I have found that I am dissatisfied with the disadvantages on my (soon to be) character. They're okay, but seems kind of . . . I don't know, dull. So I thought I'd turn to you guys for some brain storming. See what you make of this:

She's a Colonist Politico - a princess from the core worlds, from an important family. Not spoiled, but very much living in the upper crust of the .001 percent. However she's about to be forced into a loveless, joyless marriage with a local baron for purely political reasons. So she steals a family ship and heads to the outer rim, head full of tales of the Old West.

The campaign opens at the very start of her career - quite literately, her setting foot on Tatooine (or wherever), She's smart and will pick things up quickly, but for the moment she's a total fish out of water.

I was going with

* Bounty: her family wants her back alive

* Blackmail: someone knows who she is, what she's worth and threatens to throw her under the bus if she doesn't do as he/she/it wants

Problem, there doesn't seem to be much room for evolution and growth and change there. The blackmail isn't so bad, but I think I've got it down as a 5 point disadvantage. The Bounty is where the bulk of the points lay, and it doesn't quite sit well with me. So - what do you guys think? Hit me with your most devious, sinister shots to make this poor girl's life hell!

1. I love Lady Blackbird!

2. Surprised you didn't go for the obvious one: Betrayal for having betrayed her family. Obviously, that one's not going to get resolved until she either returns or earns forgiveness. If this one becomes Obligation-of-the-Week, then the fact that she's run away makes life more complicated -- that can take any form the GM can think of, even if it looks like another nominal Obligation (like family or bounty). She can always take on debt, and OMG if the loan-sharks connect the dots, won't that be fun...

"We have...powerful friends. You're going to regret this."

"Oh...I'm sure... *slurp*"

"Gha!"

I'm actually suffering the same problem but I don't want to step on toes and have nothing to add so I'll wait my turn.

It seems to me that the blackmail is the source for potential intrigue here. Sure, it could be that someone knows she's run away and threatens to expose her, but what if there's more to it than that? What if something she did in the past has made her run away from the marriage? Perhaps she has Rebel leanings or a criminal history, and it's because of this that she doesn't want to go through with the nuptials?

It feels to me sometimes that Firefly is a good model for Edge of the Empire; every character should have some kind of flaw.

-Nate

1. I love Lady Blackbird!

Heh, I had never heard of that before - but then I'm not shocked that someone else has done this archtype before. It's not exactly an original story arc. I'll have to go do some reading and see if theres anything we can strip mine out of that!

2. Surprised you didn't go for the obvious one: Betrayal for having betrayed her family. Obviously, that one's not going to get resolved until she either returns or earns forgiveness. If this one becomes Obligation-of-the-Week, then the fact that she's run away makes life more complicated -- that can take any form the GM can think of, even if it looks like another nominal Obligation (like family or bounty). She can always take on debt, and OMG if the loan-sharks connect the dots, won't that be fun...

"We have...powerful friends. You're going to regret this."

"Oh...I'm sure... *slurp*"

"Gha!"

Actually, that's brilliant - use it as kind of a catch-all for whatever deviousness the GM wants to throw my way. Sometimes bounty, sometimes blackmail, sometimes duty (her sister gets in trouble and she has to risk going back to help) and so on. I think I might go with that.

It seems to me that the blackmail is the source for potential intrigue here. Sure, it could be that someone knows she's run away and threatens to expose her, but what if there's more to it than that? What if something she did in the past has made her run away from the marriage? Perhaps she has Rebel leanings or a criminal history, and it's because of this that she doesn't want to go through with the nuptials?

She's a little too clean cut for having a criminal record and she's been conditioned all her life to be a "rah-rah! Empire good! Rebels Bad!" sort (which actually sounds kind of fun to play - someone blind to the evils of the Empire and honestly believes that the Jedi are a bunch of baby snatching monks who tried to take over the galaxy) - but I see where you're going. I'll have to think on it and see if something jibes in that direction.

Hmmmm, ideas, gives me ideas. <--------His GM

Sunuva - ****, now I gotta watch what I say around here. . . .

What if you take a twist on the blackmail? Perhaps your character found out about her soon to be husbands darker fancies, and she decides she doesn't want to be part of that and decides to get out of the marriage by blackmailing her would be husband. All she has to do is find the right person (hutt?) to buy the info.

Let's also remember that your Family won't be the only one searching for her. Her would-be Husband probably wants his arm candy back. And maybe HIS lackeys aren't quite so savory as your family's official bodyguard types.

Family obligation would make alot of sense here. And with a slight twist you could say that her family obviously knows she ran away and while they are searching for her (bounty) they also have disowned/exiled her from the family for shaming them. With this angle she would NOT be able to fall back on the "I'm a princess" line, since her family disowned her. Also, if shes in hiding, then she has to keep a low profile. Maybe shes fairly well-known and famous and there's always a chance someone could recognize her.

With the disowned line they might not even be trying to get her back so the bounty would not exist, but maybe it does cause her parents are still looking for her. Then her parents are mysteriously killed, but then one of her sisters has married the other guy instead and taken her place as ruler, and in an effort to solidify that power, hunts her down so she can never claim the rights to the throne herself, etc...

I think there is alot of ways this obligation could play out. It does not sound as limited as you think.

I'm actually running almost this exact same background for my Bounty Hunter character (not actually a bounty hunter, but that career has the closest to the right skill set I wanted for him).

A foppish, not next in line heir for a Twi'lek clan with some fairly major holdings on Bespin. Instead of waiting around for a inter-clan marriage he took a ship and ran off to see some excitement.

His major issues in the near future involve:

His family wanting their ship back, or at least stripped and relicensed so any trouble doesn't come back to them.

His family wanting him back to marry off, or in some other way undo potential clan shame

Family rivals trying to discredit or injure his family through him.

Independent hunters looking for some quick credits.

He can go back, or find some other form of recompense to get his family off his back eventually, probably by either building an awesome rep at something to bring glory or finding some major financial opportunities.

With the disowned line they might not even be trying to get her back so the bounty would not exist, but maybe it does cause her parents are still looking for her. Then her parents are mysteriously killed, but then one of her sisters has married the other guy instead and taken her place as ruler, and in an effort to solidify that power, hunts her down so she can never claim the rights to the throne herself, etc...

Oh, I like the cut of your jib. I'd given her a sister who was a bit of a rebel with a strong streak of Big Sister Idol Worship, but her getting conscripted in my Princesses' place is a nice twist. Might have to come running to the rescue and all that.

I'm actually running almost this exact same background for my Bounty Hunter character (not actually a bounty hunter, but that career has the closest to the right skill set I wanted for him).

Heh, that's scary on how closely our characters parallel - but then like I said upthread, it's a pretty time-worn archetype. And the Rivals is a good angle too. I imagine that her family has thrown a great many people to the wolves over the years, so there's a long list of people wanting to do her wrong.

And I like how you have an exit strategy, a resolution to his story arc. I should ponder some kind of way to make restitution with her family.

I think you should more heavily lean into the Blackmail, and less on Bounty.

The most pressing thing for her immediately is the fear of being discovered. At some point, though, she grows and maybe finds she doesn't care anymore, or is confident enough to handle it. That blackmail turns into something else (maybe it all goes into Bounty, or Family).

Another thing to remember is that your Obligations are going to grow and change over the course of the game. I'd caution against putting too much of an overcomplicated series of twists into a character backstory just to ensure that there's enough to draw on in the future, since I'm pretty sure that she's going to develop an entirely new set of troubles as she goes on her adventures.

What if you take a twist on the blackmail? Perhaps your character found out about her soon to be husbands darker fancies, and she decides she doesn't want to be part of that and decides to get out of the marriage by blackmailing her would be husband. All she has to do is find the right person (hutt?) to buy the info.

Or he's afraid she has enough dirt on him that he's willing to have her eliminated. Bringing her back alive is out of the question...

One of the dangers of being discovered in the Outer Rim I feel is being downplayed a lot. If the average bandit, rogue group, fringer, etc found out they had a rich princess from a prominant family in the Core. Suddenly they have a way to get a lot of money. Kidnap and ransom could be part of the fear of being discovered, just because you're playing as the hero of her personal story doesn't mean she couldn't be a victim.

Depends on who knows her as well. If that information was to be spread around like maybe to Jabba on Tatooine what's to stop him from placing a bounty on you as well, amongst his crew, so he can nab her and ransom her back to her family at a greater price than the bounty they offer? Jabba is a professional gangster, and business is all about profit.

I would also reccomend looking into desigining her Motivation, as I've found that knowing that can create some unexpected twists in how her story would play out.

Criminal: she did steal the ship. If she is still running it with "hot plates" (stolen transponder code) anywhere Coreward would probably findit eventually. Depending on the nature and political structure of the planet where she came from, fleeing the betrothal could be seen as a breach of contract, which can have all sorts of implications, especially if said betorthed has Imperial connections (that's a bone for you Mr. GM).

Duty: the family did "buy out" her marriage w/ a sibling swap, but now the PC is bound to help her, and by extension him out. Too bad he works for a Black Sun Vigo, unknowingly of course....

Favor: (this one's real twisted) So, the parents set her up w/ a "better" position in life w/ a slightly older baron. thing is, the baron (who is actually a really nice guy) has a romantic interest, but it happens to be a local twilek dancer (not slave just entertainer). Given the differences in "class" they can't ever marry. The Baron is pressured to accept the engagement to produce an heir (not that he really want to. he would rather adopt.) The law forces him to produce after a certain timeframe, so the parents and courts decide on the match.

They meet and go through the motions, but he eventually breaks down and tells the PC his story. She looks into the political clauses and finds a loophole. A plan is hatched! She arranges to "steal" his ship, and takes off, but only after she arranges for her family to become the sponsoring patron for the Twilek (think of it like a visa arrangement). As compensation for damages, the baron now sues for sponsorship of the dancer so that they can live together. In public he is appropriately grief stricken and whatnot, but he basically got her out of an enforced bethrothal enither of them wanted. Now the favor isn't to him. The Twilek arranged, through her clan connections to have its codes scrubbed...(plot hook) but didn't tell the baron. She did leave a note however, as well as a contact to look up out there in the dark... (PC's)

A twist on the Bounty... Who is to say it was a legal bounty? Maybe the illegal bounty was placed on her by her betrothed because he doesn't want anything to do with her either.

I guess because no one his chimed in on this that it is my turn. That is good. We start playing soon and if I'm going to change my obligation then I need to do it.

I have a fifteen obligation. 10 in debt and 5 in oath. The debt obligation isn't my problem. That works into my back story and what I rolled for my cause.

Time for my back story.

My character is from the planet Juvex in the Senex-Juvex sector of the mid rim. This was once a haven for slavers before the sector joined the Republic and had to end that for the securtity and access to trade routes and other great things that comes with being a Republic sector. Once the Empire took over though, they had lax rules on slavery and the houses that ran the sector that built there power on the backs of slaves were more then willing to take up their bad habit once again.

My character is not part of the noble houses. He is a simple man whose family owns some land and does various businesses to get by.

In his youth he freed some slaves from a lesser noble family and is now in their debt. He left his home and became a hired gun because he is good with a blaster and it is one of the few jobs that pays enough to hopefully over come the ludacris interest they are seemingly piling on just to torture him.

Now at the suggestion of a friend of mine the oath is to stop slavery but that makes my character have all his obilgations and cause all wrapped up in slavery.

Does anyone have any ideas to make this more interesting and less single minded?

AustinKatan, what about your character's own family? The Obligation could be to them. What happened to them when your character freed these slaves? Were they affected at all? What did they think when he left the family business to go shoot up the galaxy? Child of a business family that live on a planet run by slaver goes against the planet's economy and frees some slaves then gets himself in dept to the owners of the slaves. That's not going to help the family's business connections.

That's a good way to look at it. Still I'd like for my plot hooks to be different. Then when I buy down my obligation for one thing the other still remains.

As far as playing with what the Obligations mean, published author Wayne Basta did a series of articles on the Gamer Security Agency about Obligation, providing a number of interesting views outside the norm for each Obligation.

http://gsa.thegamernation.org/category/article/columns/obligometer/

Definitely some unusual looks at things like Family, Addiction, and Responsibility.

I read all of the obligometer series but I'm still not having any ideas for what I could take as a obligation. I want an obligation that will help me make a more fleshed out character that isn't defined by this single event.

Hopefully some of the wonderful GMs and PCs will be able to help.

I read all of the obligometer series but I'm still not having any ideas for what I could take as a obligation. I want an obligation that will help me make a more fleshed out character that isn't defined by this single event.

Hopefully some of the wonderful GMs and PCs will be able to help.

Have multiple obligation?

I read all of the obligometer series but I'm still not having any ideas for what I could take as a obligation. I want an obligation that will help me make a more fleshed out character that isn't defined by this single event.

Hopefully some of the wonderful GMs and PCs will be able to help.

Well, what are you trying to accomplish in regards to Obligation?

Like Doughnut suggested, you can try splitting your Obligation between two different types. For instance, a neophyte Jedi that I'm playing in a friend's game has a Bounty Obligation (there's an ISB Warrant out for the character's detainment) and an Oath Obligation (follow the Jedi Code), with the Bounty Obligation having the higher total and thus being more likely to come up.