DEFIBRILLATION
anyway, the soul doll concept you put forth here makes my jump up from my seat. I've seen many similar concepts put forth, but all gave the machines quality levels rather than something more component based. Attributes having origin in components (such as leather (or elf-rubber), metal, gem, and possibly bone) makes sense, and adds a whole degree of customization to it. Its
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=5370.msg69664#msg69664 but put to something more useful.
I like the innocent doll concept, but I think that degrees of evilness or savagery might come well from the materials put into it. there would be the attributes of strength (leather), metal/wood/stone (material strength), gem (intelligence), but also an element of soul (bone or body part). That last element would remain dormant until the doll went under some sort of stress (such as killing many sentients or living many years), at which point it would go "crazy" and inherit the personality traits and ethics of whatever creature its soul element came from. If that was a deer part, it would go grazing and eventually return as a beast tamer and refuse to work leather. if a forgotten beast it would run to the caves and eventually return as a powerful warrior, or else go beserk. if a dwarf it would claim a forge and create an artifact, and henceforth be capable of trances. if an elf it would a master the bow, a master Bowyer and fletcher and refuse to cut wood. etc etc. all of the "crazy" machines would gain the can-learn tag.