Crew-Crewman (Cm) Master (Mr)
Officers-Midshipman (Md)
Midshipman 3rd class (Md 3rd) Midshipman 2nd class (Md 2nd) Midshipman 1st class (Md 1st) Lieutenant junior grade (Lt Jr) Lieutenant (Lt)
Lieutenant senior grade (Lt Sn) Lieutenant Commander (Lt Cmdr) Commander (Cmdr)
Master Commander (Mr Cmdr) (Third Officer)
(Second Officer) (First Officer) Captain (Cap)
Fleet Captain (Fl Cap) Commodore (Comm) Vice Admiral (Vc Adm) Rear Admiral (Rr Adm) Admiral (Adm)
Admiral Commander (Adm Cmdr) Admiral-in-Chief (Adm Ch)
Lord Admiral (Ld Adm) Grand Admiral (Gnd Adm)
is the highest rank available and he commands the entire IAN fleet.
Player Characters and Rank Players whose characters have a background in the IAN will be wondering what rank they might have had. If they were lower or servant class the answer is simple, they may choose to be a Crewman or a Master.
For upper class characters the base rank is their choice of Midshipman rank. They may spend character points to advance a little higher. For 1 character point they were a Lieutenant junior grade or full Lieutenant.
For 2 character points they may choose any grade of Lieutenant. For 3 character points the character was a Commander, and they may spend an additional point to have been a Master Commander. At this rank they may also choose to have served as a first, second or third officer. For five character points they may have been a Captain. Higher rank than this should be granted at the discretion of the Gamemaster. Few fleet ranked men leave a life of freedom and luxury to become pirates.
The Navy and the Ministry
Technically, the IAN comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence.
However, a tense relationship remains between these two partners. The military itself is run by the Admiralty, but the Ministry deals with all the paperwork and logistics.
Without a military, the ministry has nothing, but without the ministry, the IAN cannot function. As you might expect, each partner thinks they are the one in charge and the Minister of Defence is constantly at odds
with the Admiralty. For anything to get done a series of compromises must be reached and deals struck. This hamstrings the entire IAN in a system of bureaucracy, favours and deals.
This means that individual Captains are often free to do as they wish, as it is so hard for their superiors to actually issue them orders (without making deals with the ministry). So, many Captains travel as they see fit across the world, sometimes hunting particular rival Skyfolk ships.
Medals and commendations
While they have many ranks and titles, the IAN has even more medals and commendations.
Even the lowly crew might be rewards with one of several commendations and badges of skill. However, the most commendations and all the actual medals are reserved for the officers. All promotions and medals suggested by Admiralty (on the recommendation of the officer’s Captain) but have to be approved by the ministry. Having said that, the ministry has no direst ability to recommend anyone for military honours.
Crew honours are often awarded for obedience and loyalty. The main awards though are for their skills. When a crewman has proved themselves talented of especially competent in a particular area, they are allowed to wear a coloured scarf to denote their skill. This ensures the officers can assign them to the right place. Crewmen can be awarded several scarves, but they usually only wear the one that will get them placed in their favourite position. Crewmen are often referred to by the scarf they wear rather
than their name (especially by officers who probably can’t remember it). In game terms scarves are awarded for a skill of 4 or more in a particular area. The different scarves and the skills associated with them are:
Title Renowned as: Scarf Colour Skill at 4
Lookout a Sharp eyed lookout Blue Perception
Gunner good Gun crew Green Gunnery
Sailman manages sails and knots White Climbing Stoker Good engineer or coal shoveller Black Ad Hoc Repair
Marine a skilled fighter Red Swordplay or Firearms
Skyman A good advisor Purple Sky Lore
Commendations are bestowed on crew as a certificate and an extra ration of rum. They are usually awarded for bravery, loyalty and good service. All the certificates are the same, you are simply awarded ‘a commendation’
and occasionally the officers mention why you deserve it.
Commendations for officers are much the same, but come with a coloured ribbon to add to their uniform. Different colours denote different areas of commendation (more fully detailed on the certificate). Red is for bravery under fire, Black for maintaining discipline, White for good service to the higher officers and Blue for showing advanced skill in shipboard operations.
Medals are quite another story and there are far, far too many offered to detail in one book. Few Admirals can fit all their medals on their chest when in dress uniform, so they usually pick just the highest honours. Player
characters and Gamemasters are encouraged to create their own medals for their characters, and any officer will have usually earned 1D6 for each rank they hold. Some examples include:
The Crossed Sword – for showing bravery when repelling boarders
The Silver Scourge – for giving the order that sends a Skyfolk ship to the ground
The Dashing Blade – for killing the most pirates in any single attack
The Loyalty Cross – for seeing a crew stay at their posts under extreme circumstances The Explorer’s Award – for discovering a useful ruin
The Gentleman’s Award – for maintaining a stylish uniform