Sooo, I'd really like to learn how to mod in Dwarf Fortress, and I decided to try and make a warrior cats (the book series by Erin Hunter) mod. The series has a lot of worldbuilding stuff in similar niches to DF, so I think it would be an interesting project to slowly mod the aspects of the warrior cats canon into DF, learning about modding as I go. I've already read the 'modding' article on the wiki, and I'm slowly chewing through other modding guides. I still have some questions though, starting with making the playable race of tribal cats.
1. The names. For those who haven't read the books- warrior cat names change over time. When they're born, they have the suffix -kit (ex. Snowkit, Toadkit, Flowerkit). As they get older, they become an apprentice and their suffix changes to -paw (Snowpaw, Toadpaw, Flowerpaw). Finally, upon reaching adulthood/full warrior status, they get one of a huge variety of suffixes. (So Snowpaw could end up being named Snowfur, Snowfoot, Snowheart, Snowflight, etc.). Finally, if they become leader of their clan, they get the suffix -star. The first 3 seem like they could easily be connected to natural aging mechanics in DF (Infant-->Child-->Adult), and the last to a change in rank (being elected to a position of power like mayor or expedition leader). However, I'm stuck on how to implement these changes, as dwarves are given a name at birth and that doesn't usually change. Any suggestions?
2. I was also wondering about generated appearances. I know most dwarves upon embarkment have the same skin and hair color. Is there any way to make my citizens more diverse upon embarkment? For example, I don't want to start out with 7 brown cats with yellow eyes.
Any assistance is appreciated! :3 Modding DF seems fun, and I hope I can learn to enjoy making mods.