Introduction

We've had an on and off past few weeks here. Some bustling activity, a member leaving us, more people submitting to the comps, more activity on the Telegram channel. As I mentioned in an update email before, I'd also like to welcome Kor Vaal and Ulfsark who recently joined us! They decided to contribute to our fold of Imperium.

I've heard a bit of a buzz about not being able to connect with the new image of the Battleteam. I want to assure people that the image is ultimately yours to create. We'll implement things that we as a team come up with. When you contribute, you make things yours and ours. If you create worlds with objects, we live in them in some way. The image I personally laid out was a foundation. I fully expect (and would hope) that the Battleteam evolves in the future to storylines within the Clan.

I also want to address that if you feel that you cannot participate in some of the competitions because of how they are worded (in a way that might leave you excluded), then feel free to ignore that part and continue on. If you weren't a part of Shadow Guard before the transformation into CruceSig, then there are still a million ways to write a small fiction on the transformation, or bringing about of the group.

What I ultimately want to get at is don't fear being creative and letting your mind wander on the prompts a bit! Let go of your feelings! Feel the force flowing through you! Write what you think about, and then pack it with what you feel about it. For our Battleteam, these are 4th and 5th Level Crescents. I sure as science don't expect a masterpiece. I simply want you to make an attempt. Competitions at this level allow you to dip your feet into the water to test out your abilities.

With all said, let's get onto the report:

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Activity/Rewards

Ulfsark -Promoted to Savant (EQ2)<br> -25 Clusters of Earth<br> -Club member for 8 years! (as of April)

Reiden Karr<br> -Steel Cross<br> -Elevated twice to Rank VI Inquisitor<br> -20 Clusters of Ice<br> -6 Clusters of Graphite<br> -Topaz Crescent<br> -Emerald Crescent<br> -Amethyst Crescent x2

Kyo Akumu<br> -Emerald Crescent

Wagglehorn<br> -11 Clusters of Earth<br> -Club member for 2 years! (as of March)

Kor Vaal<br> -2 Clusters of Graphite<br> -Sapphire Crescent -Amethyst Crescent<br>

Reiyden Rosenau<br> -60 Days as Shadow Academy Docent

Competitions

Many competitions are going on right now. Excursions has been extended until the 8th of March. The May the 4th Competitions are going on right now as well. Brae and Lex are both running a Society Focus Competition, with this month centered around the GMRG and gaming. And Ras' Prophecies of the Force: Counterpoints Competition is ongoing now as well.

For our BT however, we have an event going on designed to kickstart some activity and get the ball rolling on what we are and how we'll work out in the beginning. Thus:

Wildfire Revolution

Burning Brighter Than Our System currently has only one participant. This is a fiction competition with no minimum or maximum word requirements.

Our Testament has one participant. This could influence how our Battleteam runs in the future. Again, no minimum or maximum word requirements. It could be stream of thought or not.

Stereotypical Crucesignatis Imperialis has zero participants. It's a competition where you can test out some character creations skills and get some feedback on it. It could help you write your own character in the long run.

Represent! currently has one participant. This graphics competition doesn't require a lot of work. I believe the current only entry was done through Paint. If one person can do it, so can you!

I extended all competitions until the 10th of May. This will allow you to start or finish up some ideas for the comps.

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Gaming Survey

These are our pretty pink results from the Gaming Survey I sent out for our members:

Gaming will be on our horizon. Watch out for all the Battlefronts, Jedi Academy, Star Conflict, and potentially even Minecraft and Pazaak.

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Existential Crisis Simulator!

Last time we focused on how a Shadow and Scavenger could fit into a role in our new Battleteam. This week we're focusing on another two: Marauder and Weapons Specialist. Why? Because three of our members are Marauders and one of our members is a NFU Weapons Specialist. I'm hoping to give some direction in that regard. Like before, I hope that you view the Battleteam as a benefit to your character, and not the other way around. This Battleteam is yours to be in for both an IC and OOC purpose. If you are having trouble at any time involving feelings of not fitting in, let me know and we can talk about it.

Initiating Stereotypes: Maybe you're thinking, "I'm a Marauder. I kill swiftly, move on, kill again, and move on, rinse, repeat. I'm not a defender of the political faith. I'm a killer who kills and then some. I serve the Emperor by putting blood into the river that leads to his palace."

Marauders are good at killing. However, to chalk up all they do to killing would be doing them a disservice.

Firstly, Battle Haste does lend itself to combat. It allows the user to pump up their adrenaline and performs feats some would consider to be above and beyond normalcy. However, when it comes to Battlefield Awareness, the use of the term battlefield is less defined. Certainly, fighting is probably going on, or rushing about of sorts. The skill to track and pick out multiple targets could be used in a crowded intersection, while running after a criminal. Maybe you're flying a speeder through Coruscant and your chasing someone else on a speeder. Your picking out, tracking, and being aware of other people and things could definitely come in handy in that sense. When used directly in conjunction with your Precognition skill, it becomes a tool for any crusader to wield against their foes in a plethora of ways.

But let's say you do focus almost entirely on combat. Curcesignatis Imperialis isn't weak and undefended. We have people to defend us, such as the Marauder, in our times of need. My character is a Director. I cannot go toe to toe with a Jedi Knight and expect to survive. But you could. And that makes you valuable. And if you're brutal and efficient with your combat skills, then you probably have a reputation. This reputation may precede you and allow the citizenry to fear your process, leading to truths being revealed and lies opened up.

Which brings me to another point. Like the Weapons Specialist (which we'll get to in a moment), you don't have to be defined only by your discipline. The skills exist to help modify your character and what they can do. So for example, you can use your Marauding feats to pump up your combat prowess, while putting Piloting, Tactics, and/or Survival as one of your top skills. Congrats! Now you can fight a handful of people, while learning their tactics, in a ship. You'd also make an excellent hunter when scouting other planets. You'd also make an excellent economic negotiator. And said merchants you're trading with couldn't spring said trap on you. Because if they did you'd have to destroy them, or at least impress them with your power.

All in all, Marauders can be used in a variety of ways to benefit the team. They can choose to specialize or not specialize. They can choose more skills, or strict skills. Their feats are beneficial in and out of combat.

Now onto our other discipline...

Initiating Stereotypes: So maybe you're possibly thinking, "I'm a Weapons Specialist. I'm literally built around using more weapons. So why would I want to arrest a citizen when I could rather shoot them? Why should I defend our space when we can attack others more effectively?"

You're in a similar boat as the Marauder. The difference being your feats are focused entirely on weapon usage. The Proficiency feat allows you to hone your skills with a weapon of choice, and then a second weapon of choice. This allows you to become literally a specialist with a weapon. And then the Medley feat allows you to wield all weapons better than normal. This allows you to be the perfect soldier, or frontline defense for our Battleteam. An expert sniper becomes an expert shot from distances. An expert whip user could become the ultimate lawbringer, using their whip to trip, trap, and entangle escaping criminals.

Much like the Marauder as well, this focus on weaponry allows you to use other skills while being able to sacrifice a bit on weapons, or pump up other weapon skills. You can become a jack of all weapons, expert of one. Or you can use other skills to advance your abilities far beyond a simple weapon user.

You could combine Tactics, Lore, Linguistics, and Weapons Specialist on a blade weapon, with a secondary specialization on slughtrowers. You'd make a good pirate or smuggler. So why would we need to be those? Because Crucesignatis Imperialis attempts to dig out the corrupt, spineless spies and bureaucracy within the system. Maybe this is through pretending to be someone you're not. Maybe this is through going undercover and working alongside the remnants of Imperial Scholae Intelligence. Or maybe it involves you simply being a smuggler, and aiding system authorities with your skills of tracking and smuggling. Maybe we need to get a witness to a crime to a safe location without our own authorities knowing.

In the end, Weapons Specialists, just like Marauders, can be combat or non-combat members in our Battleteam. They can use their skills to enhance themselves in more ways than one, and they can use certain weapon loadouts to blend in with other surrounding, making them invaluable to rooting out spies and the like.

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Glad you made it through my report. Hopefully by the time you see my next report, our new system announcement will be here and the announcements for Wildfire Revolution will be announced.

Glory to the Empire!

Dek Ironius II