Items to UPB


Rules Questions

Dataphiles

Hi

I know that when we sell items you get 10% value, but can we salvage an item into UPB at 10% on the fly or it is not part of the rules ?

Reason is, we found some items, but some of them where not worth carrying because of bulk, but if we could salvage some UPB's on it it could be usefull to create other items, even if the salvage would be lower than 10%.

Let me know what you think.


By RAW no but it is a home rule we have adopted in our own games. It reinforces the sci-fi wonder that is UPBs and by keeping to the 10% rule does nothing to unbalance the game.


Lias kb22c wrote:

Hi

I know that when we sell items you get 10% value, but can we salvage an item into UPB at 10% on the fly or it is not part of the rules ?

Reason is, we found some items, but some of them where not worth carrying because of bulk, but if we could salvage some UPB's on it it could be usefull to create other items, even if the salvage would be lower than 10%.

Let me know what you think.

Sort of.

You can dismantle them for parts, that can work as UPB for an item of the same type.

So you could dismantle a gun, for example, and get 10% of it's value as some kind of UPB replacement that only works for other guns.


I gave my group a device which you can feed in unwanted manufactured gear and have it spit out 10% it’s value in UPBs. It comes as standard with a manufacture bay on a starship.


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Likewise, I assume that there exists a type of industrial device nigh-universally nicknamed The Grinder. It breaks down nearly anything fed into it, into clean, safe, untraceable UPBs. Its what most merchants do with stuff PCs sell to them, after appraising the haul for anything legitimately worth keeping intact.

Why? Because the typical adventuring party are a source of dubious provenance. Those battered guns and computers they are pawning for cash are definitely not new-in-box, and they might be damaged, stolen, cursed, or otherwise more trouble than they are worth. Better to grind them up for scrap than try to resell them, and only later find that most of them had been buried in sand inside a monster's lair for 50 years.


Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Tie Len wrote:
I gave my group a device which you can feed in unwanted manufactured gear and have it spit out 10% it’s value in UPBs. It comes as standard with a manufacture bay on a starship.

I like your idea and the one with Metaphysician.


Martin Drouin-Courtois 120 wrote:
Tie Len wrote:
I gave my group a device which you can feed in unwanted manufactured gear and have it spit out 10% it’s value in UPBs. It comes as standard with a manufacture bay on a starship.

I like your idea and the one with Metaphysician.

Sounds like one of the nanobot Oozes from the alien archive tbh, those things are neat. Keeping one on a ship is a terrible idea tho

Liberty's Edge

How quick can items be scavanged to UBPs?

It's said about GM decision.
we have got a starship proper laboratory and 11 lvl Mechanic. What do you think?


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

There's a mechance to reference if you have a Portable Grinder. But polyfluid tech is not widespread. Otherwise, based on how quickly you can build things, I'd think something around an hour would be reasonable with a proper workshop.


Even back when this was posted I believe the best answer would be: Null-Space Chamber.

Just drag everything with you until you can sell it at a 90% loss somewhere.


The Ragi wrote:

Even back when this was posted I believe the best answer would be: Null-Space Chamber.

Just drag everything with you until you can sell it at a 90% loss somewhere.

As a player, I prefer the grinders. Because sometimes you need UPBs Right Now, and waiting until you can just get back to town and sell your loot at the smithy won't help. And it does help reinforce just what UPBs are supposed to be.


I just let my players get their hands on a portable grinder with a relatively early sidequest. Seemed the easiest answer.


I don't even require a side quest. My rule of thumb is "If its a basic mechanic that makes life easier for everyone, both player and GM, it should generally be standard". Would it break the game for the Grinder to be a standard tool found readily on any ship? Since the answer is "no", its a standard tool found readily on every ship.


Metaphysician wrote:
I don't even require a side quest. My rule of thumb is "If its a basic mechanic that makes life easier for everyone, both player and GM, it should generally be standard". Would it break the game for the Grinder to be a standard tool found readily on any ship? Since the answer is "no", its a standard tool found readily on every ship.

I would limit it to ships that have a tech workshop (or similar) expansion bay.

That piece of equipment would absolutely be in such a workshop.

On the Razor Crest, maybe not.

I have always allowed thematic adds the go along with how the PCs spend the BP.

Have luxurious crew quarters?

Absolutely includes a MKIII Culinary synthesizer with small linked "snack units" in individual crew quarters.

Also includes cleaning bots to take care of the general cleaning.

However every crew member still must put their dirty clothes in the garment reprocessor.


As a note, I think converting items to UPB would also make sense from an in-universe standpoint, too. At the very least breaking down items, along with the amount of UPB being fixed for any given item outside of large-scale industrial manufactories, would help keep the inflation of the UPB from shooting through the roof.


Perpdepog wrote:
As a note, I think converting items to UPB would also make sense from an in-universe standpoint, too. At the very least breaking down items, along with the amount of UPB being fixed for any given item outside of large-scale industrial manufactories, would help keep the inflation of the UPB from shooting through the roof.

There's probably some sort of in-universe recycling concern. Obviously it's not 100% efficient but it may net better prices than 10% ... due to extensive capital investment in machines and/or magic.


Inflation wouldn't really be an issue, because UPBs aren't just currency. They are a useful resource that is consumed regularly as raw materials. Making more UPBs just results in there being more credits worth of goods on the market.

Also, having the Grinder consistently give 10% would readily explain the standard 10% resale value for PC loot: its the minimum "No matter what we can feed this to the Grinder" floor value. It may be crap quality, it may be cursed, it may be hot, but once its disintegrated into UPBs its all good. Which doesn't mean every merchant *does* feed all loot into the Grinder, just that they pay out based on the *assumption* that they will. At 10% they at worst break even.

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