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Orange · 04-30-2010, 11:17 PM

What you're looking for, by the sounds of it, is a so called "roleplaying intensive game" (the majority of MUDs which aren't RP intensive, you'll find, more often than not involve a lot of "grinding"). I don't think there's any official definition of an RPI, but common elements are: permadeath (I know you're leery of it, but give it a try before you judge), strict separation of OOC and IC, in-depth characters and roleplaying (generally only sparse out of character chatter), and a focus on playing out a character as opposed to grinding mobs. PKing is often allowed, but must have a valid in-character reason (no PKing for fun or 'experience points'). As such, the fun from RPI tends to be derived from interaction and writing out a story, not combat. Does this sound like what you're looking for?

There's a bunch of RPIs out there, but the problem is they tend to have a steep learning curve (you wanted a newbie MUD). I know everyone likes to advertise their M** as "newbie friendly", but you'd be hard pressed to find an RPI easy to get into for someone with little experience with MUDs, yet alone roleplaying intensive ones, AFAIK.

I can only think of one RPI which meets all your criteria, for the most part: Firan MUX. I never got into the game, but it seemed easy enough to navigate the game world, the players seemed very friendly OOCly, it's strictly RP-enforced (roleplaying intensive), however there was permadeath and PKing permitted, but only within reason (combat, if I recall, could be quite deadly, and 'crippling' wounds could even be inflicted, however combat wasn't regularly engaged in except perhaps sparring). But what was most intriguing about the game was the character creation system, or rather, the lack thereof; you didn't make a new character, but rather, you chose one out of a 'roster'. Everytime a player becomes inactive, their character gets put back into the roster for another player to pick up and start playing again where the last player left the character. There was a pregnancy code, and child objects would eventually become characters which could be played by other players as it aged. This results in all characters having player-controlled relatives, which should help you get in the game easier because you can immediately start RP with someone (a relative/sibling), or ask them OOCly for assistance. The game still is quite daunting for a newbie to get into, but it should help you ease into things.

Oh yeah, and the standard of RP is high. RP tends to be slow paced, with a lot of massive poses, etc. etc. You may find that daunting too, until you become a more competent RPer and writer, as well.

Maybe when you feel up for it, you could look into 'Armageddon'. Faster paced RP than Firan, exceptional level of RP, highly in-depth world. Unfortunately, there's only a few maps (fairly detailed but not perfectly precise) for a few locations so you may get lost at first, but the game also makes good use of "helpers" - players who volunteer to help out newbies with any question they may have, so you can ask questions to your heart's desire and know you're not bothering anyone or disturbing RP. Check it out here:

Be sure to check out the Helper's page, and 'help map' once you get a character accepted into the game. I wouldn't exactly call the game newbie friendly by a long shot however, keep that in mind.

04-30-2010, 11:17 PM	#2
Orange New Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1	Re: Looking for a newbie MUD What you're looking for, by the sounds of it, is a so called "roleplaying intensive game" (the majority of MUDs which aren't RP intensive, you'll find, more often than not involve a lot of "grinding"). I don't think there's any official definition of an RPI, but common elements are: permadeath (I know you're leery of it, but give it a try before you judge), strict separation of OOC and IC, in-depth characters and roleplaying (generally only sparse out of character chatter), and a focus on playing out a character as opposed to grinding mobs. PKing is often allowed, but must have a valid in-character reason (no PKing for fun or 'experience points'). As such, the fun from RPI tends to be derived from interaction and writing out a story, not combat. Does this sound like what you're looking for? There's a bunch of RPIs out there, but the problem is they tend to have a steep learning curve (you wanted a newbie MUD). I know everyone likes to advertise their M** as "newbie friendly", but you'd be hard pressed to find an RPI easy to get into for someone with little experience with MUDs, yet alone roleplaying intensive ones, AFAIK. I can only think of one RPI which meets all your criteria, for the most part: Firan MUX. I never got into the game, but it seemed easy enough to navigate the game world, the players seemed very friendly OOCly, it's strictly RP-enforced (roleplaying intensive), however there was permadeath and PKing permitted, but only within reason (combat, if I recall, could be quite deadly, and 'crippling' wounds could even be inflicted, however combat wasn't regularly engaged in except perhaps sparring). But what was most intriguing about the game was the character creation system, or rather, the lack thereof; you didn't make a new character, but rather, you chose one out of a 'roster'. Everytime a player becomes inactive, their character gets put back into the roster for another player to pick up and start playing again where the last player left the character. There was a pregnancy code, and child objects would eventually become characters which could be played by other players as it aged. This results in all characters having player-controlled relatives, which should help you get in the game easier because you can immediately start RP with someone (a relative/sibling), or ask them OOCly for assistance. The game still is quite daunting for a newbie to get into, but it should help you ease into things. Oh yeah, and the standard of RP is high. RP tends to be slow paced, with a lot of massive poses, etc. etc. You may find that daunting too, until you become a more competent RPer and writer, as well. Maybe when you feel up for it, you could look into 'Armageddon'. Faster paced RP than Firan, exceptional level of RP, highly in-depth world. Unfortunately, there's only a few maps (fairly detailed but not perfectly precise) for a few locations so you may get lost at first, but the game also makes good use of "helpers" - players who volunteer to help out newbies with any question they may have, so you can ask questions to your heart's desire and know you're not bothering anyone or disturbing RP. Check it out here: Be sure to check out the Helper's page, and 'help map' once you get a character accepted into the game. I wouldn't exactly call the game newbie friendly by a long shot however, keep that in mind.