Hi,
Question for all GMs: How high do you allow your PC's bounty's to reach before you start sending bounty hunters after them?
What type of bounty - credit wise, that is - would a bounty hunter such as Boba Fett chase?
Just as a frame of reference, has it ever been revealed Jabba's price on Han's head when Fett delivered Solo frozen in carbonite?
Thanks!
8 minutes ago, Davwapoqui said:Question for all GMs: How high do you allow your PC's bounty's to reach before you start sending bounty hunters after them?
As soon as
A) I come up with a good story
B) It makes sense in my story arc
As for going rates, we only have the one official bounty notice on Bodhi, and he was only worth 600 space bucks (or thereabouts, I dont recall the actual price on his head, but it wasnt much). It might be higher behind the scenes, that the Empire would be willing to pay private contractors a bit more. But that gives us a rough ballpark for a starting point.
Edited by DesslokWhile I may be misremembering, I believe that the 600 credit "Bounty" on Bohdi was of the "information leading to the capture of" type. The reward for actually going out and capturing him would likely be much higher.
Edited by Absol197Eh, strong point - but it still gives us a starting point. 600 for information, probably 3-4 times that for capture. So probably no more that 2,400 space bucks or a nice, even three thousand because I like round numbers, and he was kind of important. Perhaps a bit more for a live capture, since you cant learn about co-conspirators from a corpse.
Edited by Desslok16 minutes ago, Davwapoqui said:Just as a frame of reference, has it ever been revealed Jabba's price on Han's head when Fett delivered Solo frozen in carbonite?
The canon bounty on Chewie was 25,000, so that puts a lower limit on Han's. The Imperial bounty on Han (per Legends) was 300,000.
I use Obligation, so if that trips, it gets worked into the story.
2 hours ago, 2P51 said:I use Obligation, so if that trips, it gets worked into the story.
This is exactly how I play it. Once a player lets me know one of their obligations is "Bounty," I start planning who is coming after them. If they do something to gain more Obligation, more bounty hunters - or tougher ones - might come after them.
Been playing for years now and somehow bounty hunters never showed up. I have no idea why but I know where I will veer towards once the current story line is finished.
If the PCs are causing trouble in certain neighborhoods, perhaps a bounty hunter or two in is order. Roll a d6 or have a player roll a d6 at the beginning of the session. On a 5 or 6, bounty hunters come a calling.
2 hours ago, 2P51 said:I use Obligation, so if that trips, it gets worked into the story.
I've come to learn that Obligation, as it is intended to be used, never works for me. It doesn't seem to make sense to work up a BH encounter for someone's Obligation only to never have it triggered during gameplay. Huh, maybe you just 'keep rolling' until the number you want comes up? 
Yes, the GM can simply introduce a BH encounter any time he wants to, outside of Obligation. So the question becomes: Why use it? I use it more of keeping track of character's background and goals. For me, Obligation is part of the storyline, not something to throw in as extra.
The beauty of not knowing the bounty is that it allows the person to imagine what it may be. The downside of placing a number on it (in a movie) is that it becomes outdated. Ever see an old Western where they rob the stagecoach for $500? Whew-wee! In a game, I guess you might want to know what constitutes "a lot". It's better the players don't know. Just a cryptic saying by the BH saying how it will make his day to get you. It might be relative to each BH.
The above notions of 25k and 300k sound about right. When I think of what it'd take for an NPC to come after him, you'd have to think of a few thousand to cover ship, fuel, and crew costs of the BH and still leave some meat on the bone (profit). I would think that a few thousand would catch the attention of skilled BH's.
4 hours ago, ShadoWarrior said:The canon bounty on Chewie was 25,000, so that puts a lower limit on Han's. The Imperial bounty on Han (per Legends) was 300,000.
Which is nuts because Han owed Jabba about half of that since the 17k that Obi-Won negotiated for passage to Alderran was enough to buy off his debt.
And Han's bounty was at least equal to Chewie's. So Jabba threw at least 50k away to save face over the loss of less than 17k.
You're disregarding the traditional loanshark practice of compound interest due weekly. Plus penalties for making Jabba look weak/foolish/trusting. Had Han returned to Jabba immediately after the Yavin 4 battle, he might have been able to pay off Jabba in full with what the Rebels gave him. But he didn't go back to Tatooine, so what Han owed ballooned into a huge debt. And you have to keep in mind that past a certain point, a criminal (like Jabba) will want to make an example of someone, and at that point the cost of a bounty and/or loss of revenue from an ex-employee/associate is far less important than the value of the message (fear) sent to everyone else who might cross the criminal. Face matters in the criminal world. A lot.
1 hour ago, DurosSpacer said:I've come to learn that Obligation, as it is intended to be used, never works for me. It doesn't seem to make sense to work up a BH encounter for someone's Obligation only to never have it triggered during gameplay. Huh, maybe you just 'keep rolling' until the number you want comes up?
The beauty of not knowing the bounty is that it allows the person to imagine what it may be. The downside of placing a number on it (in a movie) is that it becomes outdated. Ever see an old Western where they rob the stagecoach for $500? Whew-wee! In a game, I guess you might want to know what constitutes "a lot". It's better the players don't know. Just a cryptic saying by the BH saying how it will make his day to get you. It might be relative to each BH.
The above notions of 25k and 300k sound about right. When I think of what it'd take for an NPC to come after him, you'd have to think of a few thousand to cover ship, fuel, and crew costs of the BH and still leave some meat on the bone (profit). I would think that a few thousand would catch the attention of skilled BH's.
Your mistake is only using it when it's rolled. PCs Obligation is something you should incorporate into the story whether it's rolled or not. Narratively when it is rolled they're worried about that BH they ran into in Ord Mantel. When it isn't rolled, they never saw it coming....
1 hour ago, 2P51 said:Your mistake is only using it when it's rolled. PCs Obligation is something you should incorporate into the story whether it's rolled or not. Narratively when it is rolled they're worried about that BH they ran into in Ord Mantel. When it isn't rolled, they never saw it coming....
" For me, Obligation is part of the storyline, not something to throw in as extra. "
You misunderstand. That's what I meant....I do USE it. To clarify, I don't let the roll dictate its usage. You could sit on a good obligation encounter and never use it if you wait for rolls. Use the Obligation freely, I say.
Just now, DurosSpacer said:" For me, Obligation is part of the storyline, not something to throw in as extra. "
You misunderstand. That's what I meant....I do USE it. To clarify, I don't let the roll dictate its usage. You could sit on a good obligation encounter and never use it if you wait for rolls. Use the Obligation freely, I say.
Do both I say. Obligation works nicely as a narrative tool as well as meta currency I think. Of the 3 meta character/background/motivation rule thingys it's easily the best I think. and the only one I bother using.
I saw a news article/current affairs programme about Loan Sharks in the UK,,,, some of their 'Base Rates' were 4000%!!!
With that in mind, a PC would NEVER pay off his Debt Obligation 
On 1/25/2017 at 7:32 PM, 2P51 said:Your mistake is only using it when it's rolled. PCs Obligation is something you should incorporate into the story whether it's rolled or not. Narratively when it is rolled they're worried about that BH they ran into in Ord Mantel. When it isn't rolled, they never saw it coming....
Words of wisdom from a pirate who knows what he's about.
On 1/26/2017 at 0:36 PM, ExpandingUniverse said:I saw a news article/current affairs programme about Loan Sharks in the UK,,,, some of their 'Base Rates' were 4000%!!!
With that in mind, a PC would NEVER pay off his Debt Obligation
I think I know how to keep my players from paying off any Debt now! And to top it off they're just about to go in for 5,000,000 to try and procure weapons for the base on Arda I.
On 1/26/2017 at 11:36 AM, ExpandingUniverse said:I saw a news article/current affairs programme about Loan Sharks in the UK,,,, some of their 'Base Rates' were 4000%!!!
With that in mind, a PC would NEVER pay off his Debt Obligation
High interest rates are even legal in some US states. Payday loans (14 day) in California have APR's of approximately 460%.
We have 'Legal Loansharks' payday loan companies too... some base rates begin around 400% up to 1000+%
49 minutes ago, ExpandingUniverse said:We have '
Legal Loansharks'payday loan companies too... some base rates begin around 400% up to 1000+%
****. I remember seeing a lot of people with poor money management skills get sucked into a never-ending cycle of payday loans.
Where I live, the state put an end to them with a law that limits how much interest can be charged. Banks, credit unions, etc, slither under the wire, but the Legal Loan Sharks all closed their doors. And nothing of value was lost.
On 27.1.2017 at 10:21 PM, Edgookin said:High interest rates are even legal in some US states. Payday loans (14 day) in California have APR's of approximately 460%.
Wow, that is pretty ****** up and over a magnitude more what seems to be allowed over here.
Though getting back to star wars, it does not sound like the kind of rates loan sharks will give everyone, because it guarantees getting shot as well, which surely creates a new obligation, but at least removes this never-ending one. It is great to enslave people, but you can't enslave everyone, there are enough kinds of people in the star wars galaxy who rate their freedom over their lives and messing with them in that way would be dangerous, while you can still make good money out of them with less absurd rates and tons of more money with hiring that type of people. 