From what I understand, RAW says that Desktop Forges simply upgrade the size of your workshop to the next level up, without actually raising the size. So the first iteration turns a toolkit into a shop that you can carry around, and the second turns a shop into a facility.

There is, however, an issue. The Desktop Forge modification for vehicles... Are you required to first purchase the desktop forge to stick into the vehicle, and THEN modify it? Because otherwise you're getting a 150K item for only 50k. Why not just park a civic in your workshop with that modification?

I can't speak to the exact nature of the RAW on this issue, but if some interpretation of the rules allows you to buy a $150k item for $50k, then I'd say it's probably not how the rules are intended to work.

It's probably like a weapon mount. It gives you the ability to mount a forge in place, but it does not provide the forge itself.

I'm pretty sure "desktop forge" is a forge, not a forge-mount.

Hey, first post on here!

I was actually wondering about this aswell, as i already have a rigger/medic character who goes around with a mobile medical bay in the back of his roadmaster, and he does a lot of the techy stuff for our group so i was thinking of getting him a desktop forge-probably in another vehicle as he moves around a lot. But then i noticed the price disparity between vehicle mounted vs not....how would installing the forge in a vehicle make it 100,000 cheaper?

there are a couple instances of this kind of disparity. Usually i just increase the cheaper price to match the higher one. I don't think that mounting a desktop forge in a vehicle is that big of a deal. Given that there are no suggested limits on power supply the most straight forward limiting factor is space, which falls to gm discretion.

But if the desktop forge alone costs $150k, then why would it make sense for the desktop forge modification at $50k to include the actual desktop forge. I would imagine that the desktop forge vehicle modification is just the changes to the vehicle subsystems required to support the desktop forge. So the total cost for integrating a desktop forge into a vehicle would be the $150k (for the desktop forge + $50k (for the vehicle modifications) = $200k.

Getting a $150k item for $50k is clearly not what the rules are intended to do.

I don't have th book, but have you checked availability? A facility has an availability of 12. If the Desktop Forge has a higher availability, then it would make sense. If you can track one down, their cheaper, if not, then you have to roll with the more expensive thing.

If that isn't it, a forge may not give you everything you need. Let's take, for example, a car.

An automotive toolkit has a socket wrench, tire pressure gauge, whatever. It allows you to make simple repairs and modifications.

An automotive shop is (I believe) one of those stand-up automotive kits with all sorts of tools, along with spare timing belts, a voltmeter, and (maybe) a diagnostic readout interface.

A facility is like what they have down at the local Jiffy-Lube, with a hydrolic lift and more parts and diagnostic tools than you can shake a stick at. It has tools for body kits and the ability to repair major damage.

So, what happens if you add a forge to a shop? Well, you can now manufacture your own parts, but you still don't have a hydrolic lift or all those extra diagnostic tools. I would say, for game balance, that a forge lets you act AS IF you had the thing one level higher, but you suffer a -x (probably 2) dice pool penalty when using the higher thing, because of inadequate parts.

Example: Jimmy has a Shop and desktop forge, and wants to install a smuggling compartment in his Van. Normally, this requires a facility, but because Jimmy has Shop and forge, he can attempt it. However, his dice pool is reduced by 2 when making his extended tests because he does not have a full facility.

The Desktop forge mod is simply the cost of parts that you need to build a desktop forge into the Vehicle.

It's pretty clear that they forgot to add the "1" to the vehicle workshop forge, when they added it to the large desktop one. The rules are pretty implicit that the forge added to the vehicle is identical to the previously listed large desktop.