Grand Master

Grand Master (GM)—The Grand Master has far reaching administrative responsibilities that cover nearly all aspects of the Dark Brotherhood. With the future interest of the organization in mind, he both leads the membership as a whole and directs the policies and hierarchy of the Brotherhood. This leader’s far-reaching perspective allows him to consider all of the seemingly disparate services, hierarchies, and other facets of the club when making decisions. His oversight unifies these different areas into one whole which we call the Dark Brotherhood. This tremendous responsibility is given to one talented individual and comes with widespread powers. He is in command of the entire Brotherhood.

Duties

General Duties

• Administration of the DB Website and Official IRC Channels
• Administration of the Dark Council, Societies, Clans, and Auxiliary Staff (Tribunes)
• Management of high-level promotions/awards
• Administration of fictional development (Dark Voice, spoils of war, storyline, etc.)
• Revision/Creation/Approval of Dark Brotherhood documents, including the Dark Covenant, Leadership Manuals, Official Policies, and other membership guides
• Coordinating Inter-Club Relations
• Member Services, including competition/gaming oversight, frequent communication with the membership.

Specific Duties

Website, IRC

• Ensures that there is secure, reliable, and long-term hosting for the Dark Brotherhood website
• Provides hosting for Dark Brotherhood related websites and files
• Ensures that the darkjedibrotherhood.com, darkjedibrotherhood.org, darkjedibrotherhood.net, darkbrotherhood.org, darkjedib.com, swgn.com, and starwarsalliance.com domains remain registered
• Oversees the development and maintenance of the Star Wars Gaming Nexus website
• Actively works with the Seneschal to facilitate needed upgrades to the Brotherhood website
• Directs the vision and organization of the Brotherhood website
• Responsible for keeping the Dark Brotherhood IRC channels within true Brotherhood ownership
• Ensures that there is a constant backup of Dark Brotherhood data
• Ensures that there is an archive of old data for historical purposes

Dark Covenant

• Maintains the Dark Covenant as the Constitution of the Dark Brotherhood
• Manages votes on amendments which require it
• Documents changes and conducts proper versioning and archiving
• Directs proposals that will change elements of the Covenant
• Knows and upholds the directives of the Covenant

Dark Brotherhood Generally

• Charged with maintaining communication between the various different groups within the brotherhood such as the Clans and the Dark Council
• Directs a vision of growth for the club
• Maintains quality control throughout the Brotherhood
• Directs and maintains activity and functionality of the Brotherhood Calendar

Leadership Development Generally

• Records leadership activity (reports, evaluations, communications, projects, etc)
• Maintains duty responsibility contracts with subordinate leaders
• Performs regular evaluations of leadership performance
• Provides constructive criticism for subordinate leaders
• Develops forums for fostering the development of future leaders
• Works cooperatively with the leaders to achieve Council goals.
• Reviews and appoints new leaders in positions of responsibility
• Establishes goals for subordinates and tracks their progress in meeting these goals

Finances

• Holds in trust an account for donations dedicated to the Brotherhood
• Accepts donations from members when given
• Requests donations when required
• Uses donated money to offset the cost of domain names and servers
• Reports quarterly on the income and balance of the account

Dark Council

• Responsible for the structure of the Dark Council and the delegation of duties
• Appoints members to fill vacant Dark Council positions
• Oversees the work and progress of each Dark Council office
• Completes reviews of Dark Councilors with the Deputy Grand Master
• Removes ineffective Dark Council members
• Advises in and approves the appointment of Praetors
• Oversees the transition from one Dark Council member to the next
• Responsible for the training of new Dark Council Members
• Gains detailed Internal Reports of goals, progress, issues and other items of interest from each office

Societies

• Oversees the creation and maintenance of societal structures
• Appoints members to fill vacant Society Leader positions
• Oversees the work and progress of each Society Leader office
• Removes ineffective Society Leaders
• Oversees the transition from one Society Leader to the next
• Responsible for the training of new Society Leaders
• Gains detailed Internal Reports of goals, progress, issues and other items of interest from each society

Clans

• Responsible for the decisions regarding the creation and removal of clans
• Develops and maintains Brotherhood policy on the creation of clans
• Works with Clan leaders to devise an order policy that is suitable for each clan
• Oversees the opening and closing of houses
• Appoints members to fill vacant Consul positions
• Gains advice and input from clan members prior to decisions on Clan Summit appointments
• Oversees the work and progress of each Clan
• Removes ineffective Consuls
• Advises in and approves the appointment of Quaestors and Proconsuls
• Oversees the transition from one Consul to the next
• Responsible for the training of new Consuls
• Gains detailed Internal Reports of goals, progress, issues and other items of interest from each clan

Tribunes

• Develops and creates Tribune positions
• Approves applications for Guild Tribune positions
• Appoints members to Tribune positions
• Jointly with the Deputy Grand Master, oversees the work of the Tribunes
• Removes ineffective or inactive Tribunes
• Oversees the transition from one Tribune to the next
• Responsible for the training of new Tribunes
• Gains detailed Internal Reports of goals, progress, issues and other items of interest from each tribune

Fictional Development, Illustrations, Storyline, Possessions, Dominion

• Approves and coordinates the fictional storyline of the Dark Brotherhood
• Approves and coordinates the fictional storyline of the Orders
• Approves and coordinates the fair dispersal of ships, weapons and men
• Approves and coordinates the management of the Brotherhood dominion
• Approves and coordinates all clan and personal artifact possessions
• Oversees for the bi-monthly distribution of the Dark Voice newsletter
• Works with the Dark Voice Tribune to ensure the Brotherhood storyline is encapsulated within the Dark Voice
• Approves all major graphical initiatives for the Brotherhood
• Keeps the Order of Battle updated
• Keeps the Order of Artifacts updated

Dark Side Compendium

• Oversees the development and vision of the Dark Side Compendium

History, Archiving, Encyclopedia

• Responsible for collecting and storing Brotherhood and Clan history, including text, graphics and websites.
• Archives websites in a manner that does not require an active internet connection
• Develops and maintains an encyclopedia of Brotherhood characters, members and events

Codex

• Develops and maintains the Brotherhood Codex.
• Ensures that all changes to the Codex are tracked and that versioning occurs for historical reference.

Interclub Affairs

• Jointly responsible with the Deputy Grand Master for interclub affairs
• Develops and maintains the interclub policies and procedures
• Approves and denies alliance proposals
• Deals with enemies of the Brotherhood
• Ensures that the Center for Interclub Relations is updated

Policies, Documents, Manuals

• Creates and maintains policy on ownership rights and the crediting of work
• Creates and maintains the policy on licensing of work to the Dark Brotherhood indefinitely
• Ensures that all Dark Brotherhood policies are maintained and intact within the Decree system or in some other form of public reference
• Develops standards for Brotherhood visuals, policies, projects, and groups
• Reviews and approves or denies any proposal on Brotherhood structure or policy
• Ensures that there is proper documentation for every position in the Brotherhood
• Responsible for creating documentation on new positions created
• Responsible for the creation and maintenance of all Alacrity of the Commander documents

Promotions and Awards

• Reserves final oversight authority on all promotions within the Elder class and ensures no marginalization of the ranks within
• Reserves final oversight authority on all awards within the Elite stratum and ensures no marginalization of the awards within

Competitions, Gaming

• Decides on ship and artifact awards for Vendettas
• Accepts map and level Designs created by members
• Works to establish centralized gaming servers for the Brotherhood
• Assists in the administration of central gaming servers

Fictional Role

The Grand Master is the Dark Lord of the Sith and Master of the Order of Sith Lords, called the Star Chamber, as well as the Tripartite Path. In public, the Grand Master is usually regarded as the Grand Moff of the Antei Sector.

In theory, the Grand Master lays claim to the position of Military Executor and with it the status of Fleet Admiral of the Allied Brotherhood Navy and High General of the Allied Brotherhood Army. However, as full alliances of the Clans are rare, the last known occassion being during the Exodus in 19 ABY, it is rare to see the Grand Master referred to in this way.

Grand Master as a Rank

Those who are appointed in the position of Grand Master obtain the rank of Grand Master as well. This rank is otherwise unreachable. Any member appointed Grand Master will retain the rank even after their retirement.

See: Organizational Chart

Current Grand Master

The current Grand Master is Jac Cotelin.

Former Grand Masters

In order from first to current:

• Kane Vader
• Jedgar O. Paladin
• Kreayat Havok
• Crona
• Jac Cotelin
• Justinian Khyron
• Justin Stryker
• Justinian Khyron
• Thedek
• Archibald Zoraan
• Chi Long
• FireFox

Trivia

• At one time, Grand Masters were expected to carry an ebony staff as a mark of their office. Upon the retirement of Lord Paladin, this fell out of fashion.
• Grand Masters were often promoted to the rank of Dark Prophet upon retirement. This was abandoned long before the Exodus.