The lore sources within the game

[Andemon]

<div></div>I never realised that this game has this rich lore until I checked this forum.  I never played EQ1.  Most of the names and named mobs in the game mean nothing to me.  I have no idea why the moon is shattered, why there are craters all over TS, don't know how long Lucan has ruled Freeport, don't know much about the gods, and so on.  I've played for a while now, but still don't know much about the world.  ...and I don't know what bits of the world actually have lore, and which don't.  For example, I just saw an epic zombie in Antonica - Vorn Scuttlebrow.  Makes me wonder why he's so powerful....  The "History of..." race books contain some lore, as do some quests - but seriously, shouldn't there be more of it?  Are there some sources within the game that I've missed, or is it simply expected that all the players who are interested in it should read this forum?Why not give some free lore-ability to some classes, such as bards - target the named and use the ability to get few lines about the background of the mob...?  ...or maybe even something like the Encyclopedia in Saga of Ryzom.  You do some quest, and new bit of information about the world is added into your encyclopedia...<div></div><p>Message Edited by Andemon on <span class=date_text>04-28-2006</span> <span class=time_text>11:25 AM</span>

[Mary the Prophetess]

<P>Actually lore clues are everywhere in this game.  From the opening movie, to the stories and conversations of NPCs, to quests, to paintings, to writing and grafetti written on walls.  There is no ONE place (like the Library on the Plane of Knowledge, or the Lycaeum of Ardathium, or the Great Library at Erudin), and perhaps that is just as well, lest it be just too conenient and easy.</P> <P>I like to think of this forum, and similar forums for EQ Live, or EQoA, or the EQ pen & paper RPG modules, as a sort of lore library.</P> <P>There are dozens and dozens of books of lore that can be obtained through quests, easily over a hundred.  These can be gained as a reward for all types of various quests, and placed in your home, forming your own private lore library.</P> <P>Indeed a number of guilds have devoted part of their activities to such libraries, and have them available to the general public in their guild houses.</P> <P>Look, and you will find it everywhere.</P> <P>Get a good database going, it can become almost a full time second-job, but it is the primary reason that Norrath in all it's variations is such a rich and believable world, rivaled (lore wise) only by Middle Earth, or the AD&D Forgotten Realms.</P> <P>I am afraid though you're never going to find it all in one spot neatly laid out.</P> <P>I like your ideas about Bards.  I always thought they should have some actual 'Bardic' type skills.</P>

[Trepan]

<div><blockquote><hr>Andemon wrote:<div></div>I never realised that this game has this rich lore until I checked this forum.  I never played EQ1.  Most of the names and named mobs in the game mean nothing to me.  I have no idea why the moon is shattered, why there are craters all over TS, don't know how long Lucan has ruled Freeport, don't know much about the gods, and so on.  I've played for a while now, but still don't know much about the world.  ...and I don't know what bits of the world actually have lore, and which don't.  For example, I just saw an epic zombie in Antonica - Vorn Scuttlebrow.  Makes me wonder why he's so powerful....  The "History of..." race books contain some lore, as do some quests - but seriously, shouldn't there be more of it?  Are there some sources within the game that I've missed, or is it simply expected that all the players who are interested in it should read this forum?Why not give some free lore-ability to some classes, such as bards - target the named and use the ability to get few lines about the background of the mob...?  <hr></blockquote>A lot of our sources of lore have died during the rending.   Libraries have been lost, sages were killed, wisemen of the mountains had their mountains taken away, etc.   Any books with important history that still survive are being hoarded by sages, or treated as family heirlooms, or are propping up a table in some illiterate's hovel.Its become an oral tradition, sort of.... Thats one of the driving reasons that I do quests - to get more lore.  I love the librarian in StormHold.  Great lore there re: Chessguard and the Knights.   Other places for great lore are the book quests - I just found a set of three books last night that explain the discovery and dissemination of the Combat Art system.  Wonderful stuff!More lore will be coming in the form of Guide interaction.  The guide program for EQ2 is ramping up and the dev team has recently finished a set of tools for them to use for such events.   I remember some of the best lore I got from EQ1 were from GM events where a guide would wander through and role play interact.  Some of them were story tellers who wandered from city to city.  Sometimes giving extra tid bits if you tipped them (I know one, at least, that liked ale  <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />Think of this forum as one of those nifty pubs that have books lining the walls (encylopedias, dictionaries, history and other refrence books) where you can be guaranteed to bump into people willing to share the stories they know, argue details, wave books at each other and, at the end of the argument, buy another round for the table.As for the named mobs:  There are only a few named mobs that I've run into that I knew any background for.  Vorn is a mystery.  He could have been anyone in the past - I can't find any reference to him in EQ1.   Lots of things have occurred in the past 500 yrs and most of them were overlooked by the people struggling to stay alive.Just immerse yourself in the world... the lore will come (and create itself!)Happy adventuring!</div>

[Cusashorn]

<DIV>Lets not forget that there are numerous more books of lore that you haven't found yet scattered all over the world.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I agree I do miss how some classes in EQlive got an Identify spell that, when used on items, sometimes gave an interesting tidbit about it's origin or whatever, although it was just that and there was nothing further to be deciphered from it.</DIV>