Menial Caste
The sophont species called Kraken by Humans have a highly organized social structure with three distinct castes. Supervisors occupy the top tier, being responsible for leadership and decision making. Beneath the Supervisors are the members of the Techno Caste; this encompasses Krakens who perform functions that require skill, education, and advanced training. At the bottom of the social ladder are those Kraken who perform much of the physical labor and drudge work required to keep any civilization going - the Menials.
Menials are not slaves; Kraken society actually maintains an appreciation for the drudge work they do which frees others up to focus on the organization, leadership, and more technologically demanding tasks the upper castes perform. As long as they perform their duties, they can expect to be ensured decent, though not extravagant, living conditions. Their day to day lives include some free time which they spend in manners typical of any "blue collar" segment of any sophont society.
Menials do not see themselves as downtrodden or oppressed. They appreciate that every society requires a workforce to perform basic, non-technical tasks; indeed many Menials are proud of the fact that their efforts permit the entire Kraken species to thrive and extend its reach within the galaxy. The only dissatisfied Menials tend to be those who lost the status of a higher caste, but as this was most likely due to a lack of ambition or dedication on their own part, these do not get much sympathy from most other Menials.
Menial Caste Responsibilities and Privileges
Menial Caste members of the Kraken are the "grunt labor" force that every society needs to keep operating smoothly. Technically unskilled, they are nevertheless for the most part quite good at what they do, whether it be keeping the homes and workplaces of the upper castes clean and tidy, loading and unloading cargo, or doing simple repair and construction work in the shipyards of spaceports. They are mostly encountered on the worlds occupied by the Kraken, but large ship crews will invariably have at least a few Menials aboard acting as orderlies and making up work crews in engineering areas.Menials are not slaves; Kraken society actually maintains an appreciation for the drudge work they do which frees others up to focus on the organization, leadership, and more technologically demanding tasks the upper castes perform. As long as they perform their duties, they can expect to be ensured decent, though not extravagant, living conditions. Their day to day lives include some free time which they spend in manners typical of any "blue collar" segment of any sophont society.
Social Mobility in Kraken Society
Birth into the Menial Caste is not a life sentence to drudgery; a young Menial who shows aptitude and abilities during their educational experience have the opportunity to be elevated to Techno or even Supervisor Caste status. And since all Menial young are afforded the opportunity to receive at least a basic education, the opportunity to rise to higher status exists (at least in theory) for all.Menials do not see themselves as downtrodden or oppressed. They appreciate that every society requires a workforce to perform basic, non-technical tasks; indeed many Menials are proud of the fact that their efforts permit the entire Kraken species to thrive and extend its reach within the galaxy. The only dissatisfied Menials tend to be those who lost the status of a higher caste, but as this was most likely due to a lack of ambition or dedication on their own part, these do not get much sympathy from most other Menials.
Gamemaster Notes
The SOC attribute for Kraken characters and NPCs is an indication of caste. A SOC of 9+ is indicative of Supervisor status; a score between 5 and 8 describes a member of the Techno caste, and scores of 4 and below indicate Menials. Kraken social standing is not rigid, however, and can be changed based on achieving certain levels of expertise in various Skills. Social standing and caste membership are not true birthrights, either, but ones parentage (and thus the access one's family has to educational resources and advancement potentials) can make it easier for a Kraken youth to attain higher caste status.
When creating a Kraken Player Character or NPC, determine initial (potential) SOC when rolling initial attributes as normal. That score is used throughout the "career terms" portion of character generation. At the end of character generation, check the conditions listed below to determine how to adjust the SOC attribute score. Two notable exceptions to this rule: If, during character creation, the character enters either the Prisoner or Drifter career, their SOC is immediately reduced to 4 for the duration of character generation. (Upon completion of character creation, the conditions below may permit it to be raised again.)
Achieving expertise level 3 in any of the following Skills raises a Kraken's SOC to 9 if it is currently lower: Admin, Advocate, Broker, Diplomat, Medic, Profession (any non-physical), Science (any), Tactics (any). Subsequent increases in any of these skills increases SOC by an additional +1 per level.
Reaching expertise level 2 in the Leadership skill automatically raises a Kraken's SOC attribute to 10 (A) if it is currently lower.
Achieving expertise level 3 in Leadership raises SOC to 12 (C). Increases beyond 3 add an additional SOC +1 per level.
Gaining Officer Rank 5 in any of the Military professions (Army, Marines, Navy) automatically raises a Kraken's SOC attribute to 10 (A) if it is currently lower.
Reaching Officer Rank 6 raises SOC to 12 (C).
Kraken SOC increases do not "stack"; each skill or rank is considered individually; the resulting SOC is determined by the highest skill or rank contributor to standing increase.br]
A Kraken who has not achieved one of these conditions, but had rolled a SOC of 9 or higher has that SOC adjusted to a maximum of 8. (This can be raised again if a player character successfully completes in-game training.
Any higher caste Kraken convicted of a crime is automatically downgraded to a SOC of 4, placing them into the Menial Caste where they will remain regardless of future training. (A Kraken "born into" the Menial Caste can, however, rise out of this class by achieving one of the training conditions set forth above - even if they had been convicted of a crime.)
When creating a Kraken Player Character or NPC, determine initial (potential) SOC when rolling initial attributes as normal. That score is used throughout the "career terms" portion of character generation. At the end of character generation, check the conditions listed below to determine how to adjust the SOC attribute score. Two notable exceptions to this rule: If, during character creation, the character enters either the Prisoner or Drifter career, their SOC is immediately reduced to 4 for the duration of character generation. (Upon completion of character creation, the conditions below may permit it to be raised again.)
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