Deranged archaeologist

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All information on mechanics and strategy will be on this page.

Deranged archaeologist



Released		7 September 2017 (Update)
Members		Yes
Combat level		276
Size		1x1
Examine		He's seen things that people wouldn't believe.

Combat info

XP bonus		+37.5%
Max hit		25 (melee) 25 (range) 56 (special direct hit) 18+ (special indirect hit)
Aggressive		Yes
Poisonous		No
Attack style		Ranged, Crush
Attack speed		3 ticks (1.8 seconds)
Respawn time		50 ticks (30 seconds)

Slayer info

Slayer level		None
Slayer XP		275 xp
Category		Bosses
Assigned by

Combat stats


200	280	160	280	1	320

Aggressive stats


+280	+30	+0	+0	+90	-10

Melee defence


+20		+20		+50

Magic defence


+300			No elemental weakness

Ranged defence


+300		+300		+300

Immunities

Poison		0% resistance
Venom		0% resistance
Cannons		Not immune
Thralls		Not immune

Open in DPS calculator
Advanced data

Monster ID		7806
Link		MOID

The Deranged archaeologist is a relatively simple boss that resides at the southern end of the Tar Swamp on Fossil Island. His special attack mechanic is similar to that of the Crazy archaeologist and the Chaos Fanatic.

The deranged archaeologist is notable for his unique steel ring drop, the best-in-slot melee defensive ring. Compared to his crazed counterpart, his common drops are slightly more valuable, though the steel ring is his only unique drop.

The deranged archaeologist may be killed as an alternative on a crazy archaeologist boss Slayer task, unless the Wilderness is specified as the task location when given by Krystilia or Konar quo Maten.

Location

Location	Levels	Members	Spawns	Map	League region
Fossil Island – South end of the Tar Swamp	276		1	Show map	Misthalin✓

The fastest way to reach the boss is to use a Digsite pendant to teleport to Fossil Island, then take the Mycelium Transportation System to the Sticky Swamp. An axe is required to chop a swamp vine in order to reach him. A rake is required for smaller vines only if traversing the entire swamp instead of taking the Mycelium. Directly before the area is a spine mushroom that will occasionally hit passing players for 10 damage and apply poison.

Fight Overview

A player damaged by the deranged archaeologist's special attack.

The deranged archaeologist attacks primarily with Ranged, only using Melee if the player is next to him. Protect from Ranged and Protect from Melee will nullify each respective attack.

Periodically, he will yell Learn to read! before launching a special attack, throwing three books in an arc towards the player, which explode on impact with the ground four ticks (2.4 seconds) after he speaks. One will always hit exactly where the player was standing when the books were thrown. This book will burst into two additional books which also explode on impact after another delay.

This attack hits much harder than his crazed counterpart, dealing a maximum of 92 initial damage if not avoided!

Fighting from a distance will prevent him from using any melee attacks, allowing the use of Protect from Ranged to nullify all damage from his basic attacks, as well as giving the player more time to move away from his special attack.

Magic is particularly effective against the boss, as despite his high base Magic defence, he has a negligible Magic level; Magic defence is primarily based on one's Magic level.^[1]

Drops

Drop rates are estimated based on 46,317 samples from the Drop Rate Project, unless otherwise cited.

The average Deranged archaeologist kill is worth 14,523.57.

100%

	Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
	Bones	1	Always	30	0

Unique

	Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
	Steel ring	1	3/131	160,079	9,000

Weapons and armour

Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
Black d'hide body	1	6/131	7,284	8,088
Rune 2h sword	1	3/131	38,123	38,400
Rune sword	1	4/131	12,147	12,480

Runes and ammunition

Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
Water rune	100	6/131	500	200
Mud rune	40	6/131	4,640	480
Rune knife	25	6/131	3,950	2,500
Dragon arrow	60	1/131	102,960	28,800
Steel cannonball	80	4/131	21,760	240

Seeds

There is a 1/131 chance of rolling the tree-herb seed drop table.

Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
Ranarr seed	1	1/1,091.7	28,028	30
Snapdragon seed	1	1/1,169.6	43,773	36
Torstol seed	1	1/1,488.6	15,463	42
Watermelon seed	15	1/1,559.5	3,510	495
Willow seed	1	1/1,637.5	54	9
Mahogany seed	1	1/1,819.4	208	28
Maple seed	1	1/1,819.4	3,365	28
Teak seed	1	1/1,819.4	68	28
Yew seed	1	1/1,819.4	19,451	85
Papaya tree seed	1	1/2,339.3	1,369	69
Magic seed	1	1/2,977.3	69,558	253
Palm tree seed	1	1/3,275	16,421	152
Spirit seed	1	1/4,093.8	Not sold	0
Dragonfruit tree seed	1	1/5,458.3	136,077	258
Celastrus seed	1	1/8,187.5	16,427	324
Redwood tree seed	1	1/8,187.5	14,337	390

Materials

Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
Grimy dwarf weed	4 (noted)	8/131	5,372	56
White berries	10 (noted)	7/131	6,530	60
Runite limbs	1	5/131^[2]	8,994	9,600
Black dragonhide	8 (noted)	5/131	24,480	720
Gold ore	10 (noted)	6/131	1,440	900
Uncut diamond	5 (noted)	5/131	12,195	600
Onyx bolt tips	6	6/131	48,468	3,600

Consumables

Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
Anchovy pizza	2	4/131	1,014	72
Prayer potion(3)	1	8/131	6,688	91
Potato with cheese	3	8/131	897	12
Shark	2	8/131	2,106	204

Other

	Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
	Crystal key	1	7/131^[3]	20,319	90
	Long bone	1	2/131	Not sold	3

Rare drop table

There is a 6/131 chance of rolling the rare drop table. There is also a 6/131 chance of rolling the gem drop table.

Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
Nothing	N/A	1/32.08; Never^{[d 1]}	N/A	N/A
Coins	3,000	1/133.08	3,000	3,000
Uncut sapphire	1	1/75.53; 1/38.36^{[d 2]}	228	15
Loop half of key	1	1/132.1; 1/125.45^{[d 2]}	9,756	60
Tooth half of key	1	1/132.1; 1/125.45^{[d 2]}	9,887	60
Uncut emerald	1	1/151.06; 1/76.71^{[d 2]}	473	30
Uncut ruby	1	1/302.13; 1/153.42^{[d 2]}	1,087	60
Runite bar	1	1/558.93	12,265	3,000
Nature rune	67	1/931.56	11,457	7,236
Rune 2h sword	1	1/931.56	38,123	38,400
Rune battleaxe	1	1/931.56	24,639	24,960
Law rune	45	1/1,397.33	5,535	6,480
Death rune	45	1/1,397.33	8,325	4,860
Steel arrow	150	1/1,397.33	900	1,050
Rune arrow	42	1/1,397.33	1,974	10,080
Adamant javelin	20	1/1,397.33	800	1,920
Rune sq shield	1	1/1,397.33	22,747	23,040
Dragonstone	1	1/1,397.33	10,735	6,000
Silver ore	100 (noted)	1/1,397.33	6,200	4,500
Nature talisman	1	1/805.67; 1/409.13^{[d 2]}	268	2
Uncut diamond	1	1/1,208.5; 1/613.69^{[d 2]}	2,439	120
Rune kiteshield	1	1/2,794.67	32,110	32,640
Dragon med helm	1	1/2,794.67	58,090	60,000
Rune spear	1	1/2,767.64; 1/303.29^{[d 2]}^{[d 3]}	11,599	12,480
Rune javelin	5	1/2,417.01; 1/1,227.39^{[d 2]}	675	1,200
Shield left half	1	1/5,535.28; 1/606.59^{[d 2]}^{[d 3]}	65,355	66,000
Dragon spear	1	1/7,380.37; 1/808.79^{[d 2]}^{[d 3]}	38,438	37,440

^ The "nothing" drop is removed while wearing a ring of wealth.
^ ^2.00 ^2.01 ^2.02 ^2.03 ^2.04 ^2.05 ^2.06 ^2.07 ^2.08 ^2.09 ^2.10 The drop rate is increased while wearing a ring of wealth due to the "nothing" drop being removed.
^ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Slightly reduced chance of dropping if Legends' Quest has not been completed.

Tertiary

Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
Numulite	5–32	108/175	190–1,216	150–960
Unidentified small fossil	1	12/350	Not sold	60
Unidentified medium fossil	1	12/700	Not sold	120
Unidentified large fossil	1	12/875	Not sold	180
Unidentified rare fossil	1	12/3,500	Not sold	750
Brimstone key	1	1/65^{[d 1]}	Not sold	N/A
Clue scroll (elite)	1	1/200^{[d 2]}^{[d 3]}^[4]	Not sold	12

^ Brimstone keys are only dropped while on a Slayer task given by Konar quo Maten.
^ The elite clue scroll drop rate increases to 1/190 after unlocking the elite Combat Achievements rewards tier.
^ Clue scrolls will drop as scroll boxes after the completion of X Marks the Spot.

Combat Achievements

There are 4 Combat Achievement tasks (totalling 7 points) available for Deranged Archaeologist.

Name	Description	Type	Tier	Comp%
Deranged Archaeologist Novice	Kill the Deranged Archaeologist 10 times.	Kill Count	Easy (1 pt)	27.5%
Deranged Archaeologist Champion	Kill the Deranged Archaeologist 25 times.	Kill Count	Medium (2 pts)	24%
Mage of the Swamp	Kill the Deranged Archaeologist with only magical attacks.	Mechanical	Medium (2 pts)	29.2%
I'd Rather Be Illiterate	Kill the Deranged Archaeologist without anyone being hit by his "Learn to Read" attack.	Perfection	Medium (2 pts)	28.9%

Dialogue

This article on an NPC has an associated dialogue page.
Click here for a transcript of possible conversations with this NPC.
Click here for a list of other transcripts that this NPC speaks in.

Changes

Date	Changes
25 June 2025 (Update)	The deranged archaeologist now drops a new unique, the steel ring.
18 January 2018 (Update)	The deranged archaeologist's arena was expanded further south to move him away from the nearby sulliuscep.

Trivia

Upon release, the Deranged archaeologist dropped uncharged amulets of glory at an uncommon rate. As the amulet of glory is one of the most coveted early-game ironman items (which has high requirements - either 83 Hunter to catch dragon implings, or 80 Crafting to create), this caused player complaints about making it far too easy to obtain. This was changed and now he drops crystal keys instead.
Upon release, the deranged archaeologist could be safespotted. His No hiding! attack was soon added to counter this. This was removed later after the NPC was given its own dedicated lair.
His examine text may be a reference to the "Tears in Rain" monologue from the 1982 Ridley Scott film Blade Runner.
Prior to the addition of the steel ring on 25 June 2025, the deranged archaeologist was the only non-quest boss in Old School RuneScape to have no unique drops.

References

^ Jagex. Mod Ash's Twitter account. 25 August 2015. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020. Mod Ash: "NPCs' magic defence is calculated off their Magic level, not their Defence level, and his is negligible."
^ Jagex. Mod Ash's Twitter account. 16 February 2020. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Mod Ash: "5/128"
^ Jagex. Mod Ash's Twitter account. 9 March 2019. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Mod Ash: "7/128"
^ Jagex. Mod Tide's Twitter account. 24 May 2019. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Mod Tide: "I know its been a while since the clue expansion but here is the information on clue scroll drop rates and loot chances! If anything changes I will keep you posted."

Bosses

World bosses

	The Hueycoatl Scurrius Giant Mole Deranged archaeologist Sarachnis Kalphite Queen Corporeal Beast Gemstone Crab
The Barrows Brothers	Ahrim the Blighted Karil the Tainted Dharok the Wretched Guthan the Infested Torag the Corrupted Verac the Defiled
The Dagannoth Kings	Dagannoth Prime Dagannoth Rex Dagannoth Supreme
God Wars Dungeon	Kree'arra Commander Zilyana General Graardor K'ril Tsutsaroth Nex
Moons of Peril	Eclipse Moon Blue Moon Blood Moon
The Wilderness bosses	Revenant maledictus Chaos Fanatic Crazy archaeologist Scorpia King Black Dragon Chaos Elemental Vet'ion (Calvar'ion) Venenatis (Spindel) Callisto (Artio)

Instanced bosses

	Amoxliatl Brutus (Demonic) Royal Titans (Branda the Fire Queen) (Eldric the Ice King) Zulrah Vorkath Phantom Muspah The Nightmare (Phosani's Nightmare) Yama Doom of Mokhaiotl Maggot King Mad Angel
Sporadic bosses	Obor Bryophyta The Mimic Hespori Skotizo
The Forgotten Four	The Leviathan The Whisperer Vardorvis Duke Sucellus

Slayer bosses

Minigame bosses

Skilling bosses

Raids

Chambers of Xeric	Tekton Vanguard Vespula Vasa Nistirio Muttadile Great Olm
Theatre of Blood	The Maiden of Sugadinti Pestilent Bloat Nylocas Vasilias Sotetseg Xarpus Verzik Vitur
Tombs of Amascut	Akkha Ba-Ba Kephri Zebak Tumeken's Warden Elidinis' Warden

Fossil Island

Museum Camp

	Fossil Storage Fossil Island bank Fossil Island General Store Notice board
NPCs	Charles David Dog Fossil Collector Jardric Peter John John Mattimeo Petrified Pete Shop keeper
Items	Fossil Island fossils Numulite
Scenery	Broken spinning wheel ^(built) Chest pieces (Fossil Island) ^(built) Fire pit ^(built) Half-built Loom ^(built) Ring of Stones ^(built) Table parts ^(built)

Mushroom Forest

	Mycelium pool Wyvern Cave
NPCs	Ancient Zygomite Irene Herbiboar Maz Squirrel Weve Ammonite Crab
Items	Pyrophosphite Calcite

Tar Swamp

	Bellshroom Sulliuscep Spine mushroom
NPCs	Hoop Snake Charles Charlington Tar Monster Deranged archaeologist
Items	Hoop snake Sulliuscep cap Uncooked mushroom pie Mushroom pie Breadcrumbs Archaeologist's diary Steel ring

Fossil Island Volcano

	Volcanic Mine Petrified Pete's Ore Shop
NPCs	Lava beast Petrified Pete
Items	Soda ash Volcanic ash Volcanic mine teleport Calcite Pyrophosphite Iron ore fragment Silver ore fragment Coal fragment Gold ore fragment Mithril ore fragment Adamantite ore fragment Runite ore fragment Large rock Ash covered tome Heat-proof vessel Ore pack Dragon pickaxe (broken)
Scenery	Ash pile Boulder (Volcanic Mine)

Underwater

	Mairin's Market Pile of Fishbowls Plant door Clam Chest Hole
NPCs	Mernia Mairin Ceto Annette Puffer Fish Harlequin Fish Paradise Fish Red Fantail Fish shoal Lobstrosity
Items	Mermaid's tear Glistening tear Pufferfish Drift net Merfolk trident Seaweed spore Bowl of fish

House on the Hill

	Mycelium Transportation System Stone chest Strange Machine Strange blocks Strange stone
NPCs	Skeka
Items	Ancient wyvern shield Small enriched bone Medium enriched bone Large enriched bone Rare enriched bone Fossil island note book Ancient diary

Other

Wilhelm

Music

Source site	Old School RuneScape Wiki
Canonical source	Deranged archaeologist
Content license	CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
License status	declared
Picture	Deranged archaeologist · file details