Abandoned Realms
Address:
Db Size:
20012
Players Connected:
4 (a minute ago)
Maximum Connected:
13 (last 30 days)
Status:
UP
Version:
rom 2.4
Average Connected:
4 (last 60 days)
Minimum Connected:
1 (last 30 days)
Language:
Codebase:
Created:
Family:
DikuMUD [3]
Sub Genre:
Medieval Fantasy [3]
Gameplay:
Player versus Player, Roleplaying [3]
Description:
Abandoned Realms is a highly modified diku mud. The objective of the mud is to focus on gameplay. We want a MUD where people can enjoy themselves and other aspects of the mud, without compromising gameplay. Gameplay to us is having rich themes to our areas, various creatures that talk to players instead of just sitting around, and well balanced race/classes. We have an extended help file system, a newbie chat for those unfamiliar with this kind of MUD, and plenty of friendly imms willing to answer your questions. There are 16 races and 16 classes each unique with their advantages and disadvantages. New races and classes are consistently being added and the old ones refined to preserve gameplay. There are also seven cabals, with plans to add more in the future. We enforce roleplaying here, we like to see players who have unique backgrounds, enjoy being memorable characters, and in turn, meeting other memorable characters. We also have mob runned quests that will improve certain aspects of your character. Although we do encourage player killing, we also discourage senseless slaughter. We have refined the gameplay so that brains will win over brawn because nobody likes boring hack and slash. We test our pk ranges thoroughly for fairness. If you enjoy roleplaying in a complex and vast world mixed with the thrills of playerkilling then Abandoned Realms is for you.
[1]
Abandoned Realms is a highly modified diku mud. The objective of the mud is to focus on gameplay. We want a MUD where people can enjoy themselves and other aspects of the mud, without compromising gameplay. Gameplay to us is having rich themes to our areas, various creatures that talk to players instead of just sitting around, and well balanced race/classes. We have an extended help file system, a newbie chat for those unfamiliar with this kind of MUD, and plenty of friendly imms willing to answer your questions. There are 16 races and 16 classes each unique with their advantages and disadvantages. New races and classes are consistently being added and the old ones refined to preserve gameplay. There are also seven cabals, with plans to add more in the future. We enforce roleplaying here, we like to see players who have unique backgrounds, enjoy being memorable characters, and in turn, meeting other memorable characters. We also have mob runned quests that will improve certain aspects of your character. Although we do encourage player killing, we also discourage senseless slaughter. We have refined the gameplay so that brains will win over brawn because nobody likes boring hack and slash. We test our pk ranges thoroughly for fairness. If you enjoy roleplaying in a complex and vast world mixed with the thrills of playerkilling then Abandoned Realms is for you.
[2]
[6]
Abandoned Realms is a highly modified diku mud. The objective of the mud is to focus on gameplay. We want a MUD that people can enjoy themselves and other aspects of the mud, without compromising gameplay. We have an extended help file system, a newbie chat for those unfamiliar with this kind of MUD, and plenty of friendly immortals willing to answer your questions. There are 10 races and 10 classes each unique with their advantages and disadvantages. There are also four cabals, with 2 in the making and future additions. Although we do encourage player killing, we also discourage senseless slaughter. We have refined the gameplay so that brains will win over brawn because nobody likes boring hack and slash. We test our pk ranges thoroughly for fairness. So if you're the type of person who likes to see a good planned strategy win over brute force, Abandoned Realms is for you.
[4]
This is a great mud still in its youth. It is ever expanding, and offers many unique zones and experiences. This is a medivel-type mud, with many races and classes to choose from.
[5]
- MUDConnector.Com
- TopMUDSites.Com
- MUD Server Status Protocol (MSSP)
- Pueblo/UE World List
- Zuggsoft MUD List
- Mud Magic
The game itself is fine but the people are the most toxic players (immortals). The game has 5 people that actually play so it is effectively dead and they are too dumb and blind to see it. They belittle a new player and openly mock them to other players so they will quit. RULES only apply to new players and not to the 5 core members playing. They cheat and cover for each other and then punish others for the same thing. If it is reported they ignore the claim and then shame the person making the claim. If you are ok about being shamed and mocked while they cheat then this is the game for you. Just read some of their forums to see how toxic a player base of 5 has.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Mar 24, 2019
I strongly suggest that you avoid this game at all costs. This is no longer a "game" and has become a club for the Immortals. They abuse players as Immortals under the guise of "roleplaying", and make mortal characters to kill you and take everything you have worked for - specifically because they knew that they could. I have witnessed this repeatedly and with increased frequency as the player base has dwindled (and this motive has been documented in writing). At most, there are 5, perhaps 6 players on at any given time, and that is rare. More often than not I have found myself playing alone. Raising issues to the game "leadership" will result in their abusing you in the forums, where they will defend their "do as I say, not as I do" mentality and curse at you. Again, I strongly suggest you look elsewhere. The above details and comments are factual, and not based solely on opinion. Examples of this abusive behavior can be found on abandonedrealms.com.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Mar 24, 2019
Hello, Many in the realms know me as Savroth. I am a newbie to this game, and boy do I feel it. But best of all, the playerbase and imm base are helping me along with this wonderful game whilst still being in character. The realms are populated with a myriad of races and classes. From spell-slingers, rogue types. To berserkers and monks. Where this game shines is it's varity. You wish to be a giant of dark decent. Become a Jotun darkknight. You wish to fight the doom and gloom as a warrior of the light become a paladin! You wish to toss axes the size of your opponent, be a minotaur! They even have racial legacys, which reward certain race class combos with certain bonus skills and other bonuses. By no means are they game-breaking, but might add that edge you wish for flavor or playstyle. Whilst our player-base is currently small, we would welcome you with both open arms, and good role-play. I've been mudding 8 years, and this one is easily one of the top 5 best in my memory. Please, come give us a visit. You may find yourself a fan aswell.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Sep 1, 2017
To start, Abandoned Realms (affectionately known as AR to those who play it) is absolutely one of the most intense games you will ever play. The first time you enter PK and you realize that you could lose all of the precious things you worked so hard to achieve, your heart rate rises and you will likely get the shakes. After your first kill, you'll be elated. After your first death, you'll only want to go and get more. The combat system is no longer the stock system so associated with common muds. Instead, mid combat skills and changes of spells, depending on your class are an absolute requirement. This means that even if you have better items then anyone else, you may find yourself in a bad situation if you aren't prepared. The world is in depth and the role play is amazing. Those who would claim to the contrary have never really tried to interact with others, only be interested in the player killing. Trust me when I say, that the true joy comes from doing both. Finally, this game offers Custom Races and a constantly evolving list of new races, classes and areas. As well as new spells and recently added religious boons, for clerical classes to call upon in times of need. Do not miss this game. It is the be all and end all of Muds.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Feb 23, 2015
I wouldn't worry about fairness if you play this game. They've added a lot of new stuff over the years, breaking a lot of things in the process. I was a consistent voter and supporter of the place until today. There's really not much to say. It was a fun game, and it could be entertaining, with all of the various pk skill paths for adapting to other players,but in the end it just really fizzles out when you discover that the people actually working on the game don't seem to care about balance. They made a recent decision to move a stat that improves hitting through enemy defenses back onto strength, which was previously moved to dex so that giants didn't just kill everyone and dex races had no chance. I attempted to argue rationally, and the imp in charge puts words in my mouth, saying that I must believe elves should be able to 'rambo' anyone, which is patently untrue, as elves were struggling before hitroll was moved. I don't really like people being manipulative and I told him he was being dishonest by putting that out there, especially as elves were already struggling in warrior and hybrid guilds. At this point, he made not so veiled insults as to my intelligence boasting about how he has a physics degree, and that I would be unable to comprehend how to solve such mathematical problems as I didn't have the brains. I showed him and anyone else who wanted to see the issue with moving hitroll a multitude of posts by other players and the Imp himself stating that elvish races were worst in the warrior guild, and this is prior to the hitroll nerf for high dex races by giving bonus to hitroll and damroll back squarely only to giants. For this, he called the posts inflammatory (presumably because it show's he's contradicting himself, and also that he has a bias against game balance against elves or for giants), and banned my account. If you want to play this game, do so without expecting opinions to be taken seriously, while being given veiled and obvious insults by the people that run it, and without expecting balance to be given serious thought other thanhow they can make the game run well for their bias.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Feb 23, 2015
This comment bears absolutely no resemblance to the reality of the game. Unfortunately, this individual is well known for having a negative attitude if things don't go his way. He is constantly breaking rules of either the forum or the game and it is sad that he decided to vent his frustrations in this way. I would challenge anyone, to find a more intense game then this one. It is absolutely one of the best. This is why, despite trying numerous other muds, I have stayed here for so long. The staff cares about keeping things as balanced as possible, with no costs incurred to the players of the game.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Jan 29, 2015
This MUD has a great deal of potential but there are significant issues, particularly balance. There is a message during character creation that states, 'newbies are advised to avoid mage classes.' This immediately put a bad taste in my mouth. Why are players who love casters to be punished? The more I played the MUD, the more I realized, the main coder/IMP must surely be a melee/fighting fan and somehow burned in the past by some overpowered caster. Casters are incredibly nerfed in Abandoned Realms to the point that there's really no reason to have them. They have advantages at higher levels, however, for some reason the owner wants people to go through mostly frustration instead of fun while leveling this class. Even their advantages at higher levels are not enough to make the nerfs even close to being fair or reasonable. Clearly it's bias, any player will see this, though original/veterans may be blind to it. Again, Why punish casters? There is no original storyline. Everything is stock, 'Thera' stuff. Roleplaying is enforced, however, even during peak hours with 15 or so players on, there is no roleplaying at any time. The only roleplaying is when someone asks for help and says 'Ye' or 'thou' in the sentence. Immortals are frequently on but there are no global quests, major wars, invasions, etc. there's no special events of any kind that I can tell. There is an XP penalty for playing hybrids, who already have the penalty of being the 'jack of all trades master of none.' This, in addition to the intentional nerfing of all caster classes, makes me think another possibility, that the owner believes magic of any kind is something only hardcore, veteran players should be allowed to use and enjoy, not for newer players. Basically, don't play this MUD unless you REALLY, REALLY like to play a human warrior or a human. Plenty of other fun, pretty, exotic options in the menus and helpfiles, but again, they're there only if you want to go through hours of torment and dying/corpse retrieval (if it's still there) rather than actually having fun and enjoying your class's unique abilities while you develop your character. On the positive, the classes as far as flavor and concept are pretty cool. The spells, skills, combat style system etc. all are very interesting and fun, however, you can only really enjoy them again if you are a long-time veteran, getting immortal assistance or otherwise cheating, or if you're not lucky enough to be in one of those categories you are playing a human warrior or human thief. Another positive, the equipment seems to be coded/written well. I like the 'old school' medieval theme and the area quests are quite cool as well. So much potential but too many balance issues to ever be a long-term success. I've heard the owner has much of an ego, so most likely the changes will not be made. It will fade into oblivion as MUDs... Read More
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Jul 23, 2014
'There is no original storyline.' False, its right here, http://abandonedrealms.com/realms/ 'Casters are incredibly nerfed in Abandoned Realms to the point that there's really no reason to have them.' The top 5 killers can be seen here: http://abandonedrealms.com/forum/ Two out of the five are invokers, i.e. mages. We have monthly PK stats right here http://abandonedrealms.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=23 The last month player with the most kills was an invoker. 'there is no roleplaying at any time' False, people can see it on the live stream of the game on its landing page, here's a few logs : http://abandonedrealms.com/roleplay/highlights/ Its arecorded in the herald news: http://abandonedrealms.com/realms/mystique/ There are also extensive backgrounds people write for their characters. You can take a look at the player pages. http://abandonedrealms.com/players/ There are four major cabals and three coteries all dedicated to roleplaying. Eighten religions and tattoos which are awarded only for good roleplaying. 'there are no global quests, major wars, invasions, etc. there's no special events of any kind that I can tell.' False, again, http://abandonedrealms.com/realms/ Further proof, http://abandonedrealms.com/roleplay/events/ 'I've heard the owner has much of an ego' Guilty as charged. That is not a false statement. I operate a free MUD which is popular and relevant, and I create cool stuff all the time. For example, this: http://abandonedrealms.com/realms/areas/items/ Come on grumpy cat. You have to admit, that is cool. 'It will fade into oblivion as most MUDs do.' We are in the top 10 on TMC and top 20 of TMS month after month. The game has been running for literally 16 years. We have tanked four expansions of World of Warcraft, stupid server operators, code thefts and all sorts of reasons why the game should have gone under. STILL KICKING, and the more that annoys our haters, the better I like it, John.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Jul 17, 2014
Abandoned Realms is a great MUD. I come from a myriad of others and there's none that get your heart pumping like this one. I started MUDing in a pure PVE MUD almost 2 decades ago on AOL called Terris and its sister MUD Cosrin. I played Magestorm right before this, so I had grown a thirst for online action games be they MUDs or FPS. Since then I've played a few MUDs here and there and none give me the same excitement as Terris/Cosrin once did. That is, other than AR which really does. The excitement and adrenaline this game gives me through PvP and RP is incredible. The imms have stepped their game up, bringing RP events regularly, and ensuring there is balance among the classes so that everyone can compete and participate. The imms of the various cabals often interact with their members, sending them on quests or assassination missions. Games like Imperian, etc. really turned me on to PvP, and it is a wonder that games like Abandoned Realms haven't reached the same popularity considering how in depth PvP is. The game has been around forever, and I doubt even the most seasoned vet doesn't learn something new about PvP every now and then. Recently there's been a rash of new areas, and new developments with old ones. New combat spells, new skills for classes. To touch on one that is pretty cool, Dark-knights can now summon steeds to ride upon that come with both pros and cons in combat, but help them track good around the Realm no matter where it is. The Herald and Mystics along with their respective imms are always using their particular skill-sets to bring role-play and diversity to the game. Be it holding events that can help players earn increased experience, skills and even titles - or officiating weddings, you can almost always find one of these folks around - often helping newbies. In fact that is the prime job of the Mystics, to help newer players, and their skill-sets are aimed towards that end. So if you're looking for a new hobby, 'home' or just a place to blow off some steam with other role-player pkers, AR is the place for you. In fact I'd say AR would appeal to any brand of MUDer.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Dec 26, 2012
Its a well developed game and has many good points. It takes thought and some learning to pk well. It has the most balance I've seen. The classes are interesting and all unique from each other. I played it on and off, due to other things. I played by the rules, and people violated the rules on multiple occasions when interacting with my character in game. I did not whine or threaten to leave. I saved what happened to logs, showed the admins, and the person deleted their character because his style coupled with his antics revealed him to other players. Not due to any staff involvement, which were playing a hands off approach to him. Multiple occasions, roleplay is enforced, but it is either silly or one dimensional roleplay. A few really roleplay deeply. I came back after some 6 month hiatus to look around. Character creation screen. Finish the process. Denied with 54 days left on ban. Now, my thought is, 'that's strange, I haven't played for six months and last time I played I left. I don't break the rules, and I maintained my composure in game even when others were blatantly breaking rules against me.' So, I wait a few days. I log in again. 54 days remaining on what they call a 'siteban'. Note the time is the same. Apparently, this means a whole network is banned, of which I am a part. Great. The same thing apparently happened to AOL. All of AOL is banned from connecting because of a few players that broke rules. Estonia as a whole country is banned from connecting for the same reason, a single player broke rules repeatedly. And now myself. All because of someone else. Now I'm understanding Martin Niemöller's poem quite a bit differently. So, I bring the issue up on the forum. My response from Davarus, a staff member, is 'I thought you left because I wouldn't ban mico'. Not a 'I'll look into it', or 'because of this and that', just a snide comment because, well, that's who Davarus is. I write about the state of the forums, and what sort of policy it must be to kill off whole groups players from connecting, due to individuals. To understand what the forums are, go to 4chan. I see the exact same thing there. People are rude to each other. They insult each other and call each other names. Multiple people that continue to play have cheated and time and again created new characters, and stick around the forums. Dispater and Rem have been banned in game for cheating and exploiting the game. yet they still play and talk to the staff, occasionally trading insults. Another major contributor is not a cheater, but simply abuser. Anyone he disagrees with is personally abused, and the staff allow it because he's their Clifton buddy. When newbies come in, and make a suggestion for the game, he insults and abuses them. Davarus and others go as... Read More
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Sep 10, 2009
The Abandoned realms mud has one of the most balanced combat systems out of any pk game I've ever played. I've seen several balance issues that were pointed out by myself or other players, which the immortals listened to and fixed almost immediately. The community is newbie friendly and while competitive, supports each other. The staff is laid back and is completely okay with palling around with the players, and when there is rule breaking they are quick to enforce those rules. I've stopped playing several times over the years due to work or inability to log in, and I've kept on coming back.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Jul 12, 2009
Abandoned Realms or AR for short, has come a long way since I first started playing. Like most MUDs out there it started with biggest sword wins, but after the years it started to change. It went from biggest sword wins to the new combat system. which is pretty easy to grasp once you try it out. New spells and skills, 4 different cabals (clans). I have jumped from MUD to MUD and no matter how many new ones I try I keep coming back to AR. It is one of the best games out there with things happening all the time.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Jul 12, 2009
Abandoned Realms (hereafter referred to as AR) is a MUD for users that are experienced. AR's system is roleplaying and player-killing, with decent emphasis upon the RP, and heavy emphasis upon the PK. The world is fantasy-based, with a touch of borrowing from some well established stories to complete the picture. Classes are fairly standard; clerics, rogues, fighters, etc. You can play a healer-cleric, or a battle-cleric (shaman), a thief type or the assassin-type (ninja), and other classes have similar 'splits' as well. Bards, rangers, most of the classes one expects on a mud are present, and quite well-thought out. AR's races are also fairly standard, but yes, there are some not-so-standard races for you to play with as well. Feeling adventurous? Try a minotaur. Feeling like being safe? Yes, you can play a human. Drow, illithid and a handful of giants are also on the list of races one can play. Race/class combinations can be rewarding in their own right, AR makes them even more rewarding, if you happen to pick the 'right' combination. These Racial Legacies are not numerous, nor should they be, but if you happen to play an Elven Ranger, you get something other rangers do not. If you play a Drow Ninja, you get something other Ninja do not. Questing is easy on AR. Mobs that have quests give them to you upon entering the room. There is also a Task system, which involves one's guild master, and a fairly lenient time limit to complete them. AR has, for the more roleplay oriented types, cabals and coteries. Cabals are a 'join for life', at least the life of your character, organizations that revolve heavily around PK/RP. Cabals are ideal and alignment-based. The coteries are less alignment-based, and heavily ideal based, and revolve more and the RP aspect. My time on AR was short, but well spent. AR gets three nods out of five.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Mar 25, 2009
First I'll write it as facts then my impressions. Its stated as a RP enforced PK driven mud. It has a number of classes, and many interesting skills and abilities for each class and race combo. Weapons have different abilities of parry effectiveness and overcoming your enemies defenses of dodge, shield block, parry, dual parry. Classes are balanced by racial stats, humans get 101 points in stats, and Fire giants (the game's strongest race) get 94 points spread across strength, intelligence, wisdom, dexterity, and constitution. You pay for more powerful races in vulnerabilities and other weaknesses, as each stat factors into your defense skills. Another factor is the experience cost, which is greater for races and classes that are more specialized and have slightly more power at the higher ranks. But, that doesn't necessarily mean they will crush everything. a human warrior is a 0 exp cost combo, but can easily use its great stat distribution and lack of vulnerabilities to be on the same level, with the appropriate equipment and GOOD use of skills and tactics. There are rares and unique items in the game, and power for all classes is more or less defined by their items, although if you play poorly, you will find yourself killed and your enemy taking all your nice items, making them even stronger. If you join you will notice that even veteran players play human warriors. These players are distinguished by a cabal tag such as [Knight], [Legion], or [Keepers]. Keepers are a recent addition to the game, and act as a balancing force between good and evil, due to in the past the game swinging badly in favor of knight or legion. This new cabal introduces an almost mercenary element, but with a roleplay reason of existence,a and only true neutrals may become these types. They may even deal with the Justice cabal (a group designed only to uphold the law in Seringale, whether helping good or evil in the process), if they should be warring against legion or knight. Many rank 50 characters in the past have distinguished themselves with RP that goes above and beyond the norm. There is a lot of written history and all characters that wish to join cabals must have a historical background and a well written description. Different weapons carry different abilities in combat. Some are low on offensive strength, the ability to get around enemy defenses, but high in defensive strength, the ability to parry enemy attacks, while others are the opposite. Two handed only weapons are usually high in defense and offense, but do not confuse a two handed mace or sword with something only two handed like a polearm or staff. In addition to weapon differences, some work just as well, or less well in the off hand when dual wielded. Also, spears have a bonus capability against the dodge skill, and axes have a bonus against shield block. All this culminates in very complex fighting with the type... Read More
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Jan 24, 2009
I have to say that I wish I'd have read your review before starting back up with Abandoned Realms. I was a player of AR quite awhile ago and stopped playing because of some other demands on my time. However, I found that this summer I was going to have extra time and wanted to reacquaint myself with the game. That came to an unfortunate end today. It seems that the playerbase has fallen dramatically. At peak times in the past it would be 60 to 75 players and now the most I see is about a dozen. Additionally, I did not see any of the moderators present. During my few days stint I did not find any other players roleplaying and my only interaction came from others asking to group. Perhaps this increases at higher levels now? As a return newbie I was very surprised by the silence. I continued to follow the roleplaying quests, be involved in what groups I could with such a small playerbase, and rose my elven paladin to the 18th rank. I know this is a PK mud and when I was attacked by a dark-knight, Crux, and slain in the battle I knew this was part of the danger and excitement. Perhaps, I'd get a chance to avenge myself? Not so. When first killed you go into a ghost status which gives you a little time to collect yourself without the dangers of attack. I quickly tried to start to reequip myself when as soon as I became unghosted, Crux attacked me, now practically defenseless, and killed me again. I ran back to my corpse to find that all my equipment had been sacrificed again. Not having the time at this point to attempt to again re-equip myself and honestly, a little put off by the multikill of my character by the same dark-knight, I decided to log off. Of course, before I could do so, Crux showed back up at my corpse and spit in my face. Today I logged on with my naked paladin. I started to requip myself. I had not gotten very far when the same player, the same dark-knight Crux, showed up and killed me. At this point I questioned his motives but was told to stop whining and was spit on again. So during this two separate logins, no moderators were present or the rules simply are no longer enforced. Accrording to the helpfiles there is supposed to be a legitimate roleplaying reasoning for killing under level 30 and multi-killing was prohibited with killing while someone attempted to requip was especially frowned on. From what I could see from the modifications to the MUD during my short time playing, it has been very well redesigned. However, the lack of moderators and rules enforcement has opened it up for the worst kind of players. I would not be surprised that due to this problem, any new players are sooon turned off as I was, almost Perhaps... Read More
– MudConnector.Com Review by on May 23, 2008
I've taken the time to look over the comments in these comments, forgive me if I haven't scrutinized all the little details. It strikes me that these two players are a couple of people that loved the game for its own sake, but their noses got bent out of shape by a PK or two. The game does not have a lack of Imms, the higher-level Imms can and do cloak to ensure that they are not bothered from other things they need to get done (like advanced physics).. every complaint that a player fields through our note-based complaint system is fielded and we have ample capability to check the logs and see what needs doing. So as you can all see in the original comment, 'Another neutral halfling, and the one that spelled the end of my enjoyment and time playing AR, decided to blackjack (knock out) one of my groupmates to rob him, while we were ranking in the forest. I defended my groupmate by attacking the halfling and running him off. I didn't chase him, I didn't try to kill him.' 1) There's a betrayal in the blackjacking of a groupmate, but that's to be expected when a thief has seen a nice shiny object. They arent a honest class. A little shady but most people would let it fly at this MUD with a nudge/wink because its a bold, cheeky move he could have easily bungled. Its not something I would delete someone's character over. 2) After you attack a person, they have every right to attack you back. Its just vengeance, which neutrals are perfectly allowed to do. Again, that's something we've made clear to many neutrals at AR. If you attack another player, its to be taken seriously, not just as exploiting a game mechanic to disrupt someone's steal. Attacks are attempted murder every time you do them. As for the other comment, I don't really want to get into that, but please. A dark-knight hurt you? The class is described as the embodiment of evil in its helpfiles. Our website shows a portrait of a black knight sitting on a dark horse, all bringer-of-death like. People play evils so they can enjoy looser pk restrictions, but there are additional gameplay problems for evils, it doesnt come free. It is my personal opinion that these complaints are facetious and if the game was truly trashy they would be post things serious enough to deserve this kind of unfair slander. I shall not request things to be taken down as I would like people to have the opportunity to read these comments and judge the game for themselves.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Aug 1, 2008
If anyone has played WoW, remember how atrociously annoying it is to be corpse camped? Apparently Crux was doing the same thing, but with the addition that all the items the other player was carrying were sacrificed each time. Consider that it takes a good 15-30 minutes to reequip in non sub-par equipment, so that's 45-120 minutes of a person being killed when obviously unable to defend himself. In my own example, apparently attacking someone to stop them from stealing is either attempting to exploit a gameplay mechanic to stop them from stealing, or plain out attempting to murder them, and no gray area where you're simply threatening them so they will run away to stay alive, unless they're suicidal. Defending others is only seen as trying to completely kill the other person? That doesn't make sense in the game itself, let alone reality. It looks like Davairus is the gold standard for these counterstrike RPers, after reading that comment. I hadn't realized that one of the most active imms considers this to be the pinnacle of gameplay on this RP/PK mud. That's very disheartening to hear. Either this, OR (and far more likely in my opinion) one of the most annoying troublemakers this game has ever had, (mico or rem) is impersonating him and trying to smear both him and the game, because these regular cheaters have been banned and denied with their characters.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Jan 1, 2009
Talk about over exaggeration and over dramatization of a situation. Fact is, if you attack someone, just like if you do so in real life, you should be prepared for them to possibly retaliate. This isn't exclusive to if you try to take their life, but there IS justification if you attack someone, for that someone to attack you back. This is what makes the game exciting and fun, the fact that there is PK and that this is a brutal barbaric world where generally one's might, friends and cunning means the difference between life and death. It's amazing to me, that you don't see the RP behind a thief attacking you, after you not only bungled their attempt to steal, but attacked them. Revenge and vendettas are a large part of this game. Also, there is no such thing as corpse camping. Either they take your things, or not. At the end of the day you've got about 15 minutes of ghost, where you're completely immune to attack and can return to your corpse without worry. Get your things, and go inside your guild. At low levels it is nearly impossible to successfully kill a guild guardian and be in the capacity to kill anything or anyone else after that. There is a learning curve, and unfortunately your inexperience combined with a lack of game knowledge spelled a second death for you. Seems like Dav is right. You got a little turned off by a PK, and instead of sticking with it just gave up. I'll be the first to say it stinks to die, and it's easy to get PKed when you first start off. But if you consider items are just things and not what makes your char, dust yourself off after your death and try and get better, you'll no doubt improve and learn something. Bottom line, like most things it takes a while to get good at AR. And if you're not good, pick an easy class to play. A healer who lives forever, a thief who can hide, a ranger who can camouflage, etc. Giving up and flaming the game because you're not good though, isn't going to make it any better. Once you've got a bit of skill, and a grasp of what's actually going on, AR is a ton of fun.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Jan 22, 2009
Abandoned Realms is an incredible game for those interested in a Player Kill MUD with a RolePlay enforced environment. Those who enjoy PK and RP alike will enjoy what Abandoned Realms has to offer. I personally feel that AR blends PK and RP effortlessly. You won't find the mundane of some MUDs and MMOs (lleeet haxorz) here, but players who put effort into their character's storyline and description long before they even create him/her. You'll also find players who take time to learn the game to enhance their skill, for that is what matters there. PK is a skill that comes with playing and dying a little, but once you've got it, the rush is like nothing playing any other game can offer. I think another player said it best, 'AR is a really great mud, as far as muds go. Really good job with immersion, caring staff, quite original and dynamic combat system, and not the least of all a very dedicated playerbase. I'd easily call this a community in a strong sense.' So come join the fun. *Players with skill and cunning will find themselves with honour and prestige among the masses http://www.abandonedrealms.com/players/index.php?sort=rating *RP is important and fun http://abandonedrealms.com/strategy/roleplay.php *Four distinct cities Seringale http://abandonedrealms.com/realms/areas/seringale.php Darkhaven http://abandonedrealms.com/realms/areas/darkhaven.php Valour http://abandonedrealms.com/realms/areas/valour.php Timaran http://abandonedrealms.com/realms/areas/timaran.php *Three exciting Playerkill cabals. Knights http://abandonedrealms.com/realms/cabals/knight.php Legion http://abandonedrealms.com/realms/cabals/legion.php Justice http://abandonedrealms.com/realms/cabals/justice.php *Three roleplaying coteries. Heralds http://abandonedrealms.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1659 Mystics http://abandonedrealms.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3486&highlight=mystic Patrons http://abandonedrealms.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2627&highlight=patron 'A world of politics, intrigue and war awaits you...' he said, 'Your mind, your resolve, even your spirit will be tested here... '
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Oct 28, 2007
The main purpose of this review is to answer some of the questions or complaints (if you can answer a complaint) of some previous reviews of Abandoned Realms I've read. Brandon Brown in his review implied that clans do not exist in AR. Although they are not as prominent as in other MUDs they do exist and allow an incredible amount of flexibility in AR as the individual player creates the clan, including the name and leadership roles and then guides the clan to either ultimate success or failure. Brandon also commented that help for newbies seemed difficult to find. I do not know the exact time period when Brandon wrote his review, but I would presume a while ago, because a group, The Mystics, have been reformed for the sole purpose of helping players new to the MUD. He said that rarely anyone answers the newbie chat. After level 10, players cannot use the newbie chat channel, but certain groups, such as the Mystics have access to the newbie channel and can answer the questions of those new to the MUD. Brandon brought up the issue of a lack of storyline to Abandoned Realms. The reason there is no overriding story line is because the players are the story. If you look at the website under the history of Thera you will see accounts of large battles and first and second ages. Those events actually happened. The names mentioned there were actual players. They made the history of the MUD.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on May 27, 2007
As a staff member, you should expect a heavy bias in my review, although I will say first and foremost I want to give you facts about the game, I dont want to pull punches or make any false promises. So here goes. First the shortcomings: 1) Code changes. These occur very slowly, so slow it frustrates even me in fact. We have changes announced 6 months ago that still haven't been completed. So that's a real negative I think. Some of the players are quite disgruntled with this, which I think actually hurts the process back in turn, a vicious cycle. As you can imagine, if you are an Imm on a mud, you want to have fun to, and if you're being pressured to get changes done, you're probably likely to stop finding that fun to do and find something else. This is bad because all the change go through the single owner. It has the enormous benefit of the game's classes all being done in the same vision, wonderful for game balance. So its not all bad. In the past, Imms have had disagreements about the direction the mud should go in, and this would lead to a 'too many cooks spoil the broth' syndrome, some classes being really diesel and others notably over-complicated. Now its all sorted out, already, lucky for new people. If you were new to the game, this wouldn't be bothering you for a year or two, because the mud has too much unique material for that. Down the road.. yes. Some classes are bland after the second play or so, as they haven't received their polishing yet. Others, like warriors, you can play with every race (and there's 16) and receive a different experience from it. That's pretty amazing. Hopefully all the classes will eventually get there. 2) Playerbase. For me this is the biggest negative with AR. It quite literally used to be triple digit back in 1998, the mud's heyday. Then its dropped off quite quickly, max 80 in 2000, 60 in 2001, etc.. I'm looking at 7 logged in at the moment, max on of 25. This was a mud that had so many people on it when I started, and most vets remember that time, so there's some tension over it. Now some places have a lot worse, that's for sure, but you wish for what you got 'used' to, if you understand what I'm saying. Main reason that's a problem is that the mud was primarly pk, so, say back in 2000 when you were level 30, you would have 16 people in pk range. Scary. Now you're lucky if you're not the only one in that. Although there are cabals to join, and since they have to wait at 30 for applications, you are guaranteed someone in pk if you wait around. And I do believe it is worth the wait. I'm always looking for the next big thing to make those ranks fun,... Read More
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Dec 14, 2006
Looking for a MUD where the staff care? Where they regularly update content and you can post a question/comment/idea/bug on the boards and get a reponse from them within the day or the next day? Longing for a MUD with player run factions (known as cabals) that actively war with one another for power? Perhaps you're looking for a MUD that's RP based and doesn't accept or allow any OOC to ruin or break the atmosphere... maybe you're looking for a MUD where you can do your own thing. A MUD where power is just over the horizon, fame, notability, fun... all of it awaits you at www.abandonedrealms.com I've been playing this game for a while now. When I first joined, I must admit it took a while for me to fully understand and get into. But since becoming more familiar with the game I wouldn't play anywhere else. The staff care more than any game I've ever played, which is probably 60% of the reason I couldn't quit AR even if I wanted to. To go to another MUD where you barely hear from the people making the decisions, or rarely get even the smallest of updates would be a tragedy. So let's talk about the simple yet complex and completely unique fighting system. It like anything else in life takes some practice to become good at, but once you've come to understand it you'll find yourself only getting so much better, interacting with the cabal politics, the coterie politics, and everything else. Perhaps pop in for one of our surges? Surges are implemented to allow players who just can't play as often as they'd like to still advance in the game. During a surge you get double exp. and a greater amount of gold when you hunt, plus other boons. See the forums for more info on when the next surge will be. They're generally on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays at varying hours to allow anyone in any time zone to participate. And that's not all... The PK is nearly without flaw, the RP is stable, the imms care, the skills/spells/songs are awesome and the game is unique. What's ten minutes of your time to try out something new? You might like it.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Oct 31, 2006
I've been playing AR for about 2 years now and I've come to find it to be an incredible place to play. I came to AR with about 6 years of previous MUD experience in some of the more popular internet games of the time. I have to say, AR was a complete change for me and my style of MUDding. The PK is aggressive, the RP is enforced and things are constantly changing and getting better. There are some cons, I can't lie - but I will say I've never played a MUD where the staff take so much care in making the game perfect and fair for everyone. They listen to what the players have to say, and often ask for opinions on new things, and institute them in the game within the week. The playerbase is quite nice, and growing since "The purge" a couple of years ago. I'll say if you're looking for a great MUD. This is the one for you.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Sep 6, 2006
Heyas, I've been playing MUDs off and on now for about ten years. When I first started out, I had no idea what made a good MUD good. After some searching, playing, quitting, searching again, I've discovered the key elements that make a good gaming experience in text: solid playerbase, good game mechanics, responsive staff, and a challenge. Forsaken Lands has all of these. The other thing they have is a definitive separation between OOC BS and IC actions. Players do a pretty dang good job of keeping their stuff in-game, which is frankly amazing to me as a veteran of serious OOC channel drama. Both the pbase and the staff are adamant about keeping the play entirely IC. Roleplay is thick here and it's easy to submerge into a character. This MUD has been around a long time, and the veteran pbase is loyal even after a pwipe, shutdown, restaff and restart. Since I've been playing, the fewest number of players I've seen on at one time is eight, at 4am EST on a weekday. The map is familiar, yet not so familiar as to be easy. Items and equipment are the ever-entertaining combination of annoying and enjoyable to hunt for. PK is hardcore, with full looting, bounty, cabals (guilds), light and dark factions, and a thousand different directions to take your character. For those not into PK, there's the adventurer class. IMMs are attentive, without over-coddling newbies or mixing up in IC play. Staff is extremely behind the scenes, while at the same time keeping things on the straight and narrow; easily contacted through a designated in-game channel or on the MUD forum. They won't hold your hand if you don't know what you're doing, but if there is something decidedly wrong, they're there. This is exactly the kind of MUD I love. It's hard and fast, it leaves the play to the players, backed up by solid code structure. Check it out if you're looking for something missing in other MUDs, I doubt you'll be disappointed. Thanks for reading, ~Baya
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Aug 28, 2006
Hi all! I must say, this review will not describe any game mechanisms or features, I'll just be describing some years of fun here. I've played AR for a total about three years, excluding the months I "quit", and even after these years I can hardly be considered a veteren. A humour post on the forums once by another player defined the Seven Stages of Mudding: 1 - Complete newbie; 2 - Complete trash; 3 - I pwn j00; 4 - Semi-competence; 5 - Competence; 6 - Elite and lastly, 7 - Retired Elite. Even after having these stages defined, I still have a very hard time trying to determine what stage I am at, hence I come to the conclusion that I'm at Stage 0 - Knowledgeable yet Clueless. Now right down to AR - there are times when I almost ripped my skull apart because of some people who PKed me for various reasons (my own newbishness, lag, and so forth), yet I've also killed other people for other reasons. I've recently restarted playing AR in October last year, and that was the most fun times of my entire mud "career". You won't ever find any other mud that brings a group of 4 players at rank 40, getting to and killing Gasteride (moderate toughness for a band of 50s) only to have the expedition ended by a minotaur berserker which got angry by the bickering of who were to take Gasteride's flail and leggings, fuelled by the fact that a bard stole his mushroom a paladin created for him. Of course this may seem like a silly reason for PKing, yet that was a very solid reason - Minotaurs don't sit around and twiddle their thumbs begging the mushroom back, they roar and rage-charge you to get it back! There won't be another mud where you find an oddball sort of Knights - A gender insecure Half-elven Paladin; An overexcited Elven Ranger; A bench-smashing Dwarf Paladin; and a Human Invoker Clown that puts forth his thoughts through conjuring chicken scratches and waving red hankerchiefs. Check AR out - create your moment in the uniqueness of Abandoned Realms.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jul 21, 2006
its a great game fun and all but the immortals are alittle harsh at times banning people just because the ip address are similar, kind of stupid but oh well, its still a great game best I have played
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Mar 27, 2006
Abandoned Realms has been my mudding home for around 8 years now and I've seen many changes since I started. I dont often write reviews but I think that the amount of new content and changes that I have seen over the past year have been so outstanding that it deserves a mention. The past year has seen more changes than I've seen in the previous 7 years of playing and it's been fantastic. There is a new combat system which makes PK'ing much more interesting and requires more skill than ever, the coders have done a wonderful job with lots of new areas, racial legacies and so on. This is an evolving and improving mud, there are many more changes promised and the future looks very bright indeed. I would encourage anybody who enjoy's PK'ing and RP'ing to give the mud a go. It's a very skilled and enjoyable place to be, with an incredibly hard working IMM staff who have fresh and original ideas and also a growing playerbase.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Feb 28, 2006
I tried hard to like this Game- after all, it promised an 'Intensive Role-play environment' with 'reasonable' PK. I thought I'd found my dream. In the end, it turns out that AR is yet another 'take out who you can' kind of MUD, with little or no chance for RP, let alone a fair chance. I am hugely disappointed with this game, that promised so much, only to deliver a short, sharp kick to the balls. If you've into being banged and slaughtered (fully looted, of course) with no explanation or reason, then by all means, go for it. Otherwise, and especially those that look for RP of any kind- Look Out!
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jul 1, 2005
Well, at first this game was quite interesting. A lot of the spells/skills are unique and the areas are vast. It's very group friendly and will always have a staff member around to help you. However, within 24 hours I was slaughtered by another player for no reason. Bad enough right? Well, lo and behold the staff ENCOURAGE people to kill other people for no reason. I mean, they say there should be RP but at the end of the day, they're very quick to say "Kill anyone for any reason as many times as you'd like". I was killed 8 times in a week, and was forced to get all of my equipment back about 5 of those times, since players can loot your corpse dry. Yeah, so that means I spent most of my online time gathering equipment. After about a week, I realized that 70% of the skills are stock ROM/Rot blah blah, etc. Point is, this game is fun, but it won't ever go anywhere because of the annoying pricks who play.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jun 16, 2005
This mud is full of unbelievable prick bastards. I have never played such a mud in my entire career, and yet I can't stop.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Mar 26, 2005
Abandoned realms has been up since 1997 and since has created a devout following due to the discipline of the administrative staff and their dedication to creating a highly balanced, interesting PK MUD where skill, quick thinking, and a decent knowledge of the realms is required to win instead of merely having the most 'buff character'. The main immortal, Burzuk, is extremely intelligent and is more interested in making the tough and sometimes unpopular decisions that in the longrun result in a better mud rather than just adding in as much things as possible and appeasing the playerbase. As a result AR has a solid code that encourages balanced fights and the use of skill instead of a massive conglomeration of poorly thought out races, skills, classes and abilities. In addition the codebase has been streamlined resulting in a faster mud with much, much more stability than your averege rom mud. The other immortals also do their job well. Torkalen is the most active and helpful immortal I've ever seen. He's always on and will bend over backwards to help any newbie. Others like Clesa, Merindol and Resatimm are also extremely helpful and in no way are on a 'power-trip' as a result of being an immortal. Overall the immortal staff is helpful and amiable. Despite this, cheating is policed heavily and very few people get away with breaking the rules. It is also an RP-enforced mud with plenty of dynamic and interesting RP constantly occuring. Invasions, cabal wars, and interesting character to character interactions occur while the Herald cabal documents it all and publishes it in their Theran Mystique. The code, however, is AR's best aspect. To list off just a few of the many changes to the standard ROM codebase it's based off of... A built-from-scratch, fully customized OLC. Though I'm not an immortal, I've worked with it before and I can say without doubt that it's the best OLC I've ever seen. A built-from-scratch mobprog system that allows mobs to do things you've never seen before on a mud. (i.e. the occasional, organized goblin attacks on the city of Seringale, with a goblin extermination squad fighting them off) An innovative and unique cabal warfare system. The ability to make 'hardcore' characters. Hardcore characters can only die once and those who make it to level 35 get a headstone in the cemetary of lost heroes. We've never had anyone make it to level 50 (the highest level) yet, but just recently someone came really close. A customized quest system (we've had one for a while, but there is a brand new one currently in the process of being implemented) that has in-depth quests rather than the 'get x item and give it to y mob' that you see on every other mud. A streamlined and extremely stable codebase. Intelligent, static PK ranges that prevents unfair fights while still allowing interesting battles. Cigar, cigarette and pipe smoking. Smoking some items creates some very interesting affects (and don't... Read More
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Jan 12, 2005
When you first step into the Abandoned realms, you are immersed in a highly descriptive and lush environment. You open youreyes to the newbie academy, which is not just the stock area. The newbie academy has places to practice and train, as well as a quest to complete. adjacent to the academy is the arena which is also not the stock arena, the only foxes, snails, and boars you find here, are bought as pets. Once you pass the newbie academy, you enter the town of your choosing, this town is filled with very helpful people. The staff is also extreemly helpful, they even have a class of immortal whose only job is to help those new to the realms. Also, they sport a newbie channel that you can use until level 10 to ask ANY question. After that you have the Q/A channel. Everything is role played here, and some of the most talented roleplayers have gathered here and make the lands come to life. You have many different class and race selections, all with thier strengths and weaknesses, and all of which can join elite cabals around the lands. Almost none of the equipment here is stock, exceting a few odds and ends, the same holds true for the areas, be it the harsh coldness of winter, or the lush setting of the canopy. All in all, this is one of the most addicting ROMS out there, it has been around since 1996, and will soon celebrate its 10th anniversary. Hope to see you there soon.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jan 11, 2005
The game is extremely well balanced, and it is great, but the imms and imps are assholes. They will allow vet players to cuss and pretty much do as they please, and anyone they dont know personally will be banned for the slightest infraction. their playerbase used to number in the hundreds, now its only 20-30 max on at any given time and during nighttime it it usually down to 5 people or less. Perhaps this is because of their unfair and self interested attitude.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Dec 8, 2004
I think ar is great. FOR some reason ar has banned my only way into ar. got any ideas ?
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Dec 1, 2004
AR is one one the best games ever!!!!i have not played a mud as long as this one nearly 3 years in october 9!!!great game and people. ^_^
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Oct 8, 2004
I've been playing abandoned realms for a very long time. I love the game and am probibly considered addicted to it. Like any game it has its perks and flaws. Some of the perks are that it is fast past, the roll play from some of the charictors are quite good, its fun obtaining the equipment and meeting new charictors or even exploring the realm. However there are some negatives to the game. Though they are getting better help for newbies is still kind of lacking unless there is an immortal present and helping you with about every step... Which there rarely is. Two, there are some people on here who kill just for the fun of it and it gets quite frustrating when your fresh and trying to get a flow going for the game. Three, if you happen to be playing or trying to play from a banned site you will be unable to play for hours, sitting in a room with no one to talk to and nothing to do for hours... With the exception of writing your description with perfection. When you do get out you have time enough to get to rank 15 before being put in there for some time longer unless you are permanently unbanned and able to play within the rules perfectly. So, like I said before. It is a fun game with its perks and flaws. Enjoy your time playing, its worth it!
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Oct 2, 2004
I first played Abandoned Realms (AR) in 1998 when it had been around for a little over a year I think. My first inpression was one of amazement at how comprehensive the structure of gameplay and races and classes was. After having played four or five other MUDs, I found AR easy to use, as well as interesting and fun. A few days ago I logged on again after a three year 'sabbatical', and found many additions and and improvements, though not enough to change the face of the MUD, just enough to make it better. I sincerely advise anyone to visit this MUD and spend time playing and working it out. Whilst you may never reach the coveted lvl 50, or join a cabal, you will meet loads of like-minded people all there for some intelligent role-playing. Like anything, there are a few dead weights that connect and play, though in the whole they are enthusiatic MUDers all in for a ride.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Sep 22, 2004
Where to start, where to start... Well, I've been into mudding for well over four years now, spending literally thousand of hours on such kind of games. I did try quite a few muds out there, but I must say none impressed me more than Abandoned Realms. When I was making my first character, I was rather cautious after I saw the race/class choices - I am not a big fan of multiple races and classes, since they rarely turn out to be well-made and balanced. Perhaps I was just unlucky with the muds I played before. Balance here is next to perfect - basically every skill is useful, every class can stand its own. Not in a mindless brawl, of course. Don't expect to be able to take out a warrior with a thief just standing and circling him, or whatever. But a smart ninja can do his thing by striking swiftly, then fleeing just as quickly as he attacked. A thief can get the possesions of their target without even fighting them. A necromancer, while weak on its own, can be a great threat to anyone after spending some time creating an army of undead. All in all, classes and races are very well made, very varied. Each employs different tactics, different approach. I also like the way Cabals are set up. There is a "Justice" Cabal, which can summon guards to hunt outlaws who break the laws of the cities. There is the Legion, a Cabal of powermongering evil slayers. The Assassins, who can help anyone with their adversaries, for a price, of course. There are Vampires - a special class with their own formidable and feared tricks and skills. Equipment system is also very well thought out. Instead of mobs having their set of equipment, or randomly "popping" things, there are "rare" and "unique" items in game, and there can only be this much of each "rare" or "unique" item at any given time. So its simply impossible for everyone to have the same set of powerful equipment, and the struggle for the most sought-after things can become rather grand. What I also enjoy about Abandoned Realms, is that while the MUD is a free pk mud, people do not spend all the time in mindless slaughter. You don't see paladins going around smiting everyone because they feel like it, or thieves backstabbing everyone they can. Roleplay on AR is fairly deep, and is encouraged; going beyond your character's "image" - ie a lawful cleric attacking everyone in town, or an elf hunting gnomes because he wants their eq - turns one into an "outcast", with severe penalties - and more space for more advanced RP as well. There's a lot I forgot to mention in this post, of course, a lot of things I simply am not aware of, a lot of things just cannot be expressed by words. But I like Abandoned Realms a lot, and I would recommend it to who... Read More
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Sep 21, 2004
I haven't been playing AR as long as many others, but I have never in my whole life found anything more addictive. The race and class system are all in complete balance with no flaws in my opinion. Each class has a set of skills which can be used in many differant ways and situations, every day I play AR I find new and exciting mobs to kill and steal their equipment that they hold, or new areas which I bump into by accident. The mud is heavy roleplay anyone who doesn't roleplay won't get far, many of the players chose to submerge themselves that little bit further than the old crappy 'your evil, im good you die now' Many interesting and unique roleplays arise with almost every new charcter or situation. The cabals are excellent, and always someone from a cabal online wheather it be a Blessed Knight, an evil son a bitch Legion or even Heralds which are scribes of the land and are always interesting just to be around. The mud is also heavilly based around player killing which leads to such an awesome game, some people roleplay pacifists which avoid combat but I can gaunrantee there will almost always be someone hunting for some blood for one reason or another. Epic battles arise between the pinnacled heros more each day. As the power between the fighting cabals sways back and forth leading into a era which they seem to be most dominant mostly because they have elimated the evils and they are afraid for their lives to come into the sights of a knight, but soon enough the Legions will make a comeback and elimate the knights leader causing much turmoil between their ranks and giving the oposition a time to strike back and become the more dominant cabal. Every moment on AR is quite exciting and riviting as you rank within forests, castles, dungeons, temples, cities and more. You can be sure the skill level of the AR pk'ers are insanely high and this blood thirsty mud will give you a chance to prove yourself a hero or be obliterated by your oponent and become a peon. I suggest ANYONE with a decent sense for an insanely well balanced and riviting mud should give AR a try and make your hero bring peace the lands, destroy and create turmoil for everyone or even bring ultimate balance to the land.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jul 23, 2004
I have been an avid player on Abandoned Realms for about 5+ years which is a testament to the MUD's continual growth, addictive gameplay, achievements in balance, devotion to both RP and PK, and no-nonsense but accessible immortal staff. First, growth: the mud is huge and continually growing. Large volumes of areas are all connected by a river system which gives you the option to take the highroad, although the other option of going the long way is still available. The areas may be numerous yet after a little practice and exploration, they all fall into place and navigation quickly becomes easy. Second, gameplay: shared enjoyment of the MUD is central to Abandoned Realms. The immortals voluntarily devote a large amount of time to enforce rules that benefit everyone. The implementors keep the MUD absolutely free while also spending copious amounts of time to add classes, races, and cabals (clans). Third, balance: good and evil are well balanced by which skills and spells they receive. Goods generally have powerful defensive (and some good offensive) skills while evils have equally powerful offensive skills. The forces of good versus evil are only imbalanced by the individual fighting skills of the players, where the balance of power should be decided. Neutrals are also numerous and help or hurt both aligns as expected. Skills and spells are continually analyzed and sometimes slightly adjusted to perpetuate balance in the game. Fourth, RP/PK: some characters decide to roleplay more than they PK, and there are certain cabals that provide for a more RP friendly environment. All players are expected to learn at least how to defend themselves or run away, as PK is encouraged and is by no means frowned upon. However, PK is restricted in certain ways during lower levels to eliminate experienced players from taking advantage of newer players, and even while PKing, RP is greatly encouraged. I learned how to PK by dying to more experienced players when i started off, before the low level PK restrictions were enforced. I feel that the new rules foster a much more newbie-friendly environment. There are even certain 'reward' races such as the undead race, and the vampire class, and also the Assassin Cabal which are reserved for those who show the highest RP and PK abilities. Fifth and lastly, the immortal/implementor staff: the IMPS and IMMS have seen many people come and go, and the ones who are remaining are the ones who genuinely care about the MUD and therefore do not tolerate cheating or undue partiality to certain people. The IMMs' attention is equally attainable by the new player who quickly learns how to PK or RP exceptionally just as much as a player who has been around for years. If you are searching for a mud where medieval and mythical roleplaying combines with intense fights and even larger cabal wars, http://abandonedrealms.wolfpaw.net is the first step into the most addictive game i have ever played. Check out the forum to grasp basics... Read More
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Jul 19, 2004
Heck, kind of makes me wonder why I'm still playing these games, but I've been playing this game for about 6 or so years now. I've played all kinds of other MUDs and online multiplayer games, and even though I've come across a few which blew me away with the level of depth and detail(all were pay to play sites), NONE have been able to hook me and keep me as addicted as this one. Every time I take a break and move on to doing whatever else I move on to(drinking, partying, spending months doing military training, jail time, whatever) I always seem to come back just to get as hooked as I was the first time around. For the most part, the RP of the veteran players is excellent. It really adds to the atmosphere of the game, not to mention with the heavy PK, the paranoia factor as well. If you're a tree hugging, squirrel petting druid or paladin or whatever you may be, you better be sure that dark knight or shaman that's in your PK range is just itching to snuff your little light out of the world. Same on the other side as well. If you're a necromancer or an illithid, be sure that paladin or monk will be coming for you so that his new little newbie buddy can rest easy just a little longer. The main thing though is the balance of the game. Every race, class, ablilty combo has been thought out carefully before and after implementation so that no single race or class is more powerful than the other. What it all comes down to in the end is skill. The battles can be long, short, easy, hard, and always guaranteed to get your sweaty little hands dripping crap all over your keyboard threatening to short everything out. [All of this is at the higher levels of course where battles can rage on for what seems like an eternity.] It's been over 6 years and I still haven't covered every inch of the realms. Maybe because I'm lazy, maybe because I'm scared of all the nasty superpowered baddies that hide in the darkest corners of the realms. The immortals are always active and tinkering with this or that, expanding the realms or tweaking things to add that little extra bit of realism or whatever it is they do. And as to the newbie friendliness of this game which I keep reading about in other reviews... When dealing in a heavy RP and PK environment, you have to know who to ask. If you've just made yourself an evil fire giant berserker, there aren't really going to be that many lightwalkers out there who are willing to turn you into the melon bursting machine that you think you should be by playing a walking charcoal briquette. And if you want help from the other evil badasses running around in the game, good luck. It's in their character to out... Read More
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Jul 19, 2004
Hell, kinda makes me wonder what the hell I'm still doing playing these games, but I've been playing this game for about 6 or so years now. I've played all kinds of other MUDs and online multiplayer games, and even though I've come across a few which blew me away with the level of depth and detail(all were pay to play sites), NONE have been able to hook me and keep me as addicted as this one. Every time I take a break and move on to doing whatever else I move on to(drinking, partying, spending months doing military training, jail time, whatever) I always seem to come back just to get as hooked as I was the first time around. For the most part, the RP of the veteran players is excellent. It really adds to the atmosphere of the game, not to mention with the heavy PK, the paranoia factor as well. If you're a tree hugging, squirrel petting druid or paladin or whatever you may be, you better be sure that dark knight or shaman that's in your PK range is just itching to snuff your little light out of the world. Same on the other side as well. If you're a necromancer or an illithid, be sure that paladin or monk will be coming for you so that his new little newbie buddy can rest easy just a little longer. The main thing though is the balance of the game. Every race, class, ablilty combo has been thought out carefully before and after implementation so that no single race or class is more powerful than the other. What it all comes down to in the end is skill. The battles can be long, short, easy, hard, and always guaranteed to get your sweaty little hands dripping crap all over your keyboard threatening to short everything out. [All of this is at the higher levels of course where battles can rage on for what seems like an eternity.] It's been over 6 years and I still haven't covered every inch of the realms. Maybe cuz I'm lazy, maybe cuz I'm scared of all the nasty superpowered baddies that hide in the darkest corners of the realms. The immortals are always active and tinkering with this or that, expanding the realms or tweaking things to add that little extra bit of realism or whatever it is they do. And as to the newbie friendliness of this game which I keep reading about in other reviews... When dealing in a heavy RP and PK environment, you have to know who to ask. If you've just made yourself an evil fire giant berserker, there aren't really going to be that many lightwalkers out there who are willing to turn you into the melon bursting machine that you think you should be by playing a walking charcoal briquette. And if you want help from the other evil badasses running around in the game, good luck. It's in their to... Read More
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jul 13, 2004
I have played Abandoned Realms(AR) for several years and I am quite pleased with the MUD. AR's strongest quality is it's fairness - above all else a skill/spell is considered in the grand scheme of things, you will not find an overly powerful class/clan/race- this alone sets AR apart from many of the multitude of MUDS out there. The focus on fairness in game has allowed for brains to over come brawn in almost every encounter, the MUD requires thought, simple hack and slash will only carry you so far. It is important that you know that the game was created to be played at 50, however the game is equally balanced at other ranks, namely the 35th. If you wish to play and learn AR gain to this rank and learn the in's and outs of warfare, and strategy. There are a number of guides available at the home page, as well as a forum supported by the IMM staff. The intense PK/RP enviroment instills a constant state of paranoia on it's players. If you enjoy PK there are a number of clans available. The wicked Legionnaires will stop at nothing for power. The virtuous Knights of Valour will stop at nothing to vanquish the evils of Thera. The Warlords are an honor bound Clan that believe that physical strength shall overcome magic in open combat. The Heralds record History as it happens, and are more than willing to converse over a slab of Hyando's beef and a barrel of beer. AR is home to many fascinating creatures, intriguing roleplay, and fierce battling. AR is a captivating MUD that has a place for everyone. If you are faint of heart find a home with many of the RP driven clans, if you enjoy the thrills of battle then AR has many paths for you as well. Come if you dare to the Abandoned Realms.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jun 6, 2004
This is a copy of an e-mail I sent to the admin at this mud: I would love to play on your mud, & have tried numerous times to connect, only to be told my site is banned, & that I will have to wait for an immortal to OK me. I have given up after waiting full 20 minutes (I have tried 10 different times), & the fact that you say I will have to go through this EVERY time I want to connect is utter BULLSHIT!!! The description you give on TOP MUD SITES says "plenty of friendly imms will answer your questions" So where are these people!!! The fact that I use AOL is no reason for this kind of treatment. I'm all for banning spammers, but in America, one is considered innocent until proven guilty!!! BOYCOTT THIS SITE UNTIL THE OPEN THEIR GAME TO ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO PLAY!!! IF THEY THEN, AFTER THE PLAYER HAS PLAYED, DETERMINE THAT THE PLAYER HAS BROKEN THE RULES, THEN, AND ONLY THEN, BAN THEM!
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on May 27, 2004
First of all, I'd like to say that this seems to be a highly detailed mud that is great for people who love to pk. There are many classes with plenty of skills that can be used in many original ways and is great if you are looking for a pk mud. The main problem with this mud is the RP. This wouldn't be much of a problem except that the mud is classified as RP mandatory and in all my time playing, I wasn't even sure that they encouraged RP or anything else other than PK. There was even discussion on the forums about removing the emote feature (which in my opinion makes it almost impossible to RP). There seems to be no difference between OOC and IC. As soon as I made a character I got asked "want to group with me?" and then after a bit of mindless mob killing, "you need better eq. I'll go on as an alt and get you some." Now, don't get me wrong. This is a very high quality mud and it seems like an excellent place for the many people who love pk. They even have articles about different pk strategies with each class. The only problem I have with it is that it calls itself RP mandatory when it just isn't. If you love pk and don't care about RP, this is definitely the mud for you. If you are looking for a mud with excellent RP, this is not it.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Apr 27, 2004
My brother introduced me to this mud, since he seems to play it often. I would like to point out, despite the reviews of the past, what this mud is now: First, newbie friendliness has much improved from what it seemed like before(based on reviews). Granted you are definitely not supposed to learn everything in a week, but there's so much to grasp, any amount of help will still require time to figure out. A lot of newbie friendly people who mention through the newbie chat have been quite helpful, although the help is not always clear cut. I've been left confused by some people's answers, and others I've had enough clue to figure it out, although in most cases it's still not a straight answer. Exploring is quite annoying, as with any mud, people just want to know where they are going. Having known a few places outside of the main town, it made it a little easier. This mud also is very straightforward with its rules. They enforce it without you knowing sometimes. I do read the rules of every mud I go to, and sometimes I test them to see how well they are enforced. It is a way for me in part to determine how good a mud is. And boy, they do a good job of enforcing the rules. One night, my brother had found some equipment from a character and decided to save it for this one, by putting it on an unlikely NPC(I kept complaining about crappy equipment). Between characters there is a 10 minute log time period to wait before you can sign on again, unless it's the same character you just logged off. About 20 minutes have passed, and I had logged on this character to retrieve the things. With all the time that has passed you could assume that you're not being watched, but no. As soon as I picked up, I was immediately transferred to the 'You're in big trouble' room, and had to go through the step process of the rules. It was very clever to have, and at the end it gives you the choice of pleading or not caring. I went the former. The imm made sure I knew which rule I broke and promised not to do it again, and if I get caught I'll have to delete, which is fair. Anyway, fairness if anything is well enforced in the game, with people having the same opportunity to anything. One thing I am a little disappointed about is the playerbase. The TMC reviews, although I would assume years old, claims 50-100 in peak hours, but I barely see up to 30-35 on peak. I really wonder why this is. Anyway, I'll hope to bring the playerbase up, by inviting other people, since I do like this mud. Good job AR.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Mar 24, 2004
AR's an awesome place. I've been playing it for 5 years now (only seriously for the last year, year and a half). It's difficult on seasoned adventurers new to ar, new areas to learn, small and minor quirks that make it unique both in combat and in it's realms. The game is incredibly balanced and the idea that it's a lets give the players whatever they want and screw up all sense of gameplay/balance is ridiculous. AR thrives on the fact that all idea are thought through for the future consequences instead of the momentary glamour. A lot of muds have clans/cabals, ar has them also, but AR's are limited so that only the 1337 ones will get in. This keeps the sense of awe and pushes the desire to improve. To add to the mystery of AR is the art of warfare. It's tricky because only experience and numerous deaths will engrain the fine details of successful combat. For instance, an oppenent is near dead, you are close to dead yourself, you and he blinded by dirt kick for the tick. Do you chase him as best you can, or sleep and gamble that you gain a fair amount of health back (more than your opponent) and try your luck (big factor of ar) and see how the next rounds go. Shrug, can't answer it because it's intuation and a feel of the game that can never be mastered based on numbers and figures. The last thing that draws me to AR is it's balance. Despite inherent race/class weaknesses, a deep knowledge of the game allows for you to counteract to some degree these things. Gnomes are weak to blunt objects, yet, they've the ability to gain more health than other people through their excess wisdom giving them more trains to convert into health. This means that possibly, the gnome can outlast the attacker. Or the gnome can outfight the attacker and try to exploit on of their vulnerabilities... Subtle details and complexities make it great.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Mar 16, 2004
Hey! It's my third review about this MUD! And I'm not a noob on it! Well, maybe... um... Let's not talk about that. Anyways, this is a MUD that has always been based off a huge player-base, being one of the first ones here, and it's about time that we actually got off our arses and started voting. Our playerbase almost doubled, which, in turn, made this more addicting! (If it is possible.) There is a hefty amount of stuff that is included into this MUD, very minute things that most would probably take for granted. But these small things add up, making a fun, enjoyable AR experience! There is a good selection of races, each with their restrictions, weaknesses, and special abilities. This MUD is mostly original, with a few areas and most of the races out of something you'd probably find in a book. The IMMs balance game fairness and the skills that you get, occasionally adding a skill or two that will balance out gimped classes a bit more. Updates are always coming, even if the IMPs do work a little slow *cough*. Bugs are very few, most banged out in the early stages of the MUD. There is a relatively wide selection of cabals, just waiting for someone to light a fuse to start a war. (Do it! I wanna see a war! Pleeeaaassseee???) Currently, there is a war between Thera and the Abyss, with demonic races to play as. Is is noob-friendly until you reach level 15, then you must have a good hearty sense of paranoia. This is a big PK MUD, and although roleplaying is high, you always have people with a sword trying to get in your back. It is quite simple to learn, with an interactive MUD school that makes you work with the basics to get through it. Overall, this is the best MUD I have ever played, even after trying loads of other MUDs. So come on in and play! (Don't you hate it when people do that? This is a review, not a car dealership!)
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Feb 16, 2004
Erm I have played abandoned realms for years and years now...First mud I ever played and the only mud I realy ever play. I love it...it is totaly kick ass. There is actualy skill required with the player killing...There is training so people who put more time in have the upper hand....It is totaly and completely kick arse and I suggest you come on in. We have immortals that are friendly and specific immortals just to answer questions from new people...um...Yeah I think the player base is mostly ages of 15-25 or so...Older Imms roleplay is generaly enforced when able...Multiplaying is Illegal...Cheaters are banned...Come on in and try it!
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Dec 29, 2003
When I read that it was newbie friendly I figured I'd give it a chance thinking at least I wouldn't be tossed into empty space with no clue or help to learn. Boy was I wrong! I wandered, with no help whatsoever, and then when I explained I didn't understand something, I got snubbed. No help, newbie friendly is not what I'd call it at all. So unless you know everything forwards and backwards or have a friend there that does, don't expect to be treated 'friendly'.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Nov 30, 2003
Ar is a mud where you actually have to spend time to learn things. What would be the point in even playing if you know everything there is to know in a week. Most of the important things you learn in the tower of knowledge(mud school), but you have to actually look at the room descriptions, read the signs and actually devote some of your so very precious time. After learning the easy things and at level 5 or so, you go out the first time. Probably even before, you will be approached by a guide immortal asking if you need help. You don't say 'k, im a n00b,w-l u get me eqs?' No! As it has been stated before, this is a rp enforced mud.'(If you do so, the imm will probably tell you to start rping or whatever) You pay attention and learn the things he/she teaches you. Since this is also a hardcore pk mud, you shouldn't rank over level 9. You stop there and try to learn as much as you can... P.S. This might not be the easiest mud around, but if you get good at it, you will most likely turn away from anything else, 'cause this mud will rock you out of your socks.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Nov 26, 2003
Well, as the power was down on the Mud I normally play, I went to check out one that had been recommended by a player of mine. I am an Imm on one and will be an Owner of another one coming out shortly. However, after adjusting to the new mud and getting a set of eq for my Invoker, I was taken away from my group and transported to a room with no exits where I was demanded to change my name by one of the immortals there. It was not profane or anything, as I was not there to cause problems, merely to have fun. So I am stuck in that room, with the Renaming Bouncer, with no avenue of escape until they approve of my new name. My name was Christophe, as I have used on countless other Muds. Nothing dramatic, as it is based on historical, 13th century Spainish spellings, meaning Christ-bringer. However the staff, after dismissing my explaination, could only say, 'It is obviously cutting it too close to Christopher.' No comment on my explanation, or reasoning for the decree. This is something I do not tolerate on my Mud, and will not choose to play in myself. So much for bringing a sense of the past, in a game BASED in the past! Imagine that. Maybe that's just my history degree talking though. Anyway, I would have to not recommend this Mud to potential players. It was terribly difficult to get around in, unless you know people to level you going in, and many of the features that I am accustomed to, such as color, maps on the screen, character customization and even basic command structures are lacking. I would give it a reluctant half-star on a five star scale.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Sep 17, 2003
Every mud has their own system of what's acceptable name-wise and what's not. Most muds for example would not allow the name 'Thismudsucks'. In our case, we do not allow names that are too similar to a real name -- the point is to create your own name without the baggage of prev2ious associations and preconceptions. 'Too similar' is defined for us as only one or two letters off from a real name. For example, 'Saphire' would not be allowed, but we would allow something like 'Sapphaira'. 'Christophe', of course, is only one letter off from the common name 'Christopher', hence it is not allowed. This is stated clearly under 'help name', which the Immortal may or may not have referred you to. Abandoned Realms uses minimal color; rather than having a 'rainbow mud', we prefer for each player to set their own favorite color setup using their mud client. For getting around, in most places in our world, you can simply type 'map' and it will show you a map of where you are as well as the areas around you. Also, you start out with maps of the world as well as the main town, Seringale, in your inventory. Our Tower of Knowledge, the equivalent of the newbie school, teaches you most of the basic commands you need to know.
– MudConnector.Com Review by on Sep 14, 2003
i have been an avid player on Abandoned Realms for about 5+ years which is a testament to the MUD's continual growth, addictive gameplay, achievements in balance, devotion to both RP and PK, and no-nonsense but accessible immortal staff. first, growth: the mud is huge and continually growing. large volumes of areas are all connected by a river system which gives you the option to take the highroad, although the other option of going the long way is still available. the areas may be numerous yet after a little practice and exploration, they all fall into place and navigation quickly becomes easy. second, gameplay: shared enjoyment of the MUD is central to Abandoned Realms. the immortals voluntarily devote a large amount of time to enforce rules that benefit everyone. the implementors keep the MUD absolutely free while also spending copious amounts of time to add classes, races, and cabals (clans). third, balance: good and evil are well balanced by which skills and spells they receive. goods generally have powerful defensive (and some good offensive) skills while evils have equally powerful offensive skills. the forces of good versus evil are only imbalanced by the individual fighting skills of the players, where the balance of power should be decided. neutrals are also numerous and help or hurt both aligns as expected. skills and spells are continually analyzed and sometimes slightly adjusted to perpetuate balance in the game. fourth, RP/PK: some characters decide to roleplay more than they PK, and there are certain cabals that provide for a more RP friendly environment. all players are expected to learn at least how to defend themselves or run away, as PK is encouraged and is by no means frowned upon. however, PK is restricted in certain ways during lower levels to eliminate experienced players from taking advantage of newer players, and even while PKing, RP is greatly encouraged. i learned how to PK by dying to more experienced players when i started off, before the low level PK restrictions were enforced. i feel that the new rules foster a much more newbie-friendly environment. there are even certain "reward" races such as the undead race, and the vampire class, and also the Assassin Cabal which are reserved for those who show the highest RP and PK abilities. fifth and lastly, the immortal/implementor staff: the IMPS and IMMS have seen many people come and go, and the ones who are remaining are the ones who genuinely care about the MUD and therefore do not tolerate cheating or undue partiality to certain people. the IMMs' attention is equally attainable by the new player who quickly learns how to PK or RP exceptionally just as much as a player who has been around for years. if you are searching for a mud where medieval and mythical roleplaying combines with intense fights and even larger cabal wars, http://abandonedrealms.wolfpaw.net is the first step into the most addictive game i have ever played. check out the forum to grasp basics... Read More
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Sep 13, 2003
After having played this mud for over 3 years, I can honestly say this mud is not what it once was. As the time went on with this mud, the Immortal staff became more and more biase. They only help their friends, in the sense that I was banned from this mud because I killed a player by the name of "Kanata" and the next thing I knew I was banned for "multiing" even though they really had nothing on me for that. And ontop of that, after Kanata died, he logged on with an elf paladin, and also called for the leader of the Knights cabal to log on and they multi killed me. And to top it off, an immortal put some flag on me which prevented me from logging off, and then transferred me to the location of the two. How is that for a fair immortal staff? There is basically no roleplaying, and no advancement for this mud. It has not been updated for quite some time, even though there are countless numbers of bugs and flaws on it. The player base is fairly small, almost miniscule. It basically consists of the same 10 or so players multiing, and logging on multiple characters at once. It isn't newbie friend, and the Immortals can be jerks about it. The immortals are basically all on the same boat, and aren't even very dedicated to the mud. The server for this mud is constantly going down so no consistent game play is had. This mud is not worth trying, because you will get no where on the mud unless you know an immortal and are good friends with them. Because no matter how hard you try to earn your way up, once you get too high up there, you will get banned. That is what happened to me.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Sep 11, 2003
I've been playing Ar for....too long. But it's like online crack, you can sometimes suffer through withdrawls and get off it, but eventually you just want to do one line for old times sake....and you're back on it. Not that I'm a crack addict, so I can't quite honestly compared it to crack, but it's a good assumption. The good thing is AR wont make you skinny and pale....unless you do drugs so you're wired and can stay up longer to play the game. But that's discouraged, we already have our resident drug addict divsky, but hey! If you're a junkie, that's alright! The staff at AR treats everyone equally, we have more unique messed up players then a Jerry Springers special updates episode. We got hardcore players, we got drunken irish players, we got funny talking australian players, shexy female players who couldnt pk to save their life, yet manage a badass bit of roleplaying. We even got Baer! And that's saying a lot. The game is really balanced pk-wise, RP is enforced, out of pk assisting will get the beats layed down on you, busted multiplayers are left with tender anuses, and all is well for those who just want to play a solidly built game. Other games say they have RP, but really, it's just a lot of the time some sad "I serve darkness eternally, blah blah" speech from someone everytime you try talking to them while fighting. We also have the Heralds cabal, which even releases the equivalent of an IC newsletter, with rumors on what Knight is sleeping with the Knight Imm to get quick promotions, which Legion was seen whimpering like a girl after a thorough beating from a gnome, and even has interviews with the rising star characters, so other people can get their views and an insight into their behavior. It's a great RP piece, and great for laughs, as the articles in it are written by some talented and funny individuals. This said comment is in no way colored by the fact I am one of these said individuals, it's just a coincidence. AND NOTHING MORE! Try it out, it's worth at least a few hours of your time to see if it fits your style of mudding.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jun 16, 2003
Hi, this review is about ABANDONED REALMS. This mud is awesome. My name is Divsky and I can't stop thinking about AR. This mud is cool; and by cool, I mean totally sweet. Facts: 1. AR kicks ass. 2. AR has ninjas. 3. The purpose of AR is to flip out and kill people. Testimonial: AR has some awesome players. These guys are so crazy and awesome that they flip out ALL the time. I heard that there was this fire giant who was eating a slab of beef in market square. And when some dude dropped sanc the berserker killed the whole town. My friend Mark said that he saw a berserker totally bodyslam some elf just because the the elf cast faerie fog. And that's what I call a REAL AWESOME MUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you don't believe that AR is a Real Awesome mud you better get a life right now or I will chop your head off!!! It's an easy choice, if you ask me. AR is sooooooooooo sweet that I want to crap my pants. I can't believe it sometimes, but I feel it inside my heart. This mud is totally awesome and that's a fact. AR are fast, smooth, cool, stable, powerful, and sweet. I can't wait to start playing a necromancer. I love AR with all of my body (including my pee pee). Q&A Q: Why is everyone so obsessed with AR? A: AR is like the ultimate paradox. On one hand, some of the players don't give a crap, but on the other hand AR is totally suped-up hardcore bad-ass. Q: I heard the PKers on AR can be cruel or mean. What's their problem? A: Whoever told you that is a total liar. Just like other mammals, PKers on AR can be mean OR totally awesome. Q: What do people on AR do when they're not playing? A: Most of their free time is spent jerking-off, but sometimes they actually get laid. (Ask Scott if you don't believe me.)
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jun 14, 2003
My first mud to play in and I got addicted in a matter of days. I tried a few others like Medievia(Huge world, 500+ players) and a few other ones but this one is what counts. Been playing for about 5 years now and still going strong. Alot of new updates recently so props to all the IMMs hardwork. A few pros... Very interactive newbie school. Imms are always on, but not usually visible. Enforced RP. Wide variety of races and classes. Strict Multi-Playing Policy (No multiing whatsoever) Many cabals to choose from. Alot of realism (Getting drunk, getting high) Cons... NONE! If you are not happy with your current mud or haven't ever mudded I suggest you give Abandoned Realms a try. You won't regret it.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jun 11, 2003
Ah man, this mud is so awesome. I have tried alot of other muds, but this one always catches my attention.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jun 10, 2003
Follow up on some of the sucky muds I've tried. (for those of you who have absolutely no clue what I'm talking about, see review below this one.) Aechea Materia Magica Armageddon (don't get me started why I'm pissed off with them) MADrom (I like this one, but it still sucks compared to Abandoned Realms) Feudal Realms Imperian (not too bad, though) Illusions of the Mind Other muds with the name Abandoned in it Modern - Future MUDs Any other MUD that I've tried and hated
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jun 9, 2003
REALLY good quality mud. I've been playing this MUD for about only a year. I'm the type who goes out and searches for a good mud that is easy to get familiar with and have things that are suitable for all levels (although there is a slight tough period during the beginning of your adventure). I came across this one one day, tried playing it, and liked it quite alot. I kept on searching, and I probably still will now and then, and found that I could'mt find a mud that really was to my liking (Illusions of the Mind came close, but it has sucky races and classes). One of the things I loved about it was that this one is easy to roleplay in, because if you don't, you usually get toasted for it. If your afraid that you'll die if you try to RP, there's a nice RPing guide in the Strategy section (helpful). I'll start with the plusses of this MUD: - You can't abuse the multi character system, so no newbies running around with 20 of his characters at the same time. - Good RPing system. - Nice little reviews to help you get started. - Let's you change hometowns between 4 major cities. - Imms fuck those little bastards with perverted names (e.g. Periodstain Lickgina; really a guy who got busted). - Imms accept swearing except on public channels, so I couldn't yell the above comment on the town square. -MUD pop. doesn't go below 10 even during midnight. - Certain names like Bob are illegal so a new character cannot be made with normal names. - Lastly, you cannot have your new characters take your old characters stuff, for a touch of realism. - YES!!! REALISM!!! WHAT EVERY MUD NEEDS!!! YOU CAN GET DRUNK AND STONED!!! WOOT!!! And here is my small list of downsides for you picky peeps out there: - There are ways to bypass the dumb name system, and some created names aren't allowed (although these don't happen very often.) - You may fall into somewhere you can't get out of, and if you can't recall, you basically have to die of hunger and wait half an hour for your equipment to appear in a certain pit. (TIP: ALWAYS have a recall potion on you if you can't get free recalls.) - Not much characters prone to auctioning. - Lastly, you cannot have your new characters take your old characters stuff, for a touch of realism. The player of the Ssylthin family. Travis P.S. If your a noob and being an asshole, I'll kill you you son of a bitch.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jun 9, 2003
You know, it never ceases to amaze me how bitter people get when they get punished for breaking the rules. Now, I dont know the details of what you were referring to, as it was completely generalized, but suffice it to say, we call what we see. There is a specific forum for complaints against what you refer to as improper rule enforcement. If you have an issue, you can note to immortal, or to IMP if you feel that the immortals cant handle it. The general rule of thumb, is if it isnt in the helpfile, then we cant really bust someone for it. If you are who I think you are, then you are on crack, because I explained it all to you, and it is right there in the helpfile, and when you pick that ethos. If this isnt you, then disregard. Resatimm http://abandonedrealms.net
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Apr 11, 2003
Well, The immortals and players are helpful all in all. But just wait to you get to the max level. The moment you do you get screwed by them. Just because you have something that everyone else wants they are going to cheat the system to get it out of you. They will kill you in other words. Then they will switch over to their mortal characters and get it. As for reasoning, they tell you that you broke a rule, so you check the help files and there is no rule against what they claim is a so-called rule. All I know is that this mud is just about a bunch of people who run and get the advantages all for themselves. Sure there are other people playing it, but the moment you get up to their skill level, your character is as good as scrap, because they are going to screw you over.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Apr 11, 2003
This game is awesome. I am about as adicted as possible right now. It takes some getting used to the world but once you do you won't want to stop playing. I know there is another site that has the #1 spot but in my humble opinion ar should have it. The staff is very kool and always try and help you out.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Feb 18, 2003
This mud is hard core PKing, once your 10th level plus your going to almost be constantly pked or pking. If you like that kind of game then this is the mud server you want. Otherwise, your going to really hate it. As roleplaying is non-existant, for instance, you can be a Lawfull Good character and go around randomly PKing, or go get you exp's by killing good aligned creatures, just kill anything you want really, it makes no difference to alignments. And the mobs never realize your scum sucking LG murderous paladin. lol. The mobs have no factions. The only other thing that bothered me was the constant hunger or thirst, that can kill you really fast if you happen to run out of supplies. Anyway. that my review.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Feb 6, 2003
I started out with this mud about 6 years ago and never stopped. You could call me an adict! The roll play is great, there are always conquests to try and get yourself to do, and above all its just fun. The imms are always trying to make things better with new ideas from anyone who wants to post them. Such as, your walking through the goblin village and suddenly a dart hits you in the back. It does nothing but its kind of a cool effect to the realms. Also its getting easier and easier for newbies to begin here. They have done about everything they can do for you, all you have to have is patience and read everything you can to learn as much as you can. Also if you need help in any way they link newbie chat with the cabals (More experienced Players)so they can help and the immortals help out a lot with newbie crys. All in all its a great game and I give it a 10! A f*cking 10!!!
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Feb 6, 2003
Abandoned Realms is SUPED! Neil Diamond headbangs around the room!
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Feb 4, 2003
Being that this is the first and only mud I have ever played I don't know how effective the review is. I have played AR for many years now, and still I have many questions which need to be answered about this place. Meaning if you have a lot of time on your hands this is probibly the place to spend it. It is very addictive. There are downfalls to this place though, like any other place. One of which are the imms, when they feel like it they will help you which in some cases you will be lucky to get a word in. This, however has been changing, they have newly added imms which will actually listen to your problems and try and fix them. But this is also bad, you get some of these new powerhungry imms who won't have anything to do with you and even threaten to kill you for speaking your words with them, no matter how harmless they may be. One of the other problems with AR is it is not for newbies, this too has been changing for the better but still has a lot of work. Many of the elder players sometimes just go on killing sprees making learning very difficult at times. So rank fairly fast and be sure to know how to practice, and where to practice. AR has been striving to do better with many things lately. One of which are quests. if you like to learn about other lands this would be the best place to do it, you can search an area for days and see nothing and within 5 minutes have 30 quests. But with more than 100 and some difficult for even the master ranks to get it makes it fun. Cabals, i'm sure are in every mud, but need a little roll play work. Legions, supposed to be the bad guys, seemed to fear the Justice... Didn't really do anything to show they were powerhungry, which they are... They only showed the Knights there power, what little they had. Mystics just stayed in there towers practicing magic and holding on to there mighty eq. harolds and assassins are about the only two great roll playing cabals, yet the harolds still need a little work, they are supposed to scribe for others while I have asked them to do so and they were eq hunting when they already had a full set, just not what they really wanted. Greed consumed all cabals really... Well, thats all I have to really say about this place. All in all I would give it an average score of 5 of 10. Nothing spectacular, yet still addictive.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Sep 4, 2002
I've played AR for almost 2 years from mid 2000, and it've always been my favourite. No game have ever captivated me for more than three months. Abandoned Realms is a large MUD, lots of quests and a balanced race/class system. Immortals now are trying their best to improve AR, and to provide a better experience here. AR is quite a newbie friendly MUD. When I first started playing, players were friendly and willing to help; as in showing you areas, giving some equipments and sharing valuable knowledge of the realms. It is not very easy to grasp a strong "foundation" of AR, though many players who played for a long time have a vast understanding of Abandoned Realms. Roleplaying as well as Player-killing are superb. I strongly recommend Abandoned Realms to anyone out there who is willing to try a new game. For me, AR've been the first mud I played, and it will be the last mud I'll play. A very addictive game for anyone who wishes to take on the challenge of becoming the elite of Abandoned Realms.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jul 20, 2002
As a relative newbie (heavy mudder five years ago, getting back into it now), I found this mud to be very disappointing. The mud is set up very nicely, and the immorts and high-ranking mortals are very helpful and reasonable, but a SIGNIFICANT number of players like to mingle around the lev 15-25 rank, seemingly solely to ambush recently ranked newbies. Although the higher ranks tend to show a certain respect for one another in duels, these lower class (in every sense) players seem to get a great deal of satisfaction out of ugly, sometimes repeated pkills. And with a coded penalty of 1 con for every fourth death, a newbie can quickly be discouraged. I would not recommend this mud to anyone that does not own a comic book store.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Feb 26, 2002
I've been playing Abandonedrealms MUD for a little over two years now, and i've found my experince to be highly satisfying. When I began playing this MUD I didn't have any experince with MUD's what so ever. I recall the day, I was looking on the internet for information about AD&D(Advanced Dungens and Dragons) When I stumbled across this site and it led me to the MUD itself. As a total newbie mudder a more experinced character took me under his wing and guided me through ranking, roleplaying and exploring. Even today I find it hard to forget his name, Messenga. I just recently began to code for this MUD and Im finding myself enjoying the game much more because I have a hand in it. (When I get a minute to play that is) My personal experince aside, The mud itself has numerous combinations of races and classes that result in colourful combinations of roleplay and playerkill. There are several Immortals around to help newbies to the game and to the world of mudding. Know only that if you give Abandonedrealms a try, you'l be hooked for life.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Feb 3, 2002
I've been MUDding for nearly two years now, and through constant "shopping" I've settled on the choice: The Abandoned Realms. AR has the perfect mix of gameplay and roleplay, and the character interaction is unmatched. Every time I log on, there's a new adventure. Over the past nine+ months, the MUD has gone through a series of HUGE improvements resulting in several new areas and MUCH smoother gameplay. Recently, there have also been a profusion of game "events" which adds even more variation. A new coding IMP, several new Immortals, a larger playerbase, more builders and coders, and topnotch management have gotten me more addicted, if that is possible. The fun of the game is that no matter HOW good the current best player is, they can be beaten as I found out recently myself. The learning curve was pretty sharp when I first joined in the summer of 2000, but by plodding through with the help of friendly IMMs and other players I managed to make it to the "elite" playing field. There is fun and excitement and every level of play. A hot reboot system, fine-tuned player-kill and roleplay systems and 16 races, 15 classes and 7 cabals make Abandoned Realms the perfect choice for the newbie OR veteran MUDder.
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Jan 23, 2002
I've played on many muds. I've immed on more, I've even coded my own, though it didn't last long. But no mud, not even one designed from the ground up to suit me and plase me, has ever been quite as addicting as Abandoned Realms. I started playing quite awhile ago, in early November 1998, I think it was. Since the minute I sat down to really learn and enjoy the world of AR, I've been utterly, hopelessly addicted to it. And that's the best way to describe it, AR is truly a mud for the player who likes it all, the Playerkilling, the Roleplaying, and even of late the need to adventure and explore. While a player is still required to choose his race and class in the rather sterile stock rom method, and there isn't as much freedom of choice in skills, spells, and title, the restrictions imposed by that very sterility only serve to help a player feel the need to 'break the mold', to be unique, to roleplay a role that's never before been thought of, to strike fear into the hearts of the masses with a goofy little gnome bard. Recently, Abandoned Realms has gone through an immortal staff change, and where some of the older immortals remain, things are mostly being run by those who were once the elite players, the best of the best in their fields. While that is debatable by many (I wouldn't mind being able to slap around a few of the old immortals' characters, myself, again), I'm sure nobody would disagree with me when I say that the new staff has added more to AR in a short while than the old did in over a year of administration. Recent changes include addition of new skills, spells, and player classes, the addition of many new areas, the revamping of the old, unfit, stock areas, and the tweaking of previously underpowered skills. A player can do almost anything he or she wishes in the Realms, join a Cabal of the elite, turn on his own cabal and become Outcast, compose music, enforce the Law, break the Law, even gamble with a dirty old Drow... of course, the stakes are no higher than the worth of one's own life. Player Killing is an integral part of Abandoned Realms. Certain powerful pieces of equipment are incredibly rare, and only a certain number of them can be in mortal hands at one time. The powers of these pieces of armor, weapons, and trinkets are sometimes great enough to turn the tides of a war; so it goes without saying that they are sometimes more valuable than a person's life... especially if that person is not you. Evil kills the good for bragging rights, good kills the evil for the sake of greater good, and those of neutral allignment can join any side at any time. Strategies for player killing can range from an Assassin's need for a quick, silent murder, a... Read More
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Nov 6, 2001
The Abandoned Realms mud is based on a combination of player killing and role playing and is most tactical and engrossing mud that I have ever played. They are diverse classes on offer ranging from the standard warrior and invoker to the more unusual ninja and pscionsit. Every class has finely tuned skills and spells to ensure that all classes are well balanced. There are also numerous races to choose from. Again AR offers a diverse range from fire giants to Slith and Illithid. Each race has their own strengths and weakness which can be exploited. To preserve balance, the imms have restricted which race may be a member of which class. This introduces some interesting tactical decisions before your character is even created. Will you become a dwarf berserker knowing that dwarfs get the highest health of all races plus magic resistance but their small size makes them a target for the larger races or will you become a fire giant berserker knowing that their great strength will allow them to dominate in the early ranks but their weakness to ice and magic will make them vulnerable to mages in the mid and high ranks? Ar uses a experience based system to level. As you gain in ranks, your character will gain more skills and/or spells. The maximum rank that can be reached is level 50. Once your character reaches level 50, all skills/spells would have been reached. Ar uses a teaching system to learn skills/spells. Once you have reached the sufficient rank, your character must go to its nearest guild house, where the guildmaster will teach you the skill. It isn’t quite as simple as that though – your guild can only teach you the skills up to 75% proficiency. The remaining 25% must come from training and using the skill. This adds yet another dimension to the mud. Ar is also a role playing mud. Certain role playing aspects are enforced such as having a well written description after level 15 and a suitable role playing name. But most of the role playing comes from the player base. There are also cabals available to elite players – Knights, Legion, Assassin, Mystic to name but some. Entry into a cabal brings new skills/spells but introduces new politics and dangers. Every player aims to enter a cabal but few make it. One of the more exciting aspects of the mud, is the increased emphasis on role playing with imms actively aiding in players role playing. Your character can find religion ie become a follower of a certain god. This requires good role playing and those who excel will me awarded with a tattoo with unique abilities. Likewise those that stray from their religion will be punished. Those who prove their role playing ability to the imms may also be rewarded in other ways eg by getting to choose their own title for their character. There are also quests available. These come in the form similar to old... Read More
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Oct 31, 2001
I have been playing Abandoned Realms for almost 3 years now and without question my time there has been quite enjoyable. The mixture of required Role Playing and Player Killing keeps Abandoned Realms exciting for mudders at almost any skill level in either. Personally I prefer Role Play and can not Player Kill as well as most, however I still am able to fit in and succeed in all the different areas in Abandoned Realms. Abandoned Realms is almost consantly being improved on by our devoted builders and coders who devote their time to making AR a better and more original Mud. In addition to several new classes and new cabals, we also have started having Immortal ran quests with various rewards. We have many exciting Cabals and race/class combos which can be experienced in an unlimited ammount of ways. Even after 3 years of playing I still have not finished all my goals. This is a short review, but I hope it gets the point accross. If you are looking for an exciting mud, Abandoned Realms is DEFINATELY worth your time. telnet 63.202.40.128 9000 telnet abandonedrealms.net 9000
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Oct 13, 2001
Abandoned Realms is not my first MUD, I have also played in places such as Carrion Fields and Realms of Despair.. Avelon etcetera. That said, I will try to divulge why I have decided to make AR my home, and now, the only MUD I ever play. I begin playing Abandoned Realms competitively in about October 1998, the day I read the TMC review. Well things have come along quite a way since there, there are new cabals added, new races, classes.. more areas, more immortals.. fanpages and a forum.. as you would expect to spring up at any developing mud. There is also a chat where you can come into contact with other players and immortals who admin it, which can provoke some colourful discussions. The MUD itself runs at a fast pace and is maintained by 3 implementors. In the past, AR had been having problems, but recently a new coder joined and fixed them. Since then Abandoned Realms is been up and running smoothly for hours and hours at a time. AR is also always open to offers from prospective builders and houses its own "test port", OLC school and webpage to teach the basics. I joined as a builder a few months ago and have found it very rewarding having been a player for about two years before that. As you level and roleplay on the game there is always a sense of paranoia, that you must be checking for your 'pk' in the area since they can kill you and take your equipment. This gives AR an exhilirating quality. Of the 5 or 6 cabals on AR, one of them is devoted to protection and law enforcement in the towns.. when there is a JUSTICE member online, the towns are mostly safe, though the cabal LEGION often comes around to attempt to do something about that. Typically there is a justice member on, at peak times its practically guaranteed. Other cabals include KNIGHT (lightwalkers), MYSTIC (magic uses), WARLORD (warriors) and HERALD (chroniclers). There is also rumour of an assassin cabal though they are very secretive and hidden away.. Warning: Do not come to Abandoned Realms if you wish to have a life outside the game. This MUD should carry health warnings for its severely addictive near marriage-wrecking qualities and you may well find yourself submerged in here for weeks at a time. Long term, as you play character after character, you will get to know the immortals and strike up a friendship with them. Then you may one day have a chance of becoming an immortal.. chosen from among the elite of the game for being the best roleplayers, of which you will find there is stiff competition. A quick overview of what you will find at AR: 1) 10-12 races/classes varying from warriors and invokers, to paladins and rangers, including a quest class (vampire). 2) 7 cabals to choose from, if you can roleplay well enough, but be prepared to go war... Read More
– TopMUDSites.Com Review by on Sep 21, 2001