Random events

From Illerai
(Redirected from Random Events)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
A player interacting with the Mysterious Old Man.

Random events, anti-macro events, or simply randoms refers to a variety of NPCs and their associated areas that appear throughout RuneScape to interact with players. They will appear either to provide an item to a player or to ask the player to play a short minigame to earn a prize. When random events appear, they specify one player with whom they will interact, and only that player will be able to interact with them, besides basic dismissive dialogue. If the player does not wish to interact with the random event, they can right-click and dismiss the event, or just ignore the event which disappears after a minute.

Not all random events are allowed everywhere in the game. For example, any random event that takes players into a separate instance will never appear in the Wilderness (as it could allow a fleeing player to escape and remain there until it is safe). Random events will also not appear in most banks, boss areas, and minigames; if a random event NPC is following the player into a disallowed area, it will despawn and not return, except for Count Check, Dr Jekyll, and the Genie.

History

Random events were originally implemented as an anti-macro technology alongside RuneScape 2, which eliminated RuneScape Classic's fatigue system. With the fatigue system, players were required to sleep in a bed or a sleeping bag for a few seconds after gaining a certain amount of experience. In order to wake up from sleeping, the player would need to answer a captcha to resume playing. Players could continue to train skills or combat if their fatigue was at 100%, but they would not gain any more experience until they slept.

The Evil Chicken attacks!

Random events were designed to simultaneously prevent macros from operating properly and to reward legitimate players with small rewards. Some random events, such as the Rock golem, Tree spirit, or Evil Chicken, would attack and eventually kill players that did not run away from them. Events like the Exploding rock would damage players' equipment if they did not stop mining that rock until the smoke went away. This would require players to repair their equipment for a small fee before they could resume using it. Some events, such as the Genie, provided a small reward to players for simply talking to them, and would teleport players away from their current location if they were ignored.

These events were eventually phased out in RuneScape 3 as better anti-macro software was developed. After the release of Old School RuneScape, players and developers realized that modern macro clients were able to solve random events relatively easily and that a more comprehensive anti-macro solution needed to be implemented in the rebooted game. Many players complained that random events were harming gameplay; for example, players fighting aggressive monsters in the Abyss or Ape Atoll Dungeon would likely be confronted by a random event such as the Sandwich lady, who would teleport players away if they could not solve her puzzle. Players would be unable to solve the puzzle interface because they were surrounded by aggressive monsters and would end up being teleported away, even though they were playing entirely within the rules.

The developers were able to implement RuneScape 3's anti-macro software into Old School RuneScape, after which they polled for the removal of aggressive random events and the conversion of other mandatory events to be optional based on a Developer Blog on 28 August 2014.[1] The poll was met with a positive 86.6% of the vote, and the changes were implemented shortly thereafter. This update allowed players to decide whether or not to partake in these events, without a risk of dying. It also removed several random events from the game.

List of random events

Traditionally, most random events would be assigned to a skill or a specific task - for example, the Beekeeper random event would only appear to players who were picking flax, and the Gravedigger would only appear while burying bones. Since the Optional Randoms update, all events can happen at any time in any place, with the exception of certain excluded areas.

The following random events can appear in Old School RuneScape:

Random event Associated NPCs Possible item rewards GE Value Cosmetic rewards Experience rewards Result upon failure
0
 Beekeeper Bee keeper 2 to 54
Beekeeper's outfit 		One Lamp.[3] When selecting the wrong order of beehive parts, players will be transported back to original location.
0
 Capt' Arnav's Chest Capt' Arnav 116 to 171 N/A N/A When selecting the wrong casket combination, no items are rewarded.
0
 Certers Niles, Miles, or Giles 39 to 11,925 N/A N/A When selecting the wrong item, no items are rewarded.
0
 Count Check Count Check N/A N/A N/A One Lamp.[3] If the player is not using a Jagex Account or has no Bank PIN set, no items are rewarded. The Jagex Account requirement is waived on worlds for temporary game modes and the permanent Deadman mode world, and the Bank PIN requirement is waived for Ultimate Ironmen.
0
 Drill Demon Sergeant Damien N/A N/A
Camouflage outfit

Drill Demon emotes[2] 		One lamp.[3][2] Impossible to fail.
0
 Drunken Dwarf Drunken dwarf A beer and a kebab. 144 N/A N/A Impossible to fail.
0
 Evil Bob Evil Bob, Servant N/A N/A N/A 650 Fishing or Magic experience. [4] Upon giving a fish from an incorrect location, Evil Bob's suspicion level will increase by 1, up to a maximum of 5. Giving a fish from the correct location will reduce his suspicion by 1, or make him fall asleep if his suspicion is 0. Impossible to fail.
0
 Evil twin Postie Pete, Molly 476 to 10,710 N/A N/A Teleported to a random location. See Evil twin for a list of locations.
0
 Freaky Forester Freaky Forester N/A N/A
Lederhosen outfit 		One lamp.[3][2] Impossible to fail.
0
 Genie Genie N/A N/A N/A One Lamp.[3] Impossible to fail.
0
 Gravedigger Leo N/A[5] N/A
Zombie outfit

Zombie emotes 		One lamp[3][2] Impossible to fail.
1
 Jekyll and Hyde Dr Jekyll 13 to 11,131 N/A N/A Impossible to fail.
0
 Kiss the frog Frogs, Prince/Princess N/A N/A Frog token exchangeable at Thessalia's for one of the following: When refusing to interact with the frog (other than right-clicking to dismiss them), players will be transported to Frogland.
0
 Maze Mysterious Old Man Varying amounts of three resources: Up to 134,400 N/A N/A When time runs out, players are transported back to their original location.
0
 Mime Mysterious Old Man N/A N/A
Mime outfit

Mime emotes 		One lamp[3][2] Impossible to fail.
0
 Mysterious Old Man Mysterious Old Man 39 to 11,925 N/A N/A Impossible to fail.
0
 Pillory Pillory Guard 160 to 11,919 N/A N/A Upon picking an incorrect key, all previously open locks are reset and another lock is added (up to a maximum of 6 locks). Impossible to fail.
0
 Pinball Flippa or Tilt 1,180 to 4,305 N/A N/A Impossible to fail.
0
 Prison Pete Evil Bob, Prison Pete 876 to 33,124 N/A A random chance at a lamp.[3] Impossible to fail.
0
 Quiz Master Quiz Master Player's choice between: 0 to 998,218 N/A N/A Impossible to fail.
0
 Rick Turpentine Rick Turpentine 39 to 11,925 N/A N/A Impossible to fail.
0
 Sandwich lady Sandwich lady The selected food item from her tray. 53 to 998,218 N/A N/A Selecting the wrong food rewards the player with no items.
1
 Strange plant Strange plant Strange fruit 689 N/A N/A Impossible to fail.
0
 Surprise Exam Dunce, Mr. Mordaut N/A N/A N/A One book of knowledge.[6] When giving an incorrect answer 3 times in a row, players will be transported back to their original location.

Spawn mechanics

To determine when the player will receive a random event, the game will pick a point in time between 1 and 2 hours in advance when the player is next due to receive an event spawn.[7] This moment is defined in relation to a real-time clock, meaning it will tick down even if the player is not logged in.[8] A check is made every 5 minutes of in-game time to see if the required duration has elapsed.[9] If the player is available when that time rolls around, an event will be selected at random from all of those the player is eligible to receive (depending on their location), with each one of them having equal weighting.[10] In case the player is offline when they are due to receive one however, the timer will be extended by 10 to 70 minutes and continue counting down.[11]

Supposing the player is in a location where random events are not allowed to spawn when they become eligible to receive one, it is likely that they will miss out on the opportunity altogether, leading to a new spawn moment being chosen one to two hours down the line.[12] Random events will not spawn if the player character is using an altered model, for instance while a transformation ring or greegree is equipped.[13] In the rare case a player would be eligible to receive an event while a previously spawned random event NPC is still trying to draw their attention, a second event NPC will not be spawned.[14]

Certain random events may also be prevented from spawning if the player is engaged in combat.[15]

It is possible to briefly stall an event spawn if the player has an interface open or is in the middle of a repeated skilling action (through the "Make-X" option) when they are awarded an event, in which case its spawn will be delayed until the player becomes available again.[16][17] In the event a player is teleported away from a tile that has afterwards become inaccessible, they will be teleported back to Lumbridge upon completing the event instead.[18] Standing on a tile previously occupied by an object of destructible scenery can cause this to happen in case it respawns while the player is away.[19]

Strategy

While most random events offer relatively small rewards for the effort required to complete them, like the Capt' Arnav's Chest, some rewards can be very fortunate.

Valuable random events

It is recommended to always do the following random events:

Useful random events for Ironman players

In addition to the above, if playing on ironman mode it is also recommended to do the following events, due to the difficulty to obtain certain rewards:

Random events with unique rewards

The following random events offer unique outfits or emotes:

  • Kiss the Frog: Always grants a frog token which can be used to buy an untradeable frog mask or Royal frog costume. Needs to be completed 2 times to unlock both pieces, though unlimited pieces can be obtained. Extra tokens may be traded in for an XP lamp at Thessalia's Fine Clothes in Varrock.
  • Beekeeper: Needs to be completed 5 times to unlock all beekeeper's outfit pieces. After the full set, flax or coins are awarded instead. Also, a lamp is always awarded, even before the full set.
  • Drill Demon: Needs to be completed 4 times to unlock all three camouflage outfit pieces and unique emotes. After the full set, a lamp is awarded instead.
  • Freaky Forester: Needs to be completed 3 times to unlock all three lederhosen outfit pieces. After the full set, a lamp is awarded instead.
  • Gravedigger: Needs to be completed 5 times to unlock all five zombie outfit pieces and unique emotes. After the full set, a lamp is awarded instead.
  • Mime: Needs to be completed 7 times to unlock all mime outfit pieces and unique emotes. After the full set, a lamp is awarded instead.

2018 Random Event Update

As part of the Portal Nexus update, random events received another series of updates. According to Jagex, they believed many random events had outlived their practical use and were looking for a way to leave the nostalgia intact without disrupting the gameplay of both new players and those uninterested in the events. As such, certain events can now be left before completion. However, leaving an event early will not reward the player.

Furthermore, this update added additional changes:

  • Players will now automatically leave the Maze event when the timer runs out.
  • The walls of the Maze event no longer have options to click on, only the gates do.
  • The Beekeeper event is removed from mobile. Players who were in the Beekeeper event on mobile when the update was released still had to finish it. The event returned to mobile at a later date, following a rework.
  • The pheasants in the Freaky Forester event can still be attacked even if the player has their attack options hidden.
    • This update may have also changed Freaky Forester to now accept any pheasant for a reward, while still requesting a specific pheasant.
  • The camera no longer sways in the Pinball event.
  • The player can use any door to leave the Surprise Exam event.

Discontinued random events

Many random events were discontinued after the update that made them optional. Some of the random event NPCs were relocated to various locations around RuneScape to preserve them in the game. The discontinued random events will be recorded here for historical purposes.

Equipment-damaging randoms

These random events would result in some sort of equipment malfunction while the player was training a skill. In these randoms, the graphic of the tree, rock, or fishing spot would change to indicate that the player should not continue to use that resource. If the player did not stop using the resource within about 30 seconds, their equipment would be damaged and players would have to fix it or find a replacement in order to continue skilling. The damaging event would stop after a few seconds, rendering the resource safe to harvest again.

An Exploding Rock random event.
  • Ent - The tree would grow an evil face and move slightly. If players did not stop cutting the tree, their axe would break, and they would need to take it to Bob in Lumbridge in order to have it repaired (for a small fee).
  • Exploding Rock - The rock would begin to smoke. If players did not stop mining that rock, their pickaxe would break, and they would need to take it to Nurmof in the Dwarven Mines in order to have it repaired (for a small fee).
  • Whirlpool - A whirlpool would appear on top of the fishing spot. If players did not stop fishing from that spot, their small net/harpoon/etc. would be swallowed by the whirlpool and could not be retrieved. Players would need to find another fishing implement before they could fish again.

The following random events would displace, but not destroy, your equipment. These events were immediate and could not be avoided. Players could pick up the part that was thrown off of their equipment, reattach it in their inventory, and resume skilling. If players did not pick up their equipment quickly, though, they would risk other players picking up the piece once it was visible to them, or the piece would despawn after a short amount of time, leaving the player without the proper tool for their task.

Guardians

Aggressive random events, known as guardians, used to appear when players were training gather skills, which included Mining, Fishing, Woodcutting, and Prayer (burying bones). Players could fight these monsters for reduced combat experience but also for a chance at an item drop based upon the skill they were training. The level and max hit of the guardian that appeared was dependent upon the level of the player which they would attack, as follows:

Player level Guardian level Maximum hit
3-10 14 2
11-20 29 3
21-40 49 5
41-60 79 7
61-90 120 12
91+ 159 14

The guardians were all removed from the game in the random event update, as their primary function was to kill players. However, for historical purposes the guardians were relocated to areas across RuneScape. Players may still kill them for their drops, but they are no longer considered aggressive. Their new locations are as follows:

Guardian Associated Skill New location
Rock golem Mining Mining Enchanted Valley (Fairy ring code BKQ)
Tree spirit Woodcutting Woodcutting Enchanted Valley (Fairy ring code BKQ)
River troll Fishing Fishing Enchanted Valley (Fairy ring code BKQ)
Shade Prayer Prayer Stronghold of Security (bottom floor) (Level 159 only)
Zombie Prayer Prayer Stronghold of Security (bottom floor) (Level 159 only)
Evil Chicken Any skill Champions' Guild (Level 159 only)
A player in the abyss random event.

Other dangerous or aggressive randoms

  • Candlelight - The player was teleported to a chapel with a strange monk wandering around. The player had to talk to the monk, Pious Pete, and ask him what was wrong. Pious Pete responded that his candles always go out when he lit them, so he needed the player's help to light them. He would then give the player a lighter. Once the player had the lighter, Pete told the player to light only the candles that are left standing, not the ones that are burnt down (he'd take care of those). There would be a screen with arrows to the left and the right, and a button in the middle. Once pressed, the player would light the candle (if it was an unlit candle). After all the candles were lit, the player would talk to Pious Pete and be teleported back to where they were with a small reward.
  • Lost and Found (also known as the Abyssal network) - Triggered by players teleporting using a Magic spell. Players would be required to pull the "odd lever out" in order to continue with their teleport, after which they received one law rune and three air runes to compensate them for their time.
  • Lost Pirate - Cap'n Hand would mistake the player for one of his shipmates and talk to the player. If the player ignored him, he would attack the player with a crossbow. He would usually keep shooting the player until death. He was very accurate and hit almost every time even if the player was wearing high level armour. If a player tried to talk to him while he was in the process of attacking that player, he would stop attacking them and they would receive the reward from him
  • Poison Gas - A random event from Thieving chests. Occasionally, while looting a chest, gas would come out and damage nearby players. Despite the fact it had a green hit splat, the event would not inflict poison.
  • Strange box - Required the player to answer a question about the box to receive a reward before it replicated in their inventory. The Mysterious Old Man can now be found in a house in eastern Falador, forever trying to solve a strange box.
  • Swarm (random event) - A very weak random that could not be hit; the only solution was to run away until it despawned. A harmless version of it can now be found on the docks of Port Piscarilius.

Previously discontinued randoms

There are some random events that few people know about because they only ran for a short time, were very buggy, were taken out for balance reasons, or were unfinished and never released. These randoms were discontinued well before the 2014 update.

Scrapped random events

Duke of Bridgelum

Main article: Duke of Bridgelum
The Duke of Bridgelum standing next to a pile of dismembered cows.

The Duke of Bridgelum was an unreleased random event that involved going to ScapeRune to help the Duke of Bridgelum reassemble dead cows from their component parts. The random event was scrapped because the testers at the time pointed out that the dismembered cow parts looked grotesque.

The reward would have been pieces of the cow outfit, which are now given to players as a reward from birthday events.

Speedy Gnome

Main article: Speedy Gnome
The area in which the random event takes place.

The Speedy Gnome, Sebastian Gno, was mentioned in a Behind the Scenes article as being the "fastest gnome in the world", and was to be released alongside several other random events such as the Sandwich lady. Judging by the statement in the article ("Don't ignore them!"), Sebastian Gno would have been one of those random events where an NPC appeared and tried to get the player's attention, like the Drunken Dwarf.

However, Sebastian Gno was not added to RuneScape along with the rest of the random events named, due to the race track in the random event being static and thus not an effective anti-bot feature at the time.

Locations without random events

Certain zones throughout Gielinor are designed so that players do not receive random events while in them. Traditionally, these zones were popular with players who wanted to train skills uninterrupted, such as players training Magic with High Level Alchemy. However, this also made these areas susceptible to bots. These zones lost some of their advantages with the 2014 update that made random events optional.

The following zones are currently known to be free of random events:

Locations with fewer random events

Some random events are unable to spawn in some parts of Gielinor.

The following zones are currently known to have reduced random events:

  • Underwater - Only the Certers, Count Check, Genie, Dr Jekyll, Mysterious Old Man, and Rick Turpentine can spawn.
  • Hunter areas - Random events that can teleport the player away do not spawn in the original Hunter areas.[20]

Bank locations with random events

Certain banks allow for random events to spawn while the player is stood in-front of them. This can be useful for players wishing to utilise their bank to train skills such as Magic or Fletching, while still getting random events. Note that because these locations are not treated as banks, certain items will not behave as expected, such as the Reagent pouch's contents not being usable when mixing potions.

The following locations have banks that are currently known to allow random events:

Changes

Date Changes
[[{{#explode:31 July 2024| |0}} {{#explode:31 July 2024| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:31 July 2024| |2}}]]
(update)
  • Added XP lamps to the rewards from the Beekeeper random event.
[[{{#explode:1 November 2023| |0}} {{#explode:1 November 2023| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:1 November 2023| |2}}]]
(update)
[[{{#explode:23 August 2023| |0}} {{#explode:23 August 2023| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:23 August 2023| |2}}]]
(update)

Random events with costume rewards would commonly give 500 coins to a player who already had the full outfit. They now give XP lamps instead of those coins. The lamps are identical to the Genie's lamp, giving 10x of your level in the skill. The Quizmaster's Mystery Box and Prison Pete may give such a lamp instead of coins too.

[[{{#explode:12 July 2023| |0}} {{#explode:12 July 2023| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:12 July 2023| |2}}]]
(update)

Random events will no longer occur in range of Forestry events.

[[{{#explode:16 November 2022| |0}} {{#explode:16 November 2022| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:16 November 2022| |2}}]]
(update | poll)

The sandwich lady now has a 1/64 chance of giving a stale baguette in place of a baguette when offered.

[[{{#explode:9 September 2021| |0}} {{#explode:9 September 2021| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:9 September 2021| |2}}]]
(update)

When completing random events, a message will tell you what rewards you received.

[[{{#explode:8 November 2018| |0}} {{#explode:8 November 2018| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:8 November 2018| |2}}]]
(update)

Many events can be left early. The Beekeeper event was removed from mobile. Additional changes are described in § 2018 Random Event Update.

[[{{#explode:18 February 2016| |0}} {{#explode:18 February 2016| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:18 February 2016| |2}}]]
(update)

Random events will no longer trigger when in the Abyssal Sire or Cerberus chambers.

[[{{#explode:27 February 2015| |0}} {{#explode:27 February 2015| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:27 February 2015| |2}}]]
(update)

Random events no longer appear at the Grand Exchange.

[[{{#explode:18 September 2014| |0}} {{#explode:18 September 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:18 September 2014| |2}}]]
(update)

A dismiss option is now available on random events.

[[{{#explode:11 September 2014| |0}} {{#explode:11 September 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:11 September 2014| |2}}]]
(update | poll)

Random events are now optional. Players may ignore random event until they disappear without the risk of being teleported or interrupted.

[[{{#explode:8 May 2014| |0}} {{#explode:8 May 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:8 May 2014| |2}}]]
(update)

Random events that take you to another location should no longer occur in building mode, this doesn't include those that teleport you away for failing to complete the event.

Trivia

  • In the feast cutscene of the Recipe for Disaster quest, the Duke gets the strange box random event, and Evil Bob teleports Osman away, which is probably a reference to how players find them annoying and interrupting.
  • Some random events can appear underwater on Fossil Island and in the Mogre Camp; they will also wear a diving apparatus and fishbowl helmet as well as disappear with a surge of bubbles rather than the standard puff of smoke.
  • When receiving a random event reward with a full inventory, the reward is dropped to the floor. It stays there for up to three hours before despawning, much longer than normal for a dropped item.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Developer Blog: Content Poll 24". RuneScape News. Jagex. 26 August 2014. Archived from the original.
  2. ^ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 If the player has all the other rewards unlocked.
  3. ^ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Grants 10 times experience of the current level in a skill of your choice.
  4. ^ If the player has an unboosted Magic level of 51+, it's a 50% chance of being Magic XP, otherwise it's Fishing XP.
  5. ^ It can serve as a "portable deposit box," since the Mausoleum in the random event can be used as such to skip having a trip to the bank, after which the event can be completed or forfeited.
  6. ^ Grants 15 times experience of the current level in a skill of your choice (50% more than a genie's lamp).
  7. ^
  8. ^
  9. ^
  10. ^
  11. ^
  12. ^
  13. ^
  14. ^
  15. ^
  16. ^
  17. ^
  18. ^
  19. ^
  20. ^
  21. ^
v • e
Random events
Beekeeper
Beekeeper's outfit
Certer
Drill Demon
Camouflage outfit
Scenery
Evil twin
Evil Bob
Freaky Forester
Lederhosen outfit
Gravedigger
Zombie outfit
Scenery
Jekyll and Hyde
Kiss the frog
Royal frog costume
Maze
Mime
Mime outfit
Pinball
Prison Pete
Quiz Master
Surprise Exam
Students
Classroom scenery
Sandwich lady
Other
Scrapped events
v • e
Discontinued random events
Dangerous
Equipment-damaging
Ent
Axe head
Exploding Rock
Pickaxe head
Guardians
Retrieved from ‘https://wiki.illerai.com/index.php?title=Random_events&oldid=143168’