Does anyone see any potential pitfalls if I were to use Duty on a factional basis as opposed to just for the Alliance? I have this campaign pre-written for the release of Far Horizons that involves a colony fleet cobbled together by a frontiersman/business mogul going to a newly discovered planet. The PC group works for this individual exclusively. I kind of wanted it to work out so that they could climb the corporate ladder because all of the Duty options from AoR are things a new colony could potentially use. I'm thinking of doing a dual Obligation/Duty game for this. Debts Owed and Favors Done and all that.

Thoughts?

I'd say that Duty would work pretty well for any decently-sized organization with at least some form of reliable infrastructure, be it the Alliance, the Empire, or even large-scale criminal groups like Black Sun or the Hutt Syndicates.

The only thing I might suggest adjusting is the Contribution Rank rewards to not be as grand, particularly if the faction/group is known to either be really strapped for resources (more so the the Alliance generally is) or simply don't have the kind of galaxy-wide pull that larger groups would have.

I agree, I thought that the highest they could ascend would be "right-hand men" status. Part of me has wondered just how high PCs are intended to ascend in AoR since the character sheet Ranking only has 10 pips XD

Interesting proposal here. Duty is very specifically written for large military organizations. So I think if you want it to be for the Rebels, the Empire, a large mercenary faction, those all work fine. However, if it is a more corporate faction, or a small business, or some such, you are probably better using the Duty Obligation to represent their loyalty to that faction, or perhaps even family or oath to represent WHY they are loyal to that faction. It really depends on if you want that Duty to be a source of pride and assistance, or a source of stress and complication. That is the primary difference between the Duty and Obligation mechanics.

Just kicked off my AoR campaign tonight incorporating the mechanics for Duty and Obligation both. My players aren't part of the Alliance yet, and possibly never will be. I'm running them as part of one secret society/organization in a galaxy with all manners of them operating in the shadows. Imperial Intelligence, and Alliance Intelligence are just part of the picture and my players may work at common purposes with the Alliance and never be part of the organization itself. I think Duty works just fine for any hierarchical quasi-paramilitary setting.

Interesting proposal here. Duty is very specifically written for large military organizations. So I think if you want it to be for the Rebels, the Empire, a large mercenary faction, those all work fine. However, if it is a more corporate faction, or a small business, or some such, you are probably better using the Duty Obligation to represent their loyalty to that faction, or perhaps even family or oath to represent WHY they are loyal to that faction. It really depends on if you want that Duty to be a source of pride and assistance, or a source of stress and complication. That is the primary difference between the Duty and Obligation mechanics.

Ok, not looking at the corporate aspect of the COLONY, I found each Duty to be applicable except space supremacy and inmost cases, combat victory. For instance, support, recruitment, and tech procurement are all things that a new colony would normally require to thrive. Granted, the terminology of each Duty has to be altered slightly in order to fit the right colonies, but even combat victory is applicable if you look in it in the terms of "oh no! Bandits/wild predators/hostile natives attack the settlement! You must defend them!"

Interesting proposal here. Duty is very specifically written for large military organizations. So I think if you want it to be for the Rebels, the Empire, a large mercenary faction, those all work fine. However, if it is a more corporate faction, or a small business, or some such, you are probably better using the Duty Obligation to represent their loyalty to that faction, or perhaps even family or oath to represent WHY they are loyal to that faction. It really depends on if you want that Duty to be a source of pride and assistance, or a source of stress and complication. That is the primary difference between the Duty and Obligation mechanics.

Ok, not looking at the corporate aspect of the COLONY, I found each Duty to be applicable except space supremacy and inmost cases, combat victory. For instance, support, recruitment, and tech procurement are all things that a new colony would normally require to thrive. Granted, the terminology of each Duty has to be altered slightly in order to fit the right colonies, but even combat victory is applicable if you look in it in the terms of "oh no! Bandits/wild predators/hostile natives attack the settlement! You must defend them!"

Totally appropriate imo. A colony when first being established would likely be very paramilitary in structure, particularly in a setting with hazardous environmental considerations or hostile natives.