Hello, and welcome to my sixth report as Voice of the Brotherhood. In this report, I will cover the following:

1. Fiction/Society Updates
2. Grandfathered CS’s
3. NEW! Fiction Center
4. Voice Project Status/Updates.
5. Fiction Chat Feature
6. The Inquisitorius
7. Final Thoughts

Updates

• If you haven’t already, please check out the latest fiction update: Chapter 3: Reconciliation. This fiction completes the cycle of Pravus’ machinations and maneuvers to reshape the Brotherhood into his vision of a “New Order."

• Please see my latest Voice Update on Voice Guideline updates and other important information here..

• Between keeping on top of the CS and Competition queues, Moro has been creating what we are calling “Star Wars Digest” news posts that feature reviews on Star Wars media such as comics, books, TV, and the new movies. The latest news posts Digest #2 features a review of the third Aftermath book by our very own Aabs. Make sure to check out the first Digest as well.

• GMRG Quarter is over! This is exciting for me because I actually have a DC accessory this time around! Warp-senpai (Rulvak) picked me! Congratulations to the rest of the clubs gamers for their hard work and drive to compete. It's inspiring. Keep it up! You can also check out the Voices Encrypted comlink here

Also be sure to read Drac's newspost for more details.

Grandfathered Character Sheets

I’ve been asked by more than a few members for clarification on the Grandfathered Species policy in regards to Character Sheets and former characters. I’ve updated the Character Sheet Approval Guidelines to reflect the Voice Staff’s stance on bringing back old character sheets.

In short:

• If you had or currently have an approved Character Sheet on file that uses a Grandfathered Species, you are able to re-activate that character sheet at any time to use as your Dark Jedi Brotherhood character.
• You are not able to create a new Character Sheet for a character with a Grandfathered Species.

An example of this would be:

• Knight Kevin's Character Sheet was created and approved as a Hapan Force-User.
• Knight Kevin changes to a Bothan Non-Force User.
• Knight Kevin wants to change back to a Hapan Force-User. Kevin can re-activate an archived Character Sheet for Kevin the Hapan. Kevin cannot create a new Hapan Character Sheet.

The Fiction Center

Some time ago, a returning member brought up a very good point in DB Chat. The current Brotherhood storyline can be a bit confusing to anyone that hasn’t been around the past few years. Hell, it’s confusing even to some that are currently here. This extends even further backwards through the previous story-driven campaigns the Brotherhood has seen over the past few years. We talk a lot about the Dark Crusades, Fading Light, and the last Great Jedi War. What really happened in them that affects the current storyline though? Why should we care? This can be concerning not just for our new members, but also our veterans. After speaking with a few of them, there was clearly a layer of disconnect that needed to be addressed somehow.

Indeed, the Brotherhood has recently seen a lot older or former members returning, oftentimes from long absences. A lot has changed, and some of it is so drastic that it can almost be off putting. A lot of questions come up frequently: why aren’t we still talking about the Vong? Why is my old flagship/fleet gone? What/who are the Lotus? What’s a “Lord Marshal” and who’s this Pravus guy (I thought Sarin was GM...again?).

In attempt to answer these kinds of questions and to help organize the story information for the Dark Jedi Brotherhood into a single resource, I’ve created what I’m calling the DJB Fiction Center.

Like the Voice Staff Resources Hub, this wikipedia page is designed as a single, organized portal to help direct you to helpful information while also providing background information and reference to elements relative to the Dark Jedi Brotherhood’s fictional universe. This includes links to comics and stories from the Brotherhood’s previous storylines, but is mostly focused on our current story arc and the current timeline.

I wanted to briefly highlight a few parts to the Fiction Center.

Brotherhood Universe (Reference)

The idea here was to provide a quick reference guide to the names of people, places, and organizations that get talked about in fiction updates.

Story Arcs

When talking about on-going stories in television shows or comic series, we often see the term “arc” thrown around. In an attempt to better organize the Brotherhood’s storylines, I have begun to categorize the contemporary timeline into the following story arcs.

Currently, we are reaching the closing act of the New Order arc. This will carry us directly into the next Great Jedi War, with the conclusion transitioning us into the next new story arc for the Brotherhood.

The Dark Crusades, Fading Light, Great Jedi War XI

While this excerpt is written by Farrin (current Headmaster) in character, this was mostly my attempt to summarize the last 5 years or so of fiction updates that I was ~ohgodwhy~ fortunate enough to have been around for. While it might not be perfect, you can dig for more specific details on the wiki. The goal here was to provide a fictional, in-character recap of events. Hopefully we achieved that :).

Special thanks to Vyr for helping create a datapad template image for me to use. I think it adds an extra layer of immersion to the lore of the DJB, and I can’t thank him enough for helping me out with it.

Comics

The old DJB comics can also be found in the fiction center towards the bottom, right next to the Inquisitorius Archives!

Special Thanks

I want to give a major major major gushy special thanks to Korroth. In trying to come up with an idea for how this would work, I went so far as to create a website using Google Sites to try and get my idea visually down on paper. After discussion with the DC, we realized we didn’t want an external website and that the Wiki would need to be the home for this type of documentation. Frustrated with my limited knowledge of Wiki formatting, I will not lie, and admit I was a bit deflated and defeated. On a hunch, I shared my ideas with Korroth, and just like that, he sparked some ideas that could make my vision work within the Wikipedia code. He started creating templates and organization concepts that I didn’t realize were possible with the Wiki.

In short, Korroth has gone above and beyond as a member that has given his time and skill towards improving Brotherhood systems. His recent promotion speaks for itself, but I cannot say enough good things about the work this member has done. This project would have been nearly impossible without him. If you see him around on Telegram, make sure to PM him, thank him, hug him, send him encouraging gifs, etc.

And again, from me personally, thank you very much for all your continued work. I appreciate it, and I know the rest of the Brotherhood does as well.

You can find the Fiction Center under the main page navigation bar under "Resources".

Projects

Between the Voice Staff and my new task force, here is an outline of the projects I’m currently working on.

NPC System

Status: Development.

This is a big one. James has provided an initial plan, but this is something that will require a collaborative effort from multiple DCers/departments. To that end, Evant, Mav, James, and myself are working on sorting out the finer details for execution and implementation. Mav is the father of the current CS System, I’ve been working with him on it since the beginning, and Evant is not called Darth Logistics for nothing! James is also our lord and savior, and figuring out how to make all of our crazy ideas actually work, as usual.

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Snapshots

Status: Development.

Snapshots is an important feature that will help further cement Possessions Loadouts system with the Character Sheet system. Snapshots is currently waiting on finalization of the NPC system, so these two projects kind of go hand-in-hand for James from a logistics standpoint.

Thanks for your patience.

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Arx

Status: Final Touches.

Arx has been completed on the development end. Sarin and I are just hammering out a few smaller details before launch. Expect Arx to have it’s own newspost/feature when we go live with it.

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Writing Studies Revamp

Status: Active Development.

Currently, I’ve taken members/volunteers to work on updating and revamping the Writing Department exams. I have a very specific vision for it, so it’s taking a bit longer than I had intended. We are close to finishing the new Run On Studies exam, however, and you should see that sooner rather than later to kick things off :). Props to Dek Ironius on his work with me on it so far.

Once the course re-writing is finalized, I will assign a Professor to oversee the exams. For now, non ACC Writing Department exams are being handled by the SA Staff. Thanks SA, peeps :).

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Canon NPC Character Sheets

Status: Live!

The Canon Character Guidelines article is now live on the Wiki. While it is still currently a work in progress, this should provide a beginning snapshot for how characters we see on screen or in the new canon translate into our system. Please keep in mind that these are meant purely for reference. You are free to disagree with the designation of ranks, but what is currently published was discussed among the Voice Staff and green-lit by myself as Voice of the Brotherhood. These are subject to change or revisions in the future, and we’re always happy to discuss. Again, this is meant as a resource to help answer questions, so please keep that in mind :).

I’ve delegated a few NPC Character Sheets out to members of my teams. My goal with these are to demonstrate how characters we see in new canon would work or exist in the Brotherhood Character Sheet system. These are not a priority, but are great ways, I feel, to answer common questions like “is Chirrut Imwe a Jedi?”, which we were able to take care of with the creation of his NPC sheet.

If you have any interest in working on a Canon NPC sheet, please let me know. I’m limiting how many I give out, but it’s always good to know who is interested. Please note that I will reference your history of creating Character Sheets, so if you’ve struggled with remands and approvals, I might politely defer your request. I don’t mean to be mean, but I’m a big fan of transparency and figure it is best to outline my intention clearly for the members not working for me already on staff.

The Inquisitorius

Recently, we’ve had a few hot topics come up. One of the larger ones is in regards to the Inquisitorius, and how they function. I am currently looking into revising the Inquisitorius to make it more widely applicable as the centerpiece of our fiction society. In reality, however, no matter what changes we make, the system will never be perfect. Someone will always feel left out. Someone will always have an excuse for why they can’t incorporate the Inquisitorius into their character. The only way we can tackle this is to try our best to find compromises and keep open minds and accepting hearts. Keep this in mind as we work together — membership and leadership — to create the best system that we can so that the Brotherhood continues to become an improved playground for imagination and escapism.

My initial ideas revolve around making the Inquisitorius more about a connected network of professional agents, assassins, and spies. This would move them away from being the Gestapo/SS troopers and more into a flexible system. I would also look to play with the current wording of “loyal only to the Grand Master”. This could read a bit more open-ended, and I’m brainstorming ways to do this with my team. In my mindseye, I see the Inq being loyal to the Brotherhood, and thus to its leader. Doesn’t mean they always agree or go along with them, but the Inquisitorius would survive and exist as a society beyond the current GM. That’s always been the goal, I think. Anyway, know that it’s big on my list of things I’m thinking about and one of my next big projects to tackle.

Thoughts? Feel free to drop them in the comments. I am always happy to listen to constructive feedback :). (Spoiler: Getting aggro over Disney/the new canon is not productive and doesn’t help anyone.)

This also ties into a larger project I’m working on for the Inquisitorius. My hope is to take some cues from the former Antei Contract Bureau and work it into a contract-style quarterly fiction system that would help give the Fiction Society a GMRG similarities. This also would mean creating an equivalent ranking system in terms of quarterly Cluster earning. There is a lot of things to consider, both logistically and fictionally, so I appreciate everyone's patience as I work on this while also keeping up with day-to-day administration and planning for the next Great Jedi War.

Gray Jedi

The topic of Gray Jedi also comes up more often than not. While discussion is encouraged, please keep in mind that the Brotherhood fiction system offers a lot of flexibility for members to play whatever kind of character they want. Without judgement. You can be as light, gray, or dark as you want to be. You can be as edgelord, broodlord, or highlord as you want. Please remember to be respectful of others, the choices they make for their characters, and the way they play the characters they want to play.

Also, to once again hammer the nail in, Gray Jedi are part of DB Canon. That should resolve most arguments before they begin. Remember also that every member is free to play the type of character they want to play, which means as goody goody Jedi or sable-y dark Sith.

Fiction Chat Feature

On a lighter note, I wanted to highlight one of my favorite answers from one of our members: Korroth. Korroth has been a legend in helping the Voice Staff with wiki projects, but also is a thoughtful and engaging member of Fiction Chat.

@AttyDJB asks: What is your character's fatal flaw? How would they overcome it? [In reply] Korroth has a case of "can't see the trees for the wood." Since the fall of New Tython he sees everything through the lens of the Sith-Jedi conflict. He thinks that every life and every battle revolves around this concept and he's lost sight of the little things, the "mundane" drives and impulses that in fact motivate the majority of beings, and this will probably come back to bite him in the ass.

He doesn't recognise this flaw in himself. It'd take something that forces him out of the big fight for a while and reminds him that what COU is fighting to protect is ordinary folks and their ordinary lives and not some big metaphysical conflict.

Love seeing thoughtful answers like this. Want to join in on the daily questions and talk/learn more about your character? [Click here - Log in to view join link] if you’d like to join the DB Fiction chat!

Final Thoughts

Great Jedi War XII is on the horizon. Keep your eyes peeled on my reports and updates for more information on where the story will go. You might even find an easter egg or two in the coming reports as we lead up to the launch of Arx and the next Great War.

Expect to see more updates before seeing another report from me. This is going to be a busy month, as I’ll be traveling down to Orlando for Star Wars Celebration. More information on that to come.

I guess I wanted to talk real quick about something that we’re seeing a lot of in the DJB. Change. Change is scary. People do not like change. However, change is integral into progression. The best way to have a hand in change is to be proactive. It is easy to sit around in a dark room complaining about the lights being out. It’s something else entirely to stand up and start looking around for a new lightbulb. Sometimes the excuse is, “well I’m not in leadership.” That’s just another excuse. Leadership isn’t tied to holding a position you hold. Leadership manifests itself in taking responsibility for yourself and your actions, and of those around you.

Create and be the change you want to see. It means keeping an open mind to change and always moving forward. Forward always.

Useful Links

• Voice Staff Resources Guide - Your one-stop shop for all your fiction needs. You can catch up on past reports and easily find links to Voice Staff policies, guides, and other documentation.

• Fiction Center, the one-stop resource for fictional information on the Dark Jedi Brotherhood, it’s characters, stories, and history.

A quick reminder: Reports and Updates from me are a bit different. Reports are my larger, monthly news posts that cover everything I can think of that is going on. Updates are news posts where I want to share details or a few changes in between the release of a report. Sometimes these are longer, but Updates allow me to address things quickly in between the space of a formal full report. If you are an active contributor or like take part in the fiction elements of the Brotherhood, you should read both reports and updates as they are where I outline and announce important things.

I think that’s everything I have for now. A lot of exciting things are coming up.

As usual, if you have any questions, let me know at [Log in to view e-mail addresses].