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.
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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
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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
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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
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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