partialkeepinv
Partial Keep Inventory introduces a softer alternative to /gamerule keepInventory for Paper 1.21.x servers (tested on 1.21.11).
Instead of keeping everything or dropping everything, it selectively protects valuable items while still punishing deaths.
Core features
Selective item keeping
- Keeps all shulker boxes (any colour).
- Keeps all non-stackable items – tools, weapons, armour, elytra, etc. (anything with max stack size 1).
- Keeps extra container-like items such as ender chests and bundles (and anything else you add to the whitelist in
config.yml). - All other items (blocks, food, stackables) drop normally on death.
Inventory position preserved
- Kept items are restored to their original inventory slots (hotbar and main inventory).
- Off-hand item is restored to the off-hand slot when possible.
- If a slot is already occupied (because of other plugins or edge cases), the item is added to the inventory and dropped at the player's feet if there's no space.
Armour handling
- Armour is kept and re-equipped automatically on respawn.
- Each death applies extra durability damage to each worn armour piece (default ~3% of max durability, configurable).
- Items won't be instantly destroyed by the death penalty (at least 1 durability is preserved).
XP penalty
- On every death the player loses a configurable number of XP levels (default 1–5, never below level 0).
- No XP orbs are dropped; the plugin directly sets the new level on respawn.
Configuration
keep.shulkers,keep.non_stackable_items,keep.containers– toggle what types of items are protected.containers.material_whitelist– list extra container-like materials to always keep (default:ENDER_CHEST,BUNDLE).xp_loss.enabled,xp_loss.min_levels,xp_loss.max_levels– control how many levels are lost on death.armor_damage.enabled,armor_damage.percent– control whether and how much armour durability is lost per death.
Requirements
- Server: Paper 1.21.11+ (should work on other 1.21.x builds).
- Java: 21+
- Make sure in each relevant world:
/gamerule keepInventory false
