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 |
|
|
|
|
|
Midshipman |
4 |
2 |
|
Lieutenant |
6 |
4 |
|
Captain |
10 |
6 |
|
Post Captain |
10 |
10 |
|
Admiral |
12 |
16 |
|
|
|
|
In order to be promoted to the next rank, the player must serve in his present rank for at least three months 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. The Promotion Review Board will be comprised of three officers of the next rank in seniority. For example, the Promotion Review Board for Captains to Post Captains will be filled by officers holding the rank of Post Captain. The Game Master will select those that will sit on the board and may be comprised of PC’s (if available) and NPC’s. If NPC’s are present, their vote can be influenced. Any influence brought to bear will equally affect all NPC’s sitting on the board. The vote of the NPC’s 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 |
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.
|
Assignment |
Required Rank |
Die Roll |
Weeks of Required Ship Duty |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Midshipman’s Berth |
Midshipman |
6+ |
2 |
|
Lieutenant’s Berth |
Lieutenant |
6+ |
1 |
|
Captain of an Auxiliary Ship |
Captain |
7+ |
|
|
Captain of a Frigate |
Captain/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 –4)). This would also apply as a negative modifier is the Player had a SL that was lower that the SP bonus.
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.
Also, should a PC receive a promotion, the command presently held is immediately surrendered. 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!
Fleet Admirals are assigned by the Sea Lord.
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.
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:
There will be naval appointments added to the game in the upcoming month. These appointments include aides to admirals and the Sea Lord, Captain of the Kings Yacht, Lieutenant of the Kings Yacht and Midshipman of the Kings Yacht. There will also be, at random times throughout the game special oceanographic missions available.