Good ideas, though some other stuff occurs to me.
Keep the Health Care skill(too many skills as it is!), but maybe make it not universally selected as a default job preference however(more easily allow for specialists if you choose). Add a hospital 'workshop' that reduces or halts the morale-harming effects of wounds whilst allowing the patient to rest and recuperate.
Possibly require certain components for certain wounds. Broken bones = leather + wood to make splint in craftdwarf shop. Cuts, amputations = alcohol for sedative and to rinse bacteria from wounds(lye is poisonous so not sure about using that), also bandages(a useful purpose for the clothesworker!) to stem the bleeding and keep it clean. Amputation long term = prosthetic hook hands, peg legs from metalsmith or carpenter + visit to the doctor = able to use the lost limb again(at least abstractly, in reality they'd probably need to screw on pick-holding or shield-holding attachments. Could move slower with peg leg). Eyepatches would give new purpose to cloth and leather workshops, while putting a damper on the skills of marksdwarves.
Or, keep the new components and functions but ditch the new 'health workshop'. Instead of just having automatic 'bring water', 'bring food' requests, we'd have 'bring bandage', 'bring alcohol'(for additional morale boost), 'bring splint' jobs automatically being generated as needed. With the ability to get out of bed with the aid of a splint or crutch, the dwarf would be able to tantrum and keep their anger in check better even if you keep the current frenzy-happy algorithms. (Hey, it keeps things interesting, just wish it weren't such a foregone conclusion)
Hehe, the idea of dwarves with peg legs and hook hands just tickles me somehow. Especially if the new limbs were treated the same as 'undead limbs'. That is, they can get damaged or even torn off, but with no apparent mortality effect, bleeding, or pain and better armor/durability depending on the materials used. Frankly I can see myself getting a lot more attached to a character who's been to hell and back. Eventually(in a year or two) being able to drag my wounded adventurer into a settlement to get patched up would be pretty cool especially if he gets a peg-leg out of the bargain.
This would be the first ROGUE-like that I know of to let you play a two-peglegged, two-hookhanded, one-eye'd dwarven wrestler in full platemail. BADASS.
[ August 20, 2006: Message edited by: Stromko ]
[ August 20, 2006: Message edited by: Stromko ]