Lensmoor

     

Lensmoor is a cross between a roleplaying mud, and a hack&slash mud. Players are encouraged to roleplay, and are often drawn into roleplaying situations, and efforts are made to reward good roleplaying, without the overbearing nature of many strict roleplaying muds.

We've been around for over 13 years and have continuously added to both the content and design of the game over that time. We've got over 300 custom zones to explore, RP tools, combat tricks, quests, and more custom codework (over 200,000 lines of code) than 99% of the games out there. Our world is well fleshed out with over 13 years of player generated story represented throughout.

All players have the ability to craft, to build homes, start clans, and, at the top level, to create their own zone using the best tools available in a text game anywhere.

Please stop in, there is something for everyone to enjoy.


Mud Theme: Fantasy

Lensmoor Mud Reviews

16 reviews found, Post a review

Review posted by Zeet
Posted on Thu Aug 4 20:02:58 2011 / 0 comments
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I have been playing lensmoor on a consistent basis now for over a decade.

I have tried other muds and other games before (even WoW briefly), but in the end, nothing was able to capture my attention and keep me coming back due to the sheer number of things I enjoyed about the game like Lensmoor.

Compared to any other mud out there, lensmoor offers BY FAR the most options for customization both of your character and to the game as a whole. There are no classes within the mud, so outside of a couple race-specific abilities, anyone has the potential to learn anything.

Players have the ability to build homes, build shops, build clans, become parts of imm-focused religions, and even build entire zones into the game without needing to be an immortal/staff member themselves.

The game area is HUGE. There are currently well over 200 zones throughout the game, and an immensely vast wilderness area that connects all the areas together, and allows for people to make use of the crafting system within the game to gather materials to build the many craftable items the game allows players to make.

The crafting system within the game is the most expansive of any game I have ever seen. Anything one might need in the course of fighting or roleplaying is possible within the crafting system (or darned close to it.) In addition to crafting items, there is an extensive enchanting system also built into the game that people can use to further customize items.

Lensmoor has plenty of people who choose to focus on crafting, or teaching, or fighting, or even some combination of the various aspects of the game. Interacting with other players is reccomended, but not required. It will certainly make it more fun and enjoyable for all if you do though.

Which leads to the next thing about Lensmoor. Lensmoor isnt just a game one comes to play, achieve goals and continue on and on with. Lensmoor is a place people come to relax, to socialize, to chat about things, and generally get together to enjoy themselves. Whether that is through questing, roleplaying, or simply hanging out and chatting with people, there are always things to do and people to interact with.

Some have said that while roleplaying isnt required that it technically still is. This is true in a way, and yet not in others. Ive known people who have gotten completely through the game without an ounce of roleplay or even necessarily interaction with other players at all. If you dont want to, you dont have to, though I will say, it will be easier and more enjoyable for you if you are willing to roleplay and open yourself up to other aspects of the game.

Faiths, as I mentioned earlier, are another aspect of the game. Lensmoor supports a wide variety of faiths of different focuses and alignments, that people are not required to join, but it certainly does add another fun aspect ot the game. A bonus to joining such faiths are that you are allowed to use special spells that are bestowed upon you by the immortal/staff member that heads the faith. Many of these spells are definitely useful, but can also be gotten by use of in-game items for those that dont wish to partake in the additional aspect of the game.

In the end, outside of all of the zones, items, spells, skills, questing, leveling, remorting, etc, that are available with the game, the best aspect of the game by far, are the people.

The people are definitely what helps make the game, at least from my perspective. Arawn, the creator of the game, has helped, with plenty of player feedback and assistance in creating a fantastic game. He is always willing to make changes based upon player suggestions and has a terrific idea board and voting system set up so the players can let him know what they would like to see changed or implemented to the game. Its honestly quite rare when a change is made to the game that the players did not suggest first. And even if a change is made outside of player suggestions, players are always encouraged to test out the changes and report their results from said changes.

Ive seen a few reviews here that mention about the excessive amount of drama or imms abusing their power, or showing favoritism, or any number of things. I can say, having been around the game as long as I have, that bits of drama do pop up every now and then, but its hardly to any level that would cause any issues for the average player, especially these days. Imms found abusing their power are stripped of their position, and typically banned, to make it clear that such abuse is not to be tolerated. Favoritism is something I personally have never been witness to.

The people here are a wonderful group. Many players like myself still are playing or involved in the game even after 10+ years. Plenty of new players come and join the game though, so its not just the oldies like myself, hehe. Many of the new people do choose to stay, which should go to show that the game must be decent enough to be able to draw and keep people.

I, myself, have put in over 14,000 hours on my main character of the same name, into the game. Ive dedicated myself to not only enjoying myself and the various aspects of the game that I have made use of, but also to make the game as enjoyable for those who play the game. Many people who play feel the same way. New players are treated well, and given assistance to get themselves started. People are more than happy to help out each other with teaching, items, answering questions big and small that they may have about the game.

The staff are all volunteers that also enjoy the game, and as such put a lot of time and effort into continuing to add to the game, and find ways to improve it.

No matter what you like about muds and games in general, you will find aspects within the game that you will like. I recommend to everyone to give this mud a chance, as it really is the best out there and you will grow to enjoy it as myself and many others have :).

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Review posted by Maire
Posted on Wed Feb 9 19:56:01 2011 / 0 comments
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I started playing here about 9 years ago. I took a break for about 3 years for irl reasons and now I'm back. There have been a lot of changes in three years, yet the general climate is about the same as I remember it to be. I have found the changes to be well thought out and decent. This guy 'anonymous' who keeps posting on the idea board is obviously heard and seems to have considerable input.

In all honesty, it took me a while before adapting to this place. I came here from a very 'hack&slash pk type' mud because it was recommended to me by someone who knew I really enjoyed rp. I started a character, found the world to be intimidating at first (it was much larger) and kept searching but, I kept coming back because the people were very friendly and the world had captured my imagination.

The changes I have seen since coming back that I like the most are the addition of several clans both pk and npk. One of these clans is dedicated to helping new players and newbies in general and another one is there to help players who want to try more in depth 'evil' rp. What remains is the general friendliness and helpfulness of both staff and players, imaginative and interesting areas and a lot of respect and freedom for those who choose to play here. As such, I would and have had no problems recommending this place to friends who are creative even if they are new to mudding.

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Review posted by Final Gate
Posted on Wed Feb 9 19:45:21 2011 / 3 comments
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Amazing But Shady Game I have been with this mud for many many years. I have seen it go through many phases and changes. It is an amazingly fun game that allows you to do practically what you want and make any type of character you want.

But there are somethings you should be wary of: 1. Though it says RPing is not required, it basically is. You can play without RPing, but it will take some amount of it unless you don't want access to many really good spells. If you are not RPing you are missing out on a large portion of what makes the game good.

2. This game is Arawn's(the creator) sand box, he changes things rapidly as he sees fit. You have to accept this before playing. He will make huge sweeping changes over night without warning.

3. Drama Queens and Cliques rule this game. The strong and influential people in this game will bully you if they get a chance. While this is part of RP, many of them will take it OOC and even take it out on you on your other characters.

4. No Privacy, there are a LOT of Imm staff in this game. And they are compromised of the players. Around 40% of the the active players are Imm Staff, and Imm Staff in this game can hear every thing you are doing. So don't expect your secret rp or trash talk about someone else to go unheard.

5. Corruption, While there are a lot of friendly(or at least openly friendly) Imm Staff some of them are also the above said Drama queens. So starting over with a new character fresh will not let you escape them. They can see your IP address, and from personally experience they will not hesitate to tell others who you are. Arawn does his best to combat this, but he has so much on his plate already that most of the time nothing is done. And he hears complaints about it so much that he really doesn't care anymore.

Despite what is said above, this game is a work of art and it is a lot of fun. The community at first will seem warm and welcoming, but be careful, because the community is actually this games biggest problem.

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Comment posted on Sun May 16 21:15:02 2010 by Azengard:
     

Let me start this by saying that I have been playing Lensmoor for 6 years, have never had an immortal character, and believe I have had a pretty typical game experience over that time. I have had dozens of no name characters over the years, as well as two very well-established, and very different characters. Clearly, as I've been playing for 6 years, I do enjoy the game greatly.

A few things this reviewer stated were rather unfair or poorly explained, so I offer the following clarifications:

1) If you just want to hack and slash, you don't have to RP. As this reviewer stated, you'll find it more difficult, but it -is- doable. Piles of folks have remorted without a smidge of RP, it may just take you longer to figure out how, as they are typically established players. Like anything else, you choose to limit your character yourself by the interaction (RP) you're willing to partake in, and the time you put into a character, and if you don't want to RP, you don't get all the benefits of the game. It's very simple.

2) Arawn may very well change things if the urge strikes, as he is entitled to do. However, what this reviewer failed to mention is that the vast majority of changes have been made due to player demand. Arawn implemented a system by which any player can post an idea anonymously, and others can vote on it, again anonymously, to see whether it's worth consideration and the time to code. So, even if Arawn himself makes a change, he's made it clear that he's willing to change things based on player input, which is STRONGLY encouraged. Many changes have been flat out reversed or altered based on this player input.

3) That's life, and just as in life, you quickly learn who to avoid with minimal interference in your play. Yes, the cliques exist in Lensmoor/Antrippa, but the majority of people who play are fabulous, friendly, and very willing to help. If people are truly being that horrid, they are often spoken to by staff. If it continues, more severe consequences follow.

4) Imms are -required- to get your permission to 'snoop', i.e. see your screen. Arawn is very clear about this, and there's absolutely no tolerance when it comes to imms overstepping their bounds. Also, there is no possible way 40% of the playerbase are immortals. That's a vast overestimation. I'd estimate the number to be more on the lines of 10% of players have -ever- had an immortal. Also, it's stated time and time again that public channels, including all chat channels, are able to be seen by immortals. If you want to trash talk, use a chat program.

5) If an immortal is specifically picking on someone, or being 'corrupt' so to speak, their tenure as an immortal is going to be short lived, as this is not tolerated. Sharing the alts of others is severely frowned upon, so much so that most immortals don't even use the ability of looking at player's ip addresses to figure this out. Realistically, if an immortal peeks at someone's ip address, it's likely because that person has been causing trouble and they're looking to see if they have a history of such behavior, or are player who has been banned for similar reasons. Troublemakers take great joy in coming back to cause a ruckus.

It takes all kinds to make the game work. Some players (imms are players, too!) are wonderful, while others leave much to be desired. That's life. Play for yourself, let other people's opinions and issues stay their own, come to the game with a good attitude, and you'll have a blast.

Comment posted on Mon Jun 28 22:33:58 2010 by Teon:
     

First of all, thank you for the good things you've said about Lensmoor. The game is not without its faults (and this is true of any), but we (the staff and players) are constantly striving to improve these. I'd like to respond to some of your comments from the perspective of both a staff member and player.

1. I'll refer to Azengard's comment here.

2. Sometimes, changes are supposed to be a surprise. On the other hand, Arawn does often talk to the players or have staff investigate and run polls before making changes. And recently, 95% of his changes have been as a result of player submitted ideas which are publicly submitted and voted upon.

3. Again, will refer to Azengard.

4. I feel you have an incredible amount of privacy on Lensmoor. I've played several MUDs and have never felt so respected by staff in terms of privacy as I have on Lensmoor. And I maintain this opinion, before and since I've had a staff character. And if your secret RP or trash talk gets out, it's because people gossip, not because of what staff sees or doesn't see. We don't see your notes or private chats to each other, or conversations you have in private rooms. And the game is certainly not 40% staff. We have about 20 active staff, and a lot more than 50 players.

5. We are strictly forbidden from sharing ALTs. And Arawn certainly does care. In fact, he cares about the professional attitude of his staff more than pretty much anything else in the game.

Comment posted on Sun Jan 2 18:12:01 2011 by Final Gate Sympathizer:
     

This review has some merit.

1. Yes, Roleplaying is encouraged and is required to access some aspects of the game. If you are looking for a solely hack and slash game, look elsewhere. That should be common sense.

2. This is not only true that Arawn changes as he sees fit but it is worse than reviewer describes. Arawn has no problem in removing things from players and staff without warning and frequently does not take players into consideration in making changes. Some small concessions are done from time to time as Teon has described, but make no mistake that Arawn often dismisses considerations for players and has no clue how the game actually plays out for most of the playerbase.

3. Drama is very much a problem. It was not something I personally incurred until later years when I actually tried interacting with more of the playerbase. You are best off if you stick with only a few people and/or have a healthy dose of reality to shake off the nonsense that will continually plague you and threaten to suck you in to the drama vortex.

4. While imms are 'expected' to be respectful of your privacy and there ARE means of private communications, I think many people become confused about two things. 1) Saying something where it is not private is, well, not private. If you have something private to say, use some common sense and be careful where you are talking and who you are talking to. 2) Imms are not very ethical. They are people, some of whom like the power trip and think they never make mistakes. It will only take a very large and egregious example of disrespecting privacy for any consequences to be given to an imm, and even that is questionable.

5. In addition to corruption there is also flagrant favoritism. Arawn does not actually do much at all to combat this and actually plays favorites himself. I am not convinced that Arawn cares about corruption among the staff, having not properly dealt with cheating staff or staff breaking the rules more than once. He has also not bothered to give consequences to cheating players. Those who are not favored by Arawn or by his favorites can be repeated targets of their dislike, directly and indirectly, as well as incur borderline harassment. For this last reason alone, I do not recommend playing.

If under better direction, it is entirely possible for this game to be great. It had a lot of potential to be very rewarding but the people of the game make it difficult to appreciate the good things about it. There are also very good people you can find here but those have dwindled in number over time and are not enough to warrant the misery of dealing with everyone else.

Your time is better spent elsewhere.

Review posted by Azaela
Posted on Sun Feb 14 20:13:05 2010 / 0 comments
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I've played this game almost ten years, and despite complications with other players at times - I'm always drawn back.

The rich history of the races, the ease of which players are willing to help you, and the well-thought backstory of the world all contribute to a gaming experience that is unique and wonderful.

I've tried jumping to other MUDs at the recommendation of friends, and none had the helpful players, staff, or indexing of helpfiles like I've seen in Lensmoor.

The best part of the game, honestly, is the openness that you can approach the staff with ideas and feedback - the implementation of the Idea Board and the voting system of ideas makes for a sense that you are not only playing the game, but helping to write it and improve it.

With the status-driven system for reputation, it allows distinct playability of your character, creating your own path - rather than following a cookie cutter shell of how a person should act. Your actions have consequences, both good and bad.

Furthermore, the players and staff have loved the game so much, and put so much into it - and it shows. In recent past, some players/staff decided that other games shouldn't be the exception for voice interaction, and a ventrillo server was established and documented. While communication on it is out of character, it allows you to get to know the people behind the characters and staff, and give you a human interaction, instead of just type.

I have recommended and recruited players to this game for years, and with the game adding more zones, abilities, spells, and racial features, I'm sure I will continue to do so for years more!

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Review posted by Michelle
Posted on Wed Mar 25 20:56:43 2009 / 0 comments
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I have been a mud player for almost 10 years. I have participated in player-killing, non player-killing, roleplay intensive and roleplay optional muds. I have never bothered to review a mud in that entire time, finding most games to be so like each other that there would really be no point. Until now.

Recently, I was born into a world called Lensmoor. From the outset, this realm was different - more immersive, more creative, and much more flexible than I was used to. The racial system is intriguing even for a rank beginner, and depends upon which of the two continents you choose to live on. Remorting (being reborn upon achieving a certain level of experience) is an option, and the remort races interesting enough to provide quite the motivation to achieve.

This world features an auto-quest system with useful rewards and bonuses for grouping (which helps create player bonding and roleplay opportunities). In addition to auto-quests, players will meet interactive non-player characters who need their assistance in one time only 'zone quests', which are relevant and plot driven, and reward you amply for the time and intellect used to solve them.

Roleplay is intensive, required, and indeed rewarded (or punished!) by your peers, with immortal review ensuring fairness and a minimum of bullying or abuse of the 'points' based system. Players are encouraged to build and customize their own locations and equipment, with enough investment to ensure the results are in character and indeed, add to the overall atmosphere of the world itself. The immortals themselves participate in the roleplay, run fun global quests and games, and lead religious orders which afford not only richer roleplay opportunities, but the chances to obtain one-only and unique skills.

This world is absolutely HUGE and is constantly being added to not only by their active building staff, but by long-time players whose talents and deep knowledge (and indeed, love for, these lands) are not allowed to go to waste.

The classless skill system is well thought out and balanced, allowing for skills to be gained through learning (from players - which a bonus is given for doing, again encouraging interaction and roleplay - and non player characters) or, best of all, through actual use of the skill, and an amazing variety of equipment is available throughout to accommodate different skill and experience levels. You can specialize in several different walks of life, from Necromancy to Healing to Crafting and receive boosts and benefits from your expertise in your chosen field. Lensmoor features a rich commodities (materials) driven crafting system, which actually affords a pure crafting type experience gain and growth through participating in their chosen craft - typical hobbies such as alchemy and herbalism are available, as are more unique and roleplay-driving talents such as distilling, farming, or weaving.

Finally, an amazingly interested and patient staff and playerbase made MY time as a clueless newbie not only survivable, but FUN, as I was invited into groups, clans, and indeed, checked on by friendly, concerned immortals constantly, though without being harassed or feeling spoonfed.

My formatting of this review may leave something to be desired, due to my inexperience in doing such things, but I encourage anybody who happens to read this to drop my the 100% free text realm of Lensmoor to whip a character up and spend some time there, questing, exploring and hunting.

You will enjoy this interesting and unique world and no doubt, choose to return time and time again.

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Review posted by Nick
Posted on Tue Aug 19 20:54:18 2008 / 0 comments
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Lensmoor, an online community for over 10 years, is a unique mud that offers an expansive, customizable experience for players of all skills. The dedicated staff and the creativity of the players creates an environment where truly anything can happen.

The strongest and most notable part of Lensmoor is that the player has the ability to create whatever persona they desire. The player can choose to be anything from warrior, to chef, crafter to healer, the possibilities are truly endless.

For some, PKing is what they are looking and for others, a more roleplay grounded game is what they are seeking; fortunately for all these player types, Lensmoor is securely grounded in roleplay and player killing as a result of that roleplay, while not required, is not hindered either.

The mechanical aspect of the mud is designed to encourage learning and players will pick up on the more subtle aspects rather quickly. Lensmoor provides a great community for both the casual and serious mudder, where the growth potential of the player's character is nearly endless.

I invite all of you to join this community and see for yourself all the possibilities available! www.lensmoor.org port 3500

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Review posted by Jael
Posted on Mon Jun 16 21:55:23 2008 / 0 comments
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I have played Lensmoor for going on eight years now. I was introduced to the game by a friend who promptly ditched me to figure out this whole new confusing MUDding concept on my own. Thankfully, there were dedicated players in the beginning as there still are today, and I was taken under the wings of a few oldbies who taught the lay of the land. This has led me to help new people myself now that I have the know-how, and I encourage and work with others to do the same. I believe that the overall helpfulness of the MUD combined with the revamped (and incredibly impressive) newbie school provide a lot of support for players new to Lensmoor and to MUDding in general.

The one strongest point to Lensmoor that really determines whether you love it or you hate it is that it is a very, very dynamic MUD. Things are constantly changing to suit the times, the playerbase, and the staff and the owner. Player-proposed ideas are debated in a public forum where the staff and coder can see, and ideas are taken seriously enough that countless of them have been implemented and will continue to be so. The strong foundation of the game is the support given to and by players to keep the game interesting and functional, as well as the creativity that is recognized and appreciated by all.

The mechanics of Lensmoor may seem overwhelming, but are actually fairly simple and understandable, although if you're attempting to determine the math behind combat it may get a little bit complicated. However, the openness of the skill system and the ease of learning and using game mechanics (supported moreso by the very, very all-encompassing and easily accessible helpfile system) is one of the reasons I absolutely love Lensmoor over other places. There are more choices than I have seen in any other place in character creation, character development, and overall mechanics with regards to combat, the skill/spell system, and even roleplay.

Like every online game, Lensmoor is not without its hitches from time to time. Sometimes changes turn out to be less than we expected, and we learn and grow from the issues that we face with this. The beauty of this is that one problem can spawn dozens of wonderful ideas that lead us down an unexpected but fun and interesting path. I enjoy the fact that the coder, players, and staff are willing to experiment to determine what will better the game.

If you are looking for a creative, dynamic, open and flexible gaming experience whether you like your hack-and-slash, your roleplay, or a mix of both - I sincerely recommend Lensmoor. It is a wonderful MUD for new MUDders and for old MUDders looking for new flavor and new experiences. If you're looking for the fabled 'perfect' online gaming experience and refuse to dabble in games that have their momentary flaws, I recommend you do not waste your time (and ours) on Lensmoor.

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Review posted by Melody
Posted on Fri Feb 22 21:14:55 2008 / 0 comments
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My first impression of Lensmoor (As it was the first MUD I'd ever seen) was 'Not only will I never understand/remember anything, but I doubt I'll ever even be interested!'. Clearly the fact that I'm a player seven years later proves my first impression wrong!

The areas (which're unique and detailed) are easy to learn after dedicating a little time to exploring. The playerbase is both friendly and helpful. There is so much to do and learn that even after all these years I, myself, don't know everything there is to know. The ability to create multiple characters, and rp each one differently leads to so many possibilities and choices that I find myself unable to get bored while visiting Lensmoor

The crafting system is amazing, the ability to marry, and produce offspring which other's can play for you add's so much to the feeling of Lensmoor, and the rp is never lacking, provided you're willing to rp yourself!

The faiths, the clans, the RP and the areas to explore make Lensmoor such a great place to play. I highly reccommend stopping by, be you a 'newbie' or a seasoned gamer

I've tried a few other MUDS, over the years, but Lensmoor is the one I've never left!

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Review posted by Kate
Posted on Tue Jan 29 20:22:17 2008 / 1 comment
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This game? Gone downhill from when I started. Not only has RP gone stagnant, but there's a serious case of heads up the others posteriors in this game.

Lensmoor, once upon a time, was a great MUD, do not get me wrong. It has a very caring staff, helpful as well as game-smart.

However, there is a serious issue that even they, themselves, addressed when I was on about IC and OOC separation being a big problem. Immediately after that I saw one newer user (by creation date done via whois $playername) jumping down the throat of an older user by creation date for trying to lighten a mood.

Lensmoor, as the review doesn't mention, also has the 'Antrippa' side, which is the enemy of Lensmoor. The war, however, is about as stagnant as the RP on either side. It seems to be more of a medieval cold war than any actual war like you or I would conceive upon reading the word 'War'.

Questing gives quest points to help improve stats and from what I've tested, has gone downhill to the point you can not stay at a low level to actually 'rp' while assisting fellow countrymen because of one fact. After a while at a certain level, your questpoints get limited to 1 point per quest. This includes group quests. Say you are a level 2 sidhe and you handle a 16 person slay hunt on your own. If you've gone over the allowed qps for the level, even if you do everything, you may only get 1qp.

As I had masked as a newbie to write an unbiased review, I was approached by only two helpful older players, the rest of the ones I'd asked for help (who had a bright Cyan 'Willing to Help' flag on their whois) told me they didn't help newbies and to 'read the help files'.

Another serious issue involved lately that I've noticed when on is the qualm about 'in reality...' the playerbase wants fair and right and often have tossed the words 'well in reality..' around. It seems that some cannot grasp the aspect of reality not being fantasy.

Finally, remorting (taking on a higher form) is a joke. Why? They claim the quests may take a while to complete (in all fairness it took me 3 months to complete a quest to remort) and you can see people at 91 in the morning and at a 'newer' remort race within hours. You can ask around and be sneaky and get assistance on any of the remorts if you just ask around. That, unfortunately, takes a lot of the fun and excitement out of it.

Were I having to star base this, old lens would have 5 out of 6 stars. The changes listed here (and some I didn't mention due to having not tested them out personally to write a review) make it 2 out of 6.

If lensmoor wants to regain what was once incredible about it, they should stop making these ridiculous changes.

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Comment posted on Fri Jan 25 17:06:24 2008 by Matreya:
     

I would like to preface these comments by explaining that in recent weeks, Arawn our owner and only coder has been experimenting with a wide range of changes. Many older players of 4-10 years are finding things distinctly different, especially as not everything has been hammered out to Arawn's satisfaction and are continuing to be tweaked.

I'll do my best to address some addressable points.

'Willing to help' is help in roleplaying, not in game mechanics. AN experienced player as yourself should realize this.

'The stale war': Arawn has acknowledge to the playerbase that he understands they would like something better and that it will be addressed. Complaining about it here neither improves anything nor is being honest about the situation.

Remorting in itself is instantaneous so it would obviously look like someone has remorted instantly if you are just looking at their level. It takes some people longer than others, but you are unlikely to notice the preparation that is being put in, buffing up their characters and looking for the quest. Some players, after spending many years on Lensmoor, can use their experience to speed through the process. I don't begrudge a player benefiting from years of experience.

Quest points: Well, there's something we can talk about which hasn't been discussed extensively by the players yet (that I've seen).

'In reality' and other opinions: Players are welcome to toss around their ideas about how the game mechanics can work. Players trying to base their suggestions off of something logical and universally understood like real-life experience isn't a shortcoming of the game...

Review posted by Jezebeau
Posted on Tue Jan 13 17:00:33 2009 / 2 comments
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While the game boasts a mostly fantastic skill-based character system, the setting is designed to be stagnant and RP, while encouraged, is restricted beyond belief.

I recommend reading the homepage's forum and the in-game boards before becoming deeply involved in the game, so that one can get a feel for the attitudes of the administrators. Roleplay, while encouraged, is heavily restricted, with many news posts and immortal replies to forums setting out guidelines to be followed in-character on threat of 'or else...'. There are two starting locations, each with their own set of races, and whilst all players begin knowing how to speak the language of each continent, all players of all backgrounds and alignments are expected to express absolute xenophobia. Even those following the god of duty and diplomacy are not exempt from nonassociation with the other side.

If you're looking for open and diverse storylines and character options, look elsewhere.

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Comment posted on Thu Sep 6 20:25:31 2007 by Thelonius:
     

I'm sorry you feel that roleplay in Lensmoor is 'restricted beyond belief'. In reality, there is almost no restriction on RP at all, and most of the 'rules' that do exist are actually guidelines.

Lensmoor is a 'roleplay encouraged' MUD, so while you might not see people RPing every time you log in, there is a ton of RP taking place. The most common reason for people making this complaint is that they are not involved in any plots, which is almost always due to lack of self-involvement.

As for 'those following the god of duty and diplomacy are not exempt from nonassociation', this is wrong on several levels. First off, as someone who has obviously never been in Evarius' faith (Duty and Diplomacy) you have assumed a lot. I have had two characters in that faith, and both freely associated with the other continent (Antrippa).

Further, there is no 'nonassociation' decree for any faith, clan, alignment or other group. There is, however, a storyline built into the game of a war between the continents and the gods of each. This does not mean you cannot associate with the other continent. In fact, I RP with members of the opposing continent more than with those on my own, because I find it more interesting.

True, there is debate about the 'war', and while some people agree or disagree with proposed changes and updates to that storyline, many people do not travel beyond the stage of complaining, so it does bog down the discussion, both on the game boards and the forum.

Just don't assume because there is an underlying storyline that there aren't diverse storylines in action or a multitude of character options. There are countless of each at any given time.

Comment posted on Fri Jan 9 13:52:06 2009 by Alonzo:
     

Honestly, I find it hard to believe that someone would write a review of this sort about Lensmoor. To say that roleplay is heavily restricted is beyond disbelief for me as one who has steadily played a variety of roles there since 2002.

To date, my more-played characters have included an indignant, purist angel who believes that the best way to spread light is to utterly destroy the darkness and that any who do not strive for absolute purity are not truly good, a rather slimy-slick man of ill repute in most every way one might imagine who made himself a rather profitable enterprise of selling his own progeny into slavery later choosing to follow a path of light, though he is not particularly good at such as of yet, and finally a lawn gnome, who seems to be a bit lacking in ability to remember beyond what remains within his vision and stays in a single room in the mud, tending the lawn and cheerily interacting with any who happen by, largely in a predictable manner.

If that's not diversity, I don't know what is. It sounds like what this person really has a problem with is the setting of the two continents (Antrippa and Lensmoor) being in a perpetual state of animosity toward each other. This is what it is, and the general guideline is that the people of each continent do not get along with the other. As happens often enough, people are still free to interact, but these interactions are discouraged (in character) for the most part.

It is worth note that the statement of '...all players begin knowing how to speak the language of each continent...' is incorrect. If I recall correctly, only one race, maybe two, know both continent's base language in the game. For a game to receive criticism is actually a good thing, as such allows those in charge to take new points of view into account and make positive changes, but for criticism to be taken seriously, it is important to get the facts straight. I will concede that it is extremely easy for anyone to learn the majority of languages, whether those of races on your home continent or others, but that is a choice that the player has to make, not something that is expected of someone in any way.

With an admitted limited playerbase, split between two continents, and with the option to not be involved in roleplay it can honestly be difficult to find plots to be involved in at times. That said, I have always found the complaints of not being able to find roleplay, and especially roleplay that suits a given person, to be somewhat unfair. To expect others to bring roleplay to you on a platter is selfish and lazy. (This is not the same as appreciating when others involve you in their roleplay, of course.) If you cannot 'find' roleplay, perhaps you should create roleplay.

Lensmoor is truly a roleplay encouraged mud. I could go on at great length about the 'willing to help' flagged players (which is specific to helping others get involved in roleplay) and that the friendly staff is generally happy to help out as well and various other related responses to this review, but I don't really want to overwhelm. If you want roleplay, come by and try. Feel free to poke any of my characters (Alonzo, Delacroix, Mawriece) and I'd be happy to do what I can to help. Write a note to IMM asking for help getting involved, even. The majority of the playerbase enjoys roleplay and is happy to help others join in the fun.

Review posted by Scsi
Posted on Wed Oct 17 22:00:18 2007 / 2 comments
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This MUD is rather sick. The character creation is ugly, the race names seem to be completely random, and the system of gaining skills isn't explained at all.

Aside from that, when trying to create my first character (and it'd have been my only character) I was prompted with a nice box listing rules for creating characters. You have to follow choose names that aren't from fantasy books, aren't famous people/places, and aren't two english words joined together.

Easy. I chose Scsi. OK, so it's an acronym in the IT world, but it's no more effed up than the random letters and apostrophes they chose for their very small selection of races.

After getting halfway through the creation process, I was booted back to the list of acceptable names. I figured either they didn't like Scsi, or there's a glitch in the system. So this time, I chose Sene.

Halfway through the creation process again, and I get booted back to the start. This time I figure it has to be a bug, right? There's no way that Sene breaks any of those rules. Unless they just don't like girls joining their MUD, and want it to be a sausage fest.

So I tried Sene again.. 10 seconds later a big block of text jumps at me telling me I'm banned from creating new characters.

Grats guys, that's an awesome MUD you have there. I hope some other newbies to your space have better luck, or you'll have a hard time keeping up the pbase I've heard about.

BTW. Want to know how I heard about this MUD? One of the players/imms were advertising on the one I play.

Like I said, sick.

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Comment posted on Thu Sep 6 20:16:14 2007 by Thelonius:
     

Interesting... I think knowingly using acronyms for terms would be an obvious reason that the name would be denied. The character creation is actually very smooth and straightforward, with help supplied along the way.

None of the races are random letters, none actually have apostrophes at all. Human, sidhe, dragon, genie, gandor... small selection of the races, they seem pretty obvious to me. In fact, there is no playable race that is a random jumbling of letters. A nice change from other MUDs, I must say.

Lots of females play Lensmoor. At least half of our players, I would say. Assuming that you were booted for being female is ridiculous, and just sends up more red flags (which there are many of) that you are a disgruntled player with an agenda.

This only comes out more when saying you began 'playing' after an IMM from Lensmoor came and advertised on your game. I highly doubt it is true, and obviously added to your post as a last minute jab, further highlighting that your post is propaganda.

So thanks for stopping by Lensmoor.

Comment posted on Tue Oct 16 13:34:04 2007 by Matreya:
     

Our imms do not advertise on other muds. None of the staff would be interested in such activities and we do not condone such behavior in our playerbase.

Review posted by Sue
Posted on Tue Jul 10 23:28:40 2007 / 0 comments
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I started playing Lensmoor in Spring of 2002, at my best friend's urging. I have never regretted this decision! There is a plethora of things to do provided you have a good imagination. I love the fact that this game is completely in text, not a big fan of fancy graphics and video-game style games. I've tried other MUDs, but nothing comes even close to what I've experienced at Lensmoor.

A word of advice to newbies: When you create, turn off channels that will be rather spammy as I got quite lost in the beginning because the screen rolls text so quick and I read -everything- in the beginning. These channels would include Grat, quest, info, and ooc. Grat is the congratulations channel where friends lend encouragement for goals met. Quest channel tells you who all in the game has just completed a quest, as well as immortal game announcements. However, regardless of whether quest is turned off or not, you will still be informed about immortal run global quests in such a manner: [QUEST] Arawn has announced a quest! Upon seeing this message you can type 'quest info' to see what the quest is about. Info is a channel that lists who has logged on or off, as well as level gains and deaths. When you are learning its really not necessary to have this channel on as why should you care if 'Sue has attained level 76!'? OOC is a channel for out of character conversation, which can cover any number of concievable topics from thanking immortals for restores to your average chatroom banter (with PG-13 limitations, of course...) These can be toggled on/off in this manner: channel 'boardname' (example: to turn off grats- channel grat).

There is a wide variety in the playerbase itself. Though the game is localed in the USA, players hail from many different countries. We have several from the Netherlands, Canada, England, and countless others besides. We even have a player stationed in Iraq currently who plays from the desert! The MUD is PG-13 rated, though more restricted than the movie ratings. We're PG-13 due to the violence, so profanity is not tolerated on Lensmoor. Keep it off the public channels. No need to worry about your 10 year old seeing a bunch of trash on the screen. Most of the players are older, however. You'll find stay at home moms, adults who play at work and home (shhh, don't let their boss know!), teenagers who play at the library, at school.

If you are totally new to the gaming process, don't be afraid to ask for help. The Newbiehelp channel is exactly that, help for newbies. Established players use it as well, for their own questions. No one knows everything, and many players make it a point to keep newbiehelp on to assist everyone. If you need help getting established as a roleplayer, many players are configured as willing to help, though one should not see this as this person will level and equip me... the label is meant for those who are willing to help people roleplay. Their status can be seen on the 'who' list. Any player who is a helper will have cyan (light blue) brackets around their level as well as 'Willing to Help' on their whois file.

There are clans for just about every person's style: evil, good, neutral, chaotic, and the non-playerkilling (NPK). With the non-playerkilling clans, there are two to choose from. The scholars (Sykin) and the crafters (Artificers). I have yet to make a playerkiller character so I cannot speak too well for their clans.

The playerbase in general is friendly and involved in keeping their game as fun as possible. You will find that players usually display a preference for what continent they play on. The continent of Lensmoor is composed of the 'haves' and Antrippa is composed of the 'have-nots.' Lensmoor is lush and enlightened, Antrippa is harsh and desolate. These two continents are at war. Recently two new remort races have been implemented and flagged as Antrippa only races. With the addition of Gilska and Genie races, roleplay opportunities expand! If you enjoy a challenge, Antrippa is the place to be. If you enjoy taking it easy and having plenty of others around, Lensmoor continent is what you'll enjoy.

What I enjoy most about Lensmoor is the ability to craft items. There are 28 separate craft skills that can be learned and they vary from collecting raw materials such as lumberjack, farming, and mining to refining crafts woodwork and metalwork to finishing crafts such as magecraft, baking, and blacksmith. You are able to craft weapons and armor as well as enchant them with a variety of properties and stats as you desire. Jewelry and clothing can be made by players, as well. Though many are fine with collecting game-loaded equipment, many like the customization they can take control of with crafted equipment.

Marriages are available to characters once their character is both at least age 16 and level 10. Keep in mind however, that there is no option to divorce if you make a mistake. There is the ability for players to create their own families through the mate command. This may or may not result in a pregnancy. Some races cannot procreate with the other, and some may only through use of fertility potions granted by the immortals. Gestation periods vary and there is no guarantee for a live birth. If your character has a death, the pregnancy is lost. Some races lay eggs. Once a live birth occurs you are prompted to name the child, which will become a playable character that starts the game at age 7. You can then decide to play the child yourself or seek someone in the playerbase to play the child character.

(Some of the things I spoke of were taken directly from helpfiles in the game, if you ever have questions and are unwilling to ask on open channels, there is a helpfile for every spell, skill, immortal, command, etc. You can also find a list of all helpfiles on the Lensmoor website.)

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Review posted by Mozbrooklyn
Posted on Wed Sep 6 21:58:45 2006 / 0 comments
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In all of my gaming experience, this is indeed one of the most diverse, well balanced games out there. Newbie friendly, RP -encouraged- but not enforced, and a whole lot of things to do. From a crafter to a warrior, entrepreneur to a petty thief, the possibilities are endless. You decide your destiny, you make your world.

I've yet to grow tired of the game and I will probably continue playing for a -long- time.. or as long as it's running, but with a 9 year track record (hopefully many more years to come), i don't think it's going anywhere, anytime soon.

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Review posted by Cara
Posted on Tue Jul 25 20:47:10 2006 / 2 comments
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I discovered Lensmoor back in 1998 but did not truly get into the game and playing more frequently, until the winter of 1999. When I first started, I had no idea what to do and it took me some time to learn all of the commands. The people I met (players and staff alike) were friendly and most were willing to spend 30+ minutes teaching me about an aspect of the game I was totally clueless about.

I love Lensmoor's uniqueness. In all of the MUDs I have since tried, Lensmoor is the only one with a crafting system that allows you to find materials, make and detail your own items. I have also greatly enjoyed Lensmoor's marriage and mating system. Yes, your character can have his or her very own child, which can be given away and played by another character!

Lensmoor is set up so that you do not have to be PK to enjoy the MUD. Player Killing is permitted only for roleplaying reasons, so you don't have to worry about people coming in and killing you like in a 'hack and slash' type MUD. New rules have recently been developed for the PK system which should make it somewhat easier to PK without needing to jump through a dozen hoops.

Over the years I have had problems with certain players, as well as Immortals. I have been told that I will never become an Immortal, no matter how hard I work for it, so should not bother ever trying again. That same Imm also told me that I should never have any of my characters apply for Hero rank (which is basically as far as you can go, levelwise, without being an Immortal) because I would never be given a quest. But for the most part, players and staff alike are friendly and willing to help if you need it.

For the most part the Immortals are fair in their judgements, although in the past when the Immortal in charge of ruling over a specific aspect (such as the status board) has gone away, the MUD is oftentimes left in chaos with things being approved that shouldn't be, and vice versa.

On the whole, I would definitely recommend Lensmoor to those who enjoy MUDding. My advice is to read over the helpfiles and ask for help when you need it.

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Comment posted on Fri Jul 14 12:47:57 2006 by Prienna (Judy Henry):
     

I've recently returned to Lensmoor after a long absence. Some things have changed, which is par for the course. One of the things I like about Lensmoor is that it DOES constantly change. When things start falling into a rut, with cookie-cutter 'best' character building design and choices, the staff shakes it up so that we have, once again, dozens of different ways to build a good, successful character.

Of course, when one of these shake-ups happens, the players who have used the advantage to build one of those powerful cookie-cutter characters get upset, but still, somehow, Lensmoor survives, and I admire the staff's willingness to take the flak in order to keep Lens what it is--a mud of infinite paths to success.

Because, that's the one thing Lensmoor has going over all other muds--variety. Almost anything is available, and can succeed. Wanna be a master crafter who can't fight his way out of a paper bag, but is still respected and influential, not to mention rich? Big into rp, want to build a family of 10 kids and 20 cousins and buy yourselves a giant house of your own? Fine! Inclined to be a merchant, and own your own store? No problemo! Want to be a super-evil, etiquette conscious bad guy politely negotiating for the bodies of dead children? You can do that, too. (We've got one of those going right now.)

The only caution I would give to new players is that Lens is SOOO multi-layered and complex, you can't give it a fair judgement in a single 20-minute visit. There's just too much to know, too much to learn about, it's too non-stock. So, best advice for new visitors is to make a toss-away char, and spend 10 hours or so chatting up the friendly residents, getting ideas about the ten thousand possibilities for char, ask questions on the newbie channel (which are ALWAYS replied to by the local denizens), and then and only then decide if the variety and complexity and no-easy-answers world of Lensmoor is one you want to settle down into and make a home away from home.

Because, in all honesty, if you're looking for a place where you can become king of the hill in 100 hours by following a set 'best way', Lensmoor isn't the place for you. OTOH, if you're looking for a mud where you can nurture and grow a char for rl years, through marriages and deaths and remorts and career changes, friends, enemies, shops, homes, changes of religion, warring clans, and did I mention the rare but fun 'global catastrophe', like when magic quit working and was not restored until the players, collectively, had identified the cause and restored things to normal?

So, no, Lens is not an ordinary mud. If you want an ordinary mud, there's hundreds to choose from. But if you want a DIFFERENT mud, one that you can really sink yourself into and follow for years, Lensmoor is the place for you!

Comment posted on Fri Jul 14 13:44:13 2006 by Orinn:
     

While I understand your issue if some past staff member was that much of a jerk to say something so untrue to you, I'm not sure this is really the best place to put that beef.

I think it would have been a better forum to bring it to us on the game than to leave it for us to read and find out about here.

Review posted by Skyler
Posted on Mon Feb 28 22:07:06 2005 / 0 comments
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- Coming up on it's 8th year of gaming. - Large playerbase, but not overcrowded like larger MUD. - Dedicated and Talented Immortal staff. - VERY little downtime if any at all.

What Lensmoor has to offer.

- No classes. Be who you want to be. Don't be restricted by an initial decision that you make when you create. Don't let your charater's roleplay be restricted by one class. - 20 -specializations- that allow you to gain at +30% bonus to skills in that specialization - Specialize and still learn any other skill or spell in the game - Your specialization will increase one max stat up to two for the stat that corresponds with that specialization - Change your specialization at any point in the game if you deem fit

- Two continents with 8 unique races to each. - 8 remort races including Demon, Angel, Shapeshifter and Troll to name a few - Each race has their own stats and abilities. Don't allow yourself to be restricted by a 'statroll' at your character's creation.

- Many areas to hack and slash as you please - Many players to roleplay your character and affect other's lives. - A unique status system to let others know how you feel about them in character. Status ranging from loved, respected, and feared to hated, contempt, and ridiculed. - Reward others with +RP status for their good roleplaying efforts. Roleplay your character well enough to receive these points as well.

- Unique coding. - Objects, rooms, mobs, even player descriptions can be coded with XML. - Detail your own items as with this individuality

- Crafts allow players to create nearly anything in the game and with enchantments, grant those objects with attributes to make you stronger - Enchant weapons with affects such as frost, flaming, sharp and more. - Enchant any item with such attributes such as strength wisdom or intelligence or skills such as hide, invisibility, or haste

- Quest from questmasters that relate to your alignment. - Engage in group quests to increase your questpoints - 23 different religions to choose from. - Follow the good, evil, neutral, or even chaotic path. - Change your mind and leave your religion if you deem fit.

- 15 clans to choose from, each with their own goals - Choose to join a PK clan or NPK clan or have at PK alone as a loner. - PK restricted around RP only. No pure PK. - Bounties

The list is long and the one I have done is far from complete. Come test it out. I've been playing for six years and I don't think the addiction will ever cease.

Confused as to what to do? Ask on NEWBIEHELP 'I am new here. What should I do?'

Many players are friendly and will assist you.

Lensmoor.org Port:3500

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Review posted by Balwin Standsford
Posted on Wed Aug 6 02:17:00 2003 / 0 comments
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I have been playing on lensmoor for some four or five years now and I have to say that the game as a whole is a fantastic place. The areas are well written and highly descriptive. Not to mention that there are hundreds of them each with a different theme and place in the rp of the world.

The world of Lensmoor is split into two different continents. One being a lush and civil land (Lensmoor) and the other a barren hostile desert land(Antrippa). Each has 8 player races, each with special advantages and disadvantages that really add to the rp.

The game as a whole is fairly newbie friendly, however my personal feeling is that it has gotten a little less so over the past year. Still there are a large number of players and staff who are willing to help you get started have you a problem with game mechanics or directions to find equipment.

While you travel you will find that there is a large player base. Now days numbering an average of about 30 people, however at peek hours you can catch as many as 100 logged on. Having such a large playerbase really makes the idea of Pk fun.

Being pk in most cases adds to rp, however you're not happered at all by remaining nonpk. I have played both and had great fun with each.

Overall I would recommend you take a trip to the world and found your own opinions. We could always use another addict. :)

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Lensmoor Stats
Raw Data Average Data
# Days Listed7711
Last Connection StatusConnected
# Days With Status1204
Total Telnet Attempts24390.316
Total Website Attempts67020.869
Telnet Attempts This Month37212.000
Website Attempts This Month54617.613
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