Aloha and good evening.
I wanted to take a few moments tonight in this report to give out some basic information that everyone does know, or should know. If you've been within Tarentum for some time, you should have a grasp on these things already. If you're new to us, take some time to read through this, because this can, and likely will help you to understand Tarentum, and the Brotherhood as a whole, a bit better, and make you more successful in your time here.
1) The Dark Brotherhood is a fictional organization, but a realistic one, too. What does that mean for you? You get to exist in this Club on a fictional level in addition to the "real world" level. So, you can have your character, you can be basically anything you want, but you also get to be a part of an internet social setting, make friends, hang out, talk to people almost literally all around the globe, and have a good time doing things. However, the one part that is required is, you need to be a part of this. Realistically, that means talking to people, being a part of House, Clan, and DB-wide activites, using the message boards, using IRC, whatever. If you need help with it, use the message boards, use the mailing list, ask for help. If you aren't sure how to use the forums or IRC, or anything else, I'm always around to help; feel free to email me anytime.
How do you get involved fictionally? You start working with House and Clanmates, getting involved in stories, etc. A good way to do that is to take part in either one of your House's teams/circles, or get involved with the master-student program, get paired up with a mentor, and have them help you get involved. You really can be almost anything you want to be. This is much like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory; we're in a world of our own imaginations, and it can be as sweet as we want, or as dark as we want. And, in the Dark Brotherhood, I'm pretty sure we all like an evil flavor to things.
2) Your rank defines much of what you are, but not all of what you are. And, despite what others may say, I think a lot of what the Brotherhood "affords" each rank, actually limits each member. For instance; I have always disliked the idea of disallowing lightsabers until the rank of Dark Jedi Knight. The practice of "training lightsabers" was a good idea, but when it came time to make it happen, it fell short of what I wanted to see. I like the idea of getting people training with lightsabers as early as possible, and not with cheap knock-offs that only work against other knock-offs. What does that mean for you? If you're involved fictionally, use what you want (within reason). Sure, if you take part in the ACC, you have to play by their rules. But, if you're writing in Clan run-ons and such, you can basically use anything you want. Think about the Prequel Trilogy. In "The Phantom Menace," Obi-Wan was "just a Padawan learner," but he kicked a lot of ass. You may be a Guardian, or a Novice, or a Jedi Hunter; whatever. You can still kick ass fictionally. So, your rank may define a lot, but don't let it limit you. Be creative. Remember, this is the world of OUR imagination. Have some fun with it.
It's ok to be a Journeyman (the ranks up to DJK). It's ok to be without a lightsaber, but even so, you can have one in OUR stuff, run-ons and such, if you like. But think about this. Bounty Hunters are a touch match for some Jedi. They don't (for the most part) have lightsabers. They use anything and everything else. Palpatine's Royal Guards had force pikes, and were supposed to be tough as nails. Picture yourself as one of them, with the added bonus of using the Force; I'd say you're tough sumbitches. Yeah, I know. The Force powers available at some ranks suck. So, think outside the box, and consider what you ought to, and might have, at your rank. No, you won't be shooting bolts of fire or lightning from your fingertips, but you may be using the Force/Telekinesis to shove/pull things, much like Obi-Wan did all over the place in Episode I.
3) It can be hard to get going in Clubs like these, especially when you don't know anyone. The Dark Brotherhood is not like most other Clubs available. Some of the gaming Clans out there expect you to spend a certain amount of time on servers, practicing moves, and the more you start to "win matches," the more your rank advances. That's not how things work in the DB (somewhat unfortunately). While some people will say, "the better you are, the better you get" as far as ranks and such, that's not how it really goes in practice. The more you do, the easier it is to get stuff in return. Meaning, you have to put time into things, you have to put work into things, you have to "give to the DB," and all sorts of other stuff. Fictionally, it kind of sucks. I mean, seriously. If you spend a year in this Club playing games, sure, you can get to DJK, but that's about as far as you'll get. Does that mean there needs to be a revamp? In some ways, I think there needs to be some changes. But here's the thing; nothing changes if you don't speak up, and little will still change if you don't try and offer some insight and suggestions.
Telling someone "this sucks, change it" does little beyond telling them "so-and-so doesn't like it." Telling someone "this is hard for someone who has three hours a week for this place, who has been stuck as a Protector for eight months" let's people know, "so-and-so doesn't have a whole lot of time, and seems to be getting frustrated due to little advancement." Hey, that's understandable. Most everyone joined this Club because we wanted to fantasize and live out the dream of being a Dark Jedi, earning a lightsaber, coming to know the mysteries of the Sith, and eventually becoming one of the Dark Lords of the Star Wars galaxy. It's a good dream. You do need to put work and time into it, but if you have any ideas on how we can make that possible for everyone on an equal playing field, to make it stay fair for everyone, toss out some ideas. I'll tell you this today, and every day. If you have an idea, I'll sit down and listen to it, and tell you my honest impressions afterward.
Anyway. I could ramble on about things, but here's some other news, other things to look into.
Clan Tarentum has a run-on going on right now, called "In The Shadows II." It's the sequel to the highly-involved run-on of several years ago, "In The Shadows." If you're curious, go read the run-on. I'd love to see more people get involved, and there's a place for everyone in the run-on. Go check it out on the message boards, and come have some fun with us. http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=4160 is the URL, and please, take some time to read through the run-on and get familiar with what has happened. It'll definitely help.
Tarentum's home on the IRC Undernet is #tarentum. What's IRC? If you know what some of the other instant messengers are, what other chat rooms and such are, it's basically one of those. It's a method of chatting on the internet, and we make use of it. If you're familiar with IRC, get on your favorite IRC client and head on over to the Undernet, and join #tarentum. If you're not familiar, drop me an email, and I'll see how I can help you be a part of things.
Keep an eye on the DB news page once in a while. Some of what gets posted there can be useful to you. Check out the DB page at http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/news.asp and read over whatever interests you. Check the links on the left side, as there's several other pages and such with interesting info, depending on what you're into.
I don't remember what else I was going to write, and I'm tired. So I'll leave this one on that note. Have an awesome week, Tarentum. And, as always hit me up whenever you need me. And also, feel free to get to know your House Summits. They're there to help you out, and to help offer some insight and guidance to get you through the DB with entertainment and enjoyment as your rewards. Have a good one, people.
--
-DJM Sith Bloodfyre-Tarentae (Sith)/CON/Clan Tarentum
Grand Chamberlain of Tarentum
The Ghost Dragon
Bearer of the infinite kick assness
Wielder of the holy keg of f**k you
http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/
http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/forum/
http://www.undernet.org/webchat.php
http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/irc.asp
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