RetroMUD

First of all, I would just like to say that I have been playing this MUD for almost 10 years now on and off, mostly on, heh. But my point is no matter
what game's I play sooner or later I always end up with this one. With dozens of guilds and over 20 races to choose from you will never get bored
making a character here. There are always people on willing to lend a hand, if you are respectful and courteous, people who log on that are annoying
will quickly be shunned by the player base. If your just starting out on RetroMUD I would suggest a Dragon/Monk, this is a good way to get a feel on

the game and explore some, you can always find a druid to reincarnate you which means you get to choose another race/guild with a tax to your total exp
gained. Most likely the greatest learning curve would be mastering the world transport system..i.e. navigating through the Retroverse's 6 planets, but

with patience and a little research, world transport becomes easy. I could go on and on about how great Retro is but you should probably just give it a

try yourself, you wont regret it..and you may even become hooked...like me.

Come in and play.

Links:

http://www.retromud.org
http://retrowiki.wikidot.com
http://www.spheral.com/retromud/forum/

RetroMUD is an LP-type MUD with fully customised areas. There are usually between twenty and fifty players online, depending on the time of day. Role-playing is encouraged, but not mandatory. The MUD is free to play.

The RetroMUD universe is structured in six planets, each of which has different cities and areas. Not counting the planet surfaces, there is a total of over 15000 rooms to explore. Characters can be one of currently 62 races, many unique to RetroMUD and all different, such as the anakim, a race of good aligned half-angels, or the evil, reptilian vypirs. Each character starts in one of 18 primary guilds, which provide spells or skills according to the guild's nature. After finishing the primary guild, characters choose from many secondary and tertiary guilds which expand on that training.

The MUD's overall theme is medieval, with a battle between the good and evil gods and their followers being the driving force of most player and non-player characters. A large number of quests are available to players which vary between pure puzzles and difficult combat. Individual themes are original or inspired by carefully researched historic environments, ranging from Dark Age Europe to Mesoamerica and Polynesia, and including various fantasy settings.

RetroMUD is friendly to newbies, who receive free equipment and various advantages in terms of the rules, a newbie guide that helps with getting around and access to many newbie areas of appropriate difficulty. Combined with a channel for questions about the game and a very helpful player base, newbies can thus be assured of getting answers when stuck or confused. Newbies are also encouraged to begin playing by exploring the cities and areas; at low levels, this yields a considerable number of experience points which get the character far enough to be able to fight.

Among negative aspects of the game, the lack of freeform emotes is the most noticeable. Although there are several hundred defined emotes with a similar number of adverbs to modify them are available, there are still situations where these are insufficient. Another is that because role-playing is not mandatory, interacting with other players while staying in character can be difficult. Nevertheless, there are usually opportunities for role-playing with like-minded players.

The game is addictive and can be played for years. Few players have seen everything. The players and staff are friendly and helpful. I recommend RetroMUD to anyone interested in playing with nice people in a beautifully designed universe.

RetroMUD is awesome! Okay, it has a really ugly webpage, I'll give you that. It's not as bad as it could be, but it looks like it was made by someone who hasn't looked at how webpages are designed since the late 90's. Hyperspace fashion aside, the game is great. It's been running since 1994. I've been playing since 2003, and I am by no means one of the oldest players there. Both facts should speak loads about the game itself, but they don't really explain much.

Firstly, RetroMUD is, obviously, a MUD. That means there's no pictures. Those of you who have to watch TV because you can't handle literature should probably just move on right now. If you've got imagination though, you've got a game here that has everything!

RetroMUD has a diverse character generation system, (So many choices you can get lost in them, beware!) with over sixty varied and unique races, including things as diverse as bloodworms and argus (kinda' like a beholder) and 18 individual, well-balanced guild-based starting classes to choose from. Don't panic if you choose something you don't like, of course, as there's an in-game system called reincarnation that lets you salvage your accumulated exp and create a new character setup at will. Even beyond those starting guilds, there are dozens and dozens of secondary guilds and literally hundreds of tertiary guilds, letting you further customize your character, unlocking a truly unique set of skills, abilities, and powers.

Once you've created your character, and unless you decide to slow down to check out the tutorial area, you're thrown into a massive universe, spanning six, differently themed in-game worlds, which your character may travel between during their adventures, delving into dungeons and experiencing all sorts of amazing quests and unusual environments. You'll even get exp just for exploring new places, and there are plenty to go through. The downside to starting out like this is that if you choose to play something like an atomy (essentially a pixie) merchant, you probably can't expect to make exp any way besides exploring at first. Play a dragon, of course, and you'll have no trouble killing things. Once you get bored of exploring and managed to slap together an attack spell or just happened to notice the fact that you're twenty feet tall, there are plenty of newbie areas available to quench your thirst for blood and earn you some extra experience, so the exploring phase is neither mandatory, nor necessarily long lasting, if you have a short attention span, but be aware, some players have spent years just trying to work their way into every little nook and cranny, every secret passage and forbidden chamber the Retroverse has to offer, and the avid explorer will never find themselves completely out of places to poke their nose around in. There's even an in-game ranking system for those who have explored the most!

It's not all newbiedom though. Experienced players will be thrust into a game that grows ever-more challenging, and they will be compelled to work together to solve puzzles, slay powerful monsters, and overcome vicious obstacles in the course of their adventures, even taking on each other during wars or in a game of capture the flag! The game is challenging enough and diverse enough that it can take players years of play to experience it all, and they just keep adding more!

So if you like MUDding, or just want to give it a try, and are ready for an immersive game that will keep you coming back for years, feel free to stop on by! And make sure to tell me hi! ^^

-Kereth Midknight

Retro MUD is an awesome game. I've just started a couple of days ago and so far its good.

Over 60 races, dozens of guilds, hundreds of spells and skills, no stock areas but around two hundred custom areas across six planets, with over fifty quests that make levels cheaper and hundreds of other quests for guild dues, treasure, loot or satisfaction. Experience is gained from exploring or combat, so there are lots of people who get their first ten or even twenty levels walking around and seeing the worlds before fighting anyone. Tens of thousands of rooms, custom daily mudwide events, and a thriving economy. It's the best mud I've ever played, and the only one I've played for more than a year.