Familiarisation

Familiarisation is a Distraction and Diversion. It is based on Summoning and was released on 16 February 2010. To start this Distraction and Diversion the player has to talk to Pikkupstix in Taverley, who can teach players the art of Summoning. Pikkupstix needs players to go to the spirit plane, the home of all Summoning creatures, and gather resources from it, from which the druids create spirit shards. The player has to find the one currently active small Summoning obelisk and mentally project themselves into the spirit plane. Pikkupstix will tell the player he has an apprentice, Pikkenmix, who knows which small Summoning obelisk is currently active. The player has to find the small obelisk and enter the spirit plane with the help of Pikkenmix. There, assuming the shape of a Summoning familiar, they need to gather as many piles of raw shards as possible while avoiding certain other familiars. An obelisk will only remain active for 20 minutes after which it will become inactive. The active obelisk changes each two hours. Participation in this Distraction and Diversion is limited to once a week.

Familiarisation has no requirements, not even the Wolf Whistle quest which is an introduction to Summoning, but it would be useful to complete quests such as Fishing Contest and Underground Pass which grant access to a greater number of Summoning obelisks, any of which could become the next active obelisk.

Travel to Taverley
Pikkupstix is in the summoning shop in Taverley.


 * Games necklace to Burthorpe and run south to Taverly.
 * Balloon transport system to Taverly. (requires 1 normal log)
 * Skills necklace to Crafting Guild and run north to Taverly.
 * Falador teleport and run northwest to Taverly.
 * If your Player Owned House is in Taverly, you can teleport to your house, then proceed to run east.

Gameplay
While playing you will be summoned as a random familiar and will have to hunt around for raw shards. The game will end when one of the following occurs: It's not quite as simple as just picking shards up off the ground, though. As soon as you enter the spirit plane, there will be two types of familiars opposed to your form that will instantly recognise you as an enemy within their plane of existence. The longer that you remain within the spirit plane, the more types of familiars that will start to see through your disguise and recognise you as an imposter. If you pass too close to any familiars that will recognise you (these are depicted at the top of the screen) they will drain some of your mental focus and your presence within the spirit plane will weaken.
 * 1) You have collected 60 raw shards
 * 2) Your mental focus reaches 0.
 * 3) You have been there for 20 minutes.

Your level of focus is tracked by the bar on the left-hand side of the screen. When this has completely worn down, you will lose focus and your conscious will return to your body on RuneScape, next to Pikkenmix, exactly where you last parked it, along with as many piles of raw shards as you managed to collect. Your current level of mental focus can also roughly be gauged by the colour draining from your form in the spirit plane. Mental projection like this takes a lot of effort, so you will only be able to stay in the spirit plane for a maximum of twenty minutes from when you first entered, and your run energy will very rapidly drain. That is, unless the native familiars cause you to lose focus or if you find all sixty piles of raw shards first. It will also take you a while to recover from the familiarisation process, so you will only be able to aid Pikkenmix once every week.

Strategies
The shards do not appear at the same place twice; they are in fixed positions for you to find so look in as many places as you can.

Don't run about randomly, have a pattern to cover the entire area, as there are 60 raw spirit shards per player spread throughout the entire area. Try running north and south scanning the areas for all raw spirit shards on the ground.

After discovering the location of the Active Obelisk, Make use of the infinite run energy provided by the springs at Oo'Glog. This will negate the rapid-draining of run energy caused by the Spirit Plane. (This ability may be unintentional and removed in the near future by Jagex.)

Obelisk Location

 * {|class="wikitable"

!Hint !Location !Map You will have to wait up to 2 hours for him to give another clue.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|I expect off somewhere relaxing. He's been quite busy lately.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_location_Home.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|A place that is Mostly Harmless.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|On the island of Mos Le'Harmless.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_location_Mos_Le'Harmless.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|A place where doors talk.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|First Level, Stronghold of Security, just after you enter the Stronghold.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk location stronghold.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Beneath a huge tree.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk under Grand Tree at Tree Gnome Stronghold
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_location_grand_tree.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Beware the spider's bite, beneath a rocky city.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk by the Deadly red spiders in Varrock sewers
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_Location_Varrock_sewers.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|In a jungle near mithril ores
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk just north-west of the nature altar on Karamja.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_location_Karamja.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Near the Heroic Fountain.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk under the Heroes' Guild south of Burthrope.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_location_hero_guild.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Northern barbarian's have a cozy home.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk south of Rellekka.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_location_Rellekka.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|North of a city of sickness.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk near the Combat training camp
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_Location_Combat_training_camp.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|North of a green fountain.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk north of the Ectofuntus.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk_Location_Ectofuntus.png
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Pass through to thirst.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk by the Shantay Pass.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_Location_Desert.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Purple rippling near flying rugs.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk near the Pollnivneach house portal.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_location_Pollnivneach.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Seaside infested with Barbarians
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk north of Barbarian Outpost.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_Location_Barbarian_Outpost.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|South of a market village.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk south of Draynor Village.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_Location_Draynor.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Sun, sand, freshly-picked fruit and pretty music.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk near the musician in Catherby.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_location_catherby.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|The lava talks, and the rocks walk.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk directly south of the Tzhaar city furnace.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_location_Tzhaar.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|This one is mostly harmless.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk on Mos Le'Harmless on the beach near the dungeon entrance.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_location_Mos_Le'Harmless.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|With patch, castle, dock.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk on Etceteria.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_Location_Etceteria.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|A rotten town south of a corrupted, shady village.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk north of Burgh de Rott.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_Location_Burgh_de_Rott.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|At the ever flagging war.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk near Castle Wars.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_Location_castle_wars.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Under White City, Through Scorpions.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Under Falador in Dwarven Mines
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_location_Dwarven_mines.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk near Tyras Camp.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk Location Tyras Camp.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk west of the village of Neitiznot.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Wikia..............png
 * }
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_Location_Etceteria.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|A rotten town south of a corrupted, shady village.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk north of Burgh de Rott.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_Location_Burgh_de_Rott.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|At the ever flagging war.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk near Castle Wars.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_Location_castle_wars.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Under White City, Through Scorpions.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Under Falador in Dwarven Mines
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk_location_Dwarven_mines.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk near Tyras Camp.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|[[File:Obelisk Location Tyras Camp.png]]
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk west of the village of Neitiznot.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Wikia..............png
 * }
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Obelisk west of the village of Neitiznot.
 * style="vertical-align: top;"|Wikia..............png
 * }
 * }

Oppositions
In the Spirit Realm, your mental energy will be drained by other spirits, depending on your form in the Spirit Realm.

If you stay in the Spirit Realm for a time, more spirits will try to drain your energy. A message appears warning you of this and a picture of the spirit appears at the top of your screen.

These are the spirits that will always hunt you, from the beginning of the game.
 * {|class="wikitable" width="650"

!Your form !Opposing creature #1 !Opposing creature #2
 * Thorny snail
 * Barker toad
 * Desert wyrm
 * Compost mound
 * Geyser titan
 * War tortoise
 * Giant chinchompa
 * Hydra
 * Karamthulhu overlord
 * Void spinner
 * Obsidian golem
 * Vampire bat
 * Evil turnip
 * Compost mound
 * Thorny snail
 * Spirit coraxatrice
 * Spirit kyatt
 * Spirit larupia
 * Spirit larupia
 * Spirit wolf
 * Void ravager
 * Stranger plant
 * Pack yak
 * Ravenous locust
 * Adamant minotaur
 * Forge regent
 * Lava titan
 * Giant ent
 * Beaver
 * Fire titan
 * Ice titan
 * Pyrelord
 * Spirit tz-kih
 * Pack yak
 * Albino rat
 * Spirit cobra
 * }
 * Giant ent
 * Beaver
 * Fire titan
 * Ice titan
 * Pyrelord
 * Spirit tz-kih
 * Pack yak
 * Albino rat
 * Spirit cobra
 * }
 * Spirit cobra
 * }

Rewards
Once you've returned to RuneScape you can get a reward from Pikkenmix or Pikkupstix. You can choose between a blessing that grants you luck with charm drops, or to receive some ingredients to use in infusing summoning pouches in the means of a box.

If you go for the ingredients, you'll receive a box of items that can be used to infuse pouches. What items you receive, and in what quantity, is based upon your current Summoning level and how many piles of raw shards you managed to collect from the spirit plane. If you enter the spirit plane again before taking your reward, however, you will only be able to hold on to a maximum of thirty piles of raw shards from your last trip. Any more than this you had previously collected will be lost, so it might be more prudent to take your reward before entering the spirit plane again. Pikkenmix will give you a fair warning if this is the case.

If you choose triple charms, for up to the next forty minutes of in-game time, any charm drops that you receive will be tripled. You will receive 5 and 1 minute warnings before your reward time runs out.

Each shard collected is worth 40 seconds, the total time is rounded to the nearest minute. The amount of time during which a player will receive triple charm drops can therefore be calculated with the following equation: $$minutes = ceiling(shards*0.666)$$

Music

 * A Familiar Feeling

Trivia

 * You can't get triple charm drops at Bork.
 * If you choose triple charm drops, when your time runs out you are told, "Your luck with charms has run out." which is possibly a pun on the name of the cereal Lucky Charms.
 * This is the first Distraction and Diversion ever that you get to play outside of your avatar, although you can play outside of your avatar in certain quests.
 * On the day of release many players gathered on the forums complaining that they want to play the game, but due 2 hours waiting after the 20 minutes game they couldn't.
 * Using all 40 minutes of triple charms at waterfiends, in excess of 270 charms may be gained.
 * On the week of the game's release, the message when player's logged in was "Stuck in a minigame or quest? Familiarise yourself with the Game Guide for playing hints."
 * If you obtain a random event gift box, and choose charms as your reward while having the triple charm drop rate, you will only receive the amount of charms listed in the rewards list, and not three times as much.