Please give both this and this a read for the most current plot updates, expect a big drop of information right before March!

Clan News

So, first of all, as mentioned in the previous update Terran joined the ranks of the Arconae and Uji became Proconsul! So congratulations to both of them! We also saw Shadow Port in Shambles wrap up, check the Qel-Droma House report for that finale.

Now, to address a concern on the activity front. Several concerns, actually. First, due to the imbalance of active members between the Houses, our own Zujenia has moved over to Galeres to help cheerlead and drive activity. As she’s also the Rollmaster we are redirecting all new joins that direction as well (a temporary measure).

We are also looking at how Battleteams are operating and may be making some changes there as well. A Battleteam should be a bastion of activity within its House, and we are looking at ways to encourage this idea.

Finally, we are also opening up a new incentive program for activity. A credit account has been started for both Houses, with a bonus of 200,000 credits to start things off with. This account will be added to monthly based off of the activity of House members, in other words, the more you do, the more cash your House Summit will have to spend on things.

That means every month we’ll be showing you this:

There will also be bonus credits to be awarded during Clan events based on overall House participations!

Brotherhood News

This month saw a fresh fiction update from the Voice team, addressing some of the Post-Meridian setting. Give it a read to keep up to date on the overall Brotherhood plot and how it may affect us.

• Headmaster
  
• Combat Master
  
• Voice
  
• FIST
  
• Justicar
  
• Deputy Grandmaster
  

Competition Spotlights

• AVD3 A series of quick and easy, Valentine's Day theme'd events being ran by yours truly and the Lek-head, Tali.
  
• Voice Workshop, Dramatic Irony A competition centered around a scene that invokes irony.
  
• Brotherhood Rising A multi-objective fiction prompt
  
• Vader Puzzle Series A puzzle series focused on the Dark Helmet himself.
  
• Winter Puzzle Series A puzzle series focused on the winter months.
  
• One Epic Year Of Trivia Weekly trivia!
  

Proconsul’s Word

Kordath mentioned a number of changes that have been proposed and a few we will be implementing in upcoming weeks. I’m particularly excited for the credit account setup that He and I have been working on setting up. I love the idea of the House Summits having agency over making eventual purchases specific to their Houses and for Members to have buy-in to know their activity and actions lend directly to those options.

This gives another excellent reason to want to participate in various competitions (hint: the more you do, the more your House earns) and especially with House/Clan/Club wide events as these have the potential to earn your House bonus credit for outstanding performance.

Activity is and remains the benchmark by which every Clan in the Brotherhood is judged. Activity is the hallmark by which we as individuals are awarded and judged as well. Now I fully endorse that people should do what they enjoy within the Brotherhood, if you enjoy graphics go and draw, if you enjoy writing commit to the ACC, Fiction events, RO’s whatever you enjoy and if you’re a gamer, get out there and earn Clusters.

One of the many changes we’re implementing as a Summit is that we believe activity starts at the top and as such in February every member of Arcona’s summit agreed to this as well. Every member of Arcona’s summit has agreed to set the standard and will be more actively participating in individual competitions, responsible for organizing competitions and sharing information on what they are doing. I know personally I have always enjoyed sharing ideas related to fiction competitions I’m working on to encourage others to jump in as well.

Without going on any longer, I hope you’re all as excited as I am about the new programs and changes that are on the horizon, coupled with an upcoming event in March for the entire Clan!

AskLogNRyn

• Leeadra asks,

  • Uji, What is your plan for ...encouraging... the Ryn to wear pants?
    
    • Kord: Hisses
    • Uji: Precisely when was it determined that pants are requireds to do the job of a Consul?

• Rhylance asks several,

  • Where's the extra funding I've petitioned for?
    
    • Kord: Are you sure you got the paperwork right? Check your accounts.
      
    • Uji: Funny you should ask.
  • How would you address the assassination attempt on Port Ol'val
    
    • Kord: Well since nobody died, poorly executed.
      
    • Uji: Lucine isn’t the first, nor will be the last member of Arcona’s summit to experience similar. She should be thankful that there wasn’t an elevator involved.
  • What are you guys most excited about for the future of Arcona
    
    • Kord: How’s it go? Arcona Invicta? We’re aiming for taking back that First Clan bit, of course.
    • Uji: I’m excited to see some of the changes mentioned previously in the report, I’m also excited to try new things to drive engagement and activity. I want to see what interests each of you enough to participate because you want to, rather than just because you’re expected to.
  • When is my next shipment of "research materials* that you promised me coming in?
    
    • Kord: As soon as you have the Voidbreaker raid a passenger ship I suppose.
      
    • Uji: Your House has fulfilled the necessary investment in activity and thereby credits for the Clan. We’ll arrange a shipment of fresh material soon enough.
  • Do you still wish me to work on those genetically engineered life forms for training purposes?
    
    • Kord: Yes.
      
    • Uji: Are you going to make the Edgelords... Edgier?

• Alaisy asks a few,

  • When would be a good time to jump into the Clan's fictional story? I'm learning and reading a lot about it every day. That's plenty of backtracking for a fresh JM, such as doing SA writing courses, reading through old reports and having a look at the Discourse forums (still got no idea how to get started on anything forum related)
    
    • Kord: The best time is now, always, anytime! You’ll have an opportunity to become directly involved with the story come March, and plenty of folks are ready to help fill the gaps as we update the Discourse threads.
      
    • Uji: I’m always happy to answer any questions concerning content I know of (last 5-6 years + the bits I’ve picked up along the way). Reading a Clan history can be… droll at times, I always preferred learning about events and things that went down via our older members. Most of the Clan history I know came from Dash, Cethgus and a few others.
  • And what would be the best way to go about it? I understand that my character doesn't need to know the entire history of it all, but for example I've avoided doing most of the fiction in "Shadow Port in Shambles" or the "Capital Enterprises Raid" competitions because I wouldn't really know how to write it out.
    
    • Kord: Never be afraid to ask for specifics, examples, or to run concepts by your fellow Arconans. We’re very big on helping one another with these things, it’s one of the reasons we do so well.
      
    • Uji: I agree entirely.

• Alara asks,

  • Why do my professors complain that I write too much?? Has the DJB expanded my capability for word count??
    
    • Kord: They fear you, obviously.
      
    • Uji: They see their own weakness revealed by your actions.

• Satsi asks a few,

  • How are Kord and Uji working together? What about Uji and the rest of the summit?
    
    • Kord: Kord asked for help and is getting it. What happens in the throne room….stays in the throne room. Cough.
      
    • Uji: You’ll see some of this addressed in the upcoming March event, not everyone is thrilled by Uji’s return to the Summit. How that is addressed over time will be remain to be seen.
  • How do you feel about the DC?
    
    • Kord: Untrusting, wary. They have agendas and aren’t very concerned with how Arcona’s survival or growth fits into them.
      
    • Uji: They have a need for us, we have a need for them. It’s just politics from that point, it’s our history and it will be our future as part of the Brotherhood.
  • How's family life for each?
    
    • Kord: Work in progress.
    • Uji: Agreed.
  • Less IC, what are each of your thoughts for Arcona2019? What do you consider the Clan's strengths culturally? Its weaknesses?
    
    • Kord: I think things are looking up, our strength is in our ability to work together when we communicate and coordinate, our weakness is our failure to communicate enough.
    • Uji: We like to talk a lot, which is good but at times that’s all we do. I’m as prone to it as anyone else is.

• Tali asks a few,

  • Who's the top (log)?
    
    • Kord: Well, he’s the only Log…
      
  • When you get ousted from the Citadel, will it be: A) by throwing the log on the fire and taking the back door off planet? B) Being clobbered over the head by a sizeable piece of hardwood? C) Spin the log like a wheel beneath you as Benny Hill music plays and you knock over your would-be assassin's like bowling pins?
    
    • Kord: D) Absconding with the treasury and going to start a nice bakery in a quiet Outer Rim world, never to be seen again.
      
    • Uji: Why abscond with the entire treasury and draw that much attention to yourself? Just let me know when you’re ready, we generate a stipend for your business and you live comfortably in obscurity.
  • Failing to get pants, can your Proconsul offer at least a fig leaf, or pine needle?
    
    • Kord: hisses again
      
    • Uji: Can you imagine how much time a Sloth would take to put pants on? We’re lucky we get something out of him as it is.
  • Do Houses get their own assets to play with at some point?
    
    • Kord: Funny you should ask.
      
    • Uji: I’m beginning to feel like certain members of our Summit talked about upcoming items.

Final Thoughts

It’s with mixed feelings that I reviewed our activity numbers this month, though I suspect next month will see more robust values. I have faith in all of you kicking butt and showing off Arcona’s strengths. Keep your eyes open for the coming of March and the event that shall be running throughout it!