#learning dwarf fortress

[dwarvendiaries]

Hey, how do you recommend someone get into Dwarf Fortress? Because I'm aware there is classic and the new updated version, and I'm conflicted because while Classic is free, the updated version is, well, getting updates but is outside of my price range. Also, I'm not sure if I can transfer saves from classic to the new version so I don't want to get too attached to world, get the new version, and have to start from scratch. (Note: I'm also interested in learning dwarf fortress logic gates at some point as well).

Don't worry about save compatibility, Classic can't render the new graphics obviously, but the game's engine is still the same under the hood, so you should be able to transfer without issues. It's just a matter of opening up the game folder in Steam and copying over the save folder from your Classic Game Folder.

If you are not familiar with ASCII graphics, download a tileset off the Bay12 forums, you can browse them on the wiki.

[dwarvendiaries]

Haha mod%, I dug this old post of from the archives. You thought it would languish at one note dusty and forgotten, well you thought wrong!

But more seriously, this is pretty much what I say when introducing people to DF irl. I totally agree about the difficulty. I think that my lack of experience with most video games helped me learn Dwarf Fortress, because I didn't have a lot of the preconceptions about how games should look.

EDIT: I have issues with what I said here please see this note which clears things up

Let's dispel some Dwarf Fortress myths.

There’s a lot of myth surrounding the Dwarf Fortress learning curve, so for FYDF’s first post, I thought I would dispel a a bit of it.

So, let’s get some facts down.

Dwarf Fortress has graphics.

If you need detailed 3D models with high resolution textures, you’re no better than your 13 year old cousin that only watches Micheal Bay movies.

ASCII can be intimidating at first, but it will become a second language after you’ve played for a short time. I know, I know. How will you ever figure out what’s going on without depth perception?

Dwarf Fortress isn’t really that hard.

A lot of talk goes on about how Dwarf Fortress has a massive learning curve and that that makes it inaccessible to your average gamer.

I disagree. Well, no, I don’t. Not entirely. Your average gamer probably IS too dumb for Dwarf Fortress, primarily because your average gamer only understands MAX SENSITIVITY -> CROSSHAIR -> RIGHT TRIGGER ON REPEAT.

Dwarf Fortress requires reading. You will have to read tutorials if you want to play. You will have to read the wiki if you want to understand what’s going on.

Otherwise, you’re going to be having way too much fun.

Losing really is fun.

This comes off as ironic to those who haven’t played. It isn’t.

How many amazing deaths have you had in GTAIV? Emergent gameplay is most fun when outrageous, chaotic stuff happens. Building a complex water pump system for the upteenth time is much more fun when a forgotten megabeast emerges from the depths and destroys your containment, which causes the lower levels of your fort to flood entirely.

I guess that’s it for now. As this tumblr gains followers, I’m going to start posting more “Getting into Dwarf Fortress” things and a few surveys for those who are already playing. I hope you enjoy!

[zanetaya]

TIL revived undead citizens can come in migrant waves, as long as they are dwarves of your civilization.

This one is from a retired fort somewhere else, and yes you need to have them petition for citizenship there after raising them as undead before you retire.

[neverendingford]

.

[waterloverextreme]

I called these "taken by a Strange Mood"; Like in the videogame Dwarf Fortress. Sometimes you either find yourself doing or making something with extreme compulsion. Or fist-fighting the trees because it won't give you fur.

Normally I stay away from people cause I know I will try to pick fights with them.... So I go to the Kitchen; which I needed to ban myself from!!

Things I have done during a Strange Mood [Kitchen Edition]

Decided to make my sister a Hot Chocolate. Forgot what a hot chocolate was. Poured a mug up to the brim with hot water. Stared at it. Took the container of hot chocolate mix and DUMPED IT onto the mug. Was confused why it was all over the counter.

Stared at the metal coil stovetop as it was bright red after cooking. A few seconds later it was no longer burning red as I turned the stovetop off. Thought, "It's still hot, but HOW hot is it?". Proceeded to touch the heating element. Went "hmmm it's hot enough for me to be in a lot of pain", like a dumbass. As I've never touched a hot stove before what the frick was I trying to compare it to???

Made the most digusting meal of soggy wet white bread, and visibly moldy cream cheese. Because, "someone needs to eat this before we need to throw it out".

Stared at the ceiling until it looked like flesh moving

Took 12 cups and filled them with water. Placed them around my bedroom (different floor of the house) to feel what it was like to be Jack and Jill fetching water if they didn't fall down.

Wanted to re-experience being 5 and rolling down the stairs without getting a single bruise... I am too tall now and it was awkward and painful.

Spent hours imagining gravity shifted and I got stuck on the ceiling of the kitchen. Which still gets my heart pumping just thinking about it. Harrowing! DO NOT ATTEMPT

Laid down on the floor because that would hopefully stop myself from going outside. Got distracted by trying to retrieve the dusty cat toy under the fridge. The cats watched me.

Tell myself over and over to not put utensils in the microwave. Just cause I forgot a spoon in there once and didn't explode doesn't mean anything!

Spin. Like a lot. Especially right under the ceiling light which if I did the tiniest hop would impail my head.

These aren't the most interesting as I said. I have banned myself from the Kitchen. I only allow myself premade snacks like crackers or canned fruit. As like- I get real dangerous and dumb.

If I feel a strange mood coming whilst with people? My main way to deflect it is to unironically challenge people to "1v1 me on club penguin". That doesn't exist anymore so most people take it as a joke. Usually it defuses into me coming up with more wild and improbable dueling oppurtunities. At least until I can think of an excuse to seperate myself or direct the energy elsewhere.

Usually I try to put myself in the least dangerous location I can. Like I know the signs for myself, so I often put as much distance between myself, outside, and places with oopsie daisy objects as possible.

Shout out to the time I was locked out of the house so I decided to ought to live behind the shed. No one would find me there. I can hop the fence to come and go. Much like a wasp. As that's better for society. Unironically I was planning to restart my life and become a runaway. Since y'know wasps and bees are less likely to sting you if you are familiar to them. I am lucky the key to the shed was inside. I didn't get to interact with the gas canisters or live wasp nest.

Everyone is one Strange Mood from discovering the wonders of life or doing something they'd really regret.

As like- when I am in this mood I would unironically agree to taking a bus for hours to fist fight someone... Me, a person who handles pressure, competition, or conflict with the grace of a wrung out wet paperbag. In a Strange Mood that's all gone baby! I WOULD wrestle a crocodile to release it in a food court; Where it belongs!! Like God and Zoo Tycoon intended!!

I am so lucky I wasn't born in Florida

99% of "mysterious disappearances" esp of people in their 20s who start acting weird for 48 hours and then vanish are not mysterious, thats just when a lot of reality-obliterating mental illness tends to kick in and it's pretty easy to get a short circuit in your brain that makes you go family guy death pose in joshua tree national park. it's not any less tragic, it's just a documented phenomenon and not particularly predictable. its a big reason the medical advice is for people with a family history of schizophrenia to completely avoid weed and psychedelics. "people just go crazy sometimes" is a principle of human health that used to be a lot more accepted prior to the american midcentury and to a certain extent thats a healthier way to conceptualize and prepare for the risk, as opposed to the modern assertion that anyone acting weird is dangerous and broken forever.

[the-least-undefinable-ordinal]

Reading the dwarf fortress wiki page for Irrigation, much to learn.

[likehalfofuswillmakeitidk]

Thinking about kidnapped Dwarfs in Dwarf Fortress again.

Goblins can kidnap dwarvern children. It's not known why they do this, but they can.

What's stranger is that the goblins don't do anything nefarious with the children. They just appear to raise them.

Common theories range from amusing (they're saving the children from the horrors of Dwarf Fortresses) to reasonable (dwarfs are bigger and stronger than goblins on average, they can be used as metalssmiths or warriors)

What's probably most striking from the player's perspective is that adult dwarves that have been raised by goblin civilizations can join their raids and sieges of your fort.

Nothing appears to be forcing them to do this.

Imagine growing up with goblins, learning the goblin language, worshipping their gods and observing their customs.

You know you're different, the other children make that clear enough, but your belly is full in the summers and just as empty as anyone else's in the cold.

When you grow, you're a full two heads taller than anyone else. They try to put you to work in the forge, they think you should be good at it, you dont understand why. You're not. Your fingers fumble over the steel, you drop the tongs, you burn yourself on the flames.

You've let your family down, you're ashamed.

They put an axe in your hand, you start felling trees. It's easy for you. They send little hauling squads with you to collect the lumber, you free up half a dozen workers. Your family is proud of you, you're proud of yourself.

A set of armour is smithed for you, you don't need to put your name on it, no one else could wear it.

Suddenly, you're drilling, but it's no problem, people salute you in the hallways, you get choice rations with the other warriors. You're respected. It took you some time, but you've found a place in your home.

You keep shaving your beard out of habit.

Now your squad hauls back jewels, instruments, and armour that even you couldn't fit into.

One day you hit a hole in the ground. Defended by walls and traps your brethren fall to hidden blades and arrows. By the time you breach the dining hall, you've taken serious casualties.

In front of you is a hall of shrouded mirrors, they don't recognize you in your full helm, you don't even know what they are.

Your mother doesn't even recognize you as she cleaves your head in half.

You're laid to rest in the refuse pile, outside the fort with your brothers.

[wordsfrombudha]

Shravana: The Free Man

Freedom is a frequently overlooked and misunderstood facet of the Moon. When we first consider the Moon, we are quick to associate it with emotionality, softness, receptivity, and nurturing. It is imagined as a comforting light, offering beauty and quiet reassurance through its soft glow and gentle nourishment. Yet the Moon’s nature is far less anchored than this picture suggests. Beneath its surface gentleness, the Moon carries a persistent restlessness that few recognize.

The Moon is the fastest-moving graha, traversing the entire zodiac in just twenty-seven days. It moves from one bhava to the next in a ceaseless pilgrimage. It drinks from each place it visits, absorbing impressions, atmospheres, and memories, but it never allows itself to stick around for too long. The Moon moves like a wandering man through the villages of the world, staying only long enough to witness, listen, and learn, but never to the point of being settled by its experiences. No house, sign, or power can hold it down. It is the freedom of one who answers a deeper call, a rhythm older than any law of man. This rhythm mirrors the movement of consciousness itself that experiences and adapts, yet refuses to fossilize into any single shape. At a deeper level, the Moon's restlessness reveals the hidden principle that to be free is to refuse stagnation. It is to walk through the world open-eyed and soft-hearted yet unattached and unclaimed. Where others build walls around their experiences and turn them into fortresses of identity, the Moon passes through like water that will erode even the most sound structures in due time. In this way, the Moon carries within it the living essence of freedom, a sovereignty so complete that it does not need to resist bondage because it moves too swiftly and too fluidly to ever be caught.

_______________________________

Shravana is the nakshatra of hearing. It is about receiving impressions from distant places and invisible realms. Shravana’s symbol is the ear. It is open and completely receptive, yet it cannot cling to anything it takes in. It is ruled by Vishnu, the All-Pervader, who strides through the three worlds. Like Vishnu, the Moon does not belong to any one world. He is the wanderer between them. In the Vedas, Chandra is called jagat-chanchala, the one who is restless throughout the worlds, a being who moves because movement is their very law. Just as Vishnu steps through the worlds through various incarnations, never bound by any, the Moon reflects the freedom of one who is ever in transit, always receiving but never retaining. The Moon’s path mirrors Vishnu's ability to traverse space and time without ever being trapped by the forces of any one realm or attachment encountered along the way. In Shravana, we see that true freedom comes not from holding or possessing, but from being a vessel open to all things without clinging to any.

In Jyotisha, the Moon represents manas, the mind as a sense-organ. It is constantly in flux, gathering stimuli, responding, and flowing. A mind that tries to fix itself on any one thing for too long loses its lunar quality, and Shravana reveals this truth in full. A mind that drifts, listens, and allows impressions to pass through without building walls around them, remains alive and attuned to the rhythms of Vishnu’s movement through existence. Shravana is connected to the myth of the Vamana avatar, Vishnu’s form as the dwarf who claims the entire cosmos with three steps. The free man lives this myth, unassuming in stature but limitless in range—one step in the material world, one step in the astral, and the third upon the head of ego itself. Shravana teaches that true movement is not outward alone but inward, upward, downward, and through all dimensions. The free man can be likened to a silent carrier of knowledge. They have no home because they are at home in all things, and no attachments because they are bound to the Eternal Sound, which captures the movement of Vishnu and the pulsations of AUM (Ohm) through all worlds.

Vishnu’s avatars, particularly Krishna and Rama, embody the essence of the Free Man saliently. They walk through the world unattached to its powers or crowns. Their actions are personal to their internal sense of duty, not external obligation or social constructs. This is why they act from principle and choice, rather than being forced by circumstances. Vishnu, as the divine archetype of freedom, preserves what is good in the world without ever being owned by the systems meant to protect it. Krishna, for instance, plays the role of "kingmaker" in the Mahabharata. He supports, protects, and advises, yet he refuses to rule the kingdom of the Pandavas directly. He is not tied to any worldly throne because he aligns himself with a more universal law. Krishna's freedom is displayed most poignantly in his wordly departure following the Kurukshetra war. He witnesses the decay that victory brings: his own people, the Yadavas, descend into violence and self-destruction. And instead of fighting to hold the remnants of his world together, Krishna withdraws. Alone in the forest, he allows himself to be shot by a hunter, who mistakes his foot for that of a deer's. He does not resist. He does not cling to life, to empire, or even to legacy for his work was never about him. It was about fulfilling duty, and when that duty is done, he leaves quietly.

Rama’s departure mirrors this. After his reign, having restored dharma and order, he too understands that his work is complete. He walks into the Sarayu River and vanishes, returning to his divine form. There is no grasping, no desperate clinging to the kingdom or to life. Rama, like Krishna, served the world without being bound by it. Both avatars show the highest form of freedom though the ability to walk away from power, fame, and even life itself when their purpose has been fulfilled. The symbolism of the hunter who kills Krishna ties into this as well. The hunter, a seemingly insignificant figure compared to Krishna, represents the dispassionate inevitability of death, the interconnectedness and power of any ī idk visual action, an event that Krishna cannot avoid and so does not even try. He allows it to happen, knowing that his role in this world is finished. Death is not something to fear, but a natural part of the journey that even the greatest of beings must ultimately surrender to whilst being in the material realm. Krishna and Rama are the ultimate exemplars of the kind of freedom I am talking about because serve with full devotion, yet they remain unattached to any of it, whether that be their glorious kingdom, pleasures, their legacy, or the many connections they make throughout their lives. Their departures are not signaled by ceremony or clamor; they simply leave when their time is done. This is the heart of the Free Man. He is the one who serves a higher purpose, and when that purpose is fulfilled, moves on without clinging or fear.

Both Krishna and Rama exemplify the principles discussed earlier, but their actions provide specific, concrete examples of how they live without attachment to the external world, following an inner transcendent law.

_______________________________

This is why Shravana tends to be greatly misunderstood, even within the traditional texts. It does not belong anywhere. Instead, it echoes the secret tradition of the parivrajakas, the wandering mendicants and ascetics of Vedic culture, those who moved silently through the world without attachments, bearing knowledge that could not be rooted in any single place. The parivrajaka, meaning "one who wanders away," was a recognized figure in ancient Bharat. Unlike the householder or the king, the parivrajaka sought no fixed position. They drifted from village to village, from forest to shrine, living off alms, sometimes offering teachings, sometimes simply listening. They moved because the world itself moves. To stay in one place too long was to deny the truth of impermanence. Their wandering was an embodiment of the cosmic drift and the ceaseless journey of the atman through many births, deaths, and states of consciousness.

The very name Shravana, meaning "to hear," echoes the way these drifters lived. They heard teachings from sages, from the earth, from the wind through the trees, from the silent transmission of the stars. Unlike the structured orders of monks that would come later, these early wanderers moved according to hidden tides. They were not exiles, for they did not mourn the loss of home. They were not conquerors, for they sought no ground to claim. They were the human embodiment of the Moon’s dance across the sky. In this way, the Moon’s full mystery unfolds only when we understand that it was never meant to be an object. Chandra is not static. He is a flow, a flowing deity, a flowing mind, a flowing life. Each nakshatra captures one way of responding to this motion.

This is why Shravana has the power to hear the divine directly, without intermediary or ritual. It is not the loud proclamations of devotion that reach Vishnu. He is not easy to please in this way, unlike Shiva and Brahma. It is the silent, drifting heart that appeals to Vishnu. In Vedic culture, there were many forms of drifters beyond the parivrajakas. The sadhus, the avadhutas, the naga babas, all in their own ways embodied a rejection of fixed worldly roles. Even righteous kings would, at the end of their lives, undertake vanaprastha, the life of the forest wanderer. To drift was seen not as a failure but as a return to cosmic truth, to be free in the most powerful way. All things must eventually unbind themselves from the structures they have built. The Free Man, especially in the form of Shravana, thus holds one of the most potent initiations. It is the call to dissolve the false security of form and to walk the world unattached, listening without needing to hold, knowing without needing to speak.

_______________________________

Shravana carries a seed of immense volatility, though it hides it well. It seems peaceful on the surface, the quiet traveler who tries to be invisible. Yet this stillness conceals the darker reality of Capricorn, where Shravana’s energy finds its hold in the material world. Capricorn is feminine Saturn. It is the energy of endurance, the inner capacity to carry pain without complaint, and the ability to shelter a flame in the middle of a battlefield. Saturn in his feminine form weeps inwardly, folding wounds into himself as he allow them to harden into a shield. Capricorn is the burial ground of ambitions, the place where kings are dethroned and burned warriors sink into the river to be eaten by crocodiles. It is the battlefield stripped of its glory, the cold and bloody ground where corpses are left for the vultures. It is the grinding pressure that forces the soul to face the impermanence of all things without anesthesia. It is the place where light itself seems to vanish, swallowed by the weight of time and decay.

The Free Man archetype, especially as seen through Shravana, carries within it this burden. Their movement is not an easy one. It is a drifting through battle, ruins, loss, and the endless painful shedding of attachments. The one who is free is one who has accepted death many times and has watched the collapse of structures without rushing to rebuild them. The connection to dark yantras and the burial grounds where tantric rites are performed is one of the most important pieces to understanding the full picture of Capricorn and Shravana. It is not only about discipline or suffering, but about the silent mysteries that open when everything visible has fallen away. Shravana hears what others cannot because it has crossed through these gates of death and defeat. It does not pretend that things will endure forever. It does not cling to illusions of safety or immortality. It moves because it knows that to stay too long in any place, or any identity, is to rot alongside it. The battlefield belongs to Capricorn because Saturn is the lord of time, and time is the final conqueror. All are sacrificed to it in the end. Mars, the dark tantric and war general, finds glory and purpose on the battlefield and in the graveyards of unknown darkness.

Volatility arises because the Free Man cannot root into the simple, shallow comforts that others depend on. Stability is foreign to Shravana. Emotional security, domestic happiness, material wealth, even fame or spiritual achievement are seen as thin veils before the unstoppable reality of loss. When these things are thrust upon him, he often responds by withdrawing. He allows the bonds to loosen and dissolve. Sometimes this happens so invisibly that no one notices until long after they are gone. This capacity for disappearance is itself a form of protection. Shravana belongs to a deeper law. When the structures around it begin to settle, it knows instinctively to slip away. The Moon here does not announce his departure. He simply ceases to feed the connections he has formed and drifts into the night. The volatility is also protective because it prevents stagnation. It is a violent kind of mercy. When the Free Man feels the soul beginning to decay within a structure, they either break it or abandon it, and it is more merciful to abandon than to break. In this way, Shravana maintains its purity.

In the secret traditions, it was said that certain yogis, before death, would deliberately leave their bodies in burial grounds. They would sit silently in meditation among the bones and ashes, allowing their breath to slow and stop naturally. They became like stones or fallen leaves, returning to the earth without resistance. Shravana reflects this same final offering to move without clinging, to live without defense, to die without regret.

[dwarvendiaries]

You'd probably be better-off to someone who follows the forums like @knight-otu, but I can do a bit of a sum-up with what I know from reading old FoTFs.

World

There's multileveled system of permanance. Permanent stuff is more or less organised like you see in the world data dump from legends mode (that's still a thing right?).

Below that you've got local map (tracking weather and wandering beasts) and then (Play area).

Playarea

Last I checked Tarn said it was a lot of vectors at least for equipment. In an answer about the Military menus he said:

I'm not sure what people have been calling things, so it's hard to describe. When you go to choose a specific item, there are several lists sitting around from back in the arsenal dwarf days - that's an array of item ptr vectors with size item_type_number (ie, a vector of weapons, a vector of helms, etc.). That's sitting up in the global fort information structure (legacily called 'plotinfo' but I dunno what you all call it -- it has your civ id and the number of reserved bins, tons of fort-type info, along with these item array-vectors which live in a member structure that has equipment data), and there are three arrays like this, one for 'unmanifested' items, one for 'unassigned' items, and one for 'assigned' items. Those lists themselves seem to get corrupted, though I've never caught the raid bug actually happening, so it's hard to tell what the starting point is, just that the military UI stuff is a symptom and not a cause (though military equipment assignment could very well be the cause somewhere in the giant mess of assignment code. I've pored over the part where raid stuff is offloaded more than once and couldn't find anything, so I suspect it's something bad about the military screen/equipping logic and how that interacts with a later raid offload, but I could be wrong there.) But yeah, as a bandaid, those lists could probably be cleared and reassembled from the existing fort items. There's also the specific items assigned to the equipment slot in the squad position, which are stored by id number so less likely to be the initial problem, though corruption could piggy back in there in the form of invalid (slab etc.) id numbers, and so it might ultimately be quite a task to fully rescue saves here.

Not sure how these fit in as part of a greater whole

I’d be super curious to know what kind of data structures Dwarf Fortress uses to track thousands of objects and other entities, and what patterns Tarn Adam’s has experimented with. Tracking wear, decoration, ownership, etc for items in an efficient manner is an interesting problem.

[imsobadatnicknames2]

You once said you mostly like playing Dwarf Fortress in adventure mode nowadays, right? Any adventure mode tips you can give for a total noob?

Okay I'm not any kind of expert by any means, but...

For combat, there are weapon skills (e.g. Crossbowman, Swordsman, Hammerman, Bowman) which determine how good you are at using a specific weapon, but there are also two I like to call "parent skills": Fighter, which determines how good you are at using melee weapons in general, and Archer, which determines how good you are at using ranged weapons in general (as well as attacking with thrown objects). Attacking with a sword uses (and trains) both your Fighter and Swordsman skills. For character creation I think it's better to put points into Fighter and/or Archer, and train in the use of specific weapons during play. That way, if you ever need to switch to a different weapon from the specific one you're trained in you'll still be able to use it competently.

Always put one point into the Reader skill, otherwise your character will be illiterate. Since the only way to train skills in game is by using them, there is no in-game way to ever learn to read if you start with an illiterate character.

There is currently no implemented in-game way to fulfill the needs to be with family, be with friends, or make romance in adventure mode, so you should avoid creating a character with a personality and set of values that gives them these needs, otherwise they will inevitably become distracted from being unable to fulfill them. Also, the need to eat a good meal is technically possible but extremely hard to fulfill (since it requires either eating an extremely valuable meal, or a meal made with one of your character's randomly selected preferred ingredients) so you should probably avoid it too.

For purposes of trading, carrying small high-value items such as gems or high-quality crafts is a lot more useful than carrying coins around, since coins don't have any monetary value outside of the civilization that minted them, so you can only use certain coins for trade in certain sites.

However, with a high Thrower (or Archer) skill, coins make for a surprisingly decent and easily replenishable thrown weapon.

In certain climates, the water in your waterskin may freeze at night, or even stay frozen all the time. This took me a while to figure out back in the day, but: If you need to drink but your water is frozen, you'll need to interact with an adjacent empty space to make a campfire there, and then interact with the campfire and select the ice to heat it (or, in pre-steam versions, press g and then choose the option to make a campfire, and then while standing next to it press I to open advanced interactions with your inventory and then select the ice and choose the option to heat it)

If you find it annoying to constantly have to find food and water, play as a goblin, since goblins don't need to eat or drink.

I haven't tested if it works the same way in the post-steam versions, but in iirc performing anything at a tavern and then talking to the tavern keeper about your performance would get them to give you a discount on your room and drinks, regardless of the actual quality of the performance. I don't think this has been changed, but still.

Offloading a site by moving in travel mode will instantly heal you of all temporary damage, such as wounds, broken bones, bleeding, etc. If you're bleeding out during combat you can avoid dying by running away from your enemies until you're far away enough to initiate travel mode and then moving in any direction.

The only way to heal permanent damage such as lost body parts or severed nerves is to become a werebeast, since your body will be completely restored every time you transform. You can become a werebeast by getting bitten by one and surviving (the bite has to tear at least one tissue layer or it won't pass on the curse), or by getting cursed either by toppling a statue at a temple dedicated to a deity you worship, or by rolling one of the divination dice found at shrines three times (although when you get cursed it's randomized if you become either a vampire or a werebeast). However, being a werebeast will make you vulnerable against a random metal, and transforming will unequip and drop all your worn items (including backpacks and pouches) unless the size of your werebeast form is relatively similar to your normal size (plus destroy all non-leather clothing you're wearing regardless of size change)

If you don't start with a high Armor User skill, wearing a full set of armor can actually be more harm than good, since a low Armor User skill makes you more susceptible to the armor's encumbrance penalty, and makes you tire more easily while wearing armor, making it harder to dodge attacks and get attacks in.

However, any leather clothing counts as armor for the purposes of training, and doesn't have encumbrance penalties. So if you don't have a high armor user skill you should equip yourself with maybe a metal helmet, gauntlets, and or/boots, and then put on as much leather clothing as you can, so you can avoid the penalties while you train the skill to the point that you can wear a full set of metal armor.

[dwarvendiaries]

To use Dwarf Therapist or nay?

Personally, I don't but I understand people who do use it. From what I can tell the gap with labour assignments that occured with the pre-50 versions has been narrowed by the UI improvement of v50.xx, which was the main thing people used therapist for.

(I'm assuming this is about Splintermind's fork of Dwarf Therapist. The original Dwarf Therapist was last updated in 2012)

Got sidetracked there. So advantages to Dwarf Therapist:

Skill use: the spreadsheet format allows to see which dwarves are mos qualified for which jobs. It does this by turning them into numbers making it quick and easy to do. Plus you can centrally con trol labor assignments without having to flip between tabs

Mood regulation: You also get a spreasheet for which needs are goihng unmet. If you want your fortress to be super happy then this is useful for finding where you can get the greatest gains.

Gaydar: It gives you a quick dwarven gaydar

There's a few other things as well. I've never usied it myself. To be fair I'm an on-off user of DFhack so maybe not the best person to go for advice on utilities.

[eatcopperwire]

Hey it’s me, Rufus! You may know me as rufuslol as that is my alias on some platforms, or as Niko oneshot on some other ones, as I have used that alias many times bc oneshot is a very good game :3

I use any/all pronouns, and I have autism and adhd, and I am just here to be fun and entertain! :3

I have many interests, including but not limited to dwarf fortress, deltarune, Halley labs, fallout, the works of people like Tony zaret and Dan hentschel, disco elysium, etc.

I am also learning coding, writing and pixel art, and I want to be an indie game developer when I’m older (expect the games I’m going to make to not even be released in early access for 5-20~ years, making story heavy games takes a long time and I’m still in college)

I may post sprites and concepts for the game I’m working on on here, but it’ll mostly be me ranting about shit I like/hate and/or shitposting

Cw: I swear a lot

Anyway have a wonderful day! :3

[thiskobold]

Dwarf Fortress is a game about taking care of your guys. Like, really, as much as we love to make it all about violence and murder and dragons and weird ass monsters, Dwarf Fortress as a game is best when you are trying your damnedest to treat your dwarves well.

Smooth stone. Nice furniture. Enough liquor. Good food. Clothes that aren't rotting off their backs. A decent temple. Somewhere to drink. Guildhalls to encourage people to learn new skills or improve their work. Art. Masterwork statues at every intersection. Metal cups. Hell, even just paving the hallways with rock blocks is a great touch to any fortress.

The threats get in the way of that. These goblins are trying to kill your dwarves, which is not good. So you kill them back. This cyclops shows up to slaughter your animals? Send in the spear dwarves.

Going out of your way to cause trouble is rarely the best option, both for gameplay purposes and for having fun. When you look at your dwarves less like lemmings and more like little sims, little guys to love and care for and protect and provide for, you start to get emotionally invested in making their lives better.

In protecting them.

And I think that's pretty awesome.

[cruelfeline]

People say that Dwarf Fortress has a huge learning curve - and I guess it does - but that's honestly not a bad thing.

The best nonsense in the game happens when you don't know what you're doing. That learning curve generates so many entertaining stories, and it does so organically.

It's delightful.

[falsepetrel]

Limbus company sinner's favourite games

(source: vibes)

Yi sang - Scribblenauts unlimited, creative and puzzling which seems right for him, maybe escape room puzzle games too

Faust - rhythm games, the one thing that faustcord cant spoil her on, also maybe games that take forever to learn and need 2 wikis open to understand like dwarf fortress.

I feel like her and yi sang would also play uber modded Minecraft together, she has all the knowledge about every mod and he likes tinkering with them to combine the systems into new ways of automation

Don Quixote - Baldur's gate 3, skyrim, anything with a lot of exploration and adventure, alternatively maybe she'd be into doom

Gregor - Fruit ninja... (in reality probably something like stardew valley or another calming survival game)

Rodion - those slot machine simulators, online poker, extremely degenerate gambling

Sinclair - dance dance revolution baby wooo (they have a really old and terrible Xbox 360 hooked up in the back of the bus) ((he always gets obliterated by faust))

Ishmael - sea of thieves (in reality probably The Sims)

Heathcliff - in public he plays competitive first person shooters and fighting games, flames people in chat when they mess up, the secret he plays wholesome romantic visual novels

hong lu - plays fighting games with heathcliff, wins 80% of the time, never gets angry when he loses which makes heathcliff even angrier, sometimes lets him win (it makes him even more angry),

I also imagine him going along with what the other sinners want to play and doesn't really suggest anything of his own

Meursault - New York times style newspaper games 100%, sudoku, crossword, etc,

alternatively stuff like factorio

Outis - 1000% she plays real-time strategy games like Hearts of iron 4 and stellaris, maybe even Warhammer total war, the more simulated war crimes the better

possibly a League of legends ranked player (in which case she's 1,000% diamond 2 and banned from chat)

Ryoshu - cyberpunk, GTA, any game which lets her cause general mayhem upon the populace, possibly also metal gear revengeance due to the cutting action

Dante - library of ruina

vergilius - he does NOT game

charon - forza

[irradiatepositivity]

i have just learned about boatmurdered, and my god, a succession letsplay that went so badly that the official song that plays when your fortress falls in dwarf fortress is just someone chanting the name of the settlement repeatedly is. damn. good job.