[Rules] Does character property stay with you forever?

[The Crimson Binome]

The rules do not support any of that. The PHB spells out pretty clearly what you get as far as starting gear, backgrounds, and abilities. The DM may choose to let you start with more, but that is entirely at the DM's discretion.

One issue that's pretty common is that you'll have a group where the DM duty rotates between the players (every other week, or every other adventure). And sometimes, one of those players will be more generous than the others, when it comes to handing out magic items. It's not entirely unheard of for one DM to give out full sets of artifact armor and weapons, only for the next DM to contrive some reason to get rid of it all.

 

[Gardens & Goblins]