Skull
From the RuneScape Wiki, the wiki for all things RuneScape
- This article is about the effect on PvP worlds. For the item that players can pick up, see Skull (item).
The Skull is a status effect caused by entering a Player-versus-Player World, a Bounty World, or the Abyss. When a player logs on to a PVP or Bounty World, a player is instantly skulled. This skull is permanent until the player returns to a normal world, where the regular 20 minute timer will begin. If the player dies during this time, they lose all of their items, instead of keeping 3 as they normally would. The Abyss Skulled effect can be avoided by wearing an Forinthry bracelet when entering the Abyss. There is no way to prevent the PvP Skull, and if players are killed while in this state they will lose all of their items, unless they are on a +1 Bounty World.
[edit] Requirements
Attacking another player's summoning familiar on a PVP world will not create a skull.
Skulled players lose all of the items they are carrying, unless they activate the Protect Items prayer, which will save their most valuable item only. Previously, in the Bounty Hunter minigame, a player cannot activate it if they have a pick-up penalty or leave penalty. The 'Abyss skull' will disappear automatically after 10 minutes of gameplay unless the player re-enters the Abyss. By attacking a player in a PVP world or in a Bounty world, the attacker will receive a skull and will lose all of his/her items if killed by another player or NPC. The skull will not appear if a player attacks another player in retaliation. This, though, is questionable, as players reportedly become skulled for returning attack, though not commonly.
[edit] Formerly
Formerly, players became skulled whenever they attacked another player in the Wilderness unprovoked. The Wilderness skull was a plain white skull and crossbones which disappeared on death or after 20 minutes without any attacks on other players. This was removed in the player killing update of 10 December, 2007, in which player killing in the Wilderness was replaced by the Bounty Hunter minigame. However, because of the 15 October, 2008 update, a player may receive a skull if he or she attacks player first in a Player Versus Player world. After the Bounty Worlds update, the coloured skulls were removed and replaced with the normal white skulls and like in PVP worlds and the old Wilderness, will only appear after provoking an attack. Before the Bounty update, the Bounty Hunter Skull is either brown, grey, green, blue, or red. The colour of the skull and size of the coin pile correspond to the value of the items the player is holding. If the player dies during this time, they lose all of their items, instead of keeping 3 as they normally would.
When a player engaged another player in combat in a PVP world, a skull and crossbones will hover over the player's head for twenty minutes of playing time.
[edit] Red skull
The Red skull is a status effect which players will gain after winning a round of the TzHaar Fight Pits. The red skull does not appear outside the Fight Pits, and disappears if the player with it leaves the Fight Pits or switches worlds. It will also disappear if another player wins the next round of the Fight Pits. Players with a red skull will not lose their items if they die, as the Fight Pits is a "safe" minigame. The Red Skull can be seen outside the fight pits with a glitch.
