Monster Picking Up Items

[Madoka]

I have a few questions on monsters pickups and monster drops. If a monster picks up an item and you kill it later, does it drop the item again? Does it drop all items picked up or perhaps just artifacts? Finally, if the item was initially generated on the floor but subsequently picked and and later dropped, will the auto inscription say "Dropped by Monster X" or "Found on the floor..."

I ask as I was in a vault, and there was an unknown ring in the center room of the vault. After fighting my way into the final room, it was nowhere to be found. There were no breath attacks to destroy it. It was just gone. And I killed everything going in.

[Derakon]

Monsters will drop all items they have picked up and money they have stolen when you kill them. To my knowledge, items get their origins marked when they are created, so any item that is picked up off the floor will still be marked as coming from the floor, even if the first time you see it is in a monster's inventory.

[buzzkill]

Unless I'm mistaken, monsters can't pick up artifacts, not that they don't try.

[Nick]

I ask as I was in a vault, and there was an unknown ring in the center room of the vault. After fighting my way into the final room, it was nowhere to be found. There were no breath attacks to destroy it. It was just gone. And I killed everything going in.

Some monsters can crush items on the floor, or it is possible that something picked it up and then teleported away. Also, I'm not sure what happens if monster A picks up an item, and then monster B tramples monster A.

[Derakon]

Some monsters can crush items on the floor, or it is possible that something picked it up and then teleported away. Also, I'm not sure what happens if monster A picks up an item, and then monster B tramples monster A.

Trampled monsters don't drop items; they're just removed (ŕ la Banishment) and their items go with them. That includes items they've picked up.

[Magnate]

Yep, all correct. The ring was either trampled, or picked up by a monster that was trampled, or picked up by something that was banished or teleported away.

[d_m]

Or it was a ring mimic!