- v50 information can now be added to pages in the main namespace. v0.47 information can still be found in the DF2014 namespace. See here for more details on the new versioning policy.
- Use this page to report any issues related to the migration.
40d:Noble
- For information on Nobles in the soon-to-be released version of Dwarf Fortress, see here.
Nobles are good for nothing piles of turd dwarves that do pretty much nothing, except for demanding everything have "special duties" in addition to or instead of the duties of normal dwarves. Some nobles also have various privileges that normal dwarves do not, and will demand certain accommodations, like a better office.
Settings specific to each noble can be set on the Nobles & Administrators Screen, accessible via the n key.
Appointed Nobles
These are nobles that rise from your body of existing dwarves. With the exception of the Leader/Mayor, you can appoint or replace any at any time through the nobles & administrators screen.
See main articles for more information in all cases.
Expedition Leader / Mayor
- Listens to the complaints of other dwarves to make them happier. Uses social skills. Needs an office in order to meet with outpost liaisons. It is not possible to reassign this post – at least while the original holder of the title remains alive. Your initial expedition leader is automatically chosen for you before the game starts based largely on administrative and social skills. A starting dwarf given just Novice level in appraisal is usually selected for this job, and additional, similar skills almost ensure it 100%.
You can only appoint a new Expedition Leader if your original is slain. If you do not choose a new one, a random dwarf will be semi-randomly selected for the job after about half a season.
-
- Automatically promoted from expedition leader at 50 dwarves. Unlike the expedition leader, he requires decent housing and will make mandates. The position of mayor is up for election every couple of years, but the existing mayor can be re-elected. This election is apparently influenced heavily by the number of friends your dwarfs have at the time of the election, and can sometimes result in non-optimal selections (mayors with no appropriate skills whatsoever elected over well-qualified candidates), but the process is not completely understood.
Outpost broker
- Utilizes the appraiser skill and social skills. Is the person you send to the depot to do your trading. Lets you see the imported/exported wealth of your fortress.
- Outpost Broker changes title according to the status of your fortress.
The Broker has no office requirements, also, traits that allow for the broker to develop the necessary skills are in often times opposite of those that make a good Manager, it is smart to separate the two responsibilities.
You want your brokers have low cooperation as it will enhance their intimidate skill, where you want your Manager to have high cooperation as it will enhance their pacifier skill. It's fine if your brokers to have low honesty because they develop the liar skill, where you want your Manager to have high honesty so they develop Flatter, however Flatterer appears to be useful in trading as well.
Manager
- Utilizes the organizer skill. Allows the use of item build queues through the jobs -> manager screen. Will need an office to do this (validating work orders) once your fortress has twenty dwarves.
- Changes title according to the status of your fortress.
Bookkeeper
- Utilizes the record keeper skill. Lets you see the stocks of your fortress. Needs to do occasional jobs in an office of their own if you want precise stock keeping: otherwise, stock numbers will only be precise to one significant figure (e.g., 7163 -> 7000, 7823 -> 8000).
- Upgrades to treasurer at 100,000 fortress wealth.
- Further upgrades to grand treasurer at 200,000 fortress wealth.
- Further upgrades to hoardmaster at 300,000 fortress wealth.
The same office can be used to both take stock and to conduct meetings, for both the bookkeeper and the manager, early it is fine to have these two responsibilities shared by the same dwarf, saving on real estate and decorating costs in the early game. Later though as your fort increases you will want to separate them so bookkeeping isn't taking your managers time.
Sheriff
- You may choose a dwarf to become the Sheriff after your fortress reaches a population of 20.
- Captain of the guard: Promoted from the sheriff once you reach 50 dwarves, along with the mayor. Activates fortress guard.
Immigrant Nobles
These nobles appear in immigration waves and can never be appointed or replaced* by the player.
- (* unless the player arranges for an unfortunate accident.)
See main articles for more information in all cases.
King / Queen
Ruler of your parent civilization and upgrades your fort to Mountainhome. Will usually arrive with an entourage...
Royal Consort
Occasionally same gender as the King, although this has been fixed in the dev log.
Advisor
Arrives with the King's entourage.
Baron(ess)
Arrives at 80 dwarves and an unverified exported wealth.
- Activates the dwarven economy.
- Upgrades to Count(ess) at 110.
- Upgrade to Duke/Duchess at 140. [Verify]
Baron(ess) Consort
Arrives with the Baron(ess).
- Upgrades to Count Consort at 110.
- Upgrades to Duke/Duchess Consort at 140.
Duke / Duchess
Duke/Duchess Consort
Count
Count/Countess Consort
Dungeon master
Trains and cares for animals and performs miscellaneous metalsmithing tasks.
Hammerer
He or she will enforce the law with a mighty hammer. Arrives either at 80 dwarves or with the Baron (equivalent). (Arrival trigger unknown - appears with the Count and the Countess generally.)
Philosopher
Has no labor options turned on, but has no requirements and makes no mandates. He is basically a child who is "wise".
Tax collector
Arrives either at 80 dwarves or with the Baron (equivalent).
Room Requirements
The nobles require various rooms assigned to them. If you're running out of time and your noble is starting to get angry, here are some tips on increasing the value of the room quickly. As a quick reference, here is a summary of those rooms:
| Noble | Quarters | Dining Room | Office | Tomb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advisor | Great Bedroom | Great Dining Room | Throne Room | — |
| Baron(ess) | Decent Bedroom | Decent Dining Room | Decent Office | Tomb |
| Baron(ess)'s consort | Decent Bedroom | Decent Dining Room | — | Tomb |
| Bookkeeper | — | — | Meager Office | — |
| Captain of the guard | Quarters | Dining Room | Office | — |
| Count(ess) | Great Bedroom | Great Dining Room | Throne Room | Mausoleum |
| Count consort | Great Bedroom | Great Dining Room | — | Mausoleum |
| Duke | Grand Bedroom | Grand Dining Room | Opulent Throne Room | Grand Mausoleum |
| Duke Consort | Grand Bedroom | Grand Dining Room | — | Grand Mausoleum |
| Dungeon Master | Quarters | Dining Room | Office | Burial Chamber |
| Hammerer | Quarters | Dining Room | — | — |
| King/Queen | Royal Bedroom | Royal Dining Room | Royal Throne Room | Royal Mausoleum |
| King/Queen Consort | Royal Quarters | Royal Dining Room | — | Royal Mausoleum |
| Manager | — | — | Meager Office | — |
| Mayor | Decent Quarters | Decent Dining Room | Decent Office | — |
| Broker | — | — | — | — |
| Sheriff | Modest Quarters | Modest Dining Room | Modest Office | — |
| Tax Collector | Modest Quarters | Modest Dining Room | Office | — |
Meager Offices
The easiest way to give dwarves a meager office is simply to assign them a single seat in your communal dining room, making the designated "office" 1-tile large.
Noble Spouses
It may be worth assigning an empty noble position to the spouse of another noble, so that they'll share the grand bedroom and then you don't have to build one for each.