Rune guardian

File:Rune guardian detail.png

A Rune guardian is a pet (familiar) that can be received after completing the quest Rune Mechanics. The original purpose of the Rune guardian was to protect the Mage Training Arena. Players may refuse the opportunity to own a Rune guardian.

Unlike most pets, Rune guardians need to be "revitalised" rather than fed. Revitalisation takes place when the Rune guardian is in a Runecrafting altar. Note: you must have the Rune guardian out when you enter the altar to revitalise. It can be placed in the Player-owned house menagerie, where it can also be revitalised. The Rune guardian has only one stage of growth and is fully grown once you get it.

If you don't revitalise the pet for long enough, so that its hunger reaches 100%, it will run away. A new Rune guardian can be obtained from Apprentice Clerval in the Mage Training Arena. But if you drop the Rune guardian in a Non-Member's world, you have to retrieve it by asking the Pet Owner in Taverley about stray pets.

Currently the only way to deliberately get rid of your Rune guardian is to use the right-click "dismiss" option on your summoning icon below the logout button.

One very efficient way to revitalise a Rune guardian is to use the Ring of duelling and pick the duel arena option to travel to the Fire altar, which is only one to two clicks away, also if the player has a menagerie with a pet feeder it can be revitalised there.

Colours

As of 23 March, 2010, you can change the Rune guardian's colour by visiting any altar with exception of the Ourania Altar, and using the Rune guardian on the altar. It will change colour to a colour related to that altar. You can not change it back to a 'normal coloured' guardian, but you can put it in your Menagerie or dismiss it and then talk to Apprentice Clerval to get a new grey one. Players can use this to display their achievement of getting all the requirements to visit an altar - for example, black rune guardians require completion of Mourning's Ends Part II. It is possible to change the colour multiple times. Rune guardians are also capable of changing the colour of your infinity robes. Use your robes on an elemental altar with the rune guardian out to change them. To change them back to original colours, use them on the rune guardian. This only works on the four elemental altars (earth, air, fire, water).

Altar	Colour	Image	Chat head	Examine Text
None	Normal - grey		Normal rune guardian chathead	Created to protect the Mage Training Arena.
Air altar	White	Air rune guardian		An Air Altar rune guardian from the Mage Training Arena.
Mind altar	Orange	Mind rune guardian		A Mind Altar rune guardian from the Mage Training Arena.
Water altar	Indigo	Water rune guardian		A Water Altar rune guardian from the Mage Training Arena.
Earth altar	Brown	Earth rune guardian		An Earth Altar rune guardian from the Mage Training Arena.
Fire altar	Red	Fire rune guardian		A Fire Altar rune guardian from the Mage Training Arena.
Body altar	Light Blue	Body rune guardian		A Body Altar rune guardian from the Mage Training Arena.
Cosmic altar	Yellow	Cosmic rune guardian		A Cosmic Altar rune guardian from the Mage Training Arena.
Chaos altar	Gold	Chaos rune guardian		A Chaos Altar rune guardian from the Mage Training Arena.
Astral altar	Violet	Astral rune guardian		An Astral Altar rune guardian from the Mage Training Arena.
Nature altar	Green	Nature rune guardian		A Nature Altar rune guardian from the Mage Training Arena.
Law altar	Blue	Law rune guardian		A Law Altar rune guardian from the Mage Training Arena.
Death altar	Black	Death rune guardian		A Death Altar rune guardian from the Mage Training Arena.
Blood altar	Crimson	Blood rune guardian		A Blood Altar rune guardian from the Mage Training Arena.

Note: Dialogue does not change with the colours

Dialogue

This article on a pet has an associated dialogue page. Click here for a transcript of possible conversations with this pet.

Trivia

• When asked for help with combat, the Rune guardian says, "You must lash out with every limb, like the octopus who plays the bongos." This is a reference to a line said by The Sphinx in the movie "Mystery Men".
• The player then replies "I thought it was penguins that played bongos." This is a reference to Ping & Pong.
• Another of the Rune guardian's responses, "He who questions training only trains himself in asking questions", is a direct quote from The Sphinx in "Mystery Men".
• When using the "Talk-to" option, the Rune guardian sometimes says "Have you ever thought that, whenever you examine an item, that item is also examining you?" This is a possible reference to a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche -- "When you stare into the abyss the abyss stares back at you", or a reference to (Soviet) Russia reversal jokes or Antimetaboles, like: "In America you listen to the radio, in (Soviet) Russia the radio listens to you".
• It is possible to store one of every kind of rune guardian inside a POH menagerie by colouring one, storing it, and then returning to Clerval for a new one.
• If you talk to the Entrance Guardian with the Rune guardian out, it will comment on your success in making one and speak to it.
• When used on a runecrafting altar, it will float above it and the player will get the message "You hold the rune guardian to the altar and feel the magic changing its essence."
• If you feed your pets at your Menagerie, it also feeds the Rune guardian, which is supposed to be required to be fed at a Rune altar.
• Although the rune guardian is revitalized by being near a rune altar, it will still get hungry if you stand near one.
• Even though the Rune guardian changes colour at every single other runecrafting altar there is, if you use on the Ourania(ZMI) altar, nothing happens.
• There is a glitch where if you talk to the pet store owner in Yanille and ask about missing pets with your Rune guardian in the bank you will receive a new one along with the one in your bank. This has not been fixed. This only works if the Rune Guardian(s) in your bank are colored. If you have a default gray one, the pet store owner won't have the option to ask about stray pets.
• If you drop a rune guardian on a non-members world, it will be dropped on the floor like an item. While it is on the ground, it looks like a disembodied rune guardian head.