Realms of Despair is a Fantasy-themed MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) founded in 1994.

I was active on the Realms of Despair during the early 2000's for several years and have recently returned to the game. One thing I can say about a game that's been running for 20 years is how stunningly dedicated some of the people involved with the Realms of Despair. Many of the higher level immortals have been involved with RoD for more than 10 years and are authoritative when it comes to SMUAG. Leveling on RoD can be approached from a 'get 'er done' point of view but substantial effort has gone into creating level restricted areas so that the exploration and adventure can begin early on instead of at the end of leveling. There are many avatar quests to pursue and room for many forms of players role players, player killers, questers, explorers ... in a game this large and mature there's always some nook or cranny that you probably have never seen. Whether you're a Timmy (power player, big eq, big mobs), a Johnny (creative, stylish player) or a Spike (play to win with the latest and greatest builds) or maybe you fall somewhere else in the spectrum of gamers, the Realms of Despair has something to offer you. (Read more about Timmy, Johnny and Spike at http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mr11b or take the Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology at http://www.gamerdna.com/quizzes/bartle-test-of-gamer-psychology)

– MudConnector.Com Review by Tharius on Jul 11, 2013

I've tried many muds and there isn't one like RoD. The large amount of peaceful players and the few hardcore deadly players make this one stand out above the rest. People are friendly here and are always willing to help, please come give it a try.

– MudConnector.Com Review by Jason on Oct 8, 2010

The Realms of Despair is a large, active, and exciting MUD for people experienced with the format and those who are not. With an informative pre-authorization area that explains the basic fundamentals of the game, a well-detailed body of helpfiles, and an experienced and friendly Newbie Council, it's hard to get lost in the trappings of what proves to be a very complex game. The game is built of numerous communities and groups of players. Among these are the standard guild- and clan-type organizations, for peaceful (mob killing) and deadly (player killing) characters, respectively. There are also bands (For the recently introduced Barbarian class), orders (more restrictive groups with special requisites) and sects (for those who wish to strike out and form a group on their own, at their own expense). Roleplaying is optional, and there are a number of very talented roleplayers on the MUD. Mobile killing (or 'running') tends to be exciting, especially with some of the more recently introduced runs which have more dynamic programs. Area construction is variable, with some areas being incredibly well-written and literally loaded with intriguing quests, and others written to a poorer standard and/or featuring items which are virtually impossible to find without guidance. The non-avatar (level 1-49) game has improved drastically in recent years, with the introduction of many new, low-level exclusive areas that feature a number of quests, mazes, and other aspects which will become familiar to the player in the post-leveling game. The code is flexible, and changes with minor improvements on a regular basis, while major ones are introduced gradually. That said, the most recent update of the code has provided a number of intriguing new features, for builders and players alike. All in all, a solid MUD for anybody, and easily one of the most addictive on the 'net.

– MudConnector.Com Review by Hurley Reyes on Apr 28, 2009

I've been playing realms for a long time now, and I can honestly say I have a lot of fun. The Order setup for people as a social group and a team is a wonderful thing, the order artifacts rock, and sometimes even the immortals are great. Especially Loril. she's a foxy little minx. Anyway, the PK system leaves quite a bit to be desired, and levelling is more and more difficult each time they "fix a bug" or find something to "improve". Overall though, it is a very fun gaming experience, with great people and a lot of laughs and enjoyment.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Bullen on Sep 26, 2006

The Realms of Despair is looking for citizens to inhabit the various cities, towns, burrows, mountains, deserts, plains, and forests of the world. The Realms of Despair is a world where there is much to offer from the peaceful players who seek to gain riches and battle against the evils or goods within the world and the player killers who hunt the others of their kind. The races of the land include human, dwarf, elf, halfling, pixie, half-troll, half-ogre, half-orcs, gith, sea-elf, drow, gnome, and the ever rare lizardmen. Each of these races has their own hometown and individual form of government. As it stands now the elves control a large portion of the world's rp, with almost twenty percent of the world's population. The heavier races are seeking to overturn the elven influence by creating massive armies while the smaller races vie for control as well, some through shadier means. The Realms of Despair has eight different orders, ranging in types from running orders, magic users, evil, good, and to roleplay. There are four different deadly clans, which are in constant war with each other. Within the Realms there are twelve different classes available: mage, cleric, thief, warrior, vampire, druid, ranger, augurer, paladin, nephandi, fathomer, bladesinger (pk only), and barbarian. In the northern plains of the land the Barbarians have taken control with their various bands warring against each other, a few lone outcasts from their bands have made it to the civilized world much to the dismay of their band and warlord. With over a hundred and fifty areas to explore, quests run on almost a daily basis and an entire world as your playground the character you create will provide years of medieval fantasy enjoyment. We hope that you will give our world a try, many of our players have been here for more than five years, and others still for more than ten. While many try to duplicate the world where SMAUG was created, this is the original, and the evolution of the code-base that is forever changing based on our player input and ideas. Come join our world, become part of our community, and perhaps we will see you at our next annual reunion. Romani Nation's Advisor Deity of Sanctus Irae Visionary Consortium

– MudConnector.Com Review by Romani de Carpathia on Aug 20, 2006

The Realms of Despair is looking for citizens to inhabit the various cities, towns, burrows, mountains, deserts, plains, and forests of the world. The Realms of Despair is a world where there is much to offer from the peaceful players who seek to gain riches and battle against the evils or goods within the world and the player killers who hunt the others of their kind. The races of the land include human, dwarf, elf, halfling, pixie, half-troll, half-ogre, half-orcs, gith, sea-elf, drow, gnome, and the ever rare lizardmen. Each of these races has their own hometown and individual form of government. As it stands now the elves control a large portion of the world's rp, with almost twenty percent of the world's population. The heavier races are seeking to overturn the elven influence by creating massive armies while the smaller races vie for control as well, some through shadier means. The Realms of Despair has eight different orders, ranging in types from running orders, magic users, evil, good, and to role-play. There are four different deadly clans, which are in constant war with each other. Within the Realms there are twelve different classes available: mage, cleric, thief, warrior, vampire, druid, ranger, augurer, paladin, nephandi, fathomer, bladesinger (pk only), and barbarian. In the northern plains of the land the Barbarians have taken control with their various bands warring against each other, a few lone outcasts from their bands have made it to the civilized world much to the dismay of their band and warlord. With over a hundred and fifty areas to explore, quests run on almost a daily basis and an entire world as your playground the character you create will provide years of medieval fantasy enjoyment. We hope that you will give our world a try, many of our players have been here for more than five years, and others still for more than ten. While many try to duplicate the world where SMAUG was created, this is the original, and the evolution of the code-base that is forever changing based on our player input and ideas. Come join our world, become part of our community, and perhaps we will see you at our next annual reunion. Romani Nation's Advisor Deity of Sanctus Irae Visionary Consortium

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Romani on Aug 14, 2006

I remember being at school and seeing two of my friends looking at me funny. They were talking to each other and kind of nodding. When they came up to me, they said they wanted to show me a new computer game they found. They said it was text-based. What the hell does that mean anyway? Well I went to find out. I saw RoD, and was immediately underwhelmed. Scrolling text, so fast that you can't read all of it. What was the fun in that? Heck, I even tried playing, with one of my friends standing next to me explaining the commands. I hated it. RoD was the most boring thing I had ever experienced. I visited his place again the next week and decided I'd give RoD another shot. I died to a bunch of gnomes and got pissed off. I mean, sure, it makes sense that if you attack a gnome child, the gnome man and gnome woman you assume to be his parents would jump in and kick your ass. But still, I was only level 2! Dying only made me hate the game more. By the third time I was playing the game, it was over. I was hooked. Addicted beyond belief. Approximately 10 years later, here I am, still on that game, and occasionally still getting killed by that damn gnome family. Eventually I had to change schools, and I was so addicted to the game that I managed to coerce twelve of my friends to play the game too. We'd spend our lunch hours sitting at a table in the school cafeteria talking about how one guy had proposed marriage to a female imm (Lascivias) and got slayed for it. I'm telling you little about the game. Go check it out, seeing it (or reading it) is much better than having it read to you. But be sure to meet some people too. The game is about making friends...and if it isn't, then it's at least enhanced by it. -Ex.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Excane on Jul 25, 2006

Realms of Despair is an all around great mud, with tons of areas to goto, stuff to kill, people to meet! Great sense of humor, if you want to break out singing Time Warp, Feel free, We'll even join in!! With 14 Races and 6 Classes, it makes for a wide variety of choice. With a rather new class Barbarian, we now have Tribes added to our nice collection of extra stuff, including Orders, Guilds, Clans, and Nations (Race hometowns). I myself prefer to be a Nephanid, which is the Spawn of Evil! Though many have different views.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Sebine LifeWind on Apr 22, 2006

Realms of Despair is an all around great mud, with tons of areas to goto, stuff to kill, people to meet! Great sense of humor, if you want to break out singing Time Warp, Feel free, We'll even join in!! With 14 Races and 6 Classes, it makes for a wide variety of choice. With a rather new class Barbarian, we now have Tribes added to our nice collection of extra stuff, including Orders, Guilds, Clans, and Nations (Race hometowns). I myself prefer to be a Nephanid, which is the Spawn of Evil! Though many have different views.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Sebine LifeWind on Apr 22, 2006

RoD is the pinnacle of all SMAUG based MUDs... as would be expected of the original. Complex gameplay, well-considered class and race spells/affects/attributes. Competant RP community and pkill optional. I've played for about nine years straight and have no sense of boredom with the gameplay. The player base is steady, often helpful, and always ready to debate something spammy on avtalk. =p Friendly to newbies(some of us =p), and free to play... nearly endless rooms, puzzles and NPC's to slaughter. Come check us out!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Qaulorn on Mar 5, 2006

realms was my very fisrt mud and i fell in love with it right off the bat, ive been here about 4 years now at a pretty constant rate, the onyl flaws ive seen are that the immortals tend to be biased towards their friends. also, at times the game isint very new player friendly, some of the older players like to tease the noobs. so in closing, get in with a group of people and make friends or else realms wont have to much to offer you.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by thevampire on Feb 19, 2006

One of the greatest games I have ever played, including those on bit based systems! Addictive and engrossing, the roleplaying community is ever increasing and the general gameplay is amazing! The only negative thing (which isn't really too negative) is the amount of deathtraps lingering around. But this is only because of the massive amount of areas! Gameplay: 10+ Community: 8 Roleplaying: 5.5 Mobiles: 6.5 Areas: 9 Overall: 8.5

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Damacy Ma'Ker on Jan 26, 2006

Born on: Sun Aug 24 01:16:47 2003 Time: Mon Jan 9 09:00:57 2006 That's how good it is.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Threndor on Jan 9, 2006

I have been playing Realms of Despair for over 8 years, and over that time period I have tried just about everything. I have been an immortal, I have served on some of the councils, and I even tried my hand at pkill. I still login to talk to friends, but I do not actively play anymore. The Good: Code Stability - This is probably one of the most stable muds around. Lots of coders who know what the hell they are doing. This stability comes at a price though. Game Stability - It is very rare that an immortal will come around and take away an item. In many cases, even if the item is out of game, or was too powerful for the time and was removed, those who managed to acquire it early on get to keep their winnings. Realms does this better than any mud I have played. Large - Lots of people here. Many more than most of the other muds I have played on. There are a good number of active people. Large numbers of areas to explore. Admin staff - Compared to other muds, the administration here is pretty good, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Newbie Friendly - There is an entire council devoted to new players, and the administration is rather newbie friendly. Some of the player base is not, however, and will not hesitate to cause trouble for the stupid or slow. Multiplay - One of the few muds that still allows multiplaying. This is excellent for getting a feel for all the different classes. The Bad: Stagnant Code - Not much changed on Realms. Given the large player base and the size of the mud, changes have to be done carefully and cautiously. Also, much effort is spent in making sure that the balance of the game is not disrupted. The end result is a stagnant mud where the changes done in a single year are equivalent to what a new mud would do in a week. Stagnant Game Play - The mud is essentially mkill only, all hack and slash. There is very little to do in terms of making things or doing something other than kill mobs. There is some lip service paid to pkill, but pkill is essentially dead as well. There are a group of die hards who still hang out and beat the crap outta each other, and they seem to have fun doing it. But with 350 characters online, there are 5 pkillers. Poorly worded rules - The last thing anyone wants is 10 pages of laws or rules. But there are many cases in realms where each rule is interpreted differently by different immortals. Why should you have to check the "who imm" list before you say or do something? And pretty much every rule or law has a weasel-worded clause that basically says the immortals have the authority to do whatever they feel like. is... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Roland on Jan 5, 2006

I have been playing Realms of Despair for about 8 or 9 years and counting. Throughout that time I've tried to get a taste of the many different facets of it, from hacking and slashing to RP and anything else in between. I find myself constantly thinking about the game, rifling through the numerous great memories I have. I have found explosive boxes and distributed them to newbies, killing about 4 (I was charged with 8 murders and sent to Hell, RoD's prison. One newbie died multiple times.) After one newbie refused to detonate the explosive box, an attack spell was brewed into potion form and given to him. I also recall seeing a friend of mine die (I had illegally killed him) so I charmed and summoned multiple aggressive mobs to attack him upon entry, blocking his attempts to retreive his equipment. And of course, I remember when such antics were played on me. My friends gave me an explosive potion, and laughed heartily when I drank it. I remember the crazy number of times people have gone out of their way to help me. A friend of mine talked me through ridding my computer of viruses through tells, 3000 miles away. We spent the whole early morning going through HijackThis and Ad-aware. Realms of Despair is a mud where you will meet great, great people. And with them you will build great memories, memories that you will look back on and smile a knowing smile to yourself. Start today, and without a doubt, you will find someone to help guide you through the basics. I will, however, warn you. I have tried other muds, and I have found only this one to be as addicting as cocaine. RoD's one hell of a mud.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Excane on Jan 2, 2006

Totally awesome Mud, lots of races for the lots of classes they have. Lots of areas to start levelling your special character. They also have a friendly interface, awesome guilds and "organizations". I've seen other muds that claim to be newbie friendly but this one lives up to the claim. Almost the whole time someone is avaliable to help you out. This is an awesome mud so if your looking for somewhere to spend time, come here!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Jamson on Dec 19, 2005

A must for anyone looking for Wonderful Roleplay! Each race has their own RaceTalk channel that you can get to know people from your character's race. RP orders, Nation Roleplay. There are RP boards for Nations And for each Race to post on. So jump on! Type config +RP, do a Whois RP and start finding Roleplayers to Roleplay with! Don't be afraid to get in touch with someone to show you around your hometown or national visions! Over all it's a great MUD, even if you aren't into Roleplaying! *Subliminal message* Be a Gnome! *Gets bonked for subliminal message* Ok ok fine.. be whatever you want... ;)

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Tiniegh Tumbleweed on Dec 7, 2005

Noob Friendly, Well Balanced, Cleverly Written, Super Coolness all over. The best of Old School and New School. Play It !

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by P.M.Candy on Dec 5, 2005

Noob Friendly, Well Balanced, Cleverly Written, Super Coolness all over. The best of Old School and New School. Play It !

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by P.M.Candy on Dec 5, 2005

The sweetest game around.Other sites say they are noob friendly, this one actually lives up to the claim.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Paul Candy on Nov 27, 2005

The Role-Play community of Realms of Despair is vast and there is never a dull moment. From disputes between Nations and strife within Hometowns, character plots and families, there is much to see and do in the world of RP. If you've got imagination, and you're tired of running the same mobs day after day, come join us and experience the expansive side of Realms of Despair.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Threlith Nighthawk de Carpathia on Oct 30, 2005

I have only been playing this MUD on an almost daily basis for about 3 years, but in this time I have made some of the best friends I have ever encountered and roleplayed some of the best scenes that I have yet to write. With a diverse environment, there is room for Player killing, Roleplaying, Mob killing and many other forms of excitement! Only being a roleplayer myself, I cannot say much about the other two facets of the game. But I can say this: if your looking to RP on any MUD, RoD is the place. It has some of the most talented and most outgoing RPers I have yet to meet.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Carnak on Oct 18, 2005

Greetings, I am a player on the Realms of Despair. This mud has been a great part of my life over the last 6-7 years, giving me countless hours of laughs, and excitement. When a mortal, I enjoyed getting out there and taking part in the player killing competitions between guilds (IGPK), slaying mobs, and generally just sitting around the pixie hometown (Remoyr) talking with others. I am now an immortal which gives me the oppetunity to create quests and activities for the MUD's players to get involved in. Realms of Despair is more then just a MUD, it's a way of life; the game is what you make of it, the more you get involved the higher the rewards that you reap. If you do deside to become a part of this fantasy world, don't be scared to send myself or another immortal a tell, should you need assistance.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Gatersade on Oct 18, 2005

I have been playing Realms of Despair for over six years now. I have experienced several next-gen console releases as well as several dramatic leaps in computer gaming technology and yet I constantly find myself drawn to the colorful text known as Realms of Despair. With a wide selection of races, classes, and organizations to join, entertainment is plentiful and can include quests (both for equipment and glory), runs, role-playing, playerkilling, but most importantly--camaraderie.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Gablok on Oct 17, 2005

Realms of Despair is the originator of SMAUG, and a trend-setter for multiple code bases. For the past eight or so years I have watch the text scroll. Multiple races and classes, tons of original areas, and a challenge for a player of any experience level. Endless medieval enjoyment, come visit us today!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Qaulorn on Oct 6, 2005

I've been playing Realms for nearly ten years. It was the first MUD I ever tried, and I stuck with it ever since. I have a tendency to jump around MUDs frequently, and I have only been able to find two others (out of at least 50) that held my interest for anywhere over a few months. All MUDs are the same when it comes to reviewing them: you'll have the die-hards, and you'll have the haters, so don't let the few bad reviews discourage you. I want to start off by saying that Realms definitely is not for everyone. The game wasn't nearly as big, either playerwise or roomwise, when I started, and it was still difficult to figure a lot of things out. After shopping around other muds, though, I found that Realms was the most intuitive game out there, and one of the more friendly ones for newbies. Despite its size, or maybe because of it, Realms is a good environment for new players. There are help files for literally everything you could think of, and whatever they can't cover, one of the players probably can. There are a few different ways for new players to get help, most notably the Newbie Council, a group of avatars dedicated to helping characters up to level 25 with information, corpse retrieval, and tips about where to go to gain experience. There is also a built-in hints system, which can get spammy and tiresome quickly, but shows user-submitted hints that can benefit new players. Finally, the immortals are usually active, and are willing to help resolve a new player's needs quickly. New immortals are raised every few months, usually based on their knowledge of the game and their willingness to share it. When a new player thinks that s/he has a basic understanding of the game, the journey starts. There are many areas for players of all levels to explore. Even when you reach level 50, which is not easy for newbies, there is a whole new world unlocked. Avatars don't lose experience upon death, so there really isn't anything to lose by going out and looking for new things to do. If activity and twinking isn't really your thing, the social environment on Realms is usually active. There are public and private channels of all kinds, so you can usually find somebody to talk to about anything. There are also player-run bots, which offer everything from spell-up services, to item selling, to a full casino. In short, there is always something for you to do. Some of the knocks against Realms are that it is too big, or too unfriendly to true newbies, or any other number of things. The MUD has over 150 unique areas, with well over 20,000 rooms. New areas are released regularly, all built by current players. Realms is the original SMAUG MUD, and is always developing new code based on player suggestions. New players start all the time, so it is to... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Gallant on Oct 6, 2005

Be it that you seek venturing forth with comrades, through dangers untold, seeking to put an end to the wretched life of vile, monstrous beasts... Or hungrily seeking out other players in an effort to lay them to waste and pillage their corpses... Or weaving a tale of magic and might, heartache and joy, mystery and true emotion, writing your words into glorious tales of textual fantasy... Realms of Despair will bid you welcome and forever enrapture you in its engrossing world.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Lulu on Oct 6, 2005

I've been playing Realms of Despair for about seven years now, having attempted to quit once or twice without success. This MUD really does have something for everyone, whatever their taste. Numerous global channels, and hundreds of players, mean that there's always lots of people to socialise with, and an extensive Guild, Order, Clan, Nation and Council system (each with their own chat channels and Headquarters) can add both intrigue and depth to the social structure. The number of players also means that while the MUD can be an intimidating place for a new player, there are always lots of people on hand to help out and guide newbies. While it can take a while to get to grips with the game, it soon becomes very absorbing. The MUD has countless of originally (and extremely well designed) areas. Many of these aren't restricted to avatar (Level 50) characters and can be explored by lower-level characters. The depth of some of these areas (in particular newer ones, such as Nevermore, The Mountain of Lost Souls and the Haven of Everlasting Light is astounding, with numerous within-area quests that require intelligence, skill, and lateral-thinking to complete. This makes the MUD perfect for players who love to explore and solve puzzles. The numerous areas also mean that mobkill on the Realms of Despair is incredibly varied and challenging. As players work their way up towards the more difficult mobs, more and more teamwork is required, and subtle technque a must. The premiere mobs of the MUD such as Lord Seth, Merlin, Satan and Divine Retribution can require days of planning, up to seven or eight experienced players and great skill to defeat successfuly. Player-kill is also very active on the MUD, though it's something I rarely indulge in. 'Deadly' players are devoted to pkill, and are always a target whichever area they happen to be in, and may loot equipment from the corpses of their enemies, while 'Peaceful' characters cannot pkill unless they enter the arena. RoD is the home of the SMAUG codebase, and as such contains numerous and widespread advances over any other SMAUG muds you may have played. New classes, numerous new areas, lots of different spells and skills to name but a few. SMAUG 2.1 was installed at 'The Shattering' a few years ago, and there are still secrets since then that have not been uncovered...

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Temujinx on Oct 3, 2005

I have played Realms of Despair for two years. I have quit four times, not counting the "breaks" I took after leveling a character where I took a week or so off and looked for other muds to play instead. Each time, I was brought back into the game by someone I knew from the game who asked me to start playing again, except the most recent time, where I've so far refused. The mud is featureful and vast, having lots of areas that might be fun to explore if I didn't get attacked by random aggro mobs and/or killed every time I explored. One of the most enjoyable moments I've had on RoD was probably exploring Machine Dreams. It was *interesting*, which is not a common occurance on this mud. I find the quests to be ridiculously simple and tedious, with about as much variety as a sine wave. A common term I've heard for them is "cookie-cutter quests". They consist of the itemfind or mobkill, or kill the mob to get the item, or the scandalous "find the mob and turn it into an item" varieties. The one interesting quest I've been on was interesting because the mobs had cool descriptions, but it was still a stock mobkill quest. The more inane quests consist of "Hunt the Chickens", "Bounty on Mosquitos", "Rescue Santa's Elves", and the like. (There was also a hilarious "Drunken Goblin Slaying" quest, but the highly-coveted "glory" is not awarded for such things) I suppose RoD would be a very fun place for people who like mobkill, but I frankly find it tedious and boring. I like things I fight to show some inkling of intelligence or at least not just stand there while they die. I think my favorite mob to fight is probably the Alluvrian Horror, if only because he pursues. Mobs either switch tanks, or don't, which means that players pick who tanks, basically. Either by attacking first, getting attacked first, or controlling who tanks with styles. I find this all extremely disinteresting, while my companions typically seem to dislike any run where anything except "He just stood there and died" happens. Perhaps I would like mobkill a bit more if mobs were designed with a bit more thought than "difficult = hit hard and have millions of hp". Obviously, I enjoy playerkill a bit more, but even that can be rather tedious. Most of RoD is spam. Spamflee, spammurder, spamquaff. Pk might be a more interesting if there was more pursuit. In peaceful pk, any pursuit is probably luck or accidental, as the Arena isn't a great place for such things, and, even in deadly pk, pursuit will only last as long as the victim's adrenaline, meaning the person has to be hit again within 13 rounds, or he's gone (recalled or quit), which is just as well, as, without heals, it is easy to die in one round. (The most interesting pk I've had was chasing someone Grimoire... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Tonitrus on Sep 15, 2005

I think mud is cool, you meet cool ppl and thats basically what makes you stay, tho I have no friends on the mud except myself so anyway cool...COOL

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by sacke on Sep 11, 2005

I've played several muds, and so far this is probably one of the best out there. With a fairly large pbase and a dedicated immortal staff, they are always producing new areas/code to enhance the game to the next level. And with many large organizations and guilds, there's a spot for everyone to work towards. With over 100 areas in the game, there is lots of time to explore and find new things, even spots that current established players haven't found. If you're looking for a change, and to a place that has lots of help from players and immortals alike, you should give Realms of Despair a chance. Typh, Magus of the Swarm, Leader of the Order Baali.

– MudConnector.Com Review by Typh on Aug 24, 2005

This is simply the best game of any genre that I have ever played. Period. Realms of Despair is unspeakably vast, very stable, and well managed. The gameplay dynamic is extremely deep and well balanced. There are thousands of equipment items to find and use to improve your character. Themed, well written areas are available for every level and offer a rich experience that is highly addictive. There are quests, organizations, mob kill, player kill, multiple channels, and a huge player base always willing to help new players. As the home of SMAUG, Realms of Despair is always improving and running the latest codebase version, which is not available anywhere else. The SMAUG format is intuitive and easy to follow, with extensive help files available on everything you could think of and more. Whether you are new to mudding, or an experienced player, I highly recommend Realms of Despair. But, be warned, this game is addictive like no other I have ever played! Thank you, Berndt out Dizzypatcher

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

The first thing that struck me when I logged on was how many players there were on. There were a LOT; around 270. I also noticed that the vast majority of them were "Avatar", which is the highest level on the MUD, equivalent to level 50. Only about 60 of the 270 on were less than level 50. What really surprised me was only 7 of those 270 were listed as pk (called "deadly"). Looking through the who list, I saw a lot of characters with very similar names at the same level. Obvious multiplaying, I thought. Well, that's because they allow multiplaying. Not just two or three characters on at a time either, they allow EIGHT characters on at a time, as long as none of them are pk. No wonder there were only 7 pkers on. It made me wonder how many people were actually on. Assuming most of the people are multiplaying, it could be as little as 40-50 people. Not a small amount, but nowhere near the 200+ you think there are when you first log on. The other thing that turned me off is that botting is allowed. Multiplaying is one thing, but botting? Multiplaying at least takes some skill to pull off. Botting is just plain cheating. I only have a little knowledge of MUD scripting, but even I could write a simple bot. Even if I couldn't, I'm sure I could find someone who could. How could you have a sense of accomplishment when everybody else could all conceivably be botting 8 characters? I'm not going to say RoD is a bad MUD, as I haven't played much of it at all. But I know a lot of people will be put off by the fact that they allow both multiplaying and botting. Personally, I just don't see the purpose of essentially allowing cheating; on the other hand, it's not my MUD. I'll still be giving it a chance, but it definitely left a bad first impression.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Kaelus on Jul 21, 2005

I have played Realms off and on for 5 years. Realms has alot of good things going for it. If you are even slightly polite, then Realms is a very newbie friendly place. The newbie council is a great idea, and the people on it are nearly always friendly and helpful.(The do get tired of people abusing their kindness, anyone would.) The world of Realms is HUGE. In fact, huge is an understatement. The player websites are plentiful and include everything from EQ databases to maps of every area.(Area quests are not revealed for the most part) It's a good game, and a great place to learn to play MUDs. But... There are SOME bad things happening there. Golding and speed leveling have become the focus of the game. Some of the best areas for leveling for lowbies are also considered to be the best for golding, and are therefore over run with avatars. Some of the best eq in the game is horded by av's who will have chars. mob sit for it whereby they sell it to newbish players. It's become impossible for a newbie to buy potions, good eq, etc... UNLESS, you turn into a golder. It's a sad and unfortunate thing, because this is such a good game in all other respects. All in all, I'd still give this game at least an 8 out of 10, and this reveiw isn't meant to deter anyone from playing realms. However I do feel that the average new player to realms will not stay much past their first av, if they get that far. Lowbies are treated kindly, and are helped as much as posible, but newbtars are regarded as competition in a viscous economic cycle.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Lystra on Jul 17, 2005

Wonderful game to play and start on. Friendly, helpful newbie council and Immortal administrators, active playerkilling, loads of peaceful orgs, interesting classes and expansive game with a huge amount of things to run and explore.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Emerald on Jun 28, 2005

I've been playing RoD on and off since 1998. Never have I found a place that is so open, so multicultural, and so expansive. Playing for nearly 8 years I still have barely scratched the surface of all there is to know about this fantastic MUD. Comprehensive introduction for new MUDders, as well as a variety of places for experienced MUDders looking to start, RoD is a place I am proud to call home.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Skivven WhiteBlood on Jun 28, 2005

I have been playing Realms of Despair for close to 8 years now, so this review is not coming from someone who has little or no experience with the game. Aside from the seemingly endless game content Realms provides, the community is stronger than anything else. They have a very good Newbie Council to help those new players struggling with the life of learning a MUD and overall great administration running the game. Some of the friends I have made on this game are friendships that will last the rest of my life. Realms also has Reunion's every year, where you can meet some of the people you have been gaming and sharing a lot of your stories with. No matter what aspect of gaming you enjoy, Realms of Despair has it. A strong economy for trading, lots of Mobs to kill for some very nice loot, Role Playing, Quests, a building port (For those future builder of areas), and the list just goes on. Don't just take my word for it, open up your mind and give it a try. I know I will never regret starting to play this game, and if you give it a chance I know you will feel the same exact way.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Irad on Jun 28, 2005

Realms of Despair has a rich and varied player base, has a lot of people online at any given time, and has immortals who are very good, responsive, and constantly changing the realms to make it a dynamic place to spend your time. The classes are being developed as are new areas. I have been with the realms for quite a few years now, and have seen it grow into a better community who enjoy both RP and PK. It has quests with which many things can be earnt and lots of fun can be had. Realms of despair is good for new mudders and experienced mudders alike, it has lots of runs and allows limited multiplay in case your friends are not online when you need to get an item. However, there are many channels which can be used and it is a good place to meet new friends. Overall RoD is one of the best MUDs I have played, rich in content and variety with areas with puzzles as well as mob kills. A wonderful place to spend your spare time!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Syniad on Jun 24, 2005

First of all, a few reviews for this MUD have been complaints to its treatment to "newbies". To be honest when I first played RoD a couple years ago I did feel like I didnt get much help (it was my first MuD too, so I was sitting there trying to learn commands and being a total newbie). BUT RoD is actually quite easy to learn to play, the controls and syntax is simple. I wandered around during my first hrs of play and I bumped into a lot of people and there was a lot of chatting going on the channels. I dislike MUDs where you wander around and dont see anyone, or if the channels are silent...it makes you feel alone, like you're the only one playing and thats not a good feeling... Anyway, I managed to get to level 10 and then I bumped into a complete stranger who was also leveling (unknown to me, they already possessed numerous avatars), he gave me some helpful eq, some leveling tips and also accompanied me to some difficult leveling areas just to make it easier for me to level. i met a couple of these helpful people along my way to avatarhood (they were not in the Newbie Council, just normal people willing to sacrifice their time to help others). I'm not sure if this really fits in here, but I hope others who read it will consider it as a review for RoD's newbie treatment, or as a defense against complaints that RoD is nasty or uncaring towards newbies.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Anonymous on Jun 22, 2005

I highly recommend Realms of Despair (RoD) for all mudders. It is truly one of the best text-based games out there. I've been playing roughly for about 5 years and have never looked back. In my opinion the best thing about RoD is the rich and detailed areas and belonging in one of the player-run organisations. RoD areas are very unique. The first time you step into an area is like walking into another world. Everything changes. There is a new plot. All the rooms, mobs and items etc are shaped around that plot to forge a fantastic experience. It is like opening the first page of a new book. There is a lot of mystery and intrigue. It drives you into wanting to venture further, to find out what happened, or to unsolve the mystery. Then when you finally solve the mystery of the area. Be it through defeating the great Daemon Lord in his lair of fire, or ascending the heavens to unseat the False God, or descending into the pits of the dreaded Underworld to challenge the Dark Mistress. Your efforts will be rewarded with the most rare and valuable eq or the simple satisfaction of having solved the mystery or killed the "boss". Everyone will be, at one point in their RoD career, part of a player-run organisation. This plays a huge part of RoD as these people will become your commrades and they will be the people who you will run mobs with or explore areas with. In most cases a player will first seek out the guild of their class. Then after some time, they might consider joining a more selective organisation, Orders. As of current, RoD has 8 orders. Each order is presided over by a Leader, Number One and Number Two. Each order has their own unique theme and headquarters as well as a rich and honorable history. Be it the elusive Ascendere or the elitists Inconnu or even the pure, unadulterated evil of the Baali, theres an Order for the liking of each player.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Zerce on Jun 20, 2005

I've been playing Realms of Despair for five years now, and I've been an imm there for two years. I'm not the kind of person who likes MUD's at all, I've tried others, but I've always found a home at Realms of Despair and would (and have) recommend it to anyone. Realms of Despair caters for every kind of player. We have an active player-killing community (totally optional), a very active roleplaying community (again, totally optional) and a massive community of players who just want to explore the hundreds of areas and tens of thousands of rooms, and kill the thousands of mobiles that Realms of Despair has. Newbie-friendly? Definately. Realms of Despair has a player-operated council that is DEVOTED to helping out new players. Got a question? We have channels strictly designed to ask for help and offer answers to anyone who asks. Quests are run often, there are many Immortals who spend all their time writing new and exciting quests for all players to enjoy. Quests are rewarded with "Glory" which can be accumulated and exchanged for enhancements to your character or items, to make your sword the best in the game! There are dozens more fun things that Realms of Despair offers. Active "Chat" if you want to just relax from having fun, our own magazine called the "Cry of Despair" which is published in-game monthly, dozens of clans/guilds/orders for you to join, and too much more that you'll just grow disinterested from reading such a long review. Try out Realms of Despair, I have no doubt that you'll enjoy it as much as I have these past five years!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Alysira on Jun 19, 2005

i like the game because of the player killing although you might not see alot of players, (mostly 5-10 players online, sometimes at 18!) but its an old school adrenaline rush. newbies are welcome.. and we could help you dress up ghetto when you reach lv 50 Zorah

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by pk/pvp is fun on Jun 16, 2005

Realms of Despair: Realms.game.org 4000 I've been playing the Realms of Despair now for 4 years. I stumbled across TopMudSites one day and decided to go ahead and try out the mud in the Number One spot. (Realms of Despair) I'll never regret that decision. I found myself enraptured with the world of RoD. From Pre-Auth, where I was guided along and taught the basics of the game, to running around dying of thirst until one of the many newbiefriendly players helped me out. It wasn't long before I joined a Guild and began to make some great friendships. I find myself logging every day to accomplish bigger and better things with the help of great people and a great community. Realms truly does have something for everyone. Our Playerkiller community grows every day, our Orders continue to strive to conquer all they can in the peaceful world, our Guilds continue to be proving grounds and great places for players to make some lasting friendships, not to mention the Newbie Council to keep those great players coming and The Symposium, which exists to keep the game growing and adapting to the current playerbase. In the last month alone, we've gotten two excellent new areas and even more are on the way. The Realms of Despair are growing every day but still manage to maintain a great intimate atmosphere of fun and friendship. Come by today, you won't regret it. :)

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Dan on Jun 15, 2005

Is it just me, or is it impossible to create a new character on this game? Thats about all I have to say...

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Would have been Diemos... on Jun 14, 2005

Realms of Despair, unlike many other muds out there today, does live up to what it says, which is having a gigantic world for players of all ages to explore. The enviroments, area wise, are rich and full of content without making players feel bored or losing interest, which is a plus for any growing world. Players can decide between wanting to be peaceful and deadly and with a multitude of classes and races including deadly or peaceful only classes (which adds to the overall gameplay). Realms also has many player run Orders and Guilds, along with a strong RP content for those wishing to submerge themselves into their character. The Immortals of Realms, unlike other MUDS, intergrate themselves fully with players offering quests and other events without creating a 'Divide' between player and immortals (the only divide being level). Realms is run for the players and not run as a business, in that respect the players come first with new areas, quests and events being added daily. Players who can build are also given a chance to submit their own areas to realms or even build live which is a function that is rare to other large scale muds of this nature. If you are looking for a fun, richly filled mud with years of both growth and leading technology then Realms of Despair stands out as few can come close to offering such a diverse and rewarding world ranging from the deep seas to the icy wastelands and beyond. The community of Realms is a lively vibrant mixing pot of ideas, dreams, explorations and roleplaying that makes Realms almost come alive as its own entity. Wanting to submerge yourself in an endless growing world where one second you are standing in a grand City and the next running for your life from Fate Banshees? or relaxing at the sea, fishing or completing many quests? Want to be known as a fearless Warrior, Guild or Order Leader or even perhaps Ascend to the heavens themselves? then Realms if for you. One word of warning though, once you enter the growing vibrant world of Realms, it is hard to want to return to reality.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Arctic on Jun 12, 2005

Realms of Despair is a fantastic MUD which features over 100 quality areas, promotes multi avatar runs, immortal-held quests, thematic orders as well as guilds, ability to choose deadly pk. I started playing in 2000 and I can honestly say this is by far the best mud out there. It is truly addictive as you can always find something to do. Mkill is extremely fun and can be very challenging, glory you earn from immortal-held quests can be used to modify your eq, there are dozens of skills/spells for each and every class. The economy is well established and the immortal community is very active. New players will have no problem playing RoD as they will have the help/guide from the Newbie Council! Start playing RoD today!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Shenalia on Jun 12, 2005

It is a very good MUD, for non-english speaker, many people from other places :) MUD is based in Canada and sometimes I am mistaken for girl and it is embarassing :) They will work hard to help you, but they make you vote several hundreds times a day!!! Sometimes I am woken up by phonecall demanding I click button! I am an elf who has two swords.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Kaspar Hauser on Jun 12, 2005

I have been playing Realms of Despair for almost or a little more than 2 years now. I love it more than ever, the game keeps getting better and better month after month, year after year. I've tried and enjoying alot of what the game has to offer. Roleplaying, Mob killing, Player Killing, and just hanging out and chatting. All of it is optional and fun. I think this game is great for anyone. It's quite and addicting game, and for the good. I have tried a few other muds, considered popular ones, none of those even compare to the Realms of Despair. I cant imagine playing another mud after this one. It's just awesome.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Oggiemoge on Jun 8, 2005

This is the best MUD i've ever played...This MUD Should Be in the Top 10 at least...

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Schriden on Jun 4, 2005

Realms of Despair is easily one of the best (if not the best one) hack and slash MUD that there is. It's also pretty much the only SMAUG MUD that has at least somewhat active playerkilling community, and has a small roleplaying group as well. The MUD widely practices multiplaying - peaceful players are allowed to log up to 8 characters at one time, and own any amount of chars (older players have literally dozens of chars), which leaves a lot of room for improvement; managing your own "army" can be a lot of fun in itself; watching this "army" grow and strengthen can be pretty interesting as well. This doesn't mean everyone is playing by themselves of course - most stronger mobs will require cooperation from fairly large groups of players, regardless from if they are "multiable" or not. Cooperation and communication between players is very much encouraged in general; numerous guilds, orders, and councils exist, enough for players with any kind of tastes and styles of play - from diabolic Baali and secretive, elitist Inconnu to rugged Dragonslayers and magical Arcanes. There are many events such as yearly Inter Guild Pkill, monthly Inter Guild and Inter Order Quests, regular immortal-run quests, trivias, arena pkills, etc. There are also many areas, each with their own secrets and puzzles, as well as monsters and treasures to discover; many still are being built and put into the game on a regular basis. Realms of Despair has an open build port as well, for anyone interested in creating an area of their own. Immortals are numerous and generally approachable for any issues or ideas, and anyone is always welcome to submit any suggestions or concerns about the game, without a doubt that they shall be heard. either way, enough with the 'lyrics'. Here's some 'prose': * 12 classes, both "stock" - such as mage, thief, cleric, warrior, and more original ones - vampires, nephandi, fathomers. * 11 guilds - mostly places for newer players to join and learn the basics of the class of their choosing, but also wonderful places to meet people and learn a lot about the game in general. * 7 orders for those more serious about advancing in the game, all with their original themes and long, rich histories. * 4 deadly clans, each with their unique equipment and traditions. * 3 mortal councils for those who wish to put their time into improving the game. * about 70 areas, some of which are stock - though most of those were majorly rewritten, and most - completely original, connected by large "geo" zones - not just random settings of rooms like "wilderness" encountered in many other mobs, but areas huge in size and yet very well written and well designed; around 40,000 rooms, if not more. * Tons of different equipment, for all levels and classes, from easily obtainable "ghetto" gear and up to major "pops" that may take weeks to acquire; * Various equipment, well... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by someone on May 27, 2005

I've done alot of MUDing over the last 5 years, and gone from place to place. I won't name names, but RoD stuck on me for the first time last February 2005, and has yet to let go. The guild system is evenly divided, so that no one guild gets more power than another. Yet they've (the game immplementors) also left enough room for improvement. Each class has skills and/or spells that are unique to each, so that teamwork becomes more possible, and neccessary, to fullfill certain quests or runs. There's also new races up for review too, I hear :). For those of you who prefer to hunt the most dangerous of prey: each other... there's a dedicated crew of PKers who want your scalp on their belts too :>. The Realms are HUGE! I've wandered all over, and STILL find areas to explore (ie: die in, heh :D). THAT'S the bigest draw for me, as well as the ease of learning the commands. If you have trouble as a newbie (a new player), most of the people are willing to give you some pointers, and some help in getting your feet wet, so to speak. Ease in learning the commands, newbie-friendly environment, and an everchanging class and guild system..... not to mention the enormous job of bushwacking your way through thousands of rooms...... keeps Realms of Despair interesting, to put it mildly. My name is Ardath, and I AM a Realms of Despair Addict :D.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Ardath on May 17, 2005

Realms of Despair is absolutely one of the best MUD's out there...It's got everything you could ever want in a MUD and more. The immortals are extremely friendly and helpful, there are numerous clans,guilds,orders. It's got it all..Take it from me, been playing ssince 1996. It's Fantastic!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Jon Bennett on May 13, 2005

Realms is probably the only MUD of this kind I've encountered that would have more than 10 players online on average.. A hack & slash MUD, not too overloaded with "realism", concentrated instead on gameplay and having fun. There's this feel of freedom and general "closeness" between players I haven't encountered on any other MUDs I have played... While it might be difficult and somewhat boring for a beginner (game really only starts at the "avatar" level 50), there are many guilds that always welcome new players, as well as a special council dedicated to aiding those in need of assistance. Realms is an awesome MUD if you just want to do what you want without any enforced restrictions. Want to get some new item? Grab a friend or two and go smash the mobile with it. Want to pkill? Log your deadly and more often than not there'll be someone to compete with; or venture into one of the several free-pk arenas. Want to explore a new area? There are dozens, with thousands and thousands of rooms, many different mobiles, various puzzles and area quests. Immortal-ran quests are also frequent, often happening several times a week, with special "glory" rewards given to participants; and mobkill, while seemingly fairly simple at first glance, is more fun than on any other MUD I ever played. With hundreds of mobs to fight, each having their own strengths and weaknesses, each requiring a different approach, there is always something to do. Multiplay is allowed, letting those who enjoy this sort of thing to run their own army of characters; though this doesn't mean one can always get anywhere on their own - to really advance in the game one would need to establish firm links with other players, gain their trust and respect; relationships between players are often complicated, with all sorts of politics ongoing between different groups. Possibilites are many, limitations are few; for anyone who enjoys mobkill and/or playerkill in a free, friendly environment, Realms is one of the best MUDs out there to play. For me, it's _the_ best.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by asdf on May 10, 2005

I have played Realms of Despair for many years, they are continually adding new areas and doing their best to make the game fun for everyone. I would like to invite anyone who likes MUDs/RPG's to give Realms of Despair a try, you will be glad you did.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Mari Fyremusik on Apr 24, 2005

Realms of Despair, or RoD, is one huge community that is broken into four: 1.PK'ers 2.RP'ers 3.Mob Runners 4.Chatters There are some that are involved in all or just one, but no matter what it is, you are part of the family. Even in a few weeks you can be known by the mass 200+ players by name, in fact there are a few that go by first Real Life Name basis (not a requirement to play). RolePlaying isn't required but the RP family is tight. Scene's are played, characters are made, hero's are created, and hero's die. PK: There is always someone better out there then someone else, someone else is always out there to help someone else, there is always someone there to just beat around ;). Chatters: The chat channels are always scrolling the screen Mob Runners: With tons of rooms and mobs there is never a dull moment in this area. There are sill mobs not found yeat and currently still being found every day. New items are found, new runs are made. Every class has a roll in runs being a basic thief to a evil necromancer for spelldowns. All around this mud gives alittle of everything you would want on a mud. Players offer help in every area in the game: Newbie Council, PK Conclave, Guild/Clan/Order leaders, your average player. These are the names of those who can help. Just remeber, a new MUD is like being adopted in a new family. It may take time to get used to the family, but once you get the feel you never leave....ever. Roo

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

Realms of Despair offers a wide variety of gaming experiences from running mobs to roleplay and pkill. While neither roleplay nor pkill are required, they have a home on RoD. As a staff member I enjoy participating in a variety of functions on the mud from building, assisting with quests, hosting private pkills, to officiating many of the games within the game that we have. As a player, there is so much in the online world that many players have become close real-life friends through the years. There is a great sense of community within both the players and immortals that RoD quickly becomes an extended family. Within the Realms of Despair, there are many organizations. Each organization offers different areas of specialization such as guilds, orders, nations, and clans. We also have an outstanding support Newbie Council to assist the player in learning the basics of online gaming. The guilds offer specialization in the many classes available on RoD, while most orders offer specialized techniques of massive elite mob runs. The nations are the basis for the roleplay communities on RoD. With the recent rebuild of The City of Sanctus Irae, the Roleplay City on RoD, players are flocking to join this long-standing organization now transformed. While there are hundreds of online games that would attempt to copy what the Realms of Despair has to offer, none measure up to the original Smaug developed by our outstanding team of coders. Nor do they measure up to the world within this world that spans the globe itself bringing people of all walks of life together in one place. Just be warned it is addicting, and to many, it is home. Romani de Carpathia

– MudConnector.Com Review by Romani on Feb 14, 2005

Realms of Despair offers a wide variety of gaming experiences from running mobs to role-play and pkill. While neither role-play nor pkill are required, they have a home on RoD. As a staff member I enjoy participating in a variety of functions on the mud from building, assisting with quests, hosting private pkills, to officiating many of the games within the game that we have. As a player, there is so much in the online world that many players have become close real-life friends through the years. There is a great sense of community within both the players and immortals that RoD quickly becomes an extended family. Within the Realms of Despair, there are many organizations. Each organization offers different areas of specialization such as guilds, orders, nations, and clans. We also have an outstanding support organization, the Newbie Council, to assist the player in learning the basics of online gaming. The guilds offer specialization in the many classes available on RoD, while most orders offer specialized techniques of massive elite mob runs. The nations are the basis for much of the role-play on RoD. And with the recent rebuild of The City of Sanctus Irae, the Role-play City on RoD, players are flocking to join this long-standing organization now transformed. While there are hundreds of online games that would attempt to copy what the Realms of Despair has to offer, none measure up to the original Smaug developed by our outstanding team of coders. Nor do they measure up to the world within this world that spans the globe itself bringing people of all walks of life together in one place. Just be warned it is addicting, and to many, it is home. Romani de Carpathia Deity, Sanctus Irae Nations Advisor

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Romani on Feb 3, 2005

Hello there all you mudders or soon to be mudders! First off I am relatively new to mudding having only been playing on muds on and off for about two years, more off than on. The majority of time I do spend on muds has been on this Realms of Despair. Its hard to try a say exactly why this mud is so awesome. The quest, areas to explore and the people oh you just have got to check this place out. I mean there are so many things to do and see. I find myself learning new areas all the time and the people are for the most part very nice. If you are a person who enjoys a fun and yes very addictive game than this is a great place to be. Coming from someone who has no computers skills nor typing skills what-so-ever. Which have gotten better. I do truly enjoy the time I spend on RoD and with the friends I have met there. So if your thinking of checking out a mud I would say to you! Come to RoD and have some fun.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Garff on Feb 1, 2005

Well. I've been playing RoD for just four years and I tried other Muds like Petria and Achaea. Though I found them pretty original and interesting there's one thing I've not found anywhere outside RoD. Its the community, the way players interact one on each other and create their own social structures. Don't you think this is merely accidental, what makes RoD so peculiar is its player oriented feature, meaning that structures created by players are planned and thought previously. The word is big, you have true fellows to play with and there are challenges that even a bunch of very experienced players wouldn't dare to face. Cant miss it: telnet realms.game.org 4000 Theodor

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Theodor Bolson on Dec 3, 2004

Simply, Amazing.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Olukai on Oct 13, 2004

I haven't written any review in over a year, think it would be time again. This mud is the only one I've wanted to stay on. I've tried about 10 muds in my days, but I can't really say this is greater than the others, because either I got bored at low levels at the others, or levelling was very easy, and then when av, you couldn't do much, because there were hardly any players there (like less than 30 on regularly). So basically, this is my favorite mud, but I haven't tried others much. What do I like about it? Well, I've tried to enjoy all the mud's different sides, and those are pretty many. If you like QUESTING, then this mud should be quite nice to you. Imm held quests are done quite often, and many areas have small quests hidden in them (that doesn't give much profit, but still are cool). The mud is huge, and with many small hidden features, like puzzles, hidden room and mazes, so EXPLORERS can really enjoy the place. Though most people just care about economical things, I have some friends who rather have a cool flower they found in some area, than an expensive plate. About the ROLEPLAYing... Well, I don't really like how the randomity from the dices can't work in roleplay here, and it's sadly a pretty small community. It's not totally dead though, and some people can make it very fun. The RUNning is the biggest part of the mud, you go with a group of other players and kill a tough mob. Most people concentrate on this, and loads of mobs are made to suit this. Some people do almost only running for years. Player-killing... I'd say that's what need most skill. Sadly, the deadly community are mostly filled with the kind of people who are pretty aggressive. I don't like to pk on deadlies myself, mainly because of trashing and the like. (Plus you never know when they backstab you.) Still, many spend most of their time there, and if you learn to play that way (which I obviously haven't - yet) you have alot of enjoyment. Still I really like to pkill, which I usually do in forested arena with my peaceful warrior. I've died more than I've killed, but that's life when you pk vs players buffer than yourself mostly (or deadlies, who have huge advantages when they pk vs peacefuls there). It is quite costy to learn how to pk, and you die ALOT in the beginning, but it's really fun when you know how to do it, and players are never as predictable as mobs. However, there are other things to do as well. I've really like to MENTOR new players, or to administrate - lead councils in guilds or similar. Since the game is so huge, it's not hard to find someone who can use your training (and most are happy and grateful too). If you really like you... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Petrograd on Jul 11, 2004

Realms sucks. Just read the forums.. the game is a huge waste of time.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Realms of Despair on Jul 3, 2004

Hi, While Realms of Despair is currenly considered a mainly "peaceful", non-pk mud, there's a quite large deadly community, and it is quite awesome (imo!) For those who enjoy smaug pkill, or just pvp in general which is not too overloaded with different "cool" features, Realms of Despair is one of the best - if not _the_ best mud out there. I'm not going to write about many-many cool classes and skills we have, because in pk, there are really only 6 "useful" classes, each of which has like 3-4 main skills (by main I mean skills that are actually worth using in pk) Not much variety, some could think? Perhaps. But I don't really think its the "variety" that matters. It takes a lot of practice to learn to use these "few" skills, + misc commands like healing and whatnot well; and it is actually amazing, just how much you can do with just 3-4 skills to use. Well, those who pk'ed on smaug before obviously know what I'm talking about, and those who haven't probably don't really understand anyway =p But pk on Realms is rather fun, and is currently experiencing massive RISE. For those less interested in pk, realms also has lots of mobs and areas and whatever, though pk is much more fun : Um. Not sure if this is a good "review" or a good ad or anything. But at least I tried: anyway. Check it out :p

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Lord Murak, the Lord of the Deadly on Jun 24, 2004

Realms is by far the best and most well-written MUD i've seen. It's the best for someone just getting out on their own or an experienced MUD player. Go play it! NOW!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Leanna on May 24, 2004

THe original is still the best. I have recently returned to the realms and I was greeted with an exstended storyline and more class development. I am pleased to say that even tho I have played quite a few muds in my day there is none quite like RoD. The codebase is used widly other places but non have the community that this does.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Kaysler on May 20, 2004

Realms can be at first a terrifying experience, especially since the sheer mass of players can be a bit overwhelming. But luckily there are lots of friendly faces to come and help you out, when you ask (and ask politely, ;) ) A recent addition to the game is a class called Fathomers. I've yet to see them on any other mud, but the theme behind is that of a swashbuckling pirate. While there is still tweaking going on with the class, it is excellent for peaceful playerkilling (I know, that sounds like a contradiction in terms, but when you make avatar, you can challenge other avatars to fight to the death in the arena!). I've also personally been able to take hits from very large mobs with my fathomer with relative ease. It is a relatively new class, thus not completely perfected, and not yet widely used for running large mobs. But, I have found it has many of the same skills as a thief, and a few other spells that are good (laesa tronada is a spell that prev2ents your opponent from drinking healing potions!). Anyway, I wanted to share this review of a brand new class at Realms of Despair. They really have different and new things coming out all the time. Definitely worth a try!

– MudConnector.Com Review by Sianne on May 16, 2004

I just found this game a few weeks ago, and I really like it. My character is still low-level, and I myself am still learning about the game... yet despite these things, I enjoy the game very much. The game is very fun in its own right, but the sheer number of players really adds to the experience. The game isn't crowded, because the world is vast... but there are enough people who play that it keeps things interesting. Even while your character is weak, you can still make a difference in this game. Example: my character is only level 12, but I have saved quite a few people's lives in the game (both by healing/buffing and also by directly intervening when they were badly overmatched). The game is not easy for new players... but this is alleviated by the Newbie Council (people who spend most of their time online just helping out newbies) and also by average people who are kind enough to answer questions and help with CRs (Corpse Retrievals). This is by far the best MUD with the friendliest players that I have ever played online.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Light310 on Apr 29, 2004

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Vlad on Mar 1, 2004

I have been playing Realms of Despair since 1999. In all this time, I have found this game interesting, challenging, leaving me wanting more. The Shattering that came about a little over a year ago brought changes to the game that were much needed. New code gave us more room for mob interaction with players, more equipment, more mini quests and puzzles. Classes were revamped, given much needed upgrades. There are many councils involved in making the game fun for all. Innovations are added almost daily, giving the player more challenge. The Immortal staff is always involved and open to ideas and suggestions. I have always found the staff to be very fair in all their dealings with the mortal populace. The game itself literally doubled in size, giving the players more of everything they could possibly wish for as far as getting involved in various activities and groups. There are guilds, orders, clans for those looking for a home to settle in. There are councils for those looking to get involved in the growth of the game. There are Imm run quests almost daily with glory and/or prizes handed out for the winners. We have many new players coming in, exploring, finding and making friends, settling in and calling Realms of Despair home. Come on over and see what we're all about. It's a great place to call home :) Angelea Endymion

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Angelea Endymion on Nov 10, 2003

I have been playing Realms of Despair for two and a half years, and in this time there have been many changes. A major code port ("The Shattering") occurred over a year ago, and while there has been a rough patch of settling in to some extent, I believe the changes are coming into their own. The Realms offer a wide range of areas, and the newer areas are very well developed, with many interesting features. In these areas, there is a lot to discover for a determined explorer. New mob progs allow for more interactive monsters and mini-quests. Many interests are catered to, whether you enjoy pkill, RP, exploring, questing, chatting or mob killing. The player base on Realms is generally friendly, and there is a large percentage of people who are happy to help newbies, and even a dedicated council for this purpose. The immortal staff are generally professional and friendly, and there are a number of avenues where players can make their suggestions known, and even forums (www.game.org/forums) where many interesting discussions take place. The Realms of Despair continues to grow, change and improve.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Donnelle on Oct 11, 2003

After taking a break of over a year I decided to relog on Realms of Despair and I found the entire world totally changed, the 'shattering' had happened and the mud I once knew pretty much every corner of was totally changed. My old characters still existed thanks to a friend who had taken care of them, but I decided I would make a new character and would leave my old ones alone for the moment so I could get a view of how the game changed starting by the character creation. The new pre-auth area is a log bigger than the old one but gives the possibility to skip the entire learning process for more experienced players, I decided to go through it and found it extremely well done also if a bit overloaded with information it gives you all the necessary knowledge you need to start out. After I had my name accepted I found myself at the new academy and received tells, including a tell from a bot that offered leveling spells so I went to see that bot and got my lowbie spelled up and then went back to the academy where the new 'Tsythia' blessed me with the blessing of thoric wich added to the spell ups I already had from the bot and basically I had my level 2 thief with all important stats maxed out even if I wasnt wearing any eq yet. There are several bots around that provide you _all_ kind of spells you could wish and links to homepages with directions, leveling tips, deity information etc. etc. etc. When I compare this to when I started playing this game it is much much easier for new players to start on this mud than it has ever been before, a lot of people are whining but imo they don't really know what they're talking about, plus the new exp system now grants a character w/o alts logged bonus experience which means that the experience player's only advantage over the newbie is knowledge about the game and nothing else and even if the areas I used to level at were changed drastically for the most part with help of these sites I managed to av another character in a very short time. Also the new deity system didn't represent a problem thanks to these sites. I can understand some of the players that lived the entire shattering were a little overwhelmed by all these changes but for someone like me that had quit the mud due to the lack of new challenges after having pretty much done everything you could do I enjoyed these changes and saw a new reason to start mudding once again to discover the now huge and elaborated world out there with all the new puzzles and challenges. Now the point had arrived were I logged my old characters again and my old organization became my family once again like I had never left and spirit... Read More

– MudConnector.Com Review by Anonymous on Aug 20, 2003

Excellent game, very addicting. I enjoy the challenges of this game.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by KC Angus on Mar 5, 2003

I have been playing RoD, for over 5 years now, and I read these reviews, about everyone leaving, and such, and I myself have noticed a small dip in the player base, but not that much at all really, we only lost the ones who have not desire to adapt, and learn something anew. I have seen many help people who ask, pretty much at any time. I have also had a couple run-ins with the Immortal staff, and have never been treated unfairly, nor seen others get "special treatment" as some might suggest. It is a very original mud, and this "Shattering" has changed the face of the mud completely. It has made the game more in-depth, and fun, in my opinion. Starting a character can be difficult, as can choosing a name, but neither are by far that hard. There are plenty of people able to lend a hand, and in my time since this Shattering, I have not seen less than 250 players on. I am sure some are bots, but over all, there are people still coming to the mud, who are new, and we are here to greet them. Since it is such a large game (they said the size of the game doubled, with the port) it can be a daunting game, but it is very good. Oh well. I ramble when I just wake up. I reccomend this to any MUDer, as a good mud.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Zadar on Feb 17, 2003

Realms is an excellent game. It has its ups and downs, and after the shattering where alot of areas and most everything was revamped, it was a little difficult to relearn. But the Shattering has allowed those who know everything in the game a chance to learn and once more explore. All in all its a well constructed, Well ran game.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Dascia on Feb 16, 2003

Have spent many years on this mud. Stopped playing recently due to the numerous changes. Last 6 months since the changes took place, player involvement mud wide has gone way way down. Many Good points about the mud been around for a loong time (8 years), 150+ areas, most unique to the mud, 300 or so people online at any given time. Great classes too. The port has brought up bad points, recent changes have resulted in players from leaving and alienating many others. Hard to start off as a newbie, not newbie friendly. Excessive changes, some good and some bad have left the chars on this mud with relearning the game or giving up. Basic hack'n slash mud now, mana users are not well off (example mages) anymore. If starting on this mud I would suggest using a vampire, warrior, or thief. This mud has in past been ranked #1 for long periods of time, in the past years. Since the shattering (port) it has gone down in the ratings, at this moment #71. Some may say this is not a true indication of a muds popularity. But you can simply log on and see for yourself. Number of users online since shattering has gone down by 100-200. Realms of despair has become a 20k room chatroom. Your truly, Bahamut, the Dragon of Blasted Lands.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Bahamut on Feb 6, 2003

You know, a year ago or so, I'd be here praising this mud as if it were a God... but now, I don't know, things have just changed. After the shattering, I don't even want to play any longer. Not because of changes, but because the game isn't fun anymore. Leveling a character is IMPOSSIBLE so I would advice new players to just find another place to play. If you don't have lots of cash, tons of characters, and the top equipment, not to mention a good buddy as an Immortal, you're pretty much screwed. All in all, this game SUCKS now so don't even think about logging on, noone will help you anyway.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Someone on Jan 20, 2003

I don't really want to repsond anything to all that junk like what I saw on previous reviews on Realms of Despair. What can I say. Bad things can happen to anyone. A lot of them happened to me; I was banned from guild, not accepted into many other orgs, and, as -I think-, it wasn't really fair, but... I don't think this MUD is a bad place. Lots of really fine people are there too, organisations are made quite cool, and many other aspects; There is a lot of space for self-improvement too. Don't think I can or want to write a lot, but.. This is home for me. And for several hundreds of other people. Come join us :P

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Shaolong on Jan 3, 2003

I, as well as the few who have posted here concerning Realms of Despair, have a few things to say. More so, they may seem negative to RoD lovers but believe me, they are quite a positive attribute to how others view the MUD. I started playing about seven years ago, coming over via advice from friends, to see what a MUD really was and how much fun it could be. And I was astounded....a text game where people from all over the world could come and do so much. But alas, as the years go by, so do the positive comments being expressed. When I came back from a lengthy vacation, due to real life committments, I felt back at home again. I'll give it to ya, things were way different because partly before I left, I hadn't reached avatar status or been able to take in certain things. And I was once again hooked to RoD, being on some 12 to 14 hours a day. I joined a guild and thought "Wow, maybe I can finally get some experience and be big and buff!" and it was fine for a while. I quickly made friends, went on runs, etc...and then the politics came into play. People were treating others in harsh ways, discussions became personal, and the whole basis of functions were to gain status and exceptional equipment. So after a few changes in status myself, I started to realize that things weren't as grand as they used to be. I finally started seeing the things that made people leave from RoD before and alas, it drove me into retirement. And now with the code changes, I'd like to know what the coders were thinking. To take four years worth of code and smash it all into a one-day change, well, was harsh. People were forced to hoard equipment and the market went dry (before the new code was instituted). Class changes, geographic coding, and other various small items made Realms of Despair into something that it dreads the most....to not be the number one MUD in all the world. I sorely think that some changes could have been phased in differently, other than throwing it all in at once and suprising people completely. It's forced those who poured 5, 6, 7+ years into the game to quit and thus, brought out the worst. And it's not just the gameplay that's made it an unlikely place to be. It's the way that the immortals handle things. It's the people who clique together and completely make others feel miserable. It's those who take the game way too seriously and create that soap opera drama that people either dive into and thrive in, or get upset about and make things worse. Immortals who bend rules for their friends make it bad too. In order to ensure fair gameplay (which I ensure you, is in their laws somewheres), immortals have to follow all the rules and be a model... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Kariyana on Jan 2, 2003

Realms of Despair consumed about all my mud experience. But I have little good to say about it. On this mud you are allowed to multiplay with all the whistles and bells. You can have more than one char logged in, exchange equipment, use higher level chars to level lower level ones... alas! The perfect environment from a mindless host of characters to take out the few levelling areas of the game from the solo players who are just now starting this game. Seniority is a status. Bots are not allowed according to rules and laws. But bots there are. Bots that cast a host of spells on you so that your 1st level character can reach avatar level in 48 hours... if you add that to the fact you probably already have one, two, three or 20 avatars... and the game is all about numbers. No RPG, no feeling of acomplishment. Do a quick list of players online and check their levels. >80% are avatars. The 20% who are not are mostly owned by avatars. You are allowed to share characters on this mud. As such, some players charge you (mud money) so that they level up your character(s) while you eat popcorns. Once you reach avatar. The (un)fun is not over. This mud was made for avatar level in that supposedly the fun was about to really start. Not that bad. But... This mud has politics. Some immortals bend the rules and give favors to those players they befriended with. Some players themselves go to the point of publicly bragging these "rights". The helpful newbie attitude you surely experienced during your first attempts at this mud (truth be told. they are friendly towards newbies) dissapears once you reach avatar. If you are not one of the elected, you are down to a middle-class type of status where you converse with the other "losers" and get ignored by the upper-class stuckups. And this is mostly seen when party runs are about to take place. Where we see always the same doing the same runs and having 20, 30, 40 sets of the same ubber expensive equipment on their stash while all others suck their thumbs. Oh! And by the way. They say we could go there ourselves if we wish. Why don't we? Well... for a start we aren't equipped to deal with those mobs. We have no backup sets in case we die in places where we can't do a CR. We never went there. We don't even know directions or how to pass over stupid riddles like a stone wall with no writtings, nothing indicating that this is even a riddle but where the only command word to pass over is "I come to this be" (not a real case. An example). We were never invited to go with you or even answered when we asked. Alas! Fun for some. A real pain for others. It all depends on how many boots you feel you... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Krugar on Jan 2, 2003

I am writing this anonymous due to the fact that many of the immortals in Realms have grown very abusive over time. I know that there are some people in that world that are very happy, I used to be one. If you are in the "in" click with the immortals you recieve favors, after a while this becomes something that you realize is wrong. The rift between the ones that have everything and those that don't was just doubled. The new codebase for Realms of Despair is in. Many are now leaving. Many miss the magic. I am one of this many. I invested just short of 5 years in Realms and my main was a mage. I am now suffering from the lack of strength, the cost of potions doubling, the cost of casting spells more than doubled, and the removal of over 20 mage spells. If that were all simply changing main classes would be easy. But I am a mage, I have always been a mage, and sought out this world to be express this in the game form that I crave. Being a mage means that you start weak, then become to be one of the most feared classes due to magic in the end. Now we can't even carry the potions needed for runs, can't wear the main weapon we have been wearing for years, and can't trance effectively due to their code changes. This gets better. They took away all our deities leaving us without favor then expect us to track down deities across the world without favor to get one and devote. People who try often die and loose everything in the process. Those that try to get an immortal to CR them loose equipment as payment to them AND if they are a mage loose more since we can carry 150 less than we do now. The loss of deities was done to us twice since the new codebase was put into play. Traveling in this new version of RoD is now much harder with the limits on Astral/Portal. I used to try to get people to come to RoD, thought it was a decent place. Everything there is now pushed hard toward Role play. This would be great if there were a bunch of role play groups that were totally into it. This was a run mud with a small role play group. The world belongs to the immortals, they do with it what they want. Realms of Despair is now a warrior world for those that have the resources to back them up. If you are able to buy into it at the top level you don't stand a chance, but if you are a newbie, look elsewhere for a mud. I can't recommend this mud anymore. They destroyed what you worked so hard to build Thoric.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Where was Thoric when we needed him? on Aug 25, 2002

Realms of Despair has been my favorite MUD for almost 6 years now, but recently it just went through the roof. A lot of new code has been ported, and the world has been remade almost completly. Everything has just improved 100% with the new "port" as it is called, a thing that has been in the works for 4 years or more. Hence, if you previously left RoD because of a lack of updates, now you know why, and I urge you to check it out again, cause it is a brand new place, expanding way beyond what it once was. For new players, hearing previous complains about it being unfriendly to them, well perhaps that has been true, but now days everyone is a newbie with all the changes, hence now would be perfect time to get into the most addicitive realm in the world of muds. I shall be there to greet you at your arrival.

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

Lacking in humour, long winded training system. I've no idea how this mud cam to be rated so highly.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Kingsley Matthews on Aug 9, 2002

I had never played a MUD before this, and it was awesome. I just tried it. It was hard at first, but there were plenty helpful people who gave me advice, and others who showed me what to do. One person even showed me around in the trial area to help me out. It only took me about a half hour to get everyhting straight, then I was cruising along having fun and chatting. Whether or not you have played a MUD before, I would suggest this, because it is really cool and really awesome! ~Emylete

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Emylete on Jul 31, 2002

All i know is that this mudd is ignorant and snotty because of it's increasing popularity. My guess is that this will get worse. Try choosing a name on this mudd. You'll have guaranteed difficulty for 15 minutes of disapproval or more even if your name meets each and every condition listed. I would advise against creating a character on this mudd. It is a painful process and definitely not fun. But if you have an immort friend on the mudd, g'ahead!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Anonymous on Jul 8, 2002

If you wish to be lost in a huge crowd of people and have no one pay any attention to you, then Merentha or Realms is the place for you. With a combined player list reaching near 1000 players, no one on either MUD said even so much as a hello when i logged on. I guess being on the top makes you forget what humility is... enjoy it while it lasts. Someday you will be among those stuggling to keep every newbie that logs on.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Ithildin on Jun 8, 2002

There is no finer mud on the net than this. I have tried dozens upon dozens of other muds including nearly all in the top 40 here. This mud is FREE ALWAYS, has 200 people on at any given time. Has a very helpful and friendly Newbie channel along with several other channels including chat, ask/answer, traffic (for selling and buy eq) and auction. There are class specific guilds and non-class specific orders. There are also a couple dozen very dedicated Imms who are constantly adding to and modifying the world. And one thing I have dislike about so many other muds is the coloration. RoD's default colors are very warm and easy on the eyes BUT the Imms have no added the ability to change your color scheme to one of several different styles. All in all if you want a large community, with many many friendly and helpful players, in an ever expanding world, that is already so large it would take you forever to explore it all then this is the place for you. There is no finer MUD.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Strydorne on May 14, 2002

Well, I have to admit, I haven't played the realms for long, but I think I've seen enough to give a decent, albeit preliminary review for people looking for a mud. Realms of Despair features a large, regular playerbase. The world it is set into is rather well written, with mediocre to good descs and a nice, well-rounded introduction for newbies. Levelling is slower than what I am used to, but that might be because of my inexperience. What kind of surprised me with such a large mud was the lack of new concepts. Mind you, all is well done, but there's nothing much that sets it apart (technically) from stock muds. Personally, though, I think having lots of people around to play with makes up for that by far. All in all: A robust MUD, if you want lots of people, certainly the place to visit - if you like something really innovative, go somewhere else.

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

I hate to write a bad review for any MUD, but I was very dissapointed by this one. For starters, the newbie "program" was enough to make a Yale professor balk. I've been from MUD to MUD, and THIS was by far the MOST incomprehensive and overwhelming start I've ever experienced. Anything I did produced nearly a page worth of new information and commands to read. Several used slang I was not familiar with, and there was no help file to explain them. And forget what I DIDN'T do, I didn't even have to submit a command to be spammed by several "helpful" lines that appeared at frequent intervals, usually while I was attempting to comb a novel's worth of "help" files. This was just the beginning. I disliked the graphics, the Ansi was extremely overused (I think I've gone blind from all the colors...the colors, man, the colors), and I couldn't get a word out of anyone who happened to pass me. To sum it all up, I wouldn't recommend this MUD to anyone, experienced or otherwise, unless you happen to have a personal tutor...maybe two, one for anger management. Happy Mudding, folks. -Fal

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

Well,first I want to release my feelings,then the logical part will come :) THIS MUD JUST RULEZ !!!!!!!! The people on RoD are the best of the best,there are lots of them and they are cool,not their chars but the people.Chars are cool too,actually but what I like,that I dont just find friends for that mud,i find friends for all my life. Areas are just wonderful,lots of them,stock and nonstock both,and they are fun,lots of hem are just like reading a book. Color set there is best I saw on any mud. Its just a wonderful mud,you'll wont find better one ever ! Now a logical part : It is a good mud,everything is good there. :)

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Shao Long on Apr 16, 2002

Realms of Despair has proven to be a wonderful experience for me. I had never played a MUD or even anything close to similar before December 2002. Now I have been on for nearly 5 months, become well known in the Guild of Warriors, been Mudmarried to my real life girlfriend, and managed to get a fully equipped avatar Warrior and Cleric, along with several lowbie alts. I was extremely surprised how much fun I have ended up having, suddenly finding myself playing on a text-based MUD and having the time of my life. My being an 'Oldschool' Star Wars multiplayer gamer (X-wing Alliance, Rebellion on Zone.com) has become an item of the past, nice to look back on but no longer a significant part of my life. Thank you to RoD, this place is the best! :) -Rowan Terrani

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Rowan Terrani on Apr 15, 2002

I would not recommend this Mud to anyone, for any reason! I started playing there 6 years ago when there was significantly less players on at one time. In the 2 years I stayed there, it steadily went downhill. The Immortals don't give one whit about you, ignoring your questions/comments/cries for help while badmouthing the mortals on the immchans and the players are very cliquish. They don't care about anyone but their eq and themselves and those within their little circle. If you aren't in their "elite" group of little friends, don't bother talking to them because they have no time for you. And if you're a newbie, be prepared to be ignored or flamed for asking a "newbie question" and/or for wearing newbie eq (especially if you're a newbietar). Yes, 95% of the players (and Immortals) tend to forget they were newbies once, too. I left that god forsaken Mud 4 years ago and haven't looked back.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Debbie on Mar 22, 2002

Well...I have been on RoD 2 times, first time was like a year ago, i was completley lost, did'nt know where to go, then i played as Belial. I started to walk around and met 1 guy to talk to. I asked him questions and he helped me. Next time I loged he wasn't on...so I thought, well, I'll just try to ask for things on chat. So I did, no answers at all, they were to busy talking about eq and parties, and I went off, didn't come back. Well, i was bored one day, thought well I'll check in there again, maybe they have less to do now then a year ago, but no...still no help, thoe alot of my friends are at RoD, so I guess if ya aren't a newbie this place is great, but for a begginer I don't recomand it.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Tabitha on Mar 17, 2002

I love this MUD. I've been playing it now for 2,5 years, and I still enjoy it. It has many special things, the PK thing here makes it extra good. You aren't allowed to PK normally (unless you make a PK char) but even non-PK chars can Pkill in the arena if they want to. Huge game, you never learn all the rooms. Guilds and such you always can get into if you work hard, but it takes alot of time. You wount become an avatar before at least 100 hours of playing, and after that you still need many more chars to be able to use all of its things. You can always improve.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Stefan Lejman on Mar 2, 2002

I use the smaug codebase, so I decided to go see what the original was like. The gameplay is fine, the colors are very L.O.R.D.-ish (which I didn't mind), the monsters are killable, and it's overall a very playable MUD, although nothing exceptional or original. The questions I asked got responses from players, and I even got a guide when I was lost. Overall, a good MUD, certainly good enough to spend time playing. The only negative comment I have is with the punishment level the immortals hand out. I was helled for 10 days on my first offense - an illegal player kill. No warnings (it *was* posted in the rules, I'm not making exceptions), no explanations as to what hell was (remember, I was assumed to be some sort of newb), and I was sent to hell for 10 days. I'm sorry, but I find that just a bit harsh. Obviously, I'm not going to go back. Perhaps they wanted to keep the player that I killed (he sounded kind of scared and incompetent), but they sure as heck lost me, a MUDder for over 4 years.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by GenmaC on Feb 19, 2002

I'd be lying if I were to suggest the slightest hint of positive experience in the time I spent logged into Realms of Despair. I went through their creation process, as limited as it is, and got into the thick of things. You'd think with the couple of hundred players logged on, someone'd be willing to answer a question or in some way communicate with a new player. Attempts both in character and out of character to initiate communications were ignored. And as for the game itself, for as much as I was able to see in the hour or so I spent bumping around on the 'number 1' mud on this site.... I cannot pose so much as a single reason they sit in the number 1 spot. This mud is truley among the more mindless game I've ever logged into. And this is coming from someone who used to work, writing reviews for various muds for another site. Big-time thumbs down.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Disgruntled Mudder on Feb 15, 2002

Realms is the best MUD I've played in a long time. As a regular of some twenty different MUD's, MUSH's and MUX's, I vote Realms of Despair the best MUD for medieval role-play fantasy. I thank all the dedicated Imm's who keep this rich and fantastical world alive. When the site description states that the creators are there for the players they arent just blowin smoke; Imm's and higher ranked players have helped me through some tough spots in my role-playing career in the realms...I owe a debt of gratitude to alot of folks. This is one way of repaying their kindnesses...I vote for Realms of Despair!!!!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Donegal, Mage of Darkhaven on Dec 16, 2001

You will never find any muds as good as RoD, this game IS addictive, I got hooked to it after about 2 hours of playing, I have been playing for a year now. But what makes it so addictive? Well you have the areas, all the stuff you can do in the game but what REALLY makes you want to stay? The Players, the players are very friendly, they help peoples even if its "easy" stuff. This mud even has a council named Newbie Council(NC) for peoples who are dedicated at helping newbies. This mud is the best!!! try it out!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Taranda on Nov 14, 2001

Reams of despair, A very impressive game, espicaly if you are looking for detailed game-playing. Though one major concept about this game, I didnt like. Reviewing over hundrens of muds. You hardly find a mud game ranked this high with to my point is a major flaw. As you start in this game, might I add "Very impressive helping skills for newbies". You start off by deciding on a major factor of the game. Choose to become a follower of the light of darkness. Now by chooseing darkness, you can only PK players that are evil and 5 lvls difference. Now doesnt that cut out over half of the entire players whom are playing? Now, if you like to PK which I know all players do being high enough in lvls. And, accomplishing all goals in the game like quest you like to challenge other players being the only thing left in the game. Well what is the fun in the game if you cant do that. You should not have to decide in that field. It should be equal for all players, now the lvl PKing I can understand. But, that whole evil and light is totaly a major flaw in this mud game. After, seeing this I didnt even want to continue playing this game.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Mud Reviewer on Oct 1, 2001

i have played the mud for about a month and have a few thoughts: pros: - the mud has a very friendly player base. - the imms are fairly close the the morts, unlike in some muds where you can't even see them. - interesting areas with puzzles. - good difficulty level - huge world - well hidden equips. - leveling takes brain and skills - it is great in all the other aspects except for the ones in the cons section. cons: - multiplaying, it is retarded. it disencourages grouping and interaction. i think they allow it so it seems like they have more players on. - exp penalties. they are too big. you lose almost a level's worth of exp for dieing. there is nothing more frustrating than losing exp. - the death traps are so . they are rooms that kill you instantly and destroy your corpse. - the spellbots are free. this is can be good when you are low level, but it devalues the mage and cleric's spells. if you can get the spell from a bot for free, why would you learn it yourself? - relative small amount of skills/spells. 50% of them are useless. overall though, this is a very FUN mod, i give it a 9 out of 10. if the admins would just correct a few things, this would be a ten.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by aist on Jun 30, 2001

Realms of Despair, in my opinion is the best mud out there! There are a few reasons for this 1) There is always someone willing to help out whether it be just normal player or an immortal. 2)Its very rarely laggy and its very easy to connect. 3)The people are very friendly and always willing to have a chat. 4)It very newbie-friendly, with great help files which explain things clearly. So, if you are bored or looking for a new mud.. realms is number 1!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Maelgwn on Jun 7, 2001

I want to write a review for what I believe is a very good MUD as well as challenge someone's review that has gone uncontested for nearly 7 months (One written by Sumwon Neirbi dated 11/29/00) Sumwon says that the purpose behind RoD is to simply "level a character", and then goes on to say that by doing so, you completely miss out on the point of a multi-user dungeon which is to interact with it's players. Let's put a word out on the review now that I'm going to refer back to time and time again: CHOICE You have the CHOICE to level a character from 1 to 50 (the MUD's maximum level. Level 51 and above are reserved for the administration staff). You have the CHOICE of not leveling, and simply chatting on a channel, or roleplaying with others. While the Realms' roleplaying community isn't hard coded (there are no OOC channels, and words like 'you' aren't recognized by code to be changed to 'thee', 'thou', or stay 'you' depending on the context), the Roleplaying community is certainly active. Depending on your race, you have a special channel which only YOUR race can hear, and there are numerous sites by dedicated Realms players which contain the most recent logs of the roleplaying storylines. We also have National Olympics, where races compete against each other. But back to the point, the CHOICE is yours to interact. If you ask if someone would like to group with you to level, there will almost always be a guaranteed reply from someone. Mind you, it's also someone else's CHOICE to group with YOU. As for what certain level one must be and how many hours must be logged in order to become a member of the Adminstration Staff, they are set there for a reason. I don't know about other MUDs, as I have but rarely played outside RoD, but being a fresh newbie who isn't at the maximum level and then being offered a spot on the immortal community doesn't seem very right to me. As for the 500 hours, if they're spent just sitting AFK or idle for the entire time, you will not be noticed for the immortal community just for that. ANYONE could be an immortal that way, 500 hours is hardly much time, but in that time frame, you have to be recognized and show that you have a commitment to the MUD that you've played. This also doesn't mean just showing up, greeting the people on all channels and then gaining new equipment or leveling a new character. Interaction can also occur (and is encouraged) by being a part of a Guild, Council, Order (or Clan if you're a pkiller). In one of these organizations, one learns and experiences what the rest of the MUD is about. Guilds, Councils, Orders and Clans are NOT limited to just avatars (level 50) so anyone who CHOOSES (a conjugation of the word 'CHOICE'), has the motivation right... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Shingo on May 7, 2001

What to say about the Realms of Despair that has not been said already? Well, I shall leave you with my own humble thoughts (I have not played for too terribly long a time) and let someone else worry about originality. Technical: - A very stable code (SMAUG) and a very energetic computer with very reliable connections (that's a lot of 'very's, isn't it?) provide reliable access and a consistent environment that just refuses to have very (one more 'very') many problems! =) - Vast array of commands, 'rooms', 'mob's', and the like provide for thorough interaction with the game environment. Pros: - Fun, interactive, and well-developed learning environment (the Academy). - Great variety of classes and races, player customisable descriptions and biographies, a decent variety of skills, and a vast (if at times odd) selection of items to aquire and use provide for great character variety. - Very large world with a great number of things to see and do of copious varieties. One of my favorites is finding all the numerous places I can go shopping; if only I had that much money IRL! - Helpful and friendly people (not only the Immortals, but just everyday players as well) often give answers, aid, or alcohol (in the game) and whatever else a character in need could ask for. - Help files are more than just a reference, but an interactive guide book that your character may carry along as their very own possession. - An awesome and ingenious mud-mail system where characters actually purchase quills and parchment, write a letter, and post them with the interactive mailing services found within the game . . . hey, this is pretty darn nifty as well. Cons: - Hack-and-Slash gaming is more prevalent than in-depth roleplay. However, role-playing is available through clans, guilds, and the like. My best suggestion for if you want to role-play without joining a clan or the like is to bring a friend online with you. Or perhaps you might ask one of the immortals to guide you towards more role-play oriented events occuring within the game. - Again on the role-play 'issue', many players (sigh . . . myself included) spend a lot of time just levelling their characters instead of 'role-playing' within the environment and having levelling be a natural outcome of actions carried out by a well-developed character doing what that type of character would really do given their circumstances . . . (big, quasi-philosophical issue of gaming that I won't go more into here). - As for the levelling, there are times when it seems character growth is a bit stunted. Without more in-depth role-play present, it seems not much is available to do for the lower-level character but level, level, and level again. This sometimes takes on the aspect of a chore, rather than a game. In conclusion: Realms of Despair is a wonderful little place (if anything with 'Despair' in the title could also be said to be =D... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by kokusu (Sabrael the Cleric) on Apr 12, 2001

This is definitly the best mud i have been on/in. It starts off with a brilliant newbie area where you learn the basics as you walk along the path. Apart from that the interface is easy to use. When you need to perform tasks the interface does not need long commands to be able to make your char to something... I guess to me it is the most important feature of a mud. Further, the folks a really great and helpful all over even the newbies catch on to the spirit very quickly.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Surga on Mar 21, 2001

I like realms of despair a lot. I've played several muds, and of all of them I have found the Realms of Despair to be the most enjoyable. New areas and classes come in frequently, and the immortals frequently hold quests with special unique prizes. There are a lot of dedicated immortals and players who come out every month with the 'cry of despair', which is an online newspaper. When the immortals play sadistic games and brutalize the players, it reminds me of my home in 1941 Germany. Oh, how I long for those halcyon days. Furthermore, the player base of 500 online at the same time is very much like a gulag back in the vaterland. Role playing is encouraged, and there are special race-talk channels which facilitate wars between the races. The pkill is really fun, sometimes, except I noticed that the deadlies are often a lot crueler than the other people. Realms of Despair is highly addictive, and I recommend it without hesitation.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by gundolf on Mar 8, 2001

I've played RoD for a bit more then a year, and sad to say, I'm very disappointed with this MUD... Let's start with the good things first tho, the SMAUG engine. I love the SMAUG engine, because of the stability it has on RoD. It's easy to work with when you want to build and it's very customizable, so nothing but praise for the coders that made SMAUG a reality. However, a good and solid engine doesnt make a MUD. It also requires players and gameplay. And that's where RoD lacks... The gameplay is poor at level 2 thru 49. Because the real fun doesnt start untill you reach level 50 (Avatar level) you'll have to level yourself first. However, recent changes have made leveling very hard and nearly impossible for new players. And there is almost nothing else to do besides leveling, except for perhaps joining a guild. (Most orders dont allow players that arent an Avatar yet, to be inducted) Another thing which has severely messed up gameplay is the pkilling section of the game. The gameplay used to be so bad, that there are a few pkillers (deadlies) left now, and in a desperate attempt to reliven pkilling, the situation was actually made worse. Another big disadvantage of RoD is the fact that some members of the staff of RoD (the immortals) abuses their powers. Mind you, I said some members. There are of course allot of good immortals who try their best to make the game run smooth and make sure everyone abides the rules (and solve the problems if needed in a friendly way). However, there are quite allot of imms who 'control' the game. I myself have once been silenced for 24 hours after telling a single blonde joke on a public channel. I've also been threatened, harassed, spam-slayed and I even got my connection denied for a day once. I'm not saying I'm the perfect player, and I deserved some punishments. But most are just harassment from the immortal staff. The normal players, too, arent really improving the game. The people that claim that RoD is great because there are reguraly 400+ players online, forget to mention that about 150-200 are alts and 50-75 are bots, leaving about 200 real players. Also this 'Newbie Council' story is a mythe. Sure, there are allot of people in the NC who truly want to help newbies, but there are also allot of people who merely use the NC as a way to gain favor with the immortals, possibly as a small step towards immortality itself. The players themself (alts and bots excluded) arent that great either. Sure, there are allot of nice peeps around, but allot of people tend to try and gain favor with the imms (read: suck up) in the hope of acheiving immortality/certain favors... Considering all this, I highly recommend anyone NOT to play Realms of Despair for now. Things can be improved dramatically tho, by demoting several people, making... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Jeroen Vogelpoel on Feb 26, 2001

Well, I am one of the few chilean mud players, and I've been playing Realms for almost two years, I can say that Realms is the best All-around Mud i have ever played. Not the best at roleplay, not the best at Pkill, but certainly the best balancing everything. It's also the development ground for the SMAUG code, so updates are very often. It's very newbie-friendly, as there is a Newbie Council that helps newbies as much as they can (they helped me tons of times when i was levelling this and some of my other chars) It allows multiplaying, and Imms have done a lot of work to stop the powerful players to Powerlevel. Yes it's true, they have done some mistakes doing so, like erasing or upping some excelent levelling areas, but that made this mud a challenge to level. Lag is minimal. I connect to this mud from a very far country (Chile, South America) and the experience is very enjoyable. The player community is very friendly, obviously there are helpful players and not-so-helpful players, but most of them are always there to group with you, go run something, etc... There are Guilds for every class and some Orders where any class can join (If you meet the requeriments, like for Rol Na Feinne you must roleplay, Baali you must be evil, Arcanes you must be a magic using class, etc.) Every race has its own hometown, some are missing, but it's nice anyway. Roleplay is highly encouraged through the nations. Pkill is restricted, so when you start a new character you choose to be a Pkiller or a Peaceful (anyway peacefuls can duel anothers paying a fee of 1mil gold each) Quests are quite frequent, and Orders and guilds have Inter Order quests and Inter Guild quests. I must say that the only flaws I have seen from this MUD so far is that glory is just too hard to be achieved, but thinking a bit about it that's good, because you just can't achieve glory that easy huh? AND that some of the top equipment from Realms is so hard to get that the mobs are just run by the top players with armies of chars and weapons (so they have the weapons and equipment they're running for, completely killing the "Run for what you need" spirit of mudding) so you must work very very hard to be able to join the Elite runners and get the top EQ. But that gives you more time to spend in this mud, doesn't it ;) Anyway, I encourage anyone who reads this to give RoD a try. If you want all-roleplay muds, there are some better. If you want all-Pkill-frenzy muds, there are some better. BUT if you want a good balance of those above, friendly immortals and players, challenging levelling, good classes (There are 2 classes that are considered the "super classes", but they can't be so powerful without some potions brewed by and... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Goemon on Feb 3, 2001

It might very well be that you have had alot of experience with muds but: I have read what you have written and I can make these comments on that: 1, speedwalking works perfectly fine, moreover RoD is in general the only mud I can connect to that is in north america and still have an ok ping (300-400ms). I have mudded on it for years on a 33.6k dialup modem from a location in the middle of the north atlantic and on nearly all days it is as lag free as I can expect living in such a remote location. Yes there are days routers are bad but they are few and far between. Sometimes the sprintlink routers go down due to hackers and etc. and then things lag for longer periods of time but the rest of the North American networks lags aswell then. Other days things can grind to a halt when some other major routing system is having problems, these problems are then with all muds and pages along those traceroute lines and not just one single mud like Realms of Despair. or 2, you had lag from walking. Realms is coded in the way that you walk slower unspelled then when you are affected by the spells float or fly. Now you might say "how on earth can a level 2 get fly?" and to that I can only say explore the same acadamy you said you spend time in. And after checking its mobiles descriptions, you will find with relative ease that the Avatar of Thoric has a program that casts fly upon you. Moreover in the special newbie land (the area which you are in at level 1) there is an item called "token of a gods affection" which is an earring with affect float. Now I do not know which of these two where to blame for you having a bad experience lagwise but please try realms again on a normal day and you will find it not lagging anymore then the rest of the internet and mostly a whole lot less. Secondly corpses decay after 60 minutes and not 30 minutes. If you had a bad day finding CR help it might have been because you where on that day with all the unusual lag and ppl sitting frozen and cursing at their game being laggy. Normally, and yes I speak in generalities, there is alot of help to find on "CRs" so much so that some of the older players want the rules restricted a bit so that people will more often lose items from dying agains mobiles. Currently it happens once in a blue moon acording to many. As for the people who have replied in RoDs defence before me. You must excuse them but they mostly found your "postulates" to be odd and unreasonable and hence they "assumed" that you where just writing a bad review to dizz RoD. And offcourse the reason can be bad... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Mecil on Feb 2, 2001

I hesitate to respond again, but I feel that I must do so. It was charged that I made assumptions about the mud, or that I only went to level 2 and then quit. However, it has been assumptions about my remarks which are in error. I commented about my experience, to which people replied that it must have been because of something I have done. Could I not have merely had a bad experience? Or is it such that anyone who does not enjoy RoD as much as you must not have been really trying? Or that they did not give it a fair shot? I did advance beyond level 2. I just made a commment about what happened while I was at level 2. You assumed that was as far as I had leveled. Again, I offered that I am sure that RoD is a very competent MUD, as evidenced by the number of people that play it. But, as this is a section for reviews, I feel I am well within my rights to explain how I feel about my experience of RoD. You may apologize and make excuses for RoD if you wish, but I will appreciate it if you refrain from assuming any more about my actions. I have been mudding for 5 years and building for 3 and am quite competent when it comes to understanding how a MUD works.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by c mason on Jan 28, 2001

I've been playing Realms of Despair for about 2 years now, and I can honestly say it has been time well spent. For those of you aiming criticism at this mud, I find it amusing that most if it comes from a level 2's point of view. People must understand the Newbie council are volunteers, giving up their time and experience to make the mud the great place it is. With 300+ people, obviously some questions can't be answered, but from my interpretation people only seem to be asking once and giving up. Typing news at any level gives a huge list of updates and fixes made, which more than proves our immortals are experienced, busy and hardly 'power abusing'. The minimum guidelines for immortal consideration have been well thought out, with a background in leadership a must, and quests being regularly conducted for everyones enjoyment. For anyone that hasn't tried Realms of Despair yet I would highly recommend it, I can certainly say it's given me a lot of new friends and it's a fantastic atmosphere to play in until the wee hours of the morning =)

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Sarakin on Jan 26, 2001

I am not at all suprised at the people who rushed to defend RoD. I never said it was a bad MUD, just that there were a few problems that I had issues with. A reveiwer insinuated that I might be of a competing MUD, and that we had been spamming the reviews/votes. I can assure you that I am not. There may be a newbie council, however I noted that my questions went unanswered. Moreover, when I died as a level 2 character, I attempted for 10 minutes (in a very polite manner) to get someone to help me. I could not do so. Maybe people were busy, maybe there were other reasons. I am merely noting my experience so that others can take what they like from it. Or not. Lag. The lag I endured was not from a lagroom or because I was in a swamp with tons of equipment. If you paid attention you would have noticed that I died as a level 2 and was unable to retrieve my corpse. That meant that I had no eq. Moreover, most of my time was spent in Darkhaven Academy; so I think I am quite right when I assert that my experience was not due to any OLC concerns. Rod is a very popular MUD. Any MUD that can retain that many players is obviously doing something right. But, to suggest that RoD is above reproach and that anyone who criticizes it didn't give it a fair shot smacks of elitism. Please allow me my humble disagreement. I certainly do feel that there are better MUDs out there.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by previous reviewer on Jan 26, 2001

This is a damned fine MUD, regularly updated, and a cut above almost anything else on the 'net. I personally prefer TEC, due to it's unique feel and my personal dislike for SMAUG. I do believe, however, that RoD provides a great experience, and that everyone should check it out.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Harlin on Jan 24, 2001

I'm a long time player of RoD, and would like to address some issues posted by someone who obviously didn't give RoD a fair shot... First of all, he claims RoD doesn't do much for lower levels -- Well... RoD has a whole council dedicated to low level players -- The Newbie Council. They are always ready and willing to help new players. Lag: RoD has the least amount of lag I have experienced. The "lag" this person is talking about, is the movement lag which is based upon how much you are carrying, and the type of terrain you are moving over. Any MUD that allows you to carry tons of junk over vast expanses of swamps and mountains in a couple seconds is obviously of poor design. Corpses: A half hour should be plenty of time to find your corpse. If you are of low level, the newbie council as well as many of the players will be happy to help you find your corpse. This person also mentioned "spammed reviews". From what I can tell from looking over the reviews, there is one MUD with spammed reviews, and it's certainly not Realms of Despair. -Dhalgorath

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Dhalgorath on Jan 24, 2001

I have been mudding for years. I have also been building on a mud for a few years. While our server was down for a week for maintenance I figured that I would finally give ROD a shot and see what all the hoopla was about. Honestly, I was not that impressed. ROD has a ton of rooms and an amazing amount of players. However, ROD does not do much for lower levels. I did not find the Imms very helpful at all. In fact, I don't believe any question I ever submitted was answered by one. Other problems I found: -Severe lag. ROD is one of the slowest MUDs I have ever seen. Should you have zmud and like to use speedwalk, forget it. Realms has a continuous, permanent lag which becomes increasingly frustrating. -Corpses. Corpses disappear after 30 minutes in RL. Should you be so unfortunate as to die at lvls 2 or 3, before you've learned where you are going, you are most likely to be unable to retrieve your corpse. And to all those who spammed the reviews with how helpful everyone is, I would ask you why newbies get assaulted with unbelievable hardships when they should be enjoying their first taste of the mud. There are many out there who truly love Realms. And it is certainly a very competent mud. If your goal is to see a ton of people when you do a 'who', then Realms is for you. If you goal is to play an enjoyable mud with more features and kinder to those in their first mudding experience, I think you can do better than Realms.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by c mason on Jan 23, 2001

As a player of the game for over 2 years, and now a member of the immortal community - I have truly enjoyed every moment of it. Realms of Despair has something for every one. Guilds, Orders, quests, leveling, playerkilling, roleplay, mobkilling and lots of adventure. Not to mention that there are over 20,000 player files, and it is not unusual to see over 400 people online at one time. Whatever niche you chose to carve for yourself can be filled by the many different aspects and people within the Realms of Despair.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Elisabet on Jan 22, 2001

A lot of people ask why Realms of Despair is so popular. I don't rightly know exactly why, but I do know that this MUD has been around a long time (almost seven years now), and has managed to keep adding new areas, features, spells, skills and the like contantly over the years. It boggles the mind how a bunch of nice people can put so much time aside from their busy lives for so many years to provide such a wonderful source of enjoyment for all of us. It could only be the love of the game that would keep these people dedicated for so many years without accepting a cent for all their work. Realms of Despair is a delightful community (despite the name), and though I've spent a fair amount of time checking out other MUDs, nowhere else feels quite as much like home as RoD. It's the MUD that I call home, and that is the perfect name for it. It's like going home to your family. It just feels right. Speaking of family, RoD is the parent to a whole family of other MUDs, as Realms of Despair is where the popular SMAUG code base comes from. So if you're out there playing another SMAUG based MUD, you're experiencing a little piece of RoD already, and coming over to RoD will be like visiting the grandparents in an odd sort of way... and you know how they like to spoil you ;) The immortals are hard working, friendly, extremely helpful, and some of the nicest people I've ever met in my life -- and I have met some of them, since Realms of Despair has this huge Anniversary Reunion every summer. Oh yes... the REUNION! I almost forgot! Not only do the immortals put in an unbelievable amount of online time into the game, but every year they all get together and organize the best time packed into a long weekend you ever heard tell of! Last summer there were at least 100 people there from all over the world. Seeing all those people together who I've only known online is the most amazing thing in the world. Anyways... enough of my rambling... I have a run to do. Take care, and happy mudding! -Eldor

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Eldor on Jan 18, 2001

I have played this mud for over 2 years. Back then it had a good average of 500 players online a day too. I love this mud and would suggest to any one who enjoys having fun or just fighting mobs. With 500 people daily there are many ways to spend your time all day with this mud.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Banteel on Dec 15, 2000

This game is highly addictive, and ever changing. I have played it for over two years. The Immortals of the game are nice and know how to make people feel welcome. The Immortals of the game are also chosen from the players of the game. There are alot of different class and race caracteristics. There are also a few race only items and some race/sex only items. It makes for a great playing atmosphere.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Thomas M Moran on Dec 9, 2000

Realms of Despair. What is there to say about the number one mud? Plenty, and most of it isn't good. Realms promotes "leveling a character". If someone went to a mud just to level a character, they're missing the entire point of a multi-user dimension. Interaction with other players in a synthetic world is the key point in any mud, but the staff of realms promotes numbers over experience. A case of this being that a condition for joining the staff of realms is a maxed experience level. It takes about 24 hours to maximize a player's level, but does that player know anything about realms' guilds/orders/clans? Granted, all players want their characters to be powerful, but that shouldn't be the goal of the game. Another condition for becoming a staff member is having 500 hours logged on to the mud. This is easily accomplished by connecting to the mud and typing something every 15 minutes, or better yet create a program that'll do that for you. While the gameplay and funfactor were high at first, degradation of the gameplay aspects destroys much of the playability of this mud. The once user friendly system has been degenerated to a skeleton of ultimately useless help files. Any essential questions a player has go unanswered, because the other players don't know the answer, the answer isn't documented in any help file, and the staff at realms doesn't acknowledge the player to be 'worthy' of a response. A majority of the time, the mud's response to a help topic is "File does not exist." Also, the classes/races in realms are not balanced. This painfully obvious, when low level players consistently usurp higher level ones in player killing battles. Also, some classes are frustratingly weak, even at high levels. Granted, the game isn't about strength, but it should be about fairness. The biggest problem, however; lies with the staff of realms. They believe in eternal punishment, in which a character does something wrong, that character is punished for the rest of its game life. The character will continue to be punished long after the incident is forgotten, and the staff memeber who sentenced it has quit the staff. The staff at realms also enjoys repeatedly killing players they 'like'. Some players I've talked to have over 2000 deaths, 99% of which are attributed to the staff of realms getting their kicks. The staff of realms also enjoys using its power to line not only their pockets with gold, but their alternate characters' pockets as well. A mud is supposed to promote role-playing in all aspects, yet the staff continues to shirk that responsiblity in favor of better numbers. In conclusion, the greed of the staff of realms and the message they give to their players is numbers good, gameplay bad. Which also explains why the staff has spam voted for this mud. If you want a real gameplay experience, look somewhere else. If you like to rack up big numbers, your calculator... Read More

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Sumwon Neirbi on Nov 29, 2000

Well lets see now, I have been playing this mud for roughly around 4-5 years. I have played alot of other muds, and built my own on several occasions, yet i seem to be always coming back to Realms of Despair. It will always be my favourite MUD, I have dt'ed, been slayed, purged, frozen, the works.. Yet i still play, Because it is a good mud. I have lost everything, and gained it all, it is a mud where anything can happen, like a anoyomus person can come up to you and give you like 2 bill worth of stuff, its has so many nice people like the imms, Cersei, Iliana etc... but some not so nice imms, such as .... and .... *hehe* I love the mud and my family dont know why i play it, but i play it because i am addicted to it... I will never ever find a mud like RoD.... -Moltres

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Moltres Deathbringer on Nov 29, 2000

This Mud is an excellent mud that has almost no competition in terms of muds like it. It really is all that it says in the info section of this website, and is a lot of fun. Not only is it Fun to adventure and meet other people, but the Immortals of the game make the game fun to play as well as keeping the game orderly. In other words, if you haven't played this mud yet, then you ought to!!!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by jarlax on Nov 27, 2000

Realms of Despair is one of the most addictive and interesting MUD's I have played. Some of the major advantages to this mud is: -It is easy for first time mudders to learn the ropes-commands, help files, howto's. -Color is not excessive, a single channel consists of ONE color, instead of multiple (ugh). -There is usually at least one imm online at anytime. Immortals are distributed all over the world. -Friendly players who spend a lot of time aiding newbies. From the official Newbie Council to unofficial spellbots which cast helpful spells. -Interesting areas. Nice room descs, puzzles, mobs that require strategy to kill instead of brute strength. Areas are a challenge and a delight to explore. -Solid guilds with many older players loyal to a certain class to aid those who wish to learn how to use their chosen class most effectively. -Mighty and close knit Orders for those who wish to roleplay and advance further and faster. -Roleplaying is encouraged also through the Nations. -Interesting and fun quests for gathering glory which can be used to enhance either the character directly or the equipment. -Pkillers. Stand alone or with a Clan and destroy everyone else. -Peaceful duelers. Pay 1 million gold and annihilate the idiot who challenged you. -Aforesaid friendly players provide interesting chatter for the slow day. -Realms has been running since 1994. Its still running. It will probably continue running for a long time. -Players have a newspaper-The Cry of Despair. Read funny articles, poetry, stories, weird and amusing logs. -Feedback encouraged. Suggestions encouraged. Disadvantages of RoD. -Might be some out there. Can't say I've noticed. So log on today, you'll like it.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Annaliea on Nov 23, 2000

I will admit this is the only MUD i've ever played, but then again there is no reason to play a different MUD RoD is the best. has every thing you need in a MUD and more . .i mean com eon i play :) This mud is very user friendly, i had never played a mud b4 . .thought it kind of wierd to play a "game" with no graphics but i gave it a shot and was very impressed. tons of people play and most will help you out weather u need directions, equipment, or ur just plain confused. realms is an awsome MUD!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Stiller on Nov 23, 2000

After over 6000 real life man hours of play on this mud, I thought it was time to write a review on it. I am totally addicted to this mud. You will be too if you are not frightened by many many thousands of rooms that are well written and challenging or up to 500+ characters on line at peak periods. The Newbie Council there, to which I belong, is made up of a large group of wonderful people dedicated to helping new players discover the magic and wonder of the Realms of Despair. They and other helpful players will direct you to the appropriate help file from a help file base that is truly immense and complete or answer your questions outright. This game is so stable and popular that a search on the internet will bring you to many many home pages dedicated strictly to the Realms of Despair, including equipment databases and maps and strategies for attacking and conquering the harder mobs etc etc etc. Almost every guild, nation and order has its own home page for class, race and special interest specific information. Realms of Despair allows multiplaying up to 8 peaceful characters at a time for those that wish to make up their own team and like to have their hands very full but beware! ... many of the higher level mobs have a multicheck limit and can be very very nasty if you exceed it. Only one Pkill character per player is allowed on line at a time. If you wish to dabble with pkilling, however you may go to the arena against another player at any time under the supervision of an immortal (for the price of one million gold coins each for the supervison) You may turn Pkill at any time upon request but once you are a deadly you are a deadly forever ... there is no turning back for that character. It is highly recommended that you choose a peaceful character at the onset until you get to know the Realms of Despair quite well or your playing experience will not be a very rewarding or fun one. After all of these thousands of hours of playing, I never ever ever find myself bored. The social structure, helpful players and immortals and the challenge of the game play itself cannot be beat! Whether you enjoy socializing, running mobs, quests, role playing, gambling, sitting around and chatting with other players, gaining wealth through the wise use of the auction and its ups and downs or whatever your interest in a MUD ... Realms of Despair is the MUD for you. You will need no other. Good luck and happy hunting.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Greetmir on Nov 22, 2000

I think that this is the best mud game you will find on the internet. I have played for 4 months, and I am totally addicted! I love the way the game is set-up and the areas make it fun! I vote Realms of Despair #1!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by sierra davis on Nov 2, 2000

This is a composit of several weeks study conducted by myself and several MUD testers. We found this MUD to be a delight to explore. There is a strong focus on assisting newbies and ensuring their knowledge of the game is sufficient to send them on their merry adventurous way. The only downside we could find to this MUD is the extremely large player base! It can be over-whelming but I hardly consider that a negative aspect! The players are interactive, helpful and value Role Play. A definite must visit for this MUD! Sincerely, The MUD Investigator and testers

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by MUD Investigator on Oct 30, 2000

Newbies to mudding should start here! With so many players, they have the ability to have a Newbie Council to help all those questions you newbies have, which most other muds don't have. And this mud is HUGE! Check the info, 10,000-20,000 rooms! WOW! I've played for 3-4 years, and I haven't been everywhere. Roleplaying is awesome, having actual nations and hometowns, which I have yet to see on any other mud. And it seems like an immortal is added every month now, so there is always someone online that can help you! Check out their awesome website that is being updated often. And we have websites for all the orders, guilds, and even nations! Stuff is added all the time, with unique stuff as well that you won't find anywhere. It is wicked!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Justin(Domshokka) on Oct 20, 2000

Hi. I am Ryan Reed. (DekkatH) I have played Realms for over five years and have played numerous other muds. there is no other place that could bring together so man cool people almost as odd as my self! The PK there has its own blend of sass which is increadably fun to watch, the mortal-immortal relationships are very strong (The morts have a definate voice in what happens on the mud) and the gameplay has kept me there happily all those years. In response to the wanker who was complaning about imms's mortal chars running in places that have been changed, i would like to say 3 words. Stop being jealous. A group I am in called Ringbearers runs to those places such as seths often. Those places are for everyone willing to explore and think a little. Perhaps you should open your mind just a touch and get some fresh air in that dusty box of yours. The leadership of this mud in its current state brought HERNE back from mortalhood, whacha think about that? If the staff can pull a man from his otters, it can surel run a mud. I love RoD, and it pains me to hear somone, especially an ANONYMOUS someone making false claims about it. Have a wonderful day! Ryan C. Reed Dekkath Darkraven, Lizard King.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by DekkatH on Oct 15, 2000

Realms of Despair is one of the first MUDs I have ever played on. I became involved through a friend of mine who was once an immortal on the MUD itself. Don't take this to say that made things any easier tho. ;) For a bit of clarification, is RoD easy? That depends on the player. It's not simple though. The MUD is designed to be challenging, and players not prepared to face that will meet with great adversity very early on. One other review noted the "excessive losses of exp for fleeing, death, and recalling." However, there is a simple premise: preparing adequetely before heading into a battle situation, even a possible situation, solves this problem. Second argument - move points. The same player who noted the exp problems also noted a problem with the moves. Once again, the MUD was meant to be challenging, and the Immortals did a good job here. However, the move points are offset by the presence of two spells (Fly and Float to be specific) that help to conserve mvs. Good call. Now, the construction. I should say that I give the immortals here on this mud incredible amounts of credit for the work they have done here. I find the building superb, and very challenging in some areas. The mobs also require strategy to defeat for the better EQ within the game. As for color, I'll admit, the game did used to have some problems there, but the color's just been changed around a bit, which makes it acceptable in my opinion. All in all, I must give this MUD a high rating. It's a MUD I intend to keep playing on for a long time, not only from the quality of work, but the honor of the Imms there (anyone who accuses these wonderful people who give their time to build and code of playing favorites needs to have their eyes checked). Keep up the good work!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Grinlon on Oct 5, 2000

to be honest i tried it with 3 different characters. yes the people on it our helpful,and the design is not bad.it actually pretty enjoyable,except for a few problems or things i did not like. 1) when you flee you lose xp which is sort of okay except when the mob follows you and causes you to flee till you die. duirng one such stretch out of the 110k xp i had at start i lost 50k. in other words 2 days of xp gone. 2) when you die, your body stays at spot so you have to go back and get it unless, you somehow out of the rules on death figured out how to get it back.if your have link prob your screwed because it only stays there like 20 min. 3) selling of eq is hard because the code only supports one item of a kind in the shop. 4) the color is very bad, dark blue on black. 5) you have to identify the monsters, consider is useless.so you have to buy lots of id scrolls. 6)i had a sor tof necromancer, and its first attack was a ROOM spell.so you look cast spell and PRAY nothing walks in from the time you start to cast till time spell goes off. 7) one battle i attacked a mob i was killing left and right, all of a sudden i could not hit it.found out mv is used for attacks and i had ran out of mv. 8)they have recall scrolls,if you use them in battle you lose xp wether they work or not. basically the mud operates on the punishment system. you mess up we punish you.the xp for flee is for the most part more than what you get for killing the mob.and death is so ridiculus exp xp wise. the help death needs better work to explain how you can get corpse . they need to take away less xp for fleeeing and prohibit the mob from following you for a few secs so you have time to do something besides watch it come in and cream you. they need to check mob level and character level and if its aggro and higher level don't take xp unless they attacked it,since there zones are like 5-20 and they are all mixed up.so you don't walk in a room and lose 40k xp because an aggro mob killed you. i will say i did get a lot of help from players.wish the game was half as friendly.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by gothmog on Sep 8, 2000

What makes a mud better than another mud? An answer to this is very objective, as people are looking for different things in a game. No game will be the best in everyone's point of view. However there are many things that make games stand out no matter what you are looking for: effort, concern for your well being and rules. In Realms of Despair we have many immortals that spend countless hours writing code, new areas and discussing on how we can make the game a fun place to be. As for concern, we make backups of player files, corpses autosave just in case that rare crash does happen, and many more features just so you, the player, will not lose everything in a crash or a disk failure. Finally rules keep a world an enjoyable experience by punishing those that will abuse and take advantage of others. I personally spend countless hours to make sure cheating is limited and those that are caught cheating are punished severly. I think just the above makes Realms of Despair an outstanding mud. So what else do we offer? We have many classes and races to choose from, we may not have the most classes or races but we make the classes and races fit into our world, we make them as unique as possible and we try to keep them balanced. Being a bigger mud we have many builders, we don't have the most areas of the muds out there, but then again we only accept the best, why should we accept sub-standard areas, we want quality for our players not quantity. We strive to make our areas fit into our world, make geographical sense and not become a band-aid world of areas stuck in here and there. Finally we develop code to increase the abilities of builders so that the experience is a more interactive enviornment, the mobs more life like and just more fun in general. This mud may not be the best for only pkill or role-playing if that is all your interested in, but it is the best for a sampling of everything and a quality, enjoyable, immersive environment.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Nivek on Sep 1, 2000

Leveling and area play haven't been removed from Realms. The fact that people keep, well, leveling and killing mobiles gives the lie to that argument. Realms has finally taken major steps toward eliminating power leveling, and people like "anonymous" are upset about it because they can no longer make avatars in one hour and mess the game up for everyone else. As for the "fragile administration", it's run the game for seven years and turned it into one of the largest on the net. If that's fragile I hope they stay fragile for seven more years. Realms is huge. Tons of people to play with or against. Plenty of areas, plenty of challenges, and plenty of fun. If all you're interested in doing is power leveling 10 characters a day, then sure, recent changes aren't for the better for YOU. If you're 99% of the rest of the people who want to play a MUD the changes are great, because we don't have to compete with spamming multiplayers who hog all the leveling mobs. Good riddance, "anonymous." If you want RP there are better muds. If you want nothing but pkill there are better muds. If you want some fun mud play in a huge world with a ton of people, Realms is one of the best.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by M'kel on Aug 25, 2000

Realms is a very addicting game, but one which suffers from major flaws. First off, the classes in rod lack balance. Two "superclasses" exist which frankly, leaves the others obsolete. The areas is rod which have been "tweaked" in recent times, have not been for the better. Leveling, a major concern in playing a mud game, has be ripped out. The leveling areas have been changed to take "leveling" out, just leaving obsolete(yet again) areas. What have we left? Ahh, killing stuff. Well, that was changed too. Popular areas have been changed to make it more "challenging". Well, the only ones that actually kill anything in these areas now, are the immortals(administrative staff), who do regular runs there on their morts(player characters). These major flaws reflected on the fragile administration the mud has been based upon. There are a few skilled people on the staff, the rest of them, just get their position from 'be nice to the head'. What has rod left? The player community is all. With this in mind, you have to ask yourself, what do you want in a mud game? If you want a decent chat forum with ansi colour, then rod is the place to be. If you want an actual mud game, you can find better elsewhere.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Anonymous on Aug 25, 2000

I've been a fan of text based rpg's since the first time I played zork, and ever since I've tried as many different aspects of the genre that I could get my hands on (LORD, Usurper, Nethack, rogue, etc). However, it wasn't until I stumbled upon realms late one night a couple years ago that my addiction had the catalyst to cement to it's current horrifying state. Realms combines a great gaming engine with multiple puzzles, nicely built mobiles, spanning areas, a strongly enforced mystical theme, and one of the most interesting blends of people I have ever met online. Be it a cynical otter fanatic, an unhuggable slaybeast, or an anoying flumple the people of realms make the game's level of enjoyment surpass that of any text based game I have played to date.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Alendil on Aug 25, 2000

Realms of Despair is, perhaps, the best MUD online. With a friendly immortal staff, and many organizations, this MUD is one of the most developed, and most fun a player can find.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Elbanon on Aug 25, 2000

Harken back to days when dragons roamed the lands, wizards strode the skies and the very seas vented their furies upon those who would venture forth upon them. From forest filled with elven laughter to the ogre brethren in their lairs atop the mountains the Realms of Despair invites all who would be called "hero" to face the many perils of existance there. A young half-elf wandered into those realms over 2 years ago and still finds challenge in all the dark corners of the world.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Tharius on Aug 23, 2000

I have been playing realms of despair for about a year and a half. I love the game to death, I mean I am 15 years old and you always hear people telling you that additions are not good. Well, right now, Realms is more addicting than Chocolate Chip Crack. Realms of Despair has to be the best MUD out there. And I highly suggest that you come on and avatar a character quickly because you are missing out on the Ongoing party... YEAH... pass me another cold one!

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Noplex on Aug 23, 2000

i've been on this MUD for 4 years now, and all others i've ever tried pale in comparison. RoD is the best. it's that simple.

– TopMUDSites.Com Review by Redric on Aug 22, 2000