First off, my players are weird and like to throw curveballs at me. I like them, but sometimes it takes some work to incorporate them. We just finished up character creation and here's what we have:

My son is a Trandoshan Bounty Hunter (Gadgeteer) with the Betrayal obligation. He turned on his former clansmen when they were working together to enslave Wookiees for the Empire. Not really out of altruism, the Wookiee in question is player #2.

My wife is a Wookiee Smuggler (Gambler) with the Debt obligation. She comes from high Wookiee society, was your typical spoiled brat, and ended up deeply indebted to the Pyke Family (we'll be starting off with Shadows of a Black Sun). Seeing as you can't exactly squeeze a slave for cash, they paid Player 1's character to bring the Wookiee to them, rather than send her to the slave pits. Worked out pretty nicely for the Wookiee, except that she's now even deeper in debt, thanks to the favor.

Which brings us to my buddy. Interestingly, this is one of the first times he hasn't created a halfling murder-hobo. He was excited that he could play a droid, and while looking through the talent trees, loved Utility Belt. Thus was born an Astromech droid with the Outlaw Tech specialization, with an addiction to Hoarding. We decided he has a strong compulsion for buying knicknacks, because they just might be useful. We're tempted to name him Ron Popeilbot.

So, I feel like I've got a decent group here, with plenty to work with. But I really like having a story aspect when someone's Obligation is triggered. What do I do when I hit that "Addiction: Home Shopping Network?"

The ship is packed to the gills with trinkets. There is one path, and one path only, between the critical compartments. Everything else leaves you swimming in a sea of useless items that you knocked over. And the Refresher is not considered to be a “critical compartment” by the droid. In fact, the Refresher has been welded shut as a result of a previous incident where precious items were “accidentally” flushed.

Every time the ship takes a hit in combat, on two threat one of those stacks of trinkets gets scattered all about the ship and becomes projectiles that can cause minor injuries to the occupants. More importantly, the Droid then has to make a Hard Discipline check, otherwise he’s distracted by trying to gather up all the wayward gizmos and putting them back in the appropriate stack. And if he fails the Discipline check but still doesn’t or can’t take care of the items that have gone flying, then he takes two Strain.

The same also happens every time the ship lands or docks, or makes the transition from normalspace to hyperspace or back.

Oh, and there is no dead Jawa under the far stack in the corner. YOU HEAR ME — THERE IS NO DEAD JAWA OVER THERE!!!!

There's that one gizmo that's way too expensive, but he's sure it will benefit him in some way or another (maybe a Macguffin or an adventure hook?)

The ship is packed to the gills with trinkets. There is one path, and one path only, between the critical compartments. Everything else leaves you swimming in a sea of useless items that you knocked over. And the Refresher is not considered to be a “critical compartment” by the droid. In fact, the Refresher has been welded shut as a result of a previous incident where precious items were “accidentally” flushed.

Every time the ship takes a hit in combat, on two threat one of those stacks of trinkets gets scattered all about the ship and becomes projectiles that can cause minor injuries to the occupants. More importantly, the Droid then has to make a Hard Discipline check, otherwise he’s distracted by trying to gather up all the wayward gizmos and putting them back in the appropriate stack. And if he fails the Discipline check but still doesn’t or can’t take care of the items that have gone flying, then he takes two Strain.

The same also happens every time the ship lands or docks, or makes the transition from normalspace to hyperspace or back.

Oh, and there is no dead Jawa under the far stack in the corner. YOU HEAR ME — THERE IS NO DEAD JAWA OVER THERE!!!!

If it was possible to Like a post more than once, I would for this one.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure bradknowles nailed at least one session there. Nothing like dodging TIE Fighters while your R2 unit screeches around the cabin frantically restacking back issues of Entertainment Weekly and cans of expired Ewok kibble. Pretty sure he has to buy a MacGuffin at a local flea market sometime as well. Actually, that would work pretty well. See, in my RPGs, whether sci-fi or fantasy, there's always a market franchise called MacGuffin's. They sell quest items, but the vast majority of them are not for your quest. So when our droid picks up the Ring of Power, it ain't his job to get rid of it, but there's gonna be some pretty frustrated Hobbits looking for him.

Sounds like a cool group. My one suggestion is do not roll for obligation at the start of a new session. Instead, I strongly recommend having the players roll for obligation at the end of each game for the next session.

This accomplishes two things. As a GM, you get the extra time between sessions to prepare and create something more organic and cool for the player(s) whose obligation triggered. This way, you're not caught off guard or flat-footed at the start of a session. Second, the player(s) whose obligation triggered will now anticipate the next session, knowing something potentially undesirable will occur to their character(s). Kind of like a sneak preview.

If you're concerned about 'what to do if someone's obligation triggers', this way you have more time to prepare.

Hmm, that geegaw you picked up is clearly marked “Property of Gorbo the Hutt.” Definitely worth keeping; after all, you might need it someday, and it’s not like Gorbo the Hutt would send anybody to get it back, would she?

When hoarding goods draws the attention of customs officials searching for illicit items in a stockpile of useless junk.

Who knows, maybe they find a container of spice aboard the ship?