Koschei the deathless is a Fremennik warrior that players must fight during The Fremennik Trials quest, in order to complete Thorvald the Warrior's test of bravery and win his vote. The player must defeat Koschei three times without dying; although they are told they must defeat him to win, defeating him three times is considered enough to win, as the test is of bravery, not strength.
Koschei's combat level is not shown; however, he will get progressively stronger and his attacks faster each time he is defeated. His max hits are 3 in his first form, 5 in his second, and 7 in his third. Although the fourth form is difficult, with 255 Hitpoints, it is not impossible to defeat him; if he is defeated, the player will be rewarded with a Fremennik blade.
A ring of recoil can be an aid in killing the fourth form. When he hits, he always hits for 1 Hitpoint, but at a rate of 1 hit every 0.6 seconds, and due to the rounding-up of the ring of recoil, would always hit him back for 1 at the same attack rate. Note, however, that a player would have to bring several rings of recoil, because each can only reflect 40 Hitpoints. If the only source of damage dealt is from the ring of recoil, he will despawn and cause a reset on the fight instead of moving onto the next form.
Low-levelled players may find his third and fourth form rather difficult, so a gnome amulet or combat bracelet is strongly advised, for it will provide a little protection (do not wear a ring of life, or you will most likely have to start over again if your Hitpoints get too low).
There are certain safespots in Koschei's basement, such as the pillars of fire, or the many chasms in the ground. Players need only run quickly over to one side of a hole, and because Koschei only moves at a walking speed, players should be at one end of a hole long before he reaches the other end. However, do not stay in a safespot for too long, or Koschei will disappear and you will have to fight him all over again. It is also strongly advised that players bring high-healing food, such as monkfish or sharks, as in his third and fourth form he hits progressively harder and quicker. Also, it appears that if you take too long fighting Koschei (10 minutes in the same phase), he will simply disappear and you will have to start the challenge all over again. It is interesting to note that, if you manage kill him three times, decide to try and kill him a fourth time, but find yourself unable to, the trial will still be deemed as a success. Once your Hitpoints reach 1, the player will kneel down and be transported back to Thorvald, who will still give them his vote.
It is possible to bring certain weapons into Koschei's chamber: Treasure Trailscaskets can be brought into the arena, and may yield weapons and/or armour. The mystery box may also be brought into the arena.
Note that if players die on his first, second, or third form, they will die a normal death and lose their items - players can only die to his fourth form to get the vote. Hardcore ironmen and hardcore group ironmen only need to be concerned about dying to the first 3 forms. Losing to his fourth form will not actually kill the player; a small cutscene ends the fight when you are about to lose to the fourth form.
Rewards
This reward is only awarded if the player defeats all 4 forms of Koschei in battle.
[[{{#explode:20 January 2021| |0}} {{#explode:20 January 2021| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:20 January 2021| |2}}]] (update)
Spoils of war can no longer be opened in Glarial's Tomb and the arena where players fight Koschei the deathless.
[[{{#explode:9 August 2018| |0}} {{#explode:9 August 2018| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:9 August 2018| |2}}]] (update)
Shop packs will no longer be permitted in situations where certain item restrictions apply, specifically Glarial's Tomb and the Koschei fight, lest they contain something that would otherwise be forbidden.
Rune pouches can now be taken into Glarial's Tomb and the Koschei fight if they do not contain any runes.
[[{{#explode:6 February 2014| |0}} {{#explode:6 February 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:6 February 2014| |2}}]] (update)
After Koschei the Deathless drained your prayer in Fremennik Trials, players could simply restore it and re-activate their prayers. Koschei now keeps it drained.
Trivia
A player killing Koschei the deathless using Ranged.
Koschei has many traits (including the trait of being hard to kill) that are similar to that of the Russian legend of the same name. However, in this legend, Koschei's soul was in a needle, inside an egg, inside a duck, inside a hare, inside an iron chest, which was buried under a green oak tree, which is on the island of Buyan, in the ocean. The only way to defeat him was if the egg or the needle was broken, and in some legends it has to be done on Koschei's forehead.
He has a Zamorak symbol on his chest. However, his relation to the god is unknown. In RuneScape, however, it is later revealed that he is one of the Mahjarrat.
Koschei's name is spelled Коще́й Бессме́ртный (Koschéi Bessmértny) in Russia where he is a popular figure in its folklore. As is usual in Russian transliterations, there are numerous other spellings. The spelling in other Slavic languages (like Polish "Kościej", Czech "Kostěj") suggests that his name may be derived from "kost" (rus. кость, pol. kość, cz. kost = bone); thus suggesting a skeleton-like appearance, which also indicates a possible connection with the Mahjarrat.
He is the fastest attacking NPC in the game (in his final form with an attack speed of 1, meaning every 0.6 seconds), along with Scarab swarms. The attack speed for his first three forms is 4 (2.4 seconds), the same as unarmed combat.
Even though he has no combat level, his stats would give him a combat level of 25 for his first form, 48 for his second, 71 for his third, and 212 for his fourth. His true combat level is revealed in The Fremennik Exiles, where he is shown to have a combat level of 142.
Fremennik✓
Combat stats
Magic defence
Ranged defence
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