Hey all. I'm still new to EotE and GMing, and I wanted to raise a quick question to my fellow GMs.
How do you deal with some of the less tangible obligations? Specifically things like Obsession, Addiction and Oath.
What ways can I manipulate these types of obligations, positively or negative? How do I build the these options into my encounters?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
I tend to think of Addiction and Obsession as Inner Demon Obligations. There's an "other" aspect to the character that pops up from time to time and makes demands. The only problem is, feeding these demands is unhealthy and will likely contribute to a downward spiral (more and more Obligation).
When an Inner Demon obligation triggers in a session, the character probably starts getting urges (possibly reflected in Setback dice or maybe roleplaying a nervous tic). Satisfying the urge might eliminate the short term effects, but it'll probably also ensure that problem comes back as bad or worse the next time.
To pay the Obligation down in a healthy way, the character ought to shell out the time and/or money on some form of treatment, meditation, or therapy. Or perhaps he finds a way to satisfy the urges in a healthy, productive way. For instance, rather than risk the lives of his crew mates, the adrenaline-junky pilot takes up base jumping whenever he feels the need for speed.
Oath can run very similar to Family, Favor, or Responsibility where the character is occasionally called upon by members of her order to complete certain tasks. Or you could structure it similar to the Inner Demons mentioned above. Her commitment to her cause is this other entity that reminds her that she isn't living up to the promises she's made. She must complete a task in a certain way to regain some peace of mind. Maybe she has to deter a group of thugs without resorting to violence, or something similar.
Hi,
one of my players is a wookiee obsessed with building superweapons (death star or something like that). How can I deal with something like that?
I am wanting someone in my group to take this obligation. No one has yet, even after i offered bonus XP!!!
Bronies of the galaxy unite.
https://edge-of-the-empire-6.obsidianportal.com/wikis/my-little-bantha
Hi,
one of my players is a wookiee obsessed with building superweapons (death star or something like that). How can I deal with something like that?
A really big bowcaster in space!
For Addiction, it's easy to whip up some mechanical aspects of that. Setback dice are your versatile friend in that regard. Paying off that Obligation is harder to figure out, but that's a little real life bleeding in.
Obsession's a different creature altogether. The way to play that up is have it override the character's other desires and motivations. An Obsession means that, when faced with the object of his obsession and a life-or-death situation, unless he can pass an appropriate Discipline check versus a Hard (or Daunting, depending on the situation and level of obsession), the character would leave other members of his party in peril to satisfy his Obligation.
As for Oath, it should stand in as another set of motivations, or else be a code that defines the character's actions in most or all situations. For example, I play a Rodian doctor who took this universe's equivalent of the Hippocratic Oath. His Oath is very specific that he can do no harm to others and must assist those in need of medical attention. His blaster is only ever set to stun, but even then he's never drawn or fired it. Ever. After the party blasted a bunch of pirates, he checked each one and rendered aid until the pilot dragged him off.
Triggering any of these Obligations requires some creative GMing. Addiction can be done with Setback dice for withdrawal symptoms, but if that character's Addiction was triggered that session, then even satisfying that craving should come with drawbacks. For Obsession, put the object (or something related to said object) of the character's Obsession in front of her at an inopportune time. For Oath, try to maneuver the PCs into a situation where that one character's Oath puts him at odds with the rest of the party.
And don't just limit it to the days when one player's Obligation triggers over another.
one of my players is a wookiee obsessed with building superweapons (death star or something like that). How can I deal with something like that?
Personally, I never would have let that Obsession fly. It's both too specific and too vague. I would have tried to talk the player down to Obsession (How Things Work) or Obsession (Catastrophe). It seems to me like the player did that so he could have a mechanical excuse to work on death machines. Remember: Obligations aren't there to help the character, they're there to drive his development and personal story.
Personally, I never would have let that Obsession fly. It's both too specific and too vague. I would have tried to talk the player down to Obsession (How Things Work) or Obsession (Catastrophe). It seems to me like the player did that so he could have a mechanical excuse to work on death machines. Remember: Obligations aren't there to help the character, they're there to drive his development and personal story.
I guess you're right. It's just that i found it intriguing as one of the other players is from alderaan...
With the Superweapon Obsession, you could just cringe at your player and say, "I triggered your Obligation and well... you're stressed out over your inabilitiy to produce a weapon of mass destruction at this time".
Look square at the player, make them feel awkward when you say this, then audibly sigh dissaprovingly when you shift from that to press on with your adventure.
Edited by CrunchyDemonI'd actually love to have a super-weapon-obsessed crackpot inventor at the table. Those would be some fun scenarios to mine.
I think it's completely possible to be fascinated by the physics and engineering of of planet-annihilating super-lasers without actually wanting to annihilate any planets (at least, not any habitable ones).
I'd handle obligation triggers 1 of 2 ways.
Paying down the obligation would hinge on a few things:
At low obligation, he's a fairly healthy hobbyist (albeit with a very odd hobby). At high obligation, he's starting to develop a reputation as a mad scientist.
Edit: I'd also add that the superweapons the group gets their hands on are inevitably lost, destroyed, stolen, or confiscated. Keep them one-time use only. Perhaps they rely on a rare phlebotinum and getting more of the stuff is nigh impossible.
Edited by SpjorkIf I had a player with an Addiction Obligation, triggering it would probably entail one's supplier getting pinched by the Empire and either having to bust them out or find a new dealer; one's stash of drugs turning out to be impurely made, necessitating the character get some medical treatment (above and beyond what their Doctor buddy might be able to provide) and then find a new source of purer drugs, maybe even getting even with their dealer in the process; being targeted as an addict for theft of the drugs by another party who wants to resell.
In other words, Obligation triggering doesn't all need to be jonesing for the drug, you can get creative with it,
ShinFu, THAT is Role-Playing Gold just waiting to happen
Edited by LilokiI'd actually love to have a super-weapon-obsessed crackpot inventor at the table. Those would be some fun scenarios to mine.
I think it's completely possible to be fascinated by the physics and engineering of of planet-annihilating super-lasers without actually wanting to annihilate any planets (at least, not any habitable ones).
I'd handle obligation triggers 1 of 2 ways.
- The inventor finds out that an upcoming contact or enemy has access to some kind of military-grade prototype. He becomes interested in seeing this thing, almost to the point of distraction (perhaps a setback to any Intellect checks until his curiosity is satisfied). I'd tie it in to the story at hand, such that the group might be able to use said prototype to complete their task. Getting to it, however, risks complicating the mission or making new enemies. There ought to be some challenging stealth, skulduggery, or social checks involved.
- The inventor gets an idea for a new weapon, a rocket-launching bowcaster or the like. Perhaps he gets the idea from a problem that the group is currently trying to solve. Again, this idea drives him to distraction until he can try and build it. The group can throw him some money for parts and after a couple very difficult mechanics and education checks, he's assembled a very rough prototype.
Paying down the obligation would hinge on a few things:
- The group's level of investment in helping the inventor complete his task. (more investment, lower obligation)
- The degree of success with those challenging skill checks. (more successes, lower obligation)
- The level of destruction that using the item caused (more destructive, higher obligation)
At low obligation, he's a fairly healthy hobbyist (albeit with a very odd hobby). At high obligation, he's starting to develop a reputation as a mad scientist.
Edit: I'd also add that the superweapons the group gets their hands on are inevitably lost, destroyed, stolen, or confiscated. Keep them one-time use only. Perhaps they rely on a rare phlebotinum and getting more of the stuff is nigh impossible.
Awesome, thanks. That should make for some very interesting sessions.
I have a player who's Obsession is Salvery/Slavers. Possibly post-traumatic reaction to being a slave herself. Does anyone have any creative ideas for how I can weave this into the story? I'm opening up a possible confrontation in the first adventure by having her roll a discipline check to not act on the need to confront them (most likely attack).
Open to suggestions though.
I have a player who's Obsession is Salvery/Slavers. Possibly post-traumatic reaction to being a slave herself. Does anyone have any creative ideas for how I can weave this into the story? I'm opening up a possible confrontation in the first adventure by having her roll a discipline check to not act on the need to confront them (most likely attack).
Open to suggestions though.
The most difficult part is coming up with ways to reduce the character's obsession.
When it is triggered, I would put the character in a position to where they have to help the slaver to advance the story. Killing the slaver would mean bad stuff.
Edited by kaosoeI think I rolled Slavery when I was fiddling around with my copy of the (sigh...so poor) Beta core book.
I imagined the character as an ex slaver who quit the business after a sudden rush of guilt. Now he is obsessed with buying or otherwise securing the freedom of the people he brought and sold in his previous life. He could also have the organization that he resigned from want him back in the fold, by any means necessary...he was, after all their biggest source of revenue.
I have a player who's Obsession is Salvery/Slavers. Possibly post-traumatic reaction to being a slave herself. Does anyone have any creative ideas for how I can weave this into the story? I'm opening up a possible confrontation in the first adventure by having her roll a discipline check to not act on the need to confront them (most likely attack).
Open to suggestions though.
Don't hinge their reaction on a dice roll. That's taking away the player's choice. Dangle it in front of them, and if they don't bite, remind them of their obsession. If they sill don't bite, that means they don't want to start something…yet. If they do act out, that might merit a reduction of their obsession.
Really, though, you need to talk to the player in question and figure out what they see it meaning. Ask them how they see it triggering, and what repercussions they see happening. They probably took that Obligation for a reason, right? So talk with them and find out what that reason is!
-EF
I agree with EldritchFire, don't hijack a PC's decision-making, but use the game mechanics as an incentive.
In cases where the object of an obsession is a "good" thing (like liberating slaves), I'd probably treat it more like a "Shoulder Angel" than an "Inner Demon." Rather than channeling a bad desire to productive ends, the PC is more focused on going about her personal quest in the right way. The "wrong" way would be anything that brings down trouble on the party or the people the PC is trying to help.
Here are a few thoughts on obligation triggers for the "slavery" example:
From the moment of discovery, she suffers a setback to Willpower and Presence checks until she's able to help these slaves. That help might come in a few different forms:
You could adjust obligation along these lines:
At low obligation, she's a covert liberator, her name, only a whisper among slaves. At high obligation, she's regarded as a fanatical vigilante and a liability to slaving enterprises everywhere.
On the topic of slavery, is there any resource that would give a guestimate as to the value of a slave in the SW galaxy? Are we looking on the order of 2000, 10000, 25000 or more credits?
The reason I ask is one of my players is a former twi'lek dancer slave, who's looking to free another twi'lek from their current employer.
On the topic of slavery, is there any resource that would give a guestimate as to the value of a slave in the SW galaxy? Are we looking on the order of 2000, 10000, 25000 or more credits?
The reason I ask is one of my players is a former twi'lek dancer slave, who's looking to free another twi'lek from their current employer.
IIRC, one of the Han Solo novels put a non-specialized slave at a few thousand (2k-3k) credits. Yes, that's less than a droid. I'm fairly sure that specialized slaves fetch far higher costs. An attractive and trained Twi'lek dancer might go for as much as 10k credits.
That makes sense, actualy. Slaves and droids are essentialy in compition for the same...positions, and slaves typicaly have higher maintinance costs (that whole eating and sleeping thing). There's not much reason to use slave labor thats going to cost you more upfront and more in the long run than droid labor.
That makes sense, actualy. Slaves and droids are essentialy in compition for the same...positions, and slaves typicaly have higher maintinance costs (that whole eating and sleeping thing). There's not much reason to use slave labor thats going to cost you more upfront and more in the long run than droid labor.
Slaves have an advantage in that they are somewhat easier to repurpose. The typical agricultural Droid isn't likely to be easily retrained as a housekeeper or chauffeur, while many humanoid slaves could be.
Yep, and multi-task droids are expensive. A result your likely to see more "house slaves" than "field slaves" hense the very low price for an unskilled slave.