TABLE 9-3: GROUP OBLIGATION THRESHOLD GUIDELINES5-19No difficulties when contacting high level
government and corporate individuals. May
purchase licensed and military equipment
through normal channels with regular
procedures.Difficult to locate and negotiate with the previously
unknown black markets. May be suspected of
working with law enforcement or similar entity.
Unknown entity.20-39No difficulties dealing with moderate and lower
level government and corporate officials. High
level officials may limit exposure. May purchase
licensed and military equipment through
legitimate channels, subject to delays and
background checks.May deal regularly with specific black markets, if
characters are known to them. May be known to specific
criminal enterprises, but not widely recognized.40-59Difficult to deal with all levels of government,
except for personal connections. Officials may
demand secret meetings.Easier to make illicit deals with underworld figures, as
well as corrupt officials.60-79 Too hot for most politicians to deal with publicly. Few are willing to risk doing so privately.Easier to access underworld connections and
influential figures. Easier to make close ties to
personally known underworld figures.80-99Unable to buy licensed and military equipment
from legitimate sources. Too infamous for
legitimate government deals.The group may locate black market and informants
with ease. The Player Characters are well known to
some underworld groups.100 +May not buy most weapons, vehicles and
related equipment from legitimate sources.
Government agencies will often attempt to
arrest on sight.Legendary in underworld circles or regions. Illegal
sources of equipment, vehicles, and weapons are
available, but suppliers are wary of the risk of
angering a rival faction or alerting the authorities, and
may increase cost.USING THE
OBLIGATION THRESHOLD
The Obligation threshold indicates the group's social
standing and notoriety. It is the group's total Obliga-
tion. Where the Obligation threshold number falls dic-
tates how difficult it might be for the Player Charac-
ters to talk with certain individuals, work with certain
groups, and obtain legal or illegal equipment.
Generally, the lower the number, the easier it is to
deal with legitimate entities, such as governments,
security forces, reputable shipyards, and individuals
who are highly regarded. The higher the threshold,
the greater the degree to which dealing with legiti-
mate entities becomes difficult, expensive, and often
impossible. However, it may open up new opportuni-
ties when dealing with the underworld, black market,
criminal groups, crime lords, and others who might
not trust a more reputable individual or group.
The effect of Obligation threshold numbers varies by
region. Having a higher Obligation should hinder the
characters more in the Core Worlds or Imperial space
than the Outer Rim Territories or Hutt Space, for in-
stance. The GM should feel free to alter this to match the
Player Characters specific Obligations, their circumstanc-
es, and the NPCs involved. Table 9-3: Group Obliga-
tion Threshold Guidelines lists ideas for threshold in-
terpretation and its influence while in Imperial-controlled
space. Specific circumstances triggered by Obligation
threshold may also be noted directly in an adventure.
The GM also has the option to remove certain Obli-
gations from the group total when determining if a
Group's total Obligation meets a certain threshold. The
GM would most often do this if he decides a specific
Obligation would not apply to a certain situation.EXAMPLEThe CM is trying to decide if a local politician is
going to meet with two of the PCs, Oskara and
Lowhhrick. The group is at 65 total Obligation,
which normally would make most politicians re-
fuse to meet with them publicly (see Table 9-3:
Group Obligation Threshold Guidelines).
However, the CM decides that Lowhhrick's Oath
Obligation, because it is a personal Oath to
hunt down slavers that wronged his family, is
not the sort of Obligation that would make the
politician feel the Wookiee is a criminal. There-
fore, for the purposes of meeting this particular
threshold, the CM decides the group's total Ob-
ligation only counts as 50, low enough that he's
comfortable with a quiet meeting.THE GAME MASTER
EDCE OF THE EMPIRE