Hey gang!

First post (Yay! Thanks in advance for making me feel welcome)!

I am running an Edge game with a total of about 12 people, however I am limiting any one session to the first 6 people in our gaming group to sign up. This means there are going to be quite a few characters "poofing" in and out of the adventure.

My primary concern is Obligation. What I don't want is to run into an issue where someone who doesn't play very often shows up for a session, blows their Obligation roll, and now the group is contending with that person's Obligation for the session.

I'm thinking about solving this by making Obligation strictly a group mechanic? Either the whole group has to deal with the obligation, or it doesn't come up for the session.

Does that seem reasonable?

I look forward to getting to know the community!

Steph

Your call. Obligation is a secondary mechanic, so softening it up (or dropping it entirely) will have little impact on the game at large.

Depending on your campaign and adventure design ideas you may just want to ditch the obligtion rolling and just integrate it more directly into the story.

I guess I'm mostly looking to see if there is any reason why my method would be a terrible idea. This is my first time running the system, so I'm happy to lean on the more experienced

Just because you managed to roll someone's obligation doesn't necessarily mean something related to it happens. There's a good example in the movies. Before the battle of Hoth, the GM rolled Obligation and came up with Han's Hunted. (Han always has bad luck.) This does not change the plot of the game, instead he just tells the Harrison "A bounty hunter caught up with you on Ord Mantell, about a week ago, and it's been stressing you. Take 2 lasting strain, everyone else gets one from your snappiness." And that's it. Doesn't have to have any further effect on the game.

This is most sessions in our group. Sometimes, if we have a loyalty mission (Mass Effect reference, aka, a mission based directly on reducing someone's obligation) we don't even roll obligation. Nobody's stressing because we're actually dealing with one of them!

I'm thinking about solving this by making Obligation strictly a group mechanic? Either the whole group has to deal with the obligation, or it doesn't come up for the session.

You could do away with the roll altogether, just use the number as a suggestion of potency. Look over the list, see what triggers your GM brain and roll out the game appropriately.

I agree with everyone else, but having to take on obligation from a poof character can be rewarding in a narrative way. Example ESB, Falcon goes to Bespin, (obligation on the run) meets Landon, goes to dinner boom Vader is there. Landon state's Vader shows up just before they did and guess what Landon was obligated to help Vader or suffer the consequences. Obligations at that point on the run, bounty, and just an oh shut moment. It all maladies good cinematics. It's all up to you but the original trilogy is full of those kinds of situations.

Sorry about the spelling I'm on this phone that I can't see much and the auto correct is to good

The one big problem will be managing the threshold.

Certain things happen depending on your group's obligation threshold and if the group's total obligation is above 100.

You'll come to find a few people on these boards drop obligation all together and handle it narratively while others feel it's a crucial part to the game. In your case with 6 players constantly rotating in and out, you're better off just handling it without the rules. If anything, come up with a series of one-shot encounters revolving around each characters obligation. When you want a reminder for certain characters that they have an obligation they need to deal with, throw down their one-shot.

How do you run "poofed" characters. In my game we have a rotating GM & the occasional missing player, but all the characters are assumed to be present in some capacity, typically they're "Guarding the Ship" or "Finding the Next Job". Because of this, we keep their obligations on the list, but if they're number comes up we assume they're off dealing with their obligation while the rest of us play the plot, and it has no effect. (See Luke in ESB) We still, however, have to keep the entire Company's obligation under 100.

So I'd consider if you want to have a totaled obligation system (all 12 players) and keep their characters "hanging around" while they're player is out, or if you want to rebuild the Obligation List every time. This is, of course, assuming you keep the obligation mechanic.

How do you run "poofed" characters. In my game we have a rotating GM & the occasional missing player, but all the characters are assumed to be present in some capacity, typically they're "Guarding the Ship" or "Finding the Next Job". Because of this, we keep their obligations on the list, but if they're number comes up we assume they're off dealing with their obligation while the rest of us play the plot, and it has no effect. (See Luke in ESB) We still, however, have to keep the entire Company's obligation under 100.

So I'd consider if you want to have a totaled obligation system (all 12 players) and keep their characters "hanging around" while they're player is out, or if you want to rebuild the Obligation List every time. This is, of course, assuming you keep the obligation mechanic.

I actually ganked my solution for this from the follower system in World of Warcraft. Players that cannot attend can opt in to going on a "solo mission" while out. Objective, difficulty, and reward will be rolled against a table I'm writing. The outcome of the mission will affect dynamics of the group (credits, equipment, obligation) positively or negatively.

It gives my players who cant play for whatever reason some tie to the story thats more substantial than "guarding the ship". I thought of this after the last session of our Pathfinder game where a regular character didn't help save the world because "she was hung over". Felt cheap to me.

It gives my players who cant play for whatever reason some tie to the story thats more substantial than "guarding the ship". I thought of this after the last session of our Pathfinder game where a regular character didn't help save the world because "she was hung over". Felt cheap to me.

That’s not cheap — that’s cruel! She’ll get teased about that for years!

Seriously, I think that’s actually a perfectly valid solution, with a perfectly valid role-play consequence.

Obligation is just a narrative device that can be used to throw in the occasional plot complication and keep both the GM and the players on their toes. You don't have to use it if you don't want to. If you do, it doesn't really matter if the source is an individual (a bounty hunter is hot on Pash's trail), or the group (the ISB has found your base). It can be just as fun helping your teammate fight off his pursuers as it is keeping the Imperials away from your group's secret base.

Personally, I'd use a combination of individual and group obligation, applying each where appropriate. If everyone has the same obligation, it can get boring. Plus, obligation is also a means of customizing your character so he's not like every other character, so you probably don't want to eliminate it completely. If Bob "I only play twice a year" Player shows up at a session and his obligation is rolled, so be it. Either have fun and roll with it, put it on the back burner for another session, or just ignore it if you want. It's whatever makes the game more fun and advances the narrative.

Indeed, it's not like the misfortune table in Rogue Trader. The Rules don't say "if rolled, dealing with this obligation must become a central plot point for this session." You can use it to the level appropriate for where you are in the game.

Thank you so much for being so engaged with my concerns you guys!

Must Worry About The Obligation Of The People Who Are There. Its Not That Big Of A deal