Review Submitted By: Mark
Author Status: Player
Started on Forgotten Kingdoms: June 2004
Submission Date: Jul 17, 2004
TMC Listing: Forgotten Kingdoms
The following review is the opinion of the review's author [Mark]
and in no way represents the opinions of this website or its staff.
I started MUDding in April of this year, and honestly didn't do a very
good job of it or even enjoy it at times. It was hard to find a MUD
that really supported roleplay rather than just 'hack 'n' chat.' Often
what I found were very elaborate worlds with almost no players, or
good players in very limited worlds where 'non-stock' means the names
of the places had changed.
Then I found Forgotten Kingdoms, and it all clicked. The world is
complex, well-developed (from the Forgotten Realms RPG I understand -
I've never played that), and extensive. The players... I have found
good roleplayers on other MUDs, but excellence in RPing is the goal
and the standard on FK. Look at the Helpfiles available on their
site, for example. I have never seen another MUD with multiple
helpfiles giving instructions on (and example logs of) emote-based
PC combat. Having the bar set that high makes the MUD continually
challenging, and always rewarding.
This striving for excellence does mean that roleplaying is actively
enforced on FK, and that their large immortal staff does make
judgments about PC's actions. It also means that global and OOC
interaction on FK is very limited, and that it is hard to 'step out'
of the game while playing and think about it as nothing but code and
players. You can't charge in and be an immediate lone hero (or master
villian); you must learn the land and build relationships with its
people, get yourself knocked down a peg or two, and discover much on
your own. (Other players are very helpful, however - you're not
thrown to the wolves.) It is a lot like life. That may not appeal
to everyone, but if it sounds good to you, then you owe it to yourself
to log on and enter this world.
