Dirtmoles

Dirtmole

With gray skin adapted to artificial light, they thrive in cramped and dark spaces where combat and travel happen over short distances. They are extremely capable at digging or mining tasks. In the open, however, they suffer from a sensitivity to light, slow speed and poor eyesight at distance.
After the first tunnel colonies failed due to the stress of confinement, colonization agencies began genetically altering colonists to live without open space or sunlight. This xenotype is known colloquially as the dirtmoles. Today, dirtmoles have expanded out of their original tunnel homes and rule many confined spaces in the anthrosphere. They can be found in deep mines, cramped low-tech spacecraft, and teeming by the billions in the dark underlayers of countless urbworlds.

Base Stats

Type

Human – Xenotypes

Technical

defName

Dirtmole

Dirtmoles are a xenotype, genetically engineered to live underground.

Lore

After the first tunnel colonies failed due to the stress of confinement, colonization agencies began genetically altering colonists to live without open space or sunlight. This xenotype is known colloquially as the dirtmoles. Today, dirtmoles have expanded out of their original tunnel homes and rule many confined spaces in the anthrosphere. They can be found in deep mines, cramped low-tech spacecraft, and teeming by the billions in the dark underlayers of countless urbworlds.

With gray skin adapted to artificial light, they thrive in cramped and dark spaces where combat and travel happen over short distances. They are extremely capable at digging, mining tasks, and navigating complex tunnel structures. In the open, however, they suffer from a sensitivity to light, slow speed and poor eyesight at distance.

Occurrence

The table below describes the chance for a given pawn from each faction being a dirtmole. Note that this value does not account for chances in xenotype chance from ideoligion or from pawn kind, it only shows the base value before those factors.

Genes

Dirtmoles have a gene complexity of 9 complexity. With a +1 metabolic efficiency, they have a hunger rate of ×90%.

All dirtmoles have these germline genes:

Assorted:

Fast wound healing	Slow runner	Intense UV sensitivity	Strong melee damage	Nearsighted	Dark vision

Cosmetic:

Gray eyes	Light gray skin

Skills:

Great Mining

Analysis

Dirtmoles are a simple xenotype, with well-defined strengths and weaknesses suited for mountain life. A combination of great mining, dark vision, and intense UV sensitivity all support this fact. A compact mountain base can mitigate the impact of nearsighted and slow runner. Strong melee is useful when fighting against infestations.

However, dirtmoles are not limited to the mountains. They can do any indoors task reasonably well, in any type of colony. Beyond slow runner and UV sensitivity, dirtmoles have no real work-related weaknesses. ​In combat, they can serve a melee role quite well. Their sight based penalty only impacts long range weapons as well, meaning they can wield shotguns without penalty. If so desired, you can place some roof outdoors to keep the sun out.

Dirtmoles synergize well with the tunneler meme, for rather obvious reasons. Tunneler allows dirtmoles to ignore cramped spaces and grow nutrifungus in a cave, while dirtmoles are great at mining and melee combat.

Note that, as dirtmoles have no faction dedicated to them, opportunities to recruit dirtmoles are somewhat uncommon.

Gene extraction

Some of the more valuable genes dirtmoles have to extract are:

• Strong melee damage - A must for any melee pawns, offering a significant boost in combat effectiveness.
• Dark vision - Makes your pawns much more flexible in kiting and working.
• Great mining - Obviously very useful for miners.
• Nearsighted - Can be installed on brawlers, melee fighters, noncombatants, and anyone using a ranged weapon with a range under 26 tiles without penalty, giving a boost to metabolic efficiency. For a full list of unaffected ranged weapons, see here.

Version history

• 1.4.3682 - Fix: Awkward wording in dirtmole description. This xenotype are known colloquially as dirtmoles -> This xenotype is known colloquially as the dirtmoles

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Biotech (DLC)

Families

Relationships (Reproduction • Children)
Life stages (Babies • Children • Adults)
Furniture (Crib • Baby sleeping spot • Growth vat • Toy box • Baby decoration • School desk • Blackboard)

Mechanoids

Laborers (Agrihand • Cleansweeper • Constructoid • Fabricor • Lifter • Paramedic • Tunneler)
Combatants (Centurion • Legionary • Militor • Scorcher • Tesseron)
Commanders (Apocriton • Diabolus • War queen • War urchin)

Mechanitors

Control (Mechlink • Band node • Mech boosters • Mech signallers • Control pack • Airwire headset)
Mechanoid creation (Basic subcore • Standard subcore • High subcore • Subcore encoder • Subcore softscanner • Subcore ripscanner • Mech gestator)
Maintenance (Mech recharger)

Genetics

Xenohumans (Dirtmoles • Genies • Highmates • Hussars • Impids • Neanderthals • Pigskins • Sanguophages • Wasters • Yttakin)
Genes Germline • Xenogene • Metabolic efficiency
Genetic Modification Genepack • Gene extractor • Gene bank • Gene assembler • Gene processor • Xenogerm • Archite capsules
Deathrest (Deathrest accelerator • Deathrest capacity serum • Deathrest casket • Glucosoid pump • Hemogen amplifier • Hemopump • Psychofluid pump)

Pollution

Nature (Toxalope • Toxipotato plant • Waste rat • Gray pine tree • Pebble cactus • Rat palm tree • Witchwood tree • Stasis cocoon)
Mitigation (Wastepacks • Atomizers • Pollution pumps • Polux trees)
Adaptation Face mask • Gas mask • Tox grenades • Tox pack • Tox shell • Toxic needle gun • Toxbomb launcher • Detoxifier kidney • Detoxifier lung
Nonchalance Toxifier generator