Question to clarify Rarity as stated in the Core Rulebook.

The first part is easy to understand - The more rare the item, the harder it is to find, necessitating more difficult rolls. These rolls may be modified up or down depending on where the players are (i.e. the difference between being on the outer rim or near a major trade route. Or even better: a Core World!)

The second part refers to Table 5-3 on Page 150, which implies cost multipliers depending on the final rarity you successfully rolled for. If the rarity is 4 or higher, then the cost is multiplied by 4.

An example would be the Heavy Verpine Shatter Rifle from the splat book Strongholds of Resistance. Already staggeringly expensive at 45,000 credits, even trying to find it in the depths of Coruscant would only reduce the rarity from 8 to 6. While the Difficulty to find the item would be reduced from Daunting to Hard, the cost is still multiplied by 4, making the price 180,000 credits for one kriffing gun.

Am I reading this wrong? Should the price be that listed, plus or minus at the GM's disgression, or obscenely multiplied by an unforgiving table?

As always, thanks for reading.

You're reading Table 5-3 wrong. It's not, for example, rarity 4+. It's a rarity adjustment of 4+ over the normal (book listed) rarity of that item. In the example you cited, the cost multiplier is 1x, since the rarity shift is -2 (and you need a shift greater than +1 to start increasing costs).

Meaning that if the item is harder to find then it might normally be, then it is also progressively more expensive.

Correct. Makes sense, right? That's supply and demand, just as in the real world.

The cost table applies iirc only to bulk trading and a not buying equipment for characters. But feel to correct me on this.

2 minutes ago, SEApocalypse said:

The cost table applies iirc only to bulk trading and a not buying equipment for characters. But feel to correct me on this.

Okay, I will.

The relevant quote from EotE CR (page 151) is " Of course, these rules do not account for all sorts of details, such as buying in bulk ..." That sentence portion is in the text after the explanation of the mechanics of using the tables. Using tables 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3 apply to all normal trading (such as PCs normally do). Buying and selling cargoes (bulk quantities) isn't actually covered in the RAW AFAIK.

Ah, yeah thanks, it did apply only to selling and trading, but not bulk trading. And imho the system is odd, as you compare the increase between the rarity where the item was originally bought and where you are selling it now. So if you buy first at coruscant and sell than in the outer rim you get the full x4 modifier, which actually nullifies the 1/4 modifier for selling, meaning that sell basically that rifle for 45,000 with one success, for 90,000 with two successes and for 135,000 credits with 3 or more success. Buying the thing is just 45,000 credits, does not matter on which planet, but your resale value makes it nearly impossible to make a profit if you buy it in the outer rim and finding the thing in the outer rim might be hard ... at least outside of the roche asteroid belt which is iirc in the outer rim …

As many people before have mentioned in these forums, it might be best it ignore the trading chapter as the rules are a little odd.

IMHO, the aspect that the rarity difference when selling is based on the difference between buy location and sell location was very poorly thought out by the devs and/or playtested. Buying on Coruscant versus buying on Onderon should have zero effect on the sales price because it doesn't change the item itself or its rarity where sold. It is a half-assed attempt by FFG to factor in profiting from buying where items are easy to get and selling where they aren't. Except that FFG already messed up trade because buying on Coruscant (rarity -2) isn't cheaper than buying on Onderon (rarity +0), which it should be, logically.

You are correct that the RAW ought to be house-ruled by each GM to their own taste, until such time as FFG overhauls the trade rules (assuming they ever do, which I have no expectation of).

Actually, the Book puts Table 5-3 in the paragraph "Selling and Trading":

Quote

There are some cases in which the PCs might wish to engage in TRADE; buying MULTIPLE items at one location, then selling them at another location where they are rarer.

Thus, it will only apply to wholesale, but not to retail, transactions.

3 hours ago, Grimmerling said:

Actually, the Book puts Table 5-3 in the paragraph "Selling and Trading":

Thus, it will only apply to wholesale, but not to retail, transactions.

Selling water on Tatooine,,,,, kerchinga!! Just get those blue plastic barrels, fill to the brim on some planet where fresh water flows freely, then BOOM!! hit that hyperspace lane,,,drop off barrels, repeat.

I think you'd have to avoid Hutts though

5 hours ago, Grimmerling said:

Actually, the Book puts Table 5-3 in the paragraph "Selling and Trading":

Thus, it will only apply to wholesale, but not to retail, transactions.

The selling and trading section, which includes the text describing both tables 5-2 and 5-3, covers all selling and trading, and the book explicitly mentions bulk trading (wholesale) as a potential exception (with additional modifiers not covered by the RAW and subject to however the GM wants to treat wholesaling).

It is not clear at all, but the "Selling and Trading" section talks about two separate topics. Only the first paragraph relates to selling individual items. The first sentence of the second paragraph defines trade as "buying multiple items at one location, then selling them at another location where they are rarer." The following paragraph (the first one on p 151) goes on to explain the guidelines/basic rules specifically for trade. Table 5-3 is only mentioned in this paragraph on trade, so it is not used when dealing with individual items. Finally, the end of the next paragraph twice says that these (the content of paragraph 2) rules are only for trade and not for individual items.

As to OP: The former is the case; trying to find that weapon on Coruscant would likely require a Hard check (prolly with some modifiers) but if you succeed you should find one of that item available for 45,000cr.