Rivervale is the halfling home town, where those barefoot little mooks start their journey in Norrath.

Halflings are, of course, the hobbits of Tolkien lore… except only hobbits, wizards, and authorized agents of the Tolkien estate use the word “hobbits,” such that TSR was sued by the latter for using the word “hobbit” (along with “ent” and “balrog”) in early printings of Dungeons & Dragons, so had to change to “halfling” and “treant” (Nalrog became some kind of demon as I recall, maybe a pit lord?), terms which we now use freely when not wanting to face the wrath of Tolkien’s heirs and business managers. (Which now include the horrible Embracer Group.)  Anyway, that was back in the 70s, so by the time EverQuest showed up the naming scheme was a long established practice for any title not paying royalties to the Tolkien estate.  (Tolkien enterprises apparently also tried to take hold of “dragon,” “goblin,” “dwarf,” and “warg,” but there was so much prior art around those words that they couldn’t make it stick.)

But look at these guys, they are hobbits, right?

Also, the early Norrath obsession with alcohol is present… and is that a “G” run on that barrel in the back room? (You might need to click on the image to enlarge it to see.)  Are you just looking for the Tolkien estate lawyers to start climbing all over you?

Anyway, Rivervale is one of those locations in Norrath that I probably have stronger memories of from EverQuest II that the original EverQuest.  In part, that is because it isn’t exactly a memorable place.  While probably more intricate than Surefall Glade, it isn’t all that big, mostly being centered around the Fool’s Gold inn, which is about the middle of the town.

Rivervale isn’t quite Hobbiton, or even Michel Delving.  The Fool’s Gold has a somewhat organic feel, like it might be built around the remains of a large tree trunk, but the town hall is a stone faced edifice, like a low rent Petra, where the mayor sits on the top floor running the place with an iron fist, enforcing his will with an army of masked deputies who are the most common sight on the paths.

There are some hobbit… erm… halfling holes around, though they lack the signature round doors that we read about in the description of hobbit holes back in The Hobbit.

That is probably less to do with the Tolkien estate and more to do with the state of 3D world rendering technology in the late 90s.  The rest of the place is mostly buildings that feel borrowed from elsewhere in Norrath.

Anyway, going to the Project 1999 wiki for a map…

The legend for that map:

• 1. Pottery Wheel and Kiln
• 2. Nyla Gubbin’s House
• 3. Merchants selling Bags and Fishing Supplies
• 4. Weary Foot Rest – Inn
• 5. Vale Forge
• 6. Town Hall and Leatherfoot Hall – Bank, Warrior Guild, Merchants selling Various Weapons
• 7. Merchants selling Food and other Goods, Fishing Supplies
• 8. Priest of Discord
• 9. Fool’s Gold – Rogue Guild, Merchants selling Alcohol, Brew Barrel
• 10. Merchant selling Cloth Armor, Brew Barrel, and Loom
• 11. Merchants selling Potions and Crystals
• 12. Merchant selling Leather Armor and Patterns outside, Small Chain Armor and Small Chain Armor Patterns
• 13. Druid Guild with Merchants selling Ore, Veggies, Druid Weapons, and Druid and Ranger Spells, Forge and Oven outside
• 14. Pottery Wheel and Oven, Fletching and Bowyery Equipment, Weapon Molds
• 15. Merchant selling Potions and Crystals
• 16. Cleric and Paladin Guilds with Merchants selling Blunt Weapons and Cleric and Paladin Spells

That is a nice little burg, big enough to stretch your short legs, but not so large that you would get lost in it for more than 30 seconds.

What is odd about Rivervale is its location.  It is kind of shoved into an odd corner in the middle of Antonica, wedged between some less savory spots.

I mean sure, its front yard starting zone, Misty Thicket, is fine.

It even has some very halfling quests, something of a precursor to the Shire quests in LOTRO eight years later, like the one where you get a box and have to go around finding specimens of local plant and animal life for a collection.

The legend for that map:

1. Orc Camp
2. Goblin Camps
3. Haunted Obelisk
4. Gate through the wall
5. Merchant with Baking Supplies
6. Empty Huts
7. Empty Hut; Unoffically Blixkin Entopop’s “House”
8. Merchant with Small Leather Armor and Patterns
9. Merchant with Sewing Supplies, including How To’s, Large Kit, and Needle and Thimble Molds
10. Merchant with Pottery Supplies
11. Abandoned Tower
12. Merchant with Small Armor Molds
13. Druid Stone Ring
14. Lil Honeybugger’s Hut

I mean, there are some orc and goblins pretty close to hand, but that is why the mayor no doubt ran on a campaign to build a wall, which at least in fantasy worlds is a goal that can be accomplished.

Misty Thicket is another one of those zones that got a revamp while the home town stayed in original condition.  I think there was some revamp of Runnyeye, which became Runnyeye Citadel in a later expansion, and this was the attached zone they chose to spiff up.  Anyway, it means that you get some 2007 level 3D rendering of actual curves in the place, as well as updated textures.

However, the mention of Runnyeye brings me to the issues I mentioned above, which is that Rivervale and Misty Thicket are hemmed in by danger.  Not that you can’t find danger when venturing out from any hometown, but the poor halflings have Runnyeye on one side of things, with the Gorge of King Xorbb and East Karana beyond, and Kithicor Forest on the other side, a hazardous zone that lays between halflings and the Commonlands and Freeport.

Runnyeye isn’t so bad, and is the halfling fill-in for Blackburrow or Crushbone I suppose, though it always felt more dangerous and more like a dungeon than either of those.  And Kithicor can be traveled safely if you know what you are doing… hugging the wall… but any naive wee halfling wandering out to follow the road through Kithicor was in for a rough time of it.

I do wonder if, like so much of Norrath, this was influenced by Sojourn/TorilMUD where the halfling starting town, Beluir, was stuck way down south in the Calimshan Desert, which meant anybody who just had to make a halfling rogue would have a rough time of it traveling north to Waterdeep.  Not that Rivervale is that far off the beaten path… but it also isn’t attached to the Commonlands directly either.  I think dark elves have an easier time getting to Freeport.

Anyway, that is what I have on Rivervale… and really all the starting points I am familiar with.

I never rolled up any of the “evil” races, so have no memories of the home towns for dark elves, trolls, or ogres.  But there is always Erudin.  We’ll see if I can string together a few coherent paragraphs about that place.  It is, if nothing else, “different” than many other locations.

Series so far:

• EverQuest Starting Points – Surefall Glade
• EverQuest Starting Points – Qeynos Hills
• EverQuest Starting Points – Finding Qeynos
• EverQuest Starting Points – What Can I Even Say About Qeynos?
• EverQuest Starting Points – Under Qeynos in the Aqueduct
• EverQuest Starting Points – Is Blackburrow a Dungeon, a Zone, or a City?
• EverQuest Starting Points – Getting Out of Halas
• EverQuest Starting Points – West Karana Where the Scope of the World Begins
• EverQuest Starting Points – North and South Karana
• EverQuest Starting Points – East Karana and the route to Freeport
• EverQuest Starting Points – Highpass Hold and Kithicor Forest
• EverQuest Starting Points – Butcherblock and Kaladim
• EverQuest Starting Points – Greater Faydark, Where the Elves Are
• EverQuest Starting Points – Ak’Anon and Whatever Happened to the Steamfont Mountains