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[Pilsu]

What's with the strangely confrontational tone with everyone today?

When reading comments online, their tone is filtered through only your own mood since there's no available body language and tone of voice for your brain to work with. It's all in your head


As for funerals, I don't think a simple party at the grave would work too well. There's very real incentive to make a large dining room to party in but graves tend to be small and if the dwarf had lots of friends, it's gonna be crowded. For instance, mine are 3x3 right now. Doesn't facilitate a funeral service too well

[Stray Elvis (Tame)]

What's with the strangely confrontational tone with everyone today?

When reading comments online, their tone is filtered through only your own mood since there's no available body language and tone of voice for your brain to work with. It's all in your head

You're right, of course. I managed to get myself strangely worked up about umbrellas in some other thread as well. Time to get some sleep...maybe after a little more fortress building 

[Cthulhu]

a farmer starves to death, what a senseless death! etc etc

He starved so the others could have food.  I got a positive thought from it.

[AncientEnemy]

yeah that last bit was kinda an idle afterthought.

I hadn't thought of a 'wake' style "party" for the deceased that didn't actually use the grave, but now that I think about it it seems like a better option. Still, there aught to be some kind of limiting factor about when it takes place so half your dwarves don't go AFK during a goblin seige every time a friend is struck down.

As for the cluttered tombs, that was kinda the idea I was going for, an old honored dwarf would eventually end up with a nice little hoard around his tomb, although I suppose there might be other ways to implement it.

[Neonivek]

He starved so the others could have food

If graves could EVER get Epitaphs (or however you spell it) that MUST get the cut. I mean, how pointless would it otherwise?

[Impaler[WrG]]

A Funeral 'party' should probably be restricted to just the Family and Friends of the deceased (not the 'Acquaintances' which in a modest sized fort will be the majority of the population with respect to any one dwarf).  For that matter the 'parties' that currently occur should be similarly restricted which would actually make them private parties rather then community wide Carnivals/Festivals.

[PTTG??]

A Funeral 'party' should probably be restricted to just the Family and Friends of the deceased (not the 'Acquaintances' which in a modest sized fort will be the majority of the population with respect to any one dwarf).  For that matter the 'parties' that currently occur should be similarly restricted which would actually make them private parties rather then community wide Carnivals/Festivals.

Depending, of course, on the personality of the dwarf, the personality of the dwarf organizing the funeral, and the departed's position; The king will have more mourners than an introverted Fisherdwarf. And a outgoing, kindhearted hero, who's funeral was overseen by his best friend, a bard and storyteller, will have pretty much everybody there and a coffin buried in trinkets!

[SirHoneyBadger]

Maybe there could be some "party-finder" AI coded into the game?

Something that could calculate the number of dwarfs with a desire (and their individual level of desire) to attend a given party/wedding/funeral/what have you, the percentage of those that would actually attend, and then it would find a room large enough to contain them, that was open for such a purpose.

Among the dwarfs selected, cooks and brewers might bring refreshments (or food/drinks might be bought), priests (whenever we get them), with a strong desire to attend the "party" might be hired to attend the ceremony, and those with the ability might sing songs/play instruments.

Aside from all that: What I'd like to see is dwarfs not only doing funerary services, but also after-funeral grave visiting, adding items (maybe flowers, or food or coins or candles, like we do, but maybe dwarfs would add gems instead, maybe tools or weapons, whatever's appropriate for that dwarf's profession-in-life.).

Having a Legendary family shrine/crypt might be another way to give dwarfs that are related to that family, a happy thought?

[Silverionmox]

a coffin buried in trinkets!

You just laid the foundation of the dwarven stone economy. A drain like this will be necessary to use up all the jewelry one can make out of a mē of rock.

[Zarathustra30]

NEEEEECROOOOO!!! (Think 1978 Musical War of the Worlds. Hopefully, I now sound like Richard Burton.)

With the 2014 dwarf brain, it now makes even more sense for them to conduct funerals.  During the !!FUN!! season, several dwarves are "stricken with grief" whenever they see a friend's body. These instances should also occur when visiting a friend's grave. However, grieving should produce a happy thought, as the griever comes to terms with the friend's death.

When dwarves conduct funerals at a tomb or a crypt, everyone could be invited, but only those close to the dearly departed would have the uplifting grief thought, which would scale with the strength of the bond between the two (grudges provide the happiest thoughts) and the lavishness of the burial arrangements (unburied dead cause negative thoughts, hauled dead inspire minimal happiness).

[thvaz]

Good necro.

Now that we have ghosts, dead dwarves who felt neglected by its friends and family could return as ghost. Ghosts as they are now are too predictable. The same should be true for those dwarves who expected a better grave.

what about mummies in the fortress? So many possibilities...

[Getix Kain]

Yesterday, one of my dwarves lost a child to tragedy (a werebeast). 

Obok cancels construct building: mourning

(a couple of days later)

Obok cancels store item in stockpile: emotional shock

I was .. nearly crying myself for that. 

So yes, a "cult of the dead" or a kind of celebration for the dead would be a nice thing to have.

[SixOfSpades]

Perhaps once Religious professions get established in Fort mode, we will see Priests performing labors like Embalm/Mummify Corpse (especially on nobles / Legendaries), which will have the effect of turning the body and its coffin into a single, indivisible unit. This would have the effect of making the body immune to necromancy, and allowing the coffin to be transported without dumping its occupant out onto the floor. So then, the Priest could organize a Funeral at +basalt coffin+, taking place in a nice temple or ceremonial hall, and afterwards the body could be carried with dignity to to its eventual tomb, no matter how twisty the Overseer has made the catacombs.

Properly buried dwarfs might still rise as ghosts--benevolent ghosts who appear near their tombs/slabs, consoling those who have come to grieve. Legendary craftsdwarves, and their friends/family, might be more appeased if their tombs contained a replica of their old workshop ("I can still faintly hear his hammer strike the anvil, just like it used to"). Legendary warriors who died in combat (or immediately thereafter) might also return as ghosts, physically attacking (or, more likely, just terrifying) enemies of the same race/type that struck them down . . . although only if those enemies came within X distance of the warrior's tomb.

Most importantly, bad thoughts from a dwarf dying from old age should be extremely mitigated. I suggest such deaths not being able to push dwarves any lower than "unhappy", and then a couple of days later, start producing actual happy thoughts if the dwarf was able to achieve his goals, or at least produce an artifact, before he died.

[esperandus]

Really like the idea of possibly benevolent dwarven ghosts. If they arise from famous champions or ancestors, maybe they could even bequeath items or advice to the current generation of dwarves

Re: necro, I think a more abstract idea of 'rituals' might be appropriate.

Each civ could be given a list of events that they will celebrate, mourn, of otherwise ritualize. Each ritual would have a linked building (or buildings?) that are appropriate for the ritual in question. They would also have a profession authorized to perform the ritual - I imagine priests able to do all rituals, nobles capable of some but not others (eg: weddings?), etc.

The list of rituals would certainly include funerals, but I also see weddings, perhaps birth celebrations, the creation of artifacts, the achievement of champion status, remembrance of great victories (or defeats! - this could be either ancient history or recent), and perhaps holidays sacred for each god (corresponding to actual dates, this is a separate idea though).

Funerals would probably be the most important, though. In my scheme, a new building would be constructed, lets call it an 'altar', able to be produced like slabs are. It can be converted into one or more rooms, like chains can be. These might include 'temple', 'funeral parlor', 'Altar of joining'(for marriage), etc. Once created, the game waits for the appropriate event to occur. Then, relevant dwarves gather, celebrate, get a happy thought, and depart. 

A general system like this would permit different races (or even civs...) to have different rituals, corresponding to different values, gods, etc.....