RuneScape Forum Archive | Mod Osborne's Lore Answers!

Mod Drebin

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Mod Osborne's Lore Answers!

Mod Osborne is now done for the night. Thanks so much for your great questions! <3

Story, Lore, Quests. Past, Present, Future.
RuneScape has a rich and varied story that has been lovingly honed and crafted for over 12 years.

For some, RuneScape's story bubbles away in the background, providing a little context to their goals and achievements. For others - for the lore enthusiasts - the story of Gielinor is the canvas on which their entire adventure is painted.

Whether you're a rabid lore fan or you have just a casual interest, Mod Osborne (our Senior Narrative Designer) was on-hand to answer your questions in a dedicated Lore Campfire earlier today. You can read his answers to the questions he picked below.

If you love lore and want to talk about the future of the game, don't forget to head over to the Future Game Updates forum to continue the speculation.

Enjoy!

Mod Drebin | RuneScape Community Team |

@JagexDrebin

18-Mar-2013 19:45:57 - Last edited on 18-Mar-2013 23:17:43 by Mod Drebin

Mod Osborne

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Hi Mod Osborne, thank you and the others working on the Story for making the RS lore so amazing and engaging. My character, Melanion, is a follower of Armadyl, so my questions will focus on Armadyl.
1. Kree'arra has seen how the surface world looks now, do you think some Aviansie will leave the God Wars Dungeon and try to bring Armadyl back in the same way that the Zarosians are working to bring Zaros back?, It would be very engaging to have an Aviansie questline, where we explore the race and help them out.
2. We know that Larrissa, the Fremennik girl from Horror from the Deep, is an Armadylian, and the Neitiznot Burgher's helmet has wings which is a common Armadylian trait, how much do the Fremennik worship Armadyl? they seem mostly Guthixian to me.
3. What regions of Gielinor did the Aviansies live in during the Third and Second age? I.E What

Woot, first post!

1. If Armadyl came back, he'd be sure to pay his aviansie a visit! He believes they're all dead, and has been in mourning since, so you would expect his welcome to be a warm one. As a note, Armadyl is one of the more interesting and less explored gods, so I'd love the opportunity to find out more about him.
2. The barbarians are mostly Guthixian, but I can recall some who worship the Kendal, Saradomin and Armadyl. I think you can assume that the Guthixians are in the majority.
3. Good question! We'll find out more, I hope, in future quests, but the majority will have lived in the clan citadels.

18-Mar-2013 20:04:30

Mod Osborne

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Dear Osborne

I'm getting worried about what seems to be a new trend in quests. The trend I refer to is permanent deaths, based on mistakes done by the player. We first saw this in Firemaker's Curse, where I personally lost 1 person. For most of the scenarios you could figure out what to do by chatting with the character, but for one of them you had to use the exaime option, which was not implied anywhere in the quest. Either way, it was a slight annoyance to lose one of them, when I realized afterwards that they reside in the circus after the quest. If they weren't in the game afterwards, it wouldn't have mattered as much. Either way, it was only a slight annoyance, since these characters was only made for that one quest.

However, the World Wakes took this to the next level. I used no guide, avoided spoilers, but the penalty was big. At the fighting puzzle, I put Fiara up against Kril. Seemed somewhat logical at the time, they're both big, Fiara had great magic resistance, and I knew from GWD experience that Kril obviously love to throw magic spells around. How very wrong I was. I realized that after my first fight, but at that time I could only swap wrong for what seemed more wrong. So I went with what I had, only expecting the fights to be harder, which I was fine with. But, Fiara died permanently, one-shot by Kril. Now, one of my favourite characters, which was very unique, no longer is in my game. Replaced by a boring and generic druid.
I feel many things is wrong with this design. Inconsistent lore between players, permanent penalties, disencouragement of not using quest guides/spoilers, scars on player progression, etc.

I'm not saying wrong choices shouldn't have penalties, but permanent penalties is not cool. The harder fights was fine. Personally, the loss of Fiara made me lose much motivation to play. Permanent scars on my progression feels bad.

My questions:
Why do things like this?
Could you reconsider this design?

Please, bring Fiara back

You raise an interesting point. When I have played Mass Effect 2, for example, I was always fine with a character dying - this was how the story was meant to play out for me. It was part of what made my experience of the game different from another player's. But that's me, and I understand that other people were just as likely to turn Mass Effect 3 off and start again so they didn't lose that character!

I'd still like to keep choice in our games, but I think you'll note a difference in how we present that choice.

18-Mar-2013 20:08:26

Mod Osborne

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1) What exactly is anima mundi? Who created it? Why is it so close to Guthix and Seren?
2) Why did the Stone of Jas give Guthix more power than it did to the other gods and why didn't dragonkin stop it?
3) When/how did the Stone of Jas get to Ketshi, Daeyalt mine, Lunar isle and Guthix temple?
4) Did Seren wake up after the God Wars? (she sealed the grand library "over 2 000 years ago" )
5) What was the magic barrier Guthix created and how is it related to the edicts?
6) Are there just three elder gods?
7) What happened to the Elder gods? Why did they leave Gielinor?
8) Do you have any plans for the monkey god Marimbo?
9) Will we meet any other gods this year? If we do, who?
10) Has every god been a mortal?
11) What does Chaeldar do as a guardian of Guthix

I really liked the World Wakes. Can't wait to see what plans you have for the gods this year.

Woah! I'll try to do as many of these as I can. Thanks for your questions!

1. Guthix and Seren both share an affinity to the anima mundi - the lifeblood that courses through the world. It's what woke Guthix when the Wilderness was destroyed, for example.
2. We've been very careful about mapping how the Stone of Jas works, and the power is largely proportional to how long the owner was in contact with it. There are other factors in determining a god's power too, and we'll be revealing that in the future.
3. Different gods took it to those places for different reasons!
4. Seren was awake during the God Wars
5. The magical barrier is a product of Guthix's power and the Stone of Jas. He put a lot of his life energy into creating that physical barrier, and it likely weakened him a great deal.
6. Nope! There are more, and not all of them are on Gielinor! Oooh, spoilers!
7. They're hard to decipher! They were motivated by creating the perfect world and then managed it. Who knows what a transcendent being does when they've fulfilled their life goal (but I'm sure we'll find out)
8. Yep! Who would turn down an opportunity to play with a god monkey?
9. This year is a big year for lore enthusiasts. I think you'll be pleased.
10. The Elder Gods certainly haven't. And one god makes a convincing argument for never being mortal
11. That's my fault. I can honestly say that Chaeldar is NOT a guardian of Guthix. Blame the amount of coca cola I had during my last Q&A

Thank you so much for your nice comments about World Wakes!

18-Mar-2013 20:17:17

Mod Osborne

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During Ritual of the Mahjarrat quest in particular when we explore Kethsi we come across some notes, we are meant to give one of these letters back to Robert the Strong but only when he is back in his human form, also supposely these currently useless note items would have a use for a future quest in which we would explore more about Robert the Strong and likely his story related to the Dragonkins.

So my question is, has Robert the Strong been forgotten or are there still plans for the future to explore more on his story with these letters getting a use?

I can honestly say that the dragonkin and Robert the Strong have not been forgotten. If anything, the happenings in World Wakes makes their story even more vital and interesting. We have big plans for them both.

18-Mar-2013 20:18:43

Mod Osborne

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Hi Mod Osborne!
Zoli got some question, but even if you cant answer all, at least answer first 3, 6 eleven and twelfth question, but please try answer as many as you can

1, Will there be more content that features Hazeel? He seems to be one of the Mahjarrats who have great potential to be used, but even if no plans for him, couldn't you bring him back to his cult for players who have helped him and finished Ritual of the Mahjarrat?

2,Are quests that required for quests that has been confirmed to take place in past are also happening in the past? (i.e Cook's Assistant being a requirement to Recipe for Disater which is required for While Guthix Sleeps which happens in the past.)

3,Is Brassica Prime a god?

4,Are TokHaar one of the Elder Twelve? TokHaar-Hok mentions they have been created by Elder Gods and they rather see themself as an artefact.

5,In Druidic Ritual, the ritual is meant to get the attention of Guthix, which would take a year to happen. But with The World Wakes, we proceeded a year, but Guthix is dead, does that means that the Ritual was for nothing?

6, Will there be some kind of content that focuses on Zamorak in the main spotlight?

7,Anything you can say on the fifth quest of Rise of the Red Axe quest series beside it is the finale and it might be grandmaster level, which we alredy know?

8,What can you tell about Wyrms?

9,What quest you are looking forward this year beside the alredy released World Wakes?

10, Is the Fisher Realm from Holy Grail located on Gielinor or in the Earth (which King Arthur mentions)

11, Who is Ikov?

12, Any plans for Sir Vey Lance, the head of operations for the Temple Knights?

13, Is Count Draynor and Lord Drakan are blood brothers and not 'brothers' like priests call eachother?

14, What is the name of the Dragonkin whom we see being killed by Rober the Strong during Tail of Two Cats?

15, Is Taraket, the creator of Mr. Mordaut still alive?

16, Are there more Elder-demons besides Thammaron?

I'll try to answer the questions you must wanted answering!

3. Yes! But I'm afraid they won't play a part in upcoming story content. I'm sorry!
6. Yes, yes, yes! I don't think Zamorak has had a chance to share his point of view, and he will do, with fireworks (not literally)
11. A Zamorakian wizard who worked with the Black Knights and then corrupted the Arandar Pass.
12. The next quest will feature the Temple Knights! More info on that quest will come soon. As a note, you won't be going up the Temple Knight ranks.

18-Mar-2013 20:25:33

Mod Osborne

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One thing I’ve come to notice is a rather large amount of regret in people concerning the choices they undertook in the world wakes, however certain members of each faction (particularly the Zarosians) do mention that there are no hard feelings and perhaps we can be persuaded to help them in the future.

I myself felt pretty bad when Azzandra said “I thought you were my friend”, so can you possibly clarify or confirm to what degree our choices (without spoilers if you wish) made during the content released this year will affect our future decision making capabilities and our standing with the factions? Such as will they be locking us into aiding a particular faction, or will there be a lot of wiggle room if we choose? And will we be able to amend or retcon our earlier transgressions should we choose to change sides, earning an ‘all is forgiven’ scenario in future?

Also can you possibly give us a sort of scope of the effects of our future decisions? Many people noticed that despite your choices in TWW, the only real major change is that of dialogue after the quest, and the end result is still the same, resulting in Guthix’s death either way. Will this theme of ‘an illusion of choice’ be continuing into the future, our choices ultimately still converging to a single narrative, much like how it ultimately did*’t matter if you gave Lucien the staff of Armadyl or not, or are you planning to offer wildly different conclusions to future storylines based on the player’s previous decisions?

Future quests will acknowledge the choices you made in World Wakes. That will largely be in dialogue and how characters react to you. I can promise you that you will have the opportunity to change allegiances whenever it becomes important to the content you are playing. As for the nature of choice in upcoming content, we have taken on your feedback and a future quest will have a fundamental and world-changing choice at its heart - and it will have ramifications over several other quests.

18-Mar-2013 20:28:47

Mod Osborne

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1. What effect, if any, did Zaros' curse have on the Mahjarrat, Vampyres, and other creatures which played a role in his downfall?

2. What is the deal with Tolna's rift near the digsite?

3. Is there any purpose to the strange-symboled stones north of Falador?

I support a lores forum, you will likely hear of it

.

1. I've always found this interesting. It seems that Zaros's curse only had an effect on those who were directly involved in his stabbing by Zamorak.
2. That's not something we've explored. I'd be interested to find out more - thanks for reminding me about it.
3. Paul G had a very definite idea for what they represent/represented. I think you might found out more in the coming months.

18-Mar-2013 20:33:10

Mod Osborne

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Hi there! Originally, my list of questions was nearly twice as long... I trimmed off what I could, and I'm guessing this is still probably too many questions. If that is the case then just answer the ones that seem the most interesting to you

(it got split up into 3 posts)

1) Who are the three Elder Gods shown in "The Origins of Gielinor?

2) If the Gods all gained their power by killing other gods with Elder Artefacts, where did the first of the young gods come from? Surely this cycle had to start somewhere!

3) What distinguishes a God from someone that is just immensely powerful?

4) Why are the artefacts of the Elder Gods manifested as corporeal objects such as staves and crowns?

5) Can you shed some light on the timeline of the Stone of Jas? It is rather difficult to keep track of of where it has been and who has had it. In some cases, (particularly when it was on the Lunar Isle) it even seems as though it has been in two places at once!

6) Did the Kethsians have Gods? How long before the First Age was Kethsi destroyed, if it was indeed before the First Age?

7) How long was it between the creation of Gielinor and Guthix's discovery of it? If Saradomin's crown leads him to other artefacts, why did it take him so long to find Gielinor himself?

8) What is the purpose of Dragon Metal? Did the Dragonkin create the Dragon metal on Freneskae, or did they merely find and utlize it? Fairy Jukat claims it is made by Necrosyrtes - is this merely another name for the Dragonkin?

9) In "The Origins of Gielinor", Zamorak is shown wielding an Armadyl Battlestaff. Is this a mistake, or intentional?

10) When speaking to him after The World Wakes, Azzanadra calls Wahisietel and Akthanakos his brothers. Are they actually related by blood, or is he using the word in a non-literal sense?

11) What exactly is the Shadow Realm? We hear about it a lot, but it's function has never really been explained!

I'll give it a go! Thanks for the questions.

1. The Elder Gods are elemental, as you can see, and one of them is Jas. I'll leave you to guess which one!
2. Killing a god is just one way of becoming a god. Spending time with one of the Elder Twelve artefacts will also do it.
3. Good question! Behind the scenes, we've noted 7 tiers of godhood, with each god on one of the tiers. That doesn't answer your question, but I thought it would be interesting to you. Suffice to say, the path to godhood is a topic that we want to explore.
4. My theory? The Tokhaar might have needed to use these to perform the more precise changes to the world.
5. It's on my to-do list. I want to give you guys more official 'canon' docs on the history of RuneScape (now that we're making history, rather than looking back!)

18-Mar-2013 20:40:10

Mod Osborne

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I seek answers to anything related to lord Zamorak. Please tell us all that you can as in where is he now? Will he soon arrive now that hideous Saradomin has appeared? How did he ascend to godhood exactly, how was the stone involved in such an ascension and did the dragonkin interevene in any use of the stone? I find it very interesting seeing as how Lucien failed where lord Zamorak succeeded. I would appreciate any insight into these inquiries as I patiently await the arrival of the demon lord! ~He who dares wins~

Zamorak positioned himself as close to the world as he could, without making himself vulnerable to anyone who would betray him (he's very aware that his enemies would do this). If you've played the sagas, you'll know that someone was trying to bring him back to the world, even before The World Wakes.

As for the dragonkin, they weren't powerful enough to take down Zamorak when he became a god. Through use of the Stone of Jas, they have become more and more powerful, and they are nearing the strength of the gods...

18-Mar-2013 20:43:34

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Mod Osborne's Lore Answers!