Cred sticks, Buying Selling
CREDSTICKS
Fortunately, the widespread use of the credstick circumvents issues related to spending and storing currency. Flat and roughly the size of a human finger, ranging from cheap and disposable to elaborate works of art, credsticks are a convenient way to carry and spend money. When an individual wants to load money onto a credstick, she visits an automated bank kiosk and goes through the security procedures required to place a set amount of currency on the unit. The specifics of these procedures are up to the GM, but they might include retinal scans, fingerprinting, gene reading, or some form of magical identification.
Once loaded onto the credstick, the funds become completely anonymous, and the owner can dole out any amount to other credsticks wirelessly—sometimes, it’s easiest for owners to simply hand over the credstick itself and acquire a new one later. In addition to allowing individuals to make purchases anonymously, credsticks also provide users with peace of mind—they help keep identity theft rare and difficult, and the pickpocket who nabs your credstick gains access only to whatever funds were left on it, not your entire net worth.
Individuals sometimes receive money via direct account transfers, particularly if they’re being employed by reputable organizations, but most everyday purchases are made with credsticks, and nearly all black-market or confidential transactions use them. While credsticks can theoretically hold any amount, most people opt to carry smaller denominations—sticks holding only a few tens or hundreds of credits—so as not to tempt fate. As such, criminal deals often involve sacks full of credsticks with small denominations, to raise less suspicion. Only those looking to flaunt their wealth use luxury credsticks like the infamous Black stick, known for its built-in secure link to an unlimited line of credit. In most technologically advanced urban areas, no one bothers to track fractions of credits, and few things cost a fraction of a credit. Mass production makes it cheaper to sell entire suits of clothing, prebundled into 1-credit packages, than to sell individual items worth less than a credit each. However, some credsticks are designed to allow fractional credit purchases.
As a GM, assume that most individuals in civilized areas carry only enough credstick funds on them to make it through a week or two of expenses and that even those who store all their funds physically keep most of it hidden somewhere safe. While credsticks make it physically possible for a character to carry a near limitless amount of money on them, you don’t want your PCs to retire just because they found a vanquished enemy’s life savings in his pocket!
SELLING EQUIPMENT
In general, you can sell equipment of any type anywhere you could buy the same equipment. Since any equipment sold by PCs comes without the guarantees and reputation of major merchants and producers (and may be broken, Cursed, defective, or stolen), in general PCs can sell equipment for only 10% of its purchase price. A GM may change this based on the spare credits of a community, market conditions, or the factors an adventure dictates. Trade goods are the exception to this since they are considered more universal, more easily checked for defects, and less traceable (and thus less likely to cause issues if they are of questionable provenance). Trade goods can generally be sold for 100% of their purchase price, and in some cases can be used as money themselves (subject to the GM’s discretion).
BUYING EQUIPMENT
In civilized lands you can buy anything up to PL 6 are normal standard costs in creds(that DM has to deemed are on this planet) Each population center has a Max wealth score/ cost of items it will have. PL 7 is not sold but can be traded for like-value PL 7 or higher items. For Starfinder items at Level 10 and up these are considered PL 7 for use and buying. At level 14 they are PL 8 and at level 18 they are PL 9. If you are at the correct level to use these items you can treat them as nonalien items and only make your checks for higher PL( so 15+5 every PL over yours).
In the Outlands nothing is bought with creds, so it's all barter and trade one item for something else.
Fortunately, the widespread use of the credstick circumvents issues related to spending and storing currency. Flat and roughly the size of a human finger, ranging from cheap and disposable to elaborate works of art, credsticks are a convenient way to carry and spend money. When an individual wants to load money onto a credstick, she visits an automated bank kiosk and goes through the security procedures required to place a set amount of currency on the unit. The specifics of these procedures are up to the GM, but they might include retinal scans, fingerprinting, gene reading, or some form of magical identification.
Once loaded onto the credstick, the funds become completely anonymous, and the owner can dole out any amount to other credsticks wirelessly—sometimes, it’s easiest for owners to simply hand over the credstick itself and acquire a new one later. In addition to allowing individuals to make purchases anonymously, credsticks also provide users with peace of mind—they help keep identity theft rare and difficult, and the pickpocket who nabs your credstick gains access only to whatever funds were left on it, not your entire net worth.
Individuals sometimes receive money via direct account transfers, particularly if they’re being employed by reputable organizations, but most everyday purchases are made with credsticks, and nearly all black-market or confidential transactions use them. While credsticks can theoretically hold any amount, most people opt to carry smaller denominations—sticks holding only a few tens or hundreds of credits—so as not to tempt fate. As such, criminal deals often involve sacks full of credsticks with small denominations, to raise less suspicion. Only those looking to flaunt their wealth use luxury credsticks like the infamous Black stick, known for its built-in secure link to an unlimited line of credit. In most technologically advanced urban areas, no one bothers to track fractions of credits, and few things cost a fraction of a credit. Mass production makes it cheaper to sell entire suits of clothing, prebundled into 1-credit packages, than to sell individual items worth less than a credit each. However, some credsticks are designed to allow fractional credit purchases.
As a GM, assume that most individuals in civilized areas carry only enough credstick funds on them to make it through a week or two of expenses and that even those who store all their funds physically keep most of it hidden somewhere safe. While credsticks make it physically possible for a character to carry a near limitless amount of money on them, you don’t want your PCs to retire just because they found a vanquished enemy’s life savings in his pocket!
SELLING EQUIPMENT
In general, you can sell equipment of any type anywhere you could buy the same equipment. Since any equipment sold by PCs comes without the guarantees and reputation of major merchants and producers (and may be broken, Cursed, defective, or stolen), in general PCs can sell equipment for only 10% of its purchase price. A GM may change this based on the spare credits of a community, market conditions, or the factors an adventure dictates. Trade goods are the exception to this since they are considered more universal, more easily checked for defects, and less traceable (and thus less likely to cause issues if they are of questionable provenance). Trade goods can generally be sold for 100% of their purchase price, and in some cases can be used as money themselves (subject to the GM’s discretion).
BUYING EQUIPMENT
In civilized lands you can buy anything up to PL 6 are normal standard costs in creds(that DM has to deemed are on this planet) Each population center has a Max wealth score/ cost of items it will have. PL 7 is not sold but can be traded for like-value PL 7 or higher items. For Starfinder items at Level 10 and up these are considered PL 7 for use and buying. At level 14 they are PL 8 and at level 18 they are PL 9. If you are at the correct level to use these items you can treat them as nonalien items and only make your checks for higher PL( so 15+5 every PL over yours).
In the Outlands nothing is bought with creds, so it's all barter and trade one item for something else.