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Back in November 2012 Kyle Baird did a marvelous job putting together our first How to Upgrade Your Gear in PFS thread. Since then it's generated nearly 500 comments, as well as many new questions. Being as it's been a year and a half since the creation of that thread, I figured it was time for an update. Everything from that discussion has been included here. Should you still have a question that you feel hasn't been answered by this, ask it below.
For ease of play, a masterwork item can always be upgraded to a +1 item without paying for the masterwork cost again. Instead, you pay the difference between the cost of the +1 item and that of the masterwork item. This rule also applies to upgrading from a +1 item to a +2 item and so on—you never have to repay the original cost or sell your current item for half to upgrade to the next step. Note that this only applies to items of the same kind— you can’t, for example, turn your masterwork rapier into a +1 greatsword. A mundane item can not be upgraded to masterwork, nor can nonmagical aspects of equipment be upgraded (such as the strength rating on a composite bow).
Q: I have a non-masterwork greatsword (50 gp). Can I upgrade it to a masterwork greatsword (350 gp)?
A: Normally, no. In order to upgrade an item to masterwork quality you must pay for a masterwork transformation spell from Ultimate Magic (pg 26). If you cannot cast the spell yourself (or have a fellow PC do it for you) you must also pay an additional 60 gp for the spellcasting service.
Note: You are only allowed to have one item affected by this spell that carries over from session to session. Once the item has been enchanted to +1 it no longer counts against the one masterwork transformation item allowed per character (link).
Q: I have a masterwork greatsword (350 gp). Can I upgrade it to a +1 greatsword (2,350 gp)?
A: Yes. You can spend 2,000 gp to upgrade your masterwork greatsword to a +1 greatsword. You can perform this upgrade regardless of fame.
Q: I have a +1 greatsword (2,350 gp). Can I upgrade it to a +2 greatsword (8,350 gp)?
A: Yes. You can spend 6,000 gp to upgrade your greatsword so long as you have enough fame to qualify for the final item. In this example, your final item requires 27 fame to purchase (Table 5-3, pg 25).
Q: I have a +1 greatsword (2,350 gp). Can I upgrade it to a +1 adamantine greatsword (5,050 gp)?
A: No. Unless the special material specifically says it can be added to items that already exist, you can not add a special material. If you want to add special material properties to existing weapons, look at weapon blanches from the Advanced Players Guide.
Q: I have a +1/+1 quarterstaff (4,600 gp). Can I upgrade it to a +2/+2 quarterstaff (16,600 gp), even if I don't meet the fame requirments for such a purchase?
A: Yes. For double weapons, calculate the cost of each end separately when considering fame purchasing limits. In this example, your final item would only require 27 fame to purchase.
Q: I have a dragonhide breastplate. How much fame do I need before I can upgrade it to a +1 dragonhide breastplate?
A: 13, since a +1 dragonhide breastplate is not always available. Although the general rule is that +1 armor and +1 weapons are always available, dragonhide as a special material is not. You must have enough fame to qualify for the final price of any item that is not always available.
Q: I have a +3 frost greatsword (32,350 gp). Can I upgrade it to a frost band (54,475 gp)?
A: Yes. Magic armor and weapons may be upgraded to named versions if they are the same basic material and shape as, and meet but do not exceed the enhancement bonuses of the named versions. In this example a frost band is called out as being a +3 frost greatsword with some added abilities. You can spend 22,125 gp to upgrade your greatsword so long as you have enough fame to qualify for the final item. In this example, your final item requires 54 fame to purchase.
Q: Is there an upgrade path to celestial armor?
A: There is no upgrade path to achieve Celestial Armor.
Q: Can I further upgrade a named magic item?
A: Per the FAQ, named magic items—including specific armor and specific weapons—are not upgradeable. Non-magic specific armor and specific weapons may be upgraded normally. Wondrous items whose names include a +X value (such as bracers of armor, headband of vast intelligence, amulet of might fists, etc.) may also be upgraded following the rules for upgrading magical items on page 19 of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play.
Upgraded versions of named magic items may appear on Chronicle sheets.
Q: Can I upgrade my handy haversack to a bag of holding?
A: No. Although these items may function similarly, they are not the same item.
Q: Can I upgrade my bag of holding type I to a bag of holding type II?
A: No, as this is not a wondrous item with a +X value.
Q: Can I upgrade my bracers of archery, lesser to bracers of archery, greater?
A: No, "lesser" items may not be upgraded to "greater" items. This restriction also applies to enchantments such as fortification and flaming.
Q: Can I upgrade my amulet of natural armor +1 (2,000 gp) to an amulet of natural armor +2 (8,000 gp)?
A: Yes. You can spend 6,000 gp to upgrade your amulet so long as you have enough fame to qualify for the final item. In this example, your final item requires 22 fame to purchase.
Q: Can I upgrade my headband of vast intelligence +2 (4,000 gp) to a headband of vast intelligence +4 (16,000 gp)?
A: Yes. You can spend 12,000 gp to upgrade your headband so long as you have enough fame to qualify for the final item. In this example, your final item requires 31 fame to purchase.
Q: Can I upgrade my headband of vast intelligence +2 (4,000 gp) to a headband of mental prowess +2 (10,000 gp)?
A: Yes. You can spend 6,000 gp to upgrade your headband so long as you have enough fame to qualify for the final item. In this example, your final item requires 27 fame to purchase.
Q: Can I upgrade my headband of mental prowess +2 (10,000 gp) to a headband of mental prowess with +4 to one mental stat and +2 to another (22,000 gp)?
A: No. Such an item does not exist in a legal PFS source.
Q: Adding New Abilities–Can I combine the abilities of a ring of protection and a ring of invisibility into one item by paying 1.5x the price of the newer ability?
A: No, custom magic items are not available for purchase or upgrade. The only exception to this general rule is the ability to upgrade headbands (and belts) that increase ability scores, as outlined above.
Q: Can an Arcane Bonded Item be upgraded?
A: Per the FAQ, a character with the arcane bond class feature may create a bond with any item he owns, either magical or mundane, as long as the item falls within the categories permitted by the arcane bond ability (the cost for bonding with a new item still applies). If a caster later wishes to upgrade an existing bonded item, he may do so for the cost (not price) of the final item as listed in the item's statblock.
For items which can be enhanced incrementally (such as weapons or a ring of protection), the caster must meet all prerequisites for the item as outlined in the item crafting rules. For example, a nonmagical bonded dagger can be enchanted to a +1 dagger for 1,000 gp instead of the normal 2,000 gp, but the caster must be at least 5th level (a prerequisite for the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat). To upgrade the item further to a +2 dagger, the caster must have a caster level of 6 or higher (three times the item's enhancement bonus).
A bonded item that is enhanced must still conform to all the campaign rules for access to and upgrading of magical items. The final and total price of the item (not the cost) is used on the Fame chart to determine whether a caster can apply such an enhancement to a bonded item.
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This was a great help but I do have one question on the upgrade system. Do you need to have the upgraded weapon available on a chronicle cheet? I am asking because the character I am working on uses an Earthbreaker and a Klar, both very specialized weapons and not likely to appear on the sheets often. If I bought a +1 klar as an always available item, could I have it upgraded to +2 even if a +2 klar does not appear on one of my chronicle sheets. Thanks for the advice.
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This was a great help but I do have one question on the upgrade system. Do you need to have the upgraded weapon available on a chronicle cheet? I am asking because the character I am working on uses an Earthbreaker and a Klar, both very specialized weapons and not likely to appear on the sheets often. If I bought a +1 klar as an always available item, could I have it upgraded to +2 even if a +2 klar does not appear on one of my chronicle sheets. Thanks for the advice.
As long as you have the requisite Fame to be able to purchase the item you do not need to have it on Chronicle.
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These rules make me sad. As a cleric I have chosen to focus a bit on channeling, even though many folks claim channel heals don't scale well at higher levels. I like channeling, its a cool ability and I wanted to make my channels more useful. I was especially excited to discover the Undead Slayer's Handbook and the Bless equipment feats. These seem to give me some additional utility in a support role. The one thing that is upsetting me about this whole story is that in order to boost my Channel dice, I had to give up my head slot +4 bonus to wisdom. I can still get a rod of Splendor (not cheap for a PFS character) to boost my cha, and get my number of channels/day higher, but eventually it appears I'll have to loose the extra 2 dice to get +4 to Wisdom, and that makes me sad. I was really hoping there was a way to combine the Phylactery with the Wis/Cha headband.
You can always go with the stat boosting Ioun Stones, though they do cost more than the headband of mental prowess or belt of physical might, at 8k each vs 10k for the two stat item. you do get the added bonus of being able to slot them into a wayfinder for a +1 will from either or both(if you have two slots)
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The chronicle sheets are a way to ignore Fame requirements and allow you to purchase things you might not normally be able to. They are not meant to restrict what items you are allowed to purchase.
Mystic, if this accurate, then I missed something big in the rules. I thought it was restricted to those items and the always available. So, exactly what did I miss?
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In the Guide to Organized Play, page 25, there is a "Fame and Item Purchase" chart. Once your Fame score reaches the requisite levels another tier of items becomes "always available" for you, barring anything that's actually banned.
So, for example, you can't purchase Dragonhide Fullplate (3300gp) until you reach 18 Fame, which unlocks purchases of up to 5250gp.
I chose not to include the Fame chart in my original post because it's already covered in the Guide, and I wanted this thread to cover the rules of how to upgrade the gear you have.
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In the Guide to Organized Play, page 25, there is a "Fame and Item Purchase" chart. Once your Fame score reaches the requisite levels another tier of items becomes "always available" for you, barring anything that's actually banned.
So, for example, you can't purchase Dragonhide Fullplate (3300gp) until you reach 18 Fame, which unlocks purchases of up to 5250gp.
I chose not to include the Fame chart in my original post because it's already covered in the Guide, and I wanted this thread to cover the rules of how to upgrade the gear you have.
Nefreet,
This seems wrong. I have read this several times and it doesn't say anywhere that your fame unlocks further items, it just says that it increases "the maximum cost of items you can purchase with gold".
Is there something official that spells this out, something that says that the list of available items becomes more unlocked. I see where it says "Beyond the gear noted above, your character is restricted to purchasing additional items from his accumulated Chronicle sheets, or by capitalizing on his fame." (page 23) but this again doesn't spell out that it expands the availability list.
Maybe I'm missing something but from what I am reading your explanation seems off. I do appreciate the help though and if I am wrong I'd like to see where it shows that so I can make sure that I am handling things correctly.
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J scot:
So what exactly do you think the fame limit does ?
I would say it limits to max gold you could spend on any single item from the always available list and the chronicle sheets. Kind of similar to how, when a DM has a character start a higher level they sometimes say you have 20k gold but no more than 9k can be spent on a single item.
That was how I read it. I do understand what is being said by Nefreet but I was looking for something, either published or official on these boards that would clear it up. I am thinking of running some PFS games and I want to not only understand the rules but be able to point it out in case of soem disbutes.
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So what exactly do you think the fame limit does?I would say it limits to max gold you could spend on any single item from the always available list and the chronicle sheets.
You can always purchase items from your Chronicle Sheets, regardless of Fame, so increasing your Fame has no impact on what gets "unlocked" from your Chronicles.
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You can always purchase items from your Chronicle Sheets, regardless of Fame, so increasing your Fame has no impact on what gets "unlocked" from your Chronicles.So what exactly do you think the fame limit does?I would say it limits to max gold you could spend on any single item from the always available list and the chronicle sheets.
Nefreet,
I understand what you are saying but is there a thread, a link, or a published document that spells that out, because the guide doesn't say that fame makes thing available for purchase. Based on what you are saying then after 3rd level, most original lists will be completely unnecessary, since almost all of those items will now be "always available" along with most everything else of a lower cost. Seems to go against the concept to me. Which is why I wanted something I can point to and say "right here is where it says this".
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This was a great help but I do have one question on the upgrade system. Do you need to have the upgraded weapon available on a chronicle cheet? I am asking because the character I am working on uses an Earthbreaker and a Klar, both very specialized weapons and not likely to appear on the sheets often. If I bought a +1 klar as an always available item, could I have it upgraded to +2 even if a +2 klar does not appear on one of my chronicle sheets. Thanks for the advice.
Since this type of confusion happens a lot with new players, I actually wrote a quick summary of item buying roughly 2 years ago. Here it is:
We really need a PFS item purchasing tutorial. Unfortunately, the Guide to Organized Play isn't written very well with regard to this, because the information is spread out in different sections, which makes it tough for newbies to put it all together.
Here's the key points:
A character can purchase any of the following:
1. Anything from the "Always Available" list on page 23 of the Guide to Organized Play. This includes any non-magical item that is legal for play, except dragonhide and firearms. It also includes +1 weapons, +1 armor, and +1 shields, along with scrolls, potions, and oils of level 1 (or lower) spells. And it includes default Wayfinders.
2. Anything that has ever appeared on one of their chronicle sheets for that PC. The exception are things that are listed as having a limited quantity, which can only be purchased the number of times listed. But things without a limited quantity on the chronicle can be purchased as many times as you want. If a player has multiple characters, be sure to keep your chronicles separated by PC.
3. Other stuff, based on Fame score. This is where the chart on page 25 of the Guide comes into play. If your Fame is less than 5, then this third category is "nothing". Once you hit 5 Fame, you can start purchasing things worth 500 gp or less that aren't "Always Available" or on your chronicle sheets.
It's also worth noting that you can only purchase things that are allowed by the Additional Resources list, regardless of which of the three methods above you use to qualify to buy them. *deliberately ignores season 0 scenarios that list non-Pathfinder items on chronicles*
Hope this helps!
Edit: Changed references to page numbers to reflect the newest Guide to Organized Play after initially posting this.
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is there a thread, a link, or a published document that spells that out
Well, since you asked for a thread, you could click on the first thread I linked in my original post. That's been the "How to Upgrade Your Gear in PFS" thread for the last year and a half, and it says the same thing.
If it was incorrect it would have been corrected long ago.
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You can always purchase items from your Chronicle Sheets, regardless of Fame, so increasing your Fame has no impact on what gets "unlocked" from your Chronicles.So what exactly do you think the fame limit does?I would say it limits to max gold you could spend on any single item from the always available list and the chronicle sheets.Nefreet,
I understand what you are saying but is there a thread, a link, or a published document that spells that out, because the guide doesn't say that fame makes thing available for purchase. Based on what you are saying then after 3rd level, most original lists will be completely unnecessary, since almost all of those items will now be "always available" along with most everything else of a lower cost. Seems to go against the concept to me. Which is why I wanted something I can point to and say "right here is where it says this".
It mentions fame and spending limits on p. 24 in the Guide, but it is laid out better in the first section on p. 25:
Benefits of Fame
A character’s Fame represents her renown and status
within her faction. For every 10 points of Fame, a character
gains a cumulative +1 bonus on Diplomacy checks made
against members of her faction. Her Fame might also
afford her certain titles and incidental privileges and
allow her to purchase spells and items from her faction
between scenarios. A character’s Fame score determines the
maximum gp value of any items she can purchase from her
faction, as detailed in Table 5–3 below. The character must
still actually spend the gold to receive the desired item. For
double weapons, calculate the cost of each end separately
when considering Fame purchasing limits.
The always available items on page 29 can be bought regardless of fame, as noted in the second column. On page 22, it specifies that loot on chronicle sheets is always available.
Every item listed on your Chronicle
sheets is considered always available for purchase for you,
regardless of whether it’s on your first Chronicle sheet or
your 21st Chronicle sheet.
Edit: Added found always available list.
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The Always Available list is on page 23. Like I said above, this stuff is spread out enough to be confusing in the Guide.
I remember when I first started, 3 years ago, I didn't understand what it meant by purchasing from your faction. That's just fancy talk for having the contacts necessary to find merchants selling the items you want to buy, if they aren't Always Available or on a chronicle sheet, but that's never really explained clearly.
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Thank you Fromper for summing it up (as always). It is very vague in the guide and quoting something vague is just being vague in response.
As for the previous thread, it is 500+ posts in length, which was why you were summing it up here I believe (I would suggest maybe adding something about this will be helpful, as was mentioned in the old thread as well). I did finally go through the major length of that thread and found what I was looking for, but a link you had to a specific mention of it would have been a big help.
In the guide it mentions to capitalize on fame but does spell it out very well. Nor does it explain that purchasing from your faction is different than purchasing from your chronicle sheets. Sometimes those that are experienced with something forget that not everything is completely understood the same way.
Thanks as always.
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A character can purchase any of the following:2. Anything that has ever appeared on one of their chronicle sheets for that PC. The exception are things that are listed as having a limited quantity, which can only be purchased the number of times listed. But things without a limited quantity on the chronicle can be purchased as many times as you want. If a player has multiple characters, be sure to keep your chronicles separated by PC.
It's also worth noting that you can only purchase things that are allowed by the Additional Resources list, regardless of which of the three methods above you use to qualify to buy them. *deliberately ignores season 0 scenarios that list non-Pathfinder items on chronicles*
I believe that you can buy anything specifically listed on your Chronicle Sheet *even if* it is not listed in Additional Resources. My reason for believing this is that I think they sometimes deliberately leave items out of Additional Resources for AP volumes, specifically so that they can only be purchased by people who have earned the Chronicle Sheet for that volume. (I suspect that's true for modules as well, but I haven't earned any module chronicle sheets, so I don't know for sure.)
As an example, the Additional Resources for Snows of Summer (Reign of Winter Book 1) says
"Equipment: all equipment except cauldron of overwhelming allies and spear of manhunting are legal for play" and then the Spear of Manhunting shows up on the chronicle. And that is not an isolated example.
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Q: Can I upgrade my headband of vast intelligence +2 (4,000 gp) to a headband of mental prowess +2 (10,000 gp)?
A: Yes. You can spend 6,000 gp to upgrade your headband so long as you have enough fame to qualify for the final item. In this example, your final item requires 27 fame to purchase.
Do you have a source to back this up? This one has come up on occasion over the years, and I was never sure about it. They aren't the same item, with just the numeric bonus increasing, so I didn't think it was legal.
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I, in fact, have two sources for you! Enjoy.
Source one.
Souce two, stating that source one is still accurate.Neither have been contradicted yet, to my knowledge, so they're still good.
Thanks for the links.
It's too bad Paizo specifically flagged Mark Moreland's post as "Answered in the FAQ" when it very obviously isn't. I checked before I asked the question, then again after seeing your links and Mark's post, just to make sure I didn't miss anything.
I hate it when Paizo blatantly lies to us about that, and they do it often enough to be very annoying.
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I'd simplify Fromper's advice about what you can purchase from above like this:
- Items from the "Always Available" list on page 23 of the Guide to Organized Play.
- Items on your chronicle sheets become "Always Available" to you.
- Other stuff, based on Fame score (page 25 of the Guide)
"Always Available" is a really clear term in the guide, but once you bring chronicle items and fame into it, it's consistently a lot muddier for new players. Simplify, simplify, simplify!