The CRB seems to be of two minds about the Mon Calamari. In the CharGen chapter, they it speaks of Dac as a subjugated planet and the species as enslaved. However, the later chapters (Galaxy, Rebellion) speak of it being one of the few worlds that's openly in Rebellion.

These two certainly fit together in a timeline, one after the other, but my real question is this: how does the rest of the galaxy view the species? If a PC chooses to be Mon Calamarian, would they face discrimination from the galaxy at-large, and be a tip-off to the authorities of a Rebel cell? Or would they be left alone as just another sentient? Would the Imps arrest them on-sight?

I know this is something that you can decide to your liking for your particular group, but I'm curious what the community at-large thinks. How would you have this play out in your game?

My knee-jerk reaction is to have the Mon Cal receive some extra attention. A bored Imperial patrol might ask to see his papers, but a flimsy set of papers would be enough. When we are talking galactic civilization, I've got to expect that there are 'fourth generation off-world' of most species and the like. Not to mention the people of Dac are still probably able to get off world and conduct business, or at least some of them. The odds of them literally all being in internment camps or the like is low.

The other benefit is it makes the player feel like his racial choice matters instead of just being a fishy person, but doesn't destroy that person's ability to play.

I think it depends on the exact time period, that may be where the confusion came from and they didn't get it sorted out in editing.

I think the Empire subjugated the Mon Cals and enslaved them to build ships, but at some point they fought back and more openly joined the Rebellion.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dac

This entry describes it in more detail. I'd say it's up to the GM in your particular campaign.

If you aren't in an area of heavy rebel activity or near Dac itself its very likely that many people will never have seen a Mon Calamari, or even heard of them.

Even a Storm trooper on patrol will probably just gloss over them with a visual inspection. Just another alien.

If ID's are actively being swiped I'd not be surprised the Mon Calamari are flagged for profiling, at least based on proximity to Dac itself. Any species from a planet in open rebellion likely receives extra attention in the system, but its doubtful that the Storm Troopers Corellia are regularly briefed on whats going on on the other side of the galaxy.

Dac is on the very fringe of the Galaxy, far off any major hyperspace lanes.

So Dac essentially goes into full out rebellion shortly after the Battle of Yavin. Up until that point, the Empire more or less subjugates and enslaves the Mon Calamari and the Quarren. FFG probably should've just added a sentence in the Mon Cal bio that stated that "up until recently, the Empire kept the Mon Calamari enslaved..."

Most EotE and AoR games take place after Yavin, so the Empire will have lost control of Dac by then...

I thought they revolted before Yavin it was just that they remained officially neutral while quietly aiding the Alliance until openly allying with the rebellion after Yavin? I loaned my AOR Corebook to my group''s GM and only skimmed the historical sections though so I might have missed FFG changing that.

The Mon Cals have travelled around the galaxy for millenia. So they'd be around. However most Imperials would be racially biased against them, and they'd have to deal with the prejudice like any other alien species of the time.

I'd imagine they'd be regarded the same way blacks were viewed in the South during the Civil War.

I doubt it is anything near the racial discrimination during the Civil War.

A Mon Calamari can pass a slave owned by an Imperial the same way a Wookiee might throughout the galactic civil war, even after the liberation of Dac. As with Wookiees there is a lot of amazing and interesting character background material you can build from with a history of being enslaved in a character's past. There are revenge motivations, there might be other loved ones that are still slaves that the PC wants to track down and free, that PC might owe his freedom to a fellow party member or NPC, all of these can function as Obligation and part of background.

That said, obviously and declared "free" Mon Calamari or Wookiees walking around are asking for trouble. Legally, they can probably be captured and enslaved by anyone on the spot without much legal recourse. If I were a PC, I'd def try to let people make the assumption that you are out and about on your Master's business. Having some sort of false paperwork to that effect might not be a bad idea.

Awesome, thanks Keith!

Specifically, I'm looking at playing a fresh Rebel officer whose been assigned to a small group starting up a resistance movement on a new planet. I like feel of the Mon Cal race, their outlook, etc., but my fear is that having a Mon Cal out and about is just begging to blow the group's cover.