In our gaming group one of us have a gambler character, and now, after a few months of gaming, there is a huge imbalance between the charaters. As he have another source of income, he has several times more credits to throw around than the other characters. He has much better equipment (as he can afford it) and is now thinking about buying his own ship. Wealth is no longer an incitament for that character to go on missions. Earning creds by gambling is perhaps to easy. As you can only lose your stakes while if yo win the hand you have the possibility to earn several time the stakes.

How to deal with such an imballance?

Should all characters take the gambler specialization to so that they also can earn that amont of credits?

Shold the GM ”punish” the gambler, and rob him from time to time just to keep things even??

Should the other players take matters in their own hands and demand that all things should be shared within the group?

Should gambling be harder? Thus discourage people from taking that specialization?

Any thoughts?

How much did he win? Casinos will show you the door if you're 'too lucky' even in real life. They all talk and have ban lists.

Give him an 'off-screen' money sink. Sure, let him buy that ship. That's great. Now it's -his- problem. He has to pay upkeep, salaries, docking fees, etc.

Without an active crew to actually make money off of it, it's just a liability... Like a boat IRL.

He might just be solving his own problem for you. Just ask him a few times if he's sure about buying the ship and if he's thought it through. If he get's a great deal on it, all the better -- that means there're a ton of problems with it even before he gets it.

Should gambling be harder? Thus discourage people from taking that specialization?

Any thoughts?

1. I would not make gambling harder, just present fewer opportunities in game to pad the slush fund. I don't know anything about your table, but if there's a toddler-like, "I wanna go off any do my own thing!" issue here, then it's incumbent upon the GM to not play the indulgent parent and keep the game focused on the party.

2. Present opportunities to gamble that further the plot, the most obvious case being gambling over the McGuffin. But it doesn't always have to be that -- one could always just be gambling in the tavern right before the wizard shows up with a scroll promising adventure.

3. Boats are money sinks, but I'd be more concerned about "splitting the party" if he's looking to buy another stock light freighter (why?). If it looks like it might be an interesting way to take the group "to the next level", then maybe present him with a chance to buy a slightly used starfighter, maybe a Y-Wing, to serve as an escort for the party's ship; a chance to make ship battles more interesting, as well.

Tables have bet limits, so between time and that you should be able to throttle down their winnings potential.

Let him spend the money on a ship, that's just excellent. More people can now act in space battles, and it gives some good tactical opportunities with regards to splitting up etc.

As for restricting the gambler's income, just give him a set number of rolls every time he goes gambling and set a cap on how much he can wager on each roll, like 2P51 said. That way he gets to use his ability to gamble but won't earn enough to make it an issue. Or you could simply have him play against more skilled opponents, some of whom could very realistically have some of the same talents he does.

A third option is one my own players recently discussed, of letting all earned money go into the community cash box and then be distributed equally among everyone. This is, in my opinion, the best option since everyone gets equal pay and the GM doesn't have to spend time setting up situations for everyone to earn some "extra" money on the side. The fact is that some careers and specializations, like Gambler or Bounty Hunter, will have more/other opportunities to earn money (at least in-universe) than others. Sharing equally makes it a benefit for the whole group rather than something that creates imbalance.

I've run into similar things with gambling (and I've been the one making those killer winnings at times), but there are many ways around it.

1) The player should be living up his life, which should be a money sink. No one takes a man seriously in second hand clothes, and who wants to gamble with an entity wearing full armor (unless it's an environment suit, and even then. . .). They'll probably want good food and awesome accommodations; why sleep on the ship like peasants when you can be getting comped for your losses at a casino?

Really, if the player isn't spending money outside of gear, start implementing a "cost of living" modifier for them. If they are playing at a seedy place, they'll probably be expected to buy rounds for the losers every so often to soften the loss (and make them more welcome to keep playing). If it's a higher-up place, they'll be expected to not only look nice (see above), but also pay for their own food/drinks. Playing all night does make one thirsty, after all. . .

2) In these situations, the player should be trying to HELP the group out by helping offset costs, buying supplies, etc. The party members, if they are cutthroat or tired of being bilked and mooched off of by this guy, could just leave him behind (and teach the player a lesson).

I've been in both situations. I was a new guy in the group, just introduced to the party, and had ZERO reason to just hand them the entire night's winnings (they assumed that, as a player, I'd just hand everything over without an in-character reason). By the end of the game night, my character was dead in an alley and his pockets rifled through for belongings. Didn't bother with THAT group again.

Another time, I was playing the kind of high-end gambler that could afford to bet entire corporations, and did so often. Whenever we were in a new world where my money was useless, the pickpocket would often steal enough cash to get me into a game somewhere, while I'd win enough to keep everyone fed, supplied, healed, etc. Basically, I was the way the party made money so we could focus more on the important things, like survival.

Note that this may be a situation you should talk to the player about. Why is the character being such a jerk with his money? If there's not an in character reason for it, and he's not willing to budge, there may be a problem there that has nothing to do with rules and everything to do with the player.

3) Buying Another Ship. This could create some problems and challenges, but it can be very fun. An old Star Wars group of mine had FOUR ships (YT-2400, Firespray 31, an HT-2200 and an X-Wing), but they worked well together as each ship had a purpose: the YT was "home," the HT was a nearly fully automated droid/explosives factory, and the Firespray/X-Wing were fully capable combat ships.

Granted, the party was VERY busy with trying to maintain all of them, which is why they started making droids (often for espionage purposes) and were constantly taking jobs.

So if you let the Gambler buy a ship, make them start paying for it and hammer them for it if they are a jerk about it. If they ask why the other ship doesn't have as many costs, tell him they pool their money so it's already covered.

4) Change the way you approach Gambling. As other's have mentioned, you can raise difficulties, the house has spending limits, etc. In my case, I always make Gambling contested, often based on how vindictive I'm feeling (or what plot I need). I've also had NPCs act against the "lucky" player if they win too often, whether by calling them a cheater, attacking in a back alley, not wanting to play against them again, etc.

Let's face it: Lando probably isn't welcome in a number of large casino's in the galaxy, and there are certain spots he likes to visit that he may never be able to enter into a casual game.

Really, it's all in how you want to handle it. Good luck!

If he's a cheapskate that's literally just ripping off the casinos....word will get round...FAST. That's a legit punishment, this isn't some lame xbox game, it's a living breathing world. It might not be so fun to be him if the next 10 casinos he goes into toss him out almost immediately.

Honestly this may be the best way to go. No more legal gambling for a while, everyone knows you and knows you're just there to take them for a ride. If he wants to keep going it'll have to be an illegal operation (streetwise to find em). Casinos will throw you out if you win too much, the kind of guys that bet millions in back rooms will have you killed.

EotE - Page 151 - 'Keeping The Crew Hungry'

Has the PC got it in 1) cold, hard 'cash' or as 2) virtual creds in a banking account?

1) have him - a) mugged when it's on his person, b) hustled at the next gambling table by a Rival or Nemesis, c) stolen if it's left aboard ship

2) have the account hacked or blocked and there you have another reason for the PCs to go tear-arsing around the Outer Rim

From the gambler player's point of view this is GREAT, from the other player's POV it sucks, from my POV as a GM - HOW THE H**L HAS HE BEEN ALLOWED TO EARN THIS MUCH CASH??? I'd just do a cut scene swipe after say a 500 cred win.. an alluring twi'lek female approaches him at the table (anyone saying Bond Film ripoff can SHUT IT ) he wakes up next morning absolutely broke - cue an investigative adventure

Got a similar situation in the Dawn of Defiance game I play in. Our Twi'lek Gambler managed (against all odds) to win the Cloud City Quarterly Sabacc Tournament. Granted, she had to pay a large share of the pot to the droid crime lord Switch as she did technically swindle the droid, but she still walked away with a substantial sum of money (over 30K, and that's after handing out several thousand credits to her fellow PCs to spend as they wish); it's enough money that our group won't really have to worry about where the money for food, fuel, and repairs will be coming from for probably the rest of the campaign. But since we've pretty much joined up with the proto-Rebellion (GM has said the campaign is taking place shortly before Season 1 of Star Wars Rebels, so there's no unified Alliance just yet), it's not like getting paid is our group's biggest concern.

Also I had a dumb question: Does any time pass in your game?

A lot of games (following a D&D trend) just go straight one day to the next. Why not have some serious time pass between adventures? Make it a kind of soft reboot, establishing new situations, allies, enemies, ect....

"Ok, an entire year has passed, since last time. Dump all gear you're not wearing, you've spent through your credits, so reroll 1d100, and I'll be giving you a new ship, the old one is gone....

OK the scene opens with you on the planet Vermhollin, you're on the run from some Stormtroopers and a crew of bounty hunters from Burgga the Hutt...."

The losers could always put a bounty on him so that they are clean of the deed.

The losers could always put a bounty on him so that they are clean of the deed.

If the loser is someone important I could totally see that.

The losers could always put a bounty on him so that they are clean of the deed.

If the loser is someone important I could totally see that.

Slowly add some sort of obligation with the bounty.

You can also have him playing poker like in the old westerns and a Gunslinger NPC gets pissed and a fight ensues or have a gunfight at high noon.

A fool and his money are soon parted - the credit windfall can be the fount of story ideas where the money is more trouble than it's worth:

• Every sleazoid in the sector has learned the gambler's rep and there's a lot of people out there trying to get a piece of that action
• the local Black Sun Vigo thinks the character is a little too lucky and wants to have a closer look
• a rival player doctors footage to show the gambler cheating and shows it to the local Hutt Lord; hilarity ensues
• a long lost sister appears, of course it's a scam but she's really good at it
• the local Imperial Moff issues a sector-wide arrest warrant for tax evasion against the gambler - maybe as a favor to Hutts/Black Sun

The player obviously likes to win, so if everyone's having fun, tailor the stories to that.

Many of the greatest campaigns I've played in have at some point done the, "Let's grow our network/empire/crew/business!" and the group has then had to start dealing in mass numbers. Suddenly it's hard to stay under the radar. Old debts need to get paid, legality of certain actions needs to be considered etc etc.

If GoT in space is not what you seek though, and if the player is not happy with being plotted out of easy credits then just have an honest sit down with your player. If he or she refuses to change ways it may be time for a replacement. :/

Why not have some serious time pass between adventures? Make it a kind of soft reboot, establishing new situations, allies, enemies, ect....

"Ok, an entire year has passed, since last time. Dump all gear you're not wearing, you've spent through your credits, so reroll 1d100, and I'll be giving you a new ship, the old one is gone....

OK the scene opens with you on the planet Vermhollin, you're on the run from some Stormtroopers and a crew of bounty hunters from Burgga the Hutt...."

Maybe if it's after some seriously climactic drama (equivalent to the ending of Episode whatever), otherwise that would be really harsh to come out of the blue like that, if not outright running afoul of the social contract. Even then, the players should have the opportunity to describe what their characters have been up to between games and how, maybe, they've changed based on their previous adventures.

It seems to me you could look for ways to inflate costs of things as well. You control the economy and if your player's primary concern is gear, make the gear he is interested in rare and extremely expensive. You could also introduce a merchant character who is happy to sell your players whatever they want, but he or she doesn't like your gambler character or knows he is made of money so they charge him more. If he keeps winning money he likely has a reputation and it's not unreasonable merchants could recognize him or at least suspect he is made of money as a result to the fancy clothes and gear he is wearing.

EotE - Page 151 - 'Keeping The Crew Hungry'

Has the PC got it in 1) cold, hard 'cash' or as 2) virtual creds in a banking account?

1) have him - a) mugged when it's on his person, b) hustled at the next gambling table by a Rival or Nemesis, c) stolen if it's left aboard ship

2) have the account hacked or blocked and there you have another reason for the PCs to go tear-arsing around the Outer Rim

From the gambler player's point of view this is GREAT, from the other player's POV it sucks, from my POV as a GM - HOW THE H**L HAS HE BEEN ALLOWED TO EARN THIS MUCH CASH??? I'd just do a cut scene swipe after say a 500 cred win.. an alluring twi'lek female approaches him at the table (anyone saying Bond Film ripoff can SHUT IT ) he wakes up next morning absolutely broke - cue an investigative adventure

STAR WARS

EDGE OF THE EMPIRE

DUDE, WHERE'S MY EPISODE?

THE HANGOVER

It is a time of great debauchery for our merry band of adventurers. Through skill and luck, they have recently come into a small fortune through gambling.

Unfortunately, easy come, easy go: The adventurers were lured into a trap by promises of scantily-clad hotties, booze, spice, and more monies.

Awakening in a drunken stupor, their worldly possessions missing, our heroes must attempt to retrace the step they took in their drunken debauchery and recover their lost wealth!

Wow thanxs all for your quick replies. I will use this as an rpg opportunity, not an obstacle. Many great suggestions,

The question is: Who knows of the newly acquired fortune?

When a PC made it to the final table of a tournament by sheer luck and burning a few destinies, I gave him a Celebrity Obligation. Now, every time it triggers there is going to be somebody trying to part him from his wealth by more or less friendly means (donation, sham, robbery etc.).

In our gaming group one of us have a gambler character, and now, after a few months of gaming, there is a huge imbalance between the charaters. As he have another source of income, he has several times more credits to throw around than the other characters. He has much better equipment (as he can afford it) and is now thinking about buying his own ship. Wealth is no longer an incitament for that character to go on missions. Earning creds by gambling is perhaps to easy. As you can only lose your stakes while if yo win the hand you have the possibility to earn several time the stakes.

How to deal with such an imballance?

Should all characters take the gambler specialization to so that they also can earn that amont of credits?

Shold the GM ”punish” the gambler, and rob him from time to time just to keep things even??

Should the other players take matters in their own hands and demand that all things should be shared within the group?

Should gambling be harder? Thus discourage people from taking that specialization?

Any thoughts?

Where has he been gambling that someone at the table hasn't been concerned with limits? I would think that most NPCs would have a limit on how much they'd be willing to lose before doing something about it (either walking away from the table, getting the house involved with a suspected cheat, or maybe just getting a big guy to take down the lucky winner to get back "what's rightfully his").

Most EotE NPCs that might be gambling in a local bar wouldn't have more than a hundred credits to play with. At bigger gambling places, the no limits tables are probably full of less than savory individuals that don't take kindly to a stranger taking from the table...

It is a time of great debauchery for our merry band of adventurers. Through skill and luck, they have recently come into a small fortune through gambling.

Unfortunately, easy come, easy go: The adventurers were lured into a trap by promises of scantily-clad hotties, booze, spice, and more monies.

Awakening in a drunken stupor, their worldly possessions missing, our heroes must attempt to retrace the step they took in their drunken debauchery and recover their lost wealth!

THE BEST 3 lines ever to grace the silver screen,,, Lucas, give this man (or woman) a job!!

Why not have some serious time pass between adventures? Make it a kind of soft reboot, establishing new situations, allies, enemies, ect....

"Ok, an entire year has passed, since last time. Dump all gear you're not wearing, you've spent through your credits, so reroll 1d100, and I'll be giving you a new ship, the old one is gone....

OK the scene opens with you on the planet Vermhollin, you're on the run from some Stormtroopers and a crew of bounty hunters from Burgga the Hutt...."

Maybe if it's after some seriously climactic drama (equivalent to the ending of Episode whatever), otherwise that would be really harsh to come out of the blue like that, if not outright running afoul of the social contract. Even then, the players should have the opportunity to describe what their characters have been up to between games and how, maybe, they've changed based on their previous adventures.

Yeah you'd have to make it work, out of the blue is kinda weird. But if you think of something like Cowboy Bebop, they were always broke, and it was clear time passed and any money they did have at the end of the previous episode had been spent.

A lot of people run campaigns as a continuous string of activity like the entire campaign is just a massive dungeoncrawl. If you do that then you have to nickel and dime the players every step of the way to keep the wealth from getting out of hand.

"Oh, you took the public repulsorshuttle? That's 10 credits for each of you! You haven't eaten in 6 hours, you'll need to buy at least 5 credits of food or you'll suffer a setback on all checks. Oh that giant space grasshopper burrito isn't sitting well, you need some anti-diarrhea meds for 15 credits or you'll poop yourself on 2 Threat."

I feel it is important to keep players hungry by being conservative with xp and credits. Enough so they can grow and develop but not so much that they have sizable savings.

1. Have them robbed and they have to quest to get their treasure back.

2. Have them thrown in an asteroid prison and they have to break out and earn back all that they had before.

3. Have them acquire a Debt Obligation to the Hutt Cartel or the Black Sun that eats up a lot of that cash.

4. Sure, they acquire a starship - but surprise, buyer beware - it doesn't work. It needs x, y, and z that you can stretch out over a half dozen sessions.

My players utterly love their ship and they only just acquired it after 8 sessions. Before that they had the Krayt Fang, an Imperial Shuttle, and an HWK 290 - all stolen. It didn't feel like theirs. Now that they've mustered up the cash to repay Teemo the Hutt, he's releasing their ship - oh but after they do this thing for him.

There are many ways to separate a fool and his money.