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User:Thoric/Realms of Despair

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Realms of Despair
Developer(s)Derek "Thoric" Snider and project community
EngineSMAUG
Platform(s)Platform independent
Release1994
Genre(s)Fantasy MUD
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Realms of Despair (RoD) is an active MUD community[1] hosted in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada using the SMAUG MUD codebase.[2]Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). hosted in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada using the SMAUG MUD codebase.[2][3] It is operated by Derek "Thoric" Snider.[4][5]f8-5627 | url = http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/280/615&sa=U&ei=1GcVU | accessdate=2020-12-08|quote = Realms of Despair (RoD) uses SMAUG, implemented in MERC 2.1}}</ref> It is operated by Derek "Thoric" Snider.[4][5]

History

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Realms of Despair was opened to the public in July 1994.[6] It was developed from DikuMUD and allowed modification of operating parameters through the MUD itself rather than having to manually edit configuration files, or even the source code itself. The developed code was released for the MUD community to develop further as SMAUG.[7]

Gameplay

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Organizations

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Realms of Despair has several in-game organizations which players may join.[8][9] Organisation are groups coded into the game, with benefits such as a having a joint place within the game, sharing an additional channel, and a formal system for adding or removing players from the organisation. The main groups of organisations are the following:

  • Councils - in these groups, players (also known as "mortals") work alongside game administrators 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 system.
  • Orders - these player groups have thematic restrictions, such as limitations of which character classes that may join. There are currently eight orders: Arcanes, Arete, Ascendere, Baali, Dragonslayer, Inconnu, Ringbearers, and Sanctus Irae.
  • Guilds - these are restricted to specific character classes. There are three guilds in the game: Guild of Nature which is made up of Augurers, Druids, Fathomers, and Rangers. The Guild of Origin, consisting of Mages, Thieves, and Warriors. And also the Guild of Spirit for Clerics, Nephandi, Paladins, and Vampires.
  • Clans - these are organisations within the game for 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, but instead may group together in their own organisations, called 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 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).

World

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The fictional world of the Realms is divided into fourteen nations. Each nation consists of an individual race: Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, 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.

Popularity

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Realms of Despair has enjoyed considerable popularity, at its peak having more than 400 players simultaneously logged in.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Youngblood, Alexander; Kim, Amy Jo; Cox, Crystin; Cook, Daniel; Hoffman-John, Erin; Cartwright, Isaiah; Brink, Kyle; Hughes, Link (2018-12-29). Group Report: Design Practices for Human Scale Online Games. The Thirteenth Annual Game Design Think Tank Project Horseshoe 2018. San Antonio, TX, USA: Project Horseshoe. p. 29. ph18r8. Active MUD communities. Examples include, as of the time of this writing (December, 2018): Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands (1997-present); Aardwolf MUD (1996-present); GemStone IV (1988-present); Realms of Despair (1994-present); and Threshold RPG (1996-present)
  2. ^ a b John Bellone (March 2002). "So you want to be a coder, eh?". The Mud Companion (3): 28. ISSN 1499-1071. SMAUG is the codebase that 'Realms of Despair' runs on and is still being developed today
  3. ^ Simona Isabella (September 2007). "Ethnography of Online Role-Playing Games: The Role of Virtual and Real Contest in the Construction of the Field". Forum: Qualitative Social Research. 8 (3). ISSN 1438-5627. Retrieved 2020-12-08. Realms of Despair (RoD) uses SMAUG, implemented in MERC 2.1
  4. ^ a b Frampton, Chris (2002-03-12). "Guru of low tech". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  5. ^ a b Erwin Andreasen; Brandon Downey (August 2001). "The Mud Personality Test". The Mud Companion (1): 33–35. ISSN 1499-1071. Archived from the original on August 18, 2000. Results from "Famous" MUD personalities ... Derek Snider ... Creator of SMAUG, implementor of Realms of Despair
  6. ^ "Realms of Despair". Google Groups. 1994-07-26."Realms of Despair". Newsgroup: alt.bbs.majorbbs. Usenet: 16701KIQBNSQNQJMQEV@cml.com. {{cite newsgroup}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  7. ^ Cowan, Andrew (2001-09-17). "MUD FAQ Part 4". Internet FAQ Archives. SMAUG: [...] History: The SMAUG code started out as a Merc2.1 MUD called "Realms of Despair" in 1994. It wasn't until 1996 that it was given its name, and the first public release wasn't until December of 1996. The interest in the code spread like wildfire, and within a few months and a few revisions there had been over 20,000 downloads of the distribution.
  8. ^ Olivetti, Justin (2011-04-19). "The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: The games". Massively. One of the most interesting facets of the game was how you fit in to the game world. Depending on your class, race, and focus, you could join one of several organizations that had a specific focus. There were class guilds, thematic orders, and even PvP clans that would battle it out until there was only one left standing.
  9. ^ John Bellone, Jr. (August 2001). "The Art of Role-Playing". The Mud Companion (1): 38. ISSN 1499-1071. On most MUDs, there is some form of role-playing going on at all times, let's take Realms of Despair (RoD) for example. Many say that RoD wasn't made for roleplaying, but I tend to disagree ... RoD has organizations dedicated to role-playing
  10. ^ Herber, Nick. "TMC Reviews: Realms of Despair". The Mud Connector. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
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Category:MUD games Category:Fantasy video games Category:1994 video games

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