As written, activated Duty makes you harder to drop with damage. And, that's all it does. Nothing that a player can actively do with it.

If activated Duty instead increased the Strain Threshold, it gives characters of all types a resource to play with (consider that a pilot/driver/commodore are unlikely to benefit from increased WT in vehicular combat). Strain lets you take more maneuvers, and lets you use certain Talents both of which are more interesting than simply shrugging off a bit more damage (and you can do that with Strain too if it's Stun damage).

So how about we see if they'll change the Duty mechanic from WT to ST?

Obligation lowers Strain Threshold, and so I find it appropriate that Duty increases Wound Threshold. It would be weird if Strain Threshold was increased AND reduced during a single game session. It'd be kinda anti-climactic really.

I like that Duty adds to Wound Threshold. It really fits with the theme that a given mission is too crucial to fail, allowing the team members to fight on just a bit harder when other folks would have fallen.

Obligation lowers Strain Threshold, and so I find it appropriate that Duty increases Wound Threshold. It would be weird if Strain Threshold was increased AND reduced during a single game session. It'd be kinda anti-climactic really.

Weird interactions with rules exclusive to another line should not alone be enough to favor WT over ST. Beyond that, having Obligation eroding your drive and Duty simultaneously bolstering it makes a good deal of sense.

I like that Duty adds to Wound Threshold. It really fits with the theme that a given mission is too crucial to fail, allowing the team members to fight on just a bit harder when other folks would have fallen.

You can fail just as badly from exceeding ST, and fighting on harder sounds more appropriate to ST (consider Grit and Resolve) than to WT to me.

I'd disagree, I mean sure, ST could make sense, but so does WT. I think one reason is the compatibility issues that Away mentioned. Having two mechanics cancel each other out? Meh.

Colour me insane, but I don't think WT is a mere physical stat as such, there is a certain mental effort involved too, particularly if you consider that WT does not (as far as I remember) increase with Brawn, it needs a talent, just like Enduring and Durable are adjustments to damage taking that, in my my, go beyond a mere physical trait... to me at least, this suggests that there is a certain amount of training, mentality and stress/resilience factors manifested in physical endurance and constitution, and therefore bolstering WT could make sense, as a sort bolstering of will, effort and ... adrenalin perhaps. These things do not necessarily affect your ability to withstand other stress related factors, like obligations, stun effects, scathing tirade and so on, but it does enable you to withstand more physical punishment because of the cause (Duty) you are so passionately involved in, fighting for, etc...

I guess you could argue otherwise, but I see no real issue with this mechanic being compatible and not potentially cancelling out the effects of Obligations (if both are used), because that would make a boring game, as simple as that. Both could make sense, but the way it is makes for a more interesting and entertaining game, in my mind at least.

Considering that I pumped a PC with 2 autofire hits from a LRB last session, and put him at 24 Wounds on his 13 Threshold... Yeah, WT as a duty bonus is weak but nifty. Of course, my players have only duty 1 each... from session 1. (Rescue their new CO. Mission 2 will be the core book adventure.)

Make it Strain if you like but I rather like increase in Wound scores and do not want it changed. PCs are supposed to take damage more in AoR.

Given Jay Little's constant remarks of "we were designing all three systems in conjunction" as opposed to the "three separate systems in the same line" route that FFG did with the WH40K line, I can see the design team wanting to keep the effects of Duty and Obligation separate for those campaigns where the two might be mixed.

After all, if rolling a chart for Duty and a separate chart for Obligation (which was the recommended method as I last recall from folks like Steve Horvath), then if Duty affects Strain Threshold, you could very easily have cases where one PC's Obligation triggers (Strain Threshold penalty) but another PC's Duty triggers, which would have the net effect of canceling out the Strain Threshold modifiers. Seeing as how I intend to allow any AoR PCs the option to take some Obligation in exchange for some extra XP or starting cash, have the penalty and bonus to Strain Thresholds pretty much being a wash is likely to come up.

Jegergryte's got a solid point, in that Wound Threshold, while based upon a PC's Brawn Characteristic, isn't just purely about how physically tough that PC is. There have been a number of real world cases where adrenaline and determination have kept a person going in spite of debilitating injuries, and I think having a Rebel PC's Duty be triggered is a good way to reflect that. The PC whose Duty comes up is really "psyched up" and running on an adrenaline high, making them more willing to push through pain and injury to complete their goal; in a way it's akin to a professional athlete's "second wind." And because that one PC is ramped up like a small child on Christmas morning, that PC's allies are also affected, and more willing to go the extra mile for the cause.