Everything you carry is yours until somebody kills you
Out past the town guards, anyone can come for you. The knight you passed on the road. The quiet mage by the fire. The friend you walked out with.
When you fall, everything you were carrying stays with your body, and whoever reaches it first walks away with it. No insurance. No soulbound gear. No magical mailbox returning your sword.
It is why every trip out of town matters, and why winning a fight here feels like nothing else.