Yeah, the continue bug was a result of not being experienced enough with the dialogue / quest system. Ate up about three days just on getting all that working.
As far as synergies, they do exist. The characters near the bridge, the Goblin King, and the mage near the well all unlock more stuff as you complete their quests. You asked about gold. You get that as a result of starting and / or completing certain quests and there's also some just lying hidden around the world to top you off in case you can't find all of the ones that spawn from quests. Was really paranoid about people becoming softlocked by that. There are also a few secrets to find, like the girl in the woods. And certain areas will evolve once you complete an entire group of characters (like all the sitting goblins or all the characters in the archer troupe).