New Helvetica

[Vogel]

Player Information

New Helvetica in of itself is essentially a miniature house, therefore it has positions across the board when it comes to matters such as rank. The following will describe some of the positions on the civil side of the coin.


Civil Ranks
President of the Confederation The top political figure of the Helvetic government, this individual is more or less a vocal figurehead whos tasked with executing the will of both the Federal Council and the people of New Helvetica.

Vice President of the Federal Council A backup political figurehead, the Vice President ensures that, should anything happen to the President or should the President be unavailable, the same function of that office would still be fulfilled. In the meantime, the Vice President serves as the voice of the Federal Council to the President.

The Federal Council Made up of seven individuals, the Federal Council is the primary political, economic, and military brain. It proposes new laws, deliberates on what diplomatic action to take, and decides on political matters of great importance such as the appointment of the President, Vice President, and the Commander in-Chief of the Armed Forces. OORP, the Federal Council would be made up of individuals who have put time and effort into making the faction; at first it would involve simple seniority, but this may change as I will describe later.

Representatives A few hand-picked people noted for their skills, New Helvetica employs representatives in diplomatic envoys in order to represent the state in-person. They neither have civil or military power, but serve as the standard-bearers of the faction whenever they are used.

Citizens The Citizens of New Helvetica are, really, everybody involved with the faction in any way. Any political or military individual (player) has, inherently, the rights of a citizen. It is through this right that the faction itself actually can enact the Direct Democracy of the stated government.


Politics:
It is appropriate at this point to explain what all of these positions really do in terms of in and out of RP function.

The President This person is the go to political figure. The leaders of other factions will address this individual when it comes to matters of large-scale political importance. He will make public announcements should they be required and is permitted to travel in-game on a diplomatic mission, although this is reserved for very special occasions. The President can directly petition the Federal Council to take action on a given matter, but cannot veto their decisions. The President is also acting-faction leader during his tenure, meaning he has the responsibility to report to the Admins and take action when a member breaks rules and is in a position that requires mediation or expulsion from the faction.

Vice President This person is the secondary President. If an urgent time-sensitive matter arises that would require the Presidents attention and he is not available, the Vice President is the only other individual authorized to speak for the faction. Largely a ceremonial post, the Vice President can involve himself in talks between both the President and the Federal Council.

Federal Council Made up of (a maximum of) seven people, the Council functions exactly as its namesake indicates. These people discuss the issues confronting the faction, draw conclusions, and make the decision to take action in whatever way is seen fit. They vote on the results of propositions between each other and ultimately are the guiding force of the faction. They have the ability to vote faction members into or out of positions such as Presidency, Vice Presidency, and CinC Armed Forces, but no more; they are not allowed to vote each other out of office.

Representatives - These are diplomats, pure and simple. They are appointed for their ability to RP and act as the mouthpieces of the government in-game on diplomatic missions and the like. They are not granted permission to change any of their directives unless specifically told they are allowed to compromise within a given spectrum. While on diplomatic missions, Representatives have nominal control over where the group goes and what it does, but the escort has the authority to override these decisions based on safety concerns.

Citizens Any members of the faction, political or military, have a single vote as a citizen. The citizenry has the right of Direct Democracy; should the civil leadership undertake an action that the citizenry sees as unfit or unjustified, it is possible for them to revoke and/or change their decisions, overriding even the Federal Council. However, in order to do this, a referendum is required. An individual player with a complaint of any sort, be it desiring the expulsion of a given member or the revocation of a declared political act, they can initiate a faction-wide referendum. That person must have two other like-minded individuals on hand to present the issue to the President (acting faction head) at which point the faction-wide vote on the issue can begin. Each player has a single citizens vote, meaning a player with both a Federal Council character and a military pilot still has only a single vote to put forward. In order to maintain some stability, given the inherent instability of any democracy, a 66% majority vote is required as opposed to a 51% one. Players can abstain from the vote, however they should bear in mind that the vote most likely will have a direct impact on their experience in the faction.


And now for the Military side of things. As suggested before, a player can have both a military character and a political character, although it is more likely that the military character will be involved in-game.

Military Ranks
General The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, this person is the absolute head of the military. His role is to administrate the military forces of the faction under the orders of the Federal Council.

Lieutenant General A second-in-command, this individual is in a position in which they are given the right to administrate a subdivision of the factions military, namely the Space or Ground Forces. However, since this faction will most likely not have the number of a player required for such a position, this rank is mostly ceremonial, and the role of Ground Forces Commander is obviously ceremonious at best.

Major General These individuals are given command of subsections of subsections, i.e. a fleet or army. Once again, the likely need for such an individual in this game is small, so it is a ceremonious title indicative only of player standing.

Brigadier General The last of the relatively ceremonious positions, this person would command a single Space Wing or Division.

Colonel This is the point where functionality begins to become more directly involved. The Colonel is given command at the Squadron level. Player pilots will be divided into squadrons; therefore this person is responsible for the administration of their conduct.

Lt. Colonel This is essentially the rank of a player pilot who has reached the level of a Colonel but lacks a squadron to command; if ranks are gradually shifted up and players retire, however, they are next in line for the Colonel slots.

Major A flight commander, the Major is the most likely pilot to be at the head of an active formation in the server. They have demonstrated combat and leadership abilities and thus have the authority over the ranks under him. Majors are given the opportunity to command more than just fighters, so their rank is the lowest point at which a non-political player can command a larger ship of non-diplomatic origin, such as a military transport or eventual gunship should they be commissioned by faction leadership.

Captain A deputy flight commander, the Captain is next in line to command on-station ships. Among the fresh members, this person has shown promise for advancement, and is thus given the opportunity to exercise more control over a situation in order to demonstrate their skills.

Lieutenant The lowest ranking military pilot, the Lieutenant is the backbone of the fighter force. This player has demonstrated the skills and sportsmanship deemed necessary to join the faction and therefore now has the right to bear its tag.

On Indies There are none. The factions functioning, purpose, and technology necessitate a no-indy tolerance. Players must demonstrate their suitability to join the faction in other ways, be it interaction with Helvetian players or involvement on the forums.