Every moment in the Ancient Guthix Temple (after completing all the puzzles) during While Guthix Sleeps, up to the very end of the quest serves as a giant crowning moment of awesome for the player.
Fight Arena, where the player enters General Khazard's arena to save Sir Justin Servil and his son Sammy, an Ardougne nobleman and his child who were kidnapped and made to fight for Khazard's pleasure. Khazard is impressed by the player's performance when they kill the ogre that was about to kill Sir Justin, even agreeing to letting the two go free if they kept fighting in the arena. The player proceeds to kill a giant scorpion and Khazard's precious hellhound Bouncer. Killing Bouncer earns Khazard's ire, who true to his word lets Sir Justin and Sammy go - but makes the player stays behind so he can personally make them pay for killing his favourite pet. The player can choose to simply teleport out and defy Khazard's wrath or fight him head on. Khazard is level 84 and 6000 HP, and the first time you kill him, he instead restores his health to full and becomes a giant fully intent on unleashing his full power on the player. The player can manage to kill him, resulting in Khazard screaming a Big "NO!" before disappearing.
The gathering of the Fremennik armada is also a huge crowning moment of awesome.
And three words in response: "Then, we fight." Yep. Zanik just talked an entire nation of pacifists into a standoff with the God of War, knowing that they have very little chance to win. As the finale summarizes, you taught the Dorgeshuun curiosity; Zanik taught them courage.
Bandos gets a moment of awesome in possessing Zanik for the first time to kill Sigmund.
It becomes more awesome in hindsight when a tier list was made to show the power of each god. Bandos was up in the tier with Saradomin and Zamorak, two of the key gods in Gielinor's lore, before getting dropped into the next one due to the player's interference. It wasn't just screwing over Bandos' plans, but severely weakening him as well.
Guthix versus Bandos in the backstory. Sure, there was pretty much no way that a transcendent being like Guthix could ever lose a fair fight to a lower tier god. But Guthix's Kirk Summation to Bandos and declaration that the creatures Bandos brought to Gielinor were to be freed of Bandos's tyranny, and the casual way Guthix knocked Bandos back to Yubiusk definitely qualify as awesome.
The end of the Legends Quest. For reference, the player just defeated Nezikchened, a powerful demon who put a curse on the Kharazi Jungle. Nezikchened swears that he will return, more powerful than ever. Your response?
Although it happens after Guthix's death, watching Saradomin fail to teleport you, demonstrating your new anti-god ability was very awesome at the end of The World Wakes.
More impressive in that the teleportation spell flawlessly whisked Nex, Char, and several renewed strong Mahjarrat. Saradomin has good reason to be surprised.
Also, the player, should they chose to do so, manages to motivate the Guardians of Guthix to fight against what seem to be impossible odds.
When players first logged on after the RuneScape 3 update, they were met with a cutscene showing Zamorak and Saradomin meeting outside Lumbridge, and engaging in a Beam-O-War. It caused the area between Lumbridge and Draynor to turn into a blasted battleground, with glowing green rocks everywhere. This was the setup for the first World Event; players can choose to fight for Saradomin or Zamorak, gathering as many of the green rocks, or "Divine Tears" as possible to empower their chosen god and help them overpower the other.
Now we know why Tumeken, the Menaphite sun god and head of that particular pantheon, hasn't shown up in the Sixth Age. Back in the Second Age, when the Mahjarrat joined Zaros, there were about 500 of them. Tumeken reacted by suicide bombing an entire race of humanoid abominations and wiping most of them out. The downside to this was that the land they were in became a desert, and about half of Tumeken's people died with him.
The Mighty Falls is one for both General Graardor and the player. Graardor picks up a weapon for this fight, and he goes from being easily the weakest of the God Wars Dungeon bosses to a truly terrifying foe. He smashes the arena throughout the fight, forcing the player to literally fight him up close the entire time, two or three swings of his kyzaj can end the player if they strike, and he is far more durable to boot. To compensate, the player uses a completely foreign weapon for the first time, and manages to win. Earlier on, the player is able to defeat the troll champion without any armor, which in the Evolution of Combat, means a much smaller lifebar.
To add to this the three fights in the Kyzaj Tournament, Yelps the goblin, who used his wealth to buy lucky Bandos gear such as a Godsword, armor and bodyguards and gets beaten by the player; Lol the troll, who you fight with no armor, and still beat; and Graardor, who fights like mentioned previously.
Furthermore, at the end of the Graardor fight, the rules of the tournament say that the loser becomes the winner's lieutenant in the army; meaning Graardor now answers to Zanik. The Bandosians respond by bringing Zanik into the arena and forcing you to kill her to prove you are a worthy warrior; but you can choose not to. The result of sparing her is that se becomes the leader of all Bandosians and resolves to move them to their home plane of Yu-bi'usk.
Plague's End, the finale of the elf quest series, wrapped up not only the longest, but one of the oldest quest lines in Runescape, which covered a large amount of content. All of the loose ends were tied up, resulting in a continuous awesome moment. Some highlights:
Remember back when this quest was about a plague and some annoyingly inefficient public officials? The writers of the quest sure do, and they resolve the fate of the people of West Ardougne in the most satisfying way: revolution. The player breaks the truth of the plague and the Death Guard to the people, and they storm the Mourner Headquarters along with all of the NPCs from the early quests and kill the Mourners.
King Lathas, who has been collaborating with the Mourners and Lord Iorwerth, sends troops to retake West Ardougne. The player was ready, though. Members of the Ardougne City Council note Ardougne appears to have a constitutional, rather than absolute, monarchy were already alerted to Lathas's doing, and had issued an order for the city militia to stand down. The Knights of Ardougne and the Heroes' Guild members side with the Council, and King Lathas is overthrown.
The Tyras troops get their own awesome moment. By timing their last stand against Iorwerth to coincide with the player rebuilding the elf city of Priffdinas, they prevent him from sending troops to stop the player and the elders.
An honourable mention goes to the elven elders themselves, and how they hid from Lord Iorwerth. One turned himself into a tree. Another hid in the spirit plane. One of them hid on the other side of the main continent in a hidden dungeon that could only be accessed using her potion recipe. One of them died, but still made sure that her wisdom could be passed on to any clan member who could see a statue of her greatest work.
Almost everyone knows by now that Sliske is a manipulative sadistic sneaky narcissistic god-killer who is just pitting every god against one another for his own amusement. Except in Kindred Spirits the World Guardian discovers that his plans have been in motion for years. Ever since a ship bound for the Eastern Lands was marooned and its crew scattered; with one crew member admitted to an asylum for speaking of a person who doesn't exist. Sliske interrogated the man for this information, and its apparent connection to the Gods. He soon finds out that the person the sailor was speaking about was you, the adventurer, who hadn't even been born. In addition, Sliske is not the man in charge, but is working for another party, one with a vested interest in the World Guardian. When he finds out that you know of these discoveries, he is NOT happy.
Another highlight: after finally getting fed up by everything that's happened during the Sixth Age, you have the opportunity to deliver an epic "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Saradomin and Zamorak.
World Guardian: Enough! You're both gods. Immortal beings of phenomenal power and influence and you're both acting like children.
World Guardian: Of course I am! Who do you think has been at the centre of all of this mess? Not you. Neither of you have seen friends killed by Sliske. Neither of you have seen allies warped into monsters. Neither of you had to face a god built out of the screaming remnants of human souls. Neither of you have had to travel back in time to visit an old friend, only to be brought back staring at his corpse. For all that you've been through, know that it's a drop in the ocean compared to what Sliske has done to me. So now, for once. Just for once. Shut up and stop giving Sliske what he wants.
The end of Rune Memories. The soul fragments of the order masters and their apprentices verbally tear down Wizard Ellaron as they're siphoned out of Ariane, even the two wizards of the Red Order to whom Ellaron swore allegiance to. Finally, they tell the Adventurer to make Ellaron their new host, before forcefully teleporting him to the Abyss where he will inevitably explode from being unable to contain their power, leaving the Tower unharmed. Doubles as a Heartwarming moment, as their last moments had them breaking apart due to conflict that killed all of them save for Perien and Kelavan and destroyed the original Tower - but despite everything, they still considered themselves friends and teamed up to take down the "false Red Wizard" and save the Wizards' Tower.
Zanmaron the Red: So here we are, false Red Wizard. Your apprentice contained us for the height of this tower. Let's see how long you do. Wizard Ellaron: Overwhelm me, then! Let me explode with the fury of Zamorak! With my death the tower will fall! Azris the Green: Oh, I don't think so. Let's see where this teleportation anchor can take us. Wizard Ellaron:No! Don't! Don't make me teleport! Unaia the Blue: This is one time I'll let you use demonic knowledge, Zanmaron. To the Abyss! Wizard Ellaron: No! Temrin the Grey: To the Abyss, my fellow wizards. Zanmaron the Red: To the Abyss! Ellaron is forced to teleport to the Abyss as he screams "Nooo!"
The Final Boss in "Dimension of Disaster"; for context: at the beginning of the quest you stumble upon an "Alternate Varrock" in a timeline where you never existed, which ended up allowing Zemouregal to finally take over Varrock, rename it "New Varrock" and kill all the heroes and other parties that tried to stop him. By the time you arrive, Zemouregal has grown so bored over the years of unchallenged power that despite knowing of your presence he still allows you to roam free around the city while he waits for you to challenge him just to "be amused" and outright tells you to just go get Silverlight and the Shield of Arrav as an starting point... well, by the the end of the story, you DID retrieve Silverlight and the Shield of Arrav but here's the big plot twist: instead of you wielding them to fight Zemouregal, you give them to the zombified Arrav you just helped release so HE fights Zemouregal, that's right, finally, after so many years, we get to see Arrav getting payback on Zemouregal without any interruptions, result? Arrav not only wins, but outright kills Zemouregal
Throughout the series Bandos have received a reputation as a God of Evil with no redeeming qualities to the irritation of some followers of Bandos who was upset to see Bandos get Killed Off for Real in the second world event. In Nomad's Elegy. You are confronted by Zanik who you have possibly executed to honor Bandos. When she meets you in the afterlife she is obvious furious at what you did to her in The Mighty Fall. This little dialogue was the bone thrown to Bandosians who stuck with him to the very end.
Player: You know what, Zanik, I am sick of people telling me I am insane to follow Bandos. Bandos represented strength. The strength I gained following his ideal helped me save your people. The strength I gained from following him helped me save the world more than once. Yes, he is dead, but his message remains. It echoed loud and clear when Armadyl took up his mace; the strong rule and the weak fall. If I am insane it is because, rather than use my strengths for myself all the time, I use it to shield the weak. Maybe in doing so I am trying to justify the mountain of bodies I have climbed to get this strong. Maybe I do it because it pits me against stronger foes. Who knows? All I know is that I am sick to my back teeth of hearing that being Bandosian is terrible from someone whose entire race would be rotting in their graves if I hadn't chosen to use my strength to protect them.
In the Shadow Reef, your final battle against the Ambassador culminates in him summoning a horde of Crassains to try to overwhelm you... only for Seiryu to appear and boil all the crassians, and restore the players to full health. And it's a good thing too— the Ambassador isn't dead yet.
Curse of the Black Stone, which ties into the Elite Dungeons as a whole, qualifies. It's the first canonical sequel to Sliske's Endgame, and it delivers— you travel across the world, from the Arc to the Heart to the Wilderness and back, gathering allies such as Hannibus, his daughter Vindicta, her dragon Gorvek, the King Black Dragon, and an army of black knights in order to take on The Ambassador and stop a ritual that will turn the world into a Corpse Ocean.
The World Guardian finally snapping at the despot of a king of Jatizso in "The Fremennik Isles."
World Guardian: Right! That's it! I've had enough! No more lying! No more biting my tongue! Do I take you for a fool? Yes I do! You are so paranoid about Neitiznot that you are running this island into the ground! Neitiznot is not going to attack Jatizso. I'll say it again to try and force it through your thick skull! Neitiznot is not going to attack Jatizso. They don't care about Jatizso. They care about the trolls and the Troll King who are the real threat to the island. You are so obsessed with your cousin, however, that you stick your head in the sand whenever it comes to the trolls. But I'm not sure it matters, since there's a good chance you will destroy this village long before the trolls get here! You do not have to dress in a jester's costume to act the fool, your royal crown is more than enough!
Once you get level 76 Archaeology, you can access the Stormlight Citadel and the Wingsuit, and then you can fly. Only around the Citadel, but still, it is awesome.
As befitting a quest of its magnitude Azzanadra's Quest doesn't disappoint. The quest is split into two notable and concurrent stories - the search for the Elder God Eggs, and the Theft of the Elder Crown. After failing to get Saradomin to give them the crown willingly, Azzanadra has his loyalist Trindine research the crown for weaknesses, before reporting back to Azzy. This culminates in a showdown between Azzanadra and Saradomin, followed by Saradomin and Zaros. The latter even notes that he does not usually intervene in such matters, but this is an exception.
Why is this awesome? Saradomin is the strongest of the Young Gods, as he has been in possession of an Elder Artefact for millenia. Zaros takes it like he plucked a feather from a chicken!
The other half of the story involves the World Guardian looking for info on the Elder Eggs. What do they find instead? Two things. One, Sliske imparted part of his essence into the World Guardian, manifesting as his Light and Dark Masks. These masks essentially give him the memories of the Majherrat to use as and when he needs it. Two, Guthix planned this. He planned long before the player's arrival that they would be his chosen, and set Sliske on the task of not only grooming the future World Guardian for the role, but also made it so that it would be exactly what he needed to ensure the Edicts can protect the Universe.
The above can't stress this enough. The World Guardian is more than a mere title, it is a safeguard. They are the single most powerful being in all of creation, being infused with light anima and shadow anima, as well as shadow magic and the essence of a Majerrat - one of the strongest magic users in the universe. And once their power is at its maximum, not even the Elder Gods will be able to touch them!
From Fate of the Gods, as you approach the Cradle of Mah:
Orb: Stop! Player: Who are you? What is that thing? You've been following me since I got here! Orb: Not following. Leading the way. And you know exactly who I am. Say my name. Player: Zaros. Zaros: Yes.
In "The Great Brain Robbery", the zombie pirate Mi-Gor barricades the door to the church that he and his pirates took over, and blocked the underground entrance that entered in a secret room, preventing entry when the player tries to confront him. So how does the very annoyed player (who has had to deal with Dr. Fenkenstein) solve this minor problem? By stealing one of the pirates' gunpowder barrel and a fuse from their crashed ship and blowing open the doors.
From Old School, "A Kingdom Divided" has several great moments:
The player, with Lydia Fullore's help, managing to get one step ahead of Sophia Hughes, foiling her escape attempt, and then defeating the demonic Judge of Yama she summons to kill you.
Finding Rose, and then furiously chewing out Councilor Liam Orson for his treachery and corruption.
Lord Kandur Hosidius proves himself to be quite The Chessmaster. He manages to play the whole situation in his favor, sees through Shiro Shayzien's False Flag Operation almost immediately, and ultimately persuades the other lords to name him the King of Kourend.
