Welcome to the Antei Combat Center (ACC). This unique aspect of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood has been a staple for years and has gone through many revisions turning it into the refined experience it is today.
In Star Wars, nothing is more iconic than the lightsaber duels between characters like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, or Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn. What draws us to these battles is not just the technical nature of combat—aggressive styles clashing against defensive styles and so on—but the entertainment value of the combat and the story that is told between these combatants.
You may be familiar with more traditional RP groups, often taking turns on forums to post their characters' actions. The ACC is all about two writers weaving a story competitively through some form of conflict, be it between their characters, against an NPC, or part of a scenario. This story is then scored, with each participant’s efforts taken into consideration, and one walking away the victor. Its goal is to bring that same sense of epic and iconic imagery as seen within the battles of the Star Wars saga.
ACC Overview
The Antei Combat Center
In the ACC, you will engage in a fiction-based conflict against another member, each taking turns with that member to tell part of the overall story. This conflict is most typically found in the form of combat, be it against each other or a Non-Player Character (NPC). Each new section of the story written and added by a combatant in the match is known as a post.
A match opens with a prewritten post that sets the environment of the match, or scenario against an NPC if that format was selected. Following the introductory post, a standard match will consist of four total posts. Who posts first is typically established randomly by the site. Once both combatants have completed their respective posts against each other, the battle is judged, and a victor is declared.
There are regularly held championships and ladders to participate in, along with general challenges against your fellow members. These can either be in a direct challenge or via signing up to the open challenge queue, which will pit you against someone else who is also in the queue.
Regular participation, both as a combatant and as a judge, can earn you excellent rewards via the ACC Society.
What You Need to Participate
To begin participating in the ACC there are two things you must complete:
First, you must have a filled out, and approved Character Sheet. This is the “stats” and information about your character you and your opponent will need to reference. If you haven't filled out a character sheet yet, sign in to the Dark Jedi Brotherhood website and create a new sheet in the Character Sheet Administration page before proceeding with this guide. Please refer to the Character Sheet Express Guide for help in completing your character sheet.
Second, you must have filled out and saved some form of a Loadout. Loadouts utilize the site's possessions system, and designates what weapons, armor, and equipment your character has on them during a match.
Both the Character Sheet and Loadout systems are designed to help you and others write an accurate portrayal of the characters within the Brotherhood. In the ACC specifically, both are used as the basis for the characters involved in the conflict, their traits, skills, and equipment. This information is critical for both participants and judges to have access to.
The ACC can be accessed from the DJB’s website under the Main Menu dropdown.
Challenging
Challenge Screen
Further information on the specifics of what each option is on the challenge page can be found in the ACC Challenge Issuing Guide.
You can start a match with an opponent by either issuing a direct challenge to another member or joining the Open Challenge queue.
Issuing a Challenge
There are two ways to issue a challenge and get a match going. These are either via a direct challenge to a member you specifically wish to face, or with the Open Challenge system.
On the ACC site, click on Battles in the upper menu bar. From the drop-down menu, you may select either Challenge or Open Challenge. Challenge is used if you know a specific member you would like to face in the ACC. Open Challenge uses a queue system to be placed against another member in the queue by the site instead.
Writing a Post
Further information on the specifics posting can be found in the ACC Posting Guide.
Posts are at their core just a section of a story. Writing one is just like writing for any other fiction, be it part of the Brotherhood, or for personal enjoyment. The Characters, Setting, and Conflict are all critical for a good post in the ACC.
Posts must at least be 250 words in length. Make sure to have more than this written when posting.
The ACC uses Markdown meaning it is possible to include some formatting such as Bold and Italics. Hit that preview button to see what your post will look like!
Depending on what the post is, there are also some specific details to keep in mind.
Post Types
Opening Body Post is the first combatant written post in a match. It follows the prewritten venue post. If you are the first poster in a match make sure to establish yourself, your opponent, why they are there, and why they are fighting. Don’t forget to actually include some combat, as you get to set the stage for the entire match.
Body Post(s) following the first post, there will be one or more body posts that follow. These make up the bulk of the match and should build off each other to tell a cohesive story. Body posts should never end with one opponent defeat or in an impossible-to-win situation, those should be saved for the final post(s) in a match.
Final Post(s) depend on the type of match. Standard Alternative Ending matches involve both combatants writing an ending based on where the last body post ended. Singular Ending matches involve only one combatant writing the definitive ending of the match.
Time Limit Considerations
Keep in mind that every match has a time limit. These can be 1 day, 3 days, or 7 days. The time limit for the next post starts when the prior post is made. This means if your opponent posts at 12:38 pm and the time limit is 3 days, you have until 12:38 pm three days later.
It is possible to request an extension directly from your match page. The first extension is always automatically approved! Try to limit how often you extend a match as it becomes unfair to your opponent to constantly be left waiting.
Character Sheets and the ACC
An approved, valid Character Sheet is required to participate in the ACC. It is useful for Brotherhood fiction to understand what the different parts of the Character Sheet are, and how to read both your own, and others in the club.
For the ACC it is important to be aware of a Sheet’s Physical Description, Aspects, Skills, and Force Powers, both for your own sheet and your opponent’s. While your individual posts will typically be more from your own character’s point of view, knowing what your opponent is capable of will help strengthen your writing and make a more engaging narrative.
Character Information
At a surface level, it is very important to be aware of the Physical Description, and Loadout to accurately reflect what characters look like within a story. Often times a member will even have an image or two listed on their CS or Wikipedia page that should align with what is in their sheet’s physical description. Make sure to be aware of what your own character and your opponent look like when describing them in a match.
Aspects are the six key attributes of a character, written or chosen to describe what makes a character unique. Consider these the quick elevator pitch of how a character acts and behaves. Make sure to read both your own and your opponent's before writing a post to get an idea of their general behavior.
Part of all fiction scoring in the Brotherhood involves realism (specifically it is 30% of the final score). Keep realism in mind when portraying the characters in a match to get a good score and come closer to clinching the win!
Character Capabilities
The Skills and Force Powers determine what a character can actually do. Many Skills will be listed at a +0 on a sheet, as they are all usable in some capacity, but only at a mediocre level. Force Powers must have at least a +1 on a sheet to be usable by the character.
Skill Points
All Skills and Force Powers are measured with numbers, a scale of +0 (Mediocre or Not Known) to +5 (Master). Grand Masters are allotted a +6 level to further distinguish differences between their capabilities.
While these numbers refer to how invested a character is in a skill or power, no club fiction is a numbers game. All fiction is about writing skills, style, story, realism, and creativity. Being able to understand how a character would realistically fare based on their skills and aspects is a useful skill to score high on realism, as well as help you tell a more engaging story.
ACC Combat
Further information on the specifics of ACC Combat can be found in the ACC Combat Guide.
The heart of the ACC is conflict against another member (or alongside another member against an NPC). This means ACC Combat relies on collaborative writing and having an understanding of characters beyond your own.
While it is easy to always want to write your own character as the best ever, keep in mind that a good story comes from a well-balanced fight. And remember, it is fully possible to win an ACC match by writing your own character losing it.
To use the Force in the ACC, a member needs to belong to a Force using Order, and have points in that particular skill on their sheet. All characters in the club can have the Force do things to them. We do not annotate Force usage, so be descriptive when you use it in a match.
Conflict also typically comes with injuries. Do not shy away from dealing and taking them in turn over the course of a match. However, you should avoid causing “match-ending” injuries prior to the final posts of the match. Cutting off an arm in the first post of a match effectively ends the match before it even had a chance to run its course.
Lightsabers and Blasters cause a lot of damage to a person's body. Be aware of the pain these weapons can cause, and look to things such as Resolve, Control Self, or Bacta canisters to overcome more serious injuries.
Armor in the ACC comes in four different levels: Attire, Light, Medium, and Heavy. The heavier the armor, the more damage it can take. However, this comes at the cost of encumbrance, which will lower your effective skill level in both Stamina and Athletics. Protection comes at a cost.
NPCs can be used but should never take the place of the main combatants in a match. Similarly, Droids and Creatures equipped in a Loadout can be used in the match like any other piece of equipment, but should not be the primary “fighter” of the match.
Match Scoring
Further information on the specifics of match scoring can be found in the ACC Scoring Guide and on the official scoring rubric.
ACC Matches are scored the same way as any other fiction event in the club. There are just a handful of minor differences to be aware of.
- Matches are just you and one other person, whereas a Fiction competition might have many people participate.
- Because a match is a singular story, there is an added emphasis on continuity between the posts as well as realism between the two characters.
You will never need to worry about your scores, or your opponents making it out into the open. At the end of the day the victor is what is released on a match. Don’t feel self-conscious about your writing skills, there is always going to be room for improvement. The important thing is having fun, the winner of the match is just an extra layer on top of that.
There are four criteria that all fiction is scored on. These criteria are weighted differently to achieve a final score. Syntax (15%), Creativity (15%), Realism (30%), and Story (40%).
As you can see the most important parts of a match are telling a good story and keeping it realistic in terms of what the characters can do.
ACC Society Awards
Further information on the rewards for participating in the ACC can be found in the ACC Society Page.
There is a myriad of awards that can be earned from participating in the ACC. Completed matches come with a set of credits, XP, and Clusters of Ice. Championships award extra credits, and the top winners are awarded unique and custom items.
The ACC Society is a supplemental society, just like the Envoy Corps. It tracks both matches completed and matches you have judged. Both paths have unique awards ranging from credits, items, and feats.
All in all the ACC is very rewarding, both as a fun activity in this club, and in terms of things you can get out of it for use elsewhere on the site.