Familiarisation

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Familiarisation
Release date								16 February 2010 (Update)
Area								Obelisks around Gielinor
Members								Yes
Ironmen								Yes
Frequency								Weekly
Reset								Wednesday 00:00 UTC
Skills								Summoning
Currency								Raw shards

Familiarisation is a weekly Distraction and Diversion based on the Summoning skill. It was released on 16 February 2010. To start this activity, the player has to talk to Pikkupstix in Taverley, who can teach players the art of Summoning. Pikkupstix needs players to go to the Spirit Plane, the home of all Summoning creatures, and gather resources from it, from which the druids create spirit shards. The player has to find the one currently active small Summoning obelisk, meet up with Pikkupstix's apprentice Pikkenmix, and mentally project themselves into the Spirit Plane. There, assuming the shape of a Summoning familiar, they need to gather as many piles of raw shards as possible while avoiding certain other familiars. An obelisk will only remain active for 20 minutes after which it will become inactive. A new obelisk becomes active every two hours.

Participation in this Distraction and Diversion is limited to once per week, resetting weekly at Wednesday 00:00 UTC.

When seeing an active obelisk before speaking to Pikkupstix about it, players can skip that step and go ahead and talk to Pikkenmix and enter the Spirit Plane.

Familiarisation has no requirements (not even the Wolf Whistle quest, which is an introduction to Summoning). However, accessing some potential active obelisks requires full completion of the quests Fishing Contest, Heroes' Quest and Lost City, as well as partial completion of Lunar Diplomacy, Regicide, and Eadgar's Ruse. Because of the long wait time between obelisks becoming active, it is thus best to have as many of these quests completed as possible to maximize the chance of being able to play Familiarisation.

Since a new obelisk only becomes active every two hours and only stays active for 20 minutes, it is most likely that there is no obelisk active at the time. The best way to find out when an obelisk will become active is to open the Adventures interface and select the Minigames tab, then select D&Ds from the drop-down menu to see when Familiarisation will next be available. Pikkupstix can then tell players where the active obelisk is located.

Owning a full Shaman's outfit makes it more likely that a player will play as a new familiar. This makes it easier to complete the achievement A Bit TOO Familiar.

Travel to Taverley

Pikkenmix at an active obelisk

Pikkupstix is in the Summoning shop in Taverley. There are several ways to contact him:

• Home Teleport to Taverley and run east.
• Home Teleport to Falador and run west.
• Use the Taverley Teleport spell and run north-east.
• If the player's player-owned house is in Taverley, teleport to the house portal there, then proceed to run east.
• If using Lunar Spells, the NPC Contact spell can be used to talk to Pikkupstix.
• After the quest Love Story, a player can use a Chisel with a Teleport to house tablet to make a Taverley tablet.
• While there is an active Familiarisation obelisk, all small obelisks in Runescape will glitter and allow teleportation directly to Pikkupstix. This also means that for the 20 minutes the obelisk is active, a player can have easy access to a large obelisk for infusing pouches.

Gameplay

The Spirit Plane.

During Familiarisation, the player appears in the Spirit Plane in the form of one of 12 familiars, and will have to hunt around for sparkling piles of raw shards which are scattered around the game area. The game ends when one of the following occurs:

1. 60 raw shards are collected by the player.
2. The player's mental focus reaches 0.

As soon as the game starts, players will be informed of two types of familiars (depending on the player's form) that will hunt them, recognising the player as an enemy within their plane of existence. As the player remains within the Spirit Plane for longer, more types of familiars will eventually start to see through the player's disguise and recognise them as an imposter. If the player goes too close to any familiars that will recognise them (these are depicted at the top of the screen), they will drain some of the player's mental focus and weaken their presence within the Spirit Plane.

The level of focus is tracked by the bar on the left-hand side of the screen. When this has completely worn down, the player will lose focus and their consciousness will return to their body next to Pikkenmix, along with as many piles of raw shards as the player managed to collect. The current level of mental focus can also roughly be gauged by the colour draining from the player's form in the Spirit Plane. As mental projection takes great effort, the player will only be able to stay in the Spirit Plane for a maximum of twenty minutes from when it was first entered, and run energy will very rapidly drain within the Spirit Plane.

The player must talk to Pikkenmix or Pikkupstix to complete the D&D. This is mainly important when a game of Familiarisation is started from a portal at the Beach.

Strategies

Run energy decreases very quickly as a familiar. Sources of unlimited run energy are thus highly recommended, as they make the game dramatically easier. Activating the Globetrotter boots will grant the player unlimited run energy for a while, as will salt-water baths in the salt-water spring in Oo'glog (requiring As a First Resort) or the spa pool in the Anachronia base camp spa (requires building the spa facility). The Endurance relic (requiring level 81 Archaeology to unlock), which gives unlimited run energy indefinitely, is also a viable option. Note that the Surefooted and Greater surefooted auras will not work in Familiarisation. With access to unlimited run energy, the hunting familiars can be basically disregarded. The player can simply run around continuously to gain shards, and they will collect their limit long before the focus runs out with very little risk of losing the game.

Although the playing area contains more than the required 60 raw shards, it is not recommended to run about randomly, as this makes it easier to miss shards and will unnecessarily waste time and run energy. Try to develop an effective pattern, such as circling the outskirts and collecting all shards in sight, then finishing with the centre area. With one of the infinite run energy sources mentioned above, players can simply run from one shard to the next, ignoring enemies completely.

Obelisk locations

Hint to Pikkenmix's location, as given by Pikkupstix	Pikkenmix's location	Quests/skills required	Map
I expect he's off somewhere relaxing. He's been quite busy lately.	There are currently no active obelisks. An obelisk will only remain active for around twenty minutes. A new obelisk becomes active roughly once every 2 hours.	N/A
A dungeon of beasts that crawl near the barbarians.	Inside the Fremennik Slayer Dungeon	N/A
A camp in the woods with a catapult nearby.	Obelisk near Tyras Camp	Partial completion of Regicide
A farming patch, dock, castle, et cetera	Obelisk on Etceteria	The Fremennik Trials
A rotten town south of a corrupted, shady village.	Obelisk north of Burgh de Rott	N/A
Near the ever-flagging war.	Obelisk near Castle Wars	N/A
This one is mostly harmless.	On the island of Mos Le'Harmless	Cabin Fever
A large cave dwelling, full of bustling, small people with pickaxes. I see...a bank!	East of the bank in Keldagrim	Started The Giant Dwarf
A large cave dwelling, full of bustling, small people with pickaxes. I see...a boat!	South of the bank in Keldagrim	N/A
A place where doors talk.	At the entrance of the first level of Stronghold of Security	N/A
Beneath a huge tree in the darkness and roots.	Grand Tree mine under Grand Tree at the Tree Gnome Stronghold	The Grand Tree
Between a temple and a lycanthropic town.	Obelisk south of Slayer Tower	N/A
Beware the spider's bite, beneath a rocky city.	Obelisk by the Deadly red spiders in Varrock Sewers	N/A
I spoke to a tree within sight of people crossing a log.	Obelisk near the agility course of the Tree Gnome Stronghold	N/A
I hope the tortured souls in the jail use the chapel. or I hope the poor souls in the prison are allowed in. or I wonder if the poor souls in the prison are allowed to visit the chapel.	South-west of the Port Sarim lodestone, west of the jail, north of the chapel	N/A
An oasis, restored yet in ruin.	Obelisk near Het's Oasis entrance, south of the Fire Runecrafting altar	N/A
I hope the villagers' defences hold against those zombies.	The obelisk in Shilo Village	Shilo Village
Near a Heroic Fountain.	Obelisk under the Heroes' Guild south of Burthorpe	Heroes' Quest
Northern barbarians have a cosy home.	Obelisk south of Rellekka	N/A
North of the city of sickness.	Obelisk near the Combat Training Camp	N/A
Next to a bridge south of great expanses of danger	Obelisk at Edgeville bridge, near the Grand Exchange	N/A
Near a village of long-eared people.	Obelisk at Lletya entrance	Started Mourning's End Part I
North of a fountain of green.	Obelisk north of the Ectofuntus	N/A
Pass through to thirst.	Obelisk by the Shantay Pass	N/A
Purple rippling near a flying rug.	Obelisk near the Pollnivneach house portal	N/A
Seaside infested with Barbarians.	Obelisk north-west of the Barbarian Outpost	N/A
South of the city of sickness.	Obelisk near the Khazard Battlefield	N/A
South of the market village.	Obelisk south of Draynor Village	N/A
Sun, sand, freshly-picked fruit and pretty music.	Obelisk near the musician in Catherby	N/A
Surrounded by jungle, with drakolith near.	Obelisk just north-west of the nature altar on Karamja	N/A
The land of the moon people. / Place of the moon people.	Obelisk outside the city gates on Lunar Isle	Partial completion of Lunar Diplomacy
The lava walks, and the rocks talk.	Obelisk directly south of the TzHaar City furnace	N/A
The stench of fish is strong here.	Obelisk near Fishing Guild bank	68 (boostable)
Under a white city and through the scorpions.	Under Falador in the Dwarven Mine	N/A
Within sight of a fishing boat.	Obelisk near Port Khazard	N/A
What a magical land ..in spite of the talking sheep.	Lost city of Zanaris	Lost City
Yes it is ... no it's not. Yeah, 'tis so! (Neitiznot) or Yes it is ... no it's not. It's really not! (Jatizso)	The obelisk on Neitiznot or Jatizso	Started The Fremennik Isles
You must dodge the rocks to reach the summit.	Obelisk at Trollheim	Partial completion of Troll Stronghold
Travel through demons and dwarves of chaos, but mind the axes!	Obelisk south of the Blue Dragons in Taverley Dungeon	N/A
He's near some monkeys, I hope they don't fall in the volcano. or A cheeky monkey and....Oh, my! I hope that volcano doesn't explode.	Top of Karamja Volcano	N/A
Near a cave with knights and worms.	North-west of the Port Sarim lodestone, near the Grotworm Lair entrance	N/A
In a sandy cave. A king scuttles below.	Obelisk just inside the entrance of the Exiled Kalphite Hive	N/A

Oppositions

What the player is up against.

In the Spirit Plane, the player's mental energy will be drained by other spirits; the exact spirits which hunt the player initially depend on the player's form in the Spirit Plane.

More types of spirit creatures will try to drain the player's energy as time goes by in the Spirit Plane; a message appears with a warning of this, and a picture of the spirit creature appears at the top of the screen. A maximum of six types of spirit creatures will hunt the player.

The following table shows the types of spirit creatures that will always hunt the player from the beginning of the game, depending on the player's form.

The player's form	Opposing creature #1	Opposing creature #2
Thorny snail	Barker toad	Desert wyrm
Compost mound	Geyser titan	War tortoise
Giant chinchompa	Hydra	Karamthulhu overlord
Void spinner	Obsidian golem	Vampyre bat
Evil turnip	Compost mound	Thorny snail
Spirit coraxatrice	Spirit kyatt	Spirit larupia
Spirit larupia	Spirit wolf	Void ravager
Stranger plant	Pack yak	Ravenous locust
Adamant minotaur	Forge regent	Lava titan
Giant ent	Beaver	Fire titan
Ice titan	Pyrelord	Spirit Tz-Kih
Pack yak	Albino rat	Spirit cobra

Rewards

After completing a game of Familiarisation, the player may speak to Pikkupstix or Pikkenmix who will offer the player the choice between receiving summoning ingredients or receiving tripled charm drops for a while.

If ingredients are chosen, then a box of summoning ingredients is received. The box contains a number of summoning pouch ingredients; the exact contents are random, and depend on how many piles of raw shards the player managed to collect from the Spirit Plane, as well as the player's Summoning level. Pieces of the Shaman's outfit, which boosts Summoning experience gain, can also be obtained from the box of summoning ingredients.

If triple charms are chosen, then a charm drop enhancer is received. When the charm drop enhancer is used, for a maximum of forty minutes of in-game time, any charm drops that the player receives (including obsidian charms and abyssal charms, but not talon beast charms or elder charms) will be tripled. Each shard collected is worth 40 seconds, and the total time is rounded to the nearest minute. A warning is shown at 5 minutes and at 1 minute before the time runs out. Charms received from killing Bork and his Ork legions will not be tripled, nor will the charm reward from mystery boxes. Charms from Arch-Glacor will not be tripled either.

Players cannot own more than one box of summoning ingredients or charm drop enhancer at once. If the player already owns one and attempts to claim another of the same reward, they will be instructed to use their previous reward first, after which the player can claim their new reward from Pikkupstix or Pikkenmix.

Only a maximum of thirty piles of raw shards from a previous trip can be kept. Therefore, if a substantial amount of shards (60 or close to that amount) is already collected, it is more efficient to collect the reward before starting a new game.

Maximising charms

Main articles: Summoning training § Obtaining charms (P2P) and Charms § Obtaining charms

Players who choose triple charms should kill monsters with high frequency charm drops, such as waterfiends. Before activating the charm drop enhancer, prepare any necessary items such as armour, teleports, food and potions, a charming imp and legendary pet if owned, then activate the enhancer only once at the desired location.

Achievements

• Regard My Shards ( 40) – Collect 60 shards in Familiarisation.
• A Bit TOO Familiar ( 40) – Play as the following familiars in Familiarisation.

Music

• A Familiar Feeling

Update history

This information has been compiled as part of the update history project. Some updates may not be included – see here for how to help out!

• patch 7 December 2020 (Update):
  • Pikkenmix no longer asks you to participate in Familiarisation after completing it.

• patch 14 September 2020 (Update):
  • After leaving the Familiarisation D&D you will now be placed back at the obelisk in Taverley, instead of in the Lumbridge Crater.
  • The XP Claim screen now uses the standard Lamp XP UI. Unavailable skills are greyed out.

• patch 7 October 2019 (Update):
  • The triple charm buff from the Familiarisation D&D is now persistent after logging out and back in.

• patch 7 May 2019 (Update):
  • The rewards for the Familiarisation Distraction & Diversion have been reverted to give the summoning ingredients they did before the Mining and Smithing rework.

• patch 11 March 2019 (Update):
  • Pikkupstix now mentions Drakolith rather than Mithril, when locating Pikkenmix.

• patch 14 January 2019 (Update):
  • The Mining and Smithing Rework is released, replacing metal bars and metal equipment in the box of summoning ingredients with stone spirits and salvage, respectively.

• ninja 5 February 2018 (Update):
  • Familiarisation now resets on Wednesdays instead of every seven days.

• ninja 11 January 2016 (Update):
  • The remaining time for the familiarisation triple-charm reward now appears on the player buff bar.

• update 26 May 2015 (Update):
  • Now occurs exactly every 2 hours.
  • The triple charm reward is now given by a consumable ticket, allowing you to choose when to use it. You can only carry one of these at a time.

• ninja 19 January 2015 (Update):
  • The following changes have been made to the Familiarisation D&D:
    • All worlds now start Familiarisation at the same time.
    • The D&D tracker now accurately shows the starting time of Familiarisation.
    • All summoning obelisks that allow entry to Familiarisation will now sparkle when the D&D begins, and will also offer a teleport to Pikkupstix.

• patch 15 September 2014 (Update):
  • The D&D tracker now shows correct the information regarding when players will be able to replay the Familiarisation activity.

• patch 24 November 2010 (Update):
  • Various typos fixed.

• patch 3 March 2010 (Update):
  • Ensured that some of the map locations in the Familiarisation area aren't blocked by shards.

• update 16 February 2010 (Update):
  • Added to game.