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Our House has been split, with many of our former members now residing in the newly-formed House Valkorion. So be it! Let us embrace it! No longer will there be peace among the operatives of the Secret Order under a single house... and to this, I say, good! Peace is a lie! Growth requires conflict! And without growth, we will never unlock the potential power that resides within...
Therefore, let us look out towards the horizon, and the ever greater glories to be won by the operatives of House Palpatine!
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House Palpatine Split - House Valkorion formed
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As announced in the Discord channel and alluded to in my introduction, the Secret Order has opened a new house, and House Palpatine has been split into two to populate it. Congrats to ST Mordred on being announced as the Quaestor for this new house!
While I have enjoyed having all members of the Secret Order under a single house, this was never the long-term intention of the Dark Council, and this move helps us take another step towards their grand plans!
While I will miss having the members of the newly-formed House Valkorion as part of our house, I am looking forward to being able to provide more attention to the remaining members of House Palpatine; something that had, admittedly, proven difficult at our previous size.
With that in mind, I'm looking forward to the opportunities that come with the change, as well as developing a friendly rivalry with House Valkorion! That being said, I'd encourage anyone who has questions or concerns about this change to please feel free to reach out to me or the Grand Master.
In any event, I do want to give my thanks to everyone for your continued patience and understanding as we go through these changes as part of our ongoing evolution into the re-envisioned Secret Order!
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New Event - The Words of House Palpatine
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While House Palpatine has been around for over half a year now, I've held off on completing some of the lore items for it. With the house split now complete, the time has come to rectify that - starting with the establishment of a new House Motto and House Nickname!
Mottos and nicknames are a classic way to help give a unit an identity. They are also something that, historically, can last for a very long time - many units in the Emperor's Hammer still use mottos and nicknames that are decades old, with those units continuing to be shaped by the words spoken by its earliest members...
The time has come to speak the Words of House Palpatine! As such, I am looking for any suggestions for a House Palpatine motto and nickname. Suggestions can be submitted using this Google form I've set up for this purpose. Alternatively, you're welcome to send me your suggestions directly via Discord or email.
You're welcome to submit as many suggestions as you like, and you don't have to submit both a motto and a nickname; just one will do, if that's all you have. I will accept suggestions through August 23rd, 2024. After that, I will take the best ones and open up a poll for voting, so that we as a unit can decide what the words of House Palpatine will be.
A Crescent with Emerald Star will be awarded to the member(s) with the winning motto and winning nickname suggestion. A Crescent with Ruby Star will be awarded to the runner-up(s), with finalists being awarded a Crescent with Quartz Star.
Feel free to review the competition listing for more information, and please reach out to me if you have any questions.
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Competition Announcement - Summer of Sheev Final Event - Helldivers 2 Difficulty Challenge
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We've reached the last event of the Summer of Sheev competition! For the third and final event in the Summer of Sheev, the category is PvE, and the platform is Helldivers 2! The challenge? Complete a match at the highest difficulty possible!
We're looking to see just how powerful you are, so this challenge asks you to perform to your absolute limit. As ties are to be expected in this scenario, the tie breaker will be determined by the number of matches completed at the highest difficulty level achieved.
Matches should be submitted through the usual form for submitting Helldivers 2 matches. This event will run from now through August 15th, 2024. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Happy diving!
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Competition Results - Summer of Sheev Events #1 and #2
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While we're talking about the Summer of Sheev, let's look back on the results of the first two events... and highlight our House Palpatine operatives that succeeded!
For Event #1 (SP): XvT Time Trials, the results were as follows:
- First place and the Crescent with Diamond Star went to House Palpatine member MRD Vanguard88!
- Second place and the Crescent with Ruby Star went to House Palpatine member JUG KEBLAOMEGA!
- Third place and the Crescent with Amethyst Star went to House Palpatine member ACO Rosh Nyine!
- Fourth place and the Crescent with Sapphire Star went to House Palpatine member WAR Locke Setzer!
- Fifth place and the Crescent with Emerald Star went to House Palpatine member ACO Hera Storm!
- Sixth place and the Crescent with Topaz Star went to House Palpatine member ACO Nova Discordia!
- Seventh place and the Crescent with Quartz Star was a tie between House Valkorion member ACO Ludovicus Gallorum and House Palpatine member ST Westric Davalorn!
For Event #2 (PvP): Star Wars: Hunters Kill Count Challenge, the results were as follows:
- First place and the Crescent with Diamond Star goes to House Palpatine member NOV Gyot Soto!
- Second place and the Crescent with Ruby Star goes to House Palpatine member JUG Alexandre Morgan!
- Third place and the Crescent with Amethyst Star goes to House Palpatine member WAR Locke Setzer!
- Fourth place and the Crescent with Sapphire Star goes to House Palpatine member M Jarek La'an!
- Fifth place and the Crescent with Emerald Star goes to House Palpatine member ST Maston Dane!
- Sixth place and the Crescent with Topaz Star goes to House Valkorion member ADT Turel!
- Seventh place and the Crescent with Quartz Star goes to House Palpatine member JUG KEBLAOMEGA!
Congrats to all of the above, and thanks to everyone who has participated in the Summer of Sheev to date!
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Guidance and Expectations
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With a regular influx of new arrivals to the Secret Order, I believe there's still value in a monthly drop of current guidelines and expectations for members of the Secret Order. So please find this month's updated section below, with some additions to account for new platforms and guideline clarifications.
EXPECTATIONS
The expectations here are pretty simple: participate with the Secret Order! That sounds obvious, but it's worth stating. Participation comes in many forms, of course - whether it's participating in a Secret Order 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 operatives, there is an expectation that you do more than simply sign up for the Secret Order 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 SO-specific participation - whether that be with the type of activities (CoFs, DB SP missions, Shadow Academy, etc.), SO-specific platforms (GoH, Helldivers 2, STO, JK, JA), or simply engaging in the Secret Order Discord channel with your fellow House Palpatine operatives. Please reach out if you have any questions!
CLUSTER OF FIRE
Clusters of Fire (CoFs), the SO 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), his Praetor ST Legion Ordo (ehlegionx@gmail.com), and (optionally) to myself, WAR Locke Setzer (locke.f.setzer@gmail.com).
As a quick refresher, for all platforms except Galaxy of Heroes (which just requires winning a round in a Grand Arena Event), CoFs are earned not just by winning a PvP match, but by placing in the top 50% of all participants. Or, in other words, placing in the top half of all participants (not just 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.
And so on. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to myself or INQ Taurus. Approved platforms are listed here.
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.
For more information about ranks of the Secret Order, please review the relevant Dark Side Compendium page on the Emperor's Hammer Wiki. If you're not sure where you are on your creative works journey, please reach out - I am tracking this information for you!
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.) or submitted through a SO-approved form (such as the Helldivers 2 submissions form). 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!
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That's all for now! Keep your eyes open towards the Discord over the next month - this House split has been a major change, but it is far from the last one, and there are more exciting events planned! As always, please reach out if you have any questions about any competition or activity currently going on, or just have any questions about the Secret Order in general. My door is always open!
In Service,
WAR Locke Setzer
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