Lately there's been some incredible loot given out on preludes, which has been sort of creating this illusion in the heads of many players that asking for a prelude will result in a free set of sweet custom gear. This sort of stuff will only be given out when the prelude has a significant chance at permadeath. Also note that generally speaking, a player should expect little more than rags on his back, unless he or she is literally raiding Undermountain, or some other absurdly dangerous place.