Realms of Despair
Encyclopedia
Realms of Despair is a MUD
hosted in Mississauga, Ontario
, Canada
using the SMAUG
MUD codebase. (SMAUG is a derivative of Merc
, which in turn is a derivative of DikuMUD
; see MUD trees
.) It is operated by Derek "Thoric" Snider.
by allowing modification of operating parameters through the MUD itself rather than having to manually edit configuration files, or even the source code itself. This benefit was contributed back to the MUD community through the release of the SMAUG
code.
An additional character class, "Barbarian", exists within the game. Barbarians cannot join guilds nor orders, but instead may group together in "Bands". There are currently three bands: Band of the Bear, Band of the Wolf, and Band of the Boar.
In 2008 an additional in-game grouping, "Sects", was added. Each of these groups is led by a homeowner — a player that has obtained a virtual house or apartment within the game. Players who join a sect have access to a shared communication channel (called secttalk) as well as the ability to travel from any recallable location within the game to the virtual home of the Sect (the Sect's "recall" point).
The fictional world of the Realms is divided into fourteen nations. Each nation consists of an individual race: Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Halflings (hobbit
s), Pixies, Half-Ogres, Half-Orcs, Half-Trolls, Half-Elves, Gith, Drow, Sea-Elves, Lizardmen, and Gnomes. When creating a character, a player must choose one of these races, and through their choice become eligible to participate in the corresponding nation. Each nation has its own government, hometown, and in-game communication channel.
Realms of Despair has enjoyed considerable popularity, at its peak having more than 400 players simultaneously logged in.
MUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
hosted in Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. With an estimated population of 734,000, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality, and has almost doubled in population in each of the last two decades...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
using the SMAUG
SMAUG
SMAUG is a Merc and DikuMUD derived MUD server. Its name is a backronym inspired by the dragon Smaug found in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction. The project was started in May of 1994 by Derek Snider and in July of 1994, Realms of Despair, was opened to the public...
MUD codebase. (SMAUG is a derivative of Merc
Merc (MUD)
Merc is a MUD engine derived from Copper, which in turn was based on DikuMUD. First released in March 1991, DikuMUD served as the basis for many later MUDs....
, which in turn is a derivative of DikuMUD
DikuMUD
DikuMUD is a multiplayer text-based role-playing game, which is a type of MUD. It was written in 1990 and 1991 by Sebastian Hammer, Tom Madsen, Katja Nyboe, Michael Seifert, and Hans Henrik Staerfeldt at DIKU —the department of computer science at the University of Copenhagen in Copenhagen,...
; see MUD trees
MUD trees
The MUD trees below depict hierarchies of derivation among MUD codebases. Solid lines between boxes indicate code relationships, while dotted lines indicate conceptual relationships...
.) It is operated by Derek "Thoric" Snider.
History
Realms of Despair was opened to the public in July 1994. It added to DikuMUDDikuMUD
DikuMUD is a multiplayer text-based role-playing game, which is a type of MUD. It was written in 1990 and 1991 by Sebastian Hammer, Tom Madsen, Katja Nyboe, Michael Seifert, and Hans Henrik Staerfeldt at DIKU —the department of computer science at the University of Copenhagen in Copenhagen,...
by allowing modification of operating parameters through the MUD itself rather than having to manually edit configuration files, or even the source code itself. This benefit was contributed back to the MUD community through the release of the SMAUG
SMAUG
SMAUG is a Merc and DikuMUD derived MUD server. Its name is a backronym inspired by the dragon Smaug found in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction. The project was started in May of 1994 by Derek Snider and in July of 1994, Realms of Despair, was opened to the public...
code.
Gameplay
Realms of Despair has several in-game organizations which players may join.- Councils - in these groups, players (also known as "mortals") work alongside game administrators (also called "immortalsImmortal (MUD)An immortal, in MUDs and particularly DikuMUDs, is an administrator and/or developer of the game, often a player who has achieved "immortal" status by achievements within the game world. It is frequently abbreviated "imm" or "immort"...
") to better the game. The Symposium council works to develop new ideas and projects. The Newbie Council strives to assist new players to the game, offering friendly advice and practical help to players who die in-game. Other councils, composed of representatives from orders and guilds, help to develop and run mortal-designed quests. The Pkill Conclave, composed of clan representatives, works to improve the pkill (player vs. player) system. - Orders - these player groups have thematic restrictions, such as limitations of which character classesCharacter classIn role-playing games, a common method of arbitrating the capabilities of different game characters is to assign each one to a character class. A character class aggregates several abilities and aptitudes, and may also sometimes detail aspects of background and social standing or impose behaviour...
and character genders that may join. There are currently eight orders: Arcanes, Ascendere, Baali, Dragonslayer, Inconnu, Maidenstone, Ringbearers, and Sanctus Irae. - Guilds - these are restricted to specific character classes. There are eleven guilds in the game: Clerics, Druids, Mages, Rangers, Thieves, Vampires, Paladins, Warriors, Nephandi, Augurers, and Fathomers.
- Clans - these are teams of players who choose to engage in player vs. player combat. Such players are known as "deadlies". They may only attack and kill other players who have chosen this option. Other than councils, clans are the only organizations which deadlies may join. The clans of the game are Maleficae, Catarrh, and Feralis.
An additional character class, "Barbarian", exists within the game. Barbarians cannot join guilds nor orders, but instead may group together in "Bands". There are currently three bands: Band of the Bear, Band of the Wolf, and Band of the Boar.
In 2008 an additional in-game grouping, "Sects", was added. Each of these groups is led by a homeowner — a player that has obtained a virtual house or apartment within the game. Players who join a sect have access to a shared communication channel (called secttalk) as well as the ability to travel from any recallable location within the game to the virtual home of the Sect (the Sect's "recall" point).
The fictional world of the Realms is divided into fourteen nations. Each nation consists of an individual race: Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Halflings (hobbit
Hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...
s), Pixies, Half-Ogres, Half-Orcs, Half-Trolls, Half-Elves, Gith, Drow, Sea-Elves, Lizardmen, and Gnomes. When creating a character, a player must choose one of these races, and through their choice become eligible to participate in the corresponding nation. Each nation has its own government, hometown, and in-game communication channel.
Realms of Despair has enjoyed considerable popularity, at its peak having more than 400 players simultaneously logged in.
External links
- Rodpedia - A wiki for the items and areas of the Realms of Despair
- Realms of Despair Channel - A daily log of channels on the Realms of Despair