Hello errybody,

I've been running an EotE campaign for about 7 sessions now. As my players have started to move around the galaxy, I've started to run into this problem: Most of their Obligations center around particular individuals rather than large organizations that operate everywhere. I'd like to keep including their Obligations in the storyline as they move away from their home turf, but this feels like I'm stretching the bounds of these entities' abilities to find the players. For example, it feels odd to me to keep dropping this one bounty hunter in their encounters without really solid reasoning. They've already dropped their first ship to avoid the problem of tracking the tags of the ship from system to system. Have any of you experienced this kind of "small universe" problem? How have you gotten around it? How are you able to continue tying in the Obligations from systems far, far away to wherever they are?

Actually I prefer to go the other way - I build the hell out of an interesting sector and set most of the games there. I like continuity, recurring bad guys, familiar bars and hangouts, known port masters and custom agents and that sort of thing. It gives the game a sense of being real instead of just a series of random generic Adventure Towns every week. My games that have a strong core like that tend to be most satisfying for me.

Mind you, that doesn't prevent them from going "we need to head across the galaxy for X reason" or finding new and unexplored territories all the time. But the ability to go back to Ricks Bar on Ord Lomo and get into a fight with Captain Yarrow works well.

(And I realize that I was of no help whatsoever. )

Whats your players Obligations look like? That might help us tailor our answers to your specific situation.

One thing you can try is roll Obligation at the end of a session instead of the beginning, and apply it to the next session. This way you can actually plan the next adventure with the active obligation in mind, rather then just having bounty hunter X show up because...reasons...

Another angle, depending on the obligation, is to have it manifest in a less physical form. If you have an obligation of say... Family, don't have weird uncle wally show up out of the blue demanding credits. Instead just wait... When the players are doing something and roll despair or a pile of threat, have the players comlink go off, and low and behold it's Uncle Wally drunk-dialing to talk to you about how much that last stack of credits you sent him helped, and NO HE WILL NOT CALL BACK LATER.

Also there's the option of migrating the Obligation. Run a few adventures and knock off 10 Obligation as the reward... Of course that Black Sun Vigo that help you out with Unlce Wally now feels you own him 10 points of Obligation: Favor....

Ord Lomo

...after that last incident with the Spice kingpin we are persona non Lomo... Maybe I should start over...

One of the characters was an indentured servant to a Hutt, and the PCs got him out of dodge. He also pissed off an Imperial Moff during his time as a servant, drawing fire on him and indirectly on the Hutt.

The second is a Bothan who shamed his family on Bothawui and fell into a bounty hunting life. He got mixed up in an agency that loans money to start-up hunters, but that fell through and now he's on the run from that. He wasn't able to take out his last target for this agency, and this target is now seeking revenge. I'm also starting to weave that this guy might be involved in covert counter-Rebellion activities now that the PCs got mixed up in some Rebel people-smuggling early in the campaign.

The third is a doctor with a shady past working for the Imperials that went sour when his base was infiltrated by some sort of neurotoxin. Nobody really knows what happened, except for an unknown blackmailer, somebody from his past life. After escaping from that, he hid out on Bothawui for a time as a doctor for a less-than-savory Bothan gang, but getting mixed up in the Rebel smuggling basically got his shop burnt to the ground by the gang, pressured by Imperials trying to flush out sympathizers.

Basically, the last thing anyone wants to do is go back near the Bothan System or Hutt Space.

Basically, the last thing anyone wants to do is go back near the Bothan System or Hutt Space.

Sounds a bit like my group. My way around it: the individual in person isn't the only one they have to worry about.

Start throwing in Bounty Hunters that are on their trail. Even if they aren't to capture them but to deliver a message, it can still light some fire under someone's feet. Have them get a random call from that special someone to remind them of the hot water they are in. Make them worry every time someone or something new comes at them. . .

Some favorite tricks of mine:

1) Hired bounty hunters. This can either be the normal kind out to get them, one sent to deliver a message that cannot be trusted over the comms (which can really make someone paranoid), or they can just be cheap muscle hired to be seen stalking the party but pose no real threat.

2) Messages that arrive ahead of the party. I know some people HATE this, but when you remember that when you leave a spaceport you are supposed to give a next destination to rescue operations can be conducted if you get lost.

That said, who's to say that someone on the list couldn't get the information of where you left and what was the bearing, and then calculated every possible system along that vector? If they have money to burn, they could have used the HoloNet, sent out messages to every major spaceport tapcaf along the way, and leave a "message" to be delivered to the party member(s) in question?

3) Comms. This is simple and easy; a message was sent to them directly. Considering the cost for certain types of messages, you can show them just how MUCH trouble they are in (i.e. a real time holotransmission from Nal Hutta to Corcuscant is a small fortune and may possibly take some strings being pulled in the military to allow).

4) Fingers in every pie. Hutts are notorious for this, and could have contacts everywhere to handle these situations.

So far at my table, we've only had two rolls that didn't make sense with the story; a Criminal roll when everyone was in the middle of nowhere and a Blackmail roll when they were just beginning to trek back to civilization. On both counts, the players were worried that someone or some thing was going to come up.

That was good enough for that, and it's going to be quite fun once they get to the game again where they are going next :-D

If the PCs are far away from their problems, they're also far away from their friends and allies. If the PCs get into trouble where they are, who will help them out? With no reputation, you can easily justify increasing the difficulty of Streetwise and other checks.

And who's to say that their enemies won't go after those friends and allies as a way of getting to the PCs? The Hutt buys up the family's loans and starts putting pressure on them to pay back earlier. Imperial intelligence can arrest known associates and they end up in some internment camp.

Hello errybody,

I've been running an EotE campaign for about 7 sessions now. As my players have started to move around the galaxy, I've started to run into this problem: Most of their Obligations center around particular individuals rather than large organizations that operate everywhere. I'd like to keep including their Obligations in the storyline as they move away from their home turf, but this feels like I'm stretching the bounds of these entities' abilities to find the players. For example, it feels odd to me to keep dropping this one bounty hunter in their encounters without really solid reasoning. They've already dropped their first ship to avoid the problem of tracking the tags of the ship from system to system. Have any of you experienced this kind of "small universe" problem? How have you gotten around it? How are you able to continue tying in the Obligations from systems far, far away to wherever they are?

In fiction, you aren't obligated to explain everything. Especially in pulp action space fantasy where plot overrides plausibility. However, as a GM, you are obligated to be consistent even if you're just making up a reason to bring NPC X into Player Y's field of vision. Also, obviously, don't be jerky about it - for example, having a bounty hunter show up with handcuffs when the PC is bleeding after a firefight.

The Clone Wars used portable hologram projectors pretty heavily as a cell-phone style plot device. Unless my players are deliberately hiding, I assume the sources of their Obligation can get into touch with them through their ship. Or through a network of spies, middle men, and assorted lackeys.

Okay so your first character could stumble into various plots of that Imperial Moff making him think he's been sent to repay the Moff for his attempt on the Hutts operations back in the Bothan System.

The Hutt may learn of the former servants location and either send bounty hunters or messages pointing the character towards performing certain services in return for their favour...

The second character has an Imperial Agent on their case maybe have them encounter a Rebel Operative and former Padawan survivor of Order 66 which means an Inquisitor is now also interested...

The third might be contact by said Agent maybe to help capture their comrade or better yet discovers one of his/her inventions was used to unleash something vile in the system they arrived in and they have the opportunity to do something about it or if they don't someone leaks details of their research so the locals think the good doctor was responsible for releasing the virus...

Could throw in that the cure can only be manufactured either in Hutt space or the Bothan system and would work better, easier and safer if they had someone with a contact in Hutt space who could lend a hand ...

Then there's the possibility someone smuggled actually turns out to be an Imperial Agent and unless stopped will endanger not only the players but everybody else relying on them...