Deregulation, - 15 hit points

Odd cross-over: amongst flurry of things to do and be done, I'm teaching a section for a class on international cyberpunk as well as part of a reading group on the lineages and roots of the current credit crisis.


And here we have their brilliant point of contact: a deregulated MMORPG economy and massive online inflation.

Not sure if this led to rampant foreclosures on magic caves and repossessions of swords of dark summoning, but one can imagine. (And sub-prime loans on dragon shields for those who have shown themselves unlikely to conquer enough elf-mage tribes, or whatever the hell they're called, in order to repay their virtual banks.)