My first take at Zhodani ranks...

[Hans_vermeylen]

Caution! This is a prototype, an alpha version, work in progress... Whatever you call it, know that this isn't definitive as I'm not entirely happy with them myself... That's also why they're black, gray and white: I haven't set for a given color scheme yet!

Waiting Officer, officer of 20, officer of 50,

officer of 100, officer of 200 and officer of 500.​

​

Officer of 1000, officer of 2000, officer of 5000,
officer of 10000 and officer of millions.​

​

Leader of 10, leader of 20, leader of 50,
leader of 100 and leader of 1000.
​

The rationae behind the drawings:

• Some informations I gathered about the Zhodani military:
  • If their ranks name is of any indication, the Zhos have a traditional clear cut between enlisteds ('protl' suffix) and officers ('stibr' suffix). Given the casted nature of their society, this makes sense
  • The cut between generals/admirals and 'regular' officers seems less clear, if existent at all...
  • The use of the same suffixes for both army and navy might hint at a joinish kind of organisation with similar rank devices for both corps
  • 'The combat armor's distinct clamshell helmet appearance may evoke Dark Age Zhdant war-helms used by the early psionic nobility, wich were often designed to suggest Chirper heads.' This sentence (GT:AR1) might be interpreted as some link between 'Chirper' and 'warrior' in the Zhodani mind
  • The Droyn coyn symbol for 'warrior' is a kind of chevron, while the symbol for 'leader' is some kind of six points star
  • The Zhodany army at last has a very mathematical structure: officer of 20, of 50, of 100, 200, 500...

• The design I ended up with:
  • For officers: six pointed stars on a field of vertical lines
    • The number of lines indicate the scope of the unit commanded by the officer: 1 line = tens, 2 lines = hundreds, 3 lines = thousands, 4 lines = tens of thousands and a big block = millions
    • The number of stars further narrows the size of the unit commanded: e.g. 2 stars = 2 hundreds/thousands/...
  • For the NCOs: pretty much the same with thiner lines and chevrons instead of stars...

At the end of the day, I've got a 'not alien enough' feeling... The whole system looks a lot like the Soviet system; but then, aren't the Zhos the Russians of Traveller?

 

[aramis]

I'd suggest not having the lines vertical, and using only 3 stars for officer of 50/officer of 500.

I'd say officers 1st run should have no stripe (waiting, 20, 50)
Officers of the second run (100, 200, 500) should have a bar across, stars below?
Third run get two stripes, fourth run a wide stripe

I like the chevron as warrior concept, but it's got some issues.

I'd use Parallel chevrons side by side for 1st three.
Then a larger chevron and then chevron and something else... coyn, maybe?

 

[Hans_vermeylen]

Why not... But why well?

 

[Hans_vermeylen]

A comment of CDR Franssen (going more or less along those lines: "maybe the Zhos don't wear ranks at all, like prior 1955 PLA; officers recognizing themselves by wearing a pen sticking out their pocket") made me think of rank cylinders worn by IN officers in Star Wars.

What about the Zhodani wearing some kind of personal 'psy transponder' broadcasting their rank to any psy around (i.e. every officer)?

They would be using a technology called psy-tags (inspired by the psy-switches described in GT:AR1). Psy-tags would be a basic psychotronic component broadcasting a single psy "word" (be it an actual short sentense, an image or even a smell or an emotion) to any psy a few meters away, regardless of the exact nature of his powers. This component has a variety of use ranging from noble only warning signs, precious objects nametags and rank cylinder...

The fact that only officers can read them make some sort of other rank device, readable by proles, needed... Wich makes me wonder: are those cylinder of any use at all?​

 

[ElHombre]

The first thing I thought of when I saw your designs was 'Rooskie', but I see you thought of that. Your idea about Coyns serving as inspiration does have a minor problem: Zhdant had Chirpers. Chripers don't know about Coyns (otherwise they'd be Droyne).

 

[Hans_vermeylen]

It doestn't mean the symbols on the Coyns are entirely unknown to Chripers... Again, that's the best I can't think of given the lack of graphic material on Zhos/Chripers...

 

[Mithras]

ditch the chevrons!

 

[rancke]

The Droyn coyn symbol for 'warrior' is a kind of chevron, while the symbol for 'leader' is some kind of six points star

Be aware that the coyns from GT:Aliens 2 don't match canonical descriptions of ancient and 'medieval' (75,000 to 2,000 years ago) coyns (which are pictures, not symbols). I explain the discrepancy by saying that the coyns with the symbols are coyn sets made by present-day Droyne. The coyns that Yaskoydray hands out have small pictures on them.


Hans

 

[casquilho]

I think this is a good place to start, but I think there is too much that feels like an adjusted Earth system for me.

I think there needs to be a tie in to the psych as others have suggested as well as maybe something less Earthlike. Different symbols for example.

I look forward to what every you do next.

Daniel

 

[aramis]

What about the Zhodani wearing some kind of personal 'psy transponder' broadcasting their rank to any psy around (i.e. every officer)?

They would be using a technology called psy-tags (inspired by the psy-switches described in GT:AR1). Psy-tags would be a basic psychotronic component broadcasting a single psy "word" (be it an actual short sentense, an image or even a smell or an emotion) to any psy a few meters away, regardless of the exact nature of his powers. This component has a variety of use ranging from noble only warning signs, precious objects nametags and rank cylinder...

The fact that only officers can read them make some sort of other rank device, readable by proles, needed... Wich makes me wonder: are those cylinder of any use at all?​

[/CENTER]

Not all Zhodani Officers are Nobles, and many nobles are weak psionicists.

 

[Hemdian]

An idea like the pen-in-pocket or rank cylinders, IMTU I have the senior Zhodani ranks (Sector Officer and Consulate Officer) carry small scepters as rank indicators.