| name | rule-resources-and-rewards |
| description | Resource economy framework for credits, gadgets, specimens, nutronium, loot pacing, and pressure balancing. |
Resources and Rewards Rules (Thematic)
Scope
Use this skill for campaign pacing, scarcity decisions, loot expectations, and risk-reward balancing.
Four core currencies
- Credits: primary purchasing economy (equipment, upgrades, services).
- Gadgets: armory fuel (charges, consumables, augment unlocks).
- Specimens: science-bay fuel (high variance outcomes, mutation access).
- Nutronium: high-value strategic fuel (travel + ship tactical systems).
Resource pressure design
- Nutronium should feel scarce and strategic, not routine.
- Gadgets should appear regularly but not flood to the point of trivializing risk.
- Specimens should create meaningful "push your luck" decisions.
- Credits should support visible equipment progression by mid/high levels.
Encounter reward bands (GM-facing)
- Easy/standard/difficult encounters scale credits and material drops.
- Difficult and hoard outcomes can include rare items, ship upgrades, and nutronium.
- Reward tables should serve narrative momentum, not only math balance.
Campaign balancing tools
- Drain resources before major encounters via hazards/skirmishes.
- Let players recover through smart planning, not automatic resets.
- Tie shortages to fiction (repairs, blockades, emergencies, supply theft).
Search cues / aliases
resource economy, nutronium budgeting, gadget scarcity, specimen risk, loot table, reward pacing, campaign balance.
