Random events

Random events exist in RuneScape to discourage players from using macros to play the game for them.

Monster levels
The level and max hit of some monsters depends upon player level:

Guardians
Guardian random events are monsters that will attack players while they are training skills. They are usually quite powerful and often the best option is to run away.


 * Rock golem - Mining
 * River troll - Fishing
 * Shade and zombie - Prayer
 * Tree spirit - Woodcutting
 * Watchman - Thieving (Discontinued)

Gift givers
All random events in RuneScape excluding the guardians will give the player a gift upon completion of the required task.


 * Beekeeper (members only) - Mandatory task
 * Candlelight - Mandatory Task
 * Certers - Avoidable
 * Dr. Ford (discontinued)
 * Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (members only) - Avoidable
 * Drill Demon - Mandatory Task
 * Drunken Dwarf - Avoidable
 * Freaky Forester - Mandatory Task
 * Frogs - Mandatory Task
 * Genie - Avoidable
 * Grab the Evil Twin - Mandatory Task
 * Gravedigger - Mandatory Task
 * Lost & Found office (also known as the Abyssal network) - Mandatory Task
 * Lost Pirate - Avoidable
 * Maze - Mandatory Task
 * Mime - Mandatory Task
 * Mysterious Old Man - Avoidable
 * Pillory (members only) - Mandatory Task
 * Pinball (you're sent there by the Mysterious Old Man) - Mandatory Task
 * Pirate's Combination Lock (members only) - Mandatory Task
 * Prison Pete - Mandatory Task
 * Quiz Master - Mandatory Task
 * Rick Turpentine - Avoidable
 * Sandwich Lady - Avoidable
 * Strange Box - Mandatory Task
 * Strange Plant (members only) - Avoidable
 * Security Guard - Avoidable
 * Surprise Exam! - Mandatory Task
 * Evil Bob - Mandatory Task

Dangerous Random Events
Many random events are beneficial or at least not too much of a disturbance. Several random events can be completed by forcing an active player to click on the NPC and engage it in conversation. There are some random events which should generally be avoided due to the risk of death, especially to lower level characters and players who are not prepared for battle. Random events do not drop any items, and do not give the player any experience for killing them.

Some players deliberately refuse to flee from random events to commit suicide.

Events that can hurt/kill

 * Evil chicken - Run or fight it to the death. Protect from magic prayer is recommended.
 * Poison Gas (members only) - Run or be poisoned to death, gas hits between 2 and 3.
 * Swarm - Although not very dangerous, the swarm cannot be hit and eventually if no action is taken will kill the player.
 * Tangle Vine (discontinued)
 * Shade - Run away or fight it to the death. Protect from melee prayer is recommended.
 * Strange Plant - Can be attacked however picking the fruit will prevent the plant from attacking you.
 * Zombie - Run or fight it to the death. Protect from melee prayer is recommended. It can be worth slaying for its large variety of bones drop
 * Tree spirit - Run away or fight it to the death. Protect from melee prayer can be used to avoid all damage (as long as your points last). It can be worth slaying for the drop.
 * Rock Golem - Run or fight it to the death. Protect from melee or range prayer can be used to avoid damage the Golem's mainly attacks with melee, however it will also ranged the player by tossing smaller rocks from a distance so it's important to have Protect from Missiles prayer engaged.

Events that can cause equipment damage or loss

 * Ent - If the player continues to cut the tree their axe will be broken.
 * Exploding Rock - If the player continues to mine the rock it will explode, mildly injuring them and breaking their pickaxe.
 * Big fish - Teleports the player's equipment and spits it away up onto the bank nearby.
 * Whirlpool - Will take equipment from the player's hands, causing the equipment to be lost.
 * Pickaxe handle/pickaxe head - While mining this random event will cause the head of your pickaxe to fly off. Pick up the head and reattach it to the handle before it disappears.
 * Spade handle/spade head - While farming this random event will cause the head of the player's spade to fly off. Pick up the head and reattach it to the handle before it disappears.
 * Rake handle/rake head - While farming this random event will cause the head of the player's rake to fly off. Pick up the head and reattach it to the handle before it disappears.

Discontinued
Some random events such as the Tangle Vine were discontinued because many players did not understand how it worked. Walking or running while in the tangle vine would caused very rapid damage to the player and because of this many players died very quickly. Some players also took advantage of this and encouraged players to run away to collect their items after they had died.


 * Dr. Ford
 * Tangle Vine
 * Watchman
 * Axe handle/axe head

Trivia

 * In the feast cut scene of the Recipe for Disaster quest, the Duke gets the strange box random event, and Evil Bob teleports Osman away.
 * If a player moderator gets a random event that makes the player involuntarily say something, their crown won't appear for that one line.