RAW says that the character makes a Hard Mechanics check to add a mod to a piece of equipment and if they fail, they cannot add that mod later. I have two questions regarding that:

1. As written, it seems like someone else can make that attempt instead -- i.e. it doesn't say the mod cannot be added to the piece of equipment, it just says the character cannot add that mod.
2. What if the character hires an NPC to do it? What's the associated cost? Should it happen automatically or should I roll behind the scenes -- the quality of the roll dependant on how much they are willing to spend hiring a better mechanic to do it for them.

There is, of course, the option of including the mod as payment for work done. Also, depending on how much the weapon is modified, it might be tough for them to find someone willing to do the work (without charging a hefty fee).

1. If you are referring to rule that you cannot make another attempt after failing, I would say that violates the intent/spirit of the rule.
2. If my party asked me cost, I'd probably charge between 100-250 for smaller ones and 10-25% cost of the attachment for large/expensive ones.

I found the modding rules to be pretty flimsy so I modified a houserule I saw posted here to fit my needs.

Weapon/Armor Modding

It costs 10% of the base value of the attachment to add a mod and +10% more for each additional mod. (Doing the work yourself)

Difficulty. Failure OR Despair = attachment ruined, return 25% cost of attachment + mod you were attempting.

· 1st: PPP, 10% base value cost

· 2nd: RPP, 20% base value cost

· 3rd: RRP, 30% base value cost

· 4th: RRR, 40% base value cost

· 5th: RRRP, 50% base value cost

As for 1, I always understood it as it can't be attempted again period - as in attempting to install it caused it enough damage that the mod can no longer be successfully attached.

However for 2 I have not come across that yet. The mechanic in the party I DM does it for them for a small payment himself. Usually he makes 100 credits off of it, but of course that is a hefty party discount. It would be a different price for an NPC for me, I would need to compare the mod cost, the benefit for the mod itself, how hard the check would be and go from there. And I would always roll for it. However if they wish to assist themselves then I suppose I would provide a small discount too.

Well, the attachment is already installed, it seems like all they are doing is tweaking (i.e. modifying) that attachment to get more out of it. If they fail, then the modification is simply beyond their capabilities (like failing a Knowledge check -- it simply means that don't know how to do it). Now if they fail significantly -- accrue any Despairs -- then they've done significant damage to the attachment and makes it useless (meaning they have to buy a new attachment).

Now, I have no idea how they'd get a Despair on this check (adding more mods simply increases the difficult and not upgrades it -- i.e. more purple dice which don't have a Despair symbol on them).

The only way to score a Despair on that check would be if the GM use a Destiny point to upgrade the difficulty. Not something I personally would do, unless I felt the player was trying to munchkin his weapon somehow. But I suppose if the PC was trying to mod the weapon while sitting in a leaking shelter in the jungle during a hurricane, then that could warrant a difficulty upgrade.

The way I've handled mods in my campaign is simple. If the players succeed at installing a mod, the difficulty for the next one is increased by one level. If they fail, they can never attempt that specific mod on that specific attachment again, but the difficulty doesn't increase. The money spent on the mod is lost in either case.

RAW says that the character makes a Hard Mechanics check to add a mod to a piece of equipment and if they fail, they cannot add that mod later. I have two questions regarding that:

1. As written, it seems like someone else can make that attempt instead -- i.e. it doesn't say the mod cannot be added to the piece of equipment, it just says the character cannot add that mod.
2. What if the character hires an NPC to do it? What's the associated cost? Should it happen automatically or should I roll behind the scenes -- the quality of the roll dependant on how much they are willing to spend hiring a better mechanic to do it for them.

There is, of course, the option of including the mod as payment for work done. Also, depending on how much the weapon is modified, it might be tough for them to find someone willing to do the work (without charging a hefty fee).

We play it as one attempt of that modification on that particular weapon until there is a significant change in the situation. Unless, and we haven't had this happen yet, a Despair is rolled, then it just can't be done ever. A significant change would include achieving another skill level or finding someone with a higher skill level then whoever made the initial roll. Cash isn't an alternative except when hiring an NPC to make the roll, you can't just buy success in this case.

We are playing under the assumption that the RAW was written to keep PCs from just endlessly rolling until success.