Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Stalhansch]

[Preamble]
A couple of years ago I became rather obsessed with understanding the Dwarf Fortress combat system. I was often annoyed by how armour didn't have as much of an impact in battle as it should. Swords and axes were prone to severing limbs straight through and spears easily pierced the entirety of legs, even when made of the same material as the armour they were seemingly ignoring. I was further bothered by ranged being the end-all of combat more often than not.

This led me to many a night of searches and inspections of raws from several different mods, trying to figure out how they attempted to solved this perennial problem of mine. I ultimately stumbled across Lucelle's mod. After playing around with Lucelle's mod, I was inspired to try and fix the problem myself.

This small project is the result of almost 2 years of tweaking and too many hours spent testing in the Arena. I think it's finally come to a point where it is as balanced and sensical as it's going to be with only myself to scrutinise (One of my primary goals was to have weapons behave as they would in real life, but this is Dwarf Fortress and there will be anomalies). Of course, my idea of balance is only my own, and this is what has brought me to release this project to the public. I invite you to either help me improve this mod with critique and suggestions or simply enjoy it any other way you see fit.
[Notes]
[Armour and Clothing Layers]
Currently, most armour and clothing layers on pieces are tailoured to only allow one article of equipment in each slot. For the most part, you can no longer wear multiple chain layers and a hundred cloaks. On the bright side, you won't need to.

Then what all can I wear?
My packs can make Dwarf Fortress rather picky as to what you can put on. You may have to juggle your equipment around when changing outfits in Adventure mode. However, this problem should be minimal in Fortress mode.

To simplify the process I recommend you view it like stacking cups; armour is the largest cup, and underclothes such as hand/leg wraps and shirts/tunics are the smallest cup.
[Packs]
[Armoury Pack]
This pack includes about 85 weapons and about 65 articles of armour and clothing. Below is the list of them in their entirety.

Spoiler: Weapons (click to show/hide)

Diggers
Pickaxe (A dwarf's best companion.)
Mattock
Daggers (Civilian)
Seax
Rondel Dagger
Fighting Knife
Light Seax
Heavy Seax
One-handed Swords
Long Seax
Short Arming Sword
Arming Sword
Long Arming Sword
Sea-Raider Sword
Saber
Scimitar
Falchion
Two-handed Swords
Longsword
Great Sword
Two-Handed Sword
One-handed Axes
Hatchet (Designed for woodworking rather than combat. Cheap and versatile, your woodcutter won't know the difference!)
Adze
Battle Axe
Sea-Raider Axe
Axe Hammer (The fearsome result of dwarf ingenuity.)
Two-handed Axes
Hafted Sea-Raider Axe
Bardiche
One-handed Maces
Round Mace
Knobbed Mace
Flanged Mace
Pernach
Morningstar
Flail
Spiked Flail
Two-handed Maces
Hafted Flail
Goedendag
One-handed Hammers
War Hammer
War Pick
Two-handed Hammers
Hafted War Hammer
Maul
Lashes
Whip
Hooked Whip
Knotted Whip
Scourge
Spears
Spear
Boar Spear
Partisan
Hewing Spear
Pikes
Awlpike
Pike
Guisarme
Glaive
Sword Staff
Halberd
Voulge
Ranged
Crossbow
Bayoneted Crossbow (Trade some of that shooting power and a bit of extra material for the equivalent of a dagger stuck on the end.)
Siege Crossbow (For when that goblin really, really needs to die. Shoots Quarrels instead of Bolts.)
Bow
Recurve Bow
Longbow
Blowgun
Atlatl (A tool made for throwing lightweight spears and darts, uses the throwing skill!)
Sling (A cloth or string tool made for throwing small rocks and bullets to great effects. Not recommended since creatures will make them out of metal.)
Amentum (A leather cousin of the sling designed for launching javelins instead. See above.)
Sling Staff (A sling on a stick! GENIUS! Dwarves can make these!)

Spoiler: Armour (click to show/hide)

Body
Breastplate (All but impervious to bladed attacks and most projectiles, but as it says on the tin, you're going to want to wear some chain under this.)
Scale Armor
Lamellar Armor
Brigandine
Chain Mail Hauberk
Chain Mail Byrnie
Chain Mail Haubergeon
Leather Jerkin
Gambeson
Aketon
Head
Great Helm
Bascinet
Sea-Raider Helmet
Sallet
Barbute
Kettle Helmet
Nasal Helmet
Skull Cap
Chain Mail Coif
Arming Coif
Hand
Gauntlets
Chain Mail Gloves
Chain Mail Mittens
Legs
Upper Greaves
Chain Mail Upper Chausses
Feet
Lower Greaves
Chain Mail Lower Chausses
Leather Boots

Spoiler: Clothing (click to show/hide)

Body
Cloak
Surcoat
Tabard
Cape
Coat
Robe
Kaftan
Vest
Shirt
Tunic
Head
Cowl
Coif
Cap
Headscarf
Kerchief
Head Wrap
Hands
Mittens
Gloves
Hand Wraps
Legs
Hose
Trousers
Braccae
Short Skirt
Skirt
Long Skirt
Braies
Loincloth
Feet
Turnshoes
Carbatinae
Ankle Boots
Caligae
Leg Wraps

Spoiler: Shields (click to show/hide)

Buckler
Round Shield
Heater Shield
Kite Shield
Tower Shield

[Adventure Mode]
Adventure mode changes have been suspended/removed until I know what I'm doing again.

[Updates]
v1.9:
- Updated to 43.05
- STRUCTURAL_ELASTICITY_CHAIN_ALL in various files changed to STRUCTURAL_ELASTICITY_CHAIN_METAL where appropriate (oversight)
item_weapon.txt
- Added 'medium' bow weapon
- MINIMUM_SIZE value adjustments for several weapons
- Weapon name localisation adjustments
- Removed daggers
item_ammo.txt
- Minour adjustments to some ammunition types
- Sling bullets changed from EDGED to BLUNT
item_armor.txt
- Aketon coverage increased to 150% from 100%
item_body.txt
- 'Dress' renamed to 'kaftan' (gender-neutral garment name)
item_gloves.txt
- Redundant MATERIAL_SIZE for mittens removed
item_helm.txt
- MATERIAL_SIZE for bascinet increased to 6 from 3
- Both metal and cloth coifs improved; padded coif renamed to 'arming coif'
- Civilian coif added, replacing arming cap
- Hood renamed to cowl
item_shoes.txt
- Leather military boot coverage increased to 250% from 200%
- Clogs added
item_tool.txt
- Added daggers as civilian weapons; only affects adventure mode

Spoiler: Past Updates (click to show/hide)

v1.8:
- Fixed some typos.
- Some weapons with only one attack option no longer specify with which part of the weapon the attack is executed.
- Added [CHAIN_METAL_TEXT] to some items of armour that were lacking it.
- Renamed civilian "chausses" to "hose" for better distinction between the cloth and armour variants.
- Renamed and tweaked both shoe-type chausses and pants-type chausses to fit in the same manner as greaves.
v1.7:
- Corrected an oversight that prevented civilians from wearing most boots and gloves.
- Made the gambeson a civilian garment as it should have been.
- Lamellar and scale armour now only absorb edged damage when made of metal.
- Buckler material requirement lowered from 3 to 1.
v1.6:
 - Tweaked ranged weapons to shoot at proper intervals (default). A better ranged system is still under construction.
 - Made Lamellar and Scale armour absorb edged damage like Chain.
 - Fixed and removed some unintentional changes and additions in item_tools.txt
 - Increased the UBSTEP of the haubergeon from 1 to 2.
v1.5a simply updates to 40.14.
v1.5:
 - Attempted to fix embark point costs, and the value of certain weapons that were errant. Armour still appears to be deviant, but without a proper VALUE token applicable to weapons and armour, I'm not sure what else I can do to fix it. Needs feedback.
 - Material size of weapons changed dramatically to reflect projected cost change.
 - Fixed a duplicate reaction error.
v1.4:
 - Extended the length of a few armours slightly.
v1.3:
 - Civilian utensils (carving knives, boning knives, etc) re-balanced in line with the rest of the weapons.
 - Optional creature_standard file included that removes bite and scratch attacks from dwarfs, humans and elves. Bites and scratches have proven to be more lethal than the weaponry in multiple instances, especially between armoured opponents (Latched bites bruising bone and shredding muscle through mail? Fingernails on a human cutting deep enough to sever tendons?), and I feel it takes away from the satisfaction of a good fight.
 - Leather body armour added. No leather leg armour for now.
v1.2:
 - Hammer-class weapons buffed, previously outclassed by Mace-class weapons in v1.1.
 - More unnecessary secondary and tertiary (and in some cases, quaternary!) attacks removed from some weapons as they take away from the focus of those weapons.
 - Further re-balancing to accommodate deadlier hammers.
v1.1:
 - Maces and Hammers no longer have pommel strikes. The extra attack was proving to be detrimental to the weapon function.

[Download]
Download Link
The zip file contains an optional pre-configured entity_default with the weapons divided among the creatures in a loose theme. Otherwise I have compiled the relevant tokens in the readme file for custom modification.
The zip file also contains an optional custom creature_standard with bite and scratch attacks removed from dwarves, humans and elves.
[Bugs]
I am by no means a master at modding Dwarf Fortress. There may be oddities, there may be bugs. You may express your displeasure with them in this thread.

[SalmonGod]

PTW

[StagnantSoul]

I humbly bow my head to you, sir... Above any new creature, metal, civilization, or even new play style, THIS is what I've wanted. Realistic arms and weapons. Three hoods and cloaks, two mails shirts, gauntlets and boots, a shield and weapon, chain leggings and greaves. That's a heavy cavalry setup. Not an infantry setup. It's too bad you didn't make realistic shields as well, maybe adding kite and tower shields, and targes. But still, I bow my head to you. This, plus a mount system, and my head will explode from the sheer amazingness.

[Stalhansch]

It's too bad you didn't make realistic shields as well, maybe adding kite and tower shields, and targes.

Oh, I completely forgot to mention. My mod includes 5 shields. Buckler, round, heater, kite and tower. I'll add those to the post.

And thank you. "Realism", or rather, "authenticity", was my goal. As to whether I've achieved it is anyone's call.

[Meph]

Do you know about Mifkis Twbt? Its possible to add graphics to the items, give them unique tiles. I am sure some people that see a "Byrnie" or "Goedendag" or "Short Seax" will not know what they are looking at without opening wikipedia. With tiles, it would be a bit easier.

I would also ask around if anyone (maklak most likely, or one of the dfhack crew) for a script that reads out the details. Name, Attack Skill, Edged or Blunt and minimum size/material size would be good to know for users. It would be great if this is included in a readme as a table. I only mention it, because I added a similar amount of weapons to Masterwork at some point, and I got a lot (seriously a lot) of people asking which weapon uses which skill. And ammo types of course.

[Stalhansch]

Do you know about Mifkis Twbt? Its possible to add graphics to the items, give them unique tiles. I am sure some people that see a "Byrnie" or "Goedendag" or "Short Seax" will not know what they are looking at without opening wikipedia. With tiles, it would be a bit easier.

Yes, I'm aware of some not knowing what particular weapons are. I did attempt to minimise this problem by using as many "common names" as I could (or rather, let myself get away with). For example I chose breastplate over cuirass, upper greaves over cuisses, tower shield over pavise, and a plethora of other names. Some names, such as goedendag, sounded much better to me than "spiked staff" or something similar. I am also always looking for ways to influence people to educate themselves on history, and hopefully interesting names will spark said interest into the flame of said education.

However, adding custom tiles to items does sound like something I could get into. I do dabble in pixel art. I'll give it a look.

Name, Attack Skill, Edged or Blunt and minimum size/material size would be good to know for users. It would be great if this is included in a readme as a table.

This goes tucked under the chart of what-fits-under-what, and thusly into the box of things I was hoping I wouldn't have to do. I do see your point, and I will try to make this information easily accessible in the near future. I do not think a script would be necessary, however, if anyone with the skills to make one are so inclined, I certainly wouldn't object.

[Meph]

The script already exists: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=126953.0

I just wanst sure if you know how to handle perl, you have to install it and run the script from a command box, so maybe maklak himself could help you with this better. 

[StagnantSoul]

MASSIVE thumbs up to you. I'll try this out tomorrow, see how realistic it is. Arena mode until I find the best three setups, then royally abuse them. I can't wait to use this. Are the armours solely designed for dwarves, or will they scale to fit other civilizations as well?

[Stalhansch]

The script already exists: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=126953.0

I just wanst sure if you know how to handle perl, you have to install it and run the script from a command box, so maybe maklak himself could help you with this better.

Righto. I'll look into it. Thank you.

MASSIVE thumbs up to you. I'll try this out tomorrow, see how realistic it is. Arena mode until I find the best three setups, then royally abuse them. I can't wait to use this. Are the armours solely designed for dwarves, or will they scale to fit other civilizations as well?

The weapons are made with their real-life sizes in mind. Dwarfs and elves simply cannot handle some weapons (very well). My pre-configured entity_default is set up to respect this. Armour, however, should work for whatever creature has it, as it currently works in vanilla.

In all honesty, in my own raws I have elves tweaked to make metal weapons. My justification is that they already "mutilate" their source of wood to make their equipment as it is, so why not have them go full hypocrite and use it to smith? I did this for simplicity and for a larger challenge during Fortress mode, and I recommend others to do something similar, especially when using my mod.

Otherwise... elves seem to do okay. Wooden versions of my weapons can tear muscle well enough, granted the victim is unarmoured.

[Lewa263]

Is a partisan counted as a pike or spear? It's not in the list in your post, but I see it in-game.

[Stalhansch]

Is a partisan counted as a pike or spear? It's not in the list in your post, but I see it in-game.

Oh. My mistake, it's a spear. I have it listed as "spetum", having forgotten I renamed it to "partisan".

[Stalhansch]

Making this post for version 1.3, as it actually adds an item and will therefore require you to re-generate the world should you care enough to want it.

Leather body armour is now an option, which it previously was not. Leather armour can make a difference, but the difference will be minimal. It can turn a lethal disembowelment into a severe wound, which may be just enough to spare a life. It is, however, leagues better than cloth armour such as Gambesons and Aketons, which serve more appropriately as armour padding than armour itself.

[SalmonGod]

Do you mind if I use this as a base starting point for my own modding purposes?

[Stalhansch]

Do you mind if I use this as a base starting point for my own modding purposes?

I do not mind, but as with any mod I would appreciate credit.

[SalmonGod]

Do you mind if I use this as a base starting point for my own modding purposes?

I do not mind, but as with any mod I would appreciate credit.

Intended!