I figure it might be best to try and compose a list things that get asked a lot around here, especially ones not mentioned in the quick guide of the wiki. Feel free to suggest new ones for me to add to this post.
Question: Why can't I find any of the mountain halls, forest retreats, or dark fortresses that the map points to?
Answer: In the current version, non-human civilizations only exist in an abstract way, effecting world-gen and some post-world-gen functions, so you can get to them.
Question: Why did a titan that killed dozens die in one hit?
Answer: Titans have procedurally generated bodies, and as a result sometimes have bodies made from material (like fire or liquids) that falls apart on the slightest contact. The only reason they were still around long enough for you to fight is because they can only be killed in world-gen by megabeasts.
Question: Why can't I find any stores?
Answer: Stores are only located in towns, not hamlets (which is where most houses are). Towns can be seen on the [Q] map as +, and on the quick-travel map the stores look like regular houses except their icon is yellow.
Question: Where can I find some gear for my non-human-sized adventure?
Answer: Unfortunately, stores only sell human-sized clothing and as mentioned before non-human civs don't really exist, meaning your only hope is to salvage some from a lair or to get some from a dead ambushing enemy (f.y.i., goblins, dwarfs, and elves wear the same sized gear)
Question: For some strange reason I can wield dozens of items at once. Are there any advantages to this?
Answer: Extra shields don't make you more likely to block (though it helps to have a backup in case you lose one), but more weapons may make opportunity attacks more plentiful (needs verification).
Question: How do I avoid drowning whenever I fall into water?
Answer: A Dabbling/non-swimmer will drown in any water at level 7/7 (which is most of it that you'll see in adventure mode), can only exit water via a submerged ledge (which you'll pretty much only find on a beach), and be stunned whenever they fall into water unwilling (as a result of being shoved, thrown, or dodging of a ledge).
A novice swimmer can swim without drowning in level 7/7 water and can exit level 7/7 water by ledges using Alt-move so long as they aren't drowning, but will still be stunned and start drowning if they fall into water unwilling (when alt-moving into water
make sure you select going down and horizontally toward the water, otherwise it counts as falling in).
A swimmer at any level above that won't be stunned from falling it, and skill level only affect speed of swimming.
Question: What's the difference between when you selected Peasant, Hero, and Demi-god?
Answer: The only effect is how points you get to spend at the start on attributes and skills and a note on that adventure's legends entry.
Question: How can I find cave entrances?
Answer: Ask people about their surroundings enough and they might mention a cave.
Question: How do I twist or remove a weapon embedded in a foe?
Answer: Twist by trying to walk into their tile (5 if they're in the same tiles as you), remove it by pressing [ I ] and selecting the weapons in red, then "gain possession". Twisting it also automatically removes it.
Question: How do try to disarm an enemy?
Answer: Besides damaging their hand until they can't hold anything, you can grab the weapon with a free hand, press [ I ], selected the weapon in red, then chose "gain possessions" (please note, this isn't too likely to work unless you have a very high wrestling skill).
Question: What's the difference between a spear and pike?
Answer: Pikes are twice the size of spears, and thus may require both hands to wield properly, but will penetrate wounds deeper making fatal injuries more likely.
Question: What's the difference between a crossbow and a bow?
Answer: Crossbows fire bolts and use the hammer skill when used as a melee weapon. Bows fire arrows and use the swordsman skill when used as a melee weapon. Functionally they're pretty much identical because ammo is found in roughly equal quantities and it seems as though they do the same damage with equal level skill, weapon quality, etc.
Question: What's the difference between a war hammer and a maul?
Answer: A maul is much bigger and has a greater contact area, meaning a successful hit is more damaging but attacks are deflected by armor more easily.
Question: What skill do what various things not normally used as melee weapons use?
Answer: Picks use Mining.
Carving forks, slicing knives, carving knives, and boning knives all use Knife-User.
Meat clevers use Axe.
Bows and blowguns use Sword.
Crossbows use Hammer.
Pretty much any else (including bolts, arrows, and ballista bolts) uses Misc. Object User.
Question: Why aren't my attributes changing? Do attributes even increase anymore?
Answer: Yes, but they increase
much more gradually since .31.17 than before.
Question: What do these attributes affect, and how can I increase them?
Answer: This is a list of what attributes individual skills you use increase, and it's assumable that all of the increased attributes affect how well an adventurer can use those skills.
Question: Why does the game go straight from asking me if I want to play to asking if you want to continue in Fortress/Adventure mode?
Answer: You can only use one mode in a region at a time. You can retire an adventure in a friendly civ, which will reset your reputation but otherwise have little affect, to let you play another mode. If you really want to, you can copy that world, but then it's more like you have two separate but very similar worlds.
Question: The compass says *** (you're standing on it), but why is there's nothing here?
Answer: All the compass point to is the entrance or the center of a site (which depends on the kind of site). Whatever you're looking for will only be in that general area.
Question: How can I make sure to stay in hiding?
Answer: Each non-friendly unit has a 7x7 square with them in the center where they might spot sneaking units, depending on the hiding unit's Ambusher skill and their Observer skill. So long as there's at least three tiles between you and any enemy unit, horizontal or vertical, there's no chance you'll be seen.
Question: Are there any ways to avoid bogeyman than staying indoors at night or traveling with company?
Answer: Bogeyman will not come out to attack an adventure that is on a mountain (and possibly other terrain), but if they are out they
will continue chasing you if you enter a mountain. Also keep in mind that lairs count as indoors, though obviously you want to kill whatever is in them before sleeping.
Question: Why won't this shop-keeper let me buy stuff with money?
Answer: You're probably in a different civilization than the one which made the money, meaning all you can do with it here is sell it for the price of its material. If you don't want to be tied to a single civ like that, try
Question: I just bought/sold something, but why isn't it/the money in my inventory?
Answer: It doesn't automatically go into your bag, you have to pick up the item(s) from the shelves or the money from the table two tile in front of the chest.
Question: Why is my skill level not going off by cutting this guys freaking head off?
Answer: You don't get experience from fighting unconscious opponents, no matter how strong they are, except possibly wrestling.
Question: How do I choose which body-part to aim a projectile at?
Answer: You can't, aimed attacks are currently for melee weaponry only.
Question: Why did attacking by moving into an enemy's space make me bite their armored boot instead of chopping their unarmed leg?
Answer: Your adventure had an opportunity attack, a random event where a specific body part became extremely easy to hit with a specific attack, which you would have seen with a blue "!" if you chose the turn's attack yourself. When you attack like that it uses the same decision making as other units do, which unfortunately is rather simplistic right now: all it does is prioritize best shot (thus opportunity attacks are almost always chosen when available), then most important body part, then which attack your adventure is good at, not accounting for thins like armor. So it will often make the easiest attack even if it has no chance of causing actual damage.
Question: How did a fish in a river attack me when I was twenty feet above it?
Answer: Altitude doesn't currently affect ability for attacks to connect, so even if you're 5 z-levels higher than the water being horizontally adjacent to a river tile makes you vulnerable to being attacked.
Question: Does wearing gauntlets or metal boots make punches or kicks more damaging?
Answer: Unfortunately, no, they're the same as if your adventure had bare hands or feet.
Author
Topic: Adventure Mode FAQ thread (Read 10135 times)