advertisement

EVERQUEST IS NEARLY A year and a half old and shows no signs of waning in popularity. The first expansion pack that was released for the highly addictive online RPG was entitled The Ruins of Kunark, and sold well to both established EQ junkies and newbies alike. As well as providing new areas to explore and a new race to play it also offered improvements to gameplay elements and the graphics engine. A second expansion, Everquest: Scars of Velious, has recently been announced and this time the expansion is aimed squarely at existing players.

The expansion introduces an entirely new continent for the world of Norrath called Velious. The official site contains a detailed history of the origins of Velious. The new continent is situated south of Antonica and is a frozen land made up of 16 new adventure zones. Some of the places that those brave enough to explore Velious will discover include an ancient dragon citadel, a frost giant stronghold, as well as new ethereal plain areas. Here are some area descriptions from the development team themselves.

Crystal Cavern: Below Ry'gorr Keep is an entrance to an ancient system of caverns filled with formations of ice and stone. The beautiful upper cave is formed from Velium and was created when Veeshan breathed upon Velious. The lower labyrinth was carved out, under great duress, by the Coldain Dwarves, in their efforts to escape oblivion at the hands of the Ice Giants.

The design of the caverns, a great maze of crystal ice with translucent walls and misleading corridors, was sent to Glight Snowchipper in a vision from Brell Serilis. The very nature of the design would become the salvation of the Coldain race. Snow orcs occupy the upper reaches, and have built fortifications in the caverns to prevent attack from below. Even so, guards commonly disappear without a trace. Horrors unknown lurk below in the unexplored areas.

Tower of Frozen Shadow: The Tower of Frozen Shadow is a grotesque, yet hauntingly beautiful structure situated upon the second of the Icy Fingers in the Iceclad Ocean. Constructed in the recent past by some abominable being, the tower extends upward into the silver-lined clouds that endlessly shroud the southern Sky of Velious. The enormous pillar is a marvelous sight to behold, indeed, but is in no way perfect in its construction. Composed of shadow and ice, frozen and melded together with only the creative and well-placed use of magic, the tower remains flawed in its appearance with jagged edges striking outward from the smooth, oval base.

The tower has no visible means of entrance, with no doors or windows adorning its exterior walls. Upon the base of the tower, hidden beneath two enormous obsidian shaded spikes is a carving of a doorway, arched fifteen feet high, leading only to a wavering wall of ice and shade. The interior of the tower is constructed of the same material as the exterior, with the same sharp, jagged edges piercing out from the floors and walls.

Thurgadin (New Froststone): The Coldain Dwarves, in their need to escape the horrific monsters who dwell in the ice caverns, eventually succeeded in recreating a secure home for themselves in the image of Froststone. Thurgadin's design is heavily defensive. The only access to the city is through long tunnels lined with murder holes. A great fortification known as Icewell Castle, where the Dain and his council of advisors reside, lies at the heart of the city, surrounded by forges, shops and dwellings. Mines burrow deeper into the mountains, some ending in cleverly hidden and easily collapsible escape hatches for easy access into the Great Divide. Carefully disguised guard towers were built among the peaks surrounding the city to provide early warning of unwelcome guests.

Perhaps the greatest architectural wonder of the city lies in the lower caves beneath Icewell in an area known as the Hall of Ancestors. Here, the great Dains and Coldain heroes of the past are preserved within a wall of ice, creating a macabre museum of sort.

Kael Drakkel: At the easternmost edge of the Great Scar, an area most sacred to the dragons of Velious, lies Kael Drakkel, home of the Storm Giants. The dragons, and even the land itself, as if it had a mind of its own, constantly rebuke the giants for having the audacity to settle there. The Frost Giants, cousins to the Storm Giants, make their home in one of the five districts of Kael Drakkel, along with visiting traders and mercenaries. The heart of the city itself is quite heavily fortified and paths lead from there to temples in the north, King Tormax's keep in the south, and the western district, which leads directly to the Savage Land.

The Storm Giants, children of Rallos Zek, have adorned their cith with symbols and statues paying homage to the war god and no fewer than three temples dedicated to the Zek gods. A large battle arena used by the giants use for entertainment stands in sight of the temples. Most of the citizens live inside the walls of King Tormax's keep, a great stone and steel edifice. The western border of Kael Drakkel is its weakest point, and Tormax has ordered his most seasoned troops to guard against the onslaught of creatures from the Savage Land.

Frost Giants:The Kromrif escaped from the curse pronounced upon all of Rallos Zek's creations by The Rathe. They remain both intelligent and powerful, in many aspects mirroring the barbarians of Halas. Their race dwells in huge ice and log huts in the foothills of the mountains in the Eastern Wastes, and near the city of the Kromzek.

Storm Giants:Like their cousins, the Kromrif, with whom they maintain amicable relations, the Kromzek escaped the effects of the curse of The Rathe. These, the are the most powerful of all Rallos Zek's creations, now dwell in their fortress city in the Eastern Great Scar, where they contend with the Dragons of Velious, who wish to destroy them for having trespassed into their most sacred lands.

Coldain:The Ice Dwarves are the descendants of a lost clan of dwarves who were shipwrecked on Velious in the distant past. Deadly foes of the Kromrif, they inhabit Thurgadin, a fortress city in a hidden pass of the Great Divide. They are responsible for having created the Crystal Caverns in a successful attempt to escape annihilation at the hands of the Ice Giants.

Sirens:Alluring songstresses inhabit the Siren Grotto, where they react with hostility toward those they deem invaders. Sirens will sometimes parley with adventurers of evil demeanor when accosted while basking in the sun on the rocks or ice floes near their home.

Walrusmen:Ulthork, the walrusmen of Velious, live in patriarchal clan groups throughout the Eastern Wastes and occasionally beyond. They have no real allies and are very territorial. The largest and strongest member of each clan serves as the King and fathers the majority of the young. The easternmost Ulthork clans, particularly those near the Icy Fingers, have a hatred of the Snowfang Gnolls but neither seeks open conflict as long as neither encroaches on the other's territories. Walrusman shamans pay homage to Prexus, the Ocean Lord.

Ottermen:The Othmir are the ottermen of Velious. A relatively peaceful people, they keep to themselves on the coastal areas of the wastes. They are defensive and when pressed to do so, are formidable fighters. They dislike the Kromrif and Ulthork but are indifferent to most other races. The primary diet of the Othmir consists of crustaceans from the coastal waters and they often craft jewelry from the most pristine shells. The Shamans of the Ottermen pray to Tarrew Marr but are no friends to the Snowfang Gnolls, who have been known to hunt ottermen as well as walrusmen in times of famine.

The Ry'gorr Clan Snow Orcs:One of many clans of snow orcs, so familiar to denizens of Everfrost, this clan dwells in the tundra region of the Eastern Wastes, where their wasteful hunting practices and innate desire to kill have driven the Gnolls and Yeti to other regions.

Snowfang Gnolls:The relatively peaceful gnolls of the Snowfang tribe are a hunting and fishing society people society that prays to Tarrew Marr for guidance and bountiful waters, as their primary diet is fish and their dwellings are typically insulated with the thick hides of seals, sea lions, and whales. In fact, much of their everyday life revolves around objects crafted from the bodies of these creatures. Though little is known about their history, these gnolls, although peaceful for the most part, have quite a temper when angered and can defend themselves ferociously. One of their ancient tales tells of a great gnoll hunter who once slew a noble of the Storm Giants whose brethren cursed their tribes with a terrible winter causing great famine, though differing accounts exist in their legends. One of the variations, in which the ice goddess E'Ci caused the Vengeful Winter, accounts for the small shrines to her which sometimes appear on the outskirts of their encampments.

With Verant stating that The Scars of Velious has been designed specifically for players with characters over and above level 30, it is clear that the expansion is not designed to attract newcomers to the world of Norrath, but instead to provide more enjoyment for those who have reached this level. This will come as welcome relief to those who think they have seen everything Norrath has to offer. The frozen wastes of Velious promise to keep EQ fans busy for a long time yet.

Show me the screenshots!