v0.31:Burrow

Burrows are part of the new organization of fortresses, user-defined areas in your fort where selected dwarves live and work. You can assign these areas like zones and assign one or more dwarves to them. You may assign the same dwarf to multiple burrows, if desired. Dwarves will only use workshops, dig walls, use rooms, etc. in burrows they are assigned to, though dwarves not assigned to any burrow will still use workshops etc. even if they are located in a burrow assigned to some other dwarves.

Defining a new burrow

To enter the "define burrow" mode, press w.

You'll be presented with a list of all of your existing burrows. Change which burrow is selected with your secondary selection keys.

To add a new burrow to the list, press a. The new burrow created this way starts with no tiles and a default name.

To configure a burrow, select it and press enter. This is where you'll be able to set the burrow's name, define what tiles it encompasses, and add or remove individual dwarves. Defining the burrow's tiles can be done using rectangles much like other mass-selection or mass-designation situations elsewhere in the game, or you can paint with the mouse. Unlike other area selections, burrow selections can take place over multiple z-levels, meaning that you can select cubes, rather than rectangles; also unlike most other area selections, they may overlap. Press r to set whether you're adding or subtracting tiles from the burrow. You can also set the colors and symbols used for different burrows to help tell them apart. A burrow may span multiple Z levels, so long as a means of getting from one Z level to another is within the Burrow zone.

Unlike Template:Ls, burrows can also be extended through not-yet revealed tiles, thus allowing to designate "mining zones" for differently Template:Led miners.

Defending and restricting burrows

Full article: Template:L

Burrows are one of the ways you can give passive orders to Template:L and civilians during Template:L. Under the squad schedule menu (Press m s) you can add an order to any particular month for the chosen alert with o or edit their existing orders with e. On the Give Orders menu, use o to cycle through the orders given to squads. The order "Defend Burrows" cannot be given without first creating burrows to assign defenders to. Under a "Defend Burrows" order, dwarves in the squad are stationed in the specific area and will defend it proactively.

Similarly, civilians may be set to only operate within a burrow or set of burrows. They will only leave these burrows when they are dying of hunger/thirst. This is a nice way to ensure your dwarves will work in the mini-fortress you dug out for them (a bed, table/chair, and smelter near magma for example).

Pathfinding Problems

In ^v0.31.01 pathfinding problems can cause a variety of problems. A common symptom of a pathfinding problem is to see a large percentage of your dwarves suddenly go idle. This can be caused by a single dwarf that is stuck. There may be other things that will cause pathfinding problems as well. This subject is not terribly well understood just yet but here are some steps that may prove useful in resolving any issues that arise.

• save, exit, and reload your fortress clears many pathfinding issues. This is believed to be due to some sort of caching behavior with pathfinding.
• deleting all burrows can also be a solution when dwarves get stuck, once they are fixed you can attempt to recreate your burrows if desired.
• stripping all labors from a dwarf that is stuck may help shut him up long enough to rescue him.

Most (all?) pathfinding problems have been fixed in ^v0.31.03.