Combat Master's Update

Just wanted to throw up a quick update before I sit down and hammer out a big report for you guys.

Updates

As most of you have read by now, there is some really exciting stuff on the horizon for the Character Sheets and the ACC. The teams I've assembled have worked very hard behind the scenes and we have pooled together over 40 pages of written content that we are revising and workshopping as I type this.

In order to start narrowing in on our deadlines and to fit within the timeline outlined by Sarin in the latest Grand Master report, I've downsized my teams and wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who put in some excellent work to date.

ACC

• Samael has decided to step down as ACC Judge. I want to thank him for his hard work and eagerness in the position as he was always the first to volunteer to help. Thanks again!

• I will be moving forward with my current Judge Staff, and have been bringing Evant up to speed as well.

• Judging is not an easy position. For this reason, you can see how one of our judge’s recent efforts helped build up to him earning a Grand Cross of the Dark Side. Congratulations, Atra!

CS Team

It was my goal originally to have as diverse a group as possible working on CS 2.0. I think we really hit home with a mixture of leaders and members from all across the DB. Each of these members/leaders have dedicated time and energy into CS 2.0.

So, I’d like to thank the following individuals for their input and contributions.

• Andrelious J. Inahj
• Adam Bolera
• Tra'an
• Locke
• Mirus

You will no doubt see hints of their labor in the upcoming launch. I’ll be reaching out to each of your respective unit leaders with specifics on your contributions! Thank you again for your help.

Projects

For anyone curious, CS 2.0 is not something that CMs will be tasked with in the future. I was in a unique position when I took over as CM, and as Magistrate to the last three Voices over the past few years, it was decided I’d retain some of those duties. My hope is that with the launch of CS 2.0, I will be able to fully dedicate myself to the ACC, and making it better and more awesome for all of you. I want to thank everyone who has been using the ACC recreationally. I am pleased to see this, and hope to see more as we move forward. As for CS 2.0...

Time tables are still being finalized, but you can bet that CS 2.0 will be launched within the next month (July), baring any unforeseen setbacks.

CS 2.0

So, what will be included in the CS 2.0 launch? Why has it taken so long? Glad you asked.

• Disciplines revamp, where we re-wrote and clarified a lot of the unique Feats and Powers that were created and for the existing Disciplines: Shadow (Assassin), Juggernaut, Marauder, Seeker (Inquisitor), and Sorcerer. We are also working on three other Disciplines that would break out of the shell a bit and provide some more options of specialization for our members!

• Updated Skills Tables that better explains what each Skill does and what you can do with it, roughly, at ranks 0-5.

• Updated Force Power Tables that better explains how each Force Power works and what you can do with it, roughly, at ranks 0-5.

• New Feats that have been re-written to get rid of +1/-1s. As we move further and further away from a D20-based system, this is one of the many ways you will see us focusing more on writing our characters than over-analyzing the difference between +3/+4 in Athletics. Not only have we updated and tweaked existing ones, but we’ve also added a bunch of new ones that give you more options with how to make your character unique.

• New Pre-Written Aspects to choose from for those working up the courage to have Custom Aspects.

• Custom-Aspect-Templates- a Beta initiative that will have a set of pre-written Aspects that could be used by members to tailor their own Custom Aspect by filling in or changing blank spaces.

• Species 2.0 - that will give us a much better look at the player-selectable Species that members can select for their characters in the Brotherhood. This will cover grandfathered Species in the DB, as well as how we will handle adding any new canon races that have a demand.

We are getting close, and I thank everyone for their patience. The team is working very hard on making sure we deliver you guys the best possible system to play with :).

ACC 2.0

Venues

Tired of the same few venues like the Shadow Academy? Don’t worry, we heard you. Once CS 2.0 is launched, we will also be deploying a slew of new and revamped venues for you guys to explore and check out. The team has done some really cool stuff, and I think you will dig them.

The most important thing to note will be that we are doing away with the story-set ups that are evident in most of the Venues. While a cool way to start a fight, I am going to be working on a Beta initiative called “Scenarios” where set-ups like that can be used for a different kind of match.

For me, as a writer at least, when I’m given a venue I just want to know the details I’m working with. How do I address the five senses: what’s the air like, how hot or cold is it, what type of obstacles do I have to play with creatively? I will, as the first poster, invent why I’ve come to this place, and why I’m running into my opponent.

So, expect more detailed Venues that give more room for you to write the types of matches you want to write.

ACC Exam Updates

Following the CS 2.0 launch, I will be looking to update the Qualification and Fundamentals Exams. Anyone who is Qualified will not have to retake or requalify, but I’d highly recommend looking over the new exams when they are pushed live anyway.

Judge’s Guide

We will be looking to publish a more formal “Judge’s Guide” that will be available for members to look at and see how the Judges make their decisions.

Events

Here is a quick look at Events that will be run through the ACC.

• July-August -- DB-Wide ACC competition: “Rivalries” (More Details to Come)
• October -- Grand Master’s ACC Tournament (More Details to Come)
• December -- GJW ACC (Details Still To Be Determined)

One More Thing

The ACB

For many of you who have been around the DB a while, or dealt with me, you’ve probably at the very least heard of the ACB, or what we like to call the Anteian Contract Bureau.

The Antei Contract Bureau--started as a project within Arcona--has had a lot of success. We have run it in limited trials to the DB at large, and our last run yielded some very positive feedback from all who participated.

So, what is it, exactly?

The ACB was created as a way to generate unique and individual fiction competitions for members. Each “Contract” is treated as a mission that is specifically catered to the requesting member's specifications. With these personalized missions, a member would be able to practice their writing and storytelling skills without the need for a competition or DB-wide event to get work on writing fictions. The prompts would also allow for a more personalized feeling to the missions, and would help with building character background, history, and lore.

The main goals of the ACB are as follows:

1.) Real-time feedback/notes on every fiction that you are writing/submitting.
2.) Flexibility for casual writers but also with a built-in element of competition for the more hardcore writers.
3.) Give members a way to get inspiration for a fiction just for fun if they don’t see any competitions that appeal to the story they are in the mood to pen.
4.) Clusters of Ice, weeew!

I’ve had members from other units reach out to me expressing interest, and I think we’re really close to making what started out as a pet project for me into a reality for the Brotherhood.

What I need from all of you is to help me out with a simple poll. I have set one up on Discourse here. The #PowersThatBe love numbers and statistics. So, the more of you that show support, the more likely this is to become a real thing for everyone!

If you’d like to check out existing Contracts that have been done, head over to the Discourse forum found here

Thanks everyone. Feel free to leave comments below, or email me any questions at [Log in to view e-mail addresses]