[SnowTroll]

New Worlds and Threshold are pretty popular around here and both fit the bill as a roleplay-enforced but not technically RPI muds (or at least not "traditional" RPI styles). I group the two together because they're both very similar-styled LP muds and attract a lot of the same players. Popular theory is that the latter of the two was actually started by a former player of the preexisting one, though over time, they've diverged to both boast some unique features that draw people in for different reasons. I'd honestly tell a player considering either to try both and see which one gives them a warmer and fuzzier creation and newbie experience, and how they find the players and environment. There's no harm in playing multiple muds. I'm told some players play both. I play lots of different muds, myself.

Both games love and welcome newbies and have specific features to help out and integrate newbies. Because the games are more traditional muds where you grind for levels, money, and gear, rather than entirely pose-based RP environments, there's always an "ongoing challenge" as well as occasional events and special content. The "crafting" systems in each mud are fairly basic, but every character class offers things that no other can provide. They're both fairly traditional "fantasy" settings. And they both allow/encourage just speaking, emoting, and acting whenever you want instead of standing around waiting your turn to "post" a paragraph-long "pose." General etiquette and courtesy encourages not dominating the room and typing circles around people, and giving others a chance to respond and roleplay as well, but there aren't any hard and fast rules or conventions about turn taking or length of emotes, or style and amount of descriptiveness. As a result, however, if you're used to RPI games, you may be disappointed by the short and fast exchanges of fairly non-descriptive conversation, and people tending to favor mechanical advancement over sitting around building a scene with you. Roleplay is the side-game, not the main game, but the players all enjoy it and will make the time for it 95% of the time, and there are some features built in to encourage roleplaying. But if you're dead set on a more traditional RPI model, you'll be disappointed.

The muds are level-based, not level-less, and both have OOC channels (though with rules regulating use to some extent). They both do a fair job of not having heavy-handed administration controlling things, but there's always administrative oversight to keep ranked PCs in check.