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| “ | A Feathered humanoid. It has a short thunk. Its black feathers are long and broad. This night creature was first created by the dwarven necromancer Thotig Senseworked of Vesselnames after horrible experiments on the dwarf Thokut Torchlight in Metalvalleys in the year 222. | „ |
| ~ A possible generated appearance of an experiment. |
Experiments are possible minor or major protagonists, or possible antagonists, in the indie construction and management simulation video game Dwarf Fortress. Experiments are a unique creature in the game, as they are not born, but created by a malicious figure and forced to be a minion of said figure. An experiment is many creature body parts combined to create a hostile abomination, however, some may be mentally balanced and non-hostile. They are one of the night creatures.
Due to the procedural generation of the world and civilizations in the game, coupled with the fact that many elements can be customized by the player, the strength, placement, goals, creator and how experiments are created will all vary greatly.
They appear in both the game's "Fortress Mode" and "Adventure Mode". Experiments are one of - if not the most frighteningly grotesque creatures in the game. If an experiment escapes its creator and joins a civilization, they can be a potential playable character in Adventure Mode.
Despite these creatures being created by someone else - upon existing - they will suddenly be attached to a malevolent deity with the spheres of "deformity" and "night". They may have additional spheres attached to them, giving them further appearance changes and/or extra abilities. Despite this, the experiment can be a benevolent figure in the game, and can provide things to society if the experiment chooses to be part of one.
Creation[]
Portrait of an experiment.
As mentioned before, an experiment will never be born as such, and must be created by either a necromancer or a goblin leader from unfortunate, captured animals or citizens. If playing the game using the "advanced world generation" option, the number of allowed experiments can be customized or disabled outright.
There are two types of experiments: successful and failure. The successful ones will have a definite form, and therefore, a very good sense of mobility, combat and even intelligence. The failed experiments will have a more inefficient and sluggish appearance, such as being a worm or blob-like.
Up to four species/creation types can be made: one sapient humanoid, one small quadruped, one large quadruped and one giant amalgamation. If one of the first three are made, only one creature is used in the creation. If the amalgamation is made, multiple creatures are used. They can even have the ability to fly if their bodies are built for it.
The game also has spheres of influence that creatures are a part of, with experiments unsurprisingly being part of deformity and night. An experiment cannot be a vampire, werebeast nor a necromancer, due to experiments never being supernatural. They can, however, be infected ghouls, which are a variant of undead that spread infections through bites. An experiment near a necromancer tower can be an animated corpse, containing the benefits of both the undead and the form the experiment has.
Appearance[]
Four possible sprites for experiments. The bottom five are Adventure Mode sprites.
In the original version of the game, or if classic ASCII graphics are enabled in the premium version, all creatures in the game are represented by a colored letter or character that remains constant. Experiments, however, can be represented by different letters. Successful and intelligent experiments are red, whereas failed ones are green. Also, the letters being upper or lowercase depend on the experiment's size.
With the release of the premium version of the game, it is possible for experiments to have an assigned sprite. Unlike most creatures in the game having just one dedicated sprite, experiments can have one out of many sprites that is closest to the appearance details the game pre-generated for it, which take on the appearance of black, mysterious-looking sprites if they are non-intelligent beings. There are 19 possible sprites experiments can have. This also includes extra detail sprites, such as feathers, wings, stingers, spikes, etc. However, intelligent experiments can be given a unique humanoid sprite, which is also based on their generated appearance.
In Adventure Mode, the upper part of an experiment can be seen in greater detail, due to any character created by the player having a portrait of their own. Much like their sprite, their appearance in their portrait will match what details are procedurally generated for them.
This graphical setup is similar to how megabeasts, bogeymen and demons are visually generated. How experiments appear in Adventure Mode is completely unique to them.
Behavior[]
Experiments are blindly loyal to their creator, and will even likely be named after them in some way. For example, if an experiment's creator's name is Koran, the experiment's name would be something like "Koran's Warrior" or "Koran's Hand". Otherwise, the name will just be something threatening and generic. There are rare cases where an experiment may not necessarily be evil, manage to escape its creator and even join a civilization if it's intelligent enough.
Experiments are very powerful, and possess many traits that make them relentless, dangerous creatures: they feel no pain, don't need sustenance, never get exhausted from overexertion, are immune to nausea and fevers, cannot be stunned, don't feel dizziness and don't drown. There's also a possibility that they can be capable of destroying buildings, immune to getting stuck in traps and have full 360° vision, which makes it impossible to sneak up on them.
Some may be capable of inflicting an ailment known as "night sickness", in which the symptoms are random depending on how the experiment is created. It is possible to play as an experiment in the game's adventure mode, but only in specific conditions where an experiment has escaped its abusive creator.
Trivia[]
- The experiments draw a strong parallel to Victor Frankenstein's monster, due to the fact that both entities are constructed creatures made from a patchwork of body parts. Both are also deeply tragic creatures, as experiments are usually innocent creatures that have been horribly experimented on and mutated, and are forced to be the pawns of others. In Fortress Mode, experiments are often mindless and hostile creatures, whereas in Adventure Mode, they can think for themselves, escape from their masters and live normal lives as well as make their own futures based on the player's choices.
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Experiment - Dwarf Fortress Wiki
