When a character dies and is not resurrected...

[ZorroGames]

In both AL and homebrew.

What happens to their items, both mundane and magical?

[MarkVIIIMarc]

It probably depends on how they die. I always figured if a party members die and don't get revived then the party or the bad guys loot the corpse.

[LordEntrails]

I don't know about AL play, I doubt their items are transferable as that would lead to imbalance.

In homebrew, do you leave valuable items on the field if you can salvage them? Who cares if they once belonged to foes or friends? I mean maybe you bury the paladin with hos sword or the knight in his armor, if everyone else has better equipment. But I always argue by keeping their gear you are continuing their legacy :)

[Jerrykhor]

That is a good question my party have to face soon. My campaign just ended season 1 with half the members dead when they sacrificed themselves to save a town. The survivors might have a bunch of magic items that are most likely unsuitable for use. Not sure how its like in AL, but my home games have been like this. Is it really unbalanced if one simply obtain a magic item from a fallen friend? I would assume the 3 attunement slots are there for this reason. It would be too arbitrary if the DM just said, No you can't take that item because you would be too powerful. I mean, your party as a whole is still weaker through the loss of your party member(s), so there's that.

Generally, we salvage whatever we can from the dead member, usually magic items and gold. Mundane items are not worth the trouble. We use it if we can, if not, we just keep it.

[ProsecutorGodot]

I don't think I would personally play a character who would loot a long time ally's corpse. They would be buried with their belongings. If it came up in a game I was running then I would probably allow it even if I don't like the idea myself.

I have no idea how it works at an AL table but I'd imagine that you could take what you like if the opportunity was there.

[Arkhios]

Can't say if this applies to AL, as I don't play it, but in Pathfinder Society (Paizo) and Living Greyhawk (WotC/RPGA during 3.0/3.5) before that, each character's equipment were personal, even post mortem. Even if you somehow had acquired a vorpal sword (probably unlikely), after you died permanently, other players wouldn't get to steal your stuff. All your gear goes into grave with you, so to speak.

In home games, it's up to you. Either as a DM or Player. Unsavory individuals might jump at the chance to shuffle through your inventory as soon as you die, but a DM has every right to forbid this.

[Fire Tarrasque]

It would depend on the situation. The NUMBER ONE question is: Do they have the corpse?
If yes: Sure, give them whatever looted items they want. Just remember, you can attune to three items maximum.
If no: Did they specifically mention grabbing items off the corpse? If they did, and they conceivably could have grabbed them while running, then let them have that item specifically. If they didn't, why should they get the gear? Maybe even give an enemy who could use it (and had sufficient connections to the killers,) use it.

[Contrast]

I don't think I would personally play a character who would loot a long time ally's corpse. They would be buried with their belongings.

I think there's a grey area here. If their equipment has personal significance to them sure, they're getting buried with it. If its just stuff that is otherwise useful/valuable? Yeah that's getting taken.

Its quite possible to bury someone with dignity without burying them with all the physical stuff they happened to have on them when they died. Would you care if you were buried without your phone and wallet?

[ProsecutorGodot]

I think there's a grey area here. If their equipment has personal significance to them sure, they're getting buried with it. If its just stuff that is otherwise useful/valuable? Yeah that's getting taken.

Its quite possible to bury someone with dignity without burying them with all the physical stuff they happened to have on them when they died. Would you care if you were buried without your phone and wallet?

I understand the practical aspect but myself, and the type of characters that I play most often don't really like the idea of weeding through their backpacks deciding what was "significant" to them and what I can take from my now dead friend.

Some people also would care if they were buried with all their earthly possessions, allies with a noble background might take particular offense if they ever caught wind of what would happen to their things if they were to die, Barbarians might just want to be buried on the spot with all their things piled up on their grave.

I won't hold it too hard against anyone who decides to take the items though, since it's definitely the practical way of looking at things. I'll just never be the one to do it.

[Thalnawr]

Does the deceased have any living relatives? If so, it might be a good idea to take the stuff to their closest relative and find out how they want to deal with it.

[EvilAnagram]

I don't think I would personally play a character who would loot a long time ally's corpse. They would be buried with their belongings. If it came up in a game I was running then I would probably allow it even if I don't like the idea myself.

I have no idea how it works at an AL table but I'd imagine that you could take what you like if the opportunity was there.

So far, my players have only lost one PC, and they buried her with everything.

In AL, however, the vultures sink in.

[BBQ Pork]

Ever hear the expression "If you die first, we're splitting up your gear"? It applies to D&D too.
Items that were found during the adventure are mission-essential gear.

Magic items left on the corpse are likely to be looted by wandering scavengers like goblins, etc.

No one ever carries a shovel to properly dig a deep enough grave anyway.

[Pex]

Some items are considered "party" items. An individual holds it, but it belongs to everyone. Bag of Holding and Portable Hole are common for this. These are taken. An item important to Campaign Plot is also taken. For a character's individual stuff, the player can speak a will. He decides who gets what and what's buried with the character.

[Ventruenox]

At our table, it's more of a split. Our DM uses both DMG/Xanathar's magic items and also will homebrew a few of his own that tied directly to the narrative as character rewards. The homebrewed items die with the character, other items can be claimed by the rest of the party.

[ProsecutorGodot]

No one ever carries a shovel to properly dig a deep enough grave anyway.
My character carries a shovel named "Mold Earth" and I use it constantly to assist in burying people killed in raids or the wilderness.


Some items are considered "party" items. An individual holds it, but it belongs to everyone. Bag of Holding and Portable Hole are common for this. These are taken. An item important to Campaign Plot is also taken. For a character's individual stuff, the player can speak a will. He decides who gets what and what's buried with the character.

This I can understand, if it was earned by the group there could be an argument into holding on to it. I'd probably leave items if they've become synonymous with the character in the campaign though. It would be pretty poor taste if Jimmy started running around with Dale's old frostband warhammer parroting his catchphrase "Freeze monstrous scum".

[EvilAnagram]

Ever hear the expression "If you die first, we're splitting up your gear"? It applies to D&D too.
Items that were found during the adventure are mission-essential gear.

Magic items left on the corpse are likely to be looted by wandering scavengers like goblins, etc.

No one ever carries a shovel to properly dig a deep enough grave anyway.

The only PC to die in our home game was buried in a feywild grove sacred to Selune. It's as safe as anywhere else.

[ZorroGames]

Ever hear the expression "If you die first, we're splitting up your gear"? It applies to D&D too.
Items that were found during the adventure are mission-essential gear.

Magic items left on the corpse are likely to be looted by wandering scavengers like goblins, etc.

No one ever carries a shovel to properly dig a deep enough grave anyway.

Folk Hero background starts with one. Even have it on my figure which has the background.

[Asmotherion]

I have no idea how AL handles this situations, but in regular play, Depends on the DM, how exactly you Died, and other variables.

They may be looted by your Party, although we 've had situations were the players didn't loot their Dead Colegue out of respect for his Death.

Other times, they didn't find a body. Or they found one, latter on, who was not that willing to part with his Items.

[Contrast]

I understand the practical aspect but myself, and the type of characters that I play most often don't really like the idea of weeding through their backpacks deciding what was "significant" to them and what I can take from my now dead friend.

Some people also would care if they were buried with all their earthly possessions, allies with a noble background might take particular offense if they ever caught wind of what would happen to their things if they were to die, Barbarians might just want to be buried on the spot with all their things piled up on their grave.

I won't hold it too hard against anyone who decides to take the items though, since it's definitely the practical way of looking at things. I'll just never be the one to do it.

I still feel like you're overstating things. Is it really showing great respect to bury someone with a backpack with some climbing gear they never used, 50ft of rope and 10 days worth of rations? The act of cleaning someones wounds and generally getting them ready for a burial in a way so they don't look like they just got brutally murdered is probably going to involve removing some/all of their adventuring equipment. At which point its actually going to be pretty difficult to get them back into some of it potentially (as least in anything approaching a respectful way anyway).

A lot depends on tone really. Are you immediately scrounging through their stuff before they're even cold? Tasteless. Are you melancholically going through their possessions searching for a memento to remember a fallen comrade or checking to ensure there wasn't anything they would have wanted passing on? Perfectly reasonable. Obviously someones stated preferences are also important but PCs often don't think of such things (though in my current game we'd just had to set up a 'for clarity, I do not want my soul sold in exchange for bringing me back to life' deal...).

Also, a suit of platemail costs 1500 gold. That's 4 years of modest living expenses. That's 'burying someone in their sports car' levels of frivolous. People have certainly done that but I don't think its ruthlessly practical not to assume that's the standard.

[Jerrykhor]

Burials are generally bad in D&D. There's a chance that your former ally might be a necromancer's pawn, and if you bury his magic items with him, a chance that a grave robber might steal it. In terms of logistics, it takes up unnecessary land space that could have been used for something else too. Be smart and go for cremation.

I don't think looting your allies is a bad thing. Dead people cannot own things, and I'd certainly hate it if my allies bury some magic items that they could have used in my honour, or get revenge.

[Theodoxus]

AL handles things a little differently. Any permanent magic items stay with the character. All non-magical loot is evenly divided at the end of each session, converted to gold coin for convenience. A dead characters loot would be handled in a like manner. Permanent magical items remain with the dead character, basically 'locked', now that they're dead. But AL is a little more generous with resurrection magic than most home games, so staying dead, if the player doesn't want that - is generally not necessary (outside of just disintegration.) The party has the option of pooling resources to buy a rez, or make the dead character use up their treasure first, then chip in the rest. You don't have to chip in, if you don't want to - though karma can be a bitch ;)

IMX, most players are fine rerolling any dead character between 1 and 3, since it's only a couple weeks to catch up, provided they don't have a magic item. But once you get one, you're pretty likely to want to keep the character alive. It creates an interesting dynamic.

[Mortis_Elrod]

I've always been a fan of looting every corpse. Every single one. Sometimes theres no time for it but if paul died in our arms all dramatic like my character would be rifling through his bag and pockets before his final breath.

[Gryndle]

for us it has been highly dependent on circumstance; plot relevant items are always retrieved by the party if possible. sometimes signature items are buried with the deceased, other times they are taken up by another member in honor of the fallen. and when we play darker characters, then death nullifies ownership and anything special gets divvied up among the survivors.
Magic items are usually kept in the party, and when replacement characters "earn" their place, those items often get redistributed.