Shivering:Easter Eggs

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[edit] References to prior Elder Scrolls games

• For those who remember Sheogorath's quest in Morrowind, Big Head has some how found his way to the Shivering Isles. Once again, he's misplaced the Fork of Horripilation. At least this time, you don't have to kill a netch to get the reward. If you choose to learn a secret of blade, though, he tells you that they poke out, not in and mentions killing grandfather netch. If you choose to learn a secret of alchemy, he tells you that poison is potion spelled differently.
• The Cursed Red Mountain Shield is likely a Morrowind reference... It has an enchantment of "Fire Shield 12% on self" and "Weakness to Frost 10% on self."
• In the construction set, there is a ring with an id of Fargoth's Ring. In game, this ring shows up as heirloom ring. The ring has a constant effect of Fortify Health 5. Fargoth's ring was part of an early quest in Morrowind.
• After finishing the Sheogorath's questline, if you talk to Bhisha he will make a reference to the K'Sharra prophecy from the Sheogorath's Shrine quest in Oblivion.
• The smith's store in Bliss is called "The Missing Pauldron," which may be a reference to the fact that the armor type called the pauldron that was combined with the cuirass in Oblivion instead of being its own armor like in previous games. This may also refer to the elusive second pauldron of the Daedric Set, which was left out of Morrowind and only found in the Bloodmoon expansion.
• The leader of the Golden Saints at Brellach is Staada. You might remember her from the Azura Shrine quest in Morrowind. She was one of the daedra Sheogorath sent to disturb Azura's priestess in the Sheogorad region.
• Din's Ashes can be found in game. Din was an insane man from Morrowind.

[edit] References to Popular Culture

• In the ruins of Xirethard there is a unique chest called 'Dark Chest Of Wonders'. The band called Nightwish has a song on their album Once, called Dark Chest of Wonders. To further confirm the relation, the chest contains a Ring of the Oceanborn, which has enchantments of Night-Eye and Water breathing. Oceanborn is an album released by Nightwish.
• If you go to the roof area of Crucible at night, you will find two citizens of Crucible fighting each other. Other citizens may be watching and cheering. Different members of this "Fight Club" fight on different nights. The orc bartender will mention that this is a private society, and that you should not interfere. The note inside the jewelry box on the bar (sneak behind the orc to unlock it) will have a little more information. If you have completed The Lady of Paranoia in the main quest, you will find a note labelled Liturgy of the Duelists on Muurine's corpse, which relates to the movie "Fight Club".
• Gnarl Bark, which is found in Gnarl corpses, may be a reference to the pop group Gnarls Barkley. One of their songs is "Crazy", which fits in nicely with the Shivering Isles theme. Another possible reference is to Gnarly Bark, which is an item in Westwood's 1992 adventure game, "The Legend of Kyrandia II: Hand of Fate".
• If the quest The Great Divide is completed favoring Mania, talk to the Khajiit, J'zidzo. Picking the dialogue option of "Doubles" will lead him say: "So I said, 'Rectum? You killed him' Good work." This paraphrases the punchline to a very old joke.
• In the settlement of Highcross, there is an Argonian named Runs-in-Circles who will run around saying "Ni Ni Ni" if you refuse to give her the items she requests. This is a reference to "The Knights who say Ni!" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• If you choose a sneak secret from Big Head as your reward, he says "The secret to sneaking is not to be seen." This is a reference to "How Not to Be Seen", a famous sketch from Monty Python.
• Muurine in Crucible mentions her Uncle Leo, a zombie who lives in the upstairs of her house. This is a reference to the character in the television show Seinfeld. In Fallout 3, another game by Bethesda, there is a friendly Super-Mutant named Uncle Leo, most likely a reference to the zombie.
• When Sheogorath says "You wouldn't like me when I'm bored", it has nearly identical pacing and intonation to the famous "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry" from the Bill Bixby version of The Hulk.
• When you commission an amber sword from Dumag gro-Bonk in Bliss he says, "Mama always said, 'You can tell a lot about a man by the sword he carries.'" This is similar to what Forrest Gump said about shoes.

[edit] Miscellaneous references

• Near the top of the mountain north of Knifepoint Hollow, there is a small altar with several dead bodies in various states of decay. The most recent, still dressed in a white outfit, is carrying a decree explaining that he was executed for growing a beard, an offense against Sheogorath. This is a dig at one of the Oblivion dev team members, Robert Wisnewski. If you look at the credits from the main menu, Wisnewski is credited as one of the Dungeon art team; apparently he tried a new look that didn't work out so well. More information can be found here.
• There is a book that can be found at Inlet Camp, amongst other possible places, that is a transcription of the writings and poems of a former Isles prisoner. The author, Fenroy, wrote them on the floor and sheets of the cell in his own body fluids and they were later "transcribed" for the book, The Ravings of Fenroy. In it, one of the poems goes:

Just You wait and see

Good Gods come and go, but

All Lords eventually fall

A God can wake up mortal.

Taking all of the letters that are capitalized, in order they spell JYGGALAG.

• Throughout New Sheoth, there are busts of Sheogorath. Beneath or beside most of these busts are lettuce and yarn, which are two of the offerings needed for Sheogorath's Daedric Quest. At some of the busts there are also lesser soulgems, the final of the offerings.
• Throughout the Shivering Isles you may find smaller bones, which, according to Una Armina of the Museum of Oddities, used to belong to a group of ethnic pygmys. Some may be found on top of a house of Crucible. You can collect the bones and put them together somewhere to form a little skeleton body. A full pygmy skeleton appears cradled in the hands of a statue within Vitharn Keep.
• One of the most dynamic "easter eggs" in the entire expansion is the New Sheoth Graveyard, barely southwest of New Sheoth. Each tombstone is for an individual NPC and contains entirely different epitaphs for each. When entering the Isles for the first time there will already be some tombstones with quite comical words of endearment chiseled in them, but as the player spends more time in the Isles and more New Sheoth NPCs are killed from varying circumstances, they will get their own custom tombstone raised in the Graveyard. See Tombstones for a list of epitaphs that appear for each NPC.
• During the Shivering Isles main quest, different artifacts from your adventures (each respective quest) will accumulate around Sheogorath’s Throne Room. It starts with a replica of the original Gatekeeper's head, when you first break free of The Fringe, and continues to fill special pedestals with items based around the choices you have made in the different quest progressions. A full list of the items and other rewards for completing the different steps of the main quest can be found on the Court of Madness faction page.