If I use the guild system I
transform the same dwarf multiple times, only possible with dfhack. ALL OTHER THINGS USING TRANSFORMATIONS HAS TO BE RE-WRITTEN. All creature spawning, all cults, all possessions, all magic, all-so-much-stuff. And this is why I say that making it optional would be a lot of work. Savants just arrive, you cant transform a dwarf into a savant.
And btw, savants already have 50% skill learn rate for all skills beside their choosen one.
A very basic rule of DF is that with some effort, any dwarf can do any job and be reasonably good at it.
Why? Who said that? Why not change it? I for one can make you a nice trade-ledger and invent taxes, and I can even fish, but if you would want a straight wall build, or a gem cut, I cant. I would need to learn it first. And without google, I probably need someone to teach me.
Literally requiring years in game before a guild member is capable of raising his/her skill growth anywhere above 50% sounds brutal.
Yes. Thats the idea. Of course it should be harder ^^
I imagine it like this: You embark, have probably only normal dwarves, maybe 1-2 guild members of some sort... but you start to dig your fort, fell some trees, build a mason and carpenter and then start building a carpenters and masons guild. Then assign the dwarves you want to them. Then continue playing, get a merchants guild before autumn, play along, build a smiths guild before you start smelting, and so forth. I, personally, just for me, really like that idea. I know its a massive change, I know people are not used to it and that a change from something you know to something new is always hard and seen as unnecessary... but I want to give it a shot. Thats why I make this big post about it and invite everything to give feedback and suggestions before I even start coding on it.
Also, guildmasters are not the one guy that leads a guild. Thats some wrong thing RPGs taught everyone. In RL every person that wants to own a shop needs to be a master for the trade he does. Literally, still true today. So its not strange to have 10 mason guildmasters running around, thats normal.