Hi. So im reading through the core book and trying to fully comprehend the obligation system. Like I picked which one I wanted and took a second for extra money. But looking at my sheet there is a magnitude and complication section I was curious what are those and how do u figure them as the book doesn't really mention it that I saw. Also how do you go about getting things set for a game. I saw the example in the bbook but it kinda went over my head. So any indight would be great

First of all, you start with an Obligation at magnitude 5 - that is, 5 points out of 100. Basically 5%.

If you want extra money or XP during character creation, you take more obligation, anywhere from 5 to 25 depending on how many players are in the group and what your GM feels is appropriate. Normally this is added to your starting obligation, but you can take different ones as well. The final total is the magnitude of the obligation.

Complications occur when the GM roll 1D100 at the start of each session. If you have 20 Obligation and he rolls 16, then your obligation triggers, weighing on your mind and stressing you out; you reduce your Strain threshold by 2 for that session.

If the GM rolled 11 (or 22, 33, 44 or other doubles) and the number falls within your obligation magnitude, something major happes concerning your obligation. If you have the Bounty obligation, a bounty hunter shows up looking for you during play. If you have the Addiction obligation, you get some serious shakes from not having access to your addiction of choice. If you have Debt, some bad people show up to collect. This is complication.

Im gm mainly for my group but none of us have played it so im kinda mock making a guy so I can show them how. So from what I see from what your saying first is 5% always the second though is measured by how many people are playing which makes that one chart make a bit more sense.

Now the complications roll I understand thank you but on the character sheet it self do I write whst I think they would be pretaining to my betrayal and criminal obligations? Or is that the gms thing?

And lastly.... how does it rise. Is it only if you choose to ignore it? Or dont do anything to really change them?

I don't have my book on hand, but definitely carefully read through the section covering obligation.

As Krieger22 explained, each player, when making a character starts out with a set number of obligation. the set number is based on how many players will be in your group. I usually have a 4-5 players in my group so the starting number is 10, this is their magnitude. If a player hasn't developed a backstory or is using the obligation to make up a backstory on the fly, that player will roll randomly or otherwise the player will chose an obligation that falls in line with the backstory.

So If I am wanting to play a Bothan Technician who has turned his back on his clan when they needed him the most, I can chose to make my 10 obligation "Family".

As you pointed out the players can take on additional obligation for credits or XP. I won't get into detail on that, it sounds like you have a good idea on how that's handled.

Once all the players have chosen their obligation, the GM will write it down in a table format. For example say I have 4 players who chose obligations as follows:

Player 1: 10 obligation (debt)

Player 2: 15 Obligation (Bounty)

Player 3: 10 Obligation (Family)

Player 4: 20 Obligation (Blackmail)

I can then make a table from this

01-10: Player 1

11-25: Player 2

26-35: Player 3

36-55: Player 4

Sometime before the next session, the GM will roll 2d10 (1d100, otherwise known as a percentile dice [d%]), with dice dice representing the 1s place and another dice representing the 10s place. If the dice, in this example is 56 or above, noones obligation is triggered, if the dice lands on a players number range, that obligation is triggered. What this means depends entirely on the your adventure and the player's obligation. If the obligation doesn't show up a story point, then the PC is reminded about his or her obligation and their strain threshold is reduced by 2 for that session and the rest of the party's strain threshold is reduced by 1. If the roll was a double and it triggered an obligation (in this example 11, 22, 33, 44, and 55), than that means the obligation has come back hard on the party. The triggered PCs strain threshold is reduced by 4 and the rest of the party's is reduced by 2.

Obligation is lowered through the PCs actions. You should try and present individual PCs opportunities to reduce their obligation, but also do not discourage a PC from seeking out ways his or herself. Maybe the Bothan's clan got mixed up with some imperials, and now you have to make a deal with a Moff to get them out of trouble.

Obligation is a resource. You can take on obligation, like debt and favor (or any of them really) to get access to stuff you normally wouldn't have access to. This can be monetary means, or a new ship, but can also be narrative stuff, such as getting on a Hutts good side or access to an Imperial quartermaster for future requisitions. I try and actively encourage my players to take on more obligation whenever they can. It's a good resource for you as the GM to pull from and come up with good story ideas. This is one of the reasons why the book encourages you to "Keep the players hungry".

Edit: I forgot to mention, in the book it states that obligation can never really go away. Each PC can not have a combined oblation lower than 5. When you explain obligation, let them know this and see if they can come up with an obligation that would make sense for it never to completely go away.

An example of this would be one of my PCs is a bounty hunter who betrayed the empire. The big reason why this can't go away is he's also a former clone. It's really difficult for the empire to forget about you when you look a lot like their comrades.

I usually make my obligation roll soon after the last session so I have plenty of time to figure out how I want it to come into the play for the next session. I believe this is how most GMs I know handle it.

The player should sit down with the GM and take five minutes to work out where the obligation comes from. If it's a Bounty, what did the character do to get a price on his head? Once you have that figured out, the GM makes up some appropriate encounters. Personally I like to make them beforehand just so they're ready to go when the dice comes up a double.

Obligations can rise when you don't deal with them. I remember something in the rulebook about if the dice lands on one character 3 times without him having done anything to reduce his obligation, it goes up by 5. You can also add to it through character actions. For example, if the player with the bounty kills off some bounty hunters that have been sent after him the bounty is likely to increase, and therefore also his obligation. How much is a matter of GM judgement. If the character kills off a bounty hunter in a big fight in the middle of the street, you could increase it by 10 or 15. If he kills off a hunter unseen and disposes of the body, it could go up by 5.

Ok. Ya sorry guys im just new so I want to make sure I get everything as right as I can for all us first timers playing. You guys have been a major help. And I do have and have read the rule book and its just a bit above me with some things as I never have played these before so again thank you guys. Obligation has been one of the more confusing aspects so far for me but im sure ill have more questions at some point

I'll add a caveat to kaosoe's statement that "obligation can never go away."

A single Obligation can go away, but a player's total obligation can never be lower than 5. So if your player deals with an obligation in full (pays off ALL his debts, for example), he'd be taking up another obligation along the way that explains how he was able to get rid of that debt obligation.

In the case of Han Solo, for example, he had a Debt and then a Bounty obligation. Once Jabba was killed and his criminal organization effectively destroyed, Han no longer owed anything to Jabba. No more Debt or Bounty. At that point, the GM and player decide what an appropriate 5-magnitude obligation is (maybe an obligation of Duty to the Rebellion, or the actual Duty mechanic from the Age of Rebellion game replaces that character's obligation completely).

I'll add a caveat to kaosoe's statement that "obligation can never go away."

A single Obligation can go away, but a player's total obligation can never be lower than 5. So if your player deals with an obligation in full (pays off ALL his debts, for example), he'd be taking up another obligation along the way that explains how he was able to get rid of that debt obligation.

Correct. I should have been more clear on what I meant. Thanks.