Merchant Crew Uniforms
- Thread starter infojunky
- Start date
It would depend on who the ship belongs to - Free Traders, probably no uniform; fledgling line - maybe a uniform; larger line - uniform (different sections may have different colour working overalls, eg. blue for deck, green for engineering, white for pursers/stewards, but the casual/dress uniforms would be identical with sections distinguished by insignia).
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Count of Khandi
SOC-1
Thanks for mentioning the brand. I had no idea they existed but now I've seen them, I have to buy some.
Not on My Ship . . .
Hello. I am the Astrogator.
Your seat is there.
If you have a problem, go ask the Steward.
(If you wanted the Friendly Skies, you should have flown Tukera Lines . . . )
It probably depends on the ship’s captain as well as company policy.
The mega-freighter from the pirates of Drinax set has a listed crew of 165, the majority of whom are engineers (102). The ship has no passenger capability and is purely a cargo vessel. Given that there are no real front facing staff (aside from the ships commo guy and maybe the peeps who help unload the cargo at destination) I can see the ship’s captain being more lenient towards mufti, particularly in the case of the slops that the engineers wear. The crew probably have merchant uniforms for events or shoreside of course.
Ships with passengers (particularly more luxurious ones with higher paying fares) probably have a stricter uniform policy, especially in front facing roles.
The mega-freighter from the pirates of Drinax set has a listed crew of 165, the majority of whom are engineers (102). The ship has no passenger capability and is purely a cargo vessel. Given that there are no real front facing staff (aside from the ships commo guy and maybe the peeps who help unload the cargo at destination) I can see the ship’s captain being more lenient towards mufti, particularly in the case of the slops that the engineers wear. The crew probably have merchant uniforms for events or shoreside of course.
Ships with passengers (particularly more luxurious ones with higher paying fares) probably have a stricter uniform policy, especially in front facing roles.
From videos I've watched on various YouTube channels, on cargo ships it is common for the deck department to wear mufti at sea unless they are doing maintenance work, but when outside during port approaches/stays/departures they wear their overalls. The engineering department are usually wearing overalls on duty, for obvious reasons, although it looks like they may have different coloured overalls for "in public". "Dress" uniform for licensed crew (white shirt with rank slides, black trousers) don't tend to be worn.
It's very different on passenger ships - deck crew will always be wearing some degree of "dress" uniform when on duty (or overalls if doing maintenance work), engineers will be wearing uniform when in public areas (but overalls in engine spaces).
Enoki
SOC-14 1K
I do when the crew is part of a corporation or larger entity like that. Small ship crews wear whatever they want. For crew uniforms I pattern them after mid- to late- 19th century ones for the officers. Hands wear uniforms appropriate to their job, like coveralls for engineers, servant garb for the stewards, etc.
For a Ling Standard Products merchant crew, the officers would be in a deep maroon colored uniform with pillbox cap and traditional naval officer ranking on the cuffs, something like this:
Other corporations would use different colors, might use a different style of hat, change the length of the coat or make it a sack suit style to suit their board's tastes.
Given the nature of the game with nobility, I put a lot more emphasis on social standing, rank, etc., and stratify society in general much more. That is, people are expected to 'know their place' and stay in it. For example, a merchant officer wearing such a uniform commands more respect than the captain of some small free trader that is wearing casual clothes and isn't properly groomed.
This goes to things like interacting with law enforcement or officials in government. The higher your social standing and better your appearance and demeanor are the easier the time you have getting cooperation from NPC's. It's all more Victorian and there's lots of stodgy and picky individuals you run into. You can get turned away from fancy restaurants or bars simply for not being the right class or wearing the right clothes.
This even goes to between services. If a uniformed merchant officer meets a similarly ranked naval officer, the naval officer has precedence in rank over the merchant officer.
IMTU, you are who you say you are, and how you act in society counts all the time.
coliver988
SOC-14 1K
the only issue I have with that is an assumption of a universal social status and what that entails. We've had plenty of discussions about "Imperial Culture" but given the breadth of the Imperium, the speed of communication, and the fact that worlds are of the Imperium but not ruled by the Imperium, gives rise to a LOT of cultural differences. What may be all good upper-class clothing or mannerisms on one world could be something utterly disdained on another.I do when the crew is part of a corporation or larger entity like that. Small ship crews wear whatever they want. For crew uniforms I pattern them after mid- to late- 19th century ones for the officers. Hands wear uniforms appropriate to their job, like coveralls for engineers, servant garb for the stewards, etc.
For a Ling Standard Products merchant crew, the officers would be in a deep maroon colored uniform with pillbox cap and traditional naval officer ranking on the cuffs, something like this:
Other corporations would use different colors, might use a different style of hat, change the length of the coat or make it a sack suit style to suit their board's tastes.
Given the nature of the game with nobility, I put a lot more emphasis on social standing, rank, etc., and stratify society in general much more. That is, people are expected to 'know their place' and stay in it. For example, a merchant officer wearing such a uniform commands more respect than the captain of some small free trader that is wearing casual clothes and isn't properly groomed.
This goes to things like interacting with law enforcement or officials in government. The higher your social standing and better your appearance and demeanor are the easier the time you have getting cooperation from NPC's. It's all more Victorian and there's lots of stodgy and picky individuals you run into. You can get turned away from fancy restaurants or bars simply for not being the right class or wearing the right clothes.
This even goes to between services. If a uniformed merchant officer meets a similarly ranked naval officer, the naval officer has precedence in rank over the merchant officer.
IMTU, you are who you say you are, and how you act in society counts all the time.
Who knows - some worlds may be all Jimmy Buffett and wearing "stodgy" clothes is a sign of NOT being in the right social circles. Heck - one of the random world "quirks" from one of the world builders in MTU the upper class all had purple-dyed hair. If your hair was not purple, you were not part of the "in-crowd" and would be turned away from the local high-class restaurants. Let's just say purple hair-dye was illegal for the masses and was quite the "small cargo" import for those on the know!
Enoki
SOC-14 1K
That goes without saying. The rules change by where you are but the 3I does have a lot of influence, as do things like megacorporations that extend beyond the 3I. If their corporate culture is X, that's going to get followed to one degree or another everywhere it exists.
And, there will always be local customs one is expected to follow or be looked down on. I also toss in racism and genderism. I don't want it to feel like you're just being in the same society you live in in reality except in space.
casquilho
SOC-13
I love reading threads like this one for the things I learn or the thought exercises I can play with. But in truth in my games this is much less of an issue. My games tend to focus on much smaller ships, often tramp freighter types, working on the outer fringe of the known space. The frontier so to say. So, I tend to have less "official" uniforms and more social norms (lots of coveralls for example) and practical use protocols such as a hazmat suits.
I will admit, if I were going to go with uniforms, I do like the colored tab or badge or patch and less the Star Trek whole uniform color thing.
Thank You All for this great thread.
I will admit, if I were going to go with uniforms, I do like the colored tab or badge or patch and less the Star Trek whole uniform color thing.
Thank You All for this great thread.
Enoki
SOC-14 1K
Where it can come into play in your version, might be your crew is at a class A starport on a fairly well-to-do world. There's a bar in the starport that caters to ship's officers. Being a bigger port, there are larger ships, possibly some naval vessels, and the like present.I love reading threads like this one for the things I learn or the thought exercises I can play with. But in truth in my games this is much less of an issue. My games tend to focus on much smaller ships, often tramp freighter types, working on the outer fringe of the known space. The frontier so to say. So, I tend to have less "official" uniforms and more social norms (lots of coveralls for example) and practical use protocols such as a hazmat suits.
I will admit, if I were going to go with uniforms, I do like the colored tab or badge or patch and less the Star Trek whole uniform color thing.
Thank You All for this great thread.
So, your small ship crew finds they'll let your ship's captain, maybe a first officer, in because they have credentials, but the rest of the crew gets kicked to the curb and told to go away or they'll call the cops. Inside there are mostly uniformed officers from the, say, Imperial Navy, Marines, merchant corporation ships, etc. Maybe some suit and tie corporate management types are present. There are a few scruffy / casual looking guys at the bar you take to be other small ship captains.
How do your players handle this? Maybe there's a good opportunity for the Captain to find a patron or some useful information. Or, maybe things go south when he tries to interact with the uniformed officers in some way.
This is where the HASS Cultural Extension for worlds in T5 comes in to play, specifically the third digit, STRANGENESS. Low Strangness means close to Imperial norm; High Strangness means, well, strange. H for Heterogeneity is a factor as well. This will tell you how they react to the Imperial Social Standing Scale.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Colour coded, for your convenience.
