Dwarven Maturation:
Childcare, Education, and Apprenticeship
I. IntroductionA dwarf under the current system squanders twelve years of his or her life. They are uncared for, their young, supple minds hardening into the defined pathways of routine, locking away their creativity and potential. There is no profession devoted to nurturing and improving them. This cannot stand. The proposal I outline here is not especially enlightened, but it carries the spirit I wish to convey: Dwarf children deserve our care and our guidance.
II. ChildcareNew Room: Nursery
New Profession: CaretakerA dwarven parent spends much of their time, understandably, at work. It is the nature of dwarves to labor for the glory of their fortress and for their own pleasure within the warm, inviting bosom of the earth. But where should their children go while the parents are excavating the treasures of the deeps and crafting weapons of legendary power?
Why to the nursery of course! Babies and, perhaps, children to young to be educable would be dropped off by their parents into the care of a caretaker, someone who would look after them, play with them (perhaps using toys), and read to them the stories of the ancient and glorious dwarven empire. Here, children would develop rudimentary social skills and develop personality quirks that would follow them through life.
III. EducationNew Room: Classroom
New Profession: TeacherIn the wealthier fortresses, dwarves of noble heritage will want to craft their children into suitable heirs, possessed of all the intellectual capacity expected of a dwarven count. The classroom is the perfect setting for such an endeavor. Here, a dwarven teacher (either made wise by worldy experience, self taught from dwarven books, or an immigrant educated in the schools of the capital) endows these children with literacy, teaches them math, and, of course, briefly covers the dwarvenities: the ancient arts of mining, stoneworking, metalcrafting, and other things dwarven. This education would last a varying amount of time depending, perhaps, on the interest of the dwarf and on the determination of his parents to have him educated. More advanced topics, such as brokering, architecture, and recordkeeping, may be taught to those dwarves who wish to extend their education.
IV. ApprenticeshipNew Positions/Titles: Apprentice, Journeyman, MasterWhen a dwarf enters adulthood, he or she often starts out with few, if any, useful skills. Rather than trying to learn these on their own and spending a lot of time and materials pumping out low quality items, a dwarf should be able to become an apprentice of a more experienced dwarf. An apprentice would fetch materials for their master and watch them work; all the while, they would be gaining skill more quickly than if they were to try to learn on their own. Eventually, the time would come for the apprentice to attempt his journeyman piece. If he is successful, he can move off into his own workshop, perhaps. As his skill increases, he can eventually try for master status by creating masterwork.
This can possibly tie into the suggested guild system:
http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=23965.0V. Concluding StatementsIn my opinion, one of the most important aspects of DF’s simulationist approach is how it tracks the way one thing becomes another. Legendary dwarves are made, not born. Ore needs to be mined, processed, and reprocessed into something useful and usable. The end result of these labors is a product that is valuable not simply in its utility, but in the labor that’s gone into it. How can we, as responsible fortressers, not put this same quality of labor, the same amount of dwarfhours into the children of our dwarves as we do into our iron picks and steel axes? The goblins almost seem better at raising dwarf children than we are! This must not stand. Fellow fortressers, I implore you: Vote for the future of all our fortresses. Vote for this suggestion in the Eternal Suggestion voting.
(Actually, I haven't put up the suggestion yet, but I will really soon.)
(Also, first post! Hello world!)
(OK, suggestion is up now)
Please comment! This isn't nearly complete or satisfactory.