Stronghold of Security

The Stronghold of Security, released on 4 July 2006, is a dungeon area for training combat, with connecting doors that previously required players to answer a security related question. The area immediately before the door is protected by another gate, so the player is protected from monsters. It is located in the middle of the Barbarian Village and was the first major update open to free-to-play players since the upgrade to RuneScape 2.

Note: a Dwarf multicannon can be used here.

Doors
The Doors are styled to match each level, as are their names. The doors come in pairs similar to an airlock between areas. The door leading out of an area is passed through automatically, though it is possible to be hit while apparently having already passed through, which could lead to dying inside the "safe" zone between the doors. Each "airlock" is a two by two square so to be safe, a player should walk to the next square after entering an airlock.

Entering the door into the airlock grants immediate passage. The passage leads to a series of chambers which contain monsters, the chamber should not be attempted by low level players unless appropriately equipped. At the end of each chamber lies a reward in a closed case.

At the start of each level is a portal leading to the reward different for every level including coins and a choice of fighting boots or fancy boots (each level of reward also unlocks one of the stronghold emotes including Flap, Stomp, Slap Head, and Idea) and ladder room, granting quick access to players who have already negotiated the level, or who have sufficient combat level to be allowed immediate passage.

Levels
There are four levels. Each level contains an entrance/exit point at the beginning and a portal to access the next level if re-entering after completing a level. The portal leads directly to the treasure room of the current level.

There are some general monsters, plus others specific to the level. At the end of the level, there is a reward, typically coins and an emote, and exits to deeper levels, or back toward the surface.

It used to be dangerous for low level player to claim rewards on high level floors. However, because all of the monster in the Stronghold are no longer aggressive, it is possible for players to claim all the rewards by running through the stronghold.

Advice: When training combat at these monsters, bring runes to teleport to Varrock, you'll avoid some tedious walking and save some time.

Vault of War (1st level)



 * Occupied by level 5, 6 and 7 goblins, level 1 rats, level 14 and 52 minotaurs and level 23 wolves.
 * An excellent level for ranged training, as the minotaurs drop large quantities of iron arrows and the fences are an excellent safe spot.
 * The minotaurs may drop a right skull half or cooked meat and also drop noted bulk items, including rune essence, gold bars, and copper and tin ores.
 * The reward at the end of the level is gained from a chest called the Gift of peace containing 2000 coins and the "Flap" emote.

Catacomb of Famine (2nd level)



 * This level contains level 11 and 12 zombies, level 39 and 40 flesh Crawlers, level 1 rats and level 9 giant rats.
 * It is sometimes possible to trap a monster on corners, and fight them safely with Ranged or Magic.
 * The flesh crawlers may drop the bottom of sceptre piece for the skull sceptre, but often drop more valuable items such as uncut gems. Many high level free players tend to stay at the extreme south-east room training on flesh crawlers. For members, flesh crawlers regularly drop grimy herbs with (Ranarrs and Lantadymes being the most valuable at and  coins each, respectively). It is possible to walk away after training here with 100,000+ coins worth of items.
 * The reward at the end of the level is gained from a sack called the Grain of Plenty containing 3,000 coins and the "Slap head" emote.

Pit of Pestilence (3rd level)



 * This level contains level 15 spiders, level 39 giant spiders, level 25 and 26 scorpions, and level 53, and 54 catablepon.
 * The catablepon that roam this floor may drop a sceptre piece. They also appear to have a high magic defence. It is difficult to find an ideal strategy, as they use magic to weaken, but also have a melee attack.
 * The level 57 Giant spiders are a good place to train for mid to higher-levelled players. They do not die so fast that it is ineffective to train on them, and they are relatively weak enough that you can kill them easily.
 * The reward at the end of the level is gained from a chest called the Box of Health containing 5000 coins and the "Idea" emote. This chest will also provide full healing and stat restore, useful for restoring your Strength against the catablepon. However, this only works once.

Sepulchre of Death (4th level)



 * This level contains level 61 shades, level 43, 46, 47, 49, 51, 53, and 54 skeletons, level 42, 46, 47, and 48 ghosts, and level 60, 61, and 63 ankous.
 * All of the monsters in this level are undead, and so are highly susceptible to the salve amulet and its enchanted version.
 * There are some safe spots which, as in the pestilence level, are usable only when the monsters have given up attacking. There is one safespot in the south-western room where ankous and skeletons are, although it is difficult trying to kill ankous there because they can still get around it.
 * The ankous may drop a left skull half, which is one of the four items needed to make a skull sceptre.
 * The reward at the end of the level is gained from a chest called the Cradle of Life containing boots in a choice of two styles and the "Stomp" emote. After receiving your reward from this level, you no longer have to answer questions to pass every other door when going through the stronghold.

Rewards
A total of 10,000 coins are earned from all four levels, as well as the four emotes: Idea, Stomp, Flap, and Slap Head.

Skull sceptre
The skull sceptre can be obtained in four pieces from monster drops. It has the same combat stats as a magic staff, but also has five charges to teleport back to Barbarian Village or Gunnarsgrunn (10 charges if assembled while wearing Varrock armour 2 or higher). Also when wearing Varrock armour 2 or higher, the drop rate of skull sceptre pieces is highly increased.

Only one piece can be found on each level. They are a fairly rare drop, and can be obtained from minotaurs (Right skull half) on the first level, flesh Crawlers (bottom of sceptre) on the second, catablepons (top of sceptre) on the third, and ankous (left skull half) on the fourth. Some monsters that drop the pieces come in various levels. To make it, you add the two skull pieces together, the two handle pieces together, and then the handle and the skull together.

Boots
The two styles, fancy boots or fighting boots, may be obtained, exchanged, or replaced if lost, from the Cradle of Life at the end of the fourth level, reachable by the portals and ladders once all levels are completed. They have small defensive bonuses and the difference between them is purely cosmetic. These boots are untradeable, and have a destroy option. Because of this, it is impossible to have both pairs, as the drop trick will not work. However, you can always come back to switch between the boots.

Shade robes
Shade robes can be obtained by killing shades in the Sepulchre of Death. Shade robes are not transparent like ghostly robes, and are untradeable. This was to replace the shade random event, where a shade would attack you if you buried bones, and would occasionally drop one of the two pieces of shade gear. Shade robes can be stored in your POH costume room, in the costume box.

Using the Orb of oculus
If the player uses the Orb of oculus in certain areas of the Stronghold, they can see several members' locations. These include the Dragon Forge, TzHaar City and Dream World.

Music unlocked

 * Dogs of War - Vault of War
 * Food for Thought - Catacomb of Famine
 * Malady - Pit of Pestilence
 * Dance of Death - Sepulchre of Death

Trivia

 * Since this addition was for free players as well as members, the level 86 ankou replaced the lesser demon as the second highest-level monster in free-to-play worlds at the time. Also, the level 85 skeletons became the strongest free-to-play monster in the game, with a max hit of 100, compared to 93 from a greater demon (the level 85 skeletons had dropped to second strongest with the addition of cockroach soldiers, however).
 * The four levels of the Stronghold of Security were based on the.
 * The dead adventurer in the first room of the dungeon has a hat that resembles Link's from the series. The examine text, "He looks a bit past it" is further reference to the Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past, for SNES. "I wonder what's in his bag" might also be a reference to Link utilising scores of various weapons and items throughout the games.
 * The Cradle of Life refers to the Greek Mythological story about.
 * When the Box of Health's reward is taken, life points will be returned to normal, all stats will go back to normal, and all status conditions (poison, disease, etc.) will be cured.
 * You did not have to answer any questions when you passed through a door on a PvP World.
 * When you pass through one of the doors, your character moves their head as if they are startled. This may be because graphically, your character seems to phase through the doors or teleport to the other side.
 * The tune, "Dance of Death" located in the final room could be thought of as a tribute to the British Heavy Metal band Iron Maiden, who made an album and song called "Dance of Death".
 * In the Stronghold, rats drop regular bones, whereas rats everywhere else in RuneScape do not.
 * When you examine the dead skeletons scattered around each floor of the dungeon, you will get various different examine texts, some of them relating to account security such as "He should have run a virus checker more often" and "I don't think she read the security tips on the website".
 * From 00:00 UTC 12 November 2011 to 23:59 UTC 14 November 2011, there was an event where members could gain double loot from several dungeons, including the Stronghold of Security. This was part of Jagex's bot-busting celebration.
 * If you listen closely when passing through doors in the Stronghold of Security with sound effects on, a faint telephone noise can be heard in the background, presumably going off when the sound effect was being recorded.

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