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Wood

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xTATTEREDx  · +FINE+  · *SUPERIOR*  · ≡EXCEPTIONAL≡  · ☼MASTERWORK☼
v50.15 · v0.47.05
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Note that some content may still need to be updated.
Logs
Highwood logs sprite.png
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Construction
Materials Workshops Labors
Used for
Base value Size
3☼ 50,000 cm³
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"Timber" redirects here. For the month, see Calendar.

Wood is a hard material found in nearly all trees. It currently does not form the actual material of tree tiles, which are composed of generic structural plant material, however, when trees are cut down, it drops as logs Wooden log sprite.png / ▬, the raw and usable item form of wood. Logs are stored in a "Wood" stockpile.

For the most part, different kinds of wood are identical except for differences in density and color. Wood is generally weaker and more lightweight than other heavy-duty materials, such as stone or metal. Almost* all wood is flammable, with an ignition point of 10508 °U . The harvesting and use of wood to make products is known as the wood industry.

(* The sole semi-exception is nether-cap wood, which exhibits unique responses to magma and fire due to its fixed temperature. This gives some objects made from nether cap a magma-safe quality, although it can be turned to ash or charcoal at a wood furnace. See article for details.)

"Timber" is the name of the ninth month of the dwarven calendar, covering late Autumn, the only month of the dwarven calendar to not be named after a stone.

Occurrence and production[edit]

Chopping down trees[edit]

Workshops made of every single type of wood.[1]

Wood is obtained by Ui l.pngl designating trees to be chopped down. Any dwarf with the wood cutting labor enabled and access to a battle axe will cut down a tree, producing a variable number of 'logs' dependent upon the tree's size and composition. In general, bigger trees yield more logs than smaller ones, though relevant plant tokens can have a significant impact on the total.

Trees start their lives as saplings. Saplings cannot be cut down until they mature into full-grown trees, which can take several years. Creatures frequently moving on a tile with a sapling will eventually kill the sapling, leaving you with a dead sapling occupying the square for a time before it disappears and another plant starts growing.

Saplings will randomly appear in above-ground soil, only if the tiles underneath them are unmined and have at least another z-level of open space above them. If the soil does not have an immediate support for the roots, no saplings will appear. If there is no open space above, saplings will not grow. Underground saplings will begin to randomly appear in soil and muddy underground rock only once one of the caverns is exposed. Unlike above-ground saplings, underground saplings don't require the level below them to be unmined. However, they also require open space on the z-levels directly above them, otherwise the saplings will never grow.

It is recommended to clear trees out of active corridors - tree trunks act as walls and may, for example, block the path of wagons to the trade depot. Building roads and smoothing floors prevents new saplings from growing on the tiles.

Civilizations[edit]

Entities with [OUTDOOR_WOOD] and [INDOOR_WOOD] use wood from above-ground and underground trees respectively from their local environment for their products. Additionally, [USE_GOOD_WOOD] and [USE_EVIL_WOOD] allow entities to use wood from good or evil-aligned trees: feather trees and glumprongs. Except for kobolds, all civilizations use some type of wood.

[USE_MISC_PROCESSED_WOOD_PRODUCTS] permits the availability of certain wood-derived products: lye, charcoal, and potash. Dwarves, humans, and goblins possess this. Entities with [WOOD_WEAPONS] and [WOOD_ARMOR] will use wooden weapons and armor - elves and subterranean animal people possess these tokens.

Logs and wooden products are available from trading by any friendly civilizations. Wood can also be brought before embarking. Logs are quite inexpensive, costing only three points per log, and bringing a large number can help jump-start the wood industry immediately.

Other sources[edit]

"Wagon wood" can be obtained from wagons. The initial wagon after embark (an entirely different wagon) can be dismantled for three free logs of any type.

Types[edit]

Main article: Tree
Comparison of density, weight, color and sprites.
Wood Density
(kg/m³) 		Weight (Γ)
per log 		Color
(ASCII) 		Graphic
Feather 100 5 Cream Feather trunk sprite.png Feather wood logs sprite.png
Papaya 130 6.5 Taupe pale Coffee trunk sprite.png Papaya wood logs sprite.png
Candlenut 140 7 Ochre Candlenut trunk sprite.png Candlenut logs sprite.png
Kapok 260 13 Tan Guava trunk sprite.png Kapok logs sprite.png
Custard-apple 360 18 Tan Guava trunk sprite.png Custard apple logs sprite.png
Willow 390 19.5 Tan Guava trunk sprite.png Willow logs sprite.png
Alder 410 20.5 Tan Guava trunk sprite.png Alder logs sprite.png
Cherry 425 21.25 Gold Cherry trunk sprite.png Cherry logs sprite.png
Cacao 430 21.5 Chocolate Apple trunk sprite.png Cacao logs sprite.png
Chestnut 430 21.5 Dark chestnut Chestnut trunk sprite.png Chestnut logs sprite.png
Saguaro 430 21.5 Ecru Saguaro trunk sprite.png Saguaro logs sprite.png
Cashew 450 22.5 Dark chestnut Cashew trunk sprite.png Cashew logs sprite.png
Ginkgo 450 22.5 Peach Pomegranate trunk sprite.png Ginkgo logs sprite.png
Rubber 490 24.5 Flax Carambola trunk sprite.png Rubber logs sprite.png
Default wood 500 25 Brown Highwood trunk sprite.png Default logs sprite.png
Highwood 500 25 Brown Highwood trunk sprite.png Highwood logs sprite.png
Tunnel tube 500 25 Violet Tunnel tube trunk sprite.png Tunnel tube logs sprite.png
Wagon 500 25 Brown Wagon logs sprite.png
Pine 510 25.5 Beige Pine trunk sprite.png Pine logs sprite.png
Durian 520 26 Taupe pale Coffee trunk sprite.png Durian logs sprite.png
Mango 520 26 Burnt sienna Coffee trunk sprite.png Mango logs sprite.png
Avocado 540 27 Chestnut Avocado trunk sprite.png Avacado logs sprite.png
Maple 540 27 Rust Maple trunk sprite.png Maple logs sprite.png
Carambola 550 27.5 Flax Carambola trunk sprite.png Carambola logs sprite.png
Nether-cap 550 27.5 Dark indigo Nether-cap trunk sprite.png Nether cap logs sprite.png
Tea 550 27.5 Taupe pale Coffee trunk sprite.png Tea logs sprite.png
Walnut 562 28.1 Dark tan Peach trunk sprite.png Walnut logs sprite.png
Cedar 570 28.5 Olive Pine trunk sprite.png Cedar logs sprite.png
Hazel 580 29 Taupe pale Coffee trunk sprite.png Hazel logs sprite.png
Bitter orange 590 29.5 Taupe pale Coffee trunk sprite.png Bitter orange logs sprite.png
Desert lime 590 29.5 Tan Guava trunk sprite.png Desert lime logs sprite.png
Finger lime 590 29.5 Tan Guava trunk sprite.png Finger lime logs sprite.png
Kumquat 590 29.5 Taupe pale Coffee trunk sprite.png Kumquat logs sprite.png
Larch 590 29.5 Light brown Larch trunk sprite.png Larch logs sprite.png
Lime 590 29.5 Tan Guava trunk sprite.png Lime logs sprite.png
Orange 590 29.5 Burnt sienna Orange trunk sprite.png Orange logs sprite.png
Pomelo 590 29.5 Ash gray Pomelo trunk sprite.png Pomelo logs sprite.png
Round lime 590 29.5 Tan Guava trunk sprite.png Round lime logs sprite.png
Acacia 600 30 Peach Pomegranate trunk sprite.png Acacia logs sprite.png
Ash 600 30 Pale brown Macadamia trunk sprite.png Ash logs sprite.png
Fungiwood 600 30 Lemon Fungiwood trunk sprite.png Fungiwood logs sprite.png
Goblin-cap 600 30 Red Goblin-cap trunk sprite.png Goblin cap logs sprite.png
Mahogany 600 30 Mahogany Mahogany trunk sprite.png Mahogany logs sprite.png
Pear 600 30 Buff Pear trunk sprite.png Pear logs sprite.png
Spore 600 30 Teal Spore tree trunk sprite.png Spore logs sprite.png
Tower-cap 600 30 White Tower-cap trunk sprite.png Tower cap logs sprite.png
Guava 610 30.5 Tan Guava trunk sprite.png Guava logs sprite.png
Coffee 620 31 Taupe pale Coffee trunk sprite.png Coffee logs sprite.png
Rambutan 620 31 Bronze Rambutan trunk sprite.png Rambutan logs sprite.png
Birch 650 32.5 Burnt umber Birch trunk sprite.png Birch logs sprite.png
Black-cap 650 32.5 Black Black-cap trunk sprite.png Black cap logs sprite.png
Coconut palm 680 34 Dark taupe Mangrove trunk sprite.png Coconut palm logs sprite.png
Sand pear 690 34.5 Buff Pear trunk sprite.png Sand pear logs sprite.png
Bayberry 700 35 Pale brown Macadamia trunk sprite.png Bayberry logs sprite.png
Citron 700 35 Ash gray Pomelo trunk sprite.png Citron logs sprite.png
Oak 700 35 Auburn Oak trunk sprite.png Oak logs sprite.png
Macadamia 705 35.25 Pale brown Macadamia trunk sprite.png Macadamia logs sprite.png
Pecan 735 36.75 Peach Pomegranate trunk sprite.png Pecan logs sprite.png
Apple 745 37.25 Chocolate Apple trunk sprite.png Apple logs sprite.png
Apricot 745 37.25 Light brown Paradise nut trunk sprite.png Apricot logs sprite.png
Pomegranate 770 38.5 Peach Pomegranate trunk sprite.png Pomegranate logs sprite.png
Almond 795 39.75 Copper Almond trunk sprite.png Almond logs sprite.png
Peach 795 39.75 Dark tan Peach trunk sprite.png Peach logs sprite.png
Plum 795 39.75 Pale brown Macadamia trunk sprite.png Plum logs sprite.png
Date palm 820 41 Burnt sienna Orange trunk sprite.png Date palm logs sprite.png
Paradise nut 820 41 Light brown Paradise nut trunk sprite.png Paradise nut logs sprite.png
Mangrove 830 41.5 Dark taupe Mangrove trunk sprite.png Mangrove logs sprite.png
Persimmon 835 41.75 Tan Guava trunk sprite.png Persimmon logs sprite.png
Lychee 880 44 Taupe sandy Lychee trunk sprite.png Lychee logs sprite.png
Olive 990 49.5 Pale brown Macadamia trunk sprite.png Olive logs sprite.png
Glumprong 1200 60 Purple Glumprong trunk sprite.png Glumprong logs sprite.png
Blood thorn 1250 62.5 Crimson Blood thorn trunk sprite.png Blood thorn logs sprite.png

There are 71 types of wood, excluding the default one. Of the 72 trees, abaca and banana do not produce wood. Eight types of trees are only found underground, while the remaining 61 grow above-ground in various biomes, except mountains, glaciers, tundras, and oceans. The final type of wood, wagon wood, is only produced by the death of a wagon. All wood possesses the same material properties except its density (which affects the weight of an item) and color. It is brown by default, and very few types exhibit a color besides it.

The density of the material is the most important factor when choosing different types of wood. Wooden products made with heavier wood slow down hauling, which negatively impacts the work speed of a fortress in the long-term. The type of wood used in weapons and armor also becomes important in regards to its force, durability, and weight.

Weight of logs[edit]

Each log has a volume of 5,000 or 50 litres. The weight can be derived by dividing the density (kg/m³) of the material by 20. An oak log will thus weigh 35Γ, a feather wood log 5Γ and a blood thorn log 62.5Γ. Weight is displayed in integers in-game, so a blood thorn log's weight will be displayed as just 62Γ. Wood has a default [SOLID_DENSITY] of 500 kg/m³, about five times lighter than most stone and fifteen times lighter than iron. Feather wood is the lightest at 100, and blood thorn wood is the heaviest at 1,250. Papaya (130) and glumprong (1,200) wood are also notable.

Grown wood[edit]

All wooden items made by elves are referred to as "grown". It is assumed that elves use an unknown (and unimplemented) magic to grow their products from trees without chopping them down. Elven caravans only accept wooden products made from grown wood. Graphically, grown wood weapons will appear as standard wooden items, but with small branches and leaves stemming out of them.

Applications[edit]

Ash[edit]

Burning wood in a wood furnace is the only major way to produce ash. It is otherwise rare and difficult to obtain naturally. Ash is essential in the production of lye, potash, and pearlash. Lye is used for making soap, and potash is used as a fertilizer for farm plots to yield larger harvests. Pearlash is used for making clear glass and crystal glass in glassmaking. Ash can also be used as a glaze for ceramic products. In total, ash has major applications in the soap, farming, glass, and ceramic industries, all of which derives from wood.

Charcoal[edit]

Charcoal is a type of fuel produced by burning wood in a wood furnace. Smelters, forges, glass furnaces, and kilns need fuel to operate. Coke is produced from bituminous coal or lignite, neither of which is guaranteed to be present on a map, thus charcoal is typically the first reliable fuel for an early fortress. If coke sources are present though, it is recommended to use coke over charcoal so that wood can be used for other purposes.

Once magma is acquired, charcoal becomes obsolete as a fuel source for workshops. Despite this, charcoal is still significant in the production of steel, where refined coal is required as a source of carbon.

Beds[edit]

Beds can only be made from wood, with the exception of artifact beds created from strange moods. Without beds, citizens get unhappy thoughts from sleeping on the ground (if not smoothed, per se).

Machine components[edit]

The following machine components can only be made from wood: water wheels, windmills, and axles. Axles are necessary in the transfer of power over distances. Water wheels and windmills are the only power sources to not require a dwarf to generate power.

Lightweight storage[edit]

Wooden items used for storage are lighter to carry than items made of most stone or metals. Barrels, bins, buckets, jugs, large pots, wheelbarrows, minecarts, and cages are items that can be made of wood and are frequently used in hauling stuff between stockpiles and workshops. Using a lighter material for storage decreases encumbrance and increases movement speed.

The type of wood is very important in storage items. Among the trees with the lightest wood are: feather tree, papaya, candlenut, kapok, custard-apple, willow, alder, cherry, cacao, chestnut, and saguaro. Making storage items from the wood of these trees provide the best results. Trees to avoid include blood thorn, glumprong, olive, persimmon, mangrove, paradise nut, date palm, and lychee.

In addition, it only takes one log to produce a bin, cage, wheelbarrow or minecart. Forging them with metal will take two or three bars instead.

Weapons and armor[edit]

See also: Weapon § Material

Wood is an extremely terrible material for combat; this cannot be over emphasized. It has the worst impact and shear properties out of the standard weapons-grade materials (even against bone), making it ineffective in dealing substantial damage, both blunt or cutting. Denser wood* has a small improvement on its force power, but it remains weak compared to metal. A creature's natural weapons can be more lethal than a wooden weapon. Wooden armor provides little to no protection. Wood durability is low, and it breaks very quickly from repeated hits against harder materials.

(* The densest woods are blood thorn (1250 ) followed by glumprong (1200), both more than twice as dense as "average" wood. However, these are a poor comparison to the "lightest" of the weapons-grade metals, Iron, at 7850.)

Dwarves can only create wooden melee weapons in the form of training weapons, and then only training axes, swords and spears, which can be* used in the military for training not only that weapon but also other combat skills. They are useful for live training and danger rooms, but are not necessary. Training weapons can also be bought from caravans at a cheap price.

(* Dwarves will not hurt each each other when training with "real" weapons, making training weapons even less useful. Worse, it's possible that a dwarf will become "attached" to a wooden weapon, rendering them almost useless as a soldier (except as as a damage sponge), so wooden weapons are not recommended.)

However, this weakness serves as an advantage in situations where damage is desired to be kept to a minimum. In justice, inflicting punishment with wooden weapons deals very little damage to the accused, which reduces the chance of accidental deaths. Wooden weapons can also be used in weapon traps, as "better than nothing" since they can hold up to 10 weapons. And every trap attack requires the target to dodge, which can be useful for creative players.

Large trap weapons can be made early in a fortress before a metal industry is up and running, and can be perfectly adequate against unarmored targets such as animals and child snatchers. However these too are notably inferior across the board, and will tend to disappoint against anything armored. The large spiked ball may be the best bet here, but, again, wood's light weight works against them in this capacity. Even glass would be noticeably better, with a density of 2600 and better combat material properties.

Shields and bucklers can be made from wood. As a lighter material, attacks (bashing) with wooden shields in melee combat are weaker than those delivered by metal shields. The material does not affect a shield's ability to block, and even dragonfire can be blocked without getting burned at all. Taking in their lower weight, wooden shields are less cumbersome than metal ones for early military that has not developed the armor user skill. There is still the drawback of wood wearing out and breaking faster than metal.

Short swords made of obsidian require one log in production. They are more or less a novelty, as metal weapons are superior.

Crossbows can be made from wood by a bowyer. Wooden crossbows are the equal to metal (or bone) bows when used at range, but suffer reduced damage in comparison to metal crossbows if they are used to bash enemies in melee combat. However, since even metal crossbows are spectacularly bad melee weapons, this may be a fairly unimportant consideration. If you are concerned about encumbrance, lighter wooden crossbows can be prioritized over metal ones for less weight. Bone has a density of 500, as as "average" wood, so bone crossbows should replace wood whenever the density of the wood available is over 500.

A stack of 25 bolts is made from a single log. In comparison, 5 bolts are made from a single bone. Wooden bolts are sufficient for training and hunting, although significantly less effective against armored opponents than metal bolts. This can be useful if training against live targets that have been trapped in a cage and then tossed into an arena, as experience comes with each shot, not the damage done.

Siege engines[edit]

Siege engine parts can only be made from wood. Although siege engines require lots of effort to manage, they can be very effective defenses when traps and soldiers fail. Both wooden and metal ballista arrows also need a log to be made; the "metal" ones simply add a metal head to an existing wooden ballista arrow. Wooden ballista arrows made from denser wood deal more damage than lighter ones, but purely wooden ballista arrows are inferior to the metal upgrade.

Since the siege operator skill can be trained equally with catapults, and catapults use stones, which are free and (typically) plentiful, it's not recommended to make ballista arrows for the purpose of training.

Trading[edit]

All logs are valued at 3☼. Wooden products are a poor choice for trading, because wood has a material multiplier of ×1 (no bonus). Elves do not accept any items or decorations made from wood, except the "grown" wood items that only elves produce. They get extremely upset when offered regular wood and will leave with no further possible trading for the season.

Other uses[edit]

Wood can be used to make most finished goods, furniture, and tools. Items can be decorated with wood through strange moods. Colorful wood from underground, good, and evil trees are useful for aesthetic creations; they include black, blue, cyan, red, magenta, yellow, and white.

Wooden constructions can safely hold magma, but wooden buildings will burn so using other materials is recommended where fire is a potential risk. Floors constructed using lightweight wood will reduce the damage from falls. The lighter the wood, the softer the impact.

Building destroyers prioritize destroying wooden doors and floor hatches.[Verify] Wooden buildings can be used in trap designs as cheap, affordable bait to lure them toward traps.

See also[edit]

"Wood" in other Languages Books-aj.svg aj ashton 01.svg
Dwarven: lolum
Elven: ave
Goblin: dôr
Human: pado
V · T · E
More: Gems • Metals • Stones
Creature
Blood • Bone • Cartilage • Cheese • Chitin • Egg • Fat • Feather • Hair (Wool • Yarn) • Hoof • Horn • Ichor • Leather • Milk • Meat • Nail • Nervous tissue • Organs • Parchment • Pearl • Scale • Shell • Silk • Skin • Spit • Sweat • Tallow • Tears • Teeth • Wax
Plant
Fiber (Paper • Slurry) • Flower • Fruit • Leaf • Oil • Plant powders (Dye • Flour • Sugar) • Seed (Press cake) • Wood
Creature/Plant
Inorganic
Hardcoded
Amber • Ash • Coral • Filth • Fuel • Glass • Grime • Ice • Lye • Magma • Mud • Pearlash • Potash • Salt • Unknown substance • Vomit • Water
See also: Material science


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