what affects the chances of 2 dwarfs getting married? is it just spending time together while being single and opposite gender? or do personalities have to fit? and if so, how?
I think there's a little more than just time together that's involved...I seem to remember Toady discussing relationships and marriage in one of the DF talks. I'm pretty sure he said that dwarves can't marry direct siblings but can marry cousins, and I think (but am less sure) that he said religion plays a role, so dwarves are more likely to marry if they worship the same god.
A quick survey of my dwarves says that the first five or so married couples in the units list all share at least one god, so I'm pretty sure that dwarves tend to have a religion in common after they marry.
I think dwarves can sometimes change religions, too, so I'm not sure how important it is that the dwarves start out as the same religion.
I'm reluctant to say it, as I don't want to start a rumor that may turn out to be false, but if religious iconography can influence dwarves' religion, it's possible that you could increase the chances of marriage by choosing a state religion and having a worshiper churn out a few hundred masterwork statues of the official deity, to increase religious compatibility.
If it works, though, it's probably not as important as the amount of free time dwarves have to socialize.
Hi All,
I've been wondering about this for a long time, and still haven't worked it out by myself.
I'm sure there is a really simple answer, and I'll kick myself when someone tells me...
On my refuse pile, some items flash on and off, while others remain steady. What do the flashing ones mean?
The flashing items are probably corpses of megabeasts. Corpses of normal creatures won't blink, I'm not sure about elite goblins and the like.