Corpse

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v50.15 · v0.47.05 This article is about the current version of DF. Note that some content may still need to be updated. More Info · V

A corpse is the dead body of a creature; the corpses of vermin are called remains. The labor for hauling corpses is either refuse hauling or burial, depending on the corpse type.

A corpse has several levels of decay. It will begin as "(creature or name) corpse", progress to "rotten (creature or name) corpse", "(creature or name) partially decayed corpse", and finally to "(creature or name) skeleton" remaining at the final level indefinitely. If the creature had had parts ripped or cut off before death, the corpse will be described as "mutilated corpse" and "partial skeleton" in the respective descriptions, and the parts (if still on the map) will decay into a type of bone, depending on the part. A creature with parts that were destroyed (i.e. exploded into gore, cloven asunder, torn into shreds, etc.) before death will be described as a "mangled corpse".

Graphically, when a creature dies, the sprite will be rotated or flipped vertically, as well as having significantly less color to it. Sprites of creatures that walk upright will appear as lying down, or rotated 90° clockwise. Creatures such as fish will appear as being flipped vertically. Large creature sprites that take up the space of multiple tiles at once will be shrunk down to fit within one tile.

Note that some creatures do not have their own dedicated corpse sprites, such as procedurally-generated creatures like megabeasts, experiments and demons. Instead, any pixels that are outside the tile they died on will disappear. This same phenomenon also applies to werebeasts and insect vermin that can appear in a swarm, such as flies, blood gnats and honey bees.

Use

Letting corpses naturally rot is the only way to get usable bones from creatures that dwarves refuse to butcher (such as goblins, elves, and other sentient creatures), according to their ethics (unless you modded the ethics). Cutting a live goblin up using serrated blade traps, or throwing them down extreme heights (such that they explode) will generate usable goblin bones and skulls. Already-dead corpses can be reanimated with the help of a necromancer, or naturally if you are in any type of evil embark, and then dissected. Remains of vermin, however, simply progress from "(vermin) remains" to "rotten (vermin) remains" before simply vanishing.

Butchering a corpse produces quantities of meat, prepared organs, bones, a skull, skin, and nails/hoofs, as well as cartilage, nervous tissue, and other byproducts. Body parts can be butchered, presumably for whatever tissues/organs were in the part. "Butchering" a skeleton produces only a skull, bones, cartilage and other non-decaying tissues. The corpses of very small animals, such as of ravens, currently cannot be butchered. Also, corpses of tamed (not stray) animals can't be butchered. Being "mangled" does not affect a corpse's ability to be butchered.

Negative effects

Rotting corpses will produce miasma in subterranean areas, but not above ground. Anyone passing through the miasma will cause an unhappy thought.

If the corpse of a dwarf is left unburied, it will cause unhappy thoughts in the surviving family and friends. However, if the corpse is an enemy or something the passerby does not care about, they will likely feel no emotion when seeing the corpse. It is also possible for individuals to get used to seeing corpses, becoming increasingly desensitized. The soul of a dwarf that has not been properly put to rest may return for vengeance, which can lead to even more Fun.

Animal trainers will also receive negative thoughts if an animal they bonded with is allowed to rot. If they bond with an animal who is not a pet and who dies in any manner aside from butchering, it is advisable to quickly atom smash the corpse as there is no other way of actually preventing it from rotting.

Seeing body parts and corpses of sapient creatures, in general, can cause dwarves with insufficient discipline to become horrified, leading them to cancel their current task and run away. A caravan that sees corpses may decide to not trade. After some time, dwarves may get used to seeing dead bodies.

Improperly stored corpses can be a great source of !!FUN!! in the event a necromancer enters combat. (protip: NEVER assign a necromancer the hunting labor.)

Reanimation

Corpses can be raised from the dead – this will occur in some evil biomes, if the creature is killed inside an evil biome. On an embark location between an evil and a non-evil biome, corpses killed on the non-evil side will not rise. Corpses may also be raised by a necromancer into a slave, or resurrect themselves as mummies and themselves gain the power to raise corpses, though mummies will normally only be encountered in tombs in adventure mode. Mangled corpses with pulped heads or upper bodies will never become undead. Severed body parts will be able to rise if they have either a [GRASP] tag (hands and possibly other body parts) or if they still have a head attached, so it may be advisable to kill risen corpses with blunt weaponry to avoid swarms of body parts and to permanently pulp them to death. Corpses and severed body parts will not rise again if they have been butchered, their skin tanned and their hair spun into thread, or if they have been exposed to magma. The zombies themselves will also be destroyed by magma.