As a military (or ex-military, turned adventurer) veteran, what rank do you feel befitting a 1st or 2nd level character would be. E.G. a captain, lieutenant? Would it even matter, or would it be more of a characters age, or perhaps just written into the backstory? How do you handle it?
There is no right or wrong answer in D&D, and the answer is likely going to depend on any number of factors in their backstory such as age, what type of military they were in (local militia, some kind of large military of an empire, a lord’s local army, irregular units, etc. - militaries have been structured a lot of different ways over the years, and not always as a meritocracy).
In terms of just general power, various creatures ranked “captain” range from CR2 to CR9, so a level 2 player would be less powerful than most captains. Strictly by power, some kind of lieutenant or an established non-officer would probably make sense.
The issue you'll have is that it doesn't make sense that a guy will be in the army fighting Goblin hordes or whatever and still be level 1, then retire from the army, go raid a local Goblin cavern system or 3 and level up to level 5. You could just handwave it, but then K wouldn't be too fussed about whether they're more like to be a lieutenant or a lieutenant colonel.
My advice is to think about the kind of person your character is and what his backstop is, then decide the rank that fits it best. Don't worry about what rank would realistically lead into an adventure, because it's not really going to jive anyway.
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I don't think it really matters. It depends on your world but one of the main things that influances rank is background. Those from a nobel background who join the army as soon as they reach maturity are likely to start as a lieutenant, where those from a poor background are likely to remain privates or might make corporal if they really excell
Even if the world is more of a meritocracy, the requirements for leadership positions (higher rank) are the inspire others (charisma) and the abilty to make good decisions (either instictively due to high wisdom or from learning about tactics with high intelligence) and are not necessarily more powerful in combat than a private. If you look at the stats of a veteran, and a knight, both are CR3 (probably about the same as a level 5 PC) but the veteran is an experienced front line character with no evidence of being more than a private or maybe corporal while the knight is leader and can inspire others (note high charisma) and afford plate armor and therefore clearly officer material.
I would recommend colonel. Historically people who were not career military but wanted a little experience would purchase a colonel’s commission (though this practice was largely done away with after the Civil War).
As previously mentioned, rank has more to do with function and influence than combat prowess.
A 3rd level fighter might just be a run of the mill soldier, whereas a 1st level artificer is likely to be an officer, even if for no other reason than to have authority over the technicians who work under them. Boots protect the brains.
A powerful General could simply be a commoner with good connections and specialized skills.
I would probably try to uncouple the two logically (from your point of view), or at least ensure that the backstory, but not necessarily the rank, of this veteran reflects the character level.
Even in a fantasy world, a whole lot of the military existing could be just to ensure that they aren't attacked by an organized force. A character could be a 20 year veteran of the local kingdom's army and never have seen anything more serious than a training field. They have plenty of training, but not much real experience (low level character). They could also have been a fresh conscript into a bloody civil war and spent more of the past 3 years in some sort of battle than not. This character is probably poorly train (or even untrained), but they learned a lot from their experience, and survived their trial by fire (mid level). These can be reflected any way you want.
Rank however is mostly a function of influence, connections, or a combination of the two, as has been said above in one way or another. Someone with no skill or experience could have a high rank simply due to their social connections, or the influence of their family name (itself a type of social connection). They could also have achieved their rank through performance, if the military organization they were part of exercised a form of meritocracy. It could even be a combination of the two, similar to how commissioned and non-commissioned officers in the British Royal Army used to work. Higher rank could also be tied to high education, such as officer schools, but not requiring the experience to go along with it.
As a military (or ex-military, turned adventurer) veteran, what rank do you feel befitting a 1st or 2nd level character would be. E.G. a captain, lieutenant? Would it even matter, or would it be more of a characters age, or perhaps just written into the backstory? How do you handle it?
Thanks for reading.
I dont think it's going to be very important to your campaign.
But it depends on the character, if the person has a low Intelligence score, or is mostly a solo battle wrecker, they might not be promoted at all.
If their born noble, they may just have a high rank by default.
Overall though, I think both the options you mentioned (captain or lietenent) both make sense to me.
Roll high:)
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How does the military rank system work in your setting? IMHO that is part of the key to your question, the other is where does your PC fit in that system.
So, as my first adventure, I have chosen to run The Dragon of Icepire Peak, and the Essentials kit. My adventurers will be meeting in Neverwinter. I have been reading some history (plus youtube), and was drawn to the stories of Dagult Neverember and of Larael Silverhand.
I have a Half-Elf PC, Thatcher Silverhand, who I would like to be a Son of Larael. Thatcher will have had formal training in Winterhold as a fighter with leadership skills.
Now, for reasons yet to be revealed, Thatcher will join the party in Neverwinter. Neverember, beseeched by Sister Garaele, will seek adventurers in Neverwinter to go to Phandalin.
I am thinking of having Thatcher already be part of Neverember's guard (still working that out), making him a Captain. Neverember will send Thatcher with the rest of the adventurer's.
That's fine. Nothing wrong with having hom as a character like that.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
So, as my first adventure, I have chosen to run The Dragon of Icepire Peak, and the Essentials kit. My adventurers will be meeting in Neverwinter. I have been reading some history (plus youtube), and was drawn to the stories of Dagult Neverember and of Larael Silverhand.
I have a Half-Elf PC, Thatcher Silverhand, who I would like to be a Son of Larael. Thatcher will have had formal training in Winterhold as a fighter with leadership skills.
Now, for reasons yet to be revealed, Thatcher will join the party in Neverwinter. Neverember, beseeched by Sister Garaele, will seek adventurers in Neverwinter to go to Phandalin.
I am thinking of having Thatcher already be part of Neverember's guard (still working that out), making him a Captain. Neverember will send Thatcher with the rest of the adventurer's.
- Hope that doesn't sound dumb.
I do not know anything about Icespire Peek but in general I that that is good to great. Also one thing people often associate with command, ie "leadership" may or may not be a skill for people who are placed in military "command' but a good quality of a commander is to recognize their limitations and have qualified people to advise them or "run the show in their name" or command in their name.
For your PC and PC backstories in general as a GM I ask how, where and why and are those answers reasonable? So your leadership experience (proficiency in what ever skill and or tool) could be explained by being in the guard and having his superior being injured and he took over (and people listened) that position. Note this is an standard theme in fiction (sci fi, fantasy and adventure) as well as has some parallels in real life.
I do not remember the military structure of Neverwinter (last read info in early 90's) but it maybe simply soldier, veteran, knight, knight commander and then based on other noble titles (nobility grants command even if not qualified).
So in general I understand why you want a military title but does it really make a difference in your game? Does the title open or close doors? Grant benefits and or expiations? Or is it simply backstory to is in the back and has very little to no significance in game play?
Thank's for the response. I think I see greater things for this character (or maybe misled in to believing an untruth. Either way, I am hoping this character leads to quests beyond the essentials kit.
It's the characters Intelligence that makes them a potential leader. This is a relatively new post, and the character is being charged to see to the safety of Phandalin, by joining the adventure and reporting back. He could be meeting (perhaps in secret from the rest of the party) with a far traveler who will relay messages to Neverember (and perhaps even to Open Lord of Winterhold.
There is a trope of powerful = high ranked in fiction, particularly fantasy. The king is the best warrior, the best Wizard heads the Wizardry Academy, the Pope is the most powerful Priest, etc. In real life this is crap. I would bet that any entry level Seal Team member, who are ranked as Seamen, can beat the CRAP out of every single Admiral - from Read Admiral Lower Half to Fleet Admiral. I am not even going to mention how easily they could defeat their last three Commanders In Chief.
Similarly, I will be very disappointed if every single 1st Lieutenant (2nd lowest piloting rank) in the US air force cannot out-fly every single General (from 1 to 5 star) in the US Air Force.
As for the Pope, well you would be surprised how much politics goes into selecting him. The further back in history you look you find less and less 'holy' people and more and more well connected political families. The last couple seem to be particularly religious people that have broken the mold, at least in my opinion. They are far more worthy to hold the title than the ones we had even 100 years ago.
In the real world military rank is SUPPOSED to be given out for tactical effectiveness, not combat effectiveness. You want your leader to be the guy who knows where, when and whom to send into battle, not the guy that does the most damage.
20th level people are the SEALs, the Army Rangers, the Green Berets, not the generals.
I pulled my old books from the 2000's (do not have easy access to earlier books) and after a quick search did not see any info about Neverwinters military, but then I was flipping pages and rapidly reading.
So to me I would define skills and tools a military soldier, unit leader and then leader or units would have and see if you PC has the skills to fill that position. That does not mean that your PC could not have command experience or simply be the last one/most competent left alive from some patrol and or encounter.
Good Luck
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As a military (or ex-military, turned adventurer) veteran, what rank do you feel befitting a 1st or 2nd level character would be. E.G. a captain, lieutenant? Would it even matter, or would it be more of a characters age, or perhaps just written into the backstory? How do you handle it?
Thanks for reading.
There is no right or wrong answer in D&D, and the answer is likely going to depend on any number of factors in their backstory such as age, what type of military they were in (local militia, some kind of large military of an empire, a lord’s local army, irregular units, etc. - militaries have been structured a lot of different ways over the years, and not always as a meritocracy).
In terms of just general power, various creatures ranked “captain” range from CR2 to CR9, so a level 2 player would be less powerful than most captains. Strictly by power, some kind of lieutenant or an established non-officer would probably make sense.
The issue you'll have is that it doesn't make sense that a guy will be in the army fighting Goblin hordes or whatever and still be level 1, then retire from the army, go raid a local Goblin cavern system or 3 and level up to level 5. You could just handwave it, but then K wouldn't be too fussed about whether they're more like to be a lieutenant or a lieutenant colonel.
My advice is to think about the kind of person your character is and what his backstop is, then decide the rank that fits it best. Don't worry about what rank would realistically lead into an adventure, because it's not really going to jive anyway.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
I don't think it really matters. It depends on your world but one of the main things that influances rank is background. Those from a nobel background who join the army as soon as they reach maturity are likely to start as a lieutenant, where those from a poor background are likely to remain privates or might make corporal if they really excell
Even if the world is more of a meritocracy, the requirements for leadership positions (higher rank) are the inspire others (charisma) and the abilty to make good decisions (either instictively due to high wisdom or from learning about tactics with high intelligence) and are not necessarily more powerful in combat than a private. If you look at the stats of a veteran, and a knight, both are CR3 (probably about the same as a level 5 PC) but the veteran is an experienced front line character with no evidence of being more than a private or maybe corporal while the knight is leader and can inspire others (note high charisma) and afford plate armor and therefore clearly officer material.
I would recommend colonel. Historically people who were not career military but wanted a little experience would purchase a colonel’s commission (though this practice was largely done away with after the Civil War).
Ask me how I know this. Edith Wharton lol.
As previously mentioned, rank has more to do with function and influence than combat prowess.
A 3rd level fighter might just be a run of the mill soldier, whereas a 1st level artificer is likely to be an officer, even if for no other reason than to have authority over the technicians who work under them. Boots protect the brains.
A powerful General could simply be a commoner with good connections and specialized skills.
I would probably try to uncouple the two logically (from your point of view), or at least ensure that the backstory, but not necessarily the rank, of this veteran reflects the character level.
Even in a fantasy world, a whole lot of the military existing could be just to ensure that they aren't attacked by an organized force. A character could be a 20 year veteran of the local kingdom's army and never have seen anything more serious than a training field. They have plenty of training, but not much real experience (low level character). They could also have been a fresh conscript into a bloody civil war and spent more of the past 3 years in some sort of battle than not. This character is probably poorly train (or even untrained), but they learned a lot from their experience, and survived their trial by fire (mid level). These can be reflected any way you want.
Rank however is mostly a function of influence, connections, or a combination of the two, as has been said above in one way or another. Someone with no skill or experience could have a high rank simply due to their social connections, or the influence of their family name (itself a type of social connection). They could also have achieved their rank through performance, if the military organization they were part of exercised a form of meritocracy. It could even be a combination of the two, similar to how commissioned and non-commissioned officers in the British Royal Army used to work. Higher rank could also be tied to high education, such as officer schools, but not requiring the experience to go along with it.
Thank you for all of your insights.
I dont think it's going to be very important to your campaign.
But it depends on the character, if the person has a low Intelligence score, or is mostly a solo battle wrecker, they might not be promoted at all.
If their born noble, they may just have a high rank by default.
Overall though, I think both the options you mentioned (captain or lietenent) both make sense to me.
Roll high:)
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.How does the military rank system work in your setting? IMHO that is part of the key to your question, the other is where does your PC fit in that system.
So, as my first adventure, I have chosen to run The Dragon of Icepire Peak, and the Essentials kit. My adventurers will be meeting in Neverwinter. I have been reading some history (plus youtube), and was drawn to the stories of Dagult Neverember and of Larael Silverhand.
I have a Half-Elf PC, Thatcher Silverhand, who I would like to be a Son of Larael. Thatcher will have had formal training in Winterhold as a fighter with leadership skills.
Now, for reasons yet to be revealed, Thatcher will join the party in Neverwinter. Neverember, beseeched by Sister Garaele, will seek adventurers in Neverwinter to go to Phandalin.
I am thinking of having Thatcher already be part of Neverember's guard (still working that out), making him a Captain. Neverember will send Thatcher with the rest of the adventurer's.
- Hope that doesn't sound dumb.
That's fine. Nothing wrong with having hom as a character like that.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
I do not know anything about Icespire Peek but in general I that that is good to great. Also one thing people often associate with command, ie "leadership" may or may not be a skill for people who are placed in military "command' but a good quality of a commander is to recognize their limitations and have qualified people to advise them or "run the show in their name" or command in their name.
For your PC and PC backstories in general as a GM I ask how, where and why and are those answers reasonable? So your leadership experience (proficiency in what ever skill and or tool) could be explained by being in the guard and having his superior being injured and he took over (and people listened) that position. Note this is an standard theme in fiction (sci fi, fantasy and adventure) as well as has some parallels in real life.
I do not remember the military structure of Neverwinter (last read info in early 90's) but it maybe simply soldier, veteran, knight, knight commander and then based on other noble titles (nobility grants command even if not qualified).
So in general I understand why you want a military title but does it really make a difference in your game? Does the title open or close doors? Grant benefits and or expiations? Or is it simply backstory to is in the back and has very little to no significance in game play?
Good Luck and Have Fun
Thank's for the response. I think I see greater things for this character (or maybe misled in to believing an untruth. Either way, I am hoping this character leads to quests beyond the essentials kit.
It's the characters Intelligence that makes them a potential leader. This is a relatively new post, and the character is being charged to see to the safety of Phandalin, by joining the adventure and reporting back. He could be meeting (perhaps in secret from the rest of the party) with a far traveler who will relay messages to Neverember (and perhaps even to Open Lord of Winterhold.
There is a trope of powerful = high ranked in fiction, particularly fantasy. The king is the best warrior, the best Wizard heads the Wizardry Academy, the Pope is the most powerful Priest, etc. In real life this is crap. I would bet that any entry level Seal Team member, who are ranked as Seamen, can beat the CRAP out of every single Admiral - from Read Admiral Lower Half to Fleet Admiral. I am not even going to mention how easily they could defeat their last three Commanders In Chief.
Similarly, I will be very disappointed if every single 1st Lieutenant (2nd lowest piloting rank) in the US air force cannot out-fly every single General (from 1 to 5 star) in the US Air Force.
As for the Pope, well you would be surprised how much politics goes into selecting him. The further back in history you look you find less and less 'holy' people and more and more well connected political families. The last couple seem to be particularly religious people that have broken the mold, at least in my opinion. They are far more worthy to hold the title than the ones we had even 100 years ago.
In the real world military rank is SUPPOSED to be given out for tactical effectiveness, not combat effectiveness. You want your leader to be the guy who knows where, when and whom to send into battle, not the guy that does the most damage.
20th level people are the SEALs, the Army Rangers, the Green Berets, not the generals.
For the sake of verisimilitude I usually go with either a non-com or perhaps up to Lt.
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I pulled my old books from the 2000's (do not have easy access to earlier books) and after a quick search did not see any info about Neverwinters military, but then I was flipping pages and rapidly reading.
So to me I would define skills and tools a military soldier, unit leader and then leader or units would have and see if you PC has the skills to fill that position. That does not mean that your PC could not have command experience or simply be the last one/most competent left alive from some patrol and or encounter.
Good Luck