[Ghostcat]

I'd like to just toss Unwritten Legends into the mix.

RP is mandatory, and ranges from lighthearted crossroads/tavern play, to figuring out how to fight off an eldritch abomination from another dimension.

There is little to no PKing. Killing someone is against the law, and is liable to get you arrested and jailed, with a trial. Break big laws too many times and you either get hanged (very rare, permadeath) or sent to live on a prison island.

Your character doesn't lose anything over time, and you can log in whenever you feel like. The only thing you'd lose is rent for your inn rooms. (Inn rooms are used as off-character storage, as well as rp areas)
I have one caveat to that though: the player base is fairly small, and finding people to rp with during typical work or school hours can be difficult.

I've never seen any sexual based harassment, aside from one character that is known, and treated, as a wo/manizer IC.

The players are always friendly to newcomers. There's a dedicated IRC channel where someone can usually be found, as well as a Skype conversation, and most players have AIM or some such.

The areas are extremely large and complex, so maps are a must. Happily most of the world has been mapped out, and are available online. For an example of the size; the main city has over 70 businesses, very few having entrances from the same room.

On the other side of that coin, there isn't a huge number of places to go to, especially for lower levels.

On leveling; The game is somewhat different as well. You store up exp in a buffer, which drains as you spend your time in the MUD. That way you can hunt a bunch, get some hours of buffer, then RP the time away.

The commands take some getting used to. I like to say that they're so obvious that they're hard half the time.
I've written up a pretty comprehensive guide to their usage, and I'm always taking suggestions to help more though.

Descriptions in general are in general far more complex than any other MUD I've tried. (Though I've never played a commercial mud)

The setting is something like a Renaissance England, with a number of changes. Magic is in full force, and just as viable as clockwork inventions. The lore is extremely in depth, and is worth reading.

The game is very lightly pay for perks. Anything you can get with credits can just as easily be gotten with good RP. In fact, there are many things you can ONLY get with RP rewards.

I'd like to also point out that those rewards can not win the game for you. Available options are almost entirely RP aids, such as getting custom clothing or props, or alterations to your personal appearance or inn rooms.

There's an extremely in depth and rewarding hack-n-slash element as well.
Of course, if you're not a fighter, you can level up more slowly by fishing or playing music for groups of people.

The inventory system also bears mentioning, as it may turn you off. There is no 'inventory'. You have your two hands, and whatever containers you feel like wearing. Most things need to be in a hand to be used.
There is no hard-coded weight or item count limit, however. You can also toggle the visibility of worn items to declutter your appearance.

The game is still considered a work-in-progress, and new features are being worked on constantly.
You do need to apply for an account, but almost anyone is accepted with a few days.

Well, I've run out of things to ramble on about, so I'll end it here.
The site is