In almost every people of the realm there is some delineation of the populace. In some cases this can be a finely structured classification ranging from the elite leadership to the lowest commoner. In other cases it may be as simple as a single person among a group of equals that everyone turns to for guidance and leadership. For the most part, humans have shown the greatest propensity for such delineation and the Empire's levels of Station and Status reflect that. Following is a brief list of the various cultures encountered and their known structure. (For players who have reason to know the structure of restricted races, such as drow, duergar and wolfen, additional information can be obtained from a ref)

• Station and Status within the Empire and Paladur (the Humans)
• Station and Status among the Barbarians (Both Plains and Highland)
• Station and Status among the Dwarves (Eastern and Western)
• Station and Status among the Elves (Sylvanhome and Sylvanlost)
• Station and Status within Gortahork (the Orcs)

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Station and Status within the Empire and Paladur

Station
A person's station within the Empire or Paladur is heavily dependant on birth.  For the main part station is divided into three different categories.

Royalty, Nobility and Commoner.

Royalty is considered a station of rank by birth and would consist of the Overlord, the Dukes and Duchesses, and their offspring in the Empire or the King or Queen and their offspring within Paladur.  Under certain circumstances it is not outside the realm of possibility for someone to be raised to the rank of royalty, however, it is extremely rare and requires the consent of the Overlord.  For the sake of the plot, primarily to keep control of things, players are not permitted to be royalty.  A final note on royalty,  based on the history of how the Empire was developed the Dukes and Duchesses of the Empire might normally have held the rank equivalent of King or Queen but, for reasons of realm history, maintain the title of Duke and Duchess, only.  Their children, however, retain the title of prince or princess.

Nobility is considered a station of rank by entitlement, either through birth or through edict of royalty.  The Duke of Armoria could elevate a faithful and effective servant of his duchy to the status of Baron, perhaps, in reward for exceptional service.  Nobles usually have their own lands and are responsible for enforcing the laws on those lands.  Players are permitted to play the offspring of nobility, thus, not placing them directly in charge of lands and resources.  If a player assumes control of the lands over which their parentage rules they would have no time for adventuring or going on patrols and would, in effect, become an NPC.  Players are not permitted to have more than one character of noble birth as it is difficult enough to have a valid reason why your noble character is in the ongoing campaign and not at court as would be expected of nobles of their age and station.  A character of noble birth is held to higher standards than commoners, often finding themselves more restricted and with less freedom in some ways than commoners.  Anyone wishing to play a noble character should have at least one year of recent, steady play time with a common character already to ensure a good understanding of the game mechanics, atmosphere, and setting.  They must also hand in their character history in advance and have it approved by one of the referees before they can begin playing.  This latter may take time depending on how much spare time the referee in question has available.

The Children of Nobility are referred to as Lord or Lady <first name> and may be addressed as such.
Example: Greetings, Lord Arathorne.

Commoners comprise everyone else who is neither a royal nor a noble.  The overwhelming majority of the people in the Empire are commoners.  These range everywhere from the potato farmer down the road to most of the company leaders and more.  While commoners are subject to all the laws of the duchy, most royals and nobles know more than to expect them to have any level of couth and understanding of the higher order of things, thus, they may often get away with more than a noble would be permitted to.  At the same time, commoners are also at the whim of the royals and nobles they serve and need to honor them lest they fall prey to the whims of an irate royal or noble.

Status
In addition to station there is also the question of status.  For the most part, there are few ranks of status accorded outside those of royalty and nobility.  About the only status of note, at this time, is that of Knight.  Knights can be divided into two classes.  Those awarded the title of Knight by proclamation royalty, as may be case of well-trained courtly nobility, and those who have earned the title of Knight through perseverance and dedication.  Among the Knights a distinction is made with those who have earned the title often being accorded the greatest measure of respect for the path of the Knighthood earned is a strict and difficult one.

Knights by proclamation are given the title of Sire and Domina, for men and woman respectively.  Knights by training are given the title of Sir and Dame.  On the rare occasion where a Knight by proclamation has progressed through the requirements to have become a Knight by training, they usually elect to take up the title of Sir or Dame, showing that even the nobility hold high respect for the commitment the title implies.

A Knight may eventually be granted a small measure of land by a noble or royal they serve but are then committed to defending that land against invaders.  Often, Knights are given a measure of money by the noble or royal granting them the land to begin building a keep and are given lands in strategic or dangerous areas with the knowledge that they must now hold that land as a duly recognized vassal of the lord or lady granting it to them.  Players are more than welcome to play a character pursuing the role of Knight, however, they should recognize that they should not push to attain land in such a manner to quick lest they become tied to one place, unable to play in the active campaign, and little more than an NPC.

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While the plains and highland barbarians are quite frequently very different culturally, both are derived from the same far distant ancestral roots and have maintained a generally similar delineation of station.  The fragmentary nature of so many clans and tribes, however, has also worked to provide a multitude of small differences throughout the whole.  What is presented here is generally correct, however, each tribe or clan may have its slight differences, if any.

Station
Most frequently a person's station within a clan or tribe is heavily dependent on their capacity to prove their right to it.  The Tribal Leader or Clan Leader, typically called a Chieftain or referred to as a Chief,  must prove to their people that they are both strong enough and wise enough to maintain that role.  Frequently, many tribes and clans will maintain a sort of inheritance of leadership, grooming the sons or daughters of a chief to continue on in the same role relying on the training of the parent-chief to insure that all the desirable qualities will be maintained.  In some tribes, leadership may be challenged frequently but seldom do such contested rivalries result in death.

Most frequently a single Chieftain rules the group and is referred to by name and with no grand titles.  It is simply common knowledge to the members of the clan or tribe who is the leader and that usually suffices.  Among some of the highland clans, however, prolonged contact with the Empire has begun to show more effect on the culture and there is a slightly greater number of clans who's leaders who demand to always be addressed as Honored Leader, Chieftain or as Clan Leader rather than simply by name.  Even in groups in which this is not demanded, a leader who commands respect may often be called honored leader or honored elder simply out of respect.

Status
There are a few positions of status that may or may not be employed by the barbarian tribes and clans.  Chief Hunter and Shaman are by far the two most common.  While these may be referred to by other names, such as War Leader or Chief Healer, the roles are typically the same.  Both frequently act as advisors to the tribal chief or clan leader and are often accorded some measure of honorary status among the people.  Second to these positions, many tribes and clans often show respect for anyone who has managed to survive to greater age within the tribe and these members are respected and often referred to as honored elders.

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For all intents and purposes, the dwarf clans of the Eastern and Western Mountains share similar cultural beliefs and maintain the same types of station.  The gulf of land separating them, now inhabited by the humans of the Empire, has only managed to alter them slightly.

Station
A dwarf's station is typically determined by birth.  Among the dwarves the only real placement of station is that of Clan Leader.  While a few clans may have power struggles that determine who the leader is, typically the most capable offspring of the previous leader takes over in the same capacity.  

Being a very practical people, the dwarves have found little use for fancy titles and typically refer to their leaders the same way they do for each other.  In times of ceremony, however, the dwarves can be about as ostentatious and any people and are as likely as not to heap praise-like titles upon their leaders.  As an example, Alec Ironhill, Chieftain of the Iron Hills clan of dwarves might be referred to as "Oh Great Chieftain Alec, Lord of the Iron Hills and Master of the Iron Crown... or Chieftain Alec Ironhills, Guardian of the Sacred Shard of Rubicryst...".  Such titles are typically used by dwarves trying to impress both the Chieftain and each other and they may compete with each other over time to craft the most impressive sounding titles for use in ceremony.

Status
Status among the dwarves is more a matter of pragmatism than anything else.  If a particular clan spends the majority of its time mining and has invested a great deal of its people into various roles toward that end, one dwarf that has shown a talent for overseeing the matter may find themselves in the role of Lead Miner, or possibly Head or Chief miner.  Any respect attached to the position is a natural outgrowth of a peoples' respect for that individual's abilities.  Similarly, any titles attached are nominal in nature, such as simply Head Miner, and result only from respect earned.  Typically the best way to earn a dwarf's respect is to prove yourself capable and willing to get the job done.  Laziness and shoddy work are causes for disrespect.

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The information given here is primarily for elves and people who would have direct knowledge of the inner workings of the elven government.  Rather than keep it a great secret and cause more work for the refs at this time, it is easier to rely on the role playing abilities of the players to determine who would and would not know such information.  While the elves do not actively keep it secret, they could be viewed as somewhat xenophobic and do not often share information with outsiders.  

A person's station within the elven monarchy is dependant on birth.  Among the elves Station is divided into basically only three categories.

Royalty, Nobility and Commoner.

Royalty is considered a station of rank by birth consists of the current Queen or King and their children.

Typically Nobility is also considered a station of rank by birth, however, owing to a complete lack of nobility to act as leadership after the split of Sylvanlost from Sylvanhome at the hand of humans, the elves of Sylvanlost created the Council.  Every elf on the Council was deemed to be a noble then and there.  A need for additional nobility caused the council to elevate several other prominent elves of Sylvanlost who had proven capable leaders to the station of nobility as well.  There is a small measure of animus on the part of some "true nobles" who's family lines were made noble in the long ago past of the elves against the "new nobles" created by the council.  Some elves even question whether these new nobles can actually claim the title of nobility since they were not appointed by the Queen.  In spite of this, recent contact between the elves of Sylvanhome and Sylvanlost has placed a few of these nobles before the presence of Queen Glennora and she has not directly disputed their claim to nobility.

The Royalty of Sylvanhome are easily revered above all other stations and are open admired by almost every elf of these lands.  All other elven nobles are simply Lords and Ladies.   Unlike the human court, the elven court has no official delineations of nobility.  A nobles status within the elven court is comprised solely of their standing with the current Queen or King. It is not unheard of for an elven noble to have fallen out of grace with the Queen for decades at a time.  For the long-lived, patient elves a few decades is still a bit of an inconvenience but one that is tolerable and well within the likelihood that they will return to grace.  Elven nobles do tend to hold the equivalent of estates that cover a bit of the forest around them but it is much different from the human system of holding and maintaining lands.  All elven nobles consider themselves responsible for all elven lands and treat all commoners with respect, so long as the commoners treat them with the respect due their station.  As a matter of courtesy, elven nobles will rarely impinge on locals of an area currently being actively protected by a noble in residence.

 Elven nobles kneel before their Queen or King, as do all commoners.  Commoners kneel before Lords and Ladies at any ceremonial event but generally only offer a small genuflection of bow or courtesy in non-ceremonial situations.  Commoners may choose to kneel to a Lord or Lady in public as a sign of higher admiration and respect to a noble at any time.  In Sylvanlost, it is commonly accepted practice that all kneel before the Council members as well. 

Status
At this time there is no mention of any particular level of status among the elves.

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Among the orcs there is very little actual station or status.  By human terms, there is nothing equating to nobility.  In almost every case, station and status are determined by what an orc can manage take and hold on to.

Station
About the only real level of status is that of Chieftain.   Chieftains typically must fight to maintain their leadership role unless they have proven to their followers beyond any doubt that they are the strongest.  This does not mean all orcs will turn on their leader at the first sign of weakness, though in some tribes this does happen.  Typically, a tribe will care for its own and support a wounded or weakened leader who has proven their strength of leadership over time.

Once in a great while, a chieftain may manage to acquire control over several tribes or, perhaps, several tribes will band together with many chieftains answering to the strongest among them.  In such cases some chieftains have taken and attempted to hold the status of Warlord.  Such a title may endure for a brief period of time or it may last for years but, ultimately, such a title only lasts as long as its bearer can hold on to it.  

Status
Status may be earned by sheer strength of command as in the case of a Shaman who's mysterious powers are feared by the tribe or status may be given at the command of a chieftain who's rule is unchallenged by his/her people.  An example of the latter case may be a chieftain who has declared, wisely or not, that a weak but somewhat more intelligent than average orc is his/her chief advisor.  In such a case, the amount of challenge the designated orc receives will be dependent on both their own ability to display their right to hold status and the strength of their chieftain to hold their own position of station and status.