Abandoned Realms (hereafter referred to as AR) is a MUD for users that are experienced. AR's system is roleplaying and player-killing, with decent emphasis upon the RP, and heavy emphasis upon the PK. The world is fantasy-based, with a touch of borrowing from some well established stories to complete the picture.

Classes are fairly standard; clerics, rogues, fighters, etc. You can play a healer-cleric, or a battle-cleric (shaman), a thief type or the assassin-type (ninja), and other classes have similar 'splits' as well. Bards, rangers, most of the classes one expects on a mud are present, and quite well-thought out.

AR's races are also fairly standard, but yes, there are some not-so-standard races for you to play with as well. Feeling adventurous? Try a minotaur. Feeling like being safe? Yes, you can play a human. Drow, illithid and a handful of giants are also on the list of races one can play.

Race/class combinations can be rewarding in their own right, AR makes them even more rewarding, if you happen to pick the 'right' combination. These Racial Legacies are not numerous, nor should they be, but if you happen to play an Elven Ranger, you get something other rangers do not. If you play a Drow Ninja, you get something other Ninja do not.

Questing is easy on AR. Mobs that have quests give them to you upon entering the room. There is also a Task system, which involves one's guild master, and a fairly lenient time limit to complete them.

AR has, for the more roleplay oriented types, cabals and coteries. Cabals are a 'join for life', at least the life of your character, organizations that revolve heavily around PK/RP. Cabals are ideal and alignment-based. The coteries are less alignment-based, and heavily ideal based, and revolve more and the RP aspect.

My time on AR was short, but well spent. AR gets three nods out of five.