Easter Eggs

Everquest 2 features a lot of sly jokes, references, and the occasional hidden surprise.

Hidden Quests
See the Hidden Quests page.

Backwards Names
In many places you may notice that an odd name is actually much less odd when read backwards:


 * Qeynos - sonyeq
 * Names of the Lizardmen Tribes
 * Alliz Evol Ew in - we love zilla
 * Alliz Tae Ew in - we eat zilla
 * Alliz Raef Ew in - we fear zilla
 * Tsol Ew and D'iar Ew in the - we lost and we raid
 * Froglok Names
 * Tolaspmuj - jumps a lot
 * Eltilapumj - jump a litle
 * Chief Kaorf - Chief Froak
 * Oemor - Romeo
 * Teiluj - Juliet
 * Pikspoh - hop skip
 * Pohpiks - skip hop
 * Repmuj - jumper
 * Reppoh - hopper
 * Timrek - Kermit
 * Others
 * Field Master Selrahc - Charles
 * Tac Ci'Toruen - neurotic cat
 * Mercenary: Yadeht Fohctac = Catch of the Day

Anagram Names

 * Deities
 * The Mother of All, Tunare (nature)
 * The Winter Goddess, E'ci (ice)
 * The Fathom Lord, Tarew Marr (water)
 * The Veiled One, Povar (vapor)
 * The Queen of Air, Xegony (oxygen)
 * The Council, Rathe (earth)
 * The Mother of All Wurms, Veeshan (heavens)
 * The Prime Healer, Rodcet Nife (fine docter) (misspelled!)
 * The Tyrant of Fire, Fennin Ro (infernno) (misspelled!)
 * Others
 * Clint Gilcrush (anagram name for an in-game representation of Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling)

Dialog

 * At the end of Epic Repercussions
 * EKAT EHT REWOP OS LACIHTYM - Take the power so mythical
 * EVAEL TI TCATNI DNA TNETOP - leave it intact and potent
 * TEL TI EDISER NIHTIW WEN LESSEV - let it reside within new vessel
 * TI SI TON OT EDARGED RO HSINIMID - it is not to degrade or diminish

References to Other Games

 * The messages you see in the Loping Plains at sunrise and sunset are a reference to Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.
 * Sergeant Quackers
 * At the bottommost level of Najena's Hollow Tower, Najena may be found casting a spell, "Val Kas'Flam", an homage to Ultima Online's spell, "Kal Vas Flam".
 * The Adventures of Bonk hails back to the TurboGrafx-16 game, Bonk's Adventure.

Music References

 * The Court of Al'Afaz is filled with monsters bearing names from the songs of King Crimson's album, The Court Of The Crimson King.
 * At the Butcherblock Docks, you pick up a quest called Nautical Disaster during which you must find a tome, At the Hundredth Meridian, references that are Tragically Hip.
 * Grunty from the Moors of Ykesha offers the quests Over the Hills and Far Away, Ramble On, Communication Breakdown, and Bring It On Home. The reward is a zeppelin.
 * The Shadow Odyssey, Chapter 1: Come Sail Away quest recalls a certain Styx song.
 * Dawnfear, the Reaper, needs more cowbell.
 * some of the items from Munzok's Material Bastion sound like songs from Metallica
 * Coif of Tolled Bells - For whom the bell tolls
 * Faded Black Hood - Fade to black
 * Hood of the Lightning Rider - Ride the Lightning
 * Helm of Fire Fight - Fight fire with fire
 * Skullcap of Creeping Death - Creeping Death
 * Find 'em a Find, Catch 'em a Catch! references lyrics from the song "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" from "Fiddler on the Roof"
 * Many Erollisi Day quests take their names from song titles:
 * Heal the Pain by George Michael
 * Shot Through the Heart by Bon Jovi
 * Tainted Love by Soft Cell
 * Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler
 * Unbreak My Heart by Toni Braxton
 * Unforgettable by Nat King Cole
 * What's Love Got to Do With It? by Tina Turner
 * "If I Had A Hammer" was a hit song for Peter, Paul and Mary
 * The Kaladim band The Burglars produce parody versions of Van Halen's "Panama" and Styx's "Come Sail Away"

Movie References

 * Ghostly orcs in the Commonlands can sometimes be heard to say "I see live people", a Sixth Sense tribute.
 * Gubbo Chaley on the docks in The Enchanted Lands rants Fritz! They've killed Fritz! Those dirty, stinking yellow fairies have killed Fritz!.
 * Lu Sywaka in the Tower of the Four Winds of the Village of Shin is a Star Wars tribute.
 * Maladominus Poxbringer's dialogue during the quest Bixie Distraction is a Monty Python and the Holy Grail tribute.
 * The Loping Plains quest Snakes on the Plains is a nod to the Samuel L. Jackson movie.
 * The Kylong Plains quests A Fistful of Metal and For a Few Coins More are a tribute to Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns.
 * Edghar Toad and his brother Alain in the Mistmoore Catacombs recall the self-proclaimed vampire hunters in The Lost Boys.
 * The Withered Lands quest Clever Girl and some related dialogue is a reference to the Jurassic Park movie.
 * Every non-quest NPC added during Nights of the Dead references a scary movie
 * Wilhelm Horrorbile at the bottom of Befallen: Necrotic Asylum is Dr. Horrible (he even has a Freeze Ray), and there's also Captain Hamyr (Captain Hammer).
 * In Siren's Grotto, one needs to know how to use the three seashells.
 * The Tinkerfest quest, If They Only Had a Brain, is a reference to the song, If I Only Had A Brain sung by the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz.
 * The Princess Bride's Miracle Max and his magic pellet make an appearance in Total Eclipse of the Heart
 * The Shadow Odyssey, Chapter 2: The Gods Must Be Crazy is a reference to a 1980 comedy film
 * The Creature from the Black Pond as part of the Sunwalker and Stones is a reference to The Creature from the Black Lagoon

TV References

 * Bindi the Croc Hunter in Sinking Sands references the name of the daughter of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter.
 * Trapper Coalbear thinks bears are the Number One Threat in Butcherblock, referencing Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert, who named bears as being the number one threat to America.
 * In Gnomeland Security Headquarters (itself a reference), the gnomes Adam Cogbuster and beret-wearing, mustachioed Jamie Sprocketbreaker are the Mythbusters.
 * Near Windstalker Village, Guardians on the Epic Weapon Quest will find The NEW Steel Warriors, Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney, a nod to The Simpsons Jimbo Jones, Dolph Starbeam, and Kearney Zzyzwicz.
 * In the quest Kaedrin's Fate, part of The City of Qeynos Timeline, the dialogue ("Mercy is the mark of a great person. Guess I'm just a good person.") is a Firefly reference.
 * Agents Grisscob, Sidleworth and Willsprock are homages to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The quests they offer are titled after episodes in the show.
 * There are two gnomes in Steamfont named Oglethorpe and Emory, a reference to the aliens from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
 * In the Frostfell Wonderland Village, Fleck had his tongue frozen to a pole near the entrance, a reference to A Christmas Story.
 * Felice Adae in the Sundered Frontier is a tribute to actress Felicia Day.
 * The Prototype Cognitive Clockwork (a reward from the Tinkerfest quest If They Only Had a Brain) quotes Gir from Invader Zim: "Let's make biscuits!", "I saw a squirrel!", "Aww, somebody needs a hug!", "I made it myself."
 * Skeletons parody an American beef ad campaign narrated by Robert Mitchum and Sam Elliott with, "Brains! It's what's for dinner."
 * Crush "The Icescale" Lizzard is a reference to Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell. Liddell is a former UFC competitor and was the Light Heavyweight Champion at the time Rise of Kunark came out.  Appropriately, Crush Lizzard was fought in a one on one duel inside a cage.

Literary References

 * In the Moors of Ykesha, you will find the cyclops Polyphemus: he is taken from Homer's epic, The Odyssey. The cyclops is located on an island in a cave with sheep, just as recorded by the Greek poet.
 * Captain Azhub sends you on a quest for a giant creature, a callback to Captain Ahab of Moby Dick fame.
 * Philuphii the Destroyer (pronounced "Fluffy") in the Lair of Bone is a reference to Hagrid's pet in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
 * The Arena in Qeynos Harbor is a replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theater.
 * At Frostfell, players step through a magic wardrobe. As in Narnia, they would step through (click) the wardrobe to be transported to the Frostfell Wonderland Village.
 * The quest A Frostfell Favor features Mr. McScroogle and quests from the Ghost of Frostfell Past, the Ghost of Frostfell Present, and the Ghost of Frostfell Future, referencing Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
 * Haijakt, a barbarian in Everfrost, gives the access quest for Forbidden Sepulcher. Since he's not involved with Dreadwake or quests requiring shark-killing, it seems odd that his name seems to come from Norwegian , "shark", and, "the hunt, the chase".
 * Gnomes and the Art of Clockwork Maintenance is likely a reference to the Robert Pirsig philosophical novel, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the title of which was inspired by Zen in the Art of Archery
 * Ktlk is an homage to the Star Trek TOS novel, The Wounded Sky
 * Snack vendor Cut-Me-Own-Tail Ssstibbler in Emperor's Athenaeum sells Brute Meat Onna Stick, Cockatrice Sausage Inna Bun, Soggy Skyfire Mountain Dew, and souvenir snow globes. This NPC is a tribute to Terry Pratchett's Discworld character, Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, famous for selling meat by-products to unsuspecting souls, as well as a strange green liquid "made by monks living on a mountain" (Dibbler's Genuine Soggy Mountain Dew), and the occasional souvenir snow-globe.
 * The Cacotoxic Stain recalls the Cacotopic Stain in the Bas-Lag novels of China Miéville.
 * Within The Ruins of Guk: Halls of the Fallen one finds a decrepit per egren tuk and a rancid fulo vah tuk, a nod to Lord of the Rings' Peregrin Took (per egren tuk), and "fool of a Took" (fulo vak tuk), a reprimand from Gandalf to the young hobbit in Moria in The Fellowship of the Ring, first in book and then the movie

Popular Culture Nods

 * EQ2 pays a tribute to Dungeons & Dragons with the Stone of Gygax and the Emerald Stone of Arneson.
 * Orly and Yarly in The Barren Sky refer to the O RLY? meme.
 * The Village of Shin has a pair of children named Hu Mi and Wai Mi.
 * Lord Marcus Thex in Evernight Abbey summons a sun-like ball called "Diaf Sun Sphere". Unless you take precautions, you then die in a fire of his 10K strike.
 * In the Moors of Ykesha, the tailor Tandy has a quest for you to go pick up trash.
 * Hitus Sharpclaw in The Sundered Frontier speaks like a Lolcat and offers quests with Lolcat-inspired names. The quest I Can Has... is a reference to the I Can Has Cheezburger site.
 * The quest The Right Brothers in Zek, the Orcish Wastes introduces us to the brothers Oarwille and Wulbir Wight, pioneers in the art of air travel.
 * Any of the Scholar Primarchs in the Library of Erudin may drop the Torque of Dew'ehy Das'Samal, very appropriate for the location.
 * Prelate Lorhym Ithpsym's name is a reference to lorem ipsum, a commonly used placeholder text in website design.

References to SOE Staff and EQ2 Players

 * The Tower of Vhalen recalls Tony "Vhalen" Garcia, developer of the foundation lore of Norrath.
 * The Peat Bog features guards named Blackguard and Moorguard after Ryan "Blackguard" Shwayder, community manager, and developer Steve "Moorgard" Danuser.
 * Several Kunark tradeskill writ recipes are named for familiar folks:
 * Fyreflyte's Daunting Decision (Journeyman) for developer Jason "Fyreflyte" Woerner.
 * Rothgar's Tiny Hut (Journeyman) for Lead programmer Greg "Rothgar" Spence.
 * Archonix's Calculation (Apprentice IV) for game designer Chris "Archonix" Junior.
 * Saavedra's Instant Illusion (Apprentice IV) for game designer Steve "Saavedra" Kramer.
 * Niami Denmother of EQ2 Trader's Corner is immortalized in the Provisioner recipe, Denmother's Trail Mix.
 * Calthine at ZAM gets a nod in the recipe Calthine's Eternal Optimism.
 * The poison Translucent Torment of Rijacki is a tribute to EQ2 Alchemy's Rijacki Torment.