Arctic MUD

Arctic MUD is a multiplayer role-playing game set in the world of the popular Dragonlance fantasy series. In this text-based MUD or Multi User Dungeon, the player creates and develops an in-game persona, advancing their character through adventuring, defeating monsters and completing quests. Since its opening in March 1992, this non-commercial game has seen heavy modification and expansion, now consisting of over 50,000 rooms covering much of the Dragonlance world of Krynn.

The game was originally based on the DikuMUD codebase, but the code has been heavily modified over the years to add depth and complexity to the game mechanics and player classes. Arctic MUD is considered one of the most comprehensive free Dragonlance MUDs and is mentioned both on the Dragonlance Nexus [http://www.dl3e.com/community/links/category.aspx?id=14] and the official Dragonlance movie website [http://www.dragonlance-movie.com/links.asp] .

Gameplay

The game now consists of ten playable classes: Mage, Cleric, Druid, Warrior, Paladin, Thief, Dark Knight, Barbarian, Shaman and Scout. Mages, Clerics and Druids are known as "spellcasters", their primary focus being the casting of magical spells. Warriors, Paladins, Thieves, Dark Knights, Barbarians, and Scouts are the "fighter classes", who use weapons and skills (and instincts in the case of scouts) to further their ends and combat their opponents. The Shaman class is a hybrid of the cleric, barbarian and druid classes. The class is a new addition and is currently being tweaked as needed. Spellcasters develop their repertoire of spells through adventuring for spellbooks (for mages), tablets (for druids), prayerbooks (for clerics) and charms (for the shaman). Some fighter classes also have limited magical abilities, which they are granted as they progress. Fighter classes develop their skills through combat and training.

The game mechanics are loosely based on a system akin to Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D). Each character has six natural "ability scores" or "stats": Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution and Charisma. These are rolled when the character is created and rise with character age. The spell system, true to AD&D, is one of memorization and spell slots as opposed to the mana system used by many MUDs.

Player characters begin at level 1 and advance their character towards the highest player level, which is 30. With each level gain, the character increases in power. Upon reaching level 30, players may then begin to collect rank points by defeating powerful foes. These points may be saved up and spent on bonuses, chosen from an extensive list, including the ability to boost the stats mentioned above. This allows for a greater degree of character customization at level 30 and provides a continued challenge for those that reach this level.

Quests

ArcticMUD's quest system is a highly developed aspect of the game. Players oftentimes will run into mobiles that are either the beginning, or part of, a quest chain that results in rewards of items, money, experience or any combination thereof. Quests are not linear based, with a certain chain of events that is outlined for the player to complete, but rather are reflections of what people in similar situations would say, act like or attempt in real life. Because of their nature, such endeavors are best suited for those with a knack for self-preservation and ingenuity. Naturally, the most difficult of quests are sources of the greatest rewards.

Connection information

The MUD can be found by connecting Telnet or a MUD client to mud.arctic.org on port 2700. There is also a [http://mud.arctic.org/node/2032 web-based connection applet] available on the [http://mud.arctic.org/about official site] . As with many MUDs, Arctic MUD is free to play.

References

* [http://www.topmudsites.com/cgi-bin/dbman/db.cgi?view_records=1&db=default&uid=default&sb=1&keyword=ArcticMUD "Top MUD Sites" listing for Arctic MUD]
* [http://www.mudconnect.com/mud-bin/adv_search.cgi?Mode=MUD&mud=Arctic "The MUD Connector" listing for Arctic MUD]

External links

* [http://mud.arctic.org/about Arctic MUD official site]
* [http://arctic.elay.org Arctic MUD Player-Killing Log Site]