I know there's 50 million Wheel of Time MUDs out there, and was wondering - what obscure books would you really like to see a mud based on?

A friend of mine used to want to do a Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath MUSH, which I thought would be spiffy.

Surely someone's done something with Julian May's Pleistocone Era fantasy books?

I always thought a big mud that had each area based on a Thomas Burnett Swann book could be well done and entertaining.

Anyone here remember LLoyd Alexander's world of Prydain? Always thought that would be kind of cool. (The Cauldron-borne would lend themselves well to some kind of godwarsish hack-n-slash, but the world also would have much potential for RP)

And then there is the world of Narnia, which C.S. Lewis developed with such detail it's right up there with Middle Earth.

And while it's certainly too scant to make even a full area, much less a world, I would like to see at least some scattered objects inspired by the poetry of S.T. Coleridge (At the very least make an albatross necklace that isn't just yet another stock noremove item)

I'd love to see the high-fantasy crossed with Arthurian legend world of The Fionavar Tapestry (by Guy Gavriel Kay, who helped Christopher Tolkien do the Silmarillion). It's one of the few fantasy books that's made me cry.

--matt

Not exactly a book, but I would love to see a MUD based on West End Games' Paranoia. This, obviously, would be a PK-MUD, as I don't think many of the paper-based games I played ever made it past pre-mission outfitting. Sure was fun, though ;)

Hey! I was gonna say that! Oh well. I'll just add that using a star wars codebase could give it a head start, given the similarity in technologies, etc.

Why not give Greg Costikyan, Paranoia's designer, a mail about it? He's a nice guy, if a bit down on the games industry generally due to bad experiences. He is, however, definitely into online games.

--matt

Oh, I would, if I had the server and hardcoding abilities. As/when I replace the POS PC I'm using right now, this one is being switched to a linux box, and then I can start playing with the concept of a MUD of my own, of any kind.

And I would certainly ask Mr. Costikyan first. I had enough fun with Steve Jackson trademarking the word 'Illuminati' a few years back ;)

I really like the world of Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series. Not sure it would make a good mud...everyone would want to be a Deryni.

Except of course for the minor problem that all star wars codebases are cheap rip offs of highly stock codebases with the colours and various strings changed and not much else :P

Sharon Green's "The Blending" series, without a doubt. It would be an RP-enforced/intensive/required game, either modified diku custom code that would allow for diku-like mechanics.

High elemental magic - each player would be attuned to one or another element, or the "non-element" of psionics. Totally political game, with tournaments to determine who gets to be the Seated Blending. But with the politics and corruption to offset the tournaments with manipulations and scheming and, of course, cheating.

Players with earth magic could be farmers or animal workers or stonemasons.. water elementalists could be the nurturers or providers.. fire elementalists would be metalsmiths and hearth-masters.. with occasional threats to the area requiring everyone to band together and use strategies to overcome the adversity.

I can definitely see a game like this.

Mercedes Lackey's world of Valdemar. She has a huge fan base for her 50+ books set in this neat realm with a unique magical system that would certainly lend itself nicely to a MUD. I think there may be a MUSH around, maybe even a MUD, but certainly nothing like the WoT spin offs.

I’d like to see a MUD based around Neil Gaimens Sandman novel series, but expanded from the existing parts. Where each zone is a separate storyline branching off from a modern day reality setting, but linked to the general theme. Obviously such a game would find it hard to support hack and slash on a grand scale, so an RPI framework with problem solving tasks is probably the best medium for such a game.

The other book series I would like to see represented is Michael Moorcocks eternal champion series, Jherek from the end of time, Elric of Melniborne, and all the other manifestations of the eternal champion along with their delightful settings.

Goerge Martins, song of ice and fire
CJ Cherryh, anything from her, cloud's rider, would be a good rpi mud.
Darksun of course, one I am working on now finally.
Sword of truth, maybe.
Deathgate cycle, maybe.

No fair, I was going to say that. Their such awesome books, I would play em if it was a mud.

One of my own quaint old favourites is Keith Laumer and his Retief books.  They were written during the Cold War, and set up in a Scifi environment, featuring a similar eternal conflict at cosmic level. The 'hero' is the highly unorthodox Inter-Galactic Diplomat Retief, and some of the short stories are truly hilarious.
Apparently I am not alone having this fancy, since I see there was recently a brand new edition of some of the Retief stories at Amazon.com.

And I am surprised nobody mentioned the Eddings Belgariad series yet. Or did someone?

There's at least 4 muds based on that one already.

Sadly, there's a reason the wonderful world of Valdemar hasn't made it long-term into a MUD: Mercedes Lackey is one of the few authors who has stated explicitly in no uncertain terms that she doesn't want MUDs based on her work.

I think the Borderland books (the short stories editted by Windling but there are some novels also) would make an amazing rpi.

There is a Thieves World mud but it isn't an RP mud, which is a shame.

And finally, Melissa Scott, maybe Dreaming Metal.

I have long wanted to see (or be a part of creating) a MUD based on Robert Silverberg's planet of Majipoor, featured in several books by him including Lord Valentine's Castle, Majipoor Chronicles, and Valentine Pontifex.

It's a great world, great races, good political structures, fascinating and diverse cities, and I've always wanted to have a dream interpreted or visit the Isle of Sleep. Not to mention meet a shapeshifter.