Three Kingdoms

Telnet://marble.3k.org:5000

The description in Zmud's connecter was "one of the oldest and largest muds around, and features areas for the complete novice or the more sophisticated high-end player", sounded good; so off I headed.

My first impressions of the MUD weren't great; I wasn't instantly enthralled, but after being online a few seconds, I heard people shouting. I took a look around; I was in a login room, all alone. I typed "who" and was astounded; 73 players online, here's the review.

Newbies:

This MUD is extremely user friendly, and so are its players. Before I'd even spoken to another player, a brownie called Nezbit had spoken to me and started explaining basic commands. The brownie is an NPC and a very good one, if you happen to say a keyword, he will tell you about it quickly and also refer you to in-game help files. The in-game help files are good, well organised and required to read (I'll get to this in a minute).

My experience as a newbie:

Now, as I do as a newbie, I picked a player at random and struck up a conversation. The first player to help me was a player called Gehn, I think he was busy at the time, but he gave me a few pointers and dropped me off at Newbieland. Next I started talking to a player called Lazer, Lazer was very helpful, although he did go a bit fast for me. He provided me with kit, money and kept a conversation going with me while I got lost, died, resurrected and died again.

The second time I logged into this MUD I had a better idea of what I was doing. I'd learned previously that I had to visit the Newbie Academy and I'd worked out I'd have to do something there. Most of the basic commands I'd mastered, but I was still pretty clued out to money and my stats.

Again, players currently online were more than willing to help. Derth found me wandering around lost and confused, he explained some basics to me again and taught me how to gain experience (I thrashed a mouse several times!). He was also very generous and gave me some money to start me off, he then advised me to complete the Newbieland quest (since I was now level 4 and you can't advance any further until you have your newbie diploma), so with help, I headed to Newbieland again.

At this point Derth had to go afk but in his absence a player called Orion had started to talk to me. Orion was basically scouting for a Guild, the Necromancers' Guild. While he was explaining the Guilds, I was starting what would be a long stay at the Newbieland Academy.

Newbieland Academy:

This concept I loved, it was fun and promoted knowledge of the game. You are basically tested by various NPC's and have to answer correctly to proceed - I should say that I have yet to complete Newbieland having screwed up the end question. The questions are fairly obvious - but you do have to read up the FAQ and rules to find the answers. When I got stuck on the last puzzle I tried to prise the answer out of Orion, it never worked, they are very strict here you see, and sharing answers to quests is a big no-no.

The MUD Community:

What a busy community!! It boasts over 130 players on average; I logged in mid-afternoon (UK time) and found there were always at least 60 players logged on. Playful shouts and banter back and forth are never ceasing, but your brownie Nezbit will advise you of earmuffs if the shouting is getting too much. The wizards of this MUD are also active; although I never got a chance to corner one it is obvious that they watch over the MUD. Cheaters are dealt with harshly, with banishment, imprisonment and wiping being their major ways of dealing with trouble makers. There were no abusive shouts, and the MUD on the whole seemed very friendly and also suitable for the younger player, since I never noticed any swearing.

To Pk or not to Pk:

This mud has a rule against Pking and from what I've seen, it does make for a more harmonious community. They still want others to die, but it's done in more a playful, teasing fashion that never seems to escalate into the abuse I've seen on MUD2. For those who still have the lust for blood, there are regular simulated fights.

The MUD in General:

Its HUGE! Over 35,000 rooms and arranged into 3 kingdoms, Science, Fantasy and Chaos. The in-game maps are a godsend. The room descriptions are good, sometimes very vivid, there were no apparent spelling errors and the MUD was very noticeably un-buggy. The style of the MUD is an RPG and emphasis is on questing and exploring (yay!).