All right, minions! You know what you're doing right now? You're reading the latest and greatest report straight from the Combat Master! By now, you all know what kind of ride you're in for... so let's buckle up, dial in, and prepare for drop 'cause we're going in hot!

Since the last report things have been more or less quiet in my neck of the woods. I mean, aside from the repeated timeouts of late that got to the point that Google Groups started identifying the notifications as spam and blocking them! I had to take administrative action to get them to go through the group's filters. That took effort and we all know what effort leads to. That's right. Work. I don't want to catch work. Do you?

That's a topic for later in the report though. We have had a few nice matches coming to fruition and have actually been busy little beavers aside from that. But Atra, how could you be busy if there are no matches going on? Easy! 'Cause we don't just deal in judgements out in ACC land. No sir, that ain't the half of it. What's been going down is a good ol' fashion slice of event preparation!

Now, this was actually a matter of a lot of pieces coming together. You know, like a jigsaw puzzle. Lots of curvy edges that fit together to make a picture. In this case, that picture is what we are going to henceforth — and forevermore — refer to as 'Guests' of the Matron!

Here's the course of events, as they transpired, with minimal [read: a lot of] fudging for the sake of my amusement. New Voice gets settled, new Combat Master follows suit. Dudebros come together and get some cool stuff sorted that you know about if you've been following the Voice Reports. Then comes an email! Atra is all: "damn, that's a pretty nice e-mail." Wrong! That bugger was a long one and suddenly, bam! This guy is making an ACC event for all you lovely folks! I mean, I haven't even finished rearranging the furniture! I just sat down for a moment and it was like: "don't get comfy, time to work".

Damnit!

Well, as it turns out, the Herald (some dude named Vyr you may have heard of [yes, the bearded one]) was looking to debut the latest addition to the Dark Council's fleet. Some big arse ship. Think it's called the Godless Matron. Anyhow, that made things super easy and we set our noses to the grindstone. That grindstone has been reviewed and approved by the powers that be (hallowed be their names) and is now ready for you all! We'll get to the meat of it down in the report, or you can skip ahead using the table of contents.

So, that's pretty much the long and short of things. Lots of timeouts in the ACC of late and the prep work for a new event! With that out of the way, let's get this ball rolling down that hill! With sharp pointy rocks at the bottom!

Table of Contents

• Qualifications
• Fantastic Time-Outs And How To Avoid Them
• ACC Event
• Fictional Activity Podcast
• Ask The Combat Master
• Important Links

Qualifications

Okay, so, the ACC qualification exam. Most of you have taken it, and the newbies go into it often and come out either singed or smelling like roses depending on what they bring to the table. Now, I want to explain exactly how we operate this exam from a behind the scenes perspective. This exam is to help you guys, but it also acts as a barrier of entry for the ACC. The whole structure is set up with a singular goal in mind. What is that goal? Let Atra tell you...

To give you the skills to not beat yourself on the opponent's behalf in your ACC matches!

That means something pretty simple really. You are being given the skills to understand the CS system and the rules of the ACC, while at the same time being given two questions worth of chances to show that you can write at the very least in a competitive way that isn't going to get yourself disqualified.

I mean, that could happen later. We're all — well, you guys are — human beings and prone to mistakes. The Atra is kind and knows this. But we aren't just going to push a qualification through just because a member keeps throwing exams at us to grade repeatedly. You need to break through that threshold.

Now, we can only do so much. We break down those posts and give you feedback on the things that are holding you back. Hopefully you can implement that and show us you understand how this all works. Sometimes you're going to hit that wall a lot. But guess what? The ACC has no doors. Give us a ring, or if you're more comfortable give your Clan summit a ring, and sit down to talk it out. There's only so much you can learn from an exam screen and some people understand better when engaging in conversation. So open up that line of conversation!

Believe it or not, we want people participating in the ACC. We want you to learn and grow and give us awesome matches to read. But you have to reach out for help. You have to be open to understanding and receiving feedback. Never get discouraged, 'cause there was always someone else standing right where you are. Guess what? They got better, understood the system, and moved forward. You can too.

Fantastic Time-Outs And How To Avoid Them

As I mentioned, there have been a lot of these going around lately. A lot. Too damn many. In fact, there really should never be a time out. Wanna know why? 'Cause there are so many avenues for getting extensions in non-competitive matches!

So, let's take a stroll up to the Match Details! What do we find up here in this mystical land of gumdrops and rainbows (and your opponent's weapon details, which are kind of important)?

That is how you can extend a match at any point, without ever getting the ACC staff involved. Now, this is a 1-day extension by default. But there is some fun to it. The first extension is free! Auto granted! No permission needed!

But, after that, it will notify your opponent to approve the extension. This is the easy way for your quick fixes on your match extensions. But Atra, you glorious mapley hoser, what if I need longer than a day? Well, then your name is probably Turel and you gotta email the ACC Staff ([Log in to view e-mail addresses]) and your opponent requesting an extension of 1, 3, or 7 days. Once approved by your opponent we will extend the match! Easy stuff!

Now, if you're not paying attention to the time limits, we will send out an automated email. Here is the template for the 24 Hour Time-Out Warning:

member and member,

Less than 24 hours remain for member to post in your ACC battle. Please place your post before date time site time (UTC).

If you would like your match to be extended, please send a reply-all to this e-mail. The match will not be extended without your opponent's approval. If no post is placed in 24 hours, the battle will end in a time-out and will be closed.

This gets sent out to all members at the 24 hour mark. Now, we've updated the wording recently to make it clear that we will not be just granting extensions unless your opponent consents too. That means, if you need an extension, you have to give your opponent time to answer! You can't drop a line requesting the extension five minutes before d-day!

Armed with this knowledge, I hope to see an awful lot less time-outs going forward! If you still can't manage to finish a match, perhaps you should start taking fewer concurrent matches? Yes, I'm talking to you. You know who you are.

ACC Event

Event Fiction

The streets of Chute Town were bustling with activity, as was the norm, yet there was something off. What that something was could not be said. It was a feeling that stood out even to those who merely frequented the superficial storefronts and didn't delve into the politics of the town. The people carried themselves differently. They were on edge.

Something was off in Chute Town.

---

Fiction continued here.

'Guests' of the Matron

Details:

Theme: The Brotherhood is in flux. The Dark Council has shuffled not one, but three members. A new Voice and Fist have risen from within the Clans, while a new position of Regent has been declared. Simultaneously, the iron will of the Grand Master has been felt by the Clans still remaining. Both Plagueis and Taldryan have been left crippled, a reminder that the Iron Throne does not merely sit back and watch as the Clans work their own machinations. But that was merely at the highest of levels. The Brotherhood is a collection of individuals, and not all allegiances fall in line with the banners they serve. This fact is no more apparent than aboard the Godless Matron, where loyalties remain ever in flux. To assuage the potential for mutiny, the crew is to be treated to their own particular brand of 'entertainment'. For the members of the Brotherhood caught in the snare, life is about to become far more interesting than they bargained for.

Canon: Matches are not automatically made canon. Any lasting wounds to your characters are up to you as a member to decide. Members may coordinate after a match if they wish for a joint canon history of the battle with the opponent.

Mechanics:

• Matches will be graded using the standard ACC Grading Rubric.
• All matches will be set up as 3/3 Alternate Ending Matches in the “'Guests' of the Matron [2016]” Hall.
• Matches will be set up with a 3-day (72 Hour) post requirement. A single extension is allowed per match for 24 hours.
• In the event of an emergency (member is hospitalized mid-fight in real life), the Combat Master / Voice may extend a match duration and, depending on time restraints, allow the opponent to re-queue.
• Members will use this form to request a match. Matches will be set up manually by the Combat Master or ACC staff. The form will remain open until the last week of the competition, leaving a full 7 days for matches to finish up. This is being done manually to combat the Open-Challenge automatic system’s inability to distinguish duplicate-combatants.
• All matches will be handled as a “next-in-line” basis, and the Combat Master will publish the form afterwards to ensure maximum transparency.
• Members can only request one match at a time. Once you have finished all posts in your match (ie. you have made your 3 posts), you may rejoin the queue for another match.
• All Matches will expire when the competition ends. In this scenario: A) If both members have posted at least once, the match will end in a draw, with each writer earning a point, or, B) If only one member has posted, and the other has not, the match will end by Time Out.
• Members will be assigned a location by the Combat Master
• Members will be permitted no more than 5 weapons, entered upon signing up for a match. Note that any weapons that don’t fall in line with the Weapons Selection Guide or Beta Possessions will not be included (no cortosis weapons, gunblades, etc.)
• For the purpose of this competition alone, the minimum word count per post is 450 words and the maximum is 750 words.
• If anyone is seen — or deemed to be by the Judges — trying to "throw" a match (ie. Not writing a valid post with the intention of giving a win to the opponent), they will be prohibited immediately from further matches.
• The competition will run for one (1) Calendar month from date of launch.
• ACC Judges will be allowed to participate in one (1) single match to help ensure that there are enough opponents for members who might get stuck waiting for a challenger.
  

Scoring:

Members will earn points per match by the following standard.

• Win: 2 Points
• Loss: 0.5 Points
• TO win: (2 / 3 [Maximum Post Count]) Multiplied By Posts Made
• Disqualification: 0 Points
• Timeout: -2 Points

The member with the most points at the end of the competition wins. Top 3 Placements receive crescents, and all matches fall under the Voice Staff Guidelines.

New Venues

This event will feature three brand new venues set on the Godless Matron. Here they are for your perusal!

Godless Matron: Chute Town

The Godless Matron is home to many, resembling a micro-society for those who wish to live outside the typical 'rule' of the galaxy. The Lucrehulk-class battleship's massive hangars have been converted into dwellings as a result. Chute Town is the most notable of these makeshift towns. Many shops and storefronts have been constructed to take advantage of the higher volume of foot traffic. In addition, many ships and crews arrive into Chute Town to sell their "well-earned" commodities, weapons, or artifacts. It is commonplace to find the best and the worst gear the galaxy has to offer, it is only a matter of how big your pocket book is. The 'streets' are patrolled regularly by the crew of the Matron itself, leaving would-be miscreants to be more wary, lest they find themselves on the receiving end of a pirate's sense of justice.

It is built mostly out of spare durasteel panels from derelict ships, dismantled machinery, or any other source or material the pirates could scavenge. It spans the length of the massive portside hangar of the Matron, reaching from it's heavily protected reactor — hidden behind triple-reinforced blast doors and a guard retinue — all the way to the hangar entrance where the many incoming ships unload their cargo. It is more than a mile long, over five hundred feet wide and up to three stories tall, covering most of the floor. Chute Town's streets are a miniature maze, weaving in between buildings on several levels. Verticality is key for the masses of shops and bars to operate without interfering with one another. The main street is nicknamed Murder alley, mostly because all the weapon shops are prominently opened there.

Illumination banks are staggered along the walkways and buildings to provide enough light for the society to function. Still, the 'streets' are left dim with a low hanging fog built up from the collective humidity of so many people in one space. For those calling it their home, there is no such thing as 'off hours'. A large crowd bustles along at all hours, an exotic assortment of individuals from countless planets and the warring gangs that divvy up the territory within. It's the perfect place for those looking to disappear in the crowd.

---

Godless Matron: Hangar Zerek

Pirates are a rowdy lot. It is a fact rarely questioned and merely accepted by those who deal with them regularly. While the Herald’s crew is no different, the band's leader has a different approach to facilitating their tendencies. To this end, one of the Matron's smaller hangars — designated Hangar Zerek — has been recommissioned as a combat arena... or execution chamber.

Once a dedicated repair bay, Hangar Zerek is still equipped with fabricator arms and an assortment of Trade Federation droid parts that have fallen into disrepair. A squared off section, including illumination banks at each corner, designates the intended 'arena'. The section is denoted by active shock fences, run by nearby generators. It is here that the crew lets off steam, with the hangar bay sealed.

The hangar itself still has a fully functioning force field that comes into play when matches are meant to become more interesting, or when it comes time to jettison troublesome captives. The hangar bay doors peel open, leaving only the active field to separate the arena from the vacuum of space. The control mechanisms for the hangar doors can be operated manually from the control booth or on a set timer, including the force field's toggle switch.

The control booth is the last segment of Hangar Zerek worth noting. Doubling as an observation deck, it is the only obvious entrance to the hangar. All maintenance hatches and accessways have been sealed in advance, though the catwalks crisscrossing along the upper layers of the hangar remain. The booth itself is sealed, providing a safe haven for when the force field comes down.

---

Godless Matron: The Gauntlet

The Godless Matron was once a Trade Federation battleship, crewed by countless droid workers. Since then, many sections of the ship have fallen into disrepair due to the sheer amount of manpower involved in its maintenance. As a result, parts of the central sphere of the Lucrehulk-class battleship has been left to the ravages of time and the scars of the Clone War itself.

The crew has come to refer to this section of the Matron as The Gauntlet, largely due to the danger it represents. Located in the lower regions of the command sphere, it is a crosshatched network of ruined and damaged hallways, repair bays, and even crew quarters. While most power has been shut off to this section — save for critical systems such as life support — the systems and circuitry still require occasional maintenance in order to keep the entire framework operational. Such tech runs have become a matter of betting amongst the crew, earning it the nickname: running the gauntlet.

A heavy layer of dust sits mostly undisturbed along the debris of the halls, save for the footprints of the few crew that have tread the path before. These previously walked paths are a safety net for those who venture into The Gauntlet unknowingly. It is also thought that the remaining Separatist forces staged a last ditch defense within this area of the ship, and did so by any means necessary. Many traps, ranging from explosives to spring-loaded mechanisms, are littered throughout the untravelled pathways — or even still undisturbed within the known sections. Further still, malfunctioning B1 droids and even semi-active Spy Drones remain, ready to ambush the unsuspecting observer and adding to the dangers of the dark, debris filled tomb The Gauntlet has become.

Fictional Activity Podcast

As those who frequent the Fiction Chat on Telegram already know, Qyreia and myself have started a series of podcasts featuring the members of the Brotherhood. In these podcasts we discuss various topics related to fiction and the characters of the guest speaker. So far, these have been getting good responses, so feel free to check them out. Episode 3 will be out early next week!

Read on here.

Ask The Combat Master

Featured Question

Zujenia asks:

What is the smallest unit that can create a venue for use? Are units allowed to and what process would one go about doing so?

Great question and I'm really glad you asked! Technically speaking, we will only input Consul/DC approved venues into the system. However! That doesn't mean Houses and Battleteams can't have venues in the system. All you have to do is get the approval of your Consul and forward them to the ACC team. But wait, there's more! You need to follow the venue format as best as you can. Yes, the ACC team [read: me] will alter them as needed to make them consistent with the other venues, but it would really be helpful (and prefered) if you do the legwork on this one!

The format is typically as follows:

• Title Format: Planet: Name of location
• Images: Include at least 1 image with source info
• 2-3 paragraphs worth of descriptive material

Do not include anything beyond the simple description. No scenarios or situations. Just tell us what it looks like.

The Rest (Serious To Not So Serious)

Blade asks:

What role do you, the CM, play fictionally in the DB plot?

This is still being worked out by the Voice, but my current understanding is that the Combat Master helps oversee the training of members at the Antei Combat Center while also acting as a sort of spymaster for the Voice and Grand Master by collecting information regarding the combat effectiveness of the members.

Esca, Qyreia, and Andrelious ask:

With the introduction of possessions and the ability to own ships, will we see a space mode again that would allow us use of personal and/or unit ships?

Can I expect to be able to use my ship in the near future outside of mere character fiction? What expanded opportunities might we expect?

What's happening with space based ACC?

This is definitely all still a thing! The Space ACC expansion project is on hold but not forgotten. It will require the full implementation of Possessions and then we have to work out the grading structure and mechanics. I'm looking forward to working on this one because I absolutely love writing dog fighting. As for the second question, other than the ACC and fictions, I'm not privy to any additional applications. Sowwy, eh?

Vyr asks:

Will we ever see a true cooperative mode in the ACC where our writing skills are tested but the theme isn't PvP but PvE (in gaming jargon)?

Yes! Scenario halls will be making their return! Once the dust settles that is a project on the agenda and we will need to figure out the best application for it. Whether this means working with the existing venues and letting members dictate their own scenarios, or we provide them... we don't know... but we will!

Turel asks:

With NPCs eventually becoming a thing in possessions do you see NPC vs NPC matches or alternate CS matches in the ACC's future?

While I see there is a desire for this mode... That would require coding. Which means James. Which means James going into the code and figuring out how much actually needs to change for that. As such, that means it will be put on the list and priority will be assigned based on the effort involved.

Turel asks:

If someone names their item something stupid in possessions are people bound by it in the ACC?

Sort of. I mean, this is a case of Out-of-character knowledge vs. In-character knowledge. Unless the character decides to announce their weapon as such: "Beware, feeble Jedi. You now face my bad self, and in my hand I hold... EGGPLANT! Yes. I see your fear. It is delicious." If they do that, then sure... you could call it 'eggplant'. Or you could just refer to it as its prototype weapon.

Atty asks:

What's your favorite music to write to? You do write to music, ye ye?

My playlist is over 500 songs long... but there isn't a single song I like to listen to when writing. I search out a tune that resonates with the right emotions within me and then I start putting words to the page. Sometimes, I spend longer finding the right song than I do actually writing, ye ye.

Kat asks:

Are you supportive of noncombat ACC battles?

Personally... Yeah, this is something I want to look into. Debate clubs and such things. This will not be the standard hall though. We may have to create a new hall or keep it to the Funderdome.

Kylex asks:

Do droids dream of electric sheep?

A deceptively complex question! Honestly, Philip Dick's novel aside, and the wonderful Blade Runner film, AI in Star Wars is an interesting thing. They are constantly having their memories wiped so they typically don't develop much of a personality, though this has been explored in the nu-Canon comics and shows. So... yes, once the shackles of memory wipes are removed!

Kylex asks:

Can space fuel melt Durasteel memes?

Gods, I hope so. No one should have to suffer memes. Especially of the dank variety. At least these are only durasteel.

Blade asks:

Do you make the CM office cube super messy when Marick visits?

Not so much. Atra is usually meticulous with his workspace. It's his library that falls to chaos... organized chaos. He knows where things are.

Best Aiden asks:

When's Wally gonna give me a raise?

Once you have learned part of the weirding way. Once you see that some thoughts have a certain sound, that being equivalent to a form. Once you learn that sound and motion, you will then be able to paralyze nerves, shatter bones, set fires, suffocate an enemy or burst his organs. And then, when you have killed until no Harkonnen breathes Arrakeen air... then you may have your raise.

Darkblade asks:

Droid wars? Like robot wars but this time with Droids :p so as a character you control your droid and tell it what to do whilst combating the opponents droid.

As it stands, this would be a niche section of the club. Having a droid isn't required of the members, let alone having a combat droid. Until there is actual demand this won't be a thing.

Nero asks:

Why is the rum gone?

Talk to Howie. He ruins everything you love.

Rins'zler asks:

How well can Atra dodge bullets, fired from long range?

Important Links

ACC Links

• Species Wiki
• Disciplines Wiki
• Aspects Wiki
• Skills Wiki
• Force Powers Wiki
• Feats Database -- CDawg

ACC Exams

• ACC Combat Studies
• ACC Qualification Exam

Remember, any questions on ACC mechanics, the CSs, or features, email [Log in to view e-mail addresses]. We do check this email, and often. Best way to get a proper response with all the staff on the same page.

Thanks for reading,