I recently needed to determine the schedule for a merchant ship crew - the PCs were trying to determine the fall guy for a failed customs inspection, based on Steward skill.
Under normal circumstances, precedence is easy to determine. It gets a little harder when two players are involved, or you need to determine precedence for other reasons, especially when more than one sophont has the same skill level.
Unless circumstances dictate otherwise, in general I base everything on the primary skill of a sophont. Ranks are based on the skill level. Titles are further differentiated by the skill itself. For example, Gunner-Initiate, or Pilot-Journeyman. Note that Gunner-Initiate and Initiate Gunner mean the same thing, and are interchangeable.
Here are the titles I use:
Skill Title
1 Initiate
2 Apprentice
3 Journeyman
4 Leader
5 Master
6 Archon
7 Prelate
8 Director
9 Dean
10 Premier
11 Consul
12 Prime
In most instances, especially shipboard, there are rules of precedence that are followed.
The owner or captain is also called the Shipmaster. In many cases, crew will have the same skill level in their primary skill. In that instance, precedence is as follows as far as chain of command and succession:
Shipmaster, Pilot, Navigator/Astrogator, Comms, Sensors, Engineering, Medic, Weapons and finally Steward/Loadmaster/Cargomaster.
In general, the following rules apply to precedence within the same skill, where that skill is considered the primary duty of that sophont. For example, the ship's Astrogator may also have Pilot skill. Since his primary duty is Astrogation, his precedence would be based on Astrogation skill -- the regular pilots (if any) would be higher in the command chain.
1. Skill level
2. Date the level was earned.
3. Qualifying (test) score. Largest number takes precedence. *
4. Date of birth
5. Each rolls 1d6 until there is no tie, higher roll has precedence. **
* IMTU, when a skill level is earned/awarded/learned I roll 1d6 six times, and record the value for each digit, forming a 6-digit number. This is the qualifying or test score earned by the sophont for that skill level. This is only used for precedence determination. For example, rolls of 6, 4, 1, 6, 3 and 5 would give a score of 641635.
** If there are more than two sophonts, group them by the initial roll, and within that group determine hierarchy. For example if six people are checking precedence, and the rolls are 3, 4, 6, 6, 1, 2 the two 6's will reroll until there is no tie, and the highest will be first, the other 6 second, followed by the sophonts that rolled 4, 3, 2, and 1.
When on duty, the person with the highest skill level will be addressed as Mister, regardless of skill rank.
For example, if there are two Comms techs on duty, the ranking sophist may be addressed as Mister Comm, or as Mister <name>, even if they are a Journeyman.
I will occasionally use this as a plot device. For example, during a customs inspection the ranking Steward or loadmaster will normally be summoned. That steward may choose to delegate the task, but he is still responsible for the result.
I also tend to use it to figure out who is on duty for any given work shift, and call my shifts Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary. Primary shifts are normally on duty when it matters, and shift lengths may vary depending on circumstances.
Under normal circumstances, precedence is easy to determine. It gets a little harder when two players are involved, or you need to determine precedence for other reasons, especially when more than one sophont has the same skill level.
Unless circumstances dictate otherwise, in general I base everything on the primary skill of a sophont. Ranks are based on the skill level. Titles are further differentiated by the skill itself. For example, Gunner-Initiate, or Pilot-Journeyman. Note that Gunner-Initiate and Initiate Gunner mean the same thing, and are interchangeable.
Here are the titles I use:
Skill Title
1 Initiate
2 Apprentice
3 Journeyman
4 Leader
5 Master
6 Archon
7 Prelate
8 Director
9 Dean
10 Premier
11 Consul
12 Prime
In most instances, especially shipboard, there are rules of precedence that are followed.
The owner or captain is also called the Shipmaster. In many cases, crew will have the same skill level in their primary skill. In that instance, precedence is as follows as far as chain of command and succession:
Shipmaster, Pilot, Navigator/Astrogator, Comms, Sensors, Engineering, Medic, Weapons and finally Steward/Loadmaster/Cargomaster.
In general, the following rules apply to precedence within the same skill, where that skill is considered the primary duty of that sophont. For example, the ship's Astrogator may also have Pilot skill. Since his primary duty is Astrogation, his precedence would be based on Astrogation skill -- the regular pilots (if any) would be higher in the command chain.
1. Skill level
2. Date the level was earned.
3. Qualifying (test) score. Largest number takes precedence. *
4. Date of birth
5. Each rolls 1d6 until there is no tie, higher roll has precedence. **
* IMTU, when a skill level is earned/awarded/learned I roll 1d6 six times, and record the value for each digit, forming a 6-digit number. This is the qualifying or test score earned by the sophont for that skill level. This is only used for precedence determination. For example, rolls of 6, 4, 1, 6, 3 and 5 would give a score of 641635.
** If there are more than two sophonts, group them by the initial roll, and within that group determine hierarchy. For example if six people are checking precedence, and the rolls are 3, 4, 6, 6, 1, 2 the two 6's will reroll until there is no tie, and the highest will be first, the other 6 second, followed by the sophonts that rolled 4, 3, 2, and 1.
When on duty, the person with the highest skill level will be addressed as Mister, regardless of skill rank.
For example, if there are two Comms techs on duty, the ranking sophist may be addressed as Mister Comm, or as Mister <name>, even if they are a Journeyman.
I will occasionally use this as a plot device. For example, during a customs inspection the ranking Steward or loadmaster will normally be summoned. That steward may choose to delegate the task, but he is still responsible for the result.
I also tend to use it to figure out who is on duty for any given work shift, and call my shifts Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary. Primary shifts are normally on duty when it matters, and shift lengths may vary depending on circumstances.