Odanites,

This month’s report will cover the Seven Pillars results (props to Vyr for the writeup), the Scimitar of Hoth January results, our Rollmaster job opening, a Coalitions survey for you all to take, and some upcoming plans between now and our next event, as well as some spotlights from the last month. Let’s dive into things. :)

Seven Pillars: Velastari results

The first Odan-Urr event in, hopefully, a long line of events has concluded. I would like to address the event itself, how it was structured, graded and what was its ultimate goal.

The event had been structured as a simple one, with minimum effort required for maximum reward. Five competitions: a puzzle, a flash game, simple graphic comp, fiction, and character creation. There were several guidelines behind this setup of competitions:

• it is the most simple setup, with one comp representing a major pillar of our Club
  
• it is a setup well known to our members and acts as a simple introduction
  
• we wanted the maximum number of members to participate, and we facilitated that as best we could
  
• we wanted to gauge interest in the event itself and see who would be most active and interested in the event
  
• the grading and creation of the event itself was fairly simple and not a lot of Summit time was wasted on creating nor grading it
  

In these points we succeeded to a degree, I think, as the results show.

To preface the results, my personal expectation that we would get no more than 10% participation. I attribute my expectations to a changing Clan that is by no means as interested in Jedi, the Force and similar lore as it was years ago. Our goal was to reignite that interest, at least a bit. I hope that we have and I hope that more of you will be willing to participate in Episode 2 when it launches.

At this point, I would like to congratulate Essik Lycane on an outstanding effort and well earned victory. Congratulations! I hope to see more of your excellent submissions in the future. :)

Honorable mentions go to Jon Silvon, 2nd place, and Kasula, Jafits and Agate for sharing 3rd place this time around.

And remember this is merely episode 1, so there is more to come!

2020 Scimitar of Lord Hoth - January Results

The yearly award is now back up for grabs, with each month contributing to your final score at the end of the year. Of note, this last month saw a clan-level event that qualified for some extra scimitar points if you participated. Don’t miss out on those opportunities moving forward. With that said, let’s reveal January’s winners!

A big congratz to Agate Gua’lara on their January victory and to those that placed in the top 5. We had over 20 participants so this was well earned. But don’t worry. We still have 11 more months on the table so bring your best game face and go at it again for February. That said I do have some advice for those of you looking to get lots of points.

• Competitions are worth a lot of points. A lot.
  
• The rewards from competitions give lots of points, whether it be placements or clusters.
  
• All gaming types are created equal and it adds up.
  

I hope that helps you in your quest for future titles. The points really stack when you combine all of the above, especially competitions. But that said, any activity grants you points so pick a competition or activity you like. :)

Seven Pillars and the Path Forward

You already all know that Seven Pillars is episodic so you’ll definitely be seeing more of them moving forward but there is another fictional angle I’d really like to cover with clan events not under the Seven Pillars label. That is of our peacekeeping efforts in the larger galaxy. Wherever Jedi roam, their reputation precedes them. Odan-Urr has been around the Kiast system and the rest of DB space for a while now, offering our help to bigger players through several story arcs. It was only a matter of time before normal citizens of those regions would reach out to us to ask for help as they did long ago in the age of the Republic. Odan-Urr has obliged these requests, both through a duty to the Force and a duty to remember what we ourselves had to endure to find a lasting home. In fact, House Sunrider’s storyline is already doing this job in the Kiast system itself.

Seven Pillars does an excellent job exploring the mysteries of the Force in a classic Indiana Jones sort of way and I don’t want to detract from that. So, over the next few months, we will be building a clan level peacekeeping story arc, organically growing it based on your entries and feedback. How this will work is through rounds, where each round will offer you a job board of urgent requests from those in need of help. You then decide which mission(s) you want to take and how you accomplish their end objective. We will support a wide range of competition types. At the end of each round, the people we helped will inform how we write our fictions in this arc. Eventually these rounds will build to large clan events. ^^

So to summarize, Seven Pillars is going to keep doing what it does best, Sunrider is still taking care of the Kiast system, and we will be growing our peacekeeping efforts outside Kiast next to them. The tricky part is weaving them together but our summit is up to the task. Stay tuned for your first round of competitions in 1-2 weeks. Personally, I’m super excited for Seven Pillars, Sunrider storyline, and our upcoming peacekeeping missions outside the system. I hope you are too since we’ll need your help to get there. Feel free to reach out to us if you wish to help or if you have any recommendations.

Coalitions Survey

As alluded to before, our initial rollout of coalitions had a lot of them and I wanted to slim them down in order to concentrate our clan’s efforts in a few that really tug on our Star Wars imaginations. What we have is a general direction we want to take them in, focusing on how they relate to our peacekeeping mission, but what we don’t have are the details you’d really like to put in there concerning how that gets accomplished. Classic hero? Anti-hero? Something else? For that purpose, I’d really love all of your input. Tell us what you love the most about Star Wars, what stories your characters like to engage in, and if you have them what people/groups your character has a history with. If you are frightened by the last one, you don’t have to answer it but can instead tell us what you’d like them to be.

Coalitions Survey Link

So please take this survey and make your voice heard. Kudos to Kasula for taking the initiative and putting this survey together. :)

Rollmaster 2.0 Open for Applications

Recently, Liam Torun-Urr informed me he had to step down due to real life constraints. His duration was short but I appreciated his inputs and ideas for the time we had him. Thank you, Liam.

Applications for the position of Rollmaster for Odan-Urr are now officially open DB-wide. That said, remember that Odan-Urr has set its own standards for Rollmaster that focus on primarily on recruitment and the new member experience. I firmly believe these are key tasks to undertake for the clan and want to give you the opportunity to pursue it 100%. If that makes you excited, I highly encourage you to read the job requirements below and consider giving COU Rollmaster a shot!

Duties include the following: (* denotes primary duty)

• Recruit new members to join Odan-Urr through targeted recruitment. (*)
  
• Acquaint new joins with the Website, to include a person 1v1 full tour of it.
  
• Become their first Odanite friend that introduces them to the rest of the Clan.
  
• Be a positive community role model, which also includes volunteering/participating in COU community events
  
• Help update clan history as required
  

There are no minimum rank requirements or prior leadership requirements. What I’m looking for is the energy and desire to bring new people into the club and make sure they have fun as they figure out their first steps in a much bigger world. Additionally, you will report directly to the Consul/Proconsul.

If you're interested in applying or have questions about it, please reach out to myself and Vyr. All applications must cover the above duties and any of your ideas for recruitment by 02/20/2020. If you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out to me via email, telegram, or discord. I respond much quicker to the latter two than email itself. :)

Rite of Supremacy Awards!

A simple reminder to check out our fancy artwork made for us from our past victory. You can select it on the administration page. I put some instructions below for you.

New Saber Pike!: This is our weapon skin we were granted. As a clan we voted for a lightsaber pike. Of special note, see the aurebesh text etched into the hilt that reads ‘Never Again.’ If you’d like to use it on your dossier, go to the weapon construction tool, pick melee weapon, and then pick the ‘urr pike’ at the top.

New Odan-Urr Dog Tags!: This is our item skin we were granted. As a clan we voted for COU identification tags. The semi-transparent beauties are not only in clan colors but stylish as well. If you’d like to use it on your dossier, go to the accessory construction tool, pick technology, and then pick the ‘Ident tag’ near the top.

Writing Buddy Survey Results

A while back I released a survey to gather info on those who wanted a writing buddy. I’ve let it run for a while so here are some results and some actions we plan to take from it.

• There are definitely people who want a writing buddy and we will reach out to you personally over this next week to connect with opportunities to do so.
  
• 2 people creating one fiction together seems to be rather popular so we’ll be exploring that more in competitions. Might even be able to build some cross-clan ties.
  
• We seem to be undecided on roleplay so we’ll give it a shot and see what happens.
  
• Strong positive results on a tabletop version that allows you to play your character. I’d love to try this out but I will need some help on this as I’ve never done a tabletop game. It just looks cool to me right now. More on volunteer calls for this below!
  

While we do this, remember that if you want a writing buddy, just ask a summit member and they can help you out. :)

Group Writing

Odan-Urr has been engaging in some group writing of late. If you are looking to get involved, we have several options for you.

• Tython Castaway Runon: Battleteam Tython is hosting a group runon to find a peculiar piece of treasure, that of a lost ship that Kiast would very much like to have back. Join them in their quest to find this ship, Light Of Ki’asma, and if possible bring it back in one piece. But be warned, others are also going after it and they aren’t all nice.

• Discord Roleplay: Recently our community events have started to include fiction get togethers, in particular role play of late. We have an ongoing thread in #roleplay and we do all our out-of-character (OOC) arrangements in #fictionythings. It’s still early going but if you want to try roleplaying with your character and want to join in, send me a message and I’ll hook you up. Anyone who has access to our discord server can freely join and even suggest a change of scene. ^^

• Youngling Runon: This is still an unfinished story between a lot of our Jedi youngling characters and their friends. It takes place at the Praxeum and involves saving a lonely gizka named Frank. Now as per usual, at least one character wants to eat it but it’s okay. Frank has some champions on his side. It sounds silly but even young Jedi need missions of their own. Send me a dm if you want to join the runon and we’ll catch you up. :)

Activity Shoutouts

Several Odanites did exemplary work during this last month, whether it be competitions, Shadow Academy or something else. As such, I’ve dedicated this section to their excellent efforts for the Clan. Please take a moment to look over the triumphs of Odan-Urr and congratulate your fellow Odanites.

Gaming Stars:

• Jafits Skrumm
  
• Revak Kur
  
• Agate Gua’lara
  

Graphic Stars:

• Agate Gua’lara
  
• Essik Lyccane
  
• Revak Kur
  

Fiction Stars:

• Essik Lyccane
  
• Revak Kur
  
• Revs
  

Shadow Academy Stars:

• Gui Sol
  
• Strae Artonicos
  

Miscellaneous Stars (think puzzles/flash gaming and stuff):

• Agate Gua’lara
  
• Revak Kur
  
• Sa Ool
  

Event Hoster Stars:

• Revak Kur (Thanks so much for all the time you’ve put into them!)
  

Highlighted Competition results:

Star Wars Games of New and Yore: Our very own Essik placed 1st in the trivia!

• 1st: Essik Lyccane
  

1st place Artwork for The Light Of Ki'asma Design by Agate Gua’lara. Fun fact, the tython battleteam runon is trying to find this beautiful ship, a treasure by itself.

1st place fiction for Castaway: Carrying the Torch by Nijalah. Again, starring our ship we are trying to find. Check it out here!

Great work to all that participated and placed. Thanks for all the energy and effort you put into the club. You make Odan-Urr a great place to be. :)

Merits Medals, Sacramental Awards & Promotions

It is my absolute pleasure to announce the following promotions and merit medals. Please congratulate your fellow Odanites and their recent accomplishments!!!

Sacramental Awards: (hard to get. Much wooo)

• Len Iode received a Sapphire Blade!
  

Promotions:

• Revak Kur promoted to EQ3!
  
• Agate Gua’lara promoted to JM4!
  
• Retloc promoted to NOV3!
  
• Daemen kirljolt promoted to NOV3!
  
• Azza96 promoted to NOV3!
  
• Sha7k promoted to NOV4!
  
• Mortley promoted to NOV3!
  
• Shaunak promoted to NOV3!
  

Medals:

• Jon Silvon received an Anteian Cross!
  
• Agate Gua’lara received an Anteian Cross!
  
• Zeon Blacktooth received a Dark Cross!
  

Club News

DB News

• CoJ Jobs Open- due Feb 15th
  
• Another VOICE Report: Force Power updates
  
• RoS Spoiler Ban is gone
  
• Headmaster Report: Big SA Audit.
  
• FIST Report: New info on GMRG changes and a Gaming Calendar!
  
• VOICE Report: Update to lightsaber skills like deflection and reflection.
  

Clan News

• Sunrider Report!: Great way to catch up on the Sunrider story so far. It has a link to all the fiction and a summary of it so far. Please give it a read.
  
• Scimitar of Lord Hoth 2019 Final Results
  
• Tython battleteam Report
  
• PCON Report: Info on the seven pillars event that just passed.
  

Competition Highlights

For the full list check out here

By the Clan

• [Sunrider] [Vatali Unsettled] The Mayor and Empress - Ends in 5 Days!: Important fiction comp for the Sunrider storyline. Give it a try!
  
• [Sunrider] [Vatali Unsettled] Away to Kaist! - Ends in 5 Days!: Easy flash game
  
• [Sunrider] [Vatali Unsettled] Arms Runner - Ends in 5 Days!: Easy flash game
  
• [Tython Squadron Battleteam Run-On] Castaway: Group writing to find a special missing ship. Adventure awaits!
  
• Gui Says Hack it: Brainteasers :)
  
• Build a Droid
  
• Rebel, Resist, Fight- Puzzle Series: Puzzle series with a different theme each month. Easy puzzles :)
  

DB

• Profile Picture Challenge
  
• February 2020 GMRG Competitions
  

Projects

Discord Recruitment [ONGOING]

This is an active project of mine that I want to focus on over the next month as a potential source of new members. As it stands, we’ve revamped our discord keywords, set up recruitment lines, and made some big improvements to the clan discord page. But we really need to nail the welcome messaging and help videos. If you care about discord and you are interested in helping us out, please let me know!

• Welcome Message Revamp
  
• Intro help videos
  

Tabletop Fiction Game with Characters [POSSIBLE FUTURE PROJECT]

This idea has a lot of support in our fiction survey so i’m putting out an open call to those who really want to spearhead the creation of this idea or help grow it. Personally, I don’t have any experience in this realm so I’m looking for people with tabletop knowledge for sure. Passion for the idea and a willingness to learn is also very much accepted. Feel free to reach out to me if you want to help make this a reality. What we need to do:

• Refine the rough draft we have so far to make it work better with our character sheets
  
• Test it out in a community event
  

This list will change over time so if you want to get in on some project work just let one of your leaders know. My door is always open. We don’t have all the good ideas and you get cool shinies/promotions for helping out the clan!

AskAura

Arch Asks: “I was around for the initial discussions leading up to merging Hoth and Shan into Sunrider, but not around to actually live with that change. Do you think that decision has accomplished the goals the summit had in mind? Is the six-member summit serving the clan's needs?”

Aura: In short, yes. As always, reality was a bit different than plans but we have a unified energy base, a talkative House chat, and Sunrider is taking full advantage of the Kiast system. The six-member summit works for our needs so far and I’m generally pleased at our ability to keep that staffed. We are well positioned to grow outward through battle teams once the time comes.

Arch Asks: “After several years firing on all cylinders as both first clan and the largest clan, it was inevitable that we'd run out of steam, and I think that's part of the natural lifecycle of a unit. That said, I think we need to have an eye for growth and revitalization. In GJW XIII we dropped from first to fourth, with a huge gap of 1600 points between us and Viz in third. What do you view as our pathway to success in future vendettas and what is the summit doing to lay the groundwork for that?”

Aura: The pathway to success in my opinion has two pieces.

First, the patient, slow building of energy through competitions, community events, and story arcs. Efforts to accomplish this stalled at the start of my term but I think that the last 5ish months has accomplished a lot on this front. We have an engaging new story that focuses on our roots as the light clan but does so in a way that is inclusive. Vyr brought with him a wealth of fiction planning approaches that I wish I knew back when we were a duo. That said, I’m incredibly excited to see all our plans be executed and I have faith in my summit (and any Urrs who want to help) to do it.

Second, an influx of new energy is required. This is something that has been on my radar for a while but it's a hard thing to do well. Part of my answer is see my project update above but a better answer is that we need to pursue multiple angles/platforms and it needs a dedicated person. That is one reason why I really like how COU has redefined the position of RM.

Those two put together will get us where we need to be but I don’t think it will be quick enough for those asking the questions “are we there yet?”. What it will do is build a solid base that won’t crumble when DB storylines shift or when people decide to try the new hottest thing on the market. If I achieve but one thing as Consul and lose all DB-wide events while doing so, I would be ecstatic to say Odan-Urr’s base is solid af and we had fun in events.

Vyr: Slow and steady wins the day, tbh. Our explosive activity was due to our major role in DB-wide fiction, a huge influx of members due to that fact, as well as very competent leadership. Out of those three we are only left with the last one (if I do say so myself :P) Getting back to the top will require us to find a new way to get there. So my personal thoughts on this boil down to building our activity based on member input and interest while keeping us in line with the DB in a way that helps us bolster activity as much as possible when the inevitable vendetta comes along.

Arch Asks: “COU has never been the dominant clan in the ACC, but we've done quite well historically, with two champions and several other strong competitors. But in 2019, COU's activity in the ACC was significantly lower than not only Arcona, but Tal, Viz, Plag, and to a lesser extent CSP. What are we going to do to build an ACC community in Odan-Urr?”

Aura: To be honest, I think we need easier digestible forms of it. The ACC is buried in details to a degree that has even stifled my own writing bravery and creativity. I don’t envy a newcomer to the system. That said, I think there are several scaling options to get people used to the ACC again or to help them learn it for the first time.

I really think the way ahead for us is informal ACC fights via 2-man fiction teams. The GJW had it and it felt like ACC without the nun’s whacking stick. I personally saw it help one person who didn’t believe he could write churn out a solid 700 words in one sitting. Step one is to get more people writing period and then introduce all the ACC overheads. Second, I think we are overdue for some ACC mentorship again but I will note that our chat channels answered the call when our recent ACC combatants needed a proofer and that made me smile. :)

Vyr: I don't think we have a good foundation for the ACC in the Clan atm. Nothing to do with the members themselves, but I'm not really seeing any interest for it. Why this is, I have no idea, so further investigation of this issue will be required. Thanks for the input, Arch. <3

Arch Asks: “ I think the DB suffers from a lack of a club-wide strategy for recruitment, even though successful recruitment is probably the defining difference between successful and unsuccessful units. What is COU's strategy and is it working?”

Aura: To summarize, our strategy is a multiplatform recruitment approach. Discord, personal relationships, websites, twitter, instagram. I’ll take any of it. That said, I am one person and the RM is one person so we will be focusing on one or two to start with before we hop to others. More volunteers we have for recruitment, the more we can do at once!

Revak Asks: “Will your bear army be featured in an upcoming fiction?”

Tisto Asks: “why is the empress not taking the threat of insurgent Quorahi seriously?”

Aura: I feel like the empress is merely holding her cards close. There is a reason she got along with Alethia. Both women don't always show what they are truly thinking until they whack you with something that hurts.

Tisto Asks: “what's going on with the Quorahi and the selling of weapons to some insurgents?.”

Aura: Those kriffin guns keep finding their way in. They should really just use water guns instead. Good thing we have Sunrider ;)

Pantless Sloth (Kord) Asks: “How's the working relationship with the new Shadow Lady of Arcona? Any girls nights out planned?”

Aura: Add in setting up single people on dates and it's a go. (Lucine got really excited by this too)

Tisto Asks: “what's the WiFi password for the Solari?”

Aura: Hint: What can ignite the stars? (It’s from an a favorite prequels book of mine :P)

That’s it for today’s report. We did some exciting things in January and we have some exciting plans for next month and the rest of the year. There is plenty to do so if you want to help, feel free to reach out to me and definitely apply to Rollmaster if you want to help build our community. Till next time lovelies.

~Signed with Pheromones