Welcome to Dragonrealms, the best and worst MUD you'll ever play. I'll start with the good. DR has several dozen skills you can train, and the systems themselves are robust and immersive. The experience system is such that you can do something for a while, and then do something else while that experience 'absorbs' into ranks. There are a few really complex and fun systems like sorcery that allow you to use spells from other guilds to customize your character a bit as well. With 20+ years of development, there are a ton of items, a massive amount of lore, and a huge world to explore. You'll be taking boats, riding mammoths, crossing perilous rope bridges, and flying on balloons from province to province. There's also a very active and helpful part of the community devoted to writing scripts that will help you get started with some middleware called 'lich'. Or, if you'd rather write your own scripts, there is a dedicated front end (though it's not free) that comes with a wealth of features including a frequently updated map system of the entire game. For the most part, the community is helpful and friendly. However, like any game, there is a subset of players that are very high level, incredibly toxic, and will kill you for laughs. They can even circumvent the 'strict' pvp policy by just creating monsters in the room you're in to kill you instead of just killing you outright. If they can't summon monsters, they could intentionally blow up boxes and kill you that way. So it's a great game, but it has a lot of problems. First, it takes a massive time investment to get anywhere. You can start PVP at any point, but you'll find that the vast majority of the PVP community is level 150 or higher, which will require about 4K-7K hours of time in game, depending on how efficient your scripts are. This wouldn't be so bad, as that's maybe 6-8 months of 24/7 scripting. However, DR has a scripting policy that expressly forbids scripting while AFK, meaning those hours will have to be spent while you're watching your text scroll. If you're caught, you earn stacking penalties of the entirety of your XP, starting at 10%, then 25%, then 35%, and so on. With how the XP system works, that 10% xp loss is more like 15-20% of your time invested. Diminishing returns in the xp system means it takes longer to earn a rank at higher skill. There is a server called The Fallen (TF for short) that allows AFK scripting, but it costs $5 more a month. 1 character on the main server is $15 a month, TF is $20. Also, this server is PVP only, so you can expect to die a lot more often. TF has a lot of other problems as well. It's neglected by staff, and has a history of being punished unfairly. For example, staff forgot to remove a to... Read More

DragonRealms is the MUD that I first started on and the one I have stuck with from a young age. I played between 2003-2010 and returned in 2016-2018. During the first stint of my DR career I played a character named . At some point he was one of the largest Thieves (not the largest by any stretch, but up there). I also built the largest “family” in DR at the time with around a dozen and a half members. We started a number of IC organizations and my roleplay was a “bad guy” that toed the line of being frankly a bully. In 2010 I stopped playing for real life reasons. In 2016 I returned. I didn’t return as my old character, because in retrospect I felt that I had been a mean to people beyond mere roleplay. I created a character named Maxwelinski who became one of the largest Bards in that time frame. By now the game had dwindled in population and most of the players would spend days at a time AFK scripting. Roleplay still exists, but only in small groups if you make it so. Eventually we rebuilt a large family. During this period I “bonded” another character (DR’s version of marriage) and we began a relationship out of the game as well over the course of two years. The player applied to be a GameMaster (GM), the paid volunteer staff of DragonRealms. Previous to this we both had contact with existing GMs, two of whom quit and/or were fired. I learned a great deal about the inner workings of DragonRealms. I was given GM training materials (despite being a violation of the rules and the NDA the volunteer staff are required to sign as a condition of employment) and I was given access to the GM account of the person I was dating at the time. These are serious breaches of both the employment contract and of the rules, as well as the spirit of the game. I was also regularly kept up to date on gossip, passed logs of cybersex in “private” rooms, and warned of impending “script checks” that would allow me to avoid the punishment for AFK scripting. (This in theory would allow you to leave your character running overnight and progress quickly, but in practice the AFK rule is rarely enforced so it's unlikely I received much of an advantage from this.) A few of the largest characters in DragonRealms are privy to this kind of favoritism. I learned that almost everything in the game is regularly logged, despite Simutronics policy stating that it is not typical to watch or log players for private reasons. I learned that every venue of “private” conversation, for example private channels, whispers, conversations in the “private” rooms that adult behavior are allowed in, are regularly watched and recorded by GameMasters. I became very uncomfortable with this, because privacy is a concern for me, and I began to avoid all communication in game... Read More

There's a reason that DragonRealms is one of the oldest, continually active MUDs on the Web. The depth of the game is unparalleled while still being accessible to new players. ROLEPLAYING: If you enjoy roleplaying, the continuity is strictly enforced. Everyone takes care not to be OOC outside of whispers. Skills have IC descriptions like 'experienced practitioner' to cope with the awkward situation of explaining how many ranks you have in a particular skill. (Throwing out a bunch of numbers disrupts the continuity, as people tend not to think of their ability in terms of numbers.) Even wounds are more realistically described. Instead of losing 5 HP, your character might have some minor abrasions to the chest. CHARACTER DEVELOPENT: The races are all nicely developed, with penalties and bonuses fairly balanced. (No race is worse than any other race overall, even though some races are better suited to some professions than others.) Character development is flexible and in-depth. While every profession has special abilities that can't be used by anyone else, there is a large pool of skills that can be learned by anyone. (Each profession learns different types of skills at different rates; Barbarians learn weapons quickly but lore slowly, for example.) This system allows you to customize your character to a degree not found in most games while maintaining some semblance of realism. LEVELING UP: One advantage or downfall -- depending on how you view it -- is that the skill system tries to mimic real-life learning. When you gain experience, it does not immediately translate into increased ability. Rather, your mind slowly absorbs the new information. Furthermore, if you gain too much experience for too long, your mind will become murky, which means you need to take a break from training. Nor do you gain generic experience that increases your overall ability. If you want to get better at a specific skill, you have to practice it. Unfortunately, this means that there are no shortcuts to creating a really powerful character. If you think you can power-level your way into a god within a few weeks of automated activity, think again. If you make the mistake of focusing on your guild's minimum requirements, you will find yourself outclassed by 'lower-ranked' players and unsuited to many of the game's challenges. In the regular version of DragonRealms, you're not allowed to gain experience or other in-game advantages while AFK. This policy is double-edged sword. On the one hand, it keeps the game from turning into a RuneScape or World of Warcraft affair where most of the players are unresponsive to the game world. On the other hand, some of the required skills are very tedious and boring to learn. This policy is rigidly enforced, and violating it multiple times could result in the suspension of your account. COMBAT: Combat is deceptively simple at first, but as you become more experienced with the game, you become aware of the complexity of the system. Effectiveness in combat is determined... Read More

I've been to alot of websites and have played a vast variety of mud and text-based games, and have learned about each environment through questions and consistent gameplay, but they all seemed of been lacking something substantial behind them. When I play Dragonrealms, I feel that I am part of a larger scheme, and though i'm but a lowly individual in such an immensely coordinated community, it does seem that actions I take in one place can almost always have a definite reaction for someone else in another. It is truly hard to come by such professionaly crafted fantasy-roleplaying games such as Dragonrealms, especially if you are new to them. There are the Bleach games, the Inuyasha games, the mystery killer games, the gang war games, the lets have sex with everyone games, and everything else written that clutters the internet, that offer little substance other than familiarity in the subject and the simplicity in gameplay. Dragonrealms offers an extremely broad variety of paths and options that a character can take and choose as they go along, giving the game a more sophisticated air of play as people are able to go about their lives knowing that their hard work isn't just a carbon copy of the guy sitting next to them. I feel that most people who play this game learn quite a bit about how to roleplay in Dragonrealms because this is just what it is, a serious roleplaying environment. This is the place where, if you have the will and imagination to create a person with a story behind them and a future ahead of them, then the only thing that limits you is the time and effort you put into it. And there aren't just invididuals with a story behind them, there are whole families as well, with rich heritage and backgrounds to make you believe that they've been a part of the the society for many generations. The bottom line is, this is a place where people do more than just build a character and level it and make it strong; they create a sound character of sound quality and mind, gaining friendships with people over the community and integrating themselves into the mainstream of economic society, becoming a strong, supportive member of the community, and a person that everyone knows, and knows about. I believe that anyone that sits down and takes the time to learn the simplest of game mechanics of the environment will find themselves unable to easily turn their backs to this game, dismissing it as graphic-less nonsense. This is a game worth putting time and effort into, if not for the rich experience found in moderate to extensive fantasy roleplaying, then for the many people you will meet along the journey, alot of whom will bring you insight and understanding to the game to make it more fun, as well as give you another quality person to talk to, in and out of game. I recommend that people... Read More

Dragonrealms is one of the most enjoyable and thorough MUDS i have ever played. Since playing this particular one I have found most others pale next to it. It is like the difference between a music album that is put together well by a successful band and an album that isn't so good put together by a while talented, not so fortunate band. Dragonrealms has created a formula that blends well and most players (newbs and the aquainted) should find it to be well structured, with plenty of story and background, oodles of gaming options, an exquisite character creation, and very solid gameplay done in after a tasteful fashion. Many elements of other muds including some original ideas and completely original game history gives the new player a sense of joining something old. And while there are plenty of old MUDS out there this one has so many people in it it literally feels like hopping into a fantasy book of a world bristling with 'traffic' and you can sometimes feel the hustle and bustle in popular places. Many experienced and long time players and always new characters and players combine with it all to create old gristled warriors with the young new born adventurers. Leveless and skill based, Regulated and RP influenced ensure you will not be -dissappointed from the get-go. Huge world (so many rooms you will never see them all i guarantee!!). Bottom line looking for the perfect mud or just something new. Bam, pay to play but it is only 15 a month and the first month is free for THEY are so confident you will stay and play. As am I. By Jonathan Haggerty Drysordan...friend of Stilicho

Well... what can be said for this game. One, I will tell you that it is really not a game in my perspective even though you have dragons, orcs, gobins and such that you can go around and kill. Before you do such things you must spend much time training your character to be able to hit that orc or goblin, as it is purely based off of skills. If you want to learn a skill you are not prev2ented and in result in order to 'balance' the game many barriers appear to be in the way. In order to fight that goblin or orc, as stated above, one must know how to fight. Once you join a guild you are taught some basic skills that would help you to fight. But most likely it is not enough to fight many of the nearby creatures of the main town you are places in-- the Crossing. Therefore no matter what guild you end up joining you will always have a steep learning curve before you can fight any of the nearby creatures effectively. The only option is to go to a website that lists for you the difficulty of each animal and which ones to fight in order to get the skills you need in order to advance to the next place in the guild. This difficulty of needing to know something in order to do a particular task is everywhere. Fletching, tanning, alchemy exists in the game, but one must spend hours on hours training skills in order to get at any significant place in in these crafts. In order to make sure you don't make any mistakes in your fetching, alchemy, or tanning one must learn a skill called Mechanical Lore. However, one learns it best not by doing alchemy, tanning or fletching, but by doing something simply as braiding grass into rope, or mashing things with a mortar and pedestal. You simply type 'braid my grass' to make your rope over and over again until you combine it to make the rope. This is not entertaining at all! The same kind of repeated command entry is required with many other skills that are non-combat. If you want to be better at casting, then you must spend hours and hours of casting the same spell over and over all starring at the screen scroll the same repeated text over and over. Sorry, that is not a game. To make things even more difficult, automation of this is not allowed. You must, by all means, be interactive with that repetitive text and actions, but for what reason? The reason has escaped me only to be replaced with confusion. If typing a command over and over yields a proportional increase in one skill, then I will not be sitting at the computer logged onto the game typing that command over and over like some machine. I've digressed a bit. I apologize. As you have seen I haven't really whether... Read More

I'm a little fuzzy on exact dates, now. But I believe I played Dragonrealms about 1998-2001, and I just picked it up again this month. If you read through recent month's reviews, there are quite a few talking about the 'balancing' changes negatively. It appears in the past six months Dragonrealms has changed quite a bit in how one learns skills, guild requirements, etc. These changes are not all bad. However, they are certainly not all good. Thief classes really have weakened in status, and in fact I seem to see fewer of them around. A few skills like forage are very very difficult to get moving, even at low ranks. The reconfiguration of guild circles has set some folks back tens of circles (levels), which infuriated them. You can easily get swarmed with creatures and just can not get away, dooming you often to a painful bloody death that was not likely a few seconds ago when two or three creatures less were in the room. Yet there have been good changes. Hiding/stalking seems easier to understand in how you build up the skill. It's a challenge to keep up, especially when Elanthia is empty. Then you have to rely on the creatures to help you keep it up. Also, armor crafting, item crafting, and weapon forging are all added, which I think is a big plus. Granted, that's not cutting-edge new for DR, but it's new since 2001 methinks. Lemme do bullet points on the best things in Dragonrealms, the worse, and the things that should be noted in general, now. GOOD: - A wide variety of players will allow you to find a friend or two to pal around and roleplay with (if roleplay is your wish). - The learn by doing approach is by far one of the best attributes. Want to be good at stealing? Better start stealing, then. You're in control of what you develop (although it can be work sometimes to develop things). - It's very large with plenty to explore. 25,000 rooms or so. - It's featuring events such as 'invasions' (floods of creatures in towns), contests, and other things that make it interesting and scarily challenging. - Snert (jerk) population is low, although always existent. - Graphics pics (just a handful). - Most players are courteous and will help new folks out. - Injustices in the PvP side of things are often handled by groups who seek to right the wrongs. - Even impoverished ICly you can afford the basics to get along in Elanthia. BAD: - Cost. The basic is 13, which isn't too terrible, but to truly unlock things you're expected to pay about 35 for premium, and it's irritating and disheartening to have some of the cooler areas and events locked up so you'll cough up more money. It also seems to get some nice items and things, you have to cough up real life money. - Sometimes you get 'stuck' leveling up (circling) and will... Read More

Yeh, I tried out the free trial. Not too impressed. Mostly recycled stock classes powers and areas. Combat is mob only, and tedious since there is no botting. Little in theway of RP from other players and the Imms dont seem to take note of the players. In over 2 weeks of trying I was unable to get an Imm help me out and explain some things. No OOC channel to ask players for help... No channels at all actually, its lonesome. No recall function for new chars, first time I logged I got lost and died... permanantly. No remort function either so things probably get pretty dull if you ever max out your char.

It's really tough when you have invested so much time not to mention money on an Online game that has become so out of touch with the player's. Dragonrealms was wonderful, unique and had it's own niche in the world of online games. I've played now going on 6 years, and it's hard to walk away. The people I've become friends with were the last string that had me still attached. There have been so many changes that if you don't spend a great deal of time on their board's you'll be lost. If you post it had better be a post that is not a complaint, even a constructive one. Each skill has been made harder and more tedious as the Staff strives to "balance" the game. If you are a member of the Thief's Guild, you've been neutered. One skill, foraging. 15-20 minutes of RL time to mindlock. You need 3 full ranks per level/circle. Each state of mindlock will earn you about 10% of 1 rank. That's 150-170 minutes of RL time doing just 1 skill, forget that you have 20 others you need to work on. I'm sure they believe all they are doing is right, but for so many the fun factor of playing a Fantasy game is being replaced with a game that is often times trying to mimic real life. You can literally get stuck for real life days on a boat, if you don't have lots of hours to play per day. It's no longer a game for the casual gamer, but is being rewritten with so much complexity that trying to PLAY requires a lot of work on your part. I never wanted a free ride, but I never wanted a Fantasy game to copy Real Life. I read the webpage written by Tenarius, and each of his points hit home. The link is below. All I can do is vote with my feet and credit card and hope they understand that I'm not the only one feeling this way. http://www.memorableplaces.com/mudwimping.html Good luck and if you're tenacious go ahead and try their 30 day free trial

I joined Dragonrealms shortly after Beta and have played with few breaks since then (about five or six years). I am currently a mentor meaning I help new players learn their way about. Dragonrealms is in a state of flux at all times because the world is always growing but is currently going through more changes as technical developments have allowed Dragonrealms to do things that were previously not possible. This is why things are being added that we were told would never occur in the past. DR now says "never say never" but rather says "not in the foreseeable future" when they respond to player suggestions. As a mentor who frequently interacts with new players I can see that DR isn't for everyone, no game is. The learning curve for the first couple of weeks can be very steep but after one has the basics down it is much easier. Even though it might be confusing, you can "play" from day one because of the enormous support for new players. Tutorial on going in, HELP verb covering all basic information, ADVICE verb to suggest what you should do next, DIRECTIONS verb giving directions to all important locations, and best of all, many players willing to give newcomers a leg up. Mentors are often available. There is a "bell" to ring. Mentors aren't aways available so you may have to try several times. Mentors sometimes announce their availablity too. Mentors are just players who volunteer their time formally, many other players are also willing to help out newcomers. Just say "hello" anywhere you see people hanging out, and ask for help. Don't use chat speak (ic instead of I see) as it offends some players. I recommend players treat their first character as an exploration and learning character. They may end up sticking with their original choices, but if they decide they chose the wrong profession etc. training up a second time is much easier because of an improved understanding of the systems. That makes it sound very complex, and it is, nobody knows everything there is to know about DR, not even gamemasters, but to start out you don't need to understand all the mechanics of advancement and skill gain etc. You can go hunting right out of the character manager without even joining a guild if you like. This might be the best way to begin for an experienced mudder, see how you like the combat system. (HELP combat) will give you the basics, and DIR will give you directions to the most important locations for a newcomer. You enter the realms with basic hunting gear and a weapon. DR is very accepting of different playing styles. Because of the number of players, (300 to 1000 on line at any given time, and the wide age range of players, it can take a while to find players with your style of gameplay. Players at the extreme end of powerplaying or roleplaying have the most trouble the... Read More

DragonRealms has seriously gone downhill. I sent a letter to Simu-Solomon@play.net (the GM in charge of the game) telling him that I thought the game was losing its magic. In the letter I actually pleaded him to look at these reviews (over half of which are negative) and give some serious thought to the possibility that the game was in danger. At the bottom of my post I put "1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10... Send." This is a reference to a policy on the DragonRealms Message Boards stating that you should always count to ten before making a comment that may be seen as negative. Following is a verbatim transcript of his reply to me. From: "Solomon" Subject: Re: A little help? At 09:54 PM 9/1/2003, you wrote: >1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10... Send. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10....delete. That's the entire reply. Start to finish. All I have to say now is, if the GM at the very top of the power-pyramid is blowing off honest-to-goodness cries for help from the playing community, what does that say for the game as a whole? Please, please don't join DragonRealms. The game is bad. Let it die swiftly with dignity rather than being dragged along and becoming a joke in the online gaming community.

As a long-term player and one of the beta-testers of DragonRealms, here is my curreny assessment of the game. Short version: It's not worth the money. It's still one of the better games in terms of size and players with good role-playing skills, but the ineptness of the staff overshadows that and makes the game unenjoyable. Long version: Dragonrealms USED to be a Medieval Fantasy Role-Playing game. It's been modernized by the addition of many new systems which encourage the game to have a more 'today' feel. The most prominant of these systems is Trading Cards. Ultimately, DragonRealms has base-ball trading cards displaying Deities and prominent NPCs and historical figures. This, along with many other [somewhat recent] changes manage to completely shatter the Medieval environment. The game world is not "All Original." It borrows HEAVILY from real life. Some examples are katana, which are Japanese in origin. This is a fairly common occurance in games, but there have been other weapons (such as the African 'Hunga Munga' which were added to the game with either poor or no explanation of why they were there. These are minor examples, of course. The biggest violation of the 'all original' claim is that the Elvish language in the game is based almost entirely on the real language Turkish. An astonishing 33 words in Elvish are exactly the same as the Turkish word, with even the same definition. And many, many more Turkish words are in the Elvish language, but with different deffinitions. The advertisement on Top Mud Sites claims that Dragonrealms is a Level-less and Class-less System. This is a bold-faced lie. The only reason they even attempt to claim this is because they call your 'Class' your 'Guild' or 'Profession,' but it is a Class. They call your 'Level' your 'Circle,' but it is clearly the same as a Level. One of my characters is in the Thief Guild and is Circle 11. In other words, a Level 11 Thief. This isn't exactly a blow to the integrity of the game, but rather stating that the DragonRealms staff have no problem with lying to get people to join the game, or to get complaining players to be quiet. As an example, we were told early on that there would never be any new Races or Classes. Four races have been added since then, and three new Classes are being developed. That is, I assure you, the tip of the iceberg when it comes to lies. I'd like to also mention the quality of the coding. When the game first started, and for many years after that, it was an excellent game. Once in a while a glitch or a typo would be found, but it was a rare event and it caused a lot of talk amongst the players as we scrambled to understand the code more and more. Now-a-days, each release is accompanied by AT LEAST a dozen errors in the code that cause the released system to inoperable,... Read More

I've been currently playing Dragonrealms for well over 4 years and can honestly say this game has gone far downhill. They are currently redoing the base code for Stealth and the new code has made the game unplayable and unenjoyable for two guilds. Numerous attempts have been made by the player base to give substantial data and help and it is all met with either pulling the post from their boards for "negativity" or simply not responding. These updates have been going on for over 2 months now and they are nowhere near finished. Right now myself and many of my friends are considering cancelling our accounts because of the treatment received by the GameMasters. I would strongly encourage anyone wanting to join a RPG to think about a game other than DragonRealms.

Be very weary of this game. They are going through an even called 'HSN' (Hot Summer Nights) which is supposed to be lots of new releases for all different guilds and races. Unfortunately it has also isolated many guilds with them recieving no releases for them. Infact for the past couple of months they have been doing a stealth rewrite if thats what you could call it. What it has come down to is decreasing the value of all ranks attained in stealth, even though they are just as hard to train as the skill that counters them which is perception. This has led over the past couple of months to many long term players deciding to end their subscriptions. Many of them stayed and voiced their concerns but when as a customer you are completely ignored like they are currently doing, you have little choice but to show your displeasure by ending your subscription. It isnt free to play, they are paying customers, as am I so our opinions and concerns should matter and not just be ignored. You will find there is a trend to add many limitations to the skills that are fundamental to certain guild, while no such limitations exist on the fundamental skills for other guilds. This has lead to a great deal of unbalancing. While at one point the philosophy of the game was simply that having more ranks would always make you more successful than the person with less, that is no longer the case. Instead they have added much more randomness, as previously stated, this is especially more common with stealth skills which suffer the penalty much more than any other skills in the game. I do feel that this has much to do with the developers. More focus is always placed upon magic and combat, which is not really suprising since the vast majority of the main developers/coders in the game played combat and magic guilds as players and it appears to me they have carried a certain bias along with them with reguards to future development. Despite stealth being the main focus of two guilds, it is always referred to as 'mundane' which really does show a lack of consideration for them when its their main focus. Magic guilds on the other hand seem to get to justify anything since 'its magic' or atleast thats how they argue things and suddenly its more important than stealth because thats 'only mundane' Now I understand much of this probably doesnt make sense to people who havent played it, much of this is to do with behind the scene's stuff, but it is having a very adverse affect on characters at this moment in time. Many of which are being ignored, anyway I have said all I wanted to say, I think the games votes and current position explain a lot. Before all these changes it was up near the top slots. John

Currently I would not recommend playing this Mud. After many extremely enjoyable years playing the game and enjoying it Roleplaying as a thief, they are currently undergoing a lot of changes to their "Stealth" systems. In this game that is supposed to be skill based, they are currently making the hiding, stalking and backstab skills very weak against the perception skill. In the game with all other skills, you need to have roughly equal or better ranks in your skill to overcome the other persons, with stealth ranks you have to have FAR higher to overcome perception ranks. This is a problem that is upsetting a great number of people and is being voice on their own official boards which are viewable to everyone I believe so feel free to read the "abilities, skills and magic / stealth" folder and see how they are currently completely ignoring their customers and not taking into account how much its upsetting many. I understand this is a negative review, but it certainly doesnt lack substance. The evidence is all there for anyone to view and I urge anyone considering playing Dragonrealms in its current state to read it before trying it. In its current form its not a fun environment to be in and I have just came to the decision to finally end my 5 years of playing and look for an alternative mud. Lots of luck to you all, Mike

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with those who believe it is 'impossible' to advance in Dragonrealms. Yes, there are a few bugs with some of the systems- but the GMs- bless their poor worn-out souls!- are working on getting them out as quickly as they can. I've taken a look at a couple of other MUDs. I've yet to see one with as detailed an in-game help system, or with so much documentation available for those who wish to use it. In Dragonrealms, you are very much in control of your own destiny. If you find yourself needing help, there are many about who are more than willing to offer it. In Dragonrealms, you can be a mighty warrior, or a holy one strong with the gods, or a powerful healer who's touch can mean life. You can command the elements or the moons, or the power of song. You can be a ranger who knows the hidden paths of the forest, or a trader wise in the ways of commerce. You can even be a thief who knows the shadows- but be prepared to keep many secrets if you are! Mind you, while player-killing is permitted under some circumstances, it's not the main point of the game. The main point of the game is to create a personna- and live in Elanthia as your personna would. I look forward to seeing you there!

You're about to hear the good and the bad.. First of all, know that I play this game, and have been somewhat off and on since about 6 months after it went public. Know also I'm not just talking out of my ass when I list the bad. So let me get to #1 on the bad list: The dragonrealms gestapo, yes, it does exist. I did not leave my name or my e-mail, because to say bad things about The Company, is to invite retribution from The Company. Since I am still an active player, this would be a Very Bad Thing. Once I posted a rather ridiculous e-mail I got from company customer support on a player-run message board (Doing so on the 'official' board, or complaining of disservice there will result in instant post pulling). I got an additional e-mail from them stating that since I was doing that, and 'attacking the e-mail in a public forum, no more e-mails from me on this subject will receive any reply' and true to their word, I was ignored for daring to speak against them....... On a PUBLIC BOARD NOT OWNED BY THEM. There is a small group of select players, who have gone to the game conventions and shared drinks (or beds) with gamemasters, and reaped the rewards of favoritism. This isn't to say that joenobody is screwed out of everything special, only that if you and one of these people wind up in a conflict, the scales of justice will be tilted in their favor. The dragonrealms policy contains many 'grey areas'. Calling GM interpretation of these grey areas varying would be like calling the midnight sky dim. What one GM says you can do in such and such a situation if it happens again, another GM could warn, possibly lock you out for. Customer service is basicly the GM cheerleading squad. You can appeal a lockout, but you'll just be told it was reviewed and the ruling stands, no matter how silly. Staff who go against the grain in one way or another mysteriously vanish, and any speculation on what happened is squelched quietly. I only found this site due to a topic on their forum which is for pointing out places people are discussing Dragonrealms (Paranoia, anybody?). Now you have the bad, let's move onto some of the good. This game is incredible. That much should be obvious, seeing as one (many) such as myself with such negative views of The Company, and to a lesser extent, some of the staff, still play regularly. All you need is an imagination, and a will to role-play your character, and you can fit in just fine. Everything isn't nasty bad, it is only that those events stick out in my memory, and I feel you should be cautioned about it. The game boasts an advanced combat system, consisting of many weapons and ranges (missile, pole, melee), tactical maneuvers (slice, parry, thrust, lunge, etc.), multiple energies... Read More

First off, let me preface this by saying that I've been an on-and-off player (mostly on) of two of Simutronics' products, GemStone III and DragonRealms, since about 1994 -- when I was 9. DR is, for the most part, a good game. Many of its staff are truly dedicated to the further evolving of the product; and, considering most of them are volunteers, this is even more note-worthy. Unfortunately, despite being dedicated, that often isn't enough when it comes to key aspects of the game. The new magic system was unveiled a year ago, and has yet to be fully functioning. In addition, the lore system is in dire need of a rewrite, and though that appears to be on the horizon, no one knows for sure exactly when that will come. (The overall consensus seems to be in the fall-winter timeframe.) As previous reviewers have alluded to, the "classless" claim is more a "baseless" one than any. Skills are becoming more and more guild-specific, and by choosing a guild you are basically all but confined to sticking with the "traditional" path for that profession. Unfortunately, the GameMasters are also notorious for saying new game mechanics will arrive "soon," when in actuality soon literally can mean at least a year off. It's actually become a joke now on the boards of the game. Consequently, when a GM says "soon" few people get their hopes up that whatever "it" is will arrive in a timely fashion. Another problem some may find with DR is that the game, for the most part, doesn't cater to the casual gamer. To get true power and affluence in the game, one must be willing to contribute MANY hours. Some skills that are required for advancement, such as Teaching and Scholarship, most often require one to remain stationary for sometimes hours to meet the requirements for the next circle ("level" in other games). There are many other skills that are time-consuming as well. Because of this, one has to log in literally hundreds of hours to get even a small measure of respectable strength. Despite having this strength, you'll probably not get to use it against many of the players in the game. All too often they're REPORT (in which they tattle to the GameMasters and get them involved versus roleplaying) happy, and such acts only serve to put a lid on any semblance of roleplaying. This inability to account for one's own actions can serve as a detriment to the enjoyment of the game as well. Finally, the last thing the game suffers from is an overzealous administration. While there's no reason to believe that the GameMasters don't have the utmost of good intentions, the people "behind the scenes" are the seamy underbelly of DragonRealms. GM's have been fired (as a previous reviewer acknowledged) simply for dissenting with a higher-up's view. As if that wasn't bad enough, any conversation on the boards pertaining to the status of a GM that left under circumstances... Read More

The previous posts point out a common philosophy shared by DR staff. Note that essentially resurrection was taken away "temporarily" to deal with the fact that the staff feels their death penalties are inadequate. No one can fault poor design too much, after all, it takes testing and practice to find balance issues. Good planning goes a long way, but some systems will need revision. However, the clear problem here is that the staff chose to take away a critical ability before a suitable replacement was put into play. This is clearly a disregard of the feelings of players in favor of what certain staff members want. The argument can be made that the lack of this spell *is* the "tougher death mechanics" desired, however if that were the case, the staff would simply say there is no plan to reinstate a resurrection spell currently, instead of saying it will be reinstated in the future. This lack of interest in how their customers feel is a common thread in most corners of the Simutronics world and is clear in day to day business. Dissidents to the current opinion of the staff-at-large are often penalized in one form or another in order to silence their opinion or remove it altogether. In fact, the reviews of all Simutronics games were mysteriously removed after the new year, which is something I don't observe as had happened with any of the other games on this site (though I obviously didn't check each and every one!) All in all, if you choose to play DragonRealms or any other Simutronics game, you should be willing to surpress your desire to voice your opinions, be willing to accept what is given to you as inevitable law, and be acceptable to acts of favoritism and biased judgment. If you are willing to do all of those things for the sake of playing a game you enjoy, then you will find Simutronics games to be very enjoyable. Disclaimer: BTW as relevant and perhaps fair notice, I am a former Simutronics Senior GameMaster myself of five years (Modus Operandi product), who was fired for choosing to anonymously stand up for players when a price increase was announced in 2002. I currently operate a fledgling competing business. I was not a member of the DR staff, but have had great levels of exposure to information on a DR-staff level.

I'd like to comment on something brought up by the previous poster. The DR GMs took away Resurrection ~1 year ago (August 2002), and still have not released it. Let me show you what resurrection looks like mechanically in the game. >prepare resurrection >cast gasps as life flows back into his lungs! I have some personal experience coding for MUDs, and a spell that does this takes about 3 to 5 lines of code. Example: resurrection(Player target) { if (target.setLiving == true) target.livingStatus = true; else badrezmsg(); } There's simply no excuse for this simple spell, that basically just flips a boolean variable inside of a character, to take a year to code. The GMs have never really offered any explanation as to why it has besides that they think "death is too easy" and "dying has no penalties." Their opinions are ill-informed however. Waiting for a resurrection is difficult, it can take hours, even days in remote locations, for a Cleric to come by to resurrect (I've been waiting a year. Literally). Not waiting for a resurrection incurs no penalties except 10 minute inconvenience of walking to your grave and re-equipping. The only substantive penalty associated with not waiting for a resurrection is an OOC penalty that the game's janitor mechanic may destroy your items before you make it back to your grave. There is a word for people who abuse OOC mechanics to give IC penalties, that is what the GMs are. Still, the GMs are incapable of seeing the plain truth that waiting for a resurrection is often more inconvenient than not. But they aren't interested in really making death more serious as they claim, or they would have removed player respawning and forced players to wait for resurrections, that would have been a serious penalty. They just want to discourage people from using resurrection so that they can abuse the janitor mechanic to get peoples' powerful magical equipment destroyed.

I played this game for 6-7 years. Though it is very detailed many times I wondered if it was TOO detailed. Mechanics were complicated and seemed even so to the coders who had to take months to fix what even they called a simple problem. For instance, the Magic rewrite which was supposed to take a week max lasted for over a year, and is STILL undergoing tweaks to fix problems. If you are looking for RP this is not the place for you. There are a handful of those who do, but to find them is few and far between, and while you are looking for them be prepared to be mocked by those who do not. The GameMasters like to claim that they run world-wide RP, but in reality it is always fighting some super strong NPC which means that only the high level characters have even a CHANCE at getting involved. Also, they will start RP and leave it hanging for months to years. Recently there was an RP that they planned that explained why the Clerics lost the ability to ressurect (which by the way was just a reason that they could take ress offline while they fixed the code). After the initial RP when it happend everyone was left hanging (with no way to ressurect themselves, which is a major part of death in DR) for over 8 months with not a word on what was going on. The GMs failed to have anything going on with the RP, and again, all it was was a hunt for high level characters to search down an NPC (though he wasn't around for 8 months while they coded). If you want any sort of perks, be prepared to dish out a nice sum of real life money. Houses, quests, multiple characters all cost. The last issue is their customer service. They have had over 10 complaints sent in to the Better Business Bureau regarding their repulsive customer service. When I had issues with a player harrassing for over a year I failed to get any help from their staff to deal with the issue. It finally got to a point where I had to leave because I did not want to pay money to log in and be harassed. I played this game since it's Beta. I regret spending the money and the time since now I see everything going downhill. Do not waste your time.

Dragonrealms is a sweet game, I've been playing it for a great many years now, and I think it's been one of the most interesting games I've ever played. Unlike EverQuest I can actually move around smoothly and I rarely suffer problems from connection delays. (Playing with a 56k modem) There is always something new to discover or do. I know I haven't gone into half the available hunting areas, and it keeps getting better and more interesting. I think it's really good for teaching beginners the ropes of Roleplay as well as allowing lots of room to develop and become an excellent roleplayer. Although I would not recommend this game for anyone under 16 years of age.

Full Disclosure: I was a moderately-high leveled character in DragonRealms who never engaged in PvP. I had one formal (TAC) warning on my account for posting the same message to the message boards twice, after a board monitor had removed it the first time. I was never locked out of the game for any reason, and never received an in-game warning. I have 20 years' experience playing role-playing and strategy games, both pen & paper, tabletop, single-player, and online. Basically, I'm not a snert and I know what I'm talking about. DragonRealms is a detailed game, but sometimes it falls under the weight of its own details. This happens most often in terms of non-Combat (ie, everything except combat) mechanics. Many things that are simple 1 step tasks in other games are modeled to realism. Unfortunately, this tends to bog down the game outside of combat. The GMs have never been successful in making an enjoyable, well-balanced, rewarding and useful Lore system because of this. The GMs' solution is not to streamline the systems, but to make them even more complex and unmanageable. Future changes with further partitioning of Lore skills into even more narrow definitions is going to make this problem multiple times worse, and changes in guild requirements make it more necessary than ever to interact with these generally uninvolving systems. Another problem in DragonRealms is its inability to find a coherent identity for itself or design philosophy. Currently, racial identity is a very unimportant part of the game. Races have certain bonuses and penalties to specific attributes, with Humans as the paradigm without any bonuses or penalties. These variations eventually become somewhat significant, but all players are currently instructed to train every attribute equally, rather than in the natural racial progression, in which each race would become specialized in its areas of expertise and penalized in its weaknesses. The problem is the current design philosophy essentially forces any feasible, well-rounded character to train attributes like a human. On the other hand, GMs are looking for ways in which to increase the significance of player races, which are sorely undeveloped and, as I said above, mechanically almost identical. The GMs right now are considering adding additional arbitrary bonuses to races to differentiate them further, such as +10 longbow skill, or -25% magic use, or something similar. However, these bonuses didn't exist when players initially chose their race for their characters, the pre-existing attribute bonuses and penalties did. Now that the GMs have devalued the attribute differences of the races that players chose when they created their characters, they feel the need to differentiate them further with additional mechanics. But this time players will not be able to choose their race, and will be stuck with whatever decisions the GMs apply retroactively to all existing characters. Simultaneously, the GMs are adding additional races to the game, even though the current races are in desperate need of development and have been for the last 7 years. While has... Read More

I played DragonRealms for 2 years, and it was an incredibly detailed game. There were hundreds of unique areas, several races and guilds to play as, numerous creatures to kill...hell, they've even gone through the trouble of creating three different in game languages and publishing a small dictionary of words! The history of the world is fantastic, and the depths of the systems are great. But then there are the many negatives which slowly led to me leaving. First of all, if there is something that they feel they can get away with charging money for, they will. The basic account costs $13 and you only get one character slot. Extra slots cost more. To get a bigger storage space, a house, and special access to certain areas in game you must be a premium member which costs an extra $20 each month. You must pay extra for access to the "unmoderated" server where rules have all gone out the window. You must pay extra for the "RP Strictly Enforced" server. You must pay in order to go on in game quests. Then there is the staff, the only staff who are paid seems to be the on site staff. The in game staff of GameMasters and GameHosts are basically volunteers, and it shows. Most of them have several varying view points on everything, and often one GM will take a completely different action than another will. The skill based experience system is good, but ultimately it leaves one thinking that they need to be doing something every waking second of the time that they are logged in or else they will be unable to advance. When you wander around the vast world (and yes it is VERY vast), people are ALWAYS doing something in order to keep their experience flowing in, which is honestly quite annoying. RolePlay is rather hard to come by as well. In all honesty, it'll be hard to find a game with as much depth and in game history as DragonRealms does, but some of the other problems (and the above are just a few) will wear away at most people's patience over time.

This game is very well thought out and has had lots of years to progress. Sure, its a growing game, and it has a few niks and scratchs every now and then but what game is perfect? The person who last posted, "Gundho" or whatever has some real issues, I will tell all you people that actually READ this review, that this game isn't for some 15 year old to come in and start hack and slashing everyone. Their are rules, that sometimes seem harsh but each day their is a younger group of kids that come to play this game that lack the maturity to understand what they are playing. No, this isn't some James Bond game that you come in to kill people. You make a character and you play it as though you were in real life. If you kill someone, you think you are going to walk away not getting in trouble? That Gundho whatever guy says he got Lockedout for 2 days because the guy he sparred died from blood loss. Funny thing is, GM's know almost everything that goes on, if they are watching. So which means, he must have done something against the rule. Then cried like a baby when he got in trouble. Don't bite off more then you can chew (Or was it swallow?) whatever. =P So enjoy the game. For anyone who reads these. Its actually a very enjoyable game. Their are LOTS and LOTS of people out ingame that will always help ya. But realize if things just seem to go wrong for ya, don't hate the game. The characters you see playing are real people too. And the real person may have had a bad day. ~.^

Hey guyz. Lookz, this game has major issues... like some of the other posters said, the game has some good points, but the bad points outweight it... these are the absolute worst GMs in the world.... I mean, yanno, they play favorites, and there is no way to be on the good side... when the you know what hits the fan, you're screwed... for example, I was given a warning after a spar, because the dude I was sparring wound up dying cuz he bled to death... after he died, I guess some GM was looking and said that wasn't cool and gave me a 2 day lockout... but what the hell man? That's consent, he agreed to the spar and he fired back.... Furthermore, if you notice, some players are allowed to script, whilst others get their accounts locked for this... it's very badly done. I tell you what, this game shouldn't even be called a roleplaying game either, because nobody roleplays... it's very sad, and disappointing... best thing to do is to go play a real good graphical game like Everquest, Asheron's Call, Baldur's Gate, or a good text based mud without such a harsh staff... that's my opinion, though, and if you don't agree, that's fine... :) By the way, I would encourage you, that if you do play this game to be very cautious... the staff has less and less patiencez, especially with new players, as well as "problem" players (players with 1 or more warnings, or who have notes on their account, from staff...) The problem is that many of our friends, doesn't get a fair shake, and wind up quitting... it's very sad... the player-base also diminishes by about 100 or 200 every year... which is sad... less people to roleplay with, more snerts left... it's a sad state of affares... oh well, that's my opinion... thank you for your time... :)

For me, this game is still the top game on the market. I played Dark Age of Camelot, Everquest, Asheron's Call 1 &2, Ultima Online, Anarchy Online, Shadowbane, and many other such titles. For all their pretty graphics and interesting systems. Dragon realms still beats them out hands down. If your looking for a true roleplaying game with unique systems and a caring staff, you can't go wrong with DragonRealms.

This game isn't worth your time. Look, the coding is great and innovative, but the staff is absolutely horrible. I got permanetly locked out because I censored a swear. The whole point of censoring a swear is to not offend, but to achieve the desired effect. A GM (Ssra) didn't like this and permanetly locked me out. This actually had to do with another incident involving this GM and his other (in game) characters. I was very perturbed. In addition, my character was murdered without consent five times and walked. The GMs did nothing to stop this. All of these instances were clearly violations of "policy", but they didn't care, as I wasn't a preferred player or their buddy, like many of the others. The moment, any small incident happened, though, I was thrown in the cell. If you'll take note, their policy clearly states that you need two or more warnings to be put in the cell. The "swearing" thing was my first, yet I was permanetly locked out. The GM (Ssra) refused to talk to me about this, stating "any further questions, please contact lockout@simutronics.com". I tried to, and they didn't even have the courtesy to respond to my email. It doesn't matter, I guess. Anyway, for these reasons and many more, I strongly advise you to stay away from Dragonrealms. If you want a list of muds where you'll have a fair chance, send me an email and I'll help you out.

Dragonrealms is a great mud. It is a pay to play mud, but after you try the 30 day trial for free you will see why it is the best mud out there. The game usually has about 1200 players on after about 5pm EST on weekdays and all the time on the weekends. The entire mud is skill based so you aren't stuck fighting creatures for exp. There is a wide assortment of guilds such as the empaths, the healers of the realms and transfer the wounds of others unto themselves, who if they harm a living thing go into shock and lose their ability to heal others. There are thieves, rangers, bards, clerics, paladins, warrior mages, moon mages, barbarians, clerics, and traders. There are also many original races as well as the classics, halfling, dwarf, etc. The world is absolutely huge. I have been playing on and off for 3 years now and still have seen very little. My main character is a trader so I travel from town to town making money and I have yet to see even off of the first continent, and there are 5 of them. The players are extremely friendly and unlike all the other muds there is no newbie school but there are Mentors that are always available to help you get started and pointed in the right direction. If you ever have a question just find another player or Mentor. The thing that attracts me to this game is the fact it is skill based. If you want to learn to pick and disarm traps and boxes feel free. Want to learn how to use that two-handed sword or battle axe go right on. Feel like learning to steal, be my guest (even though it is dangerous and can be deadly!) There is PK but it has to be RPed. You can't just go around killing people all day long. This is enforced. There is also a naming policy that you must adhere to so you won't be playing the game with players like BigPimpin, etc. The RP is not enforced but it is highly praised and can earn you RP points to use on special items and such. Try Dragonrealms. It is free for the first month and I guarantee you will love it. They also have a RP enforced version called platinum and a version that is not enforced at all and anything goes call The Fallen. www.dragonrealms.com If you ever see Gildok say hi and I will help you the best I can.

Dragonrealms is awesome. The world is immense! I have tried other MUD's and I can't find another with the same feel and hospitality as Dragonrealms. There are over 1000+ players that you have the possiblity to interact with, and almost everyone is very nice. With many guilds and races to choose from, it never gets old. The 100+ staff of GM's keep things in control, So its a good environment to enjoy.

DragonRealms was my very first MUD, when it was a free game on AOL, which was 6 years ago. I spent 2 years at a very small MUD. It took a lot of getting use to as far as the commands and what not go... but here I have returned to DragonRealms despite the cost! It is a HUGE realm. There is so much to explore and many, many fun things to do. It's a very realistic and so much fun! I really love the Guilds (especially the Ranger Guild *wink*) and the combat is the best I've seen. If you're a fan of PK, DragonRealms has a really interesting system. There is no way you can spam spells in order to defeat your opponent. It requires REAL strategy! There are many things you have to take into consideration, such as your stamina, your strength, and your health. You control your movements. Just because you're standing there doesn't mean you're hitting anything, you have to DO it! I suggest you do the free trial. If you have any problems or questions like help getting started, there are people in game to help you. Don't be afraid to 'whisper' to another player!

Dun know a lot about the mechanics of this world. Dun need to. A grasp of the english langauge and a sense of adventure are all ya really need. The verbs affect on the role play in dragonrealms is phenominal. Grumble, mutter, sneeze or belch. grin, snarl, roar or fret. Lunge, parry, dodge or hide. And the list grows as I write. Role play is the name of the game. And your role is waitin'.

I've been playing Dragonrealms for seven years off and on. I love the game...well...mostly. It's expensive, and getting more and more expensive by the breath. DR use to be free, by the player, for the player. While it is still a rich game, full of histories and specialties, it's starting to become...well...too business based. The customer service department needs help. Badly. They need to re-evaluate what their goals are. I think players should play the 30 day free trial, but to beware. It's fun. It really is. But it's also getting worse instead of better.

I'll have to agree with the prior reviews. Dragonrealms is a good game, but the staff is absolutely unbearable. I stopped playing recently, but I was a player for a considerable amount of time, and I've seen this once flourishing game drifting towards obscurity. For years it was by far the number 1 mud. It has slipped a bit, while still in the top 10, it's on the decline. The reason is simple: the staff. Nonetheless, it still may be worth a look if you don't mind paying upwards of $15 per month. Up to you. -Arnold

It is hard for me to fairly review Dragonrealms because it is about the only MUD I've ever played other than Feudal Realms which had me so lost (perhaps 'cause I was too used to Dragonrealms) that I gave up trying to play it. Obviously Dragonrealms is an entertaining game or I wouldn't keep playing it. I love the experince system the best. You level by learning from a teacher or expericing a skill yourself 'til you have been educated to the amount your guild deams suitable for promotion. The combat is variable, descriptive and takes a good balance of player skill and character skill to achieve. Dragonrealms seems to be a massive world and only 4/5ths of the world has been built so far. On the down side, I too must critisize the customer service. In-game staff can be very rude and GM's do appear to show favoritism. Though others don't seem to have a problem, I have found it difficult to keep up on in-game events and what plots are going on throughout the realms. GM's and much of the other staff being former players is both a blessing and a curse in that they have more insights into the play of the game but tend to show favortism as a result. On the whole I really love this game and will probably keep playing it. And yes, at peek hours there are typically 800 to 1100 players in game.

As you might have seen in previous posts, DragonRealms is really an awesome game. There is SO much depth in the game, from combat, to Guild-specific abilities, etc. But the one thing that you shouldn't expect from DragonRealms is good customer service via the in game Staff, such as GameHosts or GameMasters. The Simutronics(The people who own the game) run great customer service over the phone and web site, but the in game service is just HORRIBLE. Take the bad with the good, I always say, but just prepare yourself for this in case you decide to start playing.

This is the first MUD I have ever played, but I have gotten so addicted it's amazing. The world is huge, there are always 800 plus players in game the majority of time with constant player led events, as well as random GM led events going on at all times. With such a huge world, even if you are feeling a bit hermity, no problem getting away. I started as a prime player, upgraded to premium and am now Plat. DR Plat offers the same world as regular DR but has a lot less players online in prime time leading to a much richer Roleplay, and has many extra benefits such as free quests and the ability to create your own areas... perfect if you are feeling like being a bit more intense. DR Prime is a blast as well though, with the huge amount of people in game, you can always find someone to start a plot with, even if they are completely unaware of such plot, and will end up doing things you never dreamed possible as you encounter more interesting persoanlities on your way. The combat system is extraordinary, I admit I took it for granted until i tried out a brand new MUD and realized how boring it is to just type "attack". In DR you have many different attack commands all of which affect your balance and will hit the creature depending on your experience, the balance and type of weapon you are using and your level of fatigue. You tap XXXX on the nose with your Silver origami Dragon. XXXX bounces up and down pointing at XXX chanting, "I want a piggyback ride!" From the incredible array of verbs available to enhance your roleplay, to the amazing amount of things to do in the realms to keep you busy, theres nothing that can compare. It really is incredible, and getting better everyday with all the hard work the GMs go to. They are hinting at some incredible changes to come this summer, I can't wait for the events that will surely lead in the change as much as the change itself! You should give it a shot and see what I mean, you will be hooked, and only regret the fact that you don't have more time to play!

I played Dragonrealms for four years and I'll be honest, the game is great, but it has some glaring flaws. Most of the positives were already listed, so let me point out the negatives. First, the staff tends to be rude and inconsiderate. They take the parent to child approach and use a very condescending tone. Furthermore, the staff is all comprised of former and current players, thus leaving an air of unfairness in the game. Players have friends who are staff, and always seem to escape punishment, while others are constantly punished for minor infractions. You can get locked out in the game even though you follow their policy. Not only that, not all GMs agree on the rules, yet once one GM makes a decision, none of the others are allowed to override it. The most skewed thing with this game is the AFK scripting policy. The game does not allow it, and severely penalizes for it, yet some players are known scripters, but are consantly allowed to get away with it. I've talked to some of the players who are in the GMs favor, and others. From this I've learned that some players are just given a plain slap on the wrist and then allowed to continue in the game. Others are locked out with a policy that allows little tolerance. If you want to play this game, that's fine, I think you'll have a good time, as long as you either keep a low profile or make friends with some of the Gamemasters. Otherwise, your days will be numbered. ~Lefty

Under your review where it says average players online at a given time, it lists over 100. I've yet to see the game have less then 600 players in-game, and it's usually closer to 1000. Could you change this please?

I fell in love with Dragonrealms in September of 1996. Over the years I have been delighted and furious over various changes and issues. This was my first MUD so it took me quite a while to understand the nature of the beast. Dragonrealms is 13 dollars US a month to play. In terms of entertainment bang for your buck I can't think of anything that gives more or even comes close. For an extra 20$ per month you can become a premium member. Of course this offers extra benefits but not unbalancing ones even if they are enviable. I played for five years as a basic member partnered with a premium member. Now he is basic, and I am premium. As some people feel that having a two tier system must be unfair, I would like to explain some of the main premium benefits. Ten extra character slots. Basic members must pay an extra 2 dollars per character added to their account. Bank books and Vault books. Bank books tell you your balance in all of your accounts in the various cities. Vault books list everything you have stored in your vault. Premium members can also transfer funds between banks, and can have the contents of their vault moved to different cities. Basic members must check their balance by going to the bank, and to the vault to check their inventory. If they want to move coins or vault items they must carry them to the new location, or in the case of vaults pay to have the items transported if they don't want to carry them. Premium members also get a bit of extra space in their vaults, about 10% extra I think. Premium members can get a house, (a private room in game) but the world is so huge that if you want privacy you can find somewhere to be alone within minutes. There are a few private hunting grounds, but there is always an equivalent hunting area somewhere in the realms. Some premium members don't consider it really a perk because it can be harder to get help if you die in one. There are other "perks" but they are all along the same vein. Nice to have, but by no means necessary to advance or to get nice equipment. Premium members definitely don't get better weapons or armor or anything like that. DR still uses a lot of volunteer labor. The cash raised goes more towards on site employees, the techs, and the equipment needed to support the game. Customer service is relative. I have always found it to be excellent even though I didn't necessarily get what I wanted. I toyed with other games but never for more than a few hours. Over the years many players have left but most come back saying there is nothing that holds a candle to DR. DR's experience system, combat system, world, customer service, and anything else you can think of is better than else's.... Read More

To refute Carrie's (cough)Glowing(cough) Review. Dragonrealms has held my interest for 5 years now. I have never seen the GM's just blow off a player. They are constantly reviewing and updating skills and abilities to keep everything as balanced as possible. When they tweak down a skill or ability do people complain and whine? Yes a whole bunch. The GM's post regularly on the Message boards about the changes and why they made them. Sometimes they even modify the changes if people post considerate, well thought out posts. Now on the paying for large quests and some items. Sure do, but Simutronics is a business so they are going to charge for some things. Heck if they didn't they wouldn't make money which is counter-productive to running a business. That said I find Dragonrealms a wonderful Mud that is far beyond anything else I have played. If you enjoy roleplaying and like to have fun, give it a try. Alan

I played DragonRealms for over 4 years. While the game is amazing, the systems have depth and the world is rich and colorful, the staff leaves alot to be desired. In almost every other MUD/RPG game I've played, staff have exhibited a genuine desire to help players, to assist them. However in Dragonrealms, the staff blows players off and basically treats them as simply a way to milk money. There is no such thing as a free lunch in Dragonrealms. If you want nice items and nice privilages, you have to pay for them.

Hands down the best in existance. This is the reason all those other Muds are free. What it has: EXP system - Unique system in which you practice skills by actually USING the skill. Doing just about anything is governed by skills. Differeng guilds learn some skill sets better than others. The five sets are: Weapons, armor, survival, lore, and magic. As you earn ranks, you will sometimes earn TDPS along with those ranks. These are like build points but you use them on your stats. When you get enough ranks, you can circle(level up) at your guild and get a big mess of TDPs and possibly a new spell. We have 10 guilds, 11 races to pick from, each with their own unique abilities, creation systems for weapons, clothing, armor, and a few magical devices with more on the way. Combat is by far the most advanced part of DR. 22 weapon classes, 5 weapon stats(3 damage types, agility formulae, stregnth formulae), extensive(to say the least) forging system, 6 types of damage(puncture, slice, impact, fire, cold, electrical), 8 attack commands, 2 mobility commands, a second fighting mode "Brawling" with even more maneuvers, 14 areas of attack, two ways to die/kill things(get a vital part lopped off, or run out of HP). Far better than typig KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL until it's dead. Creation systems abound here in Dragonrealms. From the aforementioned weapon and armor forging system to the simple foraging of healing regents, almost anything you can buy you can make yourself with skill or buy better versions from the more skilled players. Now, tell me. Do you want to be a raging warmonger of death or a blacksmith? They're the same guild. Helper of the dead or freer of the undead? The same again. As a moon mage, you can use your psychic powers as deadly weapons, or to predict the fates of others to help(or curse) them on their live's paths. Dragonrealms, as another reviewer said, completley blows any other MUD out of the water. The over 400 players in the main game(there are also platinum(smaller player base, slower advancement for the hardcore RPer), and the Fallen(DR with no rules, much faster advancement))at ANY given time(save right after a reboot/crash...then there's about 200 for a few seconds), can't be wrong. Remember, we were on top of the list once, and no bribes were ever involved, or ever will be. We have a passion for our game, and that's a very rare thing in Muds anymore. So come on over! Only $13 a month. That's like 1/34907023497523407 of the cost of AOL muds(at least, for us). Steel, master/overuser of the run-on sentances(and parentheses.)

I have played Dragonrealms for almost 3 years now. I love this game and all the people that I have met through it. I will soon be going to my first ever convention in Vegas to meet more of the people in the flesh, I highly recommend this game and if you want to ask any questions about it, please contact me Via AIM at Genneron. Thanks!

The cold hard fact is that dragonrealms blows all these other muds away. In achaea, you're rewarded somehow in the game when you submit a vote for them. That isn't exactly cheating, but its ridiculous -- and dragonrealms beat them once on the voting, despite that. We vote by CHOICE. Give dragonrealms a try, I guarantee you won't be disappointed. There's a bit of a learning curve, but complexities only make for a better role playing game. Vetokend

I have been playing Dragonrealms since it moved to its own site in 1996. I am still playing it almost too often some 7 years later, it is the best role-playing game I have seen. I have even started up other games like UO, EQ, and AC. All of which I have cancelled and returned to play Dragonrealms. The combat system is the most realistic I have seen anywhere, the spell system the most creative, and the role-playing the best developed and most intricate, being able to do anything from a simple smile or frown to rolling on the floor laughing hysterically or throwing a temper tantrum, or even something as odd as nibbling on someone’s arm. It is by far the most captivating MUD, or RPG for that matter. - Teriff shakope

I've played this game off and on for the past 6 or so years. I've found it to be pretty fun once you get past the constant changes, petty arguments and blatent favortism. Most of the players are nice and there are mentors who are suppose to help new people find thier way around. There's a list of event's scheduled to happen in the next few months that may happen, so far no go on the mystery scheduled for this month. The prices have recently been upped to 12.95 for a regular account and 32.95 for a premium account. Those tempted to get a premium account should realise should know you get extra locker space to store your belongings, an apartment you can decorate after 3 months, an auction once a year with unique items and what we call a boardwalk sale where a bunch of merchants (people who make unique items)put up tents and sell items for mostly premium members. They also get thier own country club. So this game has it's ups and it's downs, ignore the old players who complain about the changes and enjoy what you get. You have to give it a few days before you pass your own judgement, takes at least that long to figure out what you're trying to do.