Random events

Introduction - What is a random event? Jagex describes them as being a "the occasional strange event happening near you" though a more accurate descriptor would be "the ocassional strange event happening TO you". Why are they in the game? According to official Jagex announcements in the past, Jagex originally installed them into the game in what is now known as Runescape Classic (which still exists and was the precursor to Runescape) in order to combat real life players that cheated through the use of programs that allowed them to use their character to play for them while they were asleep, at school, at work, etc. Jagex eventually also used random events to combat cheaters that used low level macro characters commonly known as "bots" to gain resources for them in an indirect way via drop trading or through other methods of item transferal such as a PvP killing in The Wilderness or in the Dueling Arena. Real World Traders (commonly known as "Gold farmers" - see also: Real world trading) also used bot armies to gain real money by selling the items the bots collected or gold they gained for real cash on auction sites such as eBay. Examine the Runescape News (and the archives) on the official Runescape home page for some sporadic history on the entire phenonenon of macroing. As for all the randoms as a whole, Jagex recently stated on March 27th, 2008 in the "Runescape News - The State of Play" that they were going to eliminate many of the random events as well as rework others though this remains to be seen by the players. Now, onto the random events themselves... Jagex down random events into 5 separate types: 1) Guardians, 2) Gift Givers, 3) Dangerous, 4) Complex Events & 5) Inconveniences. You can read about each event in each type in those five sections and follow up those five sections with sections on Discontinued Events, a Gallery, Trivia and Myths Dispelled.

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

Guardians
Guardian random events are NPC monsters that will appear and attack players when they attempt to gain resources in RuneScape. The NPCs are usually slightly more powerful than the players but their combat level is directly related to that of the player (see the combat table above). While you may choose to attack and slay these NPCs, you can also run away from them as they will only follow you for a short distance before disappearing back into the netherworld. It is also often possible to ignore them simply by running to a position on the map where there is an object such as a tree or rock between you and the NPC. The NPC will stick around guarding the area though, until the player leaves the immediate vicinity (or logs out) and will most certainly continue to attack the player again if the opportunity presents itself. All five of the Guardian NPCs do have drops (it is possible to get no drop however!) if they are slain in combat though most players consider the drops to not be worth the effort thus they simply avoid them until the NPCs disappear so they can continue training the skill they were working on.


 * Rock Golem - This NPC may appear when you attempt to mine an ore. Run away or fight it to the death. Protect from melee or range prayer can be used to nullify all damage. The Golem mainly attacks with melee, however it will also range the player by tossing smaller rocks from a distance so it's important to have the Protect from Range prayer engaged if you run away and are low on hit points.
 * River Troll - This NPC may appear when you attempt to fish. Run away or fight it to the death. Protect from melee prayer nullifies all damage.
 * Tree Spirit - This NPC may appear when you attempt to cut wood from a tree. Run away or fight it to the death. Protect from melee prayer nullifies all damage.
 * Shade & Zombie - These NPCs may appear when you attempt to bury any bones. Run away or fight either of them to the death. Protect from melee prayer nullifies all damage.

Gift givers
Gift givers are NPC characters that may quickly appear at any time or anywhere in Runescape to teleport you away to perform some task for them or they merely demand attention from you by asking you to speak with them. If you are teleported away, you cannot resume normal gameplay until you've finished the task. For vocal interruptions, you simply choose to speak with the NPC for a few moments and possibly supply an item to dispatch them. For speaking with an NPC or for completing a task, you may get nothing, some items or some items & coins. Ignore the NPC however and you will incur their wrath which may include the NPC attacking you or teleporting you away to a distant land with no reward. Some of the gift givers you can simply avoid or ignore under the right circumstances.


 * Certers - Mandatory Task - Speak to Giles, Miles or Niles and get a small reward. Ignore any of them and they'll turn all the items in your inventory into notes (including your weapon if notable!) and teleport you to a distant land.
 * Drill Demon - Mandatory Task - Complete his callisthenics tasks and get teleported back from whence you came and get costume parts or 500 coins. Ignore him and you cannot leave his training area.
 * Drunken Dwarf - Easily avoidable - Speak to him and he'll give you a beer and a kebab. Ignore him and he'll attack you with a ranged attack. Feel free to run away from him though, he won't follow far.
 * Freaky Forester - Mandatory Task - Kill the pheasant he asks you for to get teleported back from whence you came and get costume parts or 500 coins. Fail to supply him with the correct pheasant and get teleported to a distant land.
 * Frogs - Mandatory Task - Kiss the frog wearing the crown and your prince or princess will appear to reward you with a frog token. Ignore them and you will be teleported away to the Kingdom of the Frogs. Perform the mandatory task to escape or be stuck there forever.
 * Genie - Mandatory Task - Speak to him and he'll give you a lamp that you can rub for free experience points in a skill that you choose. Ignore him and he'll teleport you to a distant land.
 * Highwayman - Easily avoidable - Speak to Rick Turpentine and gain some items or coins. Ignore him and he'll attack you with his crossbow. Feel free to run away from him though, he won't follow far. Protect from Range prayer nullifies all damage.
 * Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (members only) - Easily avoidable - Speak to him and give him the herb he asks for if you have it for a better reward... otherwise he'll give you a lesser reward. Ignore him and he'll melee attack you with his bare hands. Feel free to run away from him though, he won't follow far. Protect from Melee prayer nullifies all damage.
 * Lost Pirate - Easily avoidable - Speak to Cap'n Hand and gain some items or coins. Ignore him and he'll attack you with his crossbow. Feel free to run away from him though, he won't follow far. Protect from Range prayer nullifies all damage.
 * Maze - Mandatory Task- The Mysterious Old Man may quickly appear and teleport you into the Maze... run to the center and tag the spinning box as fast as possible to gain the most reward in coins and items that you can. Move slowly and gain the least reward. Failing to complete the Maze leaves you stuck in the Maze forever.
 * Mime - Mandatory Task - The Mysterious Old Man may quickly appear and teleport you to the Mime... and you must mimic his movements to gain costume parts or 500 coins and be teleported back from whence you came. Fail to accurately mimic him and you're stuck onstage forever.
 * Mysterious Old Man/Strange Box - Extremely difficult to avoid! - He'll quickly appear to stuff a mysterious box into your pocket. Solve the simple puzzle to gain items or coins. Fail to open the box by answering incorrectly or in a timely manner and it'll replicate itself endlessly until your inventory is full! Then it will start doubling up on itself relentlessly. The only solution is to open and solve each box!
 * Pirate's Combination Lock (members only) - Extremely difficult to avoid! - Speak to Captain Arnav and solve his puzzle to gain items or some coins. Fail and he'll teleport you away to a distant land. After he bonks you over the head with his bottle.
 * Quiz Master - Mandatory Task - The Mysterious Old Man may quickly appear and teleport you to the Quiz Master... solve his quizzes and choose your reward of coins] or a Mystery Box before being teleported back from whence you came.
 * Strange Plant (members only) - Easily avoidable - When you move to perform almost any task, you may be interrupted by the sudden growth of a strange plant next to you. Picking the Strange fruit after it is fully grown on the plant will prevent the plant from attacking you and it will wither until it disappears. Ignore the plant or fail to pick the fruit in a timely manner... and the plant will sprout legs to attack you! The plant WILL Poison you if it hits for damage and it can kill you. Slay it using Ancient Magicks or feel free to run away from it, it won't follow far. Protect from Melee prayer nullifies all damage.
 * Security Guard - Easily avoidable - Speak to him for a reminder to set your recovery questions and some coins or items. Ignore him and he'll attack you! (Set your recovery questions and you should never see him!). Protect from Melee prayer nullifies all damage. A Security Guard can be killed but there is NO drop!

Dangerous Events
These events, while being called "dangerous" by Jagex, really aren't dangerous to any player that is paying attention when they play... and only three out of the six has any real chance of killing the average player at all. All the NPC monsters are easily avoided simply by running away from them as they appear. To avoid other mishaps, stepping away from the thing that may cause some equipment to be broken or lost is easily done. The real danger would be limited to really low leveled players or those that are super low on hit points... so it's best to be healed up (just in case) before you go to get resources like logs, ores or fish. You never know when one of these randoms may appear... and they won't care if you have 2 hit points left!
 * Ent - If any player continues to cut the tree after the tree ent appears (you can see the Ent's arms swinging and the red eyes/mouth on the tree trunk), their axe will be broken. Simply step away from the tree and move to another tree or wait until the Ent disappears.
 * Evil Chicken - Feel free to run away from him as he won't follow far or fight him to the death. The Protect from Magic prayer nullifies all damage.
 * Exploding Rock - If the player continues to mine a "smoking" rock, it will explode, breaking their pickaxe. If a player is LOW on hit points, the explosion can kill them! Step away quickly and move to another rock or wait until the rock stops smoking before resuming an attempt to mine.
 * Poison Gas (members only) - Step away 4 or more squares from the chest or be poisoned to death as the gas hits between 2 and 3 (it keeps hitting every round as if you were in combat though it does wear off eventually). Low level players or players really low on hit points should be especially quick to quaff an anti-poison or risk death.
 * Swarm - Although not very dangerous, the swarm cannot be hit by any attack from any player and eventually, if no action is taken, it might kill lesser players that are really low on hit points. High level players can choose to ignore it while they complete their task (the swarm won't be likely to do damage to a high level player) or anyone can simply run away from it.
 * Whirlpool - You make an attempt to fish somewhere... and suddenly a Whirlpool appears at your fishing hole! Step away quickly or your equipment will be sucked up by the Whirlpool straight out of your hands. Step away once you see the Whirlpool appear to avoid losing your fishing gear. If you do lose it, check the riverbank to see if it was tossed up there... otherwise it's lost forever.

Complex Events
Complex events are random events that take a lot more time to complete and are those that are more of a hassle to finish. You need to pay close attention to what is required of you to get back to normal gameplay or you will be stuck in the Netherworld of that random event forever (with the exception of the Sandwich Lady of whom it's possible to avoid and she comes to you versus you being teleported to her).
 * Evil Bob - Evil Bob may quickly appear and teleport you onto his private island for servitude. Pick up a small net and catch Bob the correct fish (ask the servants what fish he wants) then "uncook" them before giving them to Bob. Do this until he falls asleep and step into the portal to return with a reward of 650 exp in either the Fishing or Magic skill. Watch yourself tell Bob to kiss off on the way out! Do nothing and you'll be stuck serving Bob on his island... forever.
 * Surprise Exam! - The Mysterious Old Man may quickly appear and teleport you into the classroom of Mr. Mordaut. Answer his threee questions correctly and get a tome that can be used to gain exp points in the skill that you choose. You'll also be teleported back from whence you came... after you exit from the door the good professor tells you to. Fail to answer the questions or exit from the right door and you'll be stuck there forever.
 * Beekeeper (members only) - When picking flax, a beekeeper may appear and require your help in assembling a beehive. Use the controls to assemble the four parts into one unit. Succeed and you'll get sent back to the flax field with some noted flax. Fail and you will be merrcilessly stung by bees until you run to the water!
 * Grab the Evil Twin - Molly may quickly appear and teleport you off to help her capture her evil twin. Use the control panel in the next room to capture her twin and you will be sent back from whence you came with some noted gems. Fail and she will give you the business before teleporting you off to a distant land. Do nothing and you will be stuck there forever!
 * Pinball - The Mysterious Old Man may quickly appear and teleport you into the pinball machine. Tag 10 poles in order when you see the glowing rings and you'll be allowed to exit via teleport back from whence you came with some noted gems as a reward. Try to leave early or fail the task and you'll be stuck there forever.
 * Gravedigger - When you bury some bones, old Leo the Gravedigger may appear and quickly teleport you into his graveyard. He needs you to place each of the five coffins at the appropriate gravestone marker before he'll teleport you back from whence you came with a reward of some costume parts or coins. If you fail to place any coffin in the right spot or do nothing, you'll be stuck there forever (check with Leo to see what is what)! You also may use his convenient banking box to deposit items so use it if you need inventory room.
 * Pillory (members only) - When you attempt a thieving maneuver, a guard may quickly appear and teleport you into a Pillory cage... where you'll be forced to solve the locks to escape. Match the appropriate key with the shape on the spinning locks to solve them. If you fail the locks or do nothing, you will be stuck there forever while a tramp and any passing players may pelt you mercilessly with rotten tomatoes. Solve all the locks and be teleported back from whence you came with some coins or an item as a reward.
 * Prison Pete - Evil Bob may quickly appear and teleport you into the prison where Prison Pete awaits your help in escaping. Throw the wall mounted lever to see what balloon animals to pop and give each key to Pete. When Pete says to run for it... move past the barriers to be teleported back from whence you came with a small reward of coins or an item. Give Pete the wrong keys or do nothing and you will be stuck there forever!
 * Sandwich Lady - When doing practically anything in Runescape (including engaging in combat with a dragon!!), the Sandwich Lady may think that you need a bit of food to tide you over so she will teleport in to where you are and ask you to choose an item from her server tray. Choose the right item and you get to keep your tasty snack that heals a number of hit points (depending on what food you get). Ignore her or choose the WRONG food and she'll bonk you over the head with a baguette and you'll be teleported off to a distant land. If you try to run or teleport away, the Sandwich Lady WILL follow you relentlessly wherever it is that you go though it is possible to ultimately avoid her.

Inconveniences
Inconveniences... are best described as a thing that happens when you're having a bad day. Things break... items get lost... lions, tigers and bears... oh MY! Fortunately, they are usually fixed fairly quickly which makes what happened an inconvenience rather than be a total disaster... like if you die.


 * Lost & Found Office - You attempt to teleport to anywhere... from anywhere... and your wires get crossed, the signals get scrambled like eggs... or your spell merely whacks out so you end up stuck in the Runescape Teleportation Matrix. The solution is simple: simply tug on the one pole that's unlike the other three and you'll reconnect and be teleported on your way to your original destination with a reward of some runes.
 * Big Fish - You make an attempt to fish... and a really upset Big Fish may appear to grab your fishing equipment in its mouth and pull it away from you! Step away quickly once you see the Big Fish appear to avoid losing the gear. Take too long and it'll grab your gear and spit it up onto the riverbank nearby... so go pick it up and continue fishing.
 * Pickaxe Handle/Pickaxe Head - Make an attempt to mine an ore somewhere... and the head of your pickaxe just might fly off the handle and land on the ground nearby. Pick up the head and reattach it to the handle and continue to mine.
 * Spade Head/Rake Head - When you go to do some farming at a farming patch, the head of your spade or rake may fly off the handle and land on the ground nearby. Pick up the spade head or rake tangs and reattach them to the handle before they disappear and continue farming.

Discontinued Events
Some random events proved to be too complicated or irritating to the players or were so unworthy as a deterrent to macroing that they weren't of real use so they were discontinued by Jagex. Some random events have also been refitted or "tweaked" over time... sometimes in an effort by Jagex to streamline them so that they weren't too much of a hassle to players but also to throw off cheaters that used programs to play the game for them. Ultimately though, this tweaking proved to be an effort in futility because the cheaters could usually reprogram the code they used to cheat so fast (often in 12-24 hours!), it negated what Jagex had done. In any case, here's a short list of some of the events that were taken out of the game by Jagex... and are now in the history books.
 * Dr. Ford - Dr. Ford would teleport you away from where you were for a rest... a short test... and a piece of fruit if a shard hit you in the head while you were mining or woodcutting. Unfortunately, he also teleported you back into an area of Runescape that you were NOT at when he came along to intervene, even if you correctly guessed how many fingers he was holding up which tended to enrage legitimate players because it wasted their time.
 * Tangle Vine - The Tangle Vine was discontinued because many players did not understand how it worked. Walking or running while in the tangle vine would cause very rapid damage to the player and because of this, many players died very quickly. Some players also took advantage of it and encouraged players to run away to collect their items after they had died.
 * Watchman - The Watchman is a former random event that appeared during Thieving, similar to other guardian events such as the Rock Golem. His level was the same as all other random events and differed depending on the player's combat level. He was removed due to players complaining about him killing them too quickly when they were pickpocketing while staying at a low hitpoints level and wearing no armour.
 * Candlelight - Was originally introduced on Febuary 20th, 2006 - unknown removal date. Apparently, this event was also removed by Jagex at some point... though no known information about it can be found. Pious Pete would teleport you away to his church... where you had to help him keep the candles lit in the rather drafty sanctuary. This random event also tested the patience of most players... due to the fact that lighting the candles... and keeping the candles lit was so difficult.
 * Axe Handle/Axe Head It was removed on July 17th, 2007. This event was installed to combat players that cheated by using bots to cut Yew or Magic logs for the gain of a "main" character or to sell for real world money. Unfortunately, many players that weren't cheating were negatively effected in a big way due to the high cost of the Dragon axe. If a player lost the head of a dragon axe... they were often out 3.2 million coins or more. Obviously, this led to a great amount of outrage amongst players that got this event and lost their dragon axe head. Jagex eventually chose to remove the event for this reason and because it wasn't doing much of anything to actually stop bots anyway (see the official news archives for details).

Trivia

 * In the feast cut scene of the Recipe for Disaster quest, the Duke of Lumbridge 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.
 * When My Arm is farming his hardy Goutweed in the quest My Arm's Big Adventure, he gets a drunken dwarf random event. My Arm will smack the drunken dwarf with his arm, knocking the dwarf away and off the nearby cliff.
 * It is possible to kill an attacking Strange Plant with high level Ancient Magicks spells but there is no drop!
 * The Evil Chicken will always have a drop of: 1 bones, 1 raw chicken and some feathers but the number of feathers in the drop is a range (numerically) determined by the combat level of the Evil Chicken. It can be over 1000+ on rare occassion by the level 159 chicken.
 * A Tree Spirit may drop any type of axe from bronze all the way up to rune though the lowest level axes are what you can expect. A Dragon Axe is NEVER a drop from a tree spirit!
 * If pickaxes or axes are damaged by random events, they can be repaired by Bob in Lumbridge & Brian in Port Sarim, amongst others (also pickaxes by Nurmof in the Dwarven Mines). For any item Black or better, there will be a charge for the service. All others are repaired free. Axe repair costs are: Black - 10 coins, Mithrill - 18 coins, Adamant - 43 coins, Rune - 427 coins, Dragon - 1800 coins.
 * If you experience the pickaxe random event and the pickaxe head flies off the handle, no other players but you can see or pick it up for the first 30 seconds. ANY player can pick it up after 30 seconds on up to 2 minutes when it will disappear forever. These same rules apply to the spade & rake event as well.
 * A strange fruit that is picked from a strange plant cures poison and gains the player 30% of their run energy back.
 * Players can talk to Bob the Jagex Cat with Amulet of Catspeak anywhere in Runescape if they see him and if you have a cat with you, it will have a humorous conversation with Bob. However, you can NEVER speak with Evil Bob unless you're at the random event!
 * If players obtain all the rewards (e-motes, clothing, etc) from the Mime, the Freaky Forester or the Drill Demon then the reward will be exactly 500 coins forever after. You can drop the costume items and reobtain them if you choose.
 * Random event clothing can be stored in the appropriate chest in a POH Costume Room (members only).
 * Shade robes in the past could be bought, sold or traded freely by any player. Jagex recently made them UNTRADEABLE so the only way to get them now is through defeating shades in combat. A shade may or may not drop either of the robes when slain.
 * When you get the frog random event, male players will always get the frog princess to kiss and female players will always get the frog prince to kiss.
 * Frog tokens cannot be bought, traded or sold. Neither can any of the costume parts from random events!
 * When the Drill Demon event was initially installed by Jagex, for a short time, the cammo clothing could be bought or sold though Jagex eventually put a stop to it. The asking price for the original helmet climbed as high as 100K before they were made untradable.
 * The Kebab that is received from random events may reduce hitpoints, not just heal. Players close to death should be wary of eating one!
 * The maximum time for players to escape from the prison after unlocking all the doors is 30 seconds. Fail to leave in that time and you will need to get a new set of keys before Prison Pete will let you out. If the barriers reappear, you've taken too long to run for it.
 * It is possible for any player to get more than one random event at a time. This can be accomplished by ignoring a prior event (if possible). Some tips for getting more random events include: A) stand still in one square B) never adjust your viewpoint C) do the same task repetitively for as long as possible D) do not engage in any conversation or trade with other players.
 * The Certers are named Giles, Miles & Niles. Their job WAS converting some resources such as coal or lobsters into tradeable certificates ("certs") before banks had the capability to convert items into notes. They did this from their booths. After Jagex created bank notes, rather than retire them, they gave the cert brothers a new task... as a random event.
 * In the Evil Twin event, the Evil Twin ALWAYS looks exactly like Molly so make a note of her clothing.
 * The Maze, Mime & Strange Box events were introduced by Jagex on August 4th, 2004.
 * The Surprise Exam! random event was introduced by Jagex on July 17th, 2007.
 * The reward lamp from the Genie rewards 10 times the level of the skill that you choose.
 * The reward tome from the Mr. Mordaut rewards 15 times the level of the skill that you choose.
 * There are pinballs rolling around the entire exterior of the Pinball random event, look closely, you can see them.
 * Evil Bob's island is NOT in Runescape... it's in Scaperune.
 * You cannot eat or take any fish from Scaperune though you can take nets.
 * Bob the Cat was introduced on a Friday the 13th (in 2004)!
 * If you end up with the Lost & Found random event... choosing the wrong lever will cost you points off the Magic skill.
 * The Drill Demon's name is Damian and his rank is a Sergeant. Get it?
 * The repair cost for a broken pickaxe is free for Bronze & Iron pickaxes. For all others, the cost is: Steel - 17, Mithrill - 43, Adamant - 107, Rune - 1100.
 * The five souls buried in the graveyard where Leo is are: a cook, a crafter, a farmer, a miner & a woodcutter.
 * When the flying axehead random event was still a part of Runescape, there were two types of axe handles: one for the Dragon Axe and one type for all the others.

Myths Dispelled

 * Contrary to popular myth, shade robes do NOT give a Magic bonus, they give a Prayer bonus. The top gives +5 and the bottom gives +4.
 * Contrary to popular myth, the is no shade robe hood, boots or gloves; there is only a top and a bottom. Do not confuse the shade robes with ghostly robes which are members only items and which DO give a magic bonus. Ghostly robes contain the hood, top, bottom, gloves & boots and make any player wearing them appear nearly transparent. The shade robes look identical to the black priest gowns.
 * Contrary to popular myth, there is nothing special about a spinach roll. It heals 1-2 hit points, that is all. They can be bought from certain shops by members players as well as on the GE by anyone.
 * Contrary to popular myth, a River Troll will NEVER drop a bone club when slain.
 * Contrary to popular myth, you cannot ever use a pheasant for food from the Freaky Forester event.
 * Contrary to popular myth, the mystery box from the quiz master does NOT always contain a weapon. It may contain many items... such as coins, an empty bucket or a cabbage.
 * Contrary to popular myth, you cannot be INSTANTLY killed by any random event... although death is possible eventually if you choose to ignore some of them.
 * Contrary to popular myth, if your inventory is full when you gain the reward from a random event, you will NOT lose the reward. It will appear at your feet on the ground instead so you can pick it up.
 * Contrary to popular myth, you do NOT gain full experience points for combat with an NPC monster during a random event! You will earn 1/16th the experience points instead.
 * Contrary to popular myth, Postie Pete and Bob the Cat are NOT random events... they are always wandering around somewhere in Runescape. Just go find them!
 * Contrary to popular myth, Neite is Bob the Cat's girlfriend... NOT Evil Bob's!
 * Contrary to popular myth, you cannot attack the Drunken Dwarf or kill him.
 * Contrary to popular myth, Insect Repellent does NOT work on the Strange Plant. Nor does the repellent from a Slayer shop.
 * Contrary to popular myth, there are NO black pickaxes!
 * Contrary to popular myth, Captain Arnav does NOT hold a sword... he's holding a bottle of rum!
 * Contrary to popular myth, there are now no more axe handles in Runescape! When jagex removed the flying axehead random event for woodcutting axes, they also removed both types of axe handles from all the stores and player banking accounts.
 * Contrary to popular myth, it is possible to get a random event at all the runecrafting altars, even if you used the Abyss to get to them! You can also get them inside the abyssal space as well.