Rellekkian

Obviously, there is no reason needed for me to do anything the way I do or don’t do in the lens of playing a restricted account. Restricted accounts ultimately fall to the player to decide and enforce the restrictions upon which the accounts are based on. I play for fun first and foremost, and I have never purported that I am 100% purely Fremennik/Barbarian/Wilderness locked. This is evidenced by my exceptions to allow for non-Wilderness Slayer (Tureal skipping tasks I cannot do in region, and completing tasks that I cannot skip with Expeditious Bracelets even if they are out of region), the completion of quests for the Wilderness and Fremennik Diaries, and completion of quests that unlock content in the regions, even when said quests do not center around those regions. This write-up is an exercise, in part, of exploring the restrictions of the account in an evolving game, especially when it introduces something like Sailing into the mix, a skill/concept that falls perfectly into the theme of the character I’ve chosen to play.

As I’ve played Rellekkian over the past 6 years, I’ve jokingly said the main reason I’m stuck to the Barbarian and Wilderness regions is due to the damage I caused during Alfred Grimhand’s Bar Crawl (Necessary for entering the Barbarian Outpost Agility Arena, and doing Horror from the Deep), with the other main reasons being, of course, that I am a restricted/themed account.

What determines a region that I am “allowed” access to has been fairly simple, though I will go into detail below. The area must have relevance to Fremennik/Barbarian culture (with the exception of the Runecrafting Altars (outside of the Abyss), due to how much the Altars would allow), and or must be able to be accessed from those regions, or it must be accessible from/related to the Wilderness. The Wilderness is accessible via climbing down a portion of Trollheim mountain, and is a veritable no-man’s land, which made it a compelling inclusion into the story of the character. Gameplay wise, it adds additional content to do and more challenge to playing. As an aside, once I have unlocked an area, I can use any teleports I have available to access it. Shortly, the main criteria for the play areas of the account are: Fremennik Province & Diary and surrounding/related areas, Barbarian/Fremennik presence, and or Wilderness related, and all caves/dungeons/portals that are within those areas, as long as they do not lead to an established restricted area.

The Fremennik Province is a no-brainer, it is the meat of the influence of the character. This includes the mainland and the Fremennik Isles, Miscellania & Etceteria, Waterbirth Island, Pirates Cove & the Lunar Isle, and the Island of Stone. Anything that has to do with the Fremennik Diaries are the next contenders, so Keldagrim, and Troll Country. Anything found or accessible from/in those areas, like the God Wars Dungeon, Penguin Iceberg, Ungael, the Ghorrock Dungeon, Zemouregal’s Fortress, the Fremennik Slayer Dungeon, Brine Rat Cavern, the Polar Hunter Area, and the Lighthouse are also included.

The presence of Fremenniks/Barbarians in an area also invites inclusion into my stomping grounds. Thus, the Barbarian Outpost and Assault, Otto’s Grotto and Ancient Cavern, Barbarian Village (And the Stronghold of Security underneath it), the Barbarian Camp south of the Woodcutting Guild, and the Fishing Hamlet east of Wintertodt (though those last two areas are fairly bare-bones, the Barbarian Camp plays a role in A Kingdom Divided (which I have no reason to complete at this time) and the Fishing Hamlet has potential in the future especially in regards to Sailing). The Sunset Coast and the Fortis Colosseum on Varlamore, and the Warrior’s Guild after the completion of While Guthix Sleeps, now fall under this as well, but were not available in the initial birth and early years of the character. The Blue Moon Inn in Varrock has a Barbarian in it, but I am banned from there due to the Bar Crawl. While writing and researching for this write-up, I made the discovery that there has been a Fremennik in the Myth’s Guild since forever ago (2018), and I have already included Dragon Slayer 2 (and thus, Ungael/Vorkath) in the account goals/allowances since before the beginning of the account (2019), so the Myth’s Guild and the dungeons underneath it have newly become eventual locations to explore.

The Wilderness: Anything that is in or under the Wilderness or accessed via portals/teleports in/under the Wilderness. This includes the Abyss, the Isle of Souls (accessed via portal under Ferox Enclave, as well as the portal in Edgeville). This does not include the Ardougne teleport via the lever in the Deserted Keep, as Ardougne is restricted due to reasons discussed later, and isn’t fitting for the theme of the account in general. Facilities in Edgeville that pertain to the Wilderness, such as Krystilia for Wildy Slayer, the building with the lever to the Deep Wilderness (for access to the Isle of Souls portal attached to it, as well as the lever, Edgeville Respawn, and access to Edgeville dungeon to travel to the Wilderness portion of it), and the Canoe Transport System (For Ferox, Deep Wilderness, and Barbarian Village transportation) are also allowed.

The quests to unlock content that fits the aforementioned criteria are considered exceptions I will be making (or have already made). This goes for future content that is released as well, which is especially pertinent for the release of Sailing later this year. As it stands of this writing, in my plans I still lack a few quest points for the quest point requirements for While Guthix Sleeps and Dragon Slayer 2, and I am currently not willing to complete too many non-justifiable quests, but I believe through the exploration of Sailing (and any quests that come with it, too), I may well be able to shore up the deficit.

The big question is: What restrictions should I consider for areas that Sailing unlocks? I will be unlocking the skill, as mentioned before, it is an extremely Fremennik activity. With it, though, comes broader access to the world, which means more freedom and opportunity, but I do not wish to abandon the idea of the account restrictions at this time. I am in favor of opening up the account to more, as evidenced by this text and other things I have written about the skill, but what is the limit. As a whole, the Fremennik people are not blocked off from the rest of the world, so outside of The Bar Crawl Incident, I do not have much reason not to able to go to other places.

With that said, there will, of course, be places I will not go unless absolutely necessary, which will be likely a learning experience as the affiliations of new ports/islands will not be known immediately. I have at least decided that I will be applying restrictions in line with the comment I made earlier about Alfred Grimhand’s Bar Crawl, which should serve as an easy start. Any port/dock that is overtly controlled by the governments of the places I visited in the Bar Crawl will be restricted. To keep in line with my current rules, all caves/dungeons/portals that are within areas am allowed are fair game as well, following that they do not take me to restricted areas.

As a reminder, the Bar Crawl takes place in the following locations:
Varrock (Blue Moon Inn, Jolly Boar Inn)
Falador (Rising Sun)
Port Sarim (Rusty Anchor)
Karamja: Musa Point (Karamja Spirits Bar)
Karamja: Brimhaven (Dead Man’s Chest)
Yanille (Dragon Inn)
Ardougne (Flying Horse Inn)
Seer’s Village (Forester’s Arms)
Tree Gnome Stronghold (Blurberry’s Bar)

Quest locked areas are a big ask. Any quests I have done already that unlock ports will be looked at. I had to do Priest in Peril to complete Lunar Diplomacy, so I have access to Port Phasmatys already. When I get my own boat and become skilled with it, I could dock there with little problem, and circumnavigate the Varrockian guarded entrance that is Paterdomus. Jagex also put a docking location at Slepe, the town where the Nightmare is located. And just outside both of those places is the Morytania Spider Cave. Does that mean I should have access to the whole of Morytania? Honestly, I don’t think so.

I consider the Pirates to be sort of kindred spirits to the Barbarians (there are quite a few Barbarian Pirates, after all), and at the very least their lawlessness wouldn’t be a barrier for a Barbarian’s presence, even with the Bar Crawl Incident, so Brimhaven would be a, well, haven, as well as the new Pandemonium island from Sailing. But, Brimhaven access means potential access to the Karamja Volcano, not to mention the rest of Karamja. This can lead to Fire and Infernal Capes (not that the Infernal Cape would be an easy task, mind you), and easy Onyxes. Shilo Village is already unlocked via the requirements for Lunar Diplomacy, and I could theoretically Cart there from Brimhaven, too.

Then there’s Zeah, both Kourend and Varlamore. Outside of the ports, Kourend has Wintertodt, the whole-ass Catacombs, Chambers of Xeric, and much more. Likewise, outside of its ports, Varlamore has Hueycoatl, Perilous Moons, the Hunter’s Guild, to name a few things.

Of note, Port Khazard and the Ruins of Unkah (the staging ground for the Tempeross skilling boss) are dock able ports as well, and are likely easily unrestricted themselves, but do lead to larger areas.

As such, thought of restricting areas to just the port towns becomes more amenable in the spirit of keeping the account somewhat restricted.

Islands pose another tricky thing to consider. Of the existing islands, I have access to Aldarin (Notable things: Mastering Mixology, some better woodcutting opportunities, and a better place to buy Rubies than Keldagrim), and Fossil Island (Via Dragon Slayer 2’s quest requirements) (Notable things, this is big haha: Herbiboar, Underwater Agility, Giant Seaweed, Hardwood Tree patches, Birdhouses, Fossil Island Wyverns, Adamant and Rune Dragons, Volcanic Mine, Sulliusceps, and even Ancient Zygomites which is one less undoable Slayer Task). Fossil Island is overseen by the Varrock Museum, but does lack the presence of any authority figures (and archaeologists are pretty unscrupulous) so there is some gray area when it comes to restrictions.

The Sailing alpha introduced The Great Conch, which is a Tortugan island, but it was not explorable in the alpha. Given that it is an island, with presumably a new civilized people on it, I don’t see any reason to not be able to take full advantage of it. There were smaller islands even in the small area we were able to explore that are also just straight up unrestricted, given their uninhabited natures. The Charred Island is particularly useful for me given it has Dust Devils and Nechryaels in multi-combat that I can fight outside of Slayer/Wildy Slayer, and Hellhounds that I can attempt to farm Smouldering Stones from (Since the Wilderness Slayer Caves and Godwars Hellhounds do not drop them, my only real source is the single-combat Hellhounds near the Wilderness Resource Area). The Pandemonium has a cave with Red Spider eggs that is also near a bank chest, which makes them easier for me to gather versus trips to the Edgeville Wilderness Dungeon (ignoring Spindel/Venenatis drops).

I am sure there is more to ponder and comment on, but all in all, I am excited for Sailing and what it holds for the account, and look forward to more information to assist in refining my approach to it.