Putting together and outline for a campaign for me and my pals and have an idea about the PC's being played by various criminal factions and ending up only being able to satisfy 1 of the 3, and would like to give them a form of obligation at the end, as a lead into more adventures but am not entirely sure how you'd do that. I thought about just putting a bounty on their head but meh, I want to be able to say that collectively they "owe a debt" that will be called in when they least expect it. Do I just "give" it to them, and should I award XP along with it like they were building their chars (i.e., separate from any XP for playing)

thanks in advance!

You should give them something for taking it on. I let mine in one campaign essentially get their credentials to collect bounties, assassinate, etc in Hutt space in exchange for some. Just one example.

A starting Edge of the Empire party should have personal or group Obligation. During play, If some consequences don't rise up soon after a major act, I ask the player to write down a new/additional Obligation.

4 hours ago, RusakRakesh said:

A starting Edge of the Empire party should have personal or group Obligation. During play, If some consequences don't rise up soon after a major act, I ask the player to write down a new/additional Obligation.

Thanks - do you give them any additional XP or anything, or is it straight to the Obligation?

Starting Obligation was something we came up with together at session zero. After the game got going, they negotiated more debt (group obligation to a Hutt).

I would also hand out a Bounty or Criminal obligation if it was warranted, but be sure to warn my PCs before they were subject to such a thing.

I do, sparingly, but never without discussing it as taking on Obligation should be agreed upon by both parties. It's all in my phrasing:

"If you steal this priceless piece of artwork, you will incur 10 additional Obligation as a bounty, since the droid saw your face. What do you do?"

rather than:

"Oh you took it and now you have a 10 point Bounty Obligation because the droid saw you."

For an Edge game of any longevity, I'd expect the Obligation numbers to constantly be in flux - sure it's fun to pay it all off as a PC, but then what drives the story? It's important not to force it, the player has to mostly understand what they're in for. One of the key elements of a successful Edge campaign for me is the PCs never seeming to be able to come out ahead - one step forward, two steps back.

18 hours ago, DangerShine Designs said:

Thanks - do you give them any additional XP or anything, or is it straight to the Obligation?

Obligation should not be balanced by something, and in most cases is a punishment for neglecting to resolve an issue.

This just came up in the first session of a new group! A player called an npc contact of theirs to come rescue them out of a tough situation, saying they would pay the npc for it. As the situation got worse and the npc's ship was taking on damage, they kept increasing the amount owed. The npc eventually found out the player had no credits and, understandably frustrated, the npc told the player they would have them work off their debt instead. I told them this would be an obligation since we knew out of character that they cannot pay off said debt. Then the npc informed the player character of a rival big game hunter that has been "sniping" his prey just seconds before he would get the killing blow. he wants said rival taken out. permanently. this works out well for said assassin player character and as it turns out, they recall the rival having a bounty on their head as well.

I negotiated some new Obligation with a PC in my last game session. He was trying to convince an Imperial official that they didn't need to look to close at his Hutt guest and said Hutt's entourage. "If I do this, you owe me one", which he agreed to. And just like that, he has a new Favor obligation.

We could have handled this another way, through bribery and skill checks, but that opens up the possibility of failure. Going the Obligation route allowed his idea to work, 100% guaranteed, and it also adds a bit of a burden as he wonders when this is going to come back and bite him.

If you have PCs who don't have the skills to get through a situation, or they find themselves in more trouble than they can handle, piling on obligation to give them a "get out of it" free card is a nice move for a GM because it moves the story and builds the world the PCs inhabit at the same time.

13 hours ago, RusakRakesh said:

Obligation should not be balanced by something, and in most cases is a punishment for neglecting to resolve an issue.

Ultimately its the GM's discretion on how to use Obligation, but personally I would have to disagree. For example starting obligation is a straight gain: take obligation, get money.

Additionally, Core Rule Book p.42. "Obligation as a resource", describes how players can voluntarily take on obligation in order to acquire things they want. I personally strongly encourage my players toward this end, " oh you want that fancy blaster but cant afford it? Pretty sure your old contact in Bounty hunter guild can hook you up" >>>cut to several sessions later, the favor is called in and now they've gotta help bring in a bounty. Its a great way for your players to straight up feed you plot points.

Sure it can be used as a consequence to an action, but as others have mentioned it should be clear to the players before hand that "this action will have consequences" even if you don't expressly say " you'll gain 10 obligation with the hutts for killing this guy ".

Obligation is meant to drive story, not punish players for doing/not doing things, that way leads to removing player agency in my opinion.

12 hours ago, ThreeAM said:

Ultimately its the GM's discretion on how to use Obligation, but personally I would have to disagree. For example starting obligation is a straight gain: take obligation, get money.

Additionally, Core Rule Book p.42. "Obligation as a resource", describes how players can voluntarily take on obligation in order to acquire things they want. I personally strongly encourage my players toward this end, " oh you want that fancy blaster but cant afford it? Pretty sure your old contact in Bounty hunter guild can hook you up" >>>cut to several sessions later, the favor is called in and now they've gotta help bring in a bounty. Its a great way for your players to straight up feed you plot points.

Sure it can be used as a consequence to an action, but as others have mentioned it should be clear to the players before hand that "this action will have consequences" even if you don't expressly say " you'll gain 10 obligation with the hutts for killing this guy ".

Obligation is meant to drive story, not punish players for doing/not doing things, that way leads to removing player agency in my opinion.

You get more xp or money if you get MORE obligation.

Yes you can use it as a resource, but that's just an option. Its first use is to bind the character to a certain theme, like motivation.