The MUD is in a really good place these days with regular events and weekly quests, open communication between staff and players, the veil lifted on how the game works, areas upgraded and new ones put in, endgame expanded through soul gems, etc. etc. I applaud the current management. The heartbreaking problem is the pbase, which for me is practically non-existent. I am not based in the US and play when most are asleep. Some years ago, there used to be 5-6 people on around at this time to interact with. Now there are none. At most there are 6-8 on at peak US times (and tbh even then the feel is strangely clique-y).

A lot of the guilds are gone due to inevitable inactivity. I find myself wondering if I'm playing for sheer nostalgia or enjoyment. Playing alone is kind of miserable.

Basically, the game needs a massive investment in expanding the pbase. Whether that's trying to bring old players back or finding new ones. It does deserve more players.

Many reviews here of Dark Risings are gushingly positive. By the turn of the year and into 2014, this is unfortunately no longer the case. In all of 2013, only a single change was added to the public changelog: a new thing anyone with five minutes experience building could have toggled back on. For well over a year now, approaching two, the game has been effectively dead with no new major features being implemented. If you're looking for a vibrant and active behind-the-scenes with a stream of new content, look elsewhere. The current staff are sparse and apathetic towards player's needs. While players are backbone of any roleplay, DR's lack of candid, back-and-forth conversation between players and staff, the ones able to add the tools to RP with (echoes, restrings, etc) creates a sterile, stuffy environment with RP possibilities as wide and expansive as any generic chat room... Until good grace from above decides to enable something interesting. If you are looking to be able to work closely with those who foster roleplay to make your story come to life, look elsewhere. As an actual game to play, DR is shockingly barebones for being over a decade old. Gameplay is very primitive, and it's a surprise to see other games do so much more with combat, exploration, and even basic object interaction than Dark Risings does. Classes have variances, but all play similarly enough to a degree. If you're a caster, you have a power spell to spam and a set of utilities. If you're a fighter, you autoattack more and have a set of fighter abilities to spam. You will find nothing truly innovative in terms of what classes are or do. If you're looking for a deep, engaging MUD on a sheer RPG mechanics level, look elsewhere. Many areas are either stock, or, again, primitive. Some areas are extremely elaborate with their mob programming, but these are the exception rather than the rule. The vast majority of the game world can be safely ignored without much lost, as the mechanical side of equipment and mob fighting has been 'solved' ages ago, with little room for shocking discoveries off beaten paths. If you're looking for a rich and well-written world to get lost in for hours, look elsewhere. Dark Risings is, in every way, a relic. A game once great for it time, that missed its chance to be polished to something relevant in 2014. Instead, what is here is a limping skeleton kept up by nostalgia. If you are looking for a MUD, for roleplay, PK, both, or otherwise, look elsewhere.

I'll make this short. This is an excellent MUD. The pbase is full of experienced players willing to help out a new player, but not to the point of making things too easy. There are a TON of mini quests for the explorer, and extremely well-balanced PK for those interested in the excitement of the clash. The imms are present and diligent, receptive to new ideas, while maintaining the core elements that make the MUD entertaining.

The very best thing about this MUD is the sense of immersion. There is a definitive line between IC and OOC that keeps the player interested in character development at all times. When I play this MUD, I get a sense of really being IN the MUD. There is a lack of L33T players that I find particularly refreshing.

Imm-run quests are frequent, and the interest of the pbase in ongoing storyline creation is palpable. Players have an effect on history, and the history is LONG, the MUD having been around for so very many years.

That said, the entertainment aspect of character interaction is driven almost entirely by the pbase. The imms will inject an event, then they are virtually 'hands-off', leaving the pbase to run with the ideas and repercussions that follow. It's exciting because the players of this MUD happen to be HIGHLY creative, and motivated to see new things happen to everyone.

It's a great MUD, and I'm really glad I stumbled onto it. :)

Hi there everyone. This is TPB Sorin which is my original character on Darkrisings. I have been mudding on Darkrisings for the past 7-8 years now since I was in 9th grade. I have tested other MUDs and have never come close to getting involved with them like I have DR. I have seen multiple aspects of the game from the different guilds and races I have played. I have also been banned twice for a few immature acts and see now they were mistakes. I can understand Adam's anger on his situation, and I can understand Sidonie's explanations into it all, but I digress.

Darkrisings has been a MUD home for me for a long long time now. I have enjoyed the varied RP lines I get involved with on multiple characters and love seeing them played out to the end. This is a great MUD for those starting off and Veterans to MUDs. I have met many people on both ends of the spectrum and 85% have enjoyed their time on DR.

From the in depth RP of Vampires to the guild wars that rage through the lands every so often, it is a bountiful place to explore and enjoy. Not only playing the game, but speaking with real people from all over the world. I think we might have one of the most diverse P-base I have heard of from American, Canadian, Saipan, Brazil, Australia. Really just all over the place people come to play, and as Zyppora mention a lot of the more seasoned players that are deep into PK are starting teach new players, and people that revolve around RP are starting to suck people in as they come to the game to give them a real sense of belonging to the game.

After 8 years and being banned twice I still love this game and have been addicted to it so long I'm not sure what I'd do in later years when I become old and can't type anymore!!! Like I tell everyone, Give it a try and if you don't like it, don't play. Its so simple you can hardly pass it up!

TPB Sorin

As an 'experienced' mudder who started role playing way back in 1995, I have sampled my fair share of muds, mushes, moos and muxes, but Dark Risings is the only place I call home. What makes it so great? I'm glad you asked!

First and foremost of my requirements for any mud is a role play environment firmly rooted in rich history. The land of Rhia is steeped in lore, so it's easy to immerse yourself in this fantasy world. From the Creation story to the history of the first vampires, from Romany stories passed down by mouth to the exhaustive battle lores of the noble warriors of Crimson Rain, and from the magical tomes of Arcaenum to the maps and studies of Dawning, Dark Risings offers a firm foundation for exploring a new land. In-game quests built around evolving storylines also further enhance the history of the game.

Secondly, Dark Risings has many players who strive for depth in their role play and character development, which makes role play more than a 'hit and miss' occurrence. On many muds, only established characters seem to provide a solid base of role players, but at Dark Risings, we have many players who begin with incredible back stories and truly make their characters come to life! This consistency in role play keeps the world of Dark Risings fresh and new. If you don't have your character completely planned out, though, that's okay! You'll find plenty of opportunities to discover exactly who they are.

Thirdly, RP and PK are balanced. Although PK isn't my primary interest, I appreciate that those who do enjoy it have an avenue to pursue. Lately, I have even noticed that those well-versed in battle tactics are very willing to teach those new to the game who want to learn. Clans and guilds do have conflict, rogues do steal, people do fight, and all of it stems from role play and spawns fresh interaction.

If you're looking for a stable and established mud with plenty of opportunity for role playing and pking, come check out Dark Risings. You won't be disappointed in what you find!

I haven't been playing at Dark Risings for long, but I can say that it is perhaps one of the friendliest and most welcoming muds I've ever logged on to.

First of all the mud is setup with easy to read colors and an extensive help file set up for nearly everything. I personally enjoy Dark Risings above other muds I have played, because it provides in-depth roleplay for myself and other characters regardless of a mortals level of roleplay. The immortals put time into interacting with the mortals of the realm, strengthening their roles.

As I said I haven't been playing for long, but I am part of a [Dawning] guild which devotes itself to aiding new players learn the game, understand its functions and how to best play to receive the best outcome for their characters. Also, those who display strong or are enthusiastic towards roleplaying can be offered a chance to play a head figure in quest storylines. These storylines shape the future of the realms roleplay.

Overall all I personally believe if you love roleplaying, and love the idea of imagining yourself in a different world, DR is for you. It compiles stories articulated by mortals and immortals alike and demonstrates true individualism, combined with PK and in role reasons to attack other characters, you are able to explore the world freely.

I began on DR as a real trube, my first mud. It wasn't the first one I tried, but it was the first one I stayed on for an extended period of time. A lot of the others I had tried were overwhelming, confusing and just not involved enough in preserving new players for me to stick around. The reason I first stayed was because within minutes of being identified as a trube, I got a lot of mortal and staff support, easing myself into the process; an established guild [DAWNING] played a big part.

For a long time I was intent on RP and avoided PK like the plague... and though it's in balance here, I was pleased to find it was possible without completely separating the players into deadly and non-deadly clans. PK is a fair and easy to learn system, though obviously hard to master, and one that is really made better by how even the old familiar areas have been developed. Some of the builders seem to be interested in both pk and rp, because every time I see a new area go in I find a real fertile field for both... and it happens regularly. Staff seems to be, while ICly some of them can be evil idiots, friendly and receptive. I've never been ignored when I've expressed a concern to them OOC, either personally, or through one of the tons of boards that exist to help keep the game up to date with what players want.

One of the few downsides on here, personal opinion, is lack of pester characters. I just think they keep the game fresh, but hey that's just me (if you could make one I'd applaud). RP is required to PK, so if you do get randomly trashed, it's dealt with by staff which is nice. ummmmmm, what else. Oh. Heavy duty pkr's do get their own little sections of guilds and clans if they want that make it a little easier to fight, like this clan Brawler. If you're in it, you're telling everyone it's ok to jump you, you want to try out like 2 on 1's, and you're willing to fight for loot sometimes. The races and classes really give the whole feel of pk an interesting and viable one (I strongly dislike systems where everyone gets all the same base, Vive Le Class Specifics!)

All in all, DR is the top of my list, without going into all the quests, more macabre vamp rp the different guilds. I know every mud has someone who says this, but I think this one is the most player run. Every time I've seen serious and well thought out remarks about the balance of the game I've also seen some kind of change. I feel really comfortable playing, don't plan on leaving, and hope some of you folk will join me!

5 out of 5 fo schnizzle.

I can't give this MUD a favorable review. A very *severe* lack of roleplay, minimal imm interaction, not to mention a few of the players are habitual liars both in-game and in real life (for anonymity's sake, they'll remain nameless, but if they ever come across this review, they'll know who they are.)

I've been playing on MUDs for the last 11 years - and I have to say this is the one of the *worst* MUDs I've played. I don't think I'll be coming back to Dark Risings anytime soon, not unless the imms take a more proactive role. Yes, I know they have lives, the same as everyone else. I know they can't always be around to monitor the various situations, etc. But to ask relatively new players to remove their 'newbie' status once they reach the level cap - and it hadn't even been a full month since I started playing - is ludicrous and absurd. Two, there isn't any real way of leveling the playing field between new players and veterans. Three, and I'll make this loud and clear - I don't like people who steal and then lie about it, regardless if it's in-game or in real life. Before any of you go spouting off I shouldn't be playing any MMORPGS since I can't tolerate thieves, I highly suggest you take a strong look in the mirror, and ask yourself the same question on what you would do in the same situation. If you say you would gather up as many allies as you can and go hunting said rogue - good luck. I had no one willing to help me take down the individuals I speak of, let alone their entire group.

DarkRisings(DR) is a MUD with a strong history. Anybody who enjoys an RP influenced world with RP influenced PK will enjoy DR. The whole newbie school has been revamped to be especially helpful to players even new to MUD in general. Dawning, the guild of teachers, are actively helpful in assisting new players along the way as well.

My experience on DR has been filled with a lot of emotion throughout the years. I've found myself so involved in the RP of DR that I would spend time at work and school devising multiple RP ideas for the proceeding days. Starting off as a young teenager on DR, its players, and its staff; have taught me much on etiquettes both IC and OOC, and much in the form of imaginitive thinking. I can safely say that my background in DR has proven to be useful in countless English classes.

The Imm staff of DR, in my experience, are reasonable people and are willing to work with players as long as they are polite and follow the rules.

I started playing MUD on DarkRisings and although I've tried many other MUDs, DR is where my heart is at and I think my MUDding days will end at DR.

I highly reccommend DarkRisings to players interested in medieval themese and players who are new to MUD in general and are looking for a MUD with a decent player base. RP wise, DR is awesome. PK wise, DR is awesome. Log on, give it a try. And if you see me online, send me a tell and I'd be willing to assist in any way I can.

See you on DarkRisings! -TPB Stratos

I've been mudding a long time and Dark Risings is a robust and comfortable game to play if you're used to ROM. Important areas seem to have been retained in stock layout, though the names and descs of some places have been changed (Kate's is Esme's etc). The builders seem quite active as they have alot of unique and well written areas. Character classes are more or less standard with some twists thrown in for good measure and classes seem to be pretty well balanced from what I've heard - I haven't had a chance to get into any pk yet.

I haven't rubbed any imms the wrong way (yet!) so can't comment on what they're like. Opinions are varied, but I haven't seen any high handedness or rudness personally, though depending on whom you ask, the imms either rock or stink.

I haven't seen a lot of quests and I think this is one weak area that needs to be developed. There are reputedly some in-built quests but I haven't been able to find them and no-one will tell you what they are.

Other than that, the players seem pretty helpful and I've had them help me level, get me eq and stuff so that's cool. Dark Risings has a really good mudschool, that lives up to their claim of being able to teach even a new mudder how to play. Midgaard (Arinock they call it) is newbie friendly but as you get further away from town it gets less so.

I'd recommend this game to anyone who wanted to check out a new mud.

I'm here to post a comment about the RP aspects of the mud. Roleplay isn't restricted to Imms and their mortal characters. I am the firsthand example. I'm not an Immortal; I'm not RL friends with an immortal aside from knowing them in the game ooc'ly. I have characters involved with vampires, gypsy, arcaenum, vermillion, and all of the rps that go with these guild, moreover, NONE of these chars are even guilded. I roleplay with them fine and they included me and roleplay with me.

I'm not a brown-noser or anything like that. Yes, I am nice to the staff, they do work hard and deserve some praise, but I hardly suck up to them. This mud is great for the hardcore roleplayer, there are so many plots to join into. All you need to do is seek interest, and attempt to join in, eventually you will be part of this. It's not a 'hey let me RP with you' you do have to earn the trust of the chars that are part of the main circle of rp... But I have great fun and I'm just a simple mortal that got hooked on this great MUD

After debating with myself, I've decided to come out and speak about this MUD. Even after all the invested time that I lost within it, I would still recommend it to people who are new to MUDding. However, I would not recommend it to the seasoned player. For new people, the layout here is wonderful to grasp when you're just learning, and there used to be a large influx of new players from time to time, which did make things interesting and even fun at times. Now, on to the seasoned veteran. I DO NOT recommend playing here. Be it you are attracted to RP or attracted to PK, both will get you banned here. For example:

My girlfriend and I both played here for awhile, then one day she was abruptly froze then denied. When it was inquired about, she was told that she was bad for RP, when just a few days before she was complimented for such strong RP ability. There were also ensuing emails that were sent back and forth, where she was then told that she was lying to IMMs, etc., but this is expected and is pretty natural.

Now, as for me, I did speak to one of the new Implementors about it, and was subsequently told that she had heard that we had split up. I was then offered to come back, but would you, the reader, want to be somewhere where your gf/bf wasn't allowed? So yes, this MUD falls under the traditional concept that the pbase is composed of the staff and their friends. Used to, it were not that way, but like everything else in life, things change. Maybe one day the staff will wake up and realize that when you have your cake and eat it too, you're bound to get sick at some point.

P.S. I will humbly await the generic reply comment from one of the staff.

We've all read the lines and reviews. Because if you haven't, what the heck are you doing reading this?

Anyway, Darkrisings boasts the opportunity for everyone to become a werecreature, vampire, or a hunter of these, and a great PK and RP atmosphere. We can agree on that. Look at the webpages wherever Darkrisings is mentioned.

Everyone can become a werecreature. There's a 5% chance upon creation that YOU TOO can shift into something that goes bump in the night once you reach level 30. Also, if you make being a werecreature an integral part of your character, upon creating another character under the same name as the one you already have, the immortals will give you your weregene back (However, this has only happened for mortal characters that Immortals play, so good luck).

If you're good at PK (Player killing for those non-muddified folk), you can become a part of Covenance, a guild dedicated to hunting down vampires and werecreature and lightening their burden. However, getting in is hard, so if you're just starting, don't expect to get in for at least a month without SERIOUS help learning the aspects of the MUD.

But if your heart was set on becoming a vampire through extraordinary PK or RP skills, you're probably out of luck. Darkrisings has usually at most, eight vampires. Almost exclusively, these vampires are: A) Mortal characters played by Immortals (i.e. IMM alts) B) Mortal characters that have brown-nosed the staff into giving them a vampire

I can only think of two exceptions. I don't think that Darkrisings should have more than that few vampires, don't get me wrong. It would be boring if everyone that wasn't a werecreature was a vampire. However, the way the vampires are given according to not skill, but rather brown-nosing abilities is disgusting. When I saw Darkrisings advertising that everyone can have a vampire, I laughed before I realized that this was an affront to the way things were. This lie alone brings down Darkrisings's status in my mind, as it is certainly a heinous one.

Now, as for PK atmosphere, you win. Darkrisings staff loves PK, and so they'll let most anything slide. Want some acceptable examples for murdering someone and taking all their stuff? 1) Person A looks at Person B and says, 'Greetings.' Person B watches for Person A to leave a safe room, and then promptly slaughters them. 2) Person A casts a beneficial spell on Person B that makes them take half damage in a fight. Person B waits for Person A to leave safety, and then slaughters them. 3) Person A worships a different god than Person B. Person B has never spent any time in the same room as Person A nor interacted with Person A. Person B slaughters Person A. 4) Person A is part of a guild that Person B, two years ago, didn't like. Person B hasn't logged in a year nor interacted with anyone for a year and a half. Person A didn't even exist until 6 months ago. Person B slaughters Person A. 5) Person A reports Person B for any of the above. Person B finds out from his immortal friends and slaughters Person A. The Immortals ignore anything said by Person A.

If the above is what you're looking for, look no further. But if that isn't what you're looking for, Darkrisings isn't for you. Look somewhere else.

Frankly, the RP environment consists of the Immortal's mortal characters. That's all. If you aren't an immortal or an immortal's mortal character, don't expect to have any RP with anyone. You can try and make your own with other mortals, but it will be ignored by immortals and any attempt to legitimize it in the overall scheme of the MUD will be met with extreme resistance and ultimate failure. If you're hoping that joining Arcaenum will help give you an edge in RP, you're sadly mistaken. The immortal that has run Arcaenum exclusively for months now has not interacted with her guild for ages, and will hold up anyone that she dislikes and refuse them entry. Not that it isn't her right to try and stop people entering her guild that will be bad or against the guild's rules, but it isn't her right to continue personal vendettas against seekers. This holding up has unfortunately become a common practice, and the people she does admit will ridicule anyone that she does not allow entry. Unfortunately, the only people really getting into Arcaenum now are immortal alts.

So surely, you may think, Gypsy would be better? Yes, it is. Unfortunately, not by much. The main reason for that is because the immortals like roleplaying with themselves, not mortals. Therefore, though it is touted that Gypsy is involved with the roleplay, the little that is going on is completely driven and participated in by Immortal alts. You can try and make up your own, but again remember, it will be stifled when it is rooted out.

I had been with Darkrisings for over five years now, and it did have its good times. Unfortunately, it no longer keeps to the things it had going for it back then. No longer are mortals really involved in the roleplaying. No longer are valid roleplaying reasons required for PK'ing. Darkrisings has degraded into a hierarchal hack & slash fest. If this is what you're looking for, again, look no further: You have arrived.

But if you're looking for a place where the staff will acknowledge you, roleplay with you, and try to help you have a good time, then go somewhere else.

This is not to say all the immortals on Darkrisings are bad. There are a few that still try to involve mortals, but this is not the norm. Perhaps as many as a half are willing to involve mortals, but these are not in positions of power and quickly are dismissed as crazy immortals.

But keep in mind that these are just my personal experiences. While others have had similar experiences, that doesn't mean you will. I can only give a review on my own personal point of view and experiences.

I've been involved with Dark Risings in many different capacities over the years. I have been a hardcore roleplayer, a builder, a pester thief, a blood hungry PKer, and an immortal. Given my familiarity with DR, here's what I've got to say:

PRO: - Lots of stuff to do after you can't advance levels. Hunt for rare equipment, quest, learn a trade skill, become a master enchanter. - Very flavorful, unique areas. - Most of my fellow old PKers are gone. That means it's easier for new people to learn the PK ropes and participate without getting automatically crushed. - Each character is a unique playing experience. You can customize your skills as well as race/class. Characters do not all 'play the same.' Guilds, werecharacters, and vampires present an even more customizable experience. - Periodically, there are large scale conflicts or guild wars. These are wonderful RP and PK experiences. - IMM staff is very courteous

CON: - IMMs can sometimes be very heavy-handed in the administration of the MUD. They have essentially declared peace in mortal wars, unilaterally. - Though guilds are a great opportunity, few guilded players are active. In the past, this was a vibrant 'community' in the mud. Now, less so. Still, it's the sort of thing that runs in cycles. It is unfortunate that the best experiences are often to be had outside of the formal guilds, though.

In my long career as a player on Dark Risings, and shorter career as an immortal, I’ve had a chance to experience and understand the grand variety of good and bad things about this MUD. For the first couple of years, it definitely seemed like the good things outweighed the bad. But halfway through my time there, it seems like things have gone downhill. This is reflected in the players, the staff, and the game itself. As I hope to explain, I honestly don’t feel that this game deserves the #1 spot.

To begin with the players on Dark Risings, I am of the opinion that most of them can be divided into two classifications; those who hang out in safe rooms and engage in boring, clichéd roleplay, and those who are purely interested in combat, creating the absolute thinnest role for their characters necessary to be allowed to play. For a while now, it’s been difficult to find someone of a happy medium. Many of the awesome, inspiring players have moved on to greener pastures and those who remain, though I mean no insult, are downright uninteresting.

The staff members are perhaps the most discussed aspect of Dark Risings. What I mean by that is that if you play here, you will at some point be guaranteed to overhear some allegations of cheating or some form of poor conduct. As a former staff member myself, I can vouch that yes, some staff members have used their powers for ill gain, and probably still do. Other reviews here may give you a taste of the feelings some hold towards the immortals. But regardless, the overall demeanour of the immortals seems to be pleasant, and although they will usually prefer their private rooms to interacting in public with mortals, they’re fair to deal with when you need to. The minds in charge, however, come up with some bizarre ideas for the game, which I’ll expand on next.

Over the past year or so, the game has become quite a bit more commercialized. At one point, donations from players were requested with ridiculous rewards offered. If I remember correctly, a couple of hundred bucks earned you your very own vampire or you could pay less and get an impressive weapon. This is the sort of thing I expect from someMMORPG, not a roleplay focused MUD. Take a peek at the website if you need further evidence of commercialization - there are banner ads aplenty. While I understand that the people who run Dark Risings need to eat, the banner ads and donation schemes have only come into existence over the past year or so, and they bottom line is that they detract from the game.

The game itself, once you remove the personalities associated with it, has some problems. The code, while constantly being tweaked with and added on to, is dangerously buggy. If a code port exists, it must not be put to much use, because I am told that the record time for the main port to crash after new code is introduced is just five seconds. Most of the code remains faithful to the mood of ROM, and the werecreature and vampire transformation features are neat and entertaining. In addition to the array of stock areas in Dark Risings, the custom areas range from exciting to completely awful. Some have compelling descriptions and layouts that kept me exploring for days on end, while others swamped me with mobprogs in every room and caused headaches.

Four years ago I would have been very proud that this game had reached the #1 spot on TMC. I wish I could say that was true now, but with all the allegations of vote-pushing which I won’t discuss in detail (look at other reviews to hear opinions or simply load up the Dark Risings website to see for yourself) I suggest that you scroll a little further down the ratings and find a better game. I have no doubt that they do exist.

Hey there kids. Some of you long time players might remember me as that one imm who didn't really do anything, Pez, or before that, the Gypsy imm, Shlain, and before that, the morts...ah, you almost got me to admit that. Sneaky you.

Anyway, I figured I'd share with the rest of you all my impressions of the number one ranked mud on mudconnector.com, Dark Risings. 'But Pez' I hear you cry, 'didn't you and Mark have a huge fight in September of 2004 and he kicked you off the mud?' Well no, that kids, is what we call a rumor. Rumors are bad, m'kay? First, let's give some background.

I started morting on DR, my first mud ever, January 2001. June of that same year Micheal asked me if I wanted to imm Gypsy. Yes, I was only a 6 month old mudder when asked to be on staff. How'd I obtain that title? I roleplayed the heck out of my characters, even roleplaying during traditional whack-a-mob quests. So, at least in my eyes and in my experiences, if you give a good attempt to roleplay, people notice and you are rewarded. (Mark even gave me, after I was pked, all of my killer's items, way back when. 'This doesn't happen that often, so don't tell anyone.' ...oops)

So I took charge of Gypsy. I did some good, and I did some bad as an imm there, it all depends on who you ask. That lasted for a while until I asked to change positions on staff. I then moved over to help Astyron build, as well as run some fun quests. (To this day, I'm still one of the only people to use the -NR-, or no restring tag, in my quest items. Take that restringers! Wait, I'm a restringer...d'oh)

But after being on staff for three years, things got a bit dull for me. (Yes, Pez can be dull, who knew?) Mark asked me to step down, and since other games had grabbed my attention, and at the point I left I really hadn't done anything of value for 6 months, I totally agreed with his decision.

Now, flash to the future, a year later after my leaving. I've slowly been returning to the mud, morting, when the push for number one began. As an experienced player, one who was familiar with the game on a higher level then a lot of players due to my imm positions, I can say things have definitely changed for the better. New zones, are still slowly but steadly being rolled out. These new zones seem to have a much more dynamic, complex feel to them, as the builders are finally starting to not only use mprogs, something the originoal imps were against, but also using them in fun, creative ways, at least creative for DR.

Many of the minor mechanics have been improved over time as well. Things like a portal for newbies to gate to zones, better newbie equipment, commands to optimize stats for gains, among others have all been added. These small 'quality of life' changes, things that really don't need to be in, but make life better because they are, really seem to give a much more enjoyable play session.

A lot of older players, myself included, are starting to come back around, those of us who 'remember the good old days' as well as a wild influx of newbies. I mean, the days of Nemos' tattoo and Valek mischanning are probably gone for good, but I am seeing a lot of old familar names, and I am sure people are shocked to see some of my chars as well. (Still not telling)

Is the staff perfect? Heck no, Marc and the rest of them will be the first to admit it. (I mean, who doesn't remember the ~ incident?) But they all deeply care about this MUD, and that much is evident. There seems to be a vision the staff has, something that was missing back when I helped out up in immland, that gives Dark Risings a new, coherent feel to it.

I may not be able to spend 10 hours logged in at a time these days, stupid real life and all, but I am most definitely back, even if not as an imm, playing a fun game with intellegent (Ok, mostly intellegent -mgrin-) people. If you're mature, a bit patient, and want to get hooked into a great game with great people, give DR a try. It might not be for you, even I, the champian of roleplay on the game will admit that at times the rp can be hard to come by, but it's still one of the best run games out there.

And for those who remember me, yes, I still like potatoes. And be sure to check out the help pez file, it's still there in game. :)

Pez has restored you. Only not, remember the Pez fake restores?

Once in a while, I check out who holds the #1 Ranking spot on TMC Top Ten. As of this morning, when I checked the site, Dark Risings was #1, so I said 'What the heck, I'll give it a go.'

Upon FINALLY connecting, after three or four times of being rejected and finding nothing wrong with my OWN connection to the 'Net, I'm asked to create a character. Alright, no biggie. I created my character with ease, pretty much, and logged in.

Now, I have a pretty high definition of what should be 'Number One' in my book, and I must say that nothing about this game was above anything but average. After running through the 'school' for training and basic equipment, I sat and watched for a while. For a RP-based game, I found it quite fishy that they have an 'IC' Channel. Right, because where you can't find television and dress in cloaks and leather breeches and pay in gold and silver pieces, every character is still connected to eachother.

The conversation on this channel went something like this:

Player 1: I say, jolly old chap. Does anybody want to meet up and slaughter frogs in the swamp?

Player 2: I'd like to come too, friend.

Player 1: The more merrier, I say.

Player 1: The more the merrier, I say.

Player 2: Where shall we meet?

And then, there was silence. I wandered about and killed frogs and lizards and boars and foxes, and then did a look over my equipment. Generic, nothing special. I still can't shake the fact that my weapon was 'a file sharpened on a river rock', and you still can't find television or cellular phones, yet everyone's connected on the 'IC' channel. To me, that's not very in character at all.

Although I didn't see anything going on with abusive staff, I've read the reviews here already, and I don't see the sense in having this game as #1, except for the fact that on the startup screen AND the logout screen, they're practically BEGGING for you to vote for them. My guess? Players looking for something special and exploring finally got tired of seeing the begging and pleading of the Dark Rising's staff, and voted, hopefully thinking this will make them shut up about the whole thing.

Ten thumbs down.

Ever so often it's good to go back to the start and one of the best places to do this is the text based roleplaying game Dark Risings.

1. It's newbie friendly. 2. It has lots of great areas to explore. 3. It's always growing. 4. The IMMs are a great bunch of people, who try to make the place run smooth. 5. There is a storyline, and definitely a theme, so Roleplaying is made easier. 6. You can develop your personalities and enjoy yourself interacting with others. 7. If you love PK then you will love Hevige Nach 8. If you love Roleplay then you will love all other times. 9. The guild system is excellent. 10. The trade system is awesome. 11. The choice of professions is ample. 12. The choice of Races is extremely well thought out and reasonably well balanced. 13. The number of skills for each class is outstanding. 14.The experience system is valid ( the more skills, the more it costs to level ).

As a mudder from 1989 'til present, I can honestly say I have not had as much fun anywhere else as I have here at Dark Risings. You are able to express yourself within the confines of the game. Roleplay that hero or villan you have always wanted to be; be an outcast gypsy, the walking dead, a noble or otherwise. Hunt the cursed were creatures or be a hunted were creature. Hunt the cursed Hunters as a were creature. Be taken by a vampire and become a minion. Be a learned scholar and study the mysteries. Be a Lich and follow Syrin. Be a Dawning and teach others how to survive. Be a Lawman and chase the rogues. Be a rogue and avoid the lawmen The possibilities are endless.

All I can say is give it a try. Dark Risings is one of the best ever textbased muds and worthy of the #1 ranking here on Mud Connector.

I have not played MUDs regularly since the mid 90's. Just recently I ventured back again. Dark Risings had received some good reviews, so I decided to try it out.

My experience there has been terrific. There's never been less than about 15 visible people on morning, noon or night. The newbie channels are monitored by many and questions are not only answered, they are often answered by 2 or 3 people nearly simultaneously.

There's not been one time I've felt ostracized or ridiculed for being new and having questions. The atmosphere is VERY friendly and accomodating for both new and experienced players.

The help system is well documented and extremely thorough. Also, the admins are responsive to feedback, even from new users, often fixing typos or adding to the help system within 30 minutes from the time it was suggested or bugged.

Bottom Line - If you are thinking about getting started on a new MUD, or you haven't played in a while and looking for a new home, Dark Risings is worth a look. You will NOT be disappointed.

I was introduced to Dark Risings five years ago by a close friend of mine. People don't understand how I can play an rpg without pictures, but I honestly don't have enough good things to say about this mud. Like any other place it's not perfect, but it's as close as I've been able to find - and I've looked.

Of all aspects incorporated into a mud I enjoy the roleplaying the best, and Dark Risings encourages player interaction as much as possible. You will find all kinds of interesting characters when you log and you don't have to wait until you finish levelling to find something interesting to do.

The staff is helpful if you ask the right questions. There are plenty of helpfiles to aid you through any confusion.

Any creativity could be put to good use here.

Ah the review board, forum for brown nosers and gripers alike. My turn I guess. I've been playing here for awhile, probably too long. It is a decent mud, a pretty basic code with some unique features. An easy and recognizable map layout, even with the wandering areas. The rate of new area additions is pretty quick for a Mud, which is always a plus.

Okay, that stuff's boring. Time to get to the stuff people usually talk about. If you think this mud is perfect and praise it as the paragon of all things MUD, you're dead wrong. Not to say it isn't a decent place to play, but it has quite a few faults. And yes, among them are abusive Imms, but you know the saying, 'Power corrupts.' As bad as that sounds, the Imps, when they're around, do tend to the worst transgressions. Granted, they should be probably have at least two more Admins than there are Imp's, but to each his own. It's really a moot point since the most common Imm trangression is playing favorites. It happens everywhere. Of more importance is the lack of Imm interaction between mortals and Imms. An Imm is supposed to interact, they're the role-intensive members of the staff, there to help provide structure for rp to be built on. Some of the Imms are better at this than others, and actually do come out of isolation. So it's not all bad...

Oh, as for Mark's zealous defense of the mud and the staff. It's really the Imps job to defend the staff's position, behind the scenes he's cracking a whip(or should be)...or maybe a flogger? Kinky.

Okay, so there's the good, the bad and the ugly(Mark...kidding). All muds have those parts. However, I have been playing this bleedin' game for a little over 6 years, so it's has to be worth checking out, but don't be prepared for a life-changing event.

Oh, one more thing. If you do come, don't bother trying to contact Mark. He never responds. Correction, he never responds unless he's banning or defending himself/DR/staff against an accusation/insult.

I've been playing Dark Risings for a long time. Probably anyone who plays a MUD is going to get fed up and try something else once in a while, and DR isn't for everybody. It's a DIKU, so if you've played a DIKU before you're going to find some of the areas familiar. DR's real strength, and what sets it apart, is simply not doing a lot of things that make other MUDs lousy:

Stats! You don't roll stats on DR, so don't worry about submitting to a dodgy stat-rolling program or hitting enter a thousand times for the magic numbers. It's pretty hard to mess up your first character.

Human, Dwarf, Orc, Mage, Warrior, etc. You don't need to have read an obscure fantasy book for the races and classes in DR to make sense. Even your grandma knows what an orc is, right?

You ever play a MUD that used too much ANSI color? Or none? Dark Risings uses ANSI a little bit, conservatively, tastefully, and it can be turned off.

New players' hands are not held if they don't want them held. You don't like scripted tutorials and neither do we, so take all the time you need. The 'real' game is only one room from the start.

Noobs have diplomatic immunity until they choose to turn it off. Dark Risings has a guild devoted to helping new players get settled in the game. You can certainly get a character to the highest mortal level without getting beat up before you decide whether or not DR is for you.

I know it's been said, but the players and the staff really pull it together. Dark Risings is foremost not a MUD run by dopes, which for what I've seen during the times I get fed up and try something else, is pretty uncommon. Come and take a look around, if you want. Get to know the players. Put something cool in your title. If you can dig it, we'd be glad to have you.

In the short time I've mudded here, I've noticed various changes. PBase : I imagine this mud had more people on at once before I started here, but it was a good number when I first started out. Up until a few months ago, it retained an average of ten to fifteen people before night, and then it was about twenty. I can't say the same now. I don't know about you, but I think lack of activity is boring.

And now onto class changes. Mages used to be one of the most used PK classes in this game. Now, they do low damage and mages aren't seen as much as they were. I could say the same for necromancers. They have spells which affect the body. What was the point to make the spells hit mirror images? Necromancers weren't THAT powerful. It's a worthless class now.

The point is, why fix things that aren't broken? The guild immortals used to actually RP with the guild members. There are only two or three that do now. Being an immortal is like a job. You are expected to RP and do the job you are assigned by being in the guild that you're in. Having to wait a week to speak to an immortal from a guild concerning whatever question you have is pretty pointless.

The good, old players have all either left because they got bored or were banned because of one thing or another. They were probably some of the best players this mud has seen and I'm sure they won't be forgotten.

And then players get slain for making a suggestion. For actually RPing. So, it would seem that, by falling into an RP, one could be slain by an imm who is on the same side as them, and would make a similar decision later in the situation.

The morts are what keeps this game barely alive.

Darkrisings use to be an excellent mud worth playing. I use to be very impressed with the attitude of the staff members and the balance of the classes.

In recent times many events have changed from what they once were. The attitude of the immortals has changed a lot. I watched an invisible immortal speak on a channel about how poor the overall roleplay of the morts was. A mort spoke out against them and even gave an example of a situation in which the morts used a decent rp instead of resorting to pk. The imm returned with a comment like 'Since you are trying to prove a point, I won't trust you to fill me in on the details.'

On April 1st, all the safe rooms were changed to regenerate stats negatively as a prank. During the prank a few new players were caught in these rooms and began showing signs of losing interest. Several mortals spoke up on the ooc channel. One of them was sitebanned for the rest of the day. An immortal I spoke to said he angered Mark (An implementor).

A friend of mine was the mortal leader of a guild. One day he was transed up and cussed out by the immortal leader of the guild. When he swore back at her, he was slain and deguilded. Later on she told me that she cussed him out to get his attention and that when he swore back it was disrespectful.

I spoke to two or three of the current immortals. Several of them give out other people's alternate characters and spread general trash about players. I was told by an immortal that one male character enjoys having 'special' relations with both male and female characters ranging from children to adults.

The most recent display of vulgar power happened while an immortal was having a bad day. A mortal asked him what he should name his child. The immortal slayed him and then placed his corpse for all to see with a sign reading 'This is what happens when you bother an immortal having a bad day.'

A few events have been brought up over staff cheating. I cannot speak for those in which I spoke to an immortal and they confirmed it.

A vampire was killed and looted heavily. The player who killed him found illegal equipment on the vampire. He was transfered to an imm room and questioned over the issue of killing the vampire. When he showed the equipment to the administrator, he was site banned. There was a note following his banning. It talked of the mort being disrespectful and at the end read 'Imp abuse? Lets do it.' The vampire was also a character used by the imp who wrote the note.

Most the vampires on darkrisings were or currently are staff members. One of which had a duel with a member of the covenance. She admitted to me that she recieved tells from his guild immortal while dueling him. The immortal told her that her opponent was out of moves and the immortal consensus was that she should finish him off. She 0later told me that the player was so pathetic that his own guild immortal hated him enough to aid a vampire against his set role.

The last example I have happened to a friend of mine. He had been following his role and made a suggestion that a person in another guild take something from a member of their guild to save the world from a cruel fate. The next day after speaking to his immortal, his immortal vanished and he was slain from no where. He spent twenty minutes trying to contact an immortal to find out what he did wrong. He sent the administration a copy of what happened. After speaking to the immortal who slayed him he got upset and sent the logs to a friend. He later made a comment to an old friend not to rejoin the guild he just left. The next day he was confronted on the incident. He was accused of trying to ruin the reputation of an immortal and told 'Lets skip to the end.' After that he was site banned.

I realise that every story has three sides. No party above was perfect. I just wanted the events I have seen to be made known so people may make an educated decision before trying this mud.

I will end this review on a positive note. The only thing I miss about darkrisings were the mortal players. They are some of the best in the gaming realm.

I've been playing DR for 5 years. I've made the occasional stupid mistake and broke a rule, however the imms dealt with each one fairly, even if I disagreed. The imms run the game as it should be run. They stay behind the seens(unless they run a guild or are running a quest) for the most part.

The playerbase expands constantly, with new players coming, and some old ones leaving, giving the game a wide variety of role plays. Your roleplay experience is almost limitless, as long as it is clean, and within the rules. Ranging from a drunk to a Noble, you are sure to have fun with whatever you wish to RP as.

The character creation leans towards individuality, letting you customize your character, hightening your PK and RP abilities. The character variety allows for balances when in pk, each having a weakness, unless you are Kine or werekin(basic humans).

Overall, I believe the MUD to be extraordinarily balanced, keeping all thing equal, so no one ever has the single most powerful character.

I have been mudding for a long time, since 1994. I have been around and have seen and played just about any or every MUD out there.

MUDs come and go. Some are great for a short period of time, and some are never really that great. Dark Risings has stood the test of time (it has been up since 1998) and it is still kicking. In my opinion this is the only MUD left worth playing.

I could go on about the races, classes, etc, etc, this and that. But really, that stuff you can check out for yourself. What you should know is that there is a very loyal, intelligent playerbase and if you come and play, you'll find yourself immersed in a rich, deep world that you won't want to leave. Make this mud your new home.

I've been to a few MUDs and of all, I believe the Dark Risings has the most comprehensive package to offer. The expansive world has yet to be explored in its entirety by even the most experienced Dark Risings player. The staff keep the game interesting by adding new areas, ideas, RP threads and quests, even code changes like trades and new races often enough that one can occupy their time with five different characters and still not cover it all.

Gamers new to the world of Muds or just to Dark Risings are assisted without major handholding, given enough information to succeed without 'ruining the ending', so they can learn and explore on their own and are encouraged to ask questions whenever things come up.

The rules are well created, encouraging a level of Roleplay that is enjoyable and realistic without diminishing the sense of gaming. Players can choose to strictly Roleplay, or engage in Player Kill in addition to Roleplay. Since Roleplay is emphasized, no Player Kill without appropriate Role is allowed, which encourages a wide variety of characters and attitudes. Thieves battle with lawmakers, Gypsies run from the nobles, the weres and the werehunters duke it out, all in language and weapons.

Creativity is definitely a standard, no matter the character, with vivid descriptions, Mobprogs, RP, ANSI color and options available to enhance the gaming experience.

Just a taste is all it takes!

I first came to DR approximately back in March, and I have to say it's probably one of the best MUDS out there.

The classes are very innovative (especially the 'wild mage') and are extraordinarily well balanced against each other (probably making it the most balanced game I have seen in 5+ years of mudding).

It is not a hack'n'slash pure pk mud, but rather supports a moderate roleplaying environment (requires an rp reason to pk someone, but even so, some very good pk'ers on there, so if that's your motif, check it out). You can max out your attributes with eq to make things slightly easier and the players are all very courteous (just about ZERO bickering with the pbase or imms- which is always a great thing).

Come check the place out!