40d:Quality

All items in the game have a base value, which is multiplied by what material the item is made of and by the item's quality. Decorations (such as bone, gems, and studding) further increase the value.

Item quality can have an effect on an item's properties, especially armor and weapons.

All crafted items (furniture, armor, bolts, etc.) – but not intermediate materials (bars, blocks, etc. except cloth, which does have quality levels) – are bracketed by characters that show the quality of their craftsdwarfship. Dyeing also has a quality level, as does Decorating/Encrusting (with gems, leathers, cloth, etc). Prepared foods have quality levels. Alcohol has a hidden quality that controls the amount of happiness a dwarf gets from drinking it. It is not known whether or not masterful alcohol can cause tantrums.

Designation	Description	Value Modifier	Damage / To-Hit / Armor Modifier
Item Name	—	×1	×1.0
-Item Name-	Well-crafted	×2	×1.2
+Item Name+	Finely-crafted	×3	×1.4
*Item Name*	Superior quality	×4	×1.6
≡Item Name≡	Exceptional	×5	×1.8
☼Item Name☼	Masterful	×12	×2.0

When a masterful quality item is created, the game will announce, "<dwarf> has created a masterpiece!" Such a masterpiece will cause the dwarf that created it to tantrum for a year if it is ever lost or destroyed. Masterpiece meals can be eaten safely, although allowing the food to rot will cause a tantrum. Using up masterpiece bolts will not cause a tantrum either; nor does trading them away to merchants. Since legendary dwarves are most likely to be the ones creating masterpieces, keeping these creations safe should be high priority; tantruming legendary dwarves can be very difficult to subdue.

Artifact items have a unique name instead of bracketing symbols and are worth 120x base value. They have a higher combat modifier than Masterful items, although the specific modifier is unknown.