From in game:

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>policy 14 2
Reading Policy 14:

Repair Or Replacement Of Items

Should it appear that your character is missing some points or that something about your character or its inventory has changed unexpectedly, you may inform us by typing ASSIST and speaking to a GameMaster directly, or by leaving DragonRealms Feedback and giving an explanation of the situation. Simutronics will attempt to investigate the problem, and may, at its sole discretion, authorize adjustments to your score or inventory. GameMasters are empowered to make many on-the-spot decisions about replacement, but some situations will require approval from Simutronics management.

Some missing items are caused by normal means, such as a weapon which is broken in combat, coins lost to a pickpocket, or a mis-typed line to a parser. For example, if you were to type PUT SWORD IN SACK, this would normally put the sword into your own sack, but if there were to be a sack on the ground (perhaps left there by another player), your sword would instead go into that sack, and when you reached for it later, you might think it had just "disappeared." In any case where an item is lost or damaged through this type of normal game mechanics, repair or replacement cannot be authorized.

In many instances, Simutronics' only recourse in determining the cause of a problem a user may experience, is to verify that the programming involved is reliable. If specific game mechanics function correctly, and repeated tests under similar circumstances as the reported problem yield correct results, then we must rule that what the user saw is attributed to some type of communication problem or a misunderstanding of the output. For example, if your sword breaks in combat, and the die roll does not match the expected result, then Simutronics will check the programming involved carefully, and attempt to reproduce the error. In this case, if the breakage system operates correctly thousands of times a day, and attempts to re-create the identical error fail, then the conclusion Simutronics must draw is that the mistake was caused by human error or a communication problem such as line noise, which mangled the output.

Due to recent developments, Simutronics will no longer replace for a character*'*s inventory or score losses caused by delays or disconnections that are the direct result of the service provider the player accesses.

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That is up on the website in its entirety, minus the bolded part (maybe that should be updated?) and in addition there's this bit about unique item replacement in the website policy.

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UNIQUE ITEMS
There are various methods which the GameMasters use, to introduce unique items into DragonRealms. Some of these are planned well in advance, such as auctions, or quest treasure, or have immediate GameMaster involvement, such as during merchant events. Other methods, however, such as the treasure queue or "feeder" system, are done on a daily basis with only limited checking. The queue system is a powerful method to get large numbers of unique items into the hands of DragonRealms' players, but because of the volume, Simutronics cannot, and does not, maintain detailed records of the types of items, and who claims them. Because of this, requests for replacement of unique items lost due to system problems cannot always be honored.

In cases where Simutronics has a record of the item and its owner, replacement in the case of a loss (such as from a software crash) is usually authorized. In un-documented cases, however, Simutronics accepts no responsibility to replace the item. This policy allows GameMasters to create a large number of unique items, without requiring the detailed documentation and tracking which can stifle creativity.

A few problems, however, emerge from this exciting method of treasure distribution:

Because of the large number of such items, replacement in the case of loss may not be possible, because there will be no records of the item's exact structure or status.
It is possible that there will be mistakes in item creation from time to time. These mistakes may be technical, invalid or unreasonable parameters, or elements which are outside the guidelines and mythos of the game environment.
Items will vary widely in their scope, concept, and usefulness. Some items of similar or exact appearance may have different powers.
Therefore, the following policy is imposed on these items:

Simutronics will not replace or repair unique items under any circumstances other than bug fixes we initiate at our sole discretion. Therefore, if you lose one of these items in a crash, we may not be able to replace it because we will not have any documentation on what it was, or how it really worked.

Simutronics can and will, at its sole discretion, make adjustments or repairs to these items as needed. In most cases, if an error represents a clear imbalance, you will not lose the benefits you acquired while the item was working the way it was. The exception to this is if it was a gross mistake that has serious ramifications for the world balance.

Simutronics is not required to make any notification that a change has occurred. If you see that an item suddenly shifts its operation, then the reason is either due to a repair, or that the item was programmed to do what it does for some reason. Items should never be trusted to ALWAYS behave in a perfectly predictable manner.

In very rare instances, an item may have to be confiscated if it is seriously in error. GameMasters are authorized to replace it with the next item in the unique item queue (though this will probably not have any relationship to the benefits/powers of the one removed). Again, this can take place at Simutronics' sole discretion.

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Elanthipedia - https://elanthipedia.play.net/mediawiki/index.php/Main_Page
Epedia Admins - https://elanthipedia.play.net/mediawiki/index.php/Elanthipedia:Administrators

My experience has been that the GMs generally make every effort to be helpful, but that part of the responsibility is on you to bond and/or ESPECIALLY register the item. Not doing so makes replacement harder if not impossible.