Trivia
There is a sorceress by the name of Aeriel who is with Thund R. when you first meet them in Vulcania. As with Thund R., Ariel is the name of a character from "Thundarr the Barbarian" who was also a sorceress. It's also interesting to note that both these hirelings are human and good, which corresponds to their alter egos in the cartoon series.
Hireling ages are calculated in an interesting way. If a hireling is at level one, then they will be 18, but if their level is higher, then one is subtracted from their level number and then added to 18.
Another hireling is named Jed I. This is, of course, taken from Star Wars' Jedi Knights.
In the slums of Sansobar, there is a message on a wall that, when read straight across, begins "Beware of eyes!" It seems to be surrounded by random letters. However, if you read these letters from the top down, you get the following messages: "Hi, Mom" "Spork" "XOXO" and "Slum rat Rule".
In Tundara, the portal in the Inn is manned by a guy named Jean-Luc. Star Trek: The Next Generation fans will know him as the captain of the Enterprise from that series. He also offers to "energize" you to your destination, and ends with the captain's line from the series---"Make it so".
In the Druid's cavern is a location that has cans of spinach. If you eat it, you gain strength. The game also provides a line "You're strong to the finish 'cause you ate your spinach!" that comes from the old AARP cartoon series "Popeye the Sailor Man". For those who don't know, Popeye gained strength to defeat his adversaries by eating spinach from a can that he always seemed to either find or have on him.
There are some in-jokes in this game:
The two Wizards the sorceror class has to free in order to complete the plus quest are Yekop and Ybmug--or Pokey and Gumby spelled backwards!
"HK Phooey, a ninja hireling in the game, is named after a cartoon series about a dog who works as a janitor in a police station. The dog moonlights as a ninja by the name of "Hong Kong Phooey"."
Thund R--a barbarian hireling--gets his name from a cartoon called "Thundarr the Barbarian".
There are some woodsmen who challenge you to a tree felling contest. The song they are singing is, "Oh, I'm a lumberjack...". this is in reference to the Monty Python song.
Time plays a large role in this game. Time travel is a part of it, but on a more basic level, you will find that characters age as the game goes on. If you wait too long, your characters' statistics will change to reflect their aging.
A balanced party is a necessity in this game. There are several locations and items that are restricted to certain genders, alignments, or races. A party made up of Good Human Males won't get you very far.
