Shinobi Shozoku and Pathfinder Society

[Skarm]

Hi all,
I was wondering:

On page 27 of Jade Regent book Night of Frozen Shadow, within a sidebar, there is the description of a mundane equipment called Shinobi Shozoku, which costs 50 gp, grants a +2 circumstance bonus to Stealth and weights 2 lbs.

My perplexity regards the fact that its magical equivalent, the Shozoku of Night Wind, is reported as "legal" for Pathfinder Society play and so I don't understand...

...why the magical item is listed and the mundane one is not listed?

Could be because, de facto, this is a Masterwork Tool for Stealth (given all its traits match the Masterwork Tool statistics, apart from the weight, which is increased by +1 lb)?

Or may be it is because it is merged within the adventure text and, as such, would generate spoilers?

Or it might have been simply overlooked, since it is set in a sidebar and doesn't follow the typical formatting conventions for the new equipment?

Thanks,
Skarm

[Hendelbolaf]

Hero Lab is not the determining factor as to whether something is PFS legal or not, but it is pretty accurate most of the time and it allows the shinobi shozoku for purchase in PFS mode. I usually go with that and will change it if a DM says otherwise.

There is just too much to go through every piece of what is authorized and what is not as they seem to change it on a whim from time to time.

[GM Tyrant Princess]

It's not listed in the Additional Resources for its source, so it is not legal. Hero Lab is incorrect, and any character using one is in breach of PFS rules.

They aren't usually concerned about adventure spoilers when it comes to this stuff. My speculation is that Leadership considered a masterwork tool for all uses of Stealth to be too powerful. I can't say for certain, though.

[The Only Star]

Skarm wrote:

My perplexity regards the fact that its magical equivalent, the Shozoku of Night Wind, is reported as "legal" for Pathfinder Society play and so I don't understand...

...why the magical item is listed and the mundane one is not listed?

The "Shozoku of the Night Wind" does not reference the "Shinobi Shozoku" rules. while they are both described as thin black bodysuits [Shozoku] the game rules are different and don't over lap. One provides a competence bonus to stealth and the other provides a circumstance bonus. So games wise they aren't related items so no reason for them to be lumped together when determining whether they should be legal.

The "Shionbi Shozoku" is probably illegal because 50gp for a blanket stealth bonus is rather good.

[Starglim]

I think it's fixable (it has at least two likely limitations), but would be better as a clarification. It sounds as if it's not legal and shouldn't be as written.

[John Compton]

There's also a decent chance that whoever was reviewing Additional Resources updates at the time didn't spot it, which I find very understandable after having handled the process for about four years (and overlooked several hidden rules elements in that time). I've added it to the list of possible updates to review for the next Additional Resources review we do.

[andreww]

GM Tyrant Princess wrote:

They aren't usually concerned about adventure spoilers when it comes to this stuff. My speculation is that Leadership considered a masterwork tool for all uses of Stealth to be too powerful. I can't say for certain, though.

A masterwork tool for stealth is already entirely legal. MW tools appear in both the CRB and Ultimate Equipment.

[GM Tyrant Princess]

I've bolded some parts of the text for ease of reference.

Masterwork Tool, Ultimate Equipment wrote:

This tool is perfect for its intended job. It grants a +2 circumstance bonus on a related skill check (if any). The bonuses provided by multiple masterwork items do not stack.

Several common items already count as masterwork tools for particular skills. These are the alchemist's lab, climber's kit, disguise kit, healer's kit, masterwork musical instrument, and masterwork thieves' tools. Therefore, there is no masterwork climber's kit, masterwork healer's kit, and so on—those items are already the best available for general checks with the relevant skill.

Some skills have no appropriate tool or masterwork tool—no nonmagical item exists that grants a bonus for all uses of that skill. For example, just because a certain perfume is favored by local nobles (granting a +2 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy checks to influence them) doesn't mean that perfume has the same effect on a member of the thieves' guild, a foreign berserker, or a medusa. Likewise, just because a fake beard woven by dwarves out of the beards of famous dwarves may grant a +2 circumstance bonus on Use Magic Device checks to emulate the dwarven race doesn't mean the beard has any effect on using that skill to activate elven items or paladin items, or to decipher a written spell.

Individual GMs may want to allow masterwork tools for other skills at the listed cost. The circumstance bonus for such a tool should never be more than +2. The tool should either have a limited number of uses (such as the disguise and healer's kits) or only apply to certain aspects of the skill (such as the balancing pole's bonus on Acrobatics checks to traverse a narrow surface or the magnifying glass's bonus on Appraise checks for detailed items).

So a "stealth kit" that gives you ten uses of camouflage makeup might be fine, while a black bodysuit that gives a Stealth bonus under specific conditions is also viable. But a +2 bonus on all Stealth checks is inconsistent with the masterwork tool's rules as written.