Introduction - WAR! And a few other things.

The delay in this report this month was purely technical as for my PC monitor dying on my after almost 10 years of service. So after failed attempts to bring it back I finally had to buy a new one and now I’m BACK!

So before I get into the big topic of this and probably every report in the DJB I should clear up some old business first.

House event fiction, yeah this got sidelined due to a few factors the bigs ones being your summit members needing a break, the change of guard in the WC and not to mention my PC monitor dying. Now we have the war to focus on so this is not to say a fiction and stuff won’t happen they will just be delayed longer than we all like. Hopefully, during the War, we can work on things and have things ready for you all before the end of the year.

The other big thing was after yet another roster review we were able to hand out some awesome rewards to most of you. Congratulations to everyone! If someone were to ask me the best part of the job it would be awarding you the members for all the hard work you put into the House/Clan and the club as a whole. It’s my little way to say thank you and one I truly enjoy.

Now for the BIG news, the Great Jedi War is set to start in about a week and it’s just amazing to see the members of the clan prepare for it. Everyone is excited and already offering help to each other and that’s awesome. The one thing though that you the average member don’t know is about the conversations we have behind closed doors about the war and I might get in trouble for sharing this but I will anyway.

The most common thing repeated in summit chat is not how to get you to do more or how we can stack the events to ensure victory. The conversations are more along the line of how do we provide the tools you the members need to win, the focus on promoted fair play and having fun I the event and more importantly to drive home that we are one united Clan that will live and die standing with each other and not a divided unit fighting amongst itself.

There are many ways COU is different from all the other clans and it’s in our community that we will draw our strength. We will only win if we stand together and in either victory or defeat we will face it together with our heads held high.

Good luck to everyone in the War and let’s do this!

General News

• Let’s all congratulate our Consul Turel Sorren for being promoted to EQ4 this was well deserved and congratulations my friend!!!

• Any GM Update is a MUST read especially when it has WAR related news and updates

• Our Headmaster reports on degree and course changes. I’m sure some of you noticed being awarded new Savant degrees.

• Don’t miss the new FIST Report where Drac celebrates his first year in office! Congratulations Drac! It also has some great numbers about gaming activity in the DJB too.

• The Voice dropped a new report which includes the most recent fiction updates closing out the Lotus resitiance and sets up the new enemy for the war. Go read it!

• Satale Shan has hired its “new” Summit. Maximus moved up from AED to QUA and Len Iode returns to fill his old AED spot once again. Congratulations and good luck guys. Hoth is here to support you and House Shan! Their first combined report is here.

• Takota Okami has served his promised 3 months as BTL of the Wildcards helping us set up the team and help train up his replacement. His last REPORT details all of this. So I want to thank Takota for stepping in where we needed him and welcome Keiji Suoh into his first leadership position. You should read his first Report here.

Great Jedi War XII - October 13 to November 19 2017:

The war is less than a week away and I’m sure a GM announcement and more War Fictions are coming soon.

Until then make sure you read look at these updates from the DGM and Voice

The DGM update goes into to detail about how participation and the new Bin system will work. This is important to understand how to earn points for COU. Also there are 2 gaming tournament signups one for the 1 v 1 Jedi Academy and the 2 v 2 Heroes of the Storm. So make sure you use those sign up if you want to participate.

And the Voice releasing the opening War Fiction written by V’yr. So if you haven’t already done so please read the fiction now.

In the meantime, I just want to remind you all to stay classy during the event. Win or lose we are all Odanites and we will always keep a level head and stand shoulder to shoulder with all our clanmates no matter what House they are in, we are simply ONE CLAN during the war.

So do your best to group with members in Shan if they need a group for an event and try not to engage in trash talking other Clans. Let our deeds and actions speak for us cause at the end of the day it’s not the one that trash talked the most that wins.

The one thing I can’t stress enough is to remain vigilant and more importantly, never engage in any shady conduct during this event or for that matter any event. If you see things happening you don’t think is right or if you find a glitch or a bug that you think might give a unfair advantage report immediately! Send a email to the DC member in charge of the even plus your house and Clan summit.

Also do not share your answers with anyone, if this so like other DC events some comps maybe coded in a way to prevent identical answers so if you share a answer you will be caught! We all know the rewards for the war are huge and reversely the penalties for any cheating or wrong doing in the war are also huge.

Just simply play by the rules laid out in the covenant, the RoC, the War parameters and the individual events and you should be fine. If you have any doubts contact Celevon, Turel, Arch, Blade and myself right away.

If your wondering where my “command” of you must do x amount of competitions or a announcement of my intentions to do x amount of events let me remind you that I will never do such a thing. I will give no requirements on any event. I will though remind you that participation will count in the war so if there was ever a event not to sit out on it’s this one.

Do you have to DO IT ALL, no of course not, but like always do what you can and then try to do one or two more that you normally wouldn't do. Even if it is just to play a few rounds of pazaak to get credit for participation that’s all I will ever hope from you.

Anyway, like the most of you this is my first War I will be participating in too so I’m excited, scared and very hopeful that we can make COU the 1st Clan of the DJB! I hope you all have some fun with this event and no matter what happens I’m proud to not only be a member of Hoth but I’m very proud to be a Odanite!

As a little treat here is a small Video to get you in the mood for WAR!

The Scimitar of Lord Hoth August results

NOTE - We have already reconfirmed with the MAA and the Scimitar comps will run throughout the war so remember each War comp is worth 10 points just for participating. So if you want to catch up on points this is your chance.

• Hoth - The Scimitar of Lord Hoth - comp and point values listed here.

So as expected the there was a slight slow down on some of the numbers this month but since most of you wanted time off before the war this is not a shocking outcome. That being said we still had 22 members earning points and the top 4 weren’t too far off from each other. In the end great work everyone!

So for this month the Scimitar of House Hoth is C’ree with Kenath Zoraon in 2nd and Droveth Kathera Vectivi taking 3rd.

So as a bit of transparency note here no one caught the fact that we didn’t give credit for the ACC event last month and since it was a WAR event it was worth 10 points. Celevon and I could have said tough luck to you all but we decided to include that event into this month's numbers so no one would lose out on a War participation. This is why we give the 72 hour window for everyone to review the numbers cause we do goof now and then.

Finally and most importantly we have been asked a few times for the YTD numbers and before I show them to you remember ALL WAR Competitions are worth 10 points each just for participation so I believe the standings are going to change dramatically between now and the next time we will release the YTD numbers in my December report.

So without anymore delay here is the Scimitar YTD standings from Feb to September 30th:

Member Achievements

Member of the Month

This month, our star member is Ka Tarvitz](https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/members/14751), September was a big month for Tarvitz not only did he earn himself his very first Grand Cross he also completed the biggest lore update Hoth has seen to date. His Notable Fauna: Strokera is not only extensive it’s full of detail and fun new animals to play with.

Besides all this Tarvitz is a constant voice in all of the telegram chats he is in and he is a great cheerleader for not only clan members but all DJB members. He is always there to help not only his summit but any member that needs it.

So Ka Tarvitz it’s an honor to name you September's member of the month.

Member Awards:

Recognition:

Liam Torun-Urr:

• 1 Anteian Cross

Celevon Edraven Erinos:

• 4 Scrolls of Foundation

Takota Okami:

• 5 Scrolls of Foundation

Edgar Drachen:

• 3 Scrolls of Foundation
• 2 Sapphire Blades

Tamashi Adaephon Delat:

• 1 Grand Cross

Alifal Bav:

• 1 Dark Cross

Ka Tarvitz:

• 1 Grand Cross

Keiji Suoh:

• 1 Anteian Cross

Livana Agrona:

• 1 Dark Cross

Awards:

Bale Andros:

• 4 Crescents with Diamond Stars
• 1 Crescent with Amethyst Star
• 12 Clusters of Graphite

Sylvia Arztin:

• 20 Clusters of Earth

Lambow:

• 1 Crescent with Topaz Star

Kenath Zoron:

• 5 Crescents with Ruby Stars
• 4 Crescents with Amethyst Stars
• 1 Crescent with Sapphire Star
• 1 Crescent with Emerald Star
• 1 Crescent with Topaz Star
• 95 Clusters of Fire
• 2 Clusters of Ice

C'ree:

• 1 Crescent with Sapphire Star
• 3 Crescents with Amethyst Stars
• 547 Clusters of Fire
• 440 Clusters of Earth

Edgar Drachen:

• 1 Crescent with Ruby Star
• 1 Crescent with Amethyst Star
• 1 Crescents with Emerald Stars
• 414 Clusters of Fire
• 218 Clusters of Earth

Yuki Suoh:

• 2 Crescents with Sapphire Stars

Tamashi Adaephon Delat:

• 2 Crescents with Sapphire Stars
• 2 Crescents with Amethyst Stars
• 1 Crescent with Emerald Star
• 1 Crescent with Topaz Star
• 2 Clusters of Fire
• 32 Clusters of Earth
• 6 Clusters of Graphite

Ryū Suoh:

• 1 Crescent with Topaz Star
• 52 Clusters of Fire

Alifal Bav:

• 1 Crescent with Topaz Star

Aiden Dru:

• 1 Crescent with Emerald Star
• 5 Clusters of Earth

Darro Zhen:

• 1 Crescent with Sapphire Star
• 1 Crescent with Emerald Star
• 176 Clusters of Fire
• 16 Clusters of Earth
• 4 Pendants of Blood

Droveth Kathera Vectivi:

• 2 Crescents with Sapphire Stars
• 1 Crescent with Amethyst Star
• 6 Crescents with Emerald Stars
• 4 Clusters of Ice
• 6 Clusters of Graphite

Ka Tarvitz:

• 3 Crescents with Sapphire Stars
• 3 Crescents with Emerald Stars
• 2 Clusters of Graphite

Jasper Arlow:

• 2 Crescents with Sapphire Stars
• 1 Crescent with Emerald Star
• 1 Crescent with Topaz Star
• 2 Clusters of Graphite

Ti-kour:

• 1 Crescent with Sapphire Star

So congratulations to everyone on this list.

Competition Highlights

To see all available competitions, head to the DJB Comp Page - Remember: when in doubt, do more comps!

There is a comp ban to keep everyone focused on the War so this section will be light. Once War Comps are posted we will make sure to highlight them for you.

• Tamashi created 2 flash game comps for us to help warm us up for the war so give Firing Squad and MA training a go and help support a fellow COU’ers comps. Both End on the 7th.

• Also Tarvitz would like to see 100 words about your character. Ends on the 8th!

• Maximus is looking for some dialogue in his fiction comp as well.

• Winter is Coming is another in a line of easy to do flash games to get you warmed up for the war.

Member Art/Commissions

I want to take a little space here and honor some Member created fictions, art and new commissions you guys have done. So if you ever have anything you want me to highlight in my reports please get it to me before the end of the month so I can include it in future reports.

Ask Edgar (Egg)

Droveth asked - What's your opinion on the fictional direction this GJW is going so far?

I’m still trying to figure out how COU fits into the war's plotline and looking forward to seeing how things play out in the intro fiction. I do know there will be another fiction coming in a few days so I’m hopeful to see where we can sink our teeth in.

Ka Tarvitz asked - In your opinion as a leader, how would you suggest members best learn from their failures and build upon them?

Well, obviously each person is different so there isn’t a textbook way to do this so I will just say well I do not succeed in something I really do look for any feedback from the person judging my attempt. Which you do not always get but when you do you should always wait a day or two before you look at it so you can read it objectively and without being colored by the emotion of the rejection.

Receiving feedback or not I do reread my attempt to see where I could have done better and try to understand the feedback I received. If you can see and understand why they marked you wrong then you can more easily note to yourself where to improve and what to work on the next time.

Also, a good tactic is to have someone else look at it and ask them for a reality check as well. Sometimes that might enlighten you especially if you didn’t get feedback from the grader. Though I think even after all that the most in important thing is do not stop trying. If you fail once twice or more you really need to make sure you are not doing the same mistakes over and over again. In the end, the best way to improve you're yourself in writing, art, gaming or even applying for a position is to keep trying, get proofreaders and seek and heed advice from people you trust.

By doing those simple things and never giving up you should always improve your skills.

Blade asked - The war is coming soon and says I want to game but I haven't yet. How do I set myself up for the war?

Well there are many options to game in the DJB and of course, the best place to start is on the gaming wiki page, where it will describe all of our official platforms and other very useful information. Also making sure you join the [DBgaming telegram channel - Log in to view join link] to not only chat with other gamers in the club but to be able to play any and all PvP platforms we offer.

So to focus on PvP only I’ll say that besides the already announced JA and Hots tournaments the rest of the gaming comps will be announced soon but I would assume Pazaak, JA and maybe some others may feature as PvP options. The only way to participate is to use the Fistbot which resides in the DBgamin TG channel. So for the war at least you must be in the gaming channel to use the bot.

To answer the next question “how do I use the bot?” I will point you to the FIST-o-matic wiki for a good how-to for the bot. Of course, if you have any problems or questions contact your the House summit or the FIST staff directly.

Oh, as matter of course when you game in the DJB make sure you have read and follow the Rites of Combat at all times!

In conclusion -

So here we are on the cusp of war and probably one of the biggest challenges the Clan has faced to date and I smile. I’m very happy to face this challenge with you all and no matter what happens we will go through it together as a family.

Good luck to everyone and let’s do this!