Dwarf Fortress Wiki - User contributions [en]

Diplomat

2016-11-23T19:29:21Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Added links. Grammar.

{{Quality|Exceptional|20:19, 13 May 2013 (UTC)}}
{{av}}{{buggy}}{{Minorspoiler}}

The '''Diplomat''' is a [[noble]] position responsible for acts of diplomacy. In the current version it is not possible to assign a dwarf to this position, nor will one ever migrate to your fortress. It is, however, possible for your parent civilization to demote their diplomat, and then send him to migrate to your fortress. It is even possible to see if this happens the year before he does, by following him after he completed his tasks in your fort, and keep following him after he is off-screen - if the name disappears, he will not migrate; if the profession changes, he will migrate.

Diplomats from ''other'' civilizations tend to arrive on the map edge up to a week before or after their civilization's [[caravan]] once your fortress has a [[baron]]. Each diplomat will attempt to attend a meeting with your [[Expedition leader|leader]]: they will typically follow your leader around, waiting for an opportunity to discuss your situation. Your leader will need to perform the "Conduct Meeting" job, sometimes for quite a while, to satisfy the visiting diplomat.

In the event that your leader is replaced, killed, or taken by a [[strange mood]] the liaison may decide to leave your fortress [[stymied|"unhappy"]].{{bug|576}} Curiously, this will '''not''' occur if your leader is otherwise unable to perform the "conduct meeting" task. You can currently lock a diplomat in a room and he will wait years to attend the meeting your noble is constantly conducting (and all subsequent diplomats appear to wait in line for the first to finish); this behavior is presumably a bug.{{bug|8947}}

An unhappy diplomat will naturally prevent you from creating agreements and ending hostilities, however it is not currently known what other effects this has on relations with that civilization. Whether the diplomat successfully met with your leader or just gave up, a diplomat who has decided to leave but is prevented from reaching the map edge will eventually go [[insane]].

If a diplomat is killed (or permanently detained), a new diplomat will arrive the following year. The death of a diplomat will, however, strain relations with the represented civilization, and might result in a [[siege]].

==Dwarven Diplomats==
Other dwarven civilizations currently do not send diplomats; the Mountainhome of your own dwarven civilization sends a special diplomat, an [[outpost liaison]], to conduct diplomacy with your fortress (assuming your fortress is not the Mountainhome).

==Elven Diplomats==
:''"You have disrespected the trees in this area, but this is what we have come to expect from your stunted kind. Further abuse cannot be tolerated. Let this be a warning to you."''

Once your [[baron]] has been appointed, the neighboring Elven civilization will attempt to make ''first contact'' - at the very beginning of the year, their diplomat will appear ''unannounced'' at the edge of your map and immediately attempt to meet with your new leader. If you have cut down any [[tree]]s, you will be scolded and given a stern warning (as quoted above), otherwise you will be congratulated for your kindness to the environment.

During subsequent visits (which will happen within a few weeks of the arrival of their caravan), Elven diplomats will ask you to limit your tree-cutting to approximately one hundred trees. If you agree to this concession, the civilization {{k|c}} screen will track the number of [[Wood cutter|Fell Tree]] jobs you complete during the year, shown as (remaining allowed cuts)/(total allowed cuts). Both above-ground and subterranean trees are counted. The agreement (and the count) remain in effect until the next year's agreement is negotiated. If you stay within this limit, the bond between your civilizations will be strengthened; violating it will strain diplomatic relations and potentially lead to attacks.

The actual number of trees in the quota is controlled by a number of factors, including your noble's [[Room#Quality|office quality]], happiness, and social skills. Maximizing each of these can allow your noble to talk the Elves into letting you cut down a few extra trees each year.

If you have managed to start a [[war]] with the Elves, whether due to a mishap involving their caravans or from violating a tree cutting quota, the diplomat may offer a peace treaty.

{{D for Dwarf}}

It is a well-known fact among the dwarf nobility that many seemingly rude interruptions and delays such as sleep, drinking, deconstructing of walls, etc., that occur on a regular basis during the conduction of diplomatic meetings with elves, actually serve one simple purpose: to stretch the period of time when the old tree-cutting agreement is no longer in force, but the new agreement is not signed yet. During that time all the fortress woodcutters with the addition of some seasonal workers must clear as many trees as possible.

==Human Diplomats==
:''"Greetings, noble dwarf. There is much to discuss."''

Diplomats from [[Human]] civilizations tend to just say "It's such a pleasant place you've carved out for yourselves...". They will then share with you news of world like an outpost liaison would. If you are at war with them, the diplomat may offer a peace treaty.

Note that all [[trap]]s "seen" by the Human diplomat may be ineffective against subsequent Human attackers.

Note that sometimes, under certain circumstances, a Human diplomat may be a necromancer. When such an event occurs, you will not be notified of the diplomat's arrival, nor will you be able to see them. They will act as a normal, non-diplomat necromancer, sneaking around your fort undiscovered, raising the dead and causing havoc. When they ''are'' discovered, you will get the alert message ''"Invaders! Drive them away!"'', the game will pause and the camera will zoom to them. At this point they become hostile to your civilization, scaring Dwarfs and setting off traps. Your militia may also try and kill them. It is unknown whether keeping them caged/pitted harms your relationship with a civilization, but killing them certainly does.

==Bugs==
* Liaisons will wait indefinitely to conduct a meeting, potentially leading to multiple diplomats. {{bug|3027}}

{{Nobles}}

Leather works

2016-11-23T19:23:35Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Grammar. Added links.

{{Quality|Exceptional|19:14, 25 June 2010 (UTC)}}{{workshop|name=Leather works|key=e|job=[[Leatherworker|Leatherworking]]
|construction=
* [[Building material]] (non-[[economic]])
|construction_job=
* [[Leatherworker|Leatherworking]]
|use=
* [[Leather]]
|production=
* [[Leather]] [[Clothing]]
* [[Leather]] [[Armor]]
* [[Leather]] [[Shield]]
* [[Leather]] [[Quiver]]
* [[Leather]] [[Bag]]
* [[Leather]] [[Backpack]]
* [[Leather]] [[Flask|Waterskin]]
* [[Leather]] [[Decoration|Images (decoration)]]
* [[Leather]] [[Instruments|Instrument]]{{version|0.42.01}}
* [[Leather]] [[Instrument pieces]]{{version|0.42.01}}
}}{{av}}

'''Leather works''' is a [[workshop]] which produces [[leather]] items out of tanned [[skin|hides]] made at the [[tanner's shop]]. These items include [[armor]], [[backpack]]s, [[flask|waterskins]], [[quiver]]s for [[military]] dwarves, and [[clothes]] and [[bag]]s for civilian use. [[Armor#Types_of_armor|Leather armor]] is typically less protective than metal armor, but is [[rmor#Encumbrance|lighter and thus better]] for initial [[Armor user|armor wearing]] training or for [[Squad|squads]] that require [[gait|speed]] over defensive ability.

[[Decoration|Decorating]] [[finished goods]] with leather is also done at this workshop.

[[Crafts]] made from leather are made at the [[craftsdwarf's workshop]].

To create differently sized clothing or armor{{version|0.42.01}} request it to be made from the workshop as usual. Afterwards, go back to the main workshop menu and look at the {{k|d}}etails of the issued job. {{k|f}}ilter for the race you want to make the item for and press {{k|enter}} twice.

==See also==
*[[Meat industry]]

{{Workshops}}

Crutch-walker

2016-11-23T18:27:57Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Added links.

{{Quality|Superior|15:23, 17 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{Skill
| color = 3:0
| skill = Crutch-walker
| specialty = Peasant
| profession = None
| job name = None
| tasks =
* Automatic, use crutch to walk after injury
| attributes =
* Agility
* Endurance
* Willpower
* Spatial Sense
* Kinesthetic Sense
}}
{{av}}

'''Crutch-walker''' is the [[skill]] typically used by those who have [[wound|lost]] the ability to walk normally. Crutch-walkers use [[crutch]]es while moving around the map.

The crutch-walker [[skill|skill level]] is related to the penalty received to [[gait|movement]]. As the skill develops, the character moves at [[gait|speeds]] closer to their ambulatory movement rate up to Legendary+5 rank, at which movement rate is no longer impaired while a crutch is held. The quality or type of crutch is not related to outcome. It is possible to gain [[experience]] in this skill in [[adventure mode]] by holding a crutch in either hand.

Crutch-walkers are the natural byproducts of a fortress' [[health care|health care industry]].

{{skills}}

Hedgehog man

2016-11-23T18:21:32Z

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'''Hedgehog men''' can curl up into a ball-shape which drastically increases the defense of the creature against [[Attack_types#Blunt_weapons|blunt damage]], causing it only to take damage to the [[Anatomy#Upper_Body|upper body]].

{{D for Dwarf}}
Contrary to popular belief, hedgehog men cannot exceed the speed of sound while running.
{{gamedata}}
{{Creatures}}

Badger man

2016-11-23T18:14:43Z

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{{Quality|Superior|21:49, 17 May 2015 (UTC)}}
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'''Badger men''' and women move closely together in a single file path. Being hostile they will attack and mob any unsuspecting dwarves that cross their path, leading to certain death.

{{Gamedata}}
{{Creatures}}
{{Category|Humanoids}}

Giant leech

2016-11-23T18:11:08Z

NibblesMeKibbles:

{{Quality|Fine|10:42, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{Creaturelookup/0
|meat=6
|skin=hide
|brain=1
|heart=1
|intestine=1-2
|fat=2
|wiki=no
|contrib=no
}}
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'''Giant leeches''' are strong animals that can be found in mainly [[tropical]] savage [[biome]]s inside [[pool]]s and [[lake]]s.
{{gamedata}}
{{Creatures}}

Bark scorpion

2016-11-23T18:09:39Z

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{{Quality|Fine|07:04, 30 April 2012 (UTC)}}
{{verminlookup/0}}
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'''Bark scorpions''' are [[Vermin#Hateable_vermin|hateable vermin]] and will give [[Thought#Unhappy_Thoughts|unhappy thoughts]] to dwarves who absolutely detest bark scorpions.

As an interesting fact, they are the smallest creatures not of size 1.

An [[Animal Dissector]] can make bark scorpion [[venom]] using a caught bark scorpion and a glass [[vial]].

In what appears to be a copy/paste bug, bark scorpions are not immune to bark scorpion [[syndrome|venom]], but [[cave spider]]s are.

[[Image:Bbasgen-scorpion-front.jpg|thumb|left|[[preference|Admired]] for its ''pincers'' and ''stinging tail'']]

{{gamedata}}
{{vermin}}

Stepladder

2016-11-23T18:06:37Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Added links.

{{Quality|Fine}}
{{av}}

'''Stepladders''' are [[tool]]s used to [[herbalist|harvest]] [[fruit]] from [[tree]]s. If a fruit-bearing tree is located in a [[zone#Plant collection|plant gathering zone]], a dwarf will automatically fetch and place a stepladder under it. Stepladders can be placed anywhere (they don't need to lean on a trunk) and allow a dwarf to grab fruit from up to two z-levels above ground. The dwarf doing the gathering will simply drop the fruit to the ground—he will not interrupt his work to haul it to a food stockpile. Any passing dwarf, meanwhile, can collect the fruit and haul it away.

Stepladders can be made from [[wood]] by a [[carpenter]] at a [[carpenter's workshop]] or [[metal]] by a [[metalcrafter]] at a [[forge]]. Stepladders can be stored in furniture [[stockpile]]s that have the "other large tools" type enabled, and are managed from the tools section of the [[stocks]] screen.

== Construction ==
Stepladders are constructed of either wood or metal:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin:1em 1em 1em 0; background:#F9F9F9; border:1px #AAA solid"
|- style="background: #F9F9F9"
! Material !! Worker !! Workshop
|- style="background: #F2F2F2"
| [[Wood]] (1 log) || [[Carpenter]] || [[Carpenter's workshop]]
|- style="background: #F2F2F2"
| [[Metal]] (2 bars) || [[Metal crafter]] || [[Metalsmith's forge]] or [[Magma forge]]
|}

== Forging and melting ==

* Metal stepladders cost '''two''' [[metal]] bars to forge, or '''six''' [[adamantine]] wafers.
* When a non-adamantine metal stepladder is [[melted]] down, it will return '''1.8''' metal bars, for an '''efficiency of 90%'''.
* When an adamantine stepladder is [[melted]] down, it will produce '''1.8''' wafers, for an '''efficiency of 30%'''.

== Terminology ==
{{D for dwarf}}
Dwarves involved in the [[justice]] system are known to debate with others about whether to call these items "ladders" or "stepladders". Dwarves engaged in these arguments are commonly accused of "making judgements based on narrow-minded cultural assumptions."

{{Gamedata|{{raw|DF2014:item_tool.txt|ITEM_TOOL|ITEM_TOOL_STEPLADDER}}}}

{{Category|Items}}

Fire-safe

2016-11-23T18:02:39Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Added links.

{{Quality|Superior|07:00, 17 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
{{Material properties}}
'''Fire-safe materials''' are those that are not damaged by [[fire]]. These materials include [[glass]], most [[metal]] (tin has a low enough melting point to turn into a pool of tin if exposed to fire), [[ash]], and most [[stone]]. Only [[nether-cap]] [[wood]] is fire-safe; all other types of wood are not. [[Bituminous coal]], [[lignite]], [[charcoal]], and [[coke]] are all flammable and ought not be fire-safe, but the bug mentioned below allows them to be used as fire-safe building materials. Furthermore, the game only considers [[bar]]s, [[block]]s, [[stone]], [[log]]s, and [[anvil]]s to be capable of being fire-safe - all other item types are rejected outright.

Fire-safe materials are only required when the object is going to come into contact with extreme heat, such as all conventional [[furnace]]s and the [[metalsmith's forge|forge]]. For the magma-powered versions of these buildings, as well as anything that will be in direct contact with magma (such as [[floodgate]]s), fire-safe material is not enough: it has to be [[magma-safe]].

As far as the game is concerned, only materials which are stable at the [[temperature]] {{ct|11000}} (i.e. MELTING_POINT/BOILING_POINT/IGNITE_POINT/HEATDAM_POINT greater than 11000 and COLDDAM_POINT less than 11000) are considered fire-safe. Despite this temperature being considered fire-safe, actual [[fire]] can generate temperatures significantly higher (in particular, any burning item will heat up to 200 degrees above its material's ignite point).{{bug|5011}} For practical purposes, anything which has an IGNITE_POINT should be treated as not fire-safe, so as to avoid triggering this bug.

{{Category|Materials}}
{{Category|Physics}}

Mud man

2016-11-23T17:56:30Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Page subject moved to front.

{{Quality|Superior|19:16, 10 November 2013 (UTC)}}
{{Creaturelookup/0
|vary=no
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|death=item
|item=Glob of mud
}}
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{{creaturedesc}}

'''Mud man''', like the similarly-named [[fire man]] and [[magma man]], is a [[building destroyer]], so take care to protect any buildings they may be able to access.

Due to being made of mud, it tends to be pretty nonthreatening, and are [[preference|loved]] by some dwarves for their ''peculiar smell''.

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

Tracker

2016-11-23T16:37:35Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Bolded page subject. Added links.

{{Quality|Fine|21:55, 30 December 2010 (UTC)}}
{{Skill
| color = 3:0
| skill = Tracker
| profession = Unknown
| job name = None
| tasks = None
| attributes =
* Unknown
}}
{{av}}

'''Tracker''' is a [[skill]] currently only used in [[Adventurer mode]] which allows an adventurer to track [[creature]]s. Higher levels let you spot more tracks and help distinguish different tracks.

Historical figures that have done scouting, beast hunting or wandering in the past always seem to have some level of this skill.

In [[fortress mode]], this is used by [[scholar]]s who are [[naturalist]]s.

{{skills}}

Harp seal

2016-11-23T15:54:59Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Page subject moved to front. Added links.

{{Quality|Superior|01:54, 19 April 2013 (UTC)}}
{{creaturelookup/0
|bone=13
|meat=8-10
|skin=hide
|skull=1
|brain=1
|kidney=2
|spleen=1
|sweetbread=1
|tripe=1
|liver=1
|intestine=1
|heart=1
|lung=2
|cartilage=1
|eye=0-2
|fat=7

|contrib=no
|wiki=yes}}
{{av}}
{{creaturedesc}}

'''Harp seals''' are carnivorous, amphibious mammals located only in [[arctic]] [[ocean]]s. They can sometimes be spotted on shore in small packs wandering near the coastlines.

Harp seals are generally quite non-aggressive, though they are large, can bite, and they should not be approached by [[armor|unarmored]] [[military]]. In quantity, they make a decent source of [[meat|food]], especially that they happen in packs. Harp seals, however, do not have any special value modifier, so hunting them for profit is not as profitable as in real life.

Harp seals can be tamed as [[pet]]s, or as non-grazing livestock for a [[meat industry]]. Some dwarves [[preference|enjoy]] harp seals' ''adorable pups''.

== Clubbability ==
{{D for Dwarf}}
Harp seals, and especially baby harp seals, are '''''very''''' clubbable. It is a pity that packs of wild animals do not currently include young, just for the possibility of bashing a wild baby harp seal's skull in. Which is, by the way, a rite of passage for any self-respecting morally ambiguous overseer.

Feel free, however, to catch them wild, and toss them in a place they cannot escape. Once the babies are born, send in the macedwarves (no edge weapons allowed) and enjoy your genuine, morally questionable baby seal leather boots!

[[Image:Blanchon-idlm2006.jpg|thumb|300px|center]]

{{gamedata}}
{{creatures}}

Giant coyote

2016-11-23T15:52:57Z

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{{Quality|Superior|00:08, 20 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{Creaturelookup/0
|bone=18-22
|tooth=2
|meat=13-17
|skin=hide
|fat=12-16
|hair=1
|nail=0-1
|skull=1
|brain=1
|kidney=2
|spleen=1
|sweetbread=1
|tripe=1
|liver=1
|intestine=1
|heart=1
|lung=2
|cartilage=1
|eye=0-2

|contrib=no
}}
{{av}}
{{creaturedesc}}

'''Giant coyotes''', appearing in groups of two to ten in most savage [[biome]]s, are pack hunters that are bigger than [[elk]]s. Lacking the {{token|LARGE_PREDATOR|c}} token, they aren't very aggressive towards your dwarves. Though they have a medium sized amount of [[meat|food]] returns, they do help a struggling fortress to get by.

{{gamedata}}
{{Creatures}}

Downy grass

2016-11-23T15:51:00Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Added links.

{{Quality|Fine|14:57, 11 March 2011 (UTC)}}{{grasslookup/0|wiki=no}}{{av}}

'''Downy grass''' is a special type of [[grass]] found only in good regions. Despite being made of feathers, it provides nourishment to [[grazing]] animals.

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Giant coati

2016-11-23T15:49:52Z

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{{Quality|Superior|21:40, 17 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{Creaturelookup/0
|lung=2
|heart=1
|intestines=1
|liver=1
|tripe=1
|sweetbread=1
|spleen=1
|kidney=2
|nervous tissue=1
|hair=1
|skin=hide
|fat=11
|meat=11
|bone=17
|wiki=no
|contrib=no
}}
{{av}}
{{creaturedesc}}
'''Giant coatis''', like their [[Coati|smaller cousins]], may steal items from the fortress if given an opportunity and will take any item they can get their paws on. Best [[ambusher|hunted]] or [[cage trap|baited]] and killed before they get away with something useful. Though large enough, they are not a viable base creature for your [[meat industry]] because of their solitary nature. The chances of getting a [[breeding]] pair are extremely low and you are better off slaughtering them.

[[File:Coati_roux_Amiens_4.jpg|thumb|left|[[preference|Admired]] for their ''curiosity''.]]

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{{Creatures}}

Militia commander

2016-11-23T15:45:55Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Bolded page subject. Added links.

{{av}}
{{Quality|Fine}}
{{Noble|noble=Militia Commander
|function=
* Leads the local [[military]] of your fortress.
}}

'''Militia Commander''' is a [[noble]] in charge of the [[military|militia]] of your [[fortress]]. He leads a [[squad]] of up to ten soldiers and also commands the [[militia captain]]s.

{{gamedata| [POSITION:MILITIA_COMMANDER]
[NAME:militia commander:militia commanders]
[SITE]
[NUMBER:1]
[SQUAD:10:militia-dwarf:militia-dwarves]
[APPOINTED_BY:EXPEDITION_LEADER]
[APPOINTED_BY:MAYOR]
[RESPONSIBILITY:MILITARY_STRATEGY]
[COMMANDER:MILITIA_CAPTAIN:ALL]
[PRECEDENCE:120]
[DO_NOT_CULL]
[DUTY_BOUND]}}
{{nobles}}
{{Category|Military Ranks}}

Carpenter

2016-11-23T15:44:43Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Added links. Rule T. Grammar.

{{Quality|Superior|23:41, 17 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{Skill
| color = 6:1
| skill = Carpenter
| profession = [[Woodworker]]
| job name = [[Carpentry]]
| tasks =
* Wood based [[construction]]
* Any work in the Carpenter's Workshop (except [[Animal trap|traps]])
| workshop = * [[Carpenter's workshop]]
| attributes =
* Strength
* Agility
* Creativity
* Spatial Sense
* Kinesthetic Sense
}}
{{av}}

'''Carpenters''' produce items out of [[wood]]. They construct [[bed]]s, [[bin]]s, [[barrel]]s, and all manner of other [[furniture]], as well as wooden [[shield]]s, [[training weapon]]s and [[trap component]]s. A carpenter's skill level affects the speed and [[quality]] of his work.

Carpenters are also responsible for constructing [[architecture|architectural]] buildings designed with wood, or wood blocks. These buildings include [[trade depot]]s, [[bridge]]s, and [[well]]s, and their building quality and value are influenced by the carpenter's skill.

To employ a carpenter, create a task at a [[carpenter's workshop]].

It is recommended that one of your [[embark]] dwarves has some skill at carpentry. [[Bed]]s, [[bin]]s, and [[cage]]s, are typical early necessities.

Carpentry skill is also available in [[adventurer mode|Adventurer Mode]]. To perform carpentry, while at a carpenter's workshop, press {{k|x}} then the first option in {{k|c}}reate is Carpentry.

{{Skills}}

Siege operator

2016-11-23T15:40:11Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Typo.

{{Quality|Exceptional}}
{{Skill
| color = 4:1
| skill = Siege operator
| profession = [[Engineer]]
| job name = [[Siege operating]]
| tasks =
* Load siege weapons
* Fire siege weapons
| workshop = * [[Siege engine]]
| attributes =
* Strength
* Toughness
* Endurance
* Analytical Ability
* Focus
* Spatial Sense
}}
{{av}}

'''Siege operators''' are responsible for manning [[Siege engine|siege weapons]], loading them with any available [[ammunition]], and firing on command or at will.

This is a task sometimes delegated to peasants as a cheap labor, as it can get them skilled swiftly. Catapults are also sometimes used to destroy unwanted stone.

While viewing a dwarf's general stats, this skill is grouped with the combat skills instead of the typical labor skills.
{{Skills}}

Siege operator

2016-11-23T15:39:33Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Bolded page subject. Added links. Grammar.

{{Quality|Exceptional}}
{{Skill
| color = 4:1
| skill = Siege operator
| profession = [[Engineer]]
| job name = [[Siege operating]]
| tasks =
* Load siege weapons
* Fire siege weapons
| workshop = * [[Siege engine]]
| attributes =
* Strength
* Toughness
* Endurance
* Analytical Ability
* Focus
* Spatial Sense
}}
{{av}}

''Siege operators''' are responsible for manning [[Siege engine|siege weapons]], loading them with any available [[ammunition]], and firing on command or at will.

This is a task sometimes delegated to peasants as a cheap labor, as it can get them skilled swiftly. Catapults are also sometimes used to destroy unwanted stone.

While viewing a dwarf's general stats, this skill is grouped with the combat skills instead of the typical labor skills.
{{Skills}}

Tile

2016-11-23T15:34:35Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Bolding. Added links. Grammar.

{{Quality|Fine|20:18, 23 June 2013 (UTC)}}
{{av}}

'''Tiles''' are the squares that form a map. They are ''approximately'' two meters long, two meters wide, and three meters high.[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=140544.msg6700479#msg6700479 <nowiki>[1]</nowiki>] There are 48x48 tiles in a a 1x1 [[embark]]; this is also the scale of overland travel tiles in [[Adventure Mode]]. 16x16 region tiles, the maximum embark size, covers a world map tile. A single world map tile would contain 768x768, or 589824 local tiles.

A tile consists of two sections—a wall section and a floor section, shown in cross-section like this:
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -|
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |--> Wall Section
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -|
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor Section
When digging and building this is important, since some designations and constructions will only be done in wall tiles and some others will only be done in floor tiles.

==Stairs==
Building a [[stair]]way consists of two elements: an up stair and a down stair, each element is built only in the matching tile section, across two z-levels, like this:
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| -|
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |--> Wall Section |--> Open Space
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| -|
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor ▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Down Stair
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| ▒▒▒ -|
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | ▒▒▒ |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |--> Wall Section ▒▒▒ |--> Up Stair
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | ▒▒▒ |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | ▒▒▒ |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| ▒▒▒ -|
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor
An up-down stair or building both up and down stairs in the same tile, works like this:
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| ▒▒▒ -| -|
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | ▒▒▒ | |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |--> Wall Section ▒▒▒ |--> Up Stair | Up/Down
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | ▒▒▒ | | Stair
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | ▒▒▒ | |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| ▒▒▒ -| |
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor ▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Down Stair -|
==Walls==
Both natural occurring and constructed walls span across two z-levels, the bottom wall section and floor and the top floor section:
-|
|
|--> Open Space Wall
|
|
-|
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor -|
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |--> Wall Section |--> <material> Wall
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| |
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor -|
==Supports and Fortifications==
Unlike walls, [[support]]s span only one z-level, allow liquids and movement, and don't create a floor on top.
Constructed fortifications are basically the same but block movement as well. Note, however, that fully submerged (depth of 7/7) fortifications no longer block creature movement.
▒▒ -| | -| |
▒▒ | | ▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒ | |
▒▒ |--> Wall Section |--> <material> Wall ▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒ |--> Wall Section |--> <material> Fortification
▒▒ | | ▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒ | |
▒▒ | | ▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒ | |
▒▒ -| | ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| |
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor -| ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor -|

==Statues==
[[Statue]]s block normal movement, but not unintended movement (dodging, being thrown, swept by current, etc.). Statues do not block fluids.
▒▒▒▒▒░░░░▒▒▒▒▒ -| |
▒▒▒▒▒▓░░▓▒▒▒▒▒ | |
▒▒░░░▓▓▓▓░░░▒▒ |--> Wall Section |--> <material> Statue
▒░░▒░░▓▓░░▒░░▒ | |
▒▒▒▒░░▒▒░░▒▒▒▒ | |
▒▒░░░░▒▒░░░░▒▒ -| |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| |
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor -|
==Furniture==
===Doors and Windows===
[[Window]]s and [[door]]s both block fluids (doors only when closed).
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| | ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| |
▒░░░░░░░░░░░░▒ | | ▒░░░░░░░░░░░░▒ | |
▒░░░░░░░░░░░░▒ |--> Wall Section |--> <material> Door ▒░░░░░░░░░░░░▒ |--> Wall Section |--> <material> Window
▒░░░░░░░░░░░░▒ | | ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | |
▒░░░░░░░░░▒▒░▒ | | ▒░░░░░░░░░░░░▒ | |
▒░░░░░░░░░░░░▒ -| | ▒░░░░░░░░░░░░▒ -| |
▒░░░░░░░░░░░░▒ -| | ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| |
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor -| ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor -|
...
=Special Tiles=
There are some natural occurring special tiles, these can't be recreated{{verify}}:
==Murky Pool tile==
Occur on at least{{verify}} 2 z-levels, as an open space wall section with an open space floor section, and in the lowest z-level another open space wall section (filled with water) with a murky pool floor section, the lower open space wall section can fill with rain water and during winter with an ice wall{{verify}}
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| -|
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |--> Wall Section |--> Open Space Wall
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| -|
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor ----> Open Space Floor (an Ice wall creates an Ice floor here)
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| <nowiki>~~~~~~w7~~~~~~</nowiki> -|
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | <nowiki>~~~~~~w6~~~~~~</nowiki> |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |--> Wall Section <nowiki>~~~~~~w5~~~~~~</nowiki> |--> Open Space Wall (can be filled with Water or Ice)
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | <nowiki>~~~~~~w4~~~~~~</nowiki> |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | <nowiki>~~~~~~w3~~~~~~</nowiki> |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| <nowiki>~~~~~~w2~~~~~~</nowiki> -|
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor ▓▓▓▓▓▓w1▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Murky Pool ----> ''1/1 Water or Ice floor{{verify}''

w# = water level

==River==
{{verify}} under construction...

River Source tiles: generate infinite flowing water for both rivers and brooks?? {{verify}}

==Brook tile==
Occur on at least{{verify}} 2 z-levels, as an open space wall section with a brook floor section, and in the lowest z-level another open space wall section (filled with water) with another brook ''(or river source)'' floor section, the lower open space wall section can fill with rain water{{verify}} and during winter with an ice wall{{verify}}
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| -|
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |--> Wall Section |--> Open Space Wall
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| -|
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor ▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓ ----> Brook ''(freezing effects? {{verify}})''
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| <nowiki>~~~~~~w7~~~~~~</nowiki> -|
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | <nowiki>~~~~~~w6~~~~~~</nowiki> |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |--> Wall Section <nowiki>~~~~~~w5~~~~~~</nowiki> |--> Open Space Wall (can be filled with [[flow]]ing{{verify}} water or Ice)
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | <nowiki>~~~~~~w4~~~~~~</nowiki> |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ | <nowiki>~~~~~~w3~~~~~~</nowiki> |
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ -| <nowiki>~~~~~~w2~~~~~~</nowiki> -|
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ----> Floor ▓▓ ▓▓w1▓▓ ▓▓ ----> Brook / River Source ----> ''1/1 Water or Ice floor{{verify}''
The brook tiles works like a floor grate, can be walked on, can be fished through, allows fluids and missiles through, etc...

{{Translation
| dwarven = bot
| elvish = çile
| goblin = garspo
| human = lir
}}

[[Category:Map tiles|*]]

Moon snail

2016-11-23T15:29:42Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Bolded page subject.

{{Quality|Superior|11:22, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{verminlookup/0}}
{{av}}
{{creaturedesc}}

'''Moon snails''' are [[Vermin#Hateable_vermin|hateable vermin]] and will give [[Thought#Unhappy_Thoughts|unhappy thoughts]] to dwarves who absolutely detest them.

{{gamedata}}
{{vermin}}

White mountain heather

2016-11-23T15:28:27Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Added links.

{{Quality|Fine|14:52, 11 March 2011 (UTC)}}{{grasslookup/0|wiki=Cassiope mertensiana}}{{av}}

'''White mountain heather''' is a type of [[grass]] that grows exclusively in otherwise inhospitable [[tundra]] and [[mountain]]ous [[biome]]s. It is indistinguishable from most other types of grass.

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Ruin

2016-11-23T15:27:13Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Grammar. Added links.

{{Quality|Superior|11:49, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{av}}

'''Ruins''' will appear on the map when a player-made [[Fortress mode|fortress]] is abandoned to ruin rather than retired or when sites belonging to any civilized race are abandoned or destroyed due to invading armies or megabeasts. These abandoned fortresses and other sites will appear as {{Raw Tile|μ|#808080|#000000}} on the world and fast travel maps in both Fortress and [[Adventure Mode]]. Any sites that once belonged to the player race (or the player him/herself) (normally dwarves) may be reclaimed using [[reclaim fortress mode]].

Barring abandonment, ruins typically appear when a [[civilization]] which is at [[war]] with another civilization does not [[Entity token|[LIKES_SITE:x]]] the type of site that they have just taken over, leaving only a tiny few straggler forced converts that can be slain by beasts. Megabeasts such as [[forgotten beast]]s and [[titan]]s also appear to frequently kill and/or drive out the residents of, and take up residence in, dwarven fortresses. This has the potential of making those reclaims exceptionally [[fun]] depending on the monster. Abandoned settlements and such may or may not be reclaimed by their parent civilization during either [[world-gen]] or gameplay.

See the [[map legend]] for more information on map symbols.

{{Translation
| dwarven = notlith
| elvish = sebeca
| goblin = ngûtdo
| human = bistra
}}

{{World}}

Pecan

2016-11-23T15:22:36Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Added links.

{{Quality|Superior|11:46, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{Treelookup/0}}
{{av}}

'''Pecan''' is one of the many genera of [[tree]]s found [[above ground]]. Like the vast majority of above ground trees, pecan [[wood]] is brown and produces brown products.

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

Hare

2016-11-23T15:20:20Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Bolded page subject. Added links.

{{Quality|Superior|23:05, 17 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{creaturelookup/0
|meat=6
|fat=6
|bone=4
|skin=hide
|skull=1
|intestines=1
|contrib=no
|wiki=yes}}
{{av}}
{{creaturedesc}}

'''Hares''' are very similar to [[rabbit]]s, but are much larger, have higher [[pet|pet value]], and are not [[domestic animal|domesticated]]. They give birth to 1 child at a time. In the same manner as rabbits, females are called ''doe hares'' and males are called ''buck hares''.

A hare will provide [[meat]], [[bone]]s, and other products when butchered at a [[butcher's shop]], and are therefore more worthwhile to raise than a rabbit, though they only provide as much as a [[chicken]].

[[File:Lepus_europaeus_(Causse_Méjean,_Lozère)-cropped.jpg|thumb|left|Admired for their ''long ears'' and ''fluffy tails''.]]

{{Translation
| dwarven = thetdel
| elvish = iri
| goblin = sluto
| human = setduk
}}

{{gamedata}}
{{creatures}}

Arrow bamboo

2016-11-23T15:17:36Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Added links.

{{Quality|Fine|14:58, 11 March 2011 (UTC)}}{{grasslookup/0|wiki=Fargesia}}{{av}}

'''Arrow bamboo''' is a type of [[grass]] found in [[temperate]] [[Forest#Temperate_coniferous_forests|coniferous forest]]s. It is one of the only types of grass upon which [[panda]]s can feed.

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Silk

2016-11-23T15:10:55Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Bolded page subject. Added link.

{{av}}
{{Quality|Fine}}
'''Silk''' [[cloth]] is made from silk [[thread]]. Silk [[thread]] can be gathered from the [[web]]s of [[brown recluse spider]]s, [[brown recluse spider men]], [[cave spider]]s, [[giant cave spider]]s, and [[phantom spider]]s (as well as any web-spinning [[forgotten beast]]s, [[titan]]s, or [[demon|clowns]]), which is then woven into cloth at a [[loom]]. Webs are automatically collected by any worker who has the [[weaver|weaving]] labor activated and access to a [[loom]], which automatically produces the work task "collect webs" and turns collected [[web]]s directly into silk thread. No [[stockpile]] is necessary for this collection.

Automatic collection of webs can be disabled from the [[Standing orders|orders menu]] ({{key|o}} -> {{key|W}}) - this is useful if the accessible [[web]]s are located in a dangerous area or if you want to temporarily free up your [[weaver]]s for other tasks.

Silk is generally a superior material for clothing as it is a [[weight|lighter]] material than [[leather]] and far more protective than other cloth materials in the event of animal attacks on civilians.

==See also==
* [[Yarn]]
* [[Plant fiber]]
* [[Textile industry]]
* [[Silk farming]]

{{Translation
| dwarven = nesteth
| elvish = yarare
| goblin = egod
| human = sushsath
}}

Almond

2016-11-23T14:44:36Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Added links and D for Dwarf.

{{Quality|Fine|04:37, 17 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{Treelookup/0}}
{{av}}

'''Almond''' is one of the many genera of [[tree]]s found [[above ground]]. Like the vast majority of above ground trees, almond [[wood]] is brown and produces brown products.

{{D for Dwarf}}
Almond trees bear delicious crunchy almonds that can be harvested by setting up a gathering [[zone]] underneath it. Almonds cannot be brewed into [[alcohol]]. Therefore you're better off <s>exterminating each and every one of these ugly, useless potential [[elf]] retreats</s> cutting the tree or cooking the almonds into +Almond Biscuits+.

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

User:NibblesMeKibbles

2016-11-23T14:39:56Z

NibblesMeKibbles:

I have a job that's slowing down to a crawl temporarily for November. Therefore I got 8 hours to kill, 5 days a week. Expect a lot of contributions. ''A lot''.

I use this wiki every time I play, it's time I get to do my part back!

User:NibblesMeKibbles

2016-11-23T14:38:54Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Created page with "I have a job that's slowing down to a crawl temporarily for November. Therefore I got 8 hours to kill, 5 days a week. Expect a lot of contributions. ''A lot''."

I have a job that's slowing down to a crawl temporarily for November. Therefore I got 8 hours to kill, 5 days a week. Expect a lot of contributions. ''A lot''.

v0.34:Embark

2016-11-23T14:33:47Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Fixed disambiguation pages link.

{{quality|Exceptional|02:26, 13 April 2012 (UTC)}}{{av}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

:* 2 Copper [[pick]]s (or bronze picks if your home civilization has no access to copper)
:* 2 Copper [[battle axe]]s (or bronze battle axes if your home civilization has no access to copper)
:* 1 Iron [[anvil]] ( or Steel [[anvil]] if your home civilization has no access to iron)
:* 1 Wheelbarrow (If possible)
:* 60 units alcohol (20 each of 3 random types1, 12 free barrels)
:* 6 bags containing 5x dimple cup, cave wheat, plump helmet, sweet pods, pig tail, and quarry bush [[seed]]s
:* 15 units of meat (one random type, 10 + 5 units in 2 barrels)
:* 15 units of fish (one random type, 10 + 5 units in 2 barrels)
:* 15 units of plump helmets (10 + 5 units in 2 barrels)
:* 5 pig tail fiber thread
:* 5 pig tail fiber cloth
:* 5 pig tail fiber bags
:* 3 pig tail fiber ropes
:* 3 wooden buckets
:* 3 wooden splints
:* 3 wooden crutches
:* 2 dogs (random sex)
:* 2 cats (random sex)
:* 2 random cow/ox/mule/horse (random sex)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{Category|Interface}}

v0.34:Quickstart guide/Preparing carefully

2016-11-23T14:33:10Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Fixed disambiguation pages link.

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

{{quickstart|advanced=Starting build}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===Intermediate===

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

23a:Cross-training

2016-11-23T14:32:06Z

NibblesMeKibbles: Fixed disambiguation pages link.

{{quality|Exceptional|15:59, 29 April 2011 (UTC)}}{{av}}
'''Cross-training''' is training your military dwarf candidates in civilian disciplines (or vice versa), and offers multiple benefits. First and most importantly, it gives you several extra [[attribute]] increases. Toughness, especially, is extremely important for military dwarves; it allows them to take more wounds before passing out from pain, and to recover from wounds faster. Second, it provides a ready pool of recruits in case your military takes a beating at one point or another, and/or allows civilians a better-than-normal chance to defend themselves. Third, it ensures that your [[soldier]]s have some domestic skills so they will not receive [[thought|unhappy thoughts]] from being de-activated from the [[military]] in the event you need to downsize, or just need some extra labor short-term. Finally, most reserves programs provide chronic idlers with some work to do, which can be essential for unskilled workers like peasants to break out of their poverty (and therefore, unhappiness) cycle once the [[dwarven economy]] kicks in.

There is nothing saying you have to use only one of these ideas; they are all various approaches toward addressing these areas.

==Cross-training (starting a reserves program)==
The biggest thing to remember with a reserves program is that if you're going to go, you go all the way. Don't institute something "just for a little while" and come up with a handful of novice reservists; they will not get significant stat increases and you'll only waste time. Time is not something you have a heck of a lot of in a reserves program, typically. Remember that after you draft them, most dwarves are going to need about a year of sparring or training before they're ready for heavy combat. You might not have that much time if you are getting sieges regularly.

===Different Programs:===

====Artillery proving ground ([[siege operator]])====
Mass-produce some catapults, line them up near a quarry, and fire away. Works well to dispose of stone from a gulag (see below). 
'''Pros:'''
*Trains a skill that's reasonably useful, and provides a place to put all the sub-par siege engine components your [[siege engineer]] will doubtlessly create if you're going for superior-quality engines.
*Harasses the wildlife, which is always fun. 
'''Cons:'''
*Very slow to train (2+ years for legendary).
*Fairly space-consuming to set up a well-designed and usable proving ground.
*Can be dangerous depending on the biome (especially when [[elephant]]s are present. If they get winged by a stray boulder, you can bet they're going to be coming straight at you).
*[[Siege operator]]s are civilians, and will run in fear when an enemy approaches them.

====Gulag ([[miner]])====
The gulag is basically a strip mine that is located far away from your main fortress (so you don't have to worry about accidentally screwing up your own building plans; if you are careful in planning, it may be placed closer to your fortress). Take a big square and start leveling it (but leave some support columns to avoid [[cave-in]]s); it's really no more complicated than that. Since [[pick]]s can actually be used as weapons, it's worthwhile to give the reservists who will be working in the gulag picks made out of [[iron]], or, if you are really living large, [[steel]]. Note that you will have to turn your usual mining corps (the civilian miners who are already experienced with mining) off for this setup to work properly. 
'''Pros:'''
*Soldiers enter the military with an emergency weapon in their hand already; this can be critical in the case of [[speardwarf|speardwarves]], who have a habit of losing their weapons in an enemy, or [[marksdwarf|marksdwarves]], who are forced to use the [[hammerdwarf]] skill in melee, which they may not even have.
*Toting a pick for close-quarters support might make a legendary [[marksdwarf]] more useful, since the pathetic bludgeon damage of his [[wood]] and [[bone]] [[crossbow]]s are less important.
*Can be quite useful for producing stones you might not have access to normally, or uncovering veins of precious metals.
*Relatively little oversight from you.
*Can easily be transformed into a [[Tower-cap#Underground_tree_farms|tower-cap farm]], providing a safe and replenishable wood source. 
'''Cons:'''
*Juggling your real miners and your reservists when there's real work to be done on the fort can be a chore.
*Hard to keep dwarves in the gulag for too long; they'll inevitably get hungry, thirsty, and tired and start hiking back to the fortress proper.
*Can be dangerous, especially if they're digging near the [[cave river]], [[chasm]], or [[magma flow]].
*Does require some amount of oversight from you, especially when your reservists start getting better at mining and run out of work more quickly.
*Low-skill miners may discover---and then partially destroy---valuable gem or mineral deposits.

====Renovation ([[stone detailing]])====
Another convenient way to buff up your dwarves, assigning your reservists to mass [[stone detailing]] duty increases your fortress' architectural wealth and makes the place look nicer. While they may clutter the halls somewhat, it doesn't require any special allocation of [[food]], [[bed]]s or [[drink]]. Just turn on [[stone detailing]] for your reservists and mark up as much of the fortress as you like for renovation. 
'''Pros:'''
*Even easier to set up; just assign your dwarves and an area and you're good to go.
*Increases your fortress' value and general happiness.
*Requires no continuous oversight on your part.
*Very safe, if you only assign areas inside the fortress. 
'''Cons:'''
*Wealth overflow may bring too many [[immigrant]]s.
*Serious conflict with [[engraving]] assignments; trying to engrave with poorly trained engravers wastes a lot of wealth that essentially comes from nothing. To avoid this, have periods when you only designate stone smoothing, followed by periods where you only designate engraving.
*Careless designation of smoothing areas may have your dwarves engraving images in previously smoothed walls and floors.
*If you smooth and engrave all your bedrooms, many dwarves will not be able to afford them once the [[Dwarven economy]] kicks in.

====Sweatshop ([[mason]])====
Make one or more [[mason's workshop]]s in an area with a bunch of junk stone you don't care about, or that you're actively looking to clear. Change the workshop settings to allow only your reservists to use it, then tell the workshop to churn out crafts, junk furniture, stone blocks, and trade goods that you can trade en-masse. Works well in conjunction with a gulag. Alternate ideas for sweatshops include a [[mechanic's workshop]] or a [[magma glass furnace]] to train [[mechanic]] and [[glassmaker]] respectively. ''Note: Do NOT try this with the [[carpenter]] skill, or any other resource you don't have in near-limitless abundance. Sweatshops will consume huge amounts of their associated resources, and if you run out mid-way you have probably wasted your time. This includes [[coke]] or [[charcoal]] used in the normal (non-magma) [[glass furnace]].'' 
'''Pros:'''
*Quantitatively turns a profit. The inferior trade goods can be dumped on the next caravan for more useful commodities like cloth and leather.
*Mass-producing blocks makes for buildings with higher value.
*Unlike many other training programs, Sweatshops train a skill that is very useful. 
'''Cons:'''
*Slow to level.
*Hard to keep the reservists on task, since they'll need to do plenty of hauling to keep their workshop from becoming chokingly cluttered.
*Can be a logistical nightmare; making bins and organizing hauling for the finished goods can be insane if you're working from a gulag.
*Can be dangerous depending on the location of your sweatshops.
*Note also that stone blocks cannot be made into furniture or stone crafts. This may or may not be an issue depending on where you're putting your gulag.

====Dwarf Powered Mill ([[grower]],[[cook]],[[miller]])====
Start off by growing a surplus of millable plants and some bags. Create multiple [[mill]]s along the [[cave river]], ideally partially enclosed so things don't get washed away during seasonal floods. Next to this area make a [[kitchen]] assigned to an experienced cook. Enable milling for the dwarves you wish to cross-train and order the cook to make lavish meals. As long as your growers and herbalists provide a steady supply of millable plants and your cook can empty out bags quick enough, the milling jobs will continue. 
'''Pros:'''
*Produces a lot of wealth as flour is a high value ingredient
*Produces high amounts of food
*Sustains the training of non cross-training dwarves such as the cook and growers 
'''Cons:'''
*Requires a surplus of millable plants to ensure continuous milling, thus you may need to increase the number of plots/growers
*If you don't have enough bags and your cook decides to go on break you may end up having job cancellations for the millers
*Dedicated haulers will be required to keep all workshops clutter free

====Clear Cutting====
As long as wood hauling is turned off, dwarves will move from one tree to the next without stopping to bring the wood back. On a heavily forested map, this means that dedicated wood cutters can skill up very quickly. 
Of course, this training strategy isn't going endear you with the elves. 

'''Pros:'''
*Works quickly
*Trees regrow
*Provides useful lumber to carpenters, charcoal makers, etc
'''Cons:'''
*Can cause problems with elves
*Map dependent
*Trees take a long time to regrow
*Unless care is taken to only designate a small area for cutting, trainees and haulers can be spread out across the map while, making them vulnerable to creatures. (OTOH, if done with more than a few dwarves at a time, a small squad of axe-wielding [[military|recruit]]s is not completely defenseless, and military can be stationed as support.)

====Dwarf Scouts ([[ambusher]], [[hunter]], [[marksdwarf]])====
Marksdwarves are an important part of any military. A bum rush of low level marksdwarves is good, but not as effective as an elite backup squad! Here is what you can do:
Draft a comfortable amount of dwarves to hunting, give them all cheap crossbows. Your dwarves should hunt as usual. But you are really training an elite squad of assassins, that will one day hunt goblins instead of groundhogs.

'''Pros:'''
*Easy to start.
*Lots of meat, bones and leather around.
*Aforementioned bones can be recycled to make new bolts.

'''Cons:'''
*Doesn't work on some maps.
*Hunting is dangerous!
*Not as economically productive as some other methods.

====National self-defense training====
This is the counter-part to the above - this trains civilians in basic wrestling. All your civilians - or at least, most of them. Any time a dwarf is activated into the military, and they do not have at least Novice level in some combat skill, they get a bad thought. Give every civilian dwarf one or two weeks off when they first [[migrant|immigrate]] and train them up to [[experience|Novice]] in [[wrestling]] - that's all they need. Then, if they ever get caught where they don't want to be (maybe they bump into a thief coming around a corner, or a flying critter jumps them, or you need to urgently order them out of the path of a magma flood, or send them to the [[control room]] - anything), not only can you activate them with no bad thoughts, but every dwarf has a better chance at not-dying - which can only be a good thing.

===Overview===
*Artillery training can give you some siege operators, which will be useful if you have ballistae.
*The gulag requires planning, and your dwarves in the fortress proper may run all the way to the gulag to grab a stone for some crafts, a chair, etc. It does, however, train your dwarves in mining quickly, which is always a useful skill.
*Renovation is hands-free, but may bloat your fortress wealth too quickly.
*The sweatshop creates a large amount of goods, which can be traded away to keep traders happy. It also increases your wealth by quite a lot, which can be good or bad depending upon your situation. The goods are also difficult to manage.

Note that artillery training doesn't take away [[strange mood]] potential (you can give those dwarves dabbling in anything you want and that's how they'll get theirs), while the gulag, renovation, and sweatshop do.

----

=Army corps of engineers=
Your actual soldiers are obviously only one facet to your military preparation. [[defense|Defensive]] structures like [[fortification]]s and [[moat]]s need civilian support, and they need to be constructed - and sometimes that's as dangerous as military service itself. In the best of times it should be done quickly and efficiently, because faster means less time vulnerable to dangerous [[creature|predators]]. In emergencies, having a trained, reliable workforce, with enough manpower to tackle any job at any time and can accomplish those projects quickly can be a fortress saver.

The incredible amount of effort required to complete full defensive preparations on many maps means that the military can benefit greatly from having a corps of dwarves who are dedicated and trained to support the development full time.

Organizing a Corps of Engineers requires extra effort and planning on your part, but pays off big later on. Corps engineers become incredibly useful and will produce superior, happiness-inducing structures and items even after their chief issues are done. Also, since their highest [[strange mood]] eligible skill tends to be [[masonry]], it improves your chances of getting a legendary [[mason]], which is always a treat.

===Organizing===
The bread and butter skill of the engineer corps are [[masonry]] along with [[mechanic]]s, and some [[architecture]] thrown in for some trainees (but not necessarily all, see below). Candidates really don't need any prior skills, but if you can recruit some [[immigrant]]s that come with one of these skills already, so much the better. The long term result is a crew that can build anything anywhere, but not until after some training, so you should not use any dwarves who will be needed elsewhere soon. Assign [[potash maker]]s, [[soaper]]s, and the like instead. Miners that have run out of digging work and are suddenly idle (and already have [[attribute]]s for faster hauling of building stones) are also good candidates. You may wish to swap [[masonry]] with [[carpentry]] if you are doing a challenge where your structures are chiefly made out of wood, or conceivably even a [[metalcrafting]] skill, but the gist of it is the same.

Since some of these dwarves may be performing construction outside, one variation includes designating them with the [[woodcutting]] [[labor]], so they will carry [[battle axe]]s full time. When wood needs to be cut, one tight area is designated at a time, and they all respond - this encourages mutual support. Other outdoor activities likewise become safer with a number of armed dwarves responding together, and faster with practice, so [[plant gathering]] may be another skill to add to the mix. Assigning war [[dog]]s to these outdoor-engineers is another good plan. (Whether or not to then train them as (reservist) axedwarves is up to you - see [[Cross_training#Cross-training_(starting_a_reserves_program)|cross-training]], at the first half of this article.)

A suitable number of engineer corps members depends on personal preference and the expected scope of your projects, but you want them to support each other, so perhaps a half-dozen or more for an average fortress, or maybe ~10% total. This might seem like a lot when you have the [[fortress guard]] demanding 10%, the [[royal guard]] demanding another 5%, plus what dwarves you have committed to reserves programs or in the regular army, but your goal is a reliable building crew, large enough so they will not all be "[[on break]]" at once. Remember also that engineer corps members are civilians (with [[attribute]]s) and can be temporarily re-assigned to urgent hauling duty when the need arises, so they are not lost to other support tasks.

After you've decided who you want in the engineer corps, it's suggested that you give them a [[Profession#Custom_profession_labels|custom profession]], to distinguish them in your {{k|u}}nits menu. They behave so much like normal civilians that it's hard to keep track of them if you don't. Some suggestions for custom ranks are "Reserves," "Multi", "Corps Engineer", "CE", or some other profession or abbreviation that makes sense to you.

===Training masons===
Once your main fortress has [[what should I build first|the basics]] and things are relatively settled, build some [[mason's workshop]]s for the corps to work out of. Build as many as you have corps engineer members, to make sure that everyone is guaranteed to have work, and do it in areas that are dense with mined stones, preferably in low-traffic areas (but be careful about [[noise]]). A good place to start is anywhere you want to clear of useless stone, or any stone you want to turn into building [[block|material]] - that's what they'll be producing, and a lot of it.

After the corps' workshops are set up, we'll need to change the workshop profiles to make sure the regular masons don't use them. You can do this one of two ways. First, {{k|q}}uery the workshop, and choose {{k|P}}rofile to see who is allowed to work there. Then, either:
:*Lower the max skill threshhold to "Proficient" (or your choice). This lets different trainees swap workshops.
:*Or, enable each of the engineer corps' members individually. Tedious, but only needs to be done once, and very effective. This allows you more control over individual engineers over an extended period.
:* Or both.

Then, set the corps' workshops to produce stone [[block]]s, and put that on {{k|r}}epeat. Keep it there. This is going to be the corps' only job for it's few seasons, to train up masonry.

====(Why are we building blocks, again?)====
A couple of reasons. 
:* 1) Blocks have no quality modifier. That means that your dabbling mason engineer corps members are producing blocks every bit as good as your legendary masons.
:* 2) Blocks can be used in building bridges, roads, and aqueducts. What was the Corps' first job? Building, of course!
:* 3) Blocks make higher-value constructions than normal stone. Constructions made out of stone will become "Rough (rock) (construction)", while block constructions will eliminate the rough modifier and contribute more to the fortress's wealth.
:* 4) Blocks can be collected into bins (which is not true of raw stones), reducing stone clutter. This is important for moving them to handy on-site stockpiles.
:* 5) Blocks make it easier to budget stone for constructions, so you can see if you're running low on material or using more than you expected.

If you stop at no-label, you will have added 37 blocks/trainee to your stocks: 17 to Novice, and another 20 to No-Label. ''(See [[Experience]] for more info.)''

(If you're training carpenters, you can mass-produce barrels and bins (you always seem to need more))

=== Apprentice Mechanics ===
Mechanic skill is important to place [[lever]]s and link them with existing devices, for traps or bridges, or whatever. It also allows them to reload [[trap]]s, and/or clear any that may have jammed, relieving your primary Mechanic of this burden. The importance of this skill depends on the extent of your use of levers and traps in your fortress design.

After you're satisfied with the skill level of your trainees (no-tag is a good place to be), move on to training [[mechanic]]s. Shut down the [[mason's workshop]]s and build [[mechanic's workshop]]s where there is more stone. Start churning out (no-/low-quality) mechanisms - again, 17 each will give Novice level, another 20 each will give No-Label. After you've got a decent handful, you may decide to build experience by building levers and linking them all a door. Don't go too overboard with training mechanics. Again, no-label is a good place to be, ample - you're just speeding things along a bit. Mechanics are not usually used enough to warrant going all out.

===Architect(s)===
Architecture is useful because dwarves trained in it will increase the quality of the structures they design, and so seeing them will cause happy thoughts. Factor in how easy it is to train up and it's a no-brainer. Of course, feel free to stop this at any time to attend to more urgent matters.

After you're done with mechanics, switch to [[architecture]] on some of your trainees. Only a few buildings need architecture, and only one architect can work on any designated structure at a time, regardless the size, so you don't (necessarily) need them all to have it. If you have one, they will train up as they build - if you have a lot, they will share the tasks and not achieve higher levels unless you stop and specifically give them more dedicated training.

The easiest way to train any number of architects is to turn off their [[masonry]] labor* and designate a bunch of supports (you will eventually need 17/trainee, just to start). Use the any nearby stone or blocks that is not needed elsewhere - designate one support over one stone if you can, to reduce hauling time. After they've been designed (and now "need masonry"), ''un''-designate them ({{k|t}}, {{k|x}}. If you want to actually build them, then keep masonry on, and that would train both architecture and masonry, giving you more net experience.

''(* Other dwarves with masonry may respond to build the designed supports, and faster than you'd expect, the little masonic ninjas. If this is a concern, lock your trainees in a room with the stone and let 'em design in peace.)''

===The payoff===
After the training starts taking hold, you will have a cadre of proficient building designers, proficient masons, skilled mechanics, and (optionally, see below) proficient siege operators or axe-dwarves. This can happen in as little as 3 years of training. You can (and should!) continue to train them until they are legendary in all of these, but that is very long term. In the shorter, 3 year term, you have a rock-solid foundation to react to any construction demand with speed, efficiency, and awesome quality.

===Non-professionals===
Remember that every dwarf in this crew will have masonry and mechanic labor designated (and possibly carpenter, etc) - for your primary mason's and mechanic's workshops, go into those workshop Profiles and only allow your primary, best-skilled dwarves to respond to work orders there, either by name or skill level, or both. If you forget to do this, you'll have your trainees jumping in and producing your furniture at lower [[quality]].

===Role in your military===
Especially if you opt for the wood-cutter approach and they are armed 24/7 with axes, a brief (or not so brief) [[sparring]] session will make them extremely dangerous if ambushed, and create a reserve force to support your full-time military. Just be careful to train no military skill near [[Soldier#Heroes_and_Champions|Great]] level, as this will remove them permanently from the civilian workforce! Not even close - remember that combat gives experience quickly. Somewhere between Proficient and Professional should be ample for reserves. This is true for axe or [[wrestler]], both of which can be handy for combatants.

You can also, at your discretion, enable the [[siege operating]] labor to train the engineer corps in the use of artillery. This is mainly to give them an actual military use, and since cross-training them like this reduces the military's overall impact on your society. If you've got enough dwarves to make a separate artillery corps, go right ahead.

{{Military FAQ}}

{{Category|Military| }}
{{Category|Fortress defense}}