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"SOS" redirects here. For the quest, see Spirit of Summer.
For the item, see Staff of Sliske.
Not to be confused with Stronghold of Player Safety.
Stronghold of Security
Vault of War
Release date 4 July 2006 (Update)
Kingdom Misthalin
Members No
Main music Dogs of War, Food for Thought, Malady, Dance of Death
Levels 4
Strongest monster Ankou
Dwarf multicannon allowed Allowed
Quests taking place here None
Inhabitants Goblins, undead, spiders, various animals
Stronghold of Security map

Stronghold of Security

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Stronghold of Security entrance location

The location of the Stronghold of Security.

The Stronghold of Security is a dungeon for low-level combat training, with rewards requiring answers to some security-related questions. It is located in the middle of the Barbarian Village and was the first major update open to free-to-play players since the upgrade to RuneScape 2.

Doors[]

Stronghold entrance

Entrance to the Stronghold of Security

The Doors are styled to match each level, as are their names. The doors come in pairs similar to an airlock between areas. The door leading out of an area is passed through automatically, though it is possible to be hit while apparently having already passed through, which could lead to dying inside the "safe" zone between the doors. Each "airlock" is a two by two square so to be safe, a player should walk to the next square after entering an airlock.

Entering the door into the airlock grants immediate passage. The passage leads to a series of chambers which contain monsters, the chamber should not be attempted by low level players unless appropriately equipped. At the end of each chamber lies a reward in a closed case.

At the start of each level is a portal granting quick access to players who have already negotiated the level, or who have sufficient combat level to be allowed immediate passage. The last chamber includes the reward, an escape to the start of the level and the entrance to the next level. The rewards are obtained after answering a security-related question, and include coins, a choice of fighting boots or fancy boots and one of the stronghold emotes: Flap, Stomp, Slap Head, and Idea.

Levels[]

There are four levels. Each level contains an entrance/exit point at the beginning and a portal to access the next level if re-entering after completing a level. The portal leads directly to the treasure room of the current level.

There are some general monsters, plus others specific to the level. At the end of the level, there is a reward, typically coins and an emote, and exits to deeper levels, or back toward the surface.

It used to be dangerous for low level player to claim rewards on high level floors. However, because all of the monster in the Stronghold are no longer aggressive, it is possible for players to claim all the rewards by running through the stronghold.

Vault of War (1st level)[]

First Door

Catacomb of Famine (2nd level)[]

Door Famine
  • This level contains level 11 and 30 zombies, level 28 flesh Crawlers, level 1 rats and level 9 giant rats.
  • It is sometimes possible to trap a monster on corners, and fight them safely with Ranged or Magic.
  • The flesh crawlers may drop the bottom of sceptre piece for the skull sceptre, but often drop more valuable items such as uncut gems. Many high level free players tend to stay at the extreme south-east room training on flesh crawlers. For members, flesh crawlers regularly drop grimy herbs (Ranarrs and Lantadymes are the most valuable at 2108 and 8002 coins each, respectively). It is possible to walk away after training here with 100,000+ coins worth of items.
  • The reward at the end of the level is gained from a sack called the Grain of Plenty containing 3,000 coins and the "Slap head" emote.

Pit of Pestilence (3rd level)[]

Second Door
  • This level contains level 15 spiders, level 39 giant spiders, level 25 and 26 scorpions, and level 53, and 54 catablepon.
  • The catablepon that roam this floor may drop a sceptre piece. They also appear to have a high magic defence. It is difficult to find an ideal strategy, as they use magic to weaken, but also have a melee attack.
  • The level 57 Giant spiders are a good place to train for mid to higher-levelled players. They do not die so fast that it is ineffective to train on them, and they are relatively weak enough that you can kill them easily.
  • Catablepon will eventually drop the top of sceptre which is a piece of the skull sceptre
  • The reward at the end of the level is gained from a chest called the Box of Health containing 5000 coins and the "Idea" emote. This chest will also provide full healing and stat restore, useful for restoring your Strength against the catablepon. However, this only works once.

Sepulchre of Death (4th level)[]

Fourth Door
  • This level contains level 61 shades, level 43, 46, 47, 49, 51, 53, and 54 skeletons, level 42, 46, 47, and 48 ghosts, and level 60, 61, and 63 ankous.
  • All of the monsters in this level are undead, and so are highly susceptible to the salve amulet and its enchanted version.
  • There are some safe spots which, as in the pestilence level, are usable only when the monsters have given up attacking. There is one safespot in the south-western room where ankous and skeletons are, although it is difficult trying to kill ankous there because they can still get around it.
  • The ankous may drop a left skull half, which is one of the four items needed to make a skull sceptre.
  • The reward at the end of the level is gained from a chest called the Cradle of Life containing boots in a choice of two styles and the "Stomp" emote.

Rewards[]

A total of 10,000 coins are earned from all four levels, as well as the four emotes: Idea, Stomp, Flap, and Slap Head.

Skull sceptre[]

Skull sceptre detail

The skull sceptre can be obtained in four pieces from monster drops. It has the same combat stats as a magic staff, but also has unlimited charges to teleport back to Barbarian Village or Gunnarsgrunn. Also when wearing Varrock armour 2 or higher, the drop rate of skull sceptre pieces is highly increased.

Only one piece can be found on each level. They are a fairly rare drop, and can be obtained from minotaurs (right skull half) on the first level, flesh crawlers (bottom of sceptre) on the second, catablepons (top of sceptre) on the third, and ankous (left skull half) on the fourth. Some monsters that drop the pieces come in various levels. To make it, you add the two skull pieces together, the two handle pieces together, and then the handle and the skull together.

Boots[]

Fancy boots detail

The two styles, fancy boots or fighting boots, may be obtained, exchanged, or replaced if lost, from the Cradle of Life at the end of the fourth level, reachable by the portals and ladders once all levels are completed. They have small defensive bonuses and the difference between them is purely cosmetic. These boots are untradeable, and have a destroy option. Because of this, it is impossible to have both pairs, as the drop trick will not work. However, you can always come back to switch between the boots.

Shade robes[]

Shade robes equipped

Shade robes can be obtained by killing shades in the Sepulchre of Death. Shade robes are not transparent like ghostly robes, and are untradeable. This was to replace the shade random event, where a shade would attack you if you buried bones, and would occasionally drop one of the two pieces of shade gear. Shade robes can be stored in your POH costume room, in the costume box.

Achievement[]

  • Stay Secure (RuneScore 5) - Fully complete the Stronghold of Security.

Using the Orb of oculus[]

If the player uses the Orb of oculus in certain areas of the Stronghold, they can see several members' locations. These include the Dragon Forge, TzHaar City and Dream World.

Music unlocked[]

Gallery[]

Transcript[]

Trivia[]

  • The four levels of the Stronghold of Security and the music are based on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War, Pestilence, Famine and Death.
  • The dead adventurer in the first room of the dungeon has a hat that resembles Link's from the Legend of Zelda series. The examine text, "He looks a bit past it" is further reference to the Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past, for SNES. "I wonder what's in his bag" might also be a reference to Link utilising scores of various weapons and items throughout the games.
  • The Cradle of Life refers to the Greek mythological story about Pandora's box.
  • When the Box of Health's reward is taken, life points will be returned to normal, all stats will go back to normal, and all status conditions (poison, disease, etc.) will be cured.
  • Originally, players needed to answer security-related questions when traversing through the many doors in the dungeon until the Cradle of Life was searched. They did not have to be answered on a PvP World. At some point the questions were removed, and on 3 October 2016 new questions were placed on the reward objects.
  • When you pass through one of the doors, your character moves their head as if they are startled. This may be because graphically, your character seems to phase through the doors or teleport to the other side.
  • When you examine the dead skeletons scattered around each floor of the dungeon, you will get various different examine texts, some of them relating to account security such as "He should have run a virus checker more often" and "I don't think she read the security tips on the website".
  • From 00:00 UTC 12 November 2011 to 23:59 UTC 14 November 2011, there was an event where members could gain double loot from several dungeons, including the Stronghold of Security. This was part of Jagex's bot-busting celebration.
  • When passing through doors in the Stronghold of Security with sound effects on, a faint telephone noise can be heard in the background.
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