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Difference between revisions of "40d:Your first fortress"

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This is a guide to help new players get started on their first [[fortress]] and teach them the basics of keeping their [[dwarves]] alive. If you have unanswered questions or find given details confusing, please tell us so on the [[Talk:Your_first_fortress|discussion page]]! Above all else, always remember the [[Dwarf Fortress]] motto: "Losing is fun!"
 
This is a guide to help new players get started on their first [[fortress]] and teach them the basics of keeping their [[dwarves]] alive. If you have unanswered questions or find given details confusing, please tell us so on the [[Talk:Your_first_fortress|discussion page]]! Above all else, always remember the [[Dwarf Fortress]] motto: "Losing is fun!"
  
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We discuss generating a world, choosing a fortress location, buying [[skill]]s and items, and playing the first month or so. Setting game initialization options is covered in [[technical tricks]]. The advice here is biased for safety; with a little experience you'll do better with strategies customized for your play style and preferred start locations. It is also deliberately terse. For more extended treatment of particular subjects, consult the linked pages or the rest of the Dwarf Fortress Wiki.
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We discuss generating a world, choosing a fortress location, buying [[skill]]s and items, and playing the first month or so. Setting game initialization options is covered in [[technical tricks]]. The advice here is biased for safety; with a little experience you'll do better with strategies customized for your play style and preferred start locations. For more extended treatment of particular subjects, consult the linked pages or the rest of the Dwarf Fortress Wiki.
  
 
== Generating a world ==
 
== Generating a world ==
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=== Your surroundings ===
 
=== Your surroundings ===
  
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You can discern a lot of information by scrolling through the various modes. The interface has five modes which you cycle through by pressing {{k|TAB}}. In turn, they display:
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You can discern a lot of information by scrolling through the various modes. The interface has five modes which you cycle through by pressing {{k|TAB}}. In turn, they display the ''biomes'', ''civilizations'', and ''geology'' of the local area.
  
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# [[Temperature]], amount of [[tree]]s, amount of [[plant]]s, and a hint at the sort of [[Animal|wildlife]] at the center of the selection rectangle.  
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====Biomes screen====
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#* Look at the example picture again. Notice that you are told that you'll see no trees or plants here ([[mountain]]s being too high for either to grow), but that's only true for the exact center of the local area.
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This display gives you an idea for the environment you'll be parachuting into.  Click any of the blue links for more information on the subject. [[Biome]]s are determined by the type of life in the area.  On the Biome screen, you'll see:
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#* You'll notice that the local area includes some trees and plants on the edges, which is often all you need.
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* '''[[Temperature]]''': How hot or cold it gets in the area.  Can be ''Freezing'', ''Cold'', ''Temperate'', ''Warm'', ''Hot'', and ''Scorching''.  In a nutshell, temperature extremes make it harder to get and keep a reliable source of [[water]] going.  In Freezing and Scorching climates, you may have to do without water at all.  Temperate and Warm are both good places to start your first fort.
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#* To get more information about the non-mountain areas you can press {{k|F1}} {{k|F2}} {{k|F3}} or {{k|F4}} to view the different types of [[biomes]].
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* '''Amount of [[tree]]s, and [[plant|other vegetation]]''': A general indication of the density of plant life in the area. For trees, this can be ''none'', ''scarce'', ''sparse'', ''woodland'', or ''heavily forested''. For other plants, you can see ''none'', ''scarce'', ''moderate'', and ''thick''.  Trees are chopped down for [[wood]], which is a critical, if small, part of your fortress.  You can import lots of it from [[caravan]]s, so don't worry too much about it.  However, more trees never hurt anyone, and totally treeless maps are quite a bit more difficult in the early going, so aim for ''sparse'' or greater trees.  Other plants basically means shrubs, bushes, and other vegetation that you can harvest food from with the [[plant gathering]] skill.  Generally speaking, you will use this trick in the first year of your fortress, then never again.  [[Plant]] density is not very important.
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# Nearby [[civilization]]s that are capable of interacting with you. Other settlements are shown with various symbols on the regional map.
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* '''[[Surroundings]]''': This is a hint at how wild the wilderness is.  The outskirts of a jungle might be fairly calm and safe, while the heart of that same jungle could be thick with vicious predators.  In game terms, this will clue you in to the specific types of [[tree]]s and [[plant]]s you will find, in addition to indicating the [[animal]] types you'll run int.  This also clues you in to the ''alignment'' of the surrounding area.  So, the two things this word tells you is how ''good'' or ''evil'' an area as, and how ''calm'' or ''savage'' an area is. ''Good''-aligned areas, from calm to savage, are ''serene'', ''mirthful'', or ''joyous wilds''.  ''Neutral''-aligned areas are, from calm to savage, ''calm'', ''wilderness'', or ''untamed wilds''.  ''Evil''-aligned areas are, from calm to savage, ''sinister'', ''haunted'', or ''terrifying''. ''Good'' zones tend to have one of the most aggressive animals in the game, the [[unicorn]], and ''evil'' areas have a multitude of [[undead]] and some of the most vicious [[creature]]s in the game. For your first fortress, stick to a ''neutral'' alignment.
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#* You will want to be in contact with dwarves to get [[immigrant]]s and a dwarven trading caravan. However, dwarves are, sometimes seemingly magically, everywhere - it is impossible to settle anywhere <i>without</i> dwarves (assuming there is at least one surviving dwarf civilization).
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* '''Major land forms''': A last field, which will not always be full, will mention things you should know about, like [[river]]s. [[River]]s provide an unlimited source of [[water]], but can be home to dangerous fish like the [[longnose gar]] and [[carp]]. Still, though, the benefits generally far outweigh the risks. [[Volcano]]s are also noted here, one of the only guaranteed ways to get [[magma]].  [[Magma]] makes a few things a lot easier, but it is dangerous to work with and must be handled very carefully because of the [[fire imp|horrible]] [[magma man|creature]]s that come out of it. Not critical, especially not for your first time out.
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#*You'll want to trade with [[human]]s and [[elves]] if possible.
 
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#*[[Goblin]]s mean trouble, but it's hard to avoid them without hiding on an island and you will be attacked by Goblins some point in the game anyway. Just don't set up your first fortress right on top of a goblin fort.
 
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# Your dwarven civilization. Your choice of civilization will affect what goods are available for [[trade]]. However, all civilizations will offer a full range of essential goods, so you can ignore this for now.
 
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# Relative [[elevation]]. This is a normal topographic map that you're used to from real-life maps.
 
−
# [[Slope]] steepness. This shows you where large cliffs are.
 
−
# These final two modes let you guess at the shape of the land. Try to avoid [[cliff]]s of 4 or more, as the taller maps take a lot more computer power to run. On the other hand, flat areas are boring - a good elevation map contains lots of low elevation changes ranging from 1 to 4.
 
  
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==== Location, Location, Location ====
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Sometimes, you'll be looking at a place with more than one [[biome]] in the same selected square.  You can press {{k|F1}} {{k|F2}} {{k|F3}} or {{k|F4}} to view the different types of [[biomes]].  In the picture above, we are looking at the mountain in the center, which is cold and has no trees or plants because it's too high up for those things to grow.
 +
 
 +
====Civilization screen====
 +
These are nearby [[civilization]]s that are capable of interacting with you. Other settlements are shown with various symbols on the regional map.  The possible entries here are ''dwarves'', ''humans'', ''elves'', ''goblins'', and ''kobolds''.
 +
* '''[[Dwarves]]''': You will want to be in contact with dwarves to get [[immigrant]]s and a dwarven trading caravan. However, dwarves are, sometimes seemingly magically, everywhere.  It is impossible to settle anywhere <i>without</i> dwarves, assuming there is at least one surviving dwarf civilization.  Depending on how remote the area is, though, you may not get some of the features of the game you would otherwise: being cut off from the world will prevent most [[noble]]s from coming to your fort, which will stop the [[dwarven economy]] from ever being activated.  You will also not get a [[liason]] with your dwarven caravan, so you will be unable to request goods. 
 +
* '''[[Humans]]''': Humans are almost always friendly, and love [[trade]].  They send [[liason]]s to let you request goods and are generally a huge boon to any fortress.
 +
* '''[[Elves]]''': Elves are usually friendly and make fair trading partners, but have a [[Trade#Elves|particular ethos]] about trading.  They do not send a trade [[liason]] and their goods are luxuries at best.  They can be very annoying, but are generally not dangerous unless you provoke them.
 +
* '''[[Goblin]]s''':  Goblins are your main enemies in Dwarf Fortress, and will lead almost all of the aggressive attacks on your fort.  You can try to settle away from them, but at a certain point the game will spawn a goblin civilization to harass you, anyway.  Just be sure not to start in the middle of a goblin citadel, and you will be fine.
 +
* '''[[Kobold]]''': Kobolds are petty thieves that are little more than irritations in most situations.  If you are careless and let their thieves get away with a lot of stuff, though, they may upgrade to raiding parties of archers.
 +
 
 +
====Elevation screen====
 +
Relative [[elevation]]. This is a normal topographic map that you're used to from real-life maps.  It just gives you an idea of the lay of the land.
 +
====Slope screen====
 +
[[Slope]] steepness. This shows you where large cliffs are.  Try to avoid [[cliff]]s of 4 or more, as the taller maps take a lot more computer power to run. On the other hand, flat areas are boring - a good elevation map contains lots of low elevation changes ranging from 1 to 4.
 +
====Embark alerts====
 +
When you're satisfied with your area and hit {{k|e}} to embark, you may get some alerts about being in a very difficult area, or about an [[aquifer]].  [[Aquifers]] can make it frustrating to get started, so if you are alerted about an aquifer, seriously consider moving somewhere else for your first fortress.  After you have the basics down, tackling an aquifer is much easier.
 +
====Location recap====
  
 
For your first fortress, it's not entirely important. However, there are some general guidelines that can help you decide:
 
For your first fortress, it's not entirely important. However, there are some general guidelines that can help you decide:
  
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* Lots of trees and vegetation are good for producing food and lumber for your fortress.
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* Try to get a temperate or warm climate, since extreme temperatures are more difficult.
−
* Running water = permanent source of water. Lakes and pools have a finite amount of water and may dry out.
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* Trees and vegetation are good for producing lumber and food for your fortress, but you don't need tons of them.
−
* A temperate climate is one that experiences all four seasons. '''Scorching''' and '''Freezing''' climates take those temperatures to the extreme. Just like in the real world, it is more difficult to sustain life (and therefore, your fortress) in these conditions.
+
* ''Neutral''-aligned [[surroundings]] are best for your first fortress, but ''good''-aligned surroundings are also OK.  Avoid ''evil''-aligned surroundings, however.
−
 
+
* Running water (rivers, streams, and brooks) are a permanent source of [[water]]. Lakes and pools have a finite amount of water and may dry out. Not having enough [[water]] can be a big obstacle, so try to get some running water your first time out.
−
* Try to stay away from locations that are labeled "terrifying." Also, starting out in the middle of a goblin fortress is not a good idea.
+
* [[Humans]] and [[elves]] are friendly, so an area they have access to is nice.
−
* Magma is nice, but not necessary. And with magma comes Magma men and other such frightful creatures.
+
* [[Magma]] is cool, but not critical.
 
* Areas with [[Aquifers]] require some engineering to get to rock. You'll be warned if you chose an area with an aquifer. When in doubt, don't try it.
 
* Areas with [[Aquifers]] require some engineering to get to rock. You'll be warned if you chose an area with an aquifer. When in doubt, don't try it.
 
* Who cares? If you like what you see, go for it. You can always start over. And remember the DF motto: Losing is fun!
 
* Who cares? If you like what you see, go for it. You can always start over. And remember the DF motto: Losing is fun!
  
−
The following are things you'll probably want to ensure you have access to for a mature fortress:
+
For more information on specific game mechanics such as [[sand]], [[flux]], and how to find [[iron]], check [[How_to_correctly_start_fortress_mode|this page]].
−
 
 
−
* A [[Sedimentary layer]] - lets face it, a dwarven fortress without iron is going to have it pretty rough if it intends to make a military.  And while hematite can occur in some igneous layers, magnetite and limonite only occur in sedimentary, and magnetite occurs in much greater quantities than the other two.  Further, you will have no access to coal without sedimentary rocks, and if you chose a site without magma you will need coal to have a smoothly running metal industry - burning trees for fuel is less efficient and while manageable if you have lots of wood, it is more burdensome.
 
−
* [[Flux]] - marble, dolomite, limestone, and chalk are all layer forming stones and will show up on the embark screen as a stone layer. The last 3 are also sedimentary - nifty! Calcite, the only other flux stone, only appears within other flux stones.  If you don't see one of these layers, you won't have flux, and your ability to produce steel will be extremely limited.
 
−
* [[Sand]] - you'll need it to make glass.  You cannot trade for sand, nor can you trade for raw glass.  Sand also means you have soil, which removes the need for irrigation to start farming.
 
  
 
==== Fortress size ====
 
==== Fortress size ====
  
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Once you've decided on location, you need to decide the size of your fortress area. Advantages of requesting a large local area include more raw materials, greater diversity of [[rock]]s and special underground features, and the ability to include desired terrain (such as a river, a forest, or a magma vent). Disadvantages include slower game performance, higher likelihood of merchants failing to reach your [[trade depot]] before they run out of time, and more risk of losing immigrants as they struggle to your front [[gate]]. (Note that you can [[mine]] many levels deep into the ground, and even a 3x3 area generally contains more raw materials than you're ever likely to need.)
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Once you've decided on location, you need to decide the size of your fortress area. This is the size of the game field you're playing on.  Advantages of requesting a large local area include more raw materials, greater diversity of [[rock]]s and special underground features, and the ability to include desired terrain (such as a river, a forest, or a magma vent). Disadvantages include slower game performance (larger areas require more CPU power), higher likelihood of merchants failing to reach your [[trade depot]] before they run out of time, and more risk of losing immigrants as they struggle to your front [[gate]]. (Note that you can [[mine]] many levels deep into the ground, and even a 3x3 area generally contains more raw materials than you're ever likely to need.)
  
 
You can adjust the size of your fort's area by using {{k|SHIFT}} + the {{k|h}} {{k|k}} {{k|u}} or {{k|m}}keys.
 
You can adjust the size of your fort's area by using {{k|SHIFT}} + the {{k|h}} {{k|k}} {{k|u}} or {{k|m}}keys.
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=== Embark ===
 
=== Embark ===
  
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When done, hit {{k|e}} to embark. A warning may appear if you've chosen a challenging site.
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When done, hit {{k|e}} to embark. A warning may appear if you've chosen a challenging site, or one with an [[aquifer]].
  
−
== Buying skills and items ==
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==Buying skills and items==
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<!-- I've written this build carefully. While it does need improvement, please give a reason if you change it. --Savok -->
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After you embark, you're given the option to either start immediately or prepare for the journey carefully. You should pretty much always prepare carefully if you enjoy staying alive.
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You'll now have the choice of playing with the default setup or of preparing for the journey carefully. We're going to do the latter, because we'd like to stay alive.
 
  
 
Here, presumably, you are the dwarf determining who will go and what they will take. You have a total of 2060☼ to spend in two categories: Skilled dwarves and items. Some items have already been selected for you, but you probably won't want most of these.
 
Here, presumably, you are the dwarf determining who will go and what they will take. You have a total of 2060☼ to spend in two categories: Skilled dwarves and items. Some items have already been selected for you, but you probably won't want most of these.
  
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There are as many possible ways to approach setting up as there are fortress locations. The [[starting builds]] page offers several possibilities, if you don't like the one here.
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There are as many possible ways to approach setting up as there are fortress locations. The [[starting builds]] page offers several examples for you to choose from.  Here, we are only going to discuss some basics that help you understand enough to make your own decisions. The embark screen opens up on the ''skills'' screen, and can be changed to the ''items'' screen by pressing {{k|TAB}}.
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−
=== Skills ===
 
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−
First, remove all the items in the items screen, so you'll have enough starting points to spend on skilled dwarves. You need to press the {{k|-}} key on the numpad to sell items. Likewise you use the {{k|+}} key on the numpad to buy more of an item. {{k|+}} and {{k|-}} on the regular keyboard will not work.
 
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−
* Proficient [[Miner]]/Novice [[Judge of intent]]/Novice [[Appraiser]]/Competent [[Gem setter]]. This dwarf will tend to be chosen as leader (who is also a counselor of sorts) and will also be your trader, manager and bookkeeper. Whenever he has time, he will also work as miner, and later on he will decorate your goods with gems.<!-- Organizer and Record Keeper cause the nobles to be set up correctly at the beginning, with this guy being all of them. This is a newbie guide - the less information they have to process, the better. | Only, its not true. It is sometimes (1 out of 3) botched by his social abilities or who knows even just random. -->
 
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* Proficient [[Miner]]/Proficient [[Mason]]. You might want to swap miner with building designer and make the mechanic your second miner. Building designer is rarely used which gives your mason lots more time than if he was a miner.
 
−
* Proficient [[Woodcutter]]/Proficient [[Carpenter]]
 
−
* Proficient [[Grower]]/Proficient [[Herbalist]]. If you know how underground farming works, you might want to combine a Proficient [[Grower]] with a [[Craftsdwarf|stonecrafter]], [[bone carver]], [[glassmaker]] or [[clothier]] instead to produce items of value for trade. A herbalist is useful for acquiring above ground seeds mostly and food output from farming is more than generous.
 
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* Proficient [[Building designer]]/Proficient [[Mechanic]]
 
−
* Proficient [[Weaponsmith]]/Proficient [[Armorsmith]]. If you ever plan to equip dwarves with weapons and armor, you'll need a dwarf skilled at these.
 
−
* Proficient [[Brewer]]/Proficient [[Cook]]. A skilled cook makes high quality food. High quality food keeps your dwarves happy, which makes the game a lot easier.
 
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−
The total cost of the skills above is 480☼, but it is worth the cost: Once you start the fortress, skills will be much more difficult to get than valuable goods.
 
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Here's a suggestion of what skills to take. For food safety one may prefer a [[fisherdwarf]]/[[fish cleaner]] to the [[weaponsmith]]/[[armorsmith]], but it's hardly necessary. You can also chose a lesser degree of skill for the building designer, as this skill only improves work speed and isn't as necessary in the long run.
 
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=== Items ===
 
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You have 1580☼ to spend on items to take along if you've taken the skills recommended above. If some of these things aren't available, skip over them for now and get the rest. We'll take care of them later.
 
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−
If an item is not on the list, you will need to add it to the list by pressing {{k|n}}, finding the desired item, and pressing {{k|Enter}}.
 
−
 
 
−
* You'll need two [[copper]] [[pick]]s, which cost 20☼ each (40☼ total), for your miners. The material doesn't affect mining speed.
 
−
* Also, a [[battle axe]] will be needed for woodcutting. Since the only possible metal for it is [[steel]], it costs 300☼.
 
−
** Optionally, you can smelt your axe when you get there. You'll need to bring along plenty of fuel, a few pieces of copper ore, and three units of fire-safe material of some sort, though. For more info, try the pages on [[Weaponsmith]]ing, [[Smelting]], [[metalsmith's forge]]s, [[smelters]], and optionally, should you choose to take wood logs as your fuel, the [[Wood burner]] and the [[wood furnace]]. Note that the total at the end of this list does NOT account for this route. You will require an anvil to do this, though.
 
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* You'll need food. We recommend the following:
 
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** 100 pieces of any variety of [[meat]] worth 2☼ apiece. Take at least one meat from each type of 2☼ meat, as you will get more [[barrel]]s that way. (200☼ total)
 
−
*** If you bring Turtle or any other fish, you will get bones and shells when they are consumed, though you won't if you cook them.
 
−
** 100 drinks of [[alcohol]], which will be stored in 20 [[barrel]]s free of charge. Alcohol stacks 5 drinks per barrel, so stack sizes ending in 1 or 6 earn you a cheap barrel. (200☼ total)
 
−
*** If you bring all the types available it will help keep the dwarves happy, since a given dwarf might have a preference as to what kind of booze he drinks, and his favorite one will make him happier. Don't worry about this too much.
 
−
* You need [[seed]]s, which are 1☼ each:
 
−
** 25 [[plump helmet spawn]]. Plump helmets will likely be your main crop, as they are easy to grow, and, if you brew them then cook the wine, they give as much food as anything else. However, many players consider this cheating. Real dwarves don't eat biscuits made only out of wine.
 
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** 10 [[pig tail]] seeds
 
−
** 10 [[rock nut]]s, which are the most difficult crop to use but the one that gives the most food, bar [[cheating]]
 
−
* You may wish to bring [[animal]]s:
 
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** Two [[dog]]s, at 16☼ each (32☼ total). Gender alternates, so you will get one male and one female if you bring two. Dogs are excellent early defense systems and can be easily trained into war dogs, which do not run from danger and do twice as much damage.
 
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** [[Cat]]s have advantages and disadvantages that the player must weigh carefully. They cost 11☼ each.
 
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***Cats are by far the most effective way of killing [[vermin]], preventing unhappy [[thought]]s. However, they will leave vermin corpses lying around your fortress which can produce clouds of [[miasma]]. This can be controlled if the user simply sets up the [[refuse]] [[stockpile]] in a room with a [[door]].
 
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***Cats cannot be assigned owners. They will choose an owner randomly. A cat with an owner cannot be killed without the owner throwing a [[tantrum]]. This is especially troublesome as the cat population escalates.
 
−
***Cats breed quickly with several offspring.  One solution is to kill all female cats before they select an owner.  This is not as easy as it sounds for a novice player, and it may also necessitate killing immigrants that arrive with a female cat to prevent a tantrum. A perhaps more productive solution is to take advantage of their multiplication, putting kittens into a [[cage]] quickly after birth and [[butchering]] them as needed to feed the dwarves.
 
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***You may wish to take one cat on your first fortress, to ease vermin problems while you get used to the game.  Do not take one cat and one kitten, they will breed once the kitten grows up.
 
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* If you have followed the above exactly, you'll have 763☼ left. Spend this on whatever you like. If the area where you are has little wood, like a [[desert]] or mountains, you may wish to bring a few hundred [[logs]], which cost 3☼ each. You could also bring more [[food]]. You may wish to not take the expensive axe and take an anvil instead, which would leave you with 63☼. You can request an axe from the caravan or [[forge]] it yourself.
 
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* If you plan on raising animals as a food source you could take two cows or depending on where you start or what civilization you select 2 horses or camels to breed.
 
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While you need an anvil for metalsmithing, you don't have to take it here, since the dwarven [[caravan]] may bring one in [[autumn]] of the first year, and you'll easily be able to make 1000☼ in trade goods before then. If they don't have one, you can request it for next year, or wait for the humans to arrive and buy or order one from them.
 
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==== What if something's not on the list? ====
 
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Since some civilizations don't have certain materials or items, some things may not be available. If so, any food and drink will do. You can survive with only plump helmets and what you gather, so it's not critical to get certain kinds of seeds. Just grab a few of whatever's available in case you want to use them. In the case of picks, any material will do, just get the cheapest available. If picks or axes are missing completely, you can simply make them from raw materials when you arrive.
 
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In order to do this, you'll need a bar of metal (preferably copper or iron), and a block of any material. You'll also need an [[iron]] [[anvil]], which costs 1000☼ to take. You can use these along with the starting wood to make a [[wood furnace]], turn your wood into coal, then deconstruct the wood furnace and make a [[forge]]. Make a pick at the forge, and use it to mine some ore. Deconstruct the forge to make a [[smelter]] and smelt the ore into a bar. Then build the forge once more and make your axe, which you can use to get more wood. Of course, you can simplify the process by just taking a second bar of metal with you.
 
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If not even an anvil is available, you'll have to wait for the human [[caravan]] to bring one. If they don't have it the first time they come, be sure to request anvils so they'll bring one next year.
 
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=== [[Fortress name|Naming]] ===
 
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You can also name your fortress and starting group. This doesn't affect the game any, except in that if you don't, you could end up with a name like "The Bloody Anus of Angels." And we hope you don't want that.
 
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== Beginning the fortress ==
 
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When you reach the site of your new fortress, the first things you want to do are:
 
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* Dig secure lodgings.
 
−
* Create [[stockpile]]s.
 
−
* Build basic [[workshop]]s.
 
−
* Set up a [[dining room]] and a [[bedroom]].
 
−
* Construct a [[Farming|farm]].
 
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−
Sounds simple, right? It doesn't? Learning the basics of the game can take some time, but soon enough you'll be customizing stockpiles like a pro!
 
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−
=== Basics ===
 
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−
* First off, pause the game by pressing {{k|space}}. You can do this at any time to figure out what's going on at your leisure.
 
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−
* To move the view around, use the arrow keys. To move the view around at a faster pace, hold down the {{k|shift}} key, but if using the numpad keys make sure {{k|numlock}} is off. To view different elevations, or "[[Z]]-levels," use the {{k|<}} and {{k|>}} keys ({{k|shift}} + {{k|,}} or {{k|.}}).
 
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* To examine the contents of a square, press {{k|k}} and move the cursor over the square you want to examine. If you get lost and can't find your way back to your dwarves, press {{k|F1}} to center the camera back on the starting position. Check out more information on [[hotkeys]] to find out how to change that location.
 
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* You need to know how to change what jobs your dwarves will do. Press {{k|v}} and then move the cursor over a dwarf. It will display information about him/her. Go to the dwarf's {{k|p}}references, then the {{k|l}}abor submenu, and scroll the list with {{k|+}} and {{k|-}} on the number pad ({{k|*}} and {{k|/}} will scroll through the list at a faster pace). The highlighted jobs are the ones this dwarf is allowed to do. Your starting dwarves should have the jobs that you gave them skills in enabled, but any dwarf can do any job, even if they have no skill in it yet. This is important to know so you can make the dwarves do the jobs you need done instead of just whatever their default jobs are. You should probably turn off all types of [[hauling]] for one of the miners so they get right to work [[digging]] and don't get distracted by [[hauling]] commands. The {{k|Enter}} key toggles whether a dwarf will perform the given task or not.
 
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=== Digging ===
 
−
 
 
−
* To start [[digging]] out your fortress, press {{k|d}} to open the designation menu. Here you can select the tiles for your miners to dig, or tell them to create [[stair]]s and [[ramp]]s and various other things. Press {{k|d}} again to make sure you're creating digging designations, then press {{k|Enter}} to start marking where to dig. You need to hit enter twice, to mark two corners of a rectangular area.
 
−
 
 
−
* Start digging out a room as the start of your fortress. If you don't like the area the [[wagon]] starts in, choose a different place on the map. Try to keep a 1 tile wide chokepoint or hallway leading into it which you can block with a door. If you are in an area covered with sand, [[loam]], or [[clay]], you won't have rocks cluttering the room, so it may be easier to make your rooms there. Oddly, sand walls are just as hard as granite ones.
 
−
 
 
−
* You will need rock for construction, though, so if you don't mine your rooms out of stone, you'll need to create a mining area elsewhere to get stone.
 
−
 
 
−
* <del>Dwarves</del> Sane dwarves live underground, of course, so digging the start of your fortress requires you to understand the lay of the land. Likely, your fortress will be located in one of two types of areas, either near a preexisting steep slope you can dig into the side of, or in an area where you will have to dig [[stairs]] to get below the surface first. Examine the land using the {{k|k}} view command mentioned previously to determine which method you need to use. Open space means the land drops below your current Z-level.
 
−
 
 
−
* To dig down with stairs, designate a [[downward stairway]] on the surface, then move the view down one level ({{k|>}}) and designate an [[upward stairway]] on the tile directly beneath the downwards stairs. An [[up/down stairway]] works like both types of stairways in one tile. [[Stair]]s can go as deep as you want in a stack if you keep making [[up/down stairway]]s on top of each other. You can continue stairs from both the top and the bottom of [[up/down stairway]]s, but only from the bottom of [[downward stairway]]s, and only from the top of [[upward stairway]]s so only use the [[upward stairway]] or [[downward stairway]] when you're not planning to ever go further that direction. Keep in mind that you can only dig [[upward stairway]]s and [[up/down stairway]]s in squares that have not already been dug out, since you are carving the stairs out of the earth that's there.
 
−
 
 
−
=== Creating [[stockpile]]s ===
 
−
 
 
−
* Outdoors, by the fortress entrance, create a [[refuse stockpile]], a [[wood stockpile]], a [[furniture stockpile]], and a [[food stockpile]] to get your supplies out of the wagon and delay the [[Wear|rotting]] of food. Don't create a [[stone stockpile]] yet, as this will cause your dwarves to get bogged down with hauling. To make a stockpile, press {{k|p}}, press the letter corresponding to the type of stockpile you want, then press enter and drag the selection box over the area you want, and press enter again to create it.
 
−
 
 
−
* Move all stockpiles inside as soon as possible for most things will eventually [[rot]] outside but never inside. Make sure your refuse stockpile is then separated by a door or even an airlock-like double door (-->[[Miasma]]).
 
−
 
 
−
* You'll need to make many different stockpiles throughout the game.
 
−
 
 
−
=== Building workshops ===
 
−
 
 
−
* Disassemble the wagon for [[wood]], by "destroying it", by pressing {{k|q}}, moving the cursor over the wagon, and pressing {{k|x}}. Your carpenter should then disassemble it into three logs (This is the same process to disassemble most any building).
 
−
 
 
−
* Create a [[mason's workshop]], a [[carpenter's workshop]], and a [[mechanic's workshop]] with the stones your miners should be producing as they dig tunnels through the rock. To build things, press {{k|b}}, then for workshops, press {{k|w}}. Scroll to the type you want with {{k|+}} and {{k|-}} and press enter. You should next see a screen with the list of all the available materials you can use to build the workshop. Select any type of stone and the dwarves will get started. '''However''', if the stone available to you has some [[economic stone|economic value]], such as [[limestone]] or [[marble]], you must press {{k|z}} to open the general status screen, go to the Stones submenu, then find the stone type in the list and press {{k|enter}} to allow your dwarves to use it for mundane tasks like constructing buildings and furniture.
 
−
 
 
−
* In order to get the worshops actually built, the Mason must do his job. If he's also miner (as proposed above), it's necessary to switch off "Mining" for him, else he won't build something and instead continue mining.
 
−
 
 
−
* Your [[fisherdwarf]] has likely run off to a body of water to start fishing. Raw fish is inedible, and rots if left alone too long, so you need to build a [[fishery]] to process it. You build the fishery in the same way you built the other workshops. After it's built, select it with {{k|q}}, press {{k|a}}, select "Process Raw Fish" and press enter. Then press {{k|r}} to make that order repeat until it runs out of fish to process.
 
−
** The answer to the question, "is fishing high priority," (which was asked here) depends on what kind of priority you mean. If you mean "do dwarves fish instead of other tasks," yes, fishing is very high priority.
 
−
 
 
−
* At the [[mason's workshop]], order a [[door]] by selecting the workshop with {{k|q}}, pressing {{k|a}}, then scrolling to "door" on the list with {{k|+}} and {{k|-}} and pressing enter. Stone is more common than wood, so you want to make everything you can out of stone rather than wood. The only important items you can't make out of stone that you can make out of wood are [[bed]]s, [[bucket]]s, [[bin]]s, [[barrel]]s, and [[charcoal]] for fueling your [[forge]]s.
 
−
 
 
−
* Once the door is finished, place the door in the entrance of your fort by pressing {{k|b}}uild, then {{k|d}}oor, then selecting the space you want it to go in and pressing {{k|Enter}}. If trouble shows up, you can lock the door by pressing {{k|q}}, highlighting it and pressing {{k|l}} once. Pressing it again unlocks it.
 
−
 
 
−
* At the [[carpenter's workshop]], first order a [[bed]] and a [[bucket]] to be made out of some of your wood. These are needed to heal any injured dwarf.
 
−
 
 
−
* Once the bed is complete, {{k|b}}uild it in the same manner you built the door, and place it in your entrance hall. Once it's placed, you should make it into a communal sleeping hall by selecting the bed with {{k|q}}, pressing {{k|r}} and using the {{k|+}} and {{k|-}} keys to cover the area of the hall, pressing {{k|Enter}}, then pressing {{k|b}} to make it a [[barracks]]. Making it a barracks means that it is a public sleeping area, and dwarves without their own rooms will sleep there, on the floor if there aren't enough beds. You may prefer to make a separate room for it, though this is not necessary.
 
−
 
 
−
<!-- This is where I stopped working on the article. --Savok -->
 
−
* You should designate some trees to be cut down for more logs. Press {{k|d}}, then {{k|t}}. Find an area with trees, then press enter and highlight some trees by dragging the selection area over them and pressing enter again.
 
−
* To build some [[trap]]s to defend your front door, order some [[mechanism]]s to be built at the [[mechanic's workshop]]. After they are made, go to the {{k|b}}uild menu, and select the "Traps/Levers" category using {{k|+}} and {{k|-}}. Select the [[Trap#Stone-fall trap|stone-fall trap]], select the materials to use, then place it in a choke point leading into your fortress, like in front of or behind the front door.
 
−
* Mine a new room that will be used as a dining hall, and build four or five stone [[table]]s and stone [[throne]]s for it. Build some more doors to section off new rooms properly, as dwarves dislike rooms that aren't enclosed on all sides by walls or doors. Place the tables and thrones like you did the doors, and put one throne adjacent to each table. Once a table is placed in the room, select it with {{k|q}} and use it to define the area as a dining room, like you did with the bed for the sleeping hall. You only need to use one table to define the room, and the rest of the tables in it are automatically considered part of the dining room.
 
−
* Mine a few more rooms to be used as storage areas, remove the furniture and food stockpiles outside, and make new ones in these new storage rooms.
 
−
* You can also move your workshops indoors. They should not be built in the vicinity of the sleeping hall, as the noise will bother people. You can remove the workshops aboveground the same way you dismantled the wagon: press {{k|q}}, highlight the workshop, then press {{k|x}}.
 
−
 
 
−
=== Farming ===
 
−
 
 
−
Next you'll set up [[farming]]. You first need to dig a farm room underground. Dwarven crops won't grow on the surface. (You ''can'' retrieve some surface-grown plants using the [[gather plants]] designation liberally.)
 
−
 
 
−
If there are enough layers of [[soil]] covering the rock, you can carve out a farm room inside the soil and start farming without having to [[irrigate]] the ground. This is recommended for beginning players if possible. However, if you want to make a farm room with a rock floor, you will need to get the floor wet first. When water covers a rock cavern floor, it becomes muddy, which allows you to build farm plots on it. For more information about how to do that, read up on [[irrigation]].
 
  
−
Once you have suitable ground for planting, go to the {{k|b}}uild menu, find "Farm Plot" or press {{k|p}}, then use the {{k|u}} {{k|m}} {{k|h}} {{k|k}} keys to resize it, and press enter to place it. A 5x5 field should be plenty to last you through winter. After it's placed, your growers will come clear the site and prepare it for planting.
+
===Skills===
 +
In Dwarf Fortress, it's not what you have, it's who you have.  Skilled dwarves are the cornerstone of everything, from domestics to security, so it's extremely important to embark with good people.
  
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Now that the field is ready, select it with {{k|q}}, and set the crop you want to be grown on it. You have to set this manually for each season. Press {{k|a}} for spring, {{k|b}} for summer, {{k|c}} for fall, and {{k|d}} for winter. Not every crop can be grown in every season, although [[plump helmet]]s can be grown all year. You probably want to grow plump helmets exclusively at first, as they are the easiest crop to grow and use. Dwarves can eat them raw, cooked, or brew them into alcohol.
+
As you will see in this screen, you have 7 dwarves, all with 10 points to put toward starting skills.  We will want to use all 10 of the points on all 7 of the dwarves. By default, you won't have enough ☼ to do this, so hit {{k|TAB}} to go to the items screen and hit {{k|-}} over the ''Steel battle axe'' line to give subtract one. This should give you enough ☼ to assign all your skills. You can only spend 5 of the 10 points in any one skill, making the maximum skill level upon embark ''proficient''. This makes a total of 14 ''proficient'' skills.<br>
  
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=== Trading ===
+
In a fledgeling fortress, the 4 indispensible jobs are [[mason]], [[miner]], [[grower]], and [[carpenter]].  You should not embark without at least 1 dwarf being ''proficient'' in these 4 skills.  Many people choose to double up on proficient [[miner]]s and [[grower]]s, since mining and farming are both pretty big jobs.
  
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A dwarven caravan will drop by in the Autumn of the first year. You need to have an accessible [[Trade depot]] to trade, though if you don't have one when they arrive the dwarf merchants will wait at the map edge for one to be built. Your outpost leader will meet with the [[liaison]] and discuss what to bring for the next year. This meeting can take place anywhere on the map, but the office seems to be preferred. Traders with horses or camels and the like can reach pretty much any place that hasn't been locked or isn't up or down stairs. Dwarven and human wagons are a little more tricky sometimes, they need a 3 tile path. Once a trade depot is built, you can press {{k|D}} (shift-d) to check wagon access. The green "W" squares show where a wagon can go; if the screen says "Depot accessible", then wagons will be able to reach your depot.
+
Other useful skills to consider:<br>
 +
* '''[[Cook]]:''' Cooks make [[prepared meal]]s in the [[kitchen]], which helps you manage your food stock space.  Well-prepared meals are also valuable [[trade]] goods, and make dwarves happy when eaten.  Highly skilled cooks make better meals, and prepare meals faster.
 +
* '''[[Brewer]]:''' Brewers make [[booze]] in the [[still]]. Dwarves being dwarves, they need alcohol to operate at peak efficiency, and highly-skilled brewers make better tasting booze.  Dwarves get happier when they drink good booze, and they finish brewing faster.
 +
* '''[[Herbalist]]:''' Herbalists gather food and seeds from [[shrub]]s in the local area.  Skilled herbalists pick faster and come away with far more food.  Where an unskilled herbalist will come away with one [[wild strawberry]] or none at all, a proficient herbalist will often pick 3, 4, or sometimes 5.
 +
* '''[[Woodcutter]]:''' Woodcutters fell [[tree]]s for use by [[carpenter]]s.  Highly skilled woodcutters fell trees much faster.  However, since you don't need that much wood, you can get away with a normal (no tag) woodcutter just fine.
 +
* '''[[Mechanic]]:''' Mechanics build and use [[mechanism]]s, which have myriad uses in [[trap]]s and [[lever]]s.  Highly skilled mechanics finish installing mechanisms much faster, and the mechanisms they build are of higher quality.  However, the quality of the mechanism only matters for its [[trade]] value, and in early fortresses the need for mechanisms is usually so small that any dwarf can pick it up and handle it well enough.  Still, a solid choice, especially if you like [[trap]]s.
 +
* '''[[Armorsmith]], [[Weaponsmith]], and [[Siege engineer]]:''' These 3 skills are not useful at all in an early fortress, but become very important later on, and training an unskilled dwarf in these skills is hard and requires a lot of material, so if you're in it for the long haul, consider them.
 +
* '''Military skills ([[Wrestler]], [[Axedwarf]], [[Hammerdwarf]], etc):''' Early on, it's unlikely that you'll need these, since there's generally very few things that will bother a band of dwarves who aren't hurting anyone, but certain places, such as those with a [[chasm]], will have hostile creatures around. In these areas, you may consider giving your woodcutter the [[Axedwarf]] skill so he can use his chopping axe as a weapon.
 +
* '''Social skills ([[Appraiser]], [[Judge of Intent]], [[Consoler]], etc):''' Putting these on one dwarf will make them a shoo-in for the Expedition Leader slot, and ranks in [[Appraiser]] and [[Judge of Intent]] will make interacting with the first caravan much easier. However, even if you don't train this at all, some persistance in trading with the first caravan will level your leader up enough to trade with the second caravan like a champion.
  
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You may be a bit light on things to trade. If you have any leftover [[mechanism]]s, send 'em in; they're worth a good penny, especially if they're of better quality. You can also build a [[Craftsdwarf's workshop]] and make stone crafts for trading if you brought a skilled stonecrafter with you. If you have any high quality cooked meals and feel that you are well stocked on food you may consider selling that, but don't underestimate the first wave of [[immigrant]]s.
 
  
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If you have managed to kill any invaders, many of them wear silk clothes that don't fit dwarves. These can be worth hauling long distances - one pair of "Giant cave spider" socks, or the like can pay for an anvil
+
Once again, examples can be found in the [[starting builds]] page.  What you bring is incredibly dependant on your play style, though.  Some people think bringing Mechanics along is a total waste of time, others consider them indispensible.  Some people like having skills that aren't even on this list, like [[Leatherworker]]. Read the [[starting builds]], ask questions, and explore!  Who cares if your first idea doesn't work out after playing an hour?  Restarting is easy and ''losing is fun''.
  
−
In order to trade, you'll need to use {{k|q}} on the trade depot. Pressing {{k|r}} will put a "Trade at depot" job on the queue (make sure your broker's not off hauling stone or something). While you're doing this, you'll need to move the things you want to trade away to the depot: The {{k|g}} key lets you pick from your stores. Once the broker and the items are in place, use {{k|t}} to initiate the trade.  
+
===Items===
 +
Now that we're done with assigning skills, hit {{k|TAB}} to go over to the item screen. Item worth is another extremely situational thing, and you'll find as many opinions as there are Dwarf Fortress players as to what is good to bring.  Once more, it depends VERY heavily on your play style.  Again, [[starting builds]] can provide some good example reading. This section will only cover the basics and give you enough information to make your own decisions.
  
−
If the broker doesn't have enough skill at Appraising, you won't be able to see item prices - only weights (marked with the gamma symbol on the standard font) and some guesswork might be needed to find out what will be accepted for what.
+
====Tools====
 +
You'll need a couple of finished tools to get yourself started.
 +
* '''[[Battle axe]]s''':  You'll need 1 for every [[Woodcutter]] you bring along.  You can only buy the steel variety, which costs 300☼.  The cost of that axe is one of the best arguments for not doubling up on [[woodcutter]]s.
 +
* '''[[Pick]]s''':  You'll need 1 for every [[Miner]] you have.  All the picks work equally well, the material only determines how much damage they do in combat.  So, you'll want to bring the cheap copper picks, at a paltry 20☼ each.
 +
* '''[[Anvil]]''': One of the biggest questions you'll ask yourself is if you want an anvil on embark.  It's extremely expensive at 1000☼, but to start a [[metal]] industry, you will either have to start with one or request and purchase one from a [[caravan]] somewhere down the line.  It chiefly depends on the terrain around.  If you are going to a very mountainous area where you're likely to see lots of ore and you'll want to use it immediately, bring an anvil.  If you're going to spend a few years getting yourself established and going before worrying about a lot of metal production, drop it and bring more raw commodities.
  
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What to buy? An anvil if you don't have one. Logs, crops, booze, cheap meat, cheap raw materials you can process. Any general, cheap supplies you need. Do not buy cheese or giant cave spider silk for now - they're very expensive and not worth the bother. However, if you are in an area that cannot produce steel, and you can pay for it, you may wish to start ordering [[steel]] and/or steel ingredients now.
+
One occasional problem is that axes and picks are absent entirely.  If this is the case, you can bring the materials to build these things yourself.  Purchase an anvil, 3 chunks of any [[rock]] except [[liginite]] or [[bituminous coal]], then purchase one bar of [[copper]] and one chunk of [[charcoal]] for each tool you want to make. Immediately upon arrival, press {{k|v}} to select a dwarf, then press {{k|p}references, and {{k|l}}abor.  Turn on [[weaponsmithing]] for that dwarf (obviously, if you brought a weaponsmith, you can skip this step).  Use your rock and anvil to make a [[metalsmith's forge]] at any place that's conveinent. Order the axes and picks you want to be built, and your weaponsmith will get to work. He'll have the tools done shortly, and you can get on with the game. After you're done with the forge, select it with {{k|q}}, then hit {{k|x}} to tear it down and reclaim your anvil.
  
−
Each level of asking for an item increases the prices by 20%, on average, so while if you pay the max amount you will almost certainly get the item, and lots of it, you'll be paying twice the normal value.
+
====Raw materials====
 +
As it was briefly covered above, sometimes it makes more sense to bring a lot of raw materials than some finished goods.  Raw materials are a lot cheaper than finished goods, and so long as you invest heavily in your dwarves' skills (which you should!), you can probably make better quality stuff, anyway.
 +
*'''[[Stone]]''': Only bring this if you're trying to build some of your tools on the spot, as noted above.  Otherwise, you will get stone coming out of your ears once you start mining.
 +
*'''[[Metal]]''': Generally not recommended.  However, if you're expecting trouble and you're bringing an anvil, bringing many bars of [[iron]] and [[charcoal]] in lieu of a [[battle axe]] can be a big boon.  If your dwarves can get to a spot that gives them a breather, a proficient weaponsmith or armorsmith could stamp out high-quality goods to give your dwarves a better fighting chance.  This is a pretty advanced trick to pull off, though, so don't try to pull it if you're not confident.
 +
*'''[[Wood]]''': Wood is a bargain at only 3☼ per log, and the 100 logs you can bring in exchange for a steel battle axe will last you a long time.  This is a great technique for making [[Woodcutter]] unneeded in the early game, but you need to budget your wood use for the first year very carefully. When you're out, you're out!
  
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== What next? ==
+
====Consumables====
 +
Easily the most important part of your preparation is what you're going to eat, drink, and plant once you get on site.  Without food and booze, you're not going much of anywhere.
 +
*'''[[Food]]''': Most food comes at a mere 2☼ per unit, and 8 units will feed 1 dwarf for a year.  Bringing a year of food will give you a good cushion to getting your farms working, so aim for about 60 food if you can.  If you must cut back, though, 40 will be fine if you make your farms an early priority.  The best food staple to bring along is [[turtle]].  Turtle produces [[shell]] and [[bones]] when eaten, which can be used as raw materials for other things you need, including armor, crossbows, and crossbow bolts.  Further, shell is a common request for [[strange mood]]s and is a pain to produce, so getting some early could save yourself a failed mood and a dead dwarf.<br>
 +
''Note:'' Food is stored in [[barrel]]s on embark, with all food in its own barrel.  Therefore, you can get a lot of free barrels by taking 1 unit of many, many kinds of food.  Barrels are important, and usually need wood to make, so it's worth it to use this quirk while you can.
 +
*'''[[Booze]]''': Dwarves drink twice as often as they eat, and they always want to down some alcohol if at all possible.  They also like different kinds of alcohol.  Bring twice as much booze as you bring food, and divide it evenly among the 3 types of alcohol you can (dwarven wine, dwarven beer, dwarven ale).
 +
*'''[[Seeds]]''': Your farms have got to start somewhere.  Definitely bring along [[plump helmet spawn]] (for food and booze) and [[pig tails]] (for cloth ropes and booze variety).  How many you bring is dependant on how big you want your initial farms to be.  5 of each is plenty to feed your initial dwarves, and you will get more seeds any time the plants are consumed in any way ''except cooking''.  You may want to use the [[kitchen]] menu to disallow cooking of plump helmets until you have a healthy supply of seeds.  Or, alternatively, just don't make any prepared meals until you've got a healthy supply of seeds.  The other seed types require a lot more labor to use properly, and should probably wait until you have more dwarves in the fortress.  You can buy seeds from the dwarven caravan for almost nothing, but if you want a greater variety along, go for [[rock nuts]].  The [[quarry bush]] that sprouts from it produces the greatest space to yield ratio in the game.  Eventually, though, you should be planting all 6 of the underground [[crop]]s at least.
  
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At this point your little fort should be mostly self-sufficient, barring animal attacks, mining accidents, psychotic outbreaks, or invasion. You can now invest some time in luxuries, such as making private rooms for each dwarf, crafting valuable trade goods, crazy engineering projects, and brewing more beer.
+
====Animals====
 +
Not only dwarves live in your fortress, after all.
 +
*'''[[Dog]]s''':  Dogs are dwarf's best friend.  They can be trained into [[hunting dog]]s or [[war dog]]s, require no food or maintenance, and make good pets for your dwarves.  Always bring at least 2.  Genders alternate when picking them up, so 2 will give you a breeding pair that will have more puppies freely.  They make fantastic security early and fantastic dwarfsaving distractions later on.  Dogs will happily lay down their lives to protect their master, which is huge when it means one of your best legendary dwarves is running away from an angry [[goblin]].
 +
*'''[[Cat]]s''': Cats provide a wonderful function in controlling [[vermin]] in the fort.  Vermin can make your dwarves extremely unhappy, so some cats are more or less a requirement.  The largest problem with cats, however, is that their population is very difficult to control.  Cats will choose their own owners (without the dwarf in question's consent), and after they've done so, you cannot order them butchered to control their numbers.  The resulting [[catsplosion|population explosion]] can clutter hallways and murder your framerate.  The best thing to do is to put all stray cats and kittens in a [[cage]] (one will hold them all). You can then butcher them without running the risk of the cats adopting dwarves before the butcher gets around to them, and if vermin start to get out of hand, you can always release one or two to help.  If you want vermin control from the start, bring just ONE cat so it cannot breed and cause a population problem early.  However, immigrants will very commonly bring their pet cats to the fortress, so if you can live with vermin early, you'll likely get a cat for free within a year.
 +
*'''Beasts of burden ([[Horse]]s, [[musk ox]]en, etc)''': You will get a breeding pair of these for free when you start the game (they pull your starting wagon), and they will breed just as fast as anything else, so don't bring any along, and don't be afraid to use that [[cage]] to contain their numbers.  Unlike cats, dwarves must choose to adopt beasts of burden, which they won't do unless they have a particular affinity for the animal.  That's fairly rare, so the vast majority of the beasts of burden in your fortress will stay strays.
  
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Here's some ideas for what to do next:
+
Once again, check the [[starting builds]] page for more ideas, read the pages linked above, and experiment. The learning process is half the fun in Dwarf Fortress; enjoy it!
−
* Make an underground [[well]] that won't freeze over in winter, by draining a surface pool or diverting a river.
 
−
* Build a [[craftdwarf's workshop]] and start making some trade goods.
 
−
* Start [[smelting]] the ore you've mined if you have dwarves with the right skills.
 
−
* Set up a [[still]] to brew more drinks for your thirsty dwarves. They'll drink water if they have to, but they are much happier and work faster if they are full of alcohol.
 
−
* Make individual rooms for each dwarf, with a bed and maybe a rock coffer and rock cabinet in each one.
 
−
* Use [[zone]]s to set up a meeting hall, and designate which water sources you want your dwarves to use for [[fishing]] and drinking.
 
−
* Expand your farm, dining room, and living quarters in anticipation of the massive wave of 10-30 immigrants that will likely show up sometime in the next year.
 
−
* Start making [[bin]]s and [[barrel]]s to consolidate items and food taking up space in your stockpiles so things are more organized, and so you have more barrels to brew drinks with.
 
−
* Set up an indoor [[refuse stockpile]] so your dwarves don't have to carry their trash as far, and so you can start building up a useful supply of bones and shells.
 
−
* Plant some [[pigtail]]s to make [[cloth]]. You'll need a [[farmer's workshop]], a [[loom]], and a [[clothier's shop]].
 
−
* Draft a couple dwarves, and start a fortress [[military]].
 
−
* Hunt for iron, gold, and gems with some [[exploratory mining]].
 
  
−
And when you start feeling more confident with your DF-knowledge, you can try to set some [[Game goals|crazy goals]] for yourself for a challenge, or just enjoy the game in the way '''you''' fashion at your own pace. But most importantly to remember, '''Losing is fun!'''
+
==Sample games==
 +
These are sample games that others have played and recorded to provide good learning examples.  They are not routinely updated, so some information may be out of date, but they still provide good hands-on tutorials of how to prepare for your fortress and play the game.
  
 +
[[Indecisive's illustrated fortress mode tutorial]]<Br>
 +
[[Savok's first fortress playthrough]]
 
[[Category:Guides]]
 
[[Category:Guides]]
  
 
{{Starting FAQ}}
 
{{Starting FAQ}}

Revision as of 17:55, 6 November 2008

This is a guide to help new players get started on their first fortress and teach them the basics of keeping their dwarves alive. If you have unanswered questions or find given details confusing, please tell us so on the discussion page! Above all else, always remember the Dwarf Fortress motto: "Losing is fun!"

We discuss generating a world, choosing a fortress location, buying skills and items, and playing the first month or so. Setting game initialization options is covered in technical tricks. The advice here is biased for safety; with a little experience you'll do better with strategies customized for your play style and preferred start locations. For more extended treatment of particular subjects, consult the linked pages or the rest of the Dwarf Fortress Wiki.

Generating a world

The first thing you'll want to do when starting Dwarf Fortress is create a world. You have two options: Create a fractally-generated random world or re-create one of the pregenerated worlds using a specific seed.

However, for new players it is recommended that you create a random world using the STANDARD template, so just hit Enter to continue. The engine will then start to create a random world for you. You might notice that worlds are rejected before the engine continues with rivers and lakes. The rejections are normal engine behaviour, since it rejects the random generated world if it doesn't meet certain criteria.

Generating a random world with the standard template may take a long time on most machines. If you want to jump right into playing, you should probably choose Design New World with Parameters instead of Create New World Now! and pick a small or pocket-sized world instead of a standard-sized world.

(Once you've gotten down the basics, you can return to the world generation screen and experiment with all of the options and create a world using one of the other techniques mentioned above.)

See the article on world generation for a complete guide to the world generation screen.

Choosing a location

The interface

If you have at least one world without an active fortress, you will be able to choose "Start Playing" from the main menu. Chose "Dwarf Fortress" and you'll see a four-section window looking something like:

This picture is shown with the default tileset. Other tilesets are available

You can move around the region map with ←↑→↓, or at 10x speed with Shift+←↑→↓. The region map is immense, at the default size, so there is also a world map that shows you where you are in the world.

Your next goal will be choosing the starting location for your fortress.

Your surroundings

You can discern a lot of information by scrolling through the various modes. The interface has five modes which you cycle through by pressing TAB. In turn, they display the biomes, civilizations, and geology of the local area.

Biomes screen

This display gives you an idea for the environment you'll be parachuting into. Click any of the blue links for more information on the subject. Biomes are determined by the type of life in the area. On the Biome screen, you'll see:

  • Temperature: How hot or cold it gets in the area. Can be Freezing, Cold, Temperate, Warm, Hot, and Scorching. In a nutshell, temperature extremes make it harder to get and keep a reliable source of water going. In Freezing and Scorching climates, you may have to do without water at all. Temperate and Warm are both good places to start your first fort.
  • Amount of trees, and other vegetation: A general indication of the density of plant life in the area. For trees, this can be none, scarce, sparse, woodland, or heavily forested. For other plants, you can see none, scarce, moderate, and thick. Trees are chopped down for wood, which is a critical, if small, part of your fortress. You can import lots of it from caravans, so don't worry too much about it. However, more trees never hurt anyone, and totally treeless maps are quite a bit more difficult in the early going, so aim for sparse or greater trees. Other plants basically means shrubs, bushes, and other vegetation that you can harvest food from with the plant gathering skill. Generally speaking, you will use this trick in the first year of your fortress, then never again. Plant density is not very important.
  • Surroundings: This is a hint at how wild the wilderness is. The outskirts of a jungle might be fairly calm and safe, while the heart of that same jungle could be thick with vicious predators. In game terms, this will clue you in to the specific types of trees and plants you will find, in addition to indicating the animal types you'll run int. This also clues you in to the alignment of the surrounding area. So, the two things this word tells you is how good or evil an area as, and how calm or savage an area is. Good-aligned areas, from calm to savage, are serene, mirthful, or joyous wilds. Neutral-aligned areas are, from calm to savage, calm, wilderness, or untamed wilds. Evil-aligned areas are, from calm to savage, sinister, haunted, or terrifying. Good zones tend to have one of the most aggressive animals in the game, the unicorn, and evil areas have a multitude of undead and some of the most vicious creatures in the game. For your first fortress, stick to a neutral alignment.
  • Major land forms: A last field, which will not always be full, will mention things you should know about, like rivers. Rivers provide an unlimited source of water, but can be home to dangerous fish like the longnose gar and carp. Still, though, the benefits generally far outweigh the risks. Volcanos are also noted here, one of the only guaranteed ways to get magma. Magma makes a few things a lot easier, but it is dangerous to work with and must be handled very carefully because of the horrible creatures that come out of it. Not critical, especially not for your first time out.

Sometimes, you'll be looking at a place with more than one biome in the same selected square. You can press F1 F2 F3 or F4 to view the different types of biomes. In the picture above, we are looking at the mountain in the center, which is cold and has no trees or plants because it's too high up for those things to grow.

Civilization screen

These are nearby civilizations that are capable of interacting with you. Other settlements are shown with various symbols on the regional map. The possible entries here are dwarves, humans, elves, goblins, and kobolds.

  • Dwarves: You will want to be in contact with dwarves to get immigrants and a dwarven trading caravan. However, dwarves are, sometimes seemingly magically, everywhere. It is impossible to settle anywhere without dwarves, assuming there is at least one surviving dwarf civilization. Depending on how remote the area is, though, you may not get some of the features of the game you would otherwise: being cut off from the world will prevent most nobles from coming to your fort, which will stop the dwarven economy from ever being activated. You will also not get a liason with your dwarven caravan, so you will be unable to request goods.
  • Humans: Humans are almost always friendly, and love trade. They send liasons to let you request goods and are generally a huge boon to any fortress.
  • Elves: Elves are usually friendly and make fair trading partners, but have a particular ethos about trading. They do not send a trade liason and their goods are luxuries at best. They can be very annoying, but are generally not dangerous unless you provoke them.
  • Goblins: Goblins are your main enemies in Dwarf Fortress, and will lead almost all of the aggressive attacks on your fort. You can try to settle away from them, but at a certain point the game will spawn a goblin civilization to harass you, anyway. Just be sure not to start in the middle of a goblin citadel, and you will be fine.
  • Kobold: Kobolds are petty thieves that are little more than irritations in most situations. If you are careless and let their thieves get away with a lot of stuff, though, they may upgrade to raiding parties of archers.

Elevation screen

Relative elevation. This is a normal topographic map that you're used to from real-life maps. It just gives you an idea of the lay of the land.

Slope screen

Slope steepness. This shows you where large cliffs are. Try to avoid cliffs of 4 or more, as the taller maps take a lot more computer power to run. On the other hand, flat areas are boring - a good elevation map contains lots of low elevation changes ranging from 1 to 4.

Embark alerts

When you're satisfied with your area and hit e to embark, you may get some alerts about being in a very difficult area, or about an aquifer. Aquifers can make it frustrating to get started, so if you are alerted about an aquifer, seriously consider moving somewhere else for your first fortress. After you have the basics down, tackling an aquifer is much easier.

Location recap

For your first fortress, it's not entirely important. However, there are some general guidelines that can help you decide:

  • Try to get a temperate or warm climate, since extreme temperatures are more difficult.
  • Trees and vegetation are good for producing lumber and food for your fortress, but you don't need tons of them.
  • Neutral-aligned surroundings are best for your first fortress, but good-aligned surroundings are also OK. Avoid evil-aligned surroundings, however.
  • Running water (rivers, streams, and brooks) are a permanent source of water. Lakes and pools have a finite amount of water and may dry out. Not having enough water can be a big obstacle, so try to get some running water your first time out.
  • Humans and elves are friendly, so an area they have access to is nice.
  • Magma is cool, but not critical.
  • Areas with Aquifers require some engineering to get to rock. You'll be warned if you chose an area with an aquifer. When in doubt, don't try it.
  • Who cares? If you like what you see, go for it. You can always start over. And remember the DF motto: Losing is fun!

For more information on specific game mechanics such as sand, flux, and how to find iron, check this page.

Fortress size

Once you've decided on location, you need to decide the size of your fortress area. This is the size of the game field you're playing on. Advantages of requesting a large local area include more raw materials, greater diversity of rocks and special underground features, and the ability to include desired terrain (such as a river, a forest, or a magma vent). Disadvantages include slower game performance (larger areas require more CPU power), higher likelihood of merchants failing to reach your trade depot before they run out of time, and more risk of losing immigrants as they struggle to your front gate. (Note that you can mine many levels deep into the ground, and even a 3x3 area generally contains more raw materials than you're ever likely to need.)

You can adjust the size of your fort's area by using SHIFT + the h k u or mkeys.

Embark

When done, hit e to embark. A warning may appear if you've chosen a challenging site, or one with an aquifer.

Buying skills and items

After you embark, you're given the option to either start immediately or prepare for the journey carefully. You should pretty much always prepare carefully if you enjoy staying alive.

Here, presumably, you are the dwarf determining who will go and what they will take. You have a total of 2060☼ to spend in two categories: Skilled dwarves and items. Some items have already been selected for you, but you probably won't want most of these.

There are as many possible ways to approach setting up as there are fortress locations. The starting builds page offers several examples for you to choose from. Here, we are only going to discuss some basics that help you understand enough to make your own decisions. The embark screen opens up on the skills screen, and can be changed to the items screen by pressing TAB.

Skills

In Dwarf Fortress, it's not what you have, it's who you have. Skilled dwarves are the cornerstone of everything, from domestics to security, so it's extremely important to embark with good people.

As you will see in this screen, you have 7 dwarves, all with 10 points to put toward starting skills. We will want to use all 10 of the points on all 7 of the dwarves. By default, you won't have enough ☼ to do this, so hit TAB to go to the items screen and hit - over the Steel battle axe line to give subtract one. This should give you enough ☼ to assign all your skills. You can only spend 5 of the 10 points in any one skill, making the maximum skill level upon embark proficient. This makes a total of 14 proficient skills.

In a fledgeling fortress, the 4 indispensible jobs are mason, miner, grower, and carpenter. You should not embark without at least 1 dwarf being proficient in these 4 skills. Many people choose to double up on proficient miners and growers, since mining and farming are both pretty big jobs.

Other useful skills to consider:

  • Cook: Cooks make prepared meals in the kitchen, which helps you manage your food stock space. Well-prepared meals are also valuable trade goods, and make dwarves happy when eaten. Highly skilled cooks make better meals, and prepare meals faster.
  • Brewer: Brewers make booze in the still. Dwarves being dwarves, they need alcohol to operate at peak efficiency, and highly-skilled brewers make better tasting booze. Dwarves get happier when they drink good booze, and they finish brewing faster.
  • Herbalist: Herbalists gather food and seeds from shrubs in the local area. Skilled herbalists pick faster and come away with far more food. Where an unskilled herbalist will come away with one wild strawberry or none at all, a proficient herbalist will often pick 3, 4, or sometimes 5.
  • Woodcutter: Woodcutters fell trees for use by carpenters. Highly skilled woodcutters fell trees much faster. However, since you don't need that much wood, you can get away with a normal (no tag) woodcutter just fine.
  • Mechanic: Mechanics build and use mechanisms, which have myriad uses in traps and levers. Highly skilled mechanics finish installing mechanisms much faster, and the mechanisms they build are of higher quality. However, the quality of the mechanism only matters for its trade value, and in early fortresses the need for mechanisms is usually so small that any dwarf can pick it up and handle it well enough. Still, a solid choice, especially if you like traps.
  • Armorsmith, Weaponsmith, and Siege engineer: These 3 skills are not useful at all in an early fortress, but become very important later on, and training an unskilled dwarf in these skills is hard and requires a lot of material, so if you're in it for the long haul, consider them.
  • Military skills (Wrestler, Axedwarf, Hammerdwarf, etc): Early on, it's unlikely that you'll need these, since there's generally very few things that will bother a band of dwarves who aren't hurting anyone, but certain places, such as those with a chasm, will have hostile creatures around. In these areas, you may consider giving your woodcutter the Axedwarf skill so he can use his chopping axe as a weapon.
  • Social skills (Appraiser, Judge of Intent, Consoler, etc): Putting these on one dwarf will make them a shoo-in for the Expedition Leader slot, and ranks in Appraiser and Judge of Intent will make interacting with the first caravan much easier. However, even if you don't train this at all, some persistance in trading with the first caravan will level your leader up enough to trade with the second caravan like a champion.


Once again, examples can be found in the starting builds page. What you bring is incredibly dependant on your play style, though. Some people think bringing Mechanics along is a total waste of time, others consider them indispensible. Some people like having skills that aren't even on this list, like Leatherworker. Read the starting builds, ask questions, and explore! Who cares if your first idea doesn't work out after playing an hour? Restarting is easy and losing is fun.

Items

Now that we're done with assigning skills, hit TAB to go over to the item screen. Item worth is another extremely situational thing, and you'll find as many opinions as there are Dwarf Fortress players as to what is good to bring. Once more, it depends VERY heavily on your play style. Again, starting builds can provide some good example reading. This section will only cover the basics and give you enough information to make your own decisions.

Tools

You'll need a couple of finished tools to get yourself started.

  • Battle axes: You'll need 1 for every Woodcutter you bring along. You can only buy the steel variety, which costs 300☼. The cost of that axe is one of the best arguments for not doubling up on woodcutters.
  • Picks: You'll need 1 for every Miner you have. All the picks work equally well, the material only determines how much damage they do in combat. So, you'll want to bring the cheap copper picks, at a paltry 20☼ each.
  • Anvil: One of the biggest questions you'll ask yourself is if you want an anvil on embark. It's extremely expensive at 1000☼, but to start a metal industry, you will either have to start with one or request and purchase one from a caravan somewhere down the line. It chiefly depends on the terrain around. If you are going to a very mountainous area where you're likely to see lots of ore and you'll want to use it immediately, bring an anvil. If you're going to spend a few years getting yourself established and going before worrying about a lot of metal production, drop it and bring more raw commodities.

One occasional problem is that axes and picks are absent entirely. If this is the case, you can bring the materials to build these things yourself. Purchase an anvil, 3 chunks of any rock except liginite or bituminous coal, then purchase one bar of copper and one chunk of charcoal for each tool you want to make. Immediately upon arrival, press v to select a dwarf, then press {{k|p}references, and labor. Turn on weaponsmithing for that dwarf (obviously, if you brought a weaponsmith, you can skip this step). Use your rock and anvil to make a metalsmith's forge at any place that's conveinent. Order the axes and picks you want to be built, and your weaponsmith will get to work. He'll have the tools done shortly, and you can get on with the game. After you're done with the forge, select it with q, then hit x to tear it down and reclaim your anvil.

Raw materials

As it was briefly covered above, sometimes it makes more sense to bring a lot of raw materials than some finished goods. Raw materials are a lot cheaper than finished goods, and so long as you invest heavily in your dwarves' skills (which you should!), you can probably make better quality stuff, anyway.

  • Stone: Only bring this if you're trying to build some of your tools on the spot, as noted above. Otherwise, you will get stone coming out of your ears once you start mining.
  • Metal: Generally not recommended. However, if you're expecting trouble and you're bringing an anvil, bringing many bars of iron and charcoal in lieu of a battle axe can be a big boon. If your dwarves can get to a spot that gives them a breather, a proficient weaponsmith or armorsmith could stamp out high-quality goods to give your dwarves a better fighting chance. This is a pretty advanced trick to pull off, though, so don't try to pull it if you're not confident.
  • Wood: Wood is a bargain at only 3☼ per log, and the 100 logs you can bring in exchange for a steel battle axe will last you a long time. This is a great technique for making Woodcutter unneeded in the early game, but you need to budget your wood use for the first year very carefully. When you're out, you're out!

Consumables

Easily the most important part of your preparation is what you're going to eat, drink, and plant once you get on site. Without food and booze, you're not going much of anywhere.

  • Food: Most food comes at a mere 2☼ per unit, and 8 units will feed 1 dwarf for a year. Bringing a year of food will give you a good cushion to getting your farms working, so aim for about 60 food if you can. If you must cut back, though, 40 will be fine if you make your farms an early priority. The best food staple to bring along is turtle. Turtle produces shell and bones when eaten, which can be used as raw materials for other things you need, including armor, crossbows, and crossbow bolts. Further, shell is a common request for strange moods and is a pain to produce, so getting some early could save yourself a failed mood and a dead dwarf.

Note: Food is stored in barrels on embark, with all food in its own barrel. Therefore, you can get a lot of free barrels by taking 1 unit of many, many kinds of food. Barrels are important, and usually need wood to make, so it's worth it to use this quirk while you can.

  • Booze: Dwarves drink twice as often as they eat, and they always want to down some alcohol if at all possible. They also like different kinds of alcohol. Bring twice as much booze as you bring food, and divide it evenly among the 3 types of alcohol you can (dwarven wine, dwarven beer, dwarven ale).
  • Seeds: Your farms have got to start somewhere. Definitely bring along plump helmet spawn (for food and booze) and pig tails (for cloth ropes and booze variety). How many you bring is dependant on how big you want your initial farms to be. 5 of each is plenty to feed your initial dwarves, and you will get more seeds any time the plants are consumed in any way except cooking. You may want to use the kitchen menu to disallow cooking of plump helmets until you have a healthy supply of seeds. Or, alternatively, just don't make any prepared meals until you've got a healthy supply of seeds. The other seed types require a lot more labor to use properly, and should probably wait until you have more dwarves in the fortress. You can buy seeds from the dwarven caravan for almost nothing, but if you want a greater variety along, go for rock nuts. The quarry bush that sprouts from it produces the greatest space to yield ratio in the game. Eventually, though, you should be planting all 6 of the underground crops at least.

Animals

Not only dwarves live in your fortress, after all.

  • Dogs: Dogs are dwarf's best friend. They can be trained into hunting dogs or war dogs, require no food or maintenance, and make good pets for your dwarves. Always bring at least 2. Genders alternate when picking them up, so 2 will give you a breeding pair that will have more puppies freely. They make fantastic security early and fantastic dwarfsaving distractions later on. Dogs will happily lay down their lives to protect their master, which is huge when it means one of your best legendary dwarves is running away from an angry goblin.
  • Cats: Cats provide a wonderful function in controlling vermin in the fort. Vermin can make your dwarves extremely unhappy, so some cats are more or less a requirement. The largest problem with cats, however, is that their population is very difficult to control. Cats will choose their own owners (without the dwarf in question's consent), and after they've done so, you cannot order them butchered to control their numbers. The resulting population explosion can clutter hallways and murder your framerate. The best thing to do is to put all stray cats and kittens in a cage (one will hold them all). You can then butcher them without running the risk of the cats adopting dwarves before the butcher gets around to them, and if vermin start to get out of hand, you can always release one or two to help. If you want vermin control from the start, bring just ONE cat so it cannot breed and cause a population problem early. However, immigrants will very commonly bring their pet cats to the fortress, so if you can live with vermin early, you'll likely get a cat for free within a year.
  • Beasts of burden (Horses, musk oxen, etc): You will get a breeding pair of these for free when you start the game (they pull your starting wagon), and they will breed just as fast as anything else, so don't bring any along, and don't be afraid to use that cage to contain their numbers. Unlike cats, dwarves must choose to adopt beasts of burden, which they won't do unless they have a particular affinity for the animal. That's fairly rare, so the vast majority of the beasts of burden in your fortress will stay strays.

Once again, check the starting builds page for more ideas, read the pages linked above, and experiment. The learning process is half the fun in Dwarf Fortress; enjoy it!

Sample games

These are sample games that others have played and recorded to provide good learning examples. They are not routinely updated, so some information may be out of date, but they still provide good hands-on tutorials of how to prepare for your fortress and play the game.

Indecisive's illustrated fortress mode tutorial
Savok's first fortress playthrough


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