Editing 40d:Vermin

'''Vermin''' are small [[creature]]s such as [[rat]]s, [[bat]]s, and [[lizard]]s which are difficult to see. The presence of vermin can be noted if you are particularly observant, as they will occasionally blink into and out of view on the screen. The main distinctions between vermin and [[creature]]s are that vermin i) do not attack and cannot be engaged in [[combat]] or trigger [[trap]]s, ii) do not provide [[meat]], [[fat]], [[bone]]s, [[skull]]s or [[skin]], and iii) do not [[breeding|breed]], but "spawn", spontaneously appearing in their natural environment or [[biome]].

 

Most vermin can be tamed and then adopted by dwarves, if the [[dwarf]] has a preference for a particular type, which is rare. [[Purring maggot]]s can be milked for [[dwarven milk]]. A few have extracts. Occasionally dwarves will eat them as food, even if you have plenty of available "real" food.

Small [[animal trap]]s are designed specifically to catch and hold vermin. A '''catch a live land animal''' order issued at a [[kennel]] or [[butcher's shop]] tells a [[trapper]] to seek out and catch a vermin [[animal]] inside one of these traps (mostly from your food stockpiles). The animal will then be brought to an animal [[stockpile]]. Alternatively, animal traps can be built and baited, which is a better way to catch outside vermin.

Caught vermin can then be [[tame]]d by anyone with the [[animal training]] labor active at a kennel. Some vermin (those with the tag [PET_EXOTIC]) require the presence of the [[dungeon master]] to be tameable.

Stray, untamed vermin that are caught in animal traps are edible, and will be eaten live as exotic cuisine by any dwarf who happens to be nearby.

Dwarves who are [[food|starving]] will also attempt to find and eat vermin, but if they do not have a preference for that vermin as a food type, they will receive a bad [[thought]] from doing so. In a fortress with [[cat]]s, it may be difficult or impossible for the dwarves to find enough vermin to survive starvation, as even a small number of cats are ruthlessly effective at controlling the vermin population.  If they are not pets, it may be best to just butcher the cats for food.

[[Cat]]s are chiefly useful for their ability to hunt down and kill vermin.  Cats will wander around the fortress and surrounding lands killing vermin. As animals do not presently eat, this is done only for sport. This reduces or eliminates the possibility of [[dwarves]] receiving bad thoughts for being accosted by vermin — dead vermin do not bother any dwarf — but exposes a risk that a rotting [[rat]] or other larger vermin will release a cloud of [[miasma]] and upset any dwarves who pass through the cloud.

Another method of controlling vermin is by building [[animal trap]]s and periodically catching vermin with trappers to be consumed in some fashion.  The trapped vermin may be used for a variety of purposes, including being eaten, tamed, or made into extracts, or can be relocated to a [[cage]] so that the trap may be used again.

Most catchable [[fish]] are technically considered "vermin" by the game, see the [[fish]] article for a complete list. Many vermin do not show up in [[Calendar|winter]]. Vermin with no "value" are not capturable (except, perhaps, by [[elves]]). The values given in the table below are for tamed vermin; untamed vermin have only half the value, rounded down.

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|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|{{Tile|☼|2:0:0}}

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|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"| Found in soil.

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|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Flier. Corpse can inexplicably [[Main:Boatmurdered|block doors open]].

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|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|{{Tile|∙|0:0:1}}

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|{{Tile|~|7:0:0}}

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Found in [[soil]], only seen in [[Adventurer mode]]

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|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Makes webs, bites to inject paralyzing venom, [[extract]] is venom, carnivore

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|{{Tile|·|6:0:0}}

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|{{Tile|·|4:0:1}}

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|{{Tile|∙|6:0:0}}

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|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|4

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Exotic [[pet]], makes webs, bites to inject stunning venom, [[extract]] is venom, carnivore

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|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Exotic [[pet]], [[extract]] is [[liquid fire]]

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|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Exotic pet (if tamed), otherwise [[milk]]able for dwarven milk [[extract]]

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{{Category|Vermin| }}