Acquiring New Members

An extensive guide to the operative specifics of command…“Acquiring New Members”

Introduction

New members are the lifeblood of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. For years we have survived by constantly reloading our ranks with new recruits, eager to participate and to gain rank and glory. No Clan, House, or Battleteam can survive on its leadership alone. The members who drive the unit must also be present. More importantly, the unit must periodically replace members that are all too frequently lost to the abyss of the Real World.

You will find that many of these new members are not worthy of pursuing greater glory within the Brotherhood. Few of those who join our ranks survive their first trials in the darkness. Even fewer rise to positions of responsibility and lead their members toward glory and domination. As a leader it is worth understanding where this new membership comes from.

Most Clans rely on the Shadow Academy and the Master at Arms for acquiring new members. Each of these new members of the Dark Brotherhood is assigned an Envoy representing one of the Clans of the Brotherhood. This Envoy takes on the responsibility of mentoring the new member until he qualifies to enter a Clan. If you are not already familiar with this process, you can learn more about it by reading Addendum 1.0 – “Welcoming New Members” and Addendum 2.0 – “Clan Summit Management of Envoys.” Getting assigned members through Dark Fury requires very little effort on your part since most of these new assignments found the Dark Brotherhood on their own. If you can understand each of these Addendum resources, you will be more successful as a leader of your Battleteam, House, or Clan. However, for the assertive leader taking initiative, there exist alternative ways to acquire new members for your Clan.

This document focuses on the internal acquisition of members who have already proceeded through the join form. Acquiring members that have yet to join the Brotherhood will be discussed in another addendum. Like any leader, you rely on both new and old members to fill the ranks of your Battleteam, House, or Clan; you must ensure that your unit will have members to sustain itself in the future. How do you appeal to each group of prospective members?

Subdividing Prospective Membership

You will be more successful in your recruiting endeavors if you can understand the situation enjoyed by the different types of member. The Dark Brotherhood is a very diverse group of people, many of whom do not share your interests. Many are citizens of countries other than yours, and some may not interpret your speech as you intend it to be interpreted. Also bear in mind that some may have disabilities which prevent them from interacting with you as you might like them to interact.

When making first contact with anyone that you do not know, be sure to exercise caution and restraint. Never have strong expectations for anyone as it is likely that you do not know them at all and may be disappointed by their responses. Always be friendly. Always show an interest in them and their needs regardless of who they are and what Clan or club they may be a member of. Not all members are the same; be mindful not to expect the same from all, and be sure to adjust your recruiting efforts accordingly.

There are members of the Dark Brotherhood who:

• Have no particular interest in pursuing a “career” as a Dark Jedi
• Have no intent on replying to your emails or being active in the Dark Brotherhood
• Enjoy gaming, gaming, gaming. They may have no interest in the hierarchy of the Dark Brotherhood or anything else it has to offer.
• Could be a 32 year-old professor working in a lab in Antarctica
• Could be a 14 year-old student who is under strict supervision by her parents and may be *very* new to the internet and the behavior of members of our club.

Further, there are new members of the Dark Brotherhood who:

• Prior to joining, were never members of an online Star Wars club
• Have previously held membership or currently hold membership of other Star Wars clubs
• Have had little or no experience with the internet
• Have had a lot more experience than you with the internet

There are established members of the Dark Brotherhood who are:

• Members of your Clan
• Members of another Clan
• Members of the Rogue Jedi
• No longer able to play an active role in the Brotherhood
• Interested in becoming active again
• Interested in advancing their careers within the Dark Brotherhood
• Very loyal to their current Clan
• Content with their position or role in the Brotherhood
• Unhappy with their current location in the Dark Brotherhood
• Experienced leaders, perhaps having served on the Dark Council at some time in the past
• Inexperienced members

This list is not representative of every member of the Dark Brotherhood, however, these are general traits that you should consider when making contact with members that you might like to see in your Battleteam, House, or Clan. Be prepared for a variety of responses. Never expect success 100% of the time.

As stated earlier, this guide does not discuss how to recruit new members from outside of the Brotherhood. We assume, for now, that you are finding prospective Battleteam, House or Clan members who already hold membership in one of three locations:

1. Rogue Jedi,
2. Your Clan, or
3. A Clan external to your own.

Do NOT try to recruit a new member who is waiting as a “Rogue Jedi” until her transfer to their Envoy’s Clan is completed. If you suspect a new member found within the Rogue Jedi is in such a state, pass over her dossier. A new member may easily get confused or distracted if people she’s never heard of start emailing her and pleading for her allegiance.

Method

We outline some reasons why you might want to look beyond your current Battleteam, House, or Clan for prospective membership:

1. There is an open leadership position within your Clan, House, or Battleteam. (By considering those leaders outside of your unit, you feel that you are providing for a more secure and stable future for your Clan, House, or Battleteam.)
2. By attracting additional membership, you feel that your Clan, House, or Battleteam will be more active and/or productive.
3. You have noticed recently that a specific member is unhappy with his current status in the Dark Brotherhood and believe that you have an offer which can help this member.
4. You are interested in opening a new Battleteam (or possibly even a new House) within your Clan, and you need either a general membership body or one that has a specialized skill set—i.e. good writers, good Jedi Academy sabre duelists, or some other group which would help to validate the mission of your new Battleteam.
5. You are involved in a Clan project which requires people with some specific skill (i.e. archiving history, running competitions, playing Allegiance, etc.) and you feel that you can increase the project’s chances of success by bringing onboard hand-selected skilled members.
6. You are interested in bringing back former members of historical significance to either your Battleteam, House, or Clan.

The following is a discussion about acquiring new members from each of the major sources of prospective membership for your Clan, House, or Battleteam. We try to include as many different member-types in our consideration of members from each source to be as inclusive as possible.

Method: Dark Fury Assignments

All members join the Dark Brotherhood as Initiates. Unless they are specifically recruited by a member of the DB, all Initiates are assigned an envoy from one of the six Clans, based on need. Clans with smaller numbers are given priority. Therefore, if your Clan has 12 members, you will be receiving a lot more Initiate assignments than the Clan with 60. Envoys are responsible for helping these Initiates pass the Test of Lore to gain promotion to Apprentice and eventual entrance into your Clan once their transfer has been approved.

Method: Recruiting The Rogue Jedi

Most Rogue Jedi have held an active position within the Brotherhood at some time in the past. They have retired from their positions within the Clans, have had to unexpectedly leave their position and Clan due to “real-life” considerations, or were sent to the Rogues for prolonged unresponsiveness and inactivity. Rogue Jedi include Apprentices, but this roll of Dark Jedi also harbors Dark Jedi Masters and Grand Masters of years past. Some Rogue Jedi have bad e-mail addresses and can not be contacted, while others still may occasionally check their email. Rogue Jedi may have no intention of joining the active population of the Brotherhood again. However, some may only use the Rogue Jedi as a resting place until someone like you presents them with an enticing offer of membership to our Dark Brotherhood once again. You might even be able to resurrect people who have been considered as lost to the past.

• First of all, it is important that you do not spam the Rogue Jedi frequently. Most Rogue Jedi are there because they want to be left alone.
• Most often you might selectively e-mail a few people who have played an important roll in your Clan’s past, or you might find an old friend that you’d like to get in contact with again.
• It is NOT acceptable to e-mail Initiates unless you have been specifically appointed to this task by the Headmaster, Knight Commander of the Brotherhood, or some equivalent authority.
• It is acceptable to email an Apprentice; however, you must first check to see when she joined. If an apprentice has joined and was promoted from Initiate in the last week, you should not e-mail this Apprentice as she will likely be assigned to a Clan in the near future. If you suspect that this Apprentice has not yet joined a Clan after a week of becoming an Apprentice, you should consider contacting the Apprentice to ensure that she has not been forgotten and left out of the transfer process. In this case, however, you need to understand that the Apprentice may still be intent on joining a different Clan. Your role in this situation is help the Apprentice join a Clan and move on with her career in the DB – not to try to steal the Apprentice from a different Clan if she was intent on joining it.
• Let me repeat this again: Do NOT try to recruit a new member who is waiting as a “Rogue Jedi” until her transfer to their Envoy’s Clan is completed. If you suspect a new member found within the Rogue Jedi is in such a state, pass over her dossier. A new member may easily get confused or distracted if people she’s never heard of start emailing her and pleading for her allegiance.
• When you e-mail any Rogue Jedi, it is important to show an active interest in her while also providing her with an opportunity to join your Clan and help accomplish something. Personalize your email and try to gather as much information about the member as possible. If you show an interest in her, whether she is an old or new member, she will be more likely to respond favorably to your e-mail.
• For some of the older members, you might even consider recapping events over the last few months, several months, or years depending on how long the member has been in the Rogues. Those with history in the Brotherhood may be interested in seeing how the club has progressed over time. Offer them that information which they seek and they may be interested in what you propose.
• Realize that you will not have a 100% success rate. Some members may have no intention of joining a Clan ever again. Others still may not want to join your Clan because of a sworn oath of loyalty to a different Clan. Some have joined the Rogues because they can’t be active at this time. Remember that some don’t want to be e-mailed either. You will encounter a variety of responses from a varied group of Rogue Jedi.

Method: Recruiting From Within Your Clan

Eventually, all Houses will fall under the Multi-Order system. This means that membership to each House doesn’t require you to be a member of any one order in particular. Nor will any House need to use only one skill—like playing JO or JA or only writing. The multi order system was designed so that each House would have a diverse set of skills with a diverse membership of each of the three orders. This system facilitates competitions between two or even three Houses within the same Clan or any other House in a different Clan. Leaders will adapt to providing a wide variety of events and competitions for their members.

This situation provides for the unique opportunity of talent exchange between the different Houses of one Clan. Most of the active, contributing population of a Clan resides either in the Clan Summit, House Summit, or within the Battleteams.

• Each Battleteam will likely concentrate on one skill set in particular. You may find that there are members in another House who are interested in joining your Battleteam because it emphasizes something their current House does not.
• If a leadership position opens in your House, you might consider recruiting applicants from another House within the same Clan. Most often, fellow peers are more familiar with clan membership than those external to the clan. Your peers will help lead the clan while also considering the unique values, beliefs, and identity of the Clan. Since Clans are multi-order, one can easily find a capable leader in any one of the three other Houses without having to worry about a lack of familiarity with a certain order or skill set.

Method: Recruiting From A Clan External to Your Own

Recruiting between Clans is most often considered inappropriate. Such recruiting often creates distrust between Clan and House leaders and can lead to bad relations between Clans and may place undue stress on friendships across Clans.

• Sometimes members display public discontent with their current Clan and their membership of that Clan. They may approach you about transferring to your Clan, or you might consider asking them about why they are unhappy. Act responsibly when talking with these members. You aren’t there to take advantage of their situation. You’re there to help out.
• Occasionally, due to rough times in your Clan, it is necessary to acquire new talent from beyond your Clan’s boundaries to help lead your Clan to future success. Filling your summit with solid leadership is important. Consider looking to aspiring leadership in other Clans to help address your situation. Be careful not to constantly look beyond your Clan borders for new leaders. Your members may feel that you have no faith in their ability to become leaders and this can create distrust between you and your Clan.

Method: Unacceptable Methods of Acquiring New Members

• Do not recruit members to your Clan by offering merit awards or rank elevations
• Do not blindly mass e-mail a large group of people. Try instead to selectively e-mail a small group of people. Always choose to Blind Copy people if emailing more than one person as things may easily get out of control if someone performs a “reply to all.”
• Do not recruit members from another Clan that are below the rank of Guardian, except in these circumstances:
  • The member has friends in your Clan and wishes to be with them.
  • The member hasn’t been contacted by his leaders for a long time. Initiating a transfer would save the member from losing interest and leaving the DB.
• Do not degrade other Clans – not even the Clan from which you are recruiting the member. This does not make your Clan look any better.
• Do not insult the leaders of another Clan while trying to recruit. This may warrant investigation by the Chamber of Justice.

Conclusion

Actively recruiting new members will infuse your Clan, House, or Battleteam with a level of energy not possible if you rely only upon the Dark Fury assignment process. However, getting new members is just the first step. You will need to use your Clan and House Envoys in combination with the guidance of your Clan’s leaders to help familiarize and integrate the new member into your Clan. Treat this member like you would treat any new assignment straight from the Shadow Academy. Everyone needs information, not just new guys. Older members are often just as interested to learn what’s happening within their House and within the Brotherhood. Feel free to send those members recent reports, important Clan emails, or other information.