The PROBLEM is that the supposed characteristic conflates a bunch of things that are absolutely not inherent to a person, but rather are situational.
Rinku says "normal people, rich & famous, and unsophisticated". Except it isn't that. Because it has nothing to do with how much money you have or how sophisticated you are. You can spend 25 years as a corporate executive or financial broker and still be "lower class" (because there's no SOC modifiers possible from those careers, except +1 if you make Rank 6 as corporate citizen).
It's not how charming you are, because it specifically isn't that. It's not how nicely you are dressed or what your bank balance is, because that changes all the time. It's not your gear or your servants, because you don't necessarily have them.
It's saying that you are intrinsically more or less influential everywhere in human space because of your innate social status. You and your buddy step off the tramp trader onto a new world in your work uniforms and folks will recognize your superior breeding and treat you better than him because you have a SOC 9 and he is only SOC 8. If it was your social acumen, that might make sense. But it isn't. And if you say "well, that's clearly a situation where it isn't the right stat to use, well, then when is it? If it is that niche, why is it worth putting in the same mechanics category as your Int or END?
And, no, I don't want stats to be tied explicitly to Abilities. But I want stats to be things that are intrinsic to the character and broadly applicable in a way that makes sense.
That is why I maintain that it is "Imperial" in nature (for the OTU/Imperium setting). Other settings would need to interpret it appropriately.
SOC is NOT simply wealth. And it is definitely not Charisma, Social Acumen, Charm, Savoir Faire, or
Fame. Unfortunately, MgT seems to conflate Fame and SOC (in T5, they are separate scores, SOC being an innate Stat, and Fame being a secondary developed score - SOC influences Fame, but they are not the same).
The best examples I can think of would be the British Empire (or Old Europe) of 150-300 years ago, or the Roman Empire. Social Standing was your Family pedigree and background, and your "position" within the Social Order. You could be an impoverished Noble - but you were still Noble. And you still had Noble privileges and perks (even if you lived no better than a well-to-do Commoner due to reduced financial circumstances). The whole issue of "keeping up appearances" became important in such cases, to many an impoverished Noble's financial detriment. (That is why impoverished or financially-strapped European Aristocracy late in the period would marry wealthy American heiresses - the Aristocrat would gain the financial revenue they needed, and the American heiress (and her family by extension) would gain the Social recognition that they wanted).
When Sir Patrick Stewart was growing up in a working-class family in Northern England, and he announced his intention to go into acting, it was frowned upon because that is not who is family had been (for generations). It is not that it was illegal or improper, but just that it was considered inappropriate for someone of his lower standing and background to be pursuing a career outside what was socially expected of him. It was not a caste system - social mobility was permissible - but there were nevertheless "expectations" derived from class background.
In Ancient Rome, everything was based around Family and connections, and the Patron-Client relationship. A slave who was freed came to be part of the "Freedman" class, and his children could become citizens. He was still a client of his former owner (just as many of lesser status and means were Clients of a more substantive Patron). A Freedman could rise to great heights (in the Book of Acts in the Bible, the Roman Governor Felix was of the Freedman class who had scraped his way up to a significant governmental position - but he was still a Freedman, and many considered him to be "beneath them" and crass and common, despite his position of authority). In Roman Law, people were legal considered to either belong to the "
Honores" (those of special honor and distinction due to family background) or "
Humiliores" (Common). The legal testimony in Court of people among the
Honores was given greater weight than those among the
Humiliores.
And it was related (but not identical) to the distinctions between the Roman Classes:
- The Senatores ("Elder Councilmen")
- The Patricians - Original founding families of Rome - "Old Money"
- The Nobiles - Descendants of those citizens more recently elevated to the Senatorial Order
- The Equites (The Equestrian Order) - The "Knightly Class" - in origin those citizen families who were wealthy enough to provide cavalry service to the original Republican Legionary Militia - but later an "upper-middle class" rank.
- The Plebians (Common citizens) - Lower Class "Citizens of Rome" / Free Men
- Peregrini (Provincials/non-Citizens of the conquered Provinces).
- Freedmen
- Slaves
And there were those of the
Plebian and
Equestrian Orders who eventually became
Senators (their descendants becoming
Nobiles) - but the original individual so elevated was still looked down upon by the old-order members because of their class-background.
The origins of the
Third Imperium in
Classic Traveller (going all the way back to the "Proto-Traveller" era of the three 1977 LBBs) has roots in both the aristocracies of Old Europe and in the Late Roman military-aristocratic system that inform the basis of the aristocratic structure of the Imperium (and hence its Social Structure at all levels).
- Dukes ("Dux") command the local static defenses (Limitanei) of the Empire (= Third Imperium Subsector Navies under the authority/oversight of the Subsector Duke)
- "Counts" ("Comes") command the Mobile Response Forces / Field Armies of the military (= Third Imperium Imperial Navy Subsector Fleets of the Sector Fleet under the civilian oversight of the Subsector Duke, but under the command of Admirals who are always at least of Baronial rank or higher reporting directly to the Emperor thru the Chain of Command).
(BTW - an aside: The above is analogous to the difference between the Imperial Naval doctrine of the "Crust" strategy - The Old Roman Empire pre-Diocletian organizational structure with Legions stationed on the Imperial borders when Rome was still at its height and on the offensive; and the later Imperial Naval doctrine of the "Elastic Response" strategy - which is analogous to the Late Roman model under Dux and Comes with static Limitanei troops in a Province under a Dux to hold the line and act as local defense and internal patrol, and mobile Provincial forces under a Comes that could quickly be redeployed to a combat zone (within or outside the Province) after limitanei defense-forces had been engaged by adversaries. - i.e. "The Third Imperium is the Third and strongest of the Empires to rule over this area of Space, but is not as strong as it once was . . . ")
From the above Roman model, analogously:
Soc=1: (= Slaves)
Soc=2-3: (=Freedmen) (lowest classes)
Soc=4-9: Peregrini (Provincials - Common Imperial "Subjects" of member-worlds - upper levels represent "local" Aristocracy
Soc=A: Plebian ("Imperial Gentleman")
Soc=B: Equestrian ("Imperial Knight")
Soc=C+ : Nobiles
(& Patricians) ("Imperial Noblemen") - Families
- Senatores = Imperial Moot members (of the Nobiles & Patricians)
- Patricians = Old Noble Families
- Nobiles = More recently elevated Noble Families (Baron - Duke)
- Comes ("Count") = Imperial Navy Admirals (Baron - Duke)
- Dux ("Duke") = Subsector Duke/Governor - Commander-in-Chief of Subsector Navy / Senior local Civilian authority over independent Comes/Imperial Navy leadership.
Fame has nothing to do with any of these structures. Wealth is related, but not determinative. Social position has nothing to do with your behavior or bearing. Governmental/Military Position is related to Social Position, but not identical (not 1:1). One can be professionally promoted within a government or military position (presuming one gains admittance in the first place), but that does not guarantee an associated Social Promotion.
