Welcome to Dark Risings
 
  Imagine yourself a werecreature, skulking through the deep forest
after the moon has caused you to involuntarily transform into a 
beast of unimaginable terror.  
 
 Or...a hunter that specializes in running the creatures of the night
into the ground, and has the power to do it.  
 
 Or...a Gypsy, persecuted by outsiders, loved beyond all measure by
the family you cherish in return, skilled in dance and storytelling,
haunted by the leeches and undead which fill the night.
 
 Or...a scholar of the arcane, with the power to change the very 
fabric and nature of the world through unique magics which only you 
have mastered.
 
 Or...a merchant, wealthy beyond the dreams of most, fearlessly 
leading your clan against the most dire monsters in all the realms 
for one reason: profit.
 
 Or...imagine yourself minding your own business when before your
eyes a man shifts into mist, or a woman's caress turns into the bite
of a vampire.  Imagine becoming ensared in dark and secret
intrigue.  Imagine earning the trust of a patriarch, and becoming
one yourself.
 
   All of these roles and more are yours for the exploring at Dark 
Risings.  Any new character has a 7% chance of being a werecreature 
mutation of your chosen race.  Vampires are hand-picked by patriarchs
based on the strength of roleplay.  
  
  Dark Risings has made sure to preserve that familiar feel of a ROM 
MUD.  Creating a new character is easy; simply choose the default of 
the class you want to play and you will have all the essential
skills and spells picked for you to optimize your playing
experience.  As you become familiar with the game, you can re-create
your character to choose a wider variety of skills and spells, or
create new characters for an entirely different playing experience. 
With 14 races, 14 classes, and 7 guilds, the possibilities are
virtually endless.  Our mantra is "equal but different", and you
will find each different race and class to be unique but carefully
balanced.
 
  We have a large variety of new and unique areas and features, as 
well as areas which retain the basics of stock ROM but which have
been heavily polished and revised to enhance game play. For example,
we have dozens of original built-in miniquests which offer rewards
in the form of gold, items, equipment, and bonus XP if you choose to 
explore while you level.  This is a constantly evolving process; we
work every day to create new miniquests and to enhance the feel of
the game.
 
   Role playing is heavily encouraged, with a name & description 
approval process (online, no emailing required) and valid in-role
reasons for PK (player killing) attacks required.  We have lots of
quests and the kind of game balance only achieved from years of live 
play and adult admins with several decades of combined experience. 
Player Killing (PK, PvP, Player Conflict) is a part of this, although
with care it can be entirely avoided without hugging saferooms all 
day if you so choose.  We have a NB channel where you can ask ANY 
question about the game and get an immediate answer (usually from 
several sources).  We also have an extensive helpfile system
designed to give hints and tips to all of our players, not just the
ones who have been with us for years.  Annoying things that Dark
Risings is missing?  There's no rent, no hunger, no thirst, and
resting heals you as fast as sleeping.  
 
   We pride ourselves on being a player-centered mud.  What this
means to us is that we ask for and incorporate player input on all
major decisions about the game.  We have an "idea" board from which
we have implemented many, many good ideas submitted by our players. 
We also strive to embed player-run RP into the game itself, by
building items, rooms, and even entire areas to reflect the
contributions of players.  We feel that Dark Risings is a tapestry
of RP, and every player's thread is important to the whole of the
game.  We have an excellent base of mature and highly skilled role
players who make Dark Risings an excellent and exceptionally fun
game to play.
  
   Come see what makes Dark Risings in the top ranked MUDs on the
Mud Connector!  Join our family, make friends, fall in love!  It 
happens every day.  Right now, we have 35 people playing and having
fun as I write this.  You could be the 36th.
 
   When you log on, be sure to read "Help New" which is an index of 
help files designed to make getting used to Dark Risings easy.