Lore · Gods of the Pantheon
Fizzlethorpe Bristlebane
If a halfling ever lifted your coin purse in Rivervale and you laughed about it, you understood Bristlebane perfectly.
Mischief as sacrament
Bristlebane’s followers believe in having fun at the expense of almost everything else. Bards, rogues, jesters, gamblers and wanderers follow him, and practical jokes are treated like the highest rituals. Very few are truly wicked, but keep an eye on your purse, and never let one deal you a hand of King’s Court.
Sources: Allakhazam: Bristlebane · Library of Erudin: Bristlebane
The second pact
Bristlebane and Cazic-Thule arrived after the first races, and Brell met them with a new pact. On the surface, away from the elves and giants, Bristlebane made the halflings: short, agile, meddling folk with a habit of pilfering.
Sources: Library of Erudin: “The History of Norrath” (original EverQuest manual text) · Library of Erudin: EverQuest RPG Player’s Handbook: History of Norrath (2002)
Rivervale
A halfling history in his lore says the halflings were the luckiest people of all, because of where he put them. Rivervale lies among soft hills where a river runs, with narrow clefts behind that kept them safe, and it can only be reached through Kithicor Forest or the Misty Thicket, neither kind to the careless. Beyond the Thicket lay the goblins of Runnyeye: nasty folk in a nasty place, the halflings say.
Who he is
The RPG Handbook calls Fizzlethorpe Bristlebane the god of fun and mischief, rated discordant neutral, ruling the Plane of Mischief. He has no fixed appearance and usually turns up as an entertainer or rogue. His favored weapon is the dagger, and none of his followers may be orderly. He keeps no track of his enemies, assuming most gods like a laugh enough to forgive him. The 2001 manual sums up his faithful: “true believers of fun and mischief; doctrine disregards trust and honesty.”
Sources: Library of Erudin: EverQuest RPG Player’s Handbook — Bristlebane (White Wolf, 2002) · Library of Erudin: Bristlebane (EverQuest Manual, 2001)
The sword that split Meldrath
His most consequential prank is in gnome lore. Official Secrets of Faydwer lore says Meldrath was born joined at the chest to a twin, one pure-hearted and one dark. Their mother wanted two whole sons. Bristlebane, disguised as a healer, gave her a magic sword to separate them, and she plunged it between the sleeping boys. See Ak’Anon and Meldrath for what followed.
Rivervale’s chapel and his faithful
An official Rivervale guide says nearly all halflings are loyal to Beek Guinders, High Priest of Mischief, whose clerics keep the Chapel of Mischief. In the game his blessing turns up in odd places. Hendi Mrubble asks for three bixie stingers before curing poison, then sends you off with “May the swift and silent spirit of Fizzlethorpe Bristlebane smile upon your frail soul.” In the Plane of Growth, Prince Thirneg explains that the first black unicorn, Lithiniath, was cursed by Bristlebane to spread madness. Lithiniath isn’t evil, but his lawful nature was replaced by a chaotic reflection of it.
Allies and a twin brother
The Library of Erudin lists Brell Serilis and Erollisi Marr as his allies. Brell and Bristlebane share a temple in gnomish Ak’Anon. An EverQuest II developer wrote that until the gods withdrew there was also a god of luck, Xev Bristlebane, the younger twin of Fizzlethorpe. The RPG says Xev built huge versions of games of chance throughout the Butcherblock Mountains to amuse the other gods.
Sources: Library of Erudin: Bristlebane (developer post: Bristlebane; GMG — Wilds of Faydwer)
Keep reading
Retold in our own words from the sources linked under each chapter; short quotes are marked and sourced. The illustration is an original AI-generated painting made for this page alone, not from the game.