Everquest lore is ridiculously overlooked

[Midoo]

When I discovered Everquest a couple years ago I legitimately had no idea that Norrath's lore would be this absurdly deep and complex. And the thing is, unlike other games that deliver lore through bullshit cutscenes and interactive movies, the story is told through nuanced and subtle design choices. Things are implied through dropped items, rare books, spawn locations, etcetera.

The thing is, sometimes the epic quest lines straight up tell you SOME information (which a lot of people don't pay attention to), but epic quest lines are meant to be grindy, long and difficult and are canonically sort of passed on as "trade secrets" among players of that certain class so it gives the lore an even greater sense of subtlety.

And let's not delve into Kunark content like the Iksar queen of Torsis (City of Mist) having an affair with one of the crusaders which lead to the king abandoning his faith in Cazic Thule and having his daughter stolen, or Sebilis, or the Combine Empire, or how the entire concept of the Monk class was started by a bard named Xan Fi who was really good at punching shit to death, or we'll be here all day.

If I google this type of thing I generally don't get the thorough, complete answers that I want, so maybe one of us (I'm willing to take that mantle) should research the entirety of Everquest Classic lore that's not fully tackled ingame (up to late Velious) and compile it in one easily accessible website or on the wiki.

[AbstractVision]

Look into Miragul, and his network, some awesome lore there that will certainly entertain you.

[zodium]

the greatest story ever told in Norrath is the story of the Avatar of Fear, told entirely through loot tables and mob spawns:

1. in the theatre area of Plane of Mischief, a number of human-sized "puppet" versions of various gods appear once every game morning.
2. unless a particular audience member is killed, Bristlebane (https://wiki.project1999.com/Bristlebane_(God)) will shout about a missing Cazic Thule puppet and cancel the puppet show.
3. the golems in Plane of Fear can drop Puppet Strings (https://wiki.project1999.com/Puppet_Strings).
4. in the Temple of Cazic Thule spawns the Avatar of Fear (https://wiki.project1999.com/Avatar_of_Fear), a human-sized version of Cazic Thule.

i'll leave the satisfaction of putting the pieces together to the reader.

[elwing]

Only one name, Kraddok!
https://youtu.be/1Rr8XTSDWmY

[brokenpromise]

Out of all games and media EQ lore is my favorite. My brothers and I have used eq lore in tabletop games. Warcraft lore is good too but I vastly prefer eq lore. I could be biased because I grew up playing eq.

[plzrelax]

I also use EQ lore in table top games. I ran a quick campaign once that was basically the Gnollslayer quest

[Mblake81]

There are some table top RP books out there.

https://i.imgur.com/ZCaSWzr.jpg

Also comics and books such as The Ocean of Tears, Blood Red Harp and Rogues Hour.

https://i.imgur.com/5wZnPa6.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/czC47Ix.jpg

I also use EQ lore in table top games. I ran a quick campaign once that was basically the Gnollslayer quest

The Visiting Priestess (https://wiki.project1999.com/The_Visiting_Priestess) goes into Neriak lore, why their fires are blue. I admire someone who outfits their DE with enchanted Adamantite armor.

[Barantor]

The RPG books have a ton of detail on many of the dungeons as well, Befallen is it's own adventure and has a bit more covering the goings on in there. It's all well done and worth reading if you are a fan of the lore.

[Nirgon]

Look into Miragul, and his network, some awesome lore there that will certainly entertain you.

[Muggens]

I salute you if you make an EQ lore wiki/site, with so many resources it will be a continous work. Good luck

[Danth]

I admit I've never read much of the lore for this game. I've always figured it'd be the same poorly-written tripe from failed writers that characterizes most video game writing. Not saying I'm necessarily right, only that's what I've always assumed. The game itself was always enough of a story for me.

Danth

[bwe]

I have no idea how people originally figured out some of the epic quests, they're so obscure

[loramin]

I have no idea how people originally figured out some of the epic quests, they're so obscure

Honestly I think that was a HUGE part of the fun of them. People all over the world, on various servers and in various guilds, were just hailing random NPCs, saying random bits of text (inspired by things other NPCs said), giving random items to random NPCs, etc.

It was like a giant team puzzle or scavenger hunt, and every "team" (ie. every class) was sort of racing to complete their's first.

I salute you if you make an EQ lore wiki/site, with so many resources it will be a continous work. Good luck

I've long thought the wiki could use a lot more lore. I don't think anyone wants it getting in the way of their game knowledge, but still I 110% believe there's a place for pages that don't matter (directly) for the game, like:

http://wiki.project1999.com/Lion%27s_Mane_Inn
http://wiki.project1999.com/Poker_Painting

And then of course there's the "main" lore page:

http://wiki.project1999.com/Lore_of_Norrath

[Mblake81]

I have no idea how people originally figured out some of the epic quests, they're so obscure

Honestly I think that was a HUGE part of the fun of them. People all over the world, on various servers and in various guilds, were just hailing random NPCs, saying random bits of text (inspired by things other NPCs said), giving random items to random NPCs, etc.

It was like a giant team puzzle or scavenger hunt, and every "team" (ie. every class) was sort of racing to complete their's first.

That is something else that a person who never played in era will experience. EQ was the first game I ever had to conduct research for. Not just the RP aspect of my enchanter needing to research his spells in the world, I am referring to me researching the game because things were obscure. Like many others I had a 3-ring binder full of maps with my own notes scribbled on them, you could get these from places like EQ maps. Why not just minimize the game and go to the map site? because EQ took up the resources of my brand new gateway machine and dial-up prevented me running the game and pulling up a website at the same time. You had to prepare.

Searching the forums, some of them were RP forums and others not so much, some sites could give you basic spell informations. The game didn't even describe what spells did.

I think Loramin has a wayback machine link in the wiki for 'The Neriak Library'.

Anyway, between talking to other players in game, making notes, exploring to find these places and comparing them with your own printed maps (had a reason to own a printer).. it.. it was very involved to play this game. This is where I took up forum lurking that carries over to this day.

Today you have the benefit of the good information being compiled in an all-in-one wiki. Some of this came from many scattered sites.. imagine yourself looking and comparing, making notes, conversing with others in game about those notes, then setting off in adventure to see if they are true. Nothing was really for certain yet.

[loramin]

Like many others I had a 3-ring binder full of maps with my own notes scribbled on them, you could get these from places like EQ maps. Why not just minimize the game and go to the map site? because EQ took up the resources of my brand new gateway machine and dial-up prevented me running the game and pulling up a website at the same time. You had to prepare.

I had a binder full of map printouts too: my EQ-playing housemates didn't, and I never understood how they could get around.

But it wasn't just a hardware thing: the EQ client back then would not let you ALT + TAB out (I think it crashed the game or something if you did).

There was a 3rd-party program called EQW that you could use, and literally all it did was let you run EQ in a window (thus the name). It was technically banned by Verant, and wasn't even available in the early years, so the vast majority of players in-era couldn't check maps online while playing ... unless they had two computers or a binder :)

[Danth]

I like the nostalgia trip. My EQ nostalgia is very different. The wife and I had brand-new, high-end computers (pentium III's!). We had an equally brand-new cable ISP that had only come available in our town in spring '99. We had a laptop that we could look up map sites/forums/etc on while we were playing so the lack of alt-tab didn't matter. We didn't have to deal with slow dialup downloads, with staring at the wall because of framerate issues, or (since we were adults) with parents yelling over our shoulder.

But in truth after a decade of P99 versus only a few years (aggregate) of the original game, I have far more nostalgia for P99 than I do for the original. This IS EQ for me insofar as I care anymore.

Danth

[pink grapefruit]

That is something else that a person who never played in era will experience. EQ was the first game I ever had to conduct research for. Not just the RP aspect of my enchanter needing to research his spells in the world, I am referring to me researching the game because things were obscure. Like many others I had a 3-ring binder full of maps with my own notes scribbled on them, you could get these from places like EQ maps. Why not just minimize the game and go to the map site? because EQ took up the resources of my brand new gateway machine and dial-up prevented me running the game and pulling up a website at the same time. You had to prepare.

Searching the forums, some of them were RP forums and others not so much, some sites could give you basic spell informations. The game didn't even describe what spells did.

I think Loramin has a wayback machine link in the wiki for 'The Neriak Library'.

Anyway, between talking to other players in game, making notes, exploring to find these places and comparing them with your own printed maps (had a reason to own a printer).. it.. it was very involved to play this game. This is where I took up forum lurking that carries over to this day.

Today you have the benefit of the good information being compiled in an all-in-one wiki. Some of this came from many scattered sites.. imagine yourself looking and comparing, making notes, conversing with others in game about those notes, then setting off in adventure to see if they are true. Nothing was really for certain yet.

Agree with this 100% xD

EQ appealed hard af to my inner nerd because I actually became a better player the more I researched silly elf nonsense in my spare time. You still had to play the game to get good at a lot of things (jousting comes to mind), but having detailed knowledge of the game mechanics and why x camp was sought after truly made you a better ally and more fearsome enemy.

<3 EQ ;)

[Jibartik]

I am telling you. The story of the mystic cloak quest is a roller coaster. :)

Wizards just trying to raise a family. Darkelves and teenage daughters make it difficult.

[Nlaar]

the greatest story ever told in Norrath is the story of the Avatar of Fear, told entirely through loot tables and mob spawns:

1. in the theatre area of Plane of Mischief, a number of human-sized "puppet" versions of various gods appear once every game morning.
2. unless a particular audience member is killed, Bristlebane (https://wiki.project1999.com/Bristlebane_(God)) will shout about a missing Cazic Thule puppet and cancel the puppet show.
3. the golems in Plane of Fear can drop Puppet Strings (https://wiki.project1999.com/Puppet_Strings).
4. in the Temple of Cazic Thule spawns the Avatar of Fear (https://wiki.project1999.com/Avatar_of_Fear), a human-sized version of Cazic Thule.


Wonderful. Thank you for sharing.

[Chortles Snort|eS]

https://wiki.project1999.com/images/Item_504.png
To my dear sweet Kyg Why did we part Why did you go Now I am all alone Feeling all low.

Dat 1 hit mE in dA feelS firSt tiMe
Poor DeV

[Sonark]

iksar lore is the best lore.

They really should put the Iksar epics into p99, and not just Greenmist.

[sacman08]

Other than the little book that came with the first EQ disks I bought, I had no idea that Verant/Sony had created a bunch of lore content. I was reading Dragonlance books at the same time and they had such a similar feel, I didn't bother getting into specific EQ lore.

[sacman08]

I had a binder full of map printouts too: my EQ-playing housemates didn't, and I never understood how they could get around.

Never took the time to draw maps, I ran around so much that after a while I knew all the zones by memory.

[Mblake81]

Wayback machine.

Examples of some of the forums/info sites,

EQ Maps (https://web.archive.org/web/20001006205031/http://eqmaps.com/)

Neriak Library (https://web.archive.org/web/20000612151801/http://www.neriak.com/forums.html) <--- found it.

Everlore (https://web.archive.org/web/20001109093800/http://www.everlore.com/)

[Mblake81]

iksar lore is the best lore.

freak out whenever you see an Enchanter epic..purposely killing any tree snakes you find with maximum prejudice..

https://i.imgur.com/pGiH8v4.png

https://i.imgur.com/zlPTuc9.png

[Jibartik]

This is how you make enchanter epics:

https://i.imgur.com/iuLvaug.jpg

He shoots enchanter epics as arrows!

[brokenpromise]

I think velious is my favorite era. Dragons vs giants. Dragon necropolis. The sleeper. Kael Drakkel translating to dragon death keep. Eq lore is so rich and deep. Just watch kraddoks channel. I would love for this community to really put in more work for the lore page

[Sonark]

freak out whenever you see an Enchanter epic..purposely killing any tree snakes you find with maximum prejudice..
Didn't see the Shissar scaring the Dragons so badly that a faction went rogue to take them out.

Post green mist Iksar were the most powerful race on Norrath.

[JayDee]

I remember The Sathir family lore being really cool. All those iksar statues in kunark are of Rile who iirc is the son of Venril

[Sonark]

Rile is our father, blessed is he.

And indeed the son of Venril, whom he betrayed most righteously.

[unleashedd]

I am telling you. The story of the mystic cloak quest is a roller coaster. :)

Wizards just trying to raise a family. Darkelves and teenage daughters make it difficult.

the sirens call of exotic dark meat. white teens cant resist... its actually Brazzers lore ;)

[Mblake81]

Didn't see the Shissar scaring the Dragons so badly that a faction went rogue to take them out.

Not a dragon but by their own God.

As a creation of Cazic-Thule, they ruthlessly spread fear and dread throughout the continent. They enslaved the Iksar, a race of lizard people also created by The Faceless. Their quick rise to power drew the attention of the dragons. The Shissar smartly learned everything they could from the ancient wurms, and used it to their advantage. Combining the newly discovered magic from the dragons with their own aptitude for necromancy, the Shissar created the world's first liches and blood golems. With their increased might, they struck fear in the dragons, driving them back to a solitary corner of the continent. After establishing their dominance of Kunark, the Shissar Empire sailed north in search of new lands to conquer.

When Emperor Ssraeshza and his army reached southern Tunaria (Antonica), they were met by the Rallosian Empire led by the legendary ogre known as Murdunk. Surprisingly, Murdunk and Ssraeshza formed a truce. Rather than go to war with each other, they decided to attempt the impossible. With all of the known world already conquered by the two empires, they set their eyes on the planes of the gods. The Shissar laid waste to many of the lesser planes, which were inhabited by long forgotten demigods. The Rallosian army went straight to the top, the elemental planes, specifically the Plane of Earth. Their assault on The Rathe was eventually unsuccessful, even with the help of Rallos Zek himself. As a result, Zek's creations (ogres, giants, orcs, etc.) were stricken with a curse of unintelligence. The Shissar were punished by their own creator, Cazic-Thule, for he was angered by their arrogance. The Faceless granted the Iksar an ultimate weapon to rise up and defeat their masters. Known as Greenmist, the airborne plague disintegrate any Shissar who inhaled it and ripping their souls into the Plane of Fear where they would be tormented for eternity.

Kill the Wraith of a Shissar in the Plane of Fear and loot Head of the Serpent

[Sonark]

Not a dragon but by their own God.Is there a citation for this?

[Baler]

My favorite lore is that erudites created the spires to teleport across the world then the power grew too far that it blew up in their faces and they got locked off to odin.

Whats good my erudite?

[Mblake81]

https://i.imgur.com/gCljh3n.png

Is there a citation for this?

Giant Bomb (https://www.giantbomb.com/cazic-thule/3005-13711/)

#2 (https://www.giantbomb.com/shissar/3015-5426/)

P99 wiki entry (https://wiki.project1999.com/Shissar)

Enchanter epic (https://wiki.project1999.com/Enchanter_Epic_Quest)

Speed of the Shissar (https://wiki.project1999.com/Speed_of_the_Shissar)

Fills your target with the power of the Shissar

Greenmist (https://wiki.project1999.com/Greenmist)

Someone becomes engulfed in a noxious cloud of green mist.

https://i.imgur.com/wHGM8fv.jpg

[Glasken]

My favorite lore is that erudites created the spires to teleport across the world then the power grew too far that it blew up in their faces and they got locked off to odin.

Whats good my erudite?


I believe the spires were the creations of the combine empire.

The Erudites created The Hole with:

"...Tremendous magical energy built in one spot until the very air vibrated with its power. When it seemed that the fabric of time and space themselves could no longer withstand the force, a great explosion tore open the earth with a blaze of light and a torrent of sound! A nearly fathomless hole was rent in the surface of Norrath leading deep into the planet, almost to the very Underfoot itself."

...though now that I go looking I cannot find a source for the Teleportation spires that isnt from EQII. Somehow the idea of them being a combine empire creation has stuck with me, could just be one of those old and faded memories of the game.

[Sonark]

*too many pictures*I know the lore of the green mist, and of Greenmist, and of the Iksar, but I didn't know the lore of the Shissar all that well.

Luclin is one expansion I never really got to experience (along with many others)

So basically the Iksar got as powerful as they did is all I've learned from this.

Oh and that Cazic created the Shissar, which I didn't know.

Not sure how reliable Giantbomb is as a source of EverQuest lore, but okay I stand corrected.

[Donkey Hotay]

I enjoy EverQuest's world--more just the original game than the expansions, which are less quirky and more ugly. The lore is interesting but on those occasions when you're lured by some detail or NPC, the quest is broken and eventually the world ends up being a tantalizing heap of might-have-beens. If only it hadn't been hacked together!

WoW is by far the better game but in a silly and tedious world. EverQuest is a marvellous fantasy world but the game is usually breathtakingly insipid.

[garfo]

I enjoy EverQuest's world--more just the original game than the expansions, which are less quirky and more ugly. The lore is interesting but on those occasions when you're lured by some detail or NPC, the quest is broken and eventually the world ends up being a tantalizing heap of might-have-beens. If only it hadn't been hacked together!

WoW is by far the better game but in a silly and tedious world. EverQuest is a marvellous fantasy world but the game is usually breathtakingly insipid.

I disagree -- what keeps me coming back to p99 is the gameplay. It's an incredibly complex interlocking of systems that you can combine and manipulate in countless ways to solve very tough and fast-paced problems. Unfortunately, the full depth of EQ's gameplay doesn't really come into its own until the low/mid 50s, when the monsters are super unforgiving and every class is really cranking on all cylinders (and the players tend to be more engaged and competent as well). It can be a bit of a tedious grind until then, imo, but still there's just something about it.