Antonica · EverQuest (original release)
West Karana
The western end of the great plains: farms, lions, a lonely watchtower, ogres in the northern hills and undead creeping up from the river, all on the road east from Qeynos.
Between mountains and river
The Western Plains of Karana lie east of Qeynos, on the route from the west coast to the rest of the continent. Mountains form the northern boundary and a river the southern one. A single entrance from the Qeynos Hills opens on the northern part of the western border, beside a small hamlet that sells goods; the Miller family farm, home of the famous Baobob Miller’s kin, stands nearby.
The plains are named for the storm god {L('karana','Karana')}, and they are vast. Monsters run from about level 4 to 20 and above: farmers and scarecrows, lions, bears and wolves, fire beetles, giant scarabs and spiders, will-o’-wisps, werewolves, treants, hill giants, bandits and brigands, and skeletons, zombies and ghouls.
Sources: EQ Atlas (eqatlas.ca): Western Plains of Karana · Allakhazam: West Karana (zone) · Project 1999 Wiki: West Karana
Reputation matters
Few creatures here attack on sight. Most of the lions, wolves and bears only turn on you once you have a reputation for killing their kind, and that is hard to avoid; the lions are said to be aggressive to nearly everyone anyway. The real wanderers to watch for are grizzly bears and hill giants. If a hill giant comes for you, the two guards at the watchtower will probably die before they save you.
In the northern hills an ogre and bandit camp, with a named ogre among them, cons amiable but kills most people on sight as part of an evil quest. A treant sometimes wanders through and ignores you unless you are evil or it catches you hunting bears. In the southwest, an enterprising barbarian camp sits near demolished camps where skeletons and zombies live, and bandits everywhere are trying to take the plains back.
Sources: EQ Atlas (eqatlas.ca): Western Plains of Karana · Allakhazam: West Karana (zone)
Living off the land
Apart from Everfrost, this is the only place on the west coast to collect cat pelts for medium patchwork armour, so human tailors had to come here. Lions occasionally drop high-quality pelts worth several gold, and fire beetles pay better than the big bugs. It is a place you can hunt for days: food and buyers are both on hand, and the guards stay close to their tower.
The EQ Atlas writer rarely saw more than twenty players in the whole zone. Its size is the problem: rangers do well because the hardest part of hunting is finding anything. Named figures include the brothers Trintle, Chintle and Estle, Froon and Choon, Chief Goonda, Frostbite and Thracken Grifton.
Sources: EQ Atlas (eqatlas.ca): Western Plains of Karana · Allakhazam: West Karana (zone) · Project 1999 Wiki: West Karana
Two roads east
Two roads leave to the east, though the whole eastern border is a zone line and it is easy to get turned around near it. One road runs north along the mountains; the other runs south by the river and comes out close to the bridge to the Southern Plains. Both lead into the Northern Plains of Karana, the hub of the plains.
Qeynos guards keep posts in the western plains, but their reach thins out quickly to the east. The city’s story is in Antonius Bayle and Qeynos.
Sources: EQ Atlas (eqatlas.ca): Western Plains of Karana · EQ Atlas (eqatlas.ca): Northern Plains of Karana · Allakhazam: West Karana (zone)
Lore tied to this zone
Sources: EQ Atlas (eqatlas.ca): Western Plains of Karana · Allakhazam: West Karana (zone) · Project 1999 Wiki: West Karana