Description[]
Since 1996, the Realm of Utopian Dreams (RUD) has offered a free and unique middle-ages world of fantasy and make-believe in which players can create imaginary characters to participate in challenging adventures, perilous quests and dark-ages politics, and can enjoy making new friendships. RUD is an eclectic mix of role-play and hack-n-slash adventure.
Features[]
We offer dozens of unique races and classes: 12 mortal races, 12 remort races, 11 original alignment-based races, 16 mortal classes, 16 remort classes, and 18 original alignment-based classes, each with special skills and abilities. Try your hand, for example, at playing a Geomancer, Samurai, Psiblade, Merchant, Ghostwalker, Pyromancer, Espion, or Executioner. We proudly offer a large variety of modes of communication including an expansive note system, and more than thirty channels. We provide automated mapping, an automated quest system and player/noble-run quests, crafting of weapons, armor, trinkets, clothing, furniture, and player stores, random mud-wide bonuses, random mud-wide remort and pk options, and one of the largest systems of on-line help files around.
For those who would like to build their power and prestige after their time of adventuring, we have 9 levels of Nobility: become a Chevalier, Count, Marquise, Archduke, or Prince. Build and add to your castle, extend your lands and influence, rent rooms to other players, tax citizens, jail criminals, run special quests, host special role-play events, participate in PK with other PK-ers when you wish, buy special soliders, attend court, add to your Noble webpage, and more. Browse the RUD Book of Nobles to check out current noble players.
Over the years the stock ROM features have been extended, enhanced, or replaced. For example area formats were migrated to XML in 2006, a nobility system foundation created by 2007, an epic points (prestige ranks) system was added in 2008, an OLC system was added in 2009, and a crafting and player vendor system by 2010.
Since 2015 staff have focused on expanding scripting, and other interactive systems in the game, as well as continuing to add area content.
History[]
RUD is the direct spiritual successor to the Land of the Lost Unicorn (LUN), after the staff had a split in 1996. RUD adopted a more radical cycling of content and features, including controversial features such as experience caps, a stamina-based combat system, and a variety of changes to in-game communication such as a focus on OOC channels allowing differentiation in roleplaying.
Overall the game content directly inherited much of the LUN content (such as Oceania vs Atlantis areas) and the core concept of religions-as-clans which originated there. Most of the religions remained the same across games, although the good religions all became renamed (Griffin to Phoenix, Tamazi to Ixion, and Aphrodite to Sabrinae). RUD contains some contributions from immortals that founded and contributed to Clandestine, most notably areas written by Sebek and Paris.
Eventually both LUN and Clandestine became defunct. Players and staff on RUD continue to run the game as of May 2023.