TorilMUD

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[edit] About

TorilMUD is one of the oldest and largest free Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs). TorilMUD is based on the Forgotten Realms AD&D campaign (2nd edition) and the DikuMUD codebase. Over the last decade, TorilMUD has been heavily modified, and gone through several incarnations, culminating in the current feature-rich TorilMUD. Over 250 completely original zones, 14 player races, 18 classes, and a wide variety of additional features, TorilMUD offers nearly unlimited entertainment^{[neutrality disputed]}.

[edit] History

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The mechanics of TorilMUD lie in the DikuMUD code, which was created in 1990 at the University of Copenhagen Department of Computer Science DIKU^{[citation needed]}.

The DikuMUD codebase has been one of the primary MUD codebases, modified by thousands of coders for hundreds of MUDs. Kris Kortright, the ultimate authority on TorilMUD for many years, first encountered it through the University of Michigan Computer Club MUD (UMCC MUD)^{[citation needed]}.

Following leadership roles on Copper 2 MUD from 1990–1992, Kris and some friends created Black Knights MUD, based on the Forgotten Realms games of TSR (as it was then known). The oldest zone on TorilMUD, the Lava Tubes, comes from Copper 2, and the Underworld and Alterian Wilderness zones are from Black Knights.

Kris and some friends moved from Black Knights in 1992, and created Sojourn, the true beginning of the MUD^[who?]. The new Sojourn MUD was based on the Sequent codebase (a heavily modified version of DIKU), the Epic spell system, and areas from Black Knight. Screens from Sojourn MUD were featured in the 1995 book "Playing MUDs on the Internet" by Rawn Shah and James Romine^[1]. The City of Waterdeep was the first zone built entirely for Sojourn, and remains its most heavily populated hometown. If it looks familiar, Brad McQuaid (with Kris’ permission) used it as the model for the city of Waterdeep in the original EverQuest!

Sojourn continued until 1996, when a difference in creative vision among the staff led to a split. This split produced the first versions of TorilMUD and Duris MUD (which also still exists today)^[2]. Toril continued until 1998, when it became Sojourn 2, and underwent another rebirth in 2001 as Sojourn 3. Kris retired in 2003, and Sojourn 3 was reborn as TorilMUD. (Or, as the old-time players refer to it, Toril 2.) Throughout these rebirths, the areas, code, and playability continued to grow: There are currently 300 zones (with several more nearing completion), 16277 types of monsters/mobs, and 13753 different items. The heart of TorilMUD lies in the players and the staff. Some players have been playing TorilMUD for nearly its entire existence, and show no signs of leaving! Many TorilMUD staff members were staff on Sojourn 3, Sojourn 2, and some are even from Toril 1, providing an impressive degree of continuity for an online game. All Toril staff started as players on the mud, the latest of them starting during Sojourn 2, giving them a great deal of personal experience with the mud.

Over the years TorilMUD has been home to many unique and inspiring individuals. Brad McQuaid, one of the original designers of EverQuest, was a former Sojourn player and even used the MUDs layout of Waterdeep as inspiration.