OK, so Toady changed the mandate system so that Materials based mandates aren't a problem anymore. Kewl.
But... is that
all that was meant to have changed?
My King likes large gems. So much so that of the 5 mandates he can have issued at any one time, 4 of them will probably be for 3 large gems. Obviously, these demands ain't gonna be met.
My problem is the
punishment... in previous versions, the dorf punished would've been someone with the skill set to produce the item, even if that particular labour wasn't enabled. So for large gems, someone with the gem-cutter skill would be the victim.
Not in my fort. The last three failed mandates have all ended with Militia Captains being incarcerated, even though they have no other skills beyond military.
"So what if you've spent the last three seasons fighting off the undead at our gates. And I don't care that you don't know how. You could've learned how and made my pretties instead of wasting time eating or sleeping or bleeding messily all over the place." I'm pissed. Especially as the last two victims have starved to death and now my Legendary Axedwarf - complete with artifact ensemble - is sitting in a chain.
(And yes, I know how to set up jails; I've food/drink stockpiles, beds & furniture all within easy reach of the chains for them. But they will
not use them and will only eat food stuffs brought by other dorfs. Which is such a low priority that... *sigh*)