RuneScape Forum Archive | You want to be a Slayer Master

Deltaslug

Posts: 32,671 Sapphire Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

You see them, standing there on the side, handing out assignments to go and ~~murder~~ slay creatures.
~~Kill~~ Slay enough creatures, and eventually you can become a Master ..... sort of ....

In truth, it seems the path to becoming a Slayer Master is far more complex than you think.

13-Jun-2017 23:36:26

Deltaslug

Posts: 32,671 Sapphire Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Step 1: Combat Proficiency and Becoming an Apprentice

This is the first step. One which the player character can do regularly.
And as Slayer is effectively combat, the two go hand in hand.
Apprenticeship simply starts by talking to the appropriate Slayer Master for your level of experience.

Know a bit about fighting, but never done a proper Slayer Task? Go see Vanakka.
Never lifted a bow, sword, or staff in your life? You might want to go talk to Turael.

The Slayer Masters themselves know a thing or 2 about combat:
- Turael, Spria, and Vanakka wield Steel weapons
- Duradel uses Rune Claws
- Duradel, Turael, and Mazchna are shown to have above "max" combat levels
- Kuradel knows a high level fire spell and admits after The Ritual of the Mahjarrat she pretty easily killed a lot of Glacors
- Morovan can even wield a Crystal Bow

Kuradel even demonstrates that the Slayer Masters know what they teach - you can watch her 1 hit a gargoyle.

So if you're looking to start, you've got a fine group of teachers.

13-Jun-2017 23:36:31 - Last edited on 13-Jun-2017 23:43:30 by Deltaslug

Deltaslug

Posts: 32,671 Sapphire Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Step 2: The Final Exam

Congratulations student!! You've ~~slaughtered~~ slayed enough creatures on assignment, to finally earn that skillcape.
Along the way, you may have even mastered 1 or 2 combat styles.

But what's this, there's another test?

You see, in real life, it's not uncommon for their to be a sort of final exam that covers everything you might need to know about a topic.
How this might apply in game is that are several scenarios where a person might have statistically mastered the skill, but they have not killed all the know creatures, thus demonstrating the breadth of the skill, not just raw ability to go out and kill.

- a person may have only used certain regional Slayer Masters, and thus became quite proficient at slaying things in Morytania and Karamja, but may have never visited other remote training grounds
- a slayer may have gone on a multi year journey to The Wushanko Isles and the jungles of Karamja, and brought back many interesting tales and even new ways of slaying creatures, but they missed out on new creatures being discovered (ie: Adamant and Rune Dragons), that were literally created (ie: Tormented Demons and Glacors), or access opened up to after who knows how long (ie: Killerwatts, Otherworldly Beings, Mutated Zygomites).

We recently learned of the Ushabti. A device that can trap the soul of a creature.
These were created by the first generation of Slayer Masters.
The current generation of masters have access to it.
So it is possible, that even though the Order of Slayer Masters lost access to their ancient temples that allowed them to store the souls of the creatures they slew, they still used the Ushabti to act as a proof of work, along with the Slayer Codex, to show that they indeed were able to kill a certain Slayer creature.

Now whether the graduate stores the Ushabti in a closet or bank somewhere, or breaks the device to free the souls afterwards is unknown, and could even vary.

13-Jun-2017 23:36:35 - Last edited on 13-Jun-2017 23:54:26 by Deltaslug

Deltaslug

Posts: 32,671 Sapphire Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Morovan may also be a unique case of someone with a wide breath of academic knowledge being able to bypass part of the "go out and slay X monsters" step.

By helping to expand upon the knowledge of Slaying by discovering new creatures and how to slay them, or improving on existing means, or simply rediscovering old methods, an apprentice who might be less ... stabby stabby ... and more bookish ... might be able to bypass part of the grind.

Morovan however is an Elf with an untold lifetime of experience, and with the recent opening of Prifddinas, and the history the Elves may have older methods of slaying, and even information on extinct creatures, it would still prove a very valuable resource if it is needed.

An example would be the first generation of Slayer Masters themselves.
While they trained hard, they were also self taught. Learning for themselves methods to defeat creatures, or to pull from the knowledge of locals who had faced and defeated them.
By collecting all of this info, it allowed them to create a standard set of protocols to deal with any possible foe.

Now, you could have a situation of someone who studied Turoths and encountered 1 tribe who used broad tipped ammo and a second tribe that developed what later became the Slayer Dart spell. By collecting this information, and then expanding on their ability to smith and using the inspiration of the Broad Ammo, created the Leaf Blade Spears and Swords to allow meleers to deal with them.
Such a collection might have earned an earlier era apprentice advacnement to Master status.

But as the World Guardian might have learned, such a thing doesn't always work out.
Afterall, they did help discover plenty of new creatures, and help revive knowledge of how to make the Masked Earmuffs, Slayer Helmets, Ivandis Rod, Blisterwood Weapons, and more.

13-Jun-2017 23:36:40 - Last edited on 14-Jun-2017 00:03:24 by Deltaslug

Deltaslug

Posts: 32,671 Sapphire Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Step 3: The Graduate becomes a Teacher

Star Wars does provide an interesting example:
A padawan learns from a knight the ways of the Force.
When the padawan comes of age, they may take the trials to become a Jedi themselves.
The knight who trained the padawan, having now helped them to graduate becomes a Master.
The new knight traditionally takes on a padawan of their own, and thus starts a new cycle.
The master in turn is free to take on another apprentice if they so choose.

Turael is a perfect example of a true master.
He had taught his daughter Spria, Vanakka, and possible Jacquelyn Manslaughter the ways of Slaying.
As noted, 2 of those are masters in their own right.

However, as you may have just graduated from being a Slayer to a master of Slaying, that doesn't necessarily make you a "Slayer Master".
(and yes, the wording is very important)

It's likely that now, if you wanted to truly walk the path of becoming a Slayer Master, you would need to train others.
It may start with something as simple as taking a group of apprentices to a certain point in their own journey before handing them off to a more senior master. (ie: helping a group of Novices be able to Slay a Basilisk, Bloodveld, or Turoth)
By getting a group of apprentices far enough in their training AND surviving, you can prove you have what it takes to help a single novice or a single experienced slayer then progress all the way up to becoming a master themself.

13-Jun-2017 23:36:47 - Last edited on 14-Jun-2017 00:14:09 by Deltaslug

Deltaslug

Posts: 32,671 Sapphire Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

It's also possible that your final step to becoming a master requires a special fete.

Slayer Masters are quite capable of combat, so just going out and killing something isn't enough. And just doing something 'academic' may not be enough either.

Kuradel for example, created her own dungeon by capturing an assortment of very dangerous Slayer creatures.
While this might not seem impressive, keep in mind that the dungeon is FULL. She even needs to keep the unruly ones in there to prevent escape. Something she does on her own.

Who knows how high or low this sets the bar for other potential Slayer Masters.

13-Jun-2017 23:36:52 - Last edited on 14-Jun-2017 00:19:40 by Deltaslug

Deltaslug

Posts: 32,671 Sapphire Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Step 4: Becoming the Master
Slayer Masters are a rare group with several hubs of operation:
- Taverly
- Canifis
- Edgeville
- Pollinveach
- Zanaris
- Shilo
- Fremenik Province
- Priffdnas

However, we only see 1 true Master at each location.
Most of these are people who graduated to their position on their merits, or were hand selected as a replacement. Sumona is a unique case in that she is really the goddess Amasuct, who secretly founded the Order. (so even if the other masters might not want her, she is still the very first Slayer Master.)

It's also not uncommon for a substitute to step in when the current Master needs to run an important errand. For example with Actryn for Mazchna when the latter went to help deal with Lucien.

But there is another issue: spots as a Master are rare to open up.
If a new regional hub is created (ie: Prifddnas), then it makes sense. But Gielinor has a lot of hubs as is.
So that only leaves the death or retirement of a current Master to create a vacancy.

13-Jun-2017 23:36:56 - Last edited on 14-Jun-2017 00:24:51 by Deltaslug

Deltaslug

Posts: 32,671 Sapphire Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

So why isn't the World Guardian a Slayer Master?

Well, the reasoning for this is multifold.

Yes, the World Guardian can easily master Slaying. And passing the 'final exam' of the Slayer Codex. And has clearly contributed to the knowledge of Slaying and helping to find new creatures to add to the Codex.
And if the World Guardian has the Quest Cape, then that simply adds on to their already impressive resume.

So still, why not?
Well, for starters, the World Guardian hasn't trained any apprentices of their own yet.
True, this might not be an absolute requirement, but without some training to get a feel for the core competency of the many types of novices they could encounter, and what their individual abilites (and needs) might be, the World Guardian may accidentally assign a novice to go out and kill 200 Mithril Dragons, when the novice is barely ready to take on a Terror Dog.

Secondly, being a Slayer Master is a full time position.
True, we have seen and heard of Slayer Masters going off an adventure when called, or grouping up to take on the Kalphite Queen.
But for the most part, day in and day out, they are at a central location, helping the next generation of Slayers hone their skills. Not necessarily out facing the latest world ending crisis or helping a cook to bake a cake.

13-Jun-2017 23:43:37 - Last edited on 14-Jun-2017 00:31:27 by Deltaslug