Event History

Since his last Clan recognition in July of 2016, Arden Karn has been a steady source of both activity and leadership for Clan Plagueis. He has been a highly active participant in Clan activities, helmed both of our Houses at one time or another, and served ably as Clan Rollmater while carrying more than his fair share of the leadership weight. It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that Clan Plagueis would not be where it is today without his tireless efforts.

On the level of personal activity, he has maintained a level of activity that continues to astound. Competitively he has entered 102 competitions and placed in 17 of them. Of those competitions, most of them came during major Clan events or Vendettas: 17 during A Call to Arms, 17 during the Aftermath event with COU and ARC, 10 in the Plagueis Winter Trials, 21 during our Plagueis Pro Bowl with Clan Taldryan, 14 during the Twelth Great Jedi War, and 18 during our recent Vacation on Dagobah event. Suffice it to say, if it's a major competition, Arden brings it. His competition placements have earned him 1 Gold Nova, 1 Ruby Crescent, 4 Amethyst Crescents, 9 Sapphire Crescents, and 2 Emerald Crescents.. In the realm of fiction, he completed 4 ACC matches, 17 fiction activities totaling 7,093 words, 5 run on posts of 4,167 total words while earning 39 Clusters of Ice. Rounding out his activity, he has claimed 16 Clusters of Fire, 8 Clusters of Graphite, and completed 4 Shadow Academy.

Beyond simply being an active contributor in the realm of activity, Arden has been an indispensable leader for Clan Plagueis. He has done a great job as Quaestor of both Ajunta Pall and Karness Muur, serving in both posts for a combined seven months. He then took over as Rollmaster at the end of January of 2017 and kept it going. As Rollmaster, he faced the unenviable task of being the sole active Clan summit member during the recently completed Great Jedi War given our PCON's absence and my availability being impacted by the Northern California wildfires. He did a great job helping guide both our House summit members as well as general membership through the harrowing realities of participating in a Brotherhood Vendetta, many of them having never experienced one before. He has recently instituted an overhaul to our Master/Student program which features a new member survey system as well as master surveys designed to engage new arrivals quickly and pair them with the best fit of all the available masters, putting those that share interests. He is also a constant presence in our Clan Telegram channel, a must for the Summit member charged with focusing on new members. Additionally, he has posted 17 monthly reports over the intervening time (having not missed one save for times when another summit member has claimed his report date for another announcement), making sure that entire Clan beyond simply his designated Journeyman charges remain informed about news from around the Clan and Brotherhood. His steady presence on our Clan Summit has helped us to maintain a steady level of activity and engagement across the Clan, spanning from new neophytes to the longest tenured equites. He has also been a major contributor to nearly every major Plagueis event since taking on the position of Rollmaster. He helped craft events, graded competitions, or composed fiction updates (sometimes all three!) for every Clan wide event held under my tenure. He directly organized or co-organized 20 competitions for either Clan or Brotherhood-wide consumption. In short, he "does work, son".

Without both the leadership and activity Arden brings, Plagueis would be a far, far weaker place than it is today. As such, it is my honor to submit Arden's name for recognition in the form of this Amethyst Kukri, his second Sacramental award. Congratulations!

Master Selika Roh di Plagia, 2018-02-21 01:44:44 UTC

Since his last merit awards for services as Magistrate to the Voice, Braecen Kaeth has served dutifully for the last 4 months, approving 46 character sheets. While all magistrates had a temporary break during GJWXII, Braecen was still always mindful and on top of the queue, and went above and beyond by reaching out to members that needed extra help on their Aspects. He jumped into Google Docs, Telegram PMs, and spent unmarked hours working with members to craft their characters. In his remands, he was responsible for creating a Customer Service-like friendly tone and voice that I believe has reduced the stress of Character Sheet remands. His patience and maturity in processing these remands ties into how he worked with the rest of the staff (myself included) on making sure our wording was consistent and constructive, and never aggressive. For the Brotherhood’s CS system, this has yielded positive results that I do not believe should be overlooked. I’m grateful for everything that Braecen has done for the Character Sheet approval/remand process, and for how he engaged with members to create a better overall experience. The result of his work has lead to less complaints about Character Sheet remands, and better member responses to suggested edits and changes to their sheets.

Braecen Kaeth is a special kind of leader in the Brotherhood. He not only puts in the time and work to help encourage and enable others, but leads the charge by example as a competitor and participating member of our organization. This was on display fully in his efforts in Great Jedi War XII, where he lead his Clan with the highest points scored to earn the title of Hero. This included efforts across the spectrum of brotherhood activity, including an impressive second place finish in the ACC Tournament. This helped him earn the honor of Avatar of Strife, thanks in part to his similarly stalwart performance in the ACC during Phase I of GJWXII. Bracen was one of those rare individuals who stuck around and made sure he finished what he started. To that end, he earned 3 Silver and 1 Gold nova.

I will allow his Clan Summit to talk more about his accomplishments as a leader in Scholae Palatinae, but as a member of the Dark Council, I can’t thank Braecen enough for being the model of what I believe leaders and members should strive for.

Congratulations, brother. I will miss having you at my side as an admin and look forward to your return to the brotherhood in whatever capacity you set your mind to.

-W

Voice of the Brotherhood

Legend Wally, 2018-02-12 01:00:50 UTC

Augur Elincia Rei has served in leadership positions consecutively for the past 11 months at various levels of responsibility to include the past four months as Consul. Elincia had the difficult task of replacing one of the longest tenured Consuls in DJB history, but has done so with elan and poise. Elincia's recent efforts in leading CSP to their fourth consecutive finish as the 3rd Clan of the DJB showed that not only is CSP in good hands right now, but they will continue to be into the future.

Elincia's additional work over the past year has consisted of exceptional content creation in the form of competitions, working with the DC on fictional direction, and an exceptional amount of work on CSP's future fictional direction.

Elincia, congrats on the AK. I look forward to seeing your continued efforts as Consul.

---

I am honored to lend my voice, and support, to the recommendation for Elincia Rei today for exceptional leadership of Clan Scholae Palatinae. Eli has been paramount in the Clan’s efforts to establish itself as one of the top tier units in the Brotherhood. Third Overall in the 12th Great Jedi War is a punctuation mark on a year of hard work and diligent effort.

This time last year, Eli became a vital component of change and forward momentum in the Clan with plans to move Scholae Palatinae from it’s old dominion to a new dominion. The invention and execution of the Caperion System marked the first fresh, new direction that the Clan had seen in nearly a decade. The project involved a lot of people, but you can easily identify our Consul’s fingerprints on the design and outcome of a brand new system meant to engage our new members, not cater to an old, departed crowd.

You’ve done some amazing things in 2017, Eli. I am honored to be by your side as we continue into a new year with a full agenda. Congratulations on this award. Drinks are on you!

Braecen Kaeth
Proconsul of Scholae Palatinae

I cannot even begin to express how much of an honour it is to add my voice to those others, in support of an amazing individual leader, friend, and force like Elincia Rei. Here is someone who works with his members held paramount to his own ambitions. He leads by example, and what an example he truly is to the rest of us. He has been absolutely key to the development of the Clan and has paid off in a fantastic placement in the only just finished 12th Great Jedi War.

One of the biggest things I see when I look at how Eli leads is a drive to make the Clan for the members. He involves everyone through numerous polls, questionnaires and just listening to what his members has to say (not just his summits.) This is so often a rare thing in a leader. It is refreshing to work with a leader who cares, understands, and strives to include everyone in the effort of creating something bigger and better for the Clan in its entirety. Not just that, but, even when the going gets tough, he handles the negative just as passionately as he handles the positive. He is consistent in his efforts.

He never fails to be honest. He never fails to be kind. Always thinking, always planning, he has been stellar in taking up the position of Consul and pulling together a team that could help make the clan truly shine.

Thank you Elincia, for an outstanding 2017. What you’ve done is truly amazing. I hope to see just as much passion, if not more, into 2018. Congratulations on a well-deserved award.

Mune Cinteroph Rollmaster of Scholae Palatinae

It is a pleasure to add my support to this recommendation to recognize Elincia Rei for the dedicated service he has been providing to Scholae Palatinae. The year has been a long, hard fought journey for CSP; and we wouldn’t have arrived at this level of success without Eli’s leadership as well as activity. Being our clan’s only completist in the GJW, Elincia has shown that he isn’t just a leader by word but also through action; so I am excited to see him being awarded for his efforts.

The past year has seen a lot of change over for Scholae Palatinae. From losing our previous dominion, to rebuilding the new system, to the more recent leadership change-overs and navigating the GJW. Eli has been the constant the clan had needed throughout all this change. He was project leader over creation of our new dominion and as such has been involved in every aspect from initial design, lore and wiki creation, to overseeing the delivery of this new system through our latest clan event. Throughout this, he’s pushed the initial concepts of his predecessor, Xen, to further the project with the new team’s ideas and desires to deliver the greatest opportunity for the clan is years. Furthermore, he’s assembled a fresh team of summit members and been the guiding hand the team needed to prepare for the Great Jedi War and handle the delayed launched that came with it. Without his leadership and, most definitely, activity; Scholae Palatinae would not have been able to hold on to it’s steak as Third Clan of the Brotherhood.

I can’t stress this enough, Eli has been a pillar for the clan to pivot upon throughout this. Thank you for this, Eli. You are easily one of CSP’s greatest servants.

Raiju Kang
Quaestor of House Imperium

Grand Master Declan Roark, 2017-12-10 18:37:06 UTC

During my tenure as Consul, Alaris Jinn has been one of the members I have always been able to rely on. His work for Taldryan as Proconsul has been a welcome help to me and his presence on the Summit has been both inspiring and helpful. Alaris has taught me much about leadership and I would have not been able to successfully lead Taldryan without him and his support.

During his time as Proconsul Alaris has led by example through his activity. He has organized, and co-organized, 63 competitions and participated in 92, 15 of which were during the recent GJW. Of those 92 competitions Alaris has placed in 16 of them earning 15 crescents and a Gold Nova! He has also competed in 57 pvp matches, 16 pve matches, and 5 ACC fights. Through his various activities Alaris has earned 5 Pendants of Blood, 276 Clusters of Fire, 25 Clusters of Ice, and 60 Clusters of Earth.

Alaris has been instrumental in the development of Taldryan’s new Naval and Military Forces. He proposed a number of budgets to ensure that the Navy was as well rounded as possible. He also took the lead on the organization and naming aspects of the fleet and military force. To keep activity in Taldryan up, Alaris has ran several different competition series, including Fiction, Poetry, and Trivia. Alaris was instrumental in the creation of not only the Taldryan-Odan Urr event earlier this year, but also in setting up the Plaguies-Taldryan pro bowl event that took place this past summer.

While he was working as a Proconsul for Tal, Alaris has remained active in other areas of the club, earning him two Antien Crosses. He was a member of the Appeals Panel and an ACC judge. Alaris has used the skills he learned from these two positions to help teach and lead the Clan during stressful times and competitions.

Because of all of these reasons and more I believe that Alaris has more than earned an Amethyst Kukri. Congratulations Alaris!

Dr. Ben, 2017-12-07 01:30:22 UTC

The Lord of Salt, Commander of Tears, and Battlelord of Checkers, has performed with exceptional grace in one of the most difficult positions within the Dark Brotherhood. The Fist, as per Fist history, receives more hate mail and flack from our members than any other position in the Club. Awards are too hard to gain, awards are too easy to gain, we should have more games, we should have less games, we should have participation heavy competitions, we should have skill heavy competitions, we should add Pokemon Go, we should add WoW, and on and on.

The Lord of Salt handles these issues with skill and has improved our club's gaming through consistent dedication to factual, numbers based analysis on what games to add to our club, what medals to balance, and what games to phase out.

Drac is a modern Fist for the modern changes in our club and he has done an exception job removing old bureaucratic policies, updating existing policies, and bringing in new and common sense rules for our games. He has modernized the way we set up matches with the help of the SCL through the Telegram chat program, and he has remained adaptive to both members and club leadership.

Drac's work on the recent GJW was exceptional and his efforts over the past several months have been outstanding.

Congrats buddy. Mav and I appreciate your efforts.

Grand Master Declan Roark, 2017-12-04 01:59:15 UTC

For exceptional support of the newly formed Regent office in both the day to day and improvement projects, as well as all his great activity as a member of the DJB for the past 9 months, I would like to recommend the award of an Amethyst Kurki to Halcyon Taldrya. As a member of the Regent staff, he has provided a steady and level-headed presence as members submit custom Aspects that modify the functionality and cosmetic appearance of their items, processing the bulk of individual requests and driving discussions to appropriately adjust where necessary and helping to establish a precedence in a new system. He helped with description review and balance of 68 new items after the Rogue One film release for a Q1'17 launch for membership, helped to address dozens of individual typo and discrepancies that flow in, helped to review and bring quick resolution on items for the Celebration Store to celebrate May the Fourth, as well as creating a format for review of all 115 space vehicles in possessions and helping compare them and updating their descriptions in a comparable manner with markdown for improved readability. In addition to all this great work as a member of my staff, he has been active as a member in competitions without a Clan, and has participated in 92 different competitions over the same time span, earning 8 crescents and 244 clusters. I hope this medal goes at least part way to show my appreciation for all the support Halc has given the past 9 months, and thank you for everything. I am looking forward to seeing some of the larger in-process projects I can't even mention in his request come to life.

Lord Evio Nezsa, 2017-09-21 05:49:14 UTC

Adept Xen'Mordin Palpatine has been one of the longest serving Dark Council members and Consuls in the Dark Brotherhood's history. His dedicated efforts provided innumerable contributions to both the Dark Brotherhood and his beloved Clan. I cannot articulate my thanks for his dedication, mentorship, and role as a steward withing CSP over these years. For his service to our club, Mav and I are honored to award Xen the Amethyst Kukri.

GM Pravus/Prophet Mav Cantor

---

When Xen hired me just under two years ago, he was taking a gamble on a young and impatient kid who liked to cause a bit of trouble. He was already a popular, intelligent and wise leader, with a newly clanned unit. He needed leaders who could see his vision and help him achieve it, but I wasn’t ready yet. I was too afraid of myself and didn’t have the confidence to take charge in things that matter. But Xen is a patient man, and walked me through what he believed I could turn into.

Whenever I was tackling a problem member or a solution I couldn’t solve, he was there for me to talk me through the problem itself and figure out solutions. As I wrote monthly reports and engaged the members with troubling feedback, he was there for me to help me understand the logic behind it, and give me the best advice for tackling inactivity. We have exchanged late night discussions about a lot of things from Shadow Guard’s identity to the Clan’s logo to the current leaders in House Imperium. In each occasion that I was pressed for answers where none could be found, Xen was a shoulder to lean on and a strong mind to push me through.

In the past eight months or so, he has helped me engage my creative skills to create more competitions, to hire new leaders and train more members, to review the current progression of the House and to help with my own progression. He has always been a kind and gentle person, who has always been available for some one-on-one discussions about how I could improve, as well as the team we are building.

Above most things, member input into the Clan has always been important to Xen. He would rather have a thrilling and fan-made story presented to the Clan, than a summit-heavy plot which didn’t appeal to the members. All through competitions such as Starfall, Midnight and Excursion, Xen retained the idea of starring members from Imperium and Excidium in the camera.

While Xen has always been a kind and goofy leader, he has challenged myself and my Aediles and Battleteam Leaders to push themselves further. With each event or award or promotion we push towards him, he uses his fine-comb to check for errors, for inconsistencies or other tidbits that seem mediocre. He pushes us to go further than we did before, to raise the bar of standards in this Clan and to grow not as successful individuals, but as a powerful team.

In short, Xen’Mordin has been my father figure for two years, the journey Imperium has taken under his lead from a simple idea on paper, to a thriving and colourful team is astounding. Thank you, Xen, for everything you have gave to us. Without your help, I would have gave up long ago.

Qor Palpatine

I returned to the Brotherhood in May of 2016, out of curiosity (having been gone since 2008.) I we met with a more welcoming atmosphere than that which I remembered leaving. Xen was in no small part responsible for making my return a welcoming and warm one. He made me feel valuable from the get go, made me feel as if I had come home to something I hadn't even realized I had missed.

Since then, he has encouraged me to take steps in a direction I told myself I would not go in again, that is to say he rekindled a desire to be more involved with the club and so applied to the RM position of CSP. I found in him a strong leader, one that I could learn from, talk to about everything and anything, and truly enjoy working alongside of. I feel that his very passion and fire has kindled the fire within many of us to strive for things we otherwise would not have without his guiding presence. I know that is the effect he has had on me.

I have known many leaders since my original joining in late 2003. I am sure I will know many more as time marches on, but none, I feel, are Xen’Mordin. Xen with a passion and belief in the clan, he is the very heart of CSP. His lessons to us all will be ones that continue to drive us forward for no short time to come.

I truly thank you my friend, Xen.

Mune Cinteroph Rollmaster of Scholae Palatinae

One of the hardest things about being Consul is that you are always somewhat apart from the group. You speed through a day that is outlined by your to-do list; a list that is often things that need to be done opposed to things you would like to do. You are always in motion and you see the day through snapshots - a friend saying hello or wave in greeting that you were too late to see and could not return. And so many times you want to stop and reach out, to connect. But the job does not allow it. Not until it concludes.

Xen served as Consul of Scholae Palatinae. And, as Consul, you are allowed to pick your ‘Tyrant’ name - an old tradition amongst the Consuls - that reflects your most endearing quality (but in a negative, Sith manner). Xen chose the title ‘The Manipulative’ for himself and I think it fits perfectly. It was never the style or the words that he used to make a difference: it was the content. He wasn’t a manipulator, but he communicated great things that became the heart of a great clan - shaping our experience, our wisdom, and our belief in the principles that established this Clan. He helped Scholae Palatinae rediscover its values and common sense.

Common sense told us that our story had grown stale, so Xen forged a new path into a new system to give us life again. Common sense told us that leaders could unlock growth, so he entrusted his Clan to capable hands over six years and prospered for it. Common sense told us it was time to let him rest, so we stand here - united - in our belief that what he did, he did well and made each of us better for it. And let me offer lesson number one about Scholae Palatinae: all great change here begins talking ‘together’. So tomorrow, I hope the talking begins. I hope that our veterans share what it means to be part of this great Clan. And I hope that if they do not, that our youngest members challenge them on it. It would be a very Scholae Palatinae thing to do. A thing Xen has taught us to do over a lifetime of service.

You did it, Xen. You weren’t just counting the days. You made a difference. You made the Clan stronger, the culture freer, and you left it in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all. So, as you ride off into the sunset, I say goodbye, bless the Xen-peror, and bless Clan Scholae Palatinae.

Braecen Kaeth
Consul Emeritus

Xen has been a fantastic friend, father figure, and fearless leader for Clan Scholae Palatinae for as long as I can remember. When I came here in January 2016, I knew right away he was the leader I wanted to serve. He was compassionate, ready to answer any questions I had, and willingly gave advice to anyone who offered it. Since I’ve stepped into my own path of leadership, I’ve admired his strength and have always admonished myself to keep things disciplined but always fun for members as he did. He was always ready to accept any amount of feedback or suggestions he received, no matter what it was. He was completely honest, completely transparent, and flexible to-a-reasonable-degree in any decisions he made. As stupid as my reaction was to losing the Sergeant position with Tacitus Athanasius, he took my concerns seriously and talked it all out with me personally: A gift and honor I don’t see even in the workforce when an issue similar to this comes up. His creativity in storylines, his anticipation of including as many members as possible, and his sensitivity to the emotions of everyone, no matter how ‘little’ their concerns seemed to be, are just a few of the things I really look up to Xen for. I have members telling me time and time again that it was Xen and CSP that brought them out of darkness of the dreaded RL. The same goes for me as well. If not for his open arms and open mind I would never be where I am now because of my own darkness that consumed me for quite a time. When I arrived at CSP, I had no friends, my fiance ditched me, my pets were dying left and right. I arrived here with not much hope for myself. Xen constantly encouraged me and helped me see the true value of myself in every award recc, in every promotion paragraph, and even in some of his reports and Telegram messages. That’s one thing about Xen I will never forget: He knows how to make someone who feels worthless feel like they’re on top of the world. Not just for myself, but for many members of CSP. I’m just one of the many people whom he has blessed that happens to be telling their story. I’m so saddened to see Xen go, but I trust his decision and wish all the best for him in his well-deserved retirement. Thank you so much for everything you have done for this clan. You have brought us CSPers to a completely new system in-character, and in-friendship. Rest up, Xen. Don’t forget the impact you have made on hundreds of lives. We will carry on your legacy as you rest knowing you are one of the most important Forefathers of our clan. Thank you for making Scholae Palatinae home for so many of us. Lots of huggles your way.

Alara Deathbane Aedile of Excidium

I first came across Xen in 2006, when I took the role of Quaestor of House Caliburnus, with Xen as my Aedile. During that time Xen was instrumental to all we achieved, establishing the fictional background and lore of the house, and eventually tying with the historically stronger Acclivis Draco in a house feud. A decade later, I serve as Xen’s Proconsul, with Xen having led Clan Scholae Palatinae for 6 years. It was Xen that originally brought me back to activity in the club, asking for my assistance in a GJW competition and subsequently inspiring me to develop my character further and eventually joining the clan summit.

In my time in the club, there has been no individual that has contributed to the clan anywhere near as much as Xen has. 6 years is an incredible amount of time to hold one position in the club. Xen has never dropped that infinite patience, always happy to interact with his members personally about any concern they have at any level of the club. Since serving on the clan summit team from Xen I’ve learned more about the club, and leadership roles within, than I ever thought would be possible. The amount of new leaders Xen has brought through at the head of Scholae Palatinae is staggering, and they are now scattered across the Brotherhood in a variety of positions at all levels in the club.

Despite leading the clan for 6 years, Xen never stopped finding ways to improve it. Through a series of clan events that spanned many years, Xen constantly inspired the membership by pushing the clan into new territory. Memorable examples are Monstrosities (one of the best events I’ve seen run in the club) in which the system was attacked by giant ancient monsters, and the more recent Order Campaign in which the clan lost its system to a Sith Lord, Darth Fallax, putting Scholae in the position of having to reclaim its home. Both of these challenged the members with fictional situations never before seen to the clan to inspire their own character development. Since then, Xen oversaw a more obvious and long lasting change: the destruction of the Cocytus system and the development of the Caperion System. From start to finish, the new system has been developed in a way that has given an infinite array of options to expand the clan lore over the long term.

Xen is the most influential leader that Clan Scholae Palatinae has ever seen and has given the clan 6 wonderful years. Not only that, he has left the clan in a fantastic place to carry on following his departure from the Consul position. Xen’s legacy is one that will never be forgotten in Scholae Palatinae. Congratulations on everything you’ve achieved here.

Elincia Rei Proconsul

Xen and I have known each other since the two of us were the rookies on the Dark Council. We both wanted to prove our worth to the others on the council, to make sure that we were not mistakes that leadership had made. Back then he worked with tireless efforts, managing the house at the time while trying to push his members to do everything that was thrown at them. I left, but returned to see my old friend still sitting in the same chair. 2391 days of being the leader of a single unit is a long time. It takes a vast amount of dedication and loyalty to his members to maintain the position for that long. When you are in a leadership position in this club you dedicate a lot of your personal time to it, you always are sitting there wondering if you have given the members enough opportunity to do something. I know Xen has given this club his heart and soul, and had continued to work tirelessly. You have nothing to prove my friend, this is well earned.

Congratulations.

Warlord Fremoc Pepoi
Former Fist of the Brotherhood

Xen. There are so many accomplishments, so many tidbits to choose from to illustrate this man's achievements. It's a tall order to do so, even more so to pick the ones that truly stand out. I could list you the inhuman amount of competitions this fellow has run. I could tell you about his participation numbers, his awards, all those flashy things you list in a recommendation.

Instead, I will tell you what kind of man he is. The kind of man who, even when exhausted, fed up, and pushed to the limit somehow finds the strength in him to keep a level-headed approach, to continue despite adversity. I had the honor to witness his approach to creating a feud. It was a grueling task, one that stretched out patience and saw us becoming increasingly aggravated and down right frustrated with the process. Even as I growled, cracked, giving our good friend Mav an earful, Xen was keeping his cool, encouraging me to stick with the process through to the end.

This is one moment in time. This great trait of his, his patience and the way he manages to find the right words to disarm a volatile situation even when said patience has long eroded is what makes Xen a true paragon of leadership. You know you can come to him, even as the guilty party, and he will find the words to not only set you straight, you'll come out of this conversation re-energized and feeling like you have a place in his clan. In his plans. He doesn't discard the people that wrong him, instead he has a way to bring them into the fold. It has been a long road, one I feel honored to have been a part of.

For his immense service for CSP, this man deserves far more than a mere reward. He deserves all the monies.

In all seriousness, I firmly believe this fine work, regardless of past/recent rewards, is deserving of something exceptionally big.

Congratulations, my friend. fistbump and love

Cyris

Grand Master Declan Roark, 2017-08-16 23:19:40 UTC

Combat Master is one of the most unique positions in the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. While it is not formally part of the Dark Council, the workload is on par with that of any Councilors. The position combines both staff management and personal exertion of tasks. It would be more accurate for me to say that Atra has been like a second Praetor to me, all while staying on top of the expectations that come with his actual position . And Atra not only meets these expectations, he exceeds them.

As Combat Master, Atra’s first immediate impact became the planning and execution of the ‘Guests’ of the Matron ACC Event. The event generated 47 total participants while generating 51 total matches for the ACC. He has produced 9 reports, each with helpful tips and tricks to help members get more out of the ACC and have a better experience. He updates the Voice Staff Resource Hub with recaps of every report, making it easy for members to find changes and get answers to their questions. He has rewritten multiple cs mechanics to read better, caught countless syntax errors in existing database entries, and is perpetually looking for ways to balance the system in the interest of fairness and playability for the membership. One of the larger things he tackled was how the “mental” Force Powers worked in our system. This update had been pending for a long time, and Atra made sure it got pushed through approval process and then executed. Feedback from members has been positive as more and more writers turn to the ACC as a writing outlet/platform.

A lot of this has to do with how Atra handles, well, everything. Atra is patient, calm, and always finds a way to get members the answers they are looking for. Are those always the answers that they want to hear? No, but Atra tells it like it is, and never escalates or tries to strut his bravado or throw his weight around. His ability to stay level and handle the technical side of the ACC and CS’s makes him invaluable, but his passion and heart for giving back to the writing community is where he truly shines.

Atra also implemented a recurring feature to his reports that highlighted a member who showed high or notable levels of activity in the ACC as a platform. He worked their character into a fictional story that he has maintained on a thread on discord. This is a great way to give back to the community and make members feel included in things, and the feedback has been entirely positive.

On a more rudimentary level, Atra has graded 15 matches on his own since taking over as CM for the last 8 months.. This does not take into account the time he’s spent helping the judges with their matches, providing second eyes while training and onboarding new judges thanks to turnovers. Atra expertly maintains his own staff of 5 Judges, patiently guiding and serving as an anchor in the storm that can be member writing. This means working with each of the judges to help make sure they are kept up to date on grading procedures, and that they are staying on top of grading times and turnarounds. Atra has made updates to the ACC Exam where and when they were needed. He has also helped qualify 15 members into the ACC, which is the same as bringing 15 new members into the fold of a previously niche activity within the Brotherhood.

Beyond his duties as CM, Atra is still a part of the Voice Staff. To that end, Atra has proof read every single document I’ve put out since taking over as Voice. He was a steady hand on the backend of the soon to be released Arx article, the Fiction Center, all three entries into the New Order: Anthology fictions, and the Writing Department revamp projects. He also stands as a stalwart fixture in the Fiction Chat as the master of the daily fiction questions. Every morning, Atra checks the member-submitted sheet and posts a question for the members of the Fiction Chat. These questions help keep members talking about their characters, their CS’s, and the relationships they are forming with one another. This has helped grow our community significantly, and Atra has been a sterling example as not just an admin, but a participant. Atra was also integral in working with James to implement a few coding-related improvements to administrative tasks, as well as assisting with the Snapshot features and NPC Slot system.

Atra also helps handle the Character Sheet queue when my Magistrates/Praetor need an extra hand. This has prevented the need for me to jump into the queue on multiple occasions, allowing me to focus on the other elements of my job that require my attention more. The peace of mind that comes with having Atra around as an admin is invaluable, and I don’t really have the writing talent to properly voice how much easier it makes my job having here. Since taking over as CM, Atra has managed to approve 168 Character Sheets. That is 20% of the total number of sheets approved, second only to the automatic approvals from member activation.

On a more fun note, Atra has also passed me for most CS’s approved (since the new system launched) overall. I’d like to say I’m sad about this fact, but that would not be the truth. Put simply, Atra is a workhorse. But more than that, he is a passionate contributor who dedicates all of his time and energy to helping make the Brotherhood a better place. I’m probably missing a few things, but with how much Atra does, it’s almost impossible for me to keep track of everything. He’s just that good.

I have no doubt that this award, combined with his upcoming work with GJWXII will help contribute to his path towards achieving the rank of Elder. For now, however, I’m honored to award him his first Amethyst Kukri.

Congratulations Atra. Thank you for existing.

-W

Voice of the Brotherhood

Legend Wally, 2017-06-30 01:58:37 UTC

I wrote six months ago in my supporting recommendation for Marcus’ promotion to EQ2 that I wasn’t sure if it was possible to have a better Praetor than he has been… and that was after a month on the job. Now, after seven months on the job, I’m absolutely certain how right I was.

One of the first tasks I undertook when I became Headmaster was a full and thorough audit of every single course within the Shadow Academy. The idea was to have the course Professors and Docents do the work on their individual courses, my Magistrates doing a lot of full re-writes or stepping in when the PROFs/DOCs couldn’t, and Marcus, Ood, and myself overseeing it all. I felt this was a nice division of labor and we would be able to knock it out quickly and efficiently.

It was a good idea in theory, but with a myriad of issues coming up in RL Ood and I both were forced to step back more than intended. Rather than bend under the pressure, Marcus stepped up: the audit of the entire Shadow Academy - over eighty courses - is completed, and it simply wouldn’t have happened without my incredible Praetor’s leadership. He kept it organized using project management boards (a Godsend, since my organizational skills are often lacking), he kept the SA Staff on task with both the carrot and stick when necessary, and he polished every single edited course before it went live. Does that mean we’ve made the SA perfect and eradicated every mistake? Of course not… it’s hundreds of thousands of words maintained by volunteers. However, I am confident that it is exponentially better than it ever has been before, and that’s a credit to Marcus. It was truly a team effort, but Marcus was largely the one calling the plays.

I consider myself lucky to have served under Bubba, both as a Magistrate and a Praetor, for as long as I did. I feel I learned a lot working under him. Ironically, I feel as if rather than teaching Marcus he’s continuing my education into what a leader in this club should be. He’s dedicated, he’s driven, and he’s capable. Even when his own RL caused issues - he got married and went on a honeymoon in the middle of the audit! - he hasn’t let it slow him down or affect his DB work. I’ve joked with the DC before that I’m worried about one of them stealing him for one of their staffs; now I’m worried that Pravus and Mav will steal him for a DC spot because he’s shown that he’s that capable.

For all that he’s done for me, for the SA, and for the DB as a whole, I’m honored to recommend my friend and Praetor Marcus “Jue Long” Kiriyu for this Amethyst Kukri. Thank you for all you’ve done and continue to do.

Adept Farrin Xies Tarentae, 2016-12-29 19:52:04 UTC

Bubba,

Thanks for your hard work on credit bonus modeling, member experience modeling, development of the trial of acquistion, and item naming logic. Without your support we would have struggled to make possessions a reality.

Grand Master Declan Roark, 2016-12-09 21:07:37 UTC