Finally: Our favorite roguelike for sickos will let me play as a sapient tree
*Dwarf Fortress* will add a playable sapient tree in its next major update, giving players a new way to experience the famously complex roguelike. The addition is part of a wider set of changes that expands the game’s playable societies and possibilities.
The new tree people can move, think and take part in fortress life, while bringing traits associated with their nature as trees. The article presents the feature as a striking example of *Dwarf Fortress*’s unusual approach to player choice and simulation.
- A sapient tree will become playable in *Dwarf Fortress*.
- The feature is planned for the next major update.
- Tree people add a new kind of society to the game.
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Dwarf Fortress is a long-running simulation game in which players guide a group of dwarves as they build and manage a fortress. Its detailed systems can produce unpredictable events, and players often shape the story through choices about work, resources and survival.
The game is made by Bay 12 Games, the studio founded by brothers Tarn and Zach Adams. Its world includes different creatures and societies, and updates have gradually expanded the ways players can interact with that world. The game’s open-ended design is why unusual playable characters can change how a fortress operates.