Event History

Shadow is the only reason our character sheets exist as they are today, and the only reason I am CM today. The only thing I would change, if I could, would be that it is he, not I, receiving an AK for the release of these sheets.

He brought me in to his project. Instantly, he and I shared a vision of a dynamic sheet that emphasized character customization, of simplification, and of parity. We knew the Brotherhood needed something that would allow members of all ranks to specialize themselves, while still providing a standard basis for competitive writing such as that in the ACC. Before I even knew of his plans, I suggested the Fate system - and as it turned out, he had already been looking into the option. His initial groundwork set the stage for our Fate of the Jedi Proposal, and without it, I wouldn't be CM today.

Shadow is an amazing, creative asset. He's the best writer I think I've had the pleasure of reading, and easily one of the most creative and dynamic minds the Brotherhood has ever seen. He was never really awarded for his part in the original proposal, and thus, I think I must give him the award he so definitely deserves: A Grand Cross.

Shadow, congratulations!

Telaris "Mav" Cantor, 2013-09-14 15:08:40 UTC

When I first helped Shadow write up the proposal for the new Character System, I really didn't have an good idea of just how much raw time it would take to implement, but the immense amount of work needed became quickly apparent. Luckily for me, I've had an excellent team, and foremost among that team has been Wally, effectively my second in command. Wally has been a constant fixture on the Character System team. From the very beginning - even before I actually took over as CM - Wally was present and willing to help. He was admittedly skeptical at first, but he embraced the system quickly, and began to contribute almost instantly. From the middle of April onward, Wally has been tirelessly working by my side on the project. His work has included, but has not been limited to, writing the majority of Skill Descriptions, constant project feedback, constant feedback on how things would influence the ACC, generating Feats, names, Aspects, and is almost completely responsible for the entire Discipline writeups and Discipline Feats. In the last week alone, I suspect he has put in 20 hours of work (along with a few others), and he has been working on this project tirelessly for the last 3 months. I don't want to even guess at the number of hours he has put in, because it is easily in the hundreds. There were nights where Wally would apologize to me because he could only spend an hour on the project, as if the work he had already done wasn't already so significant and so impressive that I couldn't have gotten to that point without him. There is not a single member of this team that has basically been on the team since the start and contributed at a level of constant activity other than Wally.

Without his tireless devotion to the project and constant feedback and amazing work ethic, I really don't think this project could have been completed in the time it was. Wally more than deserves an Amethyst Kukri for his efforts!

~Mav Combat Master

---

The Dark Brotherhood Character Sheet project was an enormous undertaking that involved months of planning, hard work, and dedication. Several members contributed to the success of the project by contributing to smaller projects, but only a few influenced and guided the entire project. One of those members is Marick "Wally" Arconae.

Wally's love for the ACC and our Character sheets was evident from the start of the project and was displayed in his tremendous effort to see this project succeed. He immersed himself in the FATE RPG system, Star Wars RPG systems, and the Dark Brotherhood's historical character sheets in an effort to help design a system that is not only better than anything we have ever had, but also synchronized with our future ACC development.

Wally edited and created thousands of individual entries for Force Powers, Feats, Skills, Character Attributes, and Disciplines. He worked insane hours staying up til 5 AM night after night to ensure that the project was on time and to standard. Additionally, Wally hand crafted the user guides and templates to help our members understand how to use the systems he was creating

It is not often that our members can attach their names to DJB wide projects that impact the entire club, but this is one that Wally can proudly declare as his. He has made our organization a better place and he has done so without expectation of reward or recognition. The Amethyst Kukri is the least we can do for him. Congrats Wally!

GM Sarin

---

Many will tell you of Marick's work over several years as Proconsul of Arcona. Many more will tell you of his recent transition to Consul and his work there thus far. More still will tell of his months of work on the new Character Sheet system and upcoming Antei Combat Center revamp. I will leave all those things for the others to note and laud.

What I would like to focus on, what I feel is most relevant to Marick's success in the club, is his Attitude.

Attitude is everything. It is a key fundamental of not only leaders, but those who follow them as well. Marick, whether leading or following, has maintained an outstanding attitude in all he does and with all whom he deals. This quality, this essential trait, is what has most impressed me about Marick and what has most encouraged me as to the future of this club.

I have had the pleasure of dealing with Marick across a number of ideas, projects, events, and concerns. Always, always with me he has been calm, cool, collected and professional. Exactly what one would expect from a leader in the club. Exactly what I would expect from someone receiving this award.

Marick, thank you for everything you do and continue to do on behalf of everyone in the club.

-Raken, Deputy Grand Master

---

One of the things that I worked hard to instill in those units who wanted to reclan was their ability to help the brotherhood at large, to turn their focus outside their own walls. This was an important differentiating factor in my mind, the shift from being self-absorbed to being concerned for the brotherhood beyond just a measure of self preservation.

One of those people I talked to during this situation was one new quaestor named Marick. He apparently took it to heart, embracing massive undertakings as he rose through the ranks. He broke bread with leaders of struggling units, trying to offer insight that could help them. He extended his help in trying to host events to increase activity across the club. He personally dove deep into the new character sheets and the new Antei Combat Center.

This is enough for him to warrant an award. For him to have done these things through the storm of acting as consul and holding together a clan that has been crushing almost all competition in vendettas is much more than that. I could say so much more, but such platitudes would only be glossed over by a man who has so much more to do, so much more to offer the club, that he would not care about what was written about him. So I will be brief. Give this man an amethyst kukri. Thank you, Wally. I'm looking forward to promoting you.

~Muz Ashen, Dark Lord of the Sith

Grand Master Declan Roark, 2013-09-14 04:32:48 UTC

For his outstanding work and dedication in support of both the JST and CM staffs. Thanks for all you have done.

GM Pravus.

Right Hand of Justice, Left Hand of Justice, Right Hand of Justice (the order in which came first can be a bit confusing to some). Alaris Jinn has held nearly every position within the Chamber, with the exception of Justicar. Don't let that fool you however, as the man is my de facto Deputy Justicar, and closest counsel on all matters Chamber related. He continues to hold the record for most cases tried as a Hand, a feat that is impressive on it's own. What amazes me is Alaris' ability to transition so smoothly from the defense, to the prosecution without a single hiccup in functionality or work performance. He has been instrumental in talks regarding upcoming Covenant amendments and Chamber policies, and is always at the forefront of every case investigation. His arguments are clear and informative when pushing through the trial process, of which he has mastered in his several terms on the Chamber of Justice. Without a doubt, he is the most experienced Hand of Justice we will ever see, and I have been downright lucky to have such a member devoted to the process of justice we follow in the club. For his astounding work and dedication, I am extremely honored to recommend Alaris this AK. Congratulations!

~Taigikori Aybara;Justicar of the Brotherhood

---

Alaris has been instrumental to the Character Sheet system since he joined the team several months ago. He immediately began work, picking up and filling out several skills, before even being assigned a particular project. He took quickly to the idea of writing a Guide, and his framework was used for the more complete guide my staff is getting ready for release. His most active and meaningful work, however, occurred in the weeks preceding the beta release of the system. He spent many nights until 3 am or later working on various aspects of the system. He wrote up dozens of Skill and Feat descriptions. When I made it clear I needed some help filling in some of the Force Power progressions, Alaris waded in and helped finish them off, probably accounting for a quarter of them in that area alone. His effort has been instrumental to the release of this system, and he has been a key part of half a dozen smaller scale projects within the larger system. He absolutely deserves this AK for all of his hard work and effort!

~Mav Combat Master

Grand Master Declan Roark, 2013-09-14 04:31:27 UTC

The ACC and Character Sheet projects have been a tremendous undertaking for the Dark Brotherhood. Our members are emotionally invested in how these systems work and managing those expectations while delivering a product is a Herculean task. Over the past three years we have planned consistently to make changes, but those plans have often resulted in failed efforts. In early 2013, Telaris "Mav" Cantor assumed the reigns as Combat Master and succeeded in not only organizing a cohesive effort, but also developing a cohesive team from many divergent personalities. Mav's leadership led a streamlined effort and succeeded in not only developing a AAA product with our character sheets, but also a team effort that brought in the vision of many of our club's key leaders.

I am 100% positive that the character sheet release and upcoming ACC release succeeded because Mav was at the help. His work ethic, drive, and ability to run a team were instrumental in approving our club. The AK and our appreciation are the least we can do for him.

Darth Pravus.

)))(((

Telaris "Mav" Cantor is in rare company in the Dark Brotherhood. Not because he is one of the few to hold the club's highest Elder rank. Not because he is one of the few to possess virtually every award the club has to offer. And not because he has been in the club for nearly two decades.

Mav is in rare company for a more important reason: He is one of the very few members we have who will promise to do something, do it, and do it well.

Many months ago Mav promised Muz and I he would take over on the character sheet redesign and deliver to us a product that would be both better suited to the Antei Combat Center's renewed focus on writing and more accessible to our members. Managing his staff and working diligently, he has done just that.

As a member I am really enjoying my time with the new sheets. As a club administrator, I am really enjoying getting to deliver this kind of product to our members.

As a token of our appreciation, please accept this award on behalf of a grateful Brotherhood.

-Raken, Deputy Grand Master

)))(((

Mav is a dirty Taldryan. Or at least, he's supposed to be. I won't lie and say that when I first heard that he was going to be Combat Master, I was not exactly enthused. Who was this random old dude who was just coming in? The stigma only lasted a day, I think.

The second I started talking to Mav, I could tell he was different. Having worked closely (very close..I mean, nope, no, nothing happened honest!) with Mav for the last few months on the CS project, I've come to know him not just as a leader and member of the DB, but as a person. As a person he is one of the most rational people I have ever had a conversation with. He doesn't let anything fluster him. If he doesn't get his way, he doesn't threaten to quit or leave. Even when he is upset about something, he keeps it to himself and still goes about doing his work. He is also the only person I've argued with that somehow manages to prove me wrong without belittling me. This might seem minor, but it's a rare skill-set to be able to politely correct someone when they see something differently than you. And that is just the heart of who Mav is. He not only tries to find the middle ground by seeing things from multiple angels, but he succeeds in doing so. For the life of me, I can't even get mad at him if I try!

People rarely see the work that goes on behind the scenes. We say this a lot, but really I doubt anyone but the Character Sheet team really understands how much work went into the new system. Mav was at the head of all of it, taking over for Shad without skipping a beat. This included overseeing the various tasks that needed to get done- keeping the team on task, giving us direction, and constantly brainstorming ideas and coming up with solutions to existing issues. Anytime we hit a snag, he'd encourage us to think outside the box, to work together, and to get things done. This is the mark of true leadership, and it's this positive attitude that trickles down to everyone who works with him.

If the Brotherhood had more people like Mav, we'd be in a better place. It's been an honor getting to work with him on the Character Sheets, and while they have now launched, there is still work to be done. Mav is at the head of this project, and has guided it in a way that I don't think anyone else could have. He is patient, listens to others, and uses that to ultimately create something that will work for everyone.

He's simply in a league of his own. They don't make them like they make Mav. You've earned this award and probably more, brother. You deserve the world :).

-W

)))(((

Telaris Taldrya Cantor (or the Most Mavviest of Kins if you prefer) is quite something. I will not bore you with talk about Mav’s Dark Brotherhood accomplishments over the past decade and a half – this is about his most recent project - the new character sheet system. I will not lie; I did not use the old character sheet system very much. To me, it seemed too focused on the Antei Combat Centre – which is not my bag (what am I, Krath?) – and it did not hold my interest. The new one is different, it allows for better fleshing out of Dark Brotherhood characters for most aspects of activity (fiction entries, run-ons, maybe other things in the future?)– and it allows (from my perspective at least) far more customization and some desperately needed humour to the whole affair. Without Mav’s contributions, however, none of this would have happened.

Mav’s coordination of staff members and his own individual contributions and efforts towards the new character sheet system (along with James and Arion’s new site) has certainly changed the Dark Brotherhood for the better – and almost certainly will propel the club into future of new Star Wars movies. These new movies, combined with the institution (I think we can call it that now) of the new character sheets will show the upcoming generation of Star Wars fans how vibrant the Brotherhood is – and it should be able to keep their attention.

With all that in mind, I am glad to recommend Mav for that purple medal – the Amethyst Kukri. Thank you for your previous and continuing efforts on the character sheets. Well done.

-Howie

)))(((

Nothing worth doing is ever easy.

That was what I thought when I decided that it was time to close down the ACC back in January. It gave us the time to get a team in that could build a new combat center from the ground up. It would give the members enough time to get the taste of the old one out of their mouth, that it would be new and shiny and people would not make endless comparisons.

But it would be a lot of work. A whole new interface would have to be coded. A whole new set of rules, new judging criteria, new handbooks and shadow academy courses would have to be written. That's a lot of work.

And then there were the character sheets. Those huge sprawling points and complicated rituals that help everyone in this club define their character. That everyone would go over with a fine-toothed comb, looking for reasons to dislike them. To get them designed, to argue with me about how it's the right way to do it, to write the content, to argue with others about how it's not the same as before, to get them coded up, and to test them until they broke, fix them and start all over again.

Nothing worth doing is ever easy.

Telaris 'Mav' Cantor is the man who has owned this project, who took it from concept to beta. His fingerprints are all over this system. This is the man responsible for sorting out what needed to be done. To have the huevos to take the system in a different way, to come away from the old school methodology we have had since the dawn of the club, to push the envelope as far as he could and give our members something truly outstanding.

In Jazz performances, the audience applauds after memorable moments, strong solos by talented artists, even though the song isn't over yet. This is one of those times. Mav's work on the character sheets is worthy of recognition, despite the ACC not being done yet. It is for this excellent work that I am happy to recommend Mav for an amethyst kukri. Thank you, Mav. I know we're all waiting to see how it fits into the new ACC.

~Muz Ashen, Dark Lord of the Sith

Lord Muz Ashen Keibatsu, 2013-09-14 03:41:16 UTC