Prophecy of Ro

Announcement

In January 2006, Sony Online Entertainment announced "EverQuest® Prophecy of Ro™, a new expansion". It would be "available at retail and for digital download from Sony Online Entertainment in February for the suggested price of U.S. $29.99." The launch patch notes are dated February 21, 2006.

The box blurb set the stakes: "The gods have returned and the mortal realm shifts with their influence. But a new presence walks among the gods, a malevolent force released into godhood by the follies of mortals." It continued: "Unbound by the laws of the pantheon, it leaves corruption in its wake and threatens to bring the entire pantheon crumbling down. The only hope for Norrath hangs on the very mortals who have unleashed this upheaval."

Sources: SOE press release, everquest.com (Jan 5, 2006) · Official patch notes, Feb 21, 2006 (archived)

The story at launch

The launch patch named the threat: "As a demi-god, Mayong Mistmoore -- the greatest vampire ever known -- is threatening Norrath and its gods."

According to the same notes, "Druzzil Ro, the goddess of Magic, has seen the future and the darkness that lies ahead." In response, the goddess "opens the planes of Rage and Magic and a passage through time to the long lost Elddar elven city of Takish-Hiz." The notes add: "The full story is available in-game in your Storyline window."

Sources: Official patch notes, Feb 21, 2006 (archived)

Attributed accounts

These accounts rest on weaker sources, so they are attributed rather than stated as fact.

A developer's framing. A forum post credited to developer Vahlar survives only as a mirror; the original post is gone. It says: "Prophecy of Ro is designed around this vampire becoming a part of the pantheon, but it's not about him per se."

"The Prophecy of Peril." A fan-hosted copy of the launch storyline tells it this way. A portal formed atop the Academy of Arcane Science in Freeport. An emissary calling itself "a child of Druzzil Ro, a scrykin" sent "Arch Mage Galsin" through it to Arcstone, "our plane of Magic". The emissary foretold "a passage into Sullon Zek's plane of Rage" and "a portal in your desert through space and time to the Elddar Forest of old." In this telling, Druzzil Ro "implored Karana, the god of Storms" and "Karana spun the sands of the Desert of Ro with such force that the ruined palace of Takish-Hiz was revealed." The official original of this text was not found.

Sources: Vahlar developer post (mirror; weak) · "The Prophecy of Peril" storyline, fan-hosted copy (weak)

What the expansion added

The announcement listed "Player-set Traps", "Spheres of Influence", "Destructible Objects", "Buff Filters", "8 New Bank Spaces" and "over 30 new missions". It also promised "More than 25 unique creatures, 7 Zones, and 6 Small Instances."

Traps. The launch patch says: "Rogues and bards have the ability to sense traps, reveal them to those around them, and disarm them. All traps in the game have been converted to use this new trap system."

Things that break. The announcement promised that "doors can be bashed in, walls can be toppled and towers can be destroyed". The patch confirms that "Destructible objects, like walls, doors, and siege engines, are used in many of the new expansion zones."

A mount in the box. The boxed version carried "a special in-game item, a Warhorse mount".

Sources: SOE press release, everquest.com (Jan 5, 2006) · Official patch notes, Feb 21, 2006 (archived)

Freeport and Ro remade

The same patch rebuilt two old cities and regions. "Freeport has been redone. East, West, and North Freeport have been replaced with a brand new East and West Freeport." And: "Desert of Ro recreated. North Ro, Oasis, and South Ro have been replaced with a new North Ro and South Ro."

Sources: Official patch notes, Feb 21, 2006 (archived)

Zones

Officially, the expansion has 7 zones. Zone databases list these areas under Prophecy of Ro:

Arcstone, Isle of Spirits

Relic, the Artifact City

Skylance (instances)

The Devastation

The Seething Wall

Sverag, Stronghold of Rage

Razorthorn, Tower of Sullon Zek

Ruins of Takish-Hiz

Root of Ro

Elddar Forest

Tunare's Shrine

Theater of Blood

Deathknell, Tower of Dissonance

Revamped Freeport interiors: Academy of Arcane Sciences, City Hall, Militia House, Arena, Hall of Truth and Sewers

Sources: SOE press release, everquest.com (Jan 5, 2006) · Allakhazam, Prophecy of Ro zone list