The Firemaker's Curse

The Firemaker's Curse is a members-only quest developed by Mod Ana and was the first quest to be released in 2012. It is based in lore, providing new information about the downfall of Zaros and the rise of Zamorak.

Preparing and gearing up
It may be handy for you to change your graphical settings so that your lighting detail is set to low.

Armour will only hinder you in this quest, so leave it behind to keep your weight down. Instead, wear weight-reducing gear like a Spottier cape and Boots of lightness, or Wicked robes. Wearing at least one teleport-capable item is worthwhile in order to allow teleportation to a bank to re-equip. An emergency teleport (one-click teleport) is not necessary as this is a safe quest.

Have four empty slots in your inventory to hold items you get and need during the quest: one for the pitch can, one for the compiled journal (all individual journals found in the cave are merged into one, so only one slot is needed), and two for the fire powders (one puzzle provides three different powders, but only two are actually needed).

Use the remaining slots to hold items to help you in the quest. Although the quest is safe, the ability to heal is crucial in getting through the quest. You can take a lot of damage in several rooms; instead of dying, you are always rescued when your health reaches 0, but you still have to redo the room. Items with high healing abilities are best, such as an Enhanced Excalibur. Players should use the highest-healing food they can.

Healing familiars can also help in the final battle. Having a familiar out in the puzzle-solving rooms can make the puzzle harder to solve, as the familiar will often stand in a place where you want to be (so that left-clicking there causes you to interact with the familiar instead of moving, wasting valuable time). For most players, it is likely that you will have to leave the cave several times to resupply, so one option is to bring the healing familiar only when you gear up for the final battle with Char.

For the final battle, players will need a fast weapon. Fast melee weapons work quite effectively against Char as long as a sufficient number of fires are lit. Dual-wielding is recommended. The damage dealt is not determined by the weapon, but accuracy is, so use the most accurate weapon available.



Meeting the Seven Firemakers
To start this quest, travel to the starting location south of Eagles' Peak and talk to Phoenix. The fastest way to travel there are by using the Spirit tree system at the Gnome Stronghold, exiting the stronghold, and running west to the starting location. Using the Gnome glider system and also running south and west. You can also use the Eagle transport system to travel to Eagle's Peak, then run south to the start location. Using Ardougne Teleport would also be relatively quick, as a player would need to run north and west to reach the starting location. You could also use a Phoenix Lair teleport scroll. Another method would be to use the fairy ring teleport (AKQ) to Piscatoris Hunter area and run south.



Once you arrive, talk to any of the firemakers to begin the quest. A cut-scene will ensue where you will be introduced to Emmett, Flint, Isis, Lina, Phoenix, Sera, and Twig. They will explain to you their desire to find long-lost Firemaking knowledge--which came to them in a dream--in the caves next to the entrance they are surrounding. They will ask you to protect them as they go through the caves. You will agree and formally begin the quest.

Note: After starting the quest, there are two identical-looking cave entrances quite close by. If you teleport out during the quest, it is easy to go to the wrong cave entrance (the exit) and find you cannot enter the cave. You need to go to the south entrance, which has the quest symbol next to it on the mini-map.

Inside the Caves
Upon entering the caves, you will enter a room with several red fires. Flint will give you a pitch can, which allows you to create fires in front of you without logs and grants 2 experience points for each fire made. However, unlike regular fires, you cannot stand on or walk over these fires. Also, they burn out faster than normal fire. Your first order of business is to light fires so that you create an arrow pointing out of the cave. Once this is completed, a cut-scene will occur where the characters will join you in the middle of the room; the ground will begin to shake and everyone will fall through the floor into the next room.

Second Room

 * Turning your lighting detail to 'low' may help you better see the environment.

The second room will be dark, so you will have to light the logs next to you to illuminate everything. The firemakers will lament about being trapped, and are scared of some monster attacking them. In the centre of the room is Firemaking Journal: Chapter 1. After you take it, you will have Firemaking journal compilation (1) in your inventory. Another cut-scene will then occur with a spirit, Char, confronting you and the group, and again extinguishing the fire. Once you relight the fire, you will see that Phoenix has been killed because Emmett became possessed. The spirit says this is part of her game, and she will allow you to pass through to the next camp, but you must identify who she has possessed to prevent any more deaths. Now continue down the open tunnel.

Third Room
The third room (East is oriented at the top) contains yet more red fires, in another pattern that is in the journal. The journal contains guide images to complete the shapes as you advance through caves. Complete the pattern to trigger another event where Char will begin dropping large boulders around the room whilst dimming the lights. You must avoid the boulders as they fall or you will be hit for around 600 damage. Collect them and add them to the rock pile at the east end of the room to create a pile you can climb in order to reach the next exit. Char will be dimming the lights, so you have limited time to do this.

(the puzzle can also be solved by omitting the fire in the bottom right corner and thus creating a shape with curved edges - 6 fires in total.)

Fourth Room
Now you will be in the fourth room and you will need to light the fire to illuminate everything again. The firemakers will rejoin you. You can grab the Firemaking Journal: Chapter 2 in the middle of the room, which will turn your journal compilation into Firemaking journal compilation (2). This will trigger another dialogue where you can gather more information from Char by going through various dialogue options. You can then pick a firemaker who you think has been possessed, and tie them to a pillar. If you pick correctly, no one will die when Char next dims the lights. The first person to be possessed is Twig, which he gives away by both his exhausted stance and not being cowardly anymore. Click on the pillar closest to the fire and choose Twig to tie him up. Relight the fire and proceed to the next room. If you choose incorrectly, Flint will be killed.

Fifth Room

 * You need to move as fast as possible because this puzzle burns out very quickly and may take many attempts. It is advisable after lighting each fire to select the right-click menu at the position of the next fire, so that "walk-here" can be clicked as soon as the fire-lighting animation is complete.

The fifth room contains two differently coloured fires--red and yellow--arranged in the pattern of a fire, with the red on the outer layer and yellow on the inner. The room also contains Red powder and Yellow powder, which will allow you to change your fire's colour. A total of 4 yellow fires and 5 red fires need to be lit. It's possible to complete the puzzle in time if all the fires (except the yellow at the top left) are lit using "make-fire-here". Start with the yellow fires by mixing the yellow powder. Light the two fires on the right side, then the one at the bottom. Next, run around to the top-left fire, which must be lit by standing in the ring of red flames and using "make-fire", so that you don't get trapped. Then, mix the red powder and light the red fires in an anti-clockwise direction: the two at the top, the one on the left, and the two at the bottom.

Another viable strategy is to light the top-right yellow node from below, then light the left node from the right, then the right node from the left. Run out of the inner yellow circle and make a fire from the red section, then add red powder and "create fire here". From there, fill out the bottom right, then the left, then the two top-left using "create fire here". Fill out the fire completely on both the inside and outside; the painting shown in the Firemaker's Journal isn't complete. In order to light the red fire that is very close to the wall, you need to select the "light fire here" option on your pitch can.

Upon completing this puzzle, Char will summon a wall of fire. Run for the gaps in the wall so you do not take damage. After surviving two different walls of fire from random directions (could be two different directions), proceed to the next room.

Sixth Room
(The lights dim after a short time, dealing 50-100 damage every few seconds. Lighting the fires postpones this effect.)

If you come close to dying in this room, you will be rescued by the firemakers and restored to full health. If this happens, any activated pillars will remain activated, but all lit fires will be extinguished.

The sixth room is an agility-labyrinth puzzle. You need to push pillar switches to clear the path through to the exit, while lighting fire pits to keep the room lit to avoid extra damage. You must jump between pillars immediately after the small burst of lava has splashed or you will be hit for 50-200 damage. Food will most likely be required to finish this room.


 * 1) Go to the west, jumping as far as you can.  Light the fire there and push the pillar. It will show you that the pit to the far east can now be lit.
 * 2) Go to the east pit.  Light it and push that pillar.
 * 3) Head towards the west pit again, but just before reaching the pit, go north and jump to the pillar that has appeared in the centre, and push the pillar there.
 * 4) Go to the east to light the pit and push the pillar there.
 * 5) Go back to the centre pillar, then go east and push the flame switch.
 * 6) Go back towards the centre pillar and continue to the pit to the west; light it and push the pillar.  There are two large stones that come down from the ceiling if the player does not run fast enough under them.
 * 7) Push the pillar on the platform east of the previous pillar.  After that, you gain access to the last line of fire pits. There are weak floors in some areas, so make sure you don't stand on any ledges that don't have ground beneath them.
 * 8) Go to the north-western pit, light it and push the pillar.  The path to the exit will now be free in the north-east corner of the room.

There are small cut-scenes that show what happens when pushing a pillar, which makes it quite clear what to do next, so following that usually helps out a lot. Note that you can be hit high amounts of damage, so be prepared to lose a lot of health.

Seventh Room
In the seventh room is the Firemaking Journal: Chapter 3, which will turn your journal into Firemaking journal compilation (3). After picking it up, you will have another conversation with Char, and you will again have to decide who is possessed. The second person possessed is Sera, which is made clear by her failure to mention Ignatius Vulcan even once during the time in the room, and the fact that she says she has been a firemaker since she was a child; she is also suddenly not very irritable. It's also noteworthy to see that the F in the firemaking question is capitalized for her only. Tie her to the pillar, and move on to the next room. If you decide incorrectly, Isis will be killed.

Eighth Room
Once again you need to complete the pattern. Fill in the gaps between the red fires to make two solid red lines, and likewise for the yellow fires. This will produce a "#" pattern. Five yellow fires and four red fires will need to be lit. Blue powder is provided, but doesn't need to be used.

As usual, it's tricky to complete the pattern fast enough. One method is to light the red fires first, starting from the bottom right, then the left, then the top. Next, switch to yellow and light the top row from left to right. Generally, "make-fire-here" can be used, although there may be places where "make-fire" is quicker. The two fires on the right yellow column should be lit by standing to the right and using "make-fire", while facing left, to avoid getting trapped in the centre.

After finishing the pattern, you will be immediately accosted by a large, complete line of flame, due to Char's regaining strength. You must run to either side and stand against the walls in order to let the fires slip past while you hide in the small gap. Afterwards, the tunnel opens up again.

Ninth Room
In the ninth room, you'll see a grid similar to the pattern puzzle shown to you. You must survive in the room until the bar at the top of the screen is filled. On the walls are nodes which will create temporary walls of flame that will help you survive but will also prevent you from crossing them. Char will put you through a "tutorial" of sorts, demonstrating the various flames she will send at you, but since she's feeling a bit cruel, you can still take damage during this trial.

Since the camera angle can't be changed during this puzzle, it may be helpful to close the chat and inventory panels to give access to all areas of the room.


 * Red balls will drift slowly towards you and hit you for light damage if they get somewhat close.
 * White balls move a bit faster and will explode for moderate damage should they catch up to you.
 * Orange balls can set any line they touch on fire, same as your own walls, but if you happen to be standing on the line, it'll hurt you when it goes up.
 * Blue balls will lazily float about, creating a trail of flames that will constantly damage you if you stand on them.

All balls of flame eventually vanish if they haven't hit you directly, but orange and blue balls will leave behind the same type of fires that blue flames leave; orange balls leave an "X" pattern that stretches across the entire board, originating at the time they vanished; and blue balls leave a 3x3 grid where they went out.

The balls will spawn in four waves, with each wave containing more of them at the same time than the previous one.

The idea here is to use the flame walls you set to prevent the balls from reaching you. However, if you aren't fast enough, or are on the wrong side of a node when you light it up, you may accidentally trap the ball on the same side as you.

A few general tips are as follows: you should stay near the middle of the walls most of the time since the balls always spawn at four corners between the walls and the centre of the room, and they will not hesitate to go off if you're on top of the spawn, and you do not want to be surrounded. Balls that are on top of a line when it is set off will become stuck in that wall, except for orange balls, since they're usually the ones that set the wall down in the first place. Try to avoid the orange flame's walls, since they'll end up trapping you if you're at the short end of the room when they set fires, and always be aware of when the wave nears the end as the residual flames they drop when they leave spawn immediately. When you're hiding behind a wall, lure the balls over to one side, then create a wall perpendicular to the one you are using to block them so that when the first wall goes out, you'll still have something protecting you. Lastly, the balls that try to chase you will still hurt you even if they're behind a wall, if they get close enough.

A method of healing can be useful for this puzzle, allowing mistakes to be made without the risk of failing the puzzle and needing to restart.

Tenth Room
Room Ten is another party room where the rest of the Firemakers will rejoin you. Take the Firemaking journal compilation (4) and you will again have to decide who is possessed. The person possessed this time is Twig again. He gives it away when he says that he was born with the name "Twig," but "Twig" is actually the nickname he gave himself, which he mentions if you spoke to him before entering the cave for the first time. If you decide incorrectly, Lina will be killed.

Eleventh Room
If you are playing in full screen format, you may want to make your screen size smaller to make this next part easier.

This time, the pattern is in the shape of a torch. You won't need yellow at all; just complete the blue surrounding it and patch the red all around the pattern. But before you finish, take note of the fire pit nearby. Instead of throwing firewalls at you, Char dims the screen.

Immediately light the fire pit in order to avoid taking too much damage. Then take a torch from the pile, and proceed down the tunnel.

You'll be forced to walk the entire way. During this time, dark tendrils will claw their way out of all sides of your screen. This is why smaller screen formats are recommended. If you use wide-screen, it will be nearly impossible to make out some of the tendrils against the pitch black of the area outside of the walls. You have to ward them off by left-clicking them close to the edge of the screen. Failing to ward one of them off in time will result in moderate damage. Don't forget to keep walking while this is happening, and escape through the open door as soon as possible. Despite this option being safer, it is possible to simply walk the entire path taking hits. With a lot of food, a player can survive the entire path.

Twelfth Room
After lighting the fire, take the fifth journal. The person possessed this time is Emmett. During the interviews, you'll notice that Emmett is suspiciously level-headed when you talk to him, as opposed to earlier, when he lit himself on fire just by talking about flames, making it a dead give-away. He also stops mentioning the fact that everybody keeps accusing him of being possessed. If you decide incorrectly, Twig will be killed.

Char will warn you to prepare yourself, so don't be lazy. Head back to the surface to resupply on food, and to take a fast-hitting and accurate weapon with you, such as an abyssal whip, chaotic weaponry, or drygore weaponry if available. Off-hand weapons are also effective. Armour should not be worn, since this will only increase Char's maximum hit. Use weight-reducing gear to conserve energy and if needed (if agility is low, perhaps), bring a few energy potions.

Char
This is a safe battle, meaning you are expelled from the battle arena instead of dying, with Char taunting you. When this happens, the fight is reset and your stats and life are restored to full.

It is HIGHLY suggested that you put the pitch can on your ability bar. It's is not necessary but it will make the fight much less click-intesive.

Following the Evolution of Combat, ranged is no longer an effective way to kill Char. Instead, players should wield a fast melee weapon such as an abyssal whip or dragon scimitar, together with a good offhand weapon such as an offhand dragon dagger or better. However, stronger weapons such as chaotics or drygore rapiers are recommended, as the fight can otherwise take as long as 25 minutes. With 5 or more fires lit at all times, players can engage Char with melee and hit well over 1000 lifepoints. Ideally, you should avoid fighting her unless you have at least 10 fires lit (the number is displayed at the top-left of the screen), which will enable you to inflict over 3000 damage. As long as you re-light the fires (they can be extinguished) and avoid Char while she is enraged, you should be able to win, although it may still take several attempts.

Take the last journal, and then discard it if you wish. It is not required when fighting Char, and can be obtained again from the cave. In the last room you will meet Char; she is standing in the cave downstairs. Now is the time to get some food, energy potions (about 2) and weight-reducing clothing. Summer pies are possibly the most ideal choice in terms of food, as they heal and restore 50% run energy. The salt-water spring at Oo'glog is highly recommended, as it will provide unlimited run energy for about 15-20 minutes. The Explorer's Ring may be useful to replenish run energy.

Note: Activating the ring may cause problems since it charges and delays your movement.

Char's hits are based on the player's maximum lifepoints, so wearing items that boost lifepoints (including most armour) will only cause the player to take more damage. Prayers and the Ring of Recoil do not work in reducing/inflicting damage during the fight, so do not bother bringing these items to the fight. The Rapid Heal and Redemption prayers may be helpful should you run out of food.

Your damage is calculated by how many fires you light with your pitch can. The lit fires die out naturally and can be extinguished by Char when she stomps the ground; she can affect a 6x6 area. Therefore, it works well to light as many fires as you can in order to accelerate the fight. It is also beneficial to light fires in the northern end and to keep Char following you southward to prevent her from stamping them out. However, be sure to move away before she reaches you. In addition, all fires made before the fight starts will disappear once the fight has begun. One fast way to light multiple fires is to use the "Light Fire here" option and repeatedly light fires in a row from east to west.

Occasionally Char will give off a spherical spark, which will also appear as another yellow dot on the mini-map. The sparks will do a small amount of damage if they touch you, or will give certain benefits if they hit one of your fires. The benefits are:

Green: Your hit has a chance to restore some life points; life-giving spark.

Blue: With each hit, you have a chance to slow Char's attacks; cooling spark.

Yellow: Your hits have a chance of extra damage; glittering spark.

Red: unknown.

The sparks' benefits are short-lived and don't appear to help much.

Periodically, Char will rage and glow white. During this time she will be invulnerable, and will inflict heavy damage upon you should you be within melee range. She will eventually cool down, which will happen faster if you lure her into the water. A message will appear in the chat window, "Char's rage subsides." and she will cease to glow. It may only worth luring her to the water if she begins glowing near the water. Otherwise, it is recommended that you merely avoid trying to fight her at this point and run around the room lighting fires for when she becomes vulnerable again. If you have your audio turned on, you can hear when Char switches to her rage even when she is not in your field of view.

Warning: When enraged, Char will deal massive damage if encountered. Often a single hit will be sufficient to kill a player. As such, it is imperative to avoid her while enraged at all costs.

If you attack Char as soon as the "Char's rage subsides" message appears, then you will have the longest possible time in which to fight her before she rages again. If you find that you are getting hit every time she rages, then it may be a good idea to back away before it happens and start lighting fires.

When Char is down to approx. 50% health, fire walls--similar to those experienced in earlier chambers--will periodically appear and sweep across the room. A wall typically has 2 gaps where you can pass through to avoid damage from the wall of fire. Also, going to the edge of the room will often avoid a wall of fire, even though it visually seems that the fire reaches to the room's edge. The walls may come from either side.

You cannot set up a Dwarf multicannon for the last boss fight, as you will receive a message stating that the cavern might cave in.

Summoning familiars can be used when fighting Char. A healing familiar such as a Unicorn stallion or Bunyip may be helpful, or a beast of burden such as a Spirit terrorbird or War Tortoise to hold extra food. A Terrorbird can also replenish run energy with Tireless Run scrolls.

Finishing
Once Char has been defeated, she laments her defeat. The firemakers, who somehow become free, join the player, who can speak to Char again and gain some final information about Char and Zaros. Speaking to Char after this gains no more information, and the player can exit the room through the nearby tunnel. This brings the player and the firemakers to the surface, at a cave entrance to the north of the one used to start the quest. Speak to any of the firemakers to end the quest and get the rewards.

Rewards

 * 2 Quest points
 * 80,000 experience
 * 30,000 experience
 * 76,000 experience
 * The Book of Char: When activated in the off-hand slot, it causes fiery orbs to spin around the player, simultaneously igniting any log the player walks/runs over.
 * Access to two new events and a new Firemaker's costume in Balthazar Beauregard's Big Top Bonanza.
 * Access to Char's training cave that can be repeated weekly. Also, you can pick up one of the four fire creatures: Warming Flame, Twisted Firestarter, Glowing Ember, and Searing Flame (with 91 Firemaking) flying in the room as a pet. (You can only have one at a time, due to an update by Jagex.)
 * 2 extra spins on the Squeal of Fortune.

Music

 * The Firemakers' Theme
 * Charred Remains

Trivia

 * A guaranteed content poll was held on the RuneScape forums to choose the personality of a female character involved in the quest. The winner was Sera, a self-professed jealous rival of Ignatius Vulcan, whose goal in life is to create a blaze that will trump those of Vulcan himself.
 * The_Firemakers_Curse_noticeboard.png original Firemaking requirement for this quest was level 90, but this was lowered to 74 in the week before launch. This was announced by Mod Mark and the January 2012 BTS was changed to reflect the new requirement. The requirement for additional rewards was raised to 91 Firemaking.
 * After completing the quest, the Adventurer's Log will read: I guided the firemakers through Char's caves and managed to recover her ancient Firemaking secrets.
 * The Twisted Firestarter is a reference to the song Firestarter by The Prodigy. It references the lyrics, "I'm a fire starter, twisted fire starter."
 * This quest was originally released as grandmaster, but was changed soon after to master.
 * Just like the God birds, you can have all the Fire creatures by putting them one at a time in your house.