despite our group having an obligation score in the upper 70s, we have yet to roll poorly on our obligation roll.(only played 2 sessions thus far) Just to clarify, what is the penalty for it coming up, I have heard it said that XP cant be spent, However XP cant normally be spent until between sessions anyway unless there is downtime in the story which there rarley is. IS this XP spending restriction for the whole session, or just iuntil the circumstances are resolved( such as paying some of your debt or dodging the bounty hunters chasing you or just killing them outright).  To me there doesnt seem to be a real penalty other than something happens that adds the offending obligation to the current storyline as a plot point.

 Yeah, the point that no player may take more extra obligation than their original starting value is often overlooked for some reason.

i will say, though, that it doesn't make much sense. Why allow a PC in a 6-player game only 5 extra obligation max, while a PC in a 3-player game can add on 15 extra obligation? Power gaming doesn't really come into play here, does it?

Sirkamina said:

You can't spend XP if the total party obligation rises above 100. Since your party is at 70, even if someone's obligation does come up in that week's adventure, they can still gain and spend XP normally. The negative of obligation coming up is something complicates the adventure (bounty hunters show up to get their guy, loan shark shows up to collect on the debt, family calls with some problem that needs to be dealt with, etc…).