Items Kept on Death is a menu accessed from the Worn Equipment button on the Interface that shows which items players will keep when they die. Generally, only the three most valuable items will be kept, and these items will be shown in this menu. Four would be kept if Protect Item is active, none if skulled and one if skulled and with Protect Item active, all for some "safe" situations.
The values of items are based on Grand Exchange prices. (Prices were previously based on the store or alchemy value of the items.) However, since an update on 19 April2011, the store or alchemy value of items is no longer used, and players may choose which 3 items to keep on death regardless of their value (except in the wilderness). But if you are in the Wilderness (and are not skulled) RuneScape will automatically keep the highest priced items on the Grand Exchange.
Since the update on 19 April 2011, many stackable items, such as coins, are always kept. This also includes most basic items, such as low level armour, runes, seeds, food, quest/untradeable items, etc.
Upon death, the player will be taken to Limbo, which is simply an interface where they can select their respawn point, and which items they wish to retain. This interface does not appear when a player dies inside the Wilderness; the player will just spawn east of the Edgeville bank, keeping some of their most valuable items (affected by the skull and Protect items prayer).
The last major location the player has passed through (known as a hub)
Hubs
Hubs are recently visited cities where the player can choose to respawn at. Some hubs are members only, or require the completion of various quests to access. The current available hubs are:
If players are skulled by entering the Abyss, or by attacking someone in the Wilderness, they will lose all of their items when they die, but Protect Item would allow them to keep one item. It is disabled in high-risk wilderness worlds. This prayer is what players use when PKing so that their best item could be protected while they used other low costing items for protection, e.g. a PKer would use an Armadyl godsword with rune armour. The duration of being skulled lasts for 10 minutes of playing time. Being equipped with a Forinthry bracelet will prevent players from getting a skull when entering the Abyss.
Safe areas include all random event areas, such as Leo the gravedigger's event space, as well as player-owned houses. The Items Kept on Death screen will show that players will keep all their items upon death.
In the Duel Arena, players may challenge other players to a staked duel. This means that items or coins are put at stake during the duel, and the winner is awarded with the staked items.
However, since the Duel Arena is a safe minigame, players will not lose any items (except the staked items) if they die during the duel.
Interface that shows up after players death, where you can choose respawn location and items to keep.
When players die, gravestones may appear on the spot where the player dies. with the exception of inside safe minigame, Corporeal Beast slaying, Wild Jade Vine killing, dangerous Clan Wars or in the Wilderness. Gravestones may last for 5–15 minutes, depending on the type of the gravestone. During this period, a dead player will be able to respawn and retrieve any remaining items that are not kept on death from the gravestone. (As noted below, "unkeepable" and untradeable items cannot be retrieved from the gravestone.)
Items that are never kept
If you die in the Wilderness...
Certain untradeable items, like Runecrafting pouches, cannot be kept upon death. This is regardless of whether the item is the most valuable item, or if Protect Item prayer is used. When player dies, the item is lost forever, cannot be retrieved from the gravestone of the player, and will not appear to other players.
There appears to be two types of item not kept on death. Items which are never kept, no matter what, and items that are not available from your gravestone even if you return in time.
"White outline" items
These items are highlighted in the Items Kept on Death screen. They are destroyed automatically if you die in an unsafe manner such as regular play or an unsafeminigame.
These items will be saved if they are kept in the inventory upon death, but will not appear at the gravestone if they are not kept upon death. Items that have a destroy rather than drop option usually fall into this category.
Note that there appears to have been an update which resulted in many items being automatically kept.
Ectophial
Wicked Hood
Explorer's Ring
Auras
Statue collection bag
Strange rocks
Initiate Armour
Mask of dragith nurn
Cape of legends
Climbing boots
Wealth information
On 3 March2009, the interface was upgraded to show players the value of the items being carried or worn. This information is displayed to the right of the interface:
Carried wealth - total value of items carried and worn.
Risked wealth - the value of items lost upon death.
Untradeable Items show their price when they are shown in the Items Kept on Death menu. Such as an Explorer's ring which is shown to worth 350 coins and a Fire Cape is worth 60,000 coins.
The Items Kept on Death interface will now give a bit of extra info about gravestones if applicable, following the 9 November2009 updates.
Free to play players that have previously been members and who still have member items can still check the worth of the items, even though they aren't members any longer.File:Items kept on death overload.pngA player partially overloading the Items Kept on Death interface.
When on the Items Kept on Death screen, the effects of being poisoned are paused, same as with the ring of stone.
When dying with two or more objects of the same value, the priority of the item depends on its position in your inventory.
The carried wealth/risk counter will display a maximum of 2,147,483,647. If you are carrying more, it will show as "Unknown!"
