Champion Spawn

A Champion Spawn is a multi-stage encounter in which a fixed altar progressively summons increasingly dangerous creatures until a champion-class boss arrives. Defeating a champion drops Power Scrolls — the consumables that lift a single skill's cap above 100 — along with title rewards for the contributors and, since Publish 57, a chance at Champion Spawn Artifacts. Champion spawns have been one of the realm's defining endgame activities since their introduction with Publish 16 in 2002 and remain the principal route to 110, 115, and 120 Power Scrolls.

How a Champion Spawn Works

Each spawn occurs at a permanent altar. Idle altars sit grey; an active altar glows red while a champion is summoned. The progression runs through five stages:

1. Levels 1 through 4 — successive waves of progressively stronger themed creatures. Each level must be largely cleared before the next level's spawn intensifies. Players track progress by the white skull / red skull ratio on the altar's gauge, which rises as creatures die and falls when nothing is attacking the spawn.
2. The Champion — once Level 4 is cleared, the boss spawns at the altar itself. The altar turns red.
3. The Reward Phase — defeating the champion awards Power Scroll drops, title progression to top contributors, and a chance at a Champion Spawn Artifact (described below).

If the spawn is not actively engaged, it decays: the altar's gauge ticks back, the creatures despawn, and the spawn resets toward inactivity. A coordinated team can keep an altar at peak indefinitely; a solo player working alone can also clear smaller spawns at a measured pace.

The original Champion Spawns occur on every facet except Trammel, and the permanent dungeon altars are governed by the Felucca ruleset — non-consensual PvP is open, murderers can enter, and Stealing is fully enabled. This makes spawn altars among the most contested PvP destinations in the realm, particularly in the days after a major patch.

The Five Spawn Types

Five core themed spawn types appear at fixed dungeon altars in Felucca and as randomly-rotating spawns on other facets:

Abyss Spawn — Champion: Semidar

Permanent altar: Fire Dungeon, Felucca. Title progression: Foe of the Abyss → Assassin of the Abyss → Conqueror of the Abyss. Note that Semidar will smash all male characters in the area — gendered melee mechanic that turns this fight into a hard-counter against male-bodied builds.

Arachnid Spawn — Champion: Mephitis

Permanent altar: Terathan Keep underground, Felucca. Title progression: Bane of the Arachnid → Killer of the Arachnid → Vanquisher of the Arachnid. Stone Boots help — they break web paralysis from spider creatures here.

Cold Blood Spawn — Champion: Rikktor

Permanent altar: Destard, Felucca. Title progression: Blight of the Cold Blood → Slayer of the Cold Blood → Destroyer of the Cold Blood. Resists are unusually high through this spawn — Level 4 Ophidians have nearly 100% poison resistance. Rikktor's signature is a quaking double-hit that can take roughly 170 hp in a few seconds; precast Heal when he begins to flap.

Unholy Terror Spawn — Champion: Neira the Necromancer

Permanent altar: Deceit, Felucca. Title progression: Scourge of the Unholy Terror → Punisher of the Unholy Terror → Nemesis of the Unholy Terror. Neira summons Unholy Bones during the fight; many parties dedicate one player to honour-sedating them. She has no slayer-type vulnerability, so any non-slayer build (Battle Lust, Hit Lightning, Onslaught) does well in the duel phase.

Vermin Horde Spawn — Champion: Barracoon the Piper

Permanent altar: Despise, Felucca. Title progression: Adversary of the Vermin Horde → Subjugator of the Vermin Horde → Eradicator of the Vermin Horde.

The Expansion-Era Spawns

Beyond the original five, every major expansion has introduced its own champion-spawn variants. They share the same five-stage shape but use newer creature ladders and drop newer artifact pools:

Random-Spawn Locations in the Lost Lands

In addition to the dungeon altars, a constellation of random-rotation altars sits across the Lost Lands. Each rotates among the five core types. Player-given names track the closest landmark or Lost Lands entrance:

• Bog — centre of Hoppers Bog, southeast of Papua. (X 5954, Y 3475)
• City of the Dead — north of Delucia. (X 5208, Y 3635)
• Damwin — SE of Marble Island Passage exit, north of City of the Dead. (X 5282, Y 3368)
• Desert — west of Fire Dungeon entrance, NW of Papua. (X 5636, Y 2916)
• Ice East / Kos Heb East — NE of Wyvern Isle; reached via the teleporter east of Delucia. (X 6038, Y 2400)
• Ice West / Kos Heb West — NW of the Lost Lands Lighthouse; reached via the back exit of Ice Dungeon. (X 5511, Y 2360)
• Khaldun — south of Khaldun Dungeon, SW of Minoc North Mines Passage. (X 5982, Y 3882)
• Marble — east of Marble Island Passage exit, west of Terathan Keep entrance. (X 1371, Y 5265)
• Oasis — SW of Lost Lands Lighthouse, west of Ophidian Lair. (X 5549, Y 2640)
• Terra Sanctum — east of Fire Dungeon, accessible only by boat. (X 6035, Y 2943)
• Tortoise — SW of Khaldun, NW of Temple Island Teleporter. (X 5724, Y 3991)

Power Scrolls

Champion spawns are the primary in-game source of Power Scrolls — consumables that raise an individual skill's cap above 100. They come in four ascending tiers:

• A Wondrous Scroll of [Skill] — 105 cap.
• An Exalted Scroll of [Skill] — 110 cap.
• A Mythical Scroll of [Skill] — 115 cap.
• A Legendary Scroll of [Skill] — 120 cap.

Tradesman Power Scrolls follow different paths: Blacksmithy and Tailoring scrolls drop from Bulk Order Deeds; Fishing scrolls come from Professional Fisher Quests; Imbuing scrolls from quests like Mastering the Soulforge. The 105 and 110 tiers also appear in Cache, Hoard, and Trove Felucca treasure chests, themed to the burying profession.

Champion Spawn Artifacts

Publish 57 added a dedicated artifact-drop pool to all Champion Spawns. When a champion dies, each top contributor has a 30% chance to receive a drop, broken down as 5% unique, 10% shared (cross-spawn), and 15% decoration. The drop arrives directly in the contributor's backpack — there is no need to loot the corpse.

The chance of receiving an artifact scales with damage dealt to the champion and damage dealt across the broader spawn. Players who turn up only at the last moment to engage the boss have a substantially reduced chance of being rewarded. The damage counter resets when the champion of the current spawn dies. If the receiver's pack is full, or the receiver is not in the spawn zone when the champion falls, the reward is forfeit.

Most useful Champion Spawn Artifacts are called Replicas — near-copies of items handed out at Event Moderator events, distinguished by the word replica in the name. Replicas may differ in intensity bonuses or durability stats from their event-version originals. No Replica carries Self Repair, regardless of whether the original did, and Powder of Fortifying does not work on any Replica. Most non-Replica artifacts in this pool are decorative.

The Stygian Abyss expansion added a layer of complication: its new Champion Spawns drop both useful non-Replica artifacts and a fresh batch of Replicas.

Champion-by-Champion Drop Pools

The unique, decoration, and shared drops attached to each champion are:

Abyssal Infernal — Unique: Tongue of the Beast. Decoration: Magical Door, Archdemon Statue. Shared: Royal Guard Investigator, Jade Armband, Detective Boots.

Barracoon (Vermin Horde) — Unique: Fang of Ractus. Decoration: Swamp Tile, Slime statuette. Shared: Embroidered Oak Leaf Cloak, Djinni's Ring, Detective Boots, Gauntlets of Anger.

Harrower (Random Dungeon — see below) — Unique: Acid-Proof Robe. Decoration: Evil Idol Skull, Skull Pole. Shared: The Robe of Britannia "Ari".

Ilhenir the Stained (Pestilence) — Decoration: Plague Beast Statue, Red Death Statue. Shared: A Necromancer Shroud, Lieutenant of the Britannian Royal Guard, Oblivion's Needle, The Robe of Britannia "Ari".

Lord Oaks (Forest Lord) — Unique: Orc Chieftain Helm. Decoration: Water Tile, Wind Spirit, Pier. Shared: Royal Guard Survival Knife, Djinni's Ring, Lieutenant of the Britannian Royal Guard, Samaritan Robe, Detective Boots, The Most Knowledge Person.

Mephitis (Arachnid) — Unique: Calm. Decoration: Web (two versions), Spider Statue. Shared: Oblivion's Needle, A Necromancer Shroud.

Meraktus the Tormented (Minotaur) — Unique: Subdue. Decoration: Large Vase, Small Vase, Tormented Minotaur statuette. Shared: Royal Guard Survival Knife, The Most Knowledge Person, Oblivion's Needle.

Neira (Unholy Terror) — Unique: Shroud of Deceit. Decoration: Wall Blood Tile, Tattered Ancient Mummy Wrapping. Shared: A Necromancer Shroud, Detective Boots, Captain John's Hat.

Primeval Lich — Unique: Light's Rampart. Decoration: Mummified Corpse. Shared: The Most Knowledge Person, Protector of the Battle Mage, Channeler's Defender, Lieutenant of the Britannian Royal Guard.

Rikktor (Cold Blood) — Unique: Crown of Tal'Keesh. Decoration: Lava Tile, Ophidian Arch Mage Statue, Ophidian Warrior Statue. Shared: The Most Knowledge Person, Brave Knight of Britannia, Lieutenant of the Britannian Royal Guard.

Serado the Awakened (Sleeping Dragon) — Unique: Pacify. Decoration: Futon, Swamp Tile. Shared: Brave Knight of Britannia, Detective Boots, Embroidered Oak Leaf Cloak, Lieutenant of the Britannian Royal Guard.

Semidar (Abyss) — Unique: Gladiator's Collar. Decoration: Lava Tile, Demon Skull. Shared: Lieutenant of the Britannian Royal Guard, Royal Guard Survival Knife, The Most Knowledge Person.

Twaulo of the Glade (Twisted Glade) — Unique: Quell. Decoration: Rock (animated), Rocks (animated), Pier, Dread Horn Statue. Shared: The Most Knowledge Person, Oblivion's Needle, Brave Knight of Britannia.

The Harrower

The Harrower is a meta-champion summoned by collecting Skulls of the Harrower — one dropped by each of the standard champions. Sixteen skulls placed at a properly-prepared altar summon the Harrower itself, an enormously powerful boss whose loot pool includes additional 120 Power Scrolls and the unique Acid-Proof Robe. The Harrower lives in a category of its own — it is not tied to any one altar but rather rises wherever the skulls are gathered.

Dynamic Champion Spawns

Beginning with Publish 109 in 2020, the team rebuilt the spawn framework to make it easier to spin up event-driven champion spawns without bespoke server work. Dynamic Champion Spawns are limited-time encounters that follow the same five-stage shape but in many cases scale up to two simultaneous champions, and the participation and top-contributor rewards are configurable per encounter. Importantly, Dynamic Champion Spawns do not drop Power Scrolls — they are content vehicles, not skill-cap economies.

Dynamic Champion Spawns can run in 26 different locations. Confirmed encounters to date:

Champion Spawn Guilds

Shortly after Publish 16, the realm learned that large guilds dominate champion spawns by sheer numerical advantage. Existing guilds expanded; new guilds organised around the spawn cycle. The result was the mega-guild era — guilds with hundreds of character members fielded specifically to claim altar dominance. Many of those guilds dissolved over the years; a handful persist as the entrenched champion-spawn powers on their respective shards.

The cultural shadow this cast was equally distinctive. The label "Zerg" — using mass numbers to win without per-player skill — entered the realm's vocabulary in this period. So did the looser play style around guild loyalty: with stakes high and rewards distributed by damage contribution rather than guild reputation, betrayals and shard-hopping became commonplace. Most champion-spawn guilds are not easy to join. They recruit when they need bodies, prioritising effective PvP players over ordinary applicants. To find one, visit Felucca and observe which guilds dominate the dungeon altars; community message boards typically track shard-by-shard who currently holds the top altars.

Practical Notes

• Slayer choice. Each spawn type has a single dominant slayer that covers most or all of its levels. Repond, Reptile, Undead, Demon, and Arachnet/Terathan slayers cover the original five spawns.
• Resist suit. All five original spawns lean on at least one elemental damage type. Specialised resist suits (high Cold for Abyss/Cold Blood, high Fire for Unholy Terror) materially reduce attrition.
• Looting the champion. Drops arrive in the pack — there is no need to loot the corpse, and being absent from the spawn zone at the moment of death forfeits all rewards.
• Insurance. Felucca rules are in effect at the original altars. Insure all gear before engaging.
• Solo play. Most spawns can be solo'd by a strong tamer or sampire build with patience. The Twisted Glade and Sleeping Dragon spawns in particular are doable solo. The PvP layer at the dungeon altars is the principal obstacle, not the PvE.

Authoritative Altar & Spawn Mechanics Reference

The following reference distills the official Broadsword altar and spawn mechanics. The candle progression, reward tiers, and per-group monster ladders are reproduced from the canonical reference and have been formally verified against in-game behavior.

Permanent altar inventory

Felucca Dungeons (5 permanent altars, fixed spawn-and-champion):

Felucca Lost Lands (12 altars, randomly 1-of-5 spawn group, except Oaks):

Ilshenar (4 altars, always active):

Malas: Bedlam (Pestilence → Ilhenir), Labyrinth (no altar → Meraktus). Tokuno: Isamu-Jima (Sleeping Dragon → Serado). Trammel: Orc Caves (Orcs → Garthok). Stygian Abyss: Lands of the Lich (no altar → Primeval Lich), Abyssal Lair (no altar → Abyssal Infernal). Valley of Eodon: Dragon Turtle habitat (Trammel) and Felucca, both → Dragon Turtle.

Activation rule. In Felucca, exactly one Dungeon altar and one Lost Lands altar is active at any time — both rotate; one resets when its champion dies. In Ilshenar, all four altars are always active. A dormant altar can be activated by a Knight of Valor using the Valor virtue on it; the altar can also be advanced by one red candle per activation if Valor is replenished to Knight.

Candle progression mechanic

Each altar tracks progress through 16 red candles — 4 per side around the altar. Within each level, 4 white candles show progress toward the next red:

• 1 white = 20% of monsters at current level slain
• 2 white = 40%
• 3 white = 60%
• 4 white = 80%
• The 5th expected white instead clears all whites and adds a red candle, advancing the spawn

Timer. Each level has a 10-minute clock. Reach 100% within the window and the spawn advances to the next level (red candle +1, white candles clear, fresh 10-minute timer starts). Fail to reach 100% within the window and the spawn either holds at the same level or, on a "miserable failure," loses a red candle.

Traps. Once the altar reaches 8 red candles, environmental traps appear in the surrounding terrain (animated tiles, ground hazards).

Champion arrival. After all 16 red candles light, one more set of 4 white candles spawns. When that set clears, all candles disappear, the pentagram on the altar turns fully red, and the champion itself appears.

Reward magnitudes

Gold shower. Every champion (except Meraktus the Tormented) drops a gold shower of approximately 200,000–275,000 gp distributed across contributors.

Power Scroll distribution (Felucca). A maximum of 12 scrolls is awarded per champion kill: 6 to damage contributors and 6 to Justice Protectors of those contributors. Felucca champion drops are +10, +15, or +20 Power Scrolls for a random skill.

Lesser scrolls. A small random chance applies to every monster killed inside the spawn (not just the champion) to drop a +5 Power Scroll or a Scroll of Transcendence (50/50). If a Justice-protected player receives such a scroll, the Justice Protector also receives an identical lesser scroll.

Scroll cursed flag. Power Scrolls are flagged "cursed" — they remain on the corpse on death (lootable by anyone) and are vulnerable to Stealing.

Other facets (Ilshenar / Tokuno / Malas). No Power Scroll drops. Rewards limited to special replica items, decorative items, and the third-tier hero title for eligible top contributors.

The 13 monster groups — full ladder

The candle level determines which creatures spawn. The list below has been verified for each of the thirteen monster groups (the original five plus the expansion-era additions):

Meraktus is the outlier: no altar, no tiered ladder, no hero title awarded, no gold shower.

The Harrower — three-phase mechanics

When a champion dies in Felucca, a dark moongate opens. Step through to the Star Room in Terathan Keep. The Star Room contains six altars, each accepting one specific champion skull:

Place all six skulls on the appropriate altars and the Harrower spawns in a random Felucca dungeon. A dark moongate at the Star Room marks the entrance.

Three-phase fight:

1. First form. Hit-point pool dies; the Harrower transforms into its true form.
2. True form — eye/mouth split. At 50% HP of true form, the Harrower spawns the Eyes of the Harrower and the Mouth of the Harrower. While either survives, the true Harrower takes reduced damage and cannot die. Kill the eyes and mouth first.
3. True kill. Once the eyes/mouth are clear, finish the true Harrower.

Drops on true death: a Chest of the Harrower spawns next to the corpse — feeding into the Spoils of War system introduced in Publish 123. 120 stat scrolls (one per skill, the only source of stat-cap scrolls) are awarded randomly to looting-rights players. Top-damage players receive Super Champion titles tracking how many distinct champions they've helped slay.

Hero titles — the three-tier system

Each of nine main monster groups awards an escalating title for damage-contribution to its monsters. Tiers 1 and 2 come from regular monster kills; tier 3 requires participation in the champion kill with looting-rights damage. Multiple group titles can be held simultaneously, selectable from the titles menu. Titles decay even while logged out — kill higher-tier creatures more recently to retain longer.

Super Champion (Harrower) titles count across groups — the more distinct champions you have helped slay, the higher your Harrower-kill title: