Resort to shadows until your body expires...

"All creation has a promise of heaven
and still you travel the road to hell..."
--VNV Nation, "Chrome"

Every once in a while people get all aggressive about some fictional aspect about the Dark Brotherhood... about alliances, about people getting left out of the loop, about how the club is run, et cetera. And then, at the peak of argument, people are chided, told "It's a *fictional* thing, it doesn't matter..."

Well, if that was the case, if we all held the same non-chalance about it, do you think that a star wars gaming/fan club would have lasted as long as it did? I mean, anyone at house leadership or above has spent hours, days, weeks, months, years working on this club. If it didn't matter to them, do you think they'd do it? To build themselves, their resume? It's a rare person who can put a DB position on their RL work application and get a better job because of it.

No, it's because we like the club. Because we like our personae, our characters...and the friends we made while playing.

Yeah, so we're geeks. So what? It's a geek club, at the end of the day... a big, happy, dysfunctional geek family. And it means something to each of us...maybe something different to each of us...but that doesn't mean that it doesn't matter. And, one of the signs that someone cares about something is by how much they fight for it.

More on this later, i think.

Overdrive and Why...

So, I spent a good amount of time this weekend on the various projects and duties I have to do as Herald. I made more than a few lightsabers for people, and a few for another lightsaber construction tool expansion (duals will be getting added in soon, at the same rank as the double-bladed lightsabers were). Made a bunch of warbanners, too...including one that had been giving me a fair bit of trouble for a while.

And Yeah, the warbanner request form is still broken. If you positively, absolutely need something changed, give me a PM when I'm alive on IRC (generally after 5pm EST, when my nick isn't set to asleep, AFK, or whatever), and we'll see about sorting you out.

I've seen a lot more activity in lightsaber requests the last week or so. It's odd how these come in spurts like that. Anyway, I'm working on these. One of the new requests was by someone who just recently got a custom saber done by me. While that's not a big deal, I do tend to put these requests at low priority... it's only fair that people get a first helping before others get a second.

Having said that, I do have to say a few things about saber requests. Quite a few people don't give me much information other than colours and such. that's fine. When I'm working on a person's custom saber, I usually open their dossier, have a peek at their history, or their ACC matches, basically trying to get a feel for what the character's style is. A lot of people will tell you that this is the best way to do it... and in a lot of cases, it is. Some of the sabers that I am really proud of are ones that the person gave me a wide open slate to work with. But it might not be the best for your vision. If you have an idea of what your character would use, let me know... traditional, organic, industrial, utilitarian, whatever... use good descriptor words and it'll help me understand what's up.

Someone asked me about how much time i spend on making stuff for the DB the other day, well specifically about how much i spend on each saber. Well, it varies pretty wildly. Some designs take only an hour... and others take 4 or 5 hours. It depends on complexity, how different it is, how detailed it is (my sabers can get pretty detailed), all of that.

And the guy I was talking to was surprised... well mainly because he probably thought it was easier (a common belief of people who've not done a lot of GFX work outside of finding pics of stuff online and using photoshop to paste them into stuff), but that I am willing to throw that much of my time at the DB...for other people's enjoyment. Well, that's not all it is. I really enjoy this club. Its a creative outlet that i don't get at my job (while i do work as a designer, i generally work on very boring stuff... it's not like i get to design things for companies i care about, or for products i like...it just doesn't work out that way), and I like seeing people get jazzed about the my work...and more importantly, the DB. People getting excited about their character, about their clan, their club helps to ensure that the club's going to be around that much longer.

And that's all for today. I'm going to try to remember to keep posting here, although i forget sometimes when i get carried away in my work.

Sabers and other stuff

The last few days I've been working on the Lightsaber Construction tool...It's going to have a lot more options soon. It's been eating up a lot of my time, but i think it's for the betterment of the club.

I just got word that the Warbanner Request form is broken. I already told the powers that be about it, and they'll get to it as soon as they are able (Muz is Code deficient, remember?)

I'm working on a big thing for the GJW...a lot of work, and I had to learn a new program...hopefully it'll work... I'm having a style quibble right now... the stuff i have made thus far isn't up to what i envisioned in my head. Ben thinking of heading back to the drawing board, but i'm running low on time, as the GJW starts at the end of this month, if i remember right.

The Monthly Topics for April ended, and I'll be judging those tonight. Hopefully I'll get through them all in one night, and get the medals requested. I've been reading them as they come in, but i need to re-read them to weigh them against the others.

Also, I'm going to be looking for a new Student. If you're a journeyman and think that you could benefit from my tutelage, drop me an email, or talk to me on IRC.

Behaviour and Recognition

I got a private message from Spears late last night. Spears and I go a ways back... we both joined around the same time, we both were hands of Justice, and we've been pretty good friends throughout.

If you've read the news page, you'll know that he told me that he was taking his JA server down.

Now that might not seem like a big deal to a lot of you people, but it speaks volumes to me. Spears sacrificed a lot of himself in a few thankless capacities over the years. As a Right Hand of Justice, he was the guy that 'prosecuted' people... as Headmaster, he was the guy that 'failed' people when they didn't test well, or even busted those people who cheated. And as the owner of a server, he was the guy that banned people for misbehaving.

No one loves the executioner.

But the fact of the matter is that we need those people who are willing to do the job, regardless of the fact that people will bitch and complain about them. For Spears, the crap he had to put up with and the lack of gratitude shown him for doing the job weighed heavily on him.

I'm going to take a moment and salute Spears, for all he has done. For all the late nights grading tests, for all the fighting to keep the DB fair and even, for all the money he spent or raised so that we can play our games, for all the graphics he made for people, and for being available for everyone, to give advice and taking the time to care.



Not many people realize that this club becomes more and more work as you ascend through the ranks of command. From Battleteam leader to Quaestor up to Dark Council, the scale of work gets heavier in proportion to the 'fun', the time left for gaming and idle chatting. And yet, without this infrastructure, the whole brotherhood would deteriorate rapidly and stop being fun for everyone.

Those silent names on IRC are silent because they are busy making sure that you can have fun.

Now, I'm lucky. As Herald, the things that I do are immediately recognizable. You can see the sabers, the robes I spend time on, the warbanners that Shin'Ichi and I do, the logos that are made for the clans and houses. And we get thanked and sometimes cursed... but there's recognition for my work.

What about the Headmaster? He checks scores of tests every day, as well as helping to write new ones for you to take to help you toward your next promotion or just plain understanding.

Or the Master-at-Arms? He reads through god-knows-how-many promotion and medal requests a day, to make sure they are up to snuff. And yet people only seem to talk about him when their reccomendation is denied. How about the thousands of times that he approves a medal *immediately*?

How about Dalthid? As Combat Master of the ACC, this guy has to put up with some of the craziest stuff... from trying to teach Acolytes that they 'aren't the chosen one and can't kill everyone' to making insanely difficult judgements on battles, he has to take a lot of crap. A LOT. There's always someone pissed off at Dalthid. And yet, he slaves away at it, making it better, more accessible, easier to understand.

Or the people who generate the events for us to play? Korras ran a wonderful Rite of Supremacy, as did Alanna before him. Your consuls are responsible for working with Xanos on the current Clan Feuds, and I know Kaiann has spent a few hundred hours working on the coming Great Jedi War.

These people deserve thanks too...and not just from the DC... Take a moment and say 'thanks'. It'll take a moment of your time, and it makes a world of difference to them.

Double Bladed Lightsabers

I spent the last few days in the workshop and have released the results: four new double-bladed lightsabers for the Lightsaber Construction Tool. This is 'phase one' of four upgrades to the Lightsaber Construction Tool.

After long discussion with The Grand Master and his Apprentice, we had decided to make such weapons available to those Dark Jedi who have just recently begun study in the lightsaber forms of Juyo or Shien.

That means that If you are the rank of Sith Battlelord, Krath Epis, or Obelisk Exarch, you can have a lightsaber staff displayed on your dossier. That's two ranks earlier than the rank it was yesterday.

You still must reach the rank of Dark Side Adept to be able to request a custom double-bladed lightsaber. Also, If you bring a Double-bladed Lightsaber into combat, and you do not study the lightsaber forms of Juyo or Shien, you aren't going to be able to use the weapon to the extent of its, or your potential.

Anyway, here's the new saber staff models:
http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/files/sabers/NightmareSithRed.gif
http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/files/sabers/AegisObeliskBlue.gif
http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/files/sabers/AncientKrathPurple.gif
http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/files/sabers/VengeanceGreen.gif

All of these new light-staff weapons are available in order colour trimmed hilts, or plain, and have six choices of Blade color. Log in and go to the 'Lightsaber Construction Tool' to see them.

In Darkness,
KPN Muz Keibatsu Sadow (Krath)/HRLD/Dark Council