You're fine. If the Wookie player wants to play his guy like a deranged homicidal maniac, he's not allowed to whine when the rest of the galaxy isn't chummy with homicidal maniacs imo. He sounds like a video game player that's used to being able to run around on Xbox with no consequences.

You didn't get the PCs arrested. The Wookie got the PCs arrested. What does he think; that nothing would happen if he kills an innocent merchant and then later starts bringing dead bodies into a cantina?

I agree with 2P51; your PC needs to stop playing GTA and get a sense of rationality.

Where to go from here; I totally dig the "you work for me I'll drop the charges" motivation, and hell yes they get obligation for that. Based on the fact that it involves the murder of a merchant and stacking dead bodies like cordwood in a cantina, I'd make it a 20 point obligation ("Jail or Kessel; your choice")

If they choose Kessel, well it's time to roll up some new characters then (and maybe a new PC, to boot...)

There is a movie, "Quicksand" with Mickey Rooney and it has a scene that reminded me of this. Did he actually kill the owner, or did he beat him in combat? Could the shop owner still be alive, and instead of having a murder charge just file something like an aggravated assault? Probably not, now that I think about it.

There is a movie, "Quicksand" with Mickey Rooney and it has a scene that reminded me of this. Did he actually kill the owner, or did he beat him in combat? Could the shop owner still be alive, and instead of having a murder charge just file something like an aggravated assault? Probably not, now that I think about it.

Regardless, the PCs resisted the arrest, so I don't think that would go over so well.

I should clarify that the dead bodies that were brought into the cantina where some of Dobah's men. I figured the cantina owner, despite not a fan of Dobah, wouldn't like dead bodies stinking up the place. And furthermore, that is just asking for trouble for the cantina, methinks.

I was wondering, how could have I handled the situation better? Any advice?

You were amazingly generous at pretty much all stages of that adventure. Stick to your guns and tell the Wookiee to Put on The Big Boy Pants and Suck It Up. If you don't want bad things to happen to your character, don't do things that will put that character in that position!

(or if you DO, realize that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Many times I do things that cause grief for my character in the name of what is fun or what serves the story, even though I know that there are some game mechanics behind the scenes that will ding me for it)

Yeah, all looks ok from here.

If you want you can work with obligation. So like the wook kills the shop owner, and no one is around to see it. Instead of an imperial patrol you can just give him 10 obligation and be done. When they get XP locked after 2 or 3 incidents, it'll self level.

But the overall but overall I think you did fine and the wook just needs to learn this isn't some xbox rpg with crumby AI.

Your player just has to learn that, as in life, actions have consequences. If your player wants to be a mass-murderer, then let him, but just warn him that society doesn't tend to like mass-murderers.

As the player of a Wookiee Marauder, I have done plenty of questionable things, but I have never murdered an unarmed merchant. All my kills have come from combat, and others trying to kill me first.

I am offended by the PC you describe, and if I met him then I might just murder him in cold blood to prove a point — he’s giving Wookiees a bad name. I’d probably use the Pressure Point talent and hit him with Stun damage that bypasses his Soak, until his ST has been exceeded. Then, once he’s effectively stunned and taken out of combat, I would break out the heavily modified vibro-axes and carve him up like a Christmas turkey.

I would then be happy to send the pieces back to his family on Kashyyyk, or wherever.

I would then be happy to send the pieces back to his family on Kashyyyk, or wherever.

Be a real jerk and send the package COD.

Also - relevant:

There's a term for the type of PC the Wookiee player is playing: murder hobo. I agree with the others, you did fine, but maybe you just have to have an open talk with the player about the kind of game you want to run. Maybe they are new to RPGs (I don't think you said), or maybe that's how they've played previous games, but it's worth it to take the time to explain first how you expect the game to be run.

I decided to have "the talk" with my group up front, because I knew one player in particular is very ready to slaughter everybody without asking questions. So I just made it clear up front that there will be consequences. While not everything is going to be like "real life", there is a society with laws, or at least agreements that too much chaos is bad for business. Also, there are all kinds of people with motivations that might conflict with theirs, and those people will get a say in how things play out. And really, almost everybody is more powerful than they are, with more allies, more resources, etc. So far "the talk" has kept them reasonably in line, reinforced by a few fights they had to run from.

Yup, local law enforcement doesn't like murderers, the empire especially doesn't like people resisting arrest and putting extra holes in their troopers.

The arrest alone should give the Wookiee the crime obligation, getting them out could get them favor or even more criminal depending on how they go about escaping. And upon a successful escape they then get bounty, if your Wookiee insists on pushing boundaries then 100 obligation will drag him to a screeching halt

I had a laugh when reading these recalling RW moments as an LEO. It's unbelievable how many times people cry during an arrest, "I can't believe YOU did this to me! YOU are ruining my life!", without realizing the absurdity of the statement.

Keep it up. Hopefully the player will realize who is causing the problem before you have to lock up his Wookie for a couple sessions as he's foced to make do playing the party NPC Power Droid. Gonk gonk!

I have had to remind players this isn't a computer game where you can save/restore. Even when they do something I remind them that there are consequences. Only problem that this has made my players very cautious and boring.

(or if you DO, realize that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Many times I do things that cause grief for my character in the name of what is fun or what serves the story, even though I know that there are some game mechanics behind the scenes that will ding me for it)

I think this is HUGE wisdom for RPG players and GMs alike.

Far too often, players identify with their characters to such an extent they seem to want everything to go exactly right for the characters all the time and for everything to work out smoothly.

But that's not the stuff of drama *at all*. In Star Wars, things hardly ever go the characters' way!

"How we doing?" "Same as usual." "That bad, huh?"

As a player, we should *want* things to get complicated for our characters and for the bad guys to get the drop on them and to have daring chases and exciting escapes!

Otherwise what is the point of playing a game? Might as well roleplay an accountant sitting at home at night and adding up numbers all day.

Anyways for now, I had them get an obligation that is owing a Imperial office for bailing them out.

If you find yourself in a situation like this again, tell the player up front "sure, you can kill him, but that gives you 10-15 Obligation: Criminal" or something else appropriate. Tell it to him straight and upfront, and then he can make an informed decision. Does he want to go on a killing spree anyway? Fine, he can't say you didn't warn him. He keeps doing that and the group's Obligation is going to climb above 100, and once that happens no one gets to use XP to improve their characters. I think you'll find that some Internal Player Policing is going to happen right around then without you as a GM having to lift a finger. Nothing gets other players more fired up than one guy screwing up their characters.

It's probably worth it to specifically remind him (that is; out of game, with words) that NPCs are just that; non-player characters . I think you represented that really well by having the NPCs react to the PCs' actions and take some initiative (aka getting fed up with dead bodies and calling the cops).

Point out that Star Wars is a more-or-less civilized galaxy; the whole point of the Empire is to ensure law and order. Even in the places the Empire can't reach there's almost always some kind of local security, whether that be planetary law enforcement or the local crime boss's henchmen.

Also, it sounds like the other PC was being much more reasonable. He'd probably be treated better by the Imperials, and you can use this to drive home the fact that the player's actions are what led to the arrest.

Finally, don't be afraid to delay consequences either. A squad of troopers busting down the door every time they do something wrong could get old fast (and could easily feel a little arbitrary). Let them see wanted posters of themselves (with the wookiee worth more, and maybe "dead or alive") or hear announcements. The wookiee could easily start developing a reputation as a psycopath, and other NPCs try to avoid them or become more hostile towards them. Bounty hunters following them (but not catching up right away) to heighten the suspense.

EDIT: And if he's angry specifically at being in jail, point out that it's not about winning, it's about telling a story. The main characters get captured in most of the Star Wars movies, and it leads to some of the best scenes in the series.

Sigh... After reading the OP's post I just think "Great, another group devolving into Murder Hobo madness"

One of the most difficult things about running games like EotE, FireFly, and Shadowrun is a lack of understanding the difference between Heroes doing criminal things to achieve a greater goal and being an actual Criminal. One side are the characters we see in films and TV like Star Wars (Han & Chewy), FireFly, Guardians of the Galaxy, even the Riddick films. They are bada$$es, generally selfish, and have no problem killing when it must be done but they are still essentially good. Criminals on the other hand are F'n CRIMINALS, they don't kill they murder, they use their martial abilities to not only defeat their foes but to brutalize them, they prey on the weak and defenseless, they're bullies and thugs.

I've always tried to make it clear that in EotE at the point the Player's PCs begin no matter what their backstory may be they have now entered a new stage in their lives, they are now Heroes in the Star Wars universe. The paradigm has shifted for them. They don't have to be saints, they don't have to run into burning buildings to save puppies, they don't even have to help others, but if they are going to play like Criminals, they can play in another group.

I've had too many experiences where one or two Players go all Murder Hobo psychopath in games and it never, never, ends well. Personally from reading the OPs posts I'd DTMFA.

The setting of EotE itselfs is for criminals. Maybe with a heart of gold (or not), but the game is about being an outlaw, a smuggler and a ruffian.

But even being a criminal is not being a murder hobo. Smuggling is usually about going unnoticed, same goes for thieves. Dead bodies are a hindrance and a sign of incompetence/sloppiness. My group has except for one bout with the Seps killed only wild animals or droids in a whole year, and only 2 sessions back dared to attack and kill Imperials while breaking some people out of prison. They were careful to leave no clues behind since they know that i will hand out consequences.

So far the Imps do not suspect them, and give them the benefit of the doubt since they were useful by selling out some Seps. Some Seps survived and want payback.

Now they are busy helping some pirates and try to feed the Imperial Intelligence half-truths.

But should the I.I. or I.N. get proof of their transgression then there would be hell to pay.

I made that clear when we started our round. Be smart, think, and remember the 11th commandment: You shall not get caught.

My PCs had killed a certain slaver and stolen his ship. Then they went to Bespin and initiated a public gun fight in the market place.

Now their faces are on the Galactic news network, which means the one with the bounty on her head got popular and a nemesis triggered.

Bespin Wing guard found the dead body on the ship and launched an investigation.

So I figured a way to get the characters off world. Things are too hot for them to have a caper for a jewel and riches. They miss out on wealth, lose their ship, and are on the run.

I didn't get upset. None of us did. It feels organic.

I think your players might enjoy a session where they are taken aboard a prison transport headed for an asteroid prison. Maybe they escape in transit, maybe they are sprung by bad news bears, maybe they make it to the prison and the wookie has to pull a dude arms off to show there is a new prison boss in town. Prison break afterwards.

If you want a good prison adventure check out the Traveller adventure Prison Planet. Should be available for purchase at drivethurpg.com and the like.

The nuclear option in this case would be a 30-40 bounty obligation "oh just so you know, your bounty is high enough now that the big names think you're worth their time, and what do you know, its Dengar, have fun"