According to Fiddleback's write up when your duty triggers the group gets an increased wound threshold. I assume increased duty will increas your rank and make more resources available to you.

I probably won't use it as a formal mechanic but just as plot hooks like I do with obligation.

What do you think of duty?

What I wonder is how this works if I have a party made up of Rebels and smugglers. Do I just throw Obligation and Duty into one big pool? Or do I roll twice? If so, what if both get activated. I might buy this beta just because I'm so curious about how this is gonna work lol

I bet they will have guidelines for characters who begin as Smugglers and turn into Rebels... and it should be probable to use both Obligation and Duty in the same campaign... in many ways Duty to the Rebel Alliance would be an Obligation... the Obligation of Duty.

I think Obligation and Duty are going to be independent of each other, but can work side by side; meaning, one character can have both Obligation(s) and Duty.

As a couple examples, we could say that:

--In Episode V, Luke had an Obligation to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like his father. He also had Duty, as he was a Commander in the Alliance and presumably had tasks to perform on behalf of the Alliance. After the Battle of Hoth, he decided to focus on his Obligation and go seek out Yoda rather than head directly for the Alliance rendezvous.

--Somewhere between Episodes IV and V, Han still had his debt to Jabba, but started taking on more work with the Alliance which translated into Duty, which eventually brought him to become a General.

I think Obligation and Duty are going to be independent of each other, but can work side by side; meaning, one character can have both Obligation(s) and Duty.

As a couple examples, we could say that:

--In Episode V, Luke had an Obligation to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like his father. He also had Duty, as he was a Commander in the Alliance and presumably had tasks to perform on behalf of the Alliance. After the Battle of Hoth, he decided to focus on his Obligation and go seek out Yoda rather than head directly for the Alliance rendezvous.

--Somewhere between Episode V, Han still had his debt to Jabba, but started taking on more work with the Alliance which translated into Duty, which eventually brought him to become a General.

Those are very good examples, and, like has been said on the Order 66 podcast, they do think about these things. Hopefully it will work something like that.

Clearly I need to start listening to Order 66 podcasts...

Clearly I need to start listening to Order 66 podcasts...

I never listen.

So with edge you have your origin and your motivation for adventuring which becomes more hazardous the more you owe...

Meanwhile in AoR you get bonuses for extra duty as you become just as important to the organisation you are duty bound to as you feel towards them... the way it read was that unlike Obligation you don't get penalties for having a high duty but there is a disadvantage in that the higher your Duty is the more likely your opposition organisation is likely to recognise you...

Not that anyone knew who Luke was after he blew up the Death Star... well until Darth Vader looked into it that is!

Right time Luke went !

Certainly we watched both Han and Lando move from Obligations to Duty as they became more involved with the Rebellion.

Han's obligations caught up to him when Vader gave him to Boba Fett to sell to Jabba. The attack on the second Death Star showed both Han and Lando in high ranking positions in the Rebellion. So by that point hey had both acquired significant duty.

Luke is more closely tied to the Rebellion at first, rising from a simple star fighter pilot to "commander" by the battle of Hoth. Then his Obligation to learn the Force takes control again. His fight with the Emperor seems more motivated by Obligation than Duty. It is a personal battle.

I certainly expect to see some rules for the interaction of these two drives.

I suspect that Luke's Duty could be more than just "the Rebellion," and I can totally see how his Obligation might be to learning the Force... but I have a sneaking suspicion that his Duty is to the Force.

Clearly I need to start listening to Order 66 podcasts...

I never listen.

I've been never listening for years! Highly recommended.

Clearly I need to start listening to Order 66 podcasts...

I never listen.

I have just started never listening.

I have been hammering through them... did not realize how far I was behind.

I suspect that Luke's Duty could be more than just "the Rebellion," and I can totally see how his Obligation might be to learning the Force... but I have a sneaking suspicion that his Duty is to the Force.

Maybe. In the example of Han, we see overlap between duty and obligation. Han has a debt to Jabba and a loyalty to his friends. Those are his Obligations. He certainly may have an Obligation of Duty to the Rebel Alliance in ESB, but I'd say he doesn't have a Duty (as mentioned in AoR) to the Rebels until RotJ, when he actually accepts the rank of General.

With Luke, I'd say Luke has some obligations in terms of his rivalry with Vader, his friends and, eventually, his remaining family. His Duty would be to the New Republic, as he serves that organization from the beginning, whether a farmboy fresh of the planet, a commissioned officer in the Rebellion, or the Grand Master of the New Jedi Order.

I imagine F&D will introduce yet another new aspect to the game for Force users. Then, a single character may have all three of these mechanics affecting them at once.

Clearly I need to start listening to Order 66 podcasts...

I never listen.

I have just started never listening.

I have been hammering through them... did not realize how far I was behind.

I've downloaded all they've released on the new star wars so far, I suppose I should say I've never listened to them but I always avoid the darkside when I can... its better than tripping down the stairs!

Certainly we watched both Han and Lando move from Obligations to Duty as they became more involved with the Rebellion.

Han's obligations caught up to him when Vader gave him to Boba Fett to sell to Jabba. The attack on the second Death Star showed both Han and Lando in high ranking positions in the Rebellion. So by that point hey had both acquired significant duty.

Luke is more closely tied to the Rebellion at first, rising from a simple star fighter pilot to "commander" by the battle of Hoth. Then his Obligation to learn the Force takes control again. His fight with the Emperor seems more motivated by Obligation than Duty. It is a personal battle.

I certainly expect to see some rules for the interaction of these two drives.

I'd say that they'd have both at the same time, to be honest, rather than moving from one to the other.

Certainly we watched both Han and Lando move from Obligations to Duty as they became more involved with the Rebellion.

Han's obligations caught up to him when Vader gave him to Boba Fett to sell to Jabba. The attack on the second Death Star showed both Han and Lando in high ranking positions in the Rebellion. So by that point hey had both acquired significant duty.

Luke is more closely tied to the Rebellion at first, rising from a simple star fighter pilot to "commander" by the battle of Hoth. Then his Obligation to learn the Force takes control again. His fight with the Emperor seems more motivated by Obligation than Duty. It is a personal battle.

I certainly expect to see some rules for the interaction of these two drives.

I'd say that they'd have both at the same time, to be honest, rather than moving from one to the other.

So just have two rolls at the start of a session with mixed players? Why not? It seems simple enough.

Basically, yea - there's no reason why their prior obligations can't interfere with their duty to the Alliance.

Yeah, I kinda see these things as somewhat optional on both accounts. If you don't want to do Obligation, you don't technically have to. If you don't want to do Duty, you don't technically have to. If you don't want to do X F&D mechanic, you don't have to.

But I know that I'm going to use all 3 as they come available because why the hell not?

I suspect we'll see that Obligation, Duty, and Destiny (my assumed name for the Force's book similar mechanic) will be designed in a way which will allow them to co exist side by side, allowing us to create a Kyle Katarn type character. Smuggler who became a rebel and a jedi...

You can see this already if you read the Duty sidebar from the book excerpts. I hope Destiny is assigned by the DM and revealed little by little, culminating in a pc's "This is your destiny..." moment.

But I know that I'm going to use all 3 as they come available because why the hell not?

Exactly. They make for some great roleplaying and plotting material; super handy to use.

I would say the only obligation Luke ever had was to his family, which the empire got rid of for him. After that he felt his duty was to fight the empire, at least until he found out that a Jedi must have the deepest commitment.

Though one could argue that Luke's obligation changed to his friends and that is why he abandoned his training.

^---Luke would have started out with Obligation: Oath (Vengeance) I think ( the film minutes leading up to the barbequeing of his auntie and uncle count as back story, imo ). Then he picked up Duty: Personnel ( as his commitment to the survival of those around him was paramount to even his own safety or willful progression of his Destiny: Reckoning ).

By the end he's still got a desire for vengeance against the empire ( for Beru, Owen, Obi Wan, Biggs, Dak, and many others off screen ), whilst trying to keep his friends ( and new family revelation ) alive. He finally accepts that he has to confront Vader to accomplish his Duty, settle his Obligation and achieve his Destiny. All in one pinnacle encounter. That ---- is epic.

I think it'll all work out swimmingly to have a character saddled with all kinds of baggage .

Hmm you know I was wondering what if the gm used just the one roll to cover both?

So say we have atypical crew, the pilot with Debt because of her spaceship along with a Bounty on her because her family wanted her back, the engineer is trying to avoid the cousin who wiped out their colony, the gambler whose wanted for one of his get rich schemes that crossed the path of an Imperial Moff and the Rebel Pilot who framed them as accessories so he could them to throw off his pursuers back on Tattoine.

The group was captured but escaped from aboard a Victory class star destroyer so in addition to their normal woes the empire is hunting them as members of a rebel cell...

So one roll lets say the engineer's obligation comes up and he's called in to go undercover as a technician along with the gambler posing as an Imperial Officer reassigned to a base on Debrillium along with the other two posing as stormtroopers and a few extra Rebel squads on the same mission but split across three lambda shuttles.

Turns out their ship was reassigned in mid trip and the first they know something is wrong is when their shuttle exits hyperspace and the Death Star is heading out of the Alderaan system... hold on where is Alderaan?

They get aboard and manage to pass the first few checks when reports speak of a freighter heading insystem apparently reported blasting its way out of Mos Eisley... of course the PCs will take a closer look and the smuggler will recognise Solo's Falcon and eventually they realise they need to improve their chances of warning the Alliance about the fully operational Death Star and its insane commander.

However the Death Star has at least 4 strike cruisers', loads of TIE fighter squadrons and that's not counting the other ships available... then one of the team encounters Kenobi and they team up to help him get his people and the captured princess off the ship as well as draw off pursuit by stealing the only warship available an ancient Venator class starship being used to carry slaves involved in the construction that's being slowly moved off the space station.

So you have a small rebel team stuck on an operational Death Star having to help the last known Jedi rescue a princess and escaped with the remaining prisoners aboard the space station and give Kenobi's team the time to warn the Alliance on Yavin IV...

Hmm tough day and that's just the opening scene wait until they get to the evacuate Yavin IV bit!

Sorry went a little too far, but I think you could pull an adventure by combining the rolls into one although your PCs might not like the results!

So it says that you can only purchase Duty at character creation. If you have players that want to purchace into talent trees in AoR, would you allow them to purchase into Duty if the character is already made. Atleast until either the actual book comes out next year, or hear back from the developers.

Duty is given out by the GM as well. Duty bought during character creation is on a one for one basis. So if you spent 17xp at character creation, you would have 17 duty. The GM can award 1-10 per adventure/session to the characters individual duties.