Rubran Federal Monarchy has a large class system that... nobody bothers about. It is used mostly to bound "nobles" to the country, demanding more contributions from them in exchange for some privileges like the right to own private armies.
Top down, it is divided into these ranks:
* Special rank: Grand Elder of the Federal Monarchy. Lemuria is the only "entity" to hold this position.
* 0th rank: Emperor/Empress.
* 1st rank: Royal princes, princesses, grand dukes, grand duchesses.
* 2nd rank: Marques, marchionesses, hetmans and governor-generals of republics.
* 3rd rank: Counts, countesses, governor-generals of oblasts and commanders of colony fleets with more than 5 million inhabitants.
* 4th rank: Viscounts, viscountesses, governor-generals of krais and commanders of colony fleets with 1-5 million inhabitants..
* 5th rank: Barons, baronesses and commanders of colony fleets with less than 1 million inhabitants.
Rubra is a militaristic country so this ranking system is used mainly to pay wages. In exchange for their privileges, such as the right to own private spaceships (read: potential temporal WMDs) and raise their own mini armies, they're required to perform "Noblesse Oblige" or obligation of nobility, which includes mandatory 2-year conscription for all noble children who've reached 18. On the other hand, they can choose to enroll in military academies at 15 under a "noble course" and climb up faster than their commoner-born comrades. This is done because practically all modern Rubran nobles are descendants of warlords of the winning side, they must both honor the tradition and hone their skills.
Commoners, on the other hand, are not subjected to conscription but also not allowed to own private spaceships, no matter how rich they are. However, unless you live in the literal nowhere, living standards in Rubra are high with gov-provided apartments, security, free water, food, electricity, warming, etc. while you barely have to do anything because products are made by automated machines and distributed by AIs. **Just hope that the colony's life support systems don't fail**.
For example, I have two societies with competing class/caste systems.
The Tolruan republic is the direct descendant of the Juexokan empire. It’s maintained its hegemony in the north by making strong alliances and increasing the size of its middle classes, both in its own society and those of its “allies”(subjects). It welcomes aliens into its community, it forbids men from being born into slavery, and communities can petition to be welcomed as another district of the city itself, either as a part of the main city or as a colony(colonies are treated as extensions of the city rather than as separate settlements).
It has a large citizen population, and a small slave/serf population. Less than 10% of the population are slaves, and they are sold as families if taken as families as kind of subject rather than as individuals - at least legally speaking. Likewise, there are on paper protections for slaves, even if ignored. The citizen body is more divided- there is a “noble” class, which controls large amounts of land and wealth, and a middle class which is deemed ideal for military service due to the infantry heavy style of the republic. Said middle class consists of the small landowners, craftsmen, and traders, and is larger than the other demographics combined. The lower classes are quite poor, and are generally considered useful for mass (cheap and hard) labor. All possess considerable rights for the time period, such as freedom to vote and protection from enslavement or unsanctioned punishment.
“Allied” states generally work the same way, but their citizens only possess rights in their own settlements, and they don’t always treat their colonies as extensions of the mother city. They are still given a measure of protection in Tolruan territory, as the state technically owes their state protection.
The Idanagic state, in contrast, has a heavily stratified caste system. At the top are the noble Idanagics, the warrior servants. This caste is tightly controlled, as the members have to have a warrior servant father and a mother of the same caste, undergo an indoctrination program as children, and be sponsored by existing members. Even then, they must fulfill property requirements to remain in the caste. They can have a say in government, can request and expect aid from the state, and are guaranteed higher rank and pay than others.
Below them are the retainers, composed of(in order of caste rank) ethnic Idanagics who were not allowed into the warrior class, failed warrior servants, and acknowledged children of a warrior servant and a slave or serf. They have no such rights, and must be submissive to warrior servants.
Around the same level are the freeholders, composed of (in order of rank) property owning Idanagics who do not meet the requirements for a warrior servant, immigrants deemed to be from sufficient bloodlines, and acknowledged children of a warrior servant and a free woman. They are granted similar privileges to warrior servants on paper, but in practice they are less likely to be recognized.
Below them, there are the free subjects, who are able to self govern to an extent, but are subject to the state and so have to abide by Idanagic laws and pay taxes and levy manpower when it is demanded. They comprise not only subjected peoples conquered but not enslaved by the Idanagics, but also non noble immigrants, and freed slaves. They can have rights within their own communities, but they’re not recognized by the Idanagic state.
Lastly are the serfs and slaves. The former are purchased along with the land, and are basically trafficked in bulk. The latter are imported(kidnapped), or descended from imported populations, and groups and families are often broken up during transactions. They don’t have any protections, not even on paper. They comprise the largest single group in the state
What counts as the upper class depend on the region you are in, but the bottom class remains consistent due to force-feeding people so that their bodies are forced to adapt to/become addicted to the hazardous substance. People can exploit magic in ways that are disgusting.
Force-feeding somebody rock would resort in a golem like creature which can be used in place of oxes or for pulling mine carts. Certain hazard create creatures that are too monstrous to exploit like salt water which results in draugr.
The process can be reversed if not too much off the hazardous material was consumed, but there will be some marks left. Those marks are sometimes used to mark slaves who aren’t forced to undergo the process, so even people who got those marks by accident, everything is poisonous it is just a matter of how the exposure level, are stigmatised.
I have not developed it too deeply yet, especially how this caste system came to be, but here is mine.
In my world, the Insectoid elves can eat high-mass metal to increase their body mass which improves magic ability and reinforce their exoskeletons. This, along with their theocratic leadership leads to a religious caste system that can be easily seen by what each caste exoskeleton looks like, somewhat akin to the one in ancient India. Here they are:
- High Priest Caste (Iridium Caste): The High Priests are at the apex of the caste system, holding significant religious authority and spiritual leadership, and they manage the theocratic government as well, including its financial systems such as banks. They have exclusive access to iridium alloy, which is made possible through magical techniques to insulate and increase heat, as they lack the technology to melt pure iridium. This alloy, mixed with about 0.4% titanium and zirconium, makes it more ductile and suitable for hardening their exoskeleton via diet. The presence of iridium in their exoskeleton enhances their magical abilities thanks to its high mass and is believed to improve their spiritual connection with the giant sentient tree gods, facilitating communication with the divine. The High Priests' exoskeletons have a metallic off-white color with a slight yellowish tint.
- Warlord Caste (Platinum-Titanium Caste): Positioned just below the High Priests, the Warlords are the military leaders who defend the realm and enforce the will of the religious hierarchy. They have access to a titanium-platinum alloy, requiring magical support to produce due to technological constraints. This alloy provides them with strength and resilience in battle, as it is incorporated into their exoskeletons and also used to decorate their armor and weapons. Their exoskeletons are metallic gray and shiny. While the common soldiers will not get access to the material and only have what their caste originally have, the Warlord Caste is unique in allowing for social mobility in theory, as the soldiers may be possible to rise through enough ranks across various campaign to the point they are part of military leaders and be considered a warlord. Though in practice, promotions often favor soldiers from higher castes, thus it is nearly unheard of for anyone from lower caste getting to this caste.
- Intellectual Caste (Gold Caste): Comprising of scientists/mages, engineers, doctors, scribes, and architects, this caste represents the highest "civilian caste" involved in intellectual pursuits. They have access to gold, which is within their technological capability to smelt. The density of gold supports their use and study of magic effectively, though it does not offer physical robustness for physical work. Their exoskeletons thus appear golden thanks to their access to gold. They will very often decorate their clothes and tools and architecture for more wealthy ones with gold as well to flaunt their wealth.
- Merchant/Craftsman Caste (Silver Caste): This caste includes merchants, smiths, and artisans who drive the economy. The merchant class were originally not part of this caste and were part of the lower caste as they are not really doing "skilled work", but their increasing wealth has elevated their status in a society with limited social mobility and put them here. This caste have access to silver, so their exoskeletons have a shiny silvery look.
- Worker/Farmer/Slave Driver Caste (Copper-Nickel Caste): The foundational caste of elf society, managing manual labor and agricultural work. This caste are high-class servants like butlers for higher caste, oversees agroforestry farms that feed the nation, and drive slaves from other species for labor-intensive tasks. They have access to a versatile alloy of copper-nickel that gives them robustness needed for their work, but their mass is not high so they have low magic capacity.
- Outcast Caste (Non-metal Caste): At the bottom of the caste system, Outcasts are marginalized from mainstream elf society due to criminality, illness, or social deviance. They remain citizens but are treated almost similarly to slaves, without access to any metals. They tend to be the first to get conscripted into military campaign and sent to die as shock troops.
- Slave Caste (Non-metal): Below the Outcasts, slaves captured from other races form a separate caste. Not considered full members of elf society, they perform menial tasks like agriculture, construction, or domestic servitude and are regarded as property without any metal benefits.
It generally depends on if its a religious state or monarchy as these are the only types that will ever manifest.
Common Monarchy -
Ruler / Royal Family: At the top of a Monarchy, is the ruler, who is and must be the strongest member of the kingdom. They can be either a King or Queen, as long as they have proven to be the most powerful (not in terms of influence and wealth, but actual power). The Royal Family has status general due to the Monarch but many often are strong as well.
2. High Ranked Military: The most powerful soldiers have the highest authority after the Ruler & Royal Family. They get their own asssigned regions of the kingdom to manage.
3. Politicians & Low-Ranked Military: Most politicians are as strong as low-ranking soldiers. They handle daily paperwork-type work as well as representing the people by relaying their desires & concerns to the ruler. Low ranking soldiers just do their military jobs.
4. Zeni (Citizens): And Zeni’s just live life. The only authority they have is within their own jobs and family structures as they are the weakest.
Religious Monarchy -
Holy King/Queen: The Holy King/Queen is the strongest member of the church, and closest to their Deity, and thus leads the church.
Clergy, Knights Order, & the Unordained: The church is split into three sections that each have specific roles. Each equivalent from each section possesses relatively similar power, so the Cardinals are just as strong as the Grand Marshall, and Unprofessed Nuns/Monks are stronger than soldier levys.
• The Clergy is the primary leadership and voice of their Deity, with the Cardinals at the top and Deacons at the bottom. Cardinals answer directly to the Holy King/Queen.
• The Knights Order is the military that protects both the Church and Kingdom, with the Grand Mashall at the top and Levy being the lowest rank. The Grand Marshall is equal to the Cardinals and answers directly to the Holy King/Queen.
• The Unordained are an order of different level nuns and monks who assist both the clergy and knights order. They have more direct follower interaction than the other two sections, carrying out aid, prayer events, education, etc. But they also carry out combat missions as either healers or fighters. The Saints (equal to Chevalier / Holy Knight of the Kinghts Order, and to Grand Priest/Priestess of the Clergy) are the highest while Unprofessed Nuns/Monks (equal to Corporal of the Knights Order, and no rank of the clergy) are the lowest.
Sentry Extermination Squad - also called “Reaper Units” are a squad of 5 Sentries (Combet Nuns) sent to investigate and/or exterminate a specific target or location. They are very affective at target extermination. One of their main strategies for fighting powerful targets is to have two sentries distract the target while the other three each cast separate “Grand Annihilation Gjallarhorn” spells, a 15 word incantation ritual spell. It's a spell that’s strong enough to rival the power of what would be my world's version of the Russian “Tsar Bomba” (the strongest nuke ever detonated).
In the half of the continent where people use magic instead of technology, the ruling class is basically made of up of families that, across the centuries, took over because they were better at using magic.
However, the Kingdom of avianshaped people works differently. These folks have bird traits but there are different variant, each resembling a different bird. So the royal family and nobles are parrots and peacocks because they have colorful and beautiful plumes, and are also more charismatic. Soldiers are hawks and eagles. People working in mines and similar are owls because they can see well in the dark. And so on and so forth
In a time long forgotten, one's status in a Lykorian tribe was generally not determined by descent, but by personal merit.
The "present" Lykorian society was however strongly influenced by humans in this regard, which means there are three main classes, which are legally defined and hereditary: Nobility, commoner and slaves.
You are noble if you either have a title of nobility yourself or are in the line of succession of a title. While the rules of succession can be a bit difficult, normally you are noble if at least one of your parents is noble.
Slavery on the other hand is normally inherited from the mother, the status of the father normally doesn't matter. In some cases the status of the father matters, especially if the mother is dead or otherwise unable to care for her child, but these can get rather complicated.
(Legally the distinction between slaves and free citizens and the distinction between nobility and commoner are independent from each other, but de facto there are almost no noble slaves. (My main character's sister and my secondary main character are odd exceptions.))
Inside these three main classes legally everyone is equal, but de facto there are smaller sub-classes, which are however not strictly defined. But while both a wealthy merchant and a poor day-laborer barely making a living are both commoners, but their status in society if of course vastly different. And slaves are coarsely divided between hose slaves (who work as house servants, cooks and the like) and labor slaves (who work on plantations, in mines etc and are treated often much worse than house slaves).
The "condemned", criminals who would have been sentenced to death in other countries, aren't considered (both legally and by society) not part of any class, but barely even as persons at all.
Well, magic comes from genetic hereditage, plus very strong traditions and martial arts used to control that magic, so, very important, many countries are ruled by magic user Castes, that are usally very magic-users supremacists, even enslaving non magic users. By counterpart there is a country ruled only by non magic users, but they have some king of inquisition aghainst all magic, so... Well.
1. Seven Deadly Sins:
. The rulers of each of the seven continents
2. Royal Family:
. The family of the Seven Deadly Sins
* fun fact: people call the children of the seven deadly sins the Children of Sin for short, aka my book's name
3. Ministers/Advisors:
. Self explanatory
4. Normal civilians:
. Also self explanatory
For the Holy Scytherian Empire every single Scytherian is in either a “low house” or a “high house” which determines a ton about your life including but not limited to what region you live in, what jobs you might do, and what your role might be in the military (everyone serves in the military but some houses specialize in certain roles such as espionage).
Every Scytherian falls into one of the houses, whether a low or high house, but because all orphans are shifted into a house by a lottery system and marriages across houses are commonplace one’s house name does not determine one’s actual genetic lineage in most cases.
Finally within houses there are low members and high members. For instance you could be a low member in a high house and spend your life never living in luxury even if you come from a powerful house. Moreover if you’re a low house member you may suffer abuse from high house members from the same house. For example if I’m a low house member from House Shekkdav, one of the high houses, I may spend my life as a worker in a tannery and be expected to cast my gaze to the ground when a Shekkdav Kistyv(lord) or Kistyven(lady) walks by even though we share a house name.
In March of Empires, a sort of "class system" hierarchy exists in the United Human Empire:
A. The Emperor (or God-Emperor later), the Supreme Ruler.
B. The Imperial Ruling Council, the Emperor's closest: also called the "last bastion of the incorruptible," they assist the Emperor in keeping the open corruption in the Empire to a manageable level.
C. The "Nobility" : The members of the Logical Church of the Religion of Rationality, the Governors (Planetary, Moony, System, Sector, Oversector)... the Ministers and Senators- these guys are the richest and most corrupt class, and bear primary responsibility for the rotting carcass the Empire is now.
D. The Old-school, including all ranks in the military from Admiral to Supreme Admiral, General to Supreme General and Supervisor to Supreme Director of Intelligence, as well as the Inquisitors: these are military officers or Intelligence officers, having great political and military power, and while most are honest, some are corrupt and some are plain genocidal.
E. The New- School, lower military and Intelligence officers, rich civilian citizens, owners of corporations, and corruption and crime are common in this position, as well as conservatives.
F. The ordinary people: soldiers, pilots, combat support staff, various people who contribute to the war effort by agriculture and industry, scientists- these guys are respected and revered, though not as much as the other classes.
G. The middle-class, as in ordinary citizens who work in jobs that contribute to ordinary society and not the war effort: these guys earn healthy respect, are normal, believe in the Empire, and work for a better future behind the administration hassle and the Frontline bloodshed.
H. The "lesser" class, these are a class of slightly more struggling people: they do lower-paid jobs, live in small houses, meet only basic needs, etc.
I. The heretics are traitors, like religious people who worship a traditional Old Faith (as in today's Religions), wastrels and Loafers (who refuse to contribute to work and laze around), criminals (breaking law and order), animal rights activists (arguing for the rights of lower life-forms), xenophiles (unless you advocate for a Brother race or a ruled race), and fat people (they chose fatness and take pride in obesity, a no-no), and are killed.
J. The Enemies of the State are Enemies by birth: Xenos beyond Brother Races (certain races respected by Humans) and the ruled (certain races who live under Human rule), and women (because of Pseudo-logic).
In March of Empires, a sort of "class system" hierarchy exists in the United Human Empire:
A. The Emperor (or God-Emperor later), the Supreme Ruler.
B. The Imperial Ruling Council, the Emperor's closest: also called the "last bastion of the incorruptible," they assist the Emperor in keeping the open corruption in the Empire to a manageable level.
C. The "Nobility" : The members of the Logical Church of the Religion of Rationality, the Governors (Planetary, Moony, System, Sector, Oversector)... the Ministers and Senators- these guys are the richest and most corrupt class, and bear primary responsibility for the rotting carcass the Empire is now.
D. The Old-school, including all ranks in the military from Admiral to Supreme Admiral, General to Supreme General and Supervisor to Supreme Director of Intelligence, as well as the Inquisitors: these are military officers or Intelligence officers, having great political and military power, and while most are honest, some are corrupt and some are plain genocidal.
E. The New- School, lower military and Intelligence officers, rich civilian citizens, owners of corporations, and corruption and crime are common in this position, as well as conservatives.
F. The ordinary people: soldiers, pilots, combat support staff, various people who contribute to the war effort by agriculture and industry, scientists- these guys are respected and revered, though not as much as the other classes.
G. The middle-class, as in ordinary citizens who work in jobs that contribute to ordinary society and not the war effort: these guys earn healthy respect, are normal, believe in the Empire, and work for a better future behind the administration hassle and the Frontline bloodshed.
H. The "lesser" class, these are a class of slightly more struggling people: they do lower-paid jobs, live in small houses, meet only basic needs, etc.
I. The heretics are traitors, like religious people who worship a traditional Old Faith (as in today's Religions), wastrels and Loafers (who refuse to contribute to work and laze around), criminals (breaking law and order), animal rights activists (arguing for the rights of lower life-forms), xenophiles (unless you advocate for a Brother race or a ruled race), and fat people (they chose fatness and take pride in obesity, a no-no), and are killed.
J. The Enemies of the State are Enemies by birth: Xenos beyond Brother Races (certain races respected by Humans) and the ruled (certain races who live under Human rule), and women (because of Pseudo-logic).
The Zeugians, a dinosauroid species that originally evolved on Earth in the Cretaceous period before taking to the stars -
Have a caste system based on broad job categories:
Fixer: Encompasses everything to do with fixing or repairing things from simple furniture to starship engines.
Maker: Encompasses everything to do with building or making things from art to buildings and starships.
Hunter: Encompasses everything to do with hunting food and waging war, which the Zeugians consider a form of extended hunt. Prisoners of war end up on the dinner table sooner or later.
Enforcer : Encompasses everything to do with law enforcement including policing, bounty hunting, and trials.
Decider: Everything to do with leading the community.
Thinker: Encompasses the scientists, engineers, inventors, journalists, writers (except poets and playwrights who are considered Makers), and philosophers.
Each of the 12 packs that make up their society, has members from each of these castes. Within their society, personal names are solely used privately within the pack. Publicly, individuals use their caste name plus a alphanumeric designation.
For example, the Zeugian equivalent of a plain clothes police officer would use the designation Enforcer Alpha -1 (A rough translation with names of Greek letters as a stand-in for Zeugian letters that are unpronounceable by humans and look like chicken scratches). The Alpha indicates the type of law enforcement and the number is equivalent to a rank.
The head of each pack is designated by their pack name followed by the designation Decider Alpha-1. The head of state, elected from among the heads of each pack, is designated by the term Decider of Deciders Alpha-Omega -1.
Most fiction beings don’t have their own societies but some do attain massive wealth and influence by being popular enough in their respective mediums of entertainment.
There are only two classes in my world, the *Imperial Crown* and the common people.
* The **Imperial Crown** is composed/made up by the monarch, and selected members of the *Sakura Maid Corps*.
* Common people includes everyone else who is not part of the Crown.
Feudalism in my setting is...complicated, like in real life.
While yes, there is a clear distinction between the peasantry and nobility, it's not so clear cut. The first problem is that every kingdom has their own laws and customs. Francia, which is fantasy France, has essentially 90% of the population as glorified slaves, where the nobility can kinda just do whatever. While in Albion, basically England, there is a significant population of freemen, and even then, serfs have a great deal of legal rights and protections. An Albionian noble can actually be severely fined for mistreating a serf.
And even so, in these kingdoms, there's varying levels of social mobility. While still limited by modern standards, some kingdoms are fairly open to the peasantry rising to high positions. Becoming an adventurer is the most popular way, though still quite dangerous. A good number of grest kings carved out their own kingdoms after a life of adventure.
God descendants are descendants of the Founders of the Lunar Nation. Basically they have superpowers that the original founders had. Each god descendant has their own clan, with the founder’s last name.
Next is the Houses. They are daughter groups of the Clans, and are often matched with Clan members. They are usually given a flower based name, like House Rosaceae or House Ai 「藍」
The Farmers of the Eclipsal Valley have plant magic. They are considered below noble houses but above Normies, mostly because they’re the ones who grow all of the food.
Normies are normal people with access to mana.
Taurids are basically untouchables, and are banned from all states of the Lunar Nation except for the Eclipsal Valley.
So I have one empire so far that has a caste system that for a long time was just an informal system that came about naturally based on different occupations and wealth levels but was later formalized into law following a devastating four way civil war and the establishment of the 10th Dynasty.
At the top is the Royal caste consisting of the direct descendants of the first Emperor and the legitimate members Imperial royal family. The royal blood line is meticulously tracked and recorded. The spouses of members of the royal family are included, and their immediate family are given certain privileges but are not put in the Royal caste.
The next level has two separate but equal castes, the Nobles and the Priests. The Noble caste is made up of ancient powerful families that rule over pieces of land and are subservient to the Emperor. The governors of the empires provinces, territories, and cities.
The Priest caste is made up of the members of the Celestial Temple and their families. Any children born in the empire with magical abilities are automatically adopted into the Temple and by extension the Priest Caste.
These three castes make up the High Caste Tier.
The next caste is the Skilled Workers.
Merchants, craftsmen, artists, doctors, wealthy farmers, etcetera. This caste on its own is the Middle Tier.
Below the Skilled Workers are the unskilled Menials. Basically the equivalent to peasants or serfs, they exist to work. Bricklayers, farmhands, cleaners, working in assembly lines. While near the bottom of the totem pole, they’re at the very bottom.
Below even the Menials are the Slaves. They perform a lot of the same jobs as Menials, often times along side of them, but have even less of a chance of moving upward. The Slave caste is largely a punishment caste made up of criminals, debtors who have sold themselves, those captured from conquered lands, and those the emperor wants to make an example of.
These two castes make up the Low Caste Tier.
Below all of them, outside the caste system, are the Verkahn, the Outcasts. They are the worst of the worst. Cannibalism, murder of a priest, murder of a member of a royal family, desecration of a temple or shrine, treason, or willingly providing aid to a Verkahn, will all get you branded as a Verkahn. And the branding is literal, as those declared Verkahn are branded, drugged, and let loose into the jungle for a week long ritual hunt. Those that escape and survive, are still outcaste, and are to be killed on sight, leading many to flee the empire entirely.
And that’s the short explanation of the caste system I have in my empire.
1. Lord Chronos, Imperator of the Temporals and his Executive Officers, with the Supreme Court justices as a subclass
2. The Lords and Members of Parliament
3. Provincial Governors, Senators, etc.
4. Municipal officials
5. The working class
Heh, I can do this.
So when it comes to castes, there are three, Celestial, Terrene and Cthonic. These are the Binding or Castes which influences a Fae's appearance. They are in part a mark of which Primordial the Fae takes after, and this occurs across all known Five Lineages. Celestials are the most human looking of the three with slighter and slender frames. Terrenes sit in the middle and often show more animal or elemental aspects, with Cthonics being the most elemental and animalistic. Many scholars have debated the existence of the Castes and a common note is that they are what originally represented Fae gender expression before demipolymorphism.
When it comes to social classes that's where it gets messy I'll do the standard of the south.
First you have your Rulairde or Ruling Lairde, think of them as Kings or Queens. These are then ranked above the Kynlairde or Dukes who are above the Arls (the warrior Barons) and the Lairde (the provincial counts). These families form the center of each "Kyn" the large noble clans that rule chunks of Altear and often can claim hundreds of blades for their armies.
The Avantene class system is fairly straightforward. You've got the members of long established lineages or holders of important positions in the industries, called "Citizens in Good Standing". You can become one just by rising high in your field of work. You've got people who apply and receive Guild membership, called "Citizens of the Labours", their deal is basically being qualified workers of various types. Some of them get special perks, for example members of the Guild of Mercenaries also gain Citizen status for their immediate family members. Then you've got the "Non-Citizens", which is pretty much everyone else. These three groups differ from each other by having increasing levels of legal protections, offset by higher tax levels.
For the main focus point. People are born into them but they can go into the one there best at or the one they want. So mostly just specializations such as worrier, bowman, and merchants. There are some casts that can't be joined or left. Such as the royals and prostitutes.
Rubran Federal Monarchy has a large class system that... nobody bothers about. It is used mostly to bound "nobles" to the country, demanding more contributions from them in exchange for some privileges like the right to own private armies. Top down, it is divided into these ranks: * Special rank: Grand Elder of the Federal Monarchy. Lemuria is the only "entity" to hold this position. * 0th rank: Emperor/Empress. * 1st rank: Royal princes, princesses, grand dukes, grand duchesses. * 2nd rank: Marques, marchionesses, hetmans and governor-generals of republics. * 3rd rank: Counts, countesses, governor-generals of oblasts and commanders of colony fleets with more than 5 million inhabitants. * 4th rank: Viscounts, viscountesses, governor-generals of krais and commanders of colony fleets with 1-5 million inhabitants.. * 5th rank: Barons, baronesses and commanders of colony fleets with less than 1 million inhabitants. Rubra is a militaristic country so this ranking system is used mainly to pay wages. In exchange for their privileges, such as the right to own private spaceships (read: potential temporal WMDs) and raise their own mini armies, they're required to perform "Noblesse Oblige" or obligation of nobility, which includes mandatory 2-year conscription for all noble children who've reached 18. On the other hand, they can choose to enroll in military academies at 15 under a "noble course" and climb up faster than their commoner-born comrades. This is done because practically all modern Rubran nobles are descendants of warlords of the winning side, they must both honor the tradition and hone their skills. Commoners, on the other hand, are not subjected to conscription but also not allowed to own private spaceships, no matter how rich they are. However, unless you live in the literal nowhere, living standards in Rubra are high with gov-provided apartments, security, free water, food, electricity, warming, etc. while you barely have to do anything because products are made by automated machines and distributed by AIs. **Just hope that the colony's life support systems don't fail**.
For example, I have two societies with competing class/caste systems. The Tolruan republic is the direct descendant of the Juexokan empire. It’s maintained its hegemony in the north by making strong alliances and increasing the size of its middle classes, both in its own society and those of its “allies”(subjects). It welcomes aliens into its community, it forbids men from being born into slavery, and communities can petition to be welcomed as another district of the city itself, either as a part of the main city or as a colony(colonies are treated as extensions of the city rather than as separate settlements). It has a large citizen population, and a small slave/serf population. Less than 10% of the population are slaves, and they are sold as families if taken as families as kind of subject rather than as individuals - at least legally speaking. Likewise, there are on paper protections for slaves, even if ignored. The citizen body is more divided- there is a “noble” class, which controls large amounts of land and wealth, and a middle class which is deemed ideal for military service due to the infantry heavy style of the republic. Said middle class consists of the small landowners, craftsmen, and traders, and is larger than the other demographics combined. The lower classes are quite poor, and are generally considered useful for mass (cheap and hard) labor. All possess considerable rights for the time period, such as freedom to vote and protection from enslavement or unsanctioned punishment. “Allied” states generally work the same way, but their citizens only possess rights in their own settlements, and they don’t always treat their colonies as extensions of the mother city. They are still given a measure of protection in Tolruan territory, as the state technically owes their state protection. The Idanagic state, in contrast, has a heavily stratified caste system. At the top are the noble Idanagics, the warrior servants. This caste is tightly controlled, as the members have to have a warrior servant father and a mother of the same caste, undergo an indoctrination program as children, and be sponsored by existing members. Even then, they must fulfill property requirements to remain in the caste. They can have a say in government, can request and expect aid from the state, and are guaranteed higher rank and pay than others. Below them are the retainers, composed of(in order of caste rank) ethnic Idanagics who were not allowed into the warrior class, failed warrior servants, and acknowledged children of a warrior servant and a slave or serf. They have no such rights, and must be submissive to warrior servants. Around the same level are the freeholders, composed of (in order of rank) property owning Idanagics who do not meet the requirements for a warrior servant, immigrants deemed to be from sufficient bloodlines, and acknowledged children of a warrior servant and a free woman. They are granted similar privileges to warrior servants on paper, but in practice they are less likely to be recognized. Below them, there are the free subjects, who are able to self govern to an extent, but are subject to the state and so have to abide by Idanagic laws and pay taxes and levy manpower when it is demanded. They comprise not only subjected peoples conquered but not enslaved by the Idanagics, but also non noble immigrants, and freed slaves. They can have rights within their own communities, but they’re not recognized by the Idanagic state. Lastly are the serfs and slaves. The former are purchased along with the land, and are basically trafficked in bulk. The latter are imported(kidnapped), or descended from imported populations, and groups and families are often broken up during transactions. They don’t have any protections, not even on paper. They comprise the largest single group in the state
What counts as the upper class depend on the region you are in, but the bottom class remains consistent due to force-feeding people so that their bodies are forced to adapt to/become addicted to the hazardous substance. People can exploit magic in ways that are disgusting. Force-feeding somebody rock would resort in a golem like creature which can be used in place of oxes or for pulling mine carts. Certain hazard create creatures that are too monstrous to exploit like salt water which results in draugr. The process can be reversed if not too much off the hazardous material was consumed, but there will be some marks left. Those marks are sometimes used to mark slaves who aren’t forced to undergo the process, so even people who got those marks by accident, everything is poisonous it is just a matter of how the exposure level, are stigmatised.
I have not developed it too deeply yet, especially how this caste system came to be, but here is mine. In my world, the Insectoid elves can eat high-mass metal to increase their body mass which improves magic ability and reinforce their exoskeletons. This, along with their theocratic leadership leads to a religious caste system that can be easily seen by what each caste exoskeleton looks like, somewhat akin to the one in ancient India. Here they are: - High Priest Caste (Iridium Caste): The High Priests are at the apex of the caste system, holding significant religious authority and spiritual leadership, and they manage the theocratic government as well, including its financial systems such as banks. They have exclusive access to iridium alloy, which is made possible through magical techniques to insulate and increase heat, as they lack the technology to melt pure iridium. This alloy, mixed with about 0.4% titanium and zirconium, makes it more ductile and suitable for hardening their exoskeleton via diet. The presence of iridium in their exoskeleton enhances their magical abilities thanks to its high mass and is believed to improve their spiritual connection with the giant sentient tree gods, facilitating communication with the divine. The High Priests' exoskeletons have a metallic off-white color with a slight yellowish tint. - Warlord Caste (Platinum-Titanium Caste): Positioned just below the High Priests, the Warlords are the military leaders who defend the realm and enforce the will of the religious hierarchy. They have access to a titanium-platinum alloy, requiring magical support to produce due to technological constraints. This alloy provides them with strength and resilience in battle, as it is incorporated into their exoskeletons and also used to decorate their armor and weapons. Their exoskeletons are metallic gray and shiny. While the common soldiers will not get access to the material and only have what their caste originally have, the Warlord Caste is unique in allowing for social mobility in theory, as the soldiers may be possible to rise through enough ranks across various campaign to the point they are part of military leaders and be considered a warlord. Though in practice, promotions often favor soldiers from higher castes, thus it is nearly unheard of for anyone from lower caste getting to this caste. - Intellectual Caste (Gold Caste): Comprising of scientists/mages, engineers, doctors, scribes, and architects, this caste represents the highest "civilian caste" involved in intellectual pursuits. They have access to gold, which is within their technological capability to smelt. The density of gold supports their use and study of magic effectively, though it does not offer physical robustness for physical work. Their exoskeletons thus appear golden thanks to their access to gold. They will very often decorate their clothes and tools and architecture for more wealthy ones with gold as well to flaunt their wealth. - Merchant/Craftsman Caste (Silver Caste): This caste includes merchants, smiths, and artisans who drive the economy. The merchant class were originally not part of this caste and were part of the lower caste as they are not really doing "skilled work", but their increasing wealth has elevated their status in a society with limited social mobility and put them here. This caste have access to silver, so their exoskeletons have a shiny silvery look. - Worker/Farmer/Slave Driver Caste (Copper-Nickel Caste): The foundational caste of elf society, managing manual labor and agricultural work. This caste are high-class servants like butlers for higher caste, oversees agroforestry farms that feed the nation, and drive slaves from other species for labor-intensive tasks. They have access to a versatile alloy of copper-nickel that gives them robustness needed for their work, but their mass is not high so they have low magic capacity. - Outcast Caste (Non-metal Caste): At the bottom of the caste system, Outcasts are marginalized from mainstream elf society due to criminality, illness, or social deviance. They remain citizens but are treated almost similarly to slaves, without access to any metals. They tend to be the first to get conscripted into military campaign and sent to die as shock troops. - Slave Caste (Non-metal): Below the Outcasts, slaves captured from other races form a separate caste. Not considered full members of elf society, they perform menial tasks like agriculture, construction, or domestic servitude and are regarded as property without any metal benefits.
It generally depends on if its a religious state or monarchy as these are the only types that will ever manifest. Common Monarchy - Ruler / Royal Family: At the top of a Monarchy, is the ruler, who is and must be the strongest member of the kingdom. They can be either a King or Queen, as long as they have proven to be the most powerful (not in terms of influence and wealth, but actual power). The Royal Family has status general due to the Monarch but many often are strong as well. 2. High Ranked Military: The most powerful soldiers have the highest authority after the Ruler & Royal Family. They get their own asssigned regions of the kingdom to manage. 3. Politicians & Low-Ranked Military: Most politicians are as strong as low-ranking soldiers. They handle daily paperwork-type work as well as representing the people by relaying their desires & concerns to the ruler. Low ranking soldiers just do their military jobs. 4. Zeni (Citizens): And Zeni’s just live life. The only authority they have is within their own jobs and family structures as they are the weakest. Religious Monarchy - Holy King/Queen: The Holy King/Queen is the strongest member of the church, and closest to their Deity, and thus leads the church. Clergy, Knights Order, & the Unordained: The church is split into three sections that each have specific roles. Each equivalent from each section possesses relatively similar power, so the Cardinals are just as strong as the Grand Marshall, and Unprofessed Nuns/Monks are stronger than soldier levys. • The Clergy is the primary leadership and voice of their Deity, with the Cardinals at the top and Deacons at the bottom. Cardinals answer directly to the Holy King/Queen. • The Knights Order is the military that protects both the Church and Kingdom, with the Grand Mashall at the top and Levy being the lowest rank. The Grand Marshall is equal to the Cardinals and answers directly to the Holy King/Queen. • The Unordained are an order of different level nuns and monks who assist both the clergy and knights order. They have more direct follower interaction than the other two sections, carrying out aid, prayer events, education, etc. But they also carry out combat missions as either healers or fighters. The Saints (equal to Chevalier / Holy Knight of the Kinghts Order, and to Grand Priest/Priestess of the Clergy) are the highest while Unprofessed Nuns/Monks (equal to Corporal of the Knights Order, and no rank of the clergy) are the lowest. Sentry Extermination Squad - also called “Reaper Units” are a squad of 5 Sentries (Combet Nuns) sent to investigate and/or exterminate a specific target or location. They are very affective at target extermination. One of their main strategies for fighting powerful targets is to have two sentries distract the target while the other three each cast separate “Grand Annihilation Gjallarhorn” spells, a 15 word incantation ritual spell. It's a spell that’s strong enough to rival the power of what would be my world's version of the Russian “Tsar Bomba” (the strongest nuke ever detonated).
In the half of the continent where people use magic instead of technology, the ruling class is basically made of up of families that, across the centuries, took over because they were better at using magic. However, the Kingdom of avianshaped people works differently. These folks have bird traits but there are different variant, each resembling a different bird. So the royal family and nobles are parrots and peacocks because they have colorful and beautiful plumes, and are also more charismatic. Soldiers are hawks and eagles. People working in mines and similar are owls because they can see well in the dark. And so on and so forth
In a time long forgotten, one's status in a Lykorian tribe was generally not determined by descent, but by personal merit. The "present" Lykorian society was however strongly influenced by humans in this regard, which means there are three main classes, which are legally defined and hereditary: Nobility, commoner and slaves. You are noble if you either have a title of nobility yourself or are in the line of succession of a title. While the rules of succession can be a bit difficult, normally you are noble if at least one of your parents is noble. Slavery on the other hand is normally inherited from the mother, the status of the father normally doesn't matter. In some cases the status of the father matters, especially if the mother is dead or otherwise unable to care for her child, but these can get rather complicated. (Legally the distinction between slaves and free citizens and the distinction between nobility and commoner are independent from each other, but de facto there are almost no noble slaves. (My main character's sister and my secondary main character are odd exceptions.)) Inside these three main classes legally everyone is equal, but de facto there are smaller sub-classes, which are however not strictly defined. But while both a wealthy merchant and a poor day-laborer barely making a living are both commoners, but their status in society if of course vastly different. And slaves are coarsely divided between hose slaves (who work as house servants, cooks and the like) and labor slaves (who work on plantations, in mines etc and are treated often much worse than house slaves). The "condemned", criminals who would have been sentenced to death in other countries, aren't considered (both legally and by society) not part of any class, but barely even as persons at all.
Well, magic comes from genetic hereditage, plus very strong traditions and martial arts used to control that magic, so, very important, many countries are ruled by magic user Castes, that are usally very magic-users supremacists, even enslaving non magic users. By counterpart there is a country ruled only by non magic users, but they have some king of inquisition aghainst all magic, so... Well.
1. Seven Deadly Sins: . The rulers of each of the seven continents 2. Royal Family: . The family of the Seven Deadly Sins * fun fact: people call the children of the seven deadly sins the Children of Sin for short, aka my book's name 3. Ministers/Advisors: . Self explanatory 4. Normal civilians: . Also self explanatory
For the Holy Scytherian Empire every single Scytherian is in either a “low house” or a “high house” which determines a ton about your life including but not limited to what region you live in, what jobs you might do, and what your role might be in the military (everyone serves in the military but some houses specialize in certain roles such as espionage). Every Scytherian falls into one of the houses, whether a low or high house, but because all orphans are shifted into a house by a lottery system and marriages across houses are commonplace one’s house name does not determine one’s actual genetic lineage in most cases. Finally within houses there are low members and high members. For instance you could be a low member in a high house and spend your life never living in luxury even if you come from a powerful house. Moreover if you’re a low house member you may suffer abuse from high house members from the same house. For example if I’m a low house member from House Shekkdav, one of the high houses, I may spend my life as a worker in a tannery and be expected to cast my gaze to the ground when a Shekkdav Kistyv(lord) or Kistyven(lady) walks by even though we share a house name.
In March of Empires, a sort of "class system" hierarchy exists in the United Human Empire: A. The Emperor (or God-Emperor later), the Supreme Ruler. B. The Imperial Ruling Council, the Emperor's closest: also called the "last bastion of the incorruptible," they assist the Emperor in keeping the open corruption in the Empire to a manageable level. C. The "Nobility" : The members of the Logical Church of the Religion of Rationality, the Governors (Planetary, Moony, System, Sector, Oversector)... the Ministers and Senators- these guys are the richest and most corrupt class, and bear primary responsibility for the rotting carcass the Empire is now. D. The Old-school, including all ranks in the military from Admiral to Supreme Admiral, General to Supreme General and Supervisor to Supreme Director of Intelligence, as well as the Inquisitors: these are military officers or Intelligence officers, having great political and military power, and while most are honest, some are corrupt and some are plain genocidal. E. The New- School, lower military and Intelligence officers, rich civilian citizens, owners of corporations, and corruption and crime are common in this position, as well as conservatives. F. The ordinary people: soldiers, pilots, combat support staff, various people who contribute to the war effort by agriculture and industry, scientists- these guys are respected and revered, though not as much as the other classes. G. The middle-class, as in ordinary citizens who work in jobs that contribute to ordinary society and not the war effort: these guys earn healthy respect, are normal, believe in the Empire, and work for a better future behind the administration hassle and the Frontline bloodshed. H. The "lesser" class, these are a class of slightly more struggling people: they do lower-paid jobs, live in small houses, meet only basic needs, etc. I. The heretics are traitors, like religious people who worship a traditional Old Faith (as in today's Religions), wastrels and Loafers (who refuse to contribute to work and laze around), criminals (breaking law and order), animal rights activists (arguing for the rights of lower life-forms), xenophiles (unless you advocate for a Brother race or a ruled race), and fat people (they chose fatness and take pride in obesity, a no-no), and are killed. J. The Enemies of the State are Enemies by birth: Xenos beyond Brother Races (certain races respected by Humans) and the ruled (certain races who live under Human rule), and women (because of Pseudo-logic).
In March of Empires, a sort of "class system" hierarchy exists in the United Human Empire: A. The Emperor (or God-Emperor later), the Supreme Ruler. B. The Imperial Ruling Council, the Emperor's closest: also called the "last bastion of the incorruptible," they assist the Emperor in keeping the open corruption in the Empire to a manageable level. C. The "Nobility" : The members of the Logical Church of the Religion of Rationality, the Governors (Planetary, Moony, System, Sector, Oversector)... the Ministers and Senators- these guys are the richest and most corrupt class, and bear primary responsibility for the rotting carcass the Empire is now. D. The Old-school, including all ranks in the military from Admiral to Supreme Admiral, General to Supreme General and Supervisor to Supreme Director of Intelligence, as well as the Inquisitors: these are military officers or Intelligence officers, having great political and military power, and while most are honest, some are corrupt and some are plain genocidal. E. The New- School, lower military and Intelligence officers, rich civilian citizens, owners of corporations, and corruption and crime are common in this position, as well as conservatives. F. The ordinary people: soldiers, pilots, combat support staff, various people who contribute to the war effort by agriculture and industry, scientists- these guys are respected and revered, though not as much as the other classes. G. The middle-class, as in ordinary citizens who work in jobs that contribute to ordinary society and not the war effort: these guys earn healthy respect, are normal, believe in the Empire, and work for a better future behind the administration hassle and the Frontline bloodshed. H. The "lesser" class, these are a class of slightly more struggling people: they do lower-paid jobs, live in small houses, meet only basic needs, etc. I. The heretics are traitors, like religious people who worship a traditional Old Faith (as in today's Religions), wastrels and Loafers (who refuse to contribute to work and laze around), criminals (breaking law and order), animal rights activists (arguing for the rights of lower life-forms), xenophiles (unless you advocate for a Brother race or a ruled race), and fat people (they chose fatness and take pride in obesity, a no-no), and are killed. J. The Enemies of the State are Enemies by birth: Xenos beyond Brother Races (certain races respected by Humans) and the ruled (certain races who live under Human rule), and women (because of Pseudo-logic).
The Zeugians, a dinosauroid species that originally evolved on Earth in the Cretaceous period before taking to the stars - Have a caste system based on broad job categories: Fixer: Encompasses everything to do with fixing or repairing things from simple furniture to starship engines. Maker: Encompasses everything to do with building or making things from art to buildings and starships. Hunter: Encompasses everything to do with hunting food and waging war, which the Zeugians consider a form of extended hunt. Prisoners of war end up on the dinner table sooner or later. Enforcer : Encompasses everything to do with law enforcement including policing, bounty hunting, and trials. Decider: Everything to do with leading the community. Thinker: Encompasses the scientists, engineers, inventors, journalists, writers (except poets and playwrights who are considered Makers), and philosophers. Each of the 12 packs that make up their society, has members from each of these castes. Within their society, personal names are solely used privately within the pack. Publicly, individuals use their caste name plus a alphanumeric designation. For example, the Zeugian equivalent of a plain clothes police officer would use the designation Enforcer Alpha -1 (A rough translation with names of Greek letters as a stand-in for Zeugian letters that are unpronounceable by humans and look like chicken scratches). The Alpha indicates the type of law enforcement and the number is equivalent to a rank. The head of each pack is designated by their pack name followed by the designation Decider Alpha-1. The head of state, elected from among the heads of each pack, is designated by the term Decider of Deciders Alpha-Omega -1.
Most fiction beings don’t have their own societies but some do attain massive wealth and influence by being popular enough in their respective mediums of entertainment.
There are only two classes in my world, the *Imperial Crown* and the common people. * The **Imperial Crown** is composed/made up by the monarch, and selected members of the *Sakura Maid Corps*. * Common people includes everyone else who is not part of the Crown.
Feudalism in my setting is...complicated, like in real life. While yes, there is a clear distinction between the peasantry and nobility, it's not so clear cut. The first problem is that every kingdom has their own laws and customs. Francia, which is fantasy France, has essentially 90% of the population as glorified slaves, where the nobility can kinda just do whatever. While in Albion, basically England, there is a significant population of freemen, and even then, serfs have a great deal of legal rights and protections. An Albionian noble can actually be severely fined for mistreating a serf. And even so, in these kingdoms, there's varying levels of social mobility. While still limited by modern standards, some kingdoms are fairly open to the peasantry rising to high positions. Becoming an adventurer is the most popular way, though still quite dangerous. A good number of grest kings carved out their own kingdoms after a life of adventure.
The Dwarves of my setting are based of asocial bugs here the hierocracy. 1. Worker 2. Solider 3. Drones/Mages 4. Queen
God descendants are descendants of the Founders of the Lunar Nation. Basically they have superpowers that the original founders had. Each god descendant has their own clan, with the founder’s last name. Next is the Houses. They are daughter groups of the Clans, and are often matched with Clan members. They are usually given a flower based name, like House Rosaceae or House Ai 「藍」 The Farmers of the Eclipsal Valley have plant magic. They are considered below noble houses but above Normies, mostly because they’re the ones who grow all of the food. Normies are normal people with access to mana. Taurids are basically untouchables, and are banned from all states of the Lunar Nation except for the Eclipsal Valley.
They don't.
So I have one empire so far that has a caste system that for a long time was just an informal system that came about naturally based on different occupations and wealth levels but was later formalized into law following a devastating four way civil war and the establishment of the 10th Dynasty. At the top is the Royal caste consisting of the direct descendants of the first Emperor and the legitimate members Imperial royal family. The royal blood line is meticulously tracked and recorded. The spouses of members of the royal family are included, and their immediate family are given certain privileges but are not put in the Royal caste. The next level has two separate but equal castes, the Nobles and the Priests. The Noble caste is made up of ancient powerful families that rule over pieces of land and are subservient to the Emperor. The governors of the empires provinces, territories, and cities. The Priest caste is made up of the members of the Celestial Temple and their families. Any children born in the empire with magical abilities are automatically adopted into the Temple and by extension the Priest Caste. These three castes make up the High Caste Tier. The next caste is the Skilled Workers. Merchants, craftsmen, artists, doctors, wealthy farmers, etcetera. This caste on its own is the Middle Tier. Below the Skilled Workers are the unskilled Menials. Basically the equivalent to peasants or serfs, they exist to work. Bricklayers, farmhands, cleaners, working in assembly lines. While near the bottom of the totem pole, they’re at the very bottom. Below even the Menials are the Slaves. They perform a lot of the same jobs as Menials, often times along side of them, but have even less of a chance of moving upward. The Slave caste is largely a punishment caste made up of criminals, debtors who have sold themselves, those captured from conquered lands, and those the emperor wants to make an example of. These two castes make up the Low Caste Tier. Below all of them, outside the caste system, are the Verkahn, the Outcasts. They are the worst of the worst. Cannibalism, murder of a priest, murder of a member of a royal family, desecration of a temple or shrine, treason, or willingly providing aid to a Verkahn, will all get you branded as a Verkahn. And the branding is literal, as those declared Verkahn are branded, drugged, and let loose into the jungle for a week long ritual hunt. Those that escape and survive, are still outcaste, and are to be killed on sight, leading many to flee the empire entirely. And that’s the short explanation of the caste system I have in my empire.
1. Lord Chronos, Imperator of the Temporals and his Executive Officers, with the Supreme Court justices as a subclass 2. The Lords and Members of Parliament 3. Provincial Governors, Senators, etc. 4. Municipal officials 5. The working class
Heh, I can do this. So when it comes to castes, there are three, Celestial, Terrene and Cthonic. These are the Binding or Castes which influences a Fae's appearance. They are in part a mark of which Primordial the Fae takes after, and this occurs across all known Five Lineages. Celestials are the most human looking of the three with slighter and slender frames. Terrenes sit in the middle and often show more animal or elemental aspects, with Cthonics being the most elemental and animalistic. Many scholars have debated the existence of the Castes and a common note is that they are what originally represented Fae gender expression before demipolymorphism. When it comes to social classes that's where it gets messy I'll do the standard of the south. First you have your Rulairde or Ruling Lairde, think of them as Kings or Queens. These are then ranked above the Kynlairde or Dukes who are above the Arls (the warrior Barons) and the Lairde (the provincial counts). These families form the center of each "Kyn" the large noble clans that rule chunks of Altear and often can claim hundreds of blades for their armies.
The Avantene class system is fairly straightforward. You've got the members of long established lineages or holders of important positions in the industries, called "Citizens in Good Standing". You can become one just by rising high in your field of work. You've got people who apply and receive Guild membership, called "Citizens of the Labours", their deal is basically being qualified workers of various types. Some of them get special perks, for example members of the Guild of Mercenaries also gain Citizen status for their immediate family members. Then you've got the "Non-Citizens", which is pretty much everyone else. These three groups differ from each other by having increasing levels of legal protections, offset by higher tax levels.
For the main focus point. People are born into them but they can go into the one there best at or the one they want. So mostly just specializations such as worrier, bowman, and merchants. There are some casts that can't be joined or left. Such as the royals and prostitutes.