Hello everyone,

A newer GM here (at least to this system, but a long-time GM of others) and I was curious on your thoughts, from some that are more experienced. A player of mine has a backstory where her character is a Wookiee whose brother was kidnapped in a battle (which also resulted in her character's eye being lost). She liked the idea that these slavers/abductors are holding the brother for ransom, which explains why her character is part of a crew of some shady folk, serving as their bodyguard and muscle.

I'm curious how I could use obligation and how she can pay it off, as if I am understanding correctly, characters never fully escape their obligation? Is there a scenario where the brother can be freed, and if so, what happens with the obligation?

Thanks for helping me understand/get some ideas!

Hello everyone,

A newer GM here (at least to this system, but a long-time GM of others) and I was curious on your thoughts, from some that are more experienced. A player of mine has a backstory where her character is a Wookiee whose brother was kidnapped in a battle (which also resulted in her character's eye being lost). She liked the idea that these slavers/abductors are holding the brother for ransom, which explains why her character is part of a crew of some shady folk, serving as their bodyguard and muscle.

I'm curious how I could use obligation and how she can pay it off, as if I am understanding correctly, characters never fully escape their obligation? Is there a scenario where the brother can be freed, and if so, what happens with the obligation?

Thanks for helping me understand/get some ideas!

Sounds like Obligation: Family to me. While the overall Obligation can never drop to zero, individual Obligations can go away. For example: The Wookie loans money to buy the freedom of the brother. There is now an Obligation: Debt. Or even simpler: The brother is freed in some way, but now the Wookie has to take care of him, cue Obligation: Family (maybe lower than when the Wookie was worrying about the brother being held all the time, but still there). Or the party that held the brother puts a (Obligation:) Bounty on the Wookie's head.

Characters can have more than one Obligation, too. So if the Wookie acquires another Obligation, the brother could be freed and the connected Obligation could go away. The rules about "Settling Obligation" are rather vague, as this is much more about roleplaying than about specific numbers. Obligations are a means to tie characters to the wider galaxy, to provide plots and hooks and give motivations, so they are mostly about the narrative.

Characters can have more than one Obligation, too. So if the Wookie acquires another Obligation, the brother could be freed and the connected Obligation could go away. The rules about "Settling Obligation" are rather vague, as this is much more about roleplaying than about specific numbers. Obligations are a means to tie characters to the wider galaxy, to provide plots and hooks and give motivations, so they are mostly about the narrative.

I would actually caution against specifically taking more Obligation to reduce previous Obligation. If she does what she needs to do to free her brother, resolve her Blackmail Obligation (or Ransom; the book says it's fine to make up your own Obligations and I agree) and then let her new Obligation evolve naturally from that. Perhaps Family, as she tries to get her brother settled somewhere new, or Bounty, if one of the pirates had friends in Hutt places and she dealt with them in a manner that leaves few limbs behind.

The thing I recommend is, when adding Obligation that comes from someone resolving previous Obligation, bring the new Obligation in at a lower level than the previous one. This lets the player feel like she's moving towards a goal. If Ransom started at 15, then her new Family Obligation should start at 10.

The goal, in my opinion, is to get the character's Obligation down to at least 5 and have it be "unsolvable." Like Pacifism, or a doctor with Oath to do no harm, or a rebel with Dutybound to the Alliance. That way, as players resolve their plotlines and personal issues, they become more stable and less likely to trigger Obligation. They still have the chance of something coming up, but it's easier to tie into their current actions than something from their past cropping up in-game.

I like the idea of rescuing the brother reduces the obligation, but some amount still remains. To build on Franigo's idea, perhaps the wookiee was traumatized during his capture and has trouble adjusting to freedom and being in social situations. When the obligation triggers, the brother had an episode. You can continue to rehabilitate the brother, but he'll never be completely back to normal. Not after his experienced.

I have a Twi'lek mechanic that his sister was held by a Hutt, which got him in trouble in the first place... he tried to free her. When he broke free, he still had to rescue the sister again. This leveraged his Hutt Obligation (which doesn't mean it negated it, the Hutt is still mad about it all, but now has no immediate threat to either character) but triggered his Family Obligation. He is going to be worried that she will be recaptured or that something will happen and he won't be able to protect her. If she ever gets married, that will lessen his sense of Family Obligation (so that it isn't weighing on his mind and causing him strain). He will probably always keep 5 for her because he has been the one to stick his neck out for her and it will not go away, but there will be other Obligation to take and replace any that lessen. The Hutt will still be at 5 or so and keep on sending Bounty Hunters or the like at both.

Well, characters should always have some obligation, but what the obligation is can definitely change over time. If she saves her brother and eliminates that Family obligation, she could certainly pick up a bit of new obligation somewhere along the way; maybe something happens with the exchange, I don't know. If you are going to do something like that make sure you inform your player before assigning the new obligation, "This course of action will eliminate your [10] Family obligation and save your brother, but it will enrage the pirate leader and he will place a bounty on your head worth [5] Bounty obligation." Or maybe something else happens, but the point is that you should allow her to reduce the overall obligation, but work with her to arrange a new obligation (or Duty?) so that you still have some good hooks to play with in the future.

In your specific case, I think a session devoted to rescuing her brother sounds a lot more fun than simply ransoming him back. Maybe, she pays for his release, but the pirates then refuse to release him or try to shake her down for more credits. Then a chase ensues leading to a confrontation with the pirates. Or if your PC would be keen on the idea; her brother has either developed Stockholm's syndrome or was playing her from the start. Now, she has to face down her own brother. Will he be a Mad Claw? Will she? In the final showdown does her group help out or do the two Wookies fight it out in a traditional duel (opposed Brawl with no weapons)? Is there some way she can save her brother? If not, will she allow him to live or will she put him down? If he survives will he come back into the story later? As an ally or a nemesis?

Characters can have more than one Obligation, too. So if the Wookie acquires another Obligation, the brother could be freed and the connected Obligation could go away. The rules about "Settling Obligation" are rather vague, as this is much more about roleplaying than about specific numbers. Obligations are a means to tie characters to the wider galaxy, to provide plots and hooks and give motivations, so they are mostly about the narrative.

I would actually caution against specifically taking more Obligation to reduce previous Obligation.

I should have made it more clearer that these scenarios were meant to reduce overall Obligation.

And I also think that players should not see Obligations a a bad thing that needs to be removed ASAP, but more like ties and hooks into the game world, giving both them and the GM opportunities to develop more personal narratives. Both as a player and as a GM, I like a good chunk of Obligation(s).

In fact there are a lot of opportunities that will only arise if you carry a lot of Obligation. It's not a scale of good or bad. Just how much you can be affected by other people.

I don't see ransom as a good obligation, as Franigo said obligations are suppose to be plot hooks and give your character some life. Something like ransom.. that's an adventure hook that should be resolved quickly. The people holding someone ransom aren't gonna want to keep that person held ransom forever as you gallivant around the galaxy nor should you really be willing to leave someone held in ransom..

So good plot hook for something like obligation family coming up (oh crap better go deal with this!) but yeah.. not something I'd recommend a player taking as an obligation in it's own