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Hatchet head (dragon)
Botany Bay was removed after an update.
The contents of this page no longer exist in RuneScape, and this article is kept for historical purposes.
Botany Bay

Botany Bay

Botany Bay was an area in RuneScape where players were allowed to choose punishments for accounts of players found to be bots and watch them be judged in a special court system. It was released on 26 September 2012 along with the Al Kharid graphical rework, and was removed on 20 August 2018.

Getting there[]

Botany Bay map

A map of Botany Bay

After a cheating, rule-breaking, botting account has been caught in the act, they are teleported to Botany Bay: a new location, hidden on a dark, foreboding island and run by the Botfinder General [...] You'll then be invited to choose one of three game-ending punishments for the offender, resulting in a brutal set of animations and a permanent ban.

Behind the Scenes: September, Update:Behind the Scenes - September (2012)

Botany Bay was accessible by being teleported by a Trial Announcer who could be found in banks of major cities, including Varrock, East Ardougne, and Falador. These Trial Announcers were also removed from the game, along with the island.

The physical location of Botany Bay on the world map was north of Port Phasmatys.

Voting[]

Once a bot arrives to Botany Bay, it will be judged by the Botfinder General, who will deliver a scalding speech about the bot's activities in the game; meanwhile, the bot's dialogue indicates an inability and/or an unwillingness to comprehend the gravity of the offense. At the end of the speech, the Botfinder General will say "The verdict is guilty. Now, you good people, pass sentence upon them, by voting."

At this point, an interface will pop up showing the three available punishments. The players will then be able to vote for the punishment in the interface by choosing the punishment and clicking Judgement which will give a chat message will confirm that the vote has been counted. In busier worlds, you might not have enough time to vote and it would not count towards the rewards.

Punishments[]

There are 3 punishments for the bots. Once the voting period ends, the punishment that received the most votes is carried out upon the bot. If there is a tie (or if no votes are cast) then a punishment will be randomly chosen from the tied punishments. The punishments are as follows:

  • Crushing: The Claw of Justice slams into the bot from above, crushing it.
  • Swallowing: The pillar the bot is standing on shakes, then an abyssal wyrm devours the pillar and the bot before subsiding into the Abyss.
  • Deity: A ring of symbols appears around the bot, then a ray of light shines on it. The bot floats into the light and is incinerated shortly thereafter, leaving only a few remnants.

Additionally, players can choose to pick rotten tomatoes (available from nearby crates) and throw them at the offending bot standing on the Pillar of Judgement in the centre of the area.  Sometimes, the player's arm will "tire", and he/she must pause briefly before pelting the bot with more tomatoes.

Strikes[]

Botany Bay works on a system of 3 strikes. On each strike, an interface will pop up on the detected player's screen detailing their punishment. The strikes in order are as follows:

  1. The detected account is issued a 24-hour ban, during which time it is also removed from the high scores. When they're getting temporarily banned, the bot sees an interface with Mr. Mordaut appear on their screen. Other players see a giant dragon claw trying to grab the player, but the player's skin is peeled off revealing that it's actually a bot in disguise. After the ban expires, the account is placed under trade restrictions for a further 48 hours of in-game time, starting on the first login. During this time period, the account cannot trade with other players, use the Grand Exchange, Treasure Hunter, enter the Wilderness, or play any PvP minigames. Accounts under restriction that attempt any of these activities will automatically say, "I can't do that because I've been using a bot.". In addition, items dropped by the account will immediately be destroyed, to prevent drop trades.
  2. The detected account is issued a second ban, this time for 48 hours instead of 24. The detected player sees an interface with Black Knights and Elite Black Knights pop up. The player's skin is removed again revealing that it's actually a bot in disguise just like their first ban. After the ban expires, the account is placed under the above trade restrictions, this time for seven days of in-game time instead of two, starting on the first login.
  3. The detected account is permanently banned, with no chance to appeal. The bot sees an interface pop up on their screen. Other players will see a large claw point at the detected player from above, reveal it to be a bot like before, but this time grab it. A deep voice will say "Bot user!" when this happens. The bot is then sent to stand trial at Botany Bay, unless a trial is already taking place on the world it was logged into, in which case it is simply permanently banned.

Rewards[]

Pitchfork of justice equipped

A player wielding the pitchfork of justice

The Trial Announcer gave players the Pitchfork of vigilantism and the Pitchfork of justice upon request, saying: "Since we have squashed so many bots in the last few months, we have decided to give everyone the rewards."

Players previously had to vote on punishments to gain rewards, receiving items and emotes in order:

Vote Reward
1st None
2nd
3rd Pitchfork of vigilantism
4th "Angry Shake!" emote for the pitchfork
5th "Furious Shake!" emote for the pitchfork
6th "Burning Shake of Justice!" emote for the pitchfork
7th Pitchfork of justice

Gallery[]

Concept art[]

Trivia[]

Audio options icon
The hand of justice picking up a bot and crunching it.

  • The name Botany Bay is a reference to the real-world Botany Bay, located in Sydney, Australia, that was once used as a British penal colony and was referred as the Colony of New South Wales.
  • Attempting to light a fire in the area will yield the message: "The Botfinder General thanks you for your exuberance but would like you to not set fire to anything other than the bots while on his island."
  • The symbols that surround accused bots in the Deity punishment resemble those of Armadyl and law runes. This makes sense, because Armadyl is the god of law, and the bots that enter Botany Bay are brought to justice.
  • It is possible to see the same bot caught twice. The script used by The Botfinder General in the trial changes to reflect that the bot has been caught before.
  • The claw that catches bots and brings them to Botany Bay bears a striking resemblance to the claws of the Queen Black Dragon.
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