Edge of the Empire Book

TABLE 9-3: GROUP OBLIGATION THRESHOLD GUIDELINES

5-19

No 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.

20-39

No 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.

40-59

Difficult 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.

80-99

Unable 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.

EXAMPLE

The 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