Position Overview
The position of the Master at Arms is the keeper of records in the Dark Brotherhood. While it doesn’t hold a direct leadership function, he’s responsible for the approval of any given request made by members, be it a Medals, a promotion or more trivial requests such as transfers. The MAA is required to make sure any request receives the same treatment regardless of who submits one. Also, any promotions or medals need to be clearly looked upon to make sure every member receives the same amount of rewards for their work for the improvement of the whole Brotherhood. Another duty of the MAA is to approve or deny competitions from DB leadership and to ensure that the level of award matches the effort of the competition. The two main qualities needed by a good MAA are fairness and patience.
As Master at Arms, what are my main expectations?
- To help the new members to settle themselves into our ranks.
- To oversee the daily activities of the office, making sure no request is unheard.
- To oversee competition processing, from request to reward.
- To assist clans in any possible way for all matters regarding transfers, appointments and removal.
- To promote positive relations with members and all other online presences
- To conduct a successful transition with successor
The MAA is requested to be present more then once daily, or in coordination with his staff, to make sure every request is processed in a timely manner.
Difficulties of being the Master at Arms
The main difficulty as MAA is to judge the requests made by the other members with clear mind and without prejudice. When a request is processed, there shouldn’t be any doubt a medal or a promotion is well earned. To make sure of this a good MAA need to check deeply the profile of whom is receiving the award or promotion and eventually gather more information from his superior to avoid any favoritism.
The second biggest difficulty arises when for some reason the MAA has to deny a request. This usually leads to an exchange of emails with the requester and/or his superiors discussing the reason that the request was denied in either a polite or impolite manner. As a member of the Dark Council the MAA is required to behave in a civil manner at all times and for this reason when denying a request the MAA should go through the recommendation, point out each inconsistency/error, and explain them in the comments section.
Effects of the positions
The Master at Arms influences the whole Brotherhood with his work by controlling medals, promotions, name changes and transfers. This have obviously has a drawback: any mistake made may lead one or more members to leave the Brotherhood. For this reasons the MAA is requested to have good judgment capabilities, a strong presence, good communication skills AND a whole load of patience. Each time a member approaches the MAA with questions or for clarification, answers need to be clear. The MAA, like any Dark Council member, is requested to have a very fast reply time, usually within 24 hours. A faster reply time has been proven to be more effective in dealing members whom feel more cared by a fast answer.
Position Organization
The MAA reports to the Deputy Grand Master and the Grand Master directly. While he doesn't have any command over the clan or house summits, he will often work in close contact with them, as well as with the Headmaster.
- Superiors: GM, DGM
- Subordinates: P:MAA, M:MAA
- Close working relationships: HM, Summits
Specific Duties
Promotion Approval
Every time a member rises in rank, he rises in power within his Order and the Brotherhood. As such this is the most prized reward a member can receive. Every promotion needs to be deeply controlled before being approved to be sure the member has done enough work to warrant a promotion.
Medal Approval
The second most important award a member can receive are medals, ranging from Competition Medals to Merit Medals. As with promotions, medals need to be verified before being approved. For competition medals, it is required to ensure the request fits with the related competition and the level of award originally submitted.
Competition Approval
Competitions are the heart of the Brotherhood and as such they deserve a proper recognition for the winners. All competitions should be aimed to the whole unit, Battleteam/House/Clan that it is requested for and reward must follow the guidelines in the Dark Side Compendium.
Roster updates
All appointment, from Rollmaster to Consul need to be approved before being announced:
- Aedile: If the request is made by the Quaestor, Contact the Clan Summit for their approval.
- Quaestor: If the request come from the Proconsul contact the Consul for confirmation.
- CON and PCON are appointed directly by the Grand Master or Deputy Grand Master.
- DC Assistants: Update the roster as requested.
Name change
Make sure when approving a member's name change that no unearned clan title, famous character names are used, or that the Family Creation rules are not violated.
Clan transfer
Each time a request comes in to go from one clan to another, the MAA should mail the member’s clan summit requesting their interview of his clanmate to make sure the transfer is not due ill reasons or animosity with other member of the same clan. This is to avoid fights and to make sure our members are enjoying their time in the Brotherhood.
If a member requests to go rogue for personal reasons the MAA is not required to inquire about the situation. He may process it as soon as he is able to.
Email change
This is always approved by default.
Dark Council Commitments
The Master at Arms has the same commitments to the Dark Council as he does to the rest of the membership. He must evaluate their requests for promotions, medals, competitions, and name changes like everyone else. The Master at Arms does not get involved with projects but rather keeps his work in the day to day requests from the entire membership.
Position Checklist
- Immediately Following Election:
- Meet with the former Master at Arms and discuss any ongoing projects, the status of the Office as well as all other pertinent information
- Notify the former MAA’s Praetors and Magistrates as to whether or not they will be retained
- Ensure that there are no ‘left-over’ competitions – it’s extremely important to finish off any competitions that your predecessor had started or announced, otherwise the members who put effort into them will be disillusioned.
- Write a news post introducing yourself and telling people what you plan to do with the position.
- Don’t do anything radical. Unless your predecessor’s reign was dreadful, give yourself time to settle into the post before you try changing anything big.
- Daily Tasks:
- Process every available pending request.
- Respond to e-mail queries.
- Monthly Tasks:
- Report on djb.com and irc.
- Report to the Grand Master for the internal report.
Document(s)
Master At Arms Handbook (.doc)