About instruments.

[Nightweaver20xx]

I just started playing about 8 hours ago. I'm on my second fortress. I've started looking through the trader's stock to buy stuff. There are instruments in there with names I have never heard of. I see a "Kizab", a "Sebir" and a "Tinoth." Let me guess: These are not real-life instruments, and are completely made-up for not just DF, but my particular world. Yes? So if that's the case, how the hell am I supposed to tell what anything is or what it does. Or am I supposed to? Man this game is complex.

[Rainbow Jeremy]

They're procedurally generated instruments yeah, in old DF you could inspect them in the trade menu to see what they did exactly but now you would have to use legends or something to get an idea until you see one I think. Unless there's a mod for trade descriptions or it gets added back in.

[malthenielsen]

Their desciptions are absolutely hilarous. They can be like a huge rock that you have to shake to make a humming sound.

[Erei]

As the poster said above. Sometimes, dwarves want to sing and play a music alongside it. If they have the instrument, they'll play it, otherwise they'll do "air guitar" basically.
Tavern and temple can getr performers and a chest to store instruments. They are used as previously mentioned.
Some instruments are furniture and need to be set up in a place they can be used (like the tavern). Imagine a piano, you don't carry it in a chest and drop it on the ground when you want to play something.


Sadly, they RARELY use instruments and need to know how to use them. So most non dwarves instruments are useless to your dwarves (while elf bard will likely only use elf instrument and so on).
In all my time in DF, I only had them play instruments once. And yes, it was glorious :)

[Rainbow Jeremy]

Originally posted by malthenielsen:

Their desciptions are absolutely hilarous. They can be like a huge rock that you have to shake to make a humming sound.

Oh yeah they're wild, also some of the time when an elf caravan brings them they will have divine metal parts that can be melted (if this is still a thing, it was.)

[malthenielsen]

Originally posted by Rainbow Jeremy:

Originally posted by malthenielsen:

Their desciptions are absolutely hilarous. They can be like a huge rock that you have to shake to make a humming sound.

Oh yeah they're wild, also some of the time when an elf caravan brings them they will have divine metal parts that can be melted (if this is still a thing, it was.)

They can be decent weapons also!

In Adv Mode I had an instrument which was a rock to make rhytm with somehow.

I could knock my opponents down, then I'd play a song for them with the instrument called "And I yelled "Dog!" or something and then smash their heads with the instriment.

It can be hard finishing off armored opponents, but a strike to the head with a clunky heavy thing is a good way, and this is where instruments can be handy.

[Rainbow Jeremy]

Oh yeah, misc items in adventure mode are the true weapon to surpass metal gear.
I cannot wait til we get adv mode back.

[Erei]

I never played adventure mode (the UI was just too janky for me). I'm curious to try. My current fort have Unicorn, would be cool to ride one. Also, since it's DF, very likely to be utterly underwhelming and lead to some FUN.

[malthenielsen]

Originally posted by Erei:

I never played adventure mode (the UI was just too janky for me). I'm curious to try. My current fort have Unicorn, would be cool to ride one. Also, since it's DF, very likely to be utterly underwhelming and lead to some FUN.

The UI is actually quite great. The learning curve is just very, very steep. The DF wiki has a "cheat sheet" with the controls.

After you've mastered the UI you need to learn what stuff is dangerous and to avoid. You don't want to spend much time on rolling up the first 5 characters or so because they won't live long.

But once you get the hang of it is truly great, It sorta opens up the game world and make you think of fort dwarves as extremely provincial of sorts. The world just keeps surprising you.

I did try to catch a unicorn as an adventurer, but they run very fast.

[Erei]

I already had to "master" the classic UI and it was a pain. Didn't want to deal with that ordeal again :) I'm patient enough, I'll wait :)

[Grimmrog_SIG]

I settled at a volcano and had an instrument made sololy from clay, a sort of clay like panflute sold for 200 each. easy and fast money.

[McFuzz]

The easiest way to find all the pieces to build is to search the name of the instrument in the Work Orders menu, and not by manually looking in individual workshops because you will never find them all lol.

[harlequin_corps]

Oh.. yah.. don't.. don't try to make them.. They are a royal pain, worse than soap. Just buy the damn things and throw them into your inns and temples.