Editing Adventure mode quick start

This guide provides step-by-step instruction for those who have never played ''Dwarf Fortress'' in '''Adventure Mode''' before. It assumes that you have already installed the game and can navigate the menus on your own, but no significant knowledge of how to play adventure mode is required - see the full [[adventure mode]] documentation for additional details.

It is advised not to stop the world generation before the full 125 years of the short history option, as it might reduce equipment options.

After choosing {{DFtext|Start Playing|7:1}} and {{DFtext|Adventurer|7:1}}, the game will simulate two weeks of game time in the world. After that, the first steps in starting an [[adventure mode]] game are to choose the [[race]] and status of your adventurer, then their [[civilization]]. All major races can complete the same quests, though larger creatures generally do better in combat. What you really want, though, is to start as a member of a [[dwarven]] civilization, or at least a [[human]] one; this will give you access to the best equipment.

Your [[name]] has little bearing on gameplay, so that can be freely selected with {{k|e}}, {{k|c}}, and {{k|r}}. If you customize your first name, people may comment on how unusual it is. If you define something in every category at the start, then your name won't grow with [[Name#Epithets|fame]], though it can change with infamy.  Similarly; [[gender]] rarely makes a difference in gameplay, and can be changed with {{k|g}} – for most playable races, the only differences are the presence of [[beard]]s and [[Gelder|geldables]].  A few [[animal people]] races have more significant differences, such as [[moose]] people, where males are up to 2/3 larger and have a gore attack.

Your home determines where you start, as well as the available occupations and beliefs. Dwarven fortresses, [[mountain halls]], and some sites taken over from other civilizations can be hard to navigate out of, and sites with many inhabitants can negatively affect [[framerate]].

Occupation determines some free starting [[skill]]s and possibly a starting weapon; [[hunter]] and [[ranger]], for example, add some skills that are useful in combat. A [[hearthperson]] starts as a member of the local military and can receive orders from their superior, if the latter can be found. Many other occupations cannot currently be practiced in adventurer mode.

Beliefs determine if you worship a [[deity]], and are a member of any [[religion]]. Being more than a casual worshiper of a deity can add the need to pray, which can easily be done by [[talking]] to them.

For the purpose of this quick start, the remaining attributes don't contribute anything to survival. Later, you may want to start with different attributes, but these are a safe starting point. These suggestions focus on attributes used in combat; while combat skills are the easiest to raise in-game, spending time training would not be a 'quick start'.

See the [[combat skill]], [[swimmer]], and [[reader]] pages for in-depth explanations of the suggested skills. The following explains these particular suggestions: Swords have both slash and stab attacks and are not very expensive; other [[weapon]]s can be better at one of those attacks, but not both, and, other than the war hammer, are more expensive. '''Fighter''' to improve the accuracy of all melee attacks. '''Observer''' to see what an opponent is doing, and react to it. Without at least Novice '''Swimmer''', it will be very easy to drown, higher levels just increase speed. '''Shield User''' to increase the chance of a successful block, '''Armor User''' to reduce the speed penalty of the weight of worn armor. '''Wrestler''' for when you want to take down an opponent, or remove their armor. '''Reader''' because there is no way to gain the skill in-game. The Hunter occupation is suggested mostly for Dodger, although Ambusher is good for sneaking; crossbows in adventurer mode are not very useful, so Marksdwarf will probably go unused. If you chose an occupation that does not provide '''Dodger''', it is a vital skill for survival, so reduce Observer and Armor User one level, and spend those points on Dodger.

Which skills are available is dependent on the character's civilization, though, combat skills can be developed in-game, even from no skill. For a quick start, these are good skills to keep you alive; to that end, defensive skills are critical to survival, including '''Observer'''.

=== Appearance & Personality ===

Certain [[personality trait]]s can add [[needs]], which, if satisfied, can give an adventurer focus - managing needs and achieving higher focus can be valuable in combat and possibly other endeavors. But, with too extreme a personality, an adventurer craves for their urges to be satisfied more - E.g: someone that highly values nature will become unsatisfied when they do not see animals often enough, although they do not need to have all of their needs satisfied at once to be focused, depending on how unsatisfied the others are.

The suggested changes remove all needs except ''Be extravagant'', which can be satisfied just by putting on an item with any above-standard [[quality]] level, even if it was just taken off, and which one can start with. Setting traits to create a {{DFtext|Moderate Need|2:1}} may be best, so that any one unmet need does not overpower the satisfied needs. Other needs may be hard or even impossible to satisfy - see the [[need]]s page. A need to pray may automatically be added depending on the character's background - this can be satisfied just by talking to their [[deity]], even just a greeting. It is also possible to gain needs in-game by changing values when arguing, and it seems to '''not''' be possible to remove them. Not all values and personalities have a corresponding need.

=== Equipment & Mounts and pets ===

Waterskins will start filled with water. Some items will already be in containers, other items will start in the hands; the latter includes alcohol, so the first thing to do in-game is to put those in containers with {{k|p}}. Any points not used will be converted to [[coins]], so if you have many points remaining, you may want to spend them on gems, as they are much lighter, and better for trading. Adventurers may still start with a few coins, even if all points were spent.

=== Party members & Summary ===

Once you get to the last page ({{DFtext|Mounts and pets}}) of a typical character creation screen, you can add a new member to your party by pressing {{k|N}}; the option only appears when you finish the first character, and is greyed out until you finish subsequent characters. You can swap between customizing different party members at any time using {{k|TAB}}. You can have characters start with items (that they 'don't need', or whatever RP reason) to give to other party members from different civilizations in the game, but armor and clothing will be [[size|sized]] for the character starting with it.

You will usually start your adventure in a peasant hut (if you're a '''Peasant''') or a mead hall in a keep (if you're a {{DFtext|Hearthperson}}). You can talk to nearby people using the {{k|k}} key, and {{DFtext|Inquire about any troubles}} to learn of any quests you can take on. Some of the more common types you may be told about are:

* '''[[Bandit]]s''' -  groups of people who menace people in nearby sites, out of the reach of civilization. They usually hang out in [[camp]]s (shown by a {{Tile|{{DB}}|6:0:1}} on the map). Killing bandits is a great way to raise your reputation, as nobody cares what happens to them.

So far, you've been traveling around at normal scale, but this can be very slow for traveling between geographical regions. Using {{k|T}} will open the fast-travel screen and enable you to roam the land very quickly - the uppermost bar here indicates the position of the sun.

Use {{k|m}} to open a zoomed-out overview map to help further navigation; this key cycles between the most-zoomed-out "sepia tone" world map and no secondary map when traveling between sites, and in sites it cycles between a list of notable buildings where you're standing, the region map (your main map when not near a site), and the most-zoomed-out world map.

You will get hungry or thirsty after some time, indicated by the {{DFtext|Hungry|6:0}} or {{DFtext|Thirsty|1:0}} attributes respectively. As you should know, when this appears, it's time for a snack. To eat or drink, press {{k|e}} and locate some food - it can be anything, as long as it's actually food - you can "eat" something like a sword, but the dialog will say "You lick the sword", and you will not get less hungry or thirsty.

When approaching a target, it's usually best to wait using {{k|.}} to wait 10 instants (or {{k|,}} to wait just one) once you get close, and let your target come to you so you can get the first shot on them. Positioning can be important, because you don't want to let enemies attack you from the side (or behind!) and you should also try to move so that you're never fighting more than one opponent at a time. Green symbols that may appear next to you or others show the direction in which people are headed, which can be useful in positioning yourself.

If you find yourself being shot at with ranged weapons, put a tree, hill, or other terrain feature between you and the archer, and wait for some melee-equipped opponents to come to you. Your followers will probably not be so smart, though.

 

For your first fight, you may want to let your companions take the lead anyway, though, as you may not have any decent armor yet. Press {{k|.}} or {{k|,}} to skip instants, if you want to wait in one spot and let your friends advance and soften up some enemies first. If you want to be useful while sitting back and letting your friends charge in first, use {{k|t}} to throw objects such as rocks (freely available on outdoor [[pebbles]] tiles by pressing {{k|g}}) at your opponent.

If one of your companions dies, no big deal - you can just take their stuff by pressing {{k|g}},  then get another follower later. If they die and you're outnumbered, just run away and come back later with new companions.

Taking out an arm or hand can disarm your foe, cutting off a foot or leg will knock the opponent down and severely limit their movement, and anything else causing severe pain can cause the opponent to lose consciousness, making a follow-up headshot very easy. Cutting off the weapon arms and/or a leg means they're almost as good as dead, so take note of what will most easily neutralize the threat before killing it. You may want to ignore such disabled opponents for a while, and help your companions disable uninjured enemies.

Throat-strangling is a very effective way of killing single targets, or to even the odds when you find yourself outnumbered. To begin, carefully {{k|A}}ttack the enemy, then, after choosing your target, hit {{k|b}} to start wrestling. It's advisable to choose an empty hand as the body part you use to wrestle with (although limbs can work too), as well as not attempting this against anything much larger than you. Scroll through the list of targets and select the throat, then grab it. After doing this, press {{k|,}} to wait for one tick (or start some other action then cancel it) and a combat notification should pop up, hopefully saying you grabbed your opponent by the throat. Now do the same thing, but this time; a new option to "wrestle with" your hand should be in the wrestling menu. Choose that and pick the option to choke the throat. Now, repeat all this one more time, except this time the option will say "strangle throat". You may have to strangle a few times, but your opponent will very quickly fall unconscious, letting you murder them at your leisure, or ignore them to focus on other threats. The greatest strength of this technique is that every action after grabbing the enemy the first time is very fast compared to normal attacks, making strangulation one of the safest ways to deal with multiple armored foes. The downside, ironically, is that it's ''too efficient''. Enemies tend to go down very quickly, and attacks on unconscious enemies don't raise any skills, so you get very little experience. As such, early on it's probably best to save strangling for when you're outnumbered, against heavily armored enemies, or anyone who seems particularly dangerous.

For armored areas, either avoid attacking them, or attempt stabbing or blunt force rather than slashing.

* '''Frequently, your weapon will get "lodged in the wound" making it unavailable for another attack until you free it.''' To free the weapon, use the directional keys to step away/sideways, or use the Advanced Interaction ({{key|I}}) menu.

On long journeys, your original few units of food and water won't last very long. You can carry more food, but unless you find another waterskin, you won't be able to carry more than 3 units of water. As such, you should try to travel in the vicinity of rivers and refill your waterskin (by {{k|I}}nteracting with it while standing on or next to a water tile) if you get the opportunity – for example, a river you have to cross anyway. You will rarely find rivers in mountain ranges, and, as you might expect, crossing a desert will give you no chance to refill your waterskin either. Glaciers, on the other hand, have infinite water everywhere: Just fill your waterskin with snow, then make a [[campfire]] by pressing {{k|g}} (you might need to scroll down to find the entry) and use the {{k|I}}nteract menu standing next to it to melt the snow. Food is relatively easy to get: killing a single medium-sized animal will give you an ample amount of edible items. After killing, stand on the corpse of the animal and press {{k|x}} to open the actions menu. Select "butcher" and move your cursor to the right, selecting the corpse you want to butcher. Press {{k|→}} again to pick the tool that you want to use. Press {{k|Enter}} and you will then proceed to butcher the corpse, dropping all of the products on the same tile as yourself. If you're having difficulty catching up to animals that run away, try [[Ambusher#Adventurer Mode|sneaking]] up on them.