While I have read a handful of negative comments about Haven being a place where negativity does exists and where (new) players are sometimes hawked on by the powerful, I must say I cannot agree with this at all. While I am rather fresh to the experience of playing big MUDs, no MUD could have given me a better first experience with the platform. Every question I had was met with patience, friendly responses and a good amount of offers to DM people personally in case I had more I wanted explained to me. The game uses a Mentoring system, helping you not only find your ways around the helpfiles and game, but even setting you up with a potential first roleplaying-scene with that person.

I could go on and on about the incredible system of item-customization Haven has, really. As an avid builder and crafter in the MUDs I have played before, this alone is worthy of an Oscar nomination in my book. Not only can you create and edit your outfits whenever you please, there are various object types usable to create props -- For your home, your store, to leave behind, to hand out. Your imagination's the limit. And before I let this topic be, let me add to this that the various ways to beautify houses AND EVEN a (seemingly) unlimited amount of off-grid rooms are beyond amazing. It's easy to use, yet can make for such well-decorated locations to visit and interact with.

There was only one slight, and I stress SLIGHT, downside to the actual emoting in the game, being that I cannot use paragraph-breaks -- what I was used to. That aside, the emoting in Haven is on point. By using a seperator, I'm able to fire any regular emote of me talking and doing stuff, a 'subtle' emote describing a detail only those close to me would notice, use 'Think' to give my character's thoughts a voice, and even add a myriad of 'feelings', 'desires' and 'suffers' to my emotes that certain Archetypes in the game can pick up on. You're able to use colour in emotes to add emphasis here and there, which to me is a luxury and definitely worth of praise, while you can even emote at/with players from several rooms away. Now that's how you set up a world for Roleplaying.

Before I want to round this review up, I feel I should mention Haven's Story Running. The name betrays it: They allow players to take on the role of Story Runners, hosting anything from quick 1-on-1 random encounters to entire storyplots involving Love, Death, Demons and Drugs. There are Plots to sign up for or prepare, basically entire storylines folk can step into if they consider it interesting. There are people who merely take on the Story Runner mantle to provide Ambiance RP: Emoting out background noises, the weather, the bustling population outside, or some random patrons of the bar you were visiting.

Driving all the cars you wish you could afford or drive in real life, the ability to Fly or become a Necromancer in common-day society, to dabble in forbidden Arcane Arts or study the Occult, building a pack of Werewolves running rampant in off-world locations such as The Wilds (a place where dinosaurs still roam).. Again, the sky is the limit, and I think Haven is a great place to channel your creativity into. I have been welcomed in warmly by everyone I both met and had help me over their 'Newbie' channel, I have met various interesting characters of very different personalities, and I have had one heck of a blast just preparing things for my character or thinking of future endeavours.