Guild Wars has 'dyes' as random magical item drops. You can apply dye your equipment for cosmetic purposes. I pinched this idea, but also gave dyes random magical bonuses of their own which are applied to whatever item is coloured. I only allow certain material types to be dyed, and don't allow an item to be dyed more than once, but it does allow for an extra degree of customisation.
A bigger source of ideas and inspiration for me was Diablo II (although I know that many, if not all, of their ideas appeared in earlier games such as nethack and Final Fantasy). In particular, some of the Diablo II ideas I like and feel would work well in muds are:
* Magic items with randomly generated bonuses.
* Gems/runes/jewels that can be inserted into socketed items.
* Randomly generated dungeon layouts.
* A skill-web, allowing for many character variations within each class.
* Boss mobs (an ancient computer game concept, but not so common in muds).
* Simple yet entertaining once-per-character quest system.
* Good support for cooperative play, but also great fun to play solo.
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