How to Appoint and Use a Priest in Dwarf Fortress

Just like in real life, temples play quite an important role for the religious members of your community in Dwarf Fortress. They provide space for socialization, relaxation, and prayer or meditation. The lack of temples could lead to your Dwarves having bad thoughts and decreasing their mood.

If you’ve already built your Dwarves a temple, it might be time to appoint a priest. This guide will show you how to appoint and use a priest in Dwarf Fortress with no trouble.

How to Appoint a Priest in Dwarf Fortress

There are several conditions that you need to meet before you can appoint a priest in Dwarf Fortress. When a group of worshippers petition for a temple and a priest and you build one, appointing a priest may still not show up as an option.

First, you will need at least ten worshippers of that religion, and the value of the temple should exceed 2,000. Once you meet these requirements, you should be able to appoint one of the members of the organization as the priest in the location details screen.

Issues With Appointing a Priest in Dwarf Fortress

Some Steam users reported that, no matter what they did, they didn’t get the option for appointing a priest for their temple. If you’re having similar issues, check out our list of reasons why the option is not there:

1. Not everyone can be a priest—you will need an eligible adult citizen (being a resident is not enough)
2. There can’t be two priests of the same religion—in case there’s another temple of the same religion, you will need to promote the existing priest into a high priest first
3. Priests can be appointed in temples that serve religions, not individual gods

If you’ve met all these conditions and still experiencing the same issue, try doing another task or restarting the game since this fixed the issue for some players.

How to Use Priests in Dwarf Fortress

Priests’ main tasks in Dwarf Fortress include consoling upset followers and giving inspiring sermons. They can also participate in sieges and ambushes.

That’s all there is to know about appointing and using priests in Dwarf Fortress! Let us know in the comments if you appointed one successfully and check out our other Dwarf Fortress guides, including How to Get and Use Flux Stones or How to Build and Use Hospitals.