I still think that having 'negative' ranks was a funny and interesting idea. Why don't have 'Hazard' and possibly even 'Immediate Hazard' ranks? Stacy and Xan-1 (may they rest in peace, our valiant brothers in arms) would certainly fit the former and the latter positions as of immediately before M15, I think. Hindsight 20/20, of course.
And such examples exist for all of the sections, I believe.
The only catch is there's no real place to slot that in.[/quote]
Actually, why not simply rename Apprentice to Hazard? That way either one is skilled and reliable, and becomes Journeyman straight from Novice, or skilled but unreliable, which means he is still a Hazard.
We could also have them right below Novice if we want a more linear approach to ranking system.
Or, for what it's worth, it could be a separate ranking system altogether, or something like a honorary title. Can't picture a true Hazard being put in charge of a squad, however, so it's place must still be somewhere in those 'lower' ranks.
Of course, all of the above is for interaction-worldbuilding purposes. Equipment-allotting system might or might not work with that (depends on how much we actually want to restrict our Hazards).
Do you think that the fact his ghosts are "malfunctioning" means that he is already resisting mind control in some way?
I find it doubtful; if it was interacting with them already, someone else should have sensed something wrong already, or got a will roll (which are known to be unsubtle at times). I suppose the active influence of the Eater isn't there yet.
Instead, it could be that they have stumbled upon something similar to the nature of the flask. Could the Eater of Cold be operating on the same 'frequency' as the flask, so to speak? By virtue of sheer proximity and power he, inactive, could be 'drowning' the ghosts communications in 'static'. I wonder, would dying there, disconnected from the flask, mean severing the link and not going into the flask, like every other user before? ...I really hope Gorat won't get the chance to check it out.