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v0.31:Ghost
 | This feature has one or more outstanding bugs. Please view the Bugs section for details. |
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After the death of an intelligent creature or a dwarf, its soul may occasionally come back as a ghost. In a Dwarven fortress, dead dwarves have a chance of returning as ghosts if they are not properly buried or memorialized after their death. Ghosts often take to haunting their relatives and friends, following them around on the same tile, as well as lingering wistfully near areas they frequented in life or the spot they died. However, not all ghosts bear their anguish calmly.
Even babies can become ghosts and there are currentv31.18 reports that ghosts can grow up and even die of old age.
Ghosts are able to pass through walls and cannot be harmed by atom-smashing. They can be targeted in the Squad kill screen (s,k) even though they won't actually be attacked. Ghosts can be dismissed by burying the remains or by building engraving rock slabs in memory of the deceased.
Paranormal Activity
Ghosts haunting the fortress will occasionally perform some of the following actions, based on their temperament:
- <ghost> sucks the wind out of <dwarf>
- <ghost> raises a high fever in <dwarf>
- <ghost> makes <dwarf> convulse and retch
- <ghost> inflicts excruciating pain upon <dwarf>
- <ghost> causes a spell of dizziness in <dwarf>
- <ghost> paralyzes <dwarf>
- <ghost> stuns <dwarf>
- <dwarf> is throwing a tantrum, possessed by <ghost>
- <ghost> has risen and is haunting the fortress!
- <ghost> is following <dwarf>
- <item> has been misplaced. No doubt <ghost> is to blame!
- <ghost> is throwing objects around the fortress!
- <ghost> can be heard howling throughout the fortress!
The ghost's activities will in large part be determined by the nature of its death. The following table summarizes the different types of ghosts.
| Type | Cause | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Murderous Ghost | Berserk | Murders dwarves. |
| Sadistic Ghost | Berserk | Batters, scares and paralyses dwarves. Capable of scaring a dwarf to death. |
| Violent Ghost | Berserk | Batters dwarves. |
| Angry Ghost | Berserk | Batters dwarves. |
| Moaning Spirit | ??? | Troubles one unfortunate dwarf at a time. |
| Howling Spirit | ??? | Makes sleeping difficult. |
| Secretive Poltergeist | ??? | Misplaces Items. |
| Energetic Poltergeist | ??? | Topples furniture, such as chairs. |
| Troublesome Poltergeist | ??? | Misplaces items, may topple furniture and pull levers.confirm? |
| Restless Haunt | Troubled life history. | Drifts around place of death and frequented locations. Also haunts dwarves, causing unhappy thoughts. |
| Forlorn Haunt | "Accidental" death | Drifts around place of death and frequented locations. |
Science on Ghosts
Cave-ins do not kill ghosts, perhaps because they can walk through walls already.
Ghosts are put to rest when any part of their body is put in a burial receptacle. For example, should a dwarf lose a toe in a fight before dying, the toe can be recovered to put its ghost to rest. Alternatively, if the body is unavailable for burial (due to danger ETC), a slab (mason workshop) may be carved into a memorial (crafts workshop) and built to put the spirit to rest. Burial in a coffin is generally a much less time consuming process due to the fewer number of steps and the fact that it potentially removes a body from somewhere unwanted in or around your fortress.
Bugs
Some ghost names can't be engraved on slabs, and some slabs can be engraved for nameless creatures. Bug:3708