Somehow, it pushes you to do quests and discover the map... You have alchemy, but you can't sell your potions (this is the way I got rich in skyrim lmao), so the only way to make money is by getting contracts... I actually ended up hording lots of plants and sell them lol, cause I prefer to help people and not ask them for gold.
Also, the full game with all DLCs is 24 euros on steam... It's totally worth it!