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[itg]

I don't know if this a known trick, but it's not on the wiki, and I've never seen it referenced. If it turns out to be new, I'll do some more science and post an update.

Of course, it's well-known that you can control what items a dwarf uses to build an artifact to an extent by forbidding everything but the items you want used. That's not what I'm talking about. What I've discovered is, after "Urist McMoody has begun a mysterious construction!" you can forbid some of the artifact materials without causing the mood to fail. Results of my early experimentation:

1) Forbidding one of the decoration materials causes the artifact to be created as if that material were never selected. It isn't consumed and the finished artifact will have one fewer decoration. Presumably forbidding several materials will behave similarly.
2) Forbidding all the materials causes the moody dwarf to fail the mood and go insane (Edem Regozsit, you will not be forgotten).
3) This is the interesting one. Forbidding the primary material causes the dwarf to create the artifact out of a non-existent material. In my test case, I forbade the adamantine wafer used in a weaponsmith's mood and got an iron mace. I didn't have any iron. I reloaded the save a few times and got an iron weapon each time. Iron seems to be the "default" material for weapons, and I'd expect other categories of items to have their own default materials. More research needs to be done.

The applications of this trick are pretty obvious. In the early days, you can forbid artifact decorations to keep your fortress wealth down, if you want to avoid sieges. If your dwarf picks an item you don't want consumed, forbid it. If the base material your dwarf picked is less useful than an item category's default material, you can forbid it to get a free upgrade.

[MonkeyHead]

The "everything turns to iron" bug reared its head a few updates ago, when birds would lay iron chairs. I suspect it is down to material defentions in some way.

[darkgloomie]

hm... this seems interesting...

Have you tried to check if forbidding the primary material changes what kind of experience the dwarf gets when the artifact is finished?

for example, if you forbid a bone carver's bones, would he make an iron *something*, and would he get the bone-carving experience, or some metal-related one?

[itg]

That's a good question. I'll have to wait until I get a non-weaponsmith mood. Making all my farmers forge a few bolts has finally started to pay off, but my good luck can't hold on forever.

[GreatWyrmGold]

The "everything turns to iron" bug reared its head a few updates ago, when birds would lay iron chairs. I suspect it is down to material defentions in some way.

Birds laid iron chairs because Toady left some test code in.
Iron is the first-defined inorganic material. Let's see what happens when we forbid the main material for letherworking moods or some such...road leather artifacts?

[darkgloomie]

I just got a woodcrafter taken by a fey mood, and he's been gathering wood left and right ([strike]3[/strike] 2 pieces, a rock (you bastard! that's something I'm gonna forbid the hell out of) and was looking for a cut gem, which I didn't have. Good thing I bought some raw glass from the human caravan)

... how do I forbid items again?

EDIT: I forgot to check which kind of wood he got first, so I'm stuck right now. I'll have to wait for him to finish the construction, then save-scum and forbid only that type of wood

Re:EDIT: found how to forbid items, he took pine logs, highwood logs, gabbro stones (the only ones I had! Bought from a caravan!) and the crystal glass.

Forbid the pine logs and the rock, and he made... a highwood figurine, decorated with highwood.

So i guess in case the primary element of an artifact is forbidden, it defaults to X item of the same type?

[GreatWyrmGold]

The wood he got first will be on the top in the i(t)ems list.

[darkgloomie]

The wood he got first will be on the top in the i(t)ems list.

I noticed but thanks for the heads up.

As I said, forbidding the first item just made him do something of highwood (which he had taken as well), so I'll try forbidding all items but the clear crystal and see what he does.

Hopefully something more useful than a figurine...

[GreatWyrmGold]

I doubt it. Probably the first wood in the draws, encrusted with the non-wood.

[darkgloomie]

I doubt it. Probably the first wood in the draws, encrusted with the non-wood.

Ok. Science was done, here's the result.

Artifact: Sogdol Noram, a pine *something, decorated with highwood, gabbro blocks and clear crystals

Forbidding only the pine resulted in a highwood artifact.
Forbidding pine, gabbro and highwood resulted in an iron artifact.

So my conclusion is as follows:
If multiple items of the same types are used in the construction, forbidding the primary item results into duplicating the other item of the same type. Useful to "clone" some material and jack up the price, but otherwise simply amusing.
If no items of the primary type are available (ie, all construction items are forbidden), the artifact becomes iron

The experience gained is unaffected by the end result, probably because the mood is determined by the highest skill and thus it's defined before construction begins

[GreatWyrmGold]

The material isn't iron, it's the first inorganic in the raws.Which happens to be iron.

[darkgloomie]

The material isn't iron, it's the first inorganic in the raws.Which happens to be iron.

wow nitpicky much?

Unless somebody messes with the raws and turns it into, I dunno, cotton candy, it doesn't really make a difference, now does it?

Anyway, fine, "first inorganic item in the raws".

[GreatWyrmGold]

Yeah, I'm nitpicky. So sue me...okay, don't.

[MonkeyHead]

Heh, so by placing adamantine as the first inorganic you could exploit this to get artifacts of much higher value or utility?

[GreatWyrmGold]

Yup.