The Left Wing of Dread Sends

It’s that time. Holiday time is here. Hopefully nobody got their teeth knocked in during Black Friday shopping.

Anyhoo, it’s almost time to hang up work for a couple of weeks, kick back with some eggnog and watch Chevy Chase blow through a month’s worth of electricity in the span of 30 seconds.

The biggest news of the month is that we are just a little over two weeks away from the release of Episode VII. That’s right, The Force Awakens hits theaters in twelve days. It’s finally time to put all the fan theories to rest. Who is Kylo Ren? Where the bloody hell is Luke? Will we finally get to see Jar-Jar meet his demise? I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited!

As we’re all aware, the new movie is likely going to bring about some big changes for the DJB. What those changes are have yet to be seen. What we can expect is a lot of good stuff in the Star Wars world, and hopefully a bunch of new members to our awesome club!

So let’s get down to it. Reports aren’t all about lights and eggnog and snazzy .gifs. There is a lot to talk about this month. House Ajunta Pall has new leaders, there were some awesome promotions, awards, and other news that I want to be sure you’re all aware of.

On the Subject of Awards and Promotions

As most of you are aware, recently there was a major change to promotions, specifically the time in grade requirements for elevation into the Equites. You can read about that here . The Clan and House summits are closely monitoring member activity to make sure that none of you fall through the cracks as you become eligible for promotions.

That said, time in grade is not (and has never been) enough. You must be active. There is a tab on your dossier that allows us to view your promotion assessment. In short, it provides a very detailed synopsis of what you have done since your last promotion. We use this raw data, as well as your interactions and your overall contributions to the Clan and even club at large in order to determine if you are eligible for promotion. The same thing goes for awards. Every time we have a large-scale event, we watch and monitor your activity. The more that you do, the more likely you are to earn some sweet dossier bling. It’s that simple.

If you feel like you are being left out or passed by for any reason, feel free to email me directly. I will happily go over your dossier and your activity logs with you.

Competitions

The GM has a big event going on for December in preparation for Episode VII. Here’s the full list of events:

• Trivia for a New Age
• Playing with Fire
• Legends Never Die
• Heroes are Made, not Born
• Trophylicious
• Database Hunt
• The Inquisition of the Force
• The Battle of Jakku
• Postulation and Argumentation

On top of all of this Episode VII goodness, I’ve got a little holiday gift for all of you. For those of you who don’t own Battlefront but still want to throw down for potential crescents, there’s a gaming competition for you!. HAP Holiday Gaming Madness is now live, and will run until the end of December. Play for clusters, win crescents!

Additionally, there’s still plenty of competitions out there to help keep you occupied. Go to the Competitions page and find something you like to do!

Honors, Arrivals, and Promotions

Lots to talk about here! We have new leaders! We have new people! We have new Equites! Shinies EVERYWHERE! Here’s some of the highlights:

Jai’de Serpens was elevated to the ranks of the Equites. Jai’de is a powerhouse within the club who had to take a bit of a breather as real life has her quite busy. That said, go check out her promotion recommendation here

Our former Aedile, and current Clan Rollmaster Kelly Mendes also joined the Equites. Kelly was an awesome Aedile and I have no doubt she will do a great job welcoming and guiding our newer members on their quest for Knighthood. You can read her promotion reccomendation here. Kelly was also awarded a Steel Cross for her absolutely outstanding performance during Forged Alliances. See her award write-up here.

Taranae Rhode earned a Steel Cross for her efforts during Forged Alliances. Check out her award write up here. Additionally, she has assumed the mantle of Blade of the Fallen, filling the vacant Aedile slot left by Kelly’s departure to the the Rollmaster position. Taranae is already doing a lot of behind the scenes work helping to set up an event for the Clan, so be on the lookout for that in January!

A big welcome to Kalon Entar who has come to us from [Arcona] to serve as the BTL for the Disciples of Dreypa. Atty was kind enough to allow him to come over to us, and I can’t thank her enough for that. Kalon has hit the ground running, and many of you have already received an email from him outlining your promotion requirements. For all you members still on your quest for knighthood, Kalon is your primary source of information on how to get there.

Other HAPpenings from Around the DJB

Wiki Tribune Report - Job open with the Wiki Staff. Go work with Slags. Good for promotions.

JST Looking for a Left Hand - Jac is looking for a new Left Hand of Justice. Monty is the new Right Hand of Justice. Congrats to our former Consul! Go apply for a job! DJB Law and all that!

Clan Plagueis Report - The final fiction and results from Forged Alliances as well as an update on new staff over in Karness Muur!

Gaming Update #46. Beef welcomes baby Beef!!! Big highlight on the new Battlefront DLC, the Battle of Jakku. A cool ask the P:FIST section.

Herald Report - Art highlight, Herald Style Hanukkah, and a Ask the Herald section.

Combat Master Update - Round I of the GM's Invitational Tournament is over. Round II begins now! Cheer on Slags as he takes on Shi Long. Match link is here

Final Words

This is it. We are on the home stretch to The Force Awakens. As a community, we’ve waited well over a decade for this movie. I hope that it meets all of your expectations, but no matter what, it will have a major impact on the franchise that we all hold so dear. Go to the theaters, watch it with friends, and for the love of all things holy and sacred...don’t post any spoilers. I am not going to see it on opening night (because I REALLY hate crowds). So please...keep the spoilers to yourself. Don’t make Uncle Drac ground you!

I wish you all the happiest of whatever holiday you observe, and if you don’t observe any holiday, then I wish you happy gift opening day.

I’ll see you all later this month after we’ve had a chance to return to that most excellent galaxy far, far away.

-Drac