Editing v0.34:Slab

{{Quality|Superior|20:11, 25 April 2013 (UTC)}}{{av}}

{{furniture|name=Slab
|tile=∩
|stone=y
|metal=n
|glass=n
|rooms=
* [[sculpture garden|Sculpture Garden]]
}}

'''Slabs''' are buildings which can serve as an alternative to a [[coffin]] in the event that a dwarf's body cannot be retrieved, thus preventing the dwarf from haunting the fortress as a ghost. Slabs must be constructed at a [[mason's workshop]] ({{k|Alt}}+{{k|s}}lab) and require one [[stone]].

Slabs can also be built solely for decoration purposes, to increase a [[fortress]]'s or [[room]]'s [[value]]. They can be considerably more useful for this than [[statue]]s, since poor layout decisions will not trap dwarves. 

In order to dedicate a slab to a particular dwarf, a slab must be carved into a [[memorial]] at a [[craftsdwarf's workshop]] by an [[Engraver]] (using {{k|Alt}}-{{k|s}}:Engrave memorial slab). The engraver will retrieve the slab and engrave it. After it has been engraved, the slab may be built from the {{k|b}}uilding menu under {{k|Alt}}+{{k|s}}lab. In order to prevent placing slabs which have not yet been engraved, make sure to E{{k|x}}pand the list when selecting which slab should be placed.

You can create a [[sculpture garden]] from a slab's {{k|q}}uery menu. Unlike [[statue]]s, slabs do not block movement.

In [[adventurer mode]], slabs may be used as signs, or be engraved with the secrets of life and death in [[necromancer]] [[tower]]s, guarded by an [[undead]] army. To read them, you need to pick them up with {{k|g}}, enter advanced interaction menu with {{k|Shift}}+{{k|I}}, select the slab, select {{k|a}} to read it and voila! You can raise the dead too. Basic [[Reader|reading]] [[skill]]s are required to do this, so make sure to start your adventurer with some reading skill.

An engraved slab can be read in fortress mode using {{k|t}} {{k|enter}} {{k|v}} and contains information on the arrival and death of the creature. If it slew any important figures or fortress dwarves, it may be noted on the slab as well.

If you're not sure how a dwarf or creature died, engraving and placing a slab may reveal it. In the case of military action, the killer is listed at the end of the entry. If, for example, a drawbrige atom smasher squashed your dwarf, that will be the engraved folly.

{{Buildings}}
{{Category|Furniture}}