 November 16, 2013 - 6:18am | Are they physical currency or purely electronic? Are they electronic and managed by a central authority (or multiple authorities) or electronic but also portable like bitcoin (but that actually works). I'm just wondering what the criminal world trades in, like do they have to trade in barter valuable because of credits being electronic and the good guys in the UPF and Star Law go after known criminals credit accounts? ----------------------------------------------- |
 November 16, 2013 - 9:08am | I am getting my feet wet again in this game and trying to put a game together for friends too. I have decided to make things a bit messy. On the main Frontier planets Credits have a hard currency form (I am thinking some sort of chips) and of course electronic transactions are possable, with various banks and such. Certain worlds would also have had their own currency at one time so that may make an appearance, maybe it is worthless now or maybe not. But in unknown places, other sections of space currency will be alot more dodgy and problmatic I am thinking. Electronic Credits mean zip out in the middle of no where especially if the people the PC's are interacting with have never heard of the Fronteir Worlds or do not use Federation Credits... basically that credit would be useless in that scenerio, those folks would want to either barter or want to exchange goods or services for something they know is valuable. Also I have decided to rip off an idea from FarScape and have a few "Shadow Depositories" the sci-fi version of the Off Shore Banking World/Swiss Accounts of old, where governments, criminals and individuals can deposit money or items in heavily guarded, armoured and defended "banks" (of course if the bank hears you are dead they sieze your assests... and I am sure they bank has bank fees) on misserable out of the way places like dwarf plantes where the climate sucks, and where Star Law has no juristiction other than the right to have an account too. ;) I would think the criminal world will need a variety of ways to stay a head of the Law. I am going to pick out some raw materials that have some sort of inter-galactic value to the average space flight capable civilization and even non-space flight as well. I think as long as the PC's are in Fedy Space credits will work, but if they go into the great unknown or into places Fed Laws do not apply the credits may or may not have value depending on the scenerio. "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
 November 16, 2013 - 11:25am | I think the canon view of them is that they are a physical currency. In my game I treat it as modern electronic currency. I figure with the ability to communicate at FTL speeds via SS radio, that the frontier's financial institiutions would have a handle on sending encrypted coms bursts to keep banking records relatively current. Larger purchases might be delayed a day or so based on amounts, but smaller transactions would be no problemo. Plus, I don't really like too much crunch, so it works for my GM-ing tastes. |
 November 16, 2013 - 2:31pm | How to handle money is a rather tricky question. To start part of what we do here is take a game designed for 12 year olds and expand it. Originally your ID card was your bank card and all payments would be handled on that. Yes it really was supposed to be that simple. Here's where it got complicated. The UPF has NO MONETARY SYSTEM. Yes that is correct (although someone may argue). You see these aren't credits they are Pan Galactic Corp Credit issues. Remember in the original PGC was everywhere and all powerful. Each government might have had their own currency (never mentioned anywhere) but the only Frontier wide economic power was PGC and they developed the credit to handle their own transactions. Now once the other Mega-corps entered the picture things get messy but Zeb's didn't give us anything to replace the credit or an explanation of how the economy of the Frontier worked. One way is to use the credit and have a set value for it which everything else is compared to. Historically this could be like the Spanish Pieces of Eight which were a set size and shape and could easily be broken into change. OR you could go with Battletech's Comstar credit which was based on the cost to send a one page message to the next planet in the chain. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
November 16, 2013 - 4:09pm | I was thinking they were PGC based. Just like American Dollars are the foundation of global economics I could see PGC establishing themselves as such. Just like American dollars it's not like other mega corps have to like it. Thanks for the various answers. I think I will I the purely electronic ID card / bank card thing. That feels more sci-fi to me. Criminals will just have to work with that system and also probably us barter heavily. ----------------------------------------------- |
 November 17, 2013 - 12:42pm | I utilize both. The Federation Credit is the standard in my game, which is a dark setting where an upstart dictator overthrows the Frontier. As such, there are a lot of transactions that players and NPCs alike do not want to be made available for review. |
 November 17, 2013 - 5:05pm | I've never really worried about it in game. That said, I see it being a combination of both electronic and physical currency much like we have today. In the population centers, you ID card is your bank card. In more frontier areas, you need cold hard cash. Or you need to barter. Also, IIRC, there is a statement that the credit is based on the SEU. So you could conceivable use energy transport as a medium of barter. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
 November 17, 2013 - 6:31pm | Here's how I handle currency in my universe. :) Standard Currency; the PGC Credit: All UPF member races/planets utilize the PGC credit for their monetary system (it is a requirement for becoming a member). The standard PGC credit is available in two forms; electronic currency and hard currency. The hard currency comes in a variety of shapes and colors - but is always the same basic size (roughly the same as a US quarter - or in the case of the larger denominations, about the same size as a standard playing card). These coins are comprised of the same material; a semi-transparent, semi-flexible plastic. They are bisected by an imbedded filiment that produces a faint color sheen which encompasses the entirety of the coin, causing it to just barely glow with the desired color (which indcates its denomination). This filiment draws miniscule amounts of electrical energy (that is produced from stray or transmitted electromagnetic radiation) from external sources. Aside from adding a splash of color, these filiments are also difficult to replicate as they contain encoded data that merchants can access electronically as they tender the coins, making counterfitting exceedingly difficult. Standard Denominations: Color: Shape: 01 Crimson Round 05 Indigo Pentagonal 10 Harlequin Oval 25 Citrine Hexagonal 50 Ochre Rhombus 100 Violet Triangular Large Denominations: Color: Shape: 1,000 Pearl Rectangular 5,000 Gold Square 10,000 Platinum Decagonal Alternate Currency; the Ore and the Bit: Some outlying regions that are indipendant of the UPF (religious settlements, independant mining colonies, pirate outposts, etc) often use a form of hard currency; the frontier ore, which is comprised of 2 ounces of pure platinum. This material was chosen because it is commonly used in all sorts of frontier technology and will never really lose its value. The frontier ore is also sometimes called a strip (as the thin metal sheet - or coin - resembles a rectangular strip of metal about 1/16th of an inch thick, by 2 inches wide by 3 inches long) and when broken into segments each smaller segment is often refrred to as a bit. Both are slang terms, the latter of which refers to the bit's small size. Each ore is equal in value to 2,000 PGC credits while each bit is worth about 100 PGC credits (20 bits per ore). Such coins are regularly used by criminals as they are fairly easy to produce and can readily be melted down into ingots and retain their value. For the purpose of this currency, it is assumed that one ounce of platinum is equal to 1,000 PGC credits. When dealing with this form of currency, most people employ the use of a scanner or at least a scale in order to confirm the purity of the coin(s) in question as it is not uncommon for nefarious minters to add impurities in order to cheat unsuspecting victims. I don't have to outrun that nasty beast my friend...I just have to outrun you!  |
November 17, 2013 - 6:53pm | For the purpose of this currency, it is assumed that one ounce of platinum is equal to 1,000 PGC credits. What's this wierd measurement called an "ounce" in a game based on the metric system?  |
November 17, 2013 - 7:06pm | Yeah, I was being' lazy - just didn't feel like converting. Heh... :P I don't have to outrun that nasty beast my friend...I just have to outrun you! |
 November 17, 2013 - 7:50pm | Here are some futuristic coins:  This set of coins are made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which emits no dangerous chemicals, and they have no rounded edges. Basically, they are the "safety sessions" of space currency.    The top is a pile of Imperial Credits, from Star Wars. Each credit is marked with with barcodes. The four coins below them are 1000-credit coins from the Star Wars Monopoly games. The copper one is form Ord Mantell. The silver teardrop is form Bespin. The upper golden coins is from Alderaan, and the lower one is from Coruscant. |
 November 18, 2013 - 12:15am | Rollo's hard currency is an interesting addition for the frontier. I have always used electronic only currency. Hard currency to use independently of the electronic exchange has uses and fits where electronic transations are not convenient or desirable. I think I will scheme up my own version. I like the color designations for each denomination but don't like the various odd shapes. I think I like something like Malcadon's clear plastic coins with colored dots. I'd make them round and not oval however. Or stick to the first four regular polygons only, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_polygon. Something like: 1 = Triangle 5 = Square 10 = Pentagon 20 = Hexagon 100 = Circle -iggy |
 November 18, 2013 - 12:28am | Fun fact I discovered at the Museum of Fine Art (who knew ancient coins were fine art?)- there was a practice of over stamping. Coins were expensive to make so sometime one authority would simply over stamp someone elses coin. There is almost always evidence of this practice in the coin. I had thought that i might make an ancient coin for a rpg setting -start with a modern real world coin and use epoxy putty sculpting compound to make the fantast coin different, make a mold and melt peuter or solder in it. I just never figured out how to create or simulate an overstamp without a die to strike my fantasy coin. I had envisioned making a handful of coins and one or all was overstamped. Somehow the overstamp woukd be at the heart of a major mystery. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 November 19, 2013 - 8:42pm | In my campaign, the Frontier started out with cash credits made of PermaPlastic. The denominations are metric. The coins are an opaque silvery-white, and the bills are clear plastic with colorful numbers on them. Over time, the core systems gradually replaced cash credits with electronic credits, using your ID as your bank card, and that is what most people in the civilized worlds use now. There are also prepaid electronic cards, which you can put any amount on, and trade between people with no electronic trail. However, most banks still accept cash, and cash is what the majority of people use on colony worlds, or among criminals. When the Frontier met the Rim Coalition, the Rim had its own system of money. In Zebulon's Guide, they do not make a distinction between Rim Credits and Frontier Credits. However, I came up with my own system. The Ifshnit & Humma both have 4 fingers on each hand, giving both of them a base 8 numerical system. Even though the Osakar have 7 fingers, I decided that the economy of the Rim would be based on the economy of the Ifshnit. So, their credit denominations are base 8. Easy when done electronically, but requires some thought when handling cash between the Rim & Frontier. |
November 19, 2013 - 9:47pm | Good observation that the Rim has a well established monatary system and would not give it up just to get along with the UPF. I think it is fun to use base 8 for the Rim currancy. I also like the use of pre-paid cards as a way to move credits between people with out tracability. Only the original purchaser would show if they did not use hard currancy to buy the pre-paid card. A fun thing to do would be to make a set of PGC bills that could be printed on transparency film and cut out for use at the gaming table. This could be put into the 'zine with a write up of the PGC and CFM credit systems. GMs could then print that given page(s) of the 'zine and cut out the currency. @bossmoss, What are the denominations of the CFM base 8 currency? -iggy |
November 19, 2013 - 10:05pm | They translate to be 1, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128 (in Frontier terms). |
November 19, 2013 - 10:44pm | I can imagine CFM currency as square cards with solid colors for the quadrants. 1 - black\white 4 - white\red 8 - red\yellow 16 - yellow\blue 32 - black\white red\black 64 - black\white red\yellow 128 - white\red yellow\blue See the oscar and zulu signal flags. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_flags Intricate gold designs are pressed into the surface and very fine so as not to detract from the traditional design (the solid colors). The markings designate the legitamacy of the CFM and prevent counterfiting. The traditional design is based off of ancient Ifshnit sailing signals. The cards are stiff and clossy like a playing card. The printing is the same on both sides. -iggy |
November 20, 2013 - 9:44pm | LOL That reminds me of an episode of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (the crappy one - not the good one) where Sonic bought a chilly-dog form a hotdog vender and ask if he had change for a "four-spot", then pulls out a $4 bill. That was possibly the smartest joke in the whole run of that show. |
