We all have obligations. To family, friends, work or even just ourselves. Big or small, we all owe someone something, even if that someone is ourselves or our own desires. Obligation is a part of life…

We find our party of PC’s on the world of Naboo. They are in desperate need of a permit to get their ship out of impound so they can flee the planet…before the authorities realize what they’ve done. Heading to the local impound lot, the PC’s plan to try and sweet talk the officer on duty into releasing their ship.

But what the PC’s haven’t accounted for is the fact the GM rolled Sasha’s name for Obligation this session, and Sasha has 5 points of Betrayal as her Obligation. When the group enters the impound office they immediately hear, “You have a lot of nerve showing your face here!”

The impound officer turns out to be a cousin of Sasha’s. See, Sasha didn’t really hold to the family’s ideals. When she reached voting age, she joined the Naboo Demopublican party, despite her family being lifelong Repubocrats. They saw this as a Betrayal and things weren’t really peachy after that. Sasha’s been living on the fringe and away from the family ever since.

Sasha knows that it’s going to be an uphill battle to convince her cousin to help them. Especially since the GM has elected to Upgrade the die on any opposed checks to convince the cousin. But Sasha is determined and seizes this as an opportunity to clear some of the bad blood.

Knowing her cousin, Sasha begins laying on the Charm. After trying to explain her decision and ask for her cousin’s help, the GM calls for a Charm check. Sasha takes a deep breath and makes her roll.

Success! She convinces her Cousin that she’s worth listening to. Her cousin’s willing to hear their plea for help.

Advantage! Sasha has been very convincing. Her cousin is now sympathetic to her side and the GM knocks a few points of Obligation off her total.

Triumph! Sasha really laid on the Charm. Her cousin agrees to help them and release the ship.

Failure! Sasha’s cousin refuses to talk to them any further.

Threat! Even if Sasha succeeds in winning over her cousin, she realizes the rest of the family will view this manipulation as further betrayal. She knows she’ll gain more Betrayal Obligation unless she goes and tries to explain herself to her parents before leaving the planet.

Despair! Poor Sasha, her cousin decides she needs to be reported to the proper authorities, for her own good of course.

With the additional tweak of this Obligation, a simple meeting with a local bureaucrat has turned into important backstory for Sasha. She has had an opportunity to reduce her Obligation but also the potential to increase it based on how she handles herself.

What would happen if Sasha decides to steal the ship from under her cousin’s nose, gaining herself more Betrayal? Next time her name comes up in the Obligation roll, she hears a news story about her father being diagnosed with a terminal illness. She feels the pull to return to Naboo, despite the arrest warrants out for the entire party. This time, she has to face her parents, something no one can do without taking a few Setback die.

Obligation can be something involved and decidedly fringe-worthy, like Han Solo’s debt to Jabba the Hutt. But it can also be something more down to earth, so to speak. Betrayal within a family can mean a lot of things and can also sometimes cause more problems than a crime lord ever could.

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