Gielinor
The known world of RuneScape, a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), is divided into two main landmasses to the east and west. They are connected by a strip of land to the north which forms a gulf between the landmasses. Many islands, both large and small, dot the gulf as well as the sea to the northwest. Players with free accounts are limited to Al Kharid, the kingdoms of Asgarnia and Misthalin, and most of the northern wilderness in the east landmass, along with some islands in the gulf. The flora on most of the land suggest a generally temperate climate. A few of the islands are tropical, and Al Kharid and its surrounding areas are desert. The Wilderness' climate cannot be determined as the area has been devastated and made barren by the God Wars in the Third Age of RuneScape. The Fifth Age is the era in which RuneScape characters now reside in. The only areas with a cold climate are the Ice Mountain, White Wolf Mountain, northwestern parts of the wilderness and the areas above the Troll Stronghold.
The lands beyond the known world are inaccessible and serve as space for the developers (Jagex) to add new areas. Expansions that have been heavily hinted at are an elven city in the land Tirannwn, called Prifddinas, west of the Arandar mountains. However, the existing land is sometimes modified to serve this purpose as well, and Jagex has started to expand the land three dimensionally, building extensive underground networks accessible to members.
The following is a list, in alphabetical order, of regions, cities, and landmarks in RuneScape:
Regions
Ape Atoll
Ape Atoll is an island where most of the quest 'Monkey Madness' takes place. It is full of dangerous and high level monkeys. It is also where players can go to buy Dragon Scimitars. Although it may be a dangerous place, after completing "Monkey Madness" players can turn into different kinds of monkeys and not be attacked by anything whilst there.
Crandor
Crandor is an isle filled with monsters such as Lesser Demons, King Scorpions, and Hobgoblins. This isle is accessible as part of the free-to-play quest, Dragon Slayer. The isle also has a few good mining spots containing mithril and adamantite, but due to its location far from a bank, it is rarely used. Recently, with the bank for members in the nearby Tzhaar area, it has become a little more popular. After sailing to Crandor for Dragon Slayer quest, however, the boat players must use is destroyed on arrival, and becomes unsailable. The only way to access the isle after this is by using a secret door and tunnel located in the Karamja Volcano Dungeon.
Entrana
Entrana is also known as the Holy Island. Players can reach it by taking the free ship from Port Sarim. No weapons or armour are allowed on Holy Entrana; players' characters will be searched at the ship and will be denied passage until they have banked or dropped the offending items. Some players have found creative ways around these restrictions, such as fletching their own bows and arrows on the island, or waiting for a mining or woodcutting random event to cause their pickaxe/hatchet heads to fall off, then taking them to Entrana and re-attaching them together once there. Entrana is only accessible to members. Players can find all of the ingredients and tools to make glass (for crafting) as well as a prayer altar, some fishing spots, and a dungeon with a one way ladder. Entrana is inhabited by monks, unicorns, bears and a rare indigenous bird known as the Entrana Firebird. The Law Altar for crafting Law Runes is found on Entrana, towards the northeast corner of the island. On Seattle server World 66, law runecrafters will trade 27 noted pure essence and 27 Law runes for 27 unnoted pure essence to people called runners. This process is often called Law Running.
Feldip Hills
Feldip Hills is a region of rolling hills south of Yanille and Gu'tanoth, the ogre city. Feldip Hills has recently been visited by the gnomes who have installed a new Gnome Glider station there. To the east of this glider station is Rantz, the ogre to talk to in order to start the Big Chompy Bird Hunting quest. On the west side of Gu'Tanoth and directly below Castle Wars is the starting point for the Zogre Flesh Eater quest.
Fremennik Province
The Fremennik Province is a large, viking style area North of Kandarin. Added in late 2004, the province boasts a quest which grants access to all of its wears. With medium-high level thieving and fishing oppertunities, Rellekka, the town of the Fremennik Province, is the ideal place to get from 45 to 55 thieving. Also in Rellekka are two ports: one will bring the player to Waterbirth Island, home of the dagganoths, and the other trolleys the player to Miscellania. East of Rellekka are the mountains of the trolls, ushering the player to such areas as Trollweis and the underground city of Keldagrim. Recently, a pirate (who is also an ex-fremmenik) has docked at Rellekka, which when persuaded will sail you to the pirates cove, an area in the waters above the province. It is supposedly close to Lunar Isle, or the troll lands, as it is covered in snow at its peak. Further investigation shows there is another much larger pirate ship there, which takes you (after freeing it from jinxes.) to Lunar Isle, home of the mysterious Moon Clan. It is mostly ice and snow, with small blue flowers blooming in certain areas, as well as strange gnarled trees scattered around the island. It is home to one indigenous monster, the Suqah. Suqahs are apparently some sort of intelligent troll, as they have advanced armor and weaponry. They also have the ability to use ice and water magic. The island is apparently the source of the first rune stones, as there is a large rune stone in the mine on the island.
Karamja
Karamja is a location in RuneScape. Karamja was once called Karamanja but was renamed due to filter problems.
Location
Karamja is a tropical island in the centre of the RuneScape world, only accessible via ship routes from the mainland, teleportation using an Amulet of Glory, or flight using the gnome gliders. All of the ships cost 30 gp each way. There are two parts to Karamja island, joined only by a narrow sandbar. The north half is again further divided into the members section and the non-members section (the south half is completely members only).
Non-members section
The non-members section of Karamja is the north-eastern tip of the island. In the non-members section, there is a ship route to Port Sarim, a general store, entrance to the Karamja Volcano, and most importantly, the only place where non-members can fish tuna, lobsters, and swordfish. There is also a small Mini-Game here where players collect Bananas for the local plantation owner. For every 10 bananas they collect, players are paid 30gp, just enough to make it back to the mainland for players who forgot to bring the fare. Before returning to the mainland, players must be searched by customs officials, who will confiscate illegal souveniers such as rum.
Members section
The northern part of the members section of Karamja is based mainly around the town of Brimhaven. The main attraction of the town is the Agility Arena, which offers a place for members to obtain agility tickets that they can later exchange for agility experience or items. The entrance to the Karamja Dungeon is just South-West of Brimhaven. This is definitely one of the most dangerous places in all of RuneScape. Players must pay 875 gp to enter, and chop down the vines inside with a hatchet. The monsters that can be fought there include Fire Giants, Greater Demons, Black Demons, Red Dragons, Bronze Dragons, Iron Dragons, and Steel Dragons. A dock just north of Brimhaven allows players to travel to Ardougne for a 30gp fare.
The southern part of the members section is three times as large as the northern section. Several quests take place or originate here, including the Jungle Potion quest, the Shilo Village Quest, and the Tai Bwo Wannai Trio Quest. The area is based around two cities, Shilo Village and Tai Bwo Wannai. Tai Bwo Wannai is a small tribal village, whereas Shilo Village houses a bank, the hardest Slayer Master in the game, and an area to mine Red Topaz, Opals, Jade Rocks, Sapphires, Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds. The areas outside the cities mainly consist of dense forest. The Nature Rune altar for Runecrafting, a Jogre Training area, and a Gnome Glider to the east also appear in the forest.
Kharidian Desert
The Kharidian desert is a large desert area found South of Al Kharid, which contains the cities of Pollnivneach, Nardah, Menaphos, Sophanem, and ancient Ruins of Uzer. A bandit camp and the Bedabin camp, along with a large mining camp and the Pyramid used in the Desert Treasure Quest may also be found in this desert. It is also the home of the deadly Kalphite Queen, the 3rd most powerful monster and one of the two monsters to drop the legendary Dragon Chainmail Body. To travel in this desert, a players must carry with him/her a waterskin, preferably filled with water, otherwise he or she will start dying of thirst. A knife may be used to cut healthy cacti around the desert to obtain more water. What the player is wearing also decides the frequency with which he/she drinks water. For example, wearing heavy Runite armour will result in frequent drinking while wearing cool desert robes will lengthen the time between drinks. A Shantay Pass must be purchased from Shantay for 5gp each time a player wishes to enter the desert. Flying Carpets are also available throughout the Desert, with the first hub located just past the Shantay Pass. This hub will take players to Uzer, the Bedabin camp, or Pollnivneach. From Pollnivneach, it is a short walk to the opposite end of the city, where a second carpet hub can take players to the cities of Menaphos and Sophanem, which can only be entered after completing the Icthlarin's Little Helper quest.
With the addition of the Enakhra's Lament quest, released on January 23, 2006, players may now obtain a "Camulet," which allows them to talk to the local Ugthanki as well as teleport to the temple in the middle of the desert where the amulet is received. This allows a player to bypass the Shantay Pass. Players do not need to pay to make a return trip through the pass.
Kingdom of Asgarnia
The Kingdom of Asgarnia is perhaps the smallest of the 3 main kingdoms. It consists of the city of Falador, the capital of Asgarnia, where The Knight's Sword, Black Knight's Fortress, Recruitment Drive, and Wanted! quests start. This city is usually crowded in non-members servers, and can be even more crowded in members servers, due to its central location in RuneScape. The capital is often nicknamed the mining city because of its underground Dwarven mines, 2 banks, and a furnace all close by. Other cities in the kingdom include Taverly, the city of the druids and the start of herblore, and Burthorpe, which is controlled by the Imperial Guard and is in a constant state of war with the trolls. There is also Port Sarim, where players can travel to Karamja or buy fishing equipment, and Rimmington, where there is an onion field, a crafting shop, a place to start the free-to-play quest Witch's Potion, and a portal to Player Owned Houses.
Kingdom of Kandarin
The Kingdom of Kandarin is the biggest of the Kingdoms in RuneScape. It is totally in members land and accessible only on members servers. It includes many important towns, such as the fishing capital Catherby and the fletching capital Seers' Village with many higher grade trees around it. The capital of Kandarin is Ardougne where players can train thieving. In fact, the largest city in RuneScape, the Tree Gnome Stronghold, is located in Kandarin, although it isn't actually a part of the kingdom.
Keldagrim
Keldagrim is the city of the Dwarves, opened to allow human access. Only members can access the city. There is a large mine and an underground rail system which provides transport to all major dwarven settlements like White Wolf Mountain and the Dwarven mines near Falador.
Kingdom of Misthalin
The Kingdom of Misthalin is the biggest of the two nonmembers kingdoms, and is usually the most crowded and famous. The city of Varrock is found in this kingdom and serves as its capital. This kingdom also includes Lumbridge(Which is the starting point for new players fresh off of Tutorial Island), Draynor, Barbarian Village (although it can be recognized as an independent state), the Wizard's Tower, the Stone Circle (sometimes referred to as "Stonehenge" because of its similarity. Also called the Dark Wizard's Circle in Members), and Al Kharid, which is more of an independent city than a territory of Misthalin, as it even has its own borders. Most of the nonmembers quests take place or begin in here.
North of Varrock, bordering the wilderness, is the Jolly Boar Inn tavern.
In Lumbridge, there is a furnace, a spinning wheel, and an axe shop where Bob [the human not the cat] can fix axes and Barrows equipment for a price. On the northwest, there is a sheep farm where the The Sheep Shearer quest starts, containing onions to pick. The spinning wheel is on the second floor of the Lumbridge Castle; the Castle also contains the start of Rune Mysteries, Cook's Assistant, and Recipe for Disaster quests. On the southern part of the city is where the The Restless Ghost quest starts. Below the city is the swamp, and where a monk dwells. On the edge is a mining site with Mithril, Adamantite, and Coal rocks.
Draynor contains a bank, a dye shop, and a jail. There is a net and bait fishing spot and around 8 willow trees that are very popular for training woodcutting, since they are so close to a bank. The jail guards are level 26 and are aggressive. The dye shop contains free tomato and cheese respawns necessary for pizzas. Draynor also is home to the Wise Old Man. Members can do small tasks for him in exchange for prayer xp, and non members can sell all their useless quest items to him for money. The Wise Old Man has also robbed Draynor's bank, and players can talk to the bank guard to see video footage of him committing the deed. Both members and non-members are allowed to watch the video, yet requests to watch it again require a payment of 50 gold coins. The Wise Old Man is RuneScape's greatest living adventurer, and he is the main NPC of the Swan Song quest.
Miscellania and Etceteria
Miscellania and Etceteria are island kingdoms, joined by a bridge. They are only accessible after the Fremennik Trials Quest, and can only be reached by boat, or by the new fairy ring system, accessible after the completion of the Fairy Tale Part 2 quest. Their main purpose is for the Throne of Miscellania quest. After completing the quest, the player is the ruler of the Kingdom of Miscellania, and can order the subjects to gather herbs, coal, logs, and fish. The Kingdom of Etcetera can also be ruled after completing the Royal Trouble quest, offering teak and mahogany trees, as well as a farming patch.
Note: this does not help much to make any profit as the cost for gathering is very expensive with little item turn over.
Note the intentional puns in the names Miscellania (miscellaneous) and Etceteria (etcetera. or etc.), suggesting these locations are merely add-ons to the real RuneScape gaming experience.
Morytania
Morytania is the land East of the River Salve. To reach it players must complete the Priest in Peril quest to gain access to the holy barrier that separates it from the rest of RuneScape. There are four towns in this region: Canifis, Mort'ton, Burgh De Rott, and Port Phasmatys, and each has its own quirks about it.
Canifis is home to a fine clothes store, an inn, a bank, a shop with overpriced stuff, and several quests. It is also, one should note, populated entirely by werewolves. The local residents of Canifis begin as level-24 Men or Women, but when attacked, morph into level 88 Werewolves. The Canifis pub is a common place to train on these creatues using Halberds or Archery. It is possible to keep these Men and Women in their level 24 state by attacking them with a dagger known as "Wolfbane," which is obtained by completing the Priest in Peril quest. Once a Man or Woman has transformed though, it's impossible to change them back until they are killed.
Mort'ton is accessible only after starting the Nature Spirit quest, and its entire population is deseased with 'the affliction', making them appear to be under some sort of trance. Port Phasmatys is no slouch in the weird category either- it's populated entirely by ghosts! There is also the "Ectofuncus" in Port Phasmatys, which can increase the amount of prayer a person gets by bones by 4 times...if the correct procedure is followed, that is. Morytania is also home to the Barrows, the burial sites of six ancient warrior brothers who fought during the God Wars, and their spirits and equipment still remain in the ancient tombs. The brothers' equipment is currently the most powerful equipment in the game.
Burgh De Rott, which is just south of Mort'ton, is accessible after starting the In Aid of the Myreque quest. Burgh De Rott provides a bank that is much closer to the Barrows than the Canifis Bank. It also has a general store and a furnace; however, before being able to use these, players must help to repair them during the first section of the In Aid of the Myreque quest. The entire population is pale, thin, and living in constant fear of the vampires in the regions to the east.
Tirannwn
Accessible only after completing The Underground Pass quest and starting the regicide quest, Tirannwn is the home of the elven population and is the scene of the Regicide quest, the fourth in the ongoing series to solve the mystery of King Tyras and his twin brother Lathas. Little is known about this country except that it is strewn with traps and seems to have been doing very well on its own until Tyras barged in.
The only permanent settlements in this elven land are the city of Prifddinas and the village of Lletya. Prifddinas is as yet inaccessible to humans (the elf guarding the gates claims that the city will be barred to humans while the rebels are at large), whereas travellers will visit Lletya during the Mourning's Ends Pt I quest. The forces of the elven Lord Iorwerth have an encampment just to the south of Prifddinas. The name of this city is a reference to the Welsh word prif ddinas, which means capital city.
The majority of the land is covered in extremely dense woodland (Isafdar). Bring food when going here, because there are many dangers (including poisonous tripwires and pitfalls that can reduce health considerably). Some form of teleportation is highly advisable, as the journey out can be extremely tedious (and hazardous) on foot.
Tutorial Island
Tutorial Island is where every player starts the game (hence the name "Tutorial"). Everything here is strictly straightforward, with instructions teaching each and every single nonmember skill except Crafting and Runecrafting. It is home to a large mining area (unfortunately, only bronze bars can be forged here), a fishing pool, a bank, a kitchen, a rat pit for early training with Attack, Defence, and/or Strength as well as Ranging, and finally, a magic house where chickens are the target of choice. Although it is possible to train skills to a higher level on Tutorial Island, each skill will revert back to Level 3 when the player leaves the island. Once Tutorial Island is complete, the player is teleported to Lumbridge, never to return to Tutorial Island again.
Wilderness
To end up in the Wilderness, simply go North long enough between Falador and Varrock (Free Play areas of the world). The Wilderness is one of the few places where players may attack each other (others being the Duel Arena, Castle Wars, and the TzHaar (Fight Pit). The Wilderness is made such that the range of levels that players can attack (excluding NPCs) depends on how far north the players are. The further north into the Wilderness, the danger level of the wilderness will increase gradually. At the start, the danger level is 1, meaning that a player can only attack other players one level higher or lower than their own. The highest level of wilderness on the free world is 48 (where a fence spanning the entire length prevents anyone from proceeding any further north), while the highest level of Wilderness on a member's world is 56. The members-only section offers many useful features, such as an Agility Course, the Mage Arena, a teleport lever to the city of Ardougne, a couple of combat areas for people to level up, and the level 305 magic based Chaos Elemental, which has recently been added to the members wilderness as the new strongest wilderness monster. Also, the Lava Maze has a ladder leading underground that is accessible only to members, and the King Black Dragon's domain is there as well. Recent updates have included six members-only teleportation portals in random spots in the wilderness which teleport players to random portals between level 13 to 53 wilderness. There is also the new Volcano located just East of the Rogues Fortress, and the castle ruins south of it on a peninsula in the Free section of the wilderness.
Anything west of the Taverly Gate is closed off to non-members, with the exception of parts of Karamja and Crandor.
Landmarks
Barrows
See also: Barrows mini-game
The Barrows are located in southeast Mort Myre Swamp, where players will fight 5 brothers, then go into tunnels to fight the 6th, solve puzzles, and then open a chest to get the reward, maybe even a piece of Barrows equipment. The Barrows equipment is currently the most powerful weapons and armour in Runescape, the most powerful weapon being Dharok's Greataxe, while Guthan's full set can run for 10,000,000 gold coins. Because Barrows equipment is so old, it will break after every 15 hours of use, and players must pay a fee to fix it.
Baxtorian Falls
The Baxtorian Falls and nearby Glarial's Tomb are the start for the complicated Waterfall Quest.
Cairn Isle
Cairn Isle is a small island West of Shilo Village. Players must cross several agility obstacles to reach it. Below it a ship is docked that will carry the player to Port Sarim or Port Khazard. Tickets to voyage on this ship may be purchased in Shilo Village or for a higher price with the captain of the ship.
Castle Wars
Castle Wars is located south of the Observatory. This is a mini game where players compete against each other in a 20 minute game of capture the flag. The winners receive 2 tickets each (and with draws, everyone gets 1 ticket each on both teams) that can be redeemed for elegant armour, which varies in strength, and team capes and hoods that represent the Sardomin team and Zamorak team. The two teams are represented by two of the gods of RuneScape, Saradomin (Blue) and Zamorak (Red). Castle Wars is often used as a good training grounds for players who wish to try out new armour, spells or weapons on other players without risking them in the Wilderness. There is also a portal which belongs to the god Guthix. This portal sends players to the team which has the least players.
Falador
The White Knight's Castle is the centre of this town, and is the starting point for the Knight's Sword Quest. Falador is predominantly a place used by crafters, smiths and miners. The crafting guild provides ores for crafters, along with clay and a tanner. Smiths will find an anvil located in the Dwarven Mines. Smiths will also find a furnace located near the centre of the town. For miners there is also the Mining Guild and the Daedric Mines, which provide every ore except Runite and quest-related ores, such as Blurite ore.
Hazelmere's tower
A very small island with a small tower, only used in The Grand Tree Quest, is the home of several Jungle spiders, it can be accessed from a row of bridges starting from south of Port Khazard / Northern of Yanille . Gnome Mage Hazelmere gives players a riddle about Daconia Rocks in here, of course in the gnomish launguage, but they receive a gnome translation book to decode the riddle.
Monastery
The Monastery is home to some of the Saradominist monks of RuneScape as well as the Prayer Guild. In the backyard is a cabbage garden, whose cabbages may prove handy for the Black Knight's Fortress quest which takes place next door. The Monastery is North-East of the dwarven mines.
There are monk's robes in here and a special altar that restores 2 extra prayer points. Players need a prayer level of 31 to enter. Upstairs in the monastery, players can get holy symbols blessed, use the altar, pick up prayer robes or pick up one of the scorpions needed in the members' Scorpion Catcher quest.
The monks also hold one of the ways to regain hitpoints without eating food. They can restore hitpoints for any players who talk to them. Many people take advantage of this fact and kill the monk once they are fully healed. However, no one can attack the Abbot.
Observatory
The Observatory, home of the Observatory Quest, is located to the southwest of Ardougne and sits over- and is accessed by- goblin-infested tunnels. When completing clue scrolls, the observatory forms the 0 degree point of RuneScape. Talk to the astronomer here to get started on clue scrolls and receive directions on where to get a sextant as well as a watch, resulting in the professor to give the player a chart, all of which are required to find the location of coordinate clues.
Stronghold of Security
The Stronghold of Security is the first F2P Mini-Game, which was released on 4th July 2006. It features a dungeon where players must answer questions on how to keep their account safe in order to move through doors. The prize for completing it is a choice of Colorful Boots or Fighting Boots, both of which have the exact same combat stats. An optional part of the Stronghold of Security is collecting all the pieces to the Skull Sceptre, which allows the player to teleport to the Barbarian Village five times.
Wizard Tower
The Wizard Tower is south of Draynor. It is home to many wizards and a caged Lesser Demon. Some free-to-play players train here as the wizards drop blue wizard hats and robes, the best mage gear available to free-to-play (f2p) players. Also, most of the Rune Mysteries quest takes place in the basement of the tower, and the wizard Sedridor can teleport players to the Rune essence mine to mine rune essence, a material used in runecrafting. This isn't usually used as the rune shop owner in Varrock also teleports players there and is much closer to the bank. However, the Tower is closer to the Water altar, where players can make water runes. It is believed that the power emanating from these wizards is the only thing that keeps people from fighting anywhere but in the wilderness, duelling arena, TzHaar Fight Pit, Player Houses, or Castle Wars. This tower stands as an important symbol of order as the last tower's fall to Zamorak's forces ended the Golden Age.