Downtime crafting and uncommon formulae

[Aduaitam]

So I had a player almost just quit on me because we couldn't divine an answer to this issue. How do you access uncommon formulae? Example from our issue today:

Inventor wants to craft an uncommon item--deployable cover. Finds the book it's from, uses achievement points to purchase access to it. But the boon only references items, not formulae, so we're not sure if they also gain access to the formula to craft it so the player figures they can reverse-engineer the item per that feat and those rules. Player purchases the item, makes the checks. Do they now have the formula? Did they already have the formula? Can you even reverse-engineer in PFS2? AoN and the Resources and Options page don't seem to indicate differently...

Also, the Guide to Organized Play says the player has to spend 4 days preparing before making a craft check. Is that 4 days per craft check, or 4 days of preparation before the usual 4 days or however long to make a craft check? Would a player with 8 days of downtime be able to roll one craft check or two?

Sorry if this has been asked and answered already, just couldn't find any straight answers.

[Nefreet]

If you Ctrl+F for "Formula" on the single-page Guide, it comes up:

Formulas wrote:

The pathfinder society will sell formulas to members for any non-limited item for which the agent has access. Items with a number restriction, including Unique Items, are considered so esoteric that the Society does not own the formula and so complicated that it is not possible to reverse engineer the formula even with a legendary degree of skill.

Plus more information down the page:

Downtime Activities wrote:

Characters can Craft uncommon or rare items only if they have access to the applicable formulas.

Deployable Cover does not look like it's Limited or Restricted, so if you have Access to the item, you have Access to the Formula ^_^

[Nefreet]

Regarding your other question:

Aduaitam wrote:

Also, the Guide to Organized Play says the player has to spend 4 days preparing before making a craft check. Is that 4 days per craft check, or 4 days of preparation before the usual 4 days or however long to make a craft check? Would a player with 8 days of downtime be able to roll one craft check or two?

That same section on Downtime Activities tells us "Only one crafting project may be started during a Downtime Unit". A "Downtime Unit" is 8 Days.

So if you spent your usual 4 Days preparing to Craft something (or 2 Days if you have that Boon that I can't recall right now), but you failed at your Crafting check, you'd have to find something else to do with your remaining 4 (or 6) Days.

[Aduaitam]

Shoot, didn't even see the single-page Guide! Thank you for the comprehensive response, I really appreciate it.

[Pirate Rob]

Easy to miss but don't forget the DC to craft uncommon items is 2 higher than normal.

My detailed How to Craft in PFS doc may be of use to in helping understand the mechanics of crafting.

[Outl]

Quote:

That same section on Downtime Activities tells us "Only one crafting project may be started during a Downtime Unit". A "Downtime Unit" is 8 Days.

So if you spent your usual 4 Days preparing to Craft something (or 2 Days if you have that Boon that I can't recall right now), but you failed at your Crafting check, you'd have to find something else to do with your remaining 4 (or 6) Days.

I've noticed that GMs tend to allow a second attempt at the crafting if the first one fails. Sometimes it's because this is the SAME project so it still counts as 'only one crafting project during this downtime unit'. Or sometimes because the failure result of the crafting activity seems to explicitly allow you to start over. Sometimes that phrase is even thought to mean something entirely different, about starting a second crafting project before the first one is complete. You or I might not agree with either of those interpretations, but they're common.

[Pirate Rob]

Outl wrote:

Quote:

That same section on Downtime Activities tells us "Only one crafting project may be started during a Downtime Unit". A "Downtime Unit" is 8 Days.

So if you spent your usual 4 Days preparing to Craft something (or 2 Days if you have that Boon that I can't recall right now), but you failed at your Crafting check, you'd have to find something else to do with your remaining 4 (or 6) Days.

I've noticed that GMs tend to allow a second attempt at the crafting if the first one fails. Sometimes it's because this is the SAME project so it still counts as 'only one crafting project during this downtime unit'. Or sometimes because the failure result of the crafting activity seems to explicitly allow you to start over. Sometimes that phrase is even thought to mean something entirely different, about starting a second crafting project before the first one is complete. You or I might not agree with either of those interpretations, but they're common.

A: Those GMs are wrong, and GMs are wrong all the time.

B: "Players are responsible for rolling and recording their own downtimes" GMs got nothin' to do with it.

[Online Guide Team Lead - JTT]

Outl wrote:

Quote:

That same section on Downtime Activities tells us "Only one crafting project may be started during a Downtime Unit". A "Downtime Unit" is 8 Days.

So if you spent your usual 4 Days preparing to Craft something (or 2 Days if you have that Boon that I can't recall right now), but you failed at your Crafting check, you'd have to find something else to do with your remaining 4 (or 6) Days.

I've noticed that GMs tend to allow a second attempt at the crafting if the first one fails. Sometimes it's because this is the SAME project so it still counts as 'only one crafting project during this downtime unit'. Or sometimes because the failure result of the crafting activity seems to explicitly allow you to start over. Sometimes that phrase is even thought to mean something entirely different, about starting a second crafting project before the first one is complete. You or I might not agree with either of those interpretations, but they're common.

The relevant rule is actually higher up the page:

Quote:

Downtime

Downtime is spent in Downtime Units of up to 8 days at a time. If a character earns 8 days or fewer of downtime, it is spent in a single unit. If they earn more than 8 days, the character spends units of 8 days, one at a time, until 8 or fewer days remain, then spends the remaining days as a single unit. Multiple different activities can occur in a single downtime unit, but you can only ever roll once for a given activity in any given unit.

the "Only one crafting project may be started during a Downtime Unit." is just an amplification of that rule.