If you like you can look at the (sketchy, incomplete) GM notes as well.

Seniority

In (and around) Horizon, there's a whole load of organisations to be joined, served and exploited. Anyone who's anyone is involved with a Mob (or more than one...), of course, but apart from that there's things like the University, the Mayoral Legions and the Emperor's Front, and there are many more out in the Four Nations. In most of these, a position of authority will allow you to grub out far more than your fair share of funds, equipment and men with sticks. Hence the seniority system. For any organisation that you are part of, your seniority represents your acknowledged, official degree of power. Depending on the organisation, possessing authority may give you automatic use of funds, the right to requisition useful items, the right to hand out unquestionable orders to your subordinates, and more. Seniority runs from one to five; one means that you are little more than a mook with big ideas, five puts you at the top; rank 5 characters are typically of considerable significance to the game world, so if you want to play one, you will need to come and speak seperately to the GM team, who will brutally humiliate you. Sorry, that should read "discuss your character concept's relevance".

It's probably worth pointing out a couple of things that seniority is not. It is not a complete description of your influence; a street fighter who is given little recognition by his mob, but runs a private army, is going to be more influential than a nominal leader of that same mob who owns little but his pride (this mob is likely to undergo violent restructuring that will end up with the streetfighter in charge in the near future, but that's a different story). It is also not a guarentee of respect; wielding power certainly helps to get respect, but no more ensures it than, for example, being a company VP in real life.

Seniority does not work the same way in every organisation. For this reason, organisations in Horizon are noted as treating it as Casual or Vital. In those organisations that treat it as Casual, seniority is more a recognition that you are a good leader than a promise to keep you in that role. You do not directly control many resources, although you will certainly find it easier to requisition them; you can give out orders to those less important, but they are not compelled to obey. In those organisations that treat it as Vital, seniority grants you the taste of raw power. You have control over the organisation's resources, you can pull rank, people have to jump to attention when you turn your gaze on them, and so on. Seniority is more expensive in such organisations. For example, at the Imperial University, buying seniority gives you all manner of pretentious titles, and the right to wear gowns that would look absurd on anyone less learned than yourself. But basically it's up to you to win funding for your projects, recruit assisstants who won't destroy the lab, and occasionally persuade the Watchdogs not to arrest you. Seniority is Casual. In the Watchdogs on the other hand, seniority gives you large groups of armed men as your (sort of) minions, the right to incarcerate pretty much anyone if you can think of a reason, and the right to raid people's property. Seniority is Vital.

There are a wide variety of jobs that come with seniority in an organisation; usually, the higher the income, the higher the rank. Rank above and beyond what comes with your job can be bought at the costs indicated below. For those organisations that have no particular jobs associated with them (eg the HPLF), rank one will cost a set amount, then further ranks can again be purchased at the costs noted below. Mobs also have seniority zero, which indicates that you are regarded as that mob's "property" (or "client", to put it tactfully), but have no official status. Most probably you pay them protection money or some equivalent. Everyone gets rank zero in a mob at character generation based on the district they live in (unless they are Incognito Nobles whose home is in the Noble District, if they don't buy full membership of a mob or get around the issue some other way (buying seniority in the University, or something else unrelated to the mobs, does not get you out of paying protection money).

Seniority, at least in the uniform way it's presented here, is an OOC concept. Some organisations don't even have an overt power structure; at the other extreme, groups like the Watchdogs have far more than four ranks, and these are supposed to define the members' entire professional life. However, it all gets dealt with under the same system. IC characters do not discuss (or even know) their seniority level as such. If your level changes during the game in a non-obvious way, we will let you know.

Seniority costs as follows: two points per level where it is Casual, three points where it is Vital. Remember that some sort of rank in an organisation usually comes free with jobs in that organisation. You will notice that rank 5 doesn't come with any job quirk and doesn't have a fixed cost. As noted above, rank 5 PCs tend to change the setting, so we'll need to talk to you seperately about them; this will include thrashing out an exact point cost (we'll be using the two point/three point casual/vital division, and the cost of obtaining rank 4, as a starting point).

Here's an example of how it works in practice, taken from the character generation pages. The job scholar, when purchased for one point, gives you a Poor income, and comes with rank 1 in the Imperial University. Since seniority is Casual at the University, you can buy in at Rank 2 by spending an extra two points (for a total of three points), or at rank 3 by spending an extra four points (for a total of five points). Alternatively, you could buy the scholar job with a Comfortable income for six points; this then comes free with rank 4 in the Imperial University. If you want rank 5 at the University you'll need to come and talk to us seperately; we'll listen to what you want to do and then assign a point cost (using eight, ie the cost of rank 4 plus another two, as a starting point).

Here's a rough guide to what seniority levels means (though bear in mind this varies from organisation to organisation).

0 (mobs only): you are well above the level of property, but still not exactly a full human being. You happen to live in a mob's area of the city and haven't (yet) been able to get out of paying them insurance. Still, you are regarded as in some way "part" of the mob, and can expect some protection in return for your money.

1: You are a front line troop, a pen pusher, or other such subordinate. However, you are now one of the boys, a full member. If seniority is vital, you can expect purpose to be forced into your existence on a regular basis by your superiors. In a mob you may be someone's mook, or you may be a semi-independent operator who is considered to be of little importance. Alternatively, you may be a non-member who is really important to the organisation for some reason. Any way, you can beg the organisation for stuff and it's possible they'll listen.

2: You are trusted with a little authority. In a mob you might lead a squad of goons; in an army you're a corporal or sergeant.

3: Middle ranking. A captain in an army; someone who heads up permanent operations in a mob. Outsiders who know about your group on a casual basis may have heard of you just because of your position.

4: Senior figure. You are a professor at the university, a senior commander in an army, part of a governing council, or one of a mob commander's immediate henchmen or deputies. Outsiders who know about your group on a casual basis have probably heard of you just because of your position, unless you've taken efforts to cover your role up. If your organisation is at all respected or notorious, you will have a small amount of political clout, again just because of who you are.

5: Leader/crime lord: you run your organisation, one way or another.