House Palpatine Report #2

Greetings, members of House Palpatine! There is no time to waste on idle prattle! Imperial Storm VI has begun, and we find ourselves cast into a war zone, placed against an invasion of religious zealots known as the Kilji Illumine. They worship false idols! We will show them what true power looks like!

There is work to be done here... work that can only be performed by members of the Secret Order! Let us begin!

The annual Imperial Storm wargame has begun for the TIE Corps - but this year, the Secret Order has a part to play as well. And unlike events on the TIE Corps side, you don't have to wait for a battle to occur to get involved - you can start right now!

During the first three weeks of the competition, we've been tasked with performing special operations to increase the Fleet's efficiency. What this means is that we've been given our own set of targets, with fleet bonuses being granted based on breakpoints. We have the first three weeks of the competition to accumulate them - then, they'll be applied to the fleet scores for the final week of Imperial Storm VI, when they are needed the most!

Specifically, our goals are:

• Accumulate CoFs: Cluster of Fires earned by members of the Secret Order will determine the attack bonus given to the fleet in its final week. 50 Clusters of Fire earned? 2% attack bonus. 100 CoFs? 4%. 250 CoFs?? 6%. And for 500 CoFs, we will give the fleet a 10% attack bonus!
• Play DB SP Missions: DB SP missions (missions under the XW-DB, TIE-DB, XvT-DB, BoP-DB, or XWA-DB categories) completed by members of the Secret Order will determine the repair bonus given to the fleet in its final week. 25 for a 2% repair bonus, 50 for 4%, 100 for 6%, and finally 250 SP DB missions completed for a 10% repair bonus!
• Create art/fiction about Imperial Storm battles/conquests: Fiction and art entries created about battles or system conquests conducted by the Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet during Imperial Storm will determine the defense bonus given to the fleet in its final week. Only one entry per encounter may be counted, and for art entries, you need to explain how you created it (no pure AI entries accepted). For the defense bonus, 10 fiction and/or art entries will provide a 2% defense bonus, 25 entries will provide a 4% bonus, 50 a 6% bonus, and 100 art/fiction entries submitted and approved will earn the fleet a 10% defense bonus!

Beyond helping the fleet during the final week of Imperial Storm, each submission will also earn points towards an overall Secret Order competition, designed to reward those that contribute the most to this war effort! The points will be awarded via platform modifiers for CoFs and SP missions, with art/fiction entries worth 10 points each. The top seven members in each category will earn a Crescent based on placement (starting with a CR-Diamond on down). The top three members by total accumulated points across all categories overall shall earn a Gold Nova, Silver Nova, and Bronze Nova respectively.

For more details, check out the competition listing here.

The House Palpatine vs. DB Mission Compendium's Finest (?) Offerings has ended! Many DB SP missions were played of... more or less the highest quality (at least 66% highest quality anyway...)

I'd like to take this time to thank all the participants and congratulate all that placed! Final rankings are as follows...

• For XWA-DB 1:
  • First places goes to ACO Vanguard88 with a score of 100,527, earning a Amethyst Star
  • Second place goes to ST Locke Setzer with a score of 48,448, earning a Sapphire Star
  • Third place goes to ACO KEBLAOMEGA with a score of 11,018, earning a Emerald Star
  • Fourth place goes to MRD Master with a score of 9,486, earning a Topaz Star
  • Fifth place goes to WAR TheBlackxRanger with a score of 3,989, earning a Quartz Star
• For XvT-DB 5:
  • First places goes to ACO Vanguard88 with a score of 222,760, earning a Amethyst Star
  • Second place goes to ST Locke Setzer with a score of 91,529, earning a Sapphire Star
  • Third place goes to ACO KEBLAOMEGA with a score of 81,809, earning a Emerald Star
  • Fourth place goes to MRD Master with a score of 60,763, earning a Topaz Star
  • Fifth place goes to MRD Westric Davalorn with a score of 55,155, earning a Quartz Star
• For TIE-DB 10:
  • First places goes to ACO Vanguard88 with a score of 280,319, earning a Amethyst Star
  • Second place goes to ST Locke Setzer with a score of 146,371, earning a Sapphire Star
  • Third place goes to ACO KEBLAOMEGA with a score of 96,374, earning a Emerald Star
  • Fourth place goes to WAR TheBlackxRanger with a score of 19,984, earning a Topaz Star
  • Fifth place goes to MRD Master with a score of 12,667, earning a Quartz Star
• OVERALL RANKING
  • First places goes to ACO Vanguard88, earning a Amethyst Star
  • Second place goes to ST Locke Setzer, earning a Sapphire Star
  • Third place goes to ACO KEBLAOMEGA, earning a Emerald Star
  • Fourth place goes to MRD Master, earning a Topaz Star
  • Fifth place goes to WAR TheBlackXRanger, earning a Quartz Star

Thanks again to all who participated!

One of the unique Secret Order game platforms, Galaxy of Heroes, now features an approved process for earning Clusters of Fire! Going forward, winning a round in a Grand Arena Event is now an acceptable match configuration for a Cluster of Fire! Requirements for submission are the same as any other platform - take a screenshot of your round win, and then email it to the MAA (INQ Taurus, themadbull99@gmail.com) within 72 hours of your win. Remember, it's individual rounds, and they need to be submitted separately.

In honor of this change, a new competition, entitled "Brotherhood of Champions", has been launched and will run through March 24th, 2024. This competition will award the members who earn the most CoFs from Galaxy of Heroes during this time!

For more information about earning Clusters of Fire from Galaxy of Heroes, please review the updated MAA:Applied Arms Manual. And for more information about the Brotherhood of Champions competition, please review the competition listing.

As announced on the Discord and in the pages of the latest Dark Voice newsletter, the Master-at-Arms has announced the formation of The Guard, a new iteration of the Royal Guard organization within the Dark Brotherhood! The six members of the Guard will be determined by a competition, in which the most active members of the Dark Brotherhood from January 1st, 2024 through April 30th, 2024 will be assigned to its ranks!

Points are determined by PvP matches, Crescents/awards from Dark Brotherhood competitions, and completed SP missions (when flying DB missions specifically). Note that DB SP battles can only be completed once per month.

This competition aligns quite nicely with the objectives of Imperial Storm: Secret Order, so if you haven't had a chance to get involved in this one yet, now is definitely the time! Competition is currently active and will run through April 30th, 2024. Additional details may be found here. Please reach out to the MAA, INQ Taurus, with any additional questions!

Additional Dark Brotherhood competitions that are currently ongoing that you may be interested in include...

• Galaxy of Heroes Territory Wars - Ongoing! The Dark Brotherhood is regularly running competitions for Territory Wars in Galaxy of Heroes! If you're interested in participating (or just want to know more about Galaxy of Heroes), I highly recommend jumping into the #galaxy-of-heroes channel on the Discord and asking for help where needed!
• Dark Forces Trivia - Ongoing! In honor of the release of Dark Forces Remastered, weekly Dark Forces trivia rounds are currently running, hosted by ACO KEBLAOMEGA! New rounds start on Saturday and will continue to run through March 9, 2024. This week's round can be found here. Keep an eye in #competition-announcements on the Discord for the latest trivia link!

We have had many new arrivals this past month to the Secret Order! As such, I believe there's still value in a monthly drop of current guidelines and expectations for members of the Dark Brotherhood/Secret Order (especially in a month with a competition where folks might appreciate a refresher on how, exactly, to submit a multiplayer match for a CoF). So I've continued to include this section here in this month's report, and will continue to do so as long as I see a need for it and it continues to serve a purpose!

EXPECTATIONS

The expectations here are pretty simple: participate with the Dark Brotherhood/Secret Order! That sounds obvious, but it's worth stating. Participation comes in many forms, of course - whether it's participating in a Dark Brotherhood competition, playing one of our many supported platforms, creating fiction or art, or simply hanging out in the Discord channel, the base expectation is that you're here to engage with the Secret Order. There's a lot of different avenues to participate in, and sometimes that can be overwhelming. But if you're having trouble finding something to do, please reach out to me directly and we'll work something out.

For our TC-dedicated members, there is an expectation that you do more than simply sign up for the Dark Brotherhood and forget about it. Yes, much of your TC activity will count here as well, but for rewards and progress, we'd still like to see some DB-specific participation - whether that be with the type of activities (CoFs, DB-centric SP missions, Shadow Academy, etc.), DB-specific platforms (GoH, STO, JA), or simply engaging in the Secret Order Discord channel with your fellow House Palpatine members. Please reach out if you have any questions!

CLUSTER OF FIRE

Clusters of Fire (CoFs), the DB medal for victory in PvP matches, are still submitted via a manual process. You must e-mail the screenshot of your MP winning match to our Master-At-Arms INQ Taurus (themadbull99@gmail.com) and (optionally) to myself, ST Locke Setzer (locke.f.setzer@gmail.com).

As a quick refresher, for all platforms except Galaxy of Heroes, CoFs are earned not just by winning a PvP match, but by placing above over half of your team members. For example:

• In matches with 3 or less players on each team, only the 1st place player (according to score/kills/efficiency) would be eligible.
• In matches with 4-5 players on each team, only the 1st or 2nd place player (according to score/kills/efficiency) would be eligible.
• In matches with 6+ players on each team, only the 1st, 2nd or 3rd place player (according to score/kills/efficiency) would be eligible.

RANKS

Promotions are granted to individuals who have engaged in Secret Order related activities for the minimum specified time period for their current rank (at least). There are, however, three ranks that require an additional action to achieve.

• Acolyte - In order for a Novice to be promoted to Acolyte, they must complete the DB:CORE exam, located here.
• Stalker - In order for a Juggernaut to be promoted to Stalker, they must complete a creative work demonstrating how their character acquired the parts to make a lightsaber. Fiction is the common route, but there are many other options available. Please consult with the Herald (along with your House Leader) to identify if your desired creative work will be accepted before proceeding.
• Knight - In order for a Stalker to be promoted to Knight (and be granted the ability to wear a lightsaber openly, including on their TIE Corps uniform), they must complete all Shadow Academy courses regarding lightsaber construction, as well as a creative work demonstrating how their character assembled their lightsaber. Fiction is the common route, but there are many other options available. Please consult with the Herald (along with your House Leader) to identify if your desired creative work will be accepted before proceeding.

TRACKING ACTIVITY

As your Quaestor, I want to ensure that you are properly rewarded for everything you do. Keep in mind, however, that I can only see the things that appear in the database (SP/MP submissions, IU courses completed, competition awards granted, fiction submissions posted to your account, etc.). I do keep an eye on Discord (especially for things in #artworks-and-writing), but if you participate in a competition, game, or perform any kind of DB approved activity that doesn't include a submission or award through the website, I'll only know about it if you tell me. So please do so!

At the very least, as we come to the end of the month, if there's something you think I should know about that you participated in that I otherwise wouldn't, please drop me an e-mail or message on Discord so that I can include it. I want to make sure you're getting full marks for everything you do here, but I can only account for the things I can see. So please help me to see more, when needed!

With that stated, this report is at an end! We are at war! And without the wisdom and power of the Secret Order, it is not one I feel the Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet will survive... so let us reveal our power!

(Have fun during Imperial Storm VI!)

In Service,

ST Locke Setzer