References in DDO

Comedic References in DDO
As many people have discovered over the years, there are many subtle and not-so-subtle comedic or silly references to other things in DDO. Here are a few examples... please feel free, if you find any more, to add your own.

Comics

 * In the final quest in the Phiarlan Carnival arc, Under the Big Top, an optional Tiefling named Maz'il'tilnik appears, with whom you can make a deal. While talking about it, you can ask what happens when he says his name backwards... and he throws a fit, complaining about an "overmuscled, blue and red armored do-gooder of a paladin" who keeps showing up to try to trick him into doing just that - then says his name backwards several times, to no effect.  This is a reference to Superman's standard method of dealing with his enemy Mister Mxyzptlk.

Gaming

 * In the third quest in the Catacombs series, "The Crypt of Gerard Dryden", the map is a very similar to a Sorry! game board, complete with colors, and your goal is to get to the middle (like a Sorry! game).
 * "The Enemy Within" is named for 80's classical campaign series for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay . (What?! this isn't DnD!)
 * Xy'zzy, the Hound of Xoriat, is named for Xyzzy, the magic word in the original Colossal Cave Adventure, which also subsequently appeared in various Infocom games over the years.
 * In The Shroud (Raid), each of the Shrouds first 3 phases were designed to mimic various classic arcade games:
 * Phase 1 is modeled after the classic arcade game Gauntlet, by Atari.
 * Upon entering you'll immediately notice four corpses, they are named very similarly to the four characters from the Gauntlet arcade game: Scarlet Warrior, Jade Elf, Azure Valkyrie and the Golden Wizard
 * Phase 2 borrows some of it's elements from the classic Pac-Man, by Namco
 * The Ghost return to the center to come back to life, just like pac-man, and the power pellets are represented by the trees which regenerate spell points.
 * Phase 3 is vaguely reminiscent of Frogger, by Konami
 * The Whirling Blades represent the cars, and the player dodging them is Frogger.
 * In the Marketplace, infront of the monk trainer, there are 2 people kneeling in front of him, one is called Kendrik and the other Ryutar, referencing Ken and Ryu, 2 characters from the Street Fighter Franchise.

Literature

 * The entire Korthos Island series is likely a reference to H.P. Lovecraft's "A Shadow Over Innsmouth", where an out-of-the-way coastal town is secretly run by fish-men-worshipping cultists. Although unrelated to the Innsmouth story, it's notable that the end quest features a Mind Flayer, a monster inspired by Lovecraft as well.
 * Detritus in the quest Reclamation is actually a reference to Terry Pratchett's Discworld [Detritus] which in the Discworld is an troll, but on that world trolls are creatures made out of living rock which closely resembles a earth golem in d&d
 * In the quest Delirium, the chef is attacked by the hams and clams he has been cooking. Occasionally, he will scream "the horror, the horror," this is a reference to the final words of Kurtz, a mass murdering colonialist, in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
 * The quest Redwillow's Ruins contains references to Douglas Adams' science fiction / comedy series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: the troll Geeblebrox is a reference to Zaphod Beeblebrox, while the scorpion Ravenous sounds like a reference to the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal.
 * Bluffing shows the overhead text "Mostly harmless", another reference to Douglas Adams' series.

Movie

 * The quest "Come Out and Slay" in the Sharn Syndicate series refers to the movie The Warriors (1979) . The basic plot of the movie is a group of gangs meeting, one of the leaders being killed, and then the title gang's escape back to their home territory, fighting all the way. The quest title itself is a reference to a line toward the end of the movie, where one enemy gang member is taunting the Warriors to "come out and play".
 * In the quest A Cabal for One, the hobgoblin Olos Nobrac sounds like a reference to the character Han Solo in the space opera movie series Star Wars and his condition during parts of Episode V and Episode VI.
 * In The Weapons Shipment, when the titan is summoned, Liella's taunt to Gorgith-Tor is a reference to the Emperor's taunt of Luke near the end of Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi. Except, of course, that the closest thing Eberron has to a Death Star is a Warforged Titan. Liella d'Orien herself sounds like a reference to Leia Organa.
 * Clarice Roden, the Moth Collector in the Marketplace, is a reference to the movie "Silence of the Lambs." Clarice was the name of Jodie Foster's character, and the villain put moths in the mouths of his victims.

Music

 * The five quests out in The Vale of Twilight are all musical references to hard-rock or metal.
 * "Running with the Devils" is the first track from Van Halen's 1978 "Van Halen" album.
 * "Rainbow in the Dark" is a track and a singlecut from Ronnie James Dio's 1982 "Holy Diver" album.
 * "Let Sleeping Dust Lie" is a reference to "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" from the Michael Schenker Group's "MSG" album.
 * "The Coalescence Chamber" is taken from the name of metal band Coal Chamber. Indeed, "Coal Chamber" is often the shortened name used by players for the quest.
 * "Ritual Sacrifice" is a thrash metal group that formed in Rhode Island in 1987.
 * "Ghosts of Perdition" is named for Swedish death-metal band Opeth's 2005 album (and title track) "Ghost of Perdition". 4th track of the album is "Atonement".
 * A monk finishing move Shining Star requires Earth, Wind and Fire moves to trigger and dances opponent when successful. This refers to 70's funk/disco band Earth, Wind and Fire, which had a hit song also called Shining Star.
 * The named rapier from The Tide Turns, the Elyd Edge's name is an anagram for "Geddy Lee," the lead singer of Rush.
 * The "elvish script" at the bottom's translation is an almost verbatim lyric from Rush's song "Anthem," and the elvish script itself may be a reference to the Rush song "Rivendell" off of the same album.
 * The epic version of the rapier has "Screaming," to which Lee's early vocal performances have been compared.

Real life

 * In the challenge Treasure of Crystal Cove, the kobold workers keep uttering what sound as lots of quotations from several sources. For example, "A small step for a Kobold, a huge leap for Koboldkind!" is a reference to Neil Armstrong's famous words spoken while beginning walking on the Moon.

Television

 * In the final quest in the Attack on Stormreach arc, Siegebreaker, two of the optional foes you encounter are Brinky and The Pain - spoonerized versions of Pinky and the Brain from Animaniacs as well as their own show. The monsters' dialogue is similar to mice's catchphrases.
 * In the Chronoscope raid the main villain is named Tremas. This is both an anagram of Master and the name of a character (Tremas of Traken) that the Dr Who villain stole the life energy from. Also, both the Chronoscope raid and Dr Who feature time travel as a major part of the plot.
 * One of the hireling vendors in the Marketplace is called "Kaeless", which is a reference to "Kahless", a Klingon "god" in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
 * There are 3 named items in Caught in the Web named after My Little Pony Friendship is Magic] characters, Twilight Sparkle (Twilight, Element of Magic) Princess Luna/Nightmare Moon (Nightmare, the Fallen Moon) and Princess Celestia (Celestia, Brightest Star of Day).