Koschei the deathless

Koschei the deathless is a Fremennik warrior that players must fight during The Fremennik Trials quest, in order to complete Thorvald the Warrior's test of bravery and win his vote. The player must defeat Koschei three times without dying; although they are told they must defeat him to win, defeating him three times is considered enough to win, as the test is of bravery, not strength. Weapons and armour are not allowed within the arena, though the player can optionally bring a dramen branch and a knife to make a dramen staff once inside.

Koschei's combat level is not shown; however, he will get progressively stronger and his attacks faster each time he is defeated. His max hits are 3 in his first form, 5 in his second, and 7 in his third. Although the fourth form is difficult, with 255 Hitpoints, it is not impossible to defeat him; if he is defeated, he will disappear in a puff of smoke, and the player will be rewarded with a Fremennik blade.

Players can learn more about him from Brundt the Chieftain and Thorvald the Warrior. Koschei was discovered floating in frozen waters far from land by a Fremennik raiding party. He had no possessions with him, with his body being mysteriously burnt, and would only mutter the word "Koschei".^[1] The Fremennik brought him back to Rellekka where they nursed him back to health, though he had lost all of his memories. After this, he successfully completed the Fremennik trials of adulthood and joined them.^[2] In combat, he is a fierce warrior, able to rapidly heal from wounds and instantly learn from any combat technique used against him, which is why he was given the title "The Deathless". However, he is weakened by the daylight; a battleground beneath Rellekka was built so he can train his combat skills in peace.^[3]

A ring of recoil can be an aid in killing the fourth form. When he hits, he always hits for 1 Hitpoint, but at a rate of 1 hit every 0.6 seconds, and due to the rounding-up of the ring of recoil, would always hit him back for 1 at the same attack rate. Note, however, that a player would have to bring several rings of recoil, because each can only reflect 40 Hitpoints. If the only source of damage dealt is from the ring of recoil, he will despawn and cause a reset on the fight instead of moving onto the next form.

Low-levelled players may find his third and fourth form rather difficult, so a gnome amulet or combat bracelet is strongly advised, for it will provide a little protection (do not wear a ring of life, or you will most likely have to start over again if your Hitpoints get too low).

There are certain safespots in Koschei's basement, such as the pillars of fire, or the many chasms in the ground. Players need only run quickly over to one side of a hole, and because Koschei only moves at a walking speed, players should be at one end of a hole long before he reaches the other end. However, do not stay in a safespot for too long, or Koschei will disappear and you will have to fight him all over again. It is also strongly advised that players bring high-healing food, such as monkfish or sharks, as in his third and fourth form he hits progressively harder and quicker. Also, it appears that if you take too long fighting Koschei (10 minutes in the same phase), he will simply disappear and you will have to start the challenge all over again. It is interesting to note that, if you manage kill him three times, decide to try and kill him a fourth time, but find yourself unable to, the trial will still be deemed as a success. Once your Hitpoints reach 1, the player will kneel down and be transported back to Thorvald, who will still give them his vote.

It is possible to bring certain weapons into Koschei's chamber: Treasure Trails caskets can be brought into the arena, and may yield weapons and/or armour. The mystery box may also be brought into the arena. Bear in mind that items cannot be dropped inside the arena, so if your inventory is full and you must make space in it to pick up the rewards from the casket that will have dropped to the ground, you will have to eat food to make that space. It has not yet been tested whether trying to make inventory space by climbing the ladder back up, dropping items outside and coming back down will make the dropped rewards disappear.

Note that if players die on his first, second, or third form, they will die a normal death and lose their items - players can only die to his fourth form to get the vote. Hardcore ironmen and hardcore group ironmen only need to be concerned about dying to the first 3 forms. Losing to his fourth form will not actually kill the player; a small cutscene ends the fight when you are about to lose to the fourth form. It is possible to flinch Koschei by standing on either the south or north tile of one of the torches in the room while Koschei is east or west of the same torch. Koschei should stay on the same tile for each of his phases.

This reward is only awarded if the player defeats all 4 forms of Koschei in battle.

• Koschei has many traits (including the trait of being hard to kill) that are similar to that of the Russian legend of the same name. However, in this legend, Koschei's soul was in a needle, inside an egg, inside a duck, inside a hare, inside an iron chest, which was buried under a green oak tree, which is on the island of Buyan, in the ocean. The only way to defeat him was if the egg or the needle was broken, and in some legends it has to be done on Koschei's forehead.
  • Part of the real-life legend is referenced by Thorvald the Warrior when asking him about Koschei during The Fremennik Trials, where Thorvald claims one legend as to how Koschei cannot be killed is because he hid his heart inside a duck's egg.^[4]
• He has a Zamorak symbol on his chest. However, his relation to the god is unknown. In RuneScape 3, however, it is later revealed that he is a Mahjarrat named Kharshai.
• Koschei's name is spelled Коще́й Бессме́ртный (Koschéi Bessmértny) in Russia where he is a popular figure in its folklore. As is usual in Russian transliterations, there are numerous other spellings. The spelling in other Slavic languages (like Polish "Kościej", Czech "Kostěj") suggests that his name may be derived from "kost" (rus. кость, pol. kość, cz. kost = bone); thus suggesting a skeleton-like appearance, which also indicates a possible connection with the Mahjarrat.
• He is the fastest attacking NPC in the game (in his final form with an attack speed of 1, meaning every 0.6 seconds), along with Scarab swarms. The attack speed for his first three forms is 4 (2.4 seconds), the same as unarmed combat.
• Even though he has no combat level, his stats would give him a combat level of 25 for his first form, 48 for his second, 71 for his third, and 212 for his fourth. His true combat level is revealed in The Fremennik Exiles, where he is shown to have a combat level of 142.

v t e The Fremennik Trials
NPCs	Poison Salesman Council workman Lalli Askeladden Fossegrimen Yrsa Skulgrimen Thora the Barkeep Longhall Bouncer Sailor Styrmir Fremennik council Brundt the Chieftain Manni the Reveller Olaf the Bard Peer the Seer Sigli the Huntsman Sigmund The Merchant Swensen the Navigator Thorvald the Warrior Inga Agnar Sassilik Pontak Fisherman Enemies Koschei the deathless Lanzig Freidir Borrokar The Draugen
Items	Keg of beer Beer tankard Tankard Low alcohol keg Strange object Lit strange object Branch Pet rock Golden fleece Golden wool Wooden disk Magnet Blue thread Small pick Toy ship Old red disk Red disk Red herring Sticky red goop Frozen key Seer's key Hunters' talisman Legendary cocktail Champions token Unusual fish Custom bow string Sturdy boots Exotic flower Fremennik blade Bucket Empty 1/5ths full 2/5ths full 3/5ths full 4/5ths full Full Frozen Jug Empty 1/3rds full 2/3rds full Full Frozen Vase Vase Vase of water Vase lid Sealed vase Frozen vase Lyre Unstrung Lyre Enchanted Imbued Texts and scrolls Promissory note Warriors' contract Weather forecast Sea fishing map Tracking map Fiscal statement Fremennik ballad
Locations and scenery	Rellekka Rellekka Longhall Bar Golden tree Lalli's Stew Swaying tree Abstract mural
Music	Warrior
Related	Fremennik name Transcript Quick guide

v t e Dragon Slayer II
NPCs	Alec Kincade Dallas Jones Bob Neite Sphinx Not Bob Veos Imerominia Amelia Jonathan Sarah Gujuo Torfinn Ava Thorvald Koschei Soldier Fremennik drummer Paladin Fourth Age heroes Aivas Camorra Robert the Strong Tristan Odysseus Leaders King Lathas King Thoros King Roald Sir Amik Varze Brundt the Chieftain Team Achietties Brundt the Chieftain Jardric Sir Tiffy Cashien Oneiromancer Wise Old Man Monsters Spawn (Strange Egg) Robert the Strong Stone Guardian Vorkath Zombified Spawn Spider Final fight Green dragon Blue dragon Black dragon Steel dragon Brutal red dragon Mithril dragon Adamant dragon Rune dragon Galvek Dragonkin Dragonkin Zorgoth Sithaph Sakirth Strisath
Items	Map piece Dream potion Inert locator orb Locator orb Water container Revitalisation potion Texts Ancient diary Aivas' diary Varrock census records Malumac's journal Old notes Ungael lab notes Lithkren vault notes Busts Aivas Camorra Robert Tristan Keys Ancient key Dragon key piece Dragon key (cutscene)
Locations	Ancient Cavern Crandor and Karamja Dungeon Dream World House on the Hill Karamjan Temple Lithkren Lithkren Vault Myths' Guild Shayzien Crypts Ungael Ungael laboratory
Music	Relics Lucid Dream Lucid Nightmare On Thin Ice The Maze The Walking Dead The Forsaken Scape Main Oncoming Foe The Dragon Slayer Mythical
Related	Quick guide (speedrunning) Transcript Pool of Dreams Tomb Arkney Karville Zartharim Ice blockage Grave (Bob)

v t e The Fremennik Exiles
NPCs	Brundt the Chieftain Freygerd Reeso Agnar Bardur Baba Yaga Peer the Seer Fossegrimen Haskell Thorvald the Warrior Koschei the Deathless Fremennik Warrior Enemies Basilisk Youngling Basilisk Monstrous Basilisk Typhor Vritra Bakuna The Jormungand
Items	Fang Venom gland Unsealed letter Fremennik shield Molten glass (i) Lunar glass Lunar ore Lunar bar Polishing rock V sigil V sigil (e) V's shield
Locations	Rellekka Mountain Camp Island of Stone Jormungand's Prison
Music	Ballad of the Basilisk Fight of the Basilisk Jaws of the Basilisk Lair of the Basilisk Reign of the Basilisk
Related	Quick guide Transcript Large Geyser Basilisk Knight Ballad of the basilisk Basilisk jaw Neitiznot faceguard V