Edicts of Guthix

The Edicts of Guthix, most prominently alluded to in the Darkness of Hallowvale quest, are a series of decrees Guthix created for the world after the last God Wars. At the time of this writing, there is "balance" in Gielinor between the god of order, Saradomin, and the god of chaos, Zamorak. If either god were to upset this balance by attempting to invade the other, then the other god would potentially call on reinforcements from other realms. This would escalate the crisis and lead to another devastating God War. If the Edicts of Guthix are violated, a select group of Guthixians have sworn an oath to conduct a ritual to re-awake Guthix, causing him to remake the world as it has never been, destroying RuneScape as known by its modern inhabitants in the process. Though Saradomin and Zamorak were the only two remaining deities battling by the time Guthix awoke from his sleep, the Edicts also affected Bandos, Armadyl and Seren as well, though the Desert pantheon and Brassica Prime were allowed to remain because of their lesser power and influence.

As of the end of the Darkness of Hallowvale quest, the Edicts of Guthix are being investigated by Saradomin scholars for a loophole after the revelation that werewolves had crossed the River Salve and kidnapped humans for blood tithes.

During the Legacy of Seergaze quest, a player discovers followers of both Zamorak and Saradomin who are working together to bring down Edicts of Guthix.

When speaking to Juna the snake, there is a possibility that the player will mention the Shadow of the Storm quest. After telling her about it, Juna states that Agrith-Naar found a way to get around the Edicts. This may mean that there are other ways to get around the Edicts, as is being looked in to in the Myreque quest series.

The gods nonetheless have left imprints and echoes of their terrible power on Gielinor and its plane, such as Saradomin's power remaining strong upon Entrana and blocking even teleporters from carrying armour and weapons to his sacred island. Additionally, gods can influence events in RuneScape through Prayer to countless followers, mainly human. Zamorak is able to frequently attack humans who attempt to steal his wine with mystical flames, albeit inflicting relatively minimal damage. The high-level spells Saradomin Strike, Claws of Guthix, and the Flames of Zamorak cane be utilized by especially skilled practitioners of Magic, and draw upon the power of thd gods themselves.

This is confirmed in the first RuneScape novel, Betrayal at Falador. It is mentioned in the novel that when the blood of an innocent person is spilled on a holy barrier (such as the River Salve, the Monastery, and Falador Castle), then the holy barrier is, in most cases, temporarily void. This is limited in its application, however, as more powerful barriers can only be bypassed by one individual for a matter of minutes or seconds, and often this process is unpredictable in its repercussions. This was used by Lord Drakan during what would come to be known as the War of 164, although the violation was not significant enough to invoke the Edicts.

In the 2009 Halloween Event, the Spider Queen reveals the Edicts command the Grim Reaper to have the scythe, the bones, the robes (reaper skillcape) and a spooky house decorated by spiderwebs. As the Grim Reaper cleans all the spiderwebs, the Spider Queen puts a spider in his bath. The player must agree to put all the spiderwebs back, in order to restore the Edicts. This may conclude that the Spider Queen is a Guthixian.