Equipment Rules

## The Economy

### The Wealth System

d20 Modern uses a system to track a character's accumulated assets called the Wealth System. The Wealth System used a specific kind of d20 roll called a Wealth Check to purchase goods and services, instead of tracking money directly. NowhereMash does not use the Wealth System, but *does* use the Wealth System's Purchase DCs to determine the price of some goods, such as mastercraft items, items modified by the Gadget System, or goods purchased on the black market.

### Gold Pieces

Pathfinder uses gold pieces as its standard unit of currency, and as such magical items and other gear in the Pathfinder system are priced in gold. Multiply the item's price in gold pieces by 20 in order to find the item's dollar value.

The following table converts between fantasy prices, dollars, and Purchase DCs:

## Restricted Equipment

Certain items in NowhereMash are legally restricted. These items are noted as Licensed, Restricted, Military, or Illegal. These items require the application for, and purchase of, a license in order to legally own.

Applying for a license requires a Knowledge (business) check and payment of a license fee, with the check DC and license cost depending on the restriction level of the item.

Alternatively, a character can attempt to obtain the item through subterfuge or outright bribery, substituting the Knowledge (business) check for a Bluff check (to apply for the license using false information) or a Diplomacy check (to bribe an official in order to obtain the license), either of which still requires the payment of the license fee. If the check fails, you cannot obtain the license, but still must pay the fee. If you fail by 5 or more, you have alerted the authorities to your activities.

 Restricted
 Military
 Illegal

### The Black Market

If obtaining the proper licenses is not an option, these items may be purchased on the black market for a significant price increase (see table above). A Knowledge (streetwise) check can be used to locate a black market merchant. The DC is based on the location in question, typically DC 15 for a major city, 20 for large towns, and 25 or higher in small towns or rural areas. If your Knowledge (streetwise) check fails, you do not find a merchant

Purchasing an item on the black market takes a number of days according to the Time Required column of the above table. The process can be hurried, increasing the Purchase DC of the item by an additional +1 for each day cut out of the process (to a minimum of one day).

Buying items on the black market is not without risk. If your Knowledge (streetwise) fails by 4 or less, you simply fail to find a black market merchant. However, if you fail by 5 or more, you have alerted the authorities to your activities. A natural 1 on your Knowledge (streetwise) check results in a dangerous encounter, such as a police sting operation or a crooked merchant who attempts to rob you instead of supplying your illicit goods.

## Mastercraft Equipment

Some equipment can be constructed as mastercraft item. The exceptional quality of these items provides the user with a bonus on skill checks using it, or some other characteristic that improves when the item is used.

A mastercraft item that provides a +1 bonus can usually be purchased on the open market as a custom version of a common object. The increased cost of such an object adds +3 to the Purchase DC (and increases the price accordingly).

A rare few items are of mastercraft quality even without customization - the off-the-shelf version of the item is of such high quality that it always provides a bonus. In these cases, the mastercraft cost is already included in the item's price.

Mastercraft item with a bonus of +2 or +3 are not common and are generally not for sale on the open market. If a mastercraft +2 or +3 item could be found for purchase, its cost would add +6 or +9 to the normal Purchase DC, respectively.

## See Also

Gadget System

Weapon Rules