Captain
Often called “the first after God”, the Captain of a ship is in charge of everything and everybody. The Captain lives alone in a grand, permanently constructed room at the stern of his ship. Often, a Captain’s reputation will precede him, and determine the number of officers willing to volunteer for his crew. Usually, the more officers ready to serve under the captain, the bigger the ship was provided.

Lieutenant
The only other commissioned rank aboard a ship, the number of Lieutenants varied with each ships class. All Lieutenants are in charge of at least one watch, but they also have other tasks, including: commanding a section of gun crews, heading an administrative division, giving signals, or even catering the wardroom – the officers’ dining room. One cannot become a Lieutenant without six years of service (three spent as a midshipman) and passing an exam. Even after passing, one must wait to be commissioned on a ship.

These officers are only slightly lower in status than commissioned officers. They are given a warrant, hence the name, by the board in charge of their area. They dine in the wardroom with the commissioned officers, and are allowed on the quarter deck, but their cabins are often separate.

Sailing Master
Sailing Masters get their warrants from the Navy Board. They are responsible for navigating and plotting courses, as well as piloting the course in some cases. Another important responsibility is that of keeping the Master’s Log, which is the official record of the ship. Other, smaller tasks include supervising midshipmen, checking the condition of equipment, and taking noon sightings. Aside from the Captain, the Master is best paid man on board the ship, and lives similarly to a Lieutenant. On larger ships, he is assisted by mates.

Surgeon
Surgeons are given their warrants by the Sick and Hurt Board. They qualify for this warrant by passing a very easy exam, therefore, there is a shortage of truly capable surgeons in the Navy. Each ship needs a surgeon, and only one, though the surgeon may have mates.

Purser
Pursers are given their warrants by the Victualling Board. Simply, they are in charge of rationing out the ships supplies. This includes food, grog (watered down rum), clothing, and other stores. The purser is not responsible for paying wages. He is assisted by mates.

Chaplain
It is rare to find a chaplain in any ship higher than a third-rate, though they are allowed on fifth-rate and lower. Only Church of England chaplains are allowed, and they are required to give service once a week. Often, they are merely tolerated by the officers, though they are treated with mild disdain by the crew.

Gunner
Gunners are not given wardroom status. They are in charge of the ships main guns and ammunition, smaller arms such as pistols, hand weapons such as cutlasses, and the powder room. The gunner was assisted by mates.

Boatswain
Pronounced ‘bosun’, boatswains are not given wardroom status. They are responsible for the maintenance of the ships sails and rigging, as well as the securing of boats and anchors. He and his mates were also responsible for getting the crew on deck when they were needed, and keeping them on task.

Mates

Mates are the assistants to any of the Warrant Officers. Their number often depends on the size of the ship. In the case of pirate and merchant ships, the first mate assists the Captain and serves as second in command. On a Navy ship, this is the job of the First Lieutenant.

Midshipmen are expected to behave like officers, but in many ways, they are treated like the crew. Though they are given uniforms that distinguish them, they room together on the lower deck in a separate cabin from the crew. They are often young men, though some who couldn’t pass the Lieutenant’s exam could remain Midshipmen past the age of thirty. They are sometimes humiliated by the officers and crew for entertainment.

Petty Officers are given no distinction from other members of the crew, but they are in charge of menial tasks.

Cook
More often than not, the cook is a seaman who has been in service for many, many years, and is incapable of continuing the tasks of the crew because of a disability or old age. He is rarely skilled in his area.

Schoolmaster
Schoolmasters are employed on Navy ships to teach the younger midshipmen navigation and mathematics. Sometimes, they teach other crew members how to read and write.

Master-at-Arms
Like the police force of the ship, he and his mates are in charge of disciplining and detaining rowdy crew members.

Crew

Also known as sailors, there job is simply that: to help sail the ship. This includes everything from handling the sails, to scrubbing the deck, to engaging in gunfire or hand-to-hand combat. Though there are many volunteers for this position, most sailors are impressed, or, forced into becoming a sailor. The impressed are often merchant sailors of any nationality. The Navy simply boards victim ships and takes prisoners, then forces them to fight. This practice is one of these main reasons for the harsh disciplinary system, and frequent mutinies.

Aboard every ship one can find a population of Royal Marines. This population is roughly one-fifth of the ships total company, and their main job is to fight whenever the ship is called into action, as sharpshooters, gun crews, boarders, or even infantry. When not at battle, their main responsibility was to prevent mutinies. As a Royal Marine, one can be an Officer, a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO), or a private.

Anyone else who doesn’t call a ship ‘home’. I’m going to be lenient here and allow whatever jobs you guys can think of that a civilian might have. Just keep in mind the setting, and hell…be creative.