Klingon Ranks

[mwood1387]

Anyone aware if the Klingon faction will have its own ranking system (such as 'Bekk/HoD instead of 'Ensign/Captain') or if it will be using the Federation versions of rank? Link info if you can :)

[tonymetpolice]

they havent mentiond yet but its such an obvious (and easy to do) detail that you kinda assume that theklngons will have different but equivelent ranks. the other question is will we have a seperate rank that indicates the position in your house. you could be be a captain in the klingon defense force but the head of your house for instance. or will it just be the ame as your rank in game

[Dahakra]

I hope so. Unfortunately I noticed this in the Vo'Quv description.

The KDF is assigning its most decorated captains to Vo'Quv ships, and many admirals and generals have claimed them as flagships. The Vo'Quv will lead the fleets targeting Federation and Romulan space, and, in time, will carry warriors to the Empire's new territory.

So who knows.

- Dahakra

[mwood1387]

I'd forgotten about Houses. Perhaps once we join a house its name will be suffixed to our own names. For instance: XXXX of the house of Martok. Or perhaps our ships or uniforms will bear the crests of our houses.

I hadn't noticed that in the description. Hopefully that will change before long.

[Rekkert]

Well, in the series they mention some Klingon ranks:
General
Admiral
Brigadier
Commander
Captain
Colonel
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Bekk/Warrior
While most of them are in english, they are diferent from the ones used by Starfleet, and I guess Cryptic will keep them in english because it's easier, and, after all, canon.

[Trsmash]

The only ranks in the KDF are as follows:

Captain
Klingon Warrior
Targ

That is all.......
Just had to add a little humor to this thread. That is all.

[koraQ]

Your wrong there, they would have a complete and full ranking system, something like this:

'aj'a
'aj (Admiral)
'ajHom
totlh (Fleet Commander)
HoD (Captain)
la'
la'Hom
Sogh
SoghHom
lagh
ne'
beqquv
beq'a'
beq (Cadet)
rewbe' (Civilian)

[mwood1387]

Well, in the series they mention some Klingon ranks:
General
Admiral
Brigadier
Commander
Captain
Colonel
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Bekk/Warrior
While most of them are in english, they are diferent from the ones used by Starfleet, and I guess Cryptic will keep them in english because it's easier, and, after all, canon.

Actually they use those ranks because they're the closest approximation to Human ranks so that Starfleet can understand better . In the same way they talk English when Humans are around but have their own language. Memory Alpha is an excellent source of info but always check 2 sources for confirmation before stating something. :)

P.S Thanks Kor'aQ for the list :)

[Rekkert]

Yes, I know they do have a complete rank sistem, but, what I've tried to say is that that sistem gets translated to english to help us viewers understand, and I guess Cryptic will do the same thing.

[IanD967]

i think the best option would be to have an option wheither or not to view the klingon version of ranks or the federation qual ranks because i sure as hell have no idea wtf Kor'Qa's ranking system means and im pretty sure alot of others would have trouble trying to figure them out aswell

[pdidy]

Well, in the series they mention some Klingon ranks:
General
Admiral
Brigadier
Commander
Captain
Colonel
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Bekk/Warrior
While most of them are in english, they are diferent from the ones used by Starfleet, and I guess Cryptic will keep them in english because it's easier, and, after all, canon.

Yes, they go under most of the ground military ranks.

[Zander2]

Well, in the series they mention some Klingon ranks:
General
Admiral
Brigadier
Commander
Captain
Colonel
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Bekk/Warrior
While most of them are in english, they are diferent from the ones used by Starfleet, and I guess Cryptic will keep them in english because it's easier, and, after all, canon.

I like this one, it makes the more sense and is easier for starfleet to understand...

[Deyvid]

I wrote the following in the thread "Klingon rank system (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=9579)"....


The Klingon military and ranking system is discussed in the canonical book, "Klingon for the Galactic Traveler" (KGT) by Marc Okrand, beginning on page 46.

On page 51, we see:

The entirety of a government's military apparatus is it's QI’, usually translated simply as "military". ... Though many Klingons themselves are apt to describe the Federation's Starfleet as a type of QI’, this is not really an appropriate use of the term, since QI’ refers to the military only, while the functions of Starfleet are scientific and diplomatic as well. ... The official Klingon QI’ is the Klingon Defense Force, or tlhIngan Hubbeq, which is run by the Klingon High Command, or tlhIngan ra’ghomquv.

The Defense Force is subdivided into units known as yo’ and nawlogh, traditionally translated as "fleet" and "squadron" respectively, but the relationship between the two is not straightforward in terms of chain of command. While a yo’ always consists of more than one nawlogh, there are a number of nawloghmey (the plural form of nawlogh) that are independent of any association with a yo’. Therefore, while a specific nawlogh may be under the command of a yo’, another nawlogh may have the same status as a yo’ within the overall forces.

Then on page 52 we see:

The words used as titles to denote the rank (patlh) within the Klingon Defense Force have caused a certain amount of confusion, largely because the system does not neatly map onto that used by Starfleet. The highest military officer, the head of the Klingon High Command, is the la’quv, usually translated as "Supreme Commander." There are nine ranks of officers (yaSpu’, the plural form of yaS ["officer"]) serving under the la’quv, and below them are the troops (QaS), including some with titles. The officers (yaSpu’) are ranked as follows (from highest to lowest, each given with its usual Federation Standard translation):

’aj ("admiral")
Sa’ ("general")
totlh ("commodore")
’ech ("brigadier")
HoD ("captain")
la’ ("commander")
Sogh ("lieutenant")
lagh ("ensign")
ne’ ("yeoman")

When used with an individual's name, the title follows the name: tlha’a HoD ("Captain Klaa"), cheng Sa’ ("General Chang"), qeng la’ ("Commander Kang"), and so on.

[PAGE 53]

Among the troops (QaS), the highest-ranking are given the title bu’, traditionally translated as "sergeant," while the next highest have the title Da’ ("corporal"). No specific titles are used for anyone of lower rank.


Since it is established that the Klingon ranking system doesn't neatly map onto the Starfleet ranking system, STO may or may not follow the ranking system set forth by Okrand's KGT, even though it is considered a canonical Star Trek reference book -- or at least, a hard canon tlhIngan Hol (Klingon language) book.

Even if Cryptic doesn't use each of the Klingon ranks listed above, it would be cool if they at least used some of them to roughly match the equivalent rank or character progression point as the Federation players -- however, we also may or may not see the actual Klingon version for the ranks used since there would be many Klingon players who aren't familiar with tlhIngan Hol.

A proposal I'd offer to remedy this, is to allow an option in our game settings to use Klingon language rankings for our over-head floating names, but when you mouse-over or inspect that character it would still always show the English form of that rank. For example, if I achieve the rank of captain, I could activate "Display Klingon Language Rankings" so that over my avatar it would say "Deyvid HoD" but if someone were to mouse-over me or inspect me, it would still show "Captain Deyvid" or "Rank: Captain". Also in PVP it should always show the English default to Federation players.


Here's another bit of info that may be useful to some:

KGT, page 53

There are a number of words employed to describe the specific functions performed by officers on a ship, but none of these are used as a title. For example, the science officer is the QeDpIn, the communications officer is the QumpIn, the weapons officer is the nuHpIn, the engineering officer is the jonpIn, the tactical officer is the ya, and the helmsman is the DeghwI’. It is not correct, however, to say qImlaq ya ("Tactical Officer K’mlak"). .... Similarly, regardless of their official ranks, those closest to the captain of a ship are called yaS wa’DIch ("first officer") and yaS cha’DIch ("second officer"). Unlike the terms associated with specific duties, however, these may be used as titles as well. ... Finally, a student may be described as a mangHom ("cadet"), but mangHom is not an official title. One should not say, for example, qImlaq mangHom ("Cadet K’mlak").

[evan.is.weyoun]

Hopefully they won't be in Klingon. The entire Klingon side of the game isn't in Klingon, so why would the ranks be?

[mwood1387]

I wrote the following in the thread "Klingon rank system (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=9579)"....


The Klingon military and ranking system is discussed in the canonical book, "Klingon for the Galactic Traveler" (KGT) by Marc Okrand, beginning on page 46.

On page 51, we see:

The entirety of a government's military apparatus is it's QI’, usually translated simply as "military". ... Though many Klingons themselves are apt to describe the Federation's Starfleet as a type of QI’, this is not really an appropriate use of the term, since QI’ refers to the military only, while the functions of Starfleet are scientific and diplomatic as well. ... The official Klingon QI’ is the Klingon Defense Force, or tlhIngan Hubbeq, which is run by the Klingon High Command, or tlhIngan ra’ghomquv.

The Defense Force is subdivided into units known as yo’ and nawlogh, traditionally translated as "fleet" and "squadron" respectively, but the relationship between the two is not straightforward in terms of chain of command. While a yo’ always consists of more than one nawlogh, there are a number of nawloghmey (the plural form of nawlogh) that are independent of any association with a yo’. Therefore, while a specific nawlogh may be under the command of a yo’, another nawlogh may have the same status as a yo’ within the overall forces.

Then on page 52 we see:

The words used as titles to denote the rank (patlh) within the Klingon Defense Force have caused a certain amount of confusion, largely because the system does not neatly map onto that used by Starfleet. The highest military officer, the head of the Klingon High Command, is the la’quv, usually translated as "Supreme Commander." There are nine ranks of officers (yaSpu’, the plural form of yaS ["officer"]) serving under the la’quv, and below them are the troops (QaS), including some with titles. The officers (yaSpu’) are ranked as follows (from highest to lowest, each given with its usual Federation Standard translation):

’aj ("admiral")
Sa’ ("general")
totlh ("commodore")
’ech ("brigadier")
HoD ("captain")
la’ ("commander")
Sogh ("lieutenant")
lagh ("ensign")
ne’ ("yeoman")

When used with an individual's name, the title follows the name: tlha’a HoD ("Captain Klaa"), cheng Sa’ ("General Chang"), qeng la’ ("Commander Kang"), and so on.

[PAGE 53]

Among the troops (QaS), the highest-ranking are given the title bu’, traditionally translated as "sergeant," while the next highest have the title Da’ ("corporal"). No specific titles are used for anyone of lower rank.


Since it is established that the Klingon ranking system doesn't neatly map onto the Starfleet ranking system, STO may or may not follow the ranking system set forth by Okrand's KGT, even though it is considered a canonical Star Trek reference book -- or at least, a hard canon tlhIngan Hol (Klingon language) book.

Even if Cryptic doesn't use each of the Klingon ranks listed above, it would be cool if they at least used some of them to roughly match the equivalent rank or character progression point as the Federation players -- however, we also may or may not see the actual Klingon version for the ranks used since there would be many Klingon players who aren't familiar with tlhIngan Hol.

A proposal I'd offer to remedy this, is to allow an option in our game settings to use Klingon language rankings for our over-head floating names, but when you mouse-over or inspect that character it would still always show the English form of that rank. For example, if I achieve the rank of captain, I could activate "Display Klingon Language Rankings" so that over my avatar it would say "Deyvid HoD" but if someone were to mouse-over me or inspect me, it would still show "Captain Deyvid" or "Rank: Captain". Also in PVP it should always show the English default to Federation players.


Here's another bit of info that may be useful to some:

KGT, page 53

There are a number of words employed to describe the specific functions performed by officers on a ship, but none of these are used as a title. For example, the science officer is the QeDpIn, the communications officer is the QumpIn, the weapons officer is the nuHpIn, the engineering officer is the jonpIn, the tactical officer is the ya, and the helmsman is the DeghwI’. It is not correct, however, to say qImlaq ya ("Tactical Officer K’mlak"). .... Similarly, regardless of their official ranks, those closest to the captain of a ship are called yaS wa’DIch ("first officer") and yaS cha’DIch ("second officer"). Unlike the terms associated with specific duties, however, these may be used as titles as well. ... Finally, a student may be described as a mangHom ("cadet"), but mangHom is not an official title. One should not say, for example, qImlaq mangHom ("Cadet K’mlak").





Perfect. I couldn't have put it better myself. Hopefully a dev will read your post. If that doesn't change their mind (if it needs changing?) I don't think anything will. Thank you for such an excellent post :)

[Deyvid]

Hopefully they won't be in Klingon. The entire Klingon side of the game isn't in Klingon, so why would the ranks be?

Yeah, it would be nice to have the option for Klingon language rankings for those who are well-versed with tlhIngan Hol, but I don't think should always be exclusively in tlhIngan Hol, since not all Klingon players will understand it. There should always be an option to toggle it on/off, and even when toggling it on, the inspection information (on mouse-over, or using /inspect etc.) should always show the English equivalent.

There are many Klingon players who really want an immersive Klingon experience with the Klingon faction, and while we can't do the Klingon side entirely in tlhIngan Hol, it would be nice to see it used as as flavoring, sprinkled in here and there to add that touch of Klingon spice.

Perfect. I couldn't have put it better myself. Hopefully a dev will read your post. If that doesn't change their mind (if it needs changing?) I don't think anything will. Thank you for such an excellent post :)

Thanks. Qapla’


The Klingon ranks that have been seen on-screen are:

General (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Klingon_ranks#General)
Admiral (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Klingon_ranks#Admiral)
Brigadier (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Klingon_ranks#Brigadier)
Commander (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Klingon_ranks#Commander)
Captain (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Klingon_ranks#Captain)
Colonel (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Klingon_ranks#Colonel)
Lieutenant (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Klingon_ranks#Lieutenant)
Sergeant (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Klingon_ranks#Sergeant)
Bekk (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Klingon_ranks#Bekk)