Accursed Lands is a Gothic Fantasy-themed LpMUD (Multi-User Dungeon) founded in 1996.

I cannot honestly recommend this game. The creators of this game have a callous disregard for what makes a game fun to play and why that should matter in this mud, and often genuine complaints get ignored or flat out quashed. The only reason I'm still playing is because I've played it so long that I'm ahead of the learning curve. I like the theme of this game, and I like the people, but the creators need to get over their sadism. It's little wonder this game went from having 40+ people online at pretty much all times of the day to maybe 8 since I started. The creators can't separate theme from function and don't understand how keeping this game as wildly punishing as it is just isn't fun for anyone but the people at the top. I've heard the complaint over and over that people don't want to pass out just because somebody is casting magic somewhere, but the creators command us to "find them". There are literally millions of rooms in this game, and there are no hints whatsoever to where the mages are or even what direction they are from you. That's just not good enough. And as I'll go over in the next point, disclosing this information about why people are randomly becoming exhausted would literally have me punished (and thus why I'm not identifying myself at all). It's impossible to keep new players if we aren't allowed to give them even the most basic of directions to places or resources in OOC channels; just earlier today a new player asked how to get bones, another responded with almost exactly "there are certain enemies who drop bones and certain places to find them" and was scolded for it. The creators tell them to "ask in IC", but again, millions of rooms. Granted, people are somewhat easier to find if they want to be, but otherwise asking in character presupposes they have the answer and will give it to you (e.g. asking where magic is located will most likely get your character killed, as magic basically caused an apocalypse in the story of the game and people are reasonably mistrusting of mages). You don't need to look further than the most recent addition to this game, cooking, which only is given the assistance of "you should start by making flour" through the game itself; I'm pretty sure most players have only figured out a few recipes beyond bread at this point and it's been out for half a year. There are no rules preventing players from just deciding they're psychopathic murderers and killing everyone they see. This comes with two options to the person who is killed: wait 30 minutes and start a new character, or a literal 75 minute wait to hope you keep your character, as your killer might remove your "fetish" [magic piece of jewelry], barring you from being resurrected automatically after 75 minutes. At that point, you better hope finds... Read More

– MudConnector.Com Review by I'd rather not say on Sep 23, 2018

Yes, I know - This RPI MUD is very quiet these days, with no word from Staff. This terrific gem of a MUD. It holds a special place in my heart. Some place of primeval, dark wilderness and danger. It's a place of not knowing where the heck I'm going, until I come upon a lean-to or an Inn in the Wilderness. The Inn has nice rooms, with fireplaces, but even then I have to light the fireplace myself. It is a tedious task involving a striking blade, a stone, and moss or leaves. But since my character is badly injured from a run in with a wolf, she will just be happy to rest in safety. Until the day when she can once again walk on the edge of a forest bordering the highway, hoping that out of the 4 other 'unknown' players, none are thieves and cutthroats. This MUD is special. It satisfies my craving for wanderlust. And for mystery. I'm glad that Accursed Lands is still running.

– MudConnector.Com Review by Violette on Dec 24, 2015

I just recently started playing this mud, but I have had an account for many years. It's an awesome mud, beautifully detailed maps, a huge world, tons of things to explore and lots of fun. However, you are allowed only one char. There are a complex set of safeguards in effect that help to enforce this rule. My partner irl, for example, decided he wanted to play. But since we're on a home network he had to wait almost a week for a coder to log in and allow him to play. It seems though, that some players have found a way around this, and that the creator(s) are actually allowing, if not aiding these players...say for example one person who can control 6 chars and run afoul completely ruining the game for other players. In this mud, when you die ...you die..it really, really stinks. There are heavy penalties and perm death is a very real threat. The other day, a great friend of mine died to an NPC, and his char was permed by one of the above mentioned cheating players. A few of us tried everything we could to revive him, and would have been successful. Then one of the creators decided it was suddenly time for a reboot. Completely desting his corpse and bugging his account. This is apparently not the first time something like this has happened. Such blatant and obvious cheating, by both the players and the coders would normally not be allowed, but in this MUD they don't seem to care. I was unaware of the coder involvement at that time ...silly me..and I begged them to help because he couldn't even log in anymore. I was completely and utterly ignored for the longest time, then I blew up a public channel about it, and finally got a response. Oh well, he's gone, move on, in a nutshell. Great game...but I can't believe they allow such obvious cheating and abuse to go on.

– MudConnector.Com Review by Adrian Kilcher on Jul 3, 2009

Accursed Lands used to be a hardcore RP challenge, as they claim when you log in. However, their ancient rule has fallen through carelessness. Standards eventually gave way with times, and you're left with another antique game. In short, I do not recommend playing this game to new players. A unique system coated with intrigue and fair play was overtaken by a personal agenda, holder unknown. The great magic system was slowly changed (or lacked change to balance change elsewhere) to rubbish. Mages were at a severe disadvantage as it were, needing an immense amount of luck and forethought to compete at all. Magic, however, is canceled when the mage is hit in any way, aside from magic sometimes, and with quicker load times on ranged weapons, overly quick melee races, or the option of a horse to the slower races, some of these seeing a disadvantage to ranged weaponry as well, mages are almost entirely just a thought of the past. Aside from the combat system imbalances, roleplaying is in shambles as well. Ranging from an outright lack or roleplay from certain players to others not following strict guidelines for how their race will act, the original aspect is lost in this virtue as well, and often immersion is impossible. Ultimately, all failures, including the last, come from the top. Many players go unpunished for blatant cheating, ranging from communicating IC information in OOC channels to creators giving the location of players to other players so they may hunt down their enemies mercilessly, making the game much less fun for those not on the inside. Lastly, due to the fact that I have reason to believe that one of the admins is supporting this behavior (having rebooted the game, forcing a corpse to disappear and removing his chance at resurrecting) after a handful of people attempted to bring him to life, only to have a large amount of people over time march into the room and either remove reagents required or attempt to steal the body. As stated prior, I do not recommend you play this game. I would sooner suggest wielding a stapler against yourself to save yourself some time at gaining the potential annoyance this game will cause you. Signed, Mindless, Once-Loyal Five-Year Player

– MudConnector.Com Review (Archived) by Another Mindless Anonymous on Jun 23, 2009

Ah, Accursed Lands... There's so much to say about it, really. It has the most advanced, diversified skill system I've ever seen in 15 years of mudding, a truly enormous world, an unequalled combat system that allows you to tweak and change your style into hundreds of different combinations. Any skill in the game is learnable by anyone if you put the effort into it, from weaving a grass basket to building your own home. It's RPI(Roleplaying Intensive) and has a very dark, dangerous feel to it. When you meet a stranger on the road or in the woods your adrenaline starts pumping, because you dont know if they're friend or foe. There's an incredible, secretive magic system(Magic has been banned ICly due to a cataclysmic event in the past), and I've witnessed full-blown witch hunts. Thousands of rooms to explore, hundreds of secrets scattered about the world. It's possible to step into the forest and pretty much disappear, just because the world is so large. Recently the mud suffered through a patch of lag, but the servers have been upgraded and it's running faster than ever. Unfortunately, with the lag the playerbase declined somewhat, but this is good for a new player. Get in now and become truly established or powerful before everyone else returns. Become a legend in the history of the mud, now is your chance!

– MudConnector.Com Review by Satansfish on Nov 17, 2007

Accursed Lands deserves a standing ovation. It's easy to start playing and I like how the interface is simple and straightforward without being lackluster, and that the commands are intuitive and easy to remember. Especially the emoting command - in other muds I get overwhelmed at how many different things I have to remember to emote correctly. Here it's very simple, but it doesn't take away from the depth of the game. I also love how original everything is. Another thing I love is the unexpected, which is central to Accursed Lands. I once swam in a river and looked down into its depths, for example. At the bottom I saw a stone I had thrown in the river earlier, a hat someone had thrown in the river before, and a signpost. With some practice, I was able to swim down, holding my breath, retrieve the hat and read the sign. Accursed Lands has many things like this which creates different dimensions to the world. The world is vast, the creators are constantly working on it and communicating with the players, the playerbase is loyal and mature, and the play is RICH and REWARDING.

– MudConnector.Com Review by Violette on Sep 24, 2007

What separates Accursed Lands (AL) from other RPI MUDs? 'Before heading there, let me state before you start reading, that this -is- an RPI and as such it might not be for you. But if you like depth in character, roleplay and a setting that allows you to use your imagination, read on!' Full code support to almost every action, if you enjoy RP but are frustrated at continually having to compensate for weak code, then this is the place for you. AL has been built using the incredibly versatile LPC code-base, new additions and possibilities are simply endless. It allows for unmatchable realism; each room has a size, and each object has a position within that room, in order to get that sword on the other side of the mountain you?re going to have to walk. The quality of writing that is displayed throughout the MUD is simply unparalleled. Every nook and cranny has been evocatively described, even ?mundane? areas become unique and fascinating. A unique feature of the code-base allows players to look at virtual objects, instead of having room descriptions that are over a page long AL has concise descriptions and an array of virtual objects that can be examined by the interested. Another point of difference I notice in the writing standards is the high degree of objectivity. Rooms are not simply described as ?messy? or ?cluttered?, which imposes a feeling onto the player and forces them to react in a certain way. The ?mess? is described in intricate detail, in a completely objective manner and the player is allowed to respond, as their character feels appropriate. One of AL?s best features, the wilderness, leaves other MUDs in the dust. Firstly, each area in the wilderness, be it a forest or grasslands, has a set of ?gettable? items; this means that you can pull sticks from the forest, pick grass from the hills or grab a quick stone to fend off a snarling beast. The sheer SIZE of the wilderness offers countless adventures, there are deep oceans and vast skies, could you be the one to finally settle the debate about whether the world is round or not? Another great feature the wilderness offers is the ability to ?see? your terrain. When you?re on the open plains, or in a vast desert you can see for miles, but as you cross into the forest your map suddenly shrinks, giving rise to a stifling feeling of claustrophobia, which simply doesn?t exist in other MUDs, the feeling of being completely lost in an unfriendly forest is both horrible and great at the same time. AL?s cities and towns are populated by intelligent NPCs also, unlike the statues that you can see in other MUDs and their NPCs, AL's NPCs can hold a meaningful conversation, perhaps revealing necessary clues in your quest for power. Each one has their own opinions, and each one is treated with the same respect you would treat a player. There is vast... Read More

– MudConnector.Com Review by Wendy on May 24, 2007

Do you seek balance? Are you tired of hack-n-slash till your eyes bleed? Are you quickly bored with roleplaying mushes with no code to support even simple actions? Tired of hoping for that extra 10 zillion exp so you can gain yet another level and get your +5 sword of death? Tired of power posing in a mush and waiting 20 minutes for your next turn to pose? Want to roleplay with code support? Want to be part of a neverending plot? If you answered yes to even one of these questions then Accursed Lands is for you. We are a heavily code supported fully functioning mud with Roleplaying and Storyline at our core. Want to be a human warrior, blacksmith, or feared mage? Want to play a Halak (bird people) and soar the skies with ranged combat on your side? Want to play a town?s guardsman and keep order? Want to play a murdering thief that climbs the political ladder during daylight but slaughters innocents by the light of our three moons? If combat is not for you, how about our craft system that offers carpentry, fishing, glass blowing, metal working, leather working, spinning, whittling, weaving, logging, sewing, and many more. Stop by our website, or better yet jump into the game head first. There are always helpful people waiting to answer questions and yank you into our rich gothic storyline to become a main character. Voted the Roleplaying mud of the year by RPIMUD we await you.

– MudConnector.Com Review by Pstone on Mar 25, 2007

Accursed Lands is a roleplay-enforced, level-less, class-less, immersive environment. Forget your preconceptions about what a MUD is, Accursed Lands has some of the most advanced features you will find on a free, volunteer-run MUD. One noteworthy feature is Accursed Lands' naming system. When you first meet another character (or NPC, for that matter; the two are considered equivalent for roleplay purposes) you will not know their name. You can then 'name' them however you wish. This adds realism to the world and allows you to go by an alias if you so desire. Another interesting feature of Accursed Lands is the wilderness system. There are no preset paths from one developed area to any other. Instead, Accursed Lands makes use of an expansive wilderness, complete with different terrain types, that simulates the world in a realistic way. You can't speed from place to place in Accursed Lands, in fact, it can take a substantial amount of time (read: months or more) to even figure out where most of the developed areas of Accursed Lands are. Accursed Lands is actively seeking talented roleplayers who would enjoy taking part in a low-fantasy, roleplay-enforced MUD. You will probably enjoy Accursed Lands if you are the type of MUDder who: - enjoys developing a character - doesn't participate in OOC cheating - wants to be part of a MUD that puts quality and realism first - hates typos, bugs, and game-world anachronisms - has the patience to learn about, and incorporate into your roleplaying, Accursed Lands' all-original theme - doesn't expect MUD administrators to be babysitters Accursed Lands has been up and running for close to ten years. It is still in beta, though, and there are many things that are planned, but not yet released. However, it is already a detailed, self-consistent simulation of a world that needs more good roleplayers to make it shine. Come and give it a try, and hopefully join us.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Azeroth on Sep 20, 2006

This mud is for roleplayers and it is really different than what I was used to. The code is great and you can do a lot more than just go to dungeons and kill things. But it also appeals to people who like to develop a memorable character. You can be someone here without needing to spend a long time working on your combat skills or getting all the best equipment. The emote system is one of the best i have seen. The underworld is not just another bunch of rooms, but it is really like an actual bunch of caves. The theme is OK if you are into low fantasy, there are different races but it is sensible and tasteful. Quite a few of the characters take the time to roleplay with you, but others just want to make trouble, but it all works out into a pretty good place for roleplay. The players are a bit ruthless, and sometimes roleplay takes a back seat to PlayerKilling, but the MUD itself is like no other in the way it lets you drop into your character and experience its life (and death). I have never seen more than 20 players on at a time, so it can be tough to really immerse yourself in a role, but when my character was new 2 months ago, there were less players so things are improving on the population. If you want roleplay and great code, you could do worse than accursed lands.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Grub on Sep 6, 2006

What is it that makes me always come back to Accursed Lands? - AL is truly unique, the whole feel of the game is completely different from any other MUD I know. Since there are no levels or classes, you can develop exactly the character you want to roleplay. So, no boring leveling, no doing things your character would never do ICly, but you just start and live your character's life. - Extensive crafting. Everything can be learned by doing, but often it helps a lot to find another player to apprentice under. - The combat system is unique. There are no skills like 'second attack', 'third attack' and the likes (which I find to be completely unrealistic), but there are many factors that determine how often and how hard you hit. You can drag away unconscious characters, rob them, or if you are really mean, you can hack of their limbs. Yes, player killing is allowed here, but you are expected to roleplay as well. This policy allows for some very intense situations to be experienced on the MUD. Hiding and sneaking, palming and pilfering, there are many skills that make your character find their unique identity here. Because of the different feel of the game, AL can be confusing at first. I hope you will give it a try anyways. You can always ask questions on the newbie channel, as long as you do not reveal any in character information. IC/OOC seperation is strict here, and in the game world, people are expected to be in character at all times. All in all, AL is a wonderful world to roleplay in. The main problem of the MUD is the lack of players that we are actively trying to solve at the moment.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Azeroth on Aug 23, 2006

Accursed Lands is quite an experience. In it you will find a very interesting world with a plethora of stories to tell and many players willing to share their own. However, you will also find that while the game revolves around roleplaying, much of the community acts as if roleplaying is a simple hassle that gets into the way of grinding their skills slowly, and by slowly I mean very slowly. Much of the older more experienced players seem to look for an IC reason to kill someone, no matter what, and it only gets worse as you have some very powerful players who roam the lands killing people at random, all in the name of roleplaying a bandit type of character. Nothing wrong with that, but in game reactions end up leading to clueless beginners being slaughtered. I enjoy rolling a goblin often, as they are a race that interests me and are open to me, since to use any other races besides the three basic ones you have to be rated by other players. However, I find it difficult to play to my liking, as I've seen with my own experience and with many friends that if you choose a race that has some background as being seen as weak thieves, you will usually be instantly distrusted by other players and questioned about where you have gotten some item or what your profession is, and you will find yourself dead within the play session. Apparently player killing in this game is justified by killing others if you think they may have committed a crime. Which would be acceptable, to me, if the staff didn't impose the idea that they are willing to punish players that do that. The admins are, however, very active, but don't respond to you much(If at all) if you need help dealing with game problems. However, I found that while rerolling characters and trying out different paths, the admins were more than responsive by sending me a message telling me that they will punish me if I reroll anymore, and this was after going through only three test characters which were a Mysrra, a Goblin, and a Human. Accursed Lands has a lot of potential, but it is squandered by irresponsible admins, and an uncontrolled community. I felt alienated from the first day I played on AL, I stuck with it for a while, however, because the world was fun and interesting, but now it just hurts me to even log in.

– MudConnector.Com Review by Semaj on Aug 10, 2006

I agree with a lot of what Semaj has said, however it could use some clarification and expansion. The entire structure of Accursed Lands is flawed in its current state, for several reasons: a) The community is heavily stacked against newbies. Asking pretty much any game-related question on the newbie channel will not be answered, or will net you the answer 'no ic in ooc'. Hope you like figuring out crafting recipes and unintuitive syntax by yourself because you won't get any help in character or out of character. Furthermore, half of the IC community will make up reasons to provoke you or attack you, and some of them will just flat out attack with no apparent reason. There is also an IC/OOC rating system in place which ensures that no newbies will ever get a high enough rating to use the advanced, much stronger races which require high ratings. Then all you see in game are advanced races being roleplayed horribly. Moloks are supposed to be vehemently non-combatant except in dire need, but you'll be seeing a lot of them 'sparring' outside of town in the local hotspots. Why? Because they're wickedly strong in combat and who cares because all your friends do it too. Add to this the rabid cliqueyness of the veteran community and stir for maximum effect. b) The gameplay is also stacked against newbies. Most skills raise like a snail stuck in molasses, and last I heard, it takes 5 real life months to raise a skill to master level. But what's the first thing a newbie player sees about all the other players? Why, they're all decked out in great armor and they kill you in two hits! How's a newbie supposed to compete when everyone around them has extremely high skill levels and dying to a player means that you will not be able to respawn? To top it all off, you'll get yelled at if the admins notice you making new characters a lot, which is inevitable because you keep dying to overpowered veterans. The standard races (mysrra, goblin, and human) are flimsy as paper and have very poor stats compared to the advanced races which only the veteran players have. How's that for balance? You've got a group of players who have all the knowledge and all the power and will not help anyone but their own little group, going as far to slaughter newbies effortlessly because they looked at them the wrong way, or less. I highly don't recommend this MUD.

– MudConnector.Com Review by Smith on Aug 4, 2006

Ever since day one, I've been in love with Accursed Lands. I found the creators, as well as the players, helpful in every single way. The storyline, oh my, what an astonishing read! Along with the assortment of helpfiles, this mud has more to offer when 'In Character.' Heavily based on Roleplaying, AL has several character lines to play. From Human, to goblin, and even Halak (a bird creature). I've nothing bad to say about AL (Accursed Lands) and would recommend it to anyone wishing to dwell in the ancient times of Terrinor!

– MudConnector.Com Review by Kator on Aug 3, 2006

I played alot of mud's but this is by far the best and most superior mud I have ever played, it is extreamly realistic and you can do basicly whatever you want to robbing people and traders on the roads to maybe finding a tressure underground and striking it rich or maybe just simply spending your time whittling to make decent money. I would suggest that one and all play this MUD for it is the best MUD I have ever played.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Ekan on Jul 27, 2006

this mud is just as awsome as the person before me stated, cept the creators are alot better than he stated. they have helped me a couple times, and only messed with me once. but besides the creators, the game is deeps, and an awsome skill leveling system, and the class system, or lack there of, allows you to learn anything you want, so it really makes it feel like you can do whatever you want.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Zigzag on Jul 5, 2006

Top 7 reasons why this is the best mud: 7. the visual map, it expands and decreases depending on objects obstructing view, getting to the other side of a mountain range and seeing a nice green vista open up is a lovely sight 6. the skills system is perfectly balance, if you work on one skill for to long you dont learn as fast as you didnt when you first start it, helps to stop twinking. 5. IC players are very good, and most make very original and deep characters. 4. the fighting system is excelent, yes you can just type "kill (whatever)" and then go back o AIM to chat with your riends, but if you tweak your styles wile fighting and mix it up, you will probly do alot beter. 3. crafts, thats about al i have to say. in this mud, if you wanna do it, you can, unless its amazingly unrealistic. 2. RPE events that creators have created recently are very deep and involve numerous players (Forest heart seige anyone?) 1. there is never a lack of things to do, you can always be working on that skill to level it up, talk to other players, or just travel around and explore, the world is huge times 1000 and the one reason why this mud isnt the overly uber, end all be all mud 1. Creators can and will be jerks, but maybe (read definatly) its just cause they dont like me =/ Slashn64 aka Voldo

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Slashn on Jun 28, 2006

Accursed-Lands is by far the best and most realistic mud I have ever play, it breaks away from the classes and the simple coding, if your not playing this mud right now your wasting your time. It has countless skills, a friendly player base and a gigantic world still to be explored, you can make your own cabin in the woods, mine in the underworld or even become a great warrior and defend the innocent, or maybe be a trecherous thief this is by far the best MUD I have ever played.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Sejin on Jun 24, 2006

Hello, I'm Falcon on the ooc channels and Shane on the web boards of Accursed Lands. I'm a long time follower and recently re-addicted player of this game. What to say about Accursed Lands? Let's get the bad news out of the way first. This mud is in Beta, has been in Beta for years, and appears that it will remain in Beta for the foreseable future. Well over half the intended races remain unreleased. There are reems of skills that are planned but still unreleased. Some of the implemented skills do not have a full set of activity emotes, so you will for example see, "You continue to work on a fresh deer corpse," over and over until you are done skinning it. Perhaps most disturbingly, there continues to be a lot of confusion as to exactly what is expected of players, with one faction wanting to treat the mud as if it were a mush, and punish players who use the code-supported skills and so forth, to players who want to run out into the wilderness and hide out, ramping up combat skills until they can come back into civilization and massacre non-combat player characters for nothing more than the thrill a bully gets for punching a kid half his size and watching the blood trickle out of his nose. The player base has remained small for years I think largely on that factor alone, but I am happy to report that it seems as of my most recent return that this has been indentified and is in the process of being addressed. I have to say, even in the worst of times, my own experience has never been as bad as the worst complainers, nor as good as some of the most supportive reviews I have seen here, and I think the mud would benefit hugely from a large set of mature players whose interest is in helping the coders identify problems and suggesting soulitions in a calm, mature, and helpful manner. That is, after all, why they still, after all these years, call it a "Beta". Now for the fun! Combat is almost completely automated as far as melee is concerned, but you have what I refer to as "dials". You character can be more defensive or more offensive. You can attempt to aim your own blows more or concentrate on deflecting blows away from vital areas of your own anatomy, and so forth. This, coupled with the fact that these styles are trained by use, give you a rather infinite variety of ways to train and utilize combat skills. I think it would be fun to experiment with the best ways to fight in groups. The code does not presently support any formations, but the "guard" command can certainly be used at the least to form a front line of grunts so long as you outnumber your foes. They appear to be working on squad based military units as well, and I await... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Shane on Apr 23, 2006

Alright, look. I am getting really sick of you people who think a Role-Playing MUD is about going around and killing people at random just because you can. I'm also getting sick at you people who sit in a corner all day and do nothing but spam a bunch of skills without ever looking at another player, let alone ROLEPLAYING with them. If you get banned for killing someone with no good reason, then you deserve every bit of it. Don't blame it on the staff, they are merely doing what they think is best for the MUD. Well, listen up: this is a RPI MUD. ROLE PLAY INTENSIVE MULTI-USER DUNGEON. If you want to play a MUD where all you do is kill things and level up, Iron Realms might be your next stop. For those who like to actually contribute to this grand online society are welcome to do so. --- That being said, I will give you my review. This MUD has flaws. Hell, show me one that dosen't? But you want to know something? 99.9 % of said flaws are in the players themselves. Even I am guilty of twinking every so often, though I try to stay within the boundries of RP. Now, the staff could be a little more strict as to how much stat/skill training you can do each day, but if your in it for the RP, skills and stats don't matter all to much anyway. Thats the biggest problem. And, there are other various problems, all which can and probably will be dealt with over time. Yet, this is an amazing MUD for those who don't take advantage of the already misused systems and exploit ways to become the best. This isn't Achaea; we aren't here to become Demi-Gods. Well, I guess thats it. Can't think of anything else to say. Just remember: if you wan't to have a bunch of uber skills and stats, go try a hack'n'slash MUD. If you wan't to meet new people, explore new places and dwell in your pursuits of happiness, welcome to the club. We have free jackets.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Mistrandir on Apr 23, 2006

The most open ended MUD I've ever played is also the worst mud I have ever played. The creators get to much into IC problems, and if you even TRY to become some sort of "bad" person, like kill another player, or steal from someone, or step on flowers, you get banned. All they want you to do all day is be good little people and whittle torches, oh well, people on a power trip can ruin a great thing

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Sennanight on Apr 15, 2006

I have been playing AL for many many years and I thought it best to write a review as I see so many negative views about Accursed Lands. Yes there are some flaws, and indeed some bugs. But if you think you can do something in real life and can not do it in game, it is easy enough to raise a suggestion and it might be improved. But in truth you can do ALOT more in AL then you can in any other mud i have played. The player base, though small is diverse and as an OOC community very close, a constant banter persists.. ooc chat not for you?? Turn it off...lol PKing... hmm, yes you can kill anyone you like, if your strong enough... but do be prepared to defend your actions.. if you can say.. yes, my char did it because of x y and z then fine but if you are killing another player just because you want to.. well that’s just not role playing and you will be talked to but the creators. Creators, yes there seems at times to be more of them then players, but it is clear when you look at AL that they are working hard to improve and help everyone. All in all an addictive and easy to play game. with encounters and plots driven by game and players. a world of back stabbing and friendships. come play and see for your self. the more players we have the more it can improve.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Agatean on Mar 15, 2006

Wow! this mud looks great, unrestricted player killing? quest? And 21-25 players on at a time?! lol Bull, this MUD has the most currupt creators Ive ever seen in my 8 years of MUDing, it says unrestricted player killing, thats a lie I killed someone and got ban for it because apparently "The person spent along time on there character" There are no quest and EVERYTIME I logged on there was 2 players on and 10 creators on, I tried training and making a strong character but the creators kept saying I wasent roleplaying because I wanted to have a moderatly strong character. The creators in this mud WILL watch you. They expect you to sit around and whittle all day. So dont make the mistake I did of spending weeks playing this game just so I can have my character takin' away because I killed someone when it CLEARLY says PK is legal.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Mr.Myg0t on Mar 12, 2006

What separates Accursed Lands (AL) from other RPI MUDs? Full code support to almost every action, if you enjoy RP but are frustrated at continually having to compensate for weak code, then this is the place for you. AL has been built using the incredibly versatile LPC code-base, new additions and possibilities are simply endless. It allows for unmatchable realism; each room has a size, and each object has a position within that room, in order to get that sword on the other side of the mountain you?re going to have to walk. The quality of writing that is displayed throughout the MUD is simply unparalleled. Every nook and cranny has been evocatively described, even ?mundane? areas become unique and fascinating. A unique feature of the code-base allows players to look at virtual objects, instead of having room descriptions that are over a page long AL has concise descriptions and an array of virtual objects that can be examined by the interested. Another point of difference I notice in the writing standards is the high degree of objectivity. Rooms are not simply described as ?messy? or ?cluttered?, which imposes a feeling onto the player and forces them to react in a certain way. The ?mess? is described in intricate detail, in a completely objective manner and the player is allowed to respond, as their character feels appropriate. One of AL?s best features, the wilderness, leaves other MUDs in the dust. Firstly, each area in the wilderness, be it a forest or grasslands, has a set of ?gettable? items; this means that you can pull sticks from the forest, pick grass from the hills or grab a quick stone to fend off a snarling beast. The sheer SIZE of the wilderness offers countless adventures, there are deep oceans and vast skies, could you be the one to finally settle the debate about whether the world is round or not? Another great feature the wilderness offers is the ability to ?see? your terrain. When you?re on the open plains, or in a vast desert you can see for miles, but as you cross into the forest your map suddenly shrinks, giving rise to a stifling feeling of claustrophobia, which simply doesn?t exist in other MUDs, the feeling of being completely lost in an unfriendly forest is both horrible and great at the same time. AL?s cities and towns are populated by intelligent NPCs also, unlike the statues that you can see in other MUDs and their NPCs, AL?s NPCs can hold a meaningful conversation, perhaps revealing necessary clues in your quest for power. Each one has their own opinions, and each one is treated with the same respect you would treat a player. There is a vast hoard of secluded locations to be found in the wilderness (and a good few in towns as well ; )), but not every area is put on the map to serve a purpose. Some are put there ?just because? the creators felt could... Read More

– MudConnector.Com Review by Virthe on Mar 10, 2006

This game has the -potential- to become one of the best out there. It has a great magic system and good echoed outputs for things like foraging ect. Plus for the most point it has some interactive NPCs and things to do. Tons of skills to learn and toy around with as well as many languages to learn and master. However, it is riddled with bugs, some of which are totally retarded, I won't go into specifics but some very realistic things you would normally do if you -were- your character will get you killed easily. Death is not permadeath unless your fetish is stripped from your body however, they make you sit around for 75 minutes rt to wait to be auto rezzed. Great concept, great idea, bad execution thus far. Come and play, but don't get too attached to anything you do or accomplish because with the bugs of the game, you might find yourself back at square one and very pissed off...

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Asmoth on Mar 8, 2006

This MUD is a VERY complex, open ended MUD, best I've played by FAR. The syntax is very easy, the IC players are good role players, and the free pk'ing gives you a sence of fear and happyness everytime you meat a new character. But this MUD is plauged with TERRIBLE creators. Out of the 20 or so creators, i only know 2 good ones that you can talk to without being a. silenced or b. ignored. And the creators do random things at random times. I'm at my friends house right now, and I siged in. He also plays AL and was very mad when he found out I signed in. He quickly unplugs the telephone cord and plugs it back in and logs in. 1 min after he signs in and he just got put in a OOC jail for NO reason with 2 other guys. I try to sign back in and im banned for multiple characters. I hope a creator sees this post, so they can unban me and fix this problem that Kugra made.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Baset on Mar 4, 2006

What separates Accursed Lands (AL) from other RPI MUDs? Full code support to almost every action, if you enjoy RP but are frustrated at continually having to compensate for weak code, then this is the place for you. AL has been built using the incredibly versatile LPC code-base, new additions and possibilities are simply endless. It allows for unmatchable realism; each room has a size, and each object has a position within that room, in order to get that sword on the other side of the mountain you’re going to have to walk. The quality of writing that is displayed throughout the MUD is simply unparalleled. Every nook and cranny has been evocatively described, even ‘mundane’ areas become unique and fascinating. A unique feature of the code-base allows players to look at virtual objects, instead of having room descriptions that are over a page long AL has concise descriptions and an array of virtual objects that can be examined by the interested. Another point of difference I notice in the writing standards is the high degree of objectivity. Rooms are not simply described as ‘messy’ or ‘cluttered’, which imposes a feeling onto the player and forces them to react in a certain way. The ‘mess’ is described in intricate detail, in a completely objective manner and the player is allowed to respond, as their character feels appropriate. One of AL’s best features, the wilderness, leaves other MUDs in the dust. Firstly, each area in the wilderness, be it a forest or grasslands, has a set of ‘gettable’ items; this means that you can pull sticks from the forest, pick grass from the hills or grab a quick stone to fend off a snarling beast. The sheer SIZE of the wilderness offers countless adventures, there are deep oceans and vast skies, could you be the one to finally settle the debate about whether the world is round or not? Another great feature the wilderness offers is the ability to ‘see’ your terrain. When you’re on the open plains, or in a vast desert you can see for miles, but as you cross into the forest your map suddenly shrinks, giving rise to a stifling feeling of claustrophobia, which simply doesn’t exist in other MUDs, the feeling of being completely lost in an unfriendly forest is both horrible and great at the same time. AL’s cities and towns are populated by intelligent NPCs also, unlike the statues that you can see in other MUDs and their NPCs, AL’s NPCs can hold a meaningful conversation, perhaps revealing necessary clues in your quest for power. Each one has their own opinions, and each one is treated with the same respect you would treat a player. There is a vast hoard of secluded locations to be found in the wilderness (and a good few in towns as well ; )), but not every area is put on the map to serve a purpose. Some are put there ‘just because’ the creators felt could... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Virthe on Mar 4, 2006

Note to anyone who would think about playing Accursed-Lands, DONT. Ill put it as bluntly as possible, Accursed-lands creators are more corrupt than in any game I ever played, there always out to get you, they randomly ghost players to make sure there roleplaying and not trying to get strong or good at the game, oh thats right! If you have a desire to raise your skills in this game, you know FOR FUN, well it turns out in this game raising skills is against the rules, its considered bad roleplay to wish to get your character strong, everything you do is influenced by them, so you may be thinking, "I wanna kill that NPC thats a human...OH WAIT! THATS BAD ROLEPLAY AND ILL GET BAN IF I KILL A NPC WITHOUT A REASON! Its really a shame the creators are so abusive, its really a great game...best game I ever played, but the creators control so much of what happends ICly its rediculas. In the past month the creators banned 3 players for things that happend ICly, they go around banning players then they wonder why no one plays there game, they expect everyone to sit around and whittle torches and talk all day, well im sorry to have to be the ones to tell you this creators of Accursed-lands, but NO ONE WANTS TO ACTUALLY ROLEPLAY IN YOUR GAME! IF WE WANTED TO TALK TO OTHER PEOPLE WE WOULD GO OUTSIDE! WE PLAY GAMES FOR CONFLICT, NOT SO WE CAN SIT AROUND FOR 10 HOURS AND WHITTE TORCHES AND STUPID NECKLACES.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Myg0t on Feb 16, 2006

Note to anyone who would think about playing Accursed-Lands, DONT. Ill put it as bluntly as possible, Accursed-lands creators are more corrupt than in any game I ever played, there always out to get you, they randomly ghost players to make sure there roleplaying and not trying to get strong or good at the game, oh thats right! If you have a desire to raise your skills in this game, you know FOR FUN, well it turns out in this game raising skills is against the rules, its considered bad roleplay to wish to get your character strong, everything you do is influenced by them, so you may be thinking, "I wanna kill that NPC thats a human...OH WAIT! THATS BAD ROLEPLAY AND ILL GET BAN IF I KILL A NPC WITHOUT A REASON! Its really a shame the creators are so abusive, its really a great game...best game I ever played, but the creators control so much of what happends ICly its rediculas. In the past month the creators banned 3 players for things that happend ICly, they go around banning players then they wonder why no one plays there game, they expect everyone to sit around and whittle torches and talk all day, well im sorry to have to be the ones to tell you this creators of Accursed-lands, but NO ONE WANTS TO ACTUALLY ROLEPLAY IN YOUR GAME! IF WE WANTED TO TALK TO OTHER PEOPLE WE WOULD GO OUTSIDE! WE PLAY GAMES FOR CONFLICT, NOT SO WE CAN SIT AROUND FOR 10 HOURS AND WHITTE TORCHES AND STUPID NECKLACES.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Tony on Feb 11, 2006

Playing this mud for a while is a different experience from what I have come to expect from the other muds on this list. They describe it as being closer to a virtual world than a mud, and it is true. They value realism more than convenience, and quality of the game world over quick expansion. If you like exploring and figuring things out on your own, you will like this mud. Areas are arranged in a wilderness map that seems true to life - there are mountains, plains, rivers, oceans, and other types of terrain. Traveling through these lands can be slow and frustrating, but believable. It will take literally months to discover a lot of the places on your own and this points to the necessity of making friends in character who can fill you in about the world. They require us to roleplay and stay in character at all times. It is cheating to exchange information about the game in any other method than roleplaying. The help and chat channels are heavily monitored and game info is quickly censored. The crafting is good once you figure out how to do it but it is not something you can realistically be expected to figure out on your own. You pretty much have to have an in character friend show you how to proceed. Roleplay can be very good, but at other times the players will not want to roleplay. But everyone stays in character at all times, as far as I have seen. They constantly stress that it is a roleplay mud first, and other aspects are secondary, but it can be hard to find others to roleplay with because they hide in the wilderness. This mud is definitely not more of the same old thing. If you have never tried it, you will be surprised at how different a mud can be.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by LHR on Jan 30, 2006

- Natural language parser. You can use "get the third club from the second backpack" and the game will still understand you. - Enormous wilderness. - Very few players. It is extremely difficult to find someone to play with unless you play during peak hours. - Horrible community. The players and creators often make fools of themselves. While some are helpful, there is a very strong 'every man for himself' sentiment that can be picked up from the forums and chat. - Fewer, but more detailed, races, with numerous stats that can be raised through gameplay. - No levels, no classes, no experience points. - Spatial, three-dimensional distance. - No supported political roleplay. - Very high and aggressive PK, but permadeath.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Palnar on Dec 18, 2005

Good stuff: Besides least-fun-to-play human race the are Goblins. And a variety of other races... NO HARD CODED LAWS!! Only your skill against their skill. You can do anything you like upon anyone you don't like. While there is no actual hostage-taking skill, there is a chance you can take hostages. When you beat'em up senselessly (but show enough mercy not to kill them), you can take them to that special secret place of yours (a shed you built in some deep forest, a tent pitched on Golgota-like location, or if you prefer darkness try a cave or some abandoned mine shaft, or transport them to your village especially if they are of enemy race. Removing vocal cords is not yet coded, but what the hell, screaming just adds up to flavour. You can then work on them, remove their limbs (best way to prevent further movement) and practice knife throwing. You can even leave the legs on, give them the opportunity to escape and then aim for the legs with a crossbow (usualy a smart shot ripps the limb off, so a steady supply of victims is advisable). You can trade them or their parts for ransom, bleed valuable information from them or just wipe'em out when you've had enough. If you are in for exploring, you can go search victims all across the globe (tough job, if you can't fly or don't have a horse). Crafter!? No problem! Spend some time honing your skills in metal working to create good pair of tongs to pull out teeth. Make the sharpest dagger in game and help gouging them eyeballs out, or puncture deep wounds in cervical area. Build a shed with wood working skills, make a bed in there and soak it in blood of the innocent. Make a table to put some heads on it, and a chair to rest after working all day. Stone carving can help you make some nasty clubs for your friends' and yours favourite passtime... Mining and smelting can provide the ore and dungeon supplies. Weaving is all but girlish skill. You can weave some amasing features, as well as bandages to prolongue the agony of your victims. Working in leather for example can provide you with enough containers for all that poisons and other foul liquids you apply on weapons and in bloodstreams. Oh, you can craft so much. Recently added feature lets you craft a bouquet, which you can then send to the funeral to make unforgetable impression! I don't know how this could be implemented in RolePlay, but you can also use classique approach and catch a fish and send it in a container (newspapers are not coded yet), or if really skilled enough and have style, you can chop off a head of a horse, then sneak in your enemy's bedroom and place it on bed! Few have even thought of that, you should stick to the basics for some time... More of a warrior type!? worry!... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Vampir on Dec 16, 2005

The realm is huge, beyond belief. There are major cities, coastal regions and a fair amount of areas that will challenge your skills as a player. This game models itself after real life as much as possible. In most games you might have an inventory of items that you are carrying. In the Accursed Lands, you wear your clothes, backpack & armor. You have to open your pack to put items into your pack. Your items actually reside in your pack. If you take your pack off and put it on the ground, someone can walk along and just pick it up, stealing it right there in front of you. You can chase the person who stole it and beat them to a bloody pulp with your fists, with a chair that might be close by or with a weapon that you have in a sheath fastened onto your belt. After knocking out the thief and getting your pack back, you can continue with your day. There are so many things you can do in the game. You can travel by walking, jogging, running or sprinting. You can sneak, hide and steal from other people. You can craft just about every item that presents itself in the game. Over 200 + craftable items. It take a great of time to gain the skill to craft those items. but as in life, if you put in the time to learn how to do something, then you will be able to do it. You can lumber some trees and craft your own cabin, anywhere you want. You can buy a tent and pitch it out in the woods, creating your own campsite for others to come and join you around the fire.You can buy a horse and ride throughout the realm. The posibilities for what you can do are too long to list. The roleplay is some of the best I have encountered, but finding someone to roleplay with is getting better as more people join the mud. Come to my tavern and enjoy an ale. Travel to the gambling hall and place a bet. Swim to the depths of the ocean and discover it's mysteries. Fight a bear with your fists and show him who's boss. This place will sinks it's hooks into and not let you go. At least it has for me. After playing for six months, I can't imagine settling for anything less.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Lorg on Dec 16, 2005

This is an interesting mud. It is more like a simulation of a real world than you classic mud world. Sometimes, they can take the simulation too far like where it takes you ten minutes to learn how to light a torch but it can be great for roleplaying. There is a newbie channel but I don't understand the point since none of the players will give you any information over that channel. Thewy will only point you to the helpfiles, or tell you which helpfile to read to understand your question. On the other hand it is good because they keep the roleplay world seperate from the ooc world. It is very hard to find other players on this mud. The cities are all spread out and players hide in the forest wehre you can't find them unless you know where they are. If I find three other players I feel lucky even when there are ten other players logged on. Is strange but sort of like real life too. It takes time to get used to accursed lands but I have grown to like it.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Caleb on Dec 7, 2005

san andreas

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by gerar on Nov 23, 2005

Been playing this game for a few months now and though it is thin on players (and most towns seem uninhabitated), if you enjoy exploring, you are going to enjoy this game so much. The wilderness is HUGE. Though the room descriptions there are mostly the same, they change according to the time of day and there seems to be some randomness to them anyway. But that doesn't really matter. The way the wilderness is made just seems so realistic. In each room you can gather different herbs and just 'pick' up things (like sticks and branches) and use them to craft objects for yourself (while I'm mentioning the crafting system, there seems to be an endless supply of things to craft and just as I think I've done them all I find another). Each room in the wilderness though can be completly different. You can make buildings there to make them not clean and set up a kind of camp. At night, the map around you changes according to the light level and so you can easily get lost when taking a short cut to a town and get set upon by a pack of wolves (which is much more exciting than it sounds)! Player to player contact is quite scarce on the ground though. Part of this seems to be due to the low number of players online, but even those that are around seem to shy away from each other making the game very fun, but very lonely. The npcs I have seen seem to be pretty well done, but they don't really replace roleplaying with another player. Also with the players, the OOC community (there are some web forums and two in game channels) seems to be a bit spiteful and agressive. There are claims that the game is designed for a more mature audience, but from most of the chatter I hear the players are mid teens which I suppose makes sense considering the OOC atmosphere. All in all it seems a great game if you enjoy exploring and/or are used to playing at odd times of the day on usual muds (where most players are offline/asleep). If you prefer a steady flow of roleplaying though, you'd be best to look elsewhere - though stick your nose in just to see the great mechanics!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Damalestri on Nov 22, 2005

First off I wanna say I wasn't expecting to find this kind of game. I was actually looking for something sci fi. Secondly I was going to skip onto the next mud but I stuck around a little to talk a bit about the game. The game seems to revolve around an IC and OOC barrier. I thought this was unique because they actually enforce it and it helps keep things interesting for the sake of playing. The players were helpful and they were quick to reference me to the helpfiles so that I could play without having to guess. Ok now I'll talk about what I found in the game. It was great. My character is easy to check on and this is the first time in any mud that I've been able to understand where I was and what I was wearing and all the commands are neat! If you type something like get canteen from the backpack, it'll understand english grammar!!! That's so much more advanced that the rest of these other games and I think I'll stick around because of it. Also I loved the dreams and I didn't need to ask for much since everything seemed to be logical. I met a girl on the game who helped my character in the game and it was great. She and a few others were entertaining and I just love the atmosphere. I think I'll be coming back for more!!!! :)

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Ether Girl on Nov 19, 2005

The players are arrogant and self-righteous. They could care less what anyone else thinks or says. Obviously, this makes for a difficult experience both IC and OOC. OOC, there are sexist remarks that they pass off as "humor", merely because most of their player base is male. In a game that supposedly prides itself on its "intelligent" players, Accursed Lands players appear to fall far below modern expectations of "intelligence".

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Selene on Nov 18, 2005

I played countless MUDs ranging from Dragon ball Z, to hack and slashes, but Accursed-Lands is simply the best MUD ive ever played in my life, the leveling system is great unlike any other thing ive ever seen, its amazingly real with superb roleplay. And you actually get the feeling that your in the game when you play!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Bf on Nov 8, 2005

Think up a dream. Submit it. See it the next time you go to sleep. Where else can you see your dreams become reality?

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Vanliew on Oct 26, 2005

Good game

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Psirex on Sep 9, 2005

This review explains, with specifics, what makes Accursed Lands THE premier MUD. It is simply the best and our entire player base agrees... It eliminates the inflexible, cliched idea of guilds and classes, which, like it or not, cheapens the individuality of a character and simply restricts you to an overly defined role with limitations and expectations. In most MUds, you become a circle chaser, always fighting the same situations in the same places trying to achieve the next number, in an unrealistic, predictable way. Accursed Lands takes everything in a different direction. First of all, creating a character is half the fun, with a clever system of deciding starting stats and skills based on childhood experiences where you make choices. Will you create a muscular, uneducated blacksmith with a background in herbology? Or a dextrous theif with a skill for the very difficult arcane arts? (which, btw, is made interesting by the central theme, which holds magic use in an evil and highly secretive light). However, the beauty is that this will only decide where you character begins. You are not limited to certain skills, but rather, the entire wide spectrum of every skill in the game (of which their are hundreds) is available to everyone... that blacksmith can read in the library if he wants to increase his intelligence. That thief can learn to make an honest living tailoring clothes. The fun doesn't lie in climbing the ranks in a particular profession, but rather, seeing any results you like in your unique character by practicing only the things you choose to spend time on, and watching your own character develop as he perfects these skills. By developing more and more skills and raising your stats (in which there is no ceiling), you will be able to conquer more and more challenges which are all spread amongst an immersive world. The dungeons are incredibly exciting and there always a challenging aspect to them... if it's dark, you'll need a torch with ample time to burn left and a free hand to carry it... and you probably will even have to start by carving that torch. The travel system is extremely realistic, and ties in many things such as your character's skill moving in a particular terrain, their distance and night vision, and how hindered they are by what they are carrying. The combat system is highly advanced yet easy to use, and is based on strategy. Rather than the computer just taking your combat skills into account and the user putting in single commands... AL's system requires the user to carefully balance between ten different aspects of fighting to find a perfect equilibrium between them, that is different for every scenario. Do you need to focus on dodging more or disrupting your opponent's dodge? Are you aiming for the right spots? Isn't so passive it creates boredom nor so demanding that it is overwhelming, yet is incredibly realistic. Our users are all very fun and helpful there... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Kevin on Aug 8, 2005

The highest ranked, most popular MUDs out there could only hold my interest for an hour maybe... they just do not stand out the way Accursed Lands does. I play AL during ALL of my free time and even time I DON'T have and I've never regretted a moment of it. I look forward to many more years playing AL... try it and you will be hooked!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Goshinki on Aug 3, 2005

Welcome reader. Let me tell you of a tale of heros and villans, of great kings and dark sorcerers, of women and men. This is the land of Terrinor, wrecked by an appocolypse that flung the world back into the dark ages. Now people struggle from one day to the next, doing anything for a scrap of food. Muggers, thieves, bandits and murderers lurk in the shadows, waiting to pounce on an unwary traveler. Cities crouch behind walls, hiding from the ferocious beasts and evil creatures that lurk in the wilderness. Common people try to carve out an exsistance by crafting, hunting and gathering. Humans are now little better than barbarians, fighting amongst themselves when there is a lack of food or resources. The xenophobic Mysrra cat people stay within their palisade city, hunting on the plains and keeping watch for outsiders. The Bramen try to piece together the knowledge of a long ago age, reading books in their libraries and studying the herbs and plants of their island home. The Aquapura, the water dwelling cousins of the Braman use deception and trickery to afford themselves protection amongst the Braman society. Hunting in the deep ocean waves for fish, or perhaps dragging a drylung down to the salty depths. The goblins live in their own filth, deep in the swamps, shunning the sky and those that dwell within it. They eat raw meat from the bones of the scrawny animals that they hunt in the swamps. All the races of Terrinor live in fear. All the races live in hope. The hope that one day they will claw there way out of this exsistance. But the black blood sees to it that this will not happen. The black blood, a remenant of a disasterous magical explosion which tore apart the world and the very fabric of reality. The black blood born of the hate between two ancient warring races. Now magic is twisted and corrupt, dangerous to both caster and victim. Yet still a few practice the dark art, driven mad by the malstrom energies, hunted by witch hunters with burning torches and gleaming blades. So how does this tale of darkness end? It doesn't. The story lives and breathes, changing to the whim of a single person, changing with the tale of each individual. So, do you have it in you to be a part of the story? Will you lead the world to salvation? Or to destruction! You will become a citizen of Terrinor, living amongst its people, trying to make your own way. It won't be easy, danger and death await those who are not cautious. How will you carve out your destiny in this world? Shall you be a crafter, making weapons and armour or tools or clothing? Shall you be a hunter? Tracking game across the vast forests and plains? Dodging the dangers of other beasts that roam the lands. Perhaps a fighter, killing for honour, pride or perhaps greed. Defend your Or... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Kalanac on Jul 23, 2005

Ive been playing Accursed-lands for 5 years now. I tried playing every other kind of MUD but Accursed-Lands is simply the best, it has a huge world where you can choose to explore the vast wilderness, gamble and drink or barter in the cities, hope to strike it rich in the deeply detailed under world, or explore the depths of the deepest oceans. The races are all completly diffirent and all have there specialties and not one is better than the others. The skill system is classless so you can learn any skill you want in the game. So who will you be? A brave knight that fights for the thrown? A explorer that spends his time in the wilderness? A dark mage that wishes to destroy the world? Your destiny is in your hands. (This MUD has strict Roleplay expectations and I do not suggest you playing if you can not roleplay well, but you are always welcomed to try ^_^)

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Torkalis on Jul 23, 2005

I found Accursed Lands not all that long after it started up, and have been playing on and off for years now under various guises. I have tried nearly every other MUD, MUSH, MOO, or what ever they are and I have and will always keep coming back to AL. This is by fare the best MUD I have found, others may disagree, the lack of guilds and classes and other things that seem to matter. But in truth this is more real then any of the others. I am hopelessly addicted and spend many a sleepless night wondering its mountains, Swamps, Forests and towns. Please please come and join us in AL you will not regret it. Very Very newbie friendly with rewards for good rp and ooc conduct. Its worth every waking moment. Agatean x

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Agatean on Jul 20, 2005

When I first started playing Accursed Lands, I was quite confused. There was no clear purpose to the game, no obvious mobs that needed defeating, and my character got banged up pretty badly by even the seagulls that were wandering around my starting city. Then I realized what Accursed Lands was all about, the roleplaying. After I'd explored my starting city for a while, a bit confused (since the MUD I came from had a graphic map in a custom client), I managed to find my way into the wilderness. My jaw dropped as I saw the full color ASCII map open up and show that I was standing in the middle of a group of islands surrounded by water for as far as I could see. After I swam a bit to an adjacent island, looking for something interesting or perhaps another player to interact with, I found both. There were some wood products that had been strewn about in a particular area of forest that also housed a lane leading up to a monastery. I decided to hang around, looking at the furniture and things, when another player walked up to me and started showing me the ropes of the game (most likely sensing my newbieness). The transition was very smooth, and soon enough he had taken me to the mainland, where I saw my second city, a bustling harbor town with a great bazaar (full of player shops). I had a pretty smooth entry, but even for those that don't get as lucky as I did, there are mentors available to newbies and a newbie channel to ask basic questions about syntax and other sorts of things. However, be warned. On AL, we take roleplay very seriously, and to limit the amount of OOC knowledge transfer, however incidental, to characters, there's a strict IC/OOC separation policy. In addition to not using OOC information IC, you're expected to stay silent about IC information when talking on channels or, hopefully, even between friends on AIM and such. But in any case, AL's got such a rich theme that's so fun to discover for yourself, you'd probably be pretty angry at anyone who ruined the suprises for you anyway. AL's a great game with a lot of interesting things to do for everyone. Crafters, socializers, explorers, heck, even PKers have a lot to do in AL (a quick note about PK; it's -got- to be roleplayed, random slaying for no reason isn't tolerated). Our skill-based learn-it-by-trying system is one of the most realistic out there, and with a busy team of creators we're only getting better by the day. Come check us out!

– MudConnector.Com Review by Gabocha on Jul 2, 2005

I have been playing AL for about six months now and its now my favorite mud. I will give you a fair review of accursed Lands based on what I have found. You have to roleplay to last on accursed lands. The littlest slipup by putting real life words or ideas into your character will get you rated down. There is a rating system where you are rated on your roleplaying. And your OOC (out of character) behavior. If you get good ratings you get to play more races. Ifyour ratings are bad I dont know what happens (mine are both positive :)) In this mud, you do not need to kill stuff or get money. But you can do both things if you want. Mostly you need to find how to get food. To get food you can of course kill stuff and butcher it. But you can gather food in the from of plants from the land or you can catch fish and kill them or you can make crafts and sell them or supply raw materials to crafters for money to buy food. Theres about five or six good ways to survive on this mud. Remember I still dont know about most of the stuff here because you are not allowed to give info except by roleplaying. There are no class or level or hitpoint numbers. Every thing is like it would be in real life. If you do a craft or somthing a lot you will get better at it and it will become easier and easier to do. There is magic but i have never seen anyone do it and I dont know how to do it myself. But anyone is suposed to be able to do magic if you learn how. You will get killed if you do it cause it is something that players hate and fear. Play accursed lands because we need more people! You will be addicted just like I am.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by benji on Jun 27, 2005

*picks a flower* I love it. *picks a petal* I love it not. *picks a petal* I love it. *picks a petal* I love it not. *picks a petal* I love it a whole lot!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Pippi7 on Jun 7, 2005

OMG I died and went to heaven. LOL. I have been visiting different MU*'s and this one is the best one I've ever come across. So ok. Get this. You can type something like, get the apple from the backpack and it understands. This is a great mu* for people who don't want to be burdened with complicated commands. I ran into this goblin who totally made my day. He was so funny and it wasn't even a conversation because I couldn't understand what he was saying in his gobbish(language). Also it seems like you can make crafts from just about anything. And also there are cities and stuff and wilderness. when you leave an area you get to explore this huge world. Just look at this survey: ~~~~ TTTT TT::~~~~TT:: TTTT~~::~~::::::TTTTTT TTTT::::~~::::::::::::TT ::::::::::::::::::::::TT ::::::::::::~~::::~~::::TTTTTTTT ~~TTTT ::::::::::::::::::~~::::::::::TTTT::~~::TT~~ ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~~~~::::TTTT ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~~~~::::::TT ~~::::::::::::::::::~~:::*::::::~~::~~~~::::~~::TT ::::::::::::::::::~~::::::::::~~::~~~~~~:::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~~~~~~~~~~:::::: ::::::::::~~::::::::::::::::~~~~~~~~~~~~:::::: ::::~~::::::::::::::::::::::~~~~~~~~~~~~:::::: ::~~::::::::::::::::::::::~~~~~~~~~~~~:::: ::::~~::::::::::::::::::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:::: ::::~~::::::::::::::::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:: ::~~~~::::::::::::::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~::::::::::::::~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~::::::::::::::::~~~~~~~~ ::::::::::::::~~~~ :: The :: are plains the ~~ is water the TT are trees in a forest Its so easy to move around in this world and its way fun. They have a friendly player base also. I LOVE IT

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Cinderella on May 31, 2005

Accursed-Lands is a horrible game that is impossible to play with friends just today me and my friend were at pine view logging,. and this oversized super character woman come into our room and starts talking to us then she leaves to sell some stuff and my friend starts stealling from me for fun she comes back and witnesses this and kills us both for stealing this is NOT a role play mud, this is a MUD for people to get as strong as they possibly can and then kill everyone else whoever elyse is i hope he/she (probly a he the poor bastard, only girl hes in contact with) dies a horrible death oh, and wait for irwin to come back elyse

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Voldo on May 14, 2005

Accursed Lands is a mud that doesn't fit neatly into any catagories. It's a roleplay mud, but you can go off and practice your combat all day long if you like. In-character information is strictly controlled, but various mechanisms support an out-of-character community that lets players feel like they're a part of something. It's a big place with a lot to explore but you can sit around in one city and have a good time just conversing with people who happen by. The mud code is advanced, flexible and innovative, but the commands are intuitive and you can control your character by typing in plain english. It's not your typical mud, but it's very easy to feel at home there.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Barton Fink on May 10, 2005

Accursed Lands has recently picked up a lot of new players. With them has arrived a new sense of purpose for some of Accursed Lands' more experienced players. The game is currently experiencing a good number of player-initiated storylines that seem to have captured the imagination of most of the newcomers. It's fair to say that new blood had pumped some new life into AL's roleplay. AL is a complicated MUD, with an original theme and some really impressive features - some of which are as good as, or better than those found on _any_ MUD. Our veteran players, rather than engaging in destructive activities that have disrupted the roleplay on the MUD in the past, such as fighting among themselves or engaging in pointless flame-wars in our OOC fora, seem to be making a concerted effort to foster a culture of inclusion. Now is a good time to be a newbie. Accursed Lands is a free, volunteer-run roleplay MUD with no classes or visible levels. Players and creators alike are mandated to keep the OOC and IC worlds completely separate. Come in and roleplay with us, those of us who have been playing here for years are waiting to welcome you.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by A.L. Admirer on May 7, 2005

OK this is a very interesting mud once you figure out the commands. It is really amazing how you can type in something like 'give the leather backpack to the second human' and 'throw the cloth satchel at the old braman' and it will do just that. I am used to the way things are done on dikumuds where you have to learn strange syntax but on this mud you basically just type what you want to do and it will either do it, or tell you in plain english why it can't or won't. This mud is for roleplayers and if you dont want to roleplay or if you just want to kill monsters you will be frowned upon. however, it may be frowned upon to kill monsters, but i still ended up dying like 3 times in one day. Of course, it was my fault because I attacked a mob who was selling fruit but she pulled out a knife and killed me. Anyway after I got used to things some other players came across me and roleplayed with me. we have been meeting up in this secret place in the forest and roleplaying pretty regularly now and its pretty interesting. It takes hours to go from one side of this mud to the other and there are tons of places i have heard of that I have not yeat found out how to reach. safe to say i'm hooked.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by ShiningJack on May 4, 2005

Accursed Lands is a great up-coming roleplaying game. It has been in the works for in over a decade, and I've heard that its original "codebase" (MudOS with a version of Lima) has been nearly rewritten to suit the needs of the game. I would suggest it for anyone seriously looking into an RPI game. A few features: - there are no levels and no classes. Your character is what you make of it. - there are no experience points to be earned. All skills are learnt by doing and practice, and do not have percentages. - AL's staff has struggled to keep all of its races perfectly balanced. While the races are balanced, some have been reserved for players with higher ratings, to protect theme. Ratings are given by players and creators both. - there are TWO global channels--newbie, a mostly deserted channel for new players to use to ask questions, and 'chat', a ...rambunctious... OOC channel. Both are able to be turned on and off, and players have the ability to ignore select players. There is a VERY strict IC-OOC policy in effect. Admittedly, the playerbase is small. However, there are still plenty of players willing to help out new comers, and this is the perfect opportunity to find your own niche and make a home out of AL.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Namir on May 1, 2005

Accursed-lands is a great game that kinda got screwed from some jerks in ooc (me being one of them :-D) and jerks IC (big strongs names that start with an I come to mind), but its really a great game. theres so much to do i, a hard core fps player, have come to find myself playing this game more than fps's latly. the character interaction is awsome, the attention to detail is amazing. and now for the few gripes. because of the pk'n ic characters (who the biggest one has ben banned) the playerbase is down to maby 4 at a time, and the creators are all an "An open minded staff." but over all its a great mud that really needs the second chance it deserves

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Sennanight on May 1, 2005

I'll try to keep it simple, but this MU* is certainly not your basic D&D or Tolkien rip off. I've had the most fun playing here than I have in any of the top ten MUDs. Why it isn't on the top ten, I don't quite understand but maybe its better this way. I'm taking the time to write this because I feel it's the best one I've come across. Here's a list of my favorite aspects in no particulare order: ..Its original ..The players actually roleplay ..The game is written in shockingly detailed bliss ..The survey is just badass ..Towns and cities are enveloping ..Combat system is badass ..Magic isn't readily available and to get it means seeking it out, so its kind of like a puzzle I'm sure I could go on and on but I'd recommend this mud to anybody. ......... .HOPSTAR. .........

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by MUDhopper on Mar 28, 2005

All I can say is wow about this MUD. I've played a handful of games on this list and I started from #1 all the way down to this little beauty. I'm not going to go through a list of what I love about this mud. Instead I'm going to list what the other muds are lacking in comparison: A) Quality - During my plummet down the MUD list I noticed the same cliche concepts. Either some kind of novel being used to reinforce the thematic side of things or the typical D&D and Tolkien angles. Accursed Lands however is original. It shares some characteristics to a DartMUD but even so, Accursed Lands goes and beyond the parameters. What I love most is that roleplay is enforced and hack 'n slash behavior has been heavily frowned upon. Tally so far: Accursed Lands 2 1 - Originality 1 - Requires roleplay Other muds 0 (Though some may require roleplay its completely bad form to enforce roleplay off of a novel or current table-top concepts) B) FEATURES! For so long I've been waiting for some versatility when it comes to roleplay. So many of these muds have restrictive emotes. What muds DO have open emotes, they lack in either theme or game functions. For the most part almost all of these muds are disorienting! How do you expect a player to enjoy their stay in the game when they get confused all the time? This is just poor building on the parts of the coders. Accursed Lands however has a very easy-to-undersand survey and actually presents a perceptual ease. I couldn't list all the features this mud has that the others are lacking. Its simply too long. My hat goes off to the coders for putting a smile on my face. Tally so far: Accursed Lands 3 (I'll be fair to the other muds) Other muds 1 (They've all got *SOME* kind of feature.. no matter how lame) C) THE ROLEPLAY! You know.. I could write a novel on my horrible roleplaying experiences in other muds.. Atleast Armageddon has some decent roleplayers, but Accursed Lands takes the cake. This game is just geared for serving roleplay in all its forms. I admit I haven't been around long enough to gather an accurate census on this, but I have come across a few players who have made my heart melt in satisfaction. Thank you.. I say again.. Thank you Accursed Lands Enough said. Sally

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by SomberSally on Mar 23, 2005

Coming from a strong background in belief in roleplay, as well as an enjoyment for the classless, skill-based muds, I reasoned that AL would make an excellent place to pass time in my (diminishing) free time. I have heard this game compared to others such as Dartmud, but I assure you that it only contains a vague shell of these features. It has skills, yes, but only on the surface. The most developed skills seem to be combat related - everything else falls flat. Crafts are barely supported, and crafting is one of the major components to any really good skill-based game. Interaction between players is really very rare. The naming system that seems heavily touted would be nice, but the small playerbase makes it difficult to recognize between players and npcs at a casual glance, which in turn makes it very hard for newbies to get started. I spent numerous hours online for a week straight, and plenty of other times throughout the months that I played, standing in the middle of town and playing my flute, hoping somebody would come by. Throughout that entire time period, I only ever met 3 real players (and only 1 of which spent any time talking to me at all). Newbies are urged to seek out players in town for help, in what very simply is a ghost town. Finally, they do not allow triggers under penalty of loss of character. Any form of triggers used to make repetitive tasks easier (such as continuously practicing something) falls under this category. The given reason is so that people would all have equal opportunity to raise skills regardless of what client they were using. This is ridiculous. For years now, free and pay clients have nearly all had triggers built into them. The only client I can think of that doesn't are things like telnet... and anyone playing such a time consuming game as this can take the time to quit using telnet and download a free mud client that is built for muds (and thus has triggers). Sanx mud client is an excellent example of this, but there are literally hundreds, for any platform you could want. In conclusion, I feel that playing AL has been a mostly worthless experience, managing to waste my time in a world that seems to cater to power-builders that have all the free time in the world. It falls short of being a hack and slash and it falls short of being a skill based mud, making it a fairly poor inbetween. If you're looking for either of the two, find a mud that is specially built for that purpose. It has some redeeming, novel qualities, but they are quickly lost in the mass of worthlessness that has taken, as they boast, nearly 10 years to construct. I do not recommend this mud.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Arawn on Feb 16, 2005

Accursed Lands is a roleplay-enforced, level-less, class-less, immersive environment. Forget your preconceptions about what a MUD is, Accursed Lands has some of the most advanced features you will find on a free, volunteer-run MUD. One noteworthy feature is Accursed Lands' naming system. When you first meet another character (or NPC, for that matter; the two are considered equivalent for roleplay purposes) you will not know their name. You can then 'name' them however you wish. This adds realism to the world and allows you to go by an alias if you so desire. Another interesting feature of Accursed Lands is the wilderness system. There are no preset paths from one developed area to any other. Instead, Accursed Lands makes use of an expansive wilderness, complete with different terrain types, that simulates the world in a realistic way. You can't speed from place to place in Accursed Lands, in fact, it can take a substantial amount of time (read: months or more) to even figure out where most of the developed areas of Accursed Lands are. Accursed Lands is actively seeking talented roleplayers who would enjoy taking part in a low-fantasy, roleplay-enforced MUD. You will probably enjoy Accursed Lands if you are the type of MUDder who: - enjoys developing a character - doesn't participate in OOC cheating - wants to be part of a MUD that puts quality and realism first - hates typos, bugs, and game-world anachronisms - has the patience to learn about, and incorporate into your roleplaying, Accursed Lands' all-original theme - doesn't expect MUD administrators to be babysitters Accursed Lands has been up and running for close to ten years. It is still in beta, though, and there are many things that are planned, but not yet released. However, it is already a detailed, self-consistent simulation of a world that needs more good roleplayers to make it shine. Come and give it a try, and hopefully join us.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Bensonhurst on Feb 8, 2005

Accursed Lands is an advanced MUD that is just about as custom as it's possible to get. It's a level-less, class-less, roleplay-enforced game with a unique storyline and theme. When I first started, I noticed a serious lack of newbie help. Questions on the newbie channel often elicit the reply, "read the help file". Instead of just telling you the answer, they expect you to edjucate yourself. At first, I really didn't agree that this was the best way to go, but now I realize that this is one of the ways that Accursed Lands gets rid of players who can't or don't enjoy reading and figuring things out on their own. In order to succeed in Accursed Lands, you don't need to become a warrior, or a powerful mage, or a 'master' in anything. Success is judged by your own enjoyment and your ability to roleplay a realistic character. If you don't read Accursed Lands' wonderful room descriptions, and digest their voluminous help files, you more than likely won't roleplay a character that will be remembered long after it has passed. Accursed lands is a good place to roleplay, but it can often be difficult to find other well-rounded characters. The unbelievably cool game mechanics attracts a lot of achievers who want to spend all their time working on skills and hiding themselves away until they are uber. Accursed Lands provides a ton of fun for those types, but sometimes they clash with the pure roleplayers. I suppose it's a testament to Accursed Lands' reputation as one of the most advanced free MUDs that it can provide a satisfying place for good roleplayers, and at the same time, attract its share of power gamers. Luckily, this all seems to work out in the end. I'd recommend Accursed Lands to anyone looking for a roleplay-enforced MUD. Stick around one of the highly-detailed and realistic cities and you'll be sure to run into some memorable characters.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Ben'min on Jan 14, 2005

AL is a long-lived MUD that has progressed slowly. Most players go out into the wilderness where they stay for literally months on end, training their combat skills by fighting animals or with a single buddy they have decided to drag along. They may also opt to stay out in the wilderness to practice spells. After months and months of their hard work and no roleplay, they may decide to re-enter civilization. This normally is done when the playerbase is very low, to minimize any possibility of meeting other players, to buy what they would consider to be uber-weapons and armor, which, sadly enough, comes quite cheap in a MUD that is supposed to be a harsh, realistic world. For a couple hundred coins, you can dress your character out in a grand suit of arms, complete with deadly weapons. Never mind the cost at which these things must be made (by player or NPC) or any sort of economy. This pretty much gaurentees that the any player, new or not, can grab some good hack-and-slash related items at any point during their play time. So much for realism. Players may own shops but they are highly unrealistic. NPC shops never run out of supplies and their prices never fluctuate to suggest even the slightest concept of supply and demaind. Players instead use their 'shops' as storage lockers, and other players cannot steal or interact with these shops other that through the 'buy' command. On top of all of this, there are only three main categories of things which are even considered to be traded between players, or considered for buying. These three categories are: weapons, armor, and containers. Containers are restricted to the largest, cheapest backpacks (which, because of the low number of craftables in the MUD, isn't a lot). Mainly the item called the 'wicker backpack.' They may also include canteens, but since these are given out as a player starts out, they are not items in high demand and even the poorest player can find one on the ground. Since water is not a very important commidity, most choose to discard their canteens and water-bearing containers in favor for more room in their pack or the wear location they take up. For a role-play enforced MUD, one must wonder at these three categories. They seem suspiciously like the three main categories of any H&S MUD. A few players opt to buy tools, although this is an unpopular decision. Most tools can be found for free discarded by other players or collecting dust in player shops. Those that must be bought had the strange tendancy of costing far more than weapons and armor. There are few tools in the game anyway, as materials do not seem to variate. Whittling has the most diverse tool, as any knife can be used. All crafts are unfinished. There are VERY few craftables in the game. What can be crafted is very often worthless to a player, as NPC will... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Mary Black on Jan 8, 2005

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Sennanight on Jan 8, 2005

This MUD is one that, at one point in time, though I'm not sure when or if ever, had potential. Sure, the mechanics have POSSIBILITIES, and it is Role=play enforced, but there is more to a mud than enforcing roleplay. The immortal staff/creators, are pompous and arrogant. The players are constantly being told that they aren't needed, and are always treated like dirt. Unless of course, you are as the helpfiles phrase it, a "creator's pet". Yes. On this MUD, the creator's play favorites, and they are quite open to admit it. Though if you acknowledge this fact, you are instantly scolded, and one or more creators will begin arguing with you. If they begin to lose any argument, they will silence you, ban you for weeks/months/forever, or threaten you through tells. Of course, the players who are real problems (there are several), are banned for only a day when they bother a player. But on to other things. It is almost impossible for newbies to play this MUD, because there are so many people who get on not to Roleplay, but to kill every person/thing they meet. Watch out newbies!! Some of these people go out and hunt things to kill. And because these people do this, they get stronger, because their skills are trained, and as they get stronger, they become almost impossible to kill. So guess what? These characters have an IC age of 70 years-130 years (the most I have heard lately.) Very unrealistic. Do you know what else is unrealistic? The fact that these characters are not affected by their ages. Their bones do not become brittle, they do not become slower, their eyesight does not deplete. They remain as strong as they were when they had just gone through character creation. Ridiculous. So if you are looking for a MUD with rude creators, psychotic players (most, not all, but the few who aren't are killed by the psychos), poor mechanics, and a downright rude playerbase, then this, my friend, is the MUD for you!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by PluckyChucky on Jan 7, 2005

Accursed Lands is, quite possibly, the best MUD around. It's certainly the best one I've found in 5+ years of MUDding. It may not be for everyone, but if you want a roleplay MUD, this is the place for you. It is roleplay-required and the realism that the creators have managed to code into the game is unprecedented. Everything you do in the game, from crafting to traveling, fighting to speaking a language, is sensible, realistic, and believable. Unfortunately, this tends to drive a lot of players away. Some people want a casual place where they can joke around, speak out-of-character, and do whatever they please. In Accursed Lands, you have to be in-character at all times. There is a global channel, but it is for out-of-character banter and chat only, and it's heavily censored, both by the administrators and by some type of code. Any reference to in-game events or game mechanics is met with a swift and unforgiving silencing. The admins are always threatening to take away the chat channel if players even begin to hint at in-character events. Another unique thing about AL is that the world is very large and people tend to form cliques or unofficial clans in certain parts of the world. You might meet the same old people all the time, and not even realize that there are a whole bunch of other people on the other side of the continent. This can lead to wonderful roleplay, but it can also lead to wars and rivalries where a bunch of strangers suddenly invade your town looking for food after hiking for days across the wilderness (it can take real-life hours to travel from one part of the game to another, if you even know where to go). So, PK occurs in Accursed Lands, which rubs a lot of people the wrong way - they'd rather sit around telling stories and roleplaying peaceful characters. You can't satisfy everyone. Accurse Lands' theme is really interesting. It's completely original, and could be best described as dark, subtly-gothic horror set in a post-apocalyptic world with a level of technology similar to that of 9th century northern-Europe (though some parts of the game-world are slightly more technologically advanced). Most parts of the world are tainted and twisted - shattered remnants of an earlier golden age, though isolated enclaves of culture have survived. There are different races that all have their own areas, languages, and ways of viewing the world. Chances are good that you'll find a race that fits your favorite style of roleplay. The problem is, most players complain that there isn't enough basic theme released to the players in an easily-obtainable form (such as on a website or something). The creators seem to want players to absorb the theme from things in the game - room descriptions, NPCs, in-game libraries, game-obtainable lore and history. It can get frustrating to have to pay such close attention to the areas in the game, only to other... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by PodWarrior on Jan 6, 2005

What is it that makes me always come back to Accursed Lands? - The Creators are friendly, there is no favoritism and they actually listen to ideas. - AL is truly unique, the whole feel of the game is completely different from any other MUD I know. Since there are no levels or classes, you can develop exactly the character you want to roleplay. So, no boring leveling, no doing things your character would never do ICly, but you just start and live your character's life. - Extensive crafting. Everything can be learned by doing, but often it helps a lot to find another player to apprentice under. - The combat system is unique. There are no skills like 'second attack', 'third attack' and the likes (which I find to be completely unrealistic), but there are many factors that determine how often and how hard you hit. You can drag away unconscious characters, rob them, or if you are really mean, you can hack of their limbs. Yes, player killing is allowed here, but you are expected to roleplay as well. This policy allows for some very intense situations to be experienced on the MUD. Hiding and sneaking, palming and pilfering, there are many skills that make your character find their unique identity here. Because of the different feel of the game, AL can be confusing at first. I hope you will give it a try anyways. You can always ask questions on the newbie channel, as long as you do not reveal any in character information. IC/OOC seperation is strict here, and in the game world, people are expected to be in character at all times. All in all, AL is a wonderful world to roleplay in. The main problem of the MUD is the lack of players that we are actively trying to solve at the moment.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Sylena on Jan 4, 2005

I really enjoy Accursed Lands. No, let me rephrase that; I REALLY REALLY REALLY enjoy Accursed Lands. I like a lot of things about AL. The classless skill system, the incredibly detailed sensory information you can get from almost every object in the gameworld, the massive (spherical!) gameworld itself, and the huge ammount of customization you can do to your character are all very nice, but frankly, one thing in particular does it for me; the consistancy. Everything in AL is comepletely consistant with its theme. Magic is difficult to come by, and really feels like something, well, magical. The interface is executed with absolutely no abstract values or numbers too. That means that instead of having 300/1000 HP left in your right arm, you'd have three deep cuts and a large bruise on your right arm. Or, for example, instead of saying that you have a strength score of 90, you'll be described as having "fantastic strength." It may not sound like a huge difference, but when you see and examine all of the different parts of your character that in most games are simply numeric, the incredibly immersive quality comes to light. There are a lot of opportunities to socialize in the game as well. In fact, it's a great way to pass the time as you practice your skills in anything from basket weaving to sparring. But, logically, you can't talk while studying. ;) All of these realistic modifications to what most MUDs leave to numbers provides a refreshing break from RP situations where you say that you're in danger because your HP meter is getting low. I only have two real complaints about this MUD, and by submitting this review, I'm trying to alleviate one of them. My first complaint is the low playerbase. AL deserves a large playerbase, and its world is built to accomadate one. With an average of about 10 players on at peak hours, you can sometimes find yourself feeling a bit lonely. My second complaint is that the game just isn't finished yet. What's there is excellent, but there are lots of referances to many more races and cities that are being worked on, but haven't been completed yet. It's more of an anticipation issue than anything, but I'm just -dying- to see more races come out, if only because they sound so damn cool. Anyways, I strongly recommend Accursed Lands to any person that's interested in roleplaying in a consistant environment filled with interesting things to do and see. It fufills and exceeds my expectations of what a MUD should be, and the staff is excellent.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Gabocha on Jan 2, 2005

I have played Accursed Lands almost everyday (barring downtime, vacations, power-outages, and limitations to computer access) for anywhere between three and four years. Over that amount of time, I have grown quite familiar with the world, the theme, and the people that worked and played there. I have no idea what is possessing me to put forth the effort of writing a review, but here it goes. CODE: Accursed Lands is built on a MudOS driver with the Lima mudlib. There has been numerous additions and changes made to the code, which have put in place convient or rare features. The game is in BETA. SYNTAX: The syntax is very nice, and anyone who appreciated proper grammar will appreciate the syntax. It is also highly intelligent. 'get ball bag' no longer works (unless you are trying to get something called a ball bag); instead, you must use 'get ball from bag'. You can also do 'get second ball from bag,' doing away with place-holding numbers. EXP, LEVELS, CLASSES, and CHARACTERS: There are no experience points, levels, or classes. New players will log on and be asked to make an account. Once they do so, they may go through the char gen where they will make a character. They are asked first for a race, which the player chooses, and then they are sent through a variety of questions. These questions set up the description, and, later, determine skills and stats based on answers given by players. SKILLS: The game is still in a beta stage. Several skills have not been implemented yet. Those that have been can be learned through doing. Some of the ones that HAVE already been implemented include: smelting, smithing, forage, gathering, literacy, several languages and lores, travel skills, weaving, and weapons and combat skills. This is not a complete list. You can tell how much your character knows about a skill by a level description: i.e, 'you know very little about smithing.' COMBAT: Combat is highly detailed, if still automatic. You can choose what your character focuses more on using a set of five virtual scales between ten styles. Prefer defense to attacking? Daring to parrying? Dodging to full offensive? Speed of movement or power of swings? Aiming for your opponents head, or protecting your own? PLAYERBASE: Because the game is still in beta, it still has a moderately small, if (sort of) loyal playerbase. Peak times used to see 20-30 people around, but lately the game is very lucky to breach 10. This may be do to internal politics or player affairs, or a sudden epidemic that somehow wiped out most of the players. All players are considered to be beta-testers, and this, unfortunately, is what is told to most players (unless they are in some special high favor) who bring up topics of discussion that involve roleplaying or player's rights or wants. (I am very aware of the fact that a player has no right to play on any game, unless pay... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by A Roleplayer on Dec 18, 2004

I want to share a gem of a secret with you. This secret is the MUD called Accursed Lands. I have been playing AL for a few months and I can't believe I haven't found this MUD before, because it suits me better, by far, than any of the others that I tried. You can get a description of AL from the info page here at TMS (thank you, top mud sites, for without you, I wouldn't have found AL). Basically: roleplay is mandatory, there are no classes or levels, everything is completely original and the realism is spectacular. The players seem to be mature and passionate about roleplaying. The people who run the MUD keep themselves out of sight and the IC world is free of any immortals who amuse themselves by meddling in your business. This MUD is extremely realistic - sometimes to such a degree that it can scare away new players who want to jump right into things and start achieving. AL is not about leveling and finding rare equipment. It is a carefully-crafted environment that exists to support roleplaying. The vast selection of skills encourage you to shape your character however you want. The completely original theme insures that everything that you will see in the game is logical and has a purpose. You will not find a city that has been plopped down in the wilderness by the creators simply to house a quest item. Instead, cities are there for a good IC reason. They have sensible economies, histories, legends and traditions, and so much detail that to take a walk through one of AL's areas is like unraveling a mystery or solving a puzzle. Whenever I read a room description, I am impressed by the consistently fine writing and the thought that went into even the most mundane areas on AL. AL is supposed to be still in beta, but since it has been around for something like ten years, I don't know how this affects anything. The crafting system is amazing, and most items in the game are craftable. Those that are not yet craftable by players apparently will be when the game finally gets out of beta, if it ever does. There are five races that you can choose among as a player, and some that have not been released yet which is another thing that possibly keeps the game in beta. When you start AL, (after a character generation sequence that seems to last forever), you are in some city. Each race has a starting city, some have more than one starting city. Each city or area on AL is geographically separated from others in Accursed Land's cool wilderness. In order to travel from one city to another (assuming you'd want to), it takes a LOT of time and effort. The good thing about this is that it is realistic, and each area is sensible in that it supports itself economically and culturally. The bad thing is players... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by AL Player on Dec 17, 2004

AL is the best mud ever my friend is on a jerny around the world. it has taken him atlist a mounth to get what he thinks is half way around this place is huge so tell all your friends and play we have room for all.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by linden on Aug 4, 2004

Accursed Lands ----------------------- This server is a strict roleplaying server. This means you'll have to roleplay no matter what. If you want to hold an OOC(Out of Character)conversation we have chat channels for such things. The playerworld is vast. There are over 5 million rooms and counting. Including underwater and sky levels. We have a helpful staff, and a friendly/newbie welcoming playerbase for newcomers. We also have a newbie channel for newbies, whenever they feel helpless. We also have a mentor academy they can be warped to and get help from people who know what they are doing. We have a rating system that is used, to show you how well you are doing in both IC and OOC worlds. Warning: This system isn't perfect yet, and its abused somewhat till today. Crafts ----------------------- Don't like the macho figher type of character? We have a list of possiable crafts you can choose from to master. Basket Weaving Butchery Carpentry Cobblery Coopering Dyeing Embroidery Fishing Gem Cutting Glass Blowing Glass Making Glass Working Hunting Knitting Metal Working Smelting Smithing Leather Working Logging Mining Pottery Working Sewing Spinning Stone Carving Tanning Weaving Whittling Verbs and Emotes ----------------------- Feel like describing your character without words? We have 637 possiable verbs wich you can use to describe your character, and the use of custom regular and possessive emotes. Races ----------------------- We have 13 races from wich you can choose from (5 released currently). There are different types of races flying, underwater, and much much more Housing and Tents ----------------------- We now haver player houses and tents avaliable for their taking. They can be used for storage, getting away from storms, workshops, and much more!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Yokunama on Jun 18, 2004

I just started playing this MUD a few days ago and I must say I'm pretty hooked. It's really complex and I'm confused about 75% of the time, but I think this MUD is awesome because everyone I met so far role plays. Someone tried to scam me of my ring, talked to a couple about their marriage, and then got drunk and made up stories about girls we've had with another guy until the hangover set in and I puked my guts out. I can't wait to find more things to do in this MUD. If the features are anything close to being as cool as the players, then this MUD will rock even more.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Kim Jong on May 13, 2004

Okay...My brothers and I started this mud when it had 5 rooms in banzar, and the creators used to zap us into areas for testing..good times... Anyway, nearly 8 years later, it's still here and going stronger then ever with thousands of rooms and hundreds of players. It is by far the best role playing mud i have EVER played, and my brothers and I, and my best friends will be playing this for a long time. We love it, and can't get enough. w00t! for real!... If you're lookin for an rp suitable for any type of role...this is the one to go to, and it is still building as i type this very line!....

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Jon Idoni - ZeL - on Apr 16, 2004

The best muud i ever played with complex roleplayers and tons of great skills with a good economy the best part is the worled. Its imposible to explorer the whole thing almost and you'll always find new things. Also its classless. So quite simply the best MUD around I would have nto say personally.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Tony zotti on Apr 14, 2004

this is the best mud ever. vary freindly.i like how you can kill other players in most muds you cant which is gay as hell. there is a big land scape. also about 5 races and more on the way. the creaters are also making new stuff like jobs and has a good ecomomy.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by christopther dippolino on Apr 14, 2004

Then again, things can be a little offbeat, or just a little dangerous. You close the vacant eyes of your own head. You examine a *my race* head. This is the severed head of a *my race*. It appears to be very badly damaged. It is being held in your left hand. The head belongs to you. It is decaying. You jiggle the ear of your dead head. You examine the severed arteries in your head. You pale. Player Character says "I jump to my feet and said what did I miss and...theres a bathtub." Player Character says "I thought "im talking to a bathtub"." Player Character shakes his head. A young female braman with expressive brown eyes ponders the situation. You ask "Did it talk back?" You look concerned. Player Character says "After I ran into the door it did." Player Character takes a stone arrow. Player Character begins loading a yew bow. Player Character fires a stone arrow from his yew bow at a young man with curly dark brown hair! His stone arrow is lodged in a young man with curly dark brown hair. Player Character impales a young man with curly dark brown hair in the head with his stone arrow. A young man with curly dark brown hair's head is crippled! A young man with curly dark brown hair slumps to the ground. A young man with curly dark brown hair's body goes limp. You cheer! Mysrra examines a black iron cauldron. A cold breeze blows past as an extremely young human with completely white eyes steps out of a shadow. You scream.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Blaze on Feb 16, 2004

Accursed Lands is the of those most challenging, intriguing, intresting MUD's on the net. Unlike other MUD's massive roleplaying goes on. You constantly must think about your next move it could bring you riches or your death. You can make alliances with powerfull people or choose to lay low and be unseen. The possibilities in Accursed Lands are endless. I have been playing for 2 years and i learn new things everyday. It is the best MUD on the net from what i have played.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Tuke on Feb 11, 2004

You creep down a ravine, or silently tiptoe down a path leading to a temple that appears to be in disuse. What awaits you at the bottom of the ravine? Or at the end of the path? It may be fortune, or it may be fate. It pays to be well prepared on any adventure in these accursed lands. More of an explorer than an adventurer? Travel through the desert, the swamps, mountains, plains, and forests. You never know what you might find on your journeys. It might be that you'll be entertained by the racuous ribbiting of an innocent frog in the swamp or....you might encounter a much more dangerous creature. Travel the vast plains and see how your skills at life preservation measure up. It can take a great deal of pre-planning and ingenuity to survive a cross country journey. Don't forget the food and water you'll need...you may find out how much you appreciate such things when they seem to be nowhere in sight...as you crawl across the grassy sea in search of fresh water. More of a crafter type? Don't worry, there are plenty of opportunities to hone your skills as well. Want to sew a new costume? Chisel out remarkably detailed statues? Make your own weapons, for personal use or trade? How about becoming a basket maker or goldsmith? Did I mention you need to mine and smelt your own gold ore first? Care to become a ranger and travel the lands in seek of law breakers and bring peace to the lands? Or would you rather be one of the hunted rebels yourself? Sound good? With over 6 million rooms and a helpful staff and playerbase, you'll find Accursed Lands to be a MUD like you've never experienced. Still in beta testing, the staff welcomes ideas from players that are interested in making the game even better. One of the most challenging MUDs to play today, can you learn to survive quickly enough? You'll never know if you don't try.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Sleepless on Feb 9, 2004

A crash, a bolt of searing blue light shatters the rocks. Too late... The earth rumbled, the ground shaking, dust began to fall from the tunnels ceiling. Then, a feeling like ice being pulled through the heart. A wash of blue and white rolling out across the lands, and the feeling... Something wrong... Something terribly wrong. For as many years as memory serves, they have warred. The tree men and the arachnids. How it started is unknown, but then, why does any war start. A scholar once said some of the greatest differences in opinion may only be solved by the greatest of conflicts. Perhaps this is the reason, or maybe it was just lust for power and domination, but let us leave these issues, and move the focus. The focus now falls on a young man, a human boy going by the name of Myrios. A gasp in the dark, then a sound. Light dimly flickered into existence the room as the flames licked up the oil in the lantern. He had the same dream again, he wasn't sure what it meant. It wasn't much of a dream just a feeling, he would have just finished in the great chamber, working on what he believed would finally end this war, he would leave and then.... something would be different. And then he would wake up. He got off the feather bed, the sheets soaked in a cold sweat. His feet made a slightly damp padding noise as he approached the sheet of polished metal that served as a mirror. He looked in at his reflection. His blue eyes the pupils wide in the murky light. His eyes were reddened around the edges. These were the effects of waking up night after night. He picked up a towel and dried his face. He wouldn't be able to sleep now. He knew it. The feeling in his dream would stay on his mind for some time. He needed to do something else, something besides thinking about sleep. It was best he worked; it would take his mind off the dream. Myrios had joined the Kiisic some time ago, he didn't really have much choice, the warring arachnids and the Rowen had moved across his village. The place was destroyed. He had refused point blank to serve in the war, preferring to work as a mage crafter on weapons for the Kiisic armies. Over the years he had worked for the Kiisic, and he had become quite good at magic?s, learning all he could in his spare time. He was practicing and learning the Kiisic ways: to surf along the magical tides and to harness the chaos. Then they had asked him to work on the project. He told himself that it was for the good of all, that it would finally end the great and terrible wars that had been ransacking the lands for so long. He had almost convinced himself.. almost. It was then that the dreams At... Read More

– MudConnector.Com Review by Tempus on Nov 30, 2003

Tempus, AL staff loved your story and your review. Keep up the great RP! VanLiew

– MudConnector.Com Review by Vanliew on Nov 23, 2003

Accursed Lands, while still officially in beta, is stable and has been open to players for years. The main goal of AL's creators is realism. The excellent code and intriguing theme complement each other and provide a wonderful vehicle for MUD roleplaying. The players are mature and recognize that AL is a roleplay MUD. While there are virtually no limits on your character's actions, in order to be a welcome addition to AL's player community, you must roleplay your character faithfully. The creators have provided a flexible emote system, and there are hundreds upon hundreds of pre- loaded emotes as well. The theme is interesting with races that take and exploration to understand and areas that are full of clues to the mysteries of a forgotten past. AL comes close to being a self-contained world - realism is paramount in the creators' agenda. AL's players want to attract others who appreciate roleplay. If you'd like to explore a unique world, with code support that allows you to do anything within reason, and stay in character while you do it, AL might be the MUD for you.

– MudConnector.Com Review by Jayess on Nov 21, 2003

A crash, a bolt of searing blue light shatters the rocks. Too late... The earth rumbled, the ground shaking, dust began to fall from the tunnels ceiling. Then, a feeling like ice being pulled through the heart. A wash of blue and white rolling out across the lands, and the feeling... Something wrong... Something terribly wrong just happened. For as many years as memory serves , they have warred. The tree men and the arachnids. How it started is reportedly unknown, but then, why does any war start. A scholar once said some of the greatest differences in opinion may only be solved by the greatest of conflicts. Perhaps this is the reason, or maybe it was just lust for power and domination, but let us leave these issues, and move the focus. The focus now falls on a young man, a human boy going by the name of Myrios.A gasp in the dark, then a sound. Light filled the room as the flames licked up the oil in the lantern. He had the same dream again, he wasn't sure what it meant. It wasn't much of a dream just a feeling, he would have just finished in the great chamber, working on what he believed would finally end this war, he would leave and then....something would be different. And then he would wake up. He got off the feather bed, the sheets soaked with a cold sweat. His feet made a slightly damp padding noise as he approached the sheet of polished metal that served as a mirror. He looked in at his reflection. His blue eyes the pupils wide in the dim light. His eyes were reddened around the edges. These were the effects of waking up night after night. He picked up a towel and dried his face. He wouldn't be able to sleep now. He knew it. The feeling in his dream would stay on his mind for some time. He needed to do something else, something besides thinking about sleep. It was best he worked; it would take his mind off the dream. Myrios had joined the Kiisic some time ago, he didn't really have much choice, the warring arachnids and the Rowen had moved across his village. The place was destroyed. He had refused point blank to serve in the war, preferring to work as a mage crafter on weapons for the Kiisic armies.Over the years he had worked for the Kiisic, and he had become quite good at magi'cs, learning all he could in his spare time. He was practicing and learning the Kiisic ways: to surf along the magical tides and to harness the chaos. Then they had asked him to work on the project. He told himself that it was for the good of all, that it would finally end the great and terrible wars that had been ransacking the lands for so long. He had almost convinced himself--almost.It was then that the dreams started. At first they been... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Tempus on Nov 19, 2003

I looked all over the internet for a good mud to play when my freind told me of this one, I have been hooked ever since. This is the best mud I have played.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by rattler on Sep 13, 2003

Accursed Lands is a RolePlay-enforced MUD. The original theme (medieval fantasy), coupled with a wonderfully realistic set of coded skills and intriguing races, allow the roleplayer to develop a refreshingly true-to-life character. Still officially in beta-testing, Accursed Lands has been open to the public for quite some time and may be just what you're looking for in a MUD. You will find these things in Accursed Lands: Five races (more to be released eventually) with which to roleplay. Each with its own history, culture, language(s), superstitions and lore, and areas (cities, etc.) Realistic combat system. Forget 'numbers' - no visible hitpoints, armor classes, weapons bonuses. Combat is brutal, bloody, incredibly detailed, and it lasts long enough for some roleplay while fighting. Lose an arm, leg or tail? It happens. Lose a head? It also happens. Player killing. Always wanted to be an assassin? Have a grudge against mages? Think all men should have their arms and legs amputated? Accursed Lands is the place for you. Players who don't kill. Plenty of pacifist-characters roam our Accursed Lands - thinking deep thoughts and bemoaning the barbarism that surrounds them. Permadeath. While experienced players have ways to reduce the possibility that their character will be permanently killed, the danger of permadeath is always present. You want to go around acting the part of a menace to society? - just be aware that people might decide to take matters into their own hands and kill off your character. Magic that is rare and hidden, stigmatized, hated, and coveted. Each race has its own opinions about (and propensity for) magic. A favorite target of the player-killers, mages can build themselves up to be some of the most powerful, and most memorable characters in the game. Crafting system that actually works. Make a living working with wood, stone, fur, glass, gems, metal, cloth, just to name a few. Mature, dedicated players who care about the game and try to make the world even better through their efforts at roleplaying, finding typos and bugs, and helping less-experienced players develop their characters and role-playing abilities. You will NOT find these things in Accursed Lands: Obnoxious, intrusive global channels. There are three global channels, Newbie, Chat, and Politics. Most players keep them turned off. Gods/Immortals who interfere in the world. The creators (builders) have absolutely no interaction with the world (aside from occasional special events where a creator might animate an NPC). In Accursed Lands, you will NOT have to deal with a God who also runs a player character. Multiple characters. You are allowed only one character at a time. Annoying little twinks. Roleplayers are what you'll find here, not obnoxious brats. Unrealistic areas, NPCs, characters, theme... The Accursed Lands coders want things to be as realistic as possible. Death that means nothing. Death hurts on Accursed Lands. If you do manage to be ressurected, you'll definitely learn from your mistakes. No more capriciously dying three times a day - like on less-realistic MUDs. On Lands,... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Jayess on Aug 12, 2003

I've played Accursed Lands almost since the day it went public. I've tried to quit playing, tried to reason with myself that no one should stay up 12-24 hours straight playing an online game. I can't do it, almost as if it's a part of me. I've tried other MUDs, and they just don't compare. Definatley worth your attention.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Malcom on Jul 14, 2003

I've been playing Accursed Lands for about 2 years now, so any comments I make will be baised. All that said and done lets get on with the review. AL is a roleplay enforced MUD with a class-less, level-less system. It is hugely realistic - from it's individual room descriptions and well thought out theme to it's huge wilderness that consists of many different terrians. Still, it may sound like a lot of other muds out there, but even still in Beta it has a moderate sized player base (which I will come back too) and an extensive number of skills in areas such as combat, crafting, magic, 'thief' skills, travel skills etc. To learn any of the skills you have to practice...and practice and practice again and even then you will be mediorce. It is not an easy mud and not a good mud for those with little paitence. To master a skill can take a couple of rl weeks or more - and stats are even harder to raise. Nonetheless, this is one of the things that add to it's relistic atmosphere. Travelling to another town may take a rl hours, and even longer if you decided to jog along in the woods rather than use the roads. The lack of players at the moment do not aid in roleplaying situations. But to have the player base it does (30+ at peak times) is a great achievment. This may frustrate some people though as it can sometimes be days before you can find another player. Accursed Lands will not suit everyone. If you hate it, you will hate with avengence, but if you love it, you are hooked for life. It's more of a simulation than a game.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Alice on Jul 12, 2003

I'm a player at Accursed Lands and don't have anything to do with building the world. Accursed lands is a roleplay enforced mud with an original medieval-styled theme, unique races that will enhance the roleplay experience, lots of skills to enable you to build a believable character (crafting, fighting, magic, etc), and most of all, coding that will provide you with a surprisingly realistic mud world in which to roleplay. There are currently five races available (with as many as that currently unreleased but in the works) with which to roleplay. Racial type does not limit your mudding experience the way the old-fashioned idea of class does. Rather, it enhances your opportunity to mold your character within the framework provided by the incredibly detailed and compelling theme - each race has its own history, culture, traditions, language(s), and roleplayes style. Of course, there are differences among the races that will affect what you can actually do with your character, an aquatic race can do things that a terrestrial race couldn't for instance, but most coded skills are availiable to all (with very few, obvious exceptions, such as flying skills). Accursed Land's extensive skill system is wonderfully realistic. Fighting is beautifully coded and puts most other pk muds to shame. Likewise, magic is refreshingly believable - rare, hidden, feared, coveted, and ultimately too difficult for all but the most diligent to obtain. Characters can interact with the mud world in all the expected ways: herbalism, alchemy (not fully implemented yet...?), crafting of wood, glass, metal, gems and more. There is an extensive underworld system which can be modified by player characters' efforts at tunneling and mining and which remains a permanent part of the mud world. As yet unreleased sub-terranian races will make good use of this feature, though it's available currently. The credo of Accursed Land's coders seems to be - 'make it as realistic as possible'. This magnificent realism provides great roleplay opportunities. NPC's are well done. Areas are meticulously detailed. Skill sets actually seem sensible. In short, you'll rarely be constrained by the world in which you are roleplaying. Accursed Land's one drawback is the lack of players. There may be thirty players online during peak hours, and as few as a half-dozen in the off hours. It would be nice to have many, many more. Our world is a large one, and players are spread out all over, some never meeting very many others because they inhabit different cities or regions - Accursed Lands doesn't have an artificial central meeting place like less realistic muds. Opportunities for roleplay are easy to come by with the number of players we currently have, but more players would increase the quality of the roleplay tremendously. Younger, less mature players probably won't enjoy Accursed Lands as much as they might a more easy-going mud, as we are roleplay-enforced and player-killing does exist. However, if you are willing to stay in character, and have the patience to work on character... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Jayess on Jul 9, 2003

I am pleased, overall, with Accursed Lands. It's world is somewhat vast compared with it's playerbase, but it is RP enforced with quite a few quality role-players to boast with. It's races, areas, world, theme, and history are in-depth and loyal to the concept of originality. Features I Like to Note: o Level-less. No exp or points at all. o Classless. Be what you want to be. o Vast skills. Many skills to choose from, and you advance with practice through use. o Player-run shops. They are available almost everywhere for reasonable rates. Shape the economy as you desire, or go broke. Heh. o Original races and towns. No stock areas. o Magic is -not- easy to come by. Nor is it looked lightly at in the IC world. With power come responsibility, or a call for your head. :) o Distance is a factor in travel. "speeding" will get you no-where. Also, while in the wilderness, there is several types of terrain. o Naming system. Unlike other RP-related MUDs which forces you to remember long descs, you can name or nickname people when you meet them, so it is easier to recognize someone when you meet them again at a later time.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Almondine War on Feb 20, 2003

This is by far the best mud I've played in my entire mud career of 8 years. I used to play RoD and threw away 3 years of my life, just to be subjected to the whims of immature immortal intervention. AL ROCKS! because there is NO interference by ANY admin! The world is unique and created with so much see, feel, taste, touch and hearing details that it never ceases to amaze me! AL ROCKS! That's the best way I can word this review!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Jennifer Kollert on Jan 10, 2003

This is the best MUD I have ever played. If you are looking for an RP MUD that tests your limits, this is it. Some of the best RP I have ever done is on this MUD. IT RAWKS!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Zinnia on Dec 28, 2002

I've played Accursed Lands seriously for about a month now (and played sporadically before that) due to the (temporary) closing of my 'home' MUD. Accursed Lands humbles all the other MUD's I've tried. It is the most realistic mudding experience I've ever had and the quality of the roleplaying is second-to-none. You will not 'meet players from all over the world here' simply because the RolePlay aspect of this MUD is strictly enforced (by the gods and the players themselves) and you will never know whether the real-life person behind the wonderfully detailed character you happen to be interacting with is down the street from you, or on another continent. Non-player-characters (MOBs) are smart and can be interacted with in enjoyable and beneficial ways. At times, especially when one is inexperienced in the ways of Accursed Lands, these NPCs can deceive you into thinking they are other players! The races are varied and quite well done (more will be added in the future). The MUD takes realism to the extent that you may not be able to converse with someone of a different racial type until, and if, you learn their language. Almost every skill and ability available on Accursed Lands (and there are literally hundreds) is available to any character, if you, as the player, decide to make your character concentrate on learning that particular skill. In other words, there are no hard-and-fast rules with respect to what skills your character can use or aquire. For instance, if you want to 'make' a warrior, you can practice combat-oriented skills until you are a tough-guy extraordinaire. However, if you get tired of kicking butt all day long, you can have a change of heart and become a magic-user, or thief, or fruit-picker. In short, whatever you desire is available to you in this MUD, you are not foreced into a cliche'd charater type by some artificial class/race system like in most other MUDs i'm familiar with. This MUD is not for people who lack patience, or for those without a certain level of maturity. The very freedom to do whatever (within reason) you want in this virtual world might might leave certain people wanting a more structured environment, where your role is clearly defined and goals are simple to achieve. If, on the other hand, you want an escape from reality into an alternate reality, Accursed Lands is, by far, the best MUD for you. I can't say enough good things about this MUD. Give it a try for a week or two and you may never leave!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Archein on Sep 5, 2002

By far this is the most original MUD I've ever played, or probably ever will. Nothing you've played before can prepare you for this game. Get ready to see what a MUD is suppose to be.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Thor on Sep 1, 2002

I'm going to give you my straight opinion, most reviews are written by people who've been playing their mud for a long time and are going to make it sound like the land of milk and honey or you have players that are pissed at the place and try to bash it. I played for a few weeks and got the hang of the mud and this is what I think of it. Every mud has their ups and downs and this is my review for this mud. I'll straight up say that the detail of this mud is unscene anywhere else and is quite deep. I heard there is another mud like it that they broke off from but never stuck around on Acursed Lands long enough to find out. It was very fun to interact with all the npcs and players and I sometimes got the two confused. U Unless you feel like waiting to go from point A to point B this mud isn't for you. The number of jobs you can do are really interesting and there is no end to what you can do with the levelles/classles system, which leads me to my next point. If you lack patience this mud isn't for you because some of the tasks take forever to learn to the point where they are useful or profitable. If you are there to roleplay, havefun and horseplay this is a fun mud. Don't try to be the uber-char right away, death is going to happen and it's not best to give it. On another note I find global channels on a strict rp mud absolutely useless. They always seem to be more a curse than a blessing. This mud obviously isn't for mud, but I hope you give it a try at least to see how far the realism envelope can be pushed.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Feltin on Sep 1, 2002

Accursed Lands is one of the most beautifully intricate games I've ever played where role- playing rules supreme. I have been looking at MUDs for quite some time and I have never encountered one set up quite like this. There are no classes, in which you are forced to play a profession that seriously limits the playability of the world. There are no 'levels'. Skills are aquired by learning about them or being tried out, and bettered by trying them and learning them as you go. There are -many- skills, and there is almost no limit to where you character can go. Play a carpenter or the logger who supplies the wood, a carver, a warrior, a hunter, a herbalist, a healer, a smith, a miner, or whatever else your imagination allows you to be. The NPCs are also extremely complex. They are no longer NPCs, but people, and you might find it to your benefit to interact with them rather than stir up bad blood. The game is extremely detailed, as is the theme, and has quite a bit of reality. Death is uncool. Don't die. Breaking your arm makes things interesting, and breaking your head gives your heirs a reason to start fighting over who gets your property. The areas, races, theme.. every- thing is comepletely original. For those of you out there looking for a role-playing challenge, this is the game for you.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by -[: Amaranth :]- on Aug 31, 2002

I have tried many MUDs, but none can compare to Accursed Lands. I have been playing AL for almost a year now on and off. It's amazing. After playing AL I can't play any other MUD without comparing it to AL and finding it come up short. Everything in AL is spelled out for you so realistically. Any clothing you wear is seen on you when someone looks at you. Instead of seeing a human with this inventory:....... You see a female human with sparkly green eyes, long black hair, and a stark white complexion. She is about your height, weight and seems to be slightly stronger than you. She is wearing a flowing white skirt over her legs, a maroon embroidered blouse, a quartz necklace around her neck, a gold ring on her right hand, a brown leather boot on her left foot, a brown leather booth on her right foot, and a gold earring in her ear. She has a brown burlap sack on her back and a moneybag around her waist. How great is that. Each person in the game is described in vivid detail so that you can picture them in your mind! And the skills? They're amazing. You have so much freedom in this game. You can craft about everything sold in the IC stores, with the right amount of skill. Roleplaying is amazing. Some characters are so real, you feel like you could actually know someone in real life. IC characters hook up all the time and weddings take place in the various cities. Travel is long and hard (like in irl) but completely worth it. Each city has it;s own culture and breed of NPC's. The map for traveling in color is very detailed allowing you to see the terrain a ways before you depending on the light, and your vision. The battling is so realistic. If hit repeatedly in your right arm, it will break, and be uselesss, it may even rip off and you will be handicapped. Each hit varies in degree of damage. So nicking a person in the head will do considerably less damage than deeply gouging them in the head. When a player is knocked unconscious from either a head wound or a body wound, or becoming too tired, they are open for looting and are and easy target to kill. The hunting options are great! Wild animals roam the wilderness rooms everywhere, so if your skills is great enough you just need to pick: deer, bear, fox, wolf, rabbit, fish, squirrel. Everything and anything you want to hunt is there, including things that you won't see irl. You can choose from a variety of weapons including long distance weapons such as the bow or sling. You can even open your own shop! If you've amassed a horde of worldy possesions in AL and are too loaded down by all the weight, then just open a shop. Put your fine wares on display for other to... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Mirald on Aug 25, 2002

First off I suppose I'll say that this game is one of the most original that I've ever seen, with it's own IC story, history, and details, and with the game mechanics. This game is both level-less and class-less, where you can literally be whatever it is you wish and the possibilities are endless (and growing). I am also going to be realistic and not paint the picture of "the perfect role-play MUD" here. It took me some time and quite a bit of understanding to learn to play the game to it's fullest potential because it was not like your average game. Be willing to read helpfiles and be ready to do alot of experimenting. :) These "negative" points can be easily over-come however as long as you read the help files and don't be afraid to ask questions, try things out, and test your abilities. Accursed Lands is fantastically realistic with it's world, it's details, it's races, and even it's players. It's a game that is definitely worth a try for anyone serious about role-play, but it is not suggested for someone looking for a hack-and-slash MUD, as this seems to be deeply frowned apun.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Sarah on Aug 6, 2002

I begin my review with the words that I have noticed in a lot of previous reviews,"This is the best MUD I ever played." It is the most realistic game I have ever encountered. The game reeks of realism in a most wonderful odour, and in great number of things, if you dont know the outcome, or a way to perform a certain thing, the most important question you would ask is ,"How would I do it in a Real World." Let's begin with a naming system. A system that is a perfect cloak and dagger feature possible, without being as annoying. Basically, you dont see the names of other creatures you see, but their short description (Much like armageddon for example) BUT! You are able to give them a name. Just name them somehow through a command you will remember them as that. (Hard Core and comfortable) Health system is incredibly realistic. No, you dont get imapaled by a spear that is bigger then you and survive it only because your "hp" is high enough. It is a system of limbs. If someone aims at your head, gets through your defense and manages to impact it. He'll either knock you out, or worse break your neck. You can be mutilated a great deal of different ways. From having a hand severed for thievery, to having legs broken/severed to prevent escape. Travelling, They use an approach system, aka every room has size in it, and to interact with them physically you need to approach them. With the size of a world, sometimes your travel from city A to city B may take ten minutes, half an hour,an hour, longer if the terrain is hard and no road. Rumors about few rare travelers that claim the world is spherical do exist. Magic, a mysterious force that is hidden and known to very few. Nothing stops you from performing it (no levels, no classes), but dont be suprised when you have a lynch mob of players going after you screaming about warlocks and witches. Skills, hundreds of skills that you can perform of various types and kinds. No classes or guilds to allow you to perform some skill and not another. You can perform any of them, as anything, if you know how, and have the materials. Specializations and trades do exist, but not as a coded class, but simply if you choose to spend your time performing that skill and not another. There are crafting skills, and fighting skills, there are manipulation skills, and traveling skills. There are skills that allow you to produce materials requied for crafting, and there are languages that you learn by listening or speaking. There are maintanence skills, there is magic, and herbology. There are rumors of cooking and brewing of strangest things. There are also those beautiful lore skills which add much depth to the gameplay. There is much more, that I wanted to mention, but as it always happens, forgot about.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Hegin on Jul 24, 2002

I can't believe this mud isn't in the top ten. Its much better than most of them and I just didn't understand until I took a peek inside. The players there really concentrate more on roleplaying their characters rather than run around with swords trying to kill people. Most of them are friendly and some are tough cookies. It just blew me away. I want to give two thumbs up to the creators. You earned both of them. I rate this the best MUD I've seen so far on this list. Regards, Jee

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Corpi on Jul 16, 2002

I just saw the review for this site. I have played countless MUDs in my day even way back into the stretches of the BBS(Bulletein Board System). I have NEVER found a mud THIS advanced. The first thing I noticed about the MUD was a creative and genius character generation. YOUR choices of action make your character at age 20 or so. The wonderful thing about this is that I'm sure I could have had all kinds of variations of just this one character I had crafted from character generation. Another thing I noticed were the NPC's.. I've been able with fair luck to converse with them.. I'm VERY amazed at this. Their brain files must be huge. Most other games are petty in this regard and are bot-like. The NPC interaction seems to be very well off. Also the wilderness is so vast. I've ran across a couple individuals I didn't think to be NPC's and turns out I was right. They were very helpful and explained within character a few things. These players seem worthy of my stay if they're patient enough to help the newbies out. Also as I learn, there are hundreds upon hundreds of different skills and lores. What I choose to learn only buffs my character up into a refined state. I could roam around with no skills at all and still enjoy roleplay! I have also died countless times and I'm afraid this character is looking a little weak. I ENJOY A CHALLENGE!!!!!!! Accursed Lands is ALL of that and more. I think I have found my NEW MUD Whoever you creators are, I SALUTE YOU for your efforts on a job well done. I CONDEMN you on harboring this little jewel from me all these years!!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Cruenxia on Jul 16, 2002

I can't tell you how amazing this MUD is. An everchanging world, it NEVER gets old. You actually have the ability to have a character who's SOMEBODY by simply roleplaying. The skill system is quite amazing and the advanced code makes for intersting game play. I've become immersed.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by V on Jul 16, 2002

Accursed Lands is the most in-depth text-based RPG I have ever played. The crafts system that is in place is incredible. The game itself is very realistic concerning mechanics, and the depth of characters you can create is limitless. The character creation system is excellent, and does not allow for number crunching, but rather produces a character fitting to your style of play. RP is strictly enforced, producing an environment in which you can really "become" your character. With all of it's strengths, it still has a lot of potential for improvement. Many great ideas are already in the works to improve the game, and they are always open to new ones. If you've never played AL before, check it out. You won't be sorry. If you -have- played AL before, I'll see you in the game.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by KaneShade on May 22, 2002

Ive been playing this game for about a year now, and I got two words to say - Play It Having been a big fan of pen and paper RP when I was younger nothing else compares to this mud. I tried lots of so called RP muds but felt restrictedby being forced to choose a class or join a guild, forget that in this mud, you can be anything you want to be. The best thing for me about this mud is the fact that you could spend all your time not increasing skill levels but just interacting with the world, chatting with other characters (IC of course) and building up a complex character - not in terms of skill levels and stuff - but in your own imagination. anyone who is serious about roleplaying should definatly log on to AL and give it a bash.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by stu on May 10, 2002

This is a truly great MUD geared towards the hardcore roleplay market. Dont be scared off by the races which will initialy appear wierd, you will grow to love them. Anyway, for anyone who is truley interested in a fantastic roleplay MUD experience, AL is a must.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Abyssus_j on Apr 29, 2002

Accursed Lands is a good mud for a mudder who enjoys realism, and finds a lot of other muds break too many rules of physics for their own good. On the other hand, I've found that some of the things in AL are too real - and too cumbersome. While it is great to be able to play a variety of interesting races, with varying attributes, I find it fairly ridiculous and tiring that a race with good night vision can't see well enough during the day to even look at a bulletin board, or that it takes hours of my time to travel to a distant city. No mud is going to be a perfect simulation of real life, and for good cause. Some things should be left a little unrealistic simply for the ease of gameplay. Otherwise, this can be an enjoyable MUD.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Homrig on Apr 25, 2002

This is probably one of the best muds I have every truely played. It is better then any of the online MMORPGS that I play. The realm of AL is transcendently impressive and vivid. The theme is deep and rich, and your imagination in this place is your only boundary. The world itself is set up in wilderness system which is simple to use. You can easily distinguish between the different land types such as forest, mountains, plains, and seas. This mud is also level-less, and class-less so your only limitation to becoming that which you want to become is once again, your imagination. There are many skills to learn besides combat including, crafting, thievery, sneaking, and many many more. The crafting system is very extensive, and among the crafts are whittling, lumbering, mining, forging, smelting, armor crafting, leather working, tanning, farming, repairing (armors and weapons), foraging, herb lore, and many many more. All of these things combined with the theme leads to some very interesting roleplay, which is fun and mandatory here in AL. There is also an accent system for those who have troubles using speach effectively when they roleplay. The imms are outstandingly nice and willing to help, as are the players themselves. The only thing that this mud lacks are true role players. There are quite a few good ones there, and they do have my respect, but there are also just as many bad ones. This distracts from gameplay because you must always be wary of the chaotic theives who kill first then ask questions later. Or those who claim to do it because they are evil, plain and simple. They are relentless and cruel to even those they do not know. They do not follow the theme well either and therefor distract your attention from the game itself. This game is truely a gem to me, and I have spent many a nights at the computer becauase of it. so if you can ignore those people who roleplay poorly, and enjoy this game to its fullest potential I would more then welcome you to come and see this splendid work of art. Or on the other hand your interested in playing a psycho killer who regards no ones life, you would probably enjoy it also.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Russell Antonuccio on Apr 3, 2002

Man oh man oh man. This is a great mud. The replacement of the traditional level system with the skill system makes for a heck of a lot better roleplay, and no twinks with big weapons (that they get from friends OOCly) running around killing you. That's a big point for me, since I always seem to be the last to figure out where good places to gain exp are. The people here are generally pretty cool, always willing to help out and show you around. Most of them, at least. Unlike other muds, I haven't seen very many who prey on newbies (only one, and it's pretty easy to run away from that sort of folk).

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Carbode on Apr 1, 2002

I have played Accursed Lands for over two years now and it is by far the BEST mud out there. I consider myself to be a Knightstalker and this game allows me to be the most evil player that has ever walked in the Accursed Lands. Everything in this game is hardcore and I love it. It takes time to achieve most everything you want to do in the game and thats where they have the edge over any competition. Hiking through the mountains, jogging through the woods, running in the high grassy plains, traveling from city to city, swimming from shore to shore. Each step from room to room takes time. You don't just arrive there in under 1/2 a second. I can craft my own weapons & armor. I can own a tent and set my own prices for the goods I want to sell. My health is represented like so-- Health: body: in perfect health. head: in perfect health. left arm: hurt. left leg: in perfect health. right arm: in perfect health. right leg: slightly wounded. I just finished fighting a bear. I didn't win. I had to run away. It followed me, but I know the forest quite well and quickly escaped. If the bear had hit my leg a few more times, it would have crippled and I would have fell down and then the bear would have killed me. I would have had no chance to escape. This world is beyond Gigantic and I believe it is the BEST mud in the WORLD. Give it a try and you will never look at other mud's the same way again.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Grendal on Mar 26, 2002

I have played may muds in the past, but nothing ever like this one..... It is addictive. Best game I have ever played

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Vulnero on Mar 21, 2002

I have been playing this mud now for over a year and it is the best i have seen. I tried others but always came back. The Npc's here are realy well done. sometimes i mistake them for real players. You've tried other Mud's now try the best!!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Zemm on Feb 20, 2002

Accursed Lands is the most detailed MUD I have ever seen. In every room, your detail vision, night vision, sense of hearing, sense of smell, and size effects what you can hear, see, and smell. In each city you will not immediately know the names of all the streets, only after wandering the city will you gain the "lore" of that city. After your "lore" skill is high enough, you will begin to be able to see the names of the roads. For example if you were new to a certain area you might see "A white cobblestone road" but had you lived there for many years, you would know it as "Hero's Lane". The wilderness in Accursed Lands is simply amazing. It is a complete globe, with over 6,000,000 million rooms in it. The landscape is as rich as the cities, from the endless plains, to the treacherous swamps, to the dry deserts, to the dark and gloomy forests. Do not expect to be able to travel through the lands easily. Dangerous creatures roam the world. Bears, wolves, and boars are only some of the deadly creatures you might run into. Fleeing from such encounters may prove difficult, as movement is not instantanious. You can walk, jog, run or sprint. Walking is obviosly the slowest form of movement, but the most restful. There is nothing like a nice stroll through the starlit plains. Sprinting, on the other hand is the fastest, but you will tire quickly. Role-Playing is key here. Twinks and those of the clueless persuasion need not apply. Attacking any random NPC you see is liable to earn you a quick and painful death. Instead it is often best to treat those NPC's as other players. Most are well designed and respond to conversation as any human would. There are many things to do besides fighting and exploring. Crafting plays a large part in Accursed Lands. While in the forest you can pick up a stick, and with your trusty dagger, you can whittle a torch. If your dagger becomes old, rusty, and starts to fall apart, you can forge a new one. Dont have any metal to make it? Go mining. Just be careful not to let the walls collapse, you're liable to suffocate. Death. Death happens to everyone. You lose skills, your stats decrease, your rotting corpse is vunerable to any passing looters. It is not pleasant. If you brought your friends along with you when you died, they can drag your corpse to a nearby temple so you can be ressurected. But do not assume mearly because you _can_ be ressurected that you will be. An item called a "fetish" is what lets you be ressurected. If someone remves it from your corpse (at great expense to the looter), you will permadie. All in all Accursed-Lands is a great game. It is not suitable to everyone, and the Roll-Playing aspects may turn many away. I find it highly enjoyable. For all have... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Krotho on Feb 18, 2002

Have played here over 2 years and still find it totally fascinating. Its the most rewarding, challenging game I've ever played. the game is still in beta but so enjoyable you'd never know it at times. The creator's listen to feedback and ideas and new stuff is literally being added all the time. the ic/ooc is well respected and inforced and even after my time playing here the mud can STILL humble me. Tis a grand adventure. Please join us.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by MacGyver on Feb 5, 2002

Also, in fairness to someone who made mention of the emotes being only stock, well. The "emote" command, as most people are familiar with its use, is implemented, so any and all feelings you ever wanted to use can be simulated that way. I've returned to this game after an extended away and am enjoying it more since I have more or less sated myself on powerkill, but I still find that the sitting and practicing skills can be a bit tedious, as mentioned, but there is an upside to the feel of the thing. It's calming. Or it can be calming if one isn't pk'd. :p All in all, if r.p. is your thing, this is definitely a place to experiment with. LOTS of things to do and the things that are up and coming are so cool it makes me impatient. Ha'alks! I'm ready already!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Shane Roach on Nov 30, 2001

Hi there, let me tell you more about the game I love and have helped shape for the last couple of years, and why we don't like botting too terribly much. While Accursed Lands isn't roleplay-enforced, we do like to encourage it (often with large, pointy objects), and most of our players are happy to oblige. Even the most unlikable playerkiller likes to have fun with a minievent or a clever animal, and we have a lot more than playerkillers on the MUD. No classes or levels (other than handy skill titles so you know how good you are) help the game feel "real" to our players, since they know any skill their friend knows can theoretically be learned, and with time, mastered. Our players generally take good care of newer players, especially the mentors, who are in charge of helping them get on their feet and telling them about In Character information we don't allow on the channels. The emphasis on skills as a source of income, as a social activity, and as a goal are the reason we don't allow triggers and the like in the game. We want anyone who connects through standard telnet, two tin cans, and a string to have the same chance at having fun and developing their character as Joe College Student on his rocket-fueled T15 connection with WXYZmud running overtime. The game is about USING your skills and exploring the world we made, not sitting around all day claiming your skill is higher than my skill. Patience and hard work are worth their weight in gold on Terrinor. We're not for everyone, but we might be right for you. Compare us to other fun games you can access from this website. Make your own decision. Come play.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Eazine on Nov 30, 2001

I've mudded for many years. And i do like levelless systems. This mud has the most advanced levelless system i've seen. Unfortuanatly I expect to see progress when i type the same command in for hours (yes plural). Did i mention botting is illeagal. If you have the ability to effortlessly switch to something else while you invest countless hours advancing a single skill. then this mud is perfect for you. I was sad to give up on it, but i just don't have the time & patience.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Baub on Nov 29, 2001

Accursed lands i think is the best most complex mud out there you may think different but i tell you why it has the most complex crafting system i have ever seen you can make almost anything although some of the skills are not implemented as yet also the thing i love about this mud is magic is not just a skill that helps you kill stuff more its evil in the lands you may be hunted and slain for being seen with magic. Another thing i like is things are so much slower in Accursed lands such as healing and getting better at skills more realistic no more waiting 1 min to heal deap wounds this is jus a few things i have told you about Accursed lands so come check it out and you will see me about im kullan

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by kullan on Jun 22, 2001

great mud come see for you self

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by james on Jun 21, 2001

Just a great MUD. Not like any other i've seen before. Coders and coding are great. Roleplay or die attitude. Great MUD engine. Tons of areas. Tons of skills, Similar to Ultima Online without graphics. Too much to list just GO!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Ginzo on Jun 5, 2001

This isn't actually a review, per se, just a minor correction to Jonathan Smith's review (04/07/01) below. "and finally, no profanity" This isn't strictly true. You can swear in game, you just have to swear in terms relevant to the AL world of Terranor (a handy list of suggestions is even provided ;). The results of attempting to use Earth specific terms, cusswords or otherwise is amusing. All grist for the creativity mill. "Some guy hit my fender the other day, and I said unto him: Be fruitful, and multiply. But not in those words." One of the things I adore about AL is the way it is coded and written so that as a player you can't help but roleplay, you can't help but have your mind sucked into this virtual world. Warning: Once you have ventured to Terranor, you may find it difficult to make your way back to the "real" world.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Galatea on Apr 29, 2001

This is a must visit mud. Totaly realistic and with rules that allow you to play whilst not allowing you to ruin the atmosphere of the game by chating about IC info or saying things like MODEM in game. The skills system means that you can improve an a whole host of different proffesions. The creator staff are totaly ace. The health system gives you damage to different limbs rather than hit points. There is so much more to see but rather than me telling you about it GO AND PLAY IT

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Kalanac on Apr 27, 2001

Accursed Lands is the most unique MUD I've ever played. It doesn't have classes, levels, and it's not just hack and slash. The towns are personalized to different races, and some cannot be entered by any other races other than the town's home race. The wilderness is a giant expanse that is hardly explored, and it's very easy to get lost for IC(in character) years. Another great thing about this MUD is that you can't just go on a channel and say "I'm in Dalara and I don't know how to get out! Someone please come help!" If your in Dalara, your stuck there until someone happens to come across you, or you find your own way out. Channels are strictly out of character (ooc), and people giving away IC information on it are punished. It creates a strong feeling of really being there, alone, as if in real life. There are many many more great features like the crafting system, but I'm not going to talk on and on. The main reason I wanted to submit this review was simply to let everyone know this: After playing Accursed Lands I can't stand to play another MUD, not even for five minutes. It's horrible all other MUDs pale in comparison to Accurrsed Lands... I can never play another MUD again, not even the top MUD's on this list.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Akasha Deleon on Apr 12, 2001

In my opinion this is the coolest mud i have ever seen. Not having to be a class, just doing what you want to do is so bad. Also there are no real rules, except stay in character when your supposed to and stay out of character when your supposed to, and finally, no profanity, but who cares, because it rocks!!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Jonathan Smith on Apr 7, 2001

I played different MUDs 5 years now, surfing from codebase to codebase, from one realm to another, I played almost all "hot" MUDs high ranked in TMC and Top MUD Sites, so here is my opinion about this particular MUD I am currently in love with. Hope my addiction will never end, as I am a bit tired of jumping from place to place, and feel the need to settle finally... I will not start this post with something like: "My God! This MUD rocks! It is the best!" My opinion is only mine, and I, respecting your opinion, will simply put the things I liked about Accursed Lands (AL). It is all original: land, races, skills, spells etc, it is original gameplay, which offers more than simple hack'n'slash with taste of magic. No. In this world your imagination is the only limit. You can be a craftsman, an engineer, a hunter, and of course warrior, thief and mage. There are no classes, you can become proficient in all areas, but it will take time: You will never be proficient in woodcarving in one RL day, not even in a week, perhaps not even in a month. This game is very time consuming, but belive me it is very rewarding! Another thing I was so impressed about this MUD is magic... No, really, in almost all other MUDs magic is just another way to inflict damage to monsters or to wear invisible armour on you. But here in Accursed Lands... Magic is evil, magic is twisted, magic is feared and frowned upon. If you want to study it, you'll have to face the consequences, from becoming blind and unconscious, to death. Also dont expect your spells working properly when you begin your way. You will fail, fail again, and again, and your failures affects you and the world around. You will notice it, and you will be wise if you stop using magic at all! Because no one knows what will happen to you and all others if you continue. Well, I dont want to scare you, just mention this to say that IMHO This approach to magic is much more realistic then in other MUDs, where magic is common and every second denizen can use it freely and without the consequences. I feel I can go on and go on, but I don't the reader becomes bored with this little note of mine, so I will just mention that this MUD is still in beta, and no one knows when it will open, though I assure you that playing it you dont notice you are playing beta. I just cant wait to see "final version" though :)

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Archibald on Feb 19, 2001

OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS MUD! It's so addictive that I dream in words now, I say commands like "Get Book" thinking thats all I need to do to pick up the book, and go around asking people how to improve my sword skill. This has to be the best MUD I ever played in my life, although it requires a great deal of patience and still has bugs in it, I love it.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Allanon Druin II on Feb 3, 2001

This is the best MUD I have ever played! Skills are reality based and you may develop many skills and trades. Skills are available to all races, with no restrictions on what you can learn or be. The economy is set by the players through supply and demand. NPC shops and player shops create a formal and informal market. The setting is a huge world with 6,250,000 rooms in the wilderness alone to explore, plus the towns and special areas such as caves, valleys, runes, etc.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Dakra on May 14, 2000