So, is it then something like this?

GM: "Okay you guys shot up the fallen Jedi's hideout but he managed to escape, and you obviously won't be getting the bounty for that."

Player 1: "Crap, that also means we can expect some kind of retaliation from that guy. And we still don't have a payday to get the ship running again."

Player 2: "Hey, can I make that into an Obligation?"

Player 3: "You're nuts! We're still at 63 Obligation total! You just paid down your Debt Obligation to 5 last session!"

GM: "You want to take on another Obligation? Sure, make a suggestion."

Player 2: "How about a Responsibility Obligation? It was my horrible Stealth check that alerted the guy to our presence, right? I feel like the whole thing is on me."

GM: "Awesome. What do you want in exchange?"

Player 2: "A lightsaber. Nothing fancy. Ilum crystal, couple mods."

GM: "A lightsaber?!"

Player 2: "Yeah, after the battle we searched the dude's hideout. Let's say I found a lightsaber, and I'm keeping it. I've been thinking about picking up Force-Sensitive Emergent. This can be my starter lightsaber, and it ties in with this fallen Jedi we've been chasing."

GM: "Okay. It's an Ilum lightsaber with one mod of your choice. 15 Obligation."

Player 2: "Deal."

Player 3: "We can do that?! I want the Jedi's firespray!"

GM: "He escaped in that."

Player 3: "He had a spare!"

GM: "No."

I know it's not RAW, but I simply let Obligation occur organically during play and increase or decrease it as seems appropriate based on their actions. I don't think my players even know what their Obligation is. I simply use it as a means to track their relationships with significant entities.

Also, explain that Obligation the mechanic doesn't have to mean just a literal obligation. It can be a two-way street. Obligation to a crime boss can mean that the crime boss occasionally asks for favors, but also helps them get black market items, lets them use his name to get out of trouble, and generally he wants to protect his investment. Don't pitch it as just "you owe this guy big". Obligation can also represent bounties on their heads or close ties to family/friends.

But ultimately, if they aren't interested then don't force it on them. Either relegate it to the background or ditch it entirely. Sure the rules say they should always have Obligation, but a rule that gets in the way of fun is not a good rule. In my experience, the players will provide plenty of potential hooks without using a mechanic to force it.

If they're viewing obligation as a penalty then it's because they are, at least in part, right. Duty gives the players a boost (increased wound threshold) and morality can go either way (magnifies the conflict roll), but obligation slaps the party with a negative (reduced strain), and it's not like Edge characters get something else to offset that.

Altering this aspect of obligation to something non-punitive might help. Dropping the strain penalty when obligation comes up and instead providing a boost when something pertaining to obligation is successfully resolved (the plot event is dealt with, obligation value is paid down, etc) is probably the simplest way to do it.

Honestly i never liked obligation.

I consider kicking players in their backstories, and beating them over the head with consquences of their actions to be part of my job as GM anyway.

One of the other posters had a very good idea. They dont take obligation...it is given to them, in a manner of speaking. Did the group just 'pay off' their debt to a Hutt? Well, when they go to collect their payment, he congratulates them, then says they might want to do another job for him. When the group says 'Why is that?'.... "The Hutt rumbles a laugh. 'Well, it seems that the local Imperials had a shuttle come under fire, recently. The wreckage was discovered by my people and surprise, surprise the Black Box was intact. And wouldn't you know, a ship that looks disturbingly like yours shot it down. Now, I don't really care what you do in your off time, but attacking Imperials? Killing them without cause? Why...I would have to do my civic duty and turn over the data immediately." Bingo...instant Blackmail obligation.

Did the group manage to ruffle a few feathers or step on some toes of another Hutt, or Imperial last mission? "The Hutt smiles...a self-satisfied smug smirk. 'Pleasure doing business with you. Oh...and I feel I should tell you this. Dormos the Hutt took some offense to that last job you did. It seems that you cost him quite a few credits and hes...cross. Hes so cross, in fact, that I hear tell that there's about 8 bounty hunters looking for you, right now. Of course, if you continued under my employ, I would have to keep the bounty hunters at bay. I have to take care of my assets, after all.'" Bingo...Bounty Hunter. Or, if you want, the story could be made up, and the Hutt is bluffing about the bounty hunters.

Pretty much, the players should have hope that their obligations can be 'paid off', but should also be aware that no good deed goes unpunished.

Using Obligation to represent their crimes would be great, but the party has been squeaky clean so far. Never starting a fight, only using the Stun setting, that sort of thing. They all have interesting characters with great backgrounds in which they've invested great effort, but none of them knew what they wanted to do. We were just finishing up the opening story arc (pay off their starting ship debt), but no real direction was set for what would be next. I was thinking I might get them involved in the Rebellion and move them into AoR and Duty - but I wanted to see how my plan (derived from all your great ideas) was going to work first.

So, I let them pay off their financial debt that they owed. They were very pleased to be able to get rid of that debt!

After they make the payoff, as they're leaving the crime boss' upscale estate, the protocol droid escorting them out - who had been prattling on about the history of this and that statue or painting or trophy as they passed each one - says to them at the exit, "I hope you had a wonderful evening. [the boss] thanks you for your prompt payment of the principle. When you are ready to discuss the terms of the interest, please contact him."

After a second, the players - who had only been half paying attention to me play the droid - all stopped what they were doing and stared at me. I got various simultaneous reactions.

• "What did you say?!?"
• "Wait... What?"
• "Interest? If that low-life scum thinks we're paying interest on top of all this, he's nuts!"

And more. It was glorious! They were genuinely upset, almost surprised, that a crime boss screwed them over!

Immediately from that point on, for the rest of the session and also post-session via email storm, they started plotting to take this guy down. They are looking to financially bankrupt him, implicate him in some crime, like embezzlement, probably against a Black Sun Vigo or Hutt or some other rival syndicate. All without it being traced to them. They want to watch him burn (figuratively). They want to rob his house. They want to dismantle the protocol droid.

I think I turned them into the Edge characters I thought they could be.

I smiled inside.

Mission accomplished.

Thanks everyone!

Nice