Consul Report #7

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1. Holonet - The Great Ewok Hunt concludes
   
2. The Dark Times Saga - The long teased fictional update is published and the competition is set
3. Recognition - Q1, 2022 Recognition is in!
4. Dark Council Commentary - A summary and reaction to recent Dark Council activities
5. Survey Results - Results and Next Steps
6. Ponderings of the PCON - News from our Blueberry
7. Spotlight Competitions - A selection of competitions recommended by the Consul
8. Next Steps - What comes next
   

The Great Ewok Hunt - Scholae Palatinae Victory!

Our experiment of a “what-if” situation feud has ended in victory for Scholae Palatinae. While the premise was comical, the situations whimsical, and the objective of eating an Ewok hairbrained - it worked! I really appreciated the competitive spirit shown by all of you that chose to participate and for those who said “it’s not for me” we’ve heard you and our future Feud with Tally will be grounded in the reality of the Star Wars universe and have lasting implications for us.

Metrics:

There’s a lot of really impressive metrics to get excited about (Thran can call me a dork now).

First up, overall valid submission (excluding my own and Zappy’s). There was a delta of 18 submissions between CSP and Tally, which resulted in a point difference of exactly 200 points. The driver of which was the number of top 3 finishes (40 for CSP vs 23 for Tally) and submission for the fiction and graphic competitions that had point modifiers assigned (33 for CSP vs 22 for Tally).

I’d like to congratulate all the individuals who finished in the top 10 from CSP.

1. Thran Occasus-Palpatine
   
2. Rayne
   
3. Czarnian
   
4. Reiden Palpatine Karr
   
5. Xendar Thendaris
   
6. Aldaric
   

Below you’ll see the total top 10 finishers amongst CSP and Tally. A fantastic showing by both Clans and, of special note, Tracinya Beviin Entar from Tally was 8th overall without a single top 3 placement. This shows that participation in the events can earn a final showing even without placing.

Finally, I’d like to thank all the individuals who participated. Each submission counted towards our victory. For those individuals who submitted to 5 or fewer events that made up 115 total points. For those that submitted to less than 10 of the events that’s 223 and would have swung the competition in Tally’s favor. I’m glad the majority of you were able to find time to participate and I hope you’re all excited to progress into Dark Times!

A fictional ending will be released at a future date bringing the story to a close. Personally, in closing this out, I could not have found better co-organizers in Raleien, Zappy, and Teebu. Their professionalism, inventiveness, and timeliness made this an amazing event!

The Prisoner - Aboard a Prisoner Transport Ship in the Caperion System
Mere months after the last Dark Times Saga event

Lanis shook his chains in frustration. Only the Palatinaeans would be so cruel as to shackle someone in rusty iron in an age of stun cuffs. He pulled again on his restraints to no avail. His guards, despite his contempt, were competent. They had bound his arms and legs together and woven a chain through both to hold him pinned to the floor of his transport.

There was no slack in the lines and he could not even stand. His arms and legs cramped from the constriction and he was fairly certain he was going to lose a toe, judging by the numbness. “You can’t do this to me! I have rights within the Democratic Republic of Elaya, you can’t hold me without trial!” he screamed at the empty walls. He knew they could hear him. Just as he knew that there would be no response. There was never a response.

Whatever had been done to the prison ship, he could not feel any of the other members of the Republic of the Force. His brothers and sisters were all silent. Whether they were dead, forced into hiding, or he was otherwise blocked from the Force; he was alone. That was a fate far worse than any these Imperial scum could inflict upon him.

He cursed Shadow, that foul Empress, and her lapdog of an underling, Kamjin. Perhaps he had gone to an extreme to bring out peace in the system. But if he had, it wasn’t his fault. He was reacting to the escalation of force that his enemies were bringing to bear. When you’re fighting against the Sith who can unleash the rare elemental forces of nature through their perverted manipulations of the Force you have to match them. Otherwise, you’re allowing yourself to be wiped out without a fight.

This argument had been waging inside his mind since the moment he was captured. As he despaired, he again justified to himself that there was no other course of action. Over the months since then he had further built his case that his actions were the only, appropriate, actions that could have been taken.

“Why don’t you just kill me? When will you let me off this ship!” he screamed again into the unyielding silence. No, that won’t do. They can’t break him. He’s not broken. The Sith are broken and he and the Republic of the Force can heal them. If only there was one of his companions left to carry on the fight.

Read the whole Dark Times Saga (Conclusion) fiction

Spoilers

Spoilers

Spoilers

• With the help of a mysterious shrouded Jedi and his padawan, Kai Lap’lamiz, Lanis has escaped his imprisonment.
  
• Lanis has freed Liliana Nebulon, a fierce anarchist and anti-Elayan terrorist from prison to aid him.
  
• Leah Sato, a Nayaman noblewoman, has manipulated events to become the de facto Queen of Nayama.
  
• Scholae Palatinae, having been drawn into the civil war between Elaya and Nayama, has received an edict from Emperor Kamjin “Maverick” Lap’lamiz to eradicate all factions and unify the whole system for the Empire.
  

You'll see this reused throughout the competition pages as a gift from Thran.

With the close of Q1, 2022 we’ve seen quite an impressive array of awards being issued to the clan.

Promotions:

• Pratom - Promoted to Novice
  
• Kah’ri Marru - Promoted to Mystic
  
• Czarnian - Promoted to Mystic
  

Awards:

Amethyst Kukri

• Reiden Palpatine Karr
  
• Aldaric
  

Steel Cross

• Rayne
  
• Archangel Palpatine
  
• Ric Palpatater
  
• Czarnian
  

Anteian Cross

• Xathia Edraven
  
• Raleien Sonavarret
  
• Thran Occasus-Palpatine
  
• Xendar Thendaris
  
• Aldaric
  
• Eilana Kilaeon
  

Dark Cross:

• Cello
  
• Ellac Conrat
  
• Kah’ri Marru
  

I am proud of each and everyone of you! While we tend to group awards on a quarterly basis we do review for off-cycle awards based upon performance and significant events. Such as Raleien and Thran both being promoted in the middle of Q1.

Last month I said it was a quiet month from the Dark Council. Apparently they read my reports and decided to, in the ensuing weeks, have a lot of activity! To help you digest it I’ve outlined the significant items below, my summary of the report, and addressed questions where applicable from within and without the clan.

Herald Report #3: The one that changes stuff

I love Herald reports because they usually showcase the new artwork that’s been produced by their staff and this report definitely delivers on that front. If you’re not familiar with the rules around requesting custom graphics you can read more on the Herald’s Wiki page.

This report also clarified the rules governing meme competitions. Specifically that they’d no longer count towards Clusters of Graphite nor as Graphic Competitions. I agree with this rule, in the broader sense, that most memes are utilizing existing templates with text added via an online tool. That doesn’t get to the spirit of graphic competitions.

That being said, Rian did clarify in the comments that some meme competitions may qualify if they satisfy the conditions of creating new graphics to then be produced into a meme.

[Covenant Amendments]

These were covered in two different posts.

1. Plagiarism Update
   
2. Gender Neutral Wording
   

The first addresses the advancement of technology in defining that if an individual utilizes a program to write/rewrite their fiction or create their artwork that they must disclose that they utilized a tool. This is consistent with the previous language and intent but now includes artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

The second is a long overdue update to the Covenant to remove male pronouns and replace them with gender neutral ones. The DJB is an extremely diverse community and it’s right and just to reflect that in the words we use.

Shadows Unveiled - Chapter 2

TL:DR - Will not be convinced otherwise that it’s not a birthing mother and this father figure is a red herring.

In seriousness…I repeat the above. You can help make this reality by submitting to the next competition. If all clans submit additional points will be awarded to all. Therefore, I encourage you to participate in Operation SPYFALL.

Remember to log your questions at #Askkamjin within the Clan Scholae Palatinae Discord channel

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Does Ewok taste better smoked, fried, or baked? What rub do you recommend? Or would you go Texas style with kosher salt and black pepper only? - Korvis

Ewok is like any other red meat and it depends upon the cut. Now, in regard to Teebu (who thanks to the CSP victory my ‘what-if’ head canon is that I got to eat him) was roasted whole over a fire with fruits to provide a sugary glaze.

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I personally believe that feedback is a gift. Whether positive, negative, or neutral, it allows us to assess how we’re doing. What works, what doesn’t, and the impact it has on the members. My role here as Consul is to ensure you all are having fun, have opportunities to engage and progress your careers, and that you are rewarded and recognized for those contributions.

Below I’ll share the results of the survey, what the Summit and I discussed regarding the results, and where we will go from there. It’s not enough to do a survey to do a survey. We do a survey to know how we can continue to improve!

To see the full results you may view them here

Overall, the feedback was positive from the 11 individuals who responded. It does highlight there is work to be done.

For those individuals who answered with a 3 or below the two areas that the Summit focused on were.

• No recognition except to but a few
  
• Things change too often and there is no guidance one-on-one like there used to be
  

I was extremely pleased to see the theme of community as what drove people to join CSP or to stay with CSP. We’ve invested a lot in the past year with our community and created an atmosphere that, while competitive, does not alienate our casual engagers.

This will not change. I’d rather retain members in our clan that are part of our community than drive someone away because they feel all we do is compete to win. You can see that in the results above regarding The Great Ewok Hunt.

Oh, the poor ACC. I recognize it’s not for everyone as it’s a very specific type of writing. I can tell you there’s no plans for a CSP specific ACC competition in the future; though there may be DJB wide.

There’s a balanced view of what people want to do and don’t want to do. This definitely helps inform the Summit on where to focus with future House level competitions and is influencing the competitions I include within the Dark Times Saga.

Regarding the Great Ewok Hunt, for a competition that originated as a joke between Zappy and I and grew through the guidance of Teebu and Raleien, I consider this as an indication of a successful competition event.

The overall theme was that people enjoyed the lighthearted nature of the events, they weren’t connected with the story. Some specific feedback was prompts were to specific, the clans having predetermined positions (e.g., CSP was anti-Ewok, Tally was pro-Ewok). The one piece of feedback here I truly appreciated was we didn’t know enough about the Tally people to write them. Having a primer of “who’s who” for the upcoming Feud would help address this.

I dug through the specific results and one respondent indicated their 1 rating was a joke. The other 1 was valid based upon an individual and I’ve been in contact with them to address as they shared their feedback directly with me and Raleien.

Overall positive feedback regarding Raleien. I’ll touch on his opportunity below.

The feedback for both Arch and Aldaric was fairly consistent when you account for Archangel rating himself a 1. For both Quaestors the opportunity is to be more present with their houses and driving house specific competitions. The environment we will be in post the Dark Times Saga will provide a rich landscape for both Quaestors to explore with their respective houses.

Reiden, similar to Raleien, has an opportunity for us to better define their role. Both Raleien and Reiden are very visible to me, behind the scenes as they both manage more of the tactical engagement. Raleien in terms of encouraging and engaging with the Quaestors and Reiden in terms of reaching out to our new members and maintaining the mailing lists.

With Reiden, he and I have been talking about his future contributions to the clan given the Rollmaster position will sunset at the end of this year.

I’ll be candid, this one surprised me when I saw it. That being said, it does highlight an opportunity for us as a Summit to be more transparent regarding our approach to rewards and recognition. For the person who asked why they aren’t yet the GM I’m afraid that’s outside my abilities to grant.

Going into the specific feedback there were two themes that arose.

1. A perception that reward/recognition shouldn’t want for a date (e.g., Quarterly awarding).
   
2. That there was a basis, or favoritism, occurring in the awards being issued.
   

First, let me be extremely direct, there is zero favoritism or basis included in any of the rewards and recognition we issue. If one of the members of the Summit cannot support their recommendation with metric based facts, as a starting point, we lower the award or do not proceed.

Second, all rewards and recognitions are reviewed by the MAA staff. If a member of their staff feels that an award is over, or under, the appropriate level we have a conversation and align on the award to be issued. No award is issued without at least three levels of review by Raleien, myself, and the MAA staff.

Third, I’d like to expand upon the process the Summit takes to review individuals' contributions for recognition.

• First we pull reporting for each individual and their total number of competitions since their last recognition. Note, we do not review based upon the quarter but rather since their last recognition to ensure we’re looking cumulatively at their engagement.
  

Below is the grid we utilize which is consistent with several other clans.

Medal Type	Competitions Completed
Dark Cross	10-20
Anteian Cross	20-35
Steel Cross	36+
Grand Cross	50+
Sapphire Blade	70+
Amethyst Kukri	100+

• Anything above an Amethyst Kukri require significant activity beyond simply competition to enter into discussion with the MAA staff on.

• We then review non-metric based activities. Did an individual work on a project for the clan or DJB (e.g., possessions), perform a new activity (e.g., coordinate an RP event), etc. What we do not do is take into consideration the activities an individual may have done within a Dark Council Staff role. Those activities are considered in the recognition issued by their corresponding Dark Council member.

• We review the timing of the last promotion and what activity and awards they’ve received in the time since to consider recommendation for a promotion. When we begin looking at promotions to EQ3, EQ4, and EL1 we are looking for leadership experience in either a battleteam, house, or clan level or leading a special project. I personally believe we’ve done well here with getting two of our clan members promoted to Elder 1 within the last 3 months.

The one item I didn’t address yet was timing and we do look to award off cycle. However, this primarily relates to members below the rank of JM4 where we want to immediately encourage and drive their activity. For members above JM4 we have found that the quarterly review timing ensures the highest number of individuals have reached the threshold for at least a Dark Cross.

In closing, the final pieces of feedback were to continue to focus on the community and fictional placement of the clan, something The Dark Times Saga will definitely do and allow us to have new competitions focusing on clan development.

I appreciate everyone who took the time to submit a response. I’m pleased that so many of you feel that we’re on the right path and have made significant improvements over the past year and that we’re on a trajectory to continue those improvements throughout the next year.

I…didn’t give him a lot of heads up and I wanted to rush this out. I’ll update later with his comments.

Overall, I will share what he’s stated publicly before that he is extremely impressed with all the Great Ewok Hunt submissions, all the individuals who got recognized, and that Kamjin is the best person to plot to kill.

But wait, act now - updated with Raleien's insights.

I also wanted to highlight (if a little self-indulgently) the fact that 4 CSP members made the Top 10 1st Quarter Grand Master's Royal Guard (GMRG) ranking! I wanted to highlight this because if you're a gamer, please reach out and connect with folks in the Clan or Gaming chats. I know that Thran, Rayne, myself, Kamjin and others are always down to play some games with people (though most of us do have PCs so keep that in mind). It's a super fun and easy way to earn some Clusters of Fire and/or Earth and to get to know fellow Clan members if you're comfortable with voice chat. And with Casual gaming a successful component of the DJB, the option of what to play is massive! So get out there and give it a shot.

Clan Scholae Palatinae Competitions

• Dark Times Saga - Civil War
  

Competitions by Scholae Palatinae Members

• Your Duel of the Fates - A Combat Fiction Competition
  
• (FIST) Maximum Effort
  
• Do The Gaming Thing - An Equal Cluster Cluster Race 2!
  

For more visit Competitions as Raleien has several running events.

Spotlight Competitions

• (Shadows Unveiled) Operation SPYFALL
  
• Uncle A-Aru's Big Load of Puzzles
  

It’s finally here…The Dark Times Saga. I again could not have done this without Dek’s planning and providing a rich world to play in. A special thank you to Thran and Reiden who did proofing runs of the fiction (though not the competitions, those are being tightly guarded for fairness).

I hope you all enjoy it as this will bring a conclusion to these events, it’ll have a lasting impact on the state of the system, and give us new avenues of engagement in the future.

Until next time, stay Sithy my friends!

As always, I have an "open door" policy, please DM me on Discord at any time.