I. Introduction. II. Travel Across Odus III. Dungeons of Odus IV. Cities of Odus 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.
Odus is the Westmost continent in the Old World, and is the home of the dark-skinned and high-domed Erudite race. The Erudites, in turn, hold the balance between the Kobolds of Clan Kolbok, the Kerran cat-people of Kerra Isle and their mystical cousins the Kejekans, in Stonebrunt Mountains. Offshore from the Stonebrunt mountains, separated from the mainland by a misty and turbulent sea, is the pirate haven called Broken Skull Rock.
The Erudites are the decendants of the human Erud, whose exodus from Qeynos to the island-continent is legendary. In time, the city of Erudin grew into an ivory and marble utopia of learning, as well as a profitable seaport. As the power of the High Council of Erudin grew, however, its moral laws became more and more restrictive. This did not sit well with the group of Erudites called "Heretics," whose researches into Necromancy - learned at the feet of the Dark Elves of Antonica - were necessarily placed into the shadow. Eventually the so-called Heretics were exiled into the continent's central forest, Toxxulia, where they practiced in secret for years.
Eventually, the Heretics came to found the dark city of Paineel, whose architecture is itself based upon their necromantic learning. Though the invention of necromancy is to this day attributed to the Dark Elves of Neriak, it is undoubtedly the Erudite Heretics, led by the great Miragul, who perfected the art. The story of Miragul is by now well-known lore - how he attempted to become a lich and failed, and how his soul was bound to the phylactery he made for himself.
Tensions of this kind could not last, of course; and eventually the Erudites descended into civil war. The end result of this was a magical event which blasted a gigantic crater into the middle of the continent, destroying Paineel as it then existed and opening a rift into the Plane of Underfoot. The Heretic hero, Riddosan, is thought to have been the one to have closed the breach, hurling his body into the rift between the planes and closing it behind him. His end is unknown, but was probably neither long nor pleasant.
This crater, filled with elementals trapped on the Norrathian side of the planar rift, is known now as the Hole. A secondary effect of this explosion was the magical displacement of certain of the race of Kerrans to the moon, Luclin; this offshoot of the Kerrans eventually developed a complex civic society on Luclin's Night Side, and is now known as the Vah Shir.
The continent of Odus lies across the Western Antonican sea - the boat from Qeynos to Erudin does a brisk trade across Erud's Crossing, the straight between Antonica and the island of the Erudites. Erud's Crossing contains only a single island, referred to as wisp island. This island is populated mostly by natural creatures - spiders, bugs and snakes - although trade in will-o'-wisp lightstones is made by a few fortune hunters.
The ship from Qeynos, Maiden's Voyage, docks in Erudin; this is the only non-magical entrance to the continent. So long as your faction with the guards here is better than Dubious, you should be able to run through Erudin to Toxxulia Forest unchecked. Erudin Palace, the Ivory Tower of the Erudites, is generally off-limits except to the Erudite loyalists and their select allies; it is here that the Erudite magical guilds practice their respective skills and train their apprentices.
Exiting Erudin to the South one finds the real center of Odus, Toxxulia Forest. Infamously gloomy, Toxxulia is home to a variety of lesser wildlife, including snakes, firebeetles and spiderlings - not to mention numberless abandoned Heretic pets. It is bisected by a river running East - West, following this to its source and crossing leads to Kerra Isle. Across this river a bridge has been built. There is a druid ring nearby this; crossing over from the North side to the South side, however, puts one into Heretic territory. At the southern edge of Toxxulia is Paineel, the Heretic city. A stone's throw from here to the East, one finds a set of Combine Wizard Spires, allowing travel between the continent and Luclin. To the west one finds the Book to the Plane of Knowledge. A second Book may also be found to the East of Erudin.
Paineel is the city of the Heretics; its true entrance is completely closed off from outsiders by an elevator which descends into the rock itself. From outside of Paineel, one must walk along the outer edge of the awesome Hole; care must be taken here, as falling leads to inevitable death.
One can follow this walkway along the edge of the Hole to the Paineel yard, and from here down a flight of steps to the entrance of the Warrens. Continuing down the passageway a bit, one comes to the true entrance of the Hole. It appears to have been closed off by a rockslide; however, the Key to the Hole can be bought for 100pp by anyone who has gained the respect and trust of the necromantic city, and with this key the rocks will open like a bandit's cavern.
The Warrens are home to a den of kobolds called Clan Kolbok, who worship Rallos Zek under the name Rolfron Zek - the Forlorn. In entering the Warrens, proceed to the left and down, continue past the throne room and the cave bat lord's hill and you will come upon the entrance to the Stonebrunt Mountains. .
The kobolds here, who control a certain part of the Stonebrunts as well as the whole of the Warrens, are somewhat more hardy than their indoor kin, making their lives hunting the giant snakes and big cats who make the mountains their own home. They are in constant battle with the Kejekans, mystical white cousins of the Kerran cat people who have founded a mountaintop village here, and with the Heretics of Paineel, who also make regular excursions into the mountains. Legends of Titanic animals - gorillas, snakes and cats - abound among the Kejekans, and both the Erudites and Heretics understand the implications of the existance of such animals. The mountains, becoming cliffs, are bounded on one side by the sea. Across this sea, accessed by supply boat, lies Broken Skull Rock.
III.1. Kerra Isle is the home of the cat-like Kerrans, a savage matriarchal society led by Priestess Mitty. The Kerran society is tribal and slightly xenophobic, especially towards the Erudites and Heretics, whose civil war has always tangentally -and negatively - involved the Kerrans. This has always resulted in calamity for the cat-people. This is a younger dungeon - the Kerrans here are about as powerful as the kobolds of the Warrens.
III.2. The Hole, recently renamed the Ruins of Old Paineel, was blasted into existence during the Civil War between the Erudites and Heretics. The city of Old Paineel was completely destroyed; its old inhabitants now roam the blasted shops and crumbled homes in the form of ghostly Heretics. After Ridossan drove the forces of Underfoot back to their own plane and sealed the rift behind him, the ruins became quiet and dark, and the Heretics rebuilt their city along the lip of the crater. The zone is noted for its experience modifier; as an Old World dungeon it's good until level 55 in groups and to 59 solo.
The entrance to the Hole lays under a pool of water, past the entrance to the Warrens in New Paineel. A key, which may be bought at the general store in Paineel for ~100pp, is needed to open the rocks, although athletic and slim adventurers have, from time to time, managed to swim through the cracks in the rocks and thereby gain entrance for free. This is a special technique, however, which requires both a slim frame and some practice.
The entrance chamber is a hall guarded by rows of Elemental Warriors from the Plane of Underfoot; these are captained by Elemental Crusaders, who are slightly stronger than the Warriors they command. Very commonly they are carrying an Elemental Binder.Very, very rarely, any Elemental Warrior in the Hole may drop Imbued Granite Spaulders. To progress deeper requires killing the powerful Iron Guardian - he cannot be snuck past. Then the party must descend a cliffside until it reaches a point of no return, and must either jump in or leave; if it makes the leap to the Hole proper, the only means of escape are death and gating - walking out past "the drop" is not possible, and levitation does not work here.
Deeper in one encounters more elementals, as well as the ghosts of Old Paineel, condemned to haunt the place for eternity. In these passages one finds the ratmen, also, who have taken the place as their own, and some of their Constructs. Eventually, the series of defensive passageways gives way to the blasted city proper; here are buildings and stores - the marks, however decrepit, of advanced civilization. Some of the shops even have their signs, which hang raggedly from their chains or nails; the architecture of the heretical erudites is in constant evidence. This is the place of Erudite ghosts.
Progressing through here, one comes to a ramp which descends ever deeper into the Earth; eventually, one leaves the ruins of Old Paineel behind. Through here is the old lair of the legendary elemental lord Master Yael. Master Yael has been deposed, however - in his place is The Guardian of the Seal, a massive Iron Golem whose duty is to guard the iron gate which marks the divide between Norrath and the Plane of Underfoot, and to make sure that it never opens.
The deepest part of the Hole is the Palace, which all evidence suggests is completely haunted. I do not know anyone, personally, who has ever attempted to penetrate the Palace, nor do I know what dangers or rewards to expect. I suspect that it has been taken by the most powerful of the ancient undead Erudites.
III.3. The Warrens are a network of caves, hewn into the mountain upon which Paineel lies. It is populated by a clan of kobolds, the Kolbok, whose main trade is the creation of cold iron impliments, although they must import the cold iron from EverFrost. It is unknown why the Heretics or the Erudites do not simply wipe this clan off the face of Norrath; certainly either side posesses the magical firepower to do so with little effort. One suspicion is that the usefulness of the kobolds as a common distraction outweighs the advantage that may be gained by their elimination. Both the High Guard of Erudin and the Heretics are pleased with the death of any of these kobolds, although they reproduce at such a rate that the death of one is hardly noticable. At any rate, they know better than to challenge the powerful adventurers who occasionally wander through their lair to the Stonebrunt Mountains.
This zone provides good fightin' for most characters between levels 8 and 25; the strongest kobolds - Elites, Pack Leaders and Elders - guard the King and his High Shaman, who hoard the better cold iron armor and weapons. The King and Prince hold the "Forlorn Vestments," including the Scepter of the Forlorn and Crown of the Forlorn. The kobolds are fond of exotic weapons, such as the katana, naginata, and yari; unfortunately, their metallurgy has advanced only a little past bronze. Finding a Fine Steel Katana, though it is no better a weapon than the common Fine Steel Longsword, is something of a treat, and is only to be expected from the more powerful kobolds who populate Stonebrunt. They commonly wear either Dusty Burlap or Soft Wicker armor.
The biggest anomaly of the area is the unusual Mugglewump, an enormous tadpole residing in a pool at the very floor of the Warrens. This monster is a challenge for most groups of adventurers capable of gaining experience from the fight, and he drops several interesting pieces of class-specific equipment such as the Helm of Riddossan, and the occasional Invisibility Potion. The Mugglewump is venerated by the Kolbok for its shamanic healing, and deranged and outcast kobolds can almost always be found hovering near it.
IV.1. Erudin is the city founded by Erud when he landed on Odus; his followers, the modern denizens of the city, are called Erudites. All marble and ivory, Erudin is in all probability the greatest center of learning on Norrath, and its library is certainly second only to the Great Library in the Plane of Knowledge. Erudin is divided into two zones: Erudin, also called Erudin Exterior, and Erudin Palace, also called Erudin Interior.
If you have acceptable faction with the High Guard of Erudin, which can be raised by fighting in the Warrens, you can certainly travel freely if you avoid the Temples and the Palace. The Erudites absolutely hate Necromancy, and regard nature-based classes dubiously.
Erudin Exterior is accessed by dock from the outside, and runs essentially as though on a track. Exiting the dock, one encounters first the Port Authority and the interior water-garden tunnel, with its teleporter to the Library Square. The centerpiece here is the Library of Erudin, its exterior covered in white marble; surrounding this are the Vasty Deep Inn and BlueHawk's Pub, the Deepwater Temple, and Erudin Surplus. Following the central path to the South here leads to a blue-diamond teleporter and Toxxulia Forest.
Following the paved road to the North-East, one comes to the Water Square, a two-level fountain surmounted by another large blue-diamond teleporter, leading to Erudin Palace. Surrounding this are the Temple of Divine Life on the West and the City Armory on the East. Also here in the East, on the top level, is yet another blue-diamond teleporter, this one returning to the Erudin Dock.
IV.2. Erudin Palace, accessed by teleporter, is an indoor area. Erudin palace consists of three, more-or-less square floors, each connected by teleporters or stairways. Floor one contains nothing but a coin fountain and stairs to Floor 2. Floor 2, bisected by an artificial river, holds Sothur's Fine Gems and Vials of Vitality, the Erudin Bank and the Erudin City Office. Floor 3 of Erudin Palace is the magical center of the city, supporting the towers of the Wizards of the Crimson Hand, the Enchanter Craftkeepers, and the Magician Gatecallers. In the center of these three is another large fountain. It is from this center of power that the High Council of Erudin takes its strength.
IV.3. Paineel is the home of the outcast Erudite necromancers, called the Heretics. Although they once were forced to make their experiments in a small hut in Toxxulia Forest, the city of Paineel was established long ago; destroyed once by the magical civil war which created the Hole; and rebuilt in the side of the cliff. "New" Paineel can only be accessed by means of a keyed elevator buried in the cliff itself; to get a key for entrance, the guards in Paineel Yard must at least regard you Amiably. Then you simply inform them of your "need," and they will give you your key. In order to raise faction with the Heretics one should kill the Kolbok kobolds in the Warrens, connected to the Paineel newbie yard.
To open the elevator in the cliff, find the rock at the end of the path which winds around the Hole, and be very careful here*. There is no guard railing, and if you fall into the Hole, you will die. When you find it, hold the splintered bone key in your hand and press U (or click) to turn it. The cliff will begin to raise as the elevator does. When the door is exposed, step in and click the rock again to lower the elevator.
Paineel divides cleanly, by way of teleports, into three sections: the Stairs / Courtyard, the Square, and Downtown.
As you exit the elevator you will pass two skeletal guards - either of them can replace a lost elevator key if you tell them of your "need." After a brief hallway, you will find yourself at the top of a stairway carved to resemble a double-helix - a fitting first impression, I may say, of the Erudite Necromancers. At the bottom of the stairs, after passing another short hallway, is the door to the Courtyard.
The Courtyard feature a semi-circle of stone monuments, around which mill a number of Heretics and their allies, the gatehouse, and the Fell Blade Shadow Knight guild within. A number of skeletons guard the gatehouse and the rest of Paineel. These skeletons are completely expendable in this thoroughly necromantic city. A portal in the courtyard leads to Paineel's civic center.
On the other side is an archway of gray stone, a preview of the gothic architecture. Passing beneath it and past the Devilishly Handsome clothing store one comes to the Square; to the right are the Bank and the Pottery supply; to the left is the General Store, where you can buy the Hole key. continuing, one comes across the Pub, featuring skeletal bards, and the Necromancer guild.
Across from the General Store is a red portal to Downtown Paineel. In this are the Paineel Palace, the Library and the Tabernacle of Terror, Paineel's temple of Cazic Thule, the Faceless god of Fear. It is assumed that all Heretics venerate Cazic Thule.
* (To emphasize this point: you fall into the top of the Hole itself, where Levitate does not work. You enter somewhere above Master Yael's chamber and fall for some time - I don't know how long, you experiment. You hit the stone floor of Master Yael's old chamber at Terminal Velocity, for 20,000 points of damage. And die. Your options in between falling and splashing are these: Divine Aura / Harmshield, or /ex. While these will save you from taking damage when you hit bottom, when you land you will be alone and deep in the Hole, both literally and figuratively; hope nothing saw you on the way down. Anyway, the moral of the story is not to fall in.)
This ends the fourth part of the Wayfarer's Guide to Norrath. Part I featured general helps to navigation around Norrath. Part II contained tabular data on all of the various modes of transportation. Part III examined Faydwer, Parts V and VI will feature in-depth looks at Antonica, a continent frankly too vast to be done justice in one part. These will follow shortly after this one, patterned upon the same mold. Thank you once again for reading!