And you better not say, "because they might not have a wealth bonus of 15." :P
Though, in some games, where wealth bonus rapidly gets out of hand, there is little intensive to buy anything but mastercraft items. But, if you were rich, would you buy anything but mastercraft items?
Because they want their purchase to have less of a hit on their wealth bonus (thus reducing their wealth bonus by more points)?
Though, in some games, where wealth bonus rapidly gets out of hand, there is little intensive to buy anything but mastercraft items. But, if you were rich, would you buy anything but mastercraft items?
Getting a wealth bonus of +14 or +15 isn't at all hard though. Doesn't it strike you as broken that you can get many mastercraft items for less than DC 15?
They should have said a mastercraft item costs +X extra or DC 15, whichever is more. That way there is always a cost associated with the obvious benefits of mastercraft items.
Some may say that this is move where the GM is exploiting the system, but the players are exploiting the system in the first place.
So, for example, your PC wants to buy 200 rounds of +2 Mwk ammo for his AK47. The Purchase DC for 7.62 Rounds is 10 (4 base, +6 Mwkx2), this is for one batch of 20 rounds. He must do this 10 times (for 200 rounds) requiring him to spend 100 hours of dedicated shopping (looking around, buying up stock where he can, checking availability) This equates to 2 solid weeks of doing not
hing but shopping around.
Now, if he wants to buy all his bullets in one batch (I.E. 1 order of 200 bullets as opposed to 10 orders of 20 bullets) then you use the doubling price effect, which increases the Purchase DC to DC 15, which will reduce his wealth bonus, surprise surprise.
The wealth system is by no means perfect, and many people have pointed it out, but there DO exist some limiting factors if people want to use them.
Edit:
Here is a Bullet Points article, dealing with a simlar issue. Look for the section about cheating the wealth system.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20modern/bp/20030304a
I don't allow mastercraft ammunition to add bonuses to damage - in fact, this has never even come up with my players. As far as I am concerned Mastercraft adds to attack rolls, defense or skill checks.
I might consider making +2 items available for the PCs to purchase through contacts gained through play, kind of a story reward. Perhaps they PC can get an ally or contact in a modern R&D division, or they befriend a retired adventurer. Something like that.
-DF
I don't allow PCs to buy items better than Mastercraft +1.
I don't allow mastercraft ammunition to add bonuses to damage - in fact, this has never even come up with my players. As far as I am concerned Mastercraft adds to attack rolls, defense or skill checks.
I might consider making +2 items available for the PCs to purchase through contacts gained through play, kind of a story reward. Perhaps they PC can get an ally or contact in a modern R&D division, or they befriend a retired adventurer. Something like that.
-DF
I am similar in this regard. Masterwork +1 items are like the creme de la creme of what you can normally buy. Like a top-of-the-line computer (providing+1 bonus to Computer Use checks) vs. a normal, prepackaged Dell. I allow +2s only when it is thematically appropriate, and I usually requrire some explination, like if a computer hacker gets to build his own, personal dream laptop, with all the hardware he could ever want, then he can buy a +2 computer, but not so with Joe Shmo who just wants "A good computer."
Similarly, a gun nut might be able to track down the world's best gunmaker, then have it shipped to a guy for custom grips and such, but again, not for Joe Shmo.
The book indicates that Masterwork +3 items do technically exsist, but are exceedingly rare. So, if someone who is well versed in Japanese culture, knows all the ins and outs of swordmaking, personally travels to Japan to commision a +3 Masterwork Katana to be made for him from the one remaining guy in the world capable of that skill, then I might allow it, but that is the set-up for an adventure right there. Also, it would cost a boatload of money.
Like has been stated, you shouldn't have stores that just happen to have every mastercraft +3 item you could ever possibly imagine lying around for perusal. Finding said items of extreme quality should be an adventure in itself, or at least a costly venture, if you're not crafting them yourself or by someone with high enough skill. No matter how you get them, time is also an issue.
You shouldn't be letting your players just walk into a store, pick up off the shelf, pay the cashier, and go home with a +3 Mastercraft P90.
Now, if he wants to buy all his bullets in one batch (I.E. 1 order of 200 bullets as opposed to 10 orders of 20 bullets) then you use the doubling price effect, which increases the Purchase DC to DC 15, which will reduce his wealth bonus, surprise surprise.
What's this doubling price effect you speak of?
Also, tracking purchase TIME does little good during character creation. A player could easily say that he went to X country to buy those MC+3 bullets from the most knowledgeable munitions expert in the world--or else that, that super swordmaker in Japan is his character's father as part of his background thereby nullifying any need for a side quest for that item--ever.
I think a baseball bat is a masterwork club. You can easily go to a knife store, and get masterwork +1 or +2 stuff.
Yeah, masterwork is the best stuff their is. But if Mastercraft still has a low DC, it is easier to find.
Knives are at wal-mart.
Mastercraft +1 knives can be gotten at a military surplus shop
+2 knives can easily be gotten at House of Knives.
Same with Ammo. Get Eagle Claw hunting rounds for your rifle. There is a ton of "masterwork ammo" available in stores. Masterwork stuff is actually more common in the civilian sector than the military.
What's this doubling price effect you speak of?
Also, tracking purchase TIME does little good during character creation. A player could easily say that he went to X country to buy those MC+3 bullets from the most knowledgeable munitions expert in the world--or else that, that super swordmaker in Japan is his character's father as part of his background thereby nullifying any need for a side quest for that item--ever.
In the core book it mentions that if you are buying in bulk, then every time you double the quantity, add +2 to the purchase DC, which makes sense, as adding +2 to the purchase DC is the equivilent of almost doubling the price on the money-to-purchase DC chart.
Secondly, I don't allow PCs to purchase Mastercraft +2 items at charicter creation. +1 sure, but not +2. It all boils down to how common mastercraft items are in your games. If you feel anyone can walk into 'Bob's world of knives' and go home with a masterwork +2 knife, then that is how you run things. Personally, me? I tend to be a bit more stingy. Bob's world of knives may have a nice selection of different styles and designes and lengths, and I am sure the would have mastercraft +1 knives, but +2 Knives, I feel, should require a very close personal attention to detail and grinding. Above all +2 Mwk Items should not come off an assembly line. Another way to put it is that Mwk +1 is the best on the comercial market, and anything beyond that (+2) is all custom stuff.
Thirdly: I have only once seen a PC with starting wealth of 13+. He rolled 6 (lucky) for his starting wealth, had the Dilittante package, and 4 ranks in profession. And y'know what? He deserved to be wealthy. So if your player wants to start with 200 +3 mwk rounds for his AK-47 (and you allow it), then realize that each pack of 20 is Purchase DC13. And, if he hasn't bought a gun license, then they are Purchase DC14 (Because they are illegal)
Lastly, as a nitpick: a baseball bat is a Large-class club. It requires 2 hands and deals 1d8 damage. I wouldn't consider a normal, off-the rack bat as Masterwork, but maybe a professional major leage bat would be +1, or a specially designed carbon-composite bat, that costs a pretty penny.
And, before you tell me it is possible, with enough training, to effectivly swing a bat in one hand, I would like to point you to the MONKEY GRIP feat, which can be adapted for d20 modern easy enough.
Regardless of handedness, its an improvised weapon by d20 modern terms.
For example, if a PC found a short but solid 2x4, I would let him use it as a club, no questions asked. But it would only probably last a scene, or a session. If a PC wanted a good, sterdy club that they could use for a few years, then asking them to pony up 20 bucks for a heafty 2 feet of steel pipe from their local hardware store wouldn't be too much to ask, I would think.
Also, if you wanted to buy a club in New York, where are you gonna find a nice, thick enough wooden branch. All the trees in central park are trimmed regularly, and I am pretty sure you can't just go around breaking off large chunks of the trees there. Buying a large, thick wooden dowel probably wouldn't be that bad of a choice. Just throwin' that out there.
Are we talking a standard club, or metric?
recall the stick of death...had every possibly + that was allowable by the CRB and UA?
Additionally mastercraft items don't grant more than a +1 bonus in my games unless you hire someone to specifically enhance an existing item or do it yourself, which is a costly, time-consuming and potentially risky endeavor if the crafter fails in his attempt to improve the item, potentially damaging or destroying the item if they aren't careful.