RuneScape gods

The massively multiplayer online role-playing game RuneScape has many fictional deities in order to give substance to its plot. The gods often play roles in quests. The gods also provide an impact in the fact that there are many items that involve various gods, such as the Guthix Prayer Book and the Holy Symbol of Saradomin.

Three main gods

The three main gods of RuneScape represent three simple ideas in the game: peace, chaos, and balance and nature. Nature and balance is represented by the god Guthix. Saradomin represents wisdom, peace, and order. Zamorak signifies chaos and power in RuneScape.

Jagex provided a programme to RuneScape players that allowed them to view imaginary letters from the three main gods of the game. The programme was called God Letters, lasting from September 22 2002 to December 9 2004.

The gods don't actually interact themselves with the players of RuneScape. Their main contributions to the plot involve legends, myths, and traditions.

Saradomin

Saradomin is the god of all things good, strength, wisdom, and peace. Saradomin was one of the two main participants in the God Wars after Guthix departed. Saradomin's symbol is a four-pointed star, and he himself is usually visually represented as an old man with a bald head and a beard. Altars to his skill can be found in various places across the RuneScape world. Saradomin monks have set up altars of worship to him, the largest being the Monastery/Prayer Guild and a church on the island Entrana. Entrana is the place where Saradomin first arrived on RuneScape. It is entirely dedicated to him to such a high degree that players are not allowed weapons or armour there, for these are considered by Saradomin to be Zamorak's implements of death. (Less is known about Saradomin's place of origin. From various quests to do with the Majharrat and Zaros we discover Zamorak is probably from Freneskae, but there is little information on Saradomin. He seems to have come from a dimension other then Gielinor or Freneskae.) An elite group of soldiers known as the Temple Knights were given the task of protecting the holy house of worship on Entrana.

Despite Guthix's ban on the gods interfering in the RuneScape realm, they will still offer their followers help in the form of prayers. As Saradomin dislikes undue violence, he appreciates it when one gives an enemy an honourable burial. The prayer skill can thus be analogised to gaining the favour of the gods. Despite this, it is said by Necrovarus, the ghost priest in charge of the ectofuntus, a way of training the prayer skill, that the ectofuntus generates unholy units of power.

In Saradomin's old letters, he usually talks with the same fully modern British English as the authors of the game, but from time to time he will lapse into an older English.

Saradomin's motto is "Strength through Wisdom."

However, many recent actions by or on the part of Saradomin have cast him in a dubious light. For example:

• In the 'Gods Letters' section of the RuneScape Site, Saradomin claims to have created RuneScape. This is a known lie, as it has been confirmed that Guthix created RuneScape. However, Saradomin did help make RuneScape into what it is today, while Guthix only created the world but did not shape it to its current form.

• An advisor to King Roald in Varrock acts as a Saradominist lobbyist, pressuring the king into making favourable decisions and making sure no other denominations have representatives.

The followers of saradomin are regular men and woman. Regular monks,wizards,Guards,The Phoenix gang.The white knights,palidians,heroes,and much of the human kingdoms.

Guthix

Guthix is known as the god of balance and nature. This does not always mean it strives for peace. As such, Guthix cannot be sexed. In other words, Guthix is neither male nor female (here Guthix is referred to as "it" instead of "he" or "she"). Considered neither good nor evil, Guthix does both when it needs to balance out the actions of Saradomin and Zamorak when either of them tips the scale too far in their own favour, such as when it developed a cure for the poison both sides were using to wreak havoc. Guthix is immensely powerful, more so than any other god.

Guthix arrived on Gielinor (the name it gave to RuneScape) to find it barren and lifeless. It reshaped the world and went into a deep "sleep", or as it is described in one of its god letters, a state of meditation so intense it could not concentrate on anything else. In its sleep about 20 other deities entered Gielinor. The God Wars occurred between these deities, and Saradomin and Zamorak usurped, and did quite a bit of damage to the world Guthix created. They would have continued to battle and completely obliterated Gielinor had Guthix not reawakened. While Guthix claims that it single-handedly stopped the god wars, it is worth being noted that the Elves, who, unlike ,many other gods' followers, do not endorse propoganda, claim that the war was stopped when "the gods realised that they would destroy the very thing they were fighting for." Whether Guthix made them realise this, or that either version of events is a downright lie, remains to be seen. After this Guthix hid underground for many years and cried until the rocks themselves wept with him thus creating the minigame tears of Guthix, and ordering Juna, a serpant, to guard them. It has also made the other gods not interfere directly with worldly affairs. This is sometimes breached, however it is usually too trifling for Guthix to stage a full on confrontation over it, and consequently wreck the balance. After completing the "Tail of Two Cats" quest, Bob the Jagex Cat will tell you that Guthix is responsible for bringing the first creature to Gielinor, the sheep, and then bringing the second creature, the cat.

Guthix is seen as a floating skull with tendrils attached to it in the God Letters, but it is a shape shifter. It has been seen as a multicoloured butterfly and a rock-like object. Its true form is impossible to comprehend by mortals, and it has said its true name is impossible to pronounce with vocal cords. Its followers are limited but include the druids, gnomes, the Void Knights, and players who choose its path. The dwarves, though not particularly religious, are indeed Guthixian, should one ask them about it. The unique trait about Guthix is that, unlike Zamorak and Saradomin, it does not need followers to remain on the mortal realm but instead draws strength from the planet itself, showing why it does not demand worship from those who follow its ways.

In the God Letters, the language used in response to letters directed toward Guthix speak in a dialect of Early Modern English with slight changes to allow readability.

Guthix's motto is "Balance is Power".

Zamorak

Zamorak is the lord of chaos, war, darkness, and a generally unpleasant deity.

Zamorak was the second main participant in the God wars. Though he did not shape the world as Saradomin did, Zamorak had corrupted many parts of the would-be orderly world Saradomin envisioned with taints of "evil"(in the opinion of most people), especially in human nature and such.

Zamorak was not always a god and should not be a god but was once a mortal Mahjarrat. How he became a god was once not known, and the specifics are still vague.

Zamorak is portrayed as a larger figure with a red tint in his face and horns. Zamorak commands the various types of demon and dragon, and has the ability to summon undead creatures, as well as controlling many of the creatures associated with evil, such as certain tribes of goblins, werewolves, shades, and all of the vampires. Other followers of Zamorak include Zamorak mages, dark wizards, necromancers, black knights, and the entire city of Khazard. In previous ages the Zamorakians, hated and feared by Saradominists, were driven out of main cities.

Though not as common as altars to Saradomin, chaos altars are still a relatively common sight in the RuneScape world. Although most of society disapproves of them, Zamorakians have a number of secret societies such as the Zamorakian Magical Institute. Zamorak's territory is mainly in the former battlefields of the God Wars now known as the Wilderness. Zamorak also controls the lands to the east of the river Salve but he has met with far more resistance here than in the wilderness.

Zamorak rarely uses Early Modern English, unlike Guthix and Saradomin. He also tends to be extremely sarcastic and tactlessly honest, and thinks he has a way with women, however like the other gods he is biased toward himself. The only thing he fears is Zaros, and he fears his former employer immensely.

Zamorak's main source of entertainment is death. He does not usually care who it is who dies, with exceptions being someone he knows personally, such as Lord Drakan or Hazeel.

Zamorak's motto is "Strength through Chaos".

Other Gods

These gods still exist in the world of RuneScape, but are not as popular as the 3 main gods. They have little or no active followers, no god letters, but maybe some holy objects dedicated to them. Jagex have on occasion hinted at there being 20 or more gods, demigods and immortals, but rarely are they forthcoming with information.

Armadyl

Armadyl appeared around the same time as Zaros did and seemed to have disappeared at the same time also. His true alignment is unknown, but many players believe that he is the god of pure good. He is Saradomin's predecessor, and they are friends unlike Zaros and Zamorak. When Zaros was defeated, Armadyl probably decided his work was done, but if Zaros rises he may make another appearance too. However, he has managed to keep a small cult of followers even with his "disappearance". Armadyl's Staff is kept in the Temple of Ikov after its use in banishing one god while creating another.

Zaros

Zaros, or the Empty Lord, was once a major god as well. Although he came into direct conflict with Armadyl, he is not necessarily evil, and his alignment has not been revealed as of yet. As Zaros came long before Guthix was known, Zaros was more powerful than any other single deity, and threatened to take total control of Gielinor; however, he could not overcome the combined power of the other deities. At the same time that this conflict between the gods was brewing, some of Zaros' Mahjarrat minions, including Zamorak, attempted to overthrow Zaros, while other Mahjarrat, including Azzanadra remained faithful to Zaros. A mortal follower of Saradomin aided them by giving a powerful god-weapon, the Staff of Armadyl, to Zamorak in the hope that he could defeat Zaros. Zamorak fought Zaros, and the battle resulted in Zaros losing his power and leaving Gielinor and Zamorak becoming a god. It is not known whether Zaros is alive or dead, but several quests and various hints given out by Jagex suggest that he may return.

Seren

Seren is the goddess of the elves. It is said she inspired the elves to build their city (Prifddinas) the way they did so they could communicate, protect themselves and prosper. She is also the original provider of crystal weaponry. More information is provided on her and the history of this great crystal city in one of the books of Prifddinas history found in the bookshelves of Lletya village. She is apparently present within all elf crystal. There is one known altar to Seren found in the elven town of Lletya. It resembles the altars of Saradomin, but made of wood with no symbol in the place where it should be. She supposedly led the elven race through a 'World Gate', where they discovered Gielinor. It was lost before the Second Age. Each of the elven clans was given one crystal seed, which when planted grew into a towering crystal mass, which then formed the walls of what is now Prifddinas. Later, the elves broke out into war when the Iowreth Clan captured the central crystal tower, their last means of worship and communication with Seren. Crystals are now used for crystal bows, saws, and shields.

Elidinis

Elidinis is a goddess belonging to the Menaphite Pantheon. She is the Menaphite goddess of growth and fertility and she is also goddess of the river Elid. She helped build the town of Nardah when a woman named Nardarine almost died of hunger and thirst in the desert when trying to escape the God Wars between Saradomin and Zamorak in the Third Age of RuneScape. She also bound three wandering spirits to the river Elid. They are involved in the Spirits of the Elid quest, which players may talk to learn more about the God Wars after they have completed the quest. Their names are Tirrie, Nirrie and Hallak, and they have power over the river Elid.

Amascut

Amascut is a goddess of destruction and is often referred to as The Devourer. She sometimes goes disguised as The Wanderer to lure in unsuspecting victims. She is a goddess belonging to the Menaphite Pantheon. As her name suggests, she is inclined towards the destruction of everything in existence. Although she is not the sworn enemy of man, in the recent centuries she has taken to the destruction of the souls of humans. She was once worshipped by human followers before she took to destroying humans which was tolerated until she began to attack her own temples and clergy. Soon the remnants of her followers banded together, confronted the Devourer, and cursed her so that she would never be remembered, her acts would be remembered, but not that she did them, and she no longer tries to recruit disciples. Her former followers include some of the cats in RuneScape and the Menaphite Thugs are known to follow her as well.

Marimbo

Marimbo is the god of monkeys across RuneScape. The majority, if not all monkeys of Ape Atoll are his followers. According to his monkey followers, Marimbo once lived on the island, with his master, another God, who is unknown to this date. Marimbo was said to have drunk an unknown liquid, which had belonged to his master. When he drank it, he gained incredible intelligence. Because of this, he was for some reason forced to leave the village and island he and his master lived on. The village which he left, Marim, was named after him. In Marim, there is a shrine in which he is praised, and in the centre a statue which is persumably of him.

Demigods and Mahjarrat

A demigod, meaning half-god, refers to a person whose one parent was a god and the other was a human.

Iban

Iban claims to be the son of Zamorak, but in reality, his connection to Zamorak is in power, morality and ways rather than in physical relation. Iban was originally one of the Black Knights, a knightly order that worships Zamorak. He desired power beyond what any human could gain. After he died in battle, a powerful witch found his body and captured his soul, binding it to a voodoo doll along with the components to bring him back to life. Iban made his realm in a large underground pass formerly used for connection between Ardougne and the lands to the west. In his new form Iban fortified the underground pass with physical traps and evil power, effectively stopping travel to the western lands. Though not physically related, many consider Iban to be worthy of the title "Son of Zamorak." In one of a long series of quests, adventurers kill Iban, opening the Underground Pass once again to travellers.

Icthlarin

Icthlarin is a rather unknown God to most of RuneScape, but in the deserts, especially in the ancient cities of Menaphos, and especially the city of Sophanem, he is better known than all of the above-mentioned Gods. Icthlarin is the God of the dead and was the former leader of the Mahjarrat, before Zaros took his position and sent him into a desert exile, much like what the gods did to Azzanadra. Icthlarin is seen as something of a combination between a man and a dog since he has a dog's head and the body of a man (which is covered in greyish-black dog fur) bearing much resemblance to the Egyptian god, Anubis. His greatest adversary is his sister who craves to destroy the souls of man in direct conflict with Icthlarin's will. His followers include the Menaphites, cats, and other peoples of the deserts. Being the God of the dead, Icthlarin can grant immortality to beings by simply refusing them a natural death (they can still however be murdered) which he does for the cats now employed as the guardians of the dead. He is also the first god to appear directly to your character.

External links

• Basic RuneScape History as most Saradominists know it
• The RuneScape Wiki god page