I have a player that is a Rodian pilot in my group. His obligation is family (since Rodians are clannish). During the last session his obligation (which was family) triggered. The next session I plan is going to involve him dealing with his obligation (a cousin was falsely accused of being a rebel supporter and is going to be executed publically along with other disendents). If they manage to save the cousin how would you pay down the obligation? Or how much should it reduce the obligation? Thank you in advance for the advice.

I would suggest around 5 per story arc. That way it is a sizable chunk and worth the time and effort, but may not immediately eliminate the obligation.

I know it's just a RPG, and the stories are largely make believe, but there seems something...off...about paying down Obligation with life as its currency. How much is a life worth? In this example, the Rodian's cousin is perhaps worth less than a parent or sibling? I think it makes for an interesting discussion about EoE morals. Not just for PCs, but for GMs and players as well. What if the player of that Rodian believes life is a priceless commodity, and some of that value system translates through his/her PC during play, and the GM arbitrarily decides rescuing the cousin is worth a paltry 5 Obligation? This could result in a shattered system of values, causing a moral crisis for the PC...perhaps a heated discussion between player and GM.

I know it's just a RPG, and the stories are largely make believe, but there seems something...off...about paying down Obligation with life as its currency. How much is a life worth? In this example, the Rodian's cousin is perhaps worth less than a parent or sibling? I think it makes for an interesting discussion about EoE morals. Not just for PCs, but for GMs and players as well. What if the player of that Rodian believes life is a priceless commodity, and some of that value system translates through his/her PC during play, and the GM arbitrarily decides rescuing the cousin is worth a paltry 5 Obligation? This could result in a shattered system of values, causing a moral crisis for the PC...perhaps a heated discussion between player and GM.

It is not about paying debt. It's about how much of a problem the Obligation is in the character's life.

If helping his cousin helps alleviate the pressure his family puts on him, then it lowers the Obligation. Trying to put it all into terms of money isn't in line with how the mechanic works.

Considering the base starting obligation for most groups is between 10-15, I hardly think 5 is paltry.

Keep in mind, obligations are not about "the price of life", rather about the relationships, social debts, social contracts, and well...obligations of the character towards another. In the example the cousin is only one member of the family that the character is obliged to help. Does a single act eliminate that debt towards the whole family? Probably not. Depending upon the value of the obligation, a 10 or more reduction could eliminate it entirely.

That said, if you want to eliminate more obligation at a single time for your players, go right ahead. It's your story.

I agree that it's about more than credits, it's about how it affects the character's life.

One way I describe to my players the difference between Obligation and Motivation is that a Family Obligation might represent a deadbeat brother who shows up with gangsters right on his tail and needs your help fighting them off.

A Family Motivation might represent a beloved brother for whom you drop everything and fly to his side when you learn he's in trouble with gangsters.

If you have a story where you help your deadbeat brother with the gangsters and in the process he learns to be a little more responsible, that could be worth 5 points off a 15-point Obligation.

If it's an epic story and your brother really grows as a person and kicks his spice habit and finds honest work, that could represent paying off the Family Obligation entirely. You might still care about your brother and want to help him, but he might not have the kind of life where he gets in trouble and needs your help anymore.

I don't want to eliminate the obligation entirely in one go. I just was wondering if the PCs do manage to rescue the cousin how much should that reduce the Rodian PC's obligation score, in essence "paying down the obligation" according to the rules. Or if it should reduce it at all, saving one cousin from a big family might qualify in dealing with the obligation but maybe not lower the obligation stat for having the family obligation. All of these posts were helpful and I do appreciate the advice.

I have a player who took "Oath" as his starting obligation. He also has "Debt" and that's the only one that's been rolled so far.

I think that in terms of reducing the Obligation value, rather than having him "pay" it down, he can role-play it down. He is seeking fortune and glory (Indiana Jones type Scholar), and vowed to be honorable in his quest; keeping his agreements, not stealing someone else's discovery, etc. It's not like he can "pay off" that oath, it's part of him.

As this obligation gets rolled, he will face greater temptation, or perhaps feel the strain of being an "honorable" man in a galaxy of schemers and cheats. Perhaps he'll learn that another expedition has stumbled on the location of the shipwreck he's been looking for, and feels obligated to surrender his claim. Of course, there would be clues leading the PCs to discover proof that the other claim is fraudulent. It won't stop him from achieving a story goal, but it can throw some additional complications in his way.

On another roll, he may be approached by a wealthy collector who wants him to recover an artifact that someone else is already looking for. The crook managed to slice the other team's data and knows as much as they do, and he wants to hire the PCs to get there first. The honorable scholar would be breaking his Oath if he took the job. (although it would provide several sessions worth of gaming.) If he turns it down, he might make an enemy. (also providing later adventure)

Now, an oath isn't something that goes away. So how would you "pay down" an Oath Obligation? Well, you don't really get rid of the Oath, but through role-playing and narrative, he can reduce the negative impact (the numeric value) of the Obligation score. By "keeping to the code" that he set for himself, he'd begin to establish a reputation. Lowering the Obligation would not mean that he's free of his oath, but that the temptations to break it will diminish as his reputation starts to bring in more honest(ish) backers for expeditions.

I have a player who took "Oath" as his starting obligation. He also has "Debt" and that's the only one that's been rolled so far.

I think that in terms of reducing the Obligation value, rather than having him "pay" it down, he can role-play it down. He is seeking fortune and glory (Indiana Jones type Scholar), and vowed to be honorable in his quest; keeping his agreements, not stealing someone else's discovery, etc. It's not like he can "pay off" that oath, it's part of him.

As this obligation gets rolled, he will face greater temptation, or perhaps feel the strain of being an "honorable" man in a galaxy of schemers and cheats. Perhaps he'll learn that another expedition has stumbled on the location of the shipwreck he's been looking for, and feels obligated to surrender his claim. Of course, there would be clues leading the PCs to discover proof that the other claim is fraudulent. It won't stop him from achieving a story goal, but it can throw some additional complications in his way.

On another roll, he may be approached by a wealthy collector who wants him to recover an artifact that someone else is already looking for. The crook managed to slice the other team's data and knows as much as they do, and he wants to hire the PCs to get there first. The honorable scholar would be breaking his Oath if he took the job. (although it would provide several sessions worth of gaming.) If he turns it down, he might make an enemy. (also providing later adventure)

Now, an oath isn't something that goes away. So how would you "pay down" an Oath Obligation? Well, you don't really get rid of the Oath, but through role-playing and narrative, he can reduce the negative impact (the numeric value) of the Obligation score. By "keeping to the code" that he set for himself, he'd begin to establish a reputation. Lowering the Obligation would not mean that he's free of his oath, but that the temptations to break it will diminish as his reputation starts to bring in more honest(ish) backers for expeditions.

Exactly! Well said Sir.

This has actually come up during my last gaming session, so it is still pretty fresh in my mind.

Here's how I've been approaching it so far:

First, if a character's Obligation was rolled during a story arc, but it didn't really come up, then I let it go. If the player decides to not do anything about their. . ."concern," then they'll see a slow increase of their obligation.

Example: The Smuggler's "Criminal" and the Medic's "Blackmail" were both rolled during the current arc. I didn't see a good, clean way to fit it into the event, so I didn't implement it beyond "You are concerned that you can get caught" or "You are jittery every time your commlink chirps, as it may be someone calling in your 'favor'." The players didn't do anything to keep it from happening, like spreading false information, so if it comes up two more times, they may see it increased.

Second, if the Obligation was rolled and doesn't impact the story, but the player decides to act on it to a small degree, they balance out.

Example: the Zeltron Politico has an "addiction" to the feeling you get from throwing a party where people enjoy themselves (considering Zeltrons are empathic, it makes sense). When this came up during a session, he decided to go to the local bar and start buying rounds for people with the simple note of "Pass it on." He then went ahead and convinced the bartender to get some "decent music" playing. In the end, he drained a good bit of his "walking money" but had a nice party going, which of course made him feel pretty good about himself.

Third, if the Obligation comes up and is directly tied to the story, it can either go up or down depending on the characters actions.

Example 1: The Bodyguard/Recruit of our group is a former Imperial. He made contact with local Imperial forces that had the same goal but couldn't act without risk of being labeled as traitors (i.e. a rich jerk who made their lives hell but was untouchable due to contacts on Coruscant). He asked for some supplies and he did the job, but they botched enough of it to get their Imperial contacts caught. When given the chance to help them offworld, he accepted even though it is a huge risk.

I will be lowering his Obligation by 3; 1 for doing the job to the best of his ability to help his former comrades, 1 for meeting them to get them offworld, and 1 for accepting the risk of having more Imperial Traitors as passengers (as the rest of the party, all aliens, were against this until he vouched for them and pleaded the case rather well).

Example 2: The Mechanic has an Obsession with Droids, often to the point of wanting to put a restraining bolt on ANY droid she sees (literally, EVERY time she sees a droid, she shows a party member a restraining bolt or gestures towards her ion gun).

Their target relied heavily upon droids (as they can't be bribed and they don't need sleep), so when this came up on the roll for the biggest part of the job, the group laughed hysterically. The mechanic took MANY risks to ensure that any droid she was near was only damaged, not destroyed, even if it blew her cover while she was screaming at those who were destroying droids.

When they were stealing the target's ship that was at his manor, she made the party bring in every droid part they could, even if it meant firing at anything coming toward them and hoping they they didn't get the heavy weapons set up.

In the end, she left with two operational B1 Battle Droids, two heavily damaged IG-100's, and some scattered parts. Not a huge haul, but enough of one (and enough risk) to be worth 2 Obligation.

Essentially, since not every Obligation can be settled with credits, it can be whittled away by character actions. If the Mechanic decided to do the above even without the Obsession kicking in, I would have reduced it. If the Politico were to have that kind of party when they all need to lay low, or if he were to try to find some help for that addiction, I'd reduce the total. If the Smuggler and Medic threw some time and credits into throwing off any pursuit, hiring a slicer to clear the records, or killing whomever is holding the blackmail over them, then I'd reduce the numbers as well.

It doesn't have to be rolled in order to be reduced, but there has to be SOME reason for it to be lowered.

Just my opinion, but it seems to work rather well for my group.

I don't want to eliminate the obligation entirely in one go. I just was wondering if the PCs do manage to rescue the cousin how much should that reduce the Rodian PC's obligation score, in essence "paying down the obligation" according to the rules. Or if it should reduce it at all, saving one cousin from a big family might qualify in dealing with the obligation but maybe not lower the obligation stat for having the family obligation. All of these posts were helpful and I do appreciate the advice.

Short answer: If the PC put effort into dealing with the Obligation, it seems kind of miserly not to reduce it at least somewhat. That is, unless they epicly fail in their attempt, in which case you might end up increasing it. YMMV.