Difference between revisions of "Adventurer mode"

{{Quality|Exceptional|Jan 2016}}

:''This is a detailed reference guide for Adventurer Mode. For a beginner tutorial see the [[Adventure mode quick start]].  

:''See [[Adventure mode quick reference]] to quickly look up key commands.

In '''Adventurer mode''' (also called "adventure mode") you create a single adventurer ([[dwarf]], [[human]], [[elf]], [[goblin]], or one of the varieties of [[animal people]]) who starts out somewhere in one of your generated worlds. You can learn about what ails the world, and go on [[quest]]s to end those troubles (or get brutally murdered trying), and you can venture into the wilderness to find [[cave]]s, shrines, lairs, abandoned towers, and other [[Site|towns and settlements]]. You can even visit your previously abandoned/retired [[fortress]]es and take all the precious items you yourself once created.

Unlike [[Fortress mode]], Adventurer Mode is a sort of advanced [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandbox_game open world] RPG version of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_%28computer_game%29 rogue] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nethack nethack] taking place in the same procedurally-generated worlds used for Fortress Mode. Whereas in fortress mode you are in charge of a large group of people in real-time restricted to a small parcel of land, in adventurer mode you control a single character in a turn-based manner, roaming the entire world freely.

You can play Adventurer mode in any world that has a civilization with the [[Entity_token#Gameplay|ADVENTURE_TIER]] token (which are elves, dwarves, humans, and goblins, as well as animal people{{version|0.42.01}}). Humans inhabit cities, towns, and the occasional above-ground fortress. Elves inhabit [[forest retreat|forest retreats]]. Dwarves are spread between "deep sites" which sometimes do not contain a direct connection to the surface, [[Fortress|Fortresses]] which are built into the surface and almost always connect to the underground and "hill dwarves" which inhabit a loose collection of mounds built into hillsides. Goblins typically live in [[dark fortress|Dark Fortresses]]. Lastly, Animal People can live with any civilization, in virtually any location. Human cities and towns and dwarven fortresses are currently the only sites with shops and other places to officially buy goods, not including taverns (which can also exist in elven sites, but only sell rooms and drinks).

If you have previously built a fort in the world that you select, your adventurer will be able to go visit it. If you have selected to "retire" the fortress rather than abandon it, you will likely be able to encounter all the inhabitants from fortress mode. However, they will likely not have the same level of activity as they would in a bustling fortress-mode fort.

==Character creation==

===Race and civilization===

* '''Dwarves''' have the advantage of being able to go into a [[martial trance]] when fighting multiple foes at once. This gives them many combat bonuses, which aids their survival greatly. They are the only race that can start with steel weapons, but they wear "small"-sized clothing which means that they're unable to wear human clothes and armor. Goblin armor fits them, making dark fortresses (if your computer can handle them) and dark pits a viable source of armor; if you're up for it, you could also just rob some dwarves or a dwarven fortress. They can start with almost the same weapon skills as civilized humans. Many larger weapons must be wielded two-handed by dwarves, due to their size.

* '''Elves''' start with very weak wooden weapons and have a more limited list of weapon skills during character creation. They have the advantage that they have higher natural speed. Elves are {{token|AT_PEACE_WITH_WILDLIFE|e}}, which makes all wildlife passive towards them. They also have a notably better sense of smell compared to the other races with a {{token|SMELL_TRIGGER|c}} of 10 instead of 90, which means they can sense smells over much larger distances. Like dwarves, they wear small-sized clothing.

* '''Humans''' begin with bronze, copper, or iron weapons. They also start with the widest variety of weapon skills. Humans are larger than the other main races, meaning armor from other civilizations are too small to be worn. Human-sized clothes and armor are commonly found in hamlets and towns.

* '''Intelligent Wilderness Creatures'''{{version|0.42.01}} are playable wild animals. Any creature with {{token|LOCAL_POPS_CONTROLLABLE|c}} fits into this category. A wilderness creature can be played as long as a population exists in an {{tt|[ALL_MAIN_POPS_CONTROLLABLE]}} civilization. Most wilderness creatures are [[animal people]]. They come in various sizes, shapes and abilities, and as such a short description cannot be given; however, they will not start with armor or be able to wear armor sized for the more common races, making Dodger and Shield User more important as defensive skills.  

* '''Goblins''' are only playable when a population is present in an {{tt|[ALL_MAIN_POPS_CONTROLLABLE]}} civilization. They possess the same body size of dwarves and elves, and can wear whatever weapons and armor the civilization which adopted/conquered them allows. They require no food or water to live.

* '''Kobolds''' are not playable, but it can be allowed with [[kobold#Playing as kobolds|modding]]. They are very weak in combat, and a huge challenge compared to other races. They are even smaller than the other main races and it is next to impossible to find a fitting armor for them, unless you are absurdly lucky and run into armored kobolds.{{verify}}

Outsiders are adventurers that aren't from a civilization. They can begin at any site and are strangers to all. Only humans can be an outsider by default. Other races can be played as outsiders if {{token|OUTSIDER_CONTROLLABLE|c}} is added to the creature's raws. At least one {{tt|[ALL_MAIN_POPS_CONTROLLABLE]}} civilization must have existed in the world in order to play as an outsider, though the civilization does not need to be alive. A human civilization is not strictly required.

 

Outsiders will always try to begin in a populated site. Caves and even lairs with [[megabeast]]s will be chosen when there are no occupied civ sites. When starting from a lair, be sure to escape from the site immediately as soon as the game starts to avoid an instant death.

 

Playing as an outsider has many initial limitations. They possess no pre-existing relationships or knowledge of various events and wildlife. When selecting skills for outsiders during creation, only Spear User and Knife User are available as weapon skills, and Armor User or Shield User are not available. Outsiders start out literally naked. Maps also start off completely hidden. Because they lack a cultural identity, outsiders cannot worship deities and are unable to perform dance, music, or poetry due to having no held art forms.

Determines the number of starting skill and attribute points, which does not change based on race:

*'''Peasant:''' 15 attribute, 35 skill

*'''Hero:''' 35 attribute, 95 skill

*'''Demigod:''' 105 attribute, 161 skill

The number of skill points is less significant than the number of attribute points because the time it takes to go from Peasant to Demigod in skill terms is much less than what it would take to go from Peasant to Demigod in attribute terms.

[[Attribute|Attributes]] are divided into Body and Soul attributes. This section provides some guidance for allocating attributes as it relates to adventurer mode.

*'''Strength''': Contributes to melee attack momentum, adding velocity and force, and leg strength to movement velocity. Strength determines encumbrance limits, and higher capacity reduces the speed penalty of carrying burdens. Increases to muscle layer mass proportionately improves damage resistance but also reduces speed; proportionately larger characters benefit more from the extra layer thickness and suffer more from the speed penalty.

*'''Agility''': This attribute is directly related to a character's Speed. All combat skills rely on it, especially defensive. Increases attack velocity and potential attack rate.

*'''Toughness''': Reduces physical damage inflicted on you. Also relates to defensive combat skills.

*'''Endurance''': Reduces the rate at which the adventurer becomes exhausted. Exhaustion progressively penalizes physical skills and rate of movement to the point of immobility and [[unconscious]]ness.

Some of these are demonstrated useful for adventure-mode-applicable skills, but the effects of the attributes aren't clearly understood. For ideas on how they may be applied, see [[Attribute#Skills_By_Soul_Attribute|a list of skills organized by attributes.]].

 

 

*'''Creativity''': This influences quality of poems, songs, and dances and crafts. It may also influence "make believe", now able to be performed by children.{{version|0.42.01}}

 

*'''Patience''': May have some effect on dealings with others as a result of the new conversation system.{{Verify}}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

==== Attribute advancement cap ====

Adventure mode attributes are capped at double the starting value or the starting value plus the racial average, whichever is greater. Humans, for example, have a racial average strength of 1,000. If a human adventurer starts with an ''above average'' strength of 1,100, then his strength will ultimately be capped at 2,200. Had this human started with a ''below average'' strength of 900, then his strength would be capped at 1,900 instead. For the purpose of maximizing final attributes, this makes it important to start with as many attributes in the ''superior'' range as possible (more attributes per point allocated), while avoiding taking any penalties to even remotely important attributes (big attribute deductions per point recovered). As a consequence of the attribute cap, demigod adventurers will always have a much higher potential for advancement than mere peasants and heroes.

=== Starting skills ===

 

This section will specifically address starting skills as they relate to adventure mode. For a full description of combat skills see [[Combat skill]]. Other skills that you can't start with, but which can be increased in game (such as Butchery) are described elsewhere.

The weapon you start out with will be based on which of these, plus the unarmed combat skills, is the highest. In other words, even if Swordsman is your highest weapon skill, you won't start with a sword if your Wrestler or Striker skills are better. Usually the best choice anyway is to specialize in just one melee weapon skill. Regardless of weapon skills, a '''large copper dagger''' will always be included in the starting equipment, which is handy for throwing at enemies that are just a step away or finishing off a foe pinned down by a stuck weapon. If you don't select any offensive skills, you will also start with a spear, just as an outsider would.

Not all races/civilizations can start with all of these skills. Dwarves can't start with Bowman, Pikeman, or Lasher. Elves can only use Swordsman, Bowman, and Spearman. Of the playable races, only humans have access to Pikeman and Lasher. Strangely, only outsiders can start with Knife User.

Note that different races have different names for their weapon skills. Axegoblin, Axedwarf etc.

 

*'''[[Bowman]]''': skill allows characters to use bows more effectively. Useful for taking down enemies at a distance.

*'''[[Hammerman]]''': allows characters to use crossbows in melee, mauls, and war hammers more effectively. Useful for breaking limbs.

*'''[[Lasher]]''': allows characters to use whips and scourges more effectively. Very deadly weapons.

*'''[[Maceman]]''': allows characters to use flails, maces, and morningstars more effectively. Similar to hammers.

*'''[[Swordsman]]''': allows characters to use blowguns and bows in melee, long swords, scimitars, short swords, and two-handed swords more effectively. Useful for cutting, stabbing, and whacking, but less effective than more dedicated weapons.

These skills form the basis for combat effectiveness. There is no maximum value to their utility, so if you begin with a rank equal or higher to your chosen weapon you'll become better able to benefit from other weapons when necessity or strategic advantage requires. Starting versatility can pay off early; you may choose your starting weapon, but the ''best'' available weapon is beyond your control or prediction.

*'''[[Fighter]]''': This increases with, and contributes to, melee combat whether armed or unarmed. It appears that the purpose of it is to allow melee experience to contribute to melee combat in general regardless of weapon. Repeatedly wrestling (grabbing and releasing) even a small creature will raise this skill.

*'''[[Archer]]''': This increases with, and contributes to, ranged combat including throwing. It works similarly to Fighter except for ranged attacks. It can be easily raised by repeatedly throwing rocks, making it advisable for archers to practice their marksmanship with rock throwing before using up the more finite and expensive forms of ammunition. Shooting at a wall with adjacent upward ramp one level below and picking back projectiles is also a good idea (such places often happen to be in keeps and fortresses). See the FAQ section on [[#How do I increase my skills and attributes?|increasing your skills and attributes]] for information on raising bowman/marksman skills.

==== Defensive ====

 

*'''[[Shield user]]''': Ability to block attacks with shields. Starting with even novice skill in this means that the adventurer will start with a shield. This is a no-brainer unless you're creating a two handed weapon user, and lack a broadness or height modifier on your character - necessary for one-handing any two-handed weapon, without penalty.

*'''[[Armor user]]''': A higher level of this skill reduces the encumbrance penalties of armor, allowing you to move faster when wearing it. It also affects how well armor protects you and this makes a huge difference. Unskilled armor users gain little protection. This is noticeable as you'll begin seeing far more combat reports about hits either striking you though armor, (you managed to use your armor to lessen the force of the blow) or being deflected by your armor (you used your armor to avoid the hit entirety) as your skill rises and you learn to actually use your armor to deflect hits. It is highly advised to train your armor skill before entering battle with it as the speed penalties of lower levels can be a serious handicap.

*'''[[Dodger]]''': Ability to dodge out of the way of attacks. Dodger is incredibly important and will allow you to avoid many, many hits that would have otherwise injured you. Especially important when you are fighting unarmored and can't afford a battle axe in the chest. Boost this to talented or at least close to it.

 

*'''[[Wrestler]]''': Ability to grapple, restrain, take-down, throw opponents, etc. Higher skill means all of these moves succeed more often. See [[#Wrestling and Unarmed Attacks]] for details. Can be raised very easily in-game.

*'''[[Striker]]''': Punching ability. Turns handy when weapons get stuck and there is no time to wrest them back.

*'''[[Kicker]]''': Kicking ability. Same as Striker. Kicks are slower but more deadly than punches; heavy kicks are particularly good at crushing and exploding heads.

*'''[[Biter]]''': Biting ability. Biting is surprisingly effective even with non-animal races, as after biting you can shake opponents around by your teeth, causing great damage and possibly ripping off body parts, although with sapient races this tends to lean more towards fingers or toes, perhaps the occasional hand or foot.

*'''[[Thrower]]''': Throwing any miscellaneous object including rocks, knives, axes, swords, heads, etc. Skill affects accuracy and damage caused.

*'''[[Miscellaneous object user]]''': Ability to beat things to death with anything that comes to hand, from bags to coins to their own severed body parts. Also somewhat more commonly used for shield bashing. This skill affects combat with any object, from a rock to a beehive. There are no separate skills for different items. Items actually intended to be weapons, like swords or axes, are unaffected by this skill.

 

A well written article on martial arts "Kisat Dur" can be found on the forums [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic==148015.0 here].

*'''[[Observer]]''': Helps one to notice things like ambushes, enemies who are "sneaking" (stealth movement), and traps. Detection range increases with skill, but up to a maximum of 3 tiles away. Higher levels give more information regarding opponents. Hard to train. Adding some points here is advisable.

*'''[[Swimmer]]''': Allows movement through water without drowning. A Novice swimmer can swim but will revert to being unable to swim if stunned, which happens when falling even 1 z-level into the water, or possibly after an unfriendly encounter with a creature in the water. An Adequate swimmer can swim normally (not drown) while stunned. For this reason, ''starting out as an Adequate swimmer is advisable.'' If you don't, at least start as Novice and go get some swimming practice right away.

*'''[[Ambusher]]''': The skill of {{K|S}}neaking around unobserved. This can be raised fairly easily by sneaking around while traveling from place to place when speed is not important. Enemies will have "sight ranges" from where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The red zone of sight is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; the yellow is where they might see you. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time.

*'''[[Climber]]''': The skill of climbing up walls, into trees, and around the edges of gorges. Higher levels reduce the chance of falling and increase the speed of a climbing character.

*'''[[Tracker]]''': The skill of tracking your quarry, whether it be animals or goblins. Higher levels will let you spot more tracks and help you distinguish different tracks.

*'''[[Crutch-walker]]''': The skill of standing and walking with a crutch for support. This skill only becomes available when attempting to move with a crutch in inventory, and can be developed with or without legs. At Legendary levels, a crutch walker walks with no speed reduction, and simply keeping it in hand will continue to increase attributes.

 

 

 

 

*'''[[Bone carver]]''': The art of making knick-knacks and other items by carving bones. A skilled bone carver adventurer can make items of the same quality as dwarves in fortress mode, including "*Masterpiece*". Bone carving adventurers can also make bone figurines, and customize the appearance of them.

*'''[[Writer]]''': Your adventurer's ability to craft/write upon books and scrolls, you can choose the topic as well. It is hard to acquire the materials however. Checking in libraries and old dwarven fortresses has proven profitable.

 

 

 

 

*'''[[Persuader]]''': Increases your ability to convince people of your view.

*'''[[Judge of intent]]''': Allows you to tell how the opponent is arguing, unknown if higher levels change anything.

*'''[[Flatterer]]''': Increases your ability to flatter your way out of the argument.

 

These are your general performance skills, similar to fighter skill, in that they enhance rolls for many different skills and can be leveled easily.

 

*'''[[Musician]]''': Increases quality of all instrument based performances this is your all around instrument skill, very similar to speaker and fighter, except with instruments.

 

 

 

'''Note, if your civilization does not have access to a type of instrument you will not be able to choose that skill at character generation time.'''

 

There are also procedural skills for every different kind of instrument, dance and poetic form, these will vary from world to world and by civilization and cannot be chosen at character generation, but can be leveled in play.

*'''[[Reader]]''': Allows you to read books, signs, and writing in Adventurer mode. Novice level is required in order to become a [[Necromancer]]. Can be trained slowly by reading books (if you can read). Adding more points is a waste, as novice allows you to read anything.

*'''[[Butcher]]''': The art of turning corpses into piles of delicious prepared brains and meat for food. Butchering also makes corpses and body parts less useful to enemy necromancers. You can allocate points here during character creation, but doing so is a waste because the skill doesn't really affect anything anyway. Except the taste, of course.

*'''[[Wordsmith]]''': It is unknown exactly what this skill affects, but likely it affects the quality of books and poems and other written materials.

=== Character appearance and preferences ===

As of 42.01 you are able to customise your adventurer's appearance, [[need]]s and [[Personality trait|preferences]]. Just like with any citizen in fortress mode, the needs will have to be fulfilled or else the character suffers from distraction.

In the current version, some of these are unable to be fulfilled in adventurer mode.

== Gameplay ==

=== Moving around ===

 

[[File:Advmode_normaltravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|An image of normal travel mode. A list of the closest (but not necessarily close) sites is in the top-left corner. On the right side are minimaps of the next two levels down, relative to the player. Along the bottom is information about the player.]]

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"

| {{k|8}} {{k|2}} {{k|4}} {{k|6}} {{k|7}} {{k|9}} {{k|1}} {{k|3}}

 

 

 

 

 

 

Use {{k|s}} to sit/lie down. Moving while laying down (crawling) will let you move past NPCs which are standing in your way. Also note that you will frequently get knocked to the ground in combat, and if you don't hit {{k|s}} to stand back up then you will crawl slowly along the ground, giving your opponent a lot of opportunity to attack you.

 

{{k|S}}neak will allow you to move around invisibly, limited by your Ambusher skill and the Observer skill of nearby creatures.  Enemies will have sight cones indicating where they can detect a sneaking adventurer. The central zone of sight (red, violet, or cyan) is where they will see you immediately and begin chasing you; their peripheral vision (yellow) is where they might see you. Violet and cyan central zones indicate the enemy is on a different level than yours, while red means they are on the same level. Staying out of sight will allow you to silently assassinate your foes, as they rarely seem to notice a knife in their back in time. Note that sneak is also affected by a variety of other factors detailed on the {{k|S}}neak screen, such as light level and weather.

 

 

[[File:Advmode_fasttravel_DF2014.png|thumb|400px|Fast Travel screen. The player is in a hamlet, between the houses to the right and the mead hall in the top-left area of the map. The asterisk represents a group of creatures (in this case unfriendly goblins). The world map (in sepia) is on the far right.]]

{| class="wikitable" style="border:1px solid #ccc;"

 

 

 

 

The {{k|h}} key will cycle through various amounts of the bottom bar of content hidden. The effects of each press are:

 

* 1 press: hide key reference. Allows you to see status effects on your character if obscured by the key list.

* 2 presses: hide most local name, reducing the bar to one line of text.

* 3 presses: hide less local name, eliminating the bar entirely.

If you're not sure what a tile is, the {{k|l}}ook command will tell you. In addition to being useful for identifying tiles and creatures, you can also view creatures' equipment and what items are sitting on the ground in a given tile. If in doubt, try the look command.

Move the cursor to the tile you want to look at using direction keys and {{k|Shift}}+direction. It's possible to look up and down z-levels (assuming you have line of sight) using the {{k|<}} and {{k|>}} keys. This, for example, allows you to find out if any flying creatures are above you. Hit {{k|Esc}} to exit look mode and go back to movement mode.

The game makes frequent use of messages on the screen to tell you what is going on. If there are a lot of these you may need to use {{k|Space}} to display the rest of the messages that won't fit on the screen. You can always go back and view old messages by pressing {{k|a}}.

==== Status Screen ====

Hit the {{k|Esc}} key at any time and select {{DFtext|Save Game}} to save your game. You can then come back to it later by using the {{DFtext|Continue Playing}} option in the main menu.

The {{k|u}} key can be used to do stuff like pull levers in your abandoned forts. It is also used to lower and raise the bucket when standing right next to a well so you can get water to refill your waterskin with.

 

=== Managing equipment ===

| Interact with an object in an advanced way. (unstick a weapon, refill waterskin etc.)

| Sheath your weapons and shield. (Frees your hands for tasks such as climbing or grabbing)

 

Press {{k|i}} to display a list of what you are currently carrying. Press {{k|-}} {{k|+}} {{k|*}} {{k|/}} to scroll the list. This list will show you if items are being worn, held in hands, stuck on your body, or are inside a container. Detailed information about an object can be viewed by pressing the key associated with the item.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Items can be worn using {{k|w}} and removed using {{k|r}} (the same command used for removing from containers). If an item you want to wear does not show up as an option, then it means you are already wearing too many items in the location used by that item. Try {{K|r}}emoving items in that location and then wear them again in order of priority.

''Note that "large" or "small" clothing items are too big / small for your race'' (e.g. a '''large''' giant cave spider silk sock). If you have that problem, try getting clothing from a different source. Looking at the article will reveal which race it has been fitted for.

After acquiring [[armor]] from one source or another, you'll most likely want to equip it. To do this, first make sure it is in your possession--not on the ground. You can then {{key|w}}ear it, granted you don't already have too much on that equipment slot already. You can {{key|r}}emove or {{key|d}}rop inferior equipment as necessary.

See [[Armor]] for more information on wearing things. One thing to note in particular, DF allows you to wear more than one item in the same location in many situations, for example a copper mail shirt and a copper breastplate.

There is no command for wielding items such as [[weapon]]s in specific hands. Instead, they are automatically equipped when you either {{k|g}}et them from the ground or {{k|r}}emove them from your [[backpack]] - provided the hand that would wield them is free. So in order to change [[weapon]]s or [[shield]]s you should drop items or place them into containers (such as your backpack) until your hands are free, then get items from the floor or remove them from containers which will place them in your hands. For example, put all items into backpack, remove sword from backpack, remove shield from backpack. The items will end up in the right and left hand. Simply remember the {{k|r}}emove command and the {{k|p}}ut into container command.

While normally one would only be able to equip one item in each hand, removing items from your inventory results in them being wielded regardless of whether one's hands are full.{{bug|9817}} This is especially useful with shields, as every shield will contribute a block chance to each incoming attack.

 

 

 

==== Advanced interaction ====