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[Stonefish]

Dwarven Priests might make a worthy addition to the game.  They would probably have to be a noble, as it wouldn't really fit into the current skill system for the commoners.

When they arrive, their demands for quarters aren't very high at all, but they need a temple of some sort, possibly involving an altar, and due to dwarven nature, perhaps all the stuff in the temple should be made from stone.

As for their function, they do have some healing magic, but it's only very minor, since I personally like the current system of magic having little part in the game.  When a dwarf has been rescued, and is laying in bed lapsing in and out of consciousness, and getting no rest, the Priest can come along, and change the unconscious state into the sleeping state, so the badly injured dwarf has a chance to actually heal.  Or perhaps they might just make the worst of the injuries better, at least enough to give the dwarf a chance to heal.

Their other function is making dwarves happier, at the possible expense of dwarves downing tools to head to the temple for services.  To avoid complexity, you could have all dwarves religious, or if you wanted, they could have varying degrees of piety, so that some dwarves go to the priest to talk or services sometimes, and others don't, or more rarely.  Religious dwarves work a bit less often, because they use some of their time they could be working (though this shouldn't be too often, perhaps once or twice a season), but on the other hand, they tend to be less likely to have tantrums, as they can talk to the priest to calm them down.

[FunkyWaltDogg]

I like it!

[RPB]

I'd kind of like it if the priests were decidedly non-magical, non-miraculous. They could still visit the injured and cheer them up a bit.

I think dwarves probably shouldn't drop work to go see the priest (although that could be one of the things they do while on break, and would get a happiness boost from doing so), but the priest might conduct ceremonies for special occasions--weddings, funerals, and so on (birth rites? coming of age ceremony?)--when friends and family might take off work to attend. There could be a whole chain of priest-type nobles, where you get a priest, then a bishop, etc. The higher-ranking priests would perform the same duties (to help keep up with the fortress population) but could also have their own special things, like declaring holidays or elevating important deceased dwarves to sainthood.

[DarkAnt]

This is a good idea.

[Grue]

I also support non-magical priests. But they should also have negative side-effects, such as declaring some dwarves heretics or witches and giving them a good whipping, trying to get the devil out of them.

[Pratz Strike]

I was thinking of this the other day as well, but I'd just suggested the Doctor/Healer job and Priest sounded far too close to that for comfort. I agree, though, a holy man would be an excellent addition to the game, someone whose main concern was the physical and spiritual well being of his or her congregation.

An interesting bit of bloat would be a pantheon, with multiple gods and their priests all requesting a place in your fort...

[Aquillion]

I think priests should have some 'mystical' effects, but they should be so subtle and slight that the player can't really be sure that they're there at all.  For instance, undead might just shy away from a priest from time to time, and even demons might slow down a little bit as they charge one.  Not enough to actually save them, of course, but the effect would be neat.

Later, if hauntings and so forth were brought in, a priest could help avert and dispel them.  If a poltergeist took up residence in one of your rooms, a priest could run in to do the old bell-book-candle routine.

Priests could, in general, serve more as the player's way of fighting back a little against magic and magical creatures, rather than a way of using it themselves.

...oh, they would also have to attend to weddings and funerals, of course.  That goes without saying.  Having a skilled priest attend to a funeral might help reduce the unhappy thoughts associated with the death, the same way it helps people come to terms with it in the real world.

And they'd collect tithes.  I would imagine any sort of dwarven religion would be big on tithes.

And mandate the creation of religious junk and the establishment of more temples.  Although they might let you sell some of that junk if they think it'll earn them converts.

I don't think we need to be too specific about the religion's details... although for some reason when I think of dwarves, I'd expect their religion to be akin to Judism.  Maybe it has to do with the beards.  Lots of big sacred scrolls covered with religious text in an ancient language would fit dwarves, too.  And Tolkien also had them mourning for their lost homeland.

Perhaps the noble who covers religion would just be a sort of high priest, and the player would have to assign other dwarves as lesser priests under them.  When the high priest arrives, they'd bring with them a big sacred scroll which would form the center of the main temple the same way an anvil is brought in for your first forge; if anything happens to that scroll (like, say, water damage), every religious dwarf in your fortress would probably freak out.  The death of the high priest would send them all into mourning, too.

[FunkyWaltDogg]

I think dwarves would have their sacred texts engraved on stone tablets.

[Woodstock]

Sounds like a cool idea, but only if the priest (and his religious activities) have just a minor role in the fortress. We're undoubtably getting our ideas from real-life religion, which as we know is pretty much all-encompassing. Having a way to possibly cheer up bed-ridden dwarves would be cool, and maybe some other minor detail, but to have mandates and special rooms and religious punishment, it all seems to divert too much attention from the other aspects of running your fortress.

[ August 25, 2006: Message edited by: Woodstock ]

[RPB]

quote:Originally posted by Woodstock:
<STRONG>Sounds like a cool idea, but only if the priest (and his religious activities) have just a minor role in the fortress. We're undoubtably getting our ideas from real-life religion, which as we know is pretty much all-encompassing. Having a way to possibly cheer up bed-ridden dwarves would be cool, and maybe some other minor detail, but to have mandates and special rooms and religious punishment, it all seems to divert too much attention from the other aspects of running your fortress.
[ August 25, 2006: Message edited by: Woodstock ]</STRONG>

I thought that was supposed to be the point, more things to do. After a while most of the fortress management becomes routine. That's another reason why implementing this as a form of noble you'd get makes sense; it becomes a consideration for the mid-late game without making the startup any more complex.

[Stonefish]

quote:Originally posted by Woodstock:
<STRONG>Sounds like a cool idea, but only if the priest (and his religious activities) have just a minor role in the fortress. We're undoubtably getting our ideas from real-life religion, which as we know is pretty much all-encompassing. Having a way to possibly cheer up bed-ridden dwarves would be cool, and maybe some other minor detail, but to have mandates and special rooms and religious punishment, it all seems to divert too much attention from the other aspects of running your fortress.

[ August 25, 2006: Message edited by: Woodstock ]</STRONG>

Yes, that's what I had been thinking, too.  Dwarves have never really seemed to me to be the type to get caught up in religious hysteria, even though religion is something important to them personally.

So while a particularly religious dwarf might have the temple as a very important part of their life, they merely consider non-religious dwarves as "missing out" rather than consumed by the devil or some such nonsense, and don't really mind what other dwarves do with their own religion.

[JT]

PRAISE ARMOK!

[Nobody]

Well, I think religion could become a central focus of the game; as the game goes on attitudes change. Maybe a brush with one of the demons will inspire all the dwarves to a religious frenzy, suddenly encountering pure evil in their world. Of course, some of this should be player choice... I imagine that a theocracy would have its advantages and disadvantages in the eyes of a dwarf player (IE, yay paladin dwarves oh crap why are you burning my mason for being a witch?).

I think another role of dwarven religion is to homogenize interests of dwarves. With a main cultural pillar, judging what's good and what's not, you could set mandates for what dwarves have to be interested in, what they shouldn't like, etcetera. Of course, the dwarves don't have to listen. I see the benefit as being a more stable dwarf society, a way to transform personalities en masse to your liking, and a route to disaster in the form of tyrannical edicts against well entrenched vices.

Course, that's just my idea.

[Zaratustra]

quote:Yes, that's what I had been thinking, too. Dwarves have never really seemed to me to be the type to get caught up in religious hysteria, even though religion is something important to them personally.

Possessed? Fell mood?