I was active on the Realms of Despair during the early 2000's for several years and have recently returned to the game.

One thing I can say about a game that's been running for 20 years is how stunningly dedicated some of the people involved with the Realms of Despair. Many of the higher level immortals have been involved with RoD for more than 10 years and are authoritative when it comes to SMUAG.

Leveling on RoD can be approached from a 'get 'er done' point of view but substantial effort has gone into creating level restricted areas so that the exploration and adventure can begin early on instead of at the end of leveling.

There are many avatar quests to pursue and room for many forms of players role players, player killers, questers, explorers ... in a game this large and mature there's always some nook or cranny that you probably have never seen.

Whether you're a Timmy (power player, big eq, big mobs), a Johnny (creative, stylish player) or a Spike (play to win with the latest and greatest builds) or maybe you fall somewhere else in the spectrum of gamers, the Realms of Despair has something to offer you.

(Read more about Timmy, Johnny and Spike at http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mr11b or take the Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology at http://www.gamerdna.com/quizzes/bartle-test-of-gamer-psychology)