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Old 01-22-2014, 03:25 PM   #1
Phantasm
 
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Default Revised Administrative Rank Table for Modern/Sci-Fi Settings

I've been puttering around with an Admin Rank Table for a while now, mostly for my Marvel Reboot project but also suitable for a friend's Star Trek game and my current Star Wars game. (A potential player wants to be an ex-Republic Senator, so I had to work out what his Rank could have been.) Here's the current ideas I have.

Rank Position
11 - Leader of a large interstellar nation-state/empire (Star Wars Galactic Republic)
10 - Leader of a typical interstellar nation-state (Star Trek Federation)
- Leader of an interstellar sector (up to a few dozen systems) (e.g. Sol Sector)
- Head of an interstellar empire's government agency (State, War, Treasury, Post)
- Member of an interstellar empire's legislative or judicial branch (Imperial Senate)
9 - Leader of a star system
- Head of an interstellar nation-state's government agency (State, Defense, Treasury, Post)
- Member of an interstellar nation-state's legislative or judicial branch
- Head of a division of one of the interstellar empire's government agencies (e.g. equivalent of the FBI, CIA, or Secret Service)
8 - Leader of a planet (United Nations Secretary-General)
- Head of a star system's government agency (State, Defense, Treasury, Post)
- Member of a star system's legislative or judicial branch
- Head of a division of one of the star system's government agencies
7 - Leader of a planet's nation-state (e.g. United States, China, Lichtenstein)
- Head of a planet's government agency (U.N. Security Council)
- Member of a planet's legislative or judicial branch (U.N. General Assembly)
- Head of a division of one of the star system's government agencies
6 - Leader of a province in a nation-state (e.g. California, Texas, Ontario)
- Head of a nation-state's government agency (State, Defense, Treasury, Post, Justice, etc.)
- Member of a nation-state's legislature or judicial branch (US Congressman, US Supreme Court Justice)
- Head of a division of one of the planet's government agencies
- Head of a nation-state's colony or territory
5 - State or Province Sub-Division (County) Supervisor
- State or Province Legislator or Judge
- Federal Circuit Court Judge
- Head of a division of one of the nation-state's government agencies (FBI, CIA, KGB, Secret Service, Census Bureau, SHIELD)
4 - Township Supervisor
- Town or City Mayor
- County Legislator or Judge
- Federal District Court Judge
- Head of a state or province branch of one of the nation-state's government agencies
3 - Rural Municipal or City Council
- Town or City Head Judge
- County or Federal District Court Prosecutor's Office
- Head of a city or regional branch of one of the nation-state's government agencies
2 - Local Office Leader (e.g. City Prosecutor's or Coroner's Office)
1 - Local Office Team Lead
0 - Rank-and-File Local Office Worker


A few notes:

It didn't matter how large or advanced a nation-state on a planet actually is for the Rank; the President of the United States, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the President-for-Life of Cuba are all treated as being of equivalent Rank.

Likewise, cities and small towns are treated as being equivalent. In my home state of Pennsylvania, the cities of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown (the three largest cities in the state) have similar internal structures as the boroughs (small towns) of Catasaqua, Hockendaqua, and East Stroudsburg, despite the differences in population and territory. Each city and borough sits inside and ultimately answers to a county, and in my travels across the nation I've seen this to be the rule rather than the exception.

(New York City is an obvious exception to the above, as the city covers five counties, one for each borough, rather than all five boroughs existing inside a single county. Manhattan is the New York County, Queens is Kings County, and the others share their names with their counties.)


So, thoughts?
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Last edited by Phantasm; 01-22-2014 at 03:31 PM.
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Old 01-22-2014, 03:30 PM   #2
Fred Brackin
 
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Default Re: Revised Administrative Rank Table for Modern/Sci-Fi Settings

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Originally Posted by tbrock1031 View Post

So, thoughts?
Do you mean this to be a _Status_ table rather than Admin Rank? All of your example people would be in separate Admin hierarchies.
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Old 01-22-2014, 03:35 PM   #3
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Default Re: Revised Administrative Rank Table for Modern/Sci-Fi Settings

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Originally Posted by Fred Brackin View Post
Do you mean this to be a _Status_ table rather than Admin Rank? All of your example people would be in separate Admin hierarchies.
While in different hierarchies, this is meant to represent the scope of their authority inside their respective governments. Status in these settings are often given as no higher than Status 2 on its own with additional Status coming from Wealth and their Merchant, Admin, or Military Ranks.
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The GURPS Marvel Universe Reboot Project A-G, H-R, and S-Z, and its not-a-wiki-really web adaptation.
Ranoc, a Muskets-and-Magery Renaissance Fantasy Setting
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Old 01-22-2014, 03:44 PM   #4
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Default Re: Revised Administrative Rank Table for Modern/Sci-Fi Settings

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While in different hierarchies, this is meant to represent the scope of their authority inside their respective governments. .
Nah, the differences between how given Rank chains can work can easily swamp general principles.

For example, Emperor in Star Wars is life or death over hundreds of billions or more. President of the UFP is the next thing to Courtesy Rank.
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Old 01-22-2014, 03:53 PM   #5
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Default Re: Revised Administrative Rank Table for Modern/Sci-Fi Settings

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Originally Posted by Fred Brackin View Post
Nah, the differences between how given Rank chains can work can easily swamp general principles.

For example, Emperor in Star Wars is life or death over hundreds of billions or more. President of the UFP is the next thing to Courtesy Rank.
While this is true, I'm shooting for "Gameable approximations suitable for a wider range of settings" rather than "headache-inducing simulation of reality".
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Old 01-22-2014, 03:56 PM   #6
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Default Re: Revised Administrative Rank Table for Modern/Sci-Fi Settings

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Originally Posted by tbrock1031 View Post
While this is true, I'm shooting for "Gameable approximations suitable for a wider range of settings" rather than "headache-inducing simulation of reality".
Thing is, what you can do with it changes the point cost of your Rank per level.
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Old 01-22-2014, 04:05 PM   #7
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Default Re: Revised Administrative Rank Table for Modern/Sci-Fi Settings

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Originally Posted by tbrock1031 View Post
It didn't matter how large or advanced a nation-state on a planet actually is for the Rank; the President of the United States, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the President-for-Life of Cuba are all treated as being of equivalent Rank.
Is that the way Rank should be leveled? I mean, doesn't the number of GURPS ranks depend on the scale of the hierarchy?
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Old 01-22-2014, 04:08 PM   #8
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Default Re: Revised Administrative Rank Table for Modern/Sci-Fi Settings

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Is that the way Rank should be leveled? I mean, doesn't the number of GURPS ranks depend on the scale of the hierarchy?
Yes, it does. But I suspect that the OP is not using Social Engeenering and that he wants a simplistic way to handle Rank. If so, an united table do not sound out of place to me, but I do admit that the passage beteween rank 7 to 5 seens a bit odd and abrubt in my opinion.
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Old 01-22-2014, 04:38 PM   #9
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Default Re: Revised Administrative Rank Table for Modern/Sci-Fi Settings

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Originally Posted by Mateus View Post
Yes, it does. But I suspect that the OP is not using Social Engeenering and that he wants a simplistic way to handle Rank. If so, an united table do not sound out of place to me, but I do admit that the passage beteween rank 7 to 5 seens a bit odd and abrubt in my opinion.
Bingo on the first count. I've read through it a few times, and my head imploded a bit trying to fit things into

As for ranks 5 through 7, yeah, that's roughly where my top-down (from "interstellar empire" to "modern nation-state province") and bottoms-up (from "local office" to "FBI branch office chief") approaches met; I'm not entirely satisfied with it.
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"But mom, I don't wanna go back in the dungeon!"

The GURPS Marvel Universe Reboot Project A-G, H-R, and S-Z, and its not-a-wiki-really web adaptation.
Ranoc, a Muskets-and-Magery Renaissance Fantasy Setting
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Old 01-22-2014, 05:50 PM   #10
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Default Re: Revised Administrative Rank Table for Modern/Sci-Fi Settings

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Originally Posted by tbrock1031 View Post
...
Likewise, cities and small towns are treated as being equivalent. In my home state of Pennsylvania, the cities of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown (the three largest cities in the state) have similar internal structures as the boroughs (small towns) of Catasaqua, Hockendaqua, and East Stroudsburg, despite the differences in population and territory. Each city and borough sits inside and ultimately answers to a county, and in my travels across the nation I've seen this to be the rule rather than the exception.

(New York City is an obvious exception to the above, as the city covers five counties, one for each borough, rather than all five boroughs existing inside a single county. Manhattan is the New York County, Queens is Kings County, and the others share their names with their counties.)
...
There are places outside of the USA where "city" and "county" are the same - Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Windsor, Montreal, and Quebec City are just a few. In my experience, your "city inside a county" setup is the exception, not the rule.

Thus, I'd combine what you have for ranks 3 and 4, and renumber everything higher (giving you 10 ranks instead of 11).
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