Building a Klingon Persona

[Kesvirit]

y0da777 asks in Grammar Guide: Request for comments:

can i give myself the title of Hod?
(HoD meaning captain)

My short answer, upon which I will elaborate later if no one else picks up the thread, is: you can, but I would recommend that you not. While you may wish to pick an appropriately Klingon screen name, hold off on giving your persona a back-story until you have learned more about Klingon culture and history. It is your good fortune to have landed at just the right place to do so. }}; )

We have compiled an excellent collection of references to things Klingon in the The Inspirational Media Room. Anything in the Resources for Klingon Culture would be a good place to start. Look into other aspects of society and other career paths before rushing head-first into the Imperial Navy. There are many, many paths besides that of a professional soldier. Use your imagination. Perhaps you could be a musician and support the arts academy at which you are based by hiring out to teach the children of wealthy houses and play at important events. Plenty of room for adventure and character development there.

If your persona takes a military route, refrain from claiming such a high rank as your own so soon. It is very difficult for a Klingon in any fleet to attain the rank of captain, and even harder to keep it. Starting out as a captain/admiral/general is a rookie mistake because it limits further development of your character and leaves you little to no room for advancement.

[qoSagh]

It is not so much a choice of Navy versus anything else, as it is a choice of where you are in the Navy. The title of HoD is a direct translation of Captain, this is a rank. Ranks (even / especially) in fandom are earned. Most of the fanclubs out there are based around the idea of a Naval fleet of ships and have a very military structure. Those that Captain ships are essentially Chapter Presidents in the larger clubs and club Presidents in the smaller ones. The way one earns HoD is by activity, and varied club to club if this is an appointment by a higher authority or an election by the general membership. I only personally know of one who took a high title on his own, and I just documented the results in another thread.

If it is any help, When I created the character of qoSagh, I purposely made him a Lt. Commander because having played high ranking officer before, I realized there is nowhere to go but down, which is unacceptable to a Klingon. I did not want my achievements to go unrecognized. The character has since been promoted to Commander but will likely never make Captain by my own choice and by the way the character has progressed in various role play scenarios.

In short I would advise against awarding oneself any title, especially if it was a title that hold great meaning to other you might meet in fandom. The true meaning of any title is what they will assume it to be, not what you mean it to be. I have learned that with my clergy title of meycha.