My friends,

We've had an eventful week, to say the least. Our Proconsul unfortunately fell victim to RL and was replaced by a crotchety old guy, and with the GJW in full swing, there's been almost an overflow of things to do. But I'm extremely pleased - and proud - to see that our hard work is paying off, because after Week 2, we're now in first place! And not just barely, either: we're leading second-placed Taldryan by 140 points. (Full results at http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/comments.asp?ID=N:5484)

Needless to say, many thanks go out to all of you who participated, and I'd like to specifically congratulate Vorion, Legorii, Timeros, Arcturus, Taigikori (twice), Tirano, JScumm (twice) and Malidir on their top 10 places from last week. I could go into whole paragraphs full of praise, but you get the idea. :)

However, this is not the time to be complacent. The fact that we're currently leading the field by a wide margin is excellent, but the GJW lasts four more weeks, and we have to keep up the pace. If last week has taught us anything, it's that we can win this whole War if we work hard enough. To that end, here's a summary of the events you can do this week, both new and continuing:

The Great Jedi War

New Events:

Week 3 Gaming: "Elimination"

Two ladders (same division as Skirmish 1 / Skirmish 2) for 1v1 gaming. Same points system as before (3/1 and 5/2 respectively), and the person with the most points at the end of the week wins the event. The catch: three losses, and you're out. Your score still counts, but you can no longer play matches. Also, the ladders are limited to one match per opponent per day.

Week 3 Poetry: "Helpless"

Yes, the first poetry event has arrived. Basically, the situation is this: your character is captured by the big bad villain of the story, Omancor Crask. You've seen or heard of what he can do to Dark Jedi, even going so far as to convert them to the Light Side. Understandably, you're pretty much wetting yourself with fear. Write a poem about what happens next: the events, your character's feelings, etc. Doesn't have to be long, just poetic. If you're unsure how to approach this, there are plenty of poetry guides online that offer information on the various forms, techniques, etc.

Week 3 Graphics: "Know Your Enemy"

In a nutshell: you are to create a character image of the aforementioned big bad villain, Jedi Master Omancor Crask. Bonus points for multiple views (head, body, etc.)

Continuing Events:

Run-On: "Orders"

Still a bit of a problem child, the run-on needs our urgent and full attention. Not that I've been too exemplary in that area, myself, but even I plan on writing at least one post this week. Important here is to contact our run-on coordinator Arcturus ([Log in to view e-mail addresses]) about details on the plot and the direction we're going, otherwise it'd end up all messy and inconsistent. So by all means, bombard Arcturus with e-mails!

Week 2/3 Fiction: "Chasing the Ghost"

In a nutshell: One of your Clanmates has been captured by the Jedi, and you're on a mission to rescue them. This one not only runs for two weeks, but also has a minimum length of 5 pages, so keep that in mind.

ACC: "Heat of the Moment"

The ACC event is in full swing, and challenges can be issued up until the end of Week 3. Bear in mind that once you're participating, you cannot decline challenges if you have less than two running battles. Also, and this can help a great deal: get a Clanmate to proofread your ACC posts before you send them out. There's almost always someone willing to proofread you on IRC, and if you're in less of a rush, you can even e-mail it to people.

Gaming: "Mistaken Identity"

The team gaming event so far has, unfortunately, been completely dominated by Taldryan and their CTF junkies. This event continues till the end of the War, and if we want to avoid a last-minute Taldryan surge to the lead on account of team gaming, we've got to take steps. A few things you can do:

• TFFA: CTF isn't the only team gaming option, and unlike it, most other Clans do like a good (sabers) TFFA. CSP and CP have a fair amount of gamers who'd be available.

• EaW: Thanks to the amazing JScumm, EaW team gaming has been kind to us. Additionally, even if you have no previous experience with EaW teams, he (or one of our other routine EaW players) will explain the relevant details to you pretty quickly.

• Bargaining: suppose you do find yourself faced with a team of Taldryanites who want to CTF. Improve your chances by offering to play a CTF game in exchange for a sabers TFFA (or whatever your preferred form of team gaming is) afterwards. They might complain, but they can't do anything about it.

I may elaborate further on the team gaming event in the future, but for now, let's leave it at these short pointers.

Trivia: "Briefings"

Another week, another trivia. Sadly, none of us made the top 10 last week, but that can all change. I haven't done this week's trivia myself yet, but I can safely give you the following pointers:

• Read Chapter 3 before you start. Better still, read it twice. If earlier trivias are any indication, the vast majority of the questions will be related to - or have their answers directly in - this week's plot.

• On that note, keep the plot open in a seperate tab with the Search function on, so you can search it for answers quicker.

• Other handy links to keep upen are Wookieepedia, Google and the DBWiki. Again, search function.

SA Event: "Instruction"

Another one for the long run: earn as many degrees as possible. Taig told me we were lagging behind a bit, so by all means, if you have a spare moment (fiction/ACC posts done, no gaming matches right now, etc.), go ahead and try a few SA exams. Remember, though: it's about degrees, not individual exams.

General Notes:

• The puzzle event was once again included this week, and unfortunately we got 5th. Oh well, better luck next week. Mind you: it starts every Sunday at 21:00 EST, so it's a good idea to be around if you can.

• For all the events: don't rely solely on my description for them, go read the more detailed instructions on the GJW site.

• For the fiction events: include your PIN and ID line inside the document itself, otherwise it will be ignored by the judges.

• For the GFX events: ditto, only with your PIN/ID line in the e-mail you send instead of the document itself.

• For fiction, poetry and ACC: you have no idea how much proofreading helps. So if at all possible, find a Clanmate who has some time available and let them read whatever you've written before submitting it. This goes for run-on posts as well.

• Oh, and keep pwning. Just thought I'd tell you again. :P

Other News

• Many thanks are in order to Vorion, for his exemplary and admirable work as Proconsul over the last six months. Also, he totally aced the ACC co-op event.

• Evidently, I've been appointed as Vorion's replacement, for the duration of the Great Jedi War. Needless to say, I'm honoured to once again serve in the Clan Summit, and will do my absolute best to help make this GJW a memorable success.

• We also had two promotions this week: congratulations go out to Mist di Cloud on Protector and Ashgen Fallstar on Novice!

• I will be taking a brief LoA from Friday till Sunday. I'll be out in the countryside drinking liberal amounts of rum.

• Finally, congratulations are in order to everyone who made it this far into my report. I apologise for the lengthiness of it all, but the truth is, we just have an awful lot of important things going on. :P

That's all for tonight, ladies and gentlemen. Be active, have fun, and try to make this week even better than the last one!

• Strat
  

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His Excellency, Dark Side Adept Strategos Thanatos Entar, di Tenebrous Arconae

Proconsul of Clan Arcona

DA Strategos Thanatos Entar Arconae (Krath)/PCON/Clan Arcona [GMRG: CRU] [ACC: CL:3]

SB / GC-PoDP / SC-SoA / AC-ToSC / DC-PP / GN-BL / SN-AgL / BN-AgL / Cr-2D-4R-14A-14S-6E-2T-2Q / PoB-GL / CF-AF / DSS-AgL / SI-AuL / SoF / SoL-TC / LS-GL / S:-18M-1R-4C-15D-4Do-7Dk-1Rm-3P

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