Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Grendus]

The idea of dwarves having some weird alcohol-based physiology is an in-joke among fans about a quirk of the game mechanics. Let's not take it too seriously, please.

Except dwarves are literally alcohol dependent, growing increasingly lethargic and slow when subsisting on water.

I wonder if it affects combat

Dwarves are alcoholics. It has nothing to do with their biology or nutritional requirements, they're addicted. This is where biology comes into play - since dwarves can live incredibly long lives even if they spend most of the time swizzled, they probably have incredibly powerful livers to process the booze (in fact, if poisons are implemented I'd expect that to be a factor). Send an alcoholic in to do a job when they've been clean for a few days and they move slowly as well.

The reality is that a wounded dwarf would want more booze to combat the pain, screw this water nonsense.

[Vactor]

they aren't just alcoholics, if that were the case they would become well adjusted and healthy after spending a year or two free from booze.  As it stands they are permanently impaired by drinking water, and continue to be so until they have access to booze again

[Felblood]

If they could recover, they wouldn't be alcoholics anymore, and thus would cease to be dwarves. Naturally, this isn't something we want to try to model.

[LordZorintrhox]

Fandom vs. Reality: The Eternal Battle

Yeah, Grendus is right: if you spend a significant part of your life with a buzz, or down right sloshed, and go off of the booze cold turkey, your body will take months to completely detox and regain normal functionality.  You will feel like shit for weeks.  Ever hear of the DTs?  Yeah, not fun.  Some people hallucinate, and you could easily hurt yourself.

The problem is of course flavor vs. realism; Dwarves should just fucking like booze, that's what they do.  We like it that way, and it is funny.  Whether or not they should ever 'recover' from their culturally imposed dependence on alcohol is something I think we can only leave to Toady's sensibilities.

And I think he might just lean in the direction of this suggestion, since inverting the two doesn't sacrifice game mechanics nor affect anything.  If they preferred water, you'd have to sterilize it etc. Having pure water an anesthetic would be an acceptable little joke, I think.  I'd vote against it, but it wouldn't put me off the game or the overall design.

I take serious issue with Vactor: that right there is flamebait.  How well adjusted you are after putting off booze from a drunken lifestyle is questionable, because if you drink to excess, then it is likely you either have been socialized in that drunk environment and/or grew up in it.  Without the booze, your mind might not be pickled, but that doesn't mean you aren't thinking like it is nor that the environment that lead you to drink hasn't left emotional and psychological scars that remain after you're sober.

EDIT: Okay, that went a little too far, I'll leave it at this.

[ChairmanPoo]

I dont like this distilled water thing. It sort of abuses the in-joke. It's not particularily funny either. And sounds silly.