Events

Events are random occurrences within Rimworld. They can happen at any time and with any frequency. However, the average negativity and saturation of events relies mainly on the game's chosen AI storyteller. Events consist of a variety of things, from mundane occurrences to colony-wide disasters. The player is alerted to an event's happening by the appearance of a small blue envelope on the right side of the screen which, when clicked, brings up a menu containing more information and (in some cases) an option to jump to the event's location.

Known Types of Events

These are the events currently active in the game.

• Blight: Causes all player-planted vegetation to be destroyed instantly, including daylilies and all food crops.
• Cave-in: A section of roof collapses and destroys any structures (or colonists!) beneath it. Only happens when a roof tile is too far from any supporting walls.
• Eclipse: Creates constant nighttime for a significant duration, usually lasting several days.
• Electrical Explosion: Causes a random point in the player's power grid to explode, destroying nearby blocks and lighting fires as well as draining all stored power from connected batteries. Intensity of explosion depends on stored power.
• Escape Pod: An escape pod crashlands at a random point on the map, depositing a heavily wounded and incapacitated stranger. Can be captured and sold/recruited once healed.
• Mad Animal: Causes a random animal on the map to join the "psychotic" team, at which point it will seek to attack any settlers it can find.
• Mental Break: A colonists who has fallen below their loyalty threshold leaves the colony. Afflicted colonist will either attempt to leave the map, begin attacking any other nearby colonists, or wander around idly upon this event occurring. Can be arrested and is then treated as a normal prisoner (can be sold or recruited again).
• Migrant: A wandering drifter appears with the express purpose of joining your colony. Spawns as a colonist without the need of recruitment or capture. Seems to be rather rare.
• Passing Trade Ship: Notifies the player of a passing trader, who can be contacted via comms unit. Can be an industrial trader, farming vessel, combat supplier or slaver. Player will not be notified without a comms unit.
• Psychic Wave: Causes a horde of a random type of animal to join the "psychotic team", assailing your colonists until killed.
• Raiding Party: A group of raiders (varying in size from 1 to 40+ depending on time elapsed) land at a random point near the edge of the map. After about a day, they will attack the colony, burning any structures they can reach.
• Short-circuit: Causes an unprotected electrical device to take damage and catch fire. Only happens during rainy weather.
• Solar Flare: Disables all electrical devices and power generation for approximately one day.
• Supply Cache: A large stock of either metal or food (seems to heavily favor metal) lands at a random point on the map to be collected by colonists.
• Wanderer: A wandering drifter spawns at a random point along the map's edge. They will make their way to another random edge of the map, usually somewhere along the opposite side, unless stopped by your colonists. Can be arrested and sold/recruited.

Note: Several events have secondary portions which the player will be notified of at the top of the screen (e.g. raiders beginning their assault or trade ships leaving comms range)