Dwarf Fortress' next update grants even more ways to torment your minions

Dwarf Fortress will soon provide another way to mistreat your hapless peons. The upcoming arena mode will give you an open playground to experiment with the game's NPCs, letting you place down different creatures, select their skills and equipment, and sic them on one another for your own twisted amusement. You'll be able to sort your combatants into teams, give them special characteristics (like "necromancer," for example), and even mess with the weather or place down hindrances like snow and mud...
Read more.