diff --git a/gui/family-affairs.lua b/gui/family-affairs.lua
index 63c2800f2..31c9a322e 100644
--- a/gui/family-affairs.lua
+++ b/gui/family-affairs.lua
@@ -829,6 +829,10 @@ function FamilyAffairsScreen:onDismiss()
     view = nil
 end
 
+if not dfhack.isMapLoaded() then
+    qerror('requires a map to be loaded')
+end
+
 local help, initial_tab = false, 'relationships'
 
 local positionals = argparse.processArgsGetopt({...}, {