Social status is an interesting issue in many U.S. combat larps. Some game systems leave it up to the players to write their status into the character backstory. Some have elaborate game mechanics which allow the purchase of status with experience. But lots of games have no official way to limit players from claiming any title they want (however silly that title may be). Many players abuse this and tell extremely similar stories. Games overflow with 'Counts', 'Dukes', and the brothers, nephews and sons of titled nobility who come complete with some kind of tragic backstory.
Many players also tend to ignore the interesting down to earth stories, and instead shoot straight for the Eurocentric Feudal landed caste. Occasionally players choose an Asian style Feudal landed caste to spice things up. This similarity of story is frustrating, limiting, and not all that fun. I've attempted to address this lack of depth with a
character creation system based on group dynamics. It can generate nobility, but far more often produces 'salt of the earth' type folks. Today let's address the game mechanics of a social system.
