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Ethic

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Revision as of 01:40, 8 August 2020 by Hairy Dude (talk | contribs) (→‎Ethic types: expand "histfigs" (ugh))
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This article is about the current version of DF.
Note that some content may still need to be updated.

Ethic tags are used in the entity raw files to determine how different civilizations feel about various issues. Relationships between civilizations are based on their ethic responses in relation to each other; similar ethics result in friendship, while conflicting ethics result in animosity. Strongly conflicting ethics often trigger wars during world generation. (In practice, this generally causes elves to declare war on everybody else over killing plants and making trophies, and everybody else to declare war on the elves over the devouring of sapient beings.)

Some ethics also affect fortress mode features, such as justice, or trading. In adventurer mode, ethics can affect the level of conflict (lethal, or no quarter). During world generation, ethics also affect how the entity treats its kills, such as devouring them or making trophies out of them.

Example

In the raw files for entities, ethics appear as follows:

[ETHIC:LYING:PERSONAL_MATTER]

This means that the entity will treat lying as a personal matter. More technically, the value of its LYING ethic is set to PERSONAL_MATTER.

Ethic types

Token Extra Information
ASSAULT The result of a tantrumming citizen attacking another in fortress mode. Other effects unknown.
EAT_SAPIENT_KILL This determines if the race will sometimes devour defeated enemy combatants.
EAT_SAPIENT_OTHER This includes whether or not a race is willing to butcher other sapients.
KILL_ANIMAL A response between MISGUIDED and UNTHINKABLE (see below) causes the entity to refuse animal products in trade — namely, materials with [IMPLIES_ANIMAL_KILL]. If the civ will sell those animal products (because civ token), they will be marked as "grown" (example grown leather).
KILL_ENEMY If REQUIRED, all lethal combat with an enemy who is an enemy of the whole entity will put the creature in no quarter mode.
KILL_ENTITY_MEMBER If REQUIRED, all lethal combat with an enemy in the same entity will put the creature in no quarter mode. Determines whether and how often entity members will be murdered.
KILL_NEUTRAL If REQUIRED, all lethal combat with an enemy who is neutral with the entity will put the creature in no quarter mode, and the creature will also demand that strangers identify themselves.
KILL_PLANT This includes a race's position towards wood — a response between MISGUIDED and UNTHINKABLE (see below) causes the entity to refuse wooden objects (except for "grown" wooden objects) in trade, and also prohibits them from bringing caravan wagons. Caravans will sell grown wood objects (if the civ has WOOD_PREF) and even grown non-wood objects but that elves refuse to buy (if the civ uses misc processed wood products).
LYING Giving false witness reports?[Verify]
MAKE_TROPHY_ANIMAL This determines whether animal kills in world-gen will lead to characters with trophies.
MAKE_TROPHY_SAME_RACE This determines whether kills of one's own race in world-gen will lead to characters with trophies. Historical figures can go to your fortress with jewellery of leather, tooth, hair, bone or nail from their race, even INTELLIGENT. Example: goblin with -goblin tooth ring-.
MAKE_TROPHY_SAPIENT This determines whether kills of other sapients in world-gen will lead to characters with trophies. Like previous, but about other races, including INTELLIGENT.
OATH_BREAKING The result of a citizen violating noble mandates in fortress mode. Other effects unknown.
SLAVERY Civilization will enslave defeated enemies and bring them back to their site. Also affects whether you may trade caged sapient beings to merchants.
THEFT This determines whether the race will try to steal goods.
TORTURE_ANIMALS
TORTURE_AS_EXAMPLE Civilization will sometimes execute non-combatants after defeating enemy defenders.
TORTURE_FOR_FUN
TORTURE_FOR_INFORMATION
TREASON Protects position-holders from being murdered like everyone else – the reason that demon overlords of goblins manage to live for centuries, despite goblins' regard of killing each other as being a personal matter.
TRESPASSING Ignoring burrow restrictions[Verify]
VANDALISM The result of a tantruming citizen breaking furniture in fortress mode. Other effects unknown.

Ethic values

As used internally (see below), roughly in order of acceptability:

Num Token
0 NOT_APPLICABLE
1 ACCEPTABLE
2 PERSONAL_MATTER
3 JUSTIFIED_IF_NO_REPERCUSSIONS
4 JUSTIFIED_IF_GOOD_REASON
5 JUSTIFIED_IF_EXTREME_REASON
6 JUSTIFIED_IF_SELF_DEFENSE
7 ONLY_IF_SANCTIONED
8 MISGUIDED
9 SHUN
10 APPALLING
11 PUNISH_REPRIMAND
12 PUNISH_SERIOUS
13 PUNISH_EXILE
14 PUNISH_CAPITAL
15 UNTHINKABLE
16 REQUIRED

Ethic value numbers in relation to each other

The following table describes how entities respond to other cultures, with the observer on the vertical axis and their target on the horizontal axis. If an entity's accumulated animosity towards another passes a certain threshold (determined by the ruler's personality) then it will run a risk-assessment check. If passed, this will lead to a declaration of war.

In general, entities react much more strongly to actions that violate their taboos than to the outlawing of their customs in other civilisations. For example, Civ A finds slavery Acceptable, but Civ B considers it a Capital Offence.

  • Civ A will consider Civ B most unreasonable (−5) for executing people over such a non-issue.
  • Civ B will be shocked and disgusted (−15) that Civ A engages in such a debased activity.
  • The end result is mutual negativity. However, Civ B is 3× more offended, and much more likely to go to war over the issue — assuming, of course, they think they have a chance of winning.
  TARGET
Accept. Personal Reperc. Good Extreme Self-Def. Sanctioned Misguided Shun Appalling Reprimand Serious Exile Capital Unthinkable Required
OBSERVER      Acceptable +1 +1 +1 0 0 0 0 −1 −2 −2 −2 −3 −5 −5 −2 +1
Personal +1 +1 +1 0 0 0 0 −1 −2 −2 −2 −3 −5 −5 −2 +1
No Reperc. +1 +1 +1 0 0 0 0 −1 −2 −2 −2 −3 −5 −5 −2 +1
Good Reas. 0 0 0 +2 +1 0 0 0 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 0
Extreme Rs. −1 −1 0 +1 +2 0 0 0 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1
Self-Defence −2 −2 −1 0 +1 +2 0 0 0 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −2
Sanctioned −2 −2 −1 0 +1 0 +2 0 0 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −2
Misguided −1 −1 0 0 0 0 0 +2 +1 +1 +1 0 0 −1 +1 −1
Shun −1 −1 0 0 0 0 0 +1 +2 +1 +1 0 0 −1 +1 −1
Appalling −5 −5 −3 −2 −1 −1 −2 +1 +1 +2 +1 +1 +1 0 +1 −5
Reprimand −5 −5 −3 −2 −1 −1 −2 +1 +1 +1 +2 +1 +1 0 +1 −5
Serious −10 −10 −7 −3 −2 −2 −3 0 +1 +1 0 +2 +1 +1 +1 −10
Exile −10 −10 −7 −3 −2 −2 −3 0 +1 +1 0 +1 +2 +1 +1 −10
Capital −15 −15 −10 −5 −3 −3 −5 0 0 +1 0 +1 +1 +2 +1 −15
Unthinkable −15 −15 −10 −5 −3 −3 −5 0 +1 +1 0 +1 +1 +1 +2 −15
Required +1 +1 +1 0 0 0 0 −1 −2 −2 −2 −3 −5 −5 −2 +1

All above info was collected and interpreted from the data given by Toady himself at [1].

Ethics of vanilla civilizations

Issue Mountain
(dwarf)
Forest
(elf)
Plains
(human)
Evil
(goblin)
Skulking
(kobold)
Killing member of the same entity Capital punishment Justified with extreme reason Justified with good reason Personal matter Exile
Killing neutral sapient Only if sanctioned Acceptable Justified if no repercussions Required Required
Killing enemy Acceptable Acceptable Acceptable Required Required
Killing animal Acceptable Justified in self-defence Acceptable Acceptable Acceptable
Killing plant Acceptable Unthinkable Acceptable Acceptable Acceptable
Torture as example Unthinkable Acceptable Acceptable Acceptable Unthinkable
Torture for information Unthinkable Misguided Acceptable Acceptable N/A
Torture for fun Unthinkable Unthinkable Appalling Acceptable Acceptable
Torture of animals Unthinkable Unthinkable Shunned Acceptable Unthinkable
Treason Capital punishment Exile Capital punishment Capital punishment Unthinkable
Oathbreaking Capital punishment Exile Capital punishment Personal matter N/A
Lying Personal matter Exile Personal matter Personal matter N/A
Vandalism Serious punishment Reprimand Serious punishment Personal matter N/A
Trespassing Serious punishment Reprimand Serious punishment Personal matter N/A
Theft Serious punishment Reprimand Serious punishment Personal matter N/A
Assault Serious punishment Exile Serious punishment Personal matter Personal matter
Slavery Capital punishment Exile Acceptable Personal matter Unthinkable
Eating sapients Unthinkable Unthinkable Unthinkable Personal matter Unthinkable
Eating sapients (that have been killed in battle) Unthinkable Acceptable Unthinkable Personal matter Unthinkable
Making a trophy from a corpse of the same race Appalling Unthinkable Acceptable Acceptable Unthinkable
Making a trophy from a corpse of another sapient race Shunned Unthinkable Acceptable Acceptable Unthinkable
Making a trophy from the corpse of an animal Acceptable Unthinkable Acceptable Acceptable Unthinkable

Animal people currently have the same ethics as kobolds.