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[Trekkin]

I've been noticing a lot of dwarves who are severely reduced in utility by having bits of themselves removed, and as such have been wondering at how prosthetics beyond crutches might be implemented, especially since every dwarf's needs would be unique- you can't make a prosthetic hand for someone missing a finger, nor for someone missing an entire forearm. Thus, I suggest armor be used as the basis for replacement limbs, perhaps with a mechanism added as a means of transforming the motions of the remaining limb/torso into some semblance of the replaced function. In effect, the missing limb would be armored as though it still existed, at which point it regains some functionality, perhaps proportional to the quality of the mechanism employed.

Just to clarify, I'm NOT suggesting some form of steampunk deus ex machina replacement, just a more cosmetic version of the hook as replacement hand that dovetails nicely with how armor covers various portions of dwarven anatomy as needed...and we end up with dwarves with metal arms/legs.

[Capntastic]

So you're bringing up dwarves with 'reduced utility' due to limb loss, proposing semi-functional mechanical prosthetics as a remedy, and then immediately saying it's not steampunk styled mechanical replacements and it's just cosmetic?

Cognitive dissonance aside, Toady's said he's wary of mechanical stuff like this and I believe he's specifically cited this sort of thing, along with clockwork men and similar, as things to avoid.   We don't even have proper hooks and peglegs in, yet.

[Trekkin]

That was what i meant. I know it sounds mechanical, but i didn't intend it to sound any more functional than the hook/peg leg stereotypical prosthetic, which is itself a step up from nothing. This is the same step up functionally, just less glaringly obvious cosmetically and doesnt require producing a new item or range of items. Then again, anything made of metal and used in lieu of a limb walks a fine line between the few examples we have of medieval prostheses (Gotz von Berlichingen) and increasingly fantastical steampunk.

[Capntastic]

It's still short sighted to want to kludge two existing objects [a gauntlet and a mechanism] into a new one, instead of having a "create prosthesis" job or similar.

[Solace]

I think dwarves could build a mechanical prosthetic, but how would they power it? The best they could do (I think) would be, say, a hand/claw/clamp with a manual tightening knob.

[Trekkin]

Which is entirely consistent, if we assume a sort of generally medieval technological base. All it would do functionally is hold the position to which it was last set, but even that requires some sort of internal armature capable of variable resistance to applied forces. It doesn't have to be animate, just capable of being manually moved and then staying put. I was simply suggesting that there's a certain elegance to taking something already shaped like the part in question and building the armature into that.

[kilakan]

what you really want is for toady to implement a type of prothesis into the raws, whose ability to replace function (even go past that of a normal flesh part), required items to make, skills used to operate and make, armor value, and ability to get destroyed in battle: can be modified and changed by the user, allowing some people to use vanilla peg legs, and others to create steampunk metal arms which are weapons in themselves, even to the point of a battle veteran being a semi-mechanical man, with every limb replaced.

[Artanis00]

what you really want is for toady to implement a type of prothesis into the raws, whose ability to replace function (even go past that of a normal flesh part), required items to make, skills used to operate and make, armor value, and ability to get destroyed in battle: can be modified and changed by the user, allowing some people to use vanilla peg legs, and others to create steampunk metal arms which are weapons in themselves, even to the point of a battle veteran being a semi-mechanical man, with every limb replaced.

What we really want is Fullmetal Axedwarf. And then when magic goes in we can bind some recently deceased's soul to a set of masterwork steel armor.

[NW_Kohaku]

what you really want is for toady to implement a type of prothesis into the raws, whose ability to replace function (even go past that of a normal flesh part), required items to make, skills used to operate and make, armor value, and ability to get destroyed in battle: can be modified and changed by the user, allowing some people to use vanilla peg legs, and others to create steampunk metal arms which are weapons in themselves, even to the point of a battle veteran being a semi-mechanical man, with every limb replaced.

Don't kid yourself, if players could make cyborg superdwarves, they'd send every immigrant soapmaker through an obstacle course of serrated disc weapon traps just to make the survivors into small-scale mecha before they even bother letting them train.

With that said, I honestly wouldn't mind it if people started making mods like that.  Having basic prosthesis with moddable extras that go beyond what DF is really meant to be is perfectly within Toady's MO.

[kilakan]

as an extention to what I said, it could even open up the posibilities of adding on parts to existing creatures it otherwise wouldn't have, aka wood and cloth "wings" which could vary upon the modders ideas from slowing falling so it doesn't kill to allowing people to fly through 'magic', I mean if the basis is there then you can see hundreds of mods all with their own take on it.  Since there's already a conversion mod that makes the playable civ automatons, having the ability to make a mod which allows you to turn your people into automatons wouldn't be much different, and I'm not implying the ever problematic creature creation in game, more along the lines of putting on a suit of armor you can't get out of.

[Geb]

Armour does seem like a very natural place for a dwarf to start when making a prosthetic, but I think the issue of restoring function is a distraction from what purpose it would really serve beyond peg legs and hooks.

It could be more of an aesthetic matter. An injured dwarf ought to feel happier with a more natural looking replacement. If the crutch-walker skill is anything to judge by, how well a prosthetic will work is going to depend mostly on skill, not quality of build, and that's probably the right way to handle it.

[kilakan]

I like that idea, possible even higher level surgeons can graft on replacement parts, aka an arm for an arm when fighting goblins.  It would give some usage to prisoners of war beyond amusement for us!

[scira]

I think dwarf way would be to amputate the entire limb to make prosthetics more uniform.
Missing the third tow on your left foot? New leg for you!

[albinocaveslug]

Add a "Wind" function that would have to be performed by another dwarf on a timer similar to eat and drink. Oh! And a key item that must be used to do it. You want a cyborg superdwarf army? Fine. Hope that siege doesn't last too long, because those guys need winding on a regular basis.

[Sordid]

you can't make a prosthetic hand for someone missing a finger

I don't see why not. If there's too little of the limb missing, chopping off more to make the prosthetic fit is a very simple solution, and IMO quite a dwarfy thing to do as well.

But yeah, I do like the suggestion. I'm not particularly happy with the way DF seems to be going, with magic going in and steampunk being left out. Ever since I played Morrowind I've thought steampunk dwarves are the best kind. They already go crazy with all kinds of mechanical contraptions, so it seems a natural direction to take them in.