Dwarf Fortress Bug Tracker - Dwarf Fortress
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0003624Dwarf FortressAdventure Mode -- Combatpublic2010-11-14 23:302016-02-11 15:38
fourth triad 
 
normalmajorhave not tried
newopen 
windows 7
0.31.17 
 
0003624: getting bruised brain kills you
what more can I say.
Fixed in 0.40.01?
related to 0003618resolved Toady One Impossible to knock out an opponant with a head injury without killing them. 
Issue History
2010-11-14 23:30fourth triadNew Issue
2010-11-15 08:39Logical2uNote Added: 0013872
2010-11-15 10:12AkjoschNote Added: 0013877
2010-11-15 10:37Logical2uNote Added: 0013880
2010-11-15 11:31toybasherNote Added: 0013882
2010-11-15 13:26FootkerchiefRelationship addedchild of 0003618
2010-11-16 07:31fourth triadNote Added: 0013913
2010-11-16 07:36fourth triadNote Edited: 0013913bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=0013913#r5345
2010-11-16 07:37fourth triadNote Edited: 0013913bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=0013913#r5346
2010-11-16 09:54Orkel2Note Added: 0013915
2010-11-16 15:53PirateNote Added: 0013939
2010-11-16 17:58toybasherNote Added: 0013942
2013-11-20 19:54FootkerchiefRelationship replacedrelated to 0003618
2014-02-02 07:03FootkerchiefTag Attached: Fixed in 0.34.12?
2014-07-07 22:23FootkerchiefTag RenamedFixed in 0.34.12? => Fixed in 0.40.01?
2016-02-11 12:39chaosvoltNote Added: 0034639
2016-02-11 15:38Ogg the Blinky SockNote Added: 0034641
2016-02-11 15:38Ogg the Blinky SockNote Edited: 0034641bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=0034641#r13947
2017-08-03 05:51park66665Issue Monitored: park66665

Notes
(0013872)
Logical2u   
2010-11-15 08:39   
... Why do you think getting a brain injury shouldn't kill you?
(0013877)
Akjosch   
2010-11-15 10:12   
Well, my brother had a brain injury for several years which required removing about 10% of it to cure it. He's fine. :)

In general: The brain can withstand quite a lot of localized damage with only minor or even no ill effects.
(0013880)
Logical2u   
2010-11-15 10:37   
This... is true. I hope the reporter has a game log which provides a bit more clarity on the exact specifics of the situation - it could just be that the last strike in a long struggle was a bruised brain, but that the combatant died due to blood loss or some other such thing.
(0013882)
toybasher   
2010-11-15 11:31   
Kinda agree here, the message "X has been knocked unconscious!" Only comes up from brain injuries, and since in df 2010 ALL brain injuries are fatal, even the most minor injuries possible kill.

And at Logical2u, its not blood loss as it says something like "You punch elf 1 in the head with your right hand, bruising the brain! Elf 1 has been knocked unconscious! Elf 1 has been struck down." all on the same turn.
(0013913)
fourth triad   
2010-11-16 07:31   
(edited on: 2010-11-16 07:37)
Here's the last fight of the game log:
You miss The Bogeyman!
You attack The Bogeyman but It jumps away!
The Bogeyman has vanished.
You miss The Bogeyman!
The Bogeyman gores You in the upper body, bruising the muscle and chipping the left true rib through the rope reed fiber robe!
You miss The Bogeyman!
The Bogeyman kicks You in the left upper arm with its right foot, bruising the muscle through the rope reed fiber robe!
You miss The Bogeyman!
You give in to pain.
You fall over.
The Bogeyman gores You in the head, tearing the muscle, chipping the skull and bruising the brain!
You have been struck down.

Didn't it use to say if you bleed to death?

(0013915)
Orkel2   
2010-11-16 09:54   
Couldn't this be modded to fix it? Like turning the brain matter into something like a second heart, afterall hearts can get bruised and not kill.
(0013939)
Pirate   
2010-11-16 15:53   
I think the head is too fragile right now (or the blows are too strong). Like if you scratch an enemy in the head, you'll probably knock him unconscious, instead of just causing bleeding, pain etc. Getting punched is usually lethal, when it should just knock unconscious. Same for hitting with a pommel or slapping with a flat of a sword.
(0013942)
toybasher   
2010-11-16 17:58   
I once scratched a human bandit as a human and it shatter his spine and tore his brain and killed him, lol.

I agree, ira ironic how brain injuries have effects if they always kill.
(0034639)
chaosvolt   
2016-02-11 12:39   
Basically, there's no real leeway for, say, concussions. Enemies can be be stunned and KOed by brain injury, but...

Thing is, it seems to be extremely uncommon. A handful of injuries in-game that mention the brain will be light enough to not kill the target. These seem to always stun and KO the target in question. So it seems like bruising injuries can be non-fatal, but the threshold is set incredibly low.
(0034641)
Ogg the Blinky Sock   
2016-02-11 15:38   
Historically, in fortress mode, and to my recollection, a bruised brain has always resulted in instantaneous death for the dwarf. I haven't played adventure mode much until recently, and I was rather surprised to recently see creatures surviving such injuries and responding as if stunned.

A great deal depends on what "bruising the brain" means. I do not think that the game intends to model concussions, and the description is probably literal, which would mean not just a shockwave, but intra-cranial bleeding. In theory, for humanoids, this would cause the victim to be stunned or rendered unconscious, followed by the development of a hematoma over several turns, definite unconsciousness, and probable death without complex surgical intervention. However, this might not be something Toady intends to model. Instantaneous death seems like a fairly good compromise, unless there is a better argument for permanent coma.