[Elrond]

I empathize--I've been in your position before. As a veteran MUDder of too many games to list here, I had retired from the medium for the same reasons you mentioned.

...at least until I was recommended to The Two Towers MUD (t2tmud.org). It's not as forcibly RP Intensive as SoI, but draws heavily on Tolkien's works to create a feasible world with room for players to make their marks. I was attracted to the fact that the learning curve isn't too steep, but there are a number of areas (primarily RP and PvP) where advanced players in both realms can experience remarkable complexity if they choose.

The game has a sizable community with a good amount of history: the place isn't so huge that you're one of three hundred warriors that will require years of work for anyone to know your name, but inversely it's not so small that you aren't meeting new people frequently and learning about new social dynamics throughout the world. In essence, it's "just right" in terms of having a solid elder/veteran population, a burgeoning newbie influx (supported by a firm network of helpers), and a nice wide band of those somewhere in-between.

I've also found, as one who focuses more on the RP aspects of things now, that having the background of combat available to spice things up really helps keep things fresh and invigorating. Being able to discuss scout tactics in Rivendell, dispatch wargs in Rhovanion, and meet a Rohirrim over mead in Edoras in the same hour affords one a wide variety of options in terms of interaction depending on one's mood. For all these reasons and others, I've been there now for about a decade, having truly found a MUD "home" of sorts. If you like the Tolkien theme, perhaps check it out.