15.1 Introduction:
The Royal Navy, unlike the army is comprised of a virtually unlimited number of officers who vie for the privilege to command naval vessels. The player character that wishes to enjoy a career in the Royal Navy must apply for, and be accepted in the same manner as the army. That is where the similarity ends.
15.2 Rank Structure and Promotions:
The rank structure of the Royal Navy can be found in the table below:
|
Rank |
Pay |
Status Points |
Minimum SL |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Midshipman |
10 |
2 |
- |
|
Lieutenant |
12 |
4 |
- |
|
Master & Commander |
16 |
6 |
- |
|
Junior Post-Captain |
24 |
10 |
8 |
|
Senior Post-Captain |
28 |
12 |
10 |
|
Admiral of the White |
40 |
16 |
12 |
|
Admiral of the Blue |
40 |
16 |
12 |
|
Admiral of the Red |
40 |
16 |
12 |
|
Admiral of the Fleet |
40 |
16 |
12 |
There is no minimum SL to join the Navy. However, in order to become a Junior Post-Captain or above minimum SL requirements must be met.
In order to be promoted from Midshipman to Lieutenant, the player must serve in his present rank for at least three months while holding a berth and then submit a request to the Promotion Review Board, which may convene on a pre-monthly basis, following the Application (3 out of 6 chance per month). Attending the Promotion Review Board is a pre-monthly activity. Decisions of the Promotion Review Board may be influenced, this requires a level three or above favour. The decision of the Promotion Review Board will also be affected by the Military Ability of the player character being reviewed, as reflected in the table below:
|
MA |
Modifier |
|
|
|
|
1 |
-3 |
|
2 |
-1 |
|
3-4 |
0 |
|
5 |
+1 |
|
6 |
+2 |
|
7 |
+3 |
|
8+ |
+4 |
Promotion to all ranks above Lieutenant are by merit only.
15.3 Naval commands:
Receiving a commission in the Royal Navy does not automatically entitle the officer to the command of a ship, or an assignment to a ship. Within the Royal Navy there has always been a chronic shortage of commands.
With this in mind the Naval Officer should always check for the availability of assignment in the Navy List. The link to the Navy List can be found on the homepage of LondonEngarde. The list will contain all ships available to the Royal Navy. Along with their ratings and the assigned officers. If a berth is available, the eligible officer should petition the Admiral commanding the fleet for an assignment. This petition can be influenced if the Admiral is a NPC. If the Admiral is a PC, the assignments are solely at his discretion within the eligibility guidelines listed below. PC recommendations from the Captain of the ship being applied to also modify the roll. The applying PC gets +2 to the roll if their application is supported by a Ship Captain ranked at Post-Captain or above and +1 if supported by a Ship Captain ranked at Lieutenant or above (note that a Lieutenant will only be captaining a ship during a time of war where the normal captain has died).
|
Assignment |
Required Rank |
Die Roll |
Weeks of Required Ship Duty |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Midshipman’s Berth |
Midshipman |
6+ |
2 |
|
Lieutenant’s Berth |
Lieutenant |
6+ |
1 |
|
Captain of a Sloop |
Master & Commander |
7+ |
|
|
Captain of a Frigate |
Junior Post-Captain |
7+ |
|
|
Captain of a Ship of the Line |
Post-Captain |
8+ |
|
|
Fleet Admiral |
Admiral |
8+ |
|
Several notes should be made here in reference to Naval Commands.
Every ship in the Royal Navy is assigned a SP Bonus which is received by the officers attached to the ship, Upon application, the PC will received a die roll modifier which is calculated by subtracting the SP Bonus amount for the Players Social Level. For example, if a SL 7 PC was applying for a Lieutenants berth on the Royal Lion (SP 3). He would need a 2+ to be accepted (6 – (7 –3)). This would also apply as a negative modifier is the Player had a SL that was lower that the SP bonus.
The First Lieutenant of a Ship acts as Adjutant to the Captain, modifying the Captain's MA as per the normal rules.
If a PC does not have a Naval Command, either by choice or failure to be accepted, the PC is considered to be ‘on half-pay’, unless the PC secures another naval appointment (for example, Aide to the Sea Lord). This means that all pay and status points due to him in deference to his Naval rank is halved. Midshipmen without berths do not receive any pay at all but do continue to gain half the status points for their rank (2 SP).
Also, should a PC receive a promotion, the command presently held is immediately surrendered, unless the character is at the Front in which case the command is surrendered upon return to port. This may call for some careful planning on the part of the PC when he applies for promotions, otherwise he may find himself on half-pay!
PCs may only be promoted to Admiral by the board, not by promotion in the field. Fleet Admirals are assigned by the Sea Lord.
PC Naval officers receive a positive survival modifier equal to the SP Bonus attached to that ship.
15.4 The Royal Marines:
Some of you may have noticed that the Royal Marines have been
removed from the Brigade list. That is because they have been added the
administration of the Royal Navy. The rank structure remains the same, but
assignments are handled differently. Marine officers are subject to the orders
of the Senior ranking Marine officer in the regiment, in most cases this will be
the Colonel. The Colonel will assign officers to ships for duty. The marines
assigned to a ship will participate in the campaign as if it were part of the
ship's crew. The capture of enemy shipping is primarily
the duty and function of the Royal Marines. As such, when BR’s indicate that an
enemy ship may be captured, the BR of the Senior Marine officer is consulted. A
BR of 1 or 2 indicates that the ship has been captured, any other result
indicates that the enemy ship has been sunk.
15.5 Monthly Actions and Campaigning in the Royal
Navy:
Unlike the army, the Royal Navy is theoretically, always on campaign, but for game purposes, the North Sea Fleet and the Channel Fleet will 'campaign' only during the Summer Campaign season. Although ships and/or the entire fleet may 'volunteer'. When the elements of the Royal Navy are not campaigning, it is assumed that they are doing their normal patrol duty and regular visitations to port for maintenance and victualing would be taking place.
Also, unlike the army, ‘plunder’ is determined by the campaign results of the individual ship and shared among the PC officers present. This is based upon the historical precedent of shares. The division is based upon rank, the Admiral commanding the fleet receives 25% of the campaign plunder, the Captain commanding the ship receives 25%, the Lieutenants split 25% and the Midshipmen split the remaining 25%. This division is based upon all of the officers of a given rank present. For example the Royal Lion is engaged in a ship to ship action and receives prize money equal to 10,000 crowns. The Royal Lion has a ships complement of 1 Post-Captain, 4 Lieutenants (normally 6, but they were short two), 1 Marine Lieutenant and 8 Midshipmen (short 1 and 3 fell in action). The sharing-out would amount to:
Admiral: 2,500 crowns
Post Captain: 2,500 crowns
Lieutenant & Ranking Marine Officer: 2,500 crowns, 500 crowns each
Midshipmen & Subordinate Marine Officers: 2,500 crowns, 312 crowns each.
15.6 Naval Appointments:
A variety of appointments unique to the Navy exist in the game, these may be added to from time to time.
