There has been a lot of reviewing and discussing different topics over the past few weeks that has this a few days later than I would have liked. The most important of which is the current staffing decisions that will help get some projects off the ground, and other updates on where things are at.

Updates

Cluster of Ice Requests

I have created an email address, [Log in to view e-mail addresses], that can be used by any member requestings Clusters of Ice. Or any other general questions of the Voice staff. I have set it up (I believe) similar to the MAA staff email address where anyone can email to the whole list.

Reminder again: Organizers must send their pins and word counts to me, for Clusters of Ice to be awarded. Format: Pin#wordcount

Fiction Society

Socks has completed work she and I started a while back, and created a new logo for the Fiction Society. The fictional background has been shared with the Voice staff and is being reviewed. So many details are shaping up.

When it comes to the main way you progress through the ranks, after some review on a smaller team, I took the entire proposal to the Dark Council for more feedback. While the resulting distributions of the ranks didn’t get much negative feedback (if any), which is good, some specific offline discussions have been incredibly beneficial to the next iteration of the society. I will give a specific thanks to Bubba and to Yacks for their willingness to debate and argue over the logic of the whole thing.

There are still a few more days of open discussion for any concerns, and then I will incorporate that feedback and spin things back up with the team for some decisions to move forward.

Plot Updates

I have had some great conversations with Sarin, and Mav, about the direction to take some of the first fictional updates I make in the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. I already have part of this written, with the entire thing planned out, taking a look at just what things are like right now fictionally for the Dark Council and for life in the Clans. I hope to have this proofed and released very shortly.

Staff

I received some great applications to help on the Voice staff with some projects, and I really want to find ways to get every single member who wants to be involved in the fictional activities of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. For now however, I have some specific projects I really needed to get started, and have made the hard decision on who will help me do this right away. To that end the staff will be…

• Kz’set di Plagia: Or as he is likely known, Arden, will remain on staff and be primarily tasked with some administrative projects. In addition to continuing his support of the CS 2.0 efforts until they’re complete, he will help take a look at the different approval guidelines and documentation managed by the Voice office.
• Atra Ventus: Will join the staff as a Magistrate, and be helping me out specifically with some research, ideas, and presentation for the DJB system. So many of our fictions rely on the DJB system, and I hope to present everything in a clear and complete way when all is said and done with his help.
• Xen’Mordin Vismorsus: Will also join the staff as a Magistrate, and be helping almost entirely with NPCs. There are quite a few that need to be updated and kept track of from the last Great Jedi War, going into the next one, including many we may have lost track of. These NPCs will play an important role fictionally in the future, so a system to manage them and catch up with everything to today is important.

I’ve chosen these three specific individuals for their track records, and demonstrated skills, and am looking forward to what we can accomplish as a team. I would definitely like to see new and different members come through the Voice staff, much like the Herald and MAA staff have been operating. So as these projects come to completion, I expect we’ll see some rotation. Normally I would have only 2 Magistrates, but without a Praetor I have chosen to have 3. Once I hire a Praetor, I will only have 2, with the Praetor taking on larger projects.

Active Competitions

• A Tourist’s Guide To The Galaxy: Atra Ventus, from Clan Naga Sadow, is running this competition that lasts until the end of August. It is a pamphlet, in story format, covering a member’s own system. As the Dark Council, and Atra, look at creating the DJB System as it exists following the destruction on Antei, members can reflect on their own systems and talk about why they are so awesome.

• Road to Damascus: Myself (giving a shot at 1st level Crescents), along with Xen’Mordin Vismorsus, from Clan Scholae Palatinae are running a fiction competition until the end of August that looks into the life of Rhiaen Ust’essi. Giving members a chance to interact with her once more and make some decisions about what life has been like for her.

Completed Competitions

• Boarding the Zephyr: Bentre Stahoes from Clan Naga Sadow ran this DJB wide competition where you come across a floating ship and what awaited you inside. Dark Jedi Knight Calindra Hejaran from Clan Scholae Palatinae took the top honors and 1st place, congratulations to her.

• An Objective History: Andrelious from Clan Arcona is running a competition that completed yesterday where 10 members participated, looking at what a character owns in the spirit of the upcoming much talked about possessions. Good luck to all who participated.

Voice Staff Links

• Antei Combat Center
• Character Sheet Approval Guidelines
• Voice Competition Approval Guidelines
• Cluster of Ice
• Dark Side Scroll
• Standard Fiction Grading Rubric

Conclusion

It’s been a very busy couple weeks, with a lot of debate, discussions and decisions. I have a staff in place now, and some processes, to help things stay on track. I hope the month of August will see many of these discussions come to life and a lot of things being revealed to the membership once they’re ready and final.

If you ever have any questions, ideas, feel free to let me know. I do my best to reply quickly.

In darkness,

Evant Taelyan
Voice of the Brotherhood