Overview of Shipboard Ranks and Positions
A naval vessel, from small fishing boats or coastal cutters to fat galleons and gleaming First Age vessels of metal and magitech, is a complex vehicle with its own systems of expertise and hierarchy.
Ship's Officers
The officers of a ship are those who hold ranking positions, often involving the purchase of a commission or issuing of a warrant by the state or enterprise which controls the vessel. They are often well-paid and berthed in cabins rather than the bunkroom or hold.
Captain/Master/Trierarch/Skipper - the commanding officer aboard the ship, who may have one of several titles depending on local custom. Top of the chain of command aboard the ship, the skipper is responsible for ensuring the vessel accomplishes its goals and arrives at its intended destination, issuing orders and overseeing the actions of the officers and crewmen below them. On smaller vessels, or ones with more involved skippers, the captain may participate directly as a watch officer or by taking the helm, though larger or more formal ships see separation between captain and such base duties. By Western tradition, the captain of a ship is responsible for its safety and their word is the final law while it is at sea, giving them authority to pass any regulation and mete out any punishment he sees fit. In societies with stronger legal frameworks, such as that of the Realm, there is less leeway.
The skipper of a vessel holds the ship's purse, dealing with accounts and distributing pay and expenses as needed, including dividing booty on pirate vessels and paying port fees and tariffs. They are also responsible for ensuring their vessel and crew follows the laws of the ports in which they dock, including such things as licenses and permits. In the case of emergencies, such as a vessel being forced into port damaged and unable to contact its owner for repair funds, some captains are permitted to mortgage the ship to local gongfengs in a Bottomry Contract, where funds are forwarded and if the voyage succeeds repayment is made at high interest, while the loan is forgiven if the vessel fails to reach its destination (some arrangements will instead demand the captain and owner forfeit the whole ship and all cargo if this occurs... an approach much beloved within The Guild.
Most captains have served time as First Mates.
In the Imperial Navy, captains hold the rank of Kubernentes (on small vessels), Trierarch (on most vessels) or Navarch (on First Age vessels). In Shogunate navies they were ranked Taizei or Shozei, a practice that continues amongst many Threshold states and independent captains. See Backing.
First Mate: Second in the chain of command aboard the ship, the First Mate is responsible for the discipline of the crew as well as the security of the vessel itself. The mate must punish crewmen found guilty of infractions, and lead parties to board vessels or repel enemy boarders. As part of discipline, they also usually serve as ships Proreus, judging the quality of new crew. The First Mate is also tasked to oversee the loading and unloading of cargo and supplies, though on the largest vessels he may be assisted by a quartermaster or the ship's cook in this task. This duty includes the balancing of the vessel with proper ballast. The First Mate typically has the right to oversee the second-best watch, after the captain, though some captains will task the First Mate with their watch responsibility.
Most First Mates have served time as Second Mates, learning the quartermastering duties during that time and from the former First Mate when both are promoted and that Mate has become Captain.
In the Imperial Navy, First and sometimes other mates hold the rank of Kubernentes (on the most important vessels) or Hypoploiarchos. In Shogunate navies they were ranked Chuzei, a practice that continues amongst many Threshold states and independent captains. See Backing.
Second Mate: Third in the chain of command aboard the ship, the Second Mate is responsible for navigation and course charting aboard a vessel, as well as assisting in maintaining discipline amongst the crew, and overseeing docking and undocking procedures. On smaller vessels the Second Mate is often also the ship's thaumaturge and in less formal naval traditions can be responsible for joining the crew in deck work, though this is rare in the more stratified hierarchies such as that of the Realm's Imperial Navy. For navigation, the Second Mate plots courses and monitors weather & currents, but will be assisted in steering the ship by one or more helmsmen. The Second Mate is typically stuck with the worst watch, during the hours of darkness, though on vessels where the captain does not take a watch they may secure better arrangements.
Third Mate: Fourth in the chain of command aboard the ship, typically present only on larger vessels. Often the ship's thaumaturge and/or surgeon, responsible for using rituals and prayer to ensure good winds and placated spirits on a voyage as well as seeing to the health and safety of the crew.
Fourth/Fifth/Sixth Mates: Very large vessels may have a succession of mates, numbered in succession and occupying successive positions in the chain of command. Such mates may take up portions of the duties assigned to the other mates, or those assigned to the senior members of the crew.
Ship's Sorcerer: Educated specialist, on large vessels there may be one or more professionals in the thaumaturgy of weather control and dealing with spirits, as well as reading nautical charts, caring for the medical health of the crew, and casting astrological predictions. On smaller ships this may fall to the ship's skipper and/or mates. These officers are almost never actual Sorcerers, whose power and value typically secures higher rank aboard ships, and while their expertise secures them many privileges of being officers they are frequently placed outside the chain of command so that authority will not pass to them when captain and mates are killed.
Proreus: The Proreus is an officer responsible for assessing the quality of prospective new sailors before they join a vessel's crew. This task is traditionally considered part of overseeing a ship's discipline, undertaken by a ship's captain or first mate, though sometimes it can be assigned to other mates, or even to the boatswain.
Deck Crew
The deck crew are the crew who see to the operation of the ship, and are by far the most numerous members of the crew.
Boatswain/Bosun: The senior crewman of a vessel, often the most experienced, the bosun may take command of the vessel in the absence of the mates and captain. In informal hierarchies or the heat of battle a bosun may be promoted from crew to officer as a Mate... this occurs regularly within the Peleps-dominated Imperial Navy, despite the Realm's strict class divisions, though it is less common in sections where they hold less influence and has been all but eliminated in House V'neeef's Merchant Marine. The bosun is responsible for the crew on deck (assignig shifts and tasks) and keeping the vessel seaworthy, including overseeing repairs and maintenance work. Where weapons and tools are kept in ship's lockers, the Bosun is charged with opening the locks and distributing them, accountable for their safe return.
Keleustes: On ships with banks of rowers, the Keleustes is the officer charged with overseeing them, leading the drummer and/or flutist to maintain proper time and pace.
Helmsman: Senior member of the deck crew, experienced in steering and handling the ship.
Carpenter: Key members of the crew, ship's carpenters are specialists in ship repair and construction along with other woodworking tasks. Loss of a ship's carpenters can mean being unable to repair breaches of hull or broken masts, a death sentence for an entire ship, and thus the ship's carpenters are paid well and exempt from the more onerous deck crew duties, as well as boarding actions.
Seamstress: Key members of the crew on sailing vessels, seamstresses are responsible for maintenance and repair of the ship's sails. On most vessels, a number of officers and crew will have some knowledge of sewing or sailmaking, so the seamstresses are exempt from less than are the carpenters, but their lives are still not risked needlessly.
Sounder: Key members of the crew, sounders man and measure the sounding lines which determine depth and the composition of the seabed, vital in navigation.
Lamp Trimmer: Experienced lamp trimmers are highly sought, as they must tend the light sources of a ship, ensuring they burn bright and clear with plentiful fuel, but that they do not burn out nor set the ship alight.
Sailor/Seaman/Rating/Crewman/Mariner: The basic crew of the ship, with a wide range of experience and responsibilities: sailors who have spent years at sea are highly sought, often receiving higher pay and responsibilities, and the press-ganging of merchant crews by navies at war tends to be aimed at securing such skilled sailors when the supply is short.
In the West, terms used in a general sense elsewhere in Creation carry very specific meanings. The general term for ship crew is seaman, due to cultural biases, a trend seen even amongst the Tya: sailor is specific to those who work on vessels powered by sail (excluding those such as triremes where sails are secondary to oar power), while crewman is specific to those who man the ship’s artillery. These conventions have moved from Seatongue into other languages. The formal term in High Realm is 'mariner', a gender-neutrral term which is used in the directional tongues as a specific term for the crew of a navy (sometimes explicitly Imperial Navy) vessel, though the formal term for such a rank in High Realm is 'Rating'.
Steward Crew
The steward crew of a ship are those whose job does not involve the operation of the ship: servants, cooks, nurses, administrators, and the like, the crew not serving on deck but below it. A steward crew is present only on larger vessels, and nearly unknown in the West, where everyone on the crew is usually able to serve on deck, being much more a tradition of crews from the Blessed Isle or Lookshy.
Purser: While a ship's captain holds the purse strings on a vessel, some ships may have a purser to deal with the day-to-day matters of finance and administration onboard. This is particularly true within the ranks of the Imperial Navy, where Dynastic officers are considered above the base task of handling money. On ships of The Guild, the post of purser is a powerful one, as the purser is often the merchant funding the journey or representing Guild interests: Guild pursers are officers, and the captain of a ship answers to the purser rather than the reverse. Where a purser exists on a ship, the steward crew answer to them.
Quartermaster: The quartermaster is the crew member tasked with logistical matters of ensuring the ship is supplied and arrangements are made for docking and loading or unloading. In such duties they serve as assistant to the First Mate, though on smaller vessels the duties of quartermaster are assumed directly by the First Mate and/or passed to the ship's cook.
Cook: A ship's cook is the member of the crew in charge of the galley, where meals are prepared and served. This includes responsibility for cleaning, cooking, and rationing of supplies from the ship's stores to ensure the crew remains fed and provisions last the length of the trip. Where a purser is not present, the steward crew answer to the cook, and in absence of a quartermaster and an involved First Mate, the cook deals with many logistical tasks.
Steward: Ship's stewards are those who work the galley, cooking, serving, cleaning, moving supplies and cargo. While they do not have skills in operating the ship, they are often called on to join in repelling boarding parties.
Cabin Boy: A member of the crew who has not yet reached adulthood. Cabin boys are common sights on many vessels: in many Western ports, children go to sea at an early age to learn the skills of the trade, working with their parents. Such children are often entrusted to care of the steward at first, running messages and food across the ship, swabbing decks and cleaning bilges, helping in kitchens and with cabin cleaning. For those cabin boys who are from sailing families, they will be called to assist the crew in regular duties, so that they are experienced when they come of age. As they tend to be small and quick, cabin boys are sometimes tasked with jobs in the rigging.
'Cabin boy' is also term for slaves or lovers kept by a ship's officers for their pleasure, and while likely linked originally to the taking of legitimate cabin boys as catamites by corrupt captains, its current application is to both men and women, of any age, in such roles.
Martian Crew
The martian crew of a ship are those trained in the tasks of combat, crewing the ship's weapons or serving as dedicated combatants for boarding actions. In the West and amongst pirates, such specialization is nearly unknown, as those who operate artillery or board must also be able to crew captured vessels, 'martian' crew simply being part of the deck crew. This also holds true in the Peleps-dominated Imperial Navy of the Realm, though the Merchant Navy under House V'neef has embraced martian crew sections, in the form of its Marine Guard which can be deployed for shore actions and open battle as well as battle aboard ships. The Guild also favours dedicated soldiers, mercenaries answerable to the merchant or purser who can be employed to put down unrest amongst the deck crew or a mutinous captain. Ships crewed mostly by slaves follow a similar pattern.
Artillerist/Crewman: Crew who operate the ballistae, catapults, firedust, and First Age weaponry of a ship.
Marine: Crew whose only purpose is to engage in combat, either suppressing other members of the crew, boarding actions, or shore landings.
