Journeymen Rank Explanation

Hey Guys,

So for some time now I've been searching for Bloodfyre's old description of each of the Journeymen ranks. Finally I have found it, and I will be posting them below; each rank will get its own post.

These descriptions helped me out tremendously when I was doing the journeymen ranks a second time. I know it improved my writing, and my hopes are that in posting it here you all can use it as a resource to improve your own. Remember that these as sort of guidelines though, as in writing there will be numerous factors that can impact your character's actions so keep that in mind.

As always, the wiki holds an article on how ALL the DB ranks sort of compare to characters in the movies; check it out here: http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/wiki/in...ower_Comparison

While the main piece of works below are all bloodfyre's, I have taken the liberty to edit them in places I felt was necessary to reflect the current understanding.

*Note that they also look into how these ranks apply in relation to the clan itself too.

~RK~

Apprentice of Tarentum

As an Apprentice of the Brotherhood, you have passed the initial tests of the Shadow Academy, and have been welcomed into a Clan. The Clan you have become a part of is one of the darkest, most insular Clans of the Brotherhood: Tarentum.

Tarentum was founded by Magnus Kaerner and the members of the infamous Tau Squadron. In the old days, Tarentum was even known as "the Tau House." As an Apprentice, you have been informed of the legacy you now partake of, and have begun to read about legends such as Lord Kaerner, Master Zero, Erich von Reinthaler, the Mad Krath Sirrus, Shadow (the founder of Gladius), Bull (the founder of Tridens), and more.

As your initial training begins in Tarentum, you take your past skills and enhance them. Some Apprentices may have been warriors; those weapons that you are familiar with - you continue to train with. Those you have never seen before, you train with those until you could use them in your sleep. You start down the path of darkness as a warrior, you end up becoming a weapon.

Others of you will not be warriors, but will instead, have skills of other priorities. Some may be politicians, who will be trained to fight, but enhanced in the arts of diplomacy as Tarentum recognizes them. Some may be field medical technicians, who will be trained to fight alongside their brethren as a healer, ready to diagnose and dress wounds on the field of victory. Even others may be skilled thieves and hackers, who become trained operatives and assassins for the Clan, enhanced in their abilities by the Dark Side and the secrets of Clan Tarentum.

As an Apprentice, you have just begun the road to true power in the Dark Side, but you are still a force to be reckoned with. You tend to rely on your past skills, but find that there are ways to augment them through the Dark Side. You are not a weakling; Tarentum does not allow weaklings to abide within its halls. Instead, you are an unforged sword, or a blaster without a power cell. You have the ability within you to be a great power, a source of great opportunity or destruction, you simply have to have those abilities awakened within you.

Your masters see this potential, and they begin to show an interest in what will bring out your darker emotions. You may be treated coldly or harshly, but know that your masters recognize your skill and power, and seek to bring out the hatred and dark fuel that will sustain you throughout all of your challenges. Learn from them, allow them to shape you, but find your own destiny through your own actions, and choose what path you will take on this dark journey.

- Written by: DJM Sith Bloodfyre


Combat Writing: Apprentice

Above, Bloodfyre does a great job explaining the depth that is an Apprentice. Most in the DB unfortunately see this position as being relatively weak and insignificant role. This mostly is due to the fact that few that are interested in the DB actually stay in this position for long. However, again as Bloodfyre explains, this role isn't for children. Many of the people accepted into the DB come from different walks of life and have previous skills that are enhanced upon by the force. Unfortunately the power comparison chart on the wiki lists Anakin as a child in this role, and this overshadows the fact that Apprentices aren't weak and insignificant. In a fair comparison, Luke while on the Death Star rescuing Leia is a much more appropriate comparison.

Remember that Luke had some instruction in the force prior to the Death Star, as seen on the Millenium Falcon. His had some basic success in sensing the training drone's attacks; but reasonable failures at the same time. Notice that in the battles that take place afterwards in the Death Star, Luke is much more focused and skilled in the battles than the rest of the characters; however it plays out like luck. Having a basic understanding of the force, Luke is able to subtly call on it in times of crisis (Just after Obi-wan dies for example) but it isn't used for extreme feats of action. Improved aim and focus, dodging incoming fire by a fraction of a second, and light improvement to basic skills like his grappling hook toss succeeding in one attempt. Most of these things don't seem like huge aspects of the force but that's the limits of the Apprentice.

-Written By OT Raiju Kang

Novice of Tarentum

As a Novice, you have displayed an ability to understand your place within Tarentum, but are looking for more understanding, and more exciting challenges for your skills. You have taken the first steps toward greater power within the Dark Side than is afforded to the body of Apprentices that you were previously a part of. You have shown that your masters may treat you as harshly as they desire, but you will not back away. Though they still have further challenges, and even harsher lessons to teach you, they recognize that you are ready for them.

You are still very much a student of the Clan, and the House you reside in. Your mornings are filled with lessons brought to you by your masters, your afternoons are filled with tasks set to you by your masters and other House leaders, and your evenings are generally spent among the other students of the House, looking for opportunities to prove your dominance and greater level of understanding than they possess. Some might desire to forge friendships, and share personal insights; you may even take part in this.

Your masters have told you that friendships are for the weak, but they have also said that Clan Tarentum possesses some of the strongest bonds within the Brotherhood. You begin to understand that, even as a Dark Sider, you have allies and companions, but you must remember that they will not, and cannot, provide you with what you need to bring to the table: a drive to learn, a hunger for power, and the raw ability that will define you as a member of the Clan. You will become a part of Tarentum, you will learn what it means to be Tarenti, and you will eventually partake of the rumored darkest powers available that can only be found within Tarentum.

Your abilities within the Force, while somewhat meager, can help advance the skills you still possess, and are told to continue to improve upon. Your masters have set forth tasks and challenges that are meant to teach you, but that will also make you continue to use and build upon what you have been before joining the Brotherhood. The Dark Side will help advance those skills, but the benefits that come through the Dark Side are limited, and sometimes difficult to gain and comprehend. You know that with greater training, these gifts will come easier, and will bring greater advantages.

- Written by DJM Sith Bloodfyre


Combat Writing: Novice

Once again, the Power Comparison Chart that the wiki holds is sort of confusing when it comes to this rank. I've always held that when people look at Anakin as a child, they miss the talents he has as a force user. Remember that when Anakin was brought before the Council after leaving Tatooine, (while receiving instruction on the way from Qui-Gon as the novel suggests) his talents are much more focused than when on Tatoonie or Luke on the Death Star. A fair comparison to an adult example would be Luke at the Battle of Yavin. Once again, the novels go more indepth to the experiences Luke had just prior to the battle as he trained in the jungles of Yavin IV; however, you can see the end result in his participation in the battle. While he still struggles like an average person, having to call Biggs for rescue though is saved by Wedge from the TIE Fighters on his tail, his reflexes hold him above the other Rebel pilots and allows him to succeed in dodging Vader long enough for Han Solo to save him AND blow up the Death Star. Already, at the comparative rank of Novice, Luke is seen as a shining star in the Rebellion; and most note-able is the fact that he out maneuvered a Dark Jedi Master for a short duration of time.

When writing combat for the Novice rank keep these examples in mind, while a Novice isn't going to be able to topple a DJM in combat; they can hold their own for short bursts BUT with huge down-times. In comparison to average folk, a Novice will be the hero among men; no longer are they seen as just being lucky, they have an aura that surrounds them and are the elite in their trades. However, they still have their limitations and their failures. A Novice might be able to influence another person to do something for them because they come off as incredibly charismatic, but to control a person's mind is out of the question. Additionally, while minor tasks can be performed flawlessly without effort, intermediate tasks will be struggled with tremendously.

-Written by OT Raiju Kang

Acolyte of Tarentum

This is where the fun begins. As an Acolyte in Tarentum, you are much like "senior students" in some ways. You are often the instigators of late night, or "spare time" student gatherings that involve testing each other in the training areas, and using any chance you can take to exhibit your own abilities, show yourself as being "the best of the new," and trying to force your own dominance over those who you call peers. In some ways, you may be displaying your own arrogance more than skill, but usually, it is not just arrogance. There may be some among the same rank of Acolyte who are better than you, there may even possibly be some among the lower two ranks who are greater, but you doubt it.

You are beginning to see yourself as the manipulator of your own destiny on a far greater level, and you begin to see that you can also manipulate the lives of those who are truly "lesser," those without knowledge of the Force. You have not yet begun to tamper with the lives of those in the Yridian system; at the moment, the Yridians are "protected" from you, as your Summits have said that the people of this system both serve, and are served by the wishes of the Clan. But you likely begin to see a day when you may be afforded your own estate within the system, a day when you truly will be able to manipulate these weak creatures as you see fit.

Your masters have begun to show less direct training over you; while you are not beyond their training, they have simply decided to see where you will venture out towards, as far as greater Force understanding. You are, however, instructed more about the expectations of each Clan member. One of your duties is to assist those members working towards their Trials. You may be paired to a Jedi Hunter, who has need of someone to do research for him, or who may want a newer member of the Clan to follow along and take notes from her. There are some people in the higher Journeyman ranks that want to show off just as much as you do.

You are now expected to train with a training lightsaber,. While the option has been open to you on an unspoken basis, you are now directed to begin your combat training with this weapon. When you are not spending time being instructed on acceptable methods and such in the Clan, you are practicing with this weapon (among others). You are also expected to begin serving the Clan in various functions, and may even now carry your own training lightsaber with you. The weapon is obviously simple, and not as elegant as some of the other weapons carried by higher-ranking members of the Clan. This is not a symbol of power as much as other lightsabers may be, but it is a symbol that you are nearing that mark of power and prestige.

Your access to the Clan's training facets is quite large. Certain training regimens in lightsaber training halls are still locked out from you and other lower-ranked members; certain holocrons and tomes are kept from your reach. You know this; your masters have told you this. There ARE secrets being kept from you. They do not tell you this to curb you, but rather, to provoke in you that dark desire that must present for you to reach out to greater power.

Soon enough, you will be able to choose your own "destination," as far as "where" you will serve the Clan. You have been expected to become familiar with many functions of the Clan, from Force training, to weapons training, flight training, and more. If you decide to expand your martial talents, you will be afforded opportunities to serve in the Clan's military. If you decide to focus on the Force, that setting is open to you either through being paired to a master, or joining a Team or Circle. You will still learn a great many things in either of these settings, but they will help you to focus and enhance your abilities as a Force-user.

Being an Acolyte means having less choices forced onto you, and more options available to you. In a subtle way, your masters are trying to teach you that you are a dark and powerful being, and your path is truly your own. You are being encouraged to remember that you must find your own place --within the Clan--, but this place is subject to your own desires and choices.

-Written By DJM Sith Bloodfyre

Combat Writing: Acolyte

You'll notice in Bloodfyre's writing above that now is the specific chance you get to partake in lightsaber training. Most Acolytes will easily have their training saber before being promoted to Protector, so its fitting that this is included as a specific part of the Acolyte section. That said, notice that it is not just lightsabers you are training with; Bloodfyre specifically mentions that there are other weapons and skills needing training and this drives home the fact that as a Dark Jedi of Tarentum you can't just be focused on lightsaber combat and specifically in combat writing it becomes tiring when marking epic battles that solely focus on lightsabers. Keep this lesson from your journeymen ranks in mind, skilled combat writing will cover a variety of elements and the most interesting battles will be the ones written with this lesson in mind.

With that said, what are the skills and limitations of the Acolyte rank? Well, at this rank you'll see a sort of cockiness or arrogance beginning brought about by the force enhancement in their skills. They aren't just elite soldiers, diplomats, etc.; they are the very best of the best among average individuals. Luke stands out in the Battle of Hoth as legendary hero who's able to down a Walker single-handed, but it isn't just his skills that are presented: His confidence in himself is extraordinary, with a slight indication of being full of himself. In later ranks this will develop into full blown arrogance, but in this stage its a simple over-recognition of the talents he has but not the full development of them. Remember, Luke decides to go off on his own to check out an asteroid in an extremely harsh environment - something average people without the confidence of the force would find questionable. Afterwards, when falling into danger, Luke struggles in the cave to beckon his saber hilt to him, and this is because the intermediate task isn't an effortless action for him yet. It still requires concentration and focus but is successful. When you are writing you character in combat, keep this aspects in mind; you're skill with normal weaponry (the ones you are trained in) is amazing, you are getting a slight confidence in yourself that could be troublesome (remember Anakin having faith in using Senator Amadala as bait), and you are in the beginning intermediate zone able to perform these tasks like sensing into the next room, beckoning things towards you, and leaping above your height BUT with great effort, and medium amount of error.

-Written by OT Raiju Kang