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I would like some clarification on the Master of Trade, Qadiran Prestige Award, from the Pathfinder Society Field Guide. It says that once per session you can make a single purchase at a 10% discount, excluding spellcasting or material components.
Does this count toward initial magical item purchases, such as buying a Potion of Cure Light Wounds or a Belt of Dwarvenkind?
How does this work for upgrading equipment, such as when you upgrade a Masterwork item to +1 or adding keen to a +1 weapon? Does upgrading the original item count as a spellcasting service, since you are not selling the old item and buying a replacement?
My unofficial answer is that I would expect it would give you 10% off the Potion or Belt, etc. but not on any incremental costs (like upgrading).
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I think there are bigger problems with this. The "one item" restriction is not really a functional restriction at all: you actually get 10% off of everything you buy, ever. The method is to buy items that are fungible and sell at its full value (like gems or trade goods), and not items that sell for half (like most items). Say you're sitting on 4,500 gp at the end of a scenario. Use it to buy a 5,000 gp gem, as that single item only costs you 4,500 gp. Then you use that gem to buy a piece of chalk and get 4999.99 gp in change, which you can then use to buy whatever you want (including lots of smaller items).
I think the restriction that you can't buy spellcasting or material components with your discounted purchase isn't enough. It should also state that you can't purchase anything that you are able to resell for full value.
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I think there are bigger problems with this. The "one item" restriction is not really a functional restriction at all: you actually get 10% off of everything you buy, ever. The method is to buy items that are fungible and sell at its full value (like gems or trade goods), and not items that sell for half (like most items). Say you're sitting on 4,500 gp at the end of a scenario. Use it to buy a 5,000 gp gem, as that single item only costs you 4,500 gp. Then you use that gem to buy a piece of chalk and get 4999.99 gp in change, which you can then use to buy whatever you want (including lots of smaller items).
I think the restriction that you can't buy spellcasting or material components with your discounted purchase isn't enough. It should also state that you can't purchase anything that you are able to resell for full value.
It wouldn't work that way, you can't 'buy' gold that way, even for trade goods. Even if you bought a gem for 5,000g, discounted to 4,500g, its only worth 2,500g (selling price is 1/2 purchase price.) But you are correct, there definitely should have better wording to specify that you cannot do this.
I would say the discount would be similar to the Artisan Shop discount, which specifically specifies *non-magical* Still, a Qadiran Armorsmith with an artisan's shop would get a nice 15% discount on mithral/adamantine armor. If these discounts are not supposed to apply to special material goods, that also should be added in the FAQ.
"Artisan’s Shop (5 PP): Your craft is your livelihood when
you aren’t excavating musty tombs or exploring uncharted
lands. You sell your wares through an unassuming
storefront in a well-trafficked mercantile district. If you
use ranks in any Craft skill to calculate your bonus on
Day Job checks, having an artisan’s shop grants you a +1
circumstance bonus on all such checks. Additionally, you
receive a 5% discount on all nonmagical merchandise in
your area of expertise when purchasing it in the same city
as your shop, rounded to the nearest gold piece."
It wouldn't work that way, you can't 'buy' gold that way, even for trade goods. Even if you bought a gem for 5,000g, discounted to 4,500g, its only worth 2,500g (selling price is 1/2 purchase price.) But you are correct, there definitely should have better wording to specify that you cannot do this.
Of course you can get full value out of gems if you are using them to buy something and not just trying to convert them into gold. It is pretty standard to take all your bulky coins and buy lightweight gems with them and then later on use the gems to buy items, getting the same gold value out of the gems that you originally put in.
But I do see where this will need to be erratad so that someone with this prestige award does not sit there and simply go back and forth between gold and gems day after day til they build up an extra stockpile. Though this would really only matter in non-PFS games where the passage of down time is counted and tracked.
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It wouldn't work that way, you can't 'buy' gold that way, even for trade goods. Even if you bought a gem for 5,000g, discounted to 4,500g, its only worth 2,500g (selling price is 1/2 purchase price.) But you are correct, there definitely should have better wording to specify that you cannot do this.I think there are bigger problems with this. The "one item" restriction is not really a functional restriction at all: you actually get 10% off of everything you buy, ever. The method is to buy items that are fungible and sell at its full value (like gems or trade goods), and not items that sell for half (like most items). Say you're sitting on 4,500 gp at the end of a scenario. Use it to buy a 5,000 gp gem, as that single item only costs you 4,500 gp. Then you use that gem to buy a piece of chalk and get 4999.99 gp in change, which you can then use to buy whatever you want (including lots of smaller items).
I think the restriction that you can't buy spellcasting or material components with your discounted purchase isn't enough. It should also state that you can't purchase anything that you are able to resell for full value.
Problem is:
Trade goods are the exception to the half-price rule. A trade good, in this sense, is a valuable good that can be easily exchanged almost as if it were cash itself.
So, yes, it needs to be FAQed for PFS. For a home game, the GM can easily put his foot down on this exploit, but PFS needs to have it clearly spelled out.
Otherwise, with this discount, you could buy 10 pounds of Platinum, normally 5,000 gp for 4,500 gp, and then resell it for the full 5,000 gp.
And, then each session, you can bump up the money by a bit, especially if going at the slow rate, and then buy yourself that capped by Fame item for a 10% discount.
Which brings uop anotrher question, although the answer should be simple:
Is the Fame cap for this purchase based of the normal price, or the discounted proce. Should be the normal price, IMO.
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Thread necromancy ho!
The initial post here says that this question has been added to the FAQ - I presume that means the Society Organized Play FAQ, but I can't find an answer to the question there.
When it says "one item per scenario," does that imply that I can use it between scenarios instead? That is, can I use it when I purchase a new magical item once I've finished a scenario, instead of during the scenario itself? If not, is there anything (aside from lack of access to the coin from the new chronicle) keeping me from waiting until the end of the scenario and going shopping before the epilogue/debrief?
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
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Well the scenario isn't over until the GM says so, so there should be no problem doing your shopping at the end of the scenario. That's how I expect to use the boon when I get it with my Qadiran. Also, note the language. It's one purchase per scenario, so it's not limited to just buying items.
I use this on my character that has it to buy one item per chronicle sheet at the reduced cost (either at the start of a game, or the end of one). That way, I know that I'm only ever using it once per scenario.
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Well the scenario isn't over until the GM says so, so there should be no problem doing your shopping at the end of the scenario. That's how I expect to use the boon when I get it with my Qadiran. Also, note the language. It's one purchase per scenario, so it's not limited to just buying items.
The vanity says the discount doesn't apply to spellcasting or material component costs. The description doesn't include bribes and ransoms either, so I'm pretty sure equipment is the only thing you could buy and get the discount. Unless of course you run up a giant bar tab during an adventure, but at that volume the drinks are approaching a trade good.
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Personally I don't think it entitles anyone to buy platinum, gold, silver, copper, or gems at a 10% discount. That would make no sense (and who would do that deal?). If someone got a 5000gp gem for 4500gp, then I would argue they could sell the gem back at 50% of value. Try to sell your gem and jewelry at the local pawn shop at full retail.
Obviously it should apply to all normal non-magical goods.
The question for me is what about items that require spell casting services to create?
Magic weapons, wondrous items, wands, and scrolls, potions all require some spell casting in creation.
This really needs to be clarified. To me spending 4 Prestige (2500gp equiv), for a discount on basic goods doesn't seem worth it. Unless you are buying a case of sextants (500gp per), full plate for your Terracotta Army or a galley (30,000gp).
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I don't see why you couldn't use this to purchase an upgrade. Maybe the seller is taking your Longsword +1 for full trade in value in exchange for the purchase of a Longsword +2? There's no rule saying that items can only be upgraded via spellcasting. Maybe your seller just has the benefit of a weird trait or archetype that allows non-spellcasters to craft magic items?
If you go to page 24 of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play, there's a specific section on Spellcasting Services, and Master of Trade specifically refers to not being able to use the benefit on spellcasting services or material component costs. As such, I would think the spellcasting services intended would be limited to those referred to on page 24 and not to upgrading items, but you could still only upgrade one item per scenario chronicle sheet.
Master of Trade: Using faction contacts and mercantile experience, you can always get yourself the best deal when buying goods. Once per game session, you may make any single purchase you could normally make at a 10% discount. This discount is not available on spellcasting services or material components.
Spellcasting Services
Sometimes awful things happen to adventurers. After an all-night romp through the sewers, your wounds might start to fester with some foul disease—you might even die. You may have spells cast on your character, subtracting the gold piece cost from your total. If your gold is insufficient, the other players around the table may chip in to get you back on your feet, but they cannot be compelled to do so. It is their choice whether or not they aid you. Additionally, your faction may be able to aid you with certain issues as well, so long as you have enough Prestige Points to spend in exchange for their aid (see Fame and Prestige). Any spellcasting purchased using Prestige Points is cast at minimum caster level.
Generally speaking, you can pay to have spells cast on you at any time during the scenario so long as you’re in a settlement or have access to a temple, shrine, or wandering mystic. Page 163 of the Core Rulebook covers the rules for purchasing spellcasting services and the associated costs are listed in the Spellcasting and Services table on page 159.
For Pathfinder Society Organized Play, PCs may only purchase spells with a total cost of above 3,000 gp by visiting a settlement with more than 5,000 residents. Any settlement smaller than that will have a mystic or full-blown wizard or cleric who can cast spells that cost fewer than 3,000 gp, but never more. Please note that PCs may never purchase the traveling service of a spellcaster—in other words, a wizard from the local town is not, for any price, going to accompany the PCs on their mission into the nearby haunted castle.
Spells that are 7th level or higher are not available from spellcasting services. Spellcasters capable of casting such spells are quite rare, and as such, cannot simply be bartered with for higher-level spellcasting services. The only exceptions to this rule are any 7th-level or higher spells listed as available to be purchased by your faction.
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I don't see why you couldn't use this to purchase an upgrade.
You should probably read a bit further before deciding to Necro an old thread.
How does "Master of Trade" prestige award actually work?
The wording of the vanity indicates that the discount only applies towards purchases, which would not include upgrading items. As an example you buy a +2 mithral breastplate in a single purchase you get the disount on the full cost of the item. If you bought a non-magical mithral breastplate with the discount. You would have to pay the full 1000gp difference of upgrading it to a +1 item.
