705: Murphy's Book of Hatred, Version-Launch!

Murphy soon returned to Couragehold with the players, who had thoroughly enjoyed hacking their way through the enemy. They'd come away with a bountiful haul.

After all, these were elite Voodoo troops assigned to protect the Ripperclaw Matriarch. Every piece of equipment they dropped was valuable. The only pity was that the armor they'd stripped from the bodies was "Gnoll-exclusive," so players of other races couldn't use it.

None of it was made of steel, either, which meant even the blacksmiths couldn't modify it. Still, there were bound to be Gnoll players eventually, so they could stockpile the gear now and sell it for a few coins later.

The Transia Tavern app already had an online equipment market, and players could finally trade their good loot. That was an epic improvement in the value retention of equipment in True Otherworld.

The only disappointment was that Lord Murphy had claimed the Ripperclaw Matriarch's loot for himself.

Still, that was understandable. Lord Murphy had summoned a mighty astral demigod to kill her. The players hadn't even had time to lend a hand and get in some damage—not that they'd managed to deal any effective damage at all. Naturally, they weren't entitled to the boss's loot.

That was the only thing the players had been unhappy about after their spectacular, madcap counterattack and revenge. But equipment generated in True Otherworld didn't simply vanish, so there was a chance it might find its way back into their hands someday as a quest reward.

Of course, the players' joy and grief were destined to be short-lived.

Player casualties in the Blackflame Pass incident had once again been devastating. Two-thirds of the brothers and sisters had logged off and "collected their lunchboxes" for all sorts of reasons. Any discussion of their spoils would probably have to