The mud itself is pretty good the vast amount of race/class combinations you can make are basically endless. The problem is this reward system for playerkilling that makes the elite too strong and literally ruins all fun for any clanned playerkiller because of it. It has gone unaddressed for years. That coupled with the worst IMMstaff I have ever encountered makes it kind of a toxic enviroment to play in. People just bitch and complain on the out of character channel all day and then one of the admin will tell them to suck it up or some other asshole remark that makes people basically quit. The playerbase has dwindled down to almost a minimum from the great MUD it once was. At this point the game is basically the owners cash cow, it is a free mud but basically it is ignored by the owner and he just collects cheques from people who want in game advantages purchasing con cards.

Dark and Shattered Lands is a great MUD, nuff said.

Dark and Shattered Lands is a great MUD. I have played several MUDS over the last few years, and DSL is the only one I play anymore. The world is great and filled with well-RP'ed players. All in all, a great MUD, that I would encourage anyone to check out and try.

I have played Dark & Shattered Lands for over 7 years, and in that time Scorn (The Mud's Implimentor) has continuously added things to the game as well as keeping world quests & events fresh, fun & exciting. New classes & races are constantly being developed, and input from the players is appreciated and sometimes implimented. I myself was part of a team that helped design a new race of dwarves. Clans & Kingdoms are like guilds in some other games. Both are RP mandatory though clans are as much about PvP as they are about RP. With the 10th anniversary coming, there are a lot of new things planned and being implimented seemingly every day. Based loosely on dragonlance, some things will sound familiar, while others are wholy unique to DSL. I give it a 9.5 out of 10 p.s. I suggest making a dwarf because dwarves rule ;)

DSL is an incredibly fun and addictive MUD. They have a lot of features that I never found at any other MUD - the sailing code, the ability for ocean battles, and the Algoron Gladiator League where you can sit in the arenas and bet and watch - or try your luck as a gladiator! But mostly, I love this MUD for the rp and I think one of the most unique rp opportunities, at least the one that attracts me most, is their priest system. As a priest on DSL, you have the possibility of advancing in priest ranks after reaching 51 (max. level). You can only do so by pleasing the god you worship. I can honestly say that some of the most incredible experiences I have had in my rp there is when I have been visited by the god my priest worships. It's a wonderful experience, and just one of many in the Dark and Shattered Lands!

DSL is a constantly changing (for the better) MUD with truly something for everyone. Player Killing is allowed if you join a clan or want to be a loner, or join a kingdom and enjoy the RP. Of course, there is RP in clans as well, as this is an RP enforced MUD. DSL features a wide range of classes, reclasses, and races, making for very unique combinations. Remorts are given for exemplary RP or for other contests, and a very friendly and helpful immstaff and playerbase makes this a very fun environment. I've been playing DSL for about 8 years now, the MUD has been running for over 10, and the world has grown to an almost inconceivable level. With player crafting coming in, new classes being added and a new channel to help new people to the mud, now is a great time to join in the fun. Play DSL today!

I played DSL for about five years, and can't imagine what I was thinking. Roleplay enforced? Yes... vaguely. The problem is that the code doesn't support the roleplay (in fact intentionally prevents it) and that the attitude of the playerbase is in strong support of a world with little to no realism, simply because it's based on pulp fantasy. Many races, reclasses, clans and whatnot--but it's really all the same. Tedium for (theoretical) reward. It will take you at least 100 hours to get a character fully levelled, and once you have, you can go out to player-kill competently (PK before the highest level exists, but is never balanced--everyone knows the level of everyone else, like stock ROM). You actually need hours to level, and levelling isn't easy--levelling some races or classes is in fact very hard. Levelling consists of killing the same mobs, over and over again, until you've done it enough that you have to go somewhere else to do the same thing to a mob with a different name string, essentially. A holy priest of the Goddess of Love and Peace might kill a thousand goblins, a hundred flesh golems, and fifty woolly mammoths before being able to persue the priesthood. Brilliant! There is a new crafting system, possibly the worst crafting system I've seen in a MUD yet--you can spend a few thousand eggs (that equates to 1000+ hours of RL tedium--no kidding) to make an item that is presumedly slightly better than the one you can buy for 1.5 eggs. That, according to the admin, is a "challenge". You earn those eggs by doing "quests" for the "questmaster", which involves you running or gating to places in the rather large world to retrieve items such as "lost puppies" and "king's sceptres" ad infinitum. Each time you do this earns you less than 1/10th of an egg, and you have to wait five minutes between quests. This is what people do with thousands of hours of their lives that they will never, ever get back. There is some roleplay on DSL, but a lot of it is pretty infantile--paper-thin pretense, poor spelling, and Kings and Queens of fantasy empires who go around slapping people on the wrist for saying bad words or hurting one another's feelings. Some of the clans present some rather mature roleplay, including Shadow. PK is restricted to the clans, who magically cannot attack a member of one of the kingdoms or vice versa. I say magically in the sarcastic, OOC sense--there is no RP reason for this, or any of the other bizarre gameplay gaps obvious to even the casual intelligent player. PK can be entertaining, but mostly it degenerates to groups ganging up on one individual when he or she least expects it, hoping for an easy kill--it's rather easy to flee from just one attacker. AGL (the arena fights) are entertaining for participants and viewers, and are perhaps the game's only real saving grace. The administration is and... Read More

Dark and Shattered Lands has lots of races, classes, and reclasses. Although leveling can be hard at times because experience received is dependant on actual hours played. Also some of the races are unbalanced and playerkilling can become frustrating. The immortals are heavy-handed and seem to favor personal friendships over fairness. There have been two equipment and money wipes while I played. Overall a decent mud but not in the top 10.

I've spent alot of time playing various MUDS, and spent almost as much time looking for a better MUD. With DSL the search is finally over. This mud has it all! DSL is very well balanced while at the same time offering a huge selection of classes and races. I've been playing on DSL for a year now and have never seen less then 100 players online. There is just so much more on Dark and Shattered Lands then any other place i have played! There are inter-kingdom wars and politics, clans for PvP, a Gladitorial League for the truly brave, a season of clan wars every year, naval battles, and alot more. You can even spend your time fishing and digging for buried trasue!

The size of this mud can be overwhilming at first. Over 10 different races, 5 base classes, each with at least 2 reclasses, DSL provides hours (literally) of enjoyment for the newbie, or the seasoned pker. THis is an enormous mud with 4 continents, each with many original areas. Gladiator tournaments are held on a weekly basis, with many new tournaments starting every week. RP is mandatory, you must RP to do everything. This adds to the enjoyment. THere is a wide range of player abilities, so you can pick on newbie clanners, or join the AGL (ALthanian Gladiator League) and fight against seasoned pros that might just give you a run for your money. DSL is also very stable, the server is constantly being upgraded with donations players make, thus leaving you with almost no lag.