Klingon Rank Structure

[ghosty]

Anyone has a good table of Klingon ranks...its obvious they don't follow Starfleet's naval structure...some info would be helpful.

[Phoenix]

Ranks, I use the following

Brek = Any enlisted, roughly means lesser, I think (non-canon word, from a novel).
Warrior = Any officer type of non-command.
Lieutenant = Group level command.
Commander = Department level command.
Captain = Ship level command.
Major = Wing level command (3 ships).
Colonel = Taskforce level command (less than 20-30).
Brigadier = Fleet or house level command (less than 150 ships).
General = command of as many ships that remain loyal.

But, I'm sure others have a more comprehensive list then this.

[Dan Gurden]

**Begin stream of concious thoughts...**

Going by what we have seen on-screen, there are wide and varied allocations of Rank amongst the...

For instance General, could easily be the equal of a Starfleet Admiral, however, General Martok who was the senior officer of the entire Klingon Battle Fleet in the Dominion War also personally commanded a B'Rel class Bird of Prey... So we know that just because a senior officer is elevated in Rank, does not mean that they stop serving in the field.

Ship commands tend to fall within the Captain and Commander ranks, probably along lines similar to that of a standard navy, with the majority os B'Rel's and K'tinga's commanded by Commanders, and the larger K'vorts and the like under Captains. But do not make this the norm, after all, a Captain or General probably gets their pick of the fleet.

We have seen the rank of Colonel bandied about, and this makes sense among the militaristic Klingons, probably as a ground forces rank... This point rather depends on if you plan on seperating the Klingon Navy and Ground Forces... Otherwise Colonel could easily fit into the area between Captain and General, sort of like the Commodore or Low level Admirals... Personally I see it as a GF rank over Navy...

The 'Brak' rank I have seen in the books, and like and use, but I wouldn't put 'Warrior' as a rank, after all, EVERY Klingon is expected to serve as a Warrior, explaining why the General's still serve on the frontline... I like the take on Brak as a Generic low-rank equal to Ensign/Lieutenant (jg)... Which fits my take on a rather slimline rank structure with more emphasis on deed and honour rather than rank held...

My Take;

Brak
Lieutenant
Commander
Captain
Colonel (See Above)
General

Of course this is in relation to the KDF, which by default would become the standard for any house fleets. However I would imagine that some house fleets may add in extra ranking levels, some influenced by Starfleet (with various grades of rank), other influenced by self importance (with expansive pompous titles), thus allowing crew models ranging from the frighteningly familiar, through to the Grandoius titles assumed by Pirate captains in the age of sail... Depending on the campaign, but this slight alteration can provide clues as to whether players are dealing with KDF or Hpouse fleets.

[ghosty]

Originally posted by Phoenix
Ranks, I use the following

Brek = Any enlisted, roughly means lesser, I think (non-canon word, from a novel).
Warrior = Any officer type of non-command.
Lieutenant = Group level command.
Commander = Department level command.
Captain = Ship level command.
Major = Wing level command (3 ships).
Colonel = Taskforce level command (less than 20-30).
Brigadier = Fleet or house level command (less than 150 ships).
General = command of as many ships that remain loyal.

But, I'm sure others have a more comprehensive list then this.

I'm not sure that there should be a rank lower than Warrior. I mean all Klingons are warriors in their culture so IMHO that should be the lowest rank possible. Anyone who's not a Warrior shouldn't bother to be in the KDF .

[Capt Daniel Hunter]

Actually one of the Klingon language books lists a Klingon rank structure. Though I can't remember it at the moment.

[turneravalon]

-=[ KLINGON Ranks ]=------------------------------------------

+-------------------------+--------------------------+
|Klingon Rank |StarFleet equivalent |
+-------------------------+--------------------------+
|yo' 'aj | Fleet Admiral
|'aj' | Admiral
|'Sa' | Vice Admiral
|'ajHom | Rear Admiral
|totlh | Commodore
|'ech | Fleet Captain
|HoD | Captain
|la' | Commander
|la'Hom | Lieutenant Commander
|Sogh | Lieutenant
|SoghHom | Lieutenant JG
|lagh | Ensign
|mangHom | Cadet
+-------------------------+--------------------------+

This is the system that the United Confederation of Interstellar Planets (UCIP) uses.

LtCmdr Joseph Turner
Chief Medical Officer
USS Avalon NCC-79813-A
www.ucip.org/

[Dan Gurden]

So you can easily see that the subject matter is totally open for conjecture with only a few ranks even mentioned on-screen...

At the end of the day, you get to pick and choose what you like as None of this is Canon... Not even the stuff in the Klingon Language Book mentioned above (although some holds more authenticity than others)...

As an aside, anyone remember if there was aKlingon rank list in the DS9 Core-rulebook? As that would also add LUG canon to the already expansive list appearing here...

[The Tatterdemalion King]

Alexander Rohzenko was called a 'bekk' on a BoP, and i think the encyclopeida has an entry that identifies that as a rank.

[Sea Tyger]

Originally posted by Dan Gurden
As an aside, anyone remember if there was aKlingon rank list in the DS9 Core-rulebook? As that would also add LUG canon to the already expansive list appearing here...

I believe there was....but, of course, I took that book out of my ST RPG backpack to make room for my Dec Trek books.

[Phoenix]

Yes, the Term Warrior IS universal amongst Klingons, Like walking on to a modern warship and looking for a Sailor. I simply put it in the list as a marker between Klingons in charge of other Klingons, and Klingons in charge of themselves alone.

The difference between a Brek (or Bekk) and a Warrior is a matter of family status, basically a warrior is from noble houses, a Brek is not, thus the basic difference between officers and enlisted.

The other ranks are mostly conjecture, and based on what I have seen on the various shows and a rough comparison with modern ranks. The notes after the rank are loosely based on the minimum bodys the ranked Klingon is in charge of.

The thought on navy vs. ground forces...I don't think their is much difference, Klingons are warriors...except that damn lawyer and Martok's butler (?).

[Chris Blanchard]

Looking through my ICON DS9 Core Rule Book, I can find ranks for Bajorans and Cardasians, but not on the Klingons.