What's the best way to handle the logical existence of multiple currencies in a world-hopping adventure, when I don't want to deal with the mechanics of multiple currencies?
Okay I don't know how to best explain this like that, so I'm going to just break down my issue as follows.
- In my RPG project Witness to Unity, you play as a trio of characters hopping between different worlds (planets). At least two of these worlds have monetary economies - the home of Ivan (the lead), Allan, and the home of another character, Metia, the Nuish World.
- Witness to Unity is pre-interplanetary expansion. The characters go to different worlds via wormhole-like presences, but the broader societal knowledge of other worlds is otherwise unknown. Consequently, this means no interplanetary trade or singular economy.
- My initial plan for this was to simply have different currencies for each world, including some extras for the worlds that say, have a bartering system with multiple assets. I did away with this because I didn't want to manage a trade system between different values or end up with the player buying and selling between planets.
- My next plan was to simply have only Metia's "Credits", an entirely digital currency. Metia's employer would then control his wallet remotely, lowering based on any purchases made on another planet. Things could possibly only be sold in the Nuish World. I don't really like this idea either, as the logic feels strained. (Though the idea Metia's boss has control over the party's wallet is an interesting nightmare to explore.)
- I considered the possibility that you simply can't buy/sell things anywhere but the Nuish World, but this sounds inconvenient. Presently, Ivan's home on Allan serves as the "home base" that is returned to between chapters. It would be faster if the player could reach local shops from the home base this way, rather than having to travel to Nuish World each time from the "inn".
- Worldbuilding wise it simply makes the most sense to have multiple currencies. Though in the course of cutting down WTU's, scope, this presently means there's only two. I'm just afraid of game balance problems it invites.
- Gameplay wise it makes the most sense to have one currency. My goal isn't to get into emergent stuff like trade between stores like with Fable or Bethesda games. But I don't know how believable it would be to imply you're using other currencies elsewhere (or at least on Ivan's world), but the player-facing system is only Metia's Credits being adjusted by your boss.