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[helmacon]

i did a quick search of the forums and didn't find anything like this, so i figured i would start it.

It seems that dwarves work endlessly, stopping only to eat, drink and sleep. ( excluding the broker who is always on break ) Why do they do it? what hopes do they have as individuals? what are they working for?
I propose that they work for a retirement. that when they reach an older age they lay down the pick and simply enjoy life.

They would be cared for by any of their own children who are grown, and would spend most of their time in their rooms and the meeting halls. As an offset for the many friends they would undoubtedly make, their death would trigger only a mild unhappy thought; such as Urist McDawrf was saddened by Urist McOlds passing.
 eventuly, very old dawrves could go senile, a form of insanity, or possibly "stark raving mad". senality would cause dawrves to do things such as wander the halls and get lost and sleep in the wrong room, causing a small unnhappy thought in the owner. the plus side to old dawrves would be thier ability to cause happy thoughts in other dawrves by; Urist McDawrf was entertained recently by a story from   Urist McOlds youth.

[Sheb]

They work to survive in an hostile environment. Seriously, retirement is a pretty modern concept, and doesn't fit in the DF universe. Having old dwarves being unfit for more and more jobs, and not triggering such a bad feeling when dying make sense however.

[Footkerchief]

As shown by a search for "retirement", it's come up:
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=62350.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=4503.0

[helmacon]

Im sorry, i serched dawrven retierment and didnt find anything.
I apriciate the info.

[10ebbor10]

Im sorry, i serched dawrven retierment and didnt find anything.
I apriciate the info.

You probably made a spelling error or used to many search terms. The Df forums search engine search for the entire string of words, not only individual ones. Using google or searching for partial words helps.

[Mckee]

Whilst retirement is a fairly new concept, it does seem reasonable that even in the past, people reached an age where they were too infirm to work, but didnt immediately die. Sure, one bad harvest or bad winter, or bout of disease and they were done for, but it stands to reason that it occurred at least some of the time. It'd be interesting if the 'senility' described by the OP covered skill loss too. Although not everyone (even alcoholic midgets) go senile with age. A weakened immune system for older dwarves as well as lowered physical stats and recovery times, and you hopefully wouldnt have a massive ammount of elderly dwarves stacking up in the meeting halls.

[GreatWyrmGold]

More effects of aging in general would be a good idea. Decreased physical stats, tendancies towards senility (and/or instanity), possibly losing skills due to things like Alzheimers, slowing down, needing to sleep/eat more (sleep, definitely), various disabilities, possibly a tendancy to actively end their existance peacefully (I know some people do this IRL once they're too feeble to do their favorite passtimes), possibly a tendancy to fail to remember to eat on their own, maybe being enough of a cranky old cuss that someone tosses a -pig tail fiber pillow- over his face while he's sleeping or something, all of those nasty diseases and other things that killed most people before they hit 50 back in the day, and reflections of these things in worldgen.

[weenog]

So, legendary workers turning into more lazy demanding nobles.  For the sake of verisimilitude, when it actually goes against verisimilitude.  Where was the up side?

[Corai]

So, legendary workers turning into more lazy demanding nobles.  For the sake of verisimilitude, when it actually goes against verisimilitude.  Where was the up side?

Possible good thoughts?


Mass-skill increase?


Oh, Uristmc legendary soldier is retired? Kill-Wait why is my fort suddenly all novice swords-Now there adequate...wait, if he TEACHING the fort's children?

[weenog]

I don't know that I'd call a job change to professor a retirement so much, but that would be better.

[Corai]

Old people teach children, dont they? Atleast the ones where I live do.

-Edit-

"Happy to be lectured by a elder recently."

"Unhappy to be bored by a elder recently."

-

"Angered by a unruly child recently."

"Happy to see the youth at work."

[weenog]

Old people pretty much all lose their minds and get locked into small dismal buildings to gradually die, while annoying the hell out of the people employed to care for them in the meantime, here.

[UHaulDwarf]

Dwarfs retire? Not likely. Its not that they could not. Its just that they would not want to.
Dwarfs love working. I cant imagine them not wanting to work.

[Splint]

Maybe them going into thier rooms/dorm to die instead of keeling over in the hall would work instead...

[Sheb]

Anyway, how many dwarves have you seen die of old age anyway. It's not like it's a common occurence.