Factions govern how creatures will react upon each other's presence. The world is full of dangers for your unfortunate dwarves and it seems that nearly everything is trying to kill them; fortunately, said dangers are also hostile to each other most of the time. Confrontations between such opposed factions happen in both fortress and adventure mode; the wise player will see to it that they weaken each other instead of ganging up against one's fort or adventurer.

Faction relative hostility

The table below shows the behaviour of different factions when confronted:

	Dwarves	Elves	Humans	Goblins	Kobolds	Necromancers	Undead	Wildlife	Cave civs²	(Semi-)Megabeasts	Demons	Werebeasts³
Dwarves	Friendly	Friendly¹	Friendly¹	Hostile¹	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Variable	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile
Elves	Friendly¹	Friendly	Friendly¹	Hostile¹	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Friendly	Variable	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile
Humans	Friendly¹	Friendly¹	Friendly	Hostile¹	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Variable	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile
Goblins	Hostile¹	Hostile¹	Hostile¹	Friendly	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Variable	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile
Kobolds	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Friendly	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile
Necromancers	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Friendly	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile
Undead	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Friendly	Friendly	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile
Wildife	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Friendly	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile
Cave civs	Variable	Variable	Variable	Variable	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Friendly	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile
(Semi-)Megabeasts	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Friendly	Hostile	Hostile
Demons	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Friendly	Hostile
Werebeasts	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Hostile	Variable³

¹Advanced civilizations are subject to the mechanisms of diplomacy and may routinely go at war and conclude peace treaties depending on worldgen and according to each civ's ethics. On the one hand, war against elves or humans is not that uncommon; on the other hand goblins will almost always be hostile toward everyone else. ²Cave civilizations can be either hostile or friendly toward your dwarves. They often become friendly when confronted with a megabeast. Note that this behaviour does not apply to most animal people, who are simply treated as wildlife.

³Werebeasts will switch factions from whatever civilization they belong to under their normal form to a special, species-dependent faction on full moon. Werebeasts from different species will attack each other.

Due to their [BABYSNATCHER] tag, goblins will be almost always at war with other civilizations; megabeasts and semi-megabeasts are neutral toward each other, but will try to kill everything else they can find - whether it be in worldgen, adventure mode or fortress mode. Undead creatures will attack every creature that isn't undead due to their [OPPOSED_TO_LIFE] tag. Kobolds are unable to speak besides in utterances and are thus at war with everyone else - note that if you start as a kobold in Adventure Mode when they are available you will be unable to speak to anyone and other kobolds will attack you on sight because they won't be able to talk to you either.

There are exceptions to the above table: most notably, foreign creatures occupying a noble position in a civ for whatever reason (e.g. demons that have impersonated a god to take control of human civs, or necromancer kings) will behave in the same way any other civ member would toward your dwarves or adventurer. Hence the ludicrous possibilities for a demon to visit your fortress as a diplomat (or join you in your adventures) or a friendly necromancer inadvertently wreaking havoc on your fortress by raising corpses whenever it can.

Loyalty cascade

Loyalty cascades are the result of entity members attacking each other. The conflict will escalate into a full civil war and won't resolve until one side of the conflict is wiped out. Loyalty cascades can be triggered in both fortress and adventure mode.

If you order your military to kill merchants from your own civilization, a bizarre result of the the way loyalty is handled makes the members of your military who attacked the traders to become enemies of your civilization, but members of your fort's government (Dwarves of this Faction will henceforth be referred to as separatists). As enemies, they attack your other dwarves (citizens), but as members of the fort, they still follow orders. Allowing citizen militia dwarves to attack the separatists will give them opposite loyalties of the separatists, (i.e. loyal to civ, not to fort), or loyalists, who do NOT follow orders. And then, if a separatist or loyalist kill a citizen, they become enemies of the civ AND fort, making them Renegades, who are essentially complete enemies of the citizens.

To prevent the cascade from spreading, order the original separatists away from the fortress and let them fight amongst themselves. If the results are renegades, it is okay to allow other dwarves to kill them (by stationing them nearby). If the results are separatists/loyalists, then you will need to separate them somehow.

Dwarves from these different "factions" will cancel jobs if they ever come across one another, each running away. This will likely lead to a massive number of job interruption announcements reading Urist McDwarf cancels Eat: Interrupted by Farmer

NOTE: Tame Animals are loyal to civ and fort indefinitely due to a bug, so they can be used to kill off separatists/loyalists without repercussions.

NOTE: Be advised that if one of your dwarves turns into a werebeast and you send your military to kill him while shapeshifted, failing to kill (and allowing the dwarf to revert back to normal) may cause a loyalty cascade.

v0.34:Faction

Faction relative hostility

Loyalty cascade

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