AAR [4M]: Moar Montazh (2021-6-19 @ 2200 gmt)

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ChrisDDickey
Posts:1011
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:02 pm
AAR [4M]: Moar Montazh (2021-6-19 @ 2200 gmt)

Post by ChrisDDickey » Sat Jun 12, 2021 12:37 pm

LFG: Moar Montazh
GM: Chris D
Organized by: Youghdel (bronzemountain)
Difficulty: 4M up to 5 players.
Time: 2021-6-19 @ 2200 gmt Saturday (6 pm eastern)
Rumor: viewtopic.php?f=58&t=2444
Prior: viewtopic.php?f=55&t=2404&sid=a5cec1bed ... a0c#p18322

Time for another errand for the legendary physical trainer, Montazh. He is upgrading his gymnasium, and needs a few exotic materials.

Reward: Half priced physical training.
Last edited by ChrisDDickey on Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

bronzemountain
Posts:606
Joined:Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:02 pm

Re: LFG [4M]: Moar Montazh (2021-6-19 @ 2200 gmt)

Post by bronzemountain » Sat Jun 12, 2021 12:41 pm

Name: Youghdel von Smeshfays
ECL: 4
Discipline: Sky Raider
Quote/Unique: Sky Raiders in flight. Afternoon delight!
Notable Abilities: Stronkest Windling.
Downtime: Fuck off.
Last Game Played: 2021-05-01

Sharkforce
Posts:527
Joined:Thu Feb 28, 2019 8:39 am

Re: LFG [4M]: Moar Montazh (2021-6-19 @ 2200 gmt)

Post by Sharkforce » Sat Jun 12, 2021 4:08 pm

Name: Orlam
Date of Last Game Played: June 8
Circle: ECR 5
Discipline: Elementalist 5
Unique: healing boosts, combat buffs and debuffs, comfort, navigation, and evidence analysis. (downside: he sucks at damage).
Downtime: Item History (Talent, Rating 5, step 16), Research (Skill, Rating 2, Step 9, +3 available for 20 sp in the Great Library).

Serespar
Posts:215
Joined:Fri May 18, 2018 3:53 pm

Re: LFG [4M]: Moar Montazh (2021-6-19 @ 2200 gmt)

Post by Serespar » Sat Jun 12, 2021 5:09 pm

Name: Kayapo
Mystic windling shamanic healer from the Liaj jungle
Circle: ECR 4, Circle 4
Discipline: Windling Shaman ( Novice Rank )

Image

Date of Last Game Played: Player: June 11, 2021 Glenwood Deep with Strats, Character: May 1, 2021 Do You Even Lift?
Party Buffs: Prey Senses, Ferret Reflexes, Pack Tactics
Healing: Physician, Hero's Feast
Downtime: Talents and Skills that other characters can use over downtime: None
Unique: Astral Sensitive

Secondary character

Anoush
Posts:160
Joined:Wed Feb 22, 2017 10:53 pm

Re: LFG [4M]: Moar Montazh (2021-6-19 @ 2200 gmt)

Post by Anoush » Sat Jun 12, 2021 7:51 pm

Name: Keel
Image
ECR: 4
Last Played: May 11, 2021 [Bloodbeat II]
Discipline: Elf Sky Raider 4
Quote/Unique: De’abor abora!! (While we live, let us live!)
Notable Abilities: I bash things with my sword.
Downtime: n/a

predajey
Posts:344
Joined:Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:27 am

Re: LFG [4M]: Moar Montazh (2021-6-19 @ 2200 gmt)

Post by predajey » Sun Jun 13, 2021 5:47 pm

Name: Orfen
Image
Date of Last Game Played: June 6
ECR: 4
Discipline: Elementalist (Circle 3)
Unique: Hair. There's a lot of it. Most of it is unkempt. Some of it is blonde, some is red.
Downtime:
  • Item History ESR 14 (Rank 3 + Step 7 PER + Step 4 Karma)
  • Alchemy ESR 11 (Rank 4 + Step 7 PER, but no kit or lab yet)
    • Booster Potions

ChrisDDickey
Posts:1011
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:02 pm

AAR [4M]: Moar Montazh (2021-6-19 @ 2200 gmt)

Post by ChrisDDickey » Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:21 am

AAR:

Player Rewards: 
Youghdel: 2,200 LP, 132.5 SP, 3 TIPs, Rank 6 DEX Training, 1x Kelia's Antidote
Orlam: 2,200 LP, 45 sp, 3 TIPs, Healing Potion, Rating 6 Dexterity Training
Kayapo: 2,200 LP, 375 SP, 3 TIPs plus JE; will think about the half price healing aids
Keel: 2,200 LP, 67.5 SP, 3 TIPs, Rank 7 DEX Training, 1x Kelia's Antidote
Orfen: 2200 LP, 67.5 SP, 3 TIPs, DEX Training, Kelia's Antidote (Reimbursing Orlam)
GM Rewards (Truck) 13,000 lp, 775 sp, 3 TIPs.

Downtime:
Orlam: Item History (Talent, Rating 5, step 16), Research (Skill, Rating 2, Step 9, +3 available for 20 sp in the Great Library)
Orfen: Item History ESR 14 (Rank 3 + Step 7 PER + Step 4 Karma).    Alchemy ESR 11 (Rank 4 + Step 7 PER, but no kit or lab yet).  Booster Potions

Alternate rewards:
1/2 priced Physical (Dex, Str, Tou) training. Half price healing aids.

Further Information:
The Adepts traveled to the Servos Jungle where they met the dwarves of Greenview, clearing the jungle to make fields and decided not to deal with them. They also met the Cathan humans of the village of Apalai, whom they arranged to make regular shipments of swamp birch bark. They have ensured Throal has a steady supply of swamp birch bark, a core ingredient in smelly health drinks.

Sharkforce
Posts:527
Joined:Thu Feb 28, 2019 8:39 am

Re: AAR [4M]: Moar Montazh (2021-6-19 @ 2200 gmt)

Post by Sharkforce » Sun Jun 20, 2021 3:12 am

Orlam Rolfsom, Journal Entry # 13: Moar Montazh

The Servos Jungle is a wondrous place shrouded in mystery and filled with many manifestations of the power of the elements. Also, it is a very hot, sticky, unpleasant place filled with all manner of deadly creatures. Youghdel recruited me to go on a mission there on behalf of a fellow by the name of Montazh. The name seemed somewhat familiar to me, but I certainly don't know the fellow as well as Youghdel seems to think I should. Joining as well were Orfen, Keel, and a new face to: Kayapo, a Windling Shaman.

It seems this Montazh fellow wanted us to go and secure an immediate supply of dried bark from the swamp birch trees found along the northern reaches of the Servos River, as well as establishing a trade route to carry more of it on a regular basis. He says it's good for toughening up his trainees when mixed into one of his concoctions. I say it tastes like hurlg smells after it's been vomited up and left in the chamber pot for a few days to stew, and anyone who can survive a week on nothing else must have the strength of madness to be able to keep going. I think I'll stick with plant feasts personally.

We took some time to learn how to harvest the inner bark sustainably, and made certain we would be able to identify it when we saw it. We also had the thought to see if we could borrow someone else's trade route and spoke to the Daicar brothers to ship it at least part of the way so that we wouldn't have to establish an entirely new trade route from scratch. Letters of introduction in hand, we set out for the jungle. The first leg of the trip across the plains was nice enough, Misty seemed in a fine mood. Along the banks of the Galanga were relatively enjoyable as well, we encountered little trouble as well.

Crossing through the thick jungle to reach the Servos River, we encountered a small village, I think they said they were called Greenview or some such thing. I doubt it much matters; they had determined to declare war on the Jungle, and I very much doubt they shall find that to be as enjoyable as their imagination says it is. We tried our best to tell them they would need to learn to respect the land or the land would grind them down to the bone, but they would hear nothing of it. We had considered working with them to establish the trade route, but when it became apparent that they would almost certainly cut every corner (and every tree), we simply moved on.

It was around this time that we met with some of Barsaive's deadly predators, a flock of crackbills. Their foul vapours were a veritable pestilence and nearly ended me, but thankfully I was not travelling alone. I had initially been avoiding their beaks quite effectively, which is probably why they decided to breathe their toxins my way. At least I was able to make good use of my newly acquired talents to weaken them for others to finish them off. We headed back to Greenview to try again to dissuade them, pointing out that even Adepts were in danger here, but they still would not listen.

There were a few good trees in the nearby swamp, but with no prospect of a long-term partner we continued moving along the river and met some odd creatures when we tried to take a shortcut: head like a dwarf, body of a cat, flying above the jungle. They gave us a riddle with the answer "No Tresspassing" and we decided not to further explore the trackless region we had somehow gotten ourselves into. The river proved a much easier path to follow, and we came across another swamp (we'd been expecting to; Montazh knew of at least 3 swamps where we should be able to find the swamp birch, and his information proved correct at least as far as we tested it).

More helpfully, Kayapo noticed some locals, Cathans he called them, watching us from a hiding place in the trees. He waved to them, did an interesting greeting ritual (which we later followed with a more conventional Throalic greeting ritual) and we were able to indicate we would like to speak with the heads of the village. A wizened old lady there could speak some Throalic (which was a relief, they speak a very different dialect than I do and it was very difficult to communicate) and we managed to negotiate an agreement. They were more than willing to gather dried bark and transport it to the Daicar trade route in exchange for metal implements, and we spent a couple of weeks training them in how to gather what was needed. They were much more receptive to the idea of sustainable harvesting as well, and frankly I think much more likely to still be alive for more than a few months than the prior village.

The Apalai tribe (as best I can make out; they weren't much for written language) seemed like a much better choice, and we took a couple of lads with us to learn where they would need to go. Along the way back we saw a region of the river which strangely flowed through the treetops above the ground. Unfortunately we were so distracted that we walked right into the dangling tentacles of some large venomous floating blobs while discussing what we had seen over the next few hours. We should've known better than to get distracted in the jungle. I barely caught sight of one before it could tear into me, though Youghdel to my rear caught a much worse time of it. Orfen nearly died, I think. We quickly drove them off, it seems they have a terrible fear of fire which can cause them to explode, and I got an antidote into Orfen to keep her from dying to the poison.

I would later find out that the poison was not deadly in and of itself, just excruciatingly painful and paralytic. The barbs they left in me were none too pleasant, either. Thankfully, nothing bothered us while we recovered and we were able to make the rest of the journey with eyes wide open and ears straining for the slightest warning.

We made it back safely of course, and Montazh agreed to train us to be better, faster, stronger. I accepted, but I couldn't help noticing that none of us who had gone to gather his ingredients seemed interested in that particular course. Several days later, weary to my bones but feeling more accomplished, I completed the training. That man really knows how to drive you.

Serespar
Posts:215
Joined:Fri May 18, 2018 3:53 pm

Re: AAR [4M]: Moar Montazh (2021-6-19 @ 2200 gmt)

Post by Serespar » Sun Jun 20, 2021 6:09 am

Moar Montazh
<Throalic date equivalent to June 19, 2021>

From the Journal of Kayapo, Windling Shaman
Nature is not our enemy, to be raped and conquered. Nature is ourselves, to be cherished and explored.

My friend Youghdel the windling Sky Raider called me to travel with some mutual friends and help Montazh the trainer again. Joining us were Orlam the human Elementalist, Keel the elven Sky Raider, and Orphen the elven Elementalist.

Montazh has developed a medicinal tea to help the folks studying at his gym improve their bodies. The primary ingredient, a type of bark, is available for harvest in the Servos Jungle. It is found in swampy areas near the river, and Montazh showed us a map of three swampy locations that were likely to have enough of the bark that it could be harvested for his purposes. Montazh provided samples of the bark, branches and leaves to aid us in identification, and we discussed the best way to sustainably harvest and transport it. Montzah wanted a couple of hundred pounds brought back now, and delivery of a hundred pounds or so every three months for the foreseeable future.

We knew that Ben and Jerry, two dwarven merchant brothers, have trading post operations in the Servos. We went to one of Ben and Jerry’s dispensaries to learn where their office was, so we could discuss a business opportunity to provide ongoing transportation of the bark and delivery to his gym. I am not quite sure how it happened, but it was unfortunate that Youghdel decided that the best way to obtain their address was to try to beat it out of the apothecary working at the dispensary. Fortunately, Keel had a more deft touch and was able to handle both Youghdel and the apothecary once Orphen had treated the poor gentleman’s broken nose.

Ben and Jerry immediately grasped the potential to leverage their existing network of trading posts and make a bit of coin by transporting Montazh’s bark. We received a letter of introduction, gathered some supplies, then left Throal for the jungle.

At the first swamp location, we found a new colony of dwarves under construction. Greenview was being built by clear cutting the jungle with a complete disregard for the nature they would soon be living alongside. Conversations with the dwarves made it clear that they had little respect or understanding of the natural world. We made a good faith effort to explain to the dwarves how their colonial tale would likely end (with the Servos chewing them up and spitting their remains back out), but as my grandfather used to say, you can’t pour wisdom into a cup with a lid. While the dwarves seemed somewhat interested in the potential business opportunity of supplying Montazh, they did not appear to be viable long term business partners nor to have the proper attitude to be a good match.

Moving on through the area, we did some preliminary scouting of the swamp to verify the presence of the trees we were looking for. We were then attacked by a small flock of giant flightless birds that breathed out clouds of paralyzing orange vapor and attempted to disembowel us with their fearsome claws. The battle was fierce. It caused me sorrow to have to put the birds down but I was not about to allow them to eat me or my companions. Given these sorts of nearby predators, the fall of Greenhaven under it’s current leadership seems unfortunately inevitable. We returned to the town to pass along the warning in good faith, but the dwarves appear to believe that nothing bad could happen to them. *sigh*.

We then traveled north along the river for a while and had a most unusual encounter; a pair of winged great cat’s with dwarven faces flew near us and posed a riddle. We had never heard of any sphinx’s in Barsaive, but it seems a pair is protecting… …something… …near the mid reach of the Servos River. We solved their riddle, the solution of which was “No Trespassing”, and gingerly avoided the area they were protecting.



First Sphinx: The first is to be cognizant. [Know -> No]
Second Sphinx: The second is a long lock of hair, and to give up or end ones turn, and to vocal melody. [Tress, Pass, Sing -> Trespassing]



After bypassing the sphinx’s, we found the next section of likely habitat and scouted it for the bark we were looking for. We had a pleasant meeting with a couple of hunters from a local Cathan tribe and followed them back to their village. Our meeting with the village elder went smoothly and the Apalai tribe was interested in Throalic trade goods, primarily worked metal tools, to trade in exchange for gathering the bark and bringing it to the nearest of Ben and Jerry’s trading posts.

After striking the deal and gathering the first shipment, we accompanied the tribesmen to the trading post and made introductions. Along the way we saw one of the wonders of modern Barsaive; a section of the Servos River takes to the air and you can walk under it, looking up and seeing the fish and other creatures of the river; truly marvelous. The astral was breathtaking.


After leaving the trading post, we ran afoul of some large jellyfish like floating jungle creatures with fierce beaks, tentacles, and poison spines. It was… …unpleasant. The creatures are ambush predators but are afraid of fire and as floaters have difficulty moving upwind. The battle was quite fierce but we emerged poisoned but victorious. The paralytic effect of the predators fortunately wears off after a bit, but I was still grateful no one received a fatal dose.

We walk gently in Nature’s Land as best we can, and test ourselves when its denizens decide to try to make us dinner when we must.


After returning to Throal, Montazh seemed pleased with the quality of the bark we obtained and that resupply had been organized between the Cathan and Ben and Jerry’s trade group. The celebratory dinner with Yougdhel and the crew was quite fun, tho Youghdel’s singing skills do not improve with keesris, his dancing skills definitely do.

bronzemountain
Posts:606
Joined:Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:02 pm

Re: AAR [4M]: Moar Montazh (2021-6-19 @ 2200 gmt)

Post by bronzemountain » Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:31 pm

As transcribed by Nehata Dunlop, junior scribe on current Youghdel von Smeshfays rotation.

Right. So as you can tell by me grace and speed, I've been working out. And not just with any old trainer but his nibs Montazh himself. Yes I do know him you old tosser. Whassat? Don't what? Say it to me face, geezer, and let's see what part of it I leave facing forward. Yeah, I didn't think so. So, Montazh, he tells me himself how he's in dire need of some tree skin, and he's right desperate for my help. He's got some garden smoothie drink what needs this swamp birch bits and could we please arrange for him to get some on the regular.

Now this fancy tree what he needs is found in the Servos Jungle, which is a dread and dark place where lesser folk are known to shit themselves and die out of right fear of being eaten by some kind of murder cat. Other folk are just straight up eaten by the murder cats, having survived the preliminary bout of bowel-melting terror.

On account of me being both fearless and the strongest of all Windlings, I am not rightly concerned about murder cats or death snakes or whatever other beasties might call that fine jungle home, but I figured it was best to enlist the aids of some right proper villains. So I called upon me new crew mate, who is Ms. Haul to you blighters and Keel to her friends. I called upon me Elementalist friends, Orlam and Orphen, one to keep me properly fluffed and the other to light me sword on fire. You. Yeah you in the back. Why're you snickering? Did I say something funny, you cheeky git. Here, let me help you with that fucking smile of yours.

Brawl ensues. Transcript picks up afterwards.

Ahem. Where was I? Oh right, I also bring me spiritual advisor, Kayapo, on account of he's from the Servos Jungle and also it's never a bad thing to have a spiritual advisor. I am known far and wide as a spiritual man, meself.

On account of this being a mercantile transaction, we first set out to acquire the services of the Daicar brothers. After a bit of an altercation with their receptionist, we work out a nice bit of business with one of the brothers and like yer mum's knickers, off we go.

After a bit of mucking through the jungle, we find a little village on the banks of the Servos River. Turns out, there's some enterprising, if thick-headed, sort of Dwarves setting up a little hamlet for themselves. Right friendly of them to set up a raidable little gem right there in the Servos for Raiders what get lost in the jungle and are sad that there's nothing to properly raid. The town's called Greenview, which makes sense I suppose, since the view is primarily green. A bit on the nose if you ask me. But fair enough. Honestly, I was there in the jungle long enough that me fingernails and wings started to go green, too.

Me spiritual advisor, Kayapo, tries to convince these folk to do our work in a sustainawibble kind of way, which is to say please don't cut down all the fuckin' trees so as to preserve the gainful employment of your grandkids. This makes sense to me, as Raiding is much the same way. You don't go in and take everything a town has and leave them to starve. If you do that, then there's no town to raid next year. You take a few prize things, just enough, and then you let the grubbers and growers go about their grubbing and growing so as you have a nice tidy haul the next year and every year after that. Sustainawhatsits Raiding is the way of the future.

The Dwarves, though, they're keen on doing the least amount of work for the most amount of coin, which is I suppose a pretty universal sort of stupidity. I've been guilty of it meself from time to time. That's why I always visit yer mum. No work needed.

As we're having a bit of a chat about all of this, halfway between Greenview and the swamp, we are ambushed by some fucking metal birds. I don't mean the birds are made of metal, which would be pretty fucking brilliant. But that they have a metaphorically metal way of approaching the world. And that way is to charge at you full fucking tilt and hack at you with their beaks which are like axes and also belch some bright orange gas in your face. Fucking metal.

We respond in kind. I'm well fluffed by Orlam, but Orphen hasn't had a chance to do her magic on me sword. But it doesn't much matter as I've got me shield, and I'm the strongest Windling there is. So I proceed to do some headbanging, which involves bashing my shield into their heads until their heads explode. Bloody good fun. We're all hurt but nothing a day's drinking won't heal

There's two other spots what might have these special Swamp Birch trees, so we decide to check them out and come back if we need to. On the way to the second, there's some fucking giant cats with fucking wings and fucking Dwarf faces which is about the creepiest fucking thing I ever saw and I am a Windling of great fucking discretion. So I say hell no to that nonsense and hang out in the high canopy while me mates figure out some brain-twisting puzzle what these nightmare creatures have set before them. Apparently me mates have right strong brains and they figure it out and the fucking Dwarf-face-cats wander off. Good riddance.

On to the third spot where we find some Humans what seem well adjusted to their jungle home. Kayapo tells me they're called Cathans. Don't seem worth raiding much. Nice enough folk. Their ol' grandma speaks Throalic. Like the Dwarves of Greenview, they are also enterprising. Unlike the Dwarves of Greenview, they are not dim.

We struck a bargain, back to the river, back to the Daicar brothers, and delivered to Montazh his first couple hundred pounds of skinned trees. That's not right. Of tree skin. Yeah, that.

Now I'm thirsty again and who's gonna buy uncle Youghdel another pint. Ole ole ole oleeeeeeee.

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