Economy, Crafting, Upgrades

Economy, Crafting & Upgrades

Value, Currency, and Exchange

Ash & Light uses two forms of value: materials and credits. Both matter, and neither replaces the other.

Materials unlock possibility. They represent what the world can physically work with. Credits unlock action. They pay for labor, access, and services. Economic actions, outside of basic purchases, typically require both.

This separation prevents value from collapsing into a single currency and keeps decisions grounded in context rather than conversion rates.

NPC-Mediated Crafting and Upgrades

All crafting and upgrading is mediated through non-player characters.

Smiths, technicians, and specialists require appropriate materials and a fee. If the materials exist but the fee does not, work cannot begin. If credits are available but the materials are missing, the work is equally impossible. Improvement is contingent on both what the player has brought and what they are willing to commit.

Upgrades are expressed as outcomes, not recipes. Specialists state what can be done now, given what exists, rather than asking the player to assemble lists or quantities. This keeps progression relational and situational rather than procedural.

Vendors, Purchases, and Exchange

Vendors sell and exchange equipment, but they do not operate as infinite sinks or sources.

Some accept only credits. Others accept materials, exchanges, or a combination of both. Redundant or less useful gear can be traded toward items that better fit current needs, with any difference resolved through materials or credits depending on the player's choice and the vendor's capacity.

Materials sold or exchanged do not disappear. They enter local circulation. Over time, this allows items or materials to be bought back, usually at a loss, reflecting profit and scarcity rather than clean reversibility.

Purchased gear can be upgraded. Found gear may already carry upgrades, including rare or situational ones not otherwise available. Equipment retains history.

No Player Crafting

The player does not craft directly.

There are no personal workstations, profession trees, or parallel crafting systems to maintain across a growing party. Improvement happens through delegation and decision, not repetition. This removes micromanagement while preserving meaningful commitment.

No Quantities, No Checklists

Materials are never surfaced as counts, progress bars, or requirements.

The player is not asked to collect specific amounts or complete resource lists. Availability is resolved at the moment of interaction. A specialist either can act with what the world currently recognizes as available, or cannot.

Scarcity is visible but not constant. It becomes explicit only when the player chooses to commit resources to an action.

Scarcity, Commitment, and World Response

Scarcity in Ash & Light is tactical and legible. When choices are presented, it is clear that not everything can be done at once.

Economic decisions convert possibility into permanence. Committing resources closes some options while opening others. These closures are not hidden, but they are not framed as optimization problems.

At times, specialists or vendors may be unable to acquire certain materials due to obstacles in the world. When this happens, they may point to the source of the problem. Removing such obstacles restores availability and establishes new routes for materials to enter circulation.

Economy is not about accumulation. It is about deciding when and how to commit what the world currently allows.

Value exists in what you hold, but meaning emerges when you commit.