About "The Defiled Temple" in Templestreet, the Ratonga and the Gnomes

[Dikatin]

<p>Hello everybody,</p><p>a buddy ingame asked a pretty interesting question in my opinion, just out of curiousity. We all know that the temple street is called this way, cause there's a defiled temple in it. But the question is, what kind of temple is it and what was its purpose? Is there any lore on this?</p><p>Aside that, I dug just a bit deeper and found some infos in the official strategy guide for Everquest 2 - the most interesting fact was, that I saw an immediate link between these infos and a gnome near the Sinking Sands landing dock for the ship to the Moors of Ykesha. He said something like the ratonga were better accustomed to rebuild the flight ship than the gnomes themselves and basically helped them pretty much.</p><p>In the official strategy guide from years ago it is stated, that one ratonga always seemed to be there just in time whenever a gnome needed help to acquire something for his or her studies in temple street. As if these furry little creatures where manipulating and using the gnomes for some reason - I mean, they always manipulate in some way due to their nature, but I thought this potential link was pretty interesting.</p><p>So, are the ratonga manipulating the gnomes for some deeper reasons and has the defiled temple something to do with that? Any answer or thoughts on that would be appreciated.</p><p>Best regards,Qu</p>

[Wilin]

<p>There might be something buried in the ratonga or gnome racial quests in Temple Street. I've never personally played either though so it's just a thought.</p>

[Lethe5683]

<p>Good question.  It's nice to see there's at least something involveing ratonga for once.  Hopefully there will be more.</p>

[Mirander_1]

<p>The temple, as I recall, is the remnants of the old Temple of Marr that existed in the city in EQlive.</p>

[shadowedwolf]

<p>Given Freeports history... I'd be willing to bet Mirander is correct... and that Lucan 'defiled' the Temple of Marr seeing as he's a fallen pally.</p><p>As for Ratonga's and Gnomes.... they were probably put into Temple Street as a matter of convience more than anything else. Both are relatively small races prone to be devoured or stepped on by the various races that inhabit Freeport, so... why not stick them all together? Though Ratonga are prone to trickery, I doubt there is much manipulation going on... so much as it's a co-existance through convience. I mean, Gnome's are prone to tinker, create and blow up things on a regular basis. And Ratonga can pretty much get thier hands on anything. I can see it now...</p><p>Gnome thinking outloud: I need a widget-jiggle-noober-fizzlewig, that's show those pesky....</p><p>Ratonga interupts: You says you need somethings....?</p><p>Gnome: Why yes....</p><p>Ratonga: Me gets it for you... for a price...</p><p>As for the Ratonga and Gnomes in Moors... never saw that text... interesting. Do you remember the NPC? Or was it during the live events? Me, myself... I'm afraid to use the hot air balloons and that airship. Ratonga's like (and steal) shiney things... and Gnome inventions have a tendancy to explode for no reason.... so... basically... you're in a balloon hovering high overland that's probably missing pieces and could expolde at anytime!</p>

[Illine]

<p>yeah when you start the signature quest, a gnome tells you ratongas helped them coz they understood the thing quite well. So the airship is not just gnome made <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />.</p>

[valkry]

<p><cite>Mirander@Unrest wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>The temple, as I recall, is the remnants of the old Temple of Marr that existed in the city in EQlive.</p></blockquote><p>While I won't rule out a (SoE induced) geological anomaly...</p><p>The temple of Marr was located in 'old' North Freeport. This is an area that corresponds to the current <a href="http://maps.eq2interface.com/map.php?zone_id=53" target="_blank">The Graveyard </a>newbie zone. If you follow my link, you can even see "Destroyed Tower of Marr" in the southwest corner of zone. The defiled temple also doesn't resemble the old EQ1 Marrian temple (a huge 4 story monster of a building), even allowing for 500 years and a few Norrath-shaking events. The Destroyed Tower does look like it could have been a ruin from a destroyed Marrian structure.</p><p>Most folks forget that Freeport actually had two religious centers in EQ1. The good Marrians worshiped in NFP, and the evil devinely-inspired Freeporters, along w/ like-minded necros had a safe house in East FP <span style="text-decoration: underline;">under</span> the city proper.</p><p>I suspect that the 'defiled temple' is actually part of the 'warehouse' structure that use to hide the true Opal Darkbriar (not the fake High Elf version in the mage tower). I'm a bit surprised that the Teir'Dal were not set up in this area, as through Opal, Lucan would have had to have been well aware of an area that was sanctified to Innoruk. Purhaps he gave the area to the Gnomes just to keep it our of Teir'Dal hands? Anyway, I suspect at least a few Gnomish necros might have heard of the 'guildhall' in FP, and begun to explore, looking for it when they were settled in Temple Street.</p><p>The temple itself may have been slightly gussied up somewhere in the last 500, but I fear it was negelected after the gods continued to ignore Norrath...</p><p>Thus a building that could have once been a warehouse, given some pillars to enhance it's 'temple' look, could then revert back to a warehouse as the followers lost their religion.</p>

[Cusashorn]

<p>Well the ruins don't have to look anything like the old Marr Temple in NFP. How many other ruins found across the game no longer look like what they used to be?</p><p>The Forest Ruins in Qeynos are what used to be the old Order of the Three guildhall, yet it looks nothing like it looked like in EQlive.</p><p>Then there's the old Plane of Knowledge portal located in Freeport. How did a dinky book on a pedastal hidden away in a tunnel on the outskirts of the city become a grand platform like how it is now?</p><p>The Temple of Cazic Thule has done away with the maze and sewers, and the place doesn't look like it has had any renovations in the last 500 years.. considering it was a worn down place to begin with.</p><p>I think an artistic liscense in creativity has been done for some of these places. They don't have to look exactly the same as they used to, so long as the general feel is there.</p>

[Trevalon]

<p><cite>Cusashorn wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Well the ruins don't have to look anything like the old Marr Temple in NFP. How many other ruins found across the game no longer look like what they used to be?</p><p>The Forest Ruins in Qeynos are what used to be the old Order of the Three guildhall, yet it looks nothing like it looked like in EQlive.</p><p>Then there's the old Plane of Knowledge portal located in Freeport. How did a dinky book on a pedastal hidden away in a tunnel on the outskirts of the city become a grand platform like how it is now?</p><p>The Temple of Cazic Thule has done away with the maze and sewers, and the place doesn't look like it has had any renovations in the last 500 years.. considering it was a worn down place to begin with.</p><p>I think an artistic liscense in creativity has been done for some of these places. They don't have to look exactly the same as they used to, so long as the general feel is there.</p></blockquote><p>My biggest gripe with EQ2 is that it is almost nothing like EQ1.  I understand the whole 500 years, sundering, etc, but still, it would be nice if EQ2 had kept some of the same idea of EQ1.</p><p>Thats why I really like Kunark -- It is closer to the original EQ1 Kunark than anything else I have seen in EQ2.</p><p>As a Side note, the EQ1 Temple of Marr is one of my favorite places in any MMO ever created.  I remember the very first time I saw that place almost 10 years ago -- I turned the corner to this enormous building that nearly took my breath away, the awesome Temple of Marr Music started -- and I remember GM's were having some kind of ceremony there with about 15 GM's around on my server in their "GM" gear (Which at the time was mostly just White Plate armor lol).</p><p>I still remember that moment to this day...ahh...nostalgia.</p>

[Lethe5683]

<p>I think the worst thing about EQ2 is the fact that it tries to be anything like EQ1.  Most of the stupid game mechanics come directly from eq1.</p>

[Cusashorn]

<p><cite>Lethe5683 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I think the worst thing about EQ2 is the fact that it tries to be anything like EQ1.  Most of the stupid game mechanics come directly from eq1.</p></blockquote><p>Uhhhh no they don't. EQlive doesn't have a power bar for melee classes (and the endurance bar isn't the same thing). EQlive doesn't have a detailed quest journal that keeps track of all the quests you have completed. It doesn't lock you into a combat speed to make sure you can't kite easily. It's tradeskill system is far less sophisticated compaired to EQ2... Just a few examples of many.</p>

[Lethe5683]

<p><cite>Cusashorn wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Lethe5683 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I think the worst thing about EQ2 is the fact that it tries to be anything like EQ1.  Most of the stupid game mechanics come directly from eq1.</p></blockquote><p>Uhhhh no they don't. EQlive doesn't have a power bar for melee classes (and the endurance bar isn't the same thing). EQlive doesn't have a detailed quest journal that keeps track of all the quests you have completed. It doesn't lock you into a combat speed to make sure you can't kite easily. It's tradeskill system is far less sophisticated compaired to EQ2... Just a few examples of many.</p></blockquote><p>By "tries to be anything like" I don't mean that it is similar to eq1.  I mean that it even tries to take any game mechanics at all from eq1.</p>