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[EternalCaveDragon]

Prospective modder here, I'm currently thinking of waiting for the next big release before getting to the serious work of modding, but I do have a few questions regarding both creatures and entities before I do anything:

1. Can a creature that's already transformed once be transformed by a syndrome that affects the CREATURE_CLASS of its transformed state? Or is a creature limited only to one transformation overall, period? Namely, the first transformation is an induced syndrome via ingestion, while the second transformation is initiated via an interaction.

2. Can a reaction spawn a creature as its end result? The idea is that an entity will have a custom reaction (using the Alchemy skill) that will result in creatures they would have access to via ANIMAL tags.

3. I read on the wiki that an entity lacking a position at civ-level with the MILITARY_GOALS responsibility results in their sites declaring war on each other, and that a civ intended to be viable should have one. Does this behavior (without the position) still happen in the current version? And if so, would making a position that's appointable by a site's leadership position (with MILITARY_GOALS) with the MAKE_PEACE_AGREEMENTS responsibility mitigate this? Or does that only work on the civ level?

4. Are the effects of the ratios under a given ORIENTATION and numbers of the LITTERSIZE tokens modeled during world-gen? For example if you want to try to limit a certain race's numbers overall so they don't dominate too much and perhaps even steadily decline after a point as other civs become more populated.

5.Does anyone know if having the SPOUSE_CONVERTER tag on a creature used as the main race of an entity does anything unusual? Whether in world gen or in either mode?

[Fish Preferred]

2. Can a reaction spawn a creature as its end result? The idea is that an entity will have a custom reaction (using the Alchemy skill) that will result in creatures they would have access to via ANIMAL tags.

Not if they aren't vermin, and probably not even if they are.

5.Does anyone know if having the SPOUSE_CONVERTER tag on a creature used as the main race of an entity does anything unusual? Whether in world gen or in either mode?

Every other race will consider spouse converters a threat, adventurers will get kill quests for them. They sometimes weirdly get along, but it usually results in a fight to the death. Otherwise, it seems to work fine.

[Eric Blank]

1) no, a creature that is currently transformed cannot again transform until the first transformation ends, but if the second syndrome lasts beyond the end of the first, then the creature will transform back into itself then immediately transform into the second creature. I think...
2) you cant create non-vermin creatures (you can definitely create live vermin though and they do escape the workshop and buzz around and bite people if they have a bite token), but you can use a material syndrome to transform one creature into the desired one. I call this a sacrifice, usually, i just set it up to only target non-intelligent creatures for sacrifice and pasture livestock like goats nearby.
3) no idea, have to test it and find out.
4) again, no idea.
5) what he said, probably going to encounter weird behavior.

[EternalCaveDragon]

2. Can a reaction spawn a creature as its end result? The idea is that an entity will have a custom reaction (using the Alchemy skill) that will result in creatures they would have access to via ANIMAL tags.

Not if they aren't vermin, and probably not even if they are.

5.Does anyone know if having the SPOUSE_CONVERTER tag on a creature used as the main race of an entity does anything unusual? Whether in world gen or in either mode?

Every other race will consider spouse converters a threat, adventurers will get kill quests for them. They sometimes weirdly get along, but it usually results in a fight to the death. Otherwise, it seems to work fine.

1) no, a creature that is currently transformed cannot again transform until the first transformation ends, but if the second syndrome lasts beyond the end of the first, then the creature will transform back into itself then immediately transform into the second creature. I think...
2) you cant create non-vermin creatures (you can definitely create live vermin though and they do escape the workshop and buzz around and bite people if they have a bite token), but you can use a material syndrome to transform one creature into the desired one. I call this a sacrifice, usually, i just set it up to only target non-intelligent creatures for sacrifice and pasture livestock like goats nearby.
3) no idea, have to test it and find out.
4) again, no idea.
5) what he said, probably going to encounter weird behavior.

Aha. Guess I'll go ahead and do some experimentation of my own then. Thanks for the answers guys. 

[Admiral Badger]

Aight, so I got what I hope is a simple question, mostly because my eyes hurt from all the failed searching.

How does the length of hair (or I guess any tissue really) translate to the real world? I know dorfs have a max beardlength of 1000, and trolls have 300 length fur, but what does that actually look like? What value corresponds to what descriptor?

For reference, I'm dicking about with kobolds, trying to give them short, coarse, chihuahua-like fur, but I've been searching through RAW after RAW, and post after post on multiple sites, and have so far been unsuccessful on finding a good point of reference.

Please help?

[Hugo_The_Dwarf]

I can't comment that upping the LENGTH of a tissue makes it thicker (IE base value + growth rate can make the original part larger)
now that's not your question, I'd just say give them a hair length with the range of like [10:15:20:25:30:35:40] then tack on [APP_MOD_DESC_RANGE:11:30:50:100:100:100]

This would have it say "the Kobold's hair is extremely short, very short, short" all the time (not all 3 at once, but you'll see those for all kobolds depending on their RNG'd hair length)

just don't give them the modifer for the hair to grow aka [APP_MOD_RATE]

100 length is normally the "default" or base value for everything, so above or below that scaled in those directions

[Admiral Badger]

I can't comment that upping the LENGTH of a tissue makes it thicker (IE base value + growth rate can make the original part larger)
now that's not your question, I'd just say give them a hair length with the range of like [10:15:20:25:30:35:40] then tack on [APP_MOD_DESC_RANGE:11:30:50:100:100:100]

This would have it say "the Kobold's hair is extremely short, very short, short" all the time (not all 3 at once, but you'll see those for all kobolds depending on their RNG'd hair length)

just don't give them the modifer for the hair to grow aka [APP_MOD_RATE]

100 length is normally the "default" or base value for everything, so above or below that scaled in those directions

Righteous, I thank'ee kindly. I did intend on letting it grow longer though, with the idea to regulate it using the styling rules so that lazy/uncultured bolds would get scruffy and long.

...I suppose I could also make them shearable now that I think about it, so as to force elf sympathizers wannabe hippies to cut their damn hair after a point. Again though, thanks a lot!

[KCIV]

Sort of new to DF and I attempted to search around for this question but figured this might be the best place to ask.

Is there a way via modding to essentially attach 'notes' to an entity (dwarfs specifically)

My end goal is to basically allow you to write up 'notes' on a dwarf (which stays attached to them) and can be edited or referenced later.

Currently during Play I keep a notebook handy and scribble down notes about history, events, etc, But really wanted to expand the 'in game' aspect of Nickname giving.

[TomiTapio]

Is there a way via modding to essentially attach 'notes' to an entity (dwarfs specifically)
My end goal is to basically allow you to write up 'notes' on a dwarf (which stays attached to them) and can be edited or referenced later.

No way to attach notes(custom text fields) to creatures that I know of. Just nicknames to your citizens.
A creature species has the prefstrings (likes <creature species> for their <prefstring>) but they're not for individuals. (In DF modding terms an "entity" means a civilization.)

DFHack "For preferences/personality/sex/appearance, you might have to use gui/gm-editor, which isn't very user-friendly if you don't know what you're looking for" -- Lethosor in 2015.

[EternalCaveDragon]

EDIT: Nevermind, I was being dumb and not using the body detail plans to make this much smoother.

[Orbotosh]

How well has this system worked for making syndromes that require a prerequisite syndrome class?

• Have an omnipresent and regularly occurring regional interaction with a syndrome class that prevents the goal syndrome from applying.
• Have another syndrome (from a substance or whatever) that makes the regional interaction unable to keep doing its work on the host.
• After syndrome 1 expires for the last time, apply the goal syndrome.

Also, how does the game generate ethnicities and how do I make a species always generate as, for example, a middle east/oriental mix?

[EternalCaveDragon]

For 1-3, I've looked through another mod, and it seems that you can limit if a syndrome takes effect or not via IT_CANNOT_HAVE_SYNDROME_CLASS, and then type in the class of the syndrome that blocks it. So the two can be mutually exclusive via that tag. Though oddly it doesn't seem to appear on the wiki Yes it does it's on the interaction token page not the syndrome page. It's what keeps vampires from becoming werebeasts and vice versa. And for ethnicities, you can just take out the color tags you don't want from the creature file. But if you may want multiple copies of the creature file (with different creature IDs) if you want the others to appear separately.

[Eric Blank]

Keep in mind syndrome classes and creature classes are not the same thing, so if you want a creature to be immune you also have to add an exemption/inclusion line for that creature ID or creature class

[EternalCaveDragon]

So, I'm trying to come up with a blood transmitted syndrome with two possible outcomes. One outcome is fatal and the other is supposed to be a boon of an extended life and better healing rate (I know I can do this via body transformation). How might one go about achieving this sort of ratio, if it even can be?

[TomiTapio]

So, I'm trying to come up with a blood transmitted syndrome with two possible outcomes. One outcome is fatal and the other is supposed to be a boon of an extended life and better healing rate (I know I can do this via body transformation). How might one go about achieving this sort of ratio, if it even can be?

Hmm... I'd go with "100% chance of the good effects, 50% chance of death".
Dwarf death is easily done with a high-severity medium-duration paralysis (suffocation). I guess delay the start of transformation until the paralysis-death window is closed.

http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Syndrome#The_anatomy_of_a_syndrome
Syndrome severity research thread: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=173349.0