Okay folks, this is a quick and dirty one but full of necessary information. You don't come to my reports to hear me talk so I'll just give you the down and dirty scoop as much as I can! First off, though, I really want to draw attention to the ACC activity of late. Since adding the Cooperative Hall we've had an increase in ongoing matches. Now, obviously, not all of them are finishing out but hey... people are trying!

This is great, and I really want to see this keep going. I want you all comfortable with the ACC and ready when it comes time for the next Great Jedi War 'cause I'll be damned if we don't see some awesome action up in here! Get in what practice you can in the meantime, it only serves to help you. Plus you get Clusters out of it and club activity. That translates into awards and promotions! Do the things!

So, here's the brief synopsis of what's coming at you in this report. First off, we've been making small changes to the Force Powers and Skill system the past several months—which I already reported on—but then came to the bigger stuff that needed approval from a higher pay grade. The highest pay grade, if you will. We have garnered that approval and come to you now with a set of changes, removals, and additions to some Force Powers, Skills, and Feats! After that, I get to tease an upcoming competition series that could be relevant to the interest of some of you. Also, there's a report fiction stuck in here somewhere!

So, as always, let's do this! Drop is go!

Table of Contents

1. Sitreps to Come
2. System Changes
3. Engaging the Members
4. Important Links

Sitreps to Come

<Location Redacted>

Shadows hung heavily within the Combat Master's quarters. At a cursory glance one might have assumed it to be empty. However, that was far from the truth. A pale, blue glow carved into the shadows from the corner, originating from the holoprojector built into the sturdy, durasteel desk located there. A quiet creek echoed through the sparsely furnished room as the large Umbaran leaned back from the image, his arms folded across his chest as he did so. Atra let out an exasperated sigh while his right hand rose to pinch the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb.

Click here to continue reading...

So, first off, this is the first and last of my non-event driven narratives that will feature Atra in any way. Obviously, as with the Matron event, major occurrences will have the Combat Master's presence. That's not what I want for the ongoing experience though. So, I will be creating a Situation Report series that will feature a different active member each monthly report. To do these, I will be defining active members not by wins in the ACC, but all around activity. Participating in matches and notably discussing the ACC or Fictions in general. (I shall be watching the chats! Bwahahahaha)

I will reach out to the selected members and work with them to create a canon "operation" that they are involved in, and the fiction will be a report on that event. The logic for this is to encourage members to participate and to try and reduce the number of cases where members feel like they aren't noticed outside their Battleteams, Houses, Clans, what have you.

System Changes

Okay, this is why you came to this report. You probably even clicked the Table of Contents link to jump right here. Who cares about the other info, right? I get you. This is the meat of the sandwich and the rest? That's just the bun. The delicious, garlic buttered and toasted bun.

Please note that some of these changes will affect your current Character Sheets if you are using them, or were using them, so please review afterwards.

Deflection

Changes:

This power no longer exists within our system. That's right! By the time you read this, it is already gone. Kaput. The reasoning here is pretty straightforward, in the sense that Barrier and Deflection had more overlap than any Force Power in the system should have. The only real difference was that you could modify Deflection to let you send Force Lightning back at people and it was a touch better at dealing with energy attacks than Barrier was. So then, what's the point in having it? Exactly, friends. There is no point. And yet, it is not gone entirely! It lives on in the form of a newly added Feat while Bounce It has been reworked.

Feats:

Energy Dispersion - Access Level: JM4

{{member}} has developed a talent for dispersing any energy attack blocked with Barrier. This ability causes the energy to be absorbed and spread out, as opposed to bluntly obstructing it, which allows the user to withstand several more energy attacks than they would otherwise.

Bounce It - Access Level: EQ3 (formerly EQ1)

{{member}} has developed a talent for being able to redirect Force Lightning dispersed with Barrier. This ability involves bouncing the attack back at the original sender, or even at another target all together while also strengthening the potency of the attack.

Mind Trick

Changes:

So, Rebels has been the gift that keeps on giving in terms of Canon. Here we have the demonstration of Darth Maul manipulating memories and reading them, making this a more common ability than just Kylo Ren doing it in The Force Awakens. As such, we've altered the base description of Mind Trick to include this function. You may ask, "But Atra, what happens to the Seeker's interrogation Feat?" That's a good question and I'm glad you asked it. Nothing happens. As it is worded now, they are different things. A Seeker is essentially able to torture someone with emotions in order to get what they want. They are the extreme end of this ability and far more skilled than someone with just Mind Trick.

The other gift of Rebels is that we get to see Ezra, a young Jedi in his own right, completely dominate the mind of a stormtrooper. Not only did he cause this victim to kill all his friends, he made him walk off the edge of the platform and fall to his death. So... we've addressed this.

The new text for Mind Trick is as follows:

The '''Mind Trick''' is one of the most famous uses of the Force in that it gives the Jedi the ability to directly affect the mind of another sentient being. The memories, thoughts, and opinions of a target are left open to the user's machinations and can be manipulated temporarily. This allows for the target to be more easily swayed or nudged in the direction the user desires, even forcing them into unconsciousness if strong enough. It also allows for memories to be probed and even implanted, or opinions to be altered. Unlike ''[[Skills#Manipulation|Manipulation]]'' or ''[[Skills#Interrogation|Interrogation]]'', this ability is instantaneous and thus can be useful in combat or other real-time scenarios. With greater training it becomes easier for a Jedi to influence a target, but even Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi used a hand gesture as a focus to execute the '''Mind Trick'''.

Feats:

Puppet Master - Access Level: JM4 (formerly EQ1)

{{member}} has developed {{gender:his,her}} Mind Trick to a point where it is no longer simply used to trick the mind, but control it as well. If a sentient allows {{member}} access, {{gender:he,she}} is able to control that sentient directly, although this will leave {{member}} defenseless for the duration of the control. {{member}} may break this ability at any time, but may take no other actions or movements in {{gender:his,her}} own body during this period. {{gender:His,Her}} target may also voluntarily end this effect at any point, depending on their Resolve.

Dominate Mind - Access Level: EQ2

{{member}} has foregone with the typical subtle application of Mind Trick. Instead of merely influencing the mind of another, {{gender:he,she}} can attain control of the physical actions of a target while maintaining complete concentration. This ability supersedes the will of a sentient, enabling the user to force their target into committing acts that directly contradict their allegiances and even their sense of self-preservation. The effectiveness of this control is dependent on the Resolve of the target, becoming even more difficult when used on unwilling sentients.

Precognition

Changes:

This one is just a quality of life change really, and nothing more. A quick clarification of wording to limit Precognition to only perceive "immediate danger" instead of being a walking prophet. This will clear up some member confusion.

'''Precognition''' is the Jedi’s ability to perceive and anticipate immediate danger to themself through the Force that enters their sphere of awareness — which is a fancy way of saying the space around the immediate person. This power often manifests itself in the form of gut intuition to dodge an incoming attack from behind, or a slight nudge or “voice” advising them to duck under a blaster bolt that would have otherwise split their forehead.

Resolve

Changes:

This continues to be the most misunderstood ability in the system. We would like to take this opportunity to cast the blame on the old functionality where it was a catch all "ha ha you can't mess with me" skill in the system. While that certainly was a contributing factor, when coupled with keeping the same name while changing its application, it isn't the only one. So, we have further clarified the wording of this Skill to avoid confusion.

''Resolve'' is your character's willpower and their ability to handle stress, keep a level head, and stand firm in the face of danger. It is also your character's mental resilience against both skills and the effects of Force-based intrusions of the mind such as ''[[Skills#Intimidation|Intimidation]]'', '''[[Force Powers#Mind Trick|Mind Trick]]''', '''[[Force Powers#Illusion|Illusion]]''', '''[[Force Powers#Terror|Terror]]''', and '''[[Disciplines#Feats 2|Force Interrogation]]'''. The higher a character’s ''Resolve'' is, relative to an attack/threat Skill or Force Power, the less effective the attack's result is in conjunction with that character's skills. Only in the scenario of an extreme disparity in ability could ''Resolve'' outright prevent the onset of an ability.

That Thing From The Movie Where He Does The Thing

Changes:

Yeah, we all saw it too. Kylo Ren totally made a blaster bolt just hover in mid-air back in the opening of The Force Awakens. Apologies for the delay, but we finally settled on an approach that we feel is balanced in regards to this ability. It is a Feat that will affect Telekinesis.

Plasma Lock - Access Level: EQ3

{{member}} has studied the nuances involved in even the most complex application of Telekinesis. As such, {{gender:he,she}} is able to devote partial concentration to locking a single plasma-based projectile in place. The bolt will remain stationary, suspended mid-motion, until {{member}} releases it or loses concentration. Once free, the projectile will continue on its original path.

All these changes have been made live by the time you've finished reading this, so have some fun!

Engaging the Members

Here's the thing I noticed to myself between the last round of judge apps and this most recent one. We aren't correctly preparing members for what it will be like to be a judge. Members don't know what work is involved and thus will either not apply because they don't think they are positioned right for the job or apply regardless. That's not a great position to be in. We want people to not only know what they're getting into, but have a firm idea of what is needed from them.

In the interest of making the life of myself and all future Combat Master's far easier, I will be working out the logistics for a new competitive series. Essentially, mock judgements. That's right! As soon as I have a fair and defined methodology in place for grading such a competition, you will be seeing a monthly event where you—the members—get to put on the judge hat instead of being the one judged! These competitions will consist of pre-prepared posts (only 2, so think of it as a 1+1 format match) and your submissions will be a judgement based on the ACC Grading Rubric that the judges all use.

Hopefully, this will be useful to all members interested in taking a role in the ACC at some point when spots become available. This, when coupled with the Creative Writing Workshops will create a sort of pincer strike of learning! We gonna hammer some knowledge into y'all—gently—and get everyone to the place they want to be in terms of not just ACC but Fiction too.

We live in exciting times.

Important Links

ACC Links

• Character Sheet FAQ
• 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,