If I were to separate basic Dwarf functions into these categories:
- Fortcarvers (Miners, Engravers, Mechanics, Architects, dwarves responsible for the structure of your fortress)
- Foodmakers (Any Dwarf responsible for making or preparing food or beverages)
- Guildsdwarves (Vital; Make things your Dwarves use or wear; Armor, weapons, furniture, clothes.)
- Artisans (Nonvital; Responsible specifically for gaining wealth or making things for trade.)
- Military (Full-time lifelong soldiers; militia does not count)
- Nobles
- Haulin' Peasants and Miscellaneous
then how many of each do you like to have in a group consisting of x dwarves?
I know that it's definitely not as clear-cut as the roles I defined above, but it's the most general list I could come up with.
As an example, if I had, say, 20 dwarves in just a sort of general survival fort, I would want to have, ideally, 3 Fortcarvers, 3 Foodmakers, 5 Guildsdwarves 2 Artisans, 4 Militarydwarves, 1 Noble, and 2 Haulin' Peasants.
I'm interested in how many of each you guys tend to have. Different fortress purposes are wanted; how different are your numbers when you're working on megaprojects as opposed to surviving in a terrifying mountain cavern? How different are your numbers with a full fort of 200 dwarves as opposed to a fresh embark?
When trying to determine a dwarf's roles, just think of it's ultimate purpose. A woodcutter potentially has several roles; it depends on what you use the wood for. If it's for floodgates, grates or windmills, the woodcutter is, by my definition, a Fortcarver. If the wood is for beds, bolts or weapons, the woodcutter is an honorary Guildsdwarf. And if you make wood crafts, then the woodcutter is participating in the Artisan industry.
And for a dwarf which has multiple jobs, you can either represent that by considering it a "1/2 artisan 1/2 guildsdwarf" or just taking whatever it does the most and considering that it's role.
This topic is somewhat ethereal and perhaps esoteric; on one hand, I'm interested in the castes of different fortresses, and on the other hand, sometimes I get hopelessly confused when I'm assigning roles and I may be passively seeking advice here.