Artisanal and Academic Ranks

The denizens of The Historical Tower are broadly divided into two categories: Artisans and Academics. Each category has their own ranking system.

Artisanal Rank

An Artisanal Rank is a system of ranking given to artisans within The Historical Tower. This ranking is indicative of an artisan's overall skill and dedication to their craft. The system is relatively simple:

Non-Artisan

Usually not used as it is implied by a lack of one of the above rankings that an individual is not an artisan. The majority of Academics have this rank by default.

Fourth Rank

A Fourth Rank Artisan has demonstrated at least some aptitude or ability in the Arts. It is usually awarded to new denizens or beginners that have shown promise. It is considered amateur-ish.

Third Rank

Third Rank Artisans are typically those who have achieved some degree of competence or shown some degree of flair or creativity in their chosen field. It is possible to achieve Third Rank through dedication alone, but an Artisan may struggle to get further.

Second Rank

A solid grasp of technique and its application is necessary to achieve the rank of Second. Second Ranks are considered to be adept but may or may not have found their unique creative voice yet.

First Rank

Artisans who have demonstrated an exceptional level of skill and innovation are awarded the rank of First. These artisans have likely spent years or decades honing their craft.

Artisanal rank does not indicate an individual's success or popularity except by happenstance (i.e. the most skilled artisans tend to be the most popular.)

Academic Rank

Unlike Artisanal Ranks, Academic Ranks are designed to communicate more specific information. As a result, these ranking are often quite long, especially as it's possible (albeit difficult) to hold multiple rankings. The order of this information is highly rigid and standardised with little to no deviation from the set structure. This structure is as follows:

Number - Importance - Occupation - Indicator of Achievement (Field of Study)

example: 23rd - Pivitol - Researcher - Major (Linguistics)

The information these parts communicate is highly specific and from this one is able to glean, an individual's area of research, occupation, seniority within that occupation, time spent in that occupation and contribution to the occupation/field of research. The specifics of each part is outlined below in the order in which the rank is formulated.

Field of Study

To begin an Academic will choose their field of study. As the Tower has operated for a long time, it is impossible to list all the possible fields of study available. However, they cover a wide variety of disciplines and new fields are recognised regularly. Common examples include: Drama, Literature, Physics, Chemistry.

Occupation

Once they have chosen a field of study, the Academic will choose an occupation within that field of study. Again, there are many examples, all of which can vary massively between fields of study. Common cross-field examples include: Researcher, Lecturer, Historian and Tutor Field-specific examples include: Theoralist (Literature) and Laboratory Technician(Chemistry) As many Academics are expected to learn while they work there are also additional titles for those are in training, such as Aide, Assistant or Student. It's worth noting that occupations can be changed as an individual gravitates towards preferred areas of expertise.

Number

When an individual has chosen their occupation, they are assigned a number based on how many others are currently in the same occupation. For example, the 20th Researcher to join the Literature Research team will be assigned the number 20. This communicates a number of things:

• It is possible to communicate the popularity of an Academic's field - this has the additional function of adding significance to the individual's contributions as well. (i.e. an individual who has achieved Major in a field with over a hundred people is subject to much more competition than their equivalent in a field with only twenty people.)

• It will give a rough indicator of how long a person has been in their occupation - this is subject to some uncertainty however as, upon the death of an Academic, it is custom to adjust the numerical rankings to reflect it. (i.e. if the 1st Researcher dies, the 2nd researcher becomes the new 1st and so on.)

At this point, a new Academic will have their full title now. The remaining parts are acquired based on their how they have progressed in their chosen occupation.

Indicator of Achievement

Academics are awarded an Indicator of Achievement when they successfully contribute a new piece of research to the Tower's records. This can take many forms such as a thesis, experiment, theory or journal, the only proviso is that it is new. The field's highest ranking Academics determine how significant the contribution is and award an indicator based on this ruling.

Importance

Important is awarded based on seniority within an individual's occupation. It is universal across all disciplines to avoid confusion.

Type

Academic, Honorific

Related Locations

• The Historical Tower