With a metallic hand gently resting upon a wooden banister, Solari slowly walked the length of the balcony overlooking his private study. His other hand held aloft a datapad, such that his visual receptors could scan the displayed information. It was, perhaps, the most inefficient way for the Headmaster to assimilate data, yet the novelty of the act made him feel more Human.

Continued on the forums.

Month In Review

This month the Academy certainly felt the effects of the Crusade with a massive decline in exam submissions. All up we saw 39 exams passed.

I'm not surprised, nor am I disheartened, by this number. As I have told me staff: Focus on, and put your all into, the Crusade. Your units need your efforts, and you can be sure you will be adequately rewarded for it.

On the topic of the Crusade, I am really impressed with what I have seen of the submissions (admittedly my view is very narrow.) It is obvious everyone is putting in a tremendous effort and (as a former Wiki Tribune) I was particularly blown away by the Wiki submissions.

Member Spotlight: Salem Creed

Special mention this month goes out to Salem Creed! Salem earned his second degree, a Dark Maven Combat, and was also awarded a Dark Cross for the sheer effort he put into one of his exams; where he provided a 1,600 word answer to a single question. Like Sanguinius said in the recommendation, it was "an actual essay answer."

Salem, keep up the good work!

Conclusion

I'll be running trivia in #shadowacademy on irc this weekend. Give me a day or two to figure out time zones and lookout for a dedicated news post regarding specifics.

Rest up, maybe take an exam or two, and get ready for the next chapter of the Dark Crusade!

Trample the weak, hurdle the dead. - Unknown

Bhargebba & Ch'hodos Results

Dark Crusade, Phase One, Chapter Three Results

Overall Participation

Bhargebba

First Place - Arcona - SA Trivia (38) Chronicle Fiction (30) HVT Fiction (21) GFX (34) Gaming (23) Wiki (28) = 174 / 82 = 2.12

Second Place - Scholae Palatinae - SA Trivia (12) Chronicle Fiction (11) HVT Fiction (6) GFX (8) Gaming (2) Wiki (9) = 48 / 65 = 0.74

Third Place - Odan-Urr - SA Trivia (6) Chronicle Fiction (4) HVT Fiction (1) GFX (2) Gaming (0) Wiki (3) = 16 / 49 = 0.33

Clan Arcona is Victorious on Bhargebba!

Ch'hodos

First Place - Plagueis - SA Trivia (16) Chronicle Fiction (10) HVT Fiction (10) GFX (9) Gaming (7) Wiki (13) = 65 / 41 = 1.6

Second Place - Taldryan - SA Trivia (18) Chronicle Fiction (9) HVT Fiction (7) GFX (14) Gaming (7) Wiki (11) = 66 / 52 = 1.3

Third Place - Naga Sadow - SA Trivia (11) Chronicle Fiction (8) HVT Fiction (7) GFX (10) Gaming (6) Wiki (9) = 51 / 73 = 0.7

Fourth Place - Tarentum - SA Trivia (4) Chronicle Fiction (4) HVT Fiction (3) GFX (0) Gaming (0) Wiki (3) = 14 / 38 = 0.37

House Plagueis is Victorious on Ch'hodos!

Congratulations to the winners.

We stated previously that units achieving a participation score of 1.5 or better would receive an Attachment (Read further into the report for what this means) for the next Chapter. As you can see above, Arcona and Plagueis hit that mark and both will receive an additional player for their Special Forces team when we start Phase Two, Chapter One. Congratulations to those two units and their outstanding participation drive.

Well done.

Placements

Shadow Academy Trivia

Bhargebba

Gold Nova - Revenge X, Rogue
Silver Nova - Andrelious, Arcona
Bronze Nova - Archangel, Scholae Palatinae
Fourth Place - Sanguinius, Arcona
Fifth Place - Blarex, Arcona

Ch'hodos

Gold Nova - Locke, Naga Sadow
Silver Nova - Solus, Plagueis
Bronze Nova - Malik, Naga Sadow
Fourth Place - Rian, Taldryan
Fifth Place - Nyssa, Taldryan

Gaming

Bhargebba

Gold Nova - Cethgus, Arcona
Silver Nova - S'nar, Arcona
Bronze Nova - Dash, Arcona
Fourth Place - Marick, Arcona
Fifth Place - Atyiru, Arcona

Ch'hodos

Gold Nova - Orion, Taldryan
Silver Nova - Quejo, Taldryan
Bronze Nova - Nero, Taldryan
Fourth Place - Ka'hava've, Plagueis
Fifth Place - Carissus, Taldryan

Graphics

Bhargebba

Gold Nova - Wuntilla, Arcona
Silver Nova - Montressor, Arcona
Bronze Nova - Kyrun, Arcona
Fourth Place - Marick, Arcona
Fifth Place - Azasell, Arcona

Ch'hodos

Gold Nova - Xia, Naga Sadow
Silver Nova - Sanjuro, Naga Sadow
Bronze Nova - Solus, Plagueis
Fourth Place - Vaar, Naga Sadow
Fifth Place - Pandala, Taldryan

Wiki

Bhargebba

Gold Nova - Team Arcona
Silver Nova - Team Scholae Palatinae

Ch'hodos

Gold Nova - Team Plagueis
Silver Nova - Team Taldryan
Bronze Nova - Team Naga Sadow

Fiction

Folks, I apologize but I do not have these results yet. We're working on it as you read this and I will post the individual placements as soon as they're done. Thanks, all.

*Note from the developers: On some of the above events there was a disqualification here and there. If you check your numbers against what we have here and they don't match, calmly email Muz and I and we'll get to resolving it. Appreciate everyone's patience with this process and any issues that may arise.

Any errors in the above I'm sure belong to me. Again, a huge thanks to my Dark Council for getting us what we need to take care of you all.

Tactical Pause
Right now the One Sith are reeling from the onslaught of the Brotherhood's forces. We have plunged the dagger of our will deep into the heart of their domain. Yet in order to not let our confidence outstrip our supply lines, all Brotherhood forces will hold their current positions and conduct a tactical pause. Combat operations will renew next month.

Use this time to rest and refit your forces. Intra-unit training is encouraged and authorized.

_ _ _ __ ____________________ __ _ _ _

Dark Crusade Vendetta Schedule Update
At this point in time, and subject to change as always, we're looking at the following schedule:

28-30 June 2013 - Units make planetary selections for Phase Two, Chapter One

5 July - 19 July 2013 - Phase Two, Chapter One

??? Can anyone see this far into the future? I can't.

Please continue to let us know how everything is working out for you.

_ _ _ __ ____________________ __ _ _ _

Dark Crusade Phase Two Scoring Model (Refresher)
The scoring model for Phase Two went out in my last report and to your leaders long before that. I include it here again so everyone is tracking with what we'll be looking at to determine winners, the role of participation, and the "Attachment" concept (described below) and its importance to your efforts. So if you read this last time, nothing has changed and you can skip down to whatever's next or move immediately to mocking me in the report comments.

I sent out the scoring scheme for Phase Two to my Dark Lords the Consuls and Quaestors a couple months ago. This is part of our effort to get things out there to the guys on the ground so they know what's coming and can offer feedback, criticism, questions, etc., so we can try to deliver a better, more tailored product. This way we also avoid the usual crap of jumping out of the bushes on you guys the day before the Vendetta starts and yelling, "Surprise!" and you have no time to prepare for what will determine victory or defeat.

By now it should have been disseminated to you guys and everyone is tracking on their role in each team's effort. It's different for sure. Offers strategic and tactical depth we've not had before and will give more members than ever a shot at Novae. I'll leave it there. Your leaders already have the rest of the information for you and anyone with questions or concerns can talk to their leaders or come talk to me and I'd be happy to walk them through it. But I already made my sales pitch on it to your leaders and won't try to convince you of anything here. The following is the basic premise.



_ _ _ __ ____________________ __ _ _ _

Leadership Turn-over
The only constant is change. We have turned over some key leadership positions of late. If you've been here long enough, you've seen these kinds of cycles come and go. For those of you who have served and are moving on, thank you for your efforts. For those of you taking over, thank you for stepping up.

Korras is going to be heading up Naga Sadow for a time in order to maintain short-term stability for the Crusade and well-being of the membership. Muz and Korras have worked out a plan to oversee the unit and train a replacement so Korras can return to denying promotions and awards full-time.

The Plagueis vacancy has yet to be filled. This is a critical decision on our part and one further complicated and waylaid by the Crusade running and scoring. Now that Phase One is complete and scored (mostly), Muzenstein and I will move immediately to getting this slot filled and Plagueis back on its way to greatness. Apologies to those who've applied and have patiently awaited a decision. Apologies to the membership of Plagueis for the delay. You deserve the best leader we can find and that's what we're trying to do.

_ _ _ __ ____________________ __ _ _ _

Some Poll Results
Is the Krath Order legitimate? Shockingly, yes, according to this poll. I'll have to do further research to see if bias played a roll, but apparently 65% of those polled actually believe the Krath to be a legitimate Order. Purple. Strange.

Should the DJB pause the fiction timeline? According to the poll, no, we should not. I appreciate the feedback as we figure out which way to go, but the people hath spoken!

Undernet IRC Connection Issues. Oh, this old horse? Put your sabers away, folks. We're just talking here. A few months back I asked everyone to just kind of indicate what issues they were having. Most of you experience only mild issues, which is great. A few had moderate issues and another handful had severe issues. I wish the sample size had been larger, but I work with what I get. Just know we're working on this issue, have a plan, and are not going to do anything titanically stupid. Moderately stupid? Definitely. But we'll almost certainly avoid epicly stupid. Maybe.

So that's what you all had to say. See for yourself: Polling Center

_ _ _ __ ___ ______________ ___ __ _ _ _

Next Time on the New Hit Series, ShadowHand...
Phase One, Chapter Three FICTION results or I'm a monkey's uncle.

Updated Vendetta timeline.

Guest fiction. So far my calls have gone unheeded. If you'd like to write something about our collective DB story, send it to me.

Scandalsauce: The Recipe!

Stay tuned.

_ _ _ _____________________________________________________ _ _ _

See you out there,

- R

Greetings and welcome to my latest Combat Mater Report. This report, like the last, is going to focus primarily on character sheets, and specifically on Aspects. Before we get to that, though, a little bit on progress on other areas of the Character Sheet Project. Since this is going to be a long report, I wanted to mention something some of you might find interesting: This report contains a competition for 2nd level crescents for creating an Aspect. If you're interested, read on.

Skills and Force Powers
Thanks to the amazing work of Wally and Atra, the descriptions for skills are nearly complete. There are a few that remain, but they will be taken care of shortly. We are also currently working out the last remaining details on Force Powers, which the new members of the team will help to describe, along with the current group of CS System folks.

New Members of the team
I received some great applications for the character sheet team, and I will be in contact with all of the applicants this weekend to let them know who I will be bringing on to work on the character sheets. If you missed my call for applications, see my previous report, and you've a day to let me know you're interested before I make my final choices.

Aspects
Now, for the meat of today's report, and the first in-depth look at a new feature coming to the Dark Brotherhood character sheets: Aspects!

What exactly are aspects?
As described in the Deputy Grand Master's last report, (here), Aspects can be a combination of character traits, personality, history, and behavior. Aspects and Skills will effectively replace attributes in the current system. An Aspect is a single phrase that is meant to carry a great deal of meaning behind the character, but that phrase should be simple and understandable (sometimes even a single word). That phrase is further explained with a small paragraph. Aspects allow for a quick description of important features of a character - from unique General features (which could include background from before the Brotherhood, or some physical trait), to Personality features, to Combat preferences - that guide or describe the behavior of that character. Aspects can be titles, important connections, goals, or motivations.
Aspects tell the reader of a character sheet what a member thinks is most important about his or her Brotherhood character. This should greatly assist in all fictional aspects of the club that involve writing about any character other than one's own. In the Fate RPG system, Aspects are used by players (and the GM) as a way to call out and gain bonuses to specific attributes and situations unique to their character. For our purposes, these three Aspect areas allow for an easier understanding of the general behavior of Dark Brotherhood characters, without the lengthy reading of an entire character history on a wiki page. Aspects of all characters involved in a given fiction - particularly in the ACC - will be considered during any grading on realism, as Aspects are meant to be the inviolable features of a character.

Aspects will be carefully balanced such that custom Aspects do not provide a character with an unfair advantage, while still allowing for a good deal of customization. To that end, Custom Aspects will be approved by the Voice Staff along with character sheets. The best Aspects are 'double-edged' in that they should not be universally positive, and may reveal something unflattering or less than ideal about a character, but not all Aspects need to be this way. Furthermore, Aspects should NOT be something a character regularly gains or losses, and should be chosen with the intent to keep them, though some amount of change and updating is expected as characters grow in the Brotherhood.

General Aspects This is intentionally an extremely broad category designed to give freedom to members to try to customize their character in some respects. An Aspect here might overlap heavily with a Personality Aspect, a Combat Aspect, or the character's physical description, and that's okay as these categories are meant to be broader. It is here that a member might describe some element of his or her species that might not be granted by a Feat (which I'll go over in a future report )

Personality Aspects These Aspects help to define the most important information about the personality of a character. They can include upbringing that influences personality, general attitude, or anything that would help to define a character's responses to certain situations such as a phobia.

Combat Aspects These essential aspects describe how the character approaches combat, and as such, they should focus on specific tactics preferred or specialties in weapon use or preference not covered already under Preferred Weapons. This section should not contract Skills or Force Powers, of course, and should not try to define how well the character uses some sort of weapon or skill, but it can allude to when it is used. It may also refer to specific enhancements the character has had done in its backstory, such as cybernetic or genetic modifications that might be useful to mention as a writer during combat. It should deal primarily with preferences in combat, though there can be mention of deficiencies and the like. Remember that there is a separate section for Skills and Force Powers, so Combat Aspects do not need to tell a reader how *good* a character is with a Skill or Force Power.

Aspect Examples
(General or Personality) Corellian tongue, roguish good looks. Born and raised on the city world of Corellia, CHARACTER has a distinct accent which HE/SHE uses to the utmost advantage with charming and sometimes witty conversation. HIS/HER's roguish good looks are a perfect complement to HIS/HER sly tongue, though that same attitude can sometimes get HIM/HER into trouble.

(General) On the Run from the Black Sun. CHARACTER NAME is on the run from the Black Sun, having double-crossed the criminal organization one too many times. HE/SHE is constantly looking over HIS/HER shoulder for potential pursuit, making HIM/HER untrusting of new faces and places. On the other hand, this fear for HIS/HER life seems to drive CHARACTER NAME to push HIMSELF/HERSELF to be always prepared and ready for any situation.

(Combat) Sneaky bastard. CHARACTER NAME prefers to decide when and how a fight is to begin, using the Force to cloak himself whenever possible before initiating combat. HE/SHE also prefers to amplify HIS/HER physical abilities or use various Force-based trickery, rather than relying on direct attacks with the Force. When surprised or cornered, CHARACTER NAME may attempt to break combat quickly and gain the upper hand by re-initiating at a time more favorable, or be forced into an overly-defensive posture for the beginning of a fight.

(Combat) Stay Out of My Face! CHARACTER vastly prefers ranged combat, taking every opportunity to use skills and Force Powers to disengage from melee and instead fight at range, so much so that HE/SHE has become competent at staying out of melee in the first place. Should HE/SHE get trapped in melee, though, HE/SHE could become unsettled and panic.

Competition: Create-An-Aspect!
Today begins a competition that will run until June 28th, in which members are invited to submit Aspects to me via email. Aspects may belong to any one of the three categories (General, Personality, or Combat), and should be of general use to a variety of Brotherhood members. Aspects should AVOID being specifically about something like an Order or a Discipline (more on how these impact the character sheets in the future), but can include reference to Orders, Clouses, or other units. A good Aspect is understandable from the title alone and is double-edged.

Aspects will be judged on usefulness to a wide audience, realism, and originality. Members may enter multiple aspects, but only the best Aspect that member submits will be eligible for Crescent rewards! Any Aspect submitted may be included in the system as an Aspect Brotherhood members can choose! At the end of the two week period, I will award 2nd level Crescents to the three best submissions.

If you're interested in additional background on writing good aspects, check out the source materials for the Fate RPG system at http://www.faterpg.com/dl/sotc-srd.html and http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core-downloads/.

See http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/competition.php?id=6888 for details on the competition on the website, though everything you need to know is here.

Submissions should be emailed to me at mav1234@gmail.com. Please include your ID line and pin number in all emails with Aspects.

TL;DR
-Work on Skills and Force Powers continues.
-New staff members should be contacted this weekend; if you're still interested, see my previous report to apply.
-Aspects are a new way for Brotherhood members to customize their characters, which should greatly aid in the writing and grading of Brotherhood fiction!
-I'm running a competition on creating an Aspect for use in the new character sheet system from now until June 28th! 2nd level Crescents are up for grabs!

Comments? Questions? Post them in the comments section here, or email me any time!

~Mav