Gotcha. It's been a long time since I've played and my DF capable computer is still down, so I'm still catching up on a lot of stuff. I can tell people still how to do the most basic functions of the game, but when it comes to esoterica like what does and doesn't allow for fortresses to be built, I'm a little as sea.Being in here I've learned more about modding than ever before, so thank you for your patience with me.
--this was from my previous post before you replied, sorry--
Also, ideas for the two military leaders for the ghouls and skeletons. The Skeleton is called a Crypt Lord right? Shouldn't a Ghoul be called a Grave Lord? Or maybe Grave Master? After all, if bones go in crypts, then corpses go in graves (and ghouls feed on corpses).
Is there any way to get Ghouls to feed on rotting flesh without getting unhappy thoughts from it? Or is that already done?
Also, been trying to think of ways to get units to be hit with a skill buff syndrome from something without it spreading further than you might want.
Just to be clear, you CANNOT put a caste cap on a skill level right? Like have it set up so that when a member of a caste reaches X skill level, then their ability to learn that skill will default to 0% learn rate?
Cause if you could do that, then you could set it up so that skeletons and such could learn skill levels up to a CERTAIN level dependent upon their specific caste, and no further?
Another neat idea would be more skeleton material castes depending on where you want to cap their development (assuming the above is even remotely possible). Things beyond Dreadnaught in other magical metals. Adamantine or Orichalcum would be a possibility for example.
Alternatively... okay... just bear with me here... but is it possible to have syndromes that are non infective, are recorded on their character stats, and would raise their skill level to a certain degree in a thing?
Cause, just bear with me here. What if you could give skeletons an 'inscription' syndrome? The idea is that you're recording abilities and magical programming into their bones right? So you have to give them a syndrom to do it? It wouldn't ever fade. It'd be cured if a new one was put in it's place. And the better the type of syndrom, the better off it would be.
So, just talking off the top of my head here. You take a tin bar, and you send the skeleton off to the boneshaper or inscriptionist or whatever, and the skeleton comes back with a new syndrome. "Tin Smith's Inscription". This lets the Skeleton go from No Skill in the thing, to Novice Skill in it.
It could also start off with Blood or Bone Inscription for the very basic level. Then work up to better ones over time?
Depending on how syndromes work on this (and I don't know so please, bear with me here if I'm wrong), you might not need to even 'cure' the old syndrome before placing a new one. Instead each layer would build on the other.
It depends on if syndromes would stack or not. For example, if syndromes go "give +X to skill" then you'd need to cure the previous inscription syndrome before applying the new one. Otherwise they'd stack oddly (so a Bone inscription gives +1 skill, bringing someone up to dabbling if they have it. A Tin inscription gives +2, bringing them up to novice if they have it. Under this system, if they had both, they'd get +3 total, or Adequate skill).
Now, if syndromes can instead give a FLAT RATE to their ability. EG: The syndrome says "This person now has X skill", then you wouldn't need to erase previous syndromes. Rather, you'd just have them at that skill. So if somebody has Bone (this person is now dabbling skill) and tin (this person is now novice skill), then the system would either default to whichever was applied last, or whichever gives the largest buff right? (assuming it functions this way at all)
Depending on how much of a skill buff you'd want each level of the syndrome to apply, you'd need as many as 16 different materials for the production of these 'inscriptions'. Or you could have them jump 2 levels and only need 8 materials.
If I'm recalling correctly about castes and transformations, then changing a skeleton from one state to another would result in these syndromes, and thus their skill buffs, being lost entirely. Which would only make sense since you'd be erasing the inscriptions as you replace the bones of the skeleton with new materials.
I have no idea how much of this is possible, but maybe this will help put you on a path towards getting a similar system implemented?
edit: Another method rather than removing them. Is just have each material of syndrome give a +1 to the relevant skill, and not stack with the same material syndrome (which I think is built in. Can't catch the same sickness over and over right?) So simple expense of each material will keep skill levels rising at a steady rate?