Accursed Lands

Accursed Lands
Developer(s)	Project community
Engine	MudOS
Platform(s)	Platform independent
Release date(s)	1996
Genre(s)	Post-apocalyptic low fantasy MUD
Mode(s)	Multiplayer
System requirements Telnet client or MUD client, Internet access

Accursed Lands, abbreviated AL, is a MUD, a text-based online role-playing game, founded in 1996. It is an early example of the "Roleplay Intensive MUD", or RPIMUD, style of game.^[1][2]

Setting

The game is set in the post-apocalyptic world of Terrinor,^[3] where a dark-ages level of technology predominates; the setting reflects low fantasy and gothic horror themes. The game's history tells of a cataclysmic event known as The Breaking, which took place during a war between two ancient races. A corruption of magic, the Black Blood, was an enduring product of this event. Chaotic and largely uncontrollable, the Black Blood was feared by most inhabitants of Terrinor.

Concepts

In accordance with AL's development as an RPIMUD, the game's rules and game-mechanics place a strong emphasis on roleplaying over powergaming.^[1][2] AL has been noted for having automated game systems in place where many other roleplaying-focused MUDs rely on human mediation.^[4]

Players are allowed only one character at a time, and are expected to roleplay this character to the best of their ability. An appropriate and expected behavior is for players to provide rewards to each other for accomplishments rather than relying on the game to do so.^[4]

Game characteristics

Accursed Lands is a text-based game with a parser that tries to understand standard English. For instance, the player can type examine third man to look at the third man of a crowd. Accursed Lands uses a classless system: players may practice and learn any skill they see fit for their character.^[5] As the player characters practice, their chances of success in that area increase gradually.^[6] The only way to gain proficiency in a skill is through practicing that skill. Skill game mechanics are hidden from the player. The player is provided with a subjective measure of his character's skill, relative to what his character would perceive as the racial averages. This is done in order to preserve the player's immersion as well as to reduce the temptation to focus on skills above roleplaying.

When players meet for the first time they do not know each other's names. To recognize each other later, they need to find out the other's name and "name" them as such. Also, since skills build gradually with practice, it takes time to become good at doing things, and some characters get better faster than others, due to their natural abilities. Most races have only two arms, and can therefore only hold two items at once, though wearing items such as backpacks or pants that have pockets allows them to carry more items. The more weight a person is carrying, the slower they move; a greater burden means they have a more difficult time completing certain actions.

Movement is affected by the type of terrain a character is traveling through; each terrain has its own creatures, and some items can only be found in certain land types. A player's altitude and the height of things around them affects their field of vision, and different land types have different smells and sounds associated with them.

Accursed Lands provides two ways of looking at the player's surroundings: the wilderness view and the room view. The room view displays a description of the room and any people or items that happen to be present. This is the default view while in a town or other location of interest. The wilderness view is an ASCII representation of the surrounding area and land types, as well as any locations of interest that are within view. Both views are dynamic: the viewer's capabilities and other factors, such as the level of ambient light, causes the view to be displayed differently to different viewers.

The Accursed Lands world contains over six million ground level rooms, as well as rooms above ground level (in the air or in trees), below ground level (underwater), and in an underworld (cave system) that constantly grows, due to the ability of players to dig their own tunnels. Most of these rooms are generated automatically by AL's wilderness server.

AL's wilderness rooms differ according to the type of terrain they represent. They range from open desert and plains to thick forests and large mountains. Each type has its own properties, items, native animals, sounds and smells. All terrain types affect the viewer's field of vision and speed of movement, some provide food or drink, and others shield players from the sun or provide firemaking materials.

When players enter a location of interest, such as a settlement, the game switches to local room descriptions for easier exploration. These locations usually provide things like houses, NPCs, libraries in which to study, shops to purchase or sell goods at, shops to rent so players can sell goods they find or craft, and resources to use in crafting.

Game economy

The game economy is player-focused. Players can craft items such as weapons, armor, musical instruments and decorative items. These can be sold in towns or traded with other players. Economic skills such as hunting, gathering and logging can be used to earn money. However, money is not a necessity, as food and drink can be found in the wilderness.

Peer ratings

AL features a peer rating system, which allows players to rate others as either "good" or "bad" in two categories: their In Character (IC) contributions via their role-playing, and their Out Of Character (OOC) contributions on the game forums, via the chat communication channel, and by aiding new players. Every bad rating is accompanied by a suggested topic from the MUD's documentation, which is expected to indicate to the player how he or she can better contribute to the AL world. As a number of races are difficult for new players to play well, a positive peer rating is required to create characters of these races. This system is intended to promote a high quality of roleplaying and OOC interaction.

Races

The world of Terrinor is populated by seven playable races:

• Aquaepurae are bipedal omnivores capable of living on both land and in water.
• Bramen are slim, bipedal herbivores with hairless bodies and large floppy ears, reaching a height of about two meters.
• Goblins are a small, scrawny race of bipedal omnivores with voracious appetites.
• Halaks are bipedal carnivores, averaging about one and a half meters in height. They have feather- and down-covered bodies, two strong wings, and a sharp beak.
• Humans are a large, strong race of bipedal omnivores, reaching an average height of slightly under two meters. They tend to be social, though they lack the organization to create many large-scale governments; most human cultures remain quite barbaric and are never fully united.
• Moloks are hairless, bipedal omnivores, reaching an average height of about a meter and a half. They are broad and muscular, with vaguely rodent-like features and a thick tail.
• Mysrrae are fur-covered, bipedal feline carnivores, displaying many colors and patterns of fur.

Technical infrastructure

Accursed Lands runs on the MudOS game driver and uses a highly modified Lima Mudlib. Its code is derived from that of DartMUD, where its founders had been developers.^[7]

Reception

RPIMUD Network's MUD of the Year - 2006

Accursed Lands was voted the RPIMUD Network's MUD of the Year for 2006. This became the subject of some controversy, as the committee that operated the RPIMUD Network after the departure of its founder Wade Gustafson attempted to revoke the award.^[8]

References

External links

• Official website