I'm starting a new campaign as the GM. I've been using the lessons from the past from f and d plus the iron fist story in the game masters kit to create a larger campaign.

All of the PCs have agreed to use careers in the f&d core, except one who is a smuggler. After failing at trying to convince them to switch careers, I've just moved on and i am allowing it.

Now I fully understand morality and how it affects force users. I'm confused about obligation in general, but specifically what to do with it in my F&D campaign.

Obligation is a personal issue or feature that stresses/bothers the character and can be brought in to add a personal touch to the story, as well as increase to resolve issues.

So if your Smuggler takes say Family, then you can tie that into the larger campaign and make it a motivating factor as well as a foil. Say the archaeologist studying the Jedi/Sith ruins your players are investigating is also the smugglers bother, and they are on the outs, causing problems for the group as they try and access the site. Or maybe the Inquisitor chasing the players decides to target the smugglers family back on Hadley Prime and the players have to mount a rescue.

Likewise the Smuggler can use his obligation as a resource. The players need clearance data to go to Morriband, but they failed the streetwise check fantastically? The Smuggler can ask his weird uncle Wally (who happens to be one of those "I know a guy" types) but it'll cost 5 Obligation, because Wally tends to show up at the worst time asking for a favor to be repaided....

It sounds almost like the destiny pool system. the smuggler can use obligation to complete task, but then I could give her more obligation by making her deal with situations having to do with it. Is that how I would "refill" her obligation?

Also speaking of destiny pools, do edge pcs have the same destiny point system?

It sounds almost like the destiny pool system. the smuggler can use obligation to complete task, but then I could give her more obligation by making her deal with situations having to do with it. Is that how I would "refill" her obligation?

Kinda, but more the other way round. The Smuggler starts with problems she can resolve* but if she gets in a bind she can also take on more Obligation if she doesn't want to/can't try to work her way through it. It also activates kinda like morality, giving her a Strain hit and encouraging the GM to work it into the story.

*Your Ob can't drop below 5 (but it can change).

Also speaking of destiny pools, do edge pcs have the same destiny point system?

Pretty much everything else is identical. Edge characters just have obligation instead of morality, and they get a couple more Career/Spec skills since they don't start with an FR of 1.

I'm presuming Obligation was taken only by the Smuggler, in lieu of Morality. Honestly, the game would probably be more enjoyable if two people had Obligations instead of just one. Either that, or just give the Smuggler PC a Morality score and have done with it. That would be my first advice.

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However, if you're intent on playing with one PC having an Obligation, then here's my advice to you Firstly, the Obligation should be very high. There is no RAW Obligation score for a single person, but I would start him at 20 Obligation.

You could potentially extrapolate and make it start at 25, but just remember that he can only gain a maximum of 2,500 credits and 10XP. So if he started at 25, he could increase it to 45 maximum.

Starting him with a high Obligation, and making him pay for starting XP & creds by taking more Obligation, means that his Obligation will be getting rolled quite often. And since he is the only one with Obligation, he's the only one that will take the strain hit when his Obligation is activated. Let the d100 rolls determine when his Obligation comes to the forefront, and have an adventure waiting in the wings for such an occasion.

Most importantly, get the other players' buy-in. Have them come up with reasons why their PCs care about the Smuggler and are willing to assist him with his Obligation (they could treat his Obligation/benefactor with disdain, indifference, curiosity, intrigue, academic interest, or whatever—just make sure they have a reason to stick with him through the tough times). This way the smuggler doesn't have to go off on his own to have a solo adventure.

A final thought: betrayals, double-crosses, and simply leaving when things get hot can be very in-character for an Edge of the Empire PC. But, if these things happen, make sure that you set them up in advance with the player in question, and that you have a plan to move forward from there.

I wouldn't want to push the obligation too high. Starting at 20 I think is fine, buying no more than 40. If it's too high, and it keeps getting rolled (especially doubles) they other players may feel like the smuggler's background is taking up too much of the story.

That being said, you could try to set up the early bits to be centered on the Smuggler's Obligation, and after a session or two have the events lower the Obligation down to 15-25. That way, it can tie in the other characters (through gameplay, not just player backstory) and at this lower number it will affect the rest of the story less often.

I wouldn't want to push the obligation too high. Starting at 20 I think is fine, buying no more than 40. If it's too high, and it keeps getting rolled (especially doubles) they other players may feel like the smuggler's background is taking up too much of the story.

If the dice hate the smuggler and keep activating his Obligation again and again, there's no reason you have to focus on him for a given session. Just tell him that his Obligation (whatever it is) is weighing on his mind, causing him a a bit of anxiety (or, in the case of doubles rolled, a heavy amount of anxiety). Then proceed with the story as you wish.

The GM sections gives a discussion on mixing the two that you may want to read.

I now plan to use this smuggler character as a person with all the connections to the underworld crime syndicates. I plan to use a lot of the outer rim worlds. I just got the Lords of Nal Hutta book. Which is pretty much the only reason I'm allowing an Edge character.