v50.14 · v0.47.05

This article is about the current version of DF.
Note that some content may still need to be updated.

A hybrid playstyle is one that combines both Fortress and Adventure mode in order to achieve some durable, persistent goals in one's world. In hybrid play, one chains fortresses and adventurers in order to have a specific effect on a world and unlock new features in either mode, and generally improve one's immersion in a given world.

History

In the earliest versions of Dwarf Fortress, a hybrid playstyle was the norm: you were supposed to build a fortress, which would inevitably die because the game was much harsher and less unforgiving back then. Then an adventurer would explore the ruins of the fortress and slay monsters there. The wealth created by the fortress would set a maximum high score, and the wealth looted by the adventurer from that fortress would be the final score.

However, as Fortress mode got increased attention, the game took an increasingly simulationist bent and much of the simulation occurred in Fortress mode, while in Adventure mode more or less nothing happened on its own. The fact that you couldn't leave a fortress without abandoning it to ruins severely limited any kind of transition between game modes.

The world activation release and subsequent ones changed everything, as it became possible to retire a fortress without abandoning it, and NPCs now have an agenda of their own and don't wait for the adventurer to do anything. Moreover, both game modes became less and less decoupled, as any action in one mode could have lasting repercussions in the other. In this context, switching from one game mode to the other is more seamless than ever and makes it increasingly easy to tailor a desired effect on one's world, exploring ever-deeper aspects of the game.

Examples

Weapon manufacture

Probably the earliest and most obvious application. Most weapons created in worldgen kinda suck. Only dwarves have access to steel and they only make short-sized clothing, which can be a problem if you are playing a human adventurer. Generally speaking it can be hard and tedious to find a complete set of high enough quality for your adventuring party.

A solution is to simply create a fortress whose sole purpose is to make steel armor of all sizes, adamantine edged weapons and silver warhammers. This, combined with clever manipulation of moodable skills can also lead to the creation of artifact-quality gear. Once you have enough gear, simply retire the fortress, go there with your adventuring party and help yourself.

Custom stairway to the Underworld

Navigating goblin pits can be laggy and dangerous, it can be much more convenient to start a fortress and dig straight to the underworld so your adventurer can later find an easy way there.

Siege them yourself

Tired of goblins harassing you? Can't afford those precious military dwarves in raids? Just retire your fortress, start a monstrous adventuring party complete with pets like elephants and charge the goblin sites yourself. With tactical mode and careful micromanagement you can take down any force, and if your party has necromancers you're easily guaranteed to win. In the worst case there should be depopulated enough so as not to trouble you anymore.

Super-soldier army

Training takes time, dwarves are fickle... why not have tailor-made soldiers? Start an adventuring party of demigods with maxed out military skills, train them as long as necessary and retire at the fortress you want to play. As a bonus, your adventuring party can be made of any available race, so you can fully enjoy the bonuses offered by some, such as goblins' no need for food or drink, giant elephant people's tremendous size, spider people's lack of fear, and so on.

Necromancer fortress

Raiding necromancer towers can sometimes bring books containing the secrets of life and death. More often, they will bring useless biographies and monographs, or worse, a slab that your dwarves won't read. Shortcut the process by becoming a necromancer with an adventurer, picking up the books at a tower and bringing them to the fortress you want to 'transform'. Your dwarves will read these books at your library and will progressively all turn into necromancers.

Unlock playable races

Any race from an [ALL_MAIN_POPS_CONTROLLABLE] civilization is playable in adventure mode. In most standard games, this includes dwarves, elves, and humans. However, other races become playable if a civilization controls a site with a population from that race. This means goblins, kobolds, and even angels - if you successfully conquer a vault (or dark pit or a cave), you will be able to start Adventure mode as an angel, kobold, or goblin.

Resurrect adventurers

If the body of one of your dead adventurers gets raised as intelligent undead, for instance by a new necromancer adventurer, the adventurer will become playable and unretirable again. You can also resurrect fallen citizens of a retired fortress this way.

Playable demon

http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=51245.msg8077356#msg8077356 http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=51245.msg8077330#msg8077330

Make a fort.
Retire.
Make a (flying) adventurer with the background be part of the fort
Retire adventurer
Un-retire fort.
Make adventurer, who is now part of the fort, the expedition leader, and military commander
Retire fort
Take adventurer down to the underworld via e.g. a previously dug down tunnel
Make demon an expedition leader

That kind of demon should now be playable.

Recruit literally anyone to your fort or party

Giving intelligent creatures nobility titles seems to bypass their base hostility and have them behave as a proper entity member, so the above trick can be used to recruit literally any intelligent creature that can talk to your fortress (or adventuring party) and make its race playable. That includes bogeymen. http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=51245.msg8202218#msg8202218 And night trolls. http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=165213.msg8249958#msg8249958

Missions and quests

Missions are just quests in disguise.

make fort, be sure to set a sheriff(might require a fortress guard, not sure) with a little sheriff's office(other wise it'll be a pain to find them back)
make hearthsperson at fort.
talk to sheriff and ask assignment.
retire adventurer in fort
unretire fort, look at mission screen.

More science remains to be done to see if creating a mission but not sending out a squad will make it possible for adventurers to receive that mission.

Intercepting sieges

Armies physically move on the map, including those sent in to siege you. If you retire a fort and unretire an adventuring party from there, you should be able to intercept armies sent to your fort and beat them up before they even arrive. Or you could watch the siege play out, but from a very different perspective than normal fortress mode. Note that megabeasts teleport, so this trick won't work with them.

Bridging oceans

Embarking on a single ocean tile separating two landmasses will connect those landmasses for the purpose of trade, armies, and so on. (If the landmasses are separated by two tiles, simply embark on each one.) This can open new opportunities (and dangers) for future fortresses who will gain new neighbors. Building an actual bridge will let future adventurers go across it and explore a whole new continent. This trick also works for 'impassable' mountain ranges.

Hybrid playstyle

Contents