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40d:Thought

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Dwarf psychology is not all that complex - various events cause dwarves to gain 'thoughts'. Thoughts have a happiness/unhappiness value. The value of all the thoughts a particular dwarf has is simply summed to determine how happy or unhappy they are. If dwarves are particularly unhappy, they may throw tantrums, and may enter fell or macabre strange moods.

To view a dwarf's thoughts, press v on the dwarf. Then press p(preferences) -> z -> enter.
Now you will see descriptions on how the dwarf feels (Ecstatic, happy, content, unhappy, miserable), and what recent events made an impact on the dwarf. There are also some personal traits listed on the bottom.

Happy thoughts

A catalog of happy thoughts:

  • "Slept in a good quality bedroom recently"
  • "Dined in a good quality dining room lately"
  • "Had a pretty decent/fine/good/wonderful/truly decadent drink/meal lately"
  • "Is quite pleased with making an artifact"
  • "Admired a fine craft/furniture/building lately"
  • "Admired a own fine craft/furniture/building lately"
  • "Made a friend recently"
  • "Talked with a friend lately"
  • "Talked with the spouse lately"
  • "Was comforted by a pet recently"
  • "Received water/food recently"
  • "Gave somebody water/food lately"
  • "Has been rescued recently" - Wounded
  • "Was able to rest and recuperate lately" - Wounded
  • "Made a satisfying acquisition lately."
  • "Has been satisfied at work lately
  • "Had a satisfying sparring session lately"
  • "Pleased to have a mandate deadline met lately"
  • "Conducted a meeting in a great setting recently"
  • "Was honored to join the Fortress Guard"
  • "Took joy in slaughter lately"
  • "Beat somebody with a hammer recently" - Hammerer
  • "Was satisfied to bring up job scarcity in a meeting recently" - Jeweler
  • "Was glad to have punishment delayed recently" - Criminal
  • "Is happy to be free" - criminal after his sentence ended
  • "Was very pleased to receive a higher rank of nobility recently" - Count
  • "Was satisfied to bring up job scarcity in a meeting lately" - after a meeting at the manager's office
  • "Cried on somebody in charge lately and felt a little/lot better afterwards" - result of an unhappy dwarf using manager's consoler skill.
  • "Shouted at someone in charge recently, and felt better afterwards" - result of an unhappy dwarf using manager's pacifier skill.

Unhappy thoughts

A catalog of unhappy thoughts:

  • "Slept without a bed / Slept in the mud"
  • "Slept without a decent room lately"
  • "Ate in poor dining room recently" - Noble
  • "Slept uneasily due to noise recently"
  • "Was awoken by noise while sleeping lately"
  • "Complained of the lack of chairs / tables"
  • "Was upset to be wearing old/tattered clothing lately"
  • "Complained about the draft"
  • "Complained of thirst lately"
  • "Has been dehydrated"
  • "Has been starving lately"
  • "Lost a good friend/husband/wife/child"
  • "Had a miscarriage recently" - Married female
  • "Was knocked out during a cave-in lately"
  • "Sustained minor injuries lately"
  • "Was annoyed by vermin"
  • "Has been accosted by terrible vermin"
  • "Was disgusted by miasma"
  • "Has been annoyed by flies"
  • "Was nauseated by the sun lately"
  • "Has witnessed death"
  • "Is depressed about being confined"
  • "Was unhappy with the lack of work last season"
  • "Was unable to make suggestions about work allocations lately" - Manager
  • "Was unable to find someone to complain to about job scarcity lately"
  • "Was shouted at by an unhappy citizen lately" - After counselling an unhappy dwarf
  • "Was upset to have disappointed a noble recently" - Tax Collector
  • "Was misinformed about a room for tax collection recently" - Tax Collector
  • "Was worried not to have adequate protection lately" - Tax Collector
  • "Was upset by having a mandate ignored lately"
  • "Conducted a meeting in an awful setting recently" - Mayor
  • "Was angered that nobody could be punished for a recent failure" - Noble
  • "Was upset/flattened/shattered by a lesser's pretentious sleeping/dinind/office/burial arrangements lately" - Noble

The mechanics of thoughts

Spoiler2010.png This article contains massive spoilers. If you do not wish to have your game experience spoiled, do not scroll down!


A dwarf's emotional state is quantified in a single number. This number is computed by summing the modifier for each thought the dwarf is currently remembering. Each thought lasts one year, and after half a year has passed since gaining a thought, the modifier is halved, rounding away from zero (so 7 halved would be 4 and -9 halved would be -5). There is no way to tell the age of a thought.

The resulting number is then used in this table:

  • +50 or more: ecstatic
  • +25 to +49: happy
  • -25 to +24: quite content
  • -50 to -24: fine
  • -76 to -51: unhappy
  • -99 to -75: very unhappy
  • -100 or less: miserable

The method by which one is chosen for thoughts with multiple malus possibilities is presently unknown. It appears that some are merely incremented for each occurrence. Others apparently are chosen by the severity of the incident that caused the thought.

is happy to be free					+1000
is quite pleased with making an artifact		+1000
was forced to eat a treasured pet to survive lately	-1000
has suffered the travesty of art defacement		up to -1000 (depends on number of masterwork items created)

slept <place> recently		-30,-20,-10,-5,-3,or -2
* in the mud
* in the grass
* in the dirt
* on rocks
* on a rough cave floor
* on the floor

has <ailment> lately		-5
* complained of hunger
* complained of thirst
* been tired
has been <ailment> lately	-30
* starving
* dehydrated
* exhausted

dined in a <quality> dining room recently
* legendary	+20
* fantastic	+10
* great		+5
* very good	+3
* good		+2
slept in a bedroom like a personal palace recently	+20
slept in a <quality> bedroom recently
* fantastic	+10
* great		+5
* very good	+3
* good		+2

was worried by the scarcity of <guards,prison> lately	-10
* royal guards
* fortress guards
* cages and chains

{ate/had} a <quality> {meal/drink} lately
* legendary		+20
* truly decadent	+10
* wonderful		+5
* fine			+3
* pretty decent		+2

I plan to explain how this the notation list works later, but for now I'll
just put this note to explain the above note. It is either "ate a <quality>
meal lately" or "had a <quality> drink lately"

has lost a <close one> recently		-50,-30,-20,or -10
* spouse
* friend to tragedy
* sibling to tragedy
* child to tragedy
* mother to tragedy
* father to tragedy

I have formatted all of the above. The below may use a different formatting
system than the above.

has complained about the draft lately				-30
was upset about being relieved from duty			-30
was upset about being expelled from the Royal Guard		-30
was upset about being expelled from the Fortress Guard		-20

was able to rest and recuperate lately				+10
received water recently						+10
received food recently						+10
was rescued recently						+10

had a miscarriage recently					-50,-30,-20,or -10
has been evicted lately						-10
has been attacked lately					-30,-20,-10,or -5
has been attacked by the dead lately				-50,-30,-20,or -10
was unable to reach a room for tax collection lately		-5
was misinformed about a room for tax collection lately		-5
was upset that the tax collection didn't go smoothly lately	-10
has been taxed recently						-5
has lost property to the Royal Guard recently			-10
was upset to have disappointed a noble lately			-10
has complained of the lack of chairs lately			-30,-20,-10,-5,-3,or -2
has complained of the crowded tables lately			-2
has complained of the lack of dining tables lately		-30,-20,-10,-5,-3,or -2
was forced to eat vermin to survive lately			-30,-20,or -10
was forced to eat a beloved creature to survive lately		-50
has complained of the lack of a well lately			-5,-3 or -2
has complained of the nasty water lately			TBD
was forced to drink slime lately				-30,-20,-10,or -5
was forced to drink vomit lately				-30,-20,-10,or -5
was forced to drink bloody water lately				-30,-20,-10,or -5
slept uneasily due to noise lately				-2
slept very uneasily due to noise lately				-5
was woken by noise while sleeping lately			-10
was worried not to have adequate protection lately		-10
has been annoyed by flies					-5,-3 or -2
has been accosted by terrible vermin				-30,-20,or -10
saw something unpleasant in a cage recently			-10,-5,or -3
saw something unpleasant in a pond recently			-10,-5,or -3
has witnessed death						-30,-20,-10,or -5
has lost a pet recently						-50,-30,-20,or -10
has lost a pet recently						-50,-30,-20,or -10
accidentally killed somebody in a fit of rage recently		-50,-30,-20,or -10
killed somebody by accident while sparring recently		-50,-30,-20,or -10
was forced to endure the decay of a {related dwarf or pet} recently	-20,-10,-5,or -3
ate rotten food lately						-10,-5,or -3
drank something spoiled lately					-10,-5,or -3
was {unhappiness level} by long patrol duty lately		TBD
was disgusted by a bloody mist lately				-10,-5,-3,or -2
was disgusted by a miasma lately				-10,-5,-3,or -2
choked on smoke underground lately				-5,-3 or -2
choked on dust underground lately				-5,-3 or -2
was knocked out during a cave-in lately				-20,-10,-5,or -3
was embarrassed to have to conduct an official meeting in a dining room	-50,-30,-20,-10,-5,or -3
was very embarrassed to have to conduct an official meeting in a bedroom-50,-30,-20,-10,-5,or -3
was incredibly embarrassed not to have any rooms lately		-50,-30,-20,-10,-5,or -3
sustained major injuries recently				-30,-20,-10,or -5
sustained minor injuries recently				-20,-10,-5,or -3
slept without a proper room recently				-30,-20,-10,-5,-3,or -2
slept in a horribly substandard bedroom recently		-20
slept in a horrible bedroom recently				-10
slept in an awful bedroom recently				-5
slept in a very poor bedroom recently				-3
slept in a poor bedroom recently				-2
conducted a meeting in a horribly substandard setting recently	-30
conducted a meeting in a horrible setting recently		-20
conducted a meeting in an awful setting recently		-10
conducted a meeting in a very poor setting recently		-5
conducted a meeting in a poor setting recently			-3
dined in a horribly substandard dining room recently		-20
dined in a horrible dining room recently			-10
dined in an awful dining room recently				-5
dined in a very poor dining room recently			-3
dined in a poor dining room recently				-2
dined without a proper dining room recently			-30,-20,-10,-5,-3,or -2
worried greatly about not have a tomb after gaining another year-50,-30,-20,-10,-5,or -3
worried about having a horribly substandard tomb after gaining another year	-30
worried about having a horrible tomb after gaining another year	-20
worried about having an awful tomb after gaining another year	-10
worried about having a very poor tomb after gaining another year-5
worried about having a poor tomb after gaining another year	-3
was greatly angered at the state of demands recently		-10
was very angered at the state of demands recently		-5
was angered at the state of demands recently			-3
was upset by not having enough chests lately			-3
was upset by not having enough cabinets lately			-3
was upset by not having enough armor stands lately		-3
was upset by not having enough weapon racks lately		-3
was upset to be wearing old clothing lately			-3 or -2
was upset to be wearing tattered clothing lately		-5,-3 or -2
was very upset to have worn clothes rot away lately		-10,-5,or -3
was very embarrassed to be uncovered lately			-20,-10,or -5
was embarrassed to have no shirt lately				-10,-5,or -3
was embarrassed to have no shoes lately				-10,-5,or -3
was very embarrassed to be uncloaked lately			-20,-10,or -5
was caught in the rain recently					-3 or -2
was caught in a snow storm recently				-3 or -2
was {unhappiness level} by a lesser's pretentious {building} arrangements lately	TBD
The above is for nobles only.
was unable to find an available hammer lately			-50
was upset by having a mandate ignored lately			-5
was upset by having a mandate deadline missed lately		-3
was upset by having a request ignored lately			-5
was angered that nobody could be punished for a recent failure	-10
was upset that a criminal could not be properly punished	-5
was upset by the delayed punishment of a criminal		-5
was beaten recently						-10,-5,or -3
was beaten with a hammer recently				-20,-10,-5,or -3
is depressed about being confined				-10
was unhappy with the amount of available work last season	-10
had a terrifying nightmare about an army of the dead		-20
admired {a/own} {quality} {building} lately			TBD
admired {a/own} {quality} {building} lately			TBD
admired {a/own} {quality} {building} lately			TBD
admired {a/own} {quality} {building} lately			TBD
was comforted by a wonderful creature in a cage recently	+3
was comforted by a wonderful creature in a pond recently	+3
was pleased by having a request approved lately			+5
was glad to have punishment reduced recently			+20
was glad to have punishment delayed recently			+20
beat somebody recently						+5
beat somebody with a hammer recently				+5
was honored to join the Royal Guard				+20
was honored to join the Fortress Guard				+10
has been satisfied at work lately				+5
was happy to have pleased a noble lately			+10
made a satisfying acquisition lately				+10
adopted a new pet recently					+10
took joy in slaughter lately					+10
was comforted by a pet lately					+5
saw a beloved creature lately					+5
was pleased to have a mandate deadline met lately		+10
talked with a friend lately					+2
made a friend recently						+5
was pleased that the tax collection went smoothly lately	+10
was comforted by a lovely waterfall lately			+5
conducted a meeting in a setting worthy of legends recently	+30
conducted a meeting in a fantastic setting recently		+20
conducted a meeting in a great setting recently			+10
conducted a meeting in a very good setting recently		+5
conducted a meeting in a good setting recently			+3
was greatly pleased at the state of demands recently		+10
was very pleased at the state of demands recently		+5
was pleased at the state of demands recently			+3
celebrated having a legendary tomb after gaining another year	+30
celebrated having a fantastic tomb after gaining another year	+20
celebrated having a great tomb after gaining another year	+10
celebrated having a very good tomb after gaining another year	+5
celebrated having a good tomb after gaining another year	+3
enjoyed starting a fist fight recently				+20
enjoyed smashing up a building recently				+20
enjoyed toppling something over recently			+10
enjoyed throwing something recently				+5
had a satisfying sparring session recently			+10
was nauseated by the sun lately					-20
was irritated by the sun lately					-10