One of my players have taken Support as her duty in my AoR campaign, and I'm somewhat at a loss concerning how to handle it when her Duty comes up "doubles" when I roll. For all the other players it's easy enough - the Combat Victory guys get a tough enemy they can beat in an optional fight, the Intelligence guy gets a chance to get his hands on some juicy Imperial data, the Political Support diplomat meets some local dissidents he can try talking into joining the Alliance, and so on. But the Support Duty means helping other players fulfill their personal Duties, and so it becomes difficult to make something unique to her character if/when her number comes up.

Is there anyone here who have experience with Support in your groups? And how did you/your GM handle it?

I honestly don't know why Support doesn't ask you to roll again. So here's what I think should happen. You should either A. role again to activate another Duty or B. Consider support always active and just ignore it when it comes up and .... roll again. The flavor text makes me thing B is the case, that a person with Support is always helping others out and always gaining Duty points for it.

I do not have any experience with handling this, but from what i read it could come in any form, even in the form o one of the other "Duty" types.

It could be that this PC comes across secret plans for a new space station and is then in a position to pass them on to the Alliance, or he could be in a position to assist a Alliance transport coming out of hyperspace fairly close to the ship he is piloting.

I think you would have to take into consideration whatever skillset this PC has. For instance if they are a doctor perhaps they are in a position to lend aid to a stranger that just happens to be an alliance operative and the PC finds this out later.

First off, always roll Obligation/Duty/Morality at the END of the session. The PC gets to be excited for longer about the next session, and more importantly you get more time to plan a small(or massive!) encounter into the Narrative of the next session.

Now onto the topic. Does 'support' have to help other players, or can it be any Rebellion objective. So that would be a case of writing a list of NPC's with specific objectives that they are trying to achieve. Then when her Duty triggers have one of those NPC's call on her for help, where they are unable to complete their mission without her support.

If you want to keep it within the PC group then do something similar. Have a list of last minute orders, she receives a late update on their next mission (or current) that requires the group, but her in particular, to do something extra or they won't be able to achieve their goal. In story telling language it's your chance to introduce the Plot Twist that commonly ends Act 2 of a story.

Both of these options could require the entire party, or you could be designed so her character in particular has the skills required to achieve the extra task.

It could also be something that requires the party to split up, especially if it means her going of on her own. This achieves 2 things, first she has to make a choice to actually try and get the objective achieved, she can't just 'pick it up on the way through'. Second it gives her character an easy moment to shine, rewarding her in the way that triggering Duty should.

So look at her skill set, and write a list of small encounters or objectives that fit her skills and background. Then you're ready to go and can just pick one when needed. I even make them linking to create mini side story's that carry on over time.

Then do exactly the same thing for the other PC's in the group, it makes long term planing and plot easier an be more consistent.

And as far as when and how much Duty to award the PC with support, the same amount as everyone else in the group, with a bonus if she significantly helped another PC achieve their Duty that session.

And as far as when and how much Duty to award the PC with support, the same amount as everyone else in the group, with a bonus if she significantly helped another PC achieve their Duty that session.

See, based on how it's worded, since Support seems to indicate that you do your Duty when you help others do theirs I would award them less duty overall but be awarding it more frequently to keep up with what the flavor of the Duty seems to be. So I'd give anywhere from 1-3 per session based on how effective the PC's help was.

And as far as when and how much Duty to award the PC with support, the same amount as everyone else in the group, with a bonus if she significantly helped another PC achieve their Duty that session.

See, based on how it's worded, since Support seems to indicate that you do your Duty when you help others do theirs I would award them less duty overall but be awarding it more frequently to keep up with what the flavor of the Duty seems to be. So I'd give anywhere from 1-3 per session based on how effective the PC's help was.

Yeah ok, fair call. I was thinking that in a party of 5 the other PC's are getting 3-6 per session for their Duty plus occasionally a little extra for good service. The Support PC is getting 1 Duty per other PC per session plus occasional extra.

Ive always seen it as the PC's should be using Triumph/Advantage & Destiny to insert into the narrative some of their own ideas on Duty for themselves. So every session will have a Duty gain for every one. I work on the entire group gaining 25 Duty per session, so going up a rank every 4 sessions.

For keeping it within the PCs, perhaps something comes up for another PC's Duty that requires (or could use) help. Granted, that doesn't exactly work as a "moment to shine" individually. But, on a regular basis, the Support character can be contributing to assisted checks, or removing barriers to others' goals.

Let's say you have a commando (combat victory) targeting a tough enemy hiding behind a minion group. An agitator could coerce the rival into a one-on-one fight with the soldier, then stand on the sidelines and belittle the guy with scathing tirade to wear down his resolve - aiding in the victory without directly interfering. (not to mention creating a more cinematic moment) Barring that, plinking away at the minions to help the soldier get to the rival would work too.

OK, maybe I should clarify a little. I know how Support works in day-to-day play; I run it precisely the way Kael described three posts above this one. My problem comes when it's time for that specific player's Duty to trigger, when there's supposed to be an encounter of some sort that reflects her personal Duty. I'd sort of like for that to be something unique, as opposed to just having her help one of the other players again as usual.

Reading it as "support the entire Rebellion" becomes kinda pointless - that is, after all, what EVERY SINGLE Duty does. If you're stealing supplies for the Rebellion, then that's the Resource Acquisition or Tech Procurement Duties, not Support.

Personally I've rewarded Duty on the same scale as others (5 per session + 5 more if your Duty was invoked + 5 more if your Duty was fulfilled in the mission) but when it comes to Support I take a different angle from the posts above. In my PbP game The Oncoming Storm I've used a trial scene to give a player with the Support Duty his time to shine - he was allowing other PCs to fulfill their Duty by making sure they weren't rotting in a Hutt prison. If you want a specific encounter, go with something where the Support character needs to get the other PCs out of trouble through application of their skills.

When the Support player is rolled:

He/she gets called in by Command to support a very special mission. The PC's exact role in this mission depends on his/her talents not Duty. "Hey we've noticed you are a great (XXXX). We really need you to come along with our (Commandos/Ace Pilots/HeroNPC) on this special mission to (retrieve/kill/blowup) a (McGuffin). Your friends can tag along to support YOU if you want.

Not a great interpretation but it at least will make the PC feel special when his/her Support duty is rolled.

OK, maybe I should clarify a little. I know how Support works in day-to-day play; I run it precisely the way Kael described three posts above this one. My problem comes when it's time for that specific player's Duty to trigger, when there's supposed to be an encounter of some sort that reflects her personal Duty. I'd sort of like for that to be something unique, as opposed to just having her help one of the other players again as usual.

Reading it as "support the entire Rebellion" becomes kinda pointless - that is, after all, what EVERY SINGLE Duty does. If you're stealing supplies for the Rebellion, then that's the Resource Acquisition or Tech Procurement Duties, not Support.

I would personally ignore it on the chart and reroll or adjust the chart so that it never comes up in a roll. But that's me.

OK, maybe I should clarify a little. I know how Support works in day-to-day play; I run it precisely the way Kael described three posts above this one. My problem comes when it's time for that specific player's Duty to trigger, when there's supposed to be an encounter of some sort that reflects her personal Duty. I'd sort of like for that to be something unique, as opposed to just having her help one of the other players again as usual.

Reading it as "support the entire Rebellion" becomes kinda pointless - that is, after all, what EVERY SINGLE Duty does. If you're stealing supplies for the Rebellion, then that's the Resource Acquisition or Tech Procurement Duties, not Support.

I would personally ignore it on the chart and reroll or adjust the chart so that it never comes up in a roll. But that's me.

That would certainly be the easiest way to handle it, and it's not as though the thought hasn't occurred to me. But that feels sort of unfair towards the player. I guess maybe I'll just talk to her about picking a different Duty.

Having her select a new one is an option. Maybe I would ask her why she wants the support duty and maybe finding other ways she can live that aspect up in the character as opposed to a Duty.

I think that there's a reason it exists. The game designers didn't just insert it because they ran out of ideas; every great story has the hero with a clear objective, and the person who gets them there, the Sam to your Frodo, the Joker to your Shepard; they're there to help out.

I think it might help if you told us who the character is (all we need is species, career and specialisation) and I could probably come up with at least three plot hooks for Support Duties to keep them going. Don't ask them to change just yet; they want that part of the character, and you should as the GM try to make it work.

Something that nobody has mentioned is asking the player what they feel the support duty is really all about and why they chose that specific type of duty.

Once you get a better understanding of what the player thinks it is then you can better incorporate it into your campaign (when it comes up).

It may even be that the player thinks they know what the support duty is but they are really thinking about an entirely different type of duty.

Something that nobody has mentioned is asking the player what they feel the support duty is really all about and why they chose that specific type of duty.

Once you get a better understanding of what the player thinks it is then you can better incorporate it into your campaign (when it comes up).

It may even be that the player thinks they know what the support duty is but they are really thinking about an entirely different type of duty.

No, we've discussed that and the GM is in fact going to find out from her what she has in mind before he makes a final call on anything.

Just flicking through Desperate Allies, in the Diplomat Duties section it talks about the PC's having arguments between themselves and the Diplomat would be doing their Duty to sort it out so everyone is cohesive. "As long as the party is operating in unison, the PC is doing their job."

Im going to check the Stay on Target book as well, it will probably suggest more that may help you out.

Ok, my understanding now is this. Let's say a PC achieves something to gain them Duty, let's say a PC with Procurement finds a weapons cashe, that PC will receive some Duty, perhaps 5. The Support PC will receive a smaller amount, perhaps 1 for helping.

So whilst all the other Duties reward a large amount extra for achieving something, they don't get it all the time. Meanwhile the Support Character receives a smaller amount of extra Duty every single session.

Or perhaps if a Support PC uses their skills to get the mission done (say they use their Mechanics skill to repair a mission-critical vehicle) then they get Duty. All ideas we can throw around, but I wouldn't ask someone to change their Duty because you can't work out how to make it work. It's their character, after all.

One of my players have taken Support as her duty in my AoR campaign, and I'm somewhat at a loss concerning how to handle it when her Duty comes up "doubles" when I roll. For all the other players it's easy enough - the Combat Victory guys get a tough enemy they can beat in an optional fight, the Intelligence guy gets a chance to get his hands on some juicy Imperial data, the Political Support diplomat meets some local dissidents he can try talking into joining the Alliance, and so on. But the Support Duty means helping other players fulfill their personal Duties, and so it becomes difficult to make something unique to her character if/when her number comes up.

Is there anyone here who have experience with Support in your groups? And how did you/your GM handle it?

You know, in Mass Effect, you have these "loyality" missions. Where characters basically deal with their own problems. Shepard the main character helps them solve their own issues. When this happens, even when I'm "supporting" these people to get their goals done, it still feels pretty good to help them do their thing and makes my character feel important in what just happened.

So I suppose this player could be teaming up with other players trying to solve their problems or duties.

Have had it come up.

The support duty character was all about keeping everyone else supplied with the right tools and info, and/or doing the paperwork.

I prefer to have it be, when it's a focus, paperwork and maintenance focused.

Have had it come up.

The support duty character was all about keeping everyone else supplied with the right tools and info, and/or doing the paperwork.

I prefer to have it be, when it's a focus, paperwork and maintenance focused.

I agree with all of this, and would like to add in things like transportation and relaying messages. Also, Support can apply to Rebel operations beyond the PCs, like putting away caches for local cells or picking up dead drops.

I can see Support be as simple as the PC covering an ally in a firefight or serving as a wingman (if the Duty is Combat Victory), to paperwork and logistics as above, to maybe even buffering against the heat from chain of command. I'd also say that just keeping morale up is a good application.

Again, I'm not talking about the day-to-day use of Support. I'm talking about when the Duty roll at the start of the session comes up a double and that player's Duty triggers.

To answer some of the questions here, the character is a Falleen Commander with the Squadron Leader specialization. The player picked Support as a Duty because she envisioned her character as being one who helps the other characters accomplish their goals; she has high Leadership, the Field Commander talent and is useful both in a starfighter and on the ground.

My issue is that I always make up some small scenarios beforehand that I can insert into the adventure whenever someone's Duty comes up a double. The Combat Victory or Space Superiority guys get wind of a high-priority target they can take out for the greater glory of the Rebel Alliance; the Political Support guy learns about the existence of an anti-Imperial group he can try to recruit into the Rebellion, and the Intelligence guy gets a one-time chance to get his hands on some juicy data.

I don't want to have this player's Support Duty just be "help one of the other guys with their thing when it pops up", because that makes her character play second fiddle to the others when it really should be her time to shine a little. So what I was asking for was ideas for a small scenario that was based specifically on the Support Duty, because I just can't think of any that aren't covered by the other Duties.