I really want my Big Bad to have a big emotional impact on my characters. Since he's going to be amassing a lot of personal power and since the players disrupted a big part of his operation, he wants revenge on them.

The problem is that there's little he has he can threaten them with. The four of them have few ties outside their own interests, and each other.

I've thought about having him murder a group of children and transmit the gruesome images to the PCs, since they have actually gone out of their way to save children in the past. Sort of a, "Look at the consequences of your actions, you pitiful do-gooders." Anyone have any ideas that might work along these lines?

Depends on the kind of campaign you're playing. What you describe would work just fine for an over-the-top, mustache-twirling kind of maniacally evil baddie, but this guy seems like he's a little more subtle than that.

Perhaps he doesn't take revenge, at least not directly, since it doesn't sound like there are many obvious targets. Whatever he does should make life harder for the PCs, though. Maybe he frames them for something (the murder of children, if you really want to take it there, but it could just as easily be something like an art theft or financial fraud) and now they have to prove their innocence. Or his contacts let the Empire think the PCs are Rebel sympathizers (if they aren't already) and they get investigated by the ISB.

The truth shouldn't come out right away. Make it seem like he's forgotten them, or even have him pretend to make up to them, and then let events reveal that he's behind the bounty hunter teams that keep coming after them with no regard for collateral damage, or the rumors that've been spread that had the locals cowering in fear of the PCs.

It may that they don't want to play a particularly involved campaign, though, and simply drift through the galaxy doing odd jobs. If you're fine GMing that, you can always use NPCs to tell their own little stories. Maybe you've got a family with a tradition of Republican/Imperial service, and they meet a bunch of NPC officers or stormtroopers who are all related. Or play out some part of the larger galactic events in the background, so that they can see they're part of something big. Even if they just think you're setting up scenes for them, you can have fun creating characters and stories you may end up using later.

It's going to depend on your players really. What would get them personally angry or upset?

What about taking away or destroying something internal? Do they have a ship? What about a favored piece of gear?

" Another crate of kitten heads from Darth Patheticus?..."

Have the PC's build up a friendship/alliance with a NPC or the NPC face of a group over a few adventures, and then hit that group hard. In this era, most obvious candidate is the Alliance. Make it look like the PC's have a future supporting General/Abassador Big Wig and his lovable gang of roustabouts that love to party. Then....take them away...

If you want your bad guy to evoke emotions, make him hurt something they love.

If you want your bad guy to evoke emotions, make him hurt something they love.

"Dude, where's my starship?"

I have an Inquisitor who turned out to be the former best friend of one of the PCs. After the first confrontation from triggered Obligation, I decided on the following system:

Inquisitor Shorin will take his time before attempting another direct assault. Until further notice, whenever Obligation (Inquisitorius) is rolled, a random ally from your past adventures will be murdered by Shorin as he seeks to learn more information about Hank, Jasper, and the rest of the crew. Some allies will have a lower chance of falling prey to Shorin, like Jeppo Eddo, who is protected by the Scrapheap King. I'll post the ally chart later. Each time Shorin interrogates an ally, he has a chance to learn more of your whereabouts, but your allies also have a chance to resist and die without giving up vital information. Grim, I know ! The range will be from -10 to +5 (5d4-15). Once the Obligation (Inquisitorius) is brought down to 5, it can no longer be lowered, but the roll for allies and the potential increase will still proceed.

The players immediately took note, as they've grown fond of their contacts, many of whom have popped up repeatedly throughout the campaign.

If they don't have any cares beyond the members of the the group, then kill or maim a member of the group.

I have an Inquisitor who turned out to be the former best friend of one of the PCs. After the first confrontation from triggered Obligation, I decided on the following system:

Inquisitor Shorin will take his time before attempting another direct assault. Until further notice, whenever Obligation (Inquisitorius) is rolled, a random ally from your past adventures will be murdered by Shorin as he seeks to learn more information about Hank, Jasper, and the rest of the crew. Some allies will have a lower chance of falling prey to Shorin, like Jeppo Eddo, who is protected by the Scrapheap King. I'll post the ally chart later. Each time Shorin interrogates an ally, he has a chance to learn more of your whereabouts, but your allies also have a chance to resist and die without giving up vital information. Grim, I know ! The range will be from -10 to +5 (5d4-15). Once the Obligation (Inquisitorius) is brought down to 5, it can no longer be lowered, but the roll for allies and the potential increase will still proceed.

The players immediately took note, as they've grown fond of their contacts, many of whom have popped up repeatedly throughout the campaign.

Brilliant. The race is on -- better take him down while you still have friends left...

Okay, this sounds like a good idea. I'm going to have them all doing various missions for a bit, short things but things which benefit people, like rescuing slaves and such. Then I'm going to have the Imperial Big Bad come in and kill people who they've helped, one by one, including a rather important character that one of the PCs has gotten acquainted with.

I'd also recommend brainstorming other things the big bad can do besides just killing people ...

Perhaps they do a mission where they help a remote colony which relies on a periodic supply convoy. The bad guy could intercept or pirate one of the supply ships, leading to weeks or months without food/supplies for the colony.

Maybe they help recover a valuable family artifact for a noble family. The bad guy could steal it.

Perhaps they help transport a troupe of Twi'lek entertainers who are excited about getting their big break, performing at the Space Superbowl. The bad guy could steal the ceremonial ball, and if they don't get it back, the big game is cancelled.

Those aren't the greatest, maybe, just off the top of my head. But if I were a player I think I'd appreciate a little variety beyond just "the bad guy kills your dad. the bad guy kills the orphans you saved. the bad guy kills your sister."

Just a thought!

Also, I'd bring in the Obligations of the PCs. I'd also encourage the players to MAKE some friends/family/associates, people from their past whom they might care about.

If you have an entire party full of 'chaotic neutral, loner born with amnesia, angst-ridden, refuses to make attachments' then I feel for you...

I'd also consider having the bad guy building towards something big that the players have good reason to want to stop. It's a very common trope (especially in Joss Whedon stuff like Buffy, Angel or the Avengers) that the bad guy wants to destroy the world, bring about armageddon, kill everyone, etc.

For this to happen they need the 3 elements of their doomsday device, or the 5 pieces of the magic scroll, or the scientist who knows how to turn the fusion engine into a global superbomb and he's got to be broken out of jail, etc etc.

Even then I'd encourage you to think of something besides just 'blow up the world/galaxy', but it's a decent place to start

The problem is that there's little he has he can threaten them with. The four of them have few ties outside their own interests, and each other.

I normally don't say this... but it sounds like it's time to kill a player.

Figure out an XP level and credit level. Find the player most open to rerolling. Explain that you want to kick it into high gear and in exchange for being a good sport you'll allow him to rebuild and maybe even get a few extra XP for his trouble. (do this in advance and in secret so it'll be a surprise to the other players)

Then you set a trap, capture them all, and the BBEG does a little monologue.... and executes that character in front of the others. He moves to the next one, get's ready to do the same, and something happens to interrupt. Players escape BBEG, end session with a stranger coming forward and saying "You're welcome."

Next session reveal that stranger is the PC of the player who got executed, explains his motivations and such, proceed with campaign.

Killing allies is an option, but I don't think that it should be your first choice or used frequently. I believe it has the risk of further depersonalizing the game. If the only thing that characters have happen with their NPC allies is that occasionally one will die to the BBEG they might just decide to stop making friends.

I would suggest including the BBEG causing problems for allies other than death. Perhaps the local police force/mafia/gang starts harassing an ally's business, or contacts become more tight-lipped due to personal threats from the BBEG, or legitimate jobs become more scarce due to pressure from the BBEG - and make sure the PCs know the cause, or can figure it out.

Also, don't forget the positive aspect of the game. Rather than focusing simply on how you might pull at your players' heartstrings through harming allies, have good things happen to NPCs because of PCs actions. Maybe the PCs get a cheery message from those children full of stick figures and crayon-equivalent drawings of the PCs thanking them. Or the PCs having a standing welcome and free drinks at a bar for clearing out some local thug trouble.

Also, don't forget the positive aspect of the game. Rather than focusing simply on how you might pull at your players' heartstrings through harming allies, have good things happen to NPCs because of PCs actions. Maybe the PCs get a cheery message from those children full of stick figures and crayon-equivalent drawings of the PCs thanking them. Or the PCs having a standing welcome and free drinks at a bar for clearing out some local thug trouble.

Yes, I think this is critical. This is what connects people to others - the fact that you like them. If you have a ship full of disconnected loners, you really have to connect them before you can even think of harming those connections. Yes, I saved some kids because it was the right thing to do, but if I leave the planet and never hear from them again, it's not really a connection. If someone comes later and nukes the kids later I might hate him because he's immortal, but it's not a heartstring, it's just a BBEG being Big, Bad and Evil.

Also, I really suggest threatening and hurting, not killing. Think back to your great comic book villains. Nobody kills Lois Lane, because once she's dead it's over. They kidnap her and hold her off the top of a big building, because that's what forces Superman to do something. Consern and Fear of Loss are what you want, not news of death.

Just to clarify my earlier suggestion, I'm also not fond on non-stop killfests. It's the threat, not the actual execution (no pun intended) that has made the situation more personal for my group. Since it only happens when the Obligation (Inquisitorius) triggers, it's been over 20 sessions and only one NPC has been eliminated so far. On another occasion when it triggered, the targeted NPCs were frenemies of the party (Sunny & the Black Seraphs from Suns of Fortune). They happily gave up information on the party and avoided the usual fatal inquisition .

As mentioned earlier, having the Villain frame the PCs is always great. For myself, I find that annoying when I see it in movies or TV shows because it's practically expected now, it's always obvious, and... the good guys always get out of it consequence free.

I'd have the Villain set them up to frame themselves. Give them choices between their own benefit, and being perceived as the bad guys. Maybe even set them up to fail in opposing ways. Option #1 means they lose their profit, gear, cargo, or whatnot, but help some innocents. Option #2 means they keep their cargo, profit, gear but harm innocents (indirectly perhaps). Easy choice for most. But add the twist that maybe that cargo they lose in Option #1 was medical supplies or food for a second group of innocents. In Option #2, if they go selfish, make sure that group of innocents comes back again and again, resentful and untrusting of the PCs. The next port they dock at the dockmaster was related to the wronged group perhaps, or maybe just the fuel merchant, mechanic or tapcaf owner.

Several incidents like that set up by the Villain and they'll get the hint that someone is out to get them, and they'll really be pissed at them. The hard part of doing this making sure the player's (not just PCs) are mad at the Villain, and not you as GM.

How about have them contacted by a nemesis who hires them for a job and when they arrive with the cargo they find him/her the only survivor of a slaughter and they mention they were attacked by someone looking for them...

No other detail just that, at inconvenient points into the game have them ambushed never overwhelming odds but drop hints of your big bad before deciding why they're targeting them.

Could be that former nemesis hired them to take the blame for a job they did, which the cargo run he hired them to do was used to frame them...what if one of their early nemesis's was a henchman of the big bad say like they killed Nebula and Thanos is now after them to recover what she was carrying when they took her down.. that's the kind of scary I think you're trying to demonstrate.

Is that close to what you're trying to do?

If all they have is each other, you could always hit them where they live: their ship. Blow it up, have it stolen, impound it in the local Imperial garrison, just make sure the PCs feel the loss.

Leaving them stranded and desperate while the villain chuckles away and continues with his plans will make any group of PCs very, very ready for the inevitable showdown.

There is the other side of this. If they want to be impersonal ("stone cold professionals"), then forcing attachments isn't necessarily the right way to go. Not everyone needs a personal nemesis, not even PCs.

Perhaps he doesn't take revenge, at least not directly, since it doesn't sound like there are many obvious targets. Whatever he does should make life harder for the PCs, though. Maybe he frames them for something (the murder of children, if you really want to take it there, but it could just as easily be something like an art theft or financial fraud) and now they have to prove their innocence. Or his contacts let the Empire think the PCs are Rebel sympathizers (if they aren't already) and they get investigated by the ISB.

"My name is Michael Westen. I used to be a spy, until..."

Check out the movie the loosers. The bad guy could be someone that really doesn't care about the PC's having blown up their ship and thinking that they're dead. Then as they go for revenge they start to uncover prices of his real plot. The fact that the PC's were just a passing fly to him could really tick them off building the animosity since PC's are used to being in the spotlight.

All good ideas. It's all about finding triggers for the players (Disclaimer: and avoiding triggers that might make them personally uncomfortable. If you hint at child abuse and it clearly makes a player extremely squeamish, back off. This is about fantasy, and no need to regurgitate personal trauma). Still, I think in this setting, anything truly horrific should be more hinted at than directly shown. If children are the trigger, a smuggler who's implied to use children as mules or a politico who has siphoned money from orphanages for his own agenda, perhaps.

It sounds like "hitting close to home" for your characters may mean more making their lives difficult or taking their things away, but if you really want to hit close to home, and you have a player who's interested, you could always make an individual the victim of the villain's depravity. Again, this is down to your players and finding someone's who's open to the concept. But if you can find someone (and I'd negotiate a nice boost in XP or something else to them for this) willing to be tortured by the villain's goons to send the team a message or kidnapped or even executed, that would probably be the most intimate way to light a fire underneath them. If there's anyone who seems fairly uninterested in their character, this could be a good excuse to let them start from scratch and respec (and give them comfortable XP to the team for their trouble).

So what do their characters want?

Then introduce them to a scenario that explores what they want, but have them offered help to obtain this via a new patron who uses them to fulfil some missions that only by looking back will they realise something is off.

For example they intercept a freighter that turns out to be a converted Acclamatory, boarding they discover they're shipping enslaved people some of whom they recognise.

If they deliver the ship the people simply end up being used by their patron this being a spat between rival slave lords, if they free them they have two new enemies and if they don't they have a few rebel cells working to take THEM down!

So the question becomes what are they prepared to do or not to get what they want?!