Shroud Syndicate is live - Graphics Society update

Finally it’s here, programs!

Some of you have been asking for months now when the next Society goes live. Ask no more.

The Shroud Syndicate is live and available to all of you from this point on. This is a project we’ve been working on since 2016 and we’ve had a multitude of people work on it, including myself, the current and some former DC members, my former Herald staff and the current Herald staff as well. It’s truly a massive undertaking and I am truly humbled by how much work and effort has gone into it from all sides.

To start with I’d like to give a special shout out to specific people that made this project a success story — Darth Pravus, Evant, GM Mav, Wally, Bubba, Farrin, Slagar and James to name but a few. A very special shout out and heartfelt thanks go to Esca, Zehsaa, Ozosi, Maximus, Rinz, Rian and other staff members who held the line while my focus was concentrated on the intricacies of Society points, ranks, advancements, etc.

We’ve all come full circle from releasing the humble Cluster of Graphite. Thank you all, including every member of the Brotherhood who ever ran or participated in a graphics competition.Thank you for all your efforts.

I will talk more on about this update below, but for now let me talk about the GMRG for a second.

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Royal Guard update - New skins, new rewards

The Royal Guard, or GMRG, had undergone a massive update in the past few months. This update is related exclusively to the rewards granted at every rank and the Society store linked to Possessions.

In short, and without a lot of pomp, we have brought the GMRG in line with the Shadow Academy, inquisitorius and the Shroud Syndicate in terms of what you are granted every rank. When the GMRG was initially released there were no Accessories, no Possessions and no special rules regarding gadgets. Now there are.

We have removed the old rewards which, while still spectacular, were fairly dated and based on Lagands material. Our plan from the get-go was to update these images and bring them into the new era. As a member of the Guard you will now receive robes, weapons and accessories appropriate to the current Star wars story and in line with the Societies we already have. That said you will be getting four new Accessories, two new robes, and five new weapons. All of these were inspired by Star Wars movies and other canon media. Be sure to check out your admin panels for the new stuff, and for those that don’t yet own some of the higher tier skins, here is a taste:

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Shroud Syndicate update - entry, points and ranks

We’ve largely based the Shroud Society on the Inquisitorius template, which was based on the Shadow Academy Society from before. Members will receive a new award each rank, including six Accessories, two Robes, and three Weapons. All of these will be awarded for dossier use as skin as well as Possessions items.

So how do you begin? Well, it’s just a matter of finishing a simple entry course in the Shadow Academy - you can find the link to it HERE! The course itself is extremely simple and gives you the basic idea of what the Society is, how it operates in-character and what the various ranks are, etc. Go, do it!

As far as points are concerned, and how you rank up, it is all based on the Cluster of Graphite. Unlike the Inquisitorius which, admittedly, has many more activities related to it (check the INQ wiki for more info), the Graphics society is much more humble in terms of awards. The three basic paths are Activity, Skill and Service, as usual, however in this instance Activity points are only ever awarded through Clusters of Graphite. Even if you only participate in graphics competitions, you will rank up with time. Skill is determined by placement in each individual Tier of competitions (5th through Novae). For each placement you receive a set amount of points that rank you up. To further diversify the Skill tree your points will also depend on how difficult a given competition is. For this purpose we have created three Difficulty classes: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. The purpose of these is to give diverse option sto competition creators and to diversify the competition prompts the Herald will be approving. Examples and further details can be found on this wiki page.

Much like other Societies, the Shroud Syndicate has twelve (12) ranks to advance through, from the lowly Womp rat to the coveted Boss. Tables of ranks, points and awards according to rank can be found here:

And finally, something to look forward to:

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Ask the DGM

Kaz: #AskVyr when is the MOVE4POWAH coming? Have to keep Mav on his toes and all that

Soon^TM :)

Turel: #AskVyr Given that most of our IC institutions (DC, SA, GMRG, etc) were developed during a time when every member was a dark side Force user, do you feel they need to change/adapt to match the 2018 reality of gray path, light path and NFUs? And if so what changes do you foresee?

Yes and no. Yes in that the DB has to evolve and change as Star Wars changes around us. The move to include Light and Gray paths were driven by that notion. If we don't change and evolve the Club eventually dies out. But, I don't think the DB will change in a way that many people expect. The Club, as a RL group of people, will always be inclusive of every member that joins, no matter who they are, but that is a far cry from the DB as it is in-character. The in-character DB will never truly be inclusive of everyone. It cannot be. That's not how Star Wars works. Star Wars is heavily reliant on opposing forces clashing. Changing the story to fit Star Wars and then removing a huge part of it as a matter of convenience isn't really something we should be doing. That said, Mav's plan, and mine, is to make the DB as accomodating for member-characters as possible.

Arch: Followup #AskVyr - How do we move towards e.g. a unified IC Shadow Academy while recognizing how central conflict is? I agree with a lot of what you and Mav have said over the past several months with regards to moving away from everyone being at total intractable war with everyone else all the time, and also with what you just said about how e.g. the Inquisitorius just cannot be inclusive to all character concepts. What's the trick for balancing those factors? Just to state the obvious: my clan's members (for the most part) can't set foot on Arx without getting shot, and even discounting the Brotherhood/Lotus war angle, I can't imagine that the Shadow Academy training Jedi will ever make sense for the SA or the Jedi. But I also no some people aren't very happy with the idea of one or two clans going off and having their own IC training centers.

We recognized a while back that the SA's IC role either isn't very well detailed or it's not really compatible with the ideas we have for the future. Having the DC ferry recruits to the Clans never really made sense to me in the first place. We have plans to change that.

As to the " e.g. the Inquisitorius just cannot be inclusive to all character concepts". I never said that. The INQ is very flexible in who can join its ranks. That's the reality of a secretive organization and that is what Wally is working on. My point was that I don't really expect all members who write conservative/strict/fundamentalist Jedi, Sith - or any other ideology for that matter - in any way ally with the DC in the future. Our plan is to make the system as accessible as possible and let the members decide what they want to do. That's the point of a setting.

Turel: Well, my follow-up #askVyr to that is: Given what you said that "The in-character DB will never truly be inclusive of everyone" and "Star Wars is heavily reliant on opposing forces clashing" what are your thoughts on the Lotus, COU's Praxieum and other attempts to create IC institutions for member-characters that are left out of the current IC institutions?

As someone who helped in creating all of these I keep them in context when considering possible solutions to the Path issue.

Atra: #AskVyr Other than getting the art society up and running, is there any golden plan you hope to push through the meatgrinder of bureaucracy and see come to fruition under your tenure?

Teaching Howie how to draw. :P

For now I don't really have plans for any massive overhaul or new addition. These things very often come along "at some point" because someone has a bright idea or there's something that needs updating. There are some minor projects regarding the webiste that aim to improve member retention and member experience overall so that's something. No details for now, however.

Arch: #AskVYr how do you make it through the day without yelling at the guy?

Punching bags.

Mark: #AskVyr Do you feel that all orders should have unique names for each rank? Dark and Grey Jedi share

Ah you mean that. I don't really have an opinion. Rank names aren't something I personally care about. Might be because I never use them fictionally.

#AskVyr with all the talk of societies and fictional relevance and whatnot, are there any ideas that you've heard or have that could be shared with the membership-at-large?

Not directly, no. I personally look at broader archetypes and consider how they would fit and adjust my ideas accordingly. However, if anyone needs ideas or help, I'm always open to a discussion.

Donny: #AskVyr - Having sent your agents to capture Uji and Turel and torture them, what is the next ruthless act of aggression Morgan will take out on ARCCOU :P

Dress Uji up and have a tea party. :P

Kadrol: #AskVyr how do you become a DGM

I guess it takes a lot of work and trust from the GM

Archangel: #AskVyr I remember when you were Tyren. Not a question, just show how old we both are.

I remember that too :P

Furios: #AskVyr what species of tree would you say fits your personality the best (IC and OC)?

IC Vorsa is a birch tree or similar. OOC I have no preference. I know three different types of trees. Birches, Willows and other.

Kadrol: #AskVyr what leadership positions did you hold prior to DGM, and would it be possible to have not held those positions

Herald, Proconsul, Praetor, Magistrate, Rollmaster, Quaestor, Aedile, BTL. And no, it would not be possible. The positions you hold give you experience and perspective.

Kadrol: #AskVyr when are the May the 4th comps going to be judged?

As soon as possible. Hopefully within the next few days.

Nero: #AskVyr When can we see a Light Side DGM? :P

Not in my tenure.

Esca: Now that you've been in office for a time, is there anything you've found more difficult than anticipated? Easier?

Plenty of things are harder (wrapping my head around the Shadow Academy admin, the gaming rules or the Covenant legal language, for example), but many things still remain the same. My attention just isn't focused on one thing (graphics) but many more. My brain is in relax mode when i have many different tasks. It can super focus on one or two of the ones I have difficulty with and then relax with others that come naturally to me.

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Featured song: Van Halen - Jump

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