I played on this mud for 12 years coming and going but mostly active the whole time. I've seen it evolve and get better and better. I've seen players come and go and staff come and go. I've seen grand story lines take place and I've seen minor ones. It has its problems but it also has some good points. The staff is a mix of great and just there. Don't get me wrong they are all helpful but not all the staff understands some of the systems the game has. I took a look at the very first review and it talked about remort which I found funny because it is still not coded in. But it the coder is great and has added some amazing things. The players...are a grand mix. You have some that are serious and open and will rp all the time with anyone and try to help anyone they can. Then you have some players that pretty much are only after sexual rp. Then you have a few toxic players that if they don't like you will either refuse to acknowledge your character or they will try to screw up their story or insult them. There are rules in place through many many help files and these are strict at times and other times there is leeway. I have a love hate relationship with this mud and I was recently banned for mouthing off to a staff member. That being said i was having a bad day and exploded. The staff doesn't seem to be on the same page with a lot of things and if one of the owners is gone the rest tend to stand around and do nothing. I had a shop i was working on and it took two years to get approved because a staff member would come in, and then vanish, come back and vanish again. The other staff members didn't know enough to do it without the them. The game has subclasses and some are way better than others and there is no balance to it really. The motto the staff uses is we are not d&d but at the same time they use and copy a lot from d&d but leave out the other bits to fine tune it, just to be "different". The big story lines tend to revolve around the same characters and sometimes they even push out other characters and sort of hog the spotlight. Like I said there is a lot wrong with the game...but I love it and I'm gonna miss it. It hurts that I'm disliked so much that I cant come back. I know people there better than people irl. I'd do anything to play here again. And I recommend it to new players with words of warning. There is a small player base and you will be ignored by some of the characters unless you progress their story. There are some good players and they hidden... Read More

I considered leaving a more in-depth review after my time spent here, though I find it regretful to admit that it would be very similar to that of the one most recent(Posted December 12, 2018) and almost redundant. So I will add what little I can while acknowledging such when necessary. ??There certainly are people within the playerbase who care deeply about the shared experience offered towards players. Their patience knows no bounds, and they have my utmost respect for carrying on despite those who make it difficult. That being said, their excuses are easy to make with an admittedly small playerbase that has been around for many years, some of them even handed a spot as an Immortal - of which there is a baffling amount with how much work is needed to be done that simply isn't. Immortal responsibilities, as stated in the previous review, are a tangled mess and held back by those absent - my limited experience, and on a completely different MUD mind you, as an Admin(glorified Customer Service in my case) makes this easier to understand and accept, although precautions should have been taken to prevent these problems from growing to the state they're presently in. ??With the aforementioned playercount is the inevitable relaxation of rules or, more accurately, a reluctance to hold people accountable. Again, the other review had mentioned how this more-or-less results in badmouthing other players(not characters) openly across public channels, both former and current with little regard for respect or privacy. I had witnessed this twice, and it did involve the participation of staff. Were this a more private environment it would be expected, but in the presence of new players and with a desperate need for such, it reflects poorly on the community and forms a terrible first impression, not to mention souring the mood for those wanting to abstain from such drama. ??Erotic Roleplay is discussed quite often and, as others have hinted at, is seemingly an obsession of the playerbase. Before accusations are leveled my way, I have no shame in partaking and, as a writer, have done my fair share of oddities for sheer amusement. I don't see it as a problem in and of itself. I see it as a problem when it is a barrier for roleplay, or what entices those to bring new players into the clique. I've witnessed it and also took part myself - offer yourself as a carrot on a stick and you will be brought in and, depending on how open you are, elevated to a more desirable status. Vella was a nobody until I set her to be sexually available, in which I found her pulled into a longstanding storyline that had been and possibly still is on hold and on a first name basis with characters that had otherwise completely ignored her regardless of past roleplay. My perspective had shifted drastically, and not in a good way - it cheapened my views of the and,... Read More

TG has many great features. Too many to talk about in a review, but that need to be experienced. I particularly love the large world to use and explore, extended colors, and the gmote system that allows you to interact with characters and objects in the same mote. It has many features to use for a lot of creativity, some which you may never really feel the need to use, and don't have to. Pop in and give it a chance over a few days, even weeks to get used to the colors since other MUDs don't have as many. You're also able to turn off the colors if you don't like them. Many choices are available here to customize your experience. Stay for the good. If something has put you off of the, the staff appreciate being told so they'll have a chance to change it. If you do like it, please share it with your friends to enjoy this vast, creative world built by many different people over many years.

TL;DR - Players write reviews when angry. Don't let angry players keep you from experiencing something that could be wonderful. Give this mud a shot, what do you have to lose other than a few minutes of your time? Who knows, those few minutes could turn into years of fun like it has for me. First and foremost, I'm not going to hide behind a veil of anonymity to badmouth a mud that I've been playing. I am going to be as honest as I can with the knowledge I've gained over the years -- of staff, of players, of the mud in general, and even of the code. My character is Breeki, the overgrown lizard and lover of cats, and I first created this character back in 2013 but knew of The Gathering (or simply TG) for years, back in its overtly-sexual-anything-goes heyday and the weight that the name carried with it. I had that itch to mud, an itch that comes and goes with time, and the mud I played on before was dead. Needless to say, I took the plunge and created a character (Breeki) who I originally thought was going to be a feline judging by the most briefest helpfile I skimmed on the race. I was wrong as it turned out the race I glanced at, Jalachara, was actually quite reptilian in origin. No matter, I liked the name and the stats I rolled so I rolled with those punches. I'm glad I did because this mud shows the love and care that the staff and players put into it. In the following review, I want to pick apart a few lines of previous reviews and what they've had to say. First: The most recent review posted by Anonymous on July 31st, 2019 -- I have a good guess as to who this player is and their reasoning for what they say. They are the type of player who has to always have their way and it absolutely must be their way or the highway. They do not take criticism in any form and expect to always have the advantage and complaining tirelessly if they don't. What many don't seem to understand is that, though TG's roleplay-stat system is based on DnD (Dungeons and Dragons) the two are completely different and take different stats/points into account. This player, however, creates 'fixes' for skills/spells based on their own wants and desires to make their character stronger/more effective than taking game balance in consideration. In essence, what works in/for DnD does not often work in/for TG. For someone who claims to want to help the mud and promote it, this player is often at ends with both the staff and players by insulting them on and off the mud. They are, effectively, a large part of the 'toxicity' which they claim the mud has. All muds have their good, their bad, and their ugly. It's just all in how you view it and if a... Read More

As sad as it is for me to say, I must agree with the sentiment of the review below and I will name myself anonymous to remain confidential. I have been playing on The Gathering for many years, and I have felt that the immortals, or at least the major ones, who have been put in charge have either held contempt for some of the players, including myself, or have become mostly apathic. The MUD does have a ton of issues with immortal interaction with the player base, and I have basically moved on from 'I am gonna help promote this place and help them fix things' to basically 'Let them rot', even as an old player. I typically do not enjoy being looked down upon and being spoken to in a disrespectful way when I attempt to push for some change or make fixes that would better the MUD. The talk about wanting people to vote for the MUD on the MUD itself and always improving it, but I just cannot justify recommending this MUD to other players when there are people, both players and staff, which make it feel so toxic and bad to be a part of. I have tried to help the MUD change for the better for quite some time, but the immortals would prefer to see the MUD and it's system stagnate than to take helpful advice from it's players so that it could improve.

The Gathering... has many options for players. A large world to explore, and variations of colors to use to customize everything from your character description, to gear, to even your character's own player home. There are many commands that can be used towards making your roleplay experience fun. It used to be a good MUD. It's gone downhill. I truly hope each year it'll start to get better, and when it seems like it does or will it degrades once more. :( Warning: This MUD is truly for Adults. It has sexual content even in "safe" roleplay places, and that can be read in the roleplay notes, including Bestiality, Incest, Underage Sex (14 years is the minimum for SRP for the character, though players are much older), Rape, Fetal Deaths, Kidnapping, and fetishes I dare not name, and some of these that are combined. If you cannot handle these roleplay topics, even in hearing about them, move onto another game. TLDR: I suggest moving onto another MUD where the staff is truly attentive to all that is needed of ALL the player base equally. If this MUD gets into the high 10 ranks it may very well have changed to truly be able to handle new players. To this day of this review posted, the staff is incapable of handling who they have now that have been within them for years to a decade, and who are likely getting fed up with the staff and player behavior alike, though doing things against their very own rules. --------------------------------------- The staff don't really want to do anything about it. This game needs new staff, and kick off the inactive ones or the ones who aren't doing the roles they had agreed to take on. More, or new staff, to take over roles/duties that are necessary to the continuing success of the game. Especially to help their players in roleplay that has to do with the world. There is a control issue with the owners (one in particular who has created the entirety of the world, changed, and pretty much taken it over from what it used to be), and everything that owner has control over or knows will be put on hold for months to a OVER a YEAR when this owner is away. The players are expected to be patient, to wait that long, to find other things (when no other staff can help, and what game actually works like this?), or the player (not the staff in question) will be made to feel guilty for not being more patient. The smart thing for them to set us is to make it that not one staff member is in charge of any one thing. Then they all can do things for the game and players, and when one is on hiatus another can easily take over. The staff now will get frustrated with players "whining" about these things. They have no remorse for their players, and will expect players... Read More

Wow, where should I begin? Do I begin with an apology to TG's staff and players or do I begin with an explanation of why I am apologizing? I'll start with an explanation... The Gathering is indeed a successful mud and a must play (at least to try it out) They deal with several characters both supportive and obnoxious, on their own time, without pay, with the added stresses of life ... and simply do a magnificent job at it. I feel that it is only right that I retract my previous statements of TG Staff and Mud. I was a jerk to them and they simply did not deserve it. Being an Imm is a thankless position, all work, no play. Allow me to be one of the few who change that. Thank you Staff for putting up with me like you did for as long as you did. I was immature, thoughtless, and generally acting like a idiot. You guys worked very hard for that mud and still continue to work hard. Again, I recommend that whoever reads this at least tries The Gathering once. Now for my apology; I, Jayson, aka Navarre, Soran, Jaffar, Sytren, Synder, Azuril, (I think that narrows many of them down) apologize for being such a harsh bastard to The Gathering's Staff and players. I was wrong for treating you all like I did.

I have been an Immortal and I have been temp banned. I have praised the MUD (read my earlier review) and I have sworn that I would quit. I have had wonderful time and I have wanted to pull my hair out -- enough to where I thought it best for my mental health that I step down as a Coder rather than crash heads with one of the Administrators about how code should be written, amongst other things. TG is not a horrible place, and I don't want to make it out to me, but I can't help but think that, to an extent, it is a Guilded MUD: a very good outer layer that holds disappointments when held to a stricter light. I will speak of the problems, since that's what you'll want to know if you're reading this Review wondering if you should play. I find that I can't keep the 10,000 character limit TMC has, so it's only the problems I'll mention. 1) Lack of World and RP Depth. TG has a veritable armada of races. The helpfiles are, most often, very good at giving an image of them, though some are little more than a few cobbled-together paragraphs. There are a plethora of areas across many different continents. Once you get farther in, though, a player who wants quality to their RP world starts to see through much of the quantity to what TG is: a good concept poorly executed through bad area design and a lack of race enforcement. The feel of the continents, which each certainly has its own theme, is broken by having areas that make absolutely no sense placed haphazardly within them: a thriving, peaceful, green village in the middle of a swamp with no mention of the swamp within the village itself. A random taco shop in the middle of nowhere. If immersion into a magical world is TG's goal, then it fails to do that. Areas rarely, if ever, reference each other despite what their proximity might be, and overall the MUD feels more like something cobbled together than an actual believable world. The problem with races comes from the fact that there are, quite simply, too many with not enough variation. The number of races, rather than helping contribute to the overall feel of the MUD world, waters it down. There's the demonic dog-people, the natural dog-people, the humans-infected-with-a-disease-to-turn-into-dog-people. There's a bland catch-all 'Demon' race, a bland catch-all 'half-demon' race. Beyond that there's no enforced racial alignments, so Demons might be the most wonderfully snuggly people ever, and when a player tries to RP racism -- ie, good people don't like Demons because they are something, you know, bad -- then they are scorned ICly and OOCly by other players and will find their RP greatly suffers for it. The players of TG seem to want a bland world with no established conflict outside of the frivolous inter-character stuff that they come up with, and Staff... Read More

When I first started the gathering, I wanted a place that I could just relax and have fun and meet people. I didn't know anyone from the mud, I didn't know the staff. I'm always apprehensive from staying on muds that are new and I don't know. The first thing that gripped my attention when I started the gathering was the people. They greeted me, welcomed me, and there were several people playing. There is never anything so depressing as started a new mud and there is no one around. I might stay a few minutes but usually I get bored and leave. The next thing that grabbed my attention was that TG is different. I hadn't ever really played a DoT mud so having to have a short description instead of seeing a players name was very odd and different. So, the codebase immediately grabbed my attention also. Also the fact that I had to be 'in character' all the time was also new. I came from a mud that you could rp if you wanted but most people didn't. What does this say about TG? They have a playerbase that is active and cares about getting and keeping new players. They have a staff dedicated to gripping the attention of people and keeping them interested. The staff are dedicated and are constantly coming up with ways to better the mud and create storylines to keep player interest and enhance the mud. New zones are being created and the use of mudprogs to enhance areas is being used more often to give a more in depth feel. Are there problems with TG, of course, but the staff's ability to stay united and work around and with problems instead of ignoring or adding to them is phenomenal. They stick together and never bash each other. Even if one makes a mistake, they never bash or belittle the other. I've been on so many muds that have a divided front and it's stressful to the players. I was even immortal on a mud that clearly had favoritism, and as an imm they told me to shut up if I tried to be fair and treat everyone with respect and honesty. The gathering is very awesome at not showing favoritism. There is SRP on the gathering, but instead of looking at the gathering as an SRP mud, I see it as a mud that tolerates SRP. If that is your thing you aren't going to be punished or banned for it. If you don't like SRP there are still rp options available to you and the use of Profile Sheets aids greatly in finding players that have the same roleplay tastes as you. I also like the fact that tg tries to be as realistic as possible. I recently became staff and one of the first things I was asked to do was go through every area and make sure the place it was connected made sense. If I an... Read More

(OOC) an ebony haired doll-like woman says to you 'I apologize hun, but the player that has directed you here is banned and has the ability to get around IPs, like he proved a moment ago. I'm afraid its just too risky to allow you to play here, when the suspicion remains that you might be that player. :hug: I hope you find a good mud to play and enjoy yourself.' I do not know what that meant. I am Chinese. My english is very limited. But the game wizard told me I could not play because I looked like an old player that is banned. The game when I came to it first looked fun. One of the Wizards was nice the Goddess of Love but the other one accused me of being bad. So it is my recommendation to anyone who wants to play this game that they should find another game like she told me to do because we all might be mistaken for an old player. Thank you.

Alright, where to start? I've played here on the gathering for quite some time now. I've met tons of great friends, In Character, and Out of Character. All of my characters are what you can call confrontational - and I love em. I get into quite a few spats with other players, and at the end of the day, when I close my laptop and sign off, I laugh, remembering the great fun I had during my stay. There are so many things to do here. Immortal held events are common, from large, global Role plays to a simple, (yet highly addictive) event channel where trivia is often played for rewards. The world is absolutely huge. I mean...huge. With breathtaking described rooms, interesting objects and a nice overhead map so you can never be truly lost a player can spend months finding the secrets that lurk in nooks and cranny's all over. Questing is also a fun part of the world. Obtain your Relic Weapon which levels up as you do, each level unlocking its powers further until it becomes an ultimate killing machine in capable hands - yours! This is a role-play enforced mud, as such, RP takes precedence. You choose how you want your character to be played. Do you wish to follow a God or Goddess? Remain a Loner and worship none? Join a guild? Become part of an Empire? Perhaps create your OWN guild, or run your OWN city? The possibilities are endless. The Immortal staff is hard at work improving the world for all players. New code is constantly introduced, new areas always being created, its amazing. The Staff itself is fair and just, and if you had any idea just which characters I play you'd probably choke knowing I admitted that. They are good, loyal, hard working, and they are understanding. The Staff has been handpicked, and each does their job superbly. They are always open to suggestions and new ideas, make judgement's when issues arise that are fair and just (to everyone but the one their judging, of course!) and try to create a fun filled environment for all to have fun in. But words can never truly explain just what The Gathering is. You have to experience it for yourself. So stop on by, choose one of the 30 races we have to offer, pick a profession and jump right in. We'll be waiting!

I have been a player for this mud for just about six years and I must say that it has been on a decline over the years. The mud was good, friendly fun at first. Then strict rules began to be placed onto it, with immortals stepping way out of line in jailing people. Not only have they stepped out of line, but they also nit-pick at the smallest things and grow it into some sort of bigger problem. Along with creating unnecessary problems, they also recently scared away a player with their actions. They also jailed one of my own characters for disagreeing with them and for the fact, which I will quote, 'I don't take the immortals seriously.' As a player who has played for longer than most of the current immortal staff, I have to say that I am rather disappointed.

timeWhere to start? I have played on the Gathering for quite a number of years, often taking breaks or extended leaves, but even during those I found myself yearning to be apart of the atmosphere The Gathering presents. I've met countless friends OOC, even met one or two I cant stand, but in general, those whom I call friends shall remain so forever. That is the world of the Gathering. Great people playing great characters in a very rich and detailed world. The Gathering is a roleplay intensive mud. It is quite common for the Immortals to run global storylines, but more then that, the players themselves create storylines for everyone to participate in. From warring Gods to player created guilds seeking valuable quest items there is a role for everyone - and whats beautiful is that if you somehow DONT manage to find a storyline to be apart of, you can create your own! The Staff is dedicated, charming and just in general fun to be around. There is always an Immortal around, all the time. Our Coder, Trellan is dedicated to his art and presents new code almost daily. There is custom crafting, fishing, butterfly catching, guilds and religions, relic equipment which levels as your character does, and numerous other goodies that I cant list here due to lack of space. So, if you're looking for a world to escape into that is easy to learn, filled with exotic and fun characters played by good people in a world that is so very richly created, stop by the Gathering. We'll be waiting.

I have been at TG for five years, two as a member of the staff. In this time, the additions and improvements have been constant and incredible. A good number of the staff are working on projects every single day. Sheylynn just recently added a fantastic fishing code as well as a wonderful butterfly catching code for new characters to gain coins easily. Trellan is always adding in new codes that bring about cheers and fainting hearts from the fans. The Realm consists of seven continents, four moons and all with numerous areas within them and it's still growing! We have grown in areas such as Kingdoms, Empires, Cities, Villages and Forests that offer immense roleplay for those that enjoy political and historical styles. Characters are very involved in the management and function of the various areas. Some hold high offices through placement or elections and some claim lowly jobs while building their character. There really is no limit to how far a character can go in this Realm if they put in the time and creative thinking. The Roleplay Council consists of three highly experienced Immortals who work with the players to develop their unique character in inventive and logical ways. Examples (but by no means all) of global events since I have been on the staff are, Sheylynn's 'Quest for Honor' which was an intense adventure for a large number of the players and has lasting and beneficial results for those that finished. The 'Tyssir Chess Competition' was a historical event, which resulted in drastic changes to the environment and the characters that completed it. The Sacred Spirit Society has regular fun events for all levels, such as the Great Key Hunt and the Sophus Scavenger Hunt. There are costume balls, game tournaments, archery competitions, fishing tournaments, festivals, carnivals, debates at the university, public housing auctions (Some are incredible Imm-built homes), weaponry lessons, race studies and countless more! Both players and staff initiate these. There are also countless role-play lines run by players. These are too many to list but a few examples would be the recent vampiric group rising in the Realm, causing troubles and giving vampire hunters some spotlight. We have attacks on the Drow Empire by a resident clan - kidnappings and covert spying as well as recruiting unsuspecting sweeties to do the dirty deeds. The Pantheon is sometimes (quite often) involved in great storylines which mortal characters are encouraged to get involved in. We've had ancient beings from a replica world aiming to destroy Gods. Malicious Gods from other worlds arriving with dark intentions, giant God killing spiders created and set loose and Demonic courts from the evil moon invading the Mainland. We have both clans and religions; characters can be involved in both. Alliances are being forged and destroyed with great potential for strife or war to brim. There is nearly always a member of the staff and helpful players for those visiting for the first time to seek guidance assistance... Read More

Alright I figure with all the other reviews about this game, I'd do another one to clear things up. First off let me start out by saying that all the areas are well done and the mud has some great builders, namely, Sheylynn, Kestia, Seir Mehmet and a few other names I most likely forgot. Next let me start off with the RP. The RP is well rewarded and can suit most styles of rp, from a evil blood-thirsty thug to a knight in golden armor. There is SRP but its contain behind closed doors or on a lawless isle that has no rules other then brute strength or power, but most of the players. There also always major rp lines to get into, from helping an empire grow to stopping a demonic threat from one of the moons of the world. Now about the players has whole, all of them are newbie friendly ooc and always willing to help people who are new in anyway they can. And most of the players are very good rpers and even create their own lines at times. Now about the staff has a whole, I start with LAW first, the two law imms that do the work are generally fair and give more then one warning before bringing down the hammer of law on someone who keeps breaking rules after a few warnings, now onto the RP ones, the RP imms are generally fair and try their hardest to enhance the rp of the players, even helping players out with their own lines they create or making their own for the players enjoyment. Over all the staff has a whole is solid, just with two problems, they have two imms who don't do much for the players or to aid the game, other then srp with other mortals or do things to enhance only their rp at the expense of the players and other imms, I could give some cases of the two doing this, but I don't want two bad apples turning away people. That is it for my review look forward to seeing you all in game.

I started playing on The Gathering about three and a half years ago. Due to RL, I had to take a break from most fun things, including mudding, but when I came back to it, The Gathering was the place I wanted to be. It didn't matter that the people there were new to me, it was a very friendly environment, and what makes it so special is the people it attracts. Generally the people who play on TG are a lot of fun, and extremely diverse. Of course there are always elements that are unpleasant, that's the real world too, you can't completely control the people that you meet. I will say that the Admin staff has always been friendly and courteous, as long as you extend the same courtesy to them, and are very quick to enforce the 'Law' of the game. There is just about always someone available to RP with, and the staff usually has a good storyline going, or sometimes a player written story. If you don't want to RP, the world is absolutely massive and beautiful. It ranges from fantastic flower gardens to the darkest horror. The mobs are as diverse as the people, and can at times seem like they are controlled by real players, they are so detailed. The mud can be serious or downright hysterically funny, depending on where you go and who you talk to. Despite what I have read from some others, I believe the mud to be very Newbie friendly, and a great deal of effort has been put into a Newbie School to introduce players to the basics of mudding, and there is not a time that I have seen a new player sign on that someone has not welcomed them and offered to help in any way they can. As for calling this a 'Sex Mud' as some have, I believe that they are trying to find things to criticize. Yes, a few years ago it was a very sex heavy mud, but I cannot express enough how much that has changed. The rules regarding sex are very strict, stating that sex is to be in private or in a separate section of the MUD that has been designated for those that wish to engage in such activities. I have been a builder on TG for a while, and have found the assistance for the builders to be very helpful, and again, always courteous. All in all, my time playing on The Gathering has been an enjoyable experience, and I have met quite a few people that I now consider to be my friends on here. Because that is really what The Gathering is like. It is a community, and we have a lot of fun!

I no longer MUD with 'The Gathering...', however unless their ways have changed in the last couple months that I've been away, then I'd have to agree with Jayson's review. The Staff: They are competent, needless to say, else the MUD would have died long ago with all its other faults, but they fail to maintain time and again the proper attitude for running a 'newbie-friendly and welcoming' gaming environment. True, they are the law within the game, and true, they can smack folks around for breaking the rules. However, when the admin believe themselves not only within a storyline, but in person to be a god... then naturally, they become selfish, whining, and self-righteous. You sit on this MUD long enough, you'll get to hear a couple of the staff ranting of how they do so much work for their people and yet ask for so little. It's soap opera Olympus style, to be blunt, and unless you're interested in finding a lifestyle and all the drama included, then this MUD is not your cup of afternoon relief. I'd suggest those looking for an enjoyable environment with friendly staff and a pleasant gaming experience to look elsewhere. The Players: You can reference Jayson's comments for this. You walk down the street, hookers, then stumble into a bar, lesbians making out, and you run screaming into a nearby inn to escape, and everyone and their mother are sleeping with their mothers...Which for those who play here seems construed as an asset rather than a black mark. It's my opinion, and yes I say opinion, that this should be labeled as a Sex-Based MUD with some sprigs of bad manners and a dash of personal agendas. But, who am I to speak. The staff have all the fun in the world with creating extra characters for themselves to join in the 'rp'. I'll also note that, sad as it is, a friend of mine even after three months away couldn't get rid of all the muck and problems that swirl about this MUD. One of the players (who I will also not name) continued to make every effort to contact this friend, getting information from those still on the MUD, and making life difficult for the person in every way possible. The one responsible for these issues is the average player you'll find here and last I checked was still allowed a place on the MUD. Here I will however give credit to the few staff members and players who have managed to keep it alive thus far with some semblance of good sense. I wont name them, but if you do for some strange reason decide to move your roleplaying and mob-bashing talents here, you'll pick them out easily enough. They are the white dots on the black backdrop. Though I can honestly suggest you take up knitting rather than attempting to scrape through all the mounds of vile here to find those few good people. It'll much... Read More

I would have to say that its only a Mud for those with sex in mind. Very few ever log onto this mud to Roleplay anything other than sex and sex based conversation. The MUD is not newbie friendly and the Administration Staff holds a rude posture when a player creates roleplay intense enough to challenge a religion. Overall, the MUD itself would be worth enjoying, if they could remove the heavy sexual Content such as sex books, sexual objects, perverted gods, and the free range sex in general. It is a rule not to hold sexual roleplays outside bedrooms; i.e. Sex in Public Places like beaches and social places where in character wise a child could wander into, except for Tulip Isle where it is allowed. However, this rule is broken on a daily occasion, even by some of the Staff who declared this rule law. I would have to say, when I first started two years ago, I was informed that it was a pleasant place to hang out. Unfortunately, my thoughts of the place soon dwindled by such acts. I would advise anyone whom does not wish to infect their lives with such, do choose another MUD that isn't The Gathering.

I have played on the gathering for two and a half years. I was also on the immortal staff and one of two active newbie helpers. Needless to say, I know TG in and out. I had many disagreements with the owner and that led to my resignation of the imm staff. However, I remained a player. That was until the owner began to sabotage all of my RP?s by using her immortal character she began to threaten killing off my mortal for no other reason than the character being evil. Yes, that was the only reason I played a truly evil thief. The immortal staff is utterly incompetent with dealing with people. In one instance, I personally witnessed the law council imm?s (Andora and Aerius) initiate arguments to justify banning mortals they did not like, such as characters like Tykune, Anastasia, Rikuzo, Arisa, and Lavina. Yes, I personally witnessed the law immortals sabotage mortals for personal reasons and enjoyment. I personally was on the roleplay council until I saw the immortals Seir and Sheylynn show favoritism and grant overpowered anime styled powers to mortals that they RPed with. I can tell you from firsthand experience that if your mortal is not a demi god then expect to not live long with characters. Just ask anyone, it?s common knowledge to the TG veterans. Combine the RP and LAW council?s consistent inconsistencies with an owner that is more concerned with having cyber sex than running a mud and you have a recipe for failure. This is proved by typing score Kedanna and seeing all of her wives listed. But I will say this TG has a lot of players with value and thought; Nighkali, Trellan, Halger, Lexi, Seir, and Asha just to name a few that I enjoyed RPing with. Those are your core RP people that you can RP anything with and watch it develop. These people will help you with anything and give you RP you?ll enjoy. Oh, my last bit of advice is for you to not talk on the OOC channel. If you say anything that others disagree with you can expect to be nochanned and possibly banned. This is especially true if you believe in God and/or a republican. I could go on and on but I?ll end this way. I left TG after two and a half years of working hard and consistently for the better of TG and I tell you now to turn away from this MUD because it has lost it?s way because of poor leadership and less than par staff. If you do log in, listen to the pbase and stay as far away from the immortals as you can. Oh, and they will be watching everything you do thanks to the snoop command, being whoinvis, plogs, and goto while wizinvis.

Do I enjoy TG? Yes. Would I recommend it? Yes. Do I agree with everything? No. Is it newbie friendly? Depends on what you call friendly. Are there people that will help a newbie acclimate to TG? Yes. Can a newbie enter and be the greatest warrior of all? Not likely. With that said, here are my thoughts. You gain what you put into your rp. At first, it is slow going. But over time, your pc will grow and become powerful. Will it always be to your liking? Most likely not. But that is the fun of the roleplaying. You can't expect to win everything. So why recommend something that does not always come out in your favor? The joy of creating a pc and watching it grow. If you enjoy using your imagination, then TG is a place for you.

I would not recommend this MUD to anyone at all. Now that that's off my chest, time to get to facts. First off, this is a sex MUD, despite Daos coming in and speaking to the owners. It may be against what Garret had made the codebase for, but no matter how much they tell you otherwise, it is. There are multiple rooms and objects for it, one immortal suggests it, and only one enforces the 'No SRP in public' rule. -~- Second, the Law immortals dont know what they're doing most of the time. They've recently decided to become more strict than ever, claiming they will be working harder, and cracking down on 'issues' such as a player simply mentioning the owner's name in an unpleasant sentence. Though, it is perfectly alright to insult other players. I feel so much safer that simple statements are now a bannable offense. Aggravation or annoyance towards an Immortal's rudeness, however, is a bannable offense. The standard Law Immortal response to questions or counterexamples: 'It's not up for debate, discussion, or argument.' This includes any and all variations of the statement. -~- Thirdly, the Roleplay staff must approve any special or unique ability for your character. Character approval is required. You must send in a note or talk to them, both of which may lead you to nothing, or an argument about what is possible and what is not. Those who know Kedanna personally may bypass the last step, gaining immunity from the Roleplay Staff's comments. -~- Most of the playerbase are returning players and their alts, and of the few newbies that have joined in the past week that I have witnessed, one had quit because of the MUD's lack of newbie help and another because of lewd Global Social harassment. This combined with as much drama as an episode of General Hospital makes this a poor area to MUD. The Staff members may reply to this requesting that players should send in notes, but seeing as how they are never responded to after a long period of time, it seems like a lost hope. I've quit The Gathering... in search of a more mature MUD that does not seem like an interactive soap opera. P.S.: The sources of my review have been fueled by many of the players and a former staff member. Any attempt to call my bluff will be denied.

I started playing The Gathering back in late 2005.. I remember almost clearly, because at the time I had extreme difficulty in finding my way around, and finding areas to fight mobs and gain levels in. The help offered to me was vague at best, 'go on the ships', people would tell me. As a new player, I hadn't the foggiest idea what they were talking about. Over several months, I created and deleted several times, either out of boredom or frustration, sometimes both. However, I would always return, drawn by the lure of fascinating roleplay. Overall, I would say The Gathering has a steep learning curve, but if people are willing to ask, currently there is a very willing and helpful playerbase and staff on hand to answer whatever questions new players may ask. The immortals are beyond fair when dealing with troublemakers, and incidents are generally kept on the down low - aside from the occasional troublemaker who is swiftly silenced - privacy is taken very seriously. The roleplay atmosphere here is fantastic. Of course you will have your little handful of god-modders, but that is kept to a minimum, most everyone pitches in to see to that. However, roleplay is generally sensible and enjoyable, with lots of juicy background detail. Please, stop in and find out for yourself why The Gathering is among the top 100 muds!

I have to say, when I first joined the mud, I was rather excited. Lots of races, lots of options. However, even though it says it is an rping enforced mud, it is not. Do not be fooled. Half of those people don't use emotes, for one. Says are the only thing they know how to do. Also, when I asked someone to clarify, in an emote, instead of just posting '...' I was laughed and ridiculed out of the room. I asked the players about it, and the staff, why they let players get away with that when it clearly states in the rules that harassment is not welcome. Not only did -every- single one of them team up against me, they, the staff, -also- ridiculed me. Telling me that if I'm insulted by such a thing, then maybe the internet isn't for someone like me. That threw me over the edge. They told me, in a chiding way, that they would post in the rules not to laugh at Angelyna. The person who did it would be slapped on the hand, etc, etc. They are very unhelpful, and will push on you to see things their way. If anyone is interest in contacting me on this, I have saved logs on my computer I will be happy to share with -anyone- who is considering joining this mud. Just post a comment on here, and I'll be back to you as soon as I get it. Happy roleplaying :)

New to doing reviews on TMC so I will try to stick to the facts and my own knowledge of the game. Firstly we will start off with the bad factors. The negative factors being that a few on the immortal staff seem to get worried over mortals they can't directly control or like to rp mainly with other mortals and not the god chars at times, they also develop assumptions about players and sometimes use those ooc based assumptions to go against the players in ic settings. Sometimes resulting in such a mortal player being purposefully kept out of the storyline, which is supposed to be global for all that want to participate. One of the main current flaws I've found in this game is there are no newbie helpers on a mortal level so no one has a direct job of assisting new players but the staff and all the mortals do try and be friendly for the most part. There are some really good factors too though and they outshine the bad. All of the areas that I have viewed are well done and nicely made, the top builders of this mud are quite skilled and do have my favorite areas, they are mainly built by Trellan, Seir, Sheylynn, Ariana and Kestia, and a few of the mortal builders have contributed great areas. The RP lines are overall very good and can even be written and done by mortals with limited help from the imms as is needed. If a player asks nicely they will act out the role of a mob in an area and bring it to life. You can create a solid line and if you don't wish gods to be there solving it, just ask them to stay out and help with npcs, for all the imms involved in such a line. Over all rp is pretty good and SRP is kept behind closed doors and limited to only certain groups and you will know the ones and when to avoid that type of rp if its not your thing or just set in the profile of the type of rps you like and dislike. On a side the people in charge of the RP Council on the mud have given mortals hours of fun with their own lines for mortals to figure out, come together and solve. The Coder Trellan has done alot of good work for the mud coding things like the cover command, which lets you cover objects with other items so you understand it isn't showing when someone looks at you. Just use the cover command to have your pants covered such things and so much more. The players are generally experienced roleplayers with many years in muds. The who list is often holding about 20-30 names. There are a great many choices in races available and then more available via requests. The RP and LAW councils does a great job of taking care of the and... Read More

I first created a kender on this MUD (Though the race was later restricted, and needed approval) and had a nice time. Then, I realized people used the OOC information from the who list (Which name class, gender, religion/clan, and a title that you made) to automatically know my race. After a while, it wasnt a huge deal for me. So I made a giant and joined a clan. I discovered Roleplay Fighting wasn't good at all. People perform limb-snapping actions and back-breaking reflexes faster than a frenzied giant can swing an axe. So after being the victim of In Character rumours and made up events, an Immortal was easily convinced that my character had attempted to kill a large group of people, where I myself was convinced that I was done here. On top of these small stories, I noticed there was one particular player who wanted to remain in the spotlight, and if she wasnt, she would make ridiculous claims that someone hated her, in which most of her friends would try and comfort her and proceed to attack the mentioned player through private tells. Since she is a friend of the owner of The Gathering...she hasn't been lectured by the Law immortals after attacking me and others through the OOC channel and RP. If you do decide to play here, I would suggest to stay on everyone's good side, no matter how impossible it seems. -Saev

I haven't been mudding for very long, just a few months actually, but I couldn't have asked for a better place to learn and grow from. Honestly, the reason why I first came here was cause of the auto-map thingie in the corner, which is really helpful, makes navigating easier. I've wandered around a bit and this was the first one I saw that had that kind of feature. What made me stick around though were the other things. I've never been a fan of hack and slash, though there is plenty of that here. I love the fact that you could chose to not ever have to pick up a weapon and still grow and develop your character. The people here are really friendly, and the warm welcome and willingness to help was really nice. I learned as much as I could from the MUD school, which was really useful to someone who's never played before. And even then, they answered all the questions I had, no matter how basic or silly it seemed. The players are kind, and patient with the mistakes I made while learning about the proper ways to rp. I've met a few colorful characters and their willingness to include a new player into their storylines really made me feel welcome. It really made it easier for me to feel like part of the community. As for the staff, I have no complaints there. They keep things professional from what I can tell, and try to keep things that are behind the scenes, behind the scenes. I like the fact that they try to filter out any ooc drama before it becomes an issue so that the players don't have to deal with it. There are hiccups here and there, but they are dealt with quickly and professionally. RP is amazing. They have several things going on at once, and it makes things really interesting, and I'm wondering how they can keep track of everything at once. Big drama and things of an epic nature are fun, but I'm the one who notices and appreciates the little things too. Little things like having the normal, average NPCs suddenly interact with you like other characters adds a lot of color, and makes it feel like the towns and cities are actually populated by normal people and not just players. Can't stress how much I enjoy the little things like that. Not sure about the people who code and program and all that... I don't know how they do things or what, but they're usually working hard, 'round the clock. That being said, the fact that they take my requests seriously and give it lots of consideration is really appreciated. All in all, it's a good place, and I've met some good people I'm glad to call friends, and I'm really happy to call this place home.

I have been into mudding since the age of 13, I am now 25 (today is my birthday yay!!) Anyway, I personally, am not a fan of hack and slash and mass spam leveling muds, which is what I came to find in god war type servers. This mud is a great haven for those who to roleplay and interact with different players from around the world. Yes, the pbase may not be overflowing, but its a lot easier to roleplay with other people if you can actually recognize and remember names. : D This mud is very newbie friendly and things are constantly being added and updated daily. There are multiple 'faiths' or religious RP clans to suite almost every character type and/or alignment. Numerous rooms and even multiple continents within the realm to venture into and explore. Though I am no veteran to the mud, been playing for less than a year, I see more and more people creating characters an jumping into roleplay situations. Though there may be certain periods of time (when other players are sleeping, at work, etc,) there is an automated quest system to aid in the occupation of time between roleplays, IMM run quests and RP and more than enough mobs to battle should you be into that kind of thing. So if you're looking for a mud filled with RP/Quests and a fun, friendly environment. Stop in and check out The Gathering.

I decided to come back and play on TG after almost a year of MUD retirement. I was more curious to see if anything has changed in the time since I have left. I have played only but a few hours and quickly realized there is squat that is different, as I will explain in my observations below. I am truly disappointed and regrettably I will not be returning, as you will see the reasons why in my arguments below. What really leaves a poor taste is, the once medieval based DoT game has turned into an anime playground with toad demons, cat demons, and rattling, which you can see upon creation of characters. When I got out of the ?newbie school? (which does look impressive) I was greeted by public sex at the recall point, when I asked in character for them to stop they took offense out of character calling me ?a whiny bitch?. I also found that the who list is are bombarded with who owns who and who's having sex with whom is really annoying and takes away from people who are not sex addicts. he immortal staff is larger than the playerbase (having 15 imms and approx 10 players on during daytime). They have no true defined roles, as an example one immortal is the Goddess of nature and then other Goddesses are rulers over ?storms? and ?fire? which are obviously nature based realms. The mud owner is Goddess of love while another Goddess is passion, again clearly a cross of realms. Then there is the God of magic which crosses into every immortal, in essence he is the most powerful immortal though it seems he'd rather make muffins for everyone rather than create entertainment. In my opinion, the mud is highly disorganized and the staff lack understanding of each other and what is going on with the players. I had a question as to why the steal command was disabled and the seven visible immortals never gave me an answer, nor did the three mortals. It has been my observation that Grakor is the only person truly trying to do the right thing as he heads the ?law council? and sadly, there is a rebellion between the playerbase, coding staff and him. It is my opinion that Kedanna whom clearly lacks a vision and management to take the mud, (unless she wants it to continue being the brothel it is) hand the game over to another person or close it down. I stress that these are my views and observations from playing on the gathering over the past few days and compared to the reason I originally left about one year ago. I encourage you to visit The Gathering and change my mind that this has become the worst MUD for those that enjoy true original roleplaying. If your preference is sexual stimulation through slavery and bondage roleplaying then this is the MUD for you.

Since I started playing on TG I've felt that I finally found a mud where I could easily get along with others again. With lots of places to roam and many great roleplayers, this mud in my opinion is definitely one of the best I've seen in years. The immortals upon the mud are helpful, and get involved with the roleplays as they occur, which to me benefits the RPs - whether they are started by players or immortals. So all in all, this is definitely one of the best places I've seen in a long time.

What to say about The Gathering? Where to start? I guess I'll start off by saying the staff is downright amazing. I should know, I'm one of them. (Kidding) Staff that listen and work one on one with players is very rare indeed, and I am glad to say that the Gathering's Immortals do just that. If you don't understand a helpfile, you aren't told to re-read it, rather an Immortal will sit down with you and go over it. Secondly, roleplay here is downright awesome. Hands down, this has to be the first mud that I have ever been apart of that has the element of RP I enjoy. I like to be able to take off from RP and go mob slashing, I can. The mobs here are challenging, but not overly so, and once I'm done I know I can jump right back into RP. Be it personal, political, partying or any other type of RP that crops up, it's so easy just to fall in here. In short, if you're looking for a mud that has awesome hack and slash, and simply AMAZING roleplay, look no further. ( I will also add as a shameless plug that our Coders rock and there are MANY unique things never done before on ANY mud that we have on TG.)

The gathering is a nice place with lots to do. The RP here is great (you xp for RPing :D) and there is a lot of politics to get involved in. If you are more of an XP player there are tons of areas of fierce mobs with new areas coming in all the time. Currently the game is going through a remort system which appears to be awesome as they will be adding new classes and even more areas. Out of character you are treated like family with people willing to go the extra mile for newbies and veterns alike. There is thirty six races to choose from and nine classes to become (I'm bias to the thief and mage classes ;D). Check it out maybe you can call TG home just like I have.

The gathering is a nice place with lots to do. The RP here is great (you xp for RPing :D) and there are a lot of politics to get involved in. If you are more of an XP player there are tons of areas of fierce mobs with new areas coming in all the time. Currently the game is going through a remort system which appears to be awesome as they will be adding new classes and even more areas. Out of character you are treated like family with people willing to go the extra mile for newbies and veterns alike. There are thirty six races to choose from and nine classes to become (I'm biased to the thief and mage classes ;D). Check it out maybe you can call TG home just like I have.

When I first got to the Gathering, I was a little disappointed to find a stock mudschool. If the players and immortals weren't so newbie friendly I would have quit and go else where. I was really impressed to see the rest of the mud, only the newbie school as far as I can tell is stock! 36 races to choose from, WOW! The areas are really nice, the people on the mud are really friendly, there's good roleplay there... anyone would be glad to join this mud!

I first began to play The Gathering... just over one month ago and have been highly impressed by what I've seen during that time. I was drawn to The Gathering... because of RP. I liked what I read both here on TMC and on The Gathering...'s website and decided to try it out. As soon as I logged on I was greeted warmly and found my questions answered quickly, laying to rest what concerns I had as to the quality of the MUD environment. I have nothing but praise for the staff, all of whom work toward the constant improvement of The Gathering... The same is true for the playerbase, all have been helpful in the extreme. The Gathering... is RP focused, yet other aspects do not seem to be lacking. There is a very high degree of control when it comes to the creation of a character and it's development along with way OOCly. There are only two stock areas, one of which is the newbie school. I have come to find this to be my new MUD home. All I can say in the end is to simply give The Gathering... a try to see if it's enjoyable. I certainly did.

I was lucky enough to be one of the few mortals who created on their opening and sadly appear to be the only one left who wasn't already an IMM. Having been around this long, they celebrated their first birthday April 1st, I have seen all the changes in areas and in people. First off, I have to say that leveling is a challenge. Just a week ago from this review I finally became the first hero, but it was a great climb and I feel proud with the effort I put in. The remort system isn't quite in yet, but that is one of the things they are changing. I expect they didn't foresee anyone heroing before they got it done, but I like the place too much not to spend hours on it. I still RP and mob hunt while I'm there though because it is still fun, especially because of the people. As I said, a lot of those who were first created aren't around anymore, but we have a core group of regulars that I see close to everyday now. Being on at different times, we usually have a regular or an IMM around who knows the place enough to help newbies as well as give them a taste of the RP here. The Pbase is small, but I kind of like that because then almost everyone knows everyone else as well as a smaller chance of getting someone who loves to mess up RP's.

The Gathering is a really impressive mud. I was playing there for a few weeks. The areas are all really good, but most muds have good areas so that wasn't anything too impressive. Don't get me wrong it was great. Too many muds have stock areas, this one only has 2 stock areas. The playerbase usually tops with about 15 people on at once. I wasn't going to stay because I usually like bigger playerbases, but the players that they do have totally makes up for the lack of numbers. They're all really nice people, GREAT roleplayers and they're newbie friendly with out messing up their on going roleplay. That was the first thing that impressed me. When I heard the owner of the mud was moving and would be gone for a while, I expected the worst. I've seen it happen before, where so many muds were held together by one person, and Kedanna is the best. She knows everyone, helps everyone, and usally roleplays with everyone. She's a huge part of the mud as more than just the owner. She's the head builder, and head imm, so I really expected the mud to fall apart and for people to leave to find other places. As far as I can tell no one left, everyone pulled together and kept the RPing going, kept the areas coming. Ariana really took charge and kept things fun and active. I'm really impressed they did so well, and the RP didn't suffer and we even got a few more players to come. I think the mud is worth the time to take a look, you'll love it I know I do!

When I first came to The Gathering... Mud, I was not expecting the playing experience I received. The staff welcomed me warmly, and the other players spoke and roleplayed kindly with me. I'm not into MUDs that PKill for the sake of PKilling, and it always irritated me to try and play such. The Gathering... has been a very rewarding experience because I didn't come in just to be slaughtered. I was welcomed and embraced. I was made comfortable, and I was worked with. Even now, many weeks, months, later, everyone, staff and member alike, greet me warmly and interact with me on a very social level. The PKill element exists, but in a very controlled manner. This place has become a second home to me in this regard. An evironment that is watched with a passion and cared for, controlled in a manner that is very friendly to veteran MUDders and Newbies alike. Since starting on The Gathering... I have not looked back. I have left my other hangouts with their unfriendly inhabitants, and happily embraced my new home without any regrets. There are always ways to busy yourself, and roleplaying is very rewarding experience-wise and social-wise. I don't think I could have asked for a more friendly or rewarding environment. It's been a wonderful experience thus far, and with much more in the works, it'll obviously only get better. This MUD, and it's team of staff and players alike, have changed my MUDding attitude for the better. I can't imagine going back to any others.

I’ve played on a lot of different MUDs before. I’m not going to name names here. Some of the MUDs had awesome codes where you could play all day long and never have to talk to anyone else. Others were huge and had tons of different areas for both RP and leveling. The one thing all those MUD’s lacked is a good owner and a great staff to back her up. When I first joined The Gathering...it was really new, open for players for only 15 days. I was in awe of what I saw. The immortals are awesome, everyone was greeted and given a rose, questions were answered respectfully, they listened to player ideas and everything. I figured that’ll stop after they had been open longer, but day in and day out, people are greeted and respected. The Gathering... is still a new mud and doesn’t have all the codes and areas that the older MUDs have but it's clearly getting there! The Gathering... has been ranked #20 here before, it’s #22 right now but as soon as the playerbase takes off this mud will be in the top five easy! It’s worth a look, just remember it’s a new mud and not perfect yet! Awesome, awesome mud, I give it a perfect 10!

I've been a regular on a couple of mushes for some time, but eventually you get bored of all the chattering and you want to take things to the next level. So began my search yesterday evening for a MUD on which I could find this next level. Things went very slow. Either the mud was no longer active, it was a pay-to-play (Not a fan of those, considering I can't afford them with my budget), or they just weren't ran very well/ran by competent staff. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled onto The Gathering... Here is a wonderfully-staffed beautifully-written mud,and it's free. More than that, it's easy to learn and start out as a newbie. With a variety of races, classes, and even customizable skill sets, there is a virtually unlimited combination of personas you can take on if you set your mind to trying to do so. After being a player for only twelve hours I'm hooked. And as I said, the staff and other players are wonderful. They're very helpful with problems, and not arrogant or pushy. It's another part of what I find so wonderful about this MUD. I look forward to the days ahead, to seeing where this MUD goes. I'd love to stick around on it, and I intend to if life allows it. It's fun to play, fun to just run around on, and fun to watch the Mrem people speak when you can't understand (Atleast I thought it was cute). So if you need a new mud to breath some life into your growing-bored MU* attitude, give this one a shot. You won't regret it.