Elden Ring Keepsakes Guide: Best Starting Items

When you create a character in Elden Ring, you don’t just pick a class and tweak your appearance—you also choose a “keepsake,” a starting item that lands directly in your inventory. Some of these keepsakes are straightforward power boosts, while others unlock specific mechanics (or tempt you with choices that may become situational later). Here’s what every keepsake does and which ones make the most sense depending on whether you’re new to Souls games or already familiar with their rhythms.

All keepsakes you can choose at character creation

Ritual Rune (Zwischenlandrune): Grants 3,000 Runes that you can spend.
Crimson Amber Medallion (Rotes Bernsteinmedaillon): A talisman that slightly extends your HP bar.
Golden Seed (Goldene Saat): Lets you add one extra Flask charge to a healing or mana flask.
Ash of the Vampire Bat Wights (Asche der Vampirwichte): Used to summon Vampire Bat Wight spirits.
Stone Sword Key (Steinschwertschlüssel): Used to pass through specific fog walls.
Bewitching Branches (Betörende Äste): Consumable that bewitches enemies so they stop fighting you; it uses Mana.
Cooked Prawn (Gekochte Garnelen): Increases resistance to physical damage.
Shabriri’s Woe (Shabiris Kummer): A talisman that continuously draws enemy aggression.

Best keepsake for newcomers: get stronger immediately (and don’t waste it)

If this is your first FromSoftware game and you want anything that helps you survive early danger, the guide recommendation is to look at the Crimson Amber Medallion or—more importantly—the Ritual Rune.

Option 1: Ritual Rune for leveling (and preserving the value when you die)

Select the Ritual Rune at character creation.
Use it to gain 3,000 Runes for leveling or purchasing items.
Don’t use it right away. As long as you haven’t consumed the item, the runes you receive don’t get lost when you die.
Wait until you meet Melina at a Site of Grace, then level using the runes.
The guide’s example plan is to invest those runes into your Strength stat three times.

Example outcomes: Astrologers go from 396 HP to 455 HP; Vagabonds from 522 HP to 598 HP (when following the Strength-up approach described).
Comparison in the same recommendation: Using the Crimson Amber Medallion instead would land Astrologers at 422 HP and Vagabonds at 533 HP.

You can also use those runes for other stats, not just Strength—the point is that the Ritual Rune gives you flexible early progression.

Option 2: Golden Seed if you prioritize more Flask charges over HP

If you’d rather improve your survivability through more healing or mana access, the recommended alternative is the Golden Seed.

It lets you add an additional Flask charge to a flask of your choice.
You can do this at your first Site of Grace, before leaving the area after the Stranded Graveyard and heading into the open world.

Best keepsake for experienced Souls players: choose mechanics, not just runes

If you’re already comfortable with Souls-style gameplay, the guide argues you may find it less interesting to simply take a big pile of runes and move on. Instead, it highlights keepsakes that open up specific content or new playstyle options.

Stone Sword Key to explore early dungeon content

Select the Stone Sword Key at character creation.
Use it to remove specific fog walls and reach areas behind them.
Know that the key breaks when used, but you can find many more in the world.

With this keepsake, you can access a challenging dungeon very early — even before pushing into the open world.
A miniboss waits at the end, described as difficult at the start of the game.
Defeating it rewards you with runic currency and items.
If you don’t choose the key initially, you can return later after finding the item elsewhere.

Ash of the Vampire Bat Wights for spirit-summon variety

Selecting Ash of the Vampire Bat Wights gives you a way to summon two Vampire Bat Wight spirits.
The guide notes that by the time you can use these ashes, you should already have at least one other useful spirit ash, but the Vampire Bat Wights are positioned as a fun option for players who want to test more summons.

Shabriri’s Woe for “hard mode” souls play

If you want the most aggressive, punishing positioning you can get from a starting talisman, the recommendation is Shabriri’s Woe.

When equipped, it “continuously draws enemy aggression,” as described by the item.
The guide also flags a FromSoftware-style caution: a keepsake like this might or might not remain useful later in the game.

No lockout—if you accidentally pick it: it’s equipped at first, but you can simply unequip it. That means you’re no longer using a keepsake item, but you also don’t make your early life harder than necessary.