CthulhuMUD
H. P. Lovecraft-themed MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) founded in 1998.
Ranked 344th of 754 worlds statistically.
Ranked 1st of 1 worlds in the H. P. Lovecraft genre statistically.
Address:

Db Size:
(Unknown)

Players Connected:
3 (3 days ago)

Maximum Connected:
3 (last 30 days)
Status:
UP

Version:
Diku

Average Connected:
2 (last 60 days)

Minimum Connected:
1 (last 30 days)
Connection Screen


Welcome to CthulhuMUD! We are a a derivative of Diku, Merc, Sunder, ROM,
and many custom modifications. Parts of the code may be Copyright Sebasitan
Hammer, Michael Seifert, Hans Stoerfeldt, Tom Madsen, and Katja Nyobe
(Diku 1990-1991); Michael Chastain, Michael Quan, and Mitchell Tse (Merc
1992-1993); Russ Taylor (ROM 1993-1996); Lotherious, Zeran (Sunder 1997);
Michael Clarke, Marduk, Foxbird, Quanqued (Cthulhu 2008). For further
information, please type CREDITS or HELP DIKU/MERC/ROM/SUNDER/CTHULHUMUD
after getting connected.

This world is Pueblo 1.10 enhanced.
Autodetecting IMP...v1.30 
This world supports COLOR!.
If the word COLOR is in color, enter Y, otherwise, enter N (y/n)

ANSI Color!


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        (       \    :('._.') ('._.'):    /       )
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      (           \   \_ / .   . \ _/   /           )
      )       \    \ _.-\)) ) ( ((/-._ /    /       (
      \      -=    /'   ////\ /\\\\   '\    =-      /
      /      /    /    // )) ))(( \\    \    \      \
     (         .'/     ))// //  \\((     \'.         )
     (        | /     //((  ))   ))\\     \ |        )
     (        |/    /\/ \/  \/   \/ \/\    \|        )
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    (    (   (     \ |_ __ __ __ __ _| /     )   )    )
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      \       | \    \   _       _   /    / |       /
       \      +--\    \   _     _   /    /--+      /
        \__.'/    \    \     _     /    /    \'.__/
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           /     /()()()()\_._._/()()()()\     \
           +====( \/)()()(\)===(/)()()(\/ )====+
           |    : ( \/\/\/ )   ( \/\/\/ ) :    |
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           )------)  _  (---------)  _  (------(
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         :__FinnO________________________________:

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Description
Cthulhumud is BACK! The original Lovecraftian horror mud is back in operation, complete with all the original areas, and an immstaff of new and old imms. All old players are welcome to return, and new ones more than welcome. Cthulhumud is set sometime in the 1920's, with an additional fantasy Dreamlands area. In a setting where the elder gods reign from afar, foreign invaders lurk around the corner, and your sanity is threatened at every turn, Cthulhumud builders do their best to remain faithful to the works they read (or claim they do at least). We are currently small in population, but are looking to bring old players back and regain our previous size. We are still using the heavily modified DIKU mud Cthulhumud...
Read more at MUDConnect.Com

Links
Average Players Connected By Week
Average Players Connected By Season
Language:
English [1] [2]

Codebase:
[Dikumud] Heavily Modified - Cthulhumud Version 9.0 [1]
Custom - Cthulhu (9.x) [2]
Diku [3]

Created:
1998 [2]

Location:
USA [1] [2]

Theme:
Cthulhu Mythos/Horror [1]
Call of Cthulhu Horror [2]
Evil Fantasy-Horror [3]

Category:
Horror [2]

Description:
Cthulhumud is BACK! The original Lovecraftian horror mud is back in operation, complete with all the original areas, and an immstaff of new and old imms. All old players are welcome to return, and new ones more than welcome. Cthulhumud is set sometime in the 1920's, with an additional fantasy Dreamlands area. In a setting where the elder gods reign from afar, foreign invaders lurk around the corner, and your sanity is threatened at every turn, Cthulhumud builders do their best to remain faithful to the works they read (or claim they do at least). We are currently small in population, but are looking to bring old players back and regain our previous size. We are still using the heavily modified DIKU mud (Driver: Cthulhumud v9.x), however a brand new C/SQL driven code base is nearing completion. Come by and visit the Mud and our website to keep up with the new developments. Even under normal circumstances we do not have a static world- this is a place that keeps you on you toes from the first day and for years to come. We have a little over 8000 rooms right now with over 7000 new rooms in the works. Each room is done individually by the Immortal staff; none of it is computer generated. [1]
Imagine a world where the monsters from beyond are real. Where foul denizens of nether dimensions lurk to prey upon the foolish men who think that science can answer all their questions. This is the world of CthulhuMud. Based in 1920s America it explores some possibilities of the Cthulhu Mythos. Character can be adventurers, detectives, soldiers, artists - even mages, if they can find the path to power while avoiding the perils of insanity. We feature a unique game world with our own highly specialized server, mob scripting and quest system. CthulhuMud is currently developing a completely new codebase (CMFX), and we have over 7000 additional rooms in progress to be added to the world. Come on by; perhaps we can get a group rate at the psychiatric ward. [2]
Cthulhumud is originally based on the works of HP Lovecraft, and has also stretched out to embrace one of the first FanFic worlds (the mythos) ever created. For the coder types, this is a heavily modified DIKU codebase, now about 97% original. We're working on making this an entirely original (and therefore free of memory leaks, poor design, and the other problems that plague DIKU muds) codebase. [3]

  1. MUDConnector.Com
  2. TopMUDSites.Com
  3. Mud Magic
I'll let the log do the talking. My friend and I are looking for a mud to play, so we made characters here and were reading the help files when this happens: (OOC) An Immortal gossips 'The fun thing about snooping folks with identical ip addresses is watching that there's a gap between the amount of time it takes one person to type a command and the other to type a command..' (OOC) Marcus gossips 'There are actually two people here. My friend is trying to figure out how to post to the general board. Can you help us with the syntax?' (OOC) An Immortal gossips 'Yea I noticed you read the rules and he promptly went to board research' (OOC) An Immortal gossips 'and the idle time between your actions is hideously suspicious looking' ooc Do you do this to all groups of friends who play together? Are there any active players in this game? (OOC) Marcus gossips 'So do you do this to all friends who want to play together?' (OOC) You gossip 'Do you do this to all groups of friends who play together? Are there any active players in this game?' (OOC) An Immortal gossips 'watch ip's sure. and there are active folks' (OOC) *an Immortal points excitedly at Bugbo!* (OOC) Bugbo gossips 'yeah, i play the game fairly ferquemtly' ooc I mean that is some pretty hostile right-off-the-bat interaction there. And when friends play together, do they usually type commands at exactly the same time to not seem suspicious? (OOC) You gossip 'I mean that is some pretty hostile right-off-the-bat interaction there. And when friends play together, do they usually type commands at exactly the same time to not seem suspicious? ' ooc We can probably coordinate our commands to be at the same time, but is that necesary? (OOC) You gossip 'We can probably coordinate our commands to be at the same time, but is that necesary?' who --- The Gods of Cthulhumud --- --- The Players of Cthulhumud --- [ 84 288 0] Hero Bugbo the hopeful [Cabal Du Quixotic] [ 3 3 0] Newbie Marcus the hopeful [ 3 3 0] Newbie Chester the hopeful GODS found: 0 Players found: 3 (OOC) An Immortal gossips 'no but if it ever becomes apparent that it cant be done that's an indicator of an issue' ooc Do we still need to post a message about the same IP? (OOC) You gossip 'Do we still need to post a message about the same IP?' (OOC) Marcus gossips 'I can understand that multiplaying is a bad thing in an RPI, and that you are enforcing that by watching account/char IPs. We are two friends who play games while hanging out in the same house on the weekend. It is the only day that we are in the same house together, and I rarely get the time to play while my friend usually plays more often. What sort of evidence would you want that not... Read More
MudConnector.Com Review by on Nov 11, 2018
Hey Bugbo, I read this with great sadness. Please come back and let's sort this out. I think it should be possible to get you all playing at the same time. Some of the Imms can be quite strict, but I think they are very fair. I think this conversation just went the wrong way. -Wod(an).
MudConnector.Com Review by on Nov 10, 2018
I've been playing CthulhuMUD now for about a year and find it really addictive and enjoyable. The game is highly original and very rich in its structure. It has a ton of Lovecraftian elements to keep HPL fans happy. There's lots of skills, magic, professions, clans and combat to keep you busy. The game is huge, and there are a lot of secrets, deeds and quests to work out. Some of it is still in progress, so there is room in the future for people to write new content. Come sign up and play!
MudConnector.Com Review by on Nov 10, 2018
I've played this game since 2004. I've been several different races and explored several areas. Even with this amount of play time, I'll be the first to admit that I haven't done everything there is to do in this game. One of the things that I absolutely adore about this game is the way skills work. The game gives you access to certain skills through your profession, but there are plenty that can be learned and gained through other means. Your profession doesn't limit your character and it is encouraged to switch professions once you hit the capstone. But back to the skills. Let's say for example that I want to learn forging. I could find an NPC who teaches it or join a profession which opens it up or I can roll the dice and debate an appropriate NPC. What's more, is that I can improve this skill through practices (called pracs for short) or simply try the skill over and over. Both are feasible ways to improve the skills. The player base is one that is super helpful. If you are stuck in a bad room and can't get out, typically someone can and will help you out. There is a lot of room to roleplay here. Player killing is allowed, but typically people will have to have good reason. In a lot of ways, you will find people teaming up to fight the monsters instead of fighting each other. I cannot stress how much fun I've had with this game. Every six months or so I will hear its siren call and feel the need to spend hours upon hours in this environment that has been lovingly created and curated by fans. Other MUDs simply pale in comparison.
MudConnector.Com Review by on Dec 9, 2016
Cthulhumud is by far the most fun mud I have ever played in. I'm delighted to see a recent review of it, because I thought it had died years ago. Every time I've checked in, it seems to be deserted.
MudConnector.Com Review by on Nov 27, 2016
CthulhuMUD is one of the best muds i have found and played. The races are unique, such as the deep ones live underwater and can breathe underwater. Yithians bodies are weak, but they possess other people and 'adapt' skills from them. It is full of awesome features such as The Dreamlands, where you can get to if you sleep and dream. The need to eat and drink also adds some gameplay, so you have to earn money and be active. It is Roleplay encouraged but not enforced, so it is good for everyone! It is a full PK server, but there has to be a reason. The only downfall is the small amount of players - so you can fix that by joining CthulhuMUD! You don't have to know the books either to play.
MudConnector.Com Review by on Mar 19, 2008
This mud has an atmosphere that can really suck you in at times. The player community is fairly diverse. You have your good along with the bad. Some people will rub you one way, while others will have an entirely different effect upon you. There are plenty of spelling and grammar... oddities... in the mud, but I have come to learn that some of the developers didn't speak English as their first language. Basically, if you don't nitpick at it all day, you'll look right past it and meld right into the atmosphere. One thing that people will notice about the quests and getting around in general is that you have to do a lot of in and outside the box thinking in order to accomplish anything. The kicker to all of this is the fact that a lot of ordeals can be overcome by a rather simple answer to a seemingly cryptic puzzle. I've often been advised not to overthink the obstacles that appear before me. All in all, if you just kick back and come in with a 'here to have fun' attitude, you will find yourself in a very immersive environment that is very well constructed and healthily populated. Just don't go killing any of the cats, ok? :)
MudConnector.Com Review by on Apr 29, 2004
As for a mud it stands on its own merit. As for playability lets say it stinks. Now why would it stink you ask? It is this: 1. Lack of thought-out help files 2. Players that think they can do anything to anyone. 3. Imms that will play favorites. 4. Quests that have little to no meaning to anything at all. 5. Deeds that make no real sense at all. 6. Newbie friendly it is, but user friendly (NO) 7. No straight answers from most of the older players. 8. Belittling people for asking questions of the simplest kind. 9. The spells are not well thought out, but that is to be expected. 10.Not enough areas for people of 100 - 300 to level at or mobs. As to why it is a good place to play: 1. Some players and Imms are very helpful and they do tend to try to help because they want to see you make it. 2. Skills and char creation are well thought out. 3. Losely based on H.P.Lovecraft (nuff said) 4. Some interesting areas with a nice finshed look. 5. Roleplay or in truth a try to rp game but not much rp. Please understand this is a nice game but the bad apples do make the game a bit rough. When straight forward cheats like equipment sharing of a char that is deleting to that same persons alt is allowed, and the imms say it is normal for a high level char to give out items like two rings of talent and such to a newbie then that is a problem. On the other hand the big players tend to do a lot to help new people out. This is a good game with that case of a few bad apple spoiling the barrel. Overall it is well run but it does need some tweaks to give it a truly unique flavor. This is in my personal opinion and it is no way connected to anyone else. I have seen big players go so far as to summon an imm and make them mortal and kill them for fun. Now I know that this is a very small group of people that do this, but left like it is it has made the fun of the mud almost to a point of new people wanting to leave.
MudConnector.Com Review by on Apr 29, 2004
I just wanted to note that while the assessment is otherwise accurate (as it probably would be for any given MUD), there's one gross injustice. The questing system is excellent -and it doesn't mean quests like 'kill player X'. It means quests like trying to solve a murder, finding and demolishing an esoteric cult, finding the way to other planes of existence, various race- and profession (class) specific quests and areas basically built around quests. That system alone is worth taking the time for. The other parts, well, you need to judge for yourself, but the cliques tended to be a bit worse on CM than any other MUD I've frequented. There should be plenty of helpful people around, though, if one remembers to be nice. And to clarify my position (these reviews are always oh-so objective), I used to play and Imm around the place, until it started getting on my nerves, so I haven't frequented the place for about two years now.
MudConnector.Com Review by on Jul 16, 2003
A bit of balance to the list of why nots. Helpfiles are not just found under help, research and spell commands exist to look into those skills and spells that exist. Where there's a player out there that can approach you, you will find scarier things just standing in some places. The players that may impede your progress will also teach, fund, equip and many other things the npc's can't do. Favoritism, works in reverse too. They may give you something but it will probably cost. Favoritism is also something that can be found prev2alent over time as people spend ages together, though the owner of the mud is known for being particulary partial to newbies and the treatment of new players. Deeds are linked to professions often, so for instance you want to be a druid? go talk to the druid, note his lifestyle and what he asks for. I'm often guilty of not spoonfeeding an answer, so that when the person asking is prodded with suggestions or vagueness they have that feeling of I did this, not well she did it but I did exactly what she said. And yes, I have a wicked tongue so if someone asks what they should do when they get hungry, I'm going to answer, eat something nine times out of ten. I kind of like having 242 spells at my fingertips instead of 10 well thought out ones? Not sure how much more could be put into them and their uses. More zones got added in. Other zones have existed and been overlooked. But I do understand that every mud out there has flaws and no mud is really the ultimate mud for everyone.
MudConnector.Com Review by on Apr 24, 2004
Although i consider myself a newbie, (not only when it comes to mudding in general, but more specifically) on CM itself, i enjoy CM a great deal. I have tried all kinds of Muds and never in my experience has a mud matched the kind of playability of CM. The players are generally great, and will help you. The areas ARE vast and exploring everything would take quite some time, let alone trying to actually remember everything. The skills and character creation are superb. The learning curve is a little steep, but as with most things, patience pays. Starting off is easy by yourself, and now that the help files have been updated and the website renovated, it is easier than ever to learn things on your own. However, there will be certain subjects you will need help or hints with. Not to worry though, there is almost always an older player or Imm available. Most will stop whatever they are doing to help you. I'm going to go play right now! Join me! -bishun
MudConnector.Com Review by on Dec 5, 2003
This is the best MUD I have found anywhere on the internet. Let me get that clear up front, because I am going to do a lot of complaining about it and the complaints should be understood in the context of me being a miserable old cus who is never happy with anything. What?s right with it: First, this sucker is *original*. Ever get the feeling that every darned MUD is the same? Then try CthulhuMud. CthulhuMud is based on the writings of horror author H.P. Lovecraft and the default setting is the USA in the 1930s. You won?t find stock MUD areas here ? the setting is lovingly described and beautifully detailed. All of the skills that should have been there were. Your character can learn to speak Latin, study Ancient History and master Physics. The Debate skill is truly inspired. When you debate someone, you engage in a sort of verbal combat, with the game keeping track of which way the argument is going until someone finally wins. If you win, you get some experience and may improve your skill in the subject you were debating. If you lose, you may lose some xp. I found this a wonderful way to advance skills and much more appropriate to the setting than advancing through physical combat. The players were all very friendly and extremely helpful. Despite the fact that some of them were playing ?evil? races, no one ever tried to ruin my fun and mortals and immortals alike bent over backwards to help me. They were unfailingly polite even when I needed the same thing explained to me several times in quick succession. Special thanks to the guy who (though it is considered a terrible sin on most MUDs) gave the newbie some decent equipment. Speaking as someone who didn?t come to Lovecraft country to loot treasure or work out what had the most pluses, but who just wanted to be able to survive long enough to wander around and read the flavor text, having good equipment just handed to me added a lot to my fun. I always found interesting places to go and interesting things to do. Just wandering around always led me to some new and intriguing place and eventually would lead me to adventure. I solved some interesting puzzles and soon had more leads to significant quests than I could shake a stick at. Great stuff! Certainly, wandering around often got me killed, but? This game has a great attitude to death. Up until level 25 (I think?something like that), death just busts back to the experience you needed to make the level in the first place and requires a quick trip to the morgue to get your stuff. That is to say, unless you are on the cusp of making a new level, death really isn?t particularly inconvenient. That?s certainly not true to the genre, but it added a lot to the gaming experience. A world based on the writings Lovecraft... Read More
MudConnector.Com Review by on Sep 26, 2003
Actually, I'm the head admin, we know about the fantasy driver problem. And trust me, we don't like it either. What we have in production right now is an entirely *new* driver: CMFX 1.0 We'll be using some principles from MUSHs to make the skills and spells system more dynamic, and certainly more Lovecraftian in feel. Areas will likely also be updated as we go along to keep up with the changes. We're all volunteer so it all just takes a little longer. ;) As for RP - poke around a bit more, some of our older players like it, but know that some newbies aren't as up for it as they are so they don't push it. (Encouraged not requiered after all.) Theres a good handful that like it though, you just gotta find em. Hope you'll be sticking around! -B
MudConnector.Com Review by on Sep 20, 2003
Cthulhumud is easily the most entertaining mud I've ever played. This is for a number of reasons: One: Very changeable characters. Even a character that begins with bad stats can become powerful with time and work; you train your stats as you go up levels, so you can steer your character any way you choose. The skills are myriad, and also very configurable. Two: Many, many deeds and quests. Sometimes you have to work for 'em, sometimes you have to search for 'em...they're not always gonna jump out and bite you on the nose, but they're there. :) Three: Beautiful descriptions of places and mobs. Some places are more detailed than others, but it's always fun to explore. Four: Replayability. I've logged so many hours it's not even funny. *blush* :) A few caveats: This is a thinking mud. If you want a hack and slash, you can certainly find a lot to hack and slash here, but you'll get more out of it if you think, and explore, and enjoy. RP is nice to see, but it's not enforced. Help is often offered to newbies, but don't expect it. *grin* Enjoy it and thank the helpers when they help you, but it's not always going to come. Take notes: you'll find they come in handy later. The help files are under renovation, so use the website for a good help-guide... All in all, have fun, show common courtesy, and don't take things too seriously. If you can do these things, you'll have loads of fun on Cthulhumud. I have, for quite a few years...I've made loads of online friends that I keep in touch with even when we're not mudding. Hope to see you there... Silvia
MudConnector.Com Review by on Jul 17, 2003
I have yet to find the perfect mud that everyone loves and agrees how it should be designed and played, but Cthulhumud is the one that no matter how my opinions vary with it's day to day functions I go back and play. There are the skills and spells and concepts you can blatantly see and there are the ones you have to think about to figure out their use, and yes they all have a use. If you like solving puzzles and riddles their quests and deeds are a challenge and always rewarding once you do manage to figure out where each hint was leading you. If you just like walking in and smashing ugly beasts they are there. The newer areas have been overlooked by a vast majority of players but they are out there and they are drool worthy. If you are an ask questions, listen, learn and retain person you will do exceedingly well. If you are looking for roleplay, for that you are depending on players other than yourself and that you have to weed through, the human interaction element. For a solid year of playing, I had never read the first Lovecraft work and after a while I did finally pick up a book or two and I have to say it's areas are a tribute to a great deal of his works. But again, it's based on an individuals perception and placement of another mans writing so it should be expected there had to be some leeway from a writers creativity to a MUD. As far as players helping players, a little appreciation goes a long way. If you remember that you will have a blast.
MudConnector.Com Review by on Jul 17, 2003
Welcome MUDders and Lovecraft Fans alike! Cthulhumud is the best MUDding experience I've had in my years of MUDding. 95% of the people on are friendly and funny, and you will most likely receive hookups from the beginning if you don't get on anyones nerves(which is really only possible if that is your goal). The whole engine on Cthulhu is excellent, the spell system is really fun, and the skills system is really enticing. In the beginning, don't give up because you will get up there with the best of 'em with time and patience. CM supports remorting and the experience and leveling is like nothing else. Words can't describe the addiction received while playing CM.
MudConnector.Com Review by on Jun 17, 2003
This game has relocated to: http://68.16.220.34 port 8889 see http://www.cm.foxpaws.net for details
TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Apr 5, 2003
This place has given me what I though I would never find. True amazment at a code base. The person who has coded this place has done an exceptional job, the place is almost alive to me. I have enjoyed trying diffrent races and diffrent classes. Fighting my way through the halls of the abyss and talking my way out of many a battle with mobs. The begning area actually was very usefull, and me being a newbie on muds was pleasantly suprised with the ease and depth of the tutorial. Friends are many and most seem helpful when asked. The admin is on once and a while or one of his minions is usually not to far. They seem pretty keen on updating the code to make things work better and so far I have yet to run out of places to visit. Europe, America, Egypt, space, a weird place I have yet to really name, but dont go there if you aint high level. Ouch. Well enough of the BS, I like the place and they treet me good. Thats all I ask for in a mud and it delivers hands down, give it a shot, you might like it, if not, hell its worth a try just to see how well this place runs. Oh and say hi to me if you see me. Just ask for Kane.
TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Sep 21, 2001
Starting with Cthulhumud sometime in April of 2000 i was quite a beginner to the world of mudding, and in search of a game that would suit me, originally inspired to do so by a book. Just for the spite of it, as a long-time fan of H.P.Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos, i decided to look if i found one that was based on it..and did. It took me about two days to drop the rest of the games and concentrate solely on this one. Based on the Cthulhu mythos originally created by H.P. Lovecraft and later developed by various authors the mud sports near-almighty deities, horrid monsters and a vivid, imaginative world. (I would recommend for people to read Lovecraft's novel 'The dream-quest of the unknown Kadath', as it provides a lot of basic information, information of course unfolds when just played, but it might be of assistance. Further of course all mythos-related books by Lovecraft and for example Clark Ashton Smith.) Magic plays a great part as well, with a huge amount of spells. The mud is one allowing multi-classing, a thing to be taken advantage of as certain skills are available only through some profession (class). There are a few other very nice methods of learning skills as well, including learning from players and debating on skills with NPC's to improve them. The world is roughly divided in two parts; the Dreamlands and the waking/real world. The distance between the two is travelled by the means of dreaming, although in a later point also transportational spells come to one's use. This provides a nice setting as the waking world is set roughly to the 1920's-30's, mainly in New England, and the dreamlands are more a medieval place, both with various subareas. Also the option for selecting a race is an important one here, as the player can choose to be a human; yithian, an ancient collector of knowledge and time traveller; a mi-go, strange horrid funguous creature, or a Deep one, a hybrid of man and fish. Of these, the latter two are in general considered to be 'evil' beings and the former 'good', even though naturally evil humans (and others) exist. The mud sports a great amount of intriguing and varying built-in quests to achieve various goals, and the occasional Imm-lead one. Roleplay is strongly encouraged, but not yet enforced, given that most players completely ignore out-of-character things spoken in-game, swiftly reminding the ones doing this to keep from it. Player killing is accepted, but only in-character, and for good RP reasons only. OOC kills are not tolerated in the least, and newbies are completely safe. The newbies will find the game rather easy to get in to as there is a specific newbie tutorial to the most common commands through a school of learning, extensive help files, and of course the help of other players that is always available as the older ones are rather generous in aiding. Now, even though the mud is based... Read More
TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jan 30, 2001
This MUD is based off the Cthulhu Mythos and the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game by Chaosium. Players can choose from 5 different races including human and each race start out with at least 2 starting classes, each with a potential to advance to a different profession based on player choice. There are a large number of MUD zones based on Cthulhu Mythos locales including Arkham, Mass. I'm not sure I know enough about MUDs to distinguish between good and bad ones, but my exploration experiences were for the most part enjoyable. There were many other places to explore including Egypt and the Dreamlands; however I never did get very far or even explore all of them. Skill and Spell types are similar to most MUDs, and CthulhuMUD takes an interesting turn with addition of the concept of Sanity from the CoC roleplaying game. Here, death and encountering certain monsters below a certain character level will reduce your sanity, which eventually leaves you mentally incapacitated unless you can recover them through therapy. I honestly enjoyed moments playing this MUD, and the creators and IMMs for the most part do wonderful jobs moderating it. However, there are some flaws that I spotted and experienced which I was particularly sensitive to: First of all, most of the MUD zones have vaguely defined levels (usually labeled ALL). Dangerous and powerful Mobs are often too easy for newbies to run into and get killed by, even in places that are designated as low-level areas. And death in CthulhuMUD can be frustrating as it also results in substantial XP loss. A second observation which is a personal pet peeve at most, the dangerous nature of the mobs and combat often means that learning to cast protective and enhancement spells is virtually mandatory for surviving and advancing to high levels in CthulhuMUD. Character originality and concept is sacrificed for pragmatism in most cases. The third observation is what I found most urksome. CthulhuMUD is not a game for people with inferiority complexes and/or belief in the innate goodness of man: The IMMs warn that this is a PK mud, and it surpasses all expectations of that warning. While the PKs are supposedly restricted to in-character roleplay reasons, the reality from my experiences were that almost anything goes. There is often little or even no pretense of roleplay behind attacks, and most important of all, Lowbie-stomping by players of near-IMM levels are tolerated. MUD policy forbids the harassing of Newbies (Defined as players of levels 3-7 here), but once you hit level 8 you are open season for the level 100 mage who wants to kill you or curse you just because he or she felt like it. And very often you won't have a chance of hell in putting up a decent fight. The IMMs defend this by stating CthulhuMUD is a PK MUD, but where's the fairness in being PKed by a veteran that's untouchable? If you have the iron will to off... Read More
TopMUDSites.Com Review by on May 25, 2000