So i have a fringer in my group, they are all part of the rebellion, all in their own special way

So the fringer has lost his family during a raid by the empire. A slicer offered to help him but without money, she asked for the favor --> the obligation (this is pre-game background).

How can i raise this favor in game. Ask the slicer to do things for him, but things like what?
It's not easy to devote a game session to the fringer alone, because they are involved in a completly other story.

Any tips?

You shouldn't divest your PCs backgrounds from your story. It shouldn't be an effort to incorporate it, it should be part of your narrative. Your PCs Obligations in the form of people and circumstances should be part of the ongoing campaign. You also don't need to necessarily instantly trip the effect of an Obligation triggered. You can choose to work it in when appropriate.

It's a bit more complicated than that.

Because i play with a lot of people (i gm for groups of 4 player each, and we have a total of 12-15 players), we have a system were we are all part of a rebellion group.
That's the core that binds the group together. Everybody has his own reasons why he joined this group.
As a result they are all doing missions for the rebellion, which can be really anything: from attacking, to smuggling, to assisting jedi.

It is really impossible to incorporate all the obligations in the game and to make sessions just for this one player with the obligation incorporated.

Hence, why i asked the question.

Also, it was an obligation added before the games started. In time i want him to find his family, but first i need reasons to raise the obligation.

Frankly it would be helpful to know more about both the character in question and the slicer. Not just history, but personality - what kind of favors would he be reluctant to fulfill, what kind of favors could potentially interfere with overall goals, what kind of favors could be fulfilled by the group that couldn't be done by the guy on his own?

All that being said, here's a few thoughts. If the player is a moral, helpful, and proactive type, it may be sufficient to let him hear that the slicer is in trouble - the slicer is a fugitive from the Empire, perhaps even in jail already. The favor wasn't explicitly called in by the slicer, but with the right player/character he should see it as a clear opportunity to even the score. The Empire can be easily substituted for other things, too: Hutts, other gangsters, other slicers, a corporation, and so on. Then use the slicer to offer the group some sort of major help in return, and then let the favor turn into a revolving door - the slicer becomes an ally who occasionally needs support.

Similarly, the slicer could have already gotten in trouble, even killed. Remember that episode of Firefly where the crew get mailed a dead body of an old friend, accompanied by a last request? Riff on that - the slicer is dead and gone, but he wants something. Maybe a Mentee of some sort needs protection, maybe funds need to be delivered to his family to help take care of them, maybe he needs his Holo-browsing history to get deleted.

And of course there are always more mundane favors. Maybe he just needs a ride somewhere, or wants you to make a delivery or pickup. Maybe he heard that you were going to planet X, and wants you to grab a specialized tool from them. Or maybe he's heard you raid imperial ships, and wants you to leave a dataspike on one.

If the obligation comes up, it's supposed to be a complication, not necessarily the focus of the story.

I would have it pull the character in two different directions. Whatever they are supposed to be doing for the Rebellion, the PC could also justify a bit of a delay to also help out this old friend. Ideally it becomes a decision point for your fringer, having to decide between a commitment to the Rebellion and a bargain made in the past.

For example: they are helping smuggle supplies to an Imperial world that is trying to starve out some dissidents. The slicer asks that the PC also bring along a friend who is trying to get to the world in question - but who has a criminal past and the Empire has a bounty on him. Since it's two birds with one stone, the PC might think "why not", but at every turn there is the possibility of making the Rebel mission a whole lot harder, if not sabotaging it completely.

4 hours ago, JRRP said:

For example: they are helping smuggle supplies to an Imperial world that is trying to starve out some dissidents. The slicer asks that the PC also bring along a friend who is trying to get to the world in question - but who has a criminal past and the Empire has a bounty on him. Since it's two birds with one stone, the PC might think "why not", but at every turn there is the possibility of making the Rebel mission a whole lot harder, if not sabotaging it completely.

That's exactly how I'd do it.

Are you using Duty as well as Obligation? This is a great way to make the character choose. Do they follow their orders from the Rebellion to the letter and raise their Duty score, or do they get sidetracked by their Obligation? Yes, they can lower that Favor Obligation, but may sacrifice a Duty increase to do it.

On 12.8.2017 at 10:20 PM, TheFugs said:

How can i raise this favor in game. Ask the slicer to do things for him, but things like what?
It's not easy to devote a game session to the fringer alone, because they are involved in a completly other story.

Any tips?

When fringer is going to mission with others, and fringer's obligation triggers, he has two options. Follow the obligation and lower it, but bring complications to current mission, or ignore the obligation (and raise it slightly, I'd raise it few (1-5) points, but not too much) and focus on mission.

And what can slicer ask as favor? Almost anything. Fringer being bodyguard, small loan, to borrow some equipment (which PCs may need later on session), help with groceries, acquire an equipment from black market, smuggle something to somewhere etc. Also, fringer may ask help from slicer, and it raises the obligation. E.g. group finds an encrypted dataslate with urgent and important information in it, and slicer is the faster way to decrypt it. I wouldn't make this the only solution, but easiest. I use this quite a much my self. PC don't yet fear to increase obligations.

IMO obligation is at its best when it introduces complications to current activities, not when it siderails the session.