish for the group, if there is anything that needs doing.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Bring up the journey together}}
| Only appears when talking to a companion. The next step of the conversation will allow you to cancel the agreement you made with that person, if you so choose.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Inquire about any troubles}}
| Asks the listener what things in the world are bothering them and their people.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask for directions (new menu)}}
| Allows you to ask for the location of a specific creature or site. People aren't guaranteed to know, and may instead direct you to someone who does.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about the local ruler}}
| As you might imagine, this gets you some information on who controls this particular area.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Trade}}
| Allows you to trade with a merchant. Note that you have to be right next to them for this to work.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Exchange, give, or take personal items}}
| Like {{DFtext|Trade}}, only that it works with non-merchants.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask favor, place request, make demand or issue order (new menu)}}
| Takes to a menu of various request you can make, including asking the listener to yield, stay put, or pay homage to your group. The options available depends on who you're talking to.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask listener to join you (new menu)}}
| This is how you get companions. You can either ask them to join you on an adventure, or to lead you to some location.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Claim this site for yourself (group naming menu)}}
| This option allows you to stake a claim on the site you are in.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask for permission to stay a day}}
| Allows you to sleep in the listener's building for the night.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about the structure you are in}}
| Tells you about whatever structure you are standing in, if you are standing in one.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about this site's neighbors and trade partners}}
| Lets you learn what sites this site is neighboring and/or trading with.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about the surrounding area}}
| Choosing this will tell you about some location nearby, and why it's significant.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Comment on weather}}
| Small talk about the weather. Really.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Comment on natural surroundings}}
| Same as the weather, only about the nature around you.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Accuse listener of being a night creature}}
| If chosen against a night creature, such as a vampire, it will expose them. Normal individuals will just think you're losing it.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Inquire about listener's profession}}
| Learn what it is the listener does. Useful for lords and ladies and anyone else whose profession isn't listed next to them.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Ask about listener's family}}
| Discover what family the listener has, expectedly.
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Brag about your past violent acts}}
| Causes you to brag about whatever last violent act you did. Doesn't seem to have an affect, or at least severely less impactful than summarizing the conflict.{{Verify}}
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | {{DFtext|Say goodbye}}
| Ends the conversation.
|}

Note that you can press {{k|Esc}} to not choose anything. The conversation is still ongoing, you have to explicitly say goodbye to end it. Pressing {{k|Esc}} is useful if you need to double-check something before talking.

== 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 you 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.

You can give or take equipment with a companion by choosing to talk to them and selecting {{DFtext|Exchange, give or take personal items}}. In addition to this screen, you can loot your companions' corpses when they die. (An evil but arguably inefficient 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 die (if you asked them to join you on an adventure) or get you to the proper location (if you asked them to guide you some place). If you want to get rid of your companions at any time, the safe way is to talk to each one of them, ask them about their journey with you, and then cancel the agreement.

If your companions are too far away from you when you enter fast travel, they will become an asterisk on the map where you started fast travel from. This asterisk may try to join up with you during travel. If you keep losing your companions while traveling through rivers, try going to a spot where the river becomes a "minor river" (shown by a single dark blue line). Brooks are obviously also safe to cross.

== Personal Finance ==

=== Trading (barter) ===

In human towns (not hamlets or castles), you can find shops. Once you're inside of a [[shop]] and right next to any of the NPCs, you can use {{K|k}} to {{DFtext|Trade}} with them. 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. You can also either {{k|a}}sk for or {{k|o}}ffer currency as part of the process. 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 trading, you will find the stuff you gave on the floor at your feet, and the stuff you got in your inventory.

Currently only human towns have shops.

=== 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 (indicated by dollar signs on either side of the item in your inventory), 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 some cases, the shop will be abandoned. This will be made clear by the presence of unbought items and the lack of any merchants in the area. You will not be considered a thief by the relevant entity for taking stuff from an abandoned shop.

If the item name is not surrounded by dollar signs, it is never considered stealing, even in situations where it would be in real life.

=== 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 as well as sell all of your loot directly for gold coins. Remember, merchants will always try to pay you in higher denomination currency first but will resort to lower value coins if they run out of anything higher. First, check the merchant's chest to see how much of each type of coins they have.

Coin values are as follows:
* Copper Coin = 1☼
* Silver Coin = 5☼
* Gold Coin = 15☼

To receive the maximum amount of gold coins from that merchant, make sure the amount "they owe you" during the trade is equal to (total amount of gold coins the shop has)*15☼ . If you are selling loot, simply make sure you only trade this worth of goods, and move on to other merchants for the rest. If you wish to exchange copper and silver coins for gold, buy random goods from the merchant until their price is around this value and then sell back all of the goods for their original value but in gold.

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 a creature, butcher their corpse (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 houses and 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 is of course an [[exploit]], liable to be fixed at any time. It may be useful in a pinch, but don't rely on it.

Another devious method is to go outside the shop, {{k|g}}rab handfuls of mud and throw it into your backpack, then sell them for 1☼ each. The merchants will gladly buy your rare and valuable mud despite the unlimited free mud just outside their shop.

== Quest Log ==

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|Q}}
| Open quest log
|-
| {{k|Esc}}
| Exit quest log
|-
| {{k|e}} {{k|p}} {{k|s}} {{k|r}} {{k|b}}
| Access various lists
|-
| {{k|m}}
| Switch between the world map and additional info
|-
| {{k|z}}
| Center cursor on location of selected list item, if known
|-
| {{k|c}}
| Center cursor on your location
|-
| {{k|l}}
| Toggle the visibility of the line between you and some other point on the map.
|-
| {{k|f}}
| Filter the list
|-
| {{k|+}} {{k|-}} {{k|*}} {{k|/}}
| Navigate the list
|}

The quest log contains everything you know about the world, such as various events going on, people you know, and various sites. The {{k|m}} key will alternate between a world map that you can navigate, and information on whatever item is highlighted in the list to the right.

There are various kinds of lists you can check on the quest log:

* '''Events''' — A list of events that are happening or have happened. Formatting of the list is {{DFtext|(type)/(description)}}. You can center on the location of the event if you know this. This list is the closest you'll get to some formal quest system.
* '''People''' — A list of people you know. At the start of the game, this list will contain people in your site.
* '''Sites''' — A list of various sites around the world.
* '''Groups''' — A list of groups you know of and your relation to them. Note that you have to press {{k|e}} when you're on the events list in order to reach this list, requiring you to press {{k|e}} at most twice.
* '''Regions''' — A list of regions. The additional information will list the biomes a region possesses.
* '''Bestiary''' — A list of creatures, their characteristics, and where you could find them.

==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}}.

* '''[[Knapper|Knapping]]''' allows an adventurer to sharpen a rock. Knapping only works on stones on the ground or in your hands. Choose the {{k|c}}reate option and then select "Make sharp stone". You will be prompted to choose a rock to sharpen ("tool stone"), and then the rock that is to be 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 on the ground or in your 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, select the {{k|b}}utcher option, and then you can select the corpse and the sharp tool to butcher with. The corpse will be replaced by its butchering returns.

* '''Spitting''' gives you spit, which can be aimed at someone in much the same way as any projectile. To get this, choose natural ability and then spit in the reactions menu.

You may also gain acquired abilities when you become a creature of the night, such as a necromancer.

= Sites =

More information on each type of site can be found in the site's specific article.

== Civilization ==

[[Civilization]]s are organized groups of creatures (generally of the same race) which build sites such as towns.

=== Human Sites ===

==== Towns {{Raw Tile|+|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|*|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|#|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|☼|7:0:0}} ====
Humans live in towns comprised of buildings and often a paved road. Human towns are highly modular, and are usually coastal. 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.

Towns usually have lots of interesting structures which are described fully in the [[town]] article.

==== Hamlets ====
Most of the time, the majority of a human civilization's population will live in small [[hamlet]]s, which tend to be sprawled out along coastlines and through river valleys. Like other sites, they can be invaded, and you'll sometimes find them captured by other civilizations, [[necromancer]]s, or criminal syndicates. Human adventurers usually spawn in hamlets.

=== Dwarven Sites ===

==== Dwarf Fortresses {{Raw Tile|Ω|7:0:1}} ====
These are the randomly generated equivalent of the sites you build in [[dwarf fortress mode]]. [[Fortress]]es are described in detail in the own article. Their main function for adventurers is that they have a central, spiraling ramp that connects the underground and above-ground worlds, particularly in that they connect the subterranean mountain halls to the rest of the dwarf civilization. They are located at the edges of mountain ranges.

==== Mountain Halls {{Raw Tile|Ω|0:0:1}} ====
These are the "deep sites" of the dwarves, located far beneath the mountains. Not much is known about [[Mountain Halls|mountain halls]] yet. They can be entered by descending the central ramp of the major dwarf fortresses, and are usually over a hundred z-levels deep.

==== Hillocks {{Raw Tile|Ω|7:0:0}} ====
[[Hillock]]s are the dwarf equivalent to human hamlets. They consist of a few "hobbit holes" filled with dwarf citizens. There doesn't seem to be any settlement pattern for them; they are equally likely to be found in any land [[biome]].

=== Elven Sites ===

==== Forest Retreats {{Raw Tile|î|6:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|¶|6:0:1}} ====
Elves live in [[forest retreat]]s located, unsurprisingly, in [[forest]] biomes. They are essentially clusters of huge [[tree]]s with elves standing in and around them.

=== Goblin Sites ===

==== Dark Fortresses {{Raw Tile|π|0:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|π|5:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|π|5:0:1}} ====
These are the main goblin sites. Some [[dark fortress]]es may contain a [[Underground Spire|certain spoiler]].

==== Dark Pits ====
These are the goblin equivalent of hamlets and hillocks. [[Dark Pit]]s are essentially canyons lined with wooden guard towers. They tend to be built in huge clusters around the dark fortresses, such that large chunks of the map may be covered with them.

= FAQ =

== 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. If you ever get lost, you can quickly get back to the surface by traveling under a village and retiring there. When you unretire, you'll be aboveground.

== I keep getting maimed and killed! How can I fight without getting seriously hurt? ==
The best defense is a good offense. 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. If your enemy is one space away from you, use that as an opportunity to throw a knife or a rock at them; worst case, they will get a bruise or a cut; best case, they will start the melee severely crippled. If you're fast enough, then you can simply step back after getting in that first hit, and they'll have to spend their turn approaching you again. Lather, rinse, repeat.
* Follow the advice under [[#Combat Preferences|Combat Preferences]].

== How can I obtain armor as quickly as possible? ==
* Here's the evil way. In some cases, this will lead to several people being angry at you, spitting on you, and hating you, but other times the weaklings nearby will just start crying in the fetal position in the corner, which can actually speed up the process by giving you easy pickings for more armor.
** It's relatively easy to obtain some armor by killing a sleeping soldier in a fort and taking his stuff. Alternatively, you can recruit the soldier, and get them killed by natural means, such as drowning.
** 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 a store and sell your loot. Unless you've killed enough people to get a national reputation or have killed somebody the shopkeeper knows, they generally won't care.
* Loot friendly fortress keeps and the dungeons of towns. All equipment and items held within containers in fortresses and keeps are free for the taking, and will not result in being branded as a thief. Be wary of the dungeons, however; you're not the only one attracted to shiny things.
* 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 (murder) and will cause you much less trouble. Even better: if you have Novice or better in Swimmer, you can take a dip in a lake or river (or any other body of water) and they will follow suit; drowning in the process, if they have Dabbling or lower in Swimmer.

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

== How do I increase my skills and attributes? (Power-leveling) ==

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_by_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 repeatedly. You can wrestle using {{k|A}} followed by {{k|Enter}}. Continually grabbing and releasing a creature is sufficient to raise your skill, and you can do it indefinitely with the same animal as it won't be injured (unless you auto-wrestle it). Wrestling will increase Kinesthetic Sense, Spatial Sense, and to a lesser extent, Endurance. You may also somewhat increase Dodging and Shield User this way as the creature takes swipes at you.It's possible to change your {{k|C}}ombat preferences for attacking and dodging to ''Close Combat'' and ''Stand Ground'', respectively, allowing you to simply walk into the helpless critter to wrestle it. (Standing your ground prevents you from moving to dodge attacks, so your wrestling can continue almost uninterrupted.) You will, however, perform occasional throws and take-downs as long as the creature remains standing, which may result in their eventual bleeding to death. Strangulation is also a repeated concern, as it will render the victim unconscious, thus making you have to wait until it regains consciousness before you can continue auto-wrestling it (though you may still raise your Wrestler and Fighter skills by 10 points for every time you ''release'' a limb - though this must be done manually and must be repeatedly confirmed, once the creature is rendered unconscious). Another concern with auto-wrestling some animals is that you will perform joint locks, and break hips, knees, and ankles in the process, which can cause the creature to bleed to death. If you can wrangle a creature incapable of blood-loss and strangulation in a high-FPS area (such as a crab on a frozen beach), you can easily raise all associated skills and attributes to Legendary and Superhuman in the course of a few minutes.
*'''Shield User, Armor User, and Dodging''' - In addition to wrestling the creature, you can also sit back 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 when it hits. Also, to place emphasis more heavily on shield blocking, you can change your attack {{K|C}}ombat preference to ''Stand Ground''. The wrestling-a-crab-on-a-frozen-beach method also works fantastically for this.
*'''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.
*'''Throwing and Archery''' - Throwing rocks with {{k|t}} will raise your Throwing and Archery skills. Throwing objects at creatures, while not as completely devastating as it once was, can still come in handy. (In early 31.xx, somebody killed a bronze colossus by throwing a fluffy wambler at its head. We can only hope the wambler survived.) Although throwing is a way to raise Archery without wasting ammunition, there is a non-wasteful method that additionally increases bow/crossbow skills.The most efficient way to level via throwing is to forgo using a macro and separate training into two phases: {{k|g}}etting and {{k|t}}hrowing. First, find a tile with an indefinite amount of throwable objects (e.g., snow, rocks, mud, etc.). Then, sequentially mash {{k|g}} and whatever key the rocks are assigned to until both your forearms explode. Rest. Then, sequentially mash {{k|t}}, followed by some consistent key assigned to your rocks, then {{k|enter}}, until you've emptied your inventory. Rest. Rinse and repeat. (You may wish to empty your inventory beforehand such that the rocks are assigned to a key close to {{k|t}}, allowing you to keep one hand on {{k|enter}} and another on {{k|t}}.)
*'''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 directly beneath it. If bolts or arrows hit a wall that has floor/ground on the same z-level, then the ammunition will be destroyed. ''However'', ammunition that falls at least one z-level after hitting a wall will remain intact. So, simply find something like a hill inside a castle, stand on it, then shoot at a wall which is on the same z-level you are. The arrows will hit the wall and fall one z-level to the ground, remaining intact. You can then {{k|g}}et the arrows and {{k|f}}ire them at the wall again from the hill, ad infinitum. You can also stand next to a wall that's two or more z-levels high, aiming at the wall one z-level up by hitting {{k|<}} after hitting {{k|f}}. Whatever method you employ, the key is that the arrow needs to fall at least one z-level after hitting a wall to remain intact. Using a macro will speed this up greatly.
*'''Ambushing and Swimming''' - An efficient way to raise Ambushing is to sneak over large stretches of land, possibly in preference to fast {{k|T}}raveling. Ideally, this would be done in a biome containing sparse vegetation and few threatening creatures to blunder into and reduce FPS (e.g., a frozen beach).Although less efficient for raising only Ambushing, it's also possible to sneak and swim at the same time, thus combining their training. ''Just make sure you start with at least Novice in swimming'', or you'll find swimming practically impossible to train. Swimming can very quickly improve your Strength, Agility, and Endurance. Additionally, if you can safely drown and then recover (e.g., by moving under a bridge and then back before suffocating), this will raise both Toughness and Endurance at a ''ridiculous'' pace-- a single step spent drowning will raise both attributes by a fifth of a point apiece.
*'''Observer''' - You can't really power-level 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. However, one way to train it appears to be sleeping or walking around in the wilderness, allowing yourself to be repeatedly ambushed. This is, however, inherently dangerous. Running away from these encounters would probably be faster than slaying your assailants, if not generally safer for your character (but not for your companions, hoh boy).Successfully detecting traps found in tombs and catacombs (performed automatically) will also raise Observer. However, without decent skill to begin with, you'll be torn to pieces by the many traps you'll fail to see. Otherwise, once you've found one or more traps, it's possible to grind experience by sleeping/waiting an hour, thus resetting the traps. Rinse and repeat.
*'''Spatial and Kinesthetic Sense''' - While sharpening rocks with {{k|x}} will improve your Knapping skill, it more importantly increases your Spatial Sense and Kinesthetic Sense attributes, which affect a number of other skills. Knapping can be combined with throwing via 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? ==

'Tis but a scratch!

Unfortunately, there is only one way to get them back, and that is by being bitten by a [[werebeast]] and surviving until the next full moon. 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.

== What creatures of night can I become? ==

You basically have four different choices.

Firstly, you can become a [[necromancer]].
* That gives you some traits of an undead. Namely, you don't need to eat, sleep or drink, don't tire or age, zombies or mummies don't attack you and your physical stats are permanently fixed.
* The last one means it's wise to train them beforehand.
* You also can raise dead from the {{K|x}} menu. Depending on the flavor of your spell, zombies can be slow, very slow or not slow at all. They will be listed as companions.
* To become a necromancer, find a necromancer tower and obtain a book or slab containing secrets of life and death from there, then read it. Note that most of the books are useless. In younger worlds necromancers may not have built their towers yet, in which case they'll be hanging at a zombie bandit camp, slab under the arm.

Secondly, you can become a [[vampire]].
* That gives you most traits of an undead. In addition to the listed above, you don't feel pain, don't breathe and immune to most syndromes.
* Your strength, agility and toughness are doubled.
* They're still fixed forever, so, again, be prepared.
* Despite not needing to drink water, you have a hunger for warm blood. To satisfy it, beat someone or something unconscious and {{K|e}}at their blood. However, if you become a necromancer after {{verify}} becoming a vampire, you will not need to drink blood.
* To become a vampire, defeat one in combat and drink his blood.

Thirdly, you can become a [[werebeast]].
* This gives you the (uncontrolled) ability to transform into a powerful half-man, half-beast on a full moon.
* There's a fixed list of animals on which the werebeast is based, including goat, llama, lizard, horse, monitor, buffalo, moose, tortoise, camel, kangaroo, ape, gecko, bear, hyena, warthog, iguana, skink, shrew, elk, skunk, pig, raccoon, panda, mole, badger, armadillo, mammoth and more.
* Most importantly, upon transformation (both ways) all your wounds, including missing limbs, are instantly healed.
* You don't show any abnormalcy outside of beast form. You are still mortal.
* When in beast form, everything is hostile to you, you don't need to drink, eat, sleep or breathe, don't feel pain, don't tire and are immune to some syndromes.
* One randomly chosen metal is ten times as deadly to you than usual. All other materials deal you half damage.
* Werebeast's size is several times their base animal size, but no less than 80000. This means all armor will be too small for you while in beast form. But you can still use a shield.
* Also, some werebeasts are truly gigantic — weremammoth has a size of 9000000, on par with demons.
* To become a werebeast, make one bite you. It has to be in the beast form.
* You cannot be a werebeast and a vampire at the same time.

And finally, you can become a mist [[zombie]].
* This makes you undead. In addition to vampire traits, you can see without eyes and can't die via blood loss or beheading. Note that you don't have health point limit raised zombies have.
* You become permanently hostile to everyone except other undead.
* Your strength and toughness are tripled and fixed. Train beforehand.
* Depending on the flavor of zombie virus, your speed may or may not drop to 20% or 60% of its normal value.
* To become a mist zombie, find a mist/fog cloud that zombifies creatures and delve headdeep into it.
* You cannot become a vampire or a werebeast if you are already a zombie. The other way, however, is fine.

=See Also=
*[[Main:Adventure Mode quick reference|Adventure Mode Quick Reference]]
*[[Main:Adventure mode quick start|Adventure Mode Quickstart Guide]]

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

Adventurer mode

2014-07-17T06:11:28Z

Lue: /* Gameplay */ Update for this version (up to but not including == Talking ==)

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:''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). Humans inhabit cities, towns, and the occasional above-ground fortress. Elves inhabit forest retreats. Dwarves are spread between "deep sites" which sometimes do not contain a direct connection to the surface, and "hill dwarves" which inhabit a loose collection of mounds built into hillsides. Human cities and towns are currently the only sites with shops and other places to officially buy goods.

If you have previously built a fort in the world that you select, your adventurer will be able to go visit it. If you have selected to "retire" the fortress rather than abandon it, you will likely be able to encounter all of the inhabitants from fortress mode. However, they will likely not have the same level of activity as they would in a bustling fortress-mode fort.

=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.

*'''Humans''' Always originate from one of the villages in the world. 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''' Human Outsiders are humans that aren't from that world or any of its villages. They simply appear in the wilderness, a stranger to all. You may always play as an outsider, even if the world is otherwise completely uninhabited. 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. This gives them many combat bonuses, which aids their survival greatly. 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 armour found in shops. Goblin armor fits them, making Dark Fortresses (if your computer can handle them) and bandits a viable source of armor; if you're up for it, you could also just kill some dwarves. They can start with almost all of the same weapon skills as civilized humans. Many larger 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. Elves also have the AT_PEACE_WITH_NATURE tag. This makes all wildlife passive towards them. Like dwarves they wear small sized clothing and will have the same problem finding suitable armour.

*'''Kobolds''' can be played only if there are no other civilizations and there are kobolds. They are very small and weak in combat and a huge challenge compared to the other races. They wear even smaller armour than the other races and armour will be impossible to find for them, unless you are absurdly lucky and run into armoured kobolds.

If no civilization for the given race exists in a world you can only play as an outsider.

== 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 you inflict in melee regardless of weapon used. Increases muscle size. This increased muscular layer helps prevent damage, although this is a pretty minor effect. 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. Agility is really, really important as being faster than the enemies allows you to get more hits in before they can fight back and lets you run away more easily.
*'''Toughness''': Reduces physical damage inflicted on you. Also relates to defensive combat skills.
*'''Endurance''': Reduces the rate at which the adventurer becomes exhausted. Becoming exhausted causes you to collapse, helpless and immobile and can cause you to pass out.
*'''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''': Seems to have some effect on vampirism infectivity; may have to do with infected wounds.

=== Soul ===

Some of these are useful for adventure-mode-applicable skills, but some are totally useless except as dump stats.

*'''Analytical Ability''': Useful only for Knapping; should be reduced to minimum.{{Verify}}

*'''Focus''': Affects Archer, Ambusher, Observer.

*'''Willpower''': Affects Fighter, Crutch Walker and Swimmer. Willpower is really important as it governs how easily you'll pass out from extreme pain. Low willpower is a death sentence if you are seriously wounded, as you'll pass out and have your head caved in. Broken bones currently cause enough pain that even very high willpower usually won't keep you conscious. For non bone injuries however willpower can keep you going long enough to kill enemies, or at least get away from them.

*'''Creativity''': Useless at the moment.

*'''Intuition''': Only helps with Observer, which aids in spotting concealed enemies and ambushes. A useless skill since you rarely see these in adventure mode.

*'''Patience''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

*'''Memory''': Memory aids greatly in mapping out areas as the higher your memory the longer you'll remember an area. As you explore you'll forget previously explored areas, causing them to appear blank, as if you had never been there. If you have low enough memory you'll forget areas of large locations like underground catacombs while you're still in them, making finding your way very confusing, as things like the exit wont be visible anymore until you find it again. Best to have at least average memory.

*'''Linguistic Ability''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

*'''Spatial Sense''': Important. Affects combat skills, Ambusher, Crutch Walker, Swimmer, Observer, Knapping.

*'''Musicality''': Completely useless. Use this as a dump stat.

*'''Kinaesthetic Sense''': Affects most combat skills, walking with crutches and swimming.

*'''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. Your fame still plays a bit part in whenever you can recruit followers or not.

=== 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 at enemies that are just a step away or finishing off a foe pinned down by a stuck weapon.

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

Note that different races have different names for their weapon skills. Axegoblin, Axedwarf etc.

Crossbowman is an exception. Dwarves call this skill Marksdwarf, although bow skill is referred to as Bow Dwarf as you'd expect. Elite Axe and Hammer dwarves are referred to as Lords.

*'''Axeman''': allows characters to use axes, great axes, and halberds more effectively. Useful for cleaving off limbs.
*'''Bowman''': skill allows characters to use bows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.
*'''Crossbowman''': allows characters to use crossbows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.
*'''Hammerman''': allows characters to use crossbows in melee, mauls, and war hammers more effectively. Useful for breaking limbs.
*'''Knife User''' - allows characters to use large daggers and knives more effectively. Useful for stabbing things.
*'''Lasher''' - allows characters to use whips and scourges more effectively. Very deadly weapons.
*'''Maceman''' - allows characters to use flails, maces, and morningstars more effectively. Similar to hammers.
*'''Pikeman''' - allows characters to use pikes more effectively. Like spears, but much bigger.
*'''Spearman''' - allows characters to use spears more effectively. Useful for stabbing things.
*'''Swordsman''' - allows characters to use blowguns and bows in melee, long swords, scimitars, short swords, and two-handed swords more effectively. Useful for cutting, stabbing, and whacking, but less effective than more dedicated weapons.

=== 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 even novice skill in this means that the adventurer will start with a shield. This is a no-brainer unless you're creating a two handed weapon user.
*'''Armor User''': A higher level of this skill reduces the encumbrance penalties of armour, allowing you to move faster when wearing it. It also affects how well armour protects you and this makes a huge difference. Unskilled armour users gain little protection. This is noticeable as you'll begin seeing far more combat reports about hits either striking you though armour, (you managed to use your armour to lessen the force of the blow) or being deflected by your armour (you used your amour to avoid the hit entirety) as your skill rises and you learn to actually use your armour to deflect hits. It is highly advised to train your armour skill before entering battle with it as the speed penalties of lower levels can be a serious handicap.
*'''Dodger''' - Ability to dodge out of the way of attacks. Dodger is incredibly important and will allow you to avoid many, many hits that would have otherwise injured you. Especially important when you are fighting unarmoured and can't afford a battle axe in the chest. Boost this to talented or at least close to it.

=== 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. Higher skill means all of these moves succeed more often. See [[#Wrestling and Unarmed Attacks]] for details. Can be raised very easily in game.
*'''Striker''' - Punching ability. Turns handy when weapons get stuck and there is no time to wrest them back.
*'''Kicker''' - Kicking ability. Same as Striker. Kicks are slower but more deadly than punches; heavy kicks are particularly good at crushing and exploding heads.
*'''Biter''' - Biting ability. Biting is surprisingly effective even with non animal races as after biting you can shake opponents around by your teeth, causing great damage and possibly ripping off body parts, although with sapient races this tends to lean more towards fingers or toes, perhaps the occasional hand or foot.
*'''Thrower''' - Throwing any miscellaneous object including rocks, knives, axes, swords, heads, etc. Skill affects accuracy and damage caused.
*'''Misc. Object User''' - Ability to beat things to death with anything that comes at hand, from bags to coins to their own severed body parts. Also somewhat more commonly used for shield bashing. This skill affects combat with any object, from a rock to a beehive. There are no separate skills for different items. Items actually intended to be weapons, like swords or axes, are unaffected by this skill.

=== Movement and Awareness ===

*'''[[Observer]]''' - Helps one to notice things like ambushes, enemies who are "sneaking" (stealth movement), and traps. Detection range increases with skill, but up to a maximum of 3 tiles away. 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, or possibly after an unfriendly encounter with a creature in 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. Enemies will have "sight ranges" from where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The red zone of sight is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; the yellow is where they might see you. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.
*'''[[Climber]]''' - The skill of climbing up walls, into trees, and around the edges of gorges. Higher levels reduce the chance of falling and increase the speed of a climbing character.
*'''[[Tracker]]''' - The skill of tracking your quarry, whether it be animals or goblins. Higher levels will let you spot more tracks and help you distinguish different tracks.

=== 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. Adding more points is a waste, as novice allows you to read anything.
*'''[[Butcher]]''' - The art of turning corpses into piles of delicious prepared brains and meat for food. You cannot allocate points here during character creation, but that's OK since skill doesn't really affect anything anyway.

= Gameplay =

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

== Moving Around ==

=== Local Movement ===
[[File:Advmode_normaltravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|An image of normal travel mode. A list of the closest (but not necessarily close) sites is in the top-left corner. On the right side are minimaps of the next two levels down, relative to the player. Along the bottom is information about the player.]]
{| 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 10 instants
|-
| {{k|,}}
| Wait for 1 instant
|-
| {{k|s}}
| Stand or lie down
|-
| {{k|S}}
| Open Movement Speed/Sneak Menu
|}

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.

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.

If you hit {{k|j}}, you can jump. This is mostly useful for crossing gorges and crevices, where you have to get to the other side. Occasionally, you can manage to jump onto an opponent and tackle them, which typically causes them to go flying a short distance.

Hitting {{k|.}} allows you to stay in one place and wait for other things to move. {{k|,}} does the same but with a tenth of the time it takes for {{k|.}}.

Use {{k|s}} to sit/lie 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. Enemies will have sight cones indicating where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The central zone of sight (red, violet, or cyan) is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; their peripheral vision (yellow) is where they might see you. Violet and cyan central zones indicate the enemy is on a different level than yours, while red means they are on the same level. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.

If you {{k|h}}old onto a wall or tree, you can climb the wall or tree by using the movement keys. In towns and tamer parts of the countryside, this isn't particularly useful. However, in a combat situation, climbing a tree or wall can give you a height advantage, possibly allowing you to dive-tackle your opponents. Sometimes, mountains will be too steep to walk up the edge, or you will find a deep drop into a ravine. In these cases, you will have to climb up to reach the top, or perhaps jump or climb down one face, then climb up the other.

=== Fast Travel ===
[[File:Advmode_fasttravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|Fast Travel screen. The player is in a hamlet, between the houses to the right and the mead hall in the top-left area of the map. The asterisk represents a group of creatures (in this case unfriendly goblins). The world map (in sepia) is on the far right.]]
{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|T}}
| Fast Travel
|-
| {{k|d}}
| Exit fast travel mode
|-
| {{k|K}}
| Display detected tracks and odors
|-
| {{k|c}}
| Toggle display of clouds on region map
|-
| {{k|s}}
| Walk around in sneak mode. Exiting fast travel starts you in sneak mode.
|-
| {{k|m}}
| Cycle through maps and significant structures
|-
| {{k|Q}}
| View Quest Log
|-
| {{k|Z}}
| Bring up sleep menu
|-
| {{k|h}}
| Hide parts of the bottom bar
|-
| {{k|>}} and {{k|<}}
| Enter/exit tunnel
|-
|}

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.

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.

If you are not near any sites, the {{k|m}} key will toggle a world map, colored in sepia tone (matching the map you see in the quest log). If you are near a site, then {{k|m}} cycles between a list of significant structures where your player is, a regional map (matching what you travel on when away from any site), and the aforementioned world map.

The {{k|c}} key will only show clouds on the region map (the one you travel on outside of sites). Some clouds will be visible regardless of the state of this option.

The {{k|h}} key will cycle through various amounts of the bottom bar of content hidden. The effects of each press are:

* 1 press: hide key reference. Allows you to see status effects on your character if obscured by the key list.
* 2 presses: hide most local name, reducing the bar to one line of text.
* 3 presses: hide less local name, eliminating the bar entirely.
* 4 presses: shows all information

== 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.)
|-
| {{k|q}}
| Sheath your weapons and shield. (Frees your hands for tasks such as climbing or grabbing)
|}

=== Inventory ===

Press {{k|i}} to display a list of what you are currently carrying. Press {{k|-}} {{k|+}} {{k|*}} {{k|/}} to scroll the list. This list will show you if items are being worn, held in hands, stuck on 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|+}} {{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. You also must put on equipment in an order that makes sense,. for example a shirt first ''then'' the armor, not the other way around. Armour must also be put on in a sensible manner with flexible layers such as chainmail first then rigid plate armour second. After all, who, in real life, would wear chainmail over a hard plate?

''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, for example a copper mail shirt and a copper breastplate. The thin, flexible chain can be worn under the breastplate, but not the other way around.

=== 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.

While normally one would only be able to equip one item in each hand, removing items from your inventory results in them being wielded regardless of whether one's hands are full. This is especially useful with shields, as every shield will contribute a block chance to each incoming attack.

It should be noted that Dwarf Fortress does not enforce one particular hand as dominant for everyone, so do not be surprised if your character holds the weapon and [[Armor#Shields and Bucklers|shield]] in hands you yourself would not hold them in.

=== 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 which will appear in your inventory when they become stuck in you. Removing stuck arrows can cause bleeding so it is not always a good idea mid combat, but stuck objects will slow you down as you are encumbered by their weight. It s best to remove them as soon as possible when it is safe and you are not in danger of bleeding to death.

Advanced interaction can also be used to steal enemy equipment. Use [[wrestling]] to grab hold of a piece of enemy equipment, such as their weapon, or a helmet protecting their squishy brain and it will appear in the advanced interaction menu. Simply grab the item with a free hand and pull away. If successful, you will now be holding that item in your hands.

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).

Advanced interactions 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. You can refill waterskins from a nearby liquid source as well

===Sheathing===
The {{k|q}} key lets you strap your weapons to your back.

This is useful because you can't climb or wrestle with your hands unless your hands are free.

People will also be less likely to scared of you on first sight if you don't appear to be ready to attack.

== Time and Weather ==

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

The game has a day/night cycle with time passing as various actions take place.

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.

In local travel mode you'll have to use the {{k|W}} command to learn the position of the sun, when you're in a place where the sun is visible.

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. The most common weather you'll experience is rain. Rain is shown as blue moving dots on the local travel screen and will unsurprisingly cause everything outside to become wet. Temperature is important because if it happens to drop below freezing while you're swimming through water, you'll instantly die from being encased in the ice.

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.

Freezing weather can also freeze liquids in your inventory solid, making them undrinkable. If your water freezes and you are thirsty, make a campfire and {{k|I}}nteract with your waterskin to heat it over the fire and melt the ice.

== Sleep ==

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

Eventually your character will become {{DFtext|Drowsy|1:0}} 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. (If you'd rather not deal with bogeymen, you can disable them by generating a world using [[advanced world generation]] 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 bet 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 amount of 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 else 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 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 (you may also be able to jump over the fires). 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
|}

To find water, you must find a river, stream, or well in a town and fill your waterskin from it, or drink from it directly. Water that may be covering you or your items will not be able to satisfy your thirst.

Note that drinking vampire blood will turn you into a vampire instantly.

Make sure to eat or drink regularly even if you're not hungry or thirsty, as you can only eat or drink thrice at a time: after that you'll need to rest, or wait until you can consume another meal. If you find yourself in need of both food and hydration, make sure to take care of the most urgent problem first, as if you are moderately hungry but severely dehydrated and eat three times, you may die before you have another chance to drink.

If the temperature is low enough you might have trouble finding liquid water. Snow and ice can be heated into water by first making a campfire with {{k|g}} and then performing an advanced interaction with {{k|I}} on the ice or snow in your inventory to heat it. Advanced interactions with your waterskin can also be used to gather water from water sources, or snow from the ground.

== 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|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 have a chance of freeing up any stuck weapon, though you are more likely to accomplish this by moving away from the enemy, or complexly interacting with the weapon.

Any creature can be attacked by standing next to it and pressing {{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}}.

After selecting (and maybe confirming) which creature you want to attack, {{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. 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.

There are several options below the hitting menu. Quick attacks are faster than regular attacks but weaker. Heavy attacks are slower but attack harder. Wild attacks are faster and hit harder but are inaccurate. Precise attacks are very slow but are much more likely to hit. Multi-attacks allow you to attack several times in a row at a great cost to the effectiveness of any one of the chosen attacks.

=== Ranged Attacks ===

To attack with a ranged weapon press the {{k|f}} key with a ranged weapon (bow, crossbow, etc.) equipped on one hand and select the square where you want to attack. Note that you need to have some sort of ammo, corresponding to the type of ranged weapon you are using (for example, bows use arrows, crossbows use bolts). Otherwise, a message stating "You have nothing left to fire." is displayed in brown. 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 effect 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 in to 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 selecting an enemy via {{k|A}} followed by {{k|b}} to wrestle. 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 fast 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, but if you continually auto-attack a harmless creature with it your wrestling-skill will be legendary in no time.

*'''{{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, or areas with large pits, you might want to switch to the other option.
**'''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 safely 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 misplaced charge or dodge could end up killing you.

== Talking ==
[[File:Advmode_conversation_DF2014.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 capital'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 Burninator."
*'''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 usually seem to) 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. Apparently, everyone is telepathic, and won'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.

Speaking with companions by pressing {{k|k}} and selecting them and then choosing "Exchange, give or take personal items" in the general conversation screen allows you to trade with as you would a shop keeper, which also mean you have to trade to get any item back. When they die you can loot their corpses however, and they will drop anything they cannot hold on the ground, which is free for the taking. (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.

== Personal Finance ==

=== 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. You can also steal items from a fortress without any consequences, but it is unknown if you can do this if there is someone else in the room to see you. {{verify}}

'''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 as well as sell all of your loot directly for gold coins. Remember, merchants will always try to pay you in higher denomination currency first but will resort to lower value coins if they run out of anything higher. First, check the merchant's chest to see how much of each type of coins they have.

Coin values are as follows:
* Copper Coin = 1☼
* Silver Coin = 5☼
* Gold Coin = 15☼

To receive the maximum amount of gold coins from that merchant, make sure the amount "they owe you" during the trade is equal to (total amount of gold coins the shop has)*15☼ . If you are selling loot, simply make sure you only trade this worth of goods, and move on to other merchants for the rest. If you wish to exchange copper and silver coins for gold, buy random goods from the merchant until their price is around this value and then sell back all of the goods for their original value but in gold.

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.

Another devious method is to go outside the shop, {{k|g}}rab handfuls of mud and throw it into your backpack, then sell them for 1☼ each. The merchants will gladly buy your rare and valuable mud despite the unlimited free mud just outside their shop.

== Quests ==

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

{{Migrated_section}}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}}.

'''[[Knapper|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.''' 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.

= Sites =

More information on each type of site can be found in the site's specific article.

== Civilization ==

[[Civilization]]s are organized groups of creatures (generally of the same race) which build sites such as towns.

=== Human Sites ===

==== Towns {{Raw Tile|+|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|*|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|#|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|☼|7:0:0}} ====
Humans live in towns comprised of buildings and often a paved road. Human towns are highly modular, and are usually coastal. 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.

Towns usually have lots of interesting structures which are described fully in the [[town]] article.

==== Hamlets ====
Most of the time, the majority of a human civilization's population will live in small [[hamlet]]s, which tend to be sprawled out along coastlines and through river valleys. Like other sites, they can be invaded, and you'll sometimes find them captured by other civilizations, [[necromancer]]s, or criminal syndicates. Human adventurers usually spawn in hamlets.

=== Dwarven Sites ===

==== Dwarf Fortresses {{Raw Tile|Ω|7:0:1}} ====
These are the randomly generated equivalent of the sites you build in [[dwarf fortress mode]]. [[Fortress]]es are described in detail in the own article. Their main function for adventurers is that they have a central, spiraling ramp that connects the underground and above-ground worlds, particularly in that they connect the subterranean mountain halls to the rest of the dwarf civilization. They are located at the edges of mountain ranges.

==== Mountain Halls {{Raw Tile|Ω|0:0:1}} ====
These are the "deep sites" of the dwarves, located far beneath the mountains. Not much is known about [[Mountain Halls|mountain halls]] yet. They can be entered by descending the central ramp of the major dwarf fortresses, and are usually over a hundred z-levels deep.

==== Hillocks {{Raw Tile|Ω|7:0:0}} ====
[[Hillock]]s are the dwarf equivalent to human hamlets. They consist of a few "hobbit holes" filled with dwarf citizens. There doesn't seem to be any settlement pattern for them; they are equally likely to be found in any land [[biome]].

=== Elven Sites ===

==== Forest Retreats {{Raw Tile|î|6:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|¶|6:0:1}} ====
Elves live in [[forest retreat]]s located, unsurprisingly, in [[forest]] biomes. They are essentially clusters of huge [[tree]]s with elves standing in and around them.

=== Goblin Sites ===

==== Dark Fortresses {{Raw Tile|π|0:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|π|5:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|π|5:0:1}} ====
These are the main goblin sites. Some [[dark fortress]]es may contain a [[Underground Spire|certain spoiler]].

==== Dark Pits ====
These are the goblin equivalent of hamlets and hillocks. [[Dark Pit]]s are essentially canyons lined with wooden guard towers. They tend to be built in huge clusters around the dark fortresses, such that large chunks of the map may be covered with them.

= FAQ =

== 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. If you ever get lost, you can quickly get back to the surface by traveling under a village and retiring there. When you unretire, you'll be aboveground.

== I keep getting maimed and killed! How can I fight without getting seriously hurt? ==
The best defense is a good offense. 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. If your enemy is one space away from you, use that as an opportunity to throw a knife or a rock at them; worst case, they will get a bruise or a cut; best case, they will start the melee severely crippled. If you're fast enough, then you can simply step back after getting in that first hit, and they'll have to spend their turn approaching you again. Lather, rinse, repeat.
* Follow the advice under [[#Combat Preferences|Combat Preferences]].

== How can I obtain armor as quickly as possible? ==
* Here's the evil way. In some cases, this will lead to several people being angry at you, spitting on you, and hating you, but other times the weaklings nearby will just start crying in the fetal position in the corner, which can actually speed up the process by giving you easy pickings for more armor.
** It's relatively easy to obtain some armor by killing a sleeping soldier in a fort and taking his stuff. Alternatively, you can recruit the soldier, and get them killed by natural means, such as drowning.
** 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 a store and sell your loot. Unless you've killed enough people to get a national reputation or have killed somebody the shopkeeper knows, they generally won't care.
* Loot friendly fortress keeps and the dungeons of towns. All equipment and items held within containers in fortresses and keeps are free for the taking, and will not result in being branded as a thief. Be wary of the dungeons, however; you're not the only one attracted to shiny things.
* 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 (murder) and will cause you much less trouble. Even better: if you have Novice or better in Swimmer, you can take a dip in a lake or river (or any other body of water) and they will follow suit; drowning in the process, if they have Dabbling or lower in Swimmer.

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

== How do I increase my skills and attributes? (Power-leveling) ==

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_by_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 repeatedly. You can wrestle using {{k|A}} followed by {{k|Enter}}. Continually grabbing and releasing a creature is sufficient to raise your skill, and you can do it indefinitely with the same animal as it won't be injured (unless you auto-wrestle it). Wrestling will increase Kinesthetic Sense, Spatial Sense, and to a lesser extent, Endurance. You may also somewhat increase Dodging and Shield User this way as the creature takes swipes at you.It's possible to change your {{k|C}}ombat preferences for attacking and dodging to ''Close Combat'' and ''Stand Ground'', respectively, allowing you to simply walk into the helpless critter to wrestle it. (Standing your ground prevents you from moving to dodge attacks, so your wrestling can continue almost uninterrupted.) You will, however, perform occasional throws and take-downs as long as the creature remains standing, which may result in their eventual bleeding to death. Strangulation is also a repeated concern, as it will render the victim unconscious, thus making you have to wait until it regains consciousness before you can continue auto-wrestling it (though you may still raise your Wrestler and Fighter skills by 10 points for every time you ''release'' a limb - though this must be done manually and must be repeatedly confirmed, once the creature is rendered unconscious). Another concern with auto-wrestling some animals is that you will perform joint locks, and break hips, knees, and ankles in the process, which can cause the creature to bleed to death. If you can wrangle a creature incapable of blood-loss and strangulation in a high-FPS area (such as a crab on a frozen beach), you can easily raise all associated skills and attributes to Legendary and Superhuman in the course of a few minutes.
*'''Shield User, Armor User, and Dodging''' - In addition to wrestling the creature, you can also sit back 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 when it hits. Also, to place emphasis more heavily on shield blocking, you can change your attack {{K|C}}ombat preference to ''Stand Ground''. The wrestling-a-crab-on-a-frozen-beach method also works fantastically for this.
*'''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.
*'''Throwing and Archery''' - Throwing rocks with {{k|t}} will raise your Throwing and Archery skills. Throwing objects at creatures, while not as completely devastating as it once was, can still come in handy. (In early 31.xx, somebody killed a bronze colossus by throwing a fluffy wambler at its head. We can only hope the wambler survived.) Although throwing is a way to raise Archery without wasting ammunition, there is a non-wasteful method that additionally increases bow/crossbow skills.The most efficient way to level via throwing is to forgo using a macro and separate training into two phases: {{k|g}}etting and {{k|t}}hrowing. First, find a tile with an indefinite amount of throwable objects (e.g., snow, rocks, mud, etc.). Then, sequentially mash {{k|g}} and whatever key the rocks are assigned to until both your forearms explode. Rest. Then, sequentially mash {{k|t}}, followed by some consistent key assigned to your rocks, then {{k|enter}}, until you've emptied your inventory. Rest. Rinse and repeat. (You may wish to empty your inventory beforehand such that the rocks are assigned to a key close to {{k|t}}, allowing you to keep one hand on {{k|enter}} and another on {{k|t}}.)
*'''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 directly beneath it. If bolts or arrows hit a wall that has floor/ground on the same z-level, then the ammunition will be destroyed. ''However'', ammunition that falls at least one z-level after hitting a wall will remain intact. So, simply find something like a hill inside a castle, stand on it, then shoot at a wall which is on the same z-level you are. The arrows will hit the wall and fall one z-level to the ground, remaining intact. You can then {{k|g}}et the arrows and {{k|f}}ire them at the wall again from the hill, ad infinitum. You can also stand next to a wall that's two or more z-levels high, aiming at the wall one z-level up by hitting {{k|<}} after hitting {{k|f}}. Whatever method you employ, the key is that the arrow needs to fall at least one z-level after hitting a wall to remain intact. Using a macro will speed this up greatly.
*'''Ambushing and Swimming''' - An efficient way to raise Ambushing is to sneak over large stretches of land, possibly in preference to fast {{k|T}}raveling. Ideally, this would be done in a biome containing sparse vegetation and few threatening creatures to blunder into and reduce FPS (e.g., a frozen beach).Although less efficient for raising only Ambushing, it's also possible to sneak and swim at the same time, thus combining their training. ''Just make sure you start with at least Novice in swimming'', or you'll find swimming practically impossible to train. Swimming can very quickly improve your Strength, Agility, and Endurance. Additionally, if you can safely drown and then recover (e.g., by moving under a bridge and then back before suffocating), this will raise both Toughness and Endurance at a ''ridiculous'' pace-- a single step spent drowning will raise both attributes by a fifth of a point apiece.
*'''Observer''' - You can't really power-level 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. However, one way to train it appears to be sleeping or walking around in the wilderness, allowing yourself to be repeatedly ambushed. This is, however, inherently dangerous. Running away from these encounters would probably be faster than slaying your assailants, if not generally safer for your character (but not for your companions, hoh boy).Successfully detecting traps found in tombs and catacombs (performed automatically) will also raise Observer. However, without decent skill to begin with, you'll be torn to pieces by the many traps you'll fail to see. Otherwise, once you've found one or more traps, it's possible to grind experience by sleeping/waiting an hour, thus resetting the traps. Rinse and repeat.
*'''Spatial and Kinesthetic Sense''' - While sharpening rocks with {{k|x}} will improve your Knapping skill, it more importantly increases your Spatial Sense and Kinesthetic Sense attributes, which affect a number of other skills. Knapping can be combined with throwing via 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? ==

'Tis but a scratch!

Unfortunately, there is only one way to get them back, and that is by being bitten by a [[werebeast]] and surviving until the next full moon. 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.

== What creatures of night can I become? ==

You basically have four different choices.

Firstly, you can become a [[necromancer]].
* That gives you some traits of an undead. Namely, you don't need to eat, sleep or drink, don't tire or age, zombies or mummies don't attack you and your physical stats are permanently fixed.
* The last one means it's wise to train them beforehand.
* You also can raise dead from the {{K|x}} menu. Depending on the flavor of your spell, zombies can be slow, very slow or not slow at all. They will be listed as companions.
* To become a necromancer, find a necromancer tower and obtain a book or slab containing secrets of life and death from there, then read it. Note that most of the books are useless. In younger worlds necromancers may not have built their towers yet, in which case they'll be hanging at a zombie bandit camp, slab under the arm.

Secondly, you can become a [[vampire]].
* That gives you most traits of an undead. In addition to the listed above, you don't feel pain, don't breathe and immune to most syndromes.
* Your strength, agility and toughness are doubled.
* They're still fixed forever, so, again, be prepared.
* Despite not needing to drink water, you have a hunger for warm blood. To satisfy it, beat someone or something unconscious and {{K|e}}at their blood. However, if you become a necromancer after {{verify}} becoming a vampire, you will not need to drink blood.
* To become a vampire, defeat one in combat and drink his blood.

Thirdly, you can become a [[werebeast]].
* This gives you the (uncontrolled) ability to transform into a powerful half-man, half-beast on a full moon.
* There's a fixed list of animals on which the werebeast is based, including goat, llama, lizard, horse, monitor, buffalo, moose, tortoise, camel, kangaroo, ape, gecko, bear, hyena, warthog, iguana, skink, shrew, elk, skunk, pig, raccoon, panda, mole, badger, armadillo, mammoth and more.
* Most importantly, upon transformation (both ways) all your wounds, including missing limbs, are instantly healed.
* You don't show any abnormalcy outside of beast form. You are still mortal.
* When in beast form, everything is hostile to you, you don't need to drink, eat, sleep or breathe, don't feel pain, don't tire and are immune to some syndromes.
* One randomly chosen metal is ten times as deadly to you than usual. All other materials deal you half damage.
* Werebeast's size is several times their base animal size, but no less than 80000. This means all armor will be too small for you while in beast form. But you can still use a shield.
* Also, some werebeasts are truly gigantic — weremammoth has a size of 9000000, on par with demons.
* To become a werebeast, make one bite you. It has to be in the beast form.
* You cannot be a werebeast and a vampire at the same time.

And finally, you can become a mist [[zombie]].
* This makes you undead. In addition to vampire traits, you can see without eyes and can't die via blood loss or beheading. Note that you don't have health point limit raised zombies have.
* You become permanently hostile to everyone except other undead.
* Your strength and toughness are tripled and fixed. Train beforehand.
* Depending on the flavor of zombie virus, your speed may or may not drop to 20% or 60% of its normal value.
* To become a mist zombie, find a mist/fog cloud that zombifies creatures and delve headdeep into it.
* You cannot become a vampire or a werebeast if you are already a zombie. The other way, however, is fine.

=See Also=
*[[Main:Adventure Mode quick reference|Adventure Mode Quick Reference]]
*[[Main:Adventure mode quick start|Adventure Mode Quickstart Guide]]

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

User:Lue

2014-07-17T05:01:32Z

Lue: Create simplistic user page, mostly to un-red my username.

In Dwarf Fortress, I currently tend towards adventure mode, simply because it's faster to start a game in adventure mode <code>:)</code> .

Non-DF things I do are programming (mainly Perl 6 and C++), among other things.

Adventurer mode

2014-07-17T04:42:13Z

Lue: Update images to those from DF2014

{{Migrated_article}}
{{Quality|Masterwork|00:47, 29 September 2013 (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). Humans inhabit cities, towns, and the occasional above-ground fortress. Elves inhabit forest retreats. Dwarves are spread between "deep sites" which sometimes do not contain a direct connection to the surface, and "hill dwarves" which inhabit a loose collection of mounds built into hillsides. Human cities and towns are currently the only sites with shops and other places to officially buy goods.

If you have previously built a fort in the world that you select, your adventurer will be able to go visit it. If you have selected to "retire" the fortress rather than abandon it, you will likely be able to encounter all of the inhabitants from fortress mode. However, they will likely not have the same level of activity as they would in a bustling fortress-mode fort.

=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.

*'''Humans''' Always originate from one of the villages in the world. 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''' Human Outsiders are humans that aren't from that world or any of its villages. They simply appear in the wilderness, a stranger to all. You may always play as an outsider, even if the world is otherwise completely uninhabited. 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. This gives them many combat bonuses, which aids their survival greatly. 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 armour found in shops. Goblin armor fits them, making Dark Fortresses (if your computer can handle them) and bandits a viable source of armor; if you're up for it, you could also just kill some dwarves. They can start with almost all of the same weapon skills as civilized humans. Many larger 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. Elves also have the AT_PEACE_WITH_NATURE tag. This makes all wildlife passive towards them. Like dwarves they wear small sized clothing and will have the same problem finding suitable armour.

*'''Kobolds''' can be played only if there are no other civilizations and there are kobolds. They are very small and weak in combat and a huge challenge compared to the other races. They wear even smaller armour than the other races and armour will be impossible to find for them, unless you are absurdly lucky and run into armoured kobolds.

If no civilization for the given race exists in a world you can only play as an outsider.

== 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 you inflict in melee regardless of weapon used. Increases muscle size. This increased muscular layer helps prevent damage, although this is a pretty minor effect. 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. Agility is really, really important as being faster than the enemies allows you to get more hits in before they can fight back and lets you run away more easily.
*'''Toughness''': Reduces physical damage inflicted on you. Also relates to defensive combat skills.
*'''Endurance''': Reduces the rate at which the adventurer becomes exhausted. Becoming exhausted causes you to collapse, helpless and immobile and can cause you to pass out.
*'''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''': Seems to have some effect on vampirism infectivity; may have to do with infected wounds.

=== Soul ===

Some of these are useful for adventure-mode-applicable skills, but some are totally useless except as dump stats.

*'''Analytical Ability''': Useful only for Knapping; should be reduced to minimum.{{Verify}}

*'''Focus''': Affects Archer, Ambusher, Observer.

*'''Willpower''': Affects Fighter, Crutch Walker and Swimmer. Willpower is really important as it governs how easily you'll pass out from extreme pain. Low willpower is a death sentence if you are seriously wounded, as you'll pass out and have your head caved in. Broken bones currently cause enough pain that even very high willpower usually won't keep you conscious. For non bone injuries however willpower can keep you going long enough to kill enemies, or at least get away from them.

*'''Creativity''': Useless at the moment.

*'''Intuition''': Only helps with Observer, which aids in spotting concealed enemies and ambushes. A useless skill since you rarely see these in adventure mode.

*'''Patience''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

*'''Memory''': Memory aids greatly in mapping out areas as the higher your memory the longer you'll remember an area. As you explore you'll forget previously explored areas, causing them to appear blank, as if you had never been there. If you have low enough memory you'll forget areas of large locations like underground catacombs while you're still in them, making finding your way very confusing, as things like the exit wont be visible anymore until you find it again. Best to have at least average memory.

*'''Linguistic Ability''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

*'''Spatial Sense''': Important. Affects combat skills, Ambusher, Crutch Walker, Swimmer, Observer, Knapping.

*'''Musicality''': Completely useless. Use this as a dump stat.

*'''Kinaesthetic Sense''': Affects most combat skills, walking with crutches and swimming.

*'''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. Your fame still plays a bit part in whenever you can recruit followers or not.

=== 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 at enemies that are just a step away or finishing off a foe pinned down by a stuck weapon.

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

Note that different races have different names for their weapon skills. Axegoblin, Axedwarf etc.

Crossbowman is an exception. Dwarves call this skill Marksdwarf, although bow skill is referred to as Bow Dwarf as you'd expect. Elite Axe and Hammer dwarves are referred to as Lords.

*'''Axeman''': allows characters to use axes, great axes, and halberds more effectively. Useful for cleaving off limbs.
*'''Bowman''': skill allows characters to use bows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.
*'''Crossbowman''': allows characters to use crossbows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.
*'''Hammerman''': allows characters to use crossbows in melee, mauls, and war hammers more effectively. Useful for breaking limbs.
*'''Knife User''' - allows characters to use large daggers and knives more effectively. Useful for stabbing things.
*'''Lasher''' - allows characters to use whips and scourges more effectively. Very deadly weapons.
*'''Maceman''' - allows characters to use flails, maces, and morningstars more effectively. Similar to hammers.
*'''Pikeman''' - allows characters to use pikes more effectively. Like spears, but much bigger.
*'''Spearman''' - allows characters to use spears more effectively. Useful for stabbing things.
*'''Swordsman''' - allows characters to use blowguns and bows in melee, long swords, scimitars, short swords, and two-handed swords more effectively. Useful for cutting, stabbing, and whacking, but less effective than more dedicated weapons.

=== 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 even novice skill in this means that the adventurer will start with a shield. This is a no-brainer unless you're creating a two handed weapon user.
*'''Armor User''': A higher level of this skill reduces the encumbrance penalties of armour, allowing you to move faster when wearing it. It also affects how well armour protects you and this makes a huge difference. Unskilled armour users gain little protection. This is noticeable as you'll begin seeing far more combat reports about hits either striking you though armour, (you managed to use your armour to lessen the force of the blow) or being deflected by your armour (you used your amour to avoid the hit entirety) as your skill rises and you learn to actually use your armour to deflect hits. It is highly advised to train your armour skill before entering battle with it as the speed penalties of lower levels can be a serious handicap.
*'''Dodger''' - Ability to dodge out of the way of attacks. Dodger is incredibly important and will allow you to avoid many, many hits that would have otherwise injured you. Especially important when you are fighting unarmoured and can't afford a battle axe in the chest. Boost this to talented or at least close to it.

=== 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. Higher skill means all of these moves succeed more often. See [[#Wrestling and Unarmed Attacks]] for details. Can be raised very easily in game.
*'''Striker''' - Punching ability. Turns handy when weapons get stuck and there is no time to wrest them back.
*'''Kicker''' - Kicking ability. Same as Striker. Kicks are slower but more deadly than punches; heavy kicks are particularly good at crushing and exploding heads.
*'''Biter''' - Biting ability. Biting is surprisingly effective even with non animal races as after biting you can shake opponents around by your teeth, causing great damage and possibly ripping off body parts, although with sapient races this tends to lean more towards fingers or toes, perhaps the occasional hand or foot.
*'''Thrower''' - Throwing any miscellaneous object including rocks, knives, axes, swords, heads, etc. Skill affects accuracy and damage caused.
*'''Misc. Object User''' - Ability to beat things to death with anything that comes at hand, from bags to coins to their own severed body parts. Also somewhat more commonly used for shield bashing. This skill affects combat with any object, from a rock to a beehive. There are no separate skills for different items. Items actually intended to be weapons, like swords or axes, are unaffected by this skill.

=== Movement and Awareness ===

*'''[[Observer]]''' - Helps one to notice things like ambushes, enemies who are "sneaking" (stealth movement), and traps. Detection range increases with skill, but up to a maximum of 3 tiles away. 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, or possibly after an unfriendly encounter with a creature in 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. Enemies will have "sight ranges" from where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The red zone of sight is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; the yellow is where they might see you. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.
*'''[[Climber]]''' - The skill of climbing up walls, into trees, and around the edges of gorges. Higher levels reduce the chance of falling and increase the speed of a climbing character.
*'''[[Tracker]]''' - The skill of tracking your quarry, whether it be animals or goblins. Higher levels will let you spot more tracks and help you distinguish different tracks.

=== 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. Adding more points is a waste, as novice allows you to read anything.
*'''[[Butcher]]''' - The art of turning corpses into piles of delicious prepared brains and meat for food. You cannot allocate points here during character creation, but that's OK since skill doesn't really affect anything anyway.

= Gameplay =

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

== Moving Around ==

=== Local Movement ===
[[File:Advmode_normaltravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|An image of normal travel mode. A list of the closest (but not necessarily close) sites is in the top-left corner. On the right side are minimaps of the next two levels down, relative to the player. Along the bottom is information about the player.]]
{| 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}}
| Open Movement Speed/Sneak Menu
|}

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.

If you hit {{k|j}}, you can {{k|j}}ump. This is mostly useful for crossing gorges and crevices, where you have to get to the other side. Occasionally, you can manage to jump onto an opponent and tackle them, which typically causes them to go flying a short distance.

Hitting {{k|.}} allows you to stay in one place and wait for other things to move. {{k|,}} does the same but with a shorter waiting period.

Use {{k|s}} to sit/lie 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. Enemies will have "sight ranges" from where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The red zone of sight is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; the yellow is where they might see you. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.

If you {{k|h}}old onto a wall or tree, you can climb the wall or tree by using the movement keys. In towns and tamer parts of the countryside, this isn't particularly useful. However, in a combat situation, climbing a tree or wall can give you a height advantage, possibly allowing you to dive-tackle your opponents. Sometimes, mountains will be too steep to walk up the edge, or you will find a deep drop into a ravine. In these cases, you will have to climb up to reach the top, or perhaps jump or climb down one face, then climb up the other.

=== Fast Travel ===
[[File:Advmode_fasttravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|Fast Travel screen. The player is in a hamlet, between the houses to the right and the mead hall in the top-left area of the map. The asterisk represents a group of creatures (in this case unfriendly goblins). The world map (in sepia) is on the far right.]]
{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"
|-
| {{k|T}}
| Fast Travel
|-
| {{k|d}}
| 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.

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|d}}.

== 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.)
|-
| {{k|q}}
| Sheath your weapons and shield. (Frees your hands for tasks such as climbing or grabbing)
|}

=== 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 on 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. You also must put on equipment in an order that makes sense,. for example a shirt first ''then'' the armor, not the other way around. Armour must also be put on in a sensible manner with flexible layers such as chainmail first then rigid plate armour second. After all, who, in real life, would wear chainmail over a hard plate?

''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, for example a copper mail shirt and a copper breastplate. The thin, flexible chain can be worn under the breastplate, but not the other way around.

=== 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.

While normally one would only be able to equip one item in each hand, removing items from your inventory results in them being wielded regardless of whether one's hands are full. This is especially useful with shields, as every shield will contribute a block chance to each incoming attack.

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 which will appear in your inventory when they become stuck in you. Removing stuck arrows can cause bleeding so it is not always a good idea mid combat, but stuck objects will slow you down as you are encumbered by their weight. It s best to remove them as soon as possible when it is safe and you are not in danger of bleeding to death.

Advanced interaction can also be used to steal enemy equipment. Use [[wrestling]] to grab hold of a piece of enemy equipment, such as their weapon, or a helmet protecting their squishy brain and it will appear in the advanced interaction menu. Simply select it and choose "gain possession". if successful you'll take it from them. This can be very useful in battle.

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).

Advanced interactions 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. You can refill waterskins. from a nearby liquid source as well

===Sheathing===
The {{k|q}} key lets you put your weapons in their sheaths or strap them to your back.

This is useful because you can't climb unless your hands are free, or if you want to pinch something to death, without dealing with the container interface.

People will also be less likely to scared of you on first sight, if they are not your enemy.

== 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 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.

In local travel mode you'll have to use the {{k|W}} command.

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. The most common weather you'll experience is rain. Rain is shown as blue moving dots on the local travel screen and will unsurprisingly cause everything outside to become wet. Temperature is important because if it happens to drop below freezing while you're swimming through water, you'll instantly die from being encased in the ice.

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.

Freezing weather can also freeze liquids in your inventory solid, making them undrinkable. If your water freezes and you are thirsty, make a campfire and {{k|I}}nteract with your waterskin to heat it over the fire and melt the ice.

== 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 generating a world using [[advanced world generation]] 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 bet 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 amount of 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 else 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 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
|}

In older versions, the easiest way to stay hydrated and full when starting out was by killing an animal and drinking its blood, which would cover your body. However, the ability to drink fluids on your body was greatly nerfed, perhaps made impossible in the .40 update, likely to prevent you from staying hydrated forever by drinking your own ((constantly-flowing)) tears. Now, you must find a river, stream, or well in a town and fill your waterskin from it.

Note that drinking vampire blood will turn you into a vampire instantly.

Make sure to eat or drink regularly even if you're not hungry or thirsty, as you can only eat or drink three times in a row: after that you'll need to rest, or wait until you can consume another meal. If you find yourself in need of both food and hydration, make sure to take care of the most urgent problem first, as if you are moderately hungry but severely dehydrated and eat three times, you may die before you have another chance to drink.

If the temperature is low enough you might have trouble finding liquid water. Snow and ice can be heated into water by first making a campfire with {{k|g}} and then performing an advanced interaction with {{k|I}} on the ice or snow in your inventory to heat it. Advanced interactions with your waterskin can also be used to gather water from water sources, or snow from the ground.

== 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. 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.

There are several options below the hitting menu. Quick attacks are faster than regular attacks but weaker. Heavy attacks are slower but attack harder. Wild attacks are faster and hit harder but are inaccurate. Precise attacks are very slow but are much more likely to hit. Multi-attacks allow you to attack several times in a row at a great penalty.

=== Ranged Attacks ===

To attack with a ranged weapon press the {{k|f}} key with a ranged weapon (bow, crossbow, etc.) equipped on one hand and select the square where you want to attack. Note that you need to have some sort of ammo, corresponding to the type of ranged weapon you are using (for example, bows use arrows, crossbows use bolts). Otherwise, a message stating "You have nothing left to fire." is displayed in brown. 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 effect 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 in to 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, but if you continually auto-attack a harmless creature with it your wrestling-skill will be legendary in no time.

*'''{{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 safely 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:Advmode_conversation_DF2014.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 capital'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 Burninator."
*'''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 usually seem to) 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. Apparently, everyone is telepathic, and won'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.

Speaking with companions by pressing {{k|k}} and selecting them and then choosing "Exchange, give or take personal items" in the general conversation screen allows you to trade with as you would a shop keeper, which also mean you have to trade to get any item back. When they die you can loot their corpses however, and they will drop anything they cannot hold on the ground, which is free for the taking. (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.

== Personal Finance ==

=== 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. You can also steal items from a fortress without any consequences, but it is unknown if you can do this if there is someone else in the room to see you. {{verify}}

'''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 as well as sell all of your loot directly for gold coins. Remember, merchants will always try to pay you in higher denomination currency first but will resort to lower value coins if they run out of anything higher. First, check the merchant's chest to see how much of each type of coins they have.

Coin values are as follows:
* Copper Coin = 1☼
* Silver Coin = 5☼
* Gold Coin = 15☼

To receive the maximum amount of gold coins from that merchant, make sure the amount "they owe you" during the trade is equal to (total amount of gold coins the shop has)*15☼ . If you are selling loot, simply make sure you only trade this worth of goods, and move on to other merchants for the rest. If you wish to exchange copper and silver coins for gold, buy random goods from the merchant until their price is around this value and then sell back all of the goods for their original value but in gold.

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.

Another devious method is to go outside the shop, {{k|g}}rab handfuls of mud and throw it into your backpack, then sell them for 1☼ each. The merchants will gladly buy your rare and valuable mud despite the unlimited free mud just outside their shop.

== Quests ==

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

{{Migrated_section}}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}}.

'''[[Knapper|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.''' 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.

= Sites =

More information on each type of site can be found in the site's specific article.

== Civilization ==

[[Civilization]]s are organized groups of creatures (generally of the same race) which build sites such as towns.

=== Human Sites ===

==== Towns {{Raw Tile|+|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|*|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|#|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|☼|7:0:0}} ====
Humans live in towns comprised of buildings and often a paved road. Human towns are highly modular, and are usually coastal. 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.

Towns usually have lots of interesting structures which are described fully in the [[town]] article.

==== Hamlets ====
Most of the time, the majority of a human civilization's population will live in small [[hamlet]]s, which tend to be sprawled out along coastlines and through river valleys. Like other sites, they can be invaded, and you'll sometimes find them captured by other civilizations, [[necromancer]]s, or criminal syndicates. Human adventurers usually spawn in hamlets.

=== Dwarven Sites ===

==== Dwarf Fortresses {{Raw Tile|Ω|7:0:1}} ====
These are the randomly generated equivalent of the sites you build in [[dwarf fortress mode]]. [[Fortress]]es are described in detail in the own article. Their main function for adventurers is that they have a central, spiraling ramp that connects the underground and above-ground worlds, particularly in that they connect the subterranean mountain halls to the rest of the dwarf civilization. They are located at the edges of mountain ranges.

==== Mountain Halls {{Raw Tile|Ω|0:0:1}} ====
These are the "deep sites" of the dwarves, located far beneath the mountains. Not much is known about [[Mountain Halls|mountain halls]] yet. They can be entered by descending the central ramp of the major dwarf fortresses, and are usually over a hundred z-levels deep.

==== Hillocks {{Raw Tile|Ω|7:0:0}} ====
[[Hillock]]s are the dwarf equivalent to human hamlets. They consist of a few "hobbit holes" filled with dwarf citizens. There doesn't seem to be any settlement pattern for them; they are equally likely to be found in any land [[biome]].

=== Elven Sites ===

==== Forest Retreats {{Raw Tile|î|6:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|¶|6:0:1}} ====
Elves live in [[forest retreat]]s located, unsurprisingly, in [[forest]] biomes. They are essentially clusters of huge [[tree]]s with elves standing in and around them.

=== Goblin Sites ===

==== Dark Fortresses {{Raw Tile|π|0:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|π|5:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|π|5:0:1}} ====
These are the main goblin sites. Some [[dark fortress]]es may contain a [[Underground Spire|certain spoiler]].

==== Dark Pits ====
These are the goblin equivalent of hamlets and hillocks. [[Dark Pit]]s are essentially canyons lined with wooden guard towers. They tend to be built in huge clusters around the dark fortresses, such that large chunks of the map may be covered with them.

= FAQ =

== 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. If you ever get lost, you can quickly get back to the surface by traveling under a village and retiring there. When you unretire, you'll be aboveground.

== I keep getting maimed and killed! How can I fight without getting seriously hurt? ==
The best defense is a good offense. 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. If your enemy is one space away from you, use that as an opportunity to throw a knife or a rock at them; worst case, they will get a bruise or a cut; best case, they will start the melee severely crippled. If you're fast enough, then you can simply step back after getting in that first hit, and they'll have to spend their turn approaching you again. Lather, rinse, repeat.
* Follow the advice under [[#Combat Preferences|Combat Preferences]].

== How can I obtain armor as quickly as possible? ==
* Here's the evil way. In some cases, this will lead to several people being angry at you, spitting on you, and hating you, but other times the weaklings nearby will just start crying in the fetal position in the corner, which can actually speed up the process by giving you easy pickings for more armor.
** It's relatively easy to obtain some armor by killing a sleeping soldier in a fort and taking his stuff. Alternatively, you can recruit the soldier, and get them killed by natural means, such as drowning.
** 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 a store and sell your loot. Unless you've killed enough people to get a national reputation or have killed somebody the shopkeeper knows, they generally won't care.
* Loot friendly fortress keeps and the dungeons of towns. All equipment and items held within containers in fortresses and keeps are free for the taking, and will not result in being branded as a thief. Be wary of the dungeons, however; you're not the only one attracted to shiny things.
* 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 (murder) and will cause you much less trouble. Even better: if you have Novice or better in Swimmer, you can take a dip in a lake or river (or any other body of water) and they will follow suit; drowning in the process, if they have Dabbling or lower in Swimmer.

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

== How do I increase my skills and attributes? (Power-leveling) ==

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_by_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 repeatedly. You can wrestle using {{k|A}} followed by {{k|Enter}}. Continually grabbing and releasing a creature is sufficient to raise your skill, and you can do it indefinitely with the same animal as it won't be injured (unless you auto-wrestle it). Wrestling will increase Kinesthetic Sense, Spatial Sense, and to a lesser extent, Endurance. You may also somewhat increase Dodging and Shield User this way as the creature takes swipes at you.It's possible to change your {{k|C}}ombat preferences for attacking and dodging to ''Close Combat'' and ''Stand Ground'', respectively, allowing you to simply walk into the helpless critter to wrestle it. (Standing your ground prevents you from moving to dodge attacks, so your wrestling can continue almost uninterrupted.) You will, however, perform occasional throws and take-downs as long as the creature remains standing, which may result in their eventual bleeding to death. Strangulation is also a repeated concern, as it will render the victim unconscious, thus making you have to wait until it regains consciousness before you can continue auto-wrestling it (though you may still raise your Wrestler and Fighter skills by 10 points for every time you ''release'' a limb - though this must be done manually and must be repeatedly confirmed, once the creature is rendered unconscious). Another concern with auto-wrestling some animals is that you will perform joint locks, and break hips, knees, and ankles in the process, which can cause the creature to bleed to death. If you can wrangle a creature incapable of blood-loss and strangulation in a high-FPS area (such as a crab on a frozen beach), you can easily raise all associated skills and attributes to Legendary and Superhuman in the course of a few minutes.
*'''Shield User, Armor User, and Dodging''' - In addition to wrestling the creature, you can also sit back 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 when it hits. Also, to place emphasis more heavily on shield blocking, you can change your attack {{K|C}}ombat preference to ''Stand Ground''. The wrestling-a-crab-on-a-frozen-beach method also works fantastically for this.
*'''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.
*'''Throwing and Archery''' - Throwing rocks with {{k|t}} will raise your Throwing and Archery skills. Throwing objects at creatures, while not as completely devastating as it once was, can still come in handy. (In early 31.xx, somebody killed a bronze colossus by throwing a fluffy wambler at its head. We can only hope the wambler survived.) Although throwing is a way to raise Archery without wasting ammunition, there is a non-wasteful method that additionally increases bow/crossbow skills.The most efficient way to level via throwing is to forgo using a macro and separate training into two phases: {{k|g}}etting and {{k|t}}hrowing. First, find a tile with an indefinite amount of throwable objects (e.g., snow, rocks, mud, etc.). Then, sequentially mash {{k|g}} and whatever key the rocks are assigned to until both your forearms explode. Rest. Then, sequentially mash {{k|t}}, followed by some consistent key assigned to your rocks, then {{k|enter}}, until you've emptied your inventory. Rest. Rinse and repeat. (You may wish to empty your inventory beforehand such that the rocks are assigned to a key close to {{k|t}}, allowing you to keep one hand on {{k|enter}} and another on {{k|t}}.)
*'''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 directly beneath it. If bolts or arrows hit a wall that has floor/ground on the same z-level, then the ammunition will be destroyed. ''However'', ammunition that falls at least one z-level after hitting a wall will remain intact. So, simply find something like a hill inside a castle, stand on it, then shoot at a wall which is on the same z-level you are. The arrows will hit the wall and fall one z-level to the ground, remaining intact. You can then {{k|g}}et the arrows and {{k|f}}ire them at the wall again from the hill, ad infinitum. You can also stand next to a wall that's two or more z-levels high, aiming at the wall one z-level up by hitting {{k|<}} after hitting {{k|f}}. Whatever method you employ, the key is that the arrow needs to fall at least one z-level after hitting a wall to remain intact. Using a macro will speed this up greatly.
*'''Ambushing and Swimming''' - An efficient way to raise Ambushing is to sneak over large stretches of land, possibly in preference to fast {{k|T}}raveling. Ideally, this would be done in a biome containing sparse vegetation and few threatening creatures to blunder into and reduce FPS (e.g., a frozen beach).Although less efficient for raising only Ambushing, it's also possible to sneak and swim at the same time, thus combining their training. ''Just make sure you start with at least Novice in swimming'', or you'll find swimming practically impossible to train. Swimming can very quickly improve your Strength, Agility, and Endurance. Additionally, if you can safely drown and then recover (e.g., by moving under a bridge and then back before suffocating), this will raise both Toughness and Endurance at a ''ridiculous'' pace-- a single step spent drowning will raise both attributes by a fifth of a point apiece.
*'''Observer''' - You can't really power-level 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. However, one way to train it appears to be sleeping or walking around in the wilderness, allowing yourself to be repeatedly ambushed. This is, however, inherently dangerous. Running away from these encounters would probably be faster than slaying your assailants, if not generally safer for your character (but not for your companions, hoh boy).Successfully detecting traps found in tombs and catacombs (performed automatically) will also raise Observer. However, without decent skill to begin with, you'll be torn to pieces by the many traps you'll fail to see. Otherwise, once you've found one or more traps, it's possible to grind experience by sleeping/waiting an hour, thus resetting the traps. Rinse and repeat.
*'''Spatial and Kinesthetic Sense''' - While sharpening rocks with {{k|x}} will improve your Knapping skill, it more importantly increases your Spatial Sense and Kinesthetic Sense attributes, which affect a number of other skills. Knapping can be combined with throwing via 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? ==

'Tis but a scratch!

Unfortunately, there is only one way to get them back, and that is by being bitten by a [[werebeast]] and surviving until the next full moon. 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.

== What creatures of night can I become? ==

You basically have four different choices.

Firstly, you can become a [[necromancer]].
* That gives you some traits of an undead. Namely, you don't need to eat, sleep or drink, don't tire or age, zombies or mummies don't attack you and your physical stats are permanently fixed.
* The last one means it's wise to train them beforehand.
* You also can raise dead from the {{K|x}} menu. Depending on the flavor of your spell, zombies can be slow, very slow or not slow at all. They will be listed as companions.
* To become a necromancer, find a necromancer tower and obtain a book or slab containing secrets of life and death from there, then read it. Note that most of the books are useless. In younger worlds necromancers may not have built their towers yet, in which case they'll be hanging at a zombie bandit camp, slab under the arm.

Secondly, you can become a [[vampire]].
* That gives you most traits of an undead. In addition to the listed above, you don't feel pain, don't breathe and immune to most syndromes.
* Your strength, agility and toughness are doubled.
* They're still fixed forever, so, again, be prepared.
* Despite not needing to drink water, you have a hunger for warm blood. To satisfy it, beat someone or something unconscious and {{K|e}}at their blood. However, if you become a necromancer after {{verify}} becoming a vampire, you will not need to drink blood.
* To become a vampire, defeat one in combat and drink his blood.

Thirdly, you can become a [[werebeast]].
* This gives you the (uncontrolled) ability to transform into a powerful half-man, half-beast on a full moon.
* There's a fixed list of animals on which the werebeast is based, including goat, llama, lizard, horse, monitor, buffalo, moose, tortoise, camel, kangaroo, ape, gecko, bear, hyena, warthog, iguana, skink, shrew, elk, skunk, pig, raccoon, panda, mole, badger, armadillo, mammoth and more.
* Most importantly, upon transformation (both ways) all your wounds, including missing limbs, are instantly healed.
* You don't show any abnormalcy outside of beast form. You are still mortal.
* When in beast form, everything is hostile to you, you don't need to drink, eat, sleep or breathe, don't feel pain, don't tire and are immune to some syndromes.
* One randomly chosen metal is ten times as deadly to you than usual. All other materials deal you half damage.
* Werebeast's size is several times their base animal size, but no less than 80000. This means all armor will be too small for you while in beast form. But you can still use a shield.
* Also, some werebeasts are truly gigantic — weremammoth has a size of 9000000, on par with demons.
* To become a werebeast, make one bite you. It has to be in the beast form.
* You cannot be a werebeast and a vampire at the same time.

And finally, you can become a mist [[zombie]].
* This makes you undead. In addition to vampire traits, you can see without eyes and can't die via blood loss or beheading. Note that you don't have health point limit raised zombies have.
* You become permanently hostile to everyone except other undead.
* Your strength and toughness are tripled and fixed. Train beforehand.
* Depending on the flavor of zombie virus, your speed may or may not drop to 20% or 60% of its normal value.
* To become a mist zombie, find a mist/fog cloud that zombifies creatures and delve headdeep into it.
* You cannot become a vampire or a werebeast if you are already a zombie. The other way, however, is fine.

=See Also=
*[[Main:Adventure Mode quick reference|Adventure Mode Quick Reference]]
*[[Main:Adventure mode quick start|Adventure Mode Quickstart Guide]]

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

File:Advmode normaltravel DF2014.png

2014-07-17T04:31:33Z

Lue: A screenshot of normal travel in DF2014.

== Summary ==
A screenshot of normal travel in DF2014.
== Licensing ==
{{Non-free Dwarf Fortress Screenshot}}

Adventure mode quick reference

2014-07-15T23:22:55Z

Lue: Update keybindings list

{{Quality|Superior|20:04, 23 April 2013 (UTC)}}{{av}}
These are the keys used in [[Adventurer mode]].

==Key Bindings==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| valign='top' style="width: 50%; padding: 0 1em" |
{{KReference|Movement|
*{{k|8}} {{k|2}} {{k|4}} {{k|6}} {{k|7}} {{k|9}} {{k|1}} {{k|3}} - Move
*{{k|↑}} {{k|↓}} {{k|←}} {{k|→}} - Move
*{{k|Alt}}+{{k|(direction)}} - Move carefully or 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 10 instants
*{{k|,}} - Wait for 1 instant
*{{k|j}} - Jump. Sprint in movement options to run and jump.
*{{k|h}} - Start climbing by grabbing {{k|h}}old of a wall or tree
*{{k|s}} - Stand or lie down*
*{{k|S}} - Movement Speed and Sneak settings
*{{k|T}} - Fast Travel
*{{k|m}} - Open movement preferences interface
}}
<nowiki>*</nowiki>Use {{k|s}} to lay down then crawl past NPCs blocking your way.

{{KReference|Combat|
*{{k|8}} {{k|2}} {{k|4}} {{k|6}} {{k|7}} {{k|9}} {{k|1}} {{k|3}} - Random attack on adjacent creature
*{{k|↑}} {{k|↓}} {{k|←}} {{k|→}} - Random attack on adjacent creature
*{{k|A}} - Attack an adjacent creature
*{{k|f}} - Fire a projectile
*{{k|t}} - Throw an item
*{{k|C}} - Open combat preferences interface
}}

{{KReference|Environment|
*{{k|l}} - Look around
*{{k|L}} - Search the nearby area very carefully (chance of discovering small creatures)
*{{k|k}} - Talk to somebody
*{{k|K}} - Display tracks
*{{k|Alt+k}} - Describe tracks underfoot.
*{{k|c}} - View companion interface
*{{k|o}} - Describe odor.
*{{k|O}} - Show strongest odor.
*{{k|u}} - Interact with lever, building, furniture, or mechanism.
*{{k|y}} - Assume or abandon a submissive position (yield).
}}
| valign='top' |
{{KReference|Items|
*{{k|i}} - Inventory
*{{k|d}} - Drop an item
*{{k|g}} - Pickup an item
*{{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 inventory (unstick a weapon, refill waterskin etc)
*{{k|x}} - Perform action (butcher, create item, spit at someone...)
}}
<nowiki>*</nowiki>If you want to get a specific item from your backpack to your hand (wield weapon), {{k|p}}ut current item into the backpack, and {{k|r}}emove the other item from the backpack.

{{KReference|Information|
*{{k|z}} - Status
*{{k|Space}} - Advance/Clear Messages
*{{k|a}} - View Announcements
*{{k|Q}} - Adventure log (tasks, map, et cetera...)
}}

{{KReference|Food/Sleep|
*{{k|Z}} - Sleep
*{{k|e}} - Eat or drink something
}}

{{KReference|Time/Weather|
*{{k|D}} - Date
*{{k|P}} - Temperature
*{{k|W}} - Weather and time of day
}}

{{KReference|Travel Keys|
*{{k|8}} {{k|2}} {{k|4}} {{k|6}} {{k|7}} {{k|9}} {{k|1}} {{k|3}} - Move.
*{{k|↑}} {{k|↓}} {{k|←}} {{k|→}} - Move.
*{{k|<}} or {{k|>}} - Move into/out of tunnel.
*{{k|c}} - Start/stop cloud viewing.
*{{k|d}} - Visit location.
*{{k|h}} - Display/hide instructions
*{{k|m}} - Display/hide map.
*{{k|s}} - Sneak.
*{{k|K}} - Display all nearby tracks and strongest odor.
*{{k|Q}} - Adventure log/information.
*{{k|Z}} - Sleep/wait.
}}

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

User talk:Briess

2014-07-15T23:07:52Z

Lue: /* Adventure mode redirect */ new section

{{archive|*[[User_talk:Briess/archive1|archive 1]]
*[[User_talk:Briess/archive2|archive 2]]
*[[User_talk:Briess/archive3|archive 3]]
*[[User_talk:Briess/archive4|archive 4]]
*[[User_talk:Briess/archive5|archive 5]]
*[[User_talk:Briess/archive6|archive 6]]
}}
== Can't move [[:File:Fäden.png]] ==

It's used on [[cv:thread]], but I can't seem to move it to a better title. I think it's because of the <s>accent</s> umlaut - is there any way you can change its name manually in the database? ([[Wikipedia:mw:Manual:MoveBatch.php|This maintenance script]] should do the trick, but it requires a little setup and it might run into the same problem.) —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 19:17, 13 March 2014 (UTC)
: I missed this. Where should this be moved to? I can give the script a try --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 20:35, 4 May 2014 (UTC)
::I was thinking something like [[:f:thread.png]] or [[:f:rope reed fiber thread.png]] would work. If not, I can always reupload it and delete the original (assuming that works). —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 20:52, 4 May 2014 (UTC)
::: Oops, that was my file. I guess i should take it as reminder to label files something more accessible when they're intended for public use and not just my own stuff. --[[User:Larix|Larix]] ([[User talk:Larix|talk]]) 14:31, 6 May 2014 (UTC)
::: Can't get the move to work. I'll have to play with the DB if I want to do that. --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 03:39, 16 June 2014 (UTC)
:::: Might be because I already moved it. :) (Can't remember where at the moment, but it's on [[thread]]). —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 03:44, 16 June 2014 (UTC)
::::: Derp. --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 05:49, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

== Announcements "NEW" icon ==

Can you please add an ID attribute to the red "NEW" message in the sidebar, so I can make it hidden? Thanks {{User:Latias1290/Sig/src|13:20|March 23, 2014}}
:Removed it, since it's clearly not "new" anymore. —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 15:55, 23 March 2014 (UTC)

== [[:File:Old0c3822.png]] ==

This file is missing, but is used on {{tl|old}} and has a history page: [https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php?title=File:Old0c3822.png&action=history]. Any idea what happened to it? (Other files appear to be unaffected.) —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 20:16, 4 May 2014 (UTC)
:No idea. Going to rebuild images now then --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 20:30, 4 May 2014 (UTC)
::And it's back after a rebuild --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 20:30, 4 May 2014 (UTC)
::Rebuilding images is now a cronjob that will run every 30 minutes on dfaux1 as well now --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 20:32, 4 May 2014 (UTC)

== Creature token page seems to be causing your server trouble ==

http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2012:Creature_token comes up with a completely blank (like, about:blank blank) for me and pretty much everyone else I've asked about it. I can get the contents by pulling them from google's cache, but the site itself seems to refuse to let you load it. From experience as a webhost, this generally means that the page has encountered a critical error in its scripting, which it will dump in the error log instead of reporting to the user, for security reasons. I would suggest scouring your error logs. Don't know why this particular page is causing issues. [[Special:Contributions/74.67.17.69|74.67.17.69]] 07:23, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

Probably a rendering time issue - the other versions load fine, but v0.31 takes the longest (I'm pretty sure the v0.34 page is the largest). Using action=raw also works. —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 10:43, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

Okay, disabling AutoRedirect fixed this, so I'm currently disabling pieces of it to see what's causing the problem. —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 19:41, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

It appears that the TitleIsAlwaysKnown is the problem, presumably because it takes a lot of time to render on a large page like [[creature token]]. Unfortunately, this is the hook that makes links and searching work. I'll try making the extension skip section links, since they account for most of the links in that article and don't need to be handled at all. —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 19:48, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

All right, that seems to have worked. The render time is back down to 1.2 seconds, which is pretty good for such a long page. —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 20:11, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

Awesome, glad I could help. [[Special:Contributions/2604:6000:FB03:4601:BE5F:F4FF:FE3B:6A61|2604:6000:FB03:4601:BE5F:F4FF:FE3B:6A61]] 16:04, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

== MWExceptions ==

Greycat is having problems with editing (may be proxy-related again): http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=139510.0 —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 11:04, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

== Bot is removing av template ==

[http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php?title=DF2014:Puddingstone&diff=204589&oldid=203339 this edit is an example]. Just letting you know. [[User:Brightgalrs|Brightgalrs]] ([[User talk:Brightgalrs|talk]]) 19:39, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
:And it's deleting the stonelookup template too. [http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php?title=DF2014:Puddingstone&diff=204589&oldid=203339 example]. [[User:Brightgalrs|Brightgalrs]] ([[User talk:Brightgalrs|talk]]) 19:41, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
::It looks like it searched for "<nowiki>{{quality|.*}}</nowiki>" when doing the "remove quality" step, which ended up matching way too much. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] ([[User talk:Quietust|talk]]) 21:45, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
:::Working on a way to revert those using the bot but it will take a bit. --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 22:06, 11 July 2014 (UTC)
::::I'll get them. I've been meaning to find an excuse to use AWB here. Cheers [[User:Brightgalrs|Brightgalrs]] ([[User talk:Brightgalrs|talk]]) 19:47, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
:::::Awesome. Thanks! --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 00:15, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

== Server woes ==

I can't insert {{tl|DF2014 plants/trees}} into {{tl|DF2014 plants}}; the server times out/fails to respond each time I try.--[[User:Loci|Loci]] ([[User talk:Loci|talk]]) 19:15, 11 July 2014 (UTC)
: I'll take a look. --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 22:05, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

== Cannot confirm email address ==

[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=140530.0#msg5470497 It's been mentioned on the forum], and I thought I'd let you know here, since I see it too.

When I went to the page to start the confirmation process, I was told the email had already been sent. After waiting quite a while without anything, I decided to ask for another email, and that's when I encountered this error:

:Dwarf Fortress Wiki could not send your confirmation mail. Please check your e-mail address for invalid characters.

:Mailer returned: Unknown error in PHP's mail() function.

Hopefully this will be an easy fix, sorry I don't have anything more specific for you to follow up on. —[[User:Lue|Lue]] ([[User talk:Lue|talk]]) 00:00, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
:Thanks for the heads up. I'm aware of the issue but have not had the time yet to diagnose and fix - I am planning on spending some time with it this upcoming week. --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 05:33, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

== Adventure mode redirect ==

For some reason [[adventure mode]] redirects to the 0.34.11 adventurer mode page, so I went to see if I could change this. Apparently, it contains a redirect to [[adventurer mode]], which redirects to the DF2014 page. I'm not quite sure what's going on here, so I thought I should bring this up. It's perhaps related to why the [[adventure mode]] links in [[DF2014:Adventure mode quick start]] are red, which is why I was looking into it in the first place. —[[User:Lue|Lue]] ([[User talk:Lue|talk]]) 23:07, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

Adventure mode quick start

2014-07-15T23:00:59Z

Lue: First pass on updating this page.

{{Migrated_article}}
{{quality|unrated}}
<div style="float:right; margin:1.5em">__TOC__</div>
{{av}}

This guide provides step-by-step instruction for those who have never played Dwarf Fortress in '''Adventure Mode''' before. It assumes that you have already installed the game and can navigate the menus on your own, but no significant knowledge of how to play Fortress Mode is required.

Read the full [[adventure mode]] documentation for additional detail.

= Common UI Concepts =

{{KeyConventions}}

= World Generation =

Some custom worlds which are interesting for fortress mode may be annoying for adventure mode for various reasons such as few civilizations, low population, certain races not existing, lack of access to metals, or history being so far advanced that many fortresses and [[town]]s have been abandoned.

For your first game it's best to start with a generic world to avoid potential problems. You can come back to an existing world once you have the hang of things.

See [[World generation]] if you need help with world generation.

{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|For your first game...|'''Generate a world using''' {{DFtext|Create New World!}} '''with:'''
* {{DFtext|World Size}} is {{DFtext|Medium|3:1}}
* {{DFtext|History}} is {{DFtext|Short|3:1}}
* {{DFtext|Number of Civilizations}} is {{DFtext|High|3:1}}
* {{DFtext|Number of Sites}} is {{DFtext|High|3:1}}
* {{DFtext|Number of Beasts}} is {{DFtext|Medium|3:1}}
* {{DFtext|Natural Savagery}} is {{DFtext|Medium|3:1}}
* {{DFtext|Mineral Occurrence}} is {{DFtext|Frequent|3:1}}
These settings should help avoid the aforementioned problems.
}}

= Character Creation =

== Race and Civilization==
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|float=right|For your first game...|'''Select Human of some civilization (not outsider).'''}}
The first step in starting an [[adventure mode]] game is to choose the race (and civilization) of your adventurer. All three races can complete the same quests.

*'''Civilized Humans''' begin with bronze, iron, or silver 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. This is probably the best race to use when starting out.

*'''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. Be aware this extends to backpacks, which are very difficult to find in shops. Bandit camps are likely your best bet to locate one.

*'''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.

*'''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. Finally, while this is of limited benefit, they are at peace with the wilderness and therefore will never be attacked by wild animals.

== Status ==
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|float=right|For your first game...|'''Select Demigod as your status.''' Even as a demigod you will likely die early and often anyway.}}
You can then choose to start as either a '''Peasant''', '''Hero''' or '''Demigod'''. Each offers progressively more points to spend on attributes and skills. These three options essentially amount to how difficult it is to get started, so to make things easier for your first game you may want to just pick "demigod".

== Starting Attributes ==
These are the attributes you start with. They will go up as your skills increase which means that many of them can be raised in game, sometimes rather easily. '''Agility''', '''Toughness''', and '''Strength''' are probably the most important, in that order. '''Endurance''' keeps a character from getting exhausted too quickly in battle, and '''Social Awareness''' increases the number of followers you can have at one time.

Other attributes to keep in mind in the future: '''Focus''' helps with Archer, Observer, and Ambusher. '''Willpower''' helps characters resist exertion/pain effects. '''Spatial Sense''' helps combat skills. '''Kinesthetic Sense''' helps with most skills involving any movement at all. These are less important to start out with, though, because they can be raised by doing various things in game, some of which are explained in the [[#Tips|tips]] section.

Some attributes like Musicality are currently completely useless. (For more, see [[cv:Adventurer_mode#Soul|Adventurer Mode - Attributes]])

{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|For your first game...|'''Select the following attributes:'''

* Superior '''Strength'''
* High '''Agility'''
* High '''Toughness'''
* High '''Endurance'''
* Very Low '''Analytical Ability'''
* Superior '''Willpower'''
* Very Low '''Creativity'''
* Very Low '''Patience'''
* Very Low '''Linguistic Ability'''
* Very Low '''Musicality'''
* Above Average '''Social Awareness'''

The others are either less important, easier to raise by doing things in game, or totally useless. Note that you won't have enough attribute points to increase all of these unless you set status to Demigod.

Analytical Ability, Creativity, Patience, Linguistic Ability, and Musicality are all mostly or completely useless, so turning them down gives you enough points to do all this. Willpower is so important because willpower lets you resist passing out due to injuries and, to a lesser extent, helps prevent exhaustion, so raising it up to Superior will not only kill two birds with one stone, but will also give you the ability to reach extremely high willpower levels. It also helps with Crutch Walker in case you lose or break a leg.

Later you may find that you want to start with different attributes, but these are a good safe starting point. For example, you may find that later you don't care about the extra follower from Social Awareness and want to increase Spatial Sense or something instead, but for purposes of getting through this tutorial alive the extra follower will help.}}

Read up on [[Attribute|attributes]] for more information.

== Starting Skills ==
These are what you start out with for skills, though you can increase them and develop others by doing things in game. The most important in the beginning are a specific melee weapon skill (such as '''Swordsman'''), and defensive skills like '''Shield User''', '''Armor User''', and '''Dodger'''.

Defensive skills are absolutely critical if you don't want to die instantly. (See [[Fighter|combat skills]] for more info.) '''Observer''' is important for avoiding ambushes, which often mean instant death if sleeping, and '''Swimmer''' helps to avoid drowning. Others such as Fighter are useful but increase rather easily on their own in game. Novice '''Reader''' is important, not only if you wish to become a Necromancer (as there is currently no way of raising this skill) but because without it you are unable to read signs, which can be very inconvenient, and can make some quests harder to complete.

{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|For your first game...|'''Select the following starting skills:'''

* Proficient '''Swordsman''' (feel free to substitute a different melee weapon skill for this)
* Adequate '''Observer'''
* Novice '''Swimmer'''
* Proficient '''Shield User'''
* Proficient '''Armor User'''
* Proficient '''Dodger'''
* Novice '''Reader'''

The rest of the skills are relatively easy to raise in game or aren't that important at the beginning. Note that you won't have enough skill points to select all of these unless you previously selected Demigod as your status.

As with attributes, you may later find that you want to experiment with different skill point allocations, but these are some good safe starting choices for purposes of getting through the tutorial.}}

Read up on [[Skill|skills]] for more information.

== Other ==
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|float=right|Key Reference|Most of the key commands you will need are noted in the text, but refer to the [[Adventure Mode quick reference|quick reference]] guide if you need to look up the key for a particular action.}}
Background doesn't matter too much, although if you're '''Locally Important''', you'll start off right in a mead hall (as opposed to having to walk to one as a peasant), which usually contains plenty of weaponry and armor for you to take. You'll also be a hearthperson, who can take orders from the lord or lady in the mead hall.

Your name and gender don't impact your character's ability, so feel free to do whatever you want with those.

= Gameplay =
Once you have finished character creation, 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.

== Setting Off ==
[[File:Advmode_conversation_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|Talking to someone.]]

You will usually start your adventure in a peasant hut (if you're a '''Peasant''') or a mead hall or keep (if you're '''Locally Important'''). You can talk to nearby people using the {{k|k}} key, and {{DFtext|Inquire about any troubles}} to learn of any quests you can take on. Some of the more common types you may be told about:

* '''Beasts''' are any kind of creature that may be harassing people. The type of beasts range from vampires living amongst the inhabitants of a site, all the way up to titans and other mythical creatures.
* '''Bandits''' are groups of people who menace people in nearby sites. They usually hang out in camps (shown by a {{Tile|{{DB}}|6:0:1}}) on the map).
* '''Criminals''' are similar to bandits, except they operate out of a site, such as a hamlet or dark pit.

Note that you have to press {{k|k}} each time you want to continue the conversation, and select the appropriate ongoing conversation. If someone else is said to know where to go, you may ask for the whereabouts of that person through {{DFtext|Ask for directions (new menu)}}

== Fast Travel ==
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#a00|float=right|Alone in the dark...|'''Avoid traveling in the wilderness at night, particularly when you are alone.'''}}
[[File:Advmode_fasttravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|Fast Travel screen. This adventurer is in a hamlet, with houses to the right and the mead hall visible in the upper-left corner of the hamlet. The asterisk in the middle of all the houses represents a group, in this case a group of unfriendly goblins. The zoomed-out world map is on the right.]]
So far you've been traveling around at normal scale, but this can be very slow for traveling between geographical regions.

Using {{k|T}} will open the fast-travel screen and enable you to roam the land very quickly. Notice the uppermost bar indicating the position of the sun.

Use {{k|m}} to open a zoomed-out overview map to further help you navigate. This key cycles between the most-zoomed-out "sepia tone" world map and no secondary map when traveling between sites, and in sites it cycles between a list of notable buildings where you're standing, the region map (your main map when not near a site), and the most-zoomed-out world map.

== Finding Some Muscle ==
Much of the time, especially at the beginning, you need some companions to watch your back. The best place to find some is at a fortress, keep, or mead hall. Fortresses will be marked by a {{dftext|O}} on the region and world maps. On the site-level map, the fortress entrance will be marked by an 8 or ∞ in the outer wall. Keeps are in towns, and are a 3x3 building with a path leading from the entrance, usually surround by a large, encircling wall. Mead halls are found in hamlets, and are usually in a 3x3 yellow/brown square by itself, although sometimes it's integrated with the main housing area (in any case, the mead hall will be evidenced by a bright magenta name in the list of notable buildings).

{{TipBox2|titlebg=#a00|float=right|No companion left behind...|When fast-traveling, make sure that all of your companions are near you or some may be left behind. If you've left behind companions, an asterisk will appear on the map where you previously were, and may even try to join up with you.}}
Move next to the entrance of your chosen source of soldiers and hit {{k|d}} to exit fast travel. You may need to walk around a bit to find the entrance. Once inside, if the location is not abandoned, you will find soldiers milling around. Use {{k|k}} to talk to them and select {{DFtext|Ask listener to join you (new menu)}}. Make sure you ask them to go on an adventure, ''not'' to lead you to some location. At first you will only be able to get three followers, but this is enough for now.

If the location is abandoned, leave and try another one.

Walk some distance away from the fort (or walk on the path out the keep until the path changes in material, or don't bother getting out if you're in a mead hall) and go back to the fast travel screen with {{key|T}}.

== Getting Some Rest ==
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#a00|float=right|Going bump in the night...|'''Beware of sleeping in the wilderness at night!''' If you have to sleep outside, only do so if you have companions. Even if you do have companions, it will usually be better to travel drowsy until you reach a fort or town where it's safe to sleep.}}
At this point you may have traveled enough that your character is tired. When your adventurer becomes tired, as indicated by the {{DFtext|Drowsy|1:0}} attribute, it's time for some sleep. Move to a settlement of some sort, go into a building, and use the {{k|Z}} key to bring up the sleep menu.

If you are in a private house, you must first ask the owner for permission before you can sleep. If a commoner is blocking you from entering his home, use the {{k|s}} key to crawl under his legs, and then the same key to stand back up.

You are also probably hungry or thirsty by this time, indicated by the {{DFtext|Hungry|6:0}} or {{DFtext|Thirsty|1:0}} attributes respectively. As you should know, when this appears its time for a snack. To eat or drink, press {{k|e}} and locate some food - it can be anything, as long as it is actually food. You can "eat" something like a sword, but it will say "You lick the sword", and you will not get less hungry or thirsty(unless it has water covering on it{{verify}}).
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|float=right|Thirsty in the rain|If your character is thirsty, and it is raining, even if you do have water with you; drink the water coverings. This will help you to save water for when it is not raining, especially when you are traveling a big distance. Press {{k|e}} like you normally would and scroll all the way to the bottom. You can also drink blood from wounds - maybe a little salty in real life, but in dwarf fortress, it works. Note that if you drink vampire blood, you will turn into a vampire, but this early in the game you dont have to worry about that.}}

== Finding Your Target ==
Use {{k|Q}} to bring up the quest screen. By default you will get a list of events. Using the {{k|+}} and {{k|-}} keys, you can scroll through the quests displayed on the right. Pressing {{k|z}} will zoom in on the current quest target (if it's possible to), showing you the quickest path to reach it. The quest menu can also be used to pinpoint the location of many other useful sites and entities. If there are a lot of items to go through, you can use {{k|f}} to filter the list.

Fast travel toward the location where your target is. When you get close, go back to the quest screen, hit {{k|z}} and you should get a more detailed map of exactly where to go. Once you are in the right spot, hit {{k|d}} to exit fast travel mode. (If you want to come out of fast travel mode sneaking, press {{k|s}} and then {{k|d}}.)

In the upper-left corner of the screen you will now see a box with a list of icons and an abbreviation for a direction such as {{DFtext|NNE}} (north northeast). Continue to move in the indicated direction until you find the target that you're supposed to kill. This won't work if your target is in the sewers unless you are in the sewers and standing on a ramp, but it will lead you to a lair entrance or the middle of a bandit camp.

== Fighting ==
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#a00|float=right|Bandits|Note that the target of your first quest may be in a camp (looks like {{Tile|{{DB}}|6:0:1}}) surrounded by henchmen. Make sure to approach carefully and when you see one of them, let them come to you and let your companions attack first.}}
'''If you attempt to kill the target(s) of your first quest with neither companions nor armor then you are very likely to die.''' Therefore, before proceeding make sure you have friends with you. If you do, you shouldn't need armor if you let them do most of the fighting.

As you may have noticed by now, combat in Dwarf Fortress is quite complex compared to other games, so this section is kind of long. Please read it carefully though.

=== Movement and Positioning ===
When approaching a target it's usually best to wait using {{k|.}} to wait 10 instants (or {{k|,}} to wait just one) once you get close and let your target come to you so you can get the first shot on them. Positioning can be important because you don't want to let enemies attack you from the side or behind (!) and you should also try to move so that you're never fighting more than one opponent at a time. Green symbols that may appear next to you or others show the direction in which people are headed, which can be useful in positioning yourself.

If you need to catch up with someone, or change your sneak status, use {{k|S}} to pull up the movement dialog. This dialog controls the speed at which you move, and whether or not you're sneaking. If you're sneaking, you will see three-dimensional vision cones for people.

If you find yourself being shot at with ranged weapons, put a tree, hill, or other terrain feature between you and the archer and wait for some melee equipped opponents to come to you. Your followers will probably not be so smart though.

For your first fight, you may want to let your companions take the lead anyway though as you may not have any decent armor yet. Press {{k|.}} or {{k|,}} to skip instants if you want to wait in one spot and let your friends advance and soften up some enemies first. If one of your companions dies, no big deal. You can just take his stuff by pressing {{k|g}} then get another follower later. If they die and you're outnumbered, just run away and come back later with new companions.

If you want to be useful while sitting back and letting your friends charge in first, use {{k|t}} to throw objects such as rocks (freely available on many outdoor tiles by pressing {{k|g}}) at your opponent.

=== Attacking Effectively ===
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|float=right|Don't expect it to be easy...|If you're finding your first quest too difficult, and you manage to escape with your life, you can ignore the quest for a while, replace any dead followers, go ask NPCs about Surroundings, and try to find an easier camp or lair to attack. When you kill whatever "boss" is there, even if it not part of a quest, you can still go brag about it (most effectively by spreading the rumor of your deeds), raise your fame, get more followers, and then go back to the original quest. You can also just ask different people in different towns for different quests and perhaps find an easy one like killing a leopard.}}
To attack, you can simply use a directional key to move your character as if to collide with your target. More effective though is pressing {{key|A}} when directly adjacent to a target in order to target specific body parts.

At first your skills obviously won't be that great, so it's important to make targeted shots using {{k|A}}. Take the '''Easy''' strikes that are also '''Solid''' even if they target arms or legs. At first you're going to want to target limbs anyway because you're much less likely to be able to one-shot enemies with a blow to the head and you want to render them harmless as quickly as possible. If you get an '''Easy''' or '''Tricky''' shot to the head that is also relatively '''Solid''', you might want to take it though. If every shot is difficult except for a body shot, take the body shot.

Taking out an arm or hand can disarm your foe, cutting off a foot or leg will knock the opponent down and severely limit their movement, and anything causing severe pain can cause the opponent to lose consciousness making a follow-up headshot very easy. Cutting off weapon arms and a leg means they're almost as good as dead, so take note of what will most easily neutralize the threat before killing it. You may want to ignore such disabled opponents for a while and help your companions disable uninjured enemies.

For armored areas, either avoid attacking them or attempt stabbing or blunt force rather than slashing.

* '''Frequently your weapon will get "lodged in the wound" making it unavailable for another attack until you free it.''' To free the weapon, use the directional keys to step away/sideways.

* '''When your weapon is lodged in an opponent, they are unable to dodge.''' If you have another weapon, then getting 1 weapon lodged is extremely beneficial as you can then proceed to kill/neutralise your opponent without worrying about them dodging. However, they are still able to parry, and you are still able to miss. Remember - counterattacks are the most deadly attacks. If you want to attack an opponent in a difficult place, then don't - it's not worth the risk.

* '''Enemies behind you get a higher hit chance.''' You want to stay facing most of your enemies if you can, but you should never back into a corner.

* You can select different styles for any aimed attack. Quick and wild attacks sacrifice power and/or accuracy for speed (leading to a greater chance that you will hit your target), while heavy and precise attacks sacrifice speed for increased power and/or accuracy. The speedier styles are good for initial hits, and the slower styles are good for finishing blows.

== Looting ==
Once your targets are dead, take their stuff using the {{k|g}} key. Immediately use {{k|w}} to wear any armor or clothing you gain. Decapitated heads can be left behind (although they can be used as a rather morbid way of showing people what you've done).

When walking around, use the {{k|g}} key to pick up any equipment or item lying on the ground. These will then be added to your inventory {{k|i}}. Items may be sold later on to a shop at a nearby town (not hamlet). However, if you have too many things in your inventory you will be slowed down (indicated by a slower speed number, less than 1 if you're in the default walk pace) and may lose your next fight because of it.

== Completing Quests ==
Once you complete your first quest, you can talk to any hamlet, town or fortress dweller to spread the news of your success. {{DFtext|Brag about your past violent acts}} isn't as effective as {{DFtext|Bring up specific incident or rumor (new menu)}}. It is not necessary to return to the individual who told you about the trouble to report your success.

{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|float=right|Small army...|For now, always recruit the maximum number of companions. Later you may find that you don't need as many, though you'll usually need at least a few.}}
Each time you report your success, your level of fame will increase. Once your fame has risen, more mighty warriors may want to join you on your way to glory. They can be recruited at the usual locations or among the common peasants. Your companions will greatly increase your chances of survival and adventurers who care about such things should drop by the nearest fortress, keep, or mead hall as quickly as possible.

== Checking Things Out ==
At any time, use the {{k|z}} key to display your status. This can be used to look for any scratches, bruises or missing limbs.

To check on the status of your companions, use the {{k|c}} key to get a list of them (specifically, the ones within visual range) and a summary of their conditions, then press the key corresponding to the one you want to view up close. Alternatively, you can use the {{K|l}} key, which can also be used to look at any other item or creature within your range of vision.

You may equip any items that you find or buy using the {{k|w}} key. If you are wearing too many items in an existing location, items must first be removed using the {{k|r}} key. To swap weapons you should {{k|d}}rop the equipped weapon first, or {{k|p}}ut it in your backpack, then {{k|g}}et the new equipment from the ground or {{k|r}}emove it from your backpack.

You can look at tracks nearby using {{k|K}}. If there are any obvious directions to pursue, a box under the "closest locations" box will tell you which way to follow particular tracks. {{k|Alt}}+{{k|k}} will give you a summary of the tracks right under you. {{k|o}} and {{k|O}} deal in odor detection.

== Trading ==
You can tell at a glance which [[town]]s have shops by looking for white roads in towns (rather than the yellow roads that are houses most of the time) on the travel map.

To find shops, go stand on a white road tile on the fast travel screen then press {{k|m}} to display nearby structures. Walk around a bit and you should find some shops. Press {{k|>}} to appear on the road outside of them. You can walk inside and talk to the residents just like anyone else, except that residents in shops will be willing to {{DFtext|Trade}} with you. In fast-travel mode, the list of significant buildings will tell you the shops available in that particular 3x3 square of land.

== What Next ==
The next thing you should do is work on getting a full set of armor unless you have been lucky enough to have already obtained one. You may want to go tromping around in the woods looking for animals to kill. Killing animals can be profitable because you can butcher their corpses with {{k|x}} and sell the products. Butcher and sell all animal corpses until you've managed to obtain a full set of metal armor. Meat is surprisingly valuable.

You may need to visit several armor shops to find all the armor pieces you need.

Somewhat more dangerous, but much more profitable, is attacking bandit camps. Just let followers do most of the fighting and concentrate on picking off severely wounded enemies until you get at least a helmet, body, and leg armor. And if some followers die, all the better. You can take their stuff and use or sell it.

You can also rummage around in fortress, keeps, and mead halls for equipment.

After you've armored up a bit, it's probably safe to go on the next quest. Get as many companions as you can and set off for your next target. You can also {{DFtext|Ask about the surrounding area}}, which can reveal lairs and other hidden sites on the map. You should probably avoid any non-quest lairs in the beginning, though, as lairs and such can have creatures that you won't be able to handle at this point.

== After That ==
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|float=right|More Tips|See the [[Adventurer_mode#FAQ|Adventure mode FAQ]] for lots of tips and suggestions on how to avoid death and increase your skills.}}
Congratulations, you have graduated from adventurer school. You can now keep doing quests, explore random sites, go find and explore an old fort of yours in one of your existing worlds, get lost in the underworld, or whatever you feel like.

You may want to read though the full [[adventure mode]] documentation to learn about things that weren't covered here.

= Feedback =
[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=80637.0 Thread about this tutorial on the Bay12 Forums]

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

Adventure mode quick start

2014-07-15T21:54:04Z

Lue: Update images to match this version.

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<div style="float:right; margin:1.5em">__TOC__</div>
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This guide provides step-by-step instruction for those who have never played Dwarf Fortress in '''Adventure Mode''' before. It assumes that you have already installed the game and can navigate the menus on your own, but no significant knowledge of how to play Fortress Mode is required.

Read the full [[adventurer mode]] documentation for additional detail.

= Common UI Concepts =

{{KeyConventions}}

= World Generation =

Some custom worlds which are interesting for fortress mode may be annoying for adventure mode for various reasons such as few civilizations, low population, certain races not existing, lack of access to metals, or history being so far advanced that many fortresses and [[town]]s have been abandoned.

For your first game it's best to start with a generic world to avoid potential problems. You can come back to an existing world once you have the hang of things.

See [[World generation]] if you need help with world generation.

{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|For your first game...|'''Generate a world using''' {{DFtext|Create New World!}} '''with:'''
* {{DFtext|World Size}} is {{DFtext|Medium|3:1}}
* {{DFtext|History}} is {{DFtext|Short|3:1}}
* {{DFtext|Number of Civilizations}} is {{DFtext|High|3:1}}
* {{DFtext|Number of Sites}} is {{DFtext|High|3:1}}
* {{DFtext|Number of Beasts}} is {{DFtext|Medium|3:1}}
* {{DFtext|Natural Savagery}} is {{DFtext|Medium|3:1}}
* {{DFtext|Mineral Occurrence}} is {{DFtext|Frequent|3:1}}
These settings should help avoid the aforementioned problems.
}}

= Character Creation =

== Race and Civilization==
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|float=right|For your first game...|'''Select Human of some civilization (not outsider).'''}}
The first step in starting an [[adventure mode]] game is to choose the race (and civilization) of your adventurer. All three races can complete the same quests.

*'''Civilized Humans''' begin with bronze, iron, or silver 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. This is probably the best race to use when starting out.

*'''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. Be aware this extends to backpacks, which are very difficult to find in shops. Bandit camps are likely your best bet to locate one.

*'''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.

*'''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. Finally, while this is of limited benefit, they are at peace with the wilderness and therefore will never be attacked by wild animals.

== Status ==
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|float=right|For your first game...|'''Select Demigod as your status.''' Even as a demigod you will <s>probably</s> die anyway.}}
You can then choose to start as either a '''Peasant''', '''Hero''' or '''Demigod'''. Each offers progressively more points to spend on attributes and skills. These three options essentially amount to how difficult it is to get started, so to make things easier for your first game you may want to just pick "demigod".

== Starting Attributes ==
These are the attributes you start with. They will go up as your skills increase which means that many of them can be raised in game, sometimes rather easily. '''Agility''', '''Toughness''', and '''Strength''' are probably the most important, in that order. '''Endurance''' keeps a character from getting exhausted too quickly in battle, and '''Social Awareness''' increases the number of followers you can have at one time.

Other attributes to keep in mind in the future: '''Focus''' helps with Archer, Observer, and Ambusher. '''Willpower''' helps characters resist exertion/pain effects. '''Spatial Sense''' helps combat skills. '''Kinesthetic Sense''' helps with most skills involving any movement at all. These are less important to start out with, though, because they can be raised by doing various things in game, some of which are explained in the [[#Tips|tips]] section.

Some attributes like Musicality are currently completely <strike> crappy </strike> useless. (For more, see [[cv:Adventurer_mode#Soul|Adventurer Mode - Attributes]])

{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|For your first game...|'''Select the following attributes:'''

* Superior '''Strength'''
* High '''Agility'''
* High '''Toughness'''
* High '''Endurance'''
* Very Low '''Analytical Ability'''
* Superior '''Willpower'''
* Very Low '''Creativity'''
* Very Low '''Patience'''
* Very Low '''Linguistic Ability'''
* Very Low '''Musicality'''
* Above Average '''Social Awareness'''

The others are either less important, easier to raise by doing things in game, or totally useless. Note that you won't have enough attribute points to increase all of these unless you set status to Demigod.

Analytical Ability, Creativity, Patience, Linguistic Ability, and Musicality are all mostly or completely useless, so turning them down gives you enough points to do all this. Willpower is so important because willpower lets you resist passing out due to injuries and, to a lesser extent, helps prevent exhaustion, so raising it up to Superior will not only kill two birds with one stone, but will also give you the ability to reach extremely high willpower levels. It also helps with Crutch Walker in case you lose or break a leg.

Later you may find that you want to start with different attributes, but these are a good safe starting point. For example, you may find that later you don't care about the extra follower from Social Awareness and want to increase Spatial Sense or something instead, but for purposes of getting through this tutorial alive the extra follower will help.}}

Read up on [[Attribute|attributes]] for more information.

== Starting Skills ==
These are what you start out with for skills, though you can increase them and develop others by doing things in game. The most important in the beginning are a specific melee weapon skill (such as '''Swordsman'''), and defensive skills like '''Shield User''', '''Armor User''', and '''Dodger'''.

Defensive skills are absolutely critical if you don't want to die instantly. (See [[Fighter|combat skills]] for more info.) '''Observer''' is important for avoiding ambushes, which often mean instant death if sleeping, and '''Swimmer''' helps to avoid drowning. Others such as Fighter are useful but increase rather easily on their own in game. Novice '''Reader''' is important, not only if you wish to become a Necromancer (as there is currently no way of raising this skill) but because without it you are unable to read signs, which can be very inconvenient, and can make some quests harder to complete.

{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|For your first game...|'''Select the following starting skills:'''

* Proficient '''Swordsman''' (feel free to substitute a different melee weapon skill for this)
* Adequate '''Observer'''
* Novice '''Swimmer'''
* Proficient '''Shield User'''
* Proficient '''Armor User'''
* Proficient '''Dodger'''
* Novice '''Reader'''

The rest of the skills are relatively easy to raise in game or aren't that important at the beginning. Note that you won't have enough skill points to select all of these unless you previously selected Demigod as your status.

As with attributes, you may later find that you want to experiment with different skill point allocations, but these are some good safe starting choices for purposes of getting through the tutorial.}}

Read up on [[Skill|skills]] for more information.

== Other ==
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|float=right|Key Reference|Most of the key commands you will need are noted in the text, but refer to the [[Adventure Mode quick reference|quick reference]] guide if you need to look up the key for a particular action.}}
Your name and gender don't impact your character's ability, so feel free to do whatever you want with those.

= Gameplay =
Once you have finished character creation, 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.

== Setting Off ==
[[File:Advmode_conversation_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|Talking to someone.]]

You will usually start your adventure near a peasant hut. You can ask nearby commoners, using the {{k|k}} key, if you may be of any {{DFtext|Service|3:1}}. They will then inform you of any problems their locality is suffering from, giving you a quest. In the beginning this usually means killing a nearby bandit.

'''Walk into a hut, talk to a commoner, and get a quest.''' Feel free to ask some commoners to {{DFtext|Join|3:1}} you if you want, although most of them will refuse. Soldiers will make better companions anyway.

== Fast Travel ==
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#a00|float=right|Alone in the dark...|'''Avoid traveling in the wilderness at night, particularly when you are alone.'''}}
[[File:Advmode_fasttravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|Fast Travel screen. This adventurer is in a hamlet, with houses to the right and the mead hall visible in the upper-left corner of the hamlet. The asterisk in the middle of all the houses represents a group, in this case a group of unfriendly goblins. The zoomed-out world map is on the right.]]
So far you've been traveling around at normal scale, but this can be very slow for traveling between geographical regions.

Using {{k|T}} will open the fast-travel screen and enable you to roam the land very quickly. Notice the uppermost bar indicating the position of the sun.

Use {{k|m}} to open a zoomed-out overview map to further help you navigate.

== Finding Some Muscle ==
Much of the time, especially at the beginning, you need some companions to watch your back. The best place to find some is at a fortress. When in the fast-travel screen, press {{k|m}} to bring up the region map. Fortresses on the region map appear as small circles (marked as O on the map) and look like large buildings on the fast travel map.

{{TipBox2|titlebg=#a00|float=right|No companion left behind...|When fast-traveling, make sure that all of your companions are near you or some may be left behind.}}
Move next to the entrance of a fortress and hit {{k|>}} to exit fast travel. Now move toward the fortress and you'll soon encounter the wall. You may need to walk around a bit to find the entrance. Once inside, if the fortress is not abandoned, you will find soldiers milling around. Use {{k|k}} to talk to them and ask them to {{DFtext|Join|3:1}} you. At first you will only be able to get three followers but this is enough for now.

If the fortress is abandoned, leave and try another one.

Walk some distance away from the fort and go back to the fast travel screen with {{key|T}}.

== Getting Some Rest ==
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#a00|float=right|Going bump in the night...|'''Beware of sleeping in the wilderness at night!''' If you have to sleep outside, only do so if you have companions. Even if you do have companions, it will usually be better to travel drowsy until you reach a fort or town where it's safe to sleep.}}
At this point you may have traveled enough that your character is tired. When your adventurer becomes tired, as indicated by the {{DFtext|Drowsy|3:0}} attribute, it's time for some sleep. Move to a settlement of some sort, go into a building, and use the {{k|Z}} key to bring up the sleep menu.

If you are in a private house, you must first ask the owner for permission before you can sleep. If a commoner is blocking you from entering his home, use the {{k|s}} key to crawl under his legs, and then the same key to stand back up.

You are also probably hungry or thirsty by this time, indicated by the {{DFtext|Hungry|3:0}} or {{DFtext|Thirsty|3:0}} attributes respectively. As you should know, when this appears its time for a snack. To eat or drink, press {{k|e}} and locate some food - it can be anything, as long as it is actually food. You can "eat" something like a sword, but it will say "You lick the sword", and you will not get less hungry or thirsty(unless it has water covering on it{{verify}}).
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|float=right|Thirsty in the rain|If your character is thirsty, and it is raining, even if you do have water with you; drink the water coverings. This will help you to save water for when it is not raining, especially when you are travelling a big distance. Press {{k|e}} like you normally would and scroll all the way to the bottom. You can also drink blood from wounds - maybe a little salty in real life, but in dwarf fortress, it works. Note that if you drink vampire blood, you will turn into a vampire, but this early in the game you dont have to worry about that.}}

== Finding Your Target ==
Use {{k|Q}} to bring up the quest screen. Using the {{k|+}} and {{k|-}} keys, you can scroll through the quests displayed on the right. Pressing {{k|z}} will zoom in on the current quest target, showing you the quickest path to reach it. The quest menu can also be used to pinpoint the location of many other useful sites and entities.

Fast travel toward the location where your target is. When you get close, go back to the quest screen, hit {{k|z}} and you should get a more detailed map of exactly where to go. Once you are in the right spot, hit {{k|>}} to exit fast travel mode.

In the upper-left corner of the screen you will now see a box with a list of icons and an abbreviation for a direction such as {{DFtext|NNE}} (north northeast). One of these will be marked with {{DFtext|TSK|3:1}} and that is your target. Continue to move in the indicated direction until you find the target that you're supposed to kill. This won't work if your target is in the sewers unless you are in the sewers and standing on a ramp, but it will lead you to a lair entrance or the middle of a bandit camp.

== Fighting ==
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#a00|float=right|Bandits|Note that the target of your first quest may be in a camp (looks like {{Tile|{{DB}}|6:0:1}}) surrounded by henchmen. Make sure to approach carefully and when you see one of them, let them come to you and let your companions attack first.}}
'''If you attempt to kill the target(s) of your first quest with neither companions nor armor then you are very likely to die.''' Therefore, before proceeding make sure you have friends with you. If you do, you shouldn't need armor if you let them do most of the fighting.

As you may have noticed by now, combat in Dwarf Fortress is quite complex compared to other games, so this section is kind of long. Please read it carefully though.

=== Movement and Positioning ===
When approaching a target it's usually best to wait using {{k|.}} to skip turns once you get close and let your target come to you so you can get the first shot on them. Positioning can be important because you don't want to let enemies attack you from the side or behind (!) and you should also try to move so that you're never fighting more than one opponent at a time.

If you find yourself being shot at with ranged weapons, put a tree, hill, or other terrain feature between you and the archer and wait for some melee equipped opponents to come to you. Your followers will probably not be so smart though.

For your first fight, you may want to let your companions take the lead anyway though as you won't have any decent armor yet. Press {{k|.}} to skip turns if you want to wait in one spot and let your friends advance and soften up some enemies first. If one of your companions dies, no big deal. You can just take his stuff by pressing {{k|g}} then get another follower later. If they die and you're outnumbered, just run away and come back later with new companions.

If you want to be useful while sitting back and letting your friends charge in first, use {{k|t}} to throw objects such as rocks (freely available on many outdoor tiles by pressing {{k|g}}) at your opponent.

=== Attacking Effectively ===
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|float=right|Don't expect it to be easy...|If you're finding your first quest too difficult, and you manage to escape with your life, you can ignore the quest for a while, replace any dead followers, go ask NPCs about Surroundings, and try to find an easier camp or lair to attack. When you kill whatever "boss" is there, even if it not part of a quest, you can still go brag about it, raise your fame, get more followers, and then go back to the original quest. You can also just ask different people in different towns for different quests and perhaps find an easy one like killing a leopard.}}
To attack, you can simply use a directional key to move your character as if to collide with your target. More effective though is pressing {{k|Shift}}+{{key|A}} when directly adjacent to a target in order to target specific body parts.

At first your skills obviously won't be that great, so it's important to make targeted shots using {{k|Shift}}+{{k|A}}. Take the '''Easy''' strikes that are also '''Solid''' even if they target arms or legs. At first you're going to want to target limbs anyway because you're much less likely to be able to one-shot enemies with a blow to the head and you want to render them harmless as quickly as possible. If you get an '''Easy''' or '''Tricky''' shot to the head that is also relatively '''Solid''', you might want to take it though. If every shot is difficult except for a body shot, take the body shot.

Taking out an arm or hand can disarm your foe, cutting off a foot or leg will knock the opponent down and severely limit their movement, and anything causing severe pain can cause the opponent to lose consciousness making a followup headshot very easy. Cutting off weapon arms and a leg means they're almost as good as dead, so take note of what will most easily neutralize the threat before killing it. You may want to ignore such disabled opponents for a while and help your companions disable uninjured enemies.

For armored areas, either avoid attacking them or attempt stabbing or blunt force rather than slashing.

'''Frequently your weapon will get "lodged in the wound" making it unavailable for another attack until you free it.''' To free the weapon, use the directional keys to move either toward your opponent or step away/sideways.

'''When your weapon is lodged in an opponent, they are unable to dodge.''' If you have another weapon, then getting 1 weapon lodged is extremely beneficial as you can then proceed to kill/neutralise your opponent without worrying about them dodging. However, they are still able to parry, and you are still able to miss. Remember - counterattacks are the most deadly attacks. If you want to attack an opponent in a difficult place, then don't - it's not worth the risk.

'''Enemies behind you get a higher hit chance.''' You want to stay facing most of your enemies if you can, but you should never back into a corner.

== Looting ==
Once your targets are dead, take their stuff using the {{k|g}} key. Immediately use {{k|w}} to wear any armor or clothing you gain. Decapitated heads can be left behind.

When walking around, use the {{k|g}} key to pick up any equipment or item lying on the ground. These will then be added to your inventory {{k|i}}. Items may be sold later on to a shop at a nearby town (not hamlet). However if you have to many things in your inventory you will be slowed down and may lose your next fight because of it.

== Completing Quests ==
Once you complete your first quest, you can talk to any hamlet, town or fortress dweller to spread the news of your success. Though your quest log will direct you there, it is not necessary to return to the individual who gave you the quest to report your success.

{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|float=right|Small army...|For now, always recruit the maximum number of companions. Later you may find that you don't need as many, though you'll usually need at least a few.}}
Each time you report your success, your level of fame will increase. Once your fame has risen, more mighty warriors may want to join you on your way to glory. They can be recruited at fortresses or among the common peasants. Your companions will greatly increase your chances of survival and adventurers who care about such things should drop by the nearest fortress as quickly as possible.

== Checking Things Out ==
At any time, use the {{k|z}} key to display your status. This can be used to look for any scratches, bruises or missing limbs.

To check on the status of your companions, use the {{k|c}} key to get a list of them (specifically, the ones within visual range) and a summary of their conditions, then press the key corresponding to the one you want to view up close. Alternatively, you can use the {{K|l}} key, which can also be used to look at any other item or creature within your range of vision.

You may equip any items that you find or buy using the {{k|w}} key. If you are wearing too many items in an existing location, items must first be removed using the {{k|r}} key. To swap weapons you should {{k|d}}rop the equipped weapon first, or {{k|p}}ut it in your backpack, then {{k|g}}et the new equipment from the ground or {{k|r}}emove it from your backpack.

== Trading ==
You can tell at a glance which [[town]]s have shops by looking for white roads in towns (rather than the yellow roads that are houses most of the time) on the travel map.

To find shops, go stand on a white road tile on the fast travel screen then press {{k|m}} to display nearby structures. Walk around a bit and you should find some shops. Press {{k|>}} to appear on the road outside of them. You can walk inside and talk to the residents just like anyone else, except that residents in shops will be willing to {{DFtext|Trade|3:1}} with you. Armor shops have a sign that looks like {{Tile|[|0:6:0}}.

== What Next ==
The next thing you should do is work on getting a full set of armor unless you have been lucky enough to have already obtained one. You may want to go tromping around in the woods looking for animals to kill. Killing animals can be profitable because you can butcher their corpses with {{k|x}} and sell the products. Butcher and sell all animal corpses until you've managed to obtain a full set of metal armor. Meat is surprisingly valuable.

You may need to visit several armor shops to find all the armor pieces you need.

Somewhat more dangerous, but much more profitable, is attacking bandit camps. Just let followers do most of the fighting and concentrate on picking off severely wounded enemies until you get at least a helmet, body, and leg armor. And if some followers die, all the better. You can take their stuff and use or sell it.

After you've armored up a bit, it's probably safe to go on the next quest. Get as many companions as you can and set off for your next target. You can also ask commoners about {{DFtext|Surroundings|3:1}} which can reveal lairs and other hidden sites on the map, but you should probably avoid any non-quest lairs in the beginning as lairs and such can have creatures that you won't be able to handle at this point.

== After That ==
{{TipBox2|titlebg=#0a0|float=right|More Tips|See the [[Adventurer_mode#FAQ|Adventure mode FAQ]] for lots of tips and suggestions on how to avoid death and increase your skills.}}
Congratulations, you have graduated from adventurer school. You can now keep doing quests, explore random sites, go find and explore an old fort of yours in one of your existing worlds, get lost in the underworld, or whatever you feel like.

You may want to read though the full [[adventure mode]] documentation to learn about things that weren't covered here.

= Feedback =
[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=80637.0 Thread about this tutorial on the Bay12 Forums]

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

File:Advmode fasttravel DF2014.png

2014-07-15T21:48:30Z

Lue: An image of the fast travel screen in DF2014.

== Summary ==
An image of the fast travel screen in DF2014.
== Licensing ==
{{Non-free Dwarf Fortress Screenshot}}

File:Advmode conversation DF2014.png

2014-07-15T21:45:09Z

Lue: An image of a conversation with a lord in DF2014.

== Summary ==
An image of a conversation with a lord in DF2014.
== Licensing ==
{{Non-free Dwarf Fortress Screenshot}}

Adventurer mode

2014-07-15T21:07:53Z

Lue: /* Dark Fortresses {{Raw Tile|Π|0:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|Π|5:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|Π|5:0:1}} */ Change Π to π to better match default font and what that character is in CP 437

{{Migrated_article}}
{{Quality|Masterwork|00:47, 29 September 2013 (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). Humans inhabit cities, towns, and the occasional above-ground fortress. Elves inhabit forest retreats. Dwarves are spread between "deep sites" which sometimes do not contain a direct connection to the surface, and "hill dwarves" which inhabit a loose collection of mounds built into hillsides. Human cities and towns are currently the only sites with shops and other places to officially buy goods.

If you have previously built a fort in the world that you select, your adventurer will be able to go visit it. If you have selected to "retire" the fortress rather than abandon it, you will likely be able to encounter all of the inhabitants from fortress mode. However, they will likely not have the same level of activity as they would in a bustling fortress-mode fort.

=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.

*'''Humans''' Always originate from one of the villages in the world. 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''' Human Outsiders are humans that aren't from that world or any of its villages. They simply appear in the wilderness, a stranger to all. You may always play as an outsider, even if the world is otherwise completely uninhabited. 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. This gives them many combat bonuses, which aids their survival greatly. 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 armour found in shops. Goblin armor fits them, making Dark Fortresses (if your computer can handle them) and bandits a viable source of armor; if you're up for it, you could also just kill some dwarves. They can start with almost all of the same weapon skills as civilized humans. Many larger 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. Elves also have the AT_PEACE_WITH_NATURE tag. This makes all wildlife passive towards them. Like dwarves they wear small sized clothing and will have the same problem finding suitable armour.

*'''Kobolds''' can be played only if there are no other civilizations and there are kobolds. They are very small and weak in combat and a huge challenge compared to the other races. They wear even smaller armour than the other races and armour will be impossible to find for them, unless you are absurdly lucky and run into armoured kobolds.

If no civilization for the given race exists in a world you can only play as an outsider.

== 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 you inflict in melee regardless of weapon used. Increases muscle size. This increased muscular layer helps prevent damage, although this is a pretty minor effect. 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. Agility is really, really important as being faster than the enemies allows you to get more hits in before they can fight back and lets you run away more easily.
*'''Toughness''': Reduces physical damage inflicted on you. Also relates to defensive combat skills.
*'''Endurance''': Reduces the rate at which the adventurer becomes exhausted. Becoming exhausted causes you to collapse, helpless and immobile and can cause you to pass out.
*'''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''': Seems to have some effect on vampirism infectivity; may have to do with infected wounds.

=== Soul ===

Some of these are useful for adventure-mode-applicable skills, but some are totally useless except as dump stats.

*'''Analytical Ability''': Useful only for Knapping; should be reduced to minimum.{{Verify}}

*'''Focus''': Affects Archer, Ambusher, Observer.

*'''Willpower''': Affects Fighter, Crutch Walker and Swimmer. Willpower is really important as it governs how easily you'll pass out from extreme pain. Low willpower is a death sentence if you are seriously wounded, as you'll pass out and have your head caved in. Broken bones currently cause enough pain that even very high willpower usually won't keep you conscious. For non bone injuries however willpower can keep you going long enough to kill enemies, or at least get away from them.

*'''Creativity''': Useless at the moment.

*'''Intuition''': Only helps with Observer, which aids in spotting concealed enemies and ambushes. A useless skill since you rarely see these in adventure mode.

*'''Patience''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

*'''Memory''': Memory aids greatly in mapping out areas as the higher your memory the longer you'll remember an area. As you explore you'll forget previously explored areas, causing them to appear blank, as if you had never been there. If you have low enough memory you'll forget areas of large locations like underground catacombs while you're still in them, making finding your way very confusing, as things like the exit wont be visible anymore until you find it again. Best to have at least average memory.

*'''Linguistic Ability''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

*'''Spatial Sense''': Important. Affects combat skills, Ambusher, Crutch Walker, Swimmer, Observer, Knapping.

*'''Musicality''': Completely useless. Use this as a dump stat.

*'''Kinaesthetic Sense''': Affects most combat skills, walking with crutches and swimming.

*'''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. Your fame still plays a bit part in whenever you can recruit followers or not.

=== 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 at enemies that are just a step away or finishing off a foe pinned down by a stuck weapon.

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

Note that different races have different names for their weapon skills. Axegoblin, Axedwarf etc.

Crossbowman is an exception. Dwarves call this skill Marksdwarf, although bow skill is referred to as Bow Dwarf as you'd expect. Elite Axe and Hammer dwarves are referred to as Lords.

*'''Axeman''': allows characters to use axes, great axes, and halberds more effectively. Useful for cleaving off limbs.
*'''Bowman''': skill allows characters to use bows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.
*'''Crossbowman''': allows characters to use crossbows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.
*'''Hammerman''': allows characters to use crossbows in melee, mauls, and war hammers more effectively. Useful for breaking limbs.
*'''Knife User''' - allows characters to use large daggers and knives more effectively. Useful for stabbing things.
*'''Lasher''' - allows characters to use whips and scourges more effectively. Very deadly weapons.
*'''Maceman''' - allows characters to use flails, maces, and morningstars more effectively. Similar to hammers.
*'''Pikeman''' - allows characters to use pikes more effectively. Like spears, but much bigger.
*'''Spearman''' - allows characters to use spears more effectively. Useful for stabbing things.
*'''Swordsman''' - allows characters to use blowguns and bows in melee, long swords, scimitars, short swords, and two-handed swords more effectively. Useful for cutting, stabbing, and whacking, but less effective than more dedicated weapons.

=== 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 even novice skill in this means that the adventurer will start with a shield. This is a no-brainer unless you're creating a two handed weapon user.
*'''Armor User''': A higher level of this skill reduces the encumbrance penalties of armour, allowing you to move faster when wearing it. It also affects how well armour protects you and this makes a huge difference. Unskilled armour users gain little protection. This is noticeable as you'll begin seeing far more combat reports about hits either striking you though armour, (you managed to use your armour to lessen the force of the blow) or being deflected by your armour (you used your amour to avoid the hit entirety) as your skill rises and you learn to actually use your armour to deflect hits. It is highly advised to train your armour skill before entering battle with it as the speed penalties of lower levels can be a serious handicap.
*'''Dodger''' - Ability to dodge out of the way of attacks. Dodger is incredibly important and will allow you to avoid many, many hits that would have otherwise injured you. Especially important when you are fighting unarmoured and can't afford a battle axe in the chest. Boost this to talented or at least close to it.

=== 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. Higher skill means all of these moves succeed more often. See [[#Wrestling and Unarmed Attacks]] for details. Can be raised very easily in game.
*'''Striker''' - Punching ability. Turns handy when weapons get stuck and there is no time to wrest them back.
*'''Kicker''' - Kicking ability. Same as Striker. Kicks are slower but more deadly than punches; heavy kicks are particularly good at crushing and exploding heads.
*'''Biter''' - Biting ability. Biting is surprisingly effective even with non animal races as after biting you can shake opponents around by your teeth, causing great damage and possibly ripping off body parts, although with sapient races this tends to lean more towards fingers or toes, perhaps the occasional hand or foot.
*'''Thrower''' - Throwing any miscellaneous object including rocks, knives, axes, swords, heads, etc. Skill affects accuracy and damage caused.
*'''Misc. Object User''' - Ability to beat things to death with anything that comes at hand, from bags to coins to their own severed body parts. Also somewhat more commonly used for shield bashing. This skill affects combat with any object, from a rock to a beehive. There are no separate skills for different items. Items actually intended to be weapons, like swords or axes, are unaffected by this skill.

=== Movement and Awareness ===

*'''[[Observer]]''' - Helps one to notice things like ambushes, enemies who are "sneaking" (stealth movement), and traps. Detection range increases with skill, but up to a maximum of 3 tiles away. 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, or possibly after an unfriendly encounter with a creature in 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. Enemies will have "sight ranges" from where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The red zone of sight is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; the yellow is where they might see you. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.
*'''[[Climber]]''' - The skill of climbing up walls, into trees, and around the edges of gorges. Higher levels reduce the chance of falling and increase the speed of a climbing character.
*'''[[Tracker]]''' - The skill of tracking your quarry, whether it be animals or goblins. Higher levels will let you spot more tracks and help you distinguish different tracks.

=== 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. Adding more points is a waste, as novice allows you to read anything.
*'''[[Butcher]]''' - The art of turning corpses into piles of delicious prepared brains and meat for food. You cannot allocate points here during character creation, but that's OK since skill doesn't really affect anything anyway.

= 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}}
| Open Movement Speed/Sneak Menu
|}

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.

If you hit {{k|j}}, you can {{k|j}}ump. This is mostly useful for crossing gorges and crevices, where you have to get to the other side. Occasionally, you can manage to jump onto an opponent and tackle them, which typically causes them to go flying a short distance.

Hitting {{k|.}} allows you to stay in one place and wait for other things to move. {{k|,}} does the same but with a shorter waiting period.

Use {{k|s}} to sit/lie 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. Enemies will have "sight ranges" from where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The red zone of sight is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; the yellow is where they might see you. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.

If you {{k|h}}old onto a wall or tree, you can climb the wall or tree by using the movement keys. In towns and tamer parts of the countryside, this isn't particularly useful. However, in a combat situation, climbing a tree or wall can give you a height advantage, possibly allowing you to dive-tackle your opponents. Sometimes, mountains will be too steep to walk up the edge, or you will find a deep drop into a ravine. In these cases, you will have to climb up to reach the top, or perhaps jump or climb down one face, then climb up the other.

=== 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|d}}
| 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.

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|d}}.

== 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.)
|-
| {{k|q}}
| Sheath your weapons and shield. (Frees your hands for tasks such as climbing or grabbing)
|}

=== 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 on 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. You also must put on equipment in an order that makes sense,. for example a shirt first ''then'' the armor, not the other way around. Armour must also be put on in a sensible manner with flexible layers such as chainmail first then rigid plate armour second. After all, who, in real life, would wear chainmail over a hard plate?

''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, for example a copper mail shirt and a copper breastplate. The thin, flexible chain can be worn under the breastplate, but not the other way around.

=== 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.

While normally one would only be able to equip one item in each hand, removing items from your inventory results in them being wielded regardless of whether one's hands are full. This is especially useful with shields, as every shield will contribute a block chance to each incoming attack.

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 which will appear in your inventory when they become stuck in you. Removing stuck arrows can cause bleeding so it is not always a good idea mid combat, but stuck objects will slow you down as you are encumbered by their weight. It s best to remove them as soon as possible when it is safe and you are not in danger of bleeding to death.

Advanced interaction can also be used to steal enemy equipment. Use [[wrestling]] to grab hold of a piece of enemy equipment, such as their weapon, or a helmet protecting their squishy brain and it will appear in the advanced interaction menu. Simply select it and choose "gain possession". if successful you'll take it from them. This can be very useful in battle.

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).

Advanced interactions 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. You can refill waterskins. from a nearby liquid source as well

===Sheathing===
The {{k|q}} key lets you put your weapons in their sheaths or strap them to your back.

This is useful because you can't climb unless your hands are free, or if you want to pinch something to death, without dealing with the container interface.

== 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 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.

In local travel mode you'll have to use the {{k|W}} command.

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. The most common weather you'll experience is rain. Rain is shown as blue moving dots on the local travel screen and will unsurprisingly cause everything outside to become wet. Temperature is important because if it happens to drop below freezing while you're swimming through water, you'll instantly die from being encased in the ice.

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.

Freezing weather can also freeze liquids in your inventory solid, making them undrinkable. If your water freezes and you are thirsty, make a campfire and {{k|I}}nteract with your waterskin to heat it over the fire and melt the ice.

== 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 generating a world using [[advanced world generation]] 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 bet 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 amount of 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 else 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 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
|}

In older versions, the easiest way to stay hydrated and full when starting out was by killing an animal and drinking its blood, which would cover your body. However, the ability to drink fluids on your body was greatly nerfed, perhaps made impossible in the .40 update, likely to prevent you from staying hydrated forever by drinking your own ((constantly-flowing)) tears. Now, you must find a river, stream, or well in a town and fill your waterskin from it.

Note that drinking vampire blood will turn you into a vampire instantly.

Make sure to eat or drink regularly even if you're not hungry or thirsty, as you can only eat or drink three times in a row: after that you'll need to rest, or wait until you can consume another meal. If you find yourself in need of both food and hydration, make sure to take care of the most urgent problem first, as if you are moderately hungry but severely dehydrated and eat three times, you may die before you have another chance to drink.

If the temperature is low enough you might have trouble finding liquid water. Snow and ice can be heated into water by first making a campfire with {{k|g}} and then performing an advanced interaction with {{k|I}} on the ice or snow in your inventory to heat it. Advanced interactions with your waterskin can also be used to gather water from water sources, or snow from the ground.

== 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. 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.

There are several options below the hitting menu. Quick attacks are faster than regular attacks but weaker. Heavy attacks are slower but attack harder. Wild attacks are faster and hit harder but are inaccurate. Precise attacks are very slow but are much more likely to hit. Multi-attacks allow you to attack several times in a row at a great penalty.

=== Ranged Attacks ===

To attack with a ranged weapon press the {{k|f}} key with a ranged weapon (bow, crossbow, etc.) equipped on one hand and select the square where you want to attack. Note that you need to have some sort of ammo, corresponding to the type of ranged weapon you are using (for example, bows use arrows, crossbows use bolts). Otherwise, a message stating "You have nothing left to fire." is displayed in brown. 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 effect 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 in to 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, but if you continually auto-attack a harmless creature with it your wrestling-skill will be legendary in no time.

*'''{{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 safely 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 capital'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 Burninator."
*'''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 usually seem to) 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. Apparently, everyone is telepathic, and won'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.

Speaking with companions by pressing {{k|k}} and selecting them and then choosing "Exchange, give or take personal items" in the general conversation screen allows you to trade with as you would a shop keeper, which also mean you have to trade to get any item back. When they die you can loot their corpses however, and they will drop anything they cannot hold on the ground, which is free for the taking. (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.

== Personal Finance ==

=== 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. You can also steal items from a fortress without any consequences, but it is unknown if you can do this if there is someone else in the room to see you. {{verify}}

'''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 as well as sell all of your loot directly for gold coins. Remember, merchants will always try to pay you in higher denomination currency first but will resort to lower value coins if they run out of anything higher. First, check the merchant's chest to see how much of each type of coins they have.

Coin values are as follows:
* Copper Coin = 1☼
* Silver Coin = 5☼
* Gold Coin = 15☼

To receive the maximum amount of gold coins from that merchant, make sure the amount "they owe you" during the trade is equal to (total amount of gold coins the shop has)*15☼ . If you are selling loot, simply make sure you only trade this worth of goods, and move on to other merchants for the rest. If you wish to exchange copper and silver coins for gold, buy random goods from the merchant until their price is around this value and then sell back all of the goods for their original value but in gold.

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.

Another devious method is to go outside the shop, {{k|g}}rab handfuls of mud and throw it into your backpack, then sell them for 1☼ each. The merchants will gladly buy your rare and valuable mud despite the unlimited free mud just outside their shop.

== 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}}.

'''[[Knapper|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.''' 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.

= Sites =

More information on each type of site can be found in the site's specific article.

== Civilization ==

[[Civilization]]s are organized groups of creatures (generally of the same race) which build sites such as towns.

=== Human Sites ===

==== Towns {{Raw Tile|+|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|*|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|#|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|☼|7:0:0}} ====
Humans live in towns comprised of buildings and often a paved road. Human towns are highly modular, and are usually coastal. 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.

Towns usually have lots of interesting structures which are described fully in the [[town]] article.

==== Hamlets ====
Most of the time, the majority of a human civilization's population will live in small [[hamlet]]s, which tend to be sprawled out along coastlines and through river valleys. Like other sites, they can be invaded, and you'll sometimes find them captured by other civilizations, [[necromancer]]s, or criminal syndicates. Human adventurers usually spawn in hamlets.

=== Dwarven Sites ===

==== Dwarf Fortresses {{Raw Tile|Ω|7:0:1}} ====
These are the randomly generated equivalent of the sites you build in [[dwarf fortress mode]]. [[Fortress]]es are described in detail in the own article. Their main function for adventurers is that they have a central, spiraling ramp that connects the underground and above-ground worlds, particularly in that they connect the subterranean mountain halls to the rest of the dwarf civilization. They are located at the edges of mountain ranges.

==== Mountain Halls {{Raw Tile|Ω|0:0:1}} ====
These are the "deep sites" of the dwarves, located far beneath the mountains. Not much is known about [[Mountain Halls|mountain halls]] yet. They can be entered by descending the central ramp of the major dwarf fortresses.

==== Hillocks {{Raw Tile|Ω|7:0:0}} ====
[[Hillock]]s are the dwarf equivalent to human hamlets. They consist of a few "hobbit holes" filled with dwarf citizens. There doesn't seem to be any settlement pattern for them; they are equally likely to be found in any land [[biome]].

=== Elven Sites ===

==== Forest Retreats {{Raw Tile|î|6:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|¶|6:0:1}} ====
Elves live in [[forest retreat]]s located, unsurprisingly, in [[forest]] biomes. They are essentially clusters of huge [[tree]]s with elves standing in and around them.

=== Goblin Sites ===

==== Dark Fortresses {{Raw Tile|π|0:0:1}} {{Raw Tile|π|5:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|π|5:0:1}} ====
These are the main goblin sites. Some [[dark fortress]]es may contain a [[Underground Spire|certain spoiler]].

==== Dark Pits ====
These are the goblin equivalent of hamlets and hillocks. [[Dark Pit]]s are essentially canyons lined with wooden guard towers. They tend to be built in huge clusters around the dark fortresses, such that large chunks of the map may be covered with them.

= FAQ =

== 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. If you ever get lost, you can quickly get back to the surface by traveling under a village and retiring there. When you unretire, you'll be aboveground.

== I keep getting maimed and killed! How can I fight without getting seriously hurt? ==
The best defense is a good offense. 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. If your enemy is one space away from you, use that as an opportunity to throw a knife or a rock at them; worst case, they will get a bruise or a cut; best case, they will start the melee severely crippled. If you're fast enough, then you can simply step back after getting in that first hit, and they'll have to spend their turn approaching you again. Lather, rinse, repeat.
* Follow the advice under [[#Combat Preferences|Combat Preferences]].

== How can I obtain armor as quickly as possible? ==
* Here's the evil way. In some cases, this will lead to several people being angry at you, spitting on you, and hating you, but other times the weaklings nearby will just start crying in the fetal position in the corner, which can actually speed up the process by giving you easy pickings for more armor.
** It's relatively easy to obtain some armor by killing a sleeping soldier in a fort and taking his stuff. Alternatively, you can recruit the soldier, and get them killed by natural means, such as drowning.
** 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 a store and sell your loot. Unless you've killed enough people to get a national reputation or have killed somebody the shopkeeper knows, they generally won't care.
* Loot friendly fortress keeps and the dungeons of towns. All equipment and items held within containers in fortresses and keeps are free for the taking, and will not result in being branded as a thief. Be wary of the dungeons, however; you're not the only one attracted to shiny things.
* 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 (murder) and will cause you much less trouble. Even better: if you have Novice or better in Swimmer, you can take a dip in a lake or river (or any other body of water) and they will follow suit; drowning in the process, if they have Dabbling or lower in Swimmer.

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

== How do I increase my skills and attributes? (Power-leveling) ==

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_by_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 repeatedly. You can wrestle using {{k|A}} followed by {{k|Enter}}. Continually grabbing and releasing a creature is sufficient to raise your skill, and you can do it indefinitely with the same animal as it won't be injured (unless you auto-wrestle it). Wrestling will increase Kinesthetic Sense, Spatial Sense, and to a lesser extent, Endurance. You may also somewhat increase Dodging and Shield User this way as the creature takes swipes at you.It's possible to change your {{k|C}}ombat preferences for attacking and dodging to ''Close Combat'' and ''Stand Ground'', respectively, allowing you to simply walk into the helpless critter to wrestle it. (Standing your ground prevents you from moving to dodge attacks, so your wrestling can continue almost uninterrupted.) You will, however, perform occasional throws and take-downs as long as the creature remains standing, which may result in their eventual bleeding to death. Strangulation is also a repeated concern, as it will render the victim unconscious, thus making you have to wait until it regains consciousness before you can continue auto-wrestling it (though you may still raise your Wrestler and Fighter skills by 10 points for every time you ''release'' a limb - though this must be done manually and must be repeatedly confirmed, once the creature is rendered unconscious). Another concern with auto-wrestling some animals is that you will perform joint locks, and break hips, knees, and ankles in the process, which can cause the creature to bleed to death. If you can wrangle a creature incapable of blood-loss and strangulation in a high-FPS area (such as a crab on a frozen beach), you can easily raise all associated skills and attributes to Legendary and Superhuman in the course of a few minutes.
*'''Shield User, Armor User, and Dodging''' - In addition to wrestling the creature, you can also sit back 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 when it hits. Also, to place emphasis more heavily on shield blocking, you can change your attack {{K|C}}ombat preference to ''Stand Ground''. The wrestling-a-crab-on-a-frozen-beach method also works fantastically for this.
*'''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.
*'''Throwing and Archery''' - Throwing rocks with {{k|t}} will raise your Throwing and Archery skills. Throwing objects at creatures, while not as completely devastating as it once was, can still come in handy. (In early 31.xx, somebody killed a bronze colossus by throwing a fluffy wambler at its head. We can only hope the wambler survived.) Although throwing is a way to raise Archery without wasting ammunition, there is a non-wasteful method that additionally increases bow/crossbow skills.The most efficient way to level via throwing is to forgo using a macro and separate training into two phases: {{k|g}}etting and {{k|t}}hrowing. First, find a tile with an indefinite amount of throwable objects (e.g., snow, rocks, mud, etc.). Then, sequentially mash {{k|g}} and whatever key the rocks are assigned to until both your forearms explode. Rest. Then, sequentially mash {{k|t}}, followed by some consistent key assigned to your rocks, then {{k|enter}}, until you've emptied your inventory. Rest. Rinse and repeat. (You may wish to empty your inventory beforehand such that the rocks are assigned to a key close to {{k|t}}, allowing you to keep one hand on {{k|enter}} and another on {{k|t}}.)
*'''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 directly beneath it. If bolts or arrows hit a wall that has floor/ground on the same z-level, then the ammunition will be destroyed. ''However'', ammunition that falls at least one z-level after hitting a wall will remain intact. So, simply find something like a hill inside a castle, stand on it, then shoot at a wall which is on the same z-level you are. The arrows will hit the wall and fall one z-level to the ground, remaining intact. You can then {{k|g}}et the arrows and {{k|f}}ire them at the wall again from the hill, ad infinitum. You can also stand next to a wall that's two or more z-levels high, aiming at the wall one z-level up by hitting {{k|<}} after hitting {{k|f}}. Whatever method you employ, the key is that the arrow needs to fall at least one z-level after hitting a wall to remain intact. Using a macro will speed this up greatly.
*'''Ambushing and Swimming''' - An efficient way to raise Ambushing is to sneak over large stretches of land, possibly in preference to fast {{k|T}}raveling. Ideally, this would be done in a biome containing sparse vegetation and few threatening creatures to blunder into and reduce FPS (e.g., a frozen beach).Although less efficient for raising only Ambushing, it's also possible to sneak and swim at the same time, thus combining their training. ''Just make sure you start with at least Novice in swimming'', or you'll find swimming practically impossible to train. Swimming can very quickly improve your Strength, Agility, and Endurance. Additionally, if you can safely drown and then recover (e.g., by moving under a bridge and then back before suffocating), this will raise both Toughness and Endurance at a ''ridiculous'' pace-- a single step spent drowning will raise both attributes by a fifth of a point apiece.
*'''Observer''' - You can't really power-level 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. However, one way to train it appears to be sleeping or walking around in the wilderness, allowing yourself to be repeatedly ambushed. This is, however, inherently dangerous. Running away from these encounters would probably be faster than slaying your assailants, if not generally safer for your character (but not for your companions, hoh boy).Successfully detecting traps found in tombs and catacombs (performed automatically) will also raise Observer. However, without decent skill to begin with, you'll be torn to pieces by the many traps you'll fail to see. Otherwise, once you've found one or more traps, it's possible to grind experience by sleeping/waiting an hour, thus resetting the traps. Rinse and repeat.
*'''Spatial and Kinesthetic Sense''' - While sharpening rocks with {{k|x}} will improve your Knapping skill, it more importantly increases your Spatial Sense and Kinesthetic Sense attributes, which affect a number of other skills. Knapping can be combined with throwing via 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? ==

'Tis but a scratch!

Unfortunately, there is only one way to get them back, and that is by being bitten by a [[werebeast]] and surviving until the next full moon. 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.

== What creatures of night can I become? ==

You basically have four different choices.

Firstly, you can become a [[necromancer]].
* That gives you some traits of an undead. Namely, you don't need to eat, sleep or drink, don't tire or age, zombies or mummies don't attack you and your physical stats are permanently fixed.
* The last one means it's wise to train them beforehand.
* You also can raise dead from the {{K|x}} menu. Depending on the flavor of your spell, zombies can be slow, very slow or not slow at all. They will be listed as companions.
* To become a necromancer, find a necromancer tower and obtain a book or slab containing secrets of life and death from there, then read it. Note that most of the books are useless. In younger worlds necromancers may not have built their towers yet, in which case they'll be hanging at a zombie bandit camp, slab under the arm.

Secondly, you can become a [[vampire]].
* That gives you most traits of an undead. In addition to the listed above, you don't feel pain, don't breathe and immune to most syndromes.
* Your strength, agility and toughness are doubled.
* They're still fixed forever, so, again, be prepared.
* Despite not needing to drink water, you have a hunger for warm blood. To satisfy it, beat someone or something unconscious and {{K|e}}at their blood. However, if you become a necromancer after {{verify}} becoming a vampire, you will not need to drink blood.
* To become a vampire, defeat one in combat and drink his blood.

Thirdly, you can become a [[werebeast]].
* This gives you the (uncontrolled) ability to transform into a powerful half-man, half-beast on a full moon.
* There's a fixed list of animals on which the werebeast is based, including goat, llama, lizard, horse, monitor, buffalo, moose, tortoise, camel, kangaroo, ape, gecko, bear, hyena, warthog, iguana, skink, shrew, elk, skunk, pig, raccoon, panda, mole, badger, armadillo, mammoth and more.
* Most importantly, upon transformation (both ways) all your wounds, including missing limbs, are instantly healed.
* You don't show any abnormalcy outside of beast form. You are still mortal.
* When in beast form, everything is hostile to you, you don't need to drink, eat, sleep or breathe, don't feel pain, don't tire and are immune to some syndromes.
* One randomly chosen metal is ten times as deadly to you than usual. All other materials deal you half damage.
* Werebeast's size is several times their base animal size, but no less than 80000. This means all armor will be too small for you while in beast form. But you can still use a shield.
* Also, some werebeasts are truly gigantic — weremammoth has a size of 9000000, on par with demons.
* To become a werebeast, make one bite you. It has to be in the beast form.
* You cannot be a werebeast and a vampire at the same time.

And finally, you can become a mist [[zombie]].
* This makes you undead. In addition to vampire traits, you can see without eyes and can't die via blood loss or beheading. Note that you don't have health point limit raised zombies have.
* You become permanently hostile to everyone except other undead.
* Your strength and toughness are tripled and fixed. Train beforehand.
* Depending on the flavor of zombie virus, your speed may or may not drop to 20% or 60% of its normal value.
* To become a mist zombie, find a mist/fog cloud that zombifies creatures and delve headdeep into it.
* You cannot become a vampire or a werebeast if you are already a zombie. The other way, however, is fine.

=See Also=
*[[Main:Adventure Mode quick reference|Adventure Mode Quick Reference]]
*[[Main:Adventure mode quick start|Adventure Mode Quickstart Guide]]

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

User talk:Briess

2014-07-14T00:00:46Z

Lue: /* Cannot confirm email address */ new section

{{archive|*[[User_talk:Briess/archive1|archive 1]]
*[[User_talk:Briess/archive2|archive 2]]
*[[User_talk:Briess/archive3|archive 3]]
*[[User_talk:Briess/archive4|archive 4]]
*[[User_talk:Briess/archive5|archive 5]]
*[[User_talk:Briess/archive6|archive 6]]
}}
== Can't move [[:File:Fäden.png]] ==

It's used on [[cv:thread]], but I can't seem to move it to a better title. I think it's because of the <s>accent</s> umlaut - is there any way you can change its name manually in the database? ([[Wikipedia:mw:Manual:MoveBatch.php|This maintenance script]] should do the trick, but it requires a little setup and it might run into the same problem.) —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 19:17, 13 March 2014 (UTC)
: I missed this. Where should this be moved to? I can give the script a try --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 20:35, 4 May 2014 (UTC)
::I was thinking something like [[:f:thread.png]] or [[:f:rope reed fiber thread.png]] would work. If not, I can always reupload it and delete the original (assuming that works). —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 20:52, 4 May 2014 (UTC)
::: Oops, that was my file. I guess i should take it as reminder to label files something more accessible when they're intended for public use and not just my own stuff. --[[User:Larix|Larix]] ([[User talk:Larix|talk]]) 14:31, 6 May 2014 (UTC)
::: Can't get the move to work. I'll have to play with the DB if I want to do that. --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 03:39, 16 June 2014 (UTC)
:::: Might be because I already moved it. :) (Can't remember where at the moment, but it's on [[thread]]). —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 03:44, 16 June 2014 (UTC)
::::: Derp. --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 05:49, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

== Announcements "NEW" icon ==

Can you please add an ID attribute to the red "NEW" message in the sidebar, so I can make it hidden? Thanks {{User:Latias1290/Sig/src|13:20|March 23, 2014}}
:Removed it, since it's clearly not "new" anymore. —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 15:55, 23 March 2014 (UTC)

== [[:File:Old0c3822.png]] ==

This file is missing, but is used on {{tl|old}} and has a history page: [https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php?title=File:Old0c3822.png&action=history]. Any idea what happened to it? (Other files appear to be unaffected.) —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 20:16, 4 May 2014 (UTC)
:No idea. Going to rebuild images now then --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 20:30, 4 May 2014 (UTC)
::And it's back after a rebuild --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 20:30, 4 May 2014 (UTC)
::Rebuilding images is now a cronjob that will run every 30 minutes on dfaux1 as well now --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 20:32, 4 May 2014 (UTC)

== Creature token page seems to be causing your server trouble ==

http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2012:Creature_token comes up with a completely blank (like, about:blank blank) for me and pretty much everyone else I've asked about it. I can get the contents by pulling them from google's cache, but the site itself seems to refuse to let you load it. From experience as a webhost, this generally means that the page has encountered a critical error in its scripting, which it will dump in the error log instead of reporting to the user, for security reasons. I would suggest scouring your error logs. Don't know why this particular page is causing issues. [[Special:Contributions/74.67.17.69|74.67.17.69]] 07:23, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

Probably a rendering time issue - the other versions load fine, but v0.31 takes the longest (I'm pretty sure the v0.34 page is the largest). Using action=raw also works. —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 10:43, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

Okay, disabling AutoRedirect fixed this, so I'm currently disabling pieces of it to see what's causing the problem. —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 19:41, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

It appears that the TitleIsAlwaysKnown is the problem, presumably because it takes a lot of time to render on a large page like [[creature token]]. Unfortunately, this is the hook that makes links and searching work. I'll try making the extension skip section links, since they account for most of the links in that article and don't need to be handled at all. —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 19:48, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

All right, that seems to have worked. The render time is back down to 1.2 seconds, which is pretty good for such a long page. —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 20:11, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

Awesome, glad I could help. [[Special:Contributions/2604:6000:FB03:4601:BE5F:F4FF:FE3B:6A61|2604:6000:FB03:4601:BE5F:F4FF:FE3B:6A61]] 16:04, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

== MWExceptions ==

Greycat is having problems with editing (may be proxy-related again): http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=139510.0 —[[User:Lethosor|Lethosor]] ([[User talk:Lethosor|talk]]) 11:04, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

== Bot is removing av template ==

[http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php?title=DF2014:Puddingstone&diff=204589&oldid=203339 this edit is an example]. Just letting you know. [[User:Brightgalrs|Brightgalrs]] ([[User talk:Brightgalrs|talk]]) 19:39, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
:And it's deleting the stonelookup template too. [http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php?title=DF2014:Puddingstone&diff=204589&oldid=203339 example]. [[User:Brightgalrs|Brightgalrs]] ([[User talk:Brightgalrs|talk]]) 19:41, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
::It looks like it searched for "<nowiki>{{quality|.*}}</nowiki>" when doing the "remove quality" step, which ended up matching way too much. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] ([[User talk:Quietust|talk]]) 21:45, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
:::Working on a way to revert those using the bot but it will take a bit. --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 22:06, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

== Server woes ==

I can't insert {{tl|DF2014 plants/trees}} into {{tl|DF2014 plants}}; the server times out/fails to respond each time I try.--[[User:Loci|Loci]] ([[User talk:Loci|talk]]) 19:15, 11 July 2014 (UTC)
: I'll take a look. --[[User:Briess|Briess]] ([[User talk:Briess|talk]]) 22:05, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

== Cannot confirm email address ==

[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=140530.0#msg5470497 It's been mentioned on the forum], and I thought I'd let you know here, since I see it too.

When I went to the page to start the confirmation process, I was told the email had already been sent. After waiting quite a while without anything, I decided to ask for another email, and that's when I encountered this error:

:Dwarf Fortress Wiki could not send your confirmation mail. Please check your e-mail address for invalid characters.

:Mailer returned: Unknown error in PHP's mail() function.

Hopefully this will be an easy fix, sorry I don't have anything more specific for you to follow up on. —[[User:Lue|Lue]] ([[User talk:Lue|talk]]) 00:00, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

Almandine

2014-07-13T22:53:25Z

Lue: Add article version template.

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

Almandines are [[gem#value|semi-precious]] [[gem]]s found in [[metamorphic]], [[diorite]], and [[gabbro]] [[stone layer]]s. In real life, almandines are reddish gems from the [[garnierite]] family of a (usually dark) red variety.

{{gamedata}}
{{gems}}