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[Askar]

Hey guys, I've always loved Dwarf Fortress but I absolutely suck at it. None of my dozen-or-so forts have made it past year 3 yet. I got frustrated and quit for awhile, and I just now re-downloaded the game and this time around I'm starting with adventure mode. I like it, especially the combat, but I'm not too good at it.

None of my (30+) adventurers have gotten a full set of armor yet, let alone done anything beyond simple animal/bandit chief/vampire slaying. I just die in an hour or less every time, and it usually happens really fast. Most of the time it's due to an ambush by one of those massive bandit groups (like my personal favorite, the Poets of Quandry!) of like 10+ guys. I just don't know how to survive long in this game. I have no trouble getting food, water, or coin, but I can't get better equipment. Towns never seem to have armorsmiths, and the towns that do have armorsmiths for some reason don't actually sell any armor. I once got a nearly full set of bronze armor from an extremely large bandit group I wiped out, but less than two minutes later I explored some random tower I found and got eaten by undead.

I've followed all the guidelines in the wiki, and I've asked for advice in a dozen other places too. Noone has bothered to answer yet, but I'd really like to know what I'm doing wrong. I love how brutal the game is, but I hate having to restart every 30 minutes. That's just not fun, I feel like I'm doing the same things over and over again just to die and lose all progress.

[Alamander]

Hey bud, if you're dying heaps it might depend on how you're starting out. Try a demigod (more skills and attributes to play with) and if that doesn't help train up a bit first on animals and the like.

For all your armor needs, head for a keep. They're the really big fortress-y things in Human cities and they usually contain a buttload of armor on the upper floors. Additionally, loot corpses as much as you can to find extra bits. Don't underestimate fabric-y stuff, you wouldn't believe how many times my brain has been saved by a -rope reed fiber cloak-. (Don't forget to unequip the stuff you're already wearing first before you try to put them on.)

If you're into cheating, something worth noting is theres an exploit going around that you can hold unlimited shields in one hand, each one gives you an additional chance to block attacks.

If you're struggling with Bogeymen (which may not be the case, but...), you can easily gen a world without them. Just go into the world-building parameters and set Bogeymen Types to 0.

And lastly, recruit as many companions as you can. Use them as meat shields and causing diversions, and the ones that survive will become invaluable heroes themselves. It won't be long before you're on first-name terms with the guy who's saved your ass more times than you can count.

[Nahere]

And lastly, recruit as many companions as you can. Use them as meat shields and causing diversions, and the ones that survive will become invaluable heroes themselves. It won't be long before you're on first-name terms with the guy who's saved your ass more times than you can count.

Be warned however that ambush size scales with how many companions you have, and that you will usually be outnumbered. You may find it easier to deal with 5 bandits and 2 companions than 30 bandits and 20 companions.

[Askar]

Thanks for the advice.

I am starting out as a demigod with what I think is a good setup. I'm not really into cheating. I've also been recruiting everyone I can get, and I usually get up to 8-10 companions before I die. Bogeymen aren't an issue yet, I've only been attacked by them once and I managed to kill most of them before the sun came up.

Doesn't taking armor from keeps antagonize the kingdom that owns the keep?

[AJC]

^ no only taking stuff that has $item name$ from vendors does if the item your taking doesn't have this your free to swipe it.

[TheDorf]

Doesn't taking armor from keeps antagonize the kingdom that owns the keep?

Nope. Do keep in mind that armor is very cumbersome though, and might very well be the death of your beloved adventurer. Personally, I would recommend leather armour with a metal helmet.

[Askar]

Cleared out the keep dungeon and came away with a full set of iron armor and weapons. Killed a pair of vampires (lord and lady of the town no less!) since they were busy mutilating the high priest that jumped in to help me. With my newfound confidence, I went into the catacombs below a nearby temple to kill a bandit leader. I managed to kill all of her minions without a scratch, but she killed all of my companions when I attacked her. I cut her foot off and she severed a motor nerve in my leg, and we both crawled away from each other.

It's been a few days now and while my foot has healed I still can't walk. I assume nerve damage doesn't heal, so what do I do now? Crawl around forever?

Edit: Alternatively, would drinking vampire blood turn me into a vampire and heal the wound? I just found out you can actually become a vampire, and I happen to be carrying the lord's left hand.

[chevil]

Cleared out the keep dungeon and came away with a full set of iron armor and weapons. Killed a pair of vampires (lord and lady of the town no less!) since they were busy mutilating the high priest that jumped in to help me. With my newfound confidence, I went into the catacombs below a nearby temple to kill a bandit leader. I managed to kill all of her minions without a scratch, but she killed all of my companions when I attacked her. I cut her foot off and she severed a motor nerve in my leg, and we both crawled away from each other.

It's been a few days now and while my foot has healed I still can't walk. I assume nerve damage doesn't heal, so what do I do now? Crawl around forever?

Edit: Alternatively, would drinking vampire blood turn me into a vampire and heal the wound? I just found out you can actually become a vampire, and I happen to be carrying the lord's left hand.

Vampirism won't cure nerve damage. Werebeast transformations heal all wounds.

So your options are:
1- crawl.
2- find a crutch and learn to crutch walk.
3- get bitten by a werebeast in their beast form.

[Askar]

Having to hold my crutch with my left arm, and I just took motor nerve damage to my right arm. So I guess I'll have to hunt down a werebeast, even though I didn't want to become one.

Is motor nerve damage really common or something? I've only actually been hit twice so far and both hits caused it.

[lue]

It's just a matter of how good a hit it was.

Some tips that come off the top of my head:

• If you've been getting hit a lot in a fight, even if none of it has been serious, you should probably step back if not just retreat. It's a gamble: do I step back and keep my ability to walk, or do I think I can end this fight soon enough?
• Close quarters is not the only way to fight. If you've decided to take a step back (as per the above bullet), there are some things you can do:
• Got a (cross)bow, a quiver, and some ammo? You can fire at the target. IIRC you need enough free hands (put the other weapons you're holding in your backpack)
• You can also just throw stuff. Every adventurer I've had so far comes with a dagger in their bag, which is just right for throwing. Don't throw anything you want back, unless you're willing to go after it.
• What kind of armor did you pick up, specifically? This section of the DFWiki gives you a table with a more protective and less protective set.
• Finally, I recommend always try to wear the armor before taking off other clothes. Quite a few of the things you start out with can exist under better armor. The only things off the top of my head that need to removed are any kind of cap or veil, and your shoes/sandals.

[Askar]

Thanks for the in-depth reply. I always layer armor and clothing as much as the game will let me!

I haven't been doing ranged combat aside from the time I threw my sword at a fleeing vampire, since I usually dismember anyone I fight pretty easily without getting hit. Most of the time when I do get hit though, it's a serious hit. Heck, I'm sure more than half of my adventurers have died in an instant while they were winning a fight because the enemy somehow hit them in the face, or an archer did.

I lost my maimed adventurer to an alligator mauling anyway. It was a good death though, I gouged its eyes out with my fingers before I died. Started anew in a town with a keep wonderfully devoid of any and all loot, and over a dozen quests to kill vampires in the sewers. Quite the infestation, the only problem is I've explored the sewers in great detail from all three entrances I could find and saw no signs of enemies. I even explored the entire keep dungeon and all the catacombs in case they linked up with sewers.

[lue]

Yes, those annoying sewers. I don't believe I've once found a quest target there (although I have come across important people by accident there a couple of times). That's why I'm usually weary to take quests in a town with a keep (as that effectively means sewers too).

You can try a couple of things, depending on how adventurous you feel:

• Follow those grates you sometimes see in the streets to a river, where a sewer entrance in the river exists.
• Sometimes you have to drop down a couple of z-levels to find where they are. I forget if these drops exist underneath grates or wells (pretty sure wells). Also unsure if there is a way to get back out. These drops are also likely to be dangerous to take.

In either case, you would do well to be a vampire if you decide to be that dedicated, as they don't need to breathe underwater.

[Askar]

Thanks again lue. I had left the area for awhile, and I returned after many adventures in the wilderness. I've got a full set of iron armor and weapons now, as well as 10 followers. With that, I took once more to the sewers. I still can't find the quest targets, but I've killed well over one hundred (~150+ according to character details, plus whatever my allies killed) fish/reptile men down here without any casualties.

Also, I seem to be in a bit of a dillemna. The Law-Giver (which I guess is a lord? Wiki isn't clear on it) in the capital tasked me with killing a particularly scary 5000+ kills vampire in the same sewer, which of course I cannot find. More than that though, I ended up killing that lawgiver shortly after I spoke with him more and he mentioned having a son who died of old age over 150 years ago. He was, of course, a vampire; but that leaves me wondering who I would talk to for more quests like that assuming I ever find the sewer vampire.

Edit: I'm hesitant to become a vampire just to explore the sewers, at least not yet. I was told by a friend that skills stop leveling up when you do that, so I figure I might as well keep doing other things to improve my abilities. He also said that you can become a necromancer but he wasn't sure on the specifics. I'm avoiding the wiki topics on such things because I want my adventure to be relatively unspoiled, but I got a quest to kill a necromancer in a tower nearby. I assume that's where all the zombies in this region are coming from, and they're easy enough to kill, so without telling me if what I seek is in that tower can someone tell me whether attacking it is a good idea?

[itisnotlogical]

If you're having trouble getting food early on, there's bags full of prickle berries and strawberries in most houses. Nobody cares about stealing yet (I think that comes next version), so help yourself. As far as I can tell, a single prickle berry is as filling as a serving of dingo meat, so stock up.

[Askar]

So I thought I was past this point, but I still can't seem to survive the ambushes by the named bandit groups.

I just lost my best adventurer yet with a full set of iron and master sword skill to one. The moment the fight started I started running, my 16 companions died in seconds. I couldn't outrun them though, so I started to fight while I ran. I killed 6 guys with one strike each, but a lasher hit me in the head and killed me through my iron helm.

What do I do here? I can't possibly outfight the several dozen ambushers, and I can't outrun them either.