Character Aging Guidelines

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This is not meant to be absolute canon or anything other than a take on LOGICAL aging, bearing in mind that our characters are supposed to be the HEROES of Starfleet, not the mediocre officers…

Starting Age

So based on this here is my table for starting ages calculations by department. All include the initial academy 4-yrs and the specialized training. I am going to stick to Star Fleet naval ranks here for simplicity. This would be added to a BASE age from your initial academy training, ending at 21: - Engineering = +3 years = MID at 24 - Marine = +1 year = MID (equiv) at 22 - Fighter Pilot = +2 years = MID at 23 - Medical = +6 years = MID at 27 (remember we are not just learning medicine for one species) - Science = +4 years = MID at 25 - Security = +2 years = MID at 23 - Tactical = +1 year = MID at 22

--That covers majors. For every 2 minors taken beyond the first (you get the first one in the academy one without aging) add 1 year, rounding up. E.g.: You take 1 minor, add 1 year; you take 2 minors, add 1 year; you take 3 minors, add 2 yrs; etc.

Promotions and Birthdays

Ok so now we get promotions and birthdays... normally promotions would not come as quickly as some people here get them. So my recommended process is to age character in the following manner after starting age:

a) Each time the character celebrates a birthday, 1 year. b) Each time the character is promoted according to the following table (these numbers would be averages--sometimes they could happen quicker, but sometimes longer). - Mid to Ens = no aging - Ens to LtJG = no aging - LtJG to full Lt = 1 year - Lt to LCdr = 2 years (1 if field promo or other circumstances pushed it) - LCdr to Cdr = 2 yrs - Cdr to Capt = 3 yrs - Capt to Cmdr = 4 yrs - Cmdr up = Each rank 4 yrs - Being made a DH, FO, CO, or GC = +1 year added

Time Calculations

1) During Missions: During missions time passage is defined by the flow of the mission's timeline. Even though two ships might be on a mission for the same amount of time the time passes differently.

2) Upon return to a Starbase, all times are brought to current, based on the amount of REAL TIME that has passed. e.g.: Mission takes 3 months real time, then 3 months real time have passed on-ship, even if the mission was only 3 days. Explanation: The ship isn't just leaving port, performing a single task, and then returning to port. In between leaving port and initiating the 'main mission' the ship is actually patrolling, ferrying diplomats, answering distress calls, etc. It's doing all of the other things that a naval/coast guard vessel would do in our time. So when the missions end, all time is the same. The same thing applies to subplots and starbases, although it's less of a factor on the last.

3) Aging based on rank progression. This is another tough point. But how many FO's and CO's (LCdr, Cdr, and above) do we have running around that are under 30 years old? I'm guessing too many. Let's take the following concept. Character finishes primary schooling at 16. Enters academy at 17. Academy is 4 yrs, so at graduation they are 21. Now they would get their specialized departmental training (really still part of academy) for 2-4 yrs, depending on specialty, so now let's say they are 23-25. At 23-25 they are a new and green Midshipman. They have their cadet cruise (6-months to a year), so now they are 24-26. NOW, they may serve on a ship as 'lesser' (non-PC) people for some period of time, but for the sake of argument I'll leave that out of the equation. So now we have our 24-26 yr old PC posted to their ship. So starting age would be 24-26 (except in rare prodigies which might be 21-23 at youngest reasonable--remember it's not just the knowledge to hold these positions, it's the emotional maturity and life experience).

Examples

In an effort to better demonstrate, I will use the above on a few SF officers.

Vice Admiral Derrick Hiram Ulysses Grant:

Start Age = 17 years old Starfleet Academy = 4 years + 2 years security + 1 year (minors Investigations; Cryptography; Interviewing) = +7 years = 24 years old Played in game 3 years (as a PC) = 27 years old Rank increases: Ens-LtJG +0; LtJG-Lt +1; Lt-LCdr +2 (+3 total); LCdr-Cdr +2 (+5 total); Cdr-Capt +3 (+8 total); Capt-Cmdr +4 (+12 total); Cmdr-RAdm +4 (+16 total) ; RAdm-VAdm +4 (+20 total) = 47 years old Positional increases: DH +1; FO +1; CO +1 (+3 total) = 50 years old

Derrick is actually 41 years old, putting him 9 years under the calculated age. This can be explained in a number of ways, however it has been explained in-game due to his ‘accelerated’ promotions from Cdr-Capt-Cmdr-RAdm (occurring in an 8 month period due to his ‘connections’ and a few specific acts).

Captain Aloysia Yvette

\i{Capt Aloysia Yvette:} Start Age = 17 years old Academy = 4 years + 6 years medical (+10 years) = 27 years old Played in game +4 years = 31 years old Rank increases: Mid-Ens +0; Ens-LtJG +0; LtJG-Lt +1; Lt-LCdr +2 (+3); LCdr-Cdr +2 (+5); Cdr-Capt +3 (+8 total) = 39 years old Positional increases: DH +1; FO +1 (+2 total); CO +1 (+3 total) = 42 years old

Now this may come off as complicated… and it somewhat is… however I think it gives a relatively realistic impression of how old someone might be. Let’s take Rear Admiral Daher to play the other end…

Vice Admiral Daher (as of retirement)

\u{Vice Admiral Joseph Daher:} Start Age = 17 years old Academy = 4 years + 1 year tactical + 1 year minors (+6 years) = 23 years old Played in game +8 years = 31 years old Rank increases: Ens-LtJG +0; LtJG-Lt +1; Lt-LCdr +2 (+3); LCdr-Cdr +2 (+5); Cdr-Capt +3 (+8); Capt-Cmdr +4 (+12); Cmdr-RAdm +4 (+16); RAdm-VAdm +4 (+20) = 50 years old Positional increases: DH +1; FO +1 (+2); CO +1 (+3); GC +1 (+4) = 54 years old

Again, very realistic for a HERO who’s gone through the ranks rapidly due to his actions… even if in this case they were violating treaties, breaking laws and regulations, and somehow (likely thru bribery) managing to not only get away with it but also get promoted in the process.

Notes

That certainly helps to explain the wrinkles.

Anyway, this was a fun exercise, while I would never expect anyone to use it as canon or make it a mandate, it might be fun to do some others—so if you feel so inclined try to see where your age would be based on this (JUST FOR FUN!) or pop your character name at me in email and I’ll do yours just for fun.

Calculator

You can use THIS LINK as a sample calculator. Fill in the YELLOW boxes with your values after downloading it and it will calculate. Abbreviations should be the standard for the rank and position, and Marine ranks should be represented in their Star Fleet equivalent.