MILITARY RANK

A Variant form of the Membership Advantage

The character is a member of a military organization, such as the U.S. Armed Forces, Royal British Navy or the Colonial Space Marines. The exact name, nature and rank structure of the organization depends on the genre and setting. GMs and developers are encouraged to develop Military Rank tables specific to their own genre or setting.

The character has the perks and responsibilities commensurate with his rank in the organization. For example, a navy Captain has the run of his (or her) ship, can hold hearing for non-judicial punishment (known as "Captain's Mast"), and can issue orders to his crew, but they also must obey maritime laws and Navy regulations, answer to those of higher rank (such as Admirals), may be watched by the public and the media, etc.

Military Rank (MR) is rated 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest attainable rank within the group. When a character buys Military Rank in a group or organization, he pays 1 to 5 points for each level or "grade" within that group, depending on the importance or influence of the group in the campaign (see the table below).

The value of Military Rank may be adjusted based on the importance of the military organization within the campaign. If the military organization is the predominant feature of the campaign in which most if not all of the PCs are a part, then the suggested values below should be sufficient. If the organization is less accessible to most people in the setting but of an elevated importance within the setting, then the GM should consider increasing the importance of the Membership Rank by 1, 2 or even 3 points (see the example lists below).

Characters may substitute their Military Rank for a skill in appropriate situations, at the GM's discretion. The GM should impose penalties and bonuses to an NPCs' effect number to reflect special circumstances.

Likewise, GMs may also allow characters with Military Rank in a group with higher "importance" than the opposing character to receive a bonus to their effect number. For each level of difference of importance of each character's Military Rank, the character belonging to the group with the higher importance adds +5 to his effect number.

Lieutenant Fornier (who has a PRE of 5) is trying to order an MP corporal (E-4, or Rank 4) to let her into the custodial barracks so that she can talk to one of her soldiers, who was arrested for striking an MP the day before. The corporal (who has a WIL of 4) has orders to only allow his supervisor or higher ranking MPs into the custodial barracks, so the GM tells Christine to roll her character's PRE + Rank +5 (for being one level "higher" in importance than the corporal, who is enlisted) + 3d6. She rolls the dice and gets 10, making the total of her attempt 5 (PRE) +2 (Rank) +5 (bonus) +10 (the dice roll) = 22. The GM, meanwhile, rolls 3d6, and gets 7, making the corporal's total 4 (WIL) +4 (Rank) +7 (the dice roll) = 15. Because Lieutenant Fornier's roll was higher, the corporal backs down and lets the Lieutenant into the barracks.

If the same situation had occurred in the dead of night, when absolutely no visitors are allowed into the barracks, the GM could apply a bonus (of, say, +3 or even +6) to the corporal's roll, or simply not allow a roll at all.

This rule is intended to allow some flexibility in the use of skills and to allow players with Military Rank to use it instead of a normal skill to influence others, when appropriate. Players and GMs should note that, while making it easier to get other people to do things, using (or abusing) one's Military Rank may still have its consequences.

The opposite of this trait is the Outsider disadvantage.

Several suggested Military Rank tables are provided below. The GM is encouraged to create such a list for the campaign if none of the examples below are sufficient.

Notes:

* There is only one such position within the organization.

** These grades may correspond to two or more ranks; the rank depends on the duty/position of the individual.

† These grades correspond with Non-commissioned Officer ranks, as a rule.

U.S. Armed Forces -- 1775

Enlisted Grades (1 Point/level)

Commissioned Officers (2 Points/level)

Armed Forces -- 1812

Enlisted Grades (1 Point/level)

Commissioned Officers (2 Points/level)

Armed Forces -- 1861

Enlisted Grades (1 Point/level)

Commissioned Officers (2 Points/level)

Armed Forces -- 1918

Enlisted Grades (1 Point/level)

Commissioned Officers (2 Points/level)

Armed Forces -- 1941

Enlisted Grades (1 Point/level)

Commissioned Officers (2 Points/level)

Armed Forces -- 1951

Enlisted Grades (1 Point/level)

Commissioned Officers (2 Points/level)

U.S. Armed Forces -- 2002

Enlisted Grades (1 Point/level)

Commissioned Officers (2 Points/level)