I. Introduction. II. Travel Across Faydwer III. Dungeons of Faydwer IV. Cities of Faydwer V. Afterwords.
EverQuest is a vast game, and it keeps getting bigger - each expansion brings new zones to explore, new places to go and new things to see - not to mention new things to kill and new stuff to take. Even between expansions, only a priveleged few have learned the game well enough to get to and master the out-of-the-way endgame zones. Sleeper's Tomb requires a drop from named, Velious dragons; Vex Thal requires spending time in ten different zones on Luclin; reaching the Plane of Time requires having gone through virtually all of Planes of Power.
My ambition with this paper is to lay out the geography of EverQuest in the most intuitive manner possible. Those who have been playing for awhile, who have many characters of higher or lower level, and have a lot of play time, will know how to get around. This guide is for all those who have had the experience of being invited somewhere by a friend and been forced to decline; for everyone who has died on his way to a raid; or experienced any of the many pitfalls that can befall the solo traveller in EverQuest.
Faydwer is the Easternmost continent in EverQuest. It is made up largely of the old-growth forests which make up the Faydark. The Southern parts of the continent contain the Steamfont mountains on the one hand, and Dagnor's cauldron on the other.
The Butcherblock mountains, just North of Dagnor's cauldron and West of the Greater Faydark, connects with the Timorous Deep as an access to the jungle continent Kunark, and also with Freeport by way of the Ocean of Tears, a shipping rout between a number of smaller islands.
II.1. I will begin this Part III of the Wayfarers Guide by describing the Ocean of Tears as the "doorway" to Faydwer. Its dock on the route from Freeport to Butcherblock is called Sister Island and is home to the Sisters of Erollisi , a group of female cultists of Erollisi Marr, Goddess of Love noted for the fact of their wearing Purity Belts. Across from Sister Island is Brother Island, which is only remarkable for housing the dock for the route from Butcherblock to Freeport.
Of special note in the Ocean of Tears are the Oracle island and the Oracle of K`arnon and his two Guardians, whose Oracle Robe is a classic in Old World style; the Cyclops island, a source of gems for the needy, and of the Ancient Cyclops which carries the Ring of the Ancients; Sister and Brother Islands, mentioned above; the mermaid island and a few others, of lesser and greater importance.
II.2. Butcherblock mountains is where the boat from Freeport on Antonica, or Timorous Deep on Kunark, drops you off. It can be difficult to navigate this zone without a map, as it takes the form of a maze due to its peaks and valleys. It is populated mostly by dwarves defending their home city of Kaladim, which is hewn into a Northern mountain; there a few small goblin camps scattered through the area. To the South is Dagnor's Cauldron; to the East is the Greater Faydark forest, and Kelethin, home of the wood elves. There is a Wayfarer's Camp here, which will give adventurers missions into the Mistmoore Catacombs, accessed through the Lesser Faydark.
The Kaladim Book in Plane of Knowledge connects to this zone.
II.3.Dagnor's Cauldron is a massive crater, blasted nobody-knows how long ago. This crater has long since filled, except for a small mountain in the center, with rainwater. It evidentally was once was the home of a sentient underwater race called the Kedge, the only remnant of which is Phinegal Autropos, a Kedge wizard who lives in Kedge Keep below the crater's waterline. Investigating Kedge Keep requires Enduring Breath, and is really appropriate for PCs around level 40-55.
The denizens of Dagnor's Cauldron itself are mostly unassuming aqua goblins, whose only real interest is as fodder for fledgling adventurers, and a few undead who have wandered away from the Estate. Else there are very few creatures here who represent a real threat to anyone. The Estate of Unrest, on the south edge of the zone, is overrun with common ghouls, zombies and skeletons.
II.4. Greater Faydark forest is to the East of the Butcherblock mountains, at the center of which is Kelethin, tree city of the Wood elves, whose druids, rangers and rogues are legendary, along with its tailors. This borders on its East side with Felwithe, home of the cosmopolite and magical High Elves. There are wizard spires here, forming a link with the continent and the moon, Luclin. Both the Kelethin and Felwithe books also connect with this zone.
II.5. Lesser Faydark is to the South of the Greater Faydark, towards the edge of the continent. Flora and fauna is sparser here. Lesser Faydark is home to only a few species of creature, including a tribe of Brownies in the north-western corner; in the South edge of the Lesser Faydark is Castle Mistmoore, once-home of the legendary vampire Mayong Mistmoore, and recently expanded by a number of Catacombs. There is otherwise little of real interest in this zone.
II.6. The Steamfont mountains are connected to the Lesser Faydark, and are the home of the industrial, industrius and inventive Gnomes and their clockwork city, Ak`anon - to see it, one would think that every gnome had been taught mechanics at a very early age, which is of course true. The penchant of the gnomes for inventions, particularly of clockwork and steam, is well known; and the Steamfont mountains are teeming with runaway clockworks modelled on spiders, rats and on gnomes themselves. That they also have very great masters of magic would make them dangerous foes indeed. The Ak`Anon book in the Plane of Knowledge connects this area with the Planes.
The Steamfont is dotted with windmills, which can be started and stopped by adventurers passing through. As in the Butcherblocks, there are scattered camps of goblins, kept in check by gnomish patrols from Ak`anon. There are also the minotaur caves; the minotaurs here carry Minotaur axes, a fine weapon for the beginner, and the caves are known to be the home of the Minotaur hero, a wanted fugitive of Qeynos.
I have glossed over some of the dungeons of Faydwer above; in this section I will go over them in greater detail, one at a time. The dungeons are: the Estate of Unrest, Kedge Keep, Mistmoore Castle and Crushbone, the orc citadel. I do not deal specifically with the Lost Dungeons here, but to not seem remiss I will restate that the lost Mistmoore Catacombs may be accessed by way of the Wayfarer's Camps.
III.1.The Estate of Unrest is an "outdoor dungeon," consisting of the Estate itself and its grounds, which includes a pond and hedge-maze. It has been completely overrun by the shambling undead - zombies, ghouls, and skeletons are the order of the day here, a perfect training grounds for the zealous cleric or paladin. Only a few drops, like the Bloodstained Mantle and Dwarven Work Boots are worth noting even for new adventurers, although most mobs drop quest items of one sort or another. There is little here for an adventurer above level 25.
III.2. Kedge Keep is a castle underneath Dagnor's Cauldron, filled with aquatic life. Some of the more interesting are the swordfish and the seahorses; although it is rare that you see adventurers here just for the experience. Fighting for experience points here - or doing anything else - absolutely requires Enduring Breath of one sort or another, and is really good only for a certain range of levels, 40-55 or so. Estrella of Gloomwater is a major target here, but in all honesty Phinegal Autropos himself is the main site, for there are many people for whom he is an Epic attraction. He is guarded by four very angry seahorses, the Swirlspine Guardians, which can drop the Swirlspine Belt. There is very little else that drops here which would be of interest to the modern adventurer of the appropriate level.
III.3. Crushbone is the home of the Crushbone orcs, led by Emporer Crush and his grand vizier, the Tier`dal Ambassador D`vinn. Disorganized and technologically backwards, the orcs stand no real chance of ever invading the Faydark generally, although they make constant small raids and excursions against the wood elves of Kelethin, who return the favor. There are few items to really look forward to in this area, the Dwarven Ringmail Tunic and Screaming Mace being possible exceptions. Crushbone citadel proper is in the middle of the grounds and surrounded by a moat, and this is where Emporer Crush and his small retinue of Legionairres reside. Killing orcs tends to earn the gratitude of the High Elves and Wood elves, and to lower it with the Indigo Brotherhood. This area is only of interest to new adventurers.
III.4. Castle Mistmoore is a large manse on a dark hill, guarded by dark elven thralls; decorated thralls are issued the Crested Mistmoore Shield, Crested Helm and Crested Spaulders. Although Mayong Mistmoore has not been seen in centuries, the cult he formed around himself thrives to this day. The mansion has its own undead servants and entertainers, not to mention magical guards such as gargoyles and the occasional troll. Many of the items which drop here are for quests around Norrath; a few, such as the Gypsy Lute are directly usable. The League of Antonican Bards are made happy by killing here, as is King Tearis Thex.
The Ring of Scale - Kunark dragons - appear to have some vested interest in keeping the cult of Mayong Mistmoore alive and active, but to what purpose is unknown.
The four races of Faydwer are generally good-natured demi-humans - the dwarves, gnomes, wood elves and high elves. Their cities, while close in proximity, are absolutely diverse in style; there is very little comparison between the mechanized clockwork city of the gnomes and the tree-dwelling and naturalistic 'architecture' of the wood elves and despite this, apart from the classical antagonism between the dwarves and elves, the races get along very well together.
All cities have tradeskill and basic vendors; depending on the specialities of the different races (tailoring for the wood elves, smithing for the dwarves, tinkering for the gnomes, magic for the high elves) you will find these vendors in greater and lesser supply in their respective cities. The same applies to class trainers: each city will have trainers for each class which that race is capable of producing.
IV.1. Kaladim, the dwarven city, is under the Butcherblock mountains, hewn out of the rock itself, apparently in the act of mining, which is of course the main pre-occupation of the dwarves. Apart from this, the dwarves are well known for their brewing, drinking, smithing and fighting. The proof of this is in the Double Brewed Double Stout Dwarven Ale, which recipe is du rigeur in modern Norrath for all brewers, dwarven and otherwise. Although in recent years the other races have somewhat caught up to the dwarves in their smithing techniques, the dwarven Warriors can still go blow-for-blow with creatures fifty times their height.
The dwarves worship Brell Serillis of the Underfoot, Norrath's patron deity of all miners and earth-working races; they share this in common not only with the gnomes of Ak`anon, but with certain races of kobold, goblin and gnoll, as well as with the Halflings of Antonica. It goes without saying that they do not like to be reminded of this fact.
IV.2. Kelethin is at the heart of the Greater Faydark. It consists of giant platforms among the giant trees, connected to each other by a series of suspension bridges, and to the ground by two elevators. The wood elves have excellent tailors, and are well known for their druids, rangers and rogues. They are also known for having a slight case of xenophobia, and do not take to strangers easily. The wood elves worship Tunare - nature - almost exclusively, although some of their number have chosen Karana, the Stormlord, as their patron. In either case, they prefer to stay as close to the nature they know as possible, and with the exception of their best adventurers, avoid underground areas, which anyway are not amenable to the spells of their Druids.
IV.3. Felwithe is the home of the high elves, who along with the much shorter-lived Erudites on Odus, are among the most strongly magical creatures on Norrath - their magical guild takes a whole section of their city on its own. And the high elves are generally extremely intelligent, and as a result of this exremely arrogant. The rest of the city is filled with the products of the elves, including high-quality armor and general supplies.
The high elves get along fairly well with the other races on Norrath, despite their noted arrogance. However, they absolutely detest the Tier`Dal, or Dark elves of Antonica, which race began with the corruption of the first High Elven King and Queen by Innoruuk. That the dark elves really are quite evil, and are just as magically gifted as their high elven counterparts, only drives the rivalry and hatred between the two races further home. Also, they are not fond of necromancy generally - Shadow Knights and Necromancers should not regard themselves as welcome here, but that holds for most places on Faydwer.
IV.4.Ak`anon, the gnomish city under the Steamfont mountains, is a marvel of technology unmatched in Norrath; its only possible comparison is with the Plane of Innovation. It is, in fact, to civic design what the Plane of Innovation is to weaponry. The Guide series of robotic escorts can take you to any place within the city you may wish to go simply for the asking; the vendors and bankers, cleaning robots and many other things have been automated in clockwork and steam by the gnomes, giving them more leisure time, which in turn allows them more time to invent and build new clockworks...
Ak`anon is also the home of the only Necromantic guild in all of Faydwer, the Mines of Malfunction. This is where gnomish Shadow Knights and Necromancers learn their dark spells and skills, hidden deep within the city.
This ends the third part of the Wayfarer's Guide to Norrath, a continuation of the series. Part I featured general helps to navigation around Norrath. Part II contained tabular data on all of the various modes of transportation. Parts III, IV, V, and VI will feature in-depth looks at the various continents of the Old World. These will follow shortly after this one, patterned upon the same mold. Thank you once again for reading!