Tower (necromancy) - Dwarf Fortress Wiki (2024)

Necromancer towers ( / I) are special structures built by necromancers during world generation. The number of necromancer towers is influenced by human populations (which requires low savagery and large tracts of neutral land) and the number of secrets in world generation. Necromancer towers can be a source of fun in both adventurer mode and fortress mode.

Necromancer towers can also become "deactivated" without any interference by the player, instead appearing as a light gray version of its normal tile on the map; sometimes being taken over by bandits or other outcasts after the defeat of the original owner(s), typically by coalitions of mortal civilizations (whose soldiers may claim the slab, or various books, as spoils and heirlooms, and subsequently lose them in the woods or to thieves).

Zombies can build up towers to increase a site's zombie cap. If the necromancer is at their zombie cap, they can still raise more zombies, but they are added to a "wilderness population" instead. The wilderness population can still be used for invasions, but they are also able to roam in to player forts in the region and also encounter adventurers. Such regions become evil slowly, emanating outward visibly from the tower tile by tile. Necromancers can infiltrate site graves and catacombs to sneak out some zombies, before they are ready to attack (in the previous versions, they would only raid old battlefields). Necromancers captured during such risky infiltrations are generally executed.

Adventurer Mode[edit]

In adventurer mode, necromancers are most commonly found in towers, which generally have a few necromancers and a lot of undead. Becoming a necromancer yourself requires reading about the secrets of life and death, which are found either on a slab or in a book. If you decide to attack the tower, very high combat skills will be required to survive the zombie guards, and the necromancers themselves will be quick to reanimate any dead companions you happen to have brought. Alternatively, you can become a vampire either by drinking another vampire's blood or defiling a temple of your god, which will make the undead passive to your presence (since you're undead yourself now) and allow you to simply stroll your way into the place and even have a chat with the necromancers. Becoming a werebeast may help in fighting the zombies, but keep in mind that undead don't tolerate werebeasts like they do vampires.

Necromancers will occasionally leave the tower with a few zombies, patrol the area, and then come back later.

Towers consist of a central tower and, typically, one or more smaller structures called barrows.^v0.47.01 The tower and barrows will contain corpses, necromancer experiments, traps, and the treasure that the necromancer(s) have collected throughout world generation.

Fortress Mode[edit]

"Tower" listed as a neighbor on the embark screen indicates the presence of a necromancer tower nearby (within 10 embark tiles on the region screen, making a 21x21 area of influence). The necromancer will regularly send undead to attack you, leading to immense amounts of fun should you not be properly equipped to deal with undead enemies.

Upon embarking, instead of the customary starting message "ere the wolves get hungry" (where "wolves" can also be any creature with the [LARGE_PREDATOR] token), the message "ere the <necromancer experiment name> get hungry" may appear. Experiments from that tower may indeed pay you a not–so–friendly visit.

Towers can be raided, and the books and slab stored inside can be brought as loot, allowing your dwarves to learn necromancy without the need to play adventurer mode. Conquering a tower will cause its evil influence upon the nearby area to recede over time.

Technical information[edit]

Creatures that can animate corpses ([IE_EFFECT:ANIMATE]) and develop the dream of ruling the world are able to build a tower. Vanilla necromancers typically develop this goal through the personality changes granted through their "curse" and are exiled from society due to showing signs of an unnatural lifespan ([CE_ADD_TAG:NO_AGING]), resulting in the typical behavior.

If there are multiple secrets in a world, pursuers of immortality may learn multiple secrets before gaining a secret that grants [NO_AGING]. If these aspiring immortals join an existing tower, they can share their knowledge of secrets with other tower residents and future apprentices.