Ultimately, even though the mechanical effects
always come into play, it's up to the GM as to how
this affects the characters narratively. One thing the
GM should not feel obligated to do, however, is dis-
rupt his own narrative or story in order to represent
a triggered Obligation. Remember, the effects of a
triggered Obligation can always be mental. If a PC's
"bounty" Obligation gets triggered, but the GM is in
the middle of an ongoing adventure and doesn't want
to complicate things by having a bounty hunter show
up, he can just tell the player that his PC is suffering
a lower strain threshold because he's worried this ad-
venture is making it harder to avoid bounty hunters.
OBLIGATION AS A
THRESHOLD
Obligation can also be used as a threshold, a measure
of the group's infamy or social standing, depending on
the volume and type of Obligation.
Generally, as the characters in EDGE OF THE EMPIRE
gain more Obligation, their ties deepen to the criminal
underworld of the galaxy. Even if the Obligation itself
seems innocuous, such as a Favor Obligation, the favors
may be owed to someone with far more criminal links.
Due to this, the GM has the option to set thresholds for
the group's total Obligation (or individual characters' Ob-
ligations). In these cases, the GM may determine that the
group's total Obligation must either be less or more than
the set threshold in order for them to attempt a certain
task. For example, a local politician may not be willing to
meet with a group whose Obligation is more than 60, but
a local crime lord may not trust a group whose Obligation
is less than 50. In both cases, it's a matter of how the
NPCs perceive the group's overall reputation.
More on Obligation thresholds is covered on page
308 in Chapter IX: The Came Master. At this stage it
is sufficient for players to know that the more Obligation
their characters have, the easier a time they're likely to
have dealing with other criminals, and the harder a time
they're likely to have dealing with law-abiding citizens.OBLIGATION AS A
RESOURCESometimes characters have the option to voluntarily ac-
cept additional Obligation to obtain items and accom-
plish goals that would normally be out of their reach. In
these cases, the GM may increase an existing Obligation
by a certain amount, or decide to create an entirely new
Obligation to reflect the transaction or events.This is mainly covered on page 309 in Chapter IX:
The Game Master, as these options occur later dur-
ing gameplay, and not usually during character creation.
The only point players should be aware of is that not all
Obligation is created equal. Obligation does not have an
equivalent value in credits; its value is solely dependent
on the circumstances, what is being acquired, the person
or people being negotiated with, and so on. Acquiring an
illegally salvaged T-45 power coupling on the black mar-
ket may require 5 Obligation from a well-known fence
and underworld contact, but could require 15 Obligation
from a politician who needs to pull a few strings and en-
sure he retains plausible deniability about the entire affair.EXAMPLE OBLIGATION CHECKfl
t the start of a session with the characters Os-
kara the Twi'lek. 41-VEX the droid, Lowhhrick
the Wookiee, and Pash the human, the GM takes
their Obligation chart and rolls a percentile die.Obligation Value Obligation Type Character
1-15 Favor Pash26-35 Oath Lowhhrick^mmm
The GM rolls a 39. This means that the group's
Obligation has been triggered (as the GM rolled
a result that was equal to or lower than their to-
tal Obligation of 45). More specifically, 41 -VEX's
Obligation has been triggered, as the result was
between 36 and 45.
Mechanically, this means all characters suffer -1
to their strain threshold for the session, and 41-VEX suffers -2 to his strain threshold instead. Nar-
ratively, this could just mean that 41-VEX is par-
ticularly concerned about his outstanding debts,
concerned enough that the droid is complaining
about them and driving the other three characters
to distraction. It is not a major part of the ongo-
ing story, but is a reminder to the group that they
have to handle this Obligation at some point.
However, if the GM had rolled a 44, the fact that
he rolled doubles means the effects amplify. In
this case, Oskara, Lowhhrick, and Pash see their
strain thresholds drop by 2 for the session, and
41-VEX's threshold drops by 4. In this case, the
GM could decide the penalty is severe enough
that something ominous has occurred, such as a
skip tracer contacting 41 -VEX to demand a pay-
ment immediately, or even his creditor threat-
ening to send a bounty hunter after the poor
droid—and if its friends are caught in the cross-
fire, that's no problem to the creditor.