Arena talk:Easter Eggs

Crypt of Hearts

The only egg mentioned on Arena pages I can see is on the Crypt of Hearts page.

• The map of the Mines of Khuras second level contains an easter egg: the maze in the southeast corner spells out "BLACKMARSH" in mirror writing. There are also smiling faces on the third level of the Crypt.

This would probably be more of an historical reference, except there can't really be any in Arena as it was the first game. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 16:08, 15 April 2017 (UTC)

It is actually closer to the original definition of Easter Eggs than the way UESP users tend to use it, so why not? —MortenOSlash (talk) 16:17, 15 April 2017 (UTC)

I agree as well. They should be added. Currently? there is nothing on there. Timeoin (talk) 19:27, 4 October 2017 (UTC)

Random Names

On Lore talk:Altmer Names TRL and Kimi mention that the random name generator includes Aragorn, Legolas, Gandalf, Sarumon and Sauron from Lord of the Rings. From the Argonian names there is Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena, Perseus, Heracles, Macedonia (the ancient kingdom of Alexander the Great), Androcles (all Greek), Augustus, Caligula, Germanicus, Julius, Tiberius, Caesar (Roman emperors), Cassius, and Medes (ancient Iran was called Media). Pilate is there but I'm not sure it's deliberate and Gallus appears just to be a common Roman name. Morganna is mentioned as one from the King Arthur legend, and Avalon is also there (Dunmer family name). If anyone wants to go looking for deliberate names with the Redguards they are welcome. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 02:55, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

Ebony Blade

On the artifacts talk page Dro'Bakha suggests the Ebony Blade is a reference to the Ebony Blade in the Marvel Universe. Going by the wikipedia page it certainly has a few similarities, including absorbtion, and the suggestion that it subtly influenced its wielder, though some of the similarities are more with the later games. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 02:55, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

The Rod of Seven Parts

The Staff of Chaos appears to be a reference to the Dungeons & Dragons artifact called the Rod of Seven Parts. Both are staves, both have been broken into pieces and must be reassembled, and the Rod was originally named the "Rod of Law" (in contrast, "Staff of Chaos").

The Rod of Seven Parts goes back to the early days of D&D, and its associated quest design is said to have been the inspiration for numerous video games over the years. Echo (talk) 23:10, 2 June 2017 (UTC)

This sounds like a pretty obvious egg to me. Forfeit (talk) 23:28, 2 June 2017 (UTC)

I wouldn't call that an Easter egg. Maybe a cultural reference? Drawing inspiration from something is different from an intentional reference, and Arena as a whole is pretty close to D&D. —Legoless (talk) 23:42, 2 June 2017 (UTC)

I would agree, but there isn't an Arena cultural reference page (yet). Echo (talk) 02:14, 3 June 2017 (UTC)

It could be a choice to make a cultural reference section until a page possibly later is established. —MortenOSlash (talk) 10:11, 3 June 2017 (UTC)

Volendrung named after Völundr?

Völundr Smith, better known in English as Waylon Smith, was a mythic artificer, in the legends closely associated with elves, and possibly dwarfs, and maker of several mythical artefacts of the Germanic legends.

The hammer Volendrung, being an artefact made by the Dwemer, and named as if inspired by Völundr. A possible Arena Easter Egg? —MortenOSlash (talk) 22:07, 30 April 2018 (UTC)

Sure seems to be a reference, way to phonetically and contextually similar to not be. The Rim of the Sky (talk) 02:04, 17 January 2020 (GMT)

Province Names

According to Michael Kirkbride, the names for Valenwood and Hammerfell are ripped from Dragonlance and Marion Zimmer Bradley respectively; Valenwood is the name of a type of tree and Hammerfell is the namesake of the novel The Heirs of Hammerfell. The Rim of the Sky (talk) 02:04, 17 January 2020 (GMT)

Dont see why this shouldn't be on the pageImperialbattlespire (talk) 03:09, 5 March 2021 (UTC)

Interesting Notes

I'm not necessarily suggesting they be on this page, but there doesn't seem to be an appropriate place. I felt they should at least be noted somewhere. Interview with Ted Peterson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzjvWQCND54&t=0s In his interview, he pointed out that Ria Silmane was portrayed by one of the programmers. This can be seen to be Jennifer Pratt, when looking at the developers photo here: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Arena:Development_Team He also mentioned that in his writing for the game he would sometimes make a play on his name as a placeholder for some character name, intending that it would eventually be fleshed out. But he later discovered that many of them were just added, as is, directly into the game. These can be found throughout the game. Probably the most notable is as a riddle answer to unlock a door in the Halls of Colossus; "Theodorus". --Satribe (talk) 16:35, 4 March 2021 (UTC)

I think this should be good to add to the page. The Rim of the Sky (talk) 22:00, 4 March 2021 (UTC)

Good addition, feel free to add it. Imperialbattlespire (talk) 22:18, 4 March 2021 (UTC)

A few more easter eggs

If you ask town walkers for rumours, they may sometimes say something like "The elder gods are coming to punish Black Marsh for its sins". This is likely a reference to the Lovecraftian universe. I'm pretty sure there were a few similar ones, though I can't remember them from the top of my head. Just figured I'd chime in. --92.114.148.141 09:54, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

Arena:Rumors only has this one: "The Elder Gods are coming and Black Marsh will burn for its sins." No reference here, just generic Old Gods stuff. --Ethruvisil (talk) 00:49, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

Winston Churchill

"You know, I may be drunk but you're ugly. And I'll be sober later on."

This Inn Patron line is a reference to a (somewhat disputed) quote attributed to Winston Churchill:

Bessie Braddock: "Winston, you are drunk, and what's more you are disgustingly drunk."

Churchill: "Bessie, my dear, you are ugly, and, what's more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly."

I would say this quote is particularly famous, and deserves to be considered an Easter Egg. --AKB ^{Talk Cont Mail} 23:50, 24 March 2024 (UTC)

As your source points out, the line is mostly just a popular joke older than Churchill. People may often associate it with Churchill, but that association doesn't add anything to the joke and there is no hidden meaning about it. So I wouldn't consider it an easter egg. --Ethruvisil (talk) 15:07, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

This joke is extremely associated with Churchill. Me trying to Google the Arena wording of it, all of the top results are about Churchill. This is an extremely famous joke, and we have numerous other Easter Eggs that are cultural references like this. --AKB ^{Talk Cont Mail} 15:16, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

I support adding this. Besides, we already have it on the ESO page with a note about its accuracy, we can format it the exact same. The Rim of the Sky (talk) 18:19, 5 April 2024 (UTC)