Anachronistic Gear

The ellicoth in the room when discussing implementing Pathfinder gear is item grades. In Starfinder, items are improved by buying or crafting upgrades to your gear to progress them from commercial to paragon grade. While this consolidates and simplifies the terminology used to describe magic armor and other magic items, it does mean that certain abilities that refer to grades of gear might not function with Pathfinder items that are otherwise acceptable inclusions into a Starfinder campaign.

By default, all equipment from Pathfinder has the archaic trait to distinguish it from equipment made using modern crafting techniques and technology. Archaic armor and weapons aren't analog or tech and can't be upgraded like normal equipment. You could simply allow characters with Pathfinder equipment to apply runes, as some crafters still know these ancient techniques. Alternatively, you could modify equipment without runes in the process of upgrading it. By spending an additional week and paying half the base Price of the equipment, you could install the technology required to apply upgrades, integrate tech like comm units and environmental protectiona into armor, and add upgrade slots to shields and weapons. In the case of armor, you can even allow players to pay only half the base price by giving the armor the exposed trait, denying themselves the benefits of environmental protections. The end result would be a commercial grade piece of equipment with the tech trait and one upgrade slot.

Ammunition for archaic weapons shouldn't be too difficult to craft or obtain. Crossbow bolts and arrows are still in production and used across the Pact Worlds by athletes, hunters, and adventurers who value the reliability and silence of ranged analog weaponry. Flintlock and black powder weapons are still collected and fired by enthusiasts, and the construction of these weapons is relatively simple. Blowguns and other injecting weapons function with the same darts as the needler pistol. Markets on low-tech worlds are more likely to carry these items, but they can be found just about anywhere.

Most other varieties of equipment in Pathfinder have Starfinder equivalents, and it should be relatively simple to adjudicate their use. Spell gems can function like scrolls, serums like potions, and so on. You should always warn your players that specific interactions of converted equipment with other items and feats are always subject to change. For example, you might rule that the alchemical flasks awarded by defeating a time-displaced alchemist can function as detailed in the appropriate Pathfinder source book, but you should also keep in mind if such items will be a suitable reward and could perhaps instead choose to have them operate as grenades. It's usually best to wait until after a session to make any on-the-fly adjustments. Your players will likely remember the encounter where they took out a pair of vesk honor guards with a glue bomb fired out of a fireburst chamber!

Whether worn by the ravages of time or simply made from inferior materials, some campaigns might mechanically emphasize the difference between modern and ancient equipment. You can adopt the following guidelines in a campaign intended to emphasize the struggles of fighting a force with vastly superior technology. These rules don't apply to unarmed attacks and equipment made using high-grade precious materials.

• The Broken Threshold (BT) of equipment with the archaic trait equals three-quarters of its maximum Hit Points, causing it to gain the broken condition when it takes damage equal to a quarter of its total Hit Points (instead of half).
• Armor with the archaic trait has weakness to nonarchaic weapons depending on its category: 6 for light armor, 4 for medium armor, or 2 for heavy armor.
• Unless you score a critical hit, weapons with the archaic trait deal one lower die size of damage against armor without the archaic trait (minimum 1d4).

Some ancient treasure from Pathfinder might not feel appropriate in a Starfinder campaign, especially magic armor, shields, weapons, and alchemical consumables. Treating these treasures as antique gear rather than converting them to the Starfinder-grade equivalents introduces a new type of precious treasure that can be sold to collectors. The infosphere makes finding such collectors a relatively simple task, unless the item is prohibited for sale for some reason. But be careful, selling valuable rare items might put the PCs in the crosshairs of thieves or predatory investors! PCs might appreciate being able to sell lower-level ancient consumables to collectors, but make sure to adjust other story rewards if you're allowing players to effectively sell this gear at full price. Some PCs might feel uncomfortable selling artifacts to private collections and might demand they belong in a museum, or with the culture that crafted them, for there are rewards more valuable than credits.