Voice Report - The Times They Are A-Changin'
Report #2
Hello all, and welcome to another Voice Report. This turned out much longer than I thought it would, so let's jump right in…
Fiction Society
Keep in mind that this is a work in progress and is subject to change
The Fiction Society has been teased for some time now. It originated as an idea Sarin had as Voice, was passed onto Mav, and now to me. You may wonder why it never got much closer to release… all I can say is two straight years of DB-wide vendetta makes other projects difficult to do. Now that we finally have some free time, the completion of the Fiction Society is my top priority.
What is it? -- The Fiction Society, like the GMRG and SA Society, is an alternative form of advancement and rewards for members who like to write fiction, run ons, and participate in the ACC. Where the GMRG is fictionally geared towards warriors, and the SA is geared towards scholars, the Fiction Society will have more of an intelligence/investigation/assassin angle. Gathering information and eliminating threats to the Brotherhood will be the In Character goals of members of the Society.
How do you advance? -- Much like the GMRG, the Fiction Society will utilize the Cluster of Ice for advancement purposes, though I'm sure we'll add some stuff to that. As you may have noticed in recent months, the Cluster of Ice is being pushed as the "activity medal" for writing. CIs are awarded for fiction and run on competitions and ACC matches. So start earning your CIs now!
What are the rewards? -- Like the other societies, as you advance through the Fiction Societies ranks you will unlock special rewards. Some of these will be dossier-based, some will utilize the forthcoming possessions system. We also have been kicking around ideas to add some Fiction Society-specific Feats to the CS, as our focus is on writing. I'll be going through the rewards the other societies offer and figuring out what would work best for the Fiction Society. Needless to say, expect some cool stuff to unlock.
Path to Launch -- Unfortunately, unlike the GMRG which had CFs being regularly awarded for over a decade, the Cluster of Ice is a relatively new award and has been awarded sparingly in the past. This means figuring out how to advance in the Fiction Society is a little tricky. At the suggestion of Yacks, I plan to beta launch of the Society with CI numbers skewed rather high. We'll then gather metrics for a couple months to see how many CIs members can earn and then break down advancement with that info. I'll be working with James in the near future to implement this.
Fictional Status of the Brotherhood
The Dark Crusade is over. The Great Jedi War has ended. Two years' worth of Brotherhood plotline has ended in a climax that saw a radical in character and out of character shift in the status quo. When I first got the position of Voice, I had many members come to me asking for clarification on several fictional matters—things that weren't explained in the plot updates, or things that clashed with what we had assumed was DB canon.
Working with Sarin and Mav, I've compiled a list of facts that make up the Brotherhood's Current Fictional Status. This, I hope, will address the major issues people had with the Crusade's resolution. If you have questions, or concerns, please feel free to email me and I'll work to sort them out.
Antei -- In the aftermath of the ritual gone out of control, all Brotherhood structures on Antei have been destroyed. Pravus has decided to abandon Antei for the time being and is currently stationed on the SSD Suffering.
DC Whereabouts -- The Dark Council is, like Pravus, on board various capital ships of the DC Fleet, which are all currently massing together. In character, if you wanted to have an audience with a DC member or communicate with them, you would be limited to shuttling to the capital ship or using holo-communications. DC members themselves will, if they decide to do so, expand on their current fictional whereabouts (report fictions and whatnot).
Shadow Academy -- With Antei abandoned, the Shadow Academy will once again be mobile. I'll work with Bubba to determine how he wants to fictionally handle that, but I presume it will be much like the last time we had to abandon Antei, and one of the DC ships will serve as a mobile base.
Fleets -- Sarin already touched on this in his report. The Crusade and GJW saw some fictional damage to our fleets, but it was never properly recorded or determined with the Clans. As he already mentioned, any changes to the Fleets has been frozen for the time being. Clans have access to the exact same ships they had before going into the Great Jedi War.
Sith Worlds -- The Brotherhood spent the better part of two years battling to acquire the various Sith Worlds, though we later learned this was all a scam. Given how the GJW ended, the Clans themselves have pulled back from the Sith Worlds, but we still hold some dominion over them. They will likely have a role to play in future storylines.
One Sith -- This was a big issue with certain members. In the two years building up towards the Great Jedi War, most of us held the belief that the Brotherhood was actually fighting the One Sith, a precursor at least, based on the One Sith of the Legacy Comics. However, this turned out to be an illusion. The problem was that many of us had based our characters (and made Clan decisions) around the actual One Sith.
To deal with this, Mav and I discussed it with some of the affected and came up with this compromise:
"That the One Sith weren't a fabrication at all, but that they were real and they were present but that the majority of their threat they posed to the Brotherhood was a fabrication. Nix and Pravus had so thoroughly infiltrated their organization that they were being misled and used, much as the DB as a whole was, to advance Nix/Pravus's agenda (not Krayt's). Pravus and Nix then also utilized Muz's drive for the ritual artifacts in order to pit the DB and the One Sith against one another - but the One Sith were never a true threat to the DB, as evidenced by running across their worlds with ease."
Hopefully, this will allow members who based their characters on EU One Sith lore to keep their established history with only a few minor tweaks. The One Sith of the EU (at this time) are a thing, so if your character had any ties with Krayt and his early Sith Lords, you may continue to keep that part of your back story.
Future Fictional Status
Expanded Universe
Sarin, Mav, and I have hinted at this already, but the Brotherhood is on course for a massive change to our unique "canon". The relaunch of the Star Wars expanded universe, one currently based on the two trilogies, the Clone Wars and Rebels cartoons, and all the newly released Disney products is something the Brotherhood cannot ignore if it's to survive and prosper. Our goal, as always, is the betterment of the Brotherhood as a whole. With these new movies and games on the horizon, the Brotherhood will be much better served with a connection to this new EU so that potential new members can feel at home.
What will this mean for everyone? Truly, I can't say with any certainty. We just don't have enough information yet… but Disney has announced a slate of releases to fill the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Within. These will help us shape the future of the Brotherhood.
Not everything will change of course. In fact, my understanding is we'll be able to keep a lot of our personal storylines and character details. Things will need to be tweaked, of course, to fit this new EU. For example, it sounds like the New Jedi Order, Galactic Alliance/New Republic, and even Imperial Remnant may not exist as we knew them. This means if your character grew up and attended the NJO, you'd have to retcon that. Same if you were an Admiral in the Imperial Remnant. I'm sure there were will entities analogous to the old ones. I feel the new EU will pull a lot from the old, just with new twists (think new Star Trek canon).
Path Forward
As I mentioned above, none of us know what's to come… yet. Until such time that we do know, things will continue as they left off after the Great Jedi War. The Clans all have their own projects and stories to tell after two years of following the Crusade. This is a chance for everyone to stretch their legs a bit.
It's my wish to lead towards the new canon by slowly ramping up for one final, blowout event utilizing the current Brotherhood and the "old" expanded universe. Something to officially tie off our Legends storyline. I'm currently working out a presentation for Mav and Sarin that will eventually make its way (with their approval) to the rest of the Council and then the rest of the Brotherhood. Nothing has been officially locked down yet, but once more is known it will be shared so that everyone knows what's going on behind the scenes.
I'll also soon be creating a Feedback/Discussion Discourse thread, so everyone can weigh in on potential changes and their ramifications. We'll try to make this discussion as open as possible, but realize that not everyone will get what they want. The SW universe is changing, and the Brotherhood needs to adapt to survive. Expect more news posts about this as we move forward.
Character Development
Clan and Order Powers
Clan and Order Powers were something introduced long ago in the Brotherhood. However, since the release of the current Character Sheets, these powers have been noticeably absent. The problem is that most of these Clan powers were useless or ridiculously overpowered, and we couldn't figure out a fair way to include them in the new system. What that means, and I'm not sure if it was officially announced in the past, is that Clan and Order Powers are not acceptable for use in official fiction events or ACC matches. Really, any Force Power not listed on the Character Sheet should not be used, or you'll suffer Realism penalties.
While Wally and his CS 2.0 team are working on improvements and enhancements to the Character Sheet, Clan and Order Powers are something that will be worked on later. Until such time as you see these powers on the CS, understand that they are unofficial.
Custom Species
Once upon a time, in the long, long ago, the Brotherhood allowed its members to create Custom Species to use for their characters. That practice died off quite a while ago, but certain members were allowed to "grandfather" their custom species into newer systems. This has not been the case with the new Character Sheet.
Let it be known that Custom Species will no longer be accepted in the Brotherhood. Anyone who still "plays" a character with a custom species should think about switching to one of the approved DB species. Aside from balance issues, most custom species were just rip-offs of species from other sci-fi universes, or were humans from a specific planet. Either way, as part of the Brotherhood's transition to official SW canon, we're eliminating custom species completely.
Character Sheet Tidbits
Just a few things I wanted to mention based on the last month of Character Sheet approving. Think of these as small reminders.
Custom Aspects -- Remember when designing your Custom Aspect(s) that they are not meant to describe how strong or amazing you are with any given skill. Aspects should describe how you utilize your skills and powers, or explain something relevant (useful for others to know) about who your character is or how he/she/it acts. If I see any Custom Aspects that say, "Guy1 uses his super powerful Lightning to kill anyone that gets in his way", I will remand it. For the most part, I will try to explain the reasons and offer alternatives.
Linguistics/Languages -- Every character in the Brotherhood can freely list "Basic" as a language they know. Non-Human species can also list their species main language (one, based on wookieepedia info) for free. Anything after that will require points invested in the Linguistics skill at a 1:1 ratio. That means for every extra language you want to know, you must spend one more point in Linguistics. Please note that Hybrid characters do not get a free species language. Just Basic.
Given the limitations of this system, and the fact that most in-universe characters can understand (but not speak) multiple languages, I'll be looking into an alternate way of handling languages in the future.
Lore -- Aside from "common knowledge", when you list a topic of Lore, you need to have invested points in the Lore skill. As with languages, Lore works on a 1:1 ratio. So for every topic you want to list, make sure to spend a point in Lore.
Feats and Powers -- Currently, all Force Feats are tied to a specific Force Power. That means you need to have invested points in the Power to benefit from the Feat. As an example, the telekinesis-based "Hammer Time" Feat will be utterly useless if you have no points in Telekinesis. I try to catch all of these that I can (it's one of the most common mistakes), but try to make sure you read the descriptions of the Feats. Usually, the Force Power related to the Feat will be mentioned in bold.
Competitions
Story Events/Crossover Events
As part of the Brotherhood's fictional path forward, I will occasionally be running competitions called "Story Events" that will allow your character and to play a role in the overarching Brotherhood story. These events will build off one another to tell a bigger story and will, hopefully, lead towards a future major event. (For those of you who were around, think Sarin's "Hunt a Killer" competition that tied into DC/FL/GJW). Some of these Event competitions will be "Crossover Events". I've stolen the premise from comics, but basically Crossover Events will be like Story Events except you will be able to partner up with other members of the Brotherhood—whether to write a single fiction, a cooperative ACC story, or a small team RO—to expand the Brotherhood's storyline.
Expect the first Story Event sometime in April, and it will help bridge the fictional gap between the ending of the Great Jedi War and the new story Sarin, Mav, and I will be working on.
Current Competitions
Star Wars v Game of Thrones – Caesar is running this competition that involves you writing about your DB character in the Game of Thrones setting. Knowledge of Westeros isn't necessary (though I'll assume it helps), as the competition will be judged based on originality and Star Wars theme. This event has a 1000 word maximum, so make sure you stay below it.
Star Wars v Game of Thrones ends April 22.
Finished Competitions
The two competitions I mentioned in my last report have ended. A big thanks to all participants and the organizers, and congratulations to the winners!
It's My First Day… — This is a competition being run by Andrelious (Mark) for Second Level Crescents (will be first soon based on the number of participants already). The prompt involves you writing about your character's first day in the Brotherhood.
Winners: Celevon, Saskia, and Kordath
The War Is Over! — This competition is being run by Darkblade with help from Chizz. The prompt involves you detailing how your character deals with the aftermath of the Great Jedi War.
Winners: K'tana, Mirus, Robert, Revs
Fiction Competition Adminstration
Requirements -- Remember, when creating a new Fiction competition always include a set of judging criteria—some explanation as to how entries will be graded and placed.
DB-Wide Competitions -- I'm going to start being a little pickier about what I let people run for DB-wide Fiction competitions. The reason for this is most seem geared towards an individual unit or Clan, but are set to DB-wide for the increased reward. If your competition is designed more for your own unit than the entire Brotherhood, please change the target unit appropriately.
Organizers who do get approved for a DB-wide competition will also be scrutinized more when it comes to determining winners. This is especially noted when all placings go to members of your own Clan. Be prepared to back up your decisions with reasons and details to support how you came to your judgments.
Clusters of Ice
Running a Fiction competition? Want your members to be awarded Clusters of Ice? You should, since the future Fiction Society will be utilizing the CI for advancement! Once your competition has ended, make sure to record the PINs and wordcounts of all participants and email them to me. Once I have the information, I can input the word counts into the site and it will (eventually) spit out Clusters of Ice.
When submitting word counts, please try to use the following format: PIN#wordcount (ex: 84#1000 – The pin followed by the total number of words. The # symbol is used as a separator.)
If you're submitting for a Run On, use this format: PIN#wordcount#postcount (ex: 84#3500#5 – pin, followed by the total number of words, followed by the total number of posts. The # symbol is just a separator).
This makes it easy for me to input into the site. Also, at minimum, a Fiction Competition must have a 500 word minimum to count for Clusters of Ice (500 words = 1 CI)
Conclusion
Expect to see some news posts from me in the coming weeks to expand on some of the topics I mentioned. If you ever have questions or concerns, about anything Fiction-related, please feel free to email me directly.
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Great report.
Wish we would have known clan powers were no longer allowed. Lost a ton of.points in an ACC match recently because of not knowing this.
I don't know others feelings on them, but clan powers are a fun extra to use. Especially in runon and ACC fiction.
Hopefully it will be readded asap. I like them.
ty for the One Sith clarification. I know that impacted myself and a lot of others :)
Ch-ch-ch-changes
Order Powers were fun, if for no other reason than trying to figure out how to creatively use the Krath Powers in the ACC...
Are we now fully committed to trying to stay in line with the new canon? I seem to recall statements around the time of the original announcements about the EU being made non-canon that we were considering something like a mirror universe or parallel universe, where we could continue to build on our characters, plot-lines, history, etc, without having to figure out how to mesh it with the new canon, that might not include 30+ fictional years of our history.
That is one amazing report, Aidan!
I can't honestly say that I would miss Clan Powers if these were scrapped altogether. It might have been a side-effect of never having had access to one or participating in the old Antei Combat Centre, but I have noticed some se ious balancing issues in the older powers and inconsistencies with established Legacy canon. My preference would have been to add more powers to the general pool for members to choose from with less limitations towards building unique characters with unique skillsets, but I could be alone on this.
Brimstone -- Whether it was specifically announced or not, Realism as a judging mechanism has clearly stated since Sarin's term as Voice that it is based on what's on the Character Sheets. With Clan/Order Powers being absent from the sheet, it would be logical to assume they aren't to be counted. I regret this impacted your match. Changes are being made to the various guides to make it clearer that Powers not listed on the CS are not to be used. Hope that helps.
Locke -- There were talks, I believe, about how to handle the EU changes Disney is planning to implement. However, the DB needs to have some basis in the movies, tv shows, and new EU. Members who join us from now on will know only these characters, organizations, and events. Half the ones that join us now know little about the EU, and are usually stunned to learn we don't strictly follow the movies or a gaming era (TOR). The fact is, the Brotherhood's very long history is actually a detriment to us in terms of recruitment. Even for something as (relatively) short as the Dark Crusade--we had members joining mid-event, or later in the event who had no idea what was going on, no real investment in the story or event, but were forced to endure it until the very end. It's not a very nub-friendly situation. We're just too bogged down with all our many years of lore.
While we may still decide to create a mirror or parallel of the new EU, it will still be based on the new EU, not the old. If, in the new movies, there's no NJO, it would be strange for us to continue as if there is. Disney's overhaul of the EU gives us a great chance to refresh the Brotherhood and our characters--Remember, who your character is won't change. Your personality, abilities, combat style, etc will stay the same. Some changes may have to be made to your history (replace NJO with random Jedi cult, or Remnant with whatever becomes of the Empire, etc). As I said, though, nothing is set in stone. Once we get some hard details on the path the EU will be taking, the better equipped we'll be to sit down and discuss it. Given Sarin's penchant for keeping everyone in the loop, I doubt it will begin as a completely closed discussion. Members will have their chance to voice their wishes, fears, and concerns.
A'lora -- The idea to re-work some of the Clan/Order-specific powers into general ones (available to all) has been discussed. The old idea was that certain Clans would specialize at certain things, which I am fine with. But limiting powers to specific units never sat well with me. It made little sense, canonly speaking, that a member could be in Arcona, say, and have access to awesome shadow powers and then transfer over to Taldryan and forget all those shadow powers for new elemental powers. I do want to allow the Clans to keep some of their unique identity, while still giving everyone a chance to wield the powers they choose regardless of unit. This is why I pushed back the Clan/Order power discussion until later.
Just out of curiosity what if you wanted to be a species that isn't an option on the CS, Shistavanen or Ithorian for instance. Both species have members who were Jedi, although do the old Clone Wars cartoons still count as canon. Not the ones with Ahsoka Tano but the real old ones.
What about order/clan feats that modify existing powers? In Odan-Urr? Your healing is different in some way.
idk, just something your comment about lock powers to sub-sections of the membership not sitting well. (also, not a fully thought through thing, just a random idea.)
A choice between two Clan feats would be kind of cool, actually. I mean, I don't play an assassin or whatever, so Arcona's natural 'shadow' theme might not come immediately - a second option might work. It still gives the units a unique way to differentiate themselves. And that way it's not so much forgotten knowledge as training that you've lapsed in. I like it.
Solari ftw.
Salbecca -- There is (was?) a species request form. However, for now you can email myself and Wally with your request and, preferably, with a link to wookieepedia. It would also help if you included your own idea for a brief description and Species Feat (see https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/character_sheets/reference/species for examples). We'll go through any requested Species to see if they're viable (enough canon info, no super duper powers like immortality, etc), and then work out the Feat before adding it to the CS.
Solari -- That was also one of the ideas being tossed around. As I mentioned, some people are big on the whole "clan identity" thing, and Clan Powers used to be part of that. If I had my way, Clan Powers would be made general powers available to all, and then the Clans would have access to special Clan Feats or even Clan Aspects to describe their special connection to the powers. When we start working on Clan Powers again in earnest, the Clans themselves will have some say in what they want to specialize in. What with it being years since they were last officially used and us wanting to limit the magic powers aspect, we'll have to revisit all the powers to see what's still viable.
When was the last time you thrusted with lordly vengeance, or teabagged someone into dirty, shameful tears?
I wouldn't mind feats. Powers, I don't particularly like limiting. I could definitely see Arcona getting some sort of a modifier for Blackness, or Odan-Urr something for Blinding or Healing. I might see how doing this without making new powers from modified powers difficult, but it would definitely be something that I would support, done with consideration. I would still love to see more general pool powers become available in the future, but I imagine this is pending the aforementioned discussions. I'm still undecided for or against Order bonuses, as I figure that a lot of the disciplines seem geared towards one or the other, but still nothing that I would argue with limiting towards one or the other. Although, I like Solari's suggestion for both.
I find the idea of Clan Feats extremely attractive to be honest, like Mirus said - It would allow the units a way to show how they are unique. Also i'd love to see more powers in the pool for general use, Force weapon and plant surge etc.
I'll agree with those two examples. :P
I think feats that modify general force powers, not unlike how the current CS handles disciplines, would be an adequate replacement for Clan force powers.
I also have a storyline suggestion. If you establish the Emperors Hammer as a rogue Imperial offshoot, bringing it outside of the Imperial Remnant and thus Star Wars canon/EU entirely, you will save a lot of the older members of the DJB a lot of grief.
Ok, since we are supposed to follow the new canon, does that mean all our races, which are now classified legend, are now null and voided? Cause Chiss is in none of the Canon and I don't want to change him
As Shadow said, we don't know anything about the new canon yet, so I assume questions regarding stuff like species and such are difficult to answer at present.
I spent the whole Dark Crusade building up a Back to the Future-style timeline merge to the Disneyverse, so shifting to the new canon is fine with me :P
It was actually pretty fun breaking the fourth wall last year in fiction events... inventing Journeymen whose knowledge of the past was totally at odds with my own character's, and exploring that in character was surprisingly enjoyable.
Shad, I've got a question about the fictional aftermath of the GJW. Is it common knowledge IC who Esoteric actually was, or is that still a secret? I'm curious if it's still presumed that the One Sith is a threat, as that wasn't actually resolved in the fiction. If it is still a secret, then what is the public justification for Pravus stopping the fight against them (unless we still are at war with them)?
Brimstone: I get the feeling that unless the new canon specifically goes out of its way to change or remove something established in the EU, you have nothing to worry about. You should only be worried if the new movie or books go, "Pfft. Chiss? Those don't exist," which I doubt would really happen. What the new installments will affect the most, more than anything, are the named characters in the universe that have already been in the previous official trilogies, as well as the scenery. For example, the history of certain mainstream planets or organizations may change.
Nice Report! I see you point about the clan powers, but I do miss the uniqueness of Tarentum's old clan powers. It was quite fun to write about.
I also have a question about CIs. Would you count poetry for the same? I just ran a poetry comp and I believe two or three participants went over the 500 word mark. How would I award that after the comp has been judged?
Etah -- I like that idea for shifting the EH to new canon. Regardless what the new EU is, it would be simple enough for us to say one of the Empire's fleets bailed after the Battle of Endor and became their own thing ruled by a Warlord. It bridges old and new canon well, and still provides us with the same EH we had before.
Brimstone/Malik/Ronovi -- As mentioned, we have no details on the new EU yet. Might some species disappear? Honestly, there's a strong possibility. Most of us who have perused the EU regularly can see where some... writers... have added insane things to the SW universe. Or things blatantly ripped off from other fantasy or sci-fi universes. The change to new canon might mean a change to our available species, weapons, ships, etc. depending on what's done. The DB will still have some freedom to pick and choose.
Vivackus -- In character, the knowledge of Esoteric's true identity is only known by Pravus and Nix (and anyone they've taken into their confidence). The rest of us are still under the belief that Esoteric was a One Sith enemy. And, though it wasn't stated in the GJW plot, the IC belief of the Brotherhood is that Pravus and Nix killed Esoteric on Korriban.
Hades -- For the most part, poetry is not awarded CIs. As I said, we do have a minimum requirement of 500 words. However, if someone were to run an Epic-style poetry comp, or if someone submits a poem over 500 words, you can recommend it for CIs the same way you'd do fiction. Simply email me with the competition ID, the members PIN, and their word count. I'll put it through.
Thanks. You'll be getting an email from me tonight. :)
Excellent repor, Shadow.
Also, I'm glad everyone seems to be on board with the concept of Clan/Order Feats as a compromise to isolated Clan Powers.
Regarding species, I forget who the quote was from, someone from the Rebels creative team I think, but by and large, they said stuff like planets, species, etc, will most likely stay the same. They'll still be a Joker, and Batman will still leap from rooftops, but the story about how they met and the battle might change.
Also, don't forget, The Clone Wars television show remains canon, and pretty much all the species most people use already exist in that.
Aidan I'm wondering if my request for a certain species is still within the VOICE database. Do you think you could possibly confirm that you've seen it please?
Lex -- I've sent you an email.
I can see why shifting our history to fit the new canon would be ideal for new members and I suppose if we can keep things in our back story that are not contradicted in that new canon, then that shouldn't alienate older members too much.\
I'd also like to add that I love the idea of re-adding Clan/Order Force powers as general Force powers and then having Clan-specific feats to modify them. That sounds amazing, and it would be very interesting to see all the different ways that each Clan's feat would modify a power. Unless I'm misunderstanding, and the Clan-specific feats would modify different, normal Force powers.
Since disciplines are non-order specific, is there a possibility of order feats?
Additionally if Clan and/or Order feats were created, would we have them automatically? Or just have the ability to select them? (I personally prefer the former)
I think it would be cool if there were two feats per order, two per Clan, and you had to choose one. It would further assist in creating unique characters, and even two members from the same Clan and Order could be different and complement each other.
I like that idea