This was supposed to just be an update, but now I guess it’s a report. Oops.

GMIT - Round III Conclusion

Round III of the Grand Master’s Invitational Tournament has concluded. Congratulations go to Turel and Timeros on making it to the Final Round. The matches will be posted sometime this week, accompanied with a newspost that contains the introduction fiction and some more information about the Finals. Keep an eye out for that, but in the meantime you can see the battles here.

I want to take a second to thank everyone who has participated in this Tournament. I also want to thank them for their patience with the grading — Mav and I have spent hours going back and forth with each match, each of us doing multiple read-throughs of each match and aggressively averaging our points against one another to create the final verdict.

We’re learning a lot about the new direction the ACC has gone from the past. I’ve also gotten the cool chance to learn things about each of your characters. It has been a pleasure reading these matches and seeing how you guys handle different situations. The obstacles that were created by the writers exceeded anything I had originally dreamed up — in a good way! A lot of creative energy which I love to see.

In closing, make sure you compliment and pat your friends and Clannmates that participated in the Tournament on the back. ACCing takes a lot of work. It is also the only event in the Brotherhood where you are directly told not just that you lost, but are given a detailed breakdown of how you lost. It sucks, and I’ve been on that side of the fence more tiimes than I’d like to admit.

That said, everything works towards the betterment of the ACC as a platform, and towards making it a more fun activity we can make available to our members. Thanks, everyone.

Outside of the Tournament, the ACC has really been picking up. We are seeing more matches being completed and a healthy stream of both new and old members taking the new ACC Qualification. As a result of this, and evaluating the ACC Staff through the holiday season, I have a few announcements I’m going to make.

Vivakus Resigns

Vivakus has stepped down from ACC Judging due to real life time constraints. I want to thank Viv for all the amazing work he’s done as a member of my staff. His hard work has earned him a promotion and a few merits, and I am eternally grateful for the time he spent helping improve the ACC. Thank you, Viv.

Now Hiring: ACC Judge

That said, I’m looking to bring in another ACC Judge to join my staff. Here is a breakdown of an ACC Judge’s responsibilities:

Responsibilities

• Grading ACC Matches
• Grading ACC Qualification Exams
• Keeping up to date with the ACC Rubric, Guideline, and Policy adjustments.
• Assisting the Combat Master with projects.
• Contribute input to discussions on the CS Mechanics, additions, and revisions.

Here is what I am looking for in an ACC Judge:

Required Qualifications

• ACC Qualified
• Passed (100%): ACC Combat Studies Exam
• Strong command of English language, writing and grammar — feel free to submit sample writing.

Recommended

• Experience as a proofreader
• Keen eye and attention to details.
• Experience with the ACC since it has been re-opened — Feel free submit sample matches.

For this hiring, I am specifically interested in members that do not hold a position above Aedile or Rollmaster in the Brotherhood (QUA+). I am setting this expectation because I’m looking for someone that can have their full focus on the day-to-day ACC needs. If you think you have the time, however, and are still interested, feel free to apply. I just wanted to be as transparent as possible with what I’m looking at. I will also look to hire members that have not previously served as an ACC Judge since the ACC was re-opened, as I would like fresh eyes.

New Judges will go through the same training that all previous judges have:

• You will co-grade 2 matches with the Combat Master.
• You will co-grade 2 ACC Qualification Exams with the Combat Master.

After this point, you will be a regular staffed Judge and able to grab Matches and Exams as they pop up in the queue.

Why be an ACC Judge?

ACC Judging counts as a form of leadership in the Brotherhood. You are providing in-depth feedback to members about their writing, and on Qualification Exams you are working to ensure that members are learning the intricacies of the system we use as a platform for activity. If you haven’t had luck as a unit leader for various reasons, this is another great chance to give back to the Brotherhood community. Aside from that, you are getting to be an active part of the development of Character Sheet mechanics.

Please send all applications to [Log in to view e-mail addresses].

Applications will run for one week (2/2/16), but I reserve the right to close them early if I find what I’m looking for beforehand. Any questions, let me know.

Thank you.

I will have more info on these in my upcoming report. I’m juggling real life and focused on finishing the Tournament, but I am working in the background on projects still. Things to keep in mind with anything I’m working on:

1.) While I am a member of the Voice Staff, I am auxiliary to the tasks they handle on a daily basis: Cluster of Ice processing, Character Sheet remands/approvals, and other development projects. I help out from time to time when I can, which is why you’ll still see me show up in CS remands or approvals. However, I still operate to the left of and just under Evant. This means that anything I create/do gets passed up for review/approval by Evant. It often then goes up one more to Mav/Sarin. My job on projects is to organize, plan, revise and then execute once approval is given. In short? I just work here. Please keep this in mind when “discussing” policy/mechanics/changes with me. Thanks :)

2.) When making decisions, we collectively pull from multiple sources, most of them the “new” canon. This means that our go-to’s will usually be the Star Wars cinematic universe (including the latest version with The Force Awakens) as well as the Visual Dictionary, Novelization, and new comics/books that are coming out under the Lucas Storygroup vision.

3.) This means that we can say no to something one week, and then a week later a comic will come out that changes that answer. Evant, Sarin, Mav, and I are all huge Star Wars nerds and consume most of this information the same way you guys do. So, we love seeing both new things and old things showing up, but I have been detecting a bit of “hah, you were wrong!” from general membership which is a bit rough on the people who have basically volunteered to actively adapt and tweak a system. And just because something becomes Canon doesn’t mean we need to drop our pants and make a lightning-change to existing policy. So be patient, and keep an open mind. Thanks :D

More Non-Force User (NFUs) Disciplines

• I have outlines drafted for these, and it’s going through the usual process of editing/revising/tweaking that go into creating new Disciplines. This will cover characters like Han Solo, Poe Dameron, and Rey (pre-Awakening).

ACC Space

• First Draft has been read and commented on. Wally has left notes for the team, and will be taking a more active role once the Tournament concludes and in outlining more specifics to keep this project going. Work in progress.

Martial Arts Guide

• Pending Wally proofing/action. Work in progress.

Wiki Visual Buffs

• Ongoing request for anyone with Wiki table/style experience that wants to enhance existing articles with tables, templates, or images. Send an email to [Log in to view e-mail addresses] if you’re interested.

• A great example of this was Celahir’s Flow Chart he created for Lightsaber forms. Check it.

Post-The Force Awakens Tweaks

• Soon (TM). This includes things like freezing blaster bolts midair and how Telepathy/Force Interrogation and mind probing with the Force works.

Canon Character Sheets.

I am building Character Sheets for canon characters for members to reference. My first one is FN-2187, aka Finn and—

Thank you, TR-8R... (who is actually FN-2199 aka "Nines". He apparently served as a squad-mate to Finn, which makes more sense as to why he felt so betrayed!)

Anyway, check out the Character Sheet, and see how I broke down the character we meet on screen into the DB system. I also pulled heavily from The Visual Dictionary and my notes from reading the novelization of Episode 7.

The next Character Sheet I guess I have to do?

Post Tournament Tweaks

• ACC Rubric tweaks.
• Discipline, Feats, and Force Power tweaks.
• More Venues. (Keep your...clothes...or whatever little of them you wear on, A’lora. I promise this will happen)

ACC Links

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

ACC Exams

• ACC Combat Studies
• ACC Qualification Exam