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40d:Expedition leader
Every fortress has one dwarf that is informally known as the leader. The leader is not chosen by the player (but the player can sometimes influence the selection). As the population of the fortress grows, the title and responsibilities of the leader change, and the dwarf who is leader may change also, but there is always just one, or will be again if the last one dies.
The leader is what is called an "appointed noble" position, meaning they come from the dwarfs within the existing population of your fortress, as opposed to immigrant nobles like a philosopher, hammerer or king who arrive from off-map. Your leader will perform any jobs you assign them as well as any other dwarf (unlike immigrant nobles).
At the start of a new game, the duties of Outpost Manager, Treasurer, and Outpost Broker are automatically assigned to the designated Leader. However, in the nobles screen, any of these can be replaced as the player wishes. With a small fortress, these positions often consume very little time, so it is common to leave some or all to the leader, at least to start, but they are separate and not to be confused with the position and duties of "your leader".
Expedition Leader
| Room requirements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Office | None | |
| Quarters | None | |
| Dining room | None | |
| Tomb | None | |
| Furniture requirements | ||
| Chests | None | |
| Cabinets | None | |
| Weapon racks | None | |
| Armor stands | None | |
| Other | ||
| Mandates | None | |
| Demands | None | |
| Arrival conditions | ||
| ||
| Function | ||
| ||
Every fortress starts with an Expedition Leader, a low-grade noble position that is automatically appointed when you start your game. It is not possible to choose a new expedition leader while the current one remains alive. Your first expedition leader is semi-randomly chosen from the starting dwarves. Giving one dwarf social skills will greatly increase the chance that this dwarf is chosen as the leader, otherwise it is completely random.
If your Expedition Leader is slain and you do not choose a new one from the nobles screen, a new dwarf will be automatically, semi-randomly designated for the job after about half a season.
When the population of a fort reaches 50, the expedition leader becomes the Mayor.
Duties in common
Both Expedition Leaders and Mayors have only one real duty, and that is meeting with other dwarfs. The other dwarf will attempt to schedule a meeting with the Leader. An "Attend Meeting" job will be started for the other dwarf, and a "Conduct Meeting" job will be started for the Leader, if they are not doing anything else. If a dwarf is following your leader around and around, chances are they want to meet with them but the leader is too busy with other jobs to do it. (The dwarf who wants the meeting will have the "Attend Meeting" job showing, even if the leader has not yet joined in the process.)
If the leader is interrupted out of their Conduct Meeting, the Attend Meeting dwarfd has been known to get stuck. Assigning that dwarf to the military, and then unassigning them, usually fixes this, if with an unhappy thought if they are not a soldier.
Dwarfs want to meet for important reasons (to them, at least), and ignoring them is not a good plan. This can possibly cause the dwarf to become depressed or go berserk if they are ignored long enough. Be warned that if your Expedition Leader is set to perform any other tasks, he may be too busy to conduct a meeting, or not soon enough to suit the other party. If this is occurring, it is strongly recommended that all jobs be turned off for the leader until all meetings are over. In extreme situations, if the leader is asleep, deconstructing the bed will wake them (and give them an unhappy thought). If they are in a party, undefining/deconstructing the furniture that defines the meeting area will break up that party.
The leader meets with other dwarfs for one of two reasons:
- 1) They meet with a liaison to discuss trade arrangements or other political issues. (Human liaisons will only meet with the designated broker to discuss trade issues - they have no refined sense of etiquette.)
- In the process, the Leader uses the following skills:
- 2) They meet with seriously unhappy dwarfs to listen to their complaints, and (hopefully) make them feel better. You can think of him as something like your fortress psychiatrist in this manner.
- When a dwarf has experienced a personal loss, or is just fed up with the general conditions, a good leader can talk them down from the ledge, and get them back to work.
Complaining will give the complainer a happy thought, while giving the leader an unhappy one (and most probably save much worse in the complainer). No un/happy thoughts are generated while meeting with liaisons.
Mayor
| Room requirements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Office | Decent Office | |
| Quarters | Decent Quarters | |
| Dining room | Decent Dining Room | |
| Tomb | None | |
| Furniture requirements | ||
| Chests | 2 | |
| Cabinets | 1 | |
| Weapon racks | 1 | |
| Armor stands | 1 | |
| Other | ||
| Mandates | None | |
| Demands | None | |
| Arrival conditions | ||
| ||
| Function | ||
| ||
When the population of a fortress reaches 50, the Expedition leader automatically becomes the Mayor, another, similar appointed noble position.
After a period of time, the fortress's dwarves may elect a new Mayor, who will demand improved accomodations accordingly. The former Mayor will revert to the job they had previously and will no longer require those rooms. Becoming Mayor gives a happy thought. Dwarves currently in the military are not eligible to be elected as mayor.
The amount of friends a dwarf may be the main factor in his election to the office of Mayor. It is quite possible for a dwarf with no social skills to be elected over a dwarf who has them.
A Mayor will sometimes makes mandates, which can include banning exports or producing certain goods. If a new Mayor is elected when a mandate is in effect, that mandate will end, and no dwarves will be punished for not meeting it.
Migrant/promoted Nobles
Countesses and Counts, Duchesses and Dukes, Baronesses and Barons, and Queens and Kings may immigrate to your fortress, or be promoted from lesser titles. Liasons will meet with them rather than your Mayor, but the Mayor will still remain the "leader" of your fortress, and still bear the duties of meeting with unhappy dwarfs.
Adventure Mode - Human mayors
In Adventure mode, Human towns each have their own Mayor, and almost every one of them is a master of a weapon skill. The Mayors give quests out to adventurers, and no matter how much you might plead they never join adventurers on their travels.