When an NPC leaves the party, do I need to strip him/her of their armor, goods, etc before they split? Like I would normally do in other RPG's?

No, when an RPC is dismissed, all of his/her items are automatically added to the party pool except for anything they consider "special" like Madras' Omnigun, Sax's sax, Vi's stun mace, etc. - those they won't part with even after death. [img]smile.gif[/img]