Have you ever role-played a drunken dwarf (or other MMO oddity)?

Part of the beauty of a MUD is that you are absolutely free to roleplay as anything you can imagine. A giant bug queen with a hive of loyal minions? Check. A drunken dwarf who wants to impress the ladies with his pint-sized hammer? Go for it. How about a zany Imp who reacts to new things by trying to set them on fire? Absolutely!

What determines what you can play? There have to be some limits after all. In MUDs, these tend to be defined by the game lore and concept itself. Just like you can't fly in reality, if your character doesn't have a reason to suddenly fly, odds are people will raise an eyebrow – however, you'll find that the game mechanics themselves open up a lot of doors to this. In Iron Realms game Aetolia, for example, there are races called Atavian who come equipped out the door with wings! Many players choose to spend experience or in game coin on options which also will enable them to soar through the skies. In Lusternia, you can even invest in a ship which will let you explore space itself!

What about the more eccentric types of quirks; a character with a pyrotechnic personality, or one who just wants to be a placid fisherman? You'll find that MUDs are incredible in that regard, in that they don't just allow for these types of quirks, but they actually encourage them, through the various abilities available to you. For example, in Aetolia, you can actually learn to craft your own fireworks, complete with customized ASCII images that can dazzle onlookers, while in Achaea there is an entire seafaring system to support any “gone fishin” urges you might have.

Beyond just skills themselves, MUDs allow you to truly create your dream character. Players can describe how their character looks, from their horned head to their fur covered hooves, as well as emote actions and expressions to convey how their character reacts to situations he or she may encounter. Want to twitch your tail or ruffle your wings every time you are agitated? Go for it. Looking to speak with an accent or even in your native racial tongue? Absolutely possible! Players can set battlecries to scream their own catch phrase whenever they murder something, and they can even create clans to recruit others to their plots and plans. Beyond that, there are even custom craftings which players actively create – need that perfect circlet of flowers or dapper fedora hat? Yep, crafters can make that. You can even design whole houses to suit who your character is!

So, let's hear it – what's the oddest, most off the wall character you've ever created, and what type of things did you do to support their personality? What crazy things did you have crafted, what weird quirks did they have, what zany situations did they find themselves in? In a MUD, anything really is possible, so share your story!

Author: Moirean of Aetolia

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