Avendar has been going through a rather extensive overhaul during the last few years. The classes, skills, spells, and races have all seen extensive reworking and have improved ten fold since the start of this. New areas are being released, new items and changes to existing items and areas have all become a regular function once again. The current staff that supports Avendar.com has truly sunk thousands of their personal time and effort into ensuring that Avendar.com is as up to date and competitive as it can be. Where we once started, this new staff has come in and picked up the slack and really taken off running with the direction and theme of this world. I fully recommend that you come and see it for yourself.

I began playing Avendar in 1999. When I type that I realize how much time has gone by, and then I look at the game and I see how much has changed. When I started playing we had a pretty decent sized playerbase at all hours of the day and night. It was never quiet, but that's a good thing. We had an Immortal staff that was busy cranking out stuff, making the game better and all in all the people seemed happy. Back then I was new, though. This hard game was just that: Hard. I didn't realize at the time that while some people made an effort to help me most of these people were content just living in their own worlds, making their characters as strong as possible. I got better. I learned the ropes. Things looked up for me for a long time, but I never was part of any of the cliques that at the time seemed to always run the game. Newbies came and went. Sometimes they stayed but overall the numbers in the game gradually declined. There were obvious highs during the summer and the expected lows during the winter but each year it got worse and worse. Some of these highs I would miss and sometimes I'd miss the lows too due to my job in the Navy, but then sometimes I would come back and see the sad shape of the MUD. It crashed often, sometimes two and three times each day. Again the numbers began to decline. New staff members took over and it seemed as if things would change, yet again the MUD stagnated. Lofty promises would be made, but most of the work was being put on just a few people who couldn't maintain game. Often there was talk of 'Avendar 2.0' and yet this was just another promise that ended up never seeing the light. Eventually the game became stable and updates began happening, but it was like getting a school bus running for the upcoming school year when there were no kids within a hundred miles. Some of the vets stayed around, but mostly the game became a ghost town. Avendar was, for all intents and purposes, dead. There were three Immortals that changed the tide though. Neongrey, Ninjadyne and Brazen. Brazen and Neongrey had been part of the staff for some time and both were making huge strides in trying to make the MUD a better place, while Ninjadyne spent his off time helping Neongrey with helpfiles and Brazen with coding. Ninjadyne eventually became an Immortal and Neongrey became the Implementor of Avendar. I'm reminded of a word from Norse mythology; Ragnarok: The end of the reign of the Old Gods and the beginning of the New Gods. This is Avendar 2.0, not because the code has been completely redone, but because Neongrey, Brazen and Ninjadyne have breathed new life into a once prospering world. For the first time in years this a... Read More

Avendar's setting is so incredibly rich it's a little intimidating, at first. The mud's completely original and there's a huge array of original races to play; though one can still play a human if they wish to. The classes are mostly original, with a unique take on some classes experienced mudders have come to know and love. The magic system is fairly standard, though selecting what type of 'mage' you want to be isn't just typing 'necromancer', or 'enchanter'. Choosing spheres of study is the way of Avendar, and all of the elements are present and accounted for. For 'good' and 'evil', one chooses either Spirit or Void (and void is recommended for experienced Avendarans only), and you can either choose to be a Greater in your chosen sphere (choosing the sphere twice at creation) or you can be a combination of them: earth/air scholar, water/void scholar, etc. (some combinations are better than others, though all are still quite playable) The staff is attentive and there are occasional staff-run quests and events, though most of the mud is player-driven. The organizations are fairly standard, even if their players don't happen to be. Good has their Champions of Armril, Evils have their choice of Raiders of Twilight or the Covenant of the Shunned (an experienced player-exclusive house), neutrals have Knights of Enirra, and any alignment can join the Guardians of Law (just need to be lawful). Houses fight over Stones of Power, and their are only 10 stones to be had. Makes for interesting diplomacy and house-raiding most certainly. The gods are pretty important, but they have less of an active hand in the world. Though, if you wish to be devoted to a god, you simply need to pray to that god, and if they are listening, a-questing you go to get a 'sigil' (a god's specific brand that's not easy to get, but usually worth it.) The mud environment is a rich place full of role-playing of every caliber, and playerkilling of every caliber. If player-killing isn't your thing, don't play a shuddeni (always evil race) or a ch'taren (always good race) in a house. If rp is your thing, there's literally no limit to roles one can play in the crucible that is Avendar.

I believe this may be the briefest review I've ever done. There is very, very little in Avendar I don't happen to love. Avendar has a thoroughly unique world, absolutely no stock areas. (at least none that I've seen, and I've touched at least 3.5k rooms at the writing of this review.) Avendar also sports unique races; Ch'taren, Chaja, ethron to name a few. Avendar's class selection is half-standard, to a point. The scholar and templar classes are unique, at least to this player. Alchemists are available, and your bread-and-butter fighters and rogues will always await your creation. The staff is friendly, the playerbase is incredibly helpful. The roleplay is believable, and the PK isn't too extreme. All of that said, I have one solitary gripe: The newbie school is lamentably brief. Despite my incredibly, entirely small gripe, Avendar is a great place for both veteran mudders and newblets alike.

I've been playing on Avendar for ten years now. In that time the MUD has under gone several changes. The staff has expanded some incredible new immortals, and lost some that were outstanding. The MUD itself has only continued to evolve from the brain child of a few friends into a community that strives to see things continue to work and grow more then they already have. The world is completely original, there have been several new areas added within the last few years, along with classes, races, spells and even the pre-existing ones have been tweaked and refined. While our base isn't the largest out there, I think we have one that really understands one another, and works well together. Most every story you come across from other players are well thought out and are done with a good touch of class and experience. It isn't hard to get lost in RP here at all, and spend hours talking and interacting with one another. As far as game play is concerned, the areas are large enough, and the different story lines that go with each area/race/etc are detailed enough that when you visit these places as a character you can feel them as if you were there. NPC's interact with you, they yell commands at one another in combat training and the amount of scripts and progs really let the player feel the time and thought that the immortal staff both past and present has put into this place. Unlike some other places that I've seen, here there is a place for almost and every sort of role. Loners, zealot goodies, even dark and evil characters can find people and places of like mind and origin to interact with and make a story line thrive and grow. With the vast amount of races available and the skills and classes that each can acquire it is easy to come up with something to fit almost everyone. You will find if you come here to play that the base as a whole has a rather wide and vast knowledge of the mechanics and game play of the classes and nearly every spell and skill available. We have a global channel for new players to ask questions, and a special section of our message forum designed for just that. If something comes up and someone is lost or needs help, it isn't hard to find. We aren't the largest of MUD's out there, so this is a place where someone can really stand out for the effort that they put into their play and character alike.

Avendar was the first MUD I ever played, on the recommendation of a friend. I have been playing for slightly over a year, and the experience has only improved with time. The staff is composed of superb and diabolically creative writers. The sheer amount of in-game lore and history to uncover is mind-boggling. The world and races are entirely original, each race with its own strengths and weaknesses. Examples are natural flight for the stately aelin and fire resistance for the reptillian srryn. The classes are for the most part very well-balanced and varied, with options ranging through most of the traditional classes (barbarian, bard) through many more esoteric and original ones like alchemists and void scholars. The magic system works with an interesting mechanic allowing a scholar to ?major? and ?minor? in two of the six magic elements for great versatility or devote his study entirely to one element, unlocking the powerful ?greater? spells. The PK system is a compromise between open and non-PK, with ranges established permitting characters to kill each other as long as they are within certain levels of each other. It is an integral part of the experience of Avendar, with clashes sometimes involving groups of four or more players on a side. Avendar is not without its issues, however. The code is very unstable, leading to frequent and aggravating crashes. Many of the players have been active for most, or all, of the MUD's years online, and there is much bad blood over OOC channels. This also leads to a punishing learning curve, especially where PK is concerned. Despite its flaws, Avendar is by far and away the best MUD I have ever played. The world is enormous, with myriads of riddles to solve and books to discover. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys quality roleplaying.

Introduction: I've played this mud on and off over the last 10 years (the last hiatus was caused by WOW). As a European, I find that I mostly play during the quiet hours, when there are little or no other players online, with player killing and interaction with the mostly American population happening only in the early or late European hours. Still, the world itself is built with such care that just exploring the new areas (that are regularly added), the fleshing out of older areas (also regularly), or to explore one of the classes I haven't played yet, is enough to keep me coming back for all these years. Current news: Avendar's codebase is currently being rewritten from scratch (read up on the plans on the forum), and where the initial stance of the imm-staff was to focus all resources on that process, protest from the players (who left like they were left behind in a world that wasn't taken care of anymore) changed the imms point of view. The number of patches and tweaks and fixes to the current world (that are being communicated to the players through 'help recent') is larger than in years. This response has been greatly appreciated by the players, as no one likes playing in a dead world. Examples: the latest areas added to the mud are heavily progged and more importantly, have visible stories woven into the game's lore and content. This makes the areas not separate, but things that add an enormous amount of life to the game. The valley of nordath, for example, has quests running over the whole mud to lift (or replace!) its curse, during which its history becomes clear. The bard class has a song (called the Walls of Nordath), which is inspired by the events in that area (All bard songs in general have names that are tied to game areas or history). Jindaska is the village of the caladaran race, and breathes the spirit of that race with all the quests and mobs. Quests in Jindaska will send you through the world again, as you follow the footsteps of a young druid. I still love the Ryarl plains, where you learn what kind of world the kankoran wolves live in, and can become a 'Kahn' of their people. I love the forst of Morn, which is just a harsh place, and sets the bar for every forestry area in Avendar. And I love the hundreds of little riddles and tricks and clues left all over avendar. If a beautiful lady is loitering near a pile of bones, get your priorities straight! Anyway, to sum up: if you're seeking a world to explore, Avendar is a very, very nice place to waste your time in.

I would like very badly to give this mud a better review. Unfortunately, while reviews of this mud have thus far been overwhelmingly positive, they only cover part of the story. On the whole, the previous reviewers' discussions of the mud's positive points are fairly accurate, and so I do recommend that you read them as well, before deciding whether you wish to play here. A major problem is that the mud is a little schizophrenic in nature. Avendar has recently been introducing some systems to cause players to treat mobs more like players. Unfortunately, it has been done very haphazardly, with several areas absented from this system that should not be, and with very little thought applied to it. That aside, it is a system (where repeatedly killing mobs of a certain 'faction' will cause them to dislike you, and eventually become aggressive to you) that would be much more suited to a MUD that is less combat-oriented. It is close to impossible to reach the game's highest level without having at least one entire area attack you on sight. This in fact causes a mechanical bias towards the good alignments, as many of the areas in which they fight are already aggressive. Paired with a system called 'request', which allows those of good alignment to simply ask a mobile for their equipment, and recieve it, the bias becomes severe. While the avowed intent of this system is to cause players to think of mobiles as closer to PCs, the problem with attaching such importance to the death of a mob is that to a PC, a death by itself means fairly little. There is an experience penalty, and a chance players may take from your corpse, but most player characters attach little meaning to their deaths, and will kill each other at the drop of a hat. Roleplay is enforced, but is not of particularly high-quality. Character backgrounds are required, but not noticably screened for quality or continuity with the setting, as long as they don't mention ninjas. Many characters who would highly benefit from immortal assistance or advice in this regard are left simply to flounder and continue as they are, without being informed or realizing that they would benefit from this kind of aid. Unconventional interpretations of alignment are tolerated, but not particularly encouraged. Players who work with the same alignment several times within a certain number of characters, where one character can last up to a year, to better learn the nuances of it have been known to be encouraged to delete by immortals. Descriptions are monitored but not closely. They are mainly screened more to fit style guidelines than for content. It's not rare, but not uncommon to see characters who, in their descriptions, take actions or impose emotions upon your own PC. There is little emphasis on internal continuity in roleplay. A player character who has dealt with the same immortal at different occasions may reference prior events and receive more... Read More

I started playing this mud on a recommendation from a friend. He said it was the best mud he'd ever played. I didnt' know what to think, so I tried it for myself. I've been playing here for a little over four years, playing happily. The mud has an amazing array of spells you can mix and match by switching up the scholar spheres(fire/water/air/earth/void/spirit). There are rogues(thief, bandit, assassin, watcher), and there are warriors(barbarian, swordmaster, gladiator), and then there are naturalists(druid/ranger). There are even bards! Then my favorite, templars (same spheres as listed above) they are more like fighter-mages. The mud is a roleplay-enforced mud. The better you are at roleplaying, the more you're noticed. If you can prove you can roleplay well enough, immortals interact with you more. Which makes the game all that much more fun.

Avendar is well-written, fleshed out world. It has a creation story which leads to religions of all angles. It's war torn history infuses the atmosphere with conflict and struggle between the different causes. Some causes have been taken up by Houses, which are led by mortals, and are sponsored by a patron god. The Houses all have a purpose and unique style of operation. There are the Guardians of Law, the band of notorious criminal Raiders, the dark and secretive Coven of the Shunned, the purehearted Champions, the honorable Legionnaires, and the Knights of Enaerai whom constantly attempt to keep the Houses in balance. The Houses struggle for the Stones of Power, which grant them abilities. I have a soft spot for the brash and tempermental Raiders, whom often bicker and fight amongst themselves due to varying beliefs and ultimately greed. True to their theme, their abilities consist of dastardly escapes with kicks to the groin and quick lift off reptilian-avian mounts, leaving a wake of bandits pillaging and setting fire to a city. There are many races of original design (except for the obvious human): the wolfish Kankoran who by tradition are affiliated with tribe-packs, the reptilian (saurian) Srryns who originate from the swamps and have a reputation for savage nastiness, the hulking Alatharya whose capacity for magic was taken away from them during the Sundering for their hubris, the sophisticated Aelins who fly with avian grace, the Shuddeni whose hatred runs ancient and deep as their subterranean cities, the list goes on (11 races total). The Chaja, a race long enslaved by the Shuddeni, and once only seen as a mob, just recently became available to players with good accounts. Avendar's greatest draw to me is it's clean game mechanics. There are so many classes, each with their unique style of play. They can be split up into Warrior, Rogue, Scholar (mage), Templar (mage-warrior), Naturalist (Ranger and Druid), and then the uncategorized Bard whose array of sweeping songs can be surprisingly effective and mindwarping Psionicist. Each category contains 4-6 classes. The showy gladitor is a warrior with many options, from gouging out eyes, to entangling a foe within a net, to the crowd pleasing decapitation. The barbarian is different, a berserker whom relies upon brutal offense, hewing through his enemies with abandon. I dig the Scholars, initially weak, but gradually they will grow into powerful archmages. You select a major and minor within an element: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Spirit, Void. You can mix them up for more combinations, or go pure (Greater), which I recommend. Some of the areas are immersive as they get, complete with quests, and mobs that react in interesting ways. To this day, I fear the kankoran hunter that prowls a certain set of woods. I will never forget the last glimpse of movement in the brush, being knocked out, dragged into a cage, then waking up to the sight of the predator sharpening his knife, preparing to skin me a... Read More

My perspective is as both player and MUD staff member. Prior to getting hooked on Avendar in 1998, I played a variety of MUDS for more than four years. On the PK continuum, the PvP action in Avendar is only slightly restricted, and it is *intense*! The huge variety of abilities and classes (750+ abilities in 24 classes) make for very interesting match-ups and battles. For the most part, the balance with class powers is quite good (though at this time, a few classes--Watcher, or thief-taker, and Spirit Scholar, or positive-energy mage, could use a boost). Conflict at higher levels often centers around the Stones of Power, ten artifacts which are sought after by the great ruling houses many adventurers join: Raiders of Twilight, Guardians of the Law, and Champions of the Light. There are no completely 'safe' areas (though there are 'safer' areas around city guards and taverns with bouncers). PK is restricted by level ranges and character role only. On the continuum of RP requirement, RP is mandatory. Original names, descriptions, and character backgrounds are required. Avendar uses an account system, and players whose characters are consistently and adeptly adding to the RP environment are rewarded account points which will give players special at-creation options for future characters from their account (including things such as having a manservant, for a char with a gentry background, or designing a unique heirloom!) On the continuum of RP style, Avendar leans towards epic-style roleplay. Your character is an adventurer, and your role will likely involve epic deeds as well as the mundane. The above-mentioned houses often have many ongoing RP storyline threads (such as a recent Guardian of Law thread wherein two evil law-enforcer characters became void golems, and now stand forever as npc guards in the Hall of Law). One *could* spend hours basket-weaving, fishing, hoeing in a field, or peddling goods (and some do)--such non-epic abilities aren't handled directly in the code but rather through the various RP tools (including 'think', which invites the MUD staff to observe or be involved in the current goings-on for your character). In terms of MUD development, I could go on and on, but I'll mention only a few things: the coders have developed an impressive suite of building and progging tools. There are NPC factions which players may find themselves allied to or opposed against based on their choices. Beyond hack-and-slash advancement, characters must garner 'exploration points' to advance in level by journeying throughout the world. And that world is large and immersive--the depth of storylines, excellent detail, and the mysteries waiting to be uncovered behind many of Avendar's areas are more than are to be found in the entirity of many MUDS. As other reviews have mentioned, the learning curve in Avendar can be steep. Steps have been taken to make the game more newbie-friendly, such as adding a mentoring system and newbie help channel, and revamping helpfiles. Getting the hang of Avendar is most definitely worth the is... Read More

Well, this has been a long time coming. I've been playing Avendar: The Crucible of Legends now for roughly 7 years. I was 19 years old when I began. I discovered Avendar right here on TMC, and was intrigued by a description depicting a struggle between houses (clans) for stones of power that would render special abilities to members of that house, when acquired along with mandatory roleplaying in an entirely original world. I would like to touch on some key points. Roleplaying - An absolutely phenomenal playerbase, with some of the best roleplayers and imaginations I've had the pleasure to interact with. The Admins have built a world rich in history and originality, so detailed that after seven years I still have only scratched the surface in many areas of gameplay. Skills/classes/races - An incredible balance of gameplay, unique on level that I have not been able to find on any other mud. We're not talking about elves and dwarves and orcs here. Original races from the Ch'taren, masters of good and light to the eyeless Shuddeni, brilliant but frail dwellers of the deep earth. Incredibly thought out classes, including Swordmasters, Psionicists, Templars(Masters of combat and magic), the wizard class, known as scholars, capable of manipulating their chosen element, Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Spirit and the Void and casting such powerful spells as Demon Summoning(Void), Disintegration(Fire), and Avatar(Spirit). This is just a tiny taste of what Avendar has to offer. Gameplay - In Avendar, you will have quests to perform, religions and Houses to join, and everything to sate your desires, from a balanced pk system to adventuring for wealth and power. Join the Guardians and protect the cities from the unlawful ilk who would lay them to waste or become a member of the Shunned, and plot your evil plans to spread your vile darkness throughout the lands. There are Champions of Light and Raiders of Twilight and followers of Dolgrael, soldiers of honor in all things. Or perhaps you would simply seek to distance yourself from society and amass your wealth to build your very own house, or tavern or even a keep. All these things and more are possible on Avendar... Come and check it out, I can't possibly detail everything that Avendar has to offer, hopefully though, this will whet your appetite for more. See you there.

Avendar: The Crucible of Legends. Made by players for players! Best damn game out there in my oh so humble opinion. Here is why: 1) Absolutely Original. Races, history, rooms, areas and all things involved in the game. Players who created it went beyond the call of duty for game creation. No Orcs, Goblins, or modified stock areas called original here. 2) Excellent selection of races: Aelin, Alatharyan, Ch'Taren, Caladaran, Ethron, Human, Kankoran, Nefortu, Shuddeni, Srryn. Each with a well rounded history and lots of background in the newbie school to help a player create. 3) Six major professions: Templars, Scholars, Rogues, Warriors, Naturalist, Uniques. Each profession comes with many classes to choose from. 4) Six major elements that effect the entire workings of the world: Air, Earth, Fire, Spirit, Void, Water. Races suffer from vulnerabilities to them, quests based on mastery of them, and equipment imbued with them. 5) Strict code of conduct that requires a player to have a well written description, well written history, and to stay in character at all times. Rewards for excelling at all of the above when you create an account with them. *highly recommended* 6) The absolute best Cabal system based on Houses and the use of the Stones of Power. Stones of Power go beyond use for just the Houses so a constant struggle continues to possess them. - Why play Avendar: The Crucible of Legends? Why the heck not? Tired of the same old crap? Tired of having to suck up for months to get decent Imm interaction? Tired of seeing no player run organizations or events? Get your arse over to Avendar and give it a good effort it deserves! Or never post any complaints about shoddy game experience on these forums! Host name: Avendar.com Port:9999

Avendar the Crucible of Legends. Players: Small player base, friendly players, good roleplaying atmosphere. Immortals: Helpful staff that continually upgrades the game with new and improved areas, skills, systems of combat, and all things fun. Areas: Well done with vivid room descriptions and a well integrated world to interact with. Items: Detailed and very interesting concepts. Houses(Cabals): Thoroughly rounded and in need of players to fill them all. Basically a game that has been around the block yet still grows continually. Great game to cut your teeth on or to settle down from a long career as a satisfied mudder.

Avendar? Impossibly superior. Been around the block in the DIKU-type genre, and I haven't seen the faintest glimmer or competition to the well-rounded combination of player-killing action and wholesome roleplaying experience.... anywhere. A plethora of classes catering to all interests -- from the standard gamut of mages taken to an unstandard level of detail, to well-adapted fighter-types, to the skulking, frightening rogues, to the truly unique bards (my favorites, and now with new skills!) and the psionicists, this MUD's developers have done an excellent job. Change is constant in this game, whether in the form of newly-implemented areas, a custom-built, one-of-a-kind quest event, or the repolarization of the playerbase through the shiftings of the Stones of Power. Either way, stagnation is nonexistent in the game. Significant effort has been made to ease the admittedly steep learning curve of the MUD; most recently, a newbie channel has been opened for new players to easily ask OOC questions to a hand-picked mentor group. A new stat system has also been implemented, and, for the true-at-heart roleplayers, after some interactions with the active immortal staff, you'll unlock an in-depth new trait system which helps one flesh out one's characters even more. Newb-friendly, straightforward, dynamic, enthralling. Avendar. ender.com:9999

Reasons to play Avendar: 1) Best areas I have seen on a mud which make the atmosphere for the game unparalleled in my time spent mudding there and elsewhere. 2) Best balanced classes I have seen in any game. 3) Richest history and some of the best roleplaying Imms I have encountered. 4) PK battles that rank amongst the most fun I have encountered, some on other games have been more intense but none as fun as a battle beneath Jasa Lake. Good versus Evil in a battle royal. 5) Some of the most helpful players I have met. 6) Some interesting quests that lead to learning the game and earning experience without actually getting swamped. 7) FREE HERO MAKING DAY STARTING MIDNIGHT THE 13TH of August 2004 AND RUNNING ALL DAY SATURDAY! Come and give the game a whirl. You can meet many people on channel Avendar on IRC if you need help to.

Well folks like all games Avenar has it's negative issues. It is very hard to work through as a new player to get the hang of and it has some very skilled veterans who can PK without any effort. That said the game has some great things to offer to a veteran player and for new players the Immstaff has been working diligently for the last several months to make it more newbie friendly. Low level quests, a newbie channel, and a very thorough history available in the newbie school makes Avendar a lot more open to new players. For veteran mudders I can honestly say I have not seen the likes of atmosphere for RPing in combination with PK anywhere else. Some games focus more on roleplaying while others focus on entirely player killing. Avendar has an amazing balance of both. But it is not for the faint at heart, the players take racial, guild, and house(cabal) rivalries very seriously. Roleplaying is mandatory and you will find a plethora of help from the players and the Immstaff to help acclimatize you. The atmosphere is down right amazing. Jolinn, and Iandir with the addition of Aeolis are sticklers for grammar and proper room creation. The builders on Avendar are held to a high standard and that has resulted in some absolutely amazing areas. The Ryarl Plains, the Forest of Morn, and Jasa Lake are simply amazing places to wander through. The revamped Nendor Forest south of the main city of Var Bandor offers an easily accessible introduction to the variation of areas in Avendar. The Clockwork Mansion quests for new players are a MUST though somewhat lethal at times you can work through most of the newbie quests it offers without fighting! Also the installation of a Mage in Var Bandor that offers up quests for low level characters is a great way to get a feeling for the game. As for game mechanics Avendar's classes have been around for a long time and are well thought out and balanced. I can honestly say that any class, given a balance of equipment, can hold it's own against any other class. Preparation on Avendar is enormous but that will come with time spent exploring the wonderful world. If you want to try something different that offers an absolutely great time for beginner or vet come to Avendar. The webpage is http://www.avendar.com/ and the logon is avendar.com 9999

Avendar? Impossibly superior. Been around the block in the DIKU-type genre, and I haven't seen the faintest glimmer or competition to the well-rounded combination of player-killing action and wholesome roleplaying experience.... ANYWHERE. A plethora of classes catering to all interests -- from the standard gamut of mages taken to an unstandard level of detail, to well-adapted fighter-types, to the skulking, frightening rogues, to the truly unique bards (now with new skills!) and the psionicists, this MUD's developers have done an excellent job. A new stat system has also been implemented, and, for the true-at-heart roleplayers, after some interactions with the active immortal staff, you'll unlock an in-depth new trait system which helps one flesh out one's characters even more. Newb-friendly. Straightforward. Dynamic. Enthralling. Avendar. ender.com 9999

My experience with Avendar has been a good one from the beginning. Everything that goes on in the MUD is fun and exciting, even dying is fun(at times :P). If you enjoy good Roleplaying and intense PK battles you will enjoy Avendar. The skills and abilities for each class are very well tuned and are very fun to use. If you want a good mudding environment I would suggest trying Avendar: The Crucible of Legends.

Like some players, I have come to enjoy and appreciate the world of the text medium. There are some things that can only be expressed in this world, that simply can't be done in a graphical fashion. One of these things is roleplaying, and even then I still feel a desire to become embroiled in complex game mechanics. I have come to find a beautiful mixture of these two components in the world of Avendar. With a number of unique races with specific traits and stats, and an entire selection of classes that range from the form-assuming Swordmasters to the mastery of fire and steel of the Fire Templars, there are always classes and races that can suit a specific role that you wish to create. All of the areas are fully original, and every mob is abundantly described, and typicaly very interactive through use of mob programs. Quests range from the quaint collection and errand type, to those where one unlocks the proper ritual in summoning demonic powers through translation of riddles and studying the history of various areas. Whenever I need a break from roleplaying, I can always grab the explorer part of me and take heart in exploring an area and realizing its beauty and uniqueness. The mud itself is fully customized and heavily modified. The level of complexity that exists within the class system has brought night long discussions to the Avendar IRC channel, ranging from full blown debates on playerkilling tactics to how certain spells and skills can be used to maximize roleplaying potential. Some veteran players have even gone on a limb to say that Avendar is possibly one of the most complex games in terms of game mechanics and balance. The learning curve in the Avendar world is steep, but extremely rewarding. Playerkilling is limited, but is recognized as a necessary tool in the world of roleplaying. Whether it is the violent highwayman, or the evil purging of the zealots, there is always something happening at the peak hours. Needless to say, I have come to find a home in Avendar. The learning curve is undoubtedly the largest drawback to Avendar. Many lose their resolve in playing after becoming the victim of a playerkill, and losing a number of their things. But for those who can persevere and move past this, will find a very rich and rewarding atmosphere for roleplayers, gamers, explorers, and playerkillers.

The quick and painfully honest summary: - learning curve: steep, challenging for non-veteran mudders - roleplaying: sometimes stellar, sometimes shallow - playerkilling: INTENSE! - playerbase: a bit lacking (2-10) during off hours. 25+ at peak. - world: all-original, large, immersive. Some areas simplistic connectors, others may take weeks explore, with secrets still uncovered. - MUD staff: dedicated, stable. Sometimes a bit distant. Crack down hard on cheating. Willing to support well-developed player ideas The Quote: "If you are looking for intense and varied player-vs-player action in a roleplay-mandatory environment, you've found it." The Anti-quote: “If you are looking for a very easy-to-play newbie-friendly MUD that places social interaction over raw action, you may find it here. You’ll likely be more satisfied elsewhere, though.” A few do’s and don’ts: Don’t wear suspicious items from cursed places, unless you wish to reinact with a host of undead a centuries-old battle every midnight. Do wear a full suit of armor bring along a battering ram when assaulting the gate of the Fortress of the Eye. Don’t randomly insult fire archmages. Just don’t. Do help out the soldiers when hill giants assault the mountain fortress. Don’t drink from strange pools on elemental planes. Do head for the nearest spirit archmage when a void archmage and his enthralled demons suddenly appear in a void rift before you. Don’t steal from that dopey-looking ranger when a city guard is nearby. Do struggle like mad when you suddenly find a garrote around your neck. Don’t ask the miller for a joke. Do be very polite to a barbarian if his/her fetish necklace has more than four or five ears. Don't wait until you are 60 years old to begin saving enough platinum for a house.

Being a player on Avendar for a couple years now has given me alot of perspective on the develop- ment of the mud and it's players. The players who originally started out on Avendar have evolved into some of the best roleplayers I have encountered. This has caused a trickle down effect which seems to be working quite well in promoting new players to roleplay as well. Roleplaying has been rewarded quite often as Avendar has evolved and gained a larger Immortal staff. I have seen some extremely complex and dynamic quests result from well played characters. The mechanics of character creation and skill development have been focused on for a long time. Though Avendar states it is still in Beta I feel that it is much more developed and robust than many muds who claim to be fully operational. With ten races to chose from and sixprofessions to choose from the combinations are boggling. All the races have quirks that make them advantageous with a drawback or two for balance. The classes are balanced and the Immortal staff are working on bringing in new ideas constantly. The size of Avendar has increased substantially since I started with over five new areas coming into being. I think it is now much easier as a new player to find a decent set of equipment and get started on learning the ropes. Avendar has a plethora of built in quests that makes it interesting and the Immortal staff have ensured each new area has a history to it. All areas are original. To state how well done the areas are, another mud in development has copied several. The playerbase has been growing and it is possible to find nights where you see thirty or fourty plus players running about. This has increased the political aspect of roleplaying in Avendar. This is what I enjoy the most, the tension between the factions and the playing out of related quests and battles. Each faction has it's own House and while it is not easy to get into a House you do learn alot by simply interacting with the members of each one. One drawback is that the playerbase, while growing, is still not large enough to fill all the Houses properly. This leads to a pendulum effect on occassion with a House gaing too much power and the others going into decline. Avendar is growing and will need more players to fill it's vast size. So for a very robust and well developed mud come check out Avendar. You can even chat with the players and Imms on: IRC Efnet #Avendar.