Editing 40d:Region

Each region is made up of several [[biome]]s affecting available flora and fauna. A region also has one or more [[climate]]s, and may be in the presence of [[Regions#Surroundings|good]] or [[Regions#Surroundings|evil]] [[civilization]]s. Maybe most importantly, a region also usually contains several differing "stacks" of stone [[layer]]s that may or may not map with the biomes. Some information on what the region contains can be gathered from the [[Map legend]].

'''Surroundings''' affect the types of [[plant]] life, wild [[animal]]s and [[creature]]s which will appear in play within a given biome.  It is possible to start a [[fortress]] that overlaps multiple alignment types (for example good, evil, savage, and benign). Some players consider this desirable, as it provides diversity in your little corner of the world, but it also has its dangers in the form of more ferocious wildlife.  

One region occupies one tile (represented by a single [[Map legend|character/icon]]) in the middle embark map (accordingly titled ''Region'') and is shown in detail in the left ''Local'' map where you pick your precise [[Location|actual site map]] from the area blocks shown there. There are 256x256 = 65536 regions in a large world. Each one is composed of 16x16 = 256 '''blocks''' (or '''area blocks''', as shown on the Local map) of 48x48 = 2304 tiles each. This results in 38,654,705,664 tiles total ''before'' you take Z-layers into account.

When starting a new fortress, the game allows you to choose almost any regions on the world map. Different regions have different [[creature]]s, [[tree]]s (or lack of same, depending on how mountainous, dry or hot the region is), different climates, maybe a source of [[water]] (fresh or salt), and alignments ranging from good to evil and benign to savage.

''See [[biome]]s for a complete list of combinations.''

* [[Mountain]]

* [[Temperate]]

* [[Tropical]]

* [[Broadleaf forest]]

* [[Coniferous forest]]

* [[Savanna]]

* [[Shrubland]]

* [[Sand desert]]

* [[Tundra]]

''Too cold and you'll freeze, too hot and you'll die of thirst. Somewhere in the middle- [[dragon]]s will get you.''

In colder [[climate|environments]], surface water will freeze for more of the year. Additionally, fierce enough cold will cause massive frostbite damage to extremities if outside too long (oddly enough, this tends to cause bleeding to death).

In hotter environments, surface water may evaporate faster than it is replaced by rainfall (so if there is no [[brook]] or [[river]] then there may be no source of water after a few months). Hot enough climates can even cause any exposed alcohol to boil away.

''[[Tree]]s are chopped down for [[wood]], a very versatile building material.''

''Other means [[shrub]]s and bushes, or maybe cacti. These can be harvested for food and seeds.''

Surroundings affect the types of plant life and wild [[animal]]s which will appear in play. It is easily possible to start in a local region containing multiple alignments.

Some plants and animals are unique to a certain type of surroundings and will only be found if those surroundings are present (somewhere) on the map.  The [[creature]]s article has an Alignment heading that will tell you whether or not a creature can possibly show up in a specific alignment.  Note that most creatures also require a specific [[climate]] to spawn in.  Again, it's important to check the specific biomes making up your site.  Once a [[creature]] spawns on the map, it is under no compunction to stay in its own biome and can roam as it pleases.  Because of this, the specifics of what means what can be difficult to pin down sometimes.   

'''Neutral''' regions are the easiest to understand.  They generally mimic the real world, with recognizable wildlife depending on the area.  They can be quite dangerous depending on the region (much like the real world), holding anything from generally non-aggressive but physically powerful enemies such as [[gorilla]]s and [[elephant]]s to the very aggressive and very dangerous [[giant eagle]].  As one might expect, ''Benign Neutral'' zones are really very safe, while ''Savage Neutral'' areas can pose some major difficulties, depending on the dominating climate and landforms.  You'll find most of the standard aboveground plants in these alignments, such as [[prickle berry|prickle berries]], [[rope reed]], [[wild strawberry|wild strawberries]] and the like.

'''Good''' biomes tend to have less aggressive and weaker [[creature]]s, exception made for the pain-in-the-ass [[unicorn]]. Good regions also support the wild [[sun berry]], which makes the best [[booze]] in the game. There are generally slight changes between ''Benign Good'' and ''Savage Good''.   

* Animals: [[mountain gnome]], [[satyr]], [[unicorn]], [[merperson]]

* Plants: [[sun berry]]

* Trees: [[Tree#List_of_Trees|feather tree]]

* Vermin: [[fluffy wambler]], [[fairy]], [[pixie]]

'''Evil''' regions are more dangerous than their ''Neutral'' and ''Good'' counterparts across the board.  At their root, ''Evil'' regions are modified ''Neutral'' regions.  In addition to a pack of other [[creature]]s that are nasty, dangerous, and spiteful such as [[beak dog]]s, [[harpy|harpies]], and [[ogre]]s, ''Evil'' regions modify their ''Neutral'' base by infecting many (but not all) of the indigenous [[creature]]s with various forms of [[undead|undeath]].  [[Undead]] have a resistance to piercing attacks (precluding Crossbow-heavy defenses) and are always far more aggressive than their living counterparts, and they leave a fraction of the corpse benefits (zombies fall down rotten and are unbutcherable, skeletons only leave bones).  Clearly, hunting undead animals for food is pointless, and finding kills in a countryside crawling with [[undead]] is outstandingly dangerous.  [[Undead]] shrubs are useless for gathering, too.  Also, fish can be infected with undeath, and can even walk on land to attack fishermen.  Even ''Benign Evil'' is very difficult for beginning players to earn a niche to work in, so it should be reserved for a challenge play only.

* Animals: [[ogre]], [[dark gnome]], [[beak dog]], [[foul blendec]], [[grimeling]], [[werewolf]], [[harpy]], [[troll]], [[strangler]], [[nightwing]], [[ice wolf]], [[blizzard man]], [[sea monster]]

* Plants: [[sliver barb]]

* Trees: [[Tree#List_of_Trees|glumprong]]

* Vermin: [[demon rat]], [[blood gnat]], [[knuckle worm]], [[phantom spider]]

* Animals: [[giant eagle]], [[giant cheetah]], [[giant leopard]], [[giant jaguar]], [[giant tiger]], [[giant lion]], [[tigerman]], [[slugman]], [[snailman]], [[leechman]], [[giant desert scorpion]], [[sasquatch]], [[sea serpent]]

* Plants: [[whip vine]]

* Trees: [[Tree#List_of_Trees|highwood]]

* Vermin: [[two-legged rhino lizard]], [[moghopper]], [[fox squirrel]], [[acorn fly]]

* [[Biome]]

:*[[Embark]]