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v0.34:Marriage
| This article is about an older version of DF. |
Two dwarves can get married if they are of the opposite gender. Dwarves have a romantic relationship together before they are married. Instantly after marriage those dwarves usually make a wedding party, if there is an available room, such as a statue garden, or a dining room marked as a meeting hall. Dwarves marry for life; a dwarf whose spouse dies will not remarry. The death of a spouse will give a dwarf an unhappy thought.
Dwarves will cancel their current task when getting married.
Dwarves must be within 10 years of each other in age, and must not be children or babies, to enter into a romantic relationship. Being friends may be a prerequisite as well. The 10-year restriction only applies in fortress mode, so incoming pregenerated dwarves (i.e. migrants) may have a larger gap between their ages. No marriage between siblings has been observed, but cousins or other distant relatives can marry each other.
Dwarves with similar professions are more likely to get married, presumably because they spend more time together than with dwarves they meet when on break. For example, two miners are likely to become romantically involved, especially in a fort that focuses on mining, since they spend time together frequently.
To enter into a romantic relationship, dwarves must be allowed to idle together in the same room. They will socialize and build relationships. If they are compatible in terms of age and marital status, they will eventually become lovers and then marry. If not, they will simply become friends. Dwarves with too little free time will not have time for romance.
Married dwarves may sleep together. Because of this, the couple only requires one bed, and any bedroom claimed by or assigned to one spouse will automatically be assigned to both. This also applies to tables, if they are assigned specifically to a dwarf.
The (happy?) wife will give birth to a baby every year, until she or her husband dies, or until the fortress's child limit is reached. There are no visible signs of pregnancy, and the only effective means of contraception (other than the child limit) is physical isolation. However, that doesn't mean a pregnancy will always result in a baby. Pregnancies may end in miscarriage if the dwarf is starving, dehydrated, sustains an injury, etc., which can lead to tantrums from your now miserable dwarf.
In the Relationships screen (v-z-r), Husband or Wife tops the list, ranked even above their deity. Their children are at the top of the Relationships list, above the deity and below the spouse.
Many marriages seem to occur during springtime or early summer.
Some noble positions, including the monarch, give their "consorts" an honorary title without any tangible privileges.