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23a:Labor
| This article is about an older version of DF. |
A Template:L's labor preferences define the tasks that he or she will do, whether it is Template:L, Template:L, Template:L, Template:L, Template:L, erecting Template:L, or any of dozens of other tasks. For instance, a dwarf with the Template:L labor enabled will cut down Template:L whenever trees are designated to be cut.
To change a dwarf's labor preferences, view the dwarf, then select preferences and labor.
The Template:L and Template:L labors require the dwarf to pick up and wield a Template:L or Template:L, respectively. For this reason, a dwarf cannot be assigned to both mining and woodcutting at the same time.
Note that a labor is not a Template:L. A job is the actual task of doing something, while a labor preference is simply whether a dwarf is allowed do the job or not. You can view a list of all current, queued, and suspended jobs on the jobs menu. A list of what job each dwarf is currently performing is visible on the units menu.
Default labors
All new arrivals at the fortress (including your initial seven dwarves) will have all the Template:L jobs turned on by default, as well as several other labors if they have a specific profession. The additional default labors for each profession are:
(Note: this is slightly incomplete/out of date)
| Profession | Labors |
| All |
|
| Miner | |
| Carpenter | |
| Mason | |
| Trapper | |
| Metalsmith | |
| Jeweler | |
| Craftsdwarf | |
| Fisherdwarf | |
| Farmer | |
| Mechanic | |
| None |
Labors and skills
Each labor may have several sub-Template:L associated with it, and may be needed to perform a variety of different tasks. The following is a list of labors, their associated skills, and where those tasks will be performed:
Other professions
Soldiers
Template:L (including those in the Template:L and Template:L) will not work at all: they will either stand at their station (if on duty) or, if standing down, wander around a lot, usually spending a lot of time Template:L in the Template:L (if you have built any) or shooting at Template:Ls (if they are armed with a Template:L). Soldiers will grow progressively unhappier if they remain on duty for too long.
Noble endeavors and child labor
Template:L and Template:L cannot be assigned any labors, although there are a small number of jobs they will do. These jobs may be performed by any available dwarf (except soldiers), although nobles and children are usually idle, so they often do take them before other dwarves do:
- Template:L Plants (if you have "All Dwarves Harvest" set on the [o]rders menu)
- Pull a Template:L
- Move Item to Template:L
- Move Item to Template:L
- Confine animals to (or release them from) Template:Ls/Template:Ls
- Clean Trap (when a Template:L has a creature stuck in it)
- Fill a Template:L
Periodically enabling "All Dwarves Harvest" for a few seconds (if you normally keep it disabled) is a good way to put nobles to work, especially when you have a backlog of unharvested Template:L which are threatening to wither.
Get back to work
On Break
Often dwarves will not work at all. They must periodically sleep, eat, and drink, and will sometimes go "On Break". If you do not supply them with Template:L, they will go on break far more often.
Attend Party
If you have built any Template:Ls, Template:Ls, or Template:Ls, dwarves may occasionally "Attend Party" and meet with other partygoing dwarves in these rooms. Whether this is done in place of being "On Break" is not known. Regardless, a party can be ended by "free"-ing the room at the Set Building Tasks screen ("q"); The dwarves are reset to "No Job" and resume work.
No Job
If dwarves are listed as having "No Job", they may be "between jobs", and will start a new task within a few seconds, or they may be lacking the right labor preferences to perform any available task. Tasks themselves may be held up by various things, including:
- Job-related materials are unavailable or unreachable (this is usually Template:L)
- One or another material is set to be "ignored" on the Template:L screen
- A backlog of unperformed Template:L tasks, causing all items to be inaccessible
- All relevant jobs being in Template:Led status; suspended jobs must always be restarted manually
If a dwarf is reported as having no job in an otherwise busy fortress, it may be stuck somewhere (for example, behind a floodgate or washed down the river).
Other non-productive tasks
Dwarves will also periodically do a variety of other less than productive tasks.
- "Check Chest" jobs are generated when there is a Template:L or Template:L installed in an unassigned room.
- "Pickup Equipment" is tasked whenever they are exchanging worn-out clothing for new items, have been assigned new Template:L or Template:L or need a Template:L or Template:L for mining and wood cutting jobs.
- "Store Owned Item" occurs when dwarves have both an object they Template:L (such as Template:L or discarded shoes) and a room to store it in.
- "Go Shopping" occurs when a dwarf needs a new piece of clothing post Template:L. Sometimes they will also just feel like buying a new trinket. Requires a Template:L.
Strange mood
Dwarves may spontaneously go into Template:Ls. Dwarves may become Template:L, Template:L, or Template:L. This is usually the outcome of a "failed" strange mood, and is never curable.
Tantrum
Very Unhappy or Miserable dwarves will often Template:L. This can be caused by the destruction of one of a dwarf's Template:Ls.
Rest (from injury)
Severely Template:L dwarves (with 'red' or 'yellow' injuries) will usually go to their beds to "Rest", where they will stay until their wounds recover. However, if their wounds are causing them pain or otherwise preventing them from sleeping, they may show "No Job", or sometimes they will get out of bed and tantrum instead. Dwarves with the Template:L labor turned on will bring them water in a Template:L to keep them from dehydrating and food to keep them from starvation.
Other oddities
- Pickup Equipment -- applies to soldiers or hunters changing weapons, or into a different armor level, or to pick up waterskins, backpacks, or quivers; also applies to miners and woodcutters picking up picks/axes.
- Constructing roads (once Template:L) -- I had an idle dwarf with "Farming (Fields)" and no other labors. When I added "Cleaning", he walked off to build a road. It's not clear which dwarves will build roads and which won't.