A 4th Level PC wants to upgrade their +1 weapon to a +1 striking weapon. They are Untrained in Crafting.
A +1 weapon is 35gp.
A striking rune is 65gp.
A +1 striking weapon is 100gp.
Is upgrading as simple as paying the difference (65gp, in this case), or are there other hidden costs to upgrading?
I currently think its a bit ambiguous.
The strictest reading for when you already have a weapon and want to add a rune to it.
a) Buy a runestone with the desired rune (3gp + cost of the rune), so 68gp in your case.
b) Have a crafter transfer the rune from the runestone to the weapon. It takes 1 day, and costs no extra resources. So if no one in the party can do it, you're looking at paying a hireling a days wage. (5sp/day for a +8 on a craft check)
At higher levels, the DCs to transfer get high enough that the hireling in the CRB can't do it, at which point you need the party to have a crafter, or have a friendly npc master crafter around, etc.
The most permissive ruling is simply pay the difference.
you need the party to have a crafter
This is for Society.
Here's the thread I started on this a few days ago over in the PFS forum area:
I read that. That's why I created this thread, in the Rules Forum.
I didn't see that the question of upgrading weapons had been asked before.
Page 582 of the CRB has tables for the costs of upgrading.
Thank you.
That table lists the "Price and Process" as being "65 gp to etch striking (4th level)".
The conflict I've read elsewhere is that some people believe the "Process" part costs an additional amount, and/or requires Crafting of some degree.
I'm looking to see if there is any support for that idea in the Book.
Thank you. That is what I believe as well.
Regarding your question, crafting a rune doesn't seem like it requires any additional measure beyond any other magical item. You need a formula, a feat, the requisite amount of gold and you roll against the DC all the same.
Just my two cents...
To upgrade a +1 weapon to a striking weapon, you need 65 gp for the rune, and someone has to make a craft check to successfully apply the rune to the weapon.
Assuming no one in the party can do it (or wants to spend the time), then the party needs someone else to do it.
If the seller of the rune also has the necessary magical crafting skill, the GM could assume the seller applies it for free as part of the sale.
This does not have to be the case, though.
The seller could be just a merchant without any crafting skills. In which case, you have to find and pay someone to apply it.
The seller could be also have the magical crafting skills, but feel their time to apply the rune is not included in the cost of the rune itself. (Especially if the GM decides to allow a chance of failure on the craft check that the NPC would be responsible for making good at their cost.)
In either of these last two cases, there could be additional time to apply the rune if the magical crafter is busy, and they might charge extra to do it, etc.
Similarly, whether a particular seller has a desired rune already prepared or won't start it until it is ordered can be handled simply -- always available, or more complicated -- usually make on order because of the cost of making them and the risk of them being stolen if you keep a large amount on hand.
Both the simple and complicated ways are within the rules of the game, and really depend on the type of game the group is playing. Want to gloss over the details of getting armor and weapon improvements, keep it simple. Want to have more engagement with the crafter and crafting process, make it more complicated.
Happy gaming...