REPORT #20 ADDENDUM - MASTER STUDENT PROGRAM DOCUMENTATION
DARK FORGE ACADEMY
Located deep within the cold recesses of Hodr, Dark Forge Academy is the centre of operations for the training and tuition of all new Clansmen of Naga Sadow. The academy is the first installation that all new members arrive at, and it is here that they are appointed a Master, a personal trainer who will subsequently pass their own knowledge onto their new Student until such a time as that the Student has completed the Trials and attained the rank of Dark Jedi Knight.
The workings of the Academy and its Masters are overseen by the Academy Headmaster and the First Masters, this team of four handle the day to day administration of the Academy including the appointment of new Masters and the assignment of incoming Students to available Masters. The Headmaster also maintains close communication with the Summit in order to keep them up to date on the status of the Academy.
MASTER STUDENT PROGRAM
History
The Master Student Program was first put into use by Darth Bane almost two millennia ago, it served as a way to continue on the teachings of the Sith in secret, without the interference from the Jedi order until the time was right to strike again. As much as Darth Bane may have designed it to preserve the order in secret, it has since been adapted by the Dark Jedi Brotherhood to serve as a way of ensuring that knowledge does not get lost between the generations, but is instead preserved through the teaching of new Acolytes by old.
Within Clan Naga Sadow the process of teaching in secret has never been known, the Clan has been the dominating presence in the Phare system for as long as time can recall. History does not speak of the days before the great Lord Sadow conquered the system in the name of his Empire. But as much as the Clan has always maintained its public presence, the need to preserve its teachings and to continually train its followers in the ways of the Dark Side lead to the construction of the Academy and the full implementation of a similar program of paired Masters and Students.
Basics
Upon first joining the Clan all new Clansmen are given the choice to be assigned a personal one-to-one teacher, known as a Master. The choice is the Novices, though it is strongly recommended that all new Jedi do take the early opportunity to quickly get accustomed to the Clan and to get promoted more easily. Typically the Master/Student pairing is random and will be done on the basis of who is currently not involved in a pairing, though all Students, and Masters, may choose not to be paired with a certain person if they so wish.
A Students task is a simple one, be active. How active the Student is will always depend on the specific Student, a Student can do as little or as much as they want, though persistently inactive Students will be excluded from the Program.
The Masters responsibilities are considerably more detailed than those of the Student. The Master is expected to be in continual contact with the Student, passing down their own experience to the Student and assisting them in any problems that they encounter. The Master's main task is to provide the Student with small tasks to perform to keep them active in order to ensure that the Student enjoys their time in the Clan and gets rewarded regularly, the Master should also be sure to inform the Student of any larger competitions that they may take part in to receive medals. Once a Master's student has completed the Trials for their rank, it is the Master's responsibility to request a promotion for the Student from the House's Quaestor. The exact duties of a Master are up to the Master to decide with their Student, there is no forced rule for what interaction between the two should exist, though the First Masters will monitor all pairings to ensure that no Masters are being lax in their responsibilities.
The First Masters and the Headmaster are the administrative body that supervise the various Masters and see to it that available Students are assigned a Master and that Masters currently assigned to a Student are doing their job efficiently. Though not typically recommended, First Masters with the time available may take on a Student of their own if they wish, the same choice is available to the Headmaster. Though the Masters are the backbone of the Program, it is the First Masters duty to ensure the Program runs smoothly, so their task is one of extreme responsibility and not to be taken lightly. It also should be said that the Headmaster is typically one of the three First Masters.
Attached to the Program are the four Envoys of the Clan, the Envoys function as ambassadors for the Clan within the Shadow Academy who seek out prospective recruits within the Shadow Academy and whom then aid these Apprentices with their training to get them through the Shadow Academy more quickly and into the Clan. The Envoys are broken down into two levels, the Clan Envoy and the three House Envoys. The Clan Envoy handles the administration of the Envoy division of the Program, though the Clan Envoy is typically a more experienced member of the Clan, it could be said that the Clan Envoys job is in fact an easier one. The House Envoys scout the Shadow Academy for new Apprentices and then assist them in their training in whatever ways the Apprentices require, with the end aim of hopefully recruiting them into the Clan, at which stage the House Envoy then passes the new Novice into the care of one of the Masters.
Chain of Command
One thing that should be noted about the Chain of Command for the Master/Student Program is that all members of the Program are still subject to the official Chain of Command of the Brotherhood, so all Masters, Students and Envoys are still under the command of their respective Battleteam Leader, Aedile and Quaestor.
Consul -> Headmaster -> Clan Envoy/First Master -> House Envoy/Master -> Apprentice/Student
Standard Position Requirements
Headmaster of Dark Forge Academy
Required Criteria
Rank of Dark Jedi Knight or higher.
At least 6 months in the Brotherhood.
High IRC Presence.
48hr email response time.
Current membership within Clan Naga Sadow.
Previous leadership and/or organizational abilities - Evidence required. (Namely, work as Aedile).
Desirable Criteria
First Masters
Required Criteria
Rank of Dark Jedi Knight or higher.
At least 4 months in the Brotherhood.
High IRC Presence.
48hr email response time.
Current membership within Clan Naga Sadow.
Previous leadership and/or organizational abilities - Evidence required. (Namely, work as Battleteam Leader or a highly successful Master who can keep active and encourage others).
Desirable Criteria
Masters
Required Criteria
Rank of Dark Jedi Knight or higher.
At least 4 months in the Brotherhood.
Moderately-high IRC Presence.
48hr email response time.
Current membership within Clan Naga Sadow.
Desirable Criteria
Enthusiastic, interested and past demonstration of commitment to the Brotherhood. (Namely, highly active, participation in nearly all competitions).
Willingness to encourage and improve Clan activity. (Namely, ability to keep track of inactive Students in order to aid in continual AWOLing).
Students
Required Criteria
Rank BELOW Dark Jedi Knight.
Current membership within Clan Naga Sadow.
Clan Envoy
Required Criteria
Rank of Dark Jedi Knight or higher.
At least 4 months in the Brotherhood.
48hr email response time.
Current membership within Clan Naga Sadow.
Previous leadership and/or organizational abilities - Evidence required. (Namely, work as Battleteam Leader or a highly successful Master/House Envoy who can keep active and encourage others).
Desirable Criteria
House Envoys
Required Criteria
Rank of Dark Jedi Knight or higher.
At least 4 months in the Brotherhood.
48hr email response time.
Current membership within Clan Naga Sadow.
Desirable Criteria
Enthusiastic, interested and past demonstration of commitment to the Brotherhood.
Willingness to encourage and improve Clan activity.
THE TRIALS
The Trials are the main purpose for the existence of the Academy, for it is the Trials that all Students are prepared for by their Masters. The end goal of the Trials is to provide a quick and structured route for all new Clansmen to assist them in attaining the prestigious rank of Dark Jedi Knight. The Trials are a series of standardised tasks that all Students must complete in order to get promoted; every Student must complete the same set of tasks so the Trials work to ensure all promotions are fairly distributed - there is also degree of optional tasks that all Students can choose between depending on their personal preferences.
The Trials are only open to members of the Program, those members who choose not to join the Program should consider this, for the Trials do provide all Students a far easier method of getting recognised than those who are not assigned a personal Master.
'The Trials' General Tasks
Though in all of the trials listed below a series of stages have been provided, there are other factors that must be taken into account for all promotions, the stages are simply what type of activity needs to be performed in order to attain an elevation. However, all Students should be advised that continuous activity is expected at all times, just for the use of mIRC is only expressed in the Acolyte Trials, it is still expected that an IRC presence is to be maintained throughout one's time in the Program. More general points such as participating in discussion over the Clan "yahoogroups" and on the Clan message board are also forms of activity that are simply expected in the sense of that the Clan is a community, and that people are encouraged to interact.
The Acolyte Trials
Upon first joining the Clan all new Novices are provided with the option of becoming a Student to one of the available Masters. Those who take this choice will be appointed a Master and provided the first benefit of the Program, the option to take the first set of trials known as the Acolyte Trials. The Acolyte Trials are extremely basic and are designed to introduce all new Students to their respective Orders platform and to get them familiar with the Clan's principle method of online communication - mIRC. Since Acolyte is the first proper promotion all new Students receive it is easy to attain and requires no more than an hour or so of work, the Acolyte Trials effectively work to get rid of any non-committed members at the first stage by rewarding the most basic of activity.
Note: It should be remembered, those who do not complete the Acolyte Trials within one month will be excluded from the Clan and placed in the Rogue Jedi listing.
Stage 1: Join the Master/Student Program
Stage 2: Download and install mIRC
Stage 3K: Write a short story [to be sent to the Master], ideas and assistance to be provided by the Master.
Stage 3O: Participate in an online duel session with your Master or at an official Brotherhood Training Night.
Stage 3S: Complete an official battle [to be sent to the Master] or participate in an online skirmish session with your Master or at an official Brotherhood Training Night.
Upon completion of Stages 1 through 3 the Novice will be elevated to the rank of Acolyte.
The Protector Trials
The second set of trials, the Protector Trials, are somewhat more involved than the Acolyte Trials though still the Protector Trials can be completed reasonably quickly in comparison to the later sets of Trials. The added bonus of the Protector Trials is that it provides most new Students their first opportunity to earn a reward in the form of a medal, the Dark Cross merit award.
Stage 1: Join one of your House's Battleteams, assistance to be provided by the Master.
Stage 2: Participate in an official House or Clan wide competition, assistance to be provided by the Master.
Stage 3K: Write a poem [to be sent to the Master], ideas and assistance to be provided by the Master.
Stage 3O: Participate in an online duel session with your Master or at an official Brotherhood Training Night.
Stage 3S: Complete an official battle [to be sent to the Master] or participate in an online skirmish session with your Master or at an official Brotherhood Training Night.
Stage 4: Completion of your respective Order's CORE exam at the Shadow Academy.
Note: Completion of two poems, two battles or participation at two official Brotherhood Training Nights whilst Acolyte rather than the one will be awarded with a Dark Cross for exceptional activity.
The purpose of the tasks of the Protector Trials is to further expand on the work performed in the Acolyte Trials. At every stage of ones growth within the Brotherhood they must demonstrate their commitment to their House and Clan, so continued training in one's Order is always a requirement.
The Guardian Trials
After reaching the rank of Protector, the work to be completed for each elevation becomes more considerable than for the earlier ranks, the Guardian Trials reflect this in the criteria needed to be met in order to reach the rank of Guardian. The Trials are designed to be around a months work, for it is typically expected that no further promotion is granted without a minimum of one month having been spent in the previous rank. The rank of Guardian is one that commands the respect of others, for it is the first rank of leadership - that of a Battleteam Leader, the Guardian Trials therefore ask somewhat more than the earlier ranks.
Stage 1: Participate in an official Brotherhood or Order wide competition, assistance to be provided by the Master.
Stage 2: Participate in an official House or Clan wide competition, assistance to be provided by the Master.
Stage 3: Completion of one of the Brotherhood Order Studies at the Shadow Academy.
Stage 4K: Participate in a Krath Combat Centre match with your Master.
Stage 4O: Participate in three online duel sessions with your Master, or at three official Brotherhood Training Nights.
Stage 4S: Complete three official battles [to be sent to the Master] or participate in three online skirmish session with your Master or at three official Brotherhood Training Nights.
Stage 5: Complete a unique task as set by your Master, this may be the completion of a specific battle, or the writing of a story to a certain title, it is the Master's choice to decide on the exact details of this task of the Guardian Trials.
The Hunter Trials
After attaining the rank of Guardian one has considerably proven their activity, and attained a solid rank that they should be pleased about for quite some time. Guardian represents a lot of time and commitment having been invested into the Clan, and as of such the achievement is to be respected. Further advancement requires a great deal of commitment to the Brotherhood, the rank of Jedi Hunter is pushing towards one being ready to take on a House themselves, so the trial once again takes a further step up the ladder as one is now required to put in around two more months worth of work in order to get elevated higher. As daunting as the Hunter Trials may be, the reward is worth it.
Stage 1: Participate in an official Brotherhood or Order wide competition, assistance to be provided by the Master.
Stage 2: Participate in two official House or Clan wide competitions, assistance to be provided by the Master.
Stage 3: Completion of the Brotherhood Leadership Studies exam at the Shadow Academy.
Stage 4K: Participate in a Krath Combat Centre match and write a story, ideas and assistance to be provided by the Master.
Stage 4O: Participate in five online duel sessions with your Master, or at five official Brotherhood Training Nights
Stage 4S: Complete five official battles [to be sent to the Master] or participate in five online skirmish session with your Master or at five official Brotherhood Training Nights.
Stage 5: Complete a unique task as set by your Master [see Guardian Trials for details].
Stage 6: Provide some voluntary assistance to your Battleteam, House or Clan, ideas and assistance to be provided by the Master. The running a small competition, or setting up a weekly gaming night are recommended contributions.
Stage 7: Request a personal Grant of Arms from the Office of the Herald.
The work asked for through the Hunter Trials becomes more independent of the Students private Master and asks for the Student to begin committing themselves somewhat more independently through representing the Clan in official competitions and aiding the Clan themselves in some way. Being the last rank of the Yeomanry, Hunter represents the pinnacle of achievement before one reaches the ranks of the Equites - where the ranks take a big leap upwards. Though the work asked for from the Hunter Trials is considerable, it is a solid foundation for one to build on for when they approach the final set of Trials.
The Knight Trials
Upon reaching the height of the Yeomanry, all Students should feel immensely pleased that they have gotten this far. Jedi Hunter is a hard earned rank and requires a lot of commitment to earn, so all those who have made it to this stage should feel glad that they have kept at it, but the final test still awaits. The rank of Dark Jedi Knight is perhaps the most sought after rank in the Brotherhood, it is the one rank that everyone fights to achieve and is one of the greatest honours members can earn within the Brotherhood. The rank of Knight not only holds recognition here, but throughout the Emperor's Hammer, where those that have earned it can wear their lightsaber with pride. The possession of a lightsaber marks one out as a leader and a hard worker, but most of all as a member strongly committed to their Clan. The Trials to become a Knight are not easy, it requires a lot of dedication and a lengthy commitment to become a Knight, but the reward is easily one of the most fulfilling that exists.
Stage 1: Participate in two official Brotherhood or Order wide competitions, assistance to be provided by the Master.
Stage 2: Participate in two official House or Clan wide competitions, assistance to be provided by the Master.
Stage 3: Completion of one of the Brotherhood Order Studies at the Shadow Academy.
Stage 4K: Complete two of the following:
· Participate in a Krath Combat Centre match.
· Participate in a House or Order wide Run-On.
· Write a long story [to be sent to the Master], ideas and assistance to be provided by the Master.
Stage 4O: Complete two of the following:
· Participate in four online duel sessions with your Master
· Participate at four official Brotherhood Training Nights
Stage 4S: Complete two of the following:
· Complete four official battles [to be sent to the Master].
· Participate in four online skirmish session with your Master.
· Participate in four official Brotherhood Training Nights.
· Design, and receive approval from the Sith High Warrior, a new official Brotherhood Battle [to be sent to the Master].
Note: Those unable to fly online skirmishes may complete eight battles.
Stage 5: Complete two unique tasks set by your Master [see Guardian Trials for details].
Stage 6: Provide some voluntary contribution to your Battleteam, House or Clan [see Hunter Trials for details].
Stage 7: Complete a short piece of fictional about the construction of your lightsaber [to be sent to the Master]. Exceptions will be provided for those without English as their first language.
Note: Completion of three or more of the options for Stage 4 will be rewarded with a Star of Eos for exceptional activity.
The Knight Trials are considerably longer than all previous trials by a far larger degree than the jumps made between other trials, this reflects the ranks nature as being one of the Equites and one of the milestone achievements in every Dark Jedi's career. It is typically expected that around three to four months worth of service as a Jedi Hunter be given before the rank of Knight is awarded, the level of work asked through the Program reflects the average contributions of most members over such a time span.
SOCIETY OF ENVOYS
Attached to the Master/Student Program is the Clan's collection of Envoys who seek out prospective recruits from the Shadow Academy and assist them in their training and graduation from the Shadow Academy into the Clan. The duties of each Envoy is much like those of the Masters involved in the main part of the Program, just that the Envoy's duty is somewhat more specialised in that it is also an ambassadorial role as does it require one to adapt quickly as they change 'Students' on a regular basis.
The exact duties of the Envoys is somewhat more formalised than that of the Masters, for this extension of the Program is conducted in competition with other Clans - so we have to meet slightly stricter rules on what we can and can't do. The way in which Envoys go about their duties depends on the Envoy and their personal approach, though there are some standardised guidelines laid down to each new Envoy as they receive the position.
REWARDS AND BENEFITS
So you all ask, what benefit is the Program to you? The benefits of the program fall under two categories, those for the Students and those for the Masters, so lets start with the Students.
Students
As a new Novice all this information is no doubt quite overpowering, so to understand the true benefits of the Master Student Program is no doubt quite difficult. Hopefully the following bullet points will sum up this whole document:
. The MSP provides a fair and structured way to get promoted quickly, promotions are always much harder to get without the set goals as given in The Trials.
. The one-to-one tuition offered from a Master provides a much easier source of answers and assistance than could ever be provided by a single Quaestor.
. The MSP offers early opportunities to get awarded merit medals.
. The Program allows for a better overall experience during your time in the Brotherhood by ensuring you form good friendships with some of the members within the Clan through your close working with your Master - it bridges the gap between generations.
. If you want to become a leader yourself one day then the MSP ensures you get all the necessary experience and pass all the required tests.
Masters
The bigger question is no doubt 'Why should I be a Master?', the benefits provided from this are quite considerable despite the relatively small workload that the job actually brings with it:
. Most people get to DJK and start wondering how to get promoted further - become a Master and you'll get Warrior or Priest far more easily.
. A lot of people have trouble getting appointed to a leadership position nowadays over veteran applicants - prove yourself by being a successful Master.
. Earn high-class merit awards through persistence as a Master, Steel Crosses and Grand Crosses of the Dark Side are the types of awards that active Masters can expect to attain.
. Tired of your Battleteam or House being small? Fed up of inactive members? Problems don't right themselves, take on a Student and the House will quickly brighten up.
. If nothing more, give back to the Clan that gave its time to you when you were new, pass on your experience and knowledge to a new member.
. First Masters and the Headmaster can expect to be quite heavily rewarded, both require similar commitment to that of an Aedile so can expect the same level of promotions.
In Service to the Brotherhood,
Lord Consul Zorrixor
Consul of Clan Naga Sadow
Governor Plenipotentiary of Sif
= Lord Consul, Warlord Zorrixor, Admiral of the Imperial Navy =
SWL Xanos Goatham Zorrixor (Sith)/CON/Naga Sadow
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RSV/AD Xanos Goatham Zorrixor/M-FRG Pheonix/Reserves
GS/SS/BSx8/PCx5/ISMx18 [LGNR]
MoI-BC/MoT-2rh-6gh/LoC-CSx6-Rx3/DFC-Rx1/MoC-1SoC 1GoC
CoS/CoL/CoB/LoA/OV-3E
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[Officer-4th] [XA-A] [AoT-001]
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