Totem

The **totem** is used to mark the area which is intended to become a shelter, to measure its overall comfort level, and to repel monsters.

## Acquiring

### Leveling up

A new totem will be gifted to the player at level 2, 7, 12 and 17.

### Shop

An additional totem can be bought from the shop for 1 coin.

### Crafting

Totem can be crafted once the player has reached the master furnishing tech.
Totems cannot be disassembled.

 Ingredient(s)

  **Totem** | 1

## Shelter

*See the main article: Shelter.*

Tiles will count as lying within a shelter if they meet both conditions below:

1. **The tile is in an enclosed area containing a totem.** Enclosed areas must have back walls or windows, and not be exposed to open air. Solid blocks, doors, or hatches, can all help enclose an area even if they are physically distant.
2. **The tile is within range of the totem.** The range of the totem varies between 8 and 27 squares depending on the experience level.

A streak of stars will outline the area the totem has made a shelter. If the shelter is incomplete, the totem will try and mark broken walls with stars but won't mark things like a stockpile or misplaced structures.

## Totem's range

In single player, the range of the totem is 7 + experience level. This equates to a range of 8 with a level of 1 and a range of 27 with a level of 20.

In multiplayer, the range of the totem is fixed to 7, but begins to decrease by 20% for each totem placed after 5 totems. The range will not be less than 2. According to the developer, this mechanic "was added because some players built up all the level with totems, so monsters couldn't spawn there."

 10 | 2

## Totem's mood

The totem's orb color and mood (facial expression) vary depending on the overall comfort level of the shelter. This affects a dwarf's recovery rate when sleeping on beds.

## Repelling monsters

The totem will periodically drive away ghosts, preventing them from trashing your stockpile.
This anti-ghost protection however has a very short range of only a couple of blocs.

The red portal from monster raids will spawn a certain distance (about 30 to 40 blocs) from totems.

Giant worms will not appear within a totem's range.

## Pathfinding problems

Having more than one totem placed in the world may cause a few problems.

Extra totems placed completely outside of the (main) shelter (usually to protect remote stockpiles from ghosts) can create a disjunction where some dwarfs will venture above and beyond to simply reach that totem, getting themselves in trouble.

Also, under "siege mode", dwarfs will take longer chosing their way to retreat back home.
This can get even worse if the path towards one of the totems is blocked by closed doors and hatches or by any other solid foreground blocs.
That would cause dwarfs to be completely motionless, which could easily lead them to death, if nearby some strong monsters.

In single player, the workaround would be fully renouncing the use of additional stockpiles and totems.
For working in very remote places, instead of using additional stocks, dwarfs could use some of the special shop items.

## References

1. ↑ This parameter is defined in the game's file `/main/data/world.xml`.
2. ↑ This parameter is defined in the game's file `/main/data/world.xml`.
3. ↑ Multiplayer totem problem. *Steam*. 12 January 2024.
4. ↑ This classification is found in the game's file `/main/data/items.xml`.
5. ↑ Sleeping on the floor (since v.1.4.010).
6. ↑ 2 things in the game that needs to be FIXED. *Steam*. 13 May 2018.