Main Question: How much should my PC be able to build the world through which the group tumbles?

Guys, I kind of need your opinion on this. A little bit of context:

I've been part of a EotE group for about half a year now. This is actually my first real group ever, so I'm lacking a bit in terms of experience. It's been genuinely fun and none of us can see an end to this, so that is great. However, I have run into a bit of a problem with my character's story and the way we play. Nothing major, but it directly ties into my question, so I'll expand a little; feel free to ignore this if you don't care about how I came to ask this question.

So my character has a neat little background. Nothing riveting, but it is a story of how he came to be this way and why he exhibits certain behaviors. I thought this was a good thing. Other PC's have pointed out though that his story is completely useless for tying it into our adventures, as it is highly specific. That is a bad thing because they are absolutely right. All of them have something they strive for, like a wife's killer that has to be castrated, a sister that needs to be found, gambling debts, specific adversaries, you know the like. My character has none of that. So I've been thinking: What to do?

Well I found something to do and this is where the main question comes into play. I want my PC to join a religion. More of a cult really, but you get the idea. It has always bothered me that this isn't a bigger thing in Star Wars, so I invented one that made sense for what I wanted to reach as well as the universe of course.

Should I be able to do that?

I'm not the GM right now, though I will be soon. I tried to ask the others about how much I'd be able to invent stuff for the purpose of advancing my character, but I didn't want to spoil what I have in mind because this may lead to more and I want them to be somewhat clueless about it. The only thing they were able to give as an advice was something along the lines of "Don't make your character the focus of the world", which I don't intend to.

Is inventing a rather small religious faction too much? I guess ultimately it's up to the GM and all that stuff, but how do you guys feel about that? It actually ties into the character's motivation to join a religious order and he's also as bright as a particularly stubborn piece of fruit, so joining a cult felt natural.

Also I have loads of ideas on how this would work and what to do with the character. I just don't want to overdo it and force others to take a step back so my character can do his thing. There is just a big difference between inventing a character or two for the purpose of motivation and an entire congregation of people (well droids actually). Before you ask, no there is no comparable religion like that, or at least none that I could find.

Of course I could just use my upcoming GM status to just invent that and go over their heads with it but understandably this would feel like a bit of a crappy move.

So to sum it up:

Pros:

• Decent motivation for the character (which was the main issue)
• A chance to further the character both in roleplay as well as stats and rules
• Plot hooks + Obligation + Motivation
• Possible adventures in the future

Cons:

• Inventing a somewhat big thing in order to function for my character (he's not a leader or anything, there just wouldn't be a point to inventing him if not for him)
• Possibly putting too much emphasis on my character in a group of 5 people
• Juggling an organisation that has bases on mutliple planets without them getting annoying or feeling like the sheer means to an end. Although this shouldn't be hard, they are rather discrete

What do you guys think? Of course I'll talk to the GM's before doing anything like that but I wanted to have a second opinion on this before I go overboard with it. I actually already invested way too much work into this without knowing whether I'll need all that extra lore that I have already laid out. I realize this is all a little vague. Just give me your first impulse.

Is inventing a rather small religious faction too much?

Absolutely, positively not.

Totally go for it. I've invented planets, species, religions, and more to fill out an interesting character.

You should probably run it by the GM just to make sure it doesn't somehow interfere with their plot, but a good GM will totally work with you.

Always pass it through the GM before attempting to canonize anything. It's possible that there's something the GM's already planning to incorporate into the world that would fit perfectly with the concept, if not the name.

Generally, I'd suggest giving the GM a concept rather than specifics. Then it's their job to integrate it into the world and provide you with the specifics that would be known by your character.

Some GMs are more protective of their world and might push back if a player were too creative. That's why the first step after coming up with the idea is running it past the GM. In SW, this should be less of an issue because of the "introduce a fact" ability of Destiny Points, but even that can spark conflict if there isn't a give and take.

To your original point, there's nothing wrong with creating a religion, ethos, sect, cult, gang, etc. Just make sure to get approval before bringing it into the game, though.

I don't feel it's bad form for you to have a separate story from the other players, that is a staple of RPGs. This is the sort of discussion you'll want to have in your future Session Zero sessions - but for now, I'd say you'll need to clear it with your GM. There's absolutely nothing wrong with making things up, and were I the GM, I'd encourage it.

The galaxy is big. Most GMs would probably be fine with you sticking in a religion for your characters background unless they're total control freaks. Now if it's tonally wrong for their game somehow or obviously Mary Sue - like your religion is a mixed group of Sith Jedi who have achieved balance in the Force or something, GM might put her foot down. But generally throw in a planet or a religion or whatever for your background. If it makes the character more interesting and real, it's generally cool.

Evidently I've been overthinking this. Neat. I'll introduce it to my group soon.

Generally you don't have to be worried, this religion thingi is not really powerful. We're playing strictly no Jedi up to now, so there are no Sith and no one can actually benefit from the whole belief ordeal; other than in character motivation of course. It's simply a bunch of people doing their thing. I used the organisation guideline rules that were posted in another thread to outline what this cult would be like. I feel cult has this weird connotation of people in robes meeting in caves. Maybe I'll think of a better term. Oh well.

It looks like I'll give the guys a little Holonet entry about the religious order. We actually established our own little Holonet archive way at the beginning and haven't been using it at all. I'd loathe to see it go to waste like that.

Oh another thing, how high would you reckon the obligation should be? Ad hoc I'd say about 10 maybe?

I prefer a simple background. Sometimes that's all you need really. I am curious about your character's back story before he joins this cult. Do you mind sharing the details?