diff --git a/main.py b/main.py
index 04db6054..8f689f07 100644
--- a/main.py
+++ b/main.py
@@ -2491,6 +2491,19 @@ _inventory_http_client: httpx.AsyncClient | None = None
 # Held in a set so they aren't garbage-collected mid-flight.
 _inventory_delta_tasks: set[asyncio.Task] = set()
 
+# Per-character locks so deltas for the SAME character serialize
+# (preventing FK race conditions in inventory-service's DELETE+INSERT path)
+# while deltas for DIFFERENT characters still run concurrently.
+_inventory_char_locks: Dict[str, asyncio.Lock] = {}
+
+
+def _get_inventory_char_lock(char_name: str) -> asyncio.Lock:
+    lock = _inventory_char_locks.get(char_name)
+    if lock is None:
+        lock = asyncio.Lock()
+        _inventory_char_locks[char_name] = lock
+    return lock
+
 
 async def _handle_inventory_delta(data: dict):
     """Forward an inventory_delta to inventory-service and broadcast to browsers.
@@ -2498,7 +2511,18 @@ async def _handle_inventory_delta(data: dict):
     Runs as a background task so a slow inventory-service POST never blocks
     the plugin WebSocket receive loop. If the receive loop blocks long enough,
     Starlette stops processing keepalives and the connection drops.
+
+    Per-character serialization via _inventory_char_locks: rapid deltas for
+    the SAME character (e.g. mana burn, ID refresh, loot bursts) processed
+    one at a time so they don't race in inventory-service's DELETE+INSERT
+    path (FK violations on item_combat_stats etc).
     """
+    char_name = data.get("character_name", "unknown")
+    async with _get_inventory_char_lock(char_name):
+        await _do_handle_inventory_delta(data)
+
+
+async def _do_handle_inventory_delta(data: dict):
     try:
         action = data.get("action")
         char_name = data.get("character_name", "unknown")