Gladians:

We have just finished the Ninth Great Jedi War. I know there are many mixed feelings out there on the subject. I don't think anybody is happy with the way it turned out, but I'd like to offer some optimism even if the war left a bitter taste in your mouth.

Despite everything, Gladius has come out of the GJW stronger than it went in.

We had several brand new members who joined in the middle of the War, or right before it. They were given an opportunity to shine, and they most certainly did so. Brin Chaser, Mechronage, and Chaaron Mar were all promoted multiple times during the war for their tireless work. Severon is coming into his own, and Donos will be back from his leave in a few short months. We now have a strong core of active and enthusiastic Journeymen. Many of them are well on their way to DJK and beyond.

As a Clan we may not have had the momentum that the other Clans had, but as a House we have a great deal of momentum right now as well as talent and experience. Gone are the days of House competitions with zero participation. I hope you all are as excited as I am, because we've got some good times ahead of us.

[House Summit Changes]

Apollo and I have switched positions. I am now Quaestor, and he is Aedile. This was a decision that we have been discussing for quite some time now. I don't believe there will be any great change in the way our House conducts its business. As always, when you report activity, please copy both of us on it so we can get it in the records. That's how we can be sure to promote you in a timely fashion and award medals as appropriate.

[Journeyman Requirements]

Journeymen, please review the Promotion Requirements to get a clear picture of what you need to work on for your next rank. If you need a copy of your activity record to figure out where you stand, just ask!

http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/wiki/index.php?title=Promotion_Requirements

If you are a Journeyman and you have "run a competition with the help of your House Summit" as one of the requirements for your next promotion, now is your chance! The GJW is over, which means we can once again run House competitions! Talk to Apollo and me about your competition ideas, and we'll help you go through the steps to schedule and run it.

Similarly, if you need to qualify in the ACC I'll take any challengers from Gladius. Just email me with the venue you'd like and the weapons you want to use. I'll get in touch with the Combat Master and get the battles set up. We can also do training matches which don't count and aren't judged, but will give me an opportunity to help you with your writing.

[Great Jedi War]

We're still awaiting the final results from the Great Jedi War, but I think everyone has a fairly clear idea of how we fared. I've been thinking about this a lot over the past few days. There are several reasons it turned out the way it did. There are several other reasons that have been getting blame, but are not the real culprits.

So what happened? In my mind, the primary reason was low participation across the board. It wasn't until several weeks into the GJW that I received the first participation reports, and what I saw was that Tarentum always had less than half the participants in every event that the other Clans had. We had one person place in the top ten in almost every event, but that left 9 other top ten spots for the other five Clans. The Tarenti who participated all gave it everything they had. Nearly everyone else did nothing; and that was our downfall.

My first reaction was to think that maybe we had fewer members than the other Clans, but that is simply not true. I checked all their rosters, we're about average in size. We just didn't field as many competitors as the other Clans did, and that's nobody's fault but our own.

I'm not laying blame on anyone. You all know what you did and what you didn't do. Within Gladius you know how your level of activity stacks up against what your peers did, because of the public activity records. Only you know whether you could have done more. This is not a time to be making people feel guilty; instead it is a time to reflect on your own work and decide how you will proceed in the future. There will be many other competitions, and you may have more Great Jedi Wars in your future. What you make of them is largely up to you.

[djbDiplomacy]

I have set up a little unofficial web based game that I'm testing out. It's been running with a few folks from IRC for awhile now and I think I have all the major bugs worked out. It's based on the board game "Diplomacy" in which you play a European country and try to conquer territory. Don't let it distract you from the GJW, but it's a good way to have a little fun. Anybody with a DJB dossier number can play, and anybody can set up a game. Just round up five or six friends and start up a new game.

http://djbdiplomacy.divineright.org

Just so you know, this is a long term type of game. You will spend 10 or 15 minutes figuring out what orders to give your units each day, then wait for everyone else to do the same. If you have questions about how to play, there are basic instructions on the front page of the site with pictures. If you still have questions, shoot me an email and I'll help you out.

*** BEGIN GLADIUS ACTIVITY RECORD ***

DA Telona Murrage:

04/29/2009 - Transferred to Rogues

DA Troutrooper Tarentae:

04/22/2009 - Completed Dark Maven: Philosophy

KAP Apollo:

Various QUA duties

[Unspecified gaming, waiting for more specific games and dates]

04/30/2009 - Resigned as Quaestor

04/30/2009 - Promoted to Aedile

OP Dox Romanae:

04/29/2009 - Won 12 CoFs for "There can be only one" elimination tournament

04/30/2009 - Awarded Anteian Cross

SW Scion Altera:

Various AED duties

04/21/2009 - Aedile Report

04/28/2009 - Lost GJW 9 1v1 ACC vs. KP Legorii Kryotek Entar

04/29/2009 - Lost GJW 9 1v1 ACC vs. DA Braecen Kaeth

04/30/2009 - Resigned as Aedile

04/30/2009 - Promoted to Quaestor

DJK Dralin Fortea:

Various RM duties

GRD Chaaron Mar:

04/21/2009 - Completed Leadership Fundamentals SA Course

04/23/2009 - Completed Starfighter Studies SA Course

04/23/2009 - Completed Sith Alchemy SA Course

04/25/2009 - Completed Hand-to-Hand Combat SA Course

PRT Severon Vercingetorix:

04/23/2009 - Completed Old Republic History SA Course

05/01/2009 - Order change to Krath

ACO Brin Chaser:

04/23/2009 - Completed Capital Starship Studies SA Course

04/23/2009 - Completed Starfighter Studies SA Course

04/23/2009 - Completed Freighters and Transports SA Course

04/23/2009 - Promoted to Protector

04/23/2009 - Completed Astronomy SA Course

04/24/2009 - Completed Dark Maven: Flight

04/25/2009 - Completed Sith Core SA Course

04/25/2009 - Completed Obelisk Core SA Course

04/25/2009 - Completed Force Philosophy SA Course

04/25/2009 - Completed Krath Core SA Course

04/25/2009 - Completed Dark Maven: Philosophy

*** END GLADIUS ACTIVITY RECORD ***

In Darkness,

Scion Altera

Lieutenant, Tarentum Navy

Executive Officer, B/CR Cocytus

SW Scion "Firebird" Altera (Sith)/QUA/Gladius of Tarentum [ACC: CL:1]

AC/Cr-1S-6E/SoL

{SA: DML - DSLC}