Update:Behind the Scenes - April (2006)

This month we are releasing two quests based in the Varrock area. The first of these tells the story of Tolna, a young lad who left Varrock years ago to seek his fortune. Little did he know that his journey would only take him a few feet before the cruel hand of fate would snatch him up and throw him down into the pit of despair. Recent surface activity in the area has unearthed some dangerous crevices into the caves below. After all these years, can the boy still be alive? And if so, what sort of condition will he be in? Adventurers willing to take on these questions are sure to be faced with some difficult challenges but will be rewarded with new training areas and some quite fantastic cutscenes.

The second quest of the month will start on the pass from Varrock to the Salve Temple. An odd old man carrying a large sack of bones has a problem and will need your help to solve it. Why is he collecting all these bones? Why is the mysterious sack on his back making odd mumbling sounds? Although this quest is designed for low level players, high end players will find a better reward from the optional "big boned" list.

Later this month the gnomes get a new advantage on the Khazard Battlefield with the appearance of Battle Tortoises. These armoured tanks, mounted by mages and rangers, are sure to be quite a challenge for the General and his troops, but beware - they leave quite an impression!

We are also updating the Wilderness this month with new teleportation portals and a repeatable minigame. The portals act as a new way of getting round the Wilderness, but be careful. Once a portal is activated, everyone in the immediate area will be moved away, so don't rely on it to get out of trouble... you may find that trouble follows you through!

Wilderness Tag features a series of pillars dotted around the entire of the wilderness, with players being invited to tag them, similar to the way the Agility Arena works but without the timers. Players who successfully tag all the pillars (featuring various levels of difficulty) are rewarded with a generous helping of combat XP in the discipline they choose. Be careful, though, it is the Wilderness after all.

As Easter approaches, the Easter Bunny starts preparing for the busy month ahead. This year, however, he is feeling a bit lazy and so has asked the local rabbits to give him a hand. Sadly, they aren't as clever as they are cute... so it's a good job the land is full of helpful adventurers to correct the mistakes they are making. With a new seasonal emote and magical eggs, we are sure you'll be happy to celebrate Easter with the kids of RuneScape.

The biggest update this month will be Pest Control, a brand new player vs monster minigame. The Void Knights are a military order who have helped serve Guthix and his penchant for balance since the early 4th age. It is their job to ensure that the flux of good and evil that come through to Gielinor each day remains constant, but there are some beasts they find more difficult to accept than others. The portals they have found are nothing but pure evil, and so must be shut down at any cost. Protect the Void Knight from the invading hordes for 20 minutes or go and destroy their portals yourself while your friends rebuild the smashed barricades left behind you. With 6 new creature types and boats visiting the portals as soon as enough volunteers are available, we are confident this game will become a firm favourite for fans of cooperative gameplay.

Also in April we launch city pamphlets to help newer players find out what Al Kharid can offer and more readers' letters, focusing on the thousands of letters you have sent in addressed to the mime.