Political and/or Military Rank of the ThunderCats?

"Although lord Lion-O leads us, Jaga chose me to be the head of the ThunderCats council.'' -- Tygra, in "Pumm-Ra"

"If I do not return, you will be the new Lord of the ThunderCats." -- Lion-O, in in "All That Glitters"

There was also the scene where the council seats were being doled out, for which I seem to recall WilyKat and WilyKit receiving at least token positions.

To put it in GURPS terms, I interpret the situation as there being Military Rank and Political Rank -- the former representing the combat leadership position of Lion-O, and the latter being the long-term decisions of the council led by Tygra. Additionally there is Status, an indicator of generic social influence -- i.e., the prestige that comes with being a doctor, lawyer, royalty, etc.

Normally, a king would be Status 7, a governor Status 6, a doctor Status 1, common folk 0, and the downtrodden or outcast being as low as -2 -- all representing a reaction modifier in their mutual social interaction. The scale is similar (from 0 to 8) for Rank in politics, military, or other institutions. However, in the ThunderCats' situation, their numbers were culled to a mere handful (or at least so thought), effectively eliminating high Rank and Status.

In GURPS terms, because the scope of authority extends only to a handful of people, everyone's Rank gets slashed. Lion-O would likely only keep Military Rank 2, the other adults 1, and maybe Kat/Kit 0. Similarly, Tygra would have Political Rank 2, with all of the original cast (except perhaps Snarf) having 1 -- probably even Kat/Kit. (Note that Leonard Starr originally intended WilyKat and WilyKit to be simply small adults, not kids.) It could even be argued that the non-zero Ranks might be lowered by a further level, at least until the introduction of other survivors.

If I understand the rules, Status works similarly: The massive society that supports Lion-O's kingly lifestyle is gone, so his effective Status would drop to perhaps 1 or 2 -- the other 'Cats are still close to him in the pecking order, but claims of nobility fall mostly on deaf ears without a kingdom to back them up. In game terms, I think that means that they simply lose the Status (which player characters typically pay for with points), or would at least until their societal position is somehow restored.

That's my take. I'd like to hear your opinions on who outranks whom, and in what capacities.

Lion-O is Lord/King. His decisions are what they do. The Council deliberates and advises the King. Tygra heads the Council, which basically means he has the gavel and deals with procedure and the like. The rest are council members.

It's not that complicated.

"balgus82, post: 135158, member: 11012" said:

Lion-O is Lord/King. His decisions are what they do. The Council deliberates and advises the King. Tygra heads the Council, which basically means he has the gavel and deals with procedure and the like. The rest are council members.

It's not that complicated.

Frankly, you oversimplifying the scenario and saying "it's not that complicated", right after I explained in detail precisely why it *is* complicated, feels sort of like a slap in the face. My question was nuanced, and involved the ThunderCats' history, their revised situation on Third Earth, possible differences based on how some of their group are treated in the show, and what the analogues would be in human society. Your answer seems to be more along the lines of, "Lion-O king! Lion-O smash!", and to heck with the intricacies and interplay of feudal society.