Easter Eggs

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

Hidden Quests

See the Hidden Quests page.

Backwards or Anagram Names

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 The Feerrott - we love zilla
  • Alliz Tae Ew in The Feerrott - we eat zilla
  • Alliz Raef Ew in The Sinking Sands - we fear zilla
  • Tsol Ew and D'iar Ew in the Eidolon Jungle - 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 (Docter Fine) (misspelled, but a reference to a Three Stooges film)
  • The Tyrant of Fire, Fennin Ro (infernno) (misspelled!)
• Others
  • Clint Gilcrush (anagram name for an in-game representation of Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling)
  • Londiar Inygad, the Adorning and Tinkering Daily Tasks NPC, is an anagram of "daily adorning".

Dialog

• Sa'ib Waseem's incantations 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

History

• Perah'Celsis (Heroic & Epic) is a reference to Paracelsus.
• 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.

Other Games

• The messages you see in the Loping Plains at sunrise and sunset are a reference to Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.
• The NPC in Mistmoore Catacombs Simone Chelmonte is another reference to Simon Belmont - or possibly Sonia Belmont. Bloody Tears, the name of the quest she offers, is also the name of the "daytime" song in Castlevania II. The quest reward, the Chelmonte Thorn Whip, is another Castlevania II reference - the Thorn Whip was the first whip upgrade Simon could buy.
• 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.
• Altered Beasts - video game
• In the original release of the original EverQuest, kobolds would often say "Grr. Bark. Bark. Grr." when attacking. During the quest A Nightmarish Illness, when your character turns into a werewolf, s/he will say "Grr. Bark. Bark. Grr."
• In Saving Frostfell, the passcode (Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right) is (most of) the Konami Code.
• In the Village of Shin on the Isle of Mara, during the day, a master of the local martial arts clan is training Ken Ventur, Ryu Nurwin, Chun Ventur, Li Nurwin, and Dan-sho Augren. Ken, Ryu and Chun-Li are characters from Street Fighter, and Dan-sho is the first level of training in martial arts.

Music

• 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 are songs from the Metallica album, Ride the Lightning:
  • Coif of Tolled Bells - "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
  • Faded Black Hood - "Fade To Black"
  • Helm of Fire Fight - "Fight Fire with Fire"
  • Hood of the Lightning Rider - "Ride the Lightning"
  • 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, as was Blowing In The Wind
• The Kaladim band The Burglars produces parody versions of Van Halen's "Panama" and Styx's "Come Sail Away"
• Let The Spinning Wheel Spin are lyrics from a Blood, Sweat & Tears song
• Malkonis D'Morte mangles several lines from the song "One Night In Bangkok" from the musical Chess
• Here in my Sokokar I Feel Safest of All is a play on lyrics from Gary Numan's "Cars"
• Sealed With a Scorpikis is a play on the song title "Sealed with a Kiss"
• Along the Watchtower - song "All Along the Watchtower"
• Dunfire Diamonds are a Dwarf's Best Friend - song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"
• Fight for Your Right to Research! - parody of a Beastie Boys song
• Hail to the Chief - Presidential anthem of the United States
• Off To See the Warlord - the song "We're Off to See the Wizard" from the film The Wizard of Oz
• Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - song
• Tell it on the Mountain - spiritual song
• The Reet Goes On - song "The Beat Goes On"
• Tiptoe Through the Lava Fields - parody on the song "Tiptoe Through the Tulips"
• Village People - band
• Down Under - a song by the band Men At Work is the inspiration for the standard non-racial /dance emote
• Who Ya Gonna Call? - lyric from the theme song of Ghostbusters
• Lyricist Trucci in Qeynos Harbor sings "The demon went down to Katta Grove, looking for a gnoll to steal..." is a play on the lyrics of The Devil Went Down to Georgia.

Films

• 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 and the Fens of Nathsar quest An Ugly Bounty are a tribute to Sergio Leone's spaghetti western The Man With No Name Trilogy
• 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
• Lieutenant Dansiss Gets New Legs: Me is a reference to the Forrest Gump character Lieutenant Dan (Taylor). Lieutenant Dan, previously amputated, appears at Forrest and Jenny's wedding with prosthetic titanium legs.
• The Creature from the Black Pond as part of the Sunwalker and Stones is a reference to Creature from the Black Lagoon
• In the Frostfell Wonderland Village, Fleck had his tongue frozen to a pole near the entrance, a reference to A Christmas Story.
• And Your Little Dog Too! - quote from The Wizard of Oz
• Big Badda Boom Powder - line from The Fifth Element
• Bring Me a Shrubbery - common misquote from Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• Holy Hand Grenade of Aeteok - parody of Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch also from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
• Good to be the Queen - change-up of a line from History of the World, Part I
• It's a Trap! - quote from Return of the Jedi
• Wurms, and Devourers, and Drakes. Oh, My! - altered line from The Wizard of Oz: "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!"
• You Dirty Rat! - common misquote of James Cagney's line in Taxi!: "Come out and take it, you dirty yellow-bellied rat..."
• Steven and Douglas (Erollisi Day merchants) are a reference to the characters Steve and Doug Butabi in the movie A Night at the Roxbury. If you watch them long enough, they'll start bobbing their heads to the side the way the Butabi brothers do.
• Death to S'neuchi is a reference to Death to Smoochy.
• In Castle Mistmoore, a captured elf will occasionally say "I've been made to suffer! It's my lot in life!" This is similar to the quote C-3PO gives in Star Wars.
• In Maldura: District of Ash (Heroic), A Dark Gears recon will occassionally say, "I am not the Dark Gears you're looking for..." a parody of Obi-Wan's quote from Star Wars.
• In Thalumbra, the Ever Deep the quests You Only Test Twice, The Man with the Tinkered Eye, Fuels Are Forever are parodies of the Jame Bond movies "You Only Live Twice", "The Man With the Golden Gun", and "Diamonds are Forever", and the last quest For Your Eyes Only is a James Bond movie.

Television

• 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.
• 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.
• I Know Nothing! Nothing! quotes Sergeant Shultz of Hogan's Heroes
• The Dire Wolf Whisperer - parody of The Dog Whisperer, itself a change-up of horse whisperer
• The Kobold and the Beautiful - TV soap The Bold and the Beautiful
• When catching the murderer in Library of Erudin, the guilty party's final statement can be how they "would have gotten away with it were it not for you meddling adventurers!" - a shout-out to Scooby-Doo's "meddling kids".
• Enforcement Officer Hueax and Enforcement Officer Lueax are references to Huey and Louie (but not Dewey) from various Walt Disney cartoons.

Plays

• The Icemanes Cometh - theatrical play The Iceman Cometh
• Just a Jump to the Left - lyrics from the song "The Time Warp" from The Rocky Horror Show and its film adaptation
• Soil and Trouble - parady of Hamlet's "Double, double, toil and trouble".

Literature

• 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 to be transported to the Frostfell Wonderland Village, an homage to Narnia's entry.
• 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 <hå>, "shark", and <jagt>, "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
• The entire quest The Cherished is a not-so-subtle homage to The Lord of the Rings (Gollum, losing his "precious", the One Ring)
• The Fae/Arasai flight quest, And Straight On Till Morning, takes its name from the subtitle of Chapter 4 of Peter Pan
• The NPC Penny Dreadful in the The Barren Sky is a reference to a type of British fiction publication in the 19th century that usually featured lurid serial stories appearing in parts over a number of weeks.
• One Fish, Two Fish and Dead Fish, Blue Fish are the altered title of a children's book
• The comic book character Cerebus the Aardvark has a homage in Runnyeye: The Cerebus, a boarfiend (aardvark means "earth pig" in Afrikaans)
• Slay it Forward - parody of a book and later film
• A Tale of Two Towers - A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
• Along Came a Drachnid - altered quote from a nursery rhyme ("Along came a spider...")
• Captain, My Captain? - from the poem "O Captain! My Captain!"
• Clan of the Cave Imps - book (and later film) The Clan of the Cave Bear
• For Whom the Doll Tolls - book For Whom the Bell Tolls
• Grrr, Interrupted - parodies the title of a book and later film
• Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged: Matthew 7:1 in the Christian Bible
• Of Magma Basilisk Bondage - from the book Of Human Bondage
• One if by Sea - a twist on the midnight ride of Paul Revere and Wadsworth's poem ("One if by land, and two if by sea")
• The Legend of Roger Goldie questline is a tribute to the manga One Piece
• The Road Less Travelled - common mistitling of the poem "The Road Not Taken"
• There and Back Again and Overthere and Back Again - part of the full title of The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (image)
• Through the Looking Glass - the sequel to Alice in Wonderland
• To the Pain! - quote from The Princess Bride, both book and movie

Popular Culture

• EQ2 pays a tribute to Dungeons & Dragons with the Stone of Gygax and the Emerald Stone of Arneson.
• In the Bertoxxulous devotion quest Believe in Me, you are sent to locate a book called Grazyk's Anatomy of the Sarnak Body, a reference to the textbook (and/or TV show) Grey's Anatomy.
• 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.
• 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.
• Always After Their Lucky Charms - from the breakfast cereal, which was also parodied in Austin Powers
• Chokéball, Chokéball: Grassgalor, and Chokéball: Rawritor - like Poké Balls without the cute
• Kill 10 Rats - blog started in 2004
• Out of Our Cold, Dead... - from a National Rifle Association slogan
• Ring Around the Scholar - parody of a laundry detergent campaign
• Something Borrowed, Something Bruised - parody of a wedding rhyme; also the title of the series finale of The District
• Sometimes You Feel Like a Knut - advertising jingle for candy bars
• Taking a Bite Out of Rime - either a parody of the original crime prevention slogan or a rock rap album that also parodies the slogan.
• In Zavith'Loa: The Lost Caverns, the "Tail Swipe" ability some enemies have has an examine description of "That's a 50 DKP minus!" This refers to the Onyxia Wipe Animation.
• Evils Grumblepaws can be seen bouncing and waving his arms in the same motion as the badgers in Weebl's Badger Badger Badger flash cartoon.

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 Guard Black and Guard Moor after Ryan "Blackguard" Shwayder, community manager, and developer Steve "Moorgard" Danuser.
• The NPCs who join your group in The Hole: The Outer Vault are named among others after devs Paul "Cronyn" Molina, Emily C. "Domino" Taylor, Kyle "Kander" Vallee, Greg "Rothgar" Spence and Jason "Fireflyte" Woerner.
• Skymaster Akiz Hoopster is named after Lead Designer Akil "Lyndro" Hooper
• The Halfling racial tradition "Niami's Tutelage" is named for Niami Denmother of EQ2 Trader's Corner (see below).

• Recipes from of the Danak Scholars immortalized several notable people.
  • Recipes named after players:
    • 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.
    • Nolus' Watchful Eye (Journeyman)
    • Zaphax's Charismatic Libation
    • Xalmat's Conjured Cudgel (Journeyman)
    • Syzygy's Last Minute Miracle (Journeyman)
    • Neep's Noxious Nip
    • Morticus' Mortification
    • Whysprr's Words Of Wisdom (Journeyman)
    • Kaisha's Eerie Laughter (Journeyman)
  • Recipes named after devs:
    • Kirstie's Replenishment
    • Gninja's Tinkered Explosion (Journeyman)
    • Cronyn's Curse Of Gorowyn
    • Olihin's Overtime (Journeyman)
    • Haohmaru's Magic Window (Journeyman)
    • Lyndro's Potion Of Mending for Lead Designer Akil "Lyndro" Hooper

• 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

• Other Items
  • Brasse's Dwarven Battle Bread
  • Kirstie's Blue Party Light
  • Lyndro's Fiery Flamestaff for Lead Designer Akil "Lyndro" Hooper, a talented fire dancer
  • Naylie's Nebulous Newsbag for Community Relations Manager Robyn "Naylie" Vallee

Credits

EQ2i credits posts in this thread written by Absyntheea, Calthine, Cappen, Cloudrat, Cyliena, Errrorr, Griffon Lady, Guy de Alsace, Kalmaraa, Maverick, Meadbh, Mermut, Noctew, Pengefinchess, Rijacki, Roane, Rotherian, Sambril, Sucha, Tariya, Theriatis, Wirewhisker at the SOE/DBG Forums for some of the information in this article.

EQ2i credits posts in this thread written by duranvaer, Faine, Indur, Kendricke, M0rticia, Tetrol, theriatis, Wildlord, Wilin, Windowlicker, Wirewhisker, Zacariah_Innoruukk at the SOE/DBG Forums for some of the information in this article.

EQ2i credits posts in this thread written by Feldon, Thimdirran, Noctew at the SOE/DBG Forums for some of the information in this article.