Faydwer · EverQuest (original release)
Greater Faydark
The great forest at the heart of Faydwer: home of Kelethin’s treetop platforms, crossroads of the whole continent, and the place where countless elves took their first swing at an orc.
Gateway to Norrath
Greater Faydark is the starting forest for the wood elves and half-elves of Kelethin and the high elves of Felwithe, and with Ak’Anon and Kaladim close by, gnomes and dwarves pass through constantly. Allakhazam rates it for levels 1 to 10; the Project 1999 guide puts its creatures at levels 1 to 12.
It is the most popular place on the island for melee classes to bind, because everything else is close. The forest connects to Crushbone in the north, to the Lesser Faydark through a pass on its southern edge, to the Butcherblock Mountains at the end of the path along the southern edge to the western wall, and to Felwithe on its eastern side.
Sources: Allakhazam: Greater Faydark (zone) · Project 1999 Wiki: Greater Faydark
Kelethin in the trees
Kelethin is not a separate zone. The wood elf city is built on platforms high in the Greater Faydark’s trees and joined by bridges, and three lifts carry people up from the forest floor: the northern Orc Lift, the central lift known for its Priest of Discord, and the southeastern Newbie Lift. Its platforms hold the guilds of bards, druids, rangers, rogues and warriors.
Below, black wolves, wasp drones and bats give young archers their first targets, and Crushbone’s scouts sometimes wander as far as the city’s lifts, though they have never gained a foothold on its platforms.
Sources: Project 1999 Wiki: Kelethin · Project 1999 Wiki: Greater Faydark
The orcs of the forest
The only truly aggressive natives are the orcs. Orc pawns are among the weakest creatures in the zone, while orc centurions are far more dangerous, and both wander everywhere. Near the entrance to Crushbone the risk rises, and the only reliable guards are at the foot of the Orc Lift. Many characters stayed here until around sixth level and then moved on to Crushbone itself. The orcs’ side of the story is told in Crushbone and the Faydark Orcs.
The forest’s greatest hazard in 1999 was the crowd. During peak hours there was a real bottleneck around levels 4 to 6, and when every camp was taken, players were advised to try Butcherblock or the windmills of Steamfont instead.
Sources: Project 1999 Wiki: Greater Faydark · Allakhazam: Greater Faydark (zone)
Paths and towers
The roads loop around the forest’s edge. Felwithe lies down the road from Kelethin toward the southeast, and about two-thirds of the way along the southern edge is the pass into the Lesser Faydark. A set of portal towers stands on the path between that pass and the way to Butcherblock; the Kelethin guide notes that these magical gates had been inactive for a long time, though powerful mages were rumoured to use them.
The forest belongs to Tunare’s children, descendants of the Elddar who crossed the Ocean of Tears, and its faeries and fae dragons can turn on characters of evil faction.
Sources: Project 1999 Wiki: Greater Faydark · Project 1999 Wiki: Kelethin
Lore tied to this zone
Sources: Allakhazam: Greater Faydark (zone) · Project 1999 Wiki: Greater Faydark · Project 1999 Wiki: Kelethin · Project 1999 Wiki: Zones of Norrath