For the farmers out there, you might want to know what it is like to own some cattle of your own. Well, it just so happens that Old School RuneScape lets you see what that is like, at least in the event that your cattle get infected with a horrific plague. Enter the Sheep Herder OSRS guide, one of the more traumatizing quests in the game, for the sad objectives you must complete.
Sheep Herder is one of the quests I remember doing, not because it was challenging or even that long, but because of the tasks you must do. It is one of the most accessible quests in OSRS, especially for a members-exclusive quest, but the game doesn’t hold back in this one. Rather than be goofy and punny like usual, this is one of the more morbid quests you must do.
Bottom Line Up Front
Sheep Herder is one of the novice members-only quests that you can do in Old School RuneScape. It is relatively standalone, not being in a quest series and having almost no relation to other quests. It involves eliminating the infected sheep in the town of Ardougne, as morbid as it sounds. Though the quest is short and sweet, the objectives can be a little frustrating at times, and the contents of this quest might be triggering for some players.
Quest Details Up Front
Here’s the top-down information that you should know about when it comes to the Sheep Herder OSRS quest:
- Members Only: Yes
- Official Length: Short (I mean, this is as short as it comes, but it depends on your sheep herding skills)
- Official Difficulty: Novice (It’s really easy, but sheep herding can be annoying)
- Required Quests: None (great starter quest)
- Required Items: 100 coins, plague suit
- Optional Items/Skills: None
- Required Skills: None (other than the immense level of patience to deal with these sheep)
- Quest Rewards: 4 quest points, 3100 coins
Sheep Herder OSRS Overview
Sheep Herder is about as straightforward as they come. It doesn’t have any significant requirements, skills, or items that you need to meet in order to be able to complete the quest, so it is relatively easy for anyone to do. It is honestly a quest that you could make your very first one in all of RuneScape if you’d like to.
Of course, the only primary requirement that could hinder you from doing so is if you don’t have the current membership subscription. But as long as you meet that simple step, you’re good to go with the ability to do this quest and enjoy its rewards as soon as you like.
Though the city of Ardougne, where the Sheep Herder quest is located, is rather far off from where you start in OSRS, it is more than worth the journey for the sights, sounds, and incredible rewards that you get from this particular quest. Here’s everything that you need to know about Sheep Herder in order to complete it.
Synopsis
Sheep Herder is a quest that involves the town of Ardougne. It seems that there is a plague sweeping the city (not that one from the real world; don’t worry) and is only infecting the sheep. It is up to you to swoop in and take care of the plague-ridden sheep and stop it from spreading even further to the other cattle and possibly the people of the city of Ardougne.
Required Items: How to Get Them
What is excellent about the Sheep Herder quest is that you don’t need anything else at all to do it. There aren’t any significant items that you need to find beforehand or even in the middle of the quest that you will need to complete, except for two rather small items.
Both of these items are pretty easy to get, with the first being the 100 coins and the other being the plague suit. The former is relatively easy to grab just by doing anything at all really in OSRS. However, for the latter, you’ll need to start the quest in order to get it.
Thankfully, the game makes this relatively easy. Even still, for anyone confused about what to do to get these two items, especially if you are a brand new player, here’s what you should do.
100 Coins
For starters, this quest requires 100 coins. There isn’t much to that, as 100 coins are something that you should be able to get any time at all, almost instantly. This is especially true since you have to be a member for this quest, so there are countless ways of making well over 100 coins anytime you like.
However, I think Sheep Herder is mainly for the beginning players in RuneScape. As such, it might be harder or more overwhelming for newer players to figure out how to get even 100 coins. That is fair, but there are some relatively easy ways of acquiring this amount of money.
First off, you could do some of the other quests first since most quests will usually give you some coins as a reward, and usually well over 100. However, if you do this quest first, you won’t be able to get the gold coins that way.
In that case, what I like to do is just fight enemies. Taking on cows, barbarians, and goblins in the nearby areas to the starting town of Lumbridge and the core city of Varrock will net you plenty of items. They are easy to kill, and you can gain coins or even sell item drops to get the 100 coins in just a couple of minutes. This should be a relatively easy item to get before the start of the quest.
Plague Suit
The plague suit is the other main item you need for this Sheep Herder quest. You won’t be able to get this item before the start of the quest, so, unfortunately, you’ll have to get it in the middle of the mission. Thankfully, it isn’t that hard to get.
In fact, this is where the 100 coins come into play. After starting the mission, you’ll have the objective to visit Dr. Orbon, who is inside the church. Speaking with him will allow you to acquire the plague suit for only 100 coins.
Required Quests
Thankfully for you, Sheep Herder is one of the best beginner quests around in OSRS. You don’t need any other quest completed before this one in order to do the mission. However, Sheep Herder is a required quest for completing a later quest for members, so it is worth completing as soon as possible.
Recommended Level
There is no recommended level at all for the Sheep Herder quest. You don’t have any combat sections, nor are there any required skill levels that you need for this quest. It is completely available to all beginner members, meaning you can do it the moment you step out of the tutorial island. Of course, so long as you have the required items at least.
Brief Walkthrough
For my pals reading this who are in a hurry to load up some infected sheep into the incinerator, here are the quick steps that you need to accomplish in order to complete the Sheep Hoarder OSRS quest:
- Start by speaking with Councillor Halgrive in Ardougne to begin the quest, then head to Doctor Orbon to get the poisoned sheep food and plague suit for 100 coins.
- Put the plague suit on and go to the cattle area northwest of the town of East Ardougne.
- Pick up the cattle prod item that is found near the incinerator.
- Equip the cattle prod and then use it on the infected sheep nearby to start directing their locations.
- Be sure to direct one blue, green, red, and yellow infected sheep one at a time into the incinerator area.
- Give the poisoned food to the four sheep you moved into the incinerator area.
- Use the incinerator to blast them alive and then collect their remains.
- Go back to Councillor Halgrive to complete the quest.
Deeper Walkthrough
Now for a deeper look at this quest and completing every single one of the steps from beginning to end. This includes some tips on directing the sheep, which is a lot more annoying than it may sound due to the mechanics.
Speaking With Councillor Halgrive
First, you must begin the Sheep Hoarder quest by heading to East Ardougne. When you arrive in the town, you can start the mission by finding and talking with Councillor Halgrive in the graveyard area near the main church.
When you speak to him, you will find out that there are infected sheep in the town, which is a significant issue for the community. He tasks you with getting rid of them by burning them in the incinerator.
To do so, you first need to acquire a plague suit to keep yourself protected and some poisoned food to kill the sheep. To this point, Councillor Halgrive will task you first with visiting Doctor Orbon.
Getting the Plague Suit
You can find Doctor Orbon in the nearby church that is right next to the graveyard, so, thankfully, you won’t have to go very far. Once inside, speak with the good doctor to hear about his solution to taking out these sheep.
In turn, he will provide you with the poisoned food that you will need to give to the sheep to kill them off (hopefully harmlessly, but I doubt it) and recommend that you use a plague suit. This will protect you from not getting infected with whatever horrible disease these sheep now have.
Unfortunately, the problem is that Doctor Orbon only has a single plague suit left, and it’s the one that he uses. The only way that he is willing to part with it is if you pay 100 coins to take the suit off his hands so that he is able to get a new plague suit at some point. Hand over the 100 coins you saved up, and you’ll get the plague suit.
Where to Find the Infected Sheep
At this point, put on the plague suit and then head to the farm area that is northwest of the river and town of East Ardougne. There is a massive fence that is around where the sheep usually are and you’ll find the incinerator (more on it in a bit) inside.
Near the incinerator is a cattle prod, an item you must pick up to continue this quest. Equip the cattle prod item, and then you are finally ready to start rounding up these infected sheep. The only problem is that they are scattered around this entire riverbank area.
In total, you need to kill off four sheep, but there is a catch as always. The four sheep must be one of every color, which includes blue, green, red, and yellow. You’ll need to poison and gather the remains of all four of them to finish the job for good.
How to Direct the Sheep
This is where the cattle prod comes into play. This item will allow you to direct the steps of the sheep, which isn’t the easiest to do. First, start with the blue sheep that are to the west and just north of the river. Find a blue sheep and use the cattle prod on it.
There are two possible responses that you will get, a baa sheep sound with all capitalized letters that will show the sheep is listening and going in that direction. But if you get lower-case letters, this means that the sheep are not listening and heading somewhere else. It’s best just to keep using the prod over and over to prevent this issue.
It is a bit awkward trying to maneuver the sheep in the direction of the fenced area, so it may take you some time for each one. The goal is to take the sheep to the incinerator location for them to die in a little bit.
Once you have the blue sheep, you can find the red sheep in the southern part of this area, next to the river and in between buildings by the bank. The green sheep is just northeast of that location, while the yellow sheep is found farthest north, just past the green sheep.
How to Use the Poison and Incinerator
Once you have all four sheep gathered together, you are ready to do the final part of this mission. Make sure to have the poisoned food items in your inventory and then use them on each of the four sheep. This will instantly horrifyingly kill them.
But you are still not done yet as you will need to then use the incinerator to roast these sheep over an open flame. They will burn up and leave nothing else beyond except some bones. Pick up all four remains of the infected sheep at this point. Don’t forget this part, or else you’ll have to come back since you won’t be able to complete the quest.
Completing the Quest
With the remains in your inventory, it is now time to head back to the graveyard and speak with Councillor Halgrive once more. You will have happy news for him, letting him know that you were able to get rid of the sheep successfully (well not really since there are more still out there, but whatever).
At this point, you will complete the quest once and for all and receive all the amazing rewards you deserve for doing such a frustrating and thankless job for the townspeople of East Ardougne.
Sheep Herder Rewards
Here are all of the rewards that you get for completing the Sheep Herder quest. Unfortunately, this is one of the easiest and simplest quests in all of RuneScape, so don’t expect a lot here. You won’t even get any experience for any of your classes.
That said, what you do get are four quest points, which is quite impressive. Considering that most quests in OSRS only give you a single point for completing them, four quest points is a nice boost to make you look like you’ve done a whole lot more than you likely have if you’re a brand-new player.
In addition to the quest points, you’ll receive some money. The exact amount that you will get is 3100 coins exactly, which is far more than you needed for this quest, so that’s nice. Councillor Halgrive will return the 100 coins you spent on the plague suit to you to make up for what you had to give for the quest.
That alone is nice since you are now breaking even again, but you get 3000 extra coins in exchange for your welcome services. For newer players out there, 3100 coins aren’t too shabby, as that can mean some new armor or weapons in the game.
Of course, you do have to be a member for this quest, and there are some easier ways of getting lots of coins this early but still a welcome reward nonetheless.
Follow-Up Quests
Perhaps the most alluring part about completing Sheep Herder honestly has nothing to do with the quest points and the coins that you can get from it. Instead, it is about what comes after this quest. Admittedly, Sheep Herder is kind of its own thing, without anything else happening after it.
It’s not part of some significant storyline or quest line you can find in RuneScape. However, that doesn’t necessarily stop it from having importance regardless. There is a single quest that you can unlock after completing Sheep Herder that you are not able to do otherwise.
That one quest is none other than the fellow member’s quest, Mourning’s End Part I. This is rather significant because you aren’t able to complete that rather popular entry in one of the longer quest lines in the entire MMO without doing this simple little task of herding some infected sheep.
Mourning’s End Part I is just one of the many quests that are part of the elf quest line that members can do. The storyline and several quests in this line are some of the favorites among players, so it is highly recommended that you complete Sheep Herder as soon as you possibly can.
Though Mourning’s End Part I is a quest that is already partway through the elves’ storyline, it also means that you need Sheep Herder to complete Mourning’s End Part II and the subsequent quest, Song of the Elves, which is the conclusion for this storyline. Now, these are some endgame-level quests, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t prepare ahead for them.
FAQs
Question: How do you prod blue sheep OSRS?
Answer: You need a single blue sheep that you bring to the incinerator area. Prodding and directing the blue sheep works the same as the other colors. You need to use the cattle prod item on the sheep to move it in the direction you’re facing. Keep spamming that use button to constantly move it until you reach the incinerator.
Question: How do you start Sheep Herder OSRS?
Answer: You can start this Sheep Herder OSRS quest by heading to the town of East Ardougne and heading to the church that is in the city. There is a graveyard nearby where you can find Councillor Halgrive, who is the NPC that will give you the quest in the first place.
Question: How do you do the Sheep Shearer quest OSRS?
Answer: This is a totally different (unrelated) quest that also has to do with sheep and deserves its own separate guide. But the idea of the Sheep Shearer quest OSRS is to take the shears that Fred north of Lumbridge gives you and use them on the nearby sheep to get 20 pieces of wool or just buy them and hand them over as a shortcut.
Which OSRS Quest to Complete Next
At the end of the day, Sheep Herder is essentially one of the beginner’s quests that you can do in RuneScape. Anyone who is interested in completing all of the quests that OSRS has to offer should start out with Sheep Herder as soon as you possibly can since it is one of the best quests for newer players. Thankfully, it is not the only quest that is in this situation.
Another quest that you should definitely consider doing as soon as you can in OSRS is Gertrudes Cat. Much like Sheep Herder, it is a prerequisite for other quests and content in the game, and it has to do with, you guessed it, animals once more. Like Sheep Herder, there’s no combat, either, so you don’t have to worry about ensuring that you have a high enough combat level or anything like that and can just focus on the fun story.
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