Report #1 – May 2, 2010 <-

Welcome to the very first Voice of the Brotherhood report. There are a few things to cover in this report, although much of my time during this first week was spent getting in contact with a slew of leaders in the club and beginning to set the foundation of a few of the plans I had for this position. Before we delve into the report, I would just like to thank the HRLD staff for their work on creating the graphics for my reports. I had asked them to create a report header and divider and in the end they decided to have a little competition between themselves. In the end Jeric won out with the creations you see in this report. A big thank you goes to Dralin and Ekeia for their efforts as well! Now, onto the actual report

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Competitions! I thought I would announce these first before people get bored and stop reading the report :P I have created 3 competitions for this month. I will attempt to always have a variety of competitions on a monthly basis, allowing everyone to stretch their creative muscles. While these current competitions are fairly straightforward, I do plan on utilizing many of the current venues where fiction can be produced. Now, the current competitions!

The Journey - This is a poetry competition. You are to create an "Epic Poem" (think the Illiad or Odyssey) describing a figure in the DB that you have the utmost respect for.

Dark Jedi Swap - A fun little competition. A member-exchange program has been introduced and you have been chosen to represent your Clan and spend a month with another Clan. This is the story/report of what you experienced during your time there.

RoS: The Aftermath - A bit more of a character-study. Many Clans have really taken off into different direction since the end of the RoS. Now is the chance to detail just how you were affect by the end of that competition and which direction you've taken since then.

Report Lyrics - This competition is still waiting on approval, so no direct link to it as of yet. The concept is simple...every report I will release a line or two of lyrics from a song at the very end. Your job is to guess the song and artist (if the song has been recorded more than one, you can use any artist). Post your answer in the comments section of the report. First correct answer gets a shiny medal!

All three competitions are being awarded with First-Level Crescents. It has been some time since we've awarded this level of crescent, so now it your opportunity to get some of the high-end awards. Also, something I am going to begin introducing to my grading of fiction is actually taking into account people's Character Sheets and Wiki's. We have these great tools to develop your character's, but they never seem to be acknowledged in grading. Well, now they will be. Generally, the grading scheme will be 60% story (taking into account a number of aspects); 20% Mechanics (Spelling, grammar, etc...) and 20% Realism (How you play your own character, other characters and their interaction with the SW universe). I do now want to take away from anyone's creativity, but if people are going to spend a lot of time in creating characters then I am going to see that they are acknowledged in the grading.

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I have received a few questions regarding our newest medal, the Cluster of Ice (CI). The most-asked question has been "How does my Clan/House/BT become officially sanctioned so that we may get this medal?" Well, there are to factors. First, the Run-On itself must be Clan-wide (sorry, we are currently not awarding House or BT-level Run-Ons). The second factor is that the Run-On itself must show that is plays a significant role in the fictional development of a Clan. Basically, Clans will e-mail me a link to their completed Run-On and I'll read it over. If the Run-On itself appears to add to the fictional development of a Clan, then CIs may be rewarded (and most Run-Ons will fit this criteria). I see a number of Run-Ons already on the messageboard, so I look forward to receiving those e-mails

For both Clan and DB-wide ROs, not ever single participant will receive a CI. Only those who post at least twice (250 words each post minimum) will receive a CI.

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This week I've e-mailed the Clan Summits a couple of times with some ideas I've had. I've had some positive feedback from a few Clans, but have not heard a peep from a couple of others. The first plan was to increase the communication between the DC and the Clans in terms of fictional development. Acting as a liason between the two sides, I would help in ensuring that Clan histories don't veer off into parts unknown so that major retcon's don't have to me attempted once DB plot points are released. While major integration is not possible due to the logistics, having someone looking at both sides concurrently will hopefully alleviate any future headaches and perhaps even allow for some limited integration of plot points.

The second plan deals with attempting to increase the amount of DB-wide competitions while alleviating some of the competition-pressure from leaders in Clans and Houses. Hopefully I will be able to release some more information about this later in the month, and I would hope Clan Summit has at least talked with their own leaders about it. If they haven't just pop me a note and I can fill you in. It is something I would need all Clans onside for it to work, so I am hoping to at least get a response from those I had e-mailed.

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I won't steal her thunder, but I've had a few discussion with the Combat Master regarding the ACC and the various directions it is going in. There are a number of plans in motion, and hopefully with another hand on board those projects can be completed at a quicker pace while also ensuring that the day-to-day operations of the ACC are done in a timely and professional manner. One thing that I did forget was to get in touch with all of the staff as well, so I will be correcting that mistake this week

Another area that I will be spending some time in is the DB Wiki. The Wiki itself is the domain of the T:Wiki, but we will be working together on the more fictional aspects, ensuring that the various pages conform to the "fictional realism" of the DB. Please feel free and e-mail me for any help you may want in your character histories so that it works well with the DB and the SW universe as a whole.

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Just some closing comments before I let you all go on your merry way :P One of the goals is to act as a resource that people may use. I will have my hands in various aspects of fictional development in the DB, and as such would have information on a number of topics that may interest others. If you have any questions or concerns regarding things such as the ACC, character histories, storylines, etc... please feel free to e-mail me or poke me online. In the end I'm here to help you enjoy your time in the DB. The sames goes for all DC memebers. Never hesitate to ask us a question or make a comment, as we're really here to serve the DB as a whole.

Last, I will be on vacation starting May 9th until May 16th...celebrating my birthday in Acapulco :P I will make another post closer to the time, but just a heads-up that my response time will be limited during that period of time. I should have access to the internet, but won't be online nearly as much as I normally would be.

Report Lyrics:_ "Got to kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight."_

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In Darkness,

Dark Jedi Master Halcyon Taldrya

Voice of the Brotherhood

Sith Lord