I have often had mixed feelings when it comes to writing these types of reviews. I am honest with my thoughts so if you do not like my review, then write a review of your own that will dispute mine. That being said here goes....

The Dragon's Den has undergone several, sometimes MASSIVE changes. Sometimes the changes were good, other times I felt that the changes were wrong. Having said that, I believe the current Gods(mgmt) are on the right track with the current changes that are upcoming.

There are quests to complete, guilds to join and experiment with. The races that are available atm are pretty good, though I think more races should be added. There are also crafts that can be learned, want to skin that badger you just slaughtered?

The Wizards and Gods are very active as of late helping the players at times, other times taking great delight in tormenting them. The Gods and wizards are a fickle group of people. The players have learned to expect the unexpected when it comes to wizards and gods.

THe Dragon's Den is newbie friendly providing a newbie school for people who have never played on a MUD before, or the option to skip the school and jump right into the mix of things.

Advancing your player character level is as simple as earning experience points and completeing quests, and exploring. You read that right exploring is a requirement for leveling up. As you level up, your stats increase enabling you to kill bigger monsters and maybe a dragon or two.

The current guilds in the Dragon's Den The Adventurers The Magicians The Paladians The Energists The Warriors Each guild is distinct and has it's strengths and weaknesses. The race you select for your character also can have an impact to what guild you might wish to join.

All things considered I believe the Dragon's Den can offer a person the chance to feel what it was like to fight dragon's, or cast a magic spell. The Dragon's are waiting for you, and have some advice for the player. ' Meddle not in the affairs of Dragon's, for you are crunchy... and good with ketchup!'

I've been a player on the Den (our common name for The Dragon's Den) since early in 1993 with long breaks from time to time. I've seen the Den change in many ways, mostly for the better but truth be told, I do miss some of the anarchy of the early years. That said, the Den gives players amazing latitude and with only a few other rules beyond 'your right to swing your fists ends at the tip of my nose'.

The Den is a rich, immersive text-based MUD which, given its long history, is surprisingly newbie friendly. I've witnessed players (and have done so myself) help a newbie for literally hours in a single session. All in all, a very friendly group of people from all over the world. Of course, there's always the occaisonal jerk just to keep things interesting!

The Den has a very intricate Guild system with four guilds currently each of which is very distinct and clearly delineated. Add to that 19 different races, each with their own abilities and penalties, and you get some pretty interesting combinations. Some might not like the Den because the players tend not to be 'character driven' in that they don't 'roleplay' as much as in some other MUDs. For instance, it's very rare to have someone chat only in archaic English. Still, for many that has its advantages as it can get extremely tedious having to type 'dost thou' and 'Hail, good Sir' all the time!

It has a royalty system as well which is controlled by the players themselves. Belonging to a royal house is optional and doesn't really mean much in the scheme of things, except for bragging rights (and impressing newbies with a title like Baronet Alphageek, The Highlord of the First Blood).

The Dragon's Den is a very large MUD with many, many areas to explore and great opportunity for advancement. Quests are an integral part of the Den; these range from easy newbie quests to hair-pulling, mind-numbingly complex ones that can take weeks to solve. There are hundreds of interesting NPC's (non-player characters) some of which are quite interactive. Humour is a fundamental here; most of the Wizards are really quite clever and funny and some of the room descriptions and NPC responses are really hysterical.

Player Killing (PK) is allowed but is very restricted; It's hard or impossible for another player to off you unless you consent to combat. Besides, the culture of the Den is not anarchic and most players are extremely well behaved and cooperative. If you're looking for an Everquest-style environment, where true anarchy rules, the Den is not for you.

If I had to say one negative thing about the Den, it would be that players tend not to 'party explore' as much now as in the past. It used to be quite common for several players to get together to take on monsters far beyond their individual ability to defeat; that seems to happen less these days. Still, I've played many other MUDs and keep coming back to the Den because there's allways something new to explore and it has the smartest, funniest, nicest players I've had the pleasure to play with.

I started mudding here 8 years ago and have seen this mud change many times over. However, some things never change about it. The players are extremely friendly and will help out any newcomer in almost an instant.

It is a large mud with pleanty of room for killing and some 'newbie only' areas that have creatures that are easier to kill.

Player killing is optional and there are two levels of PK. Four great guilds are currently available and a few more on the way. All in all, it is a great mud and everyone should get a chance to log on at least once.

The Dragon's Den is an overall fantastic mud that I think everyone should play. I have never in my life found a mud that is as good as it has come to be. The guilds currently in play are excellent and well balanced. There are also many guilds in the works. Most of the immortals of what players call 'The Den' interact on a frequent basis. There are regards for roleplaying and thing of the like matter.

Questing on the Den is unique. Many of the quest are not your normal hack and slash quest. Quest such as Acolycan the Archwizard require more thought than killing although some killing is still needed. The Den has about 5000 rooms which i have been in and is growing everyday. This mud has taken on a new feature which requires players to explore. Given that this may keep you from advancing as fast in the game you get a better knowledge of it.

If I had to rank this MUD I would give it a 9.9 on a 10pt scale, and only because there are somethings fixing to go in that are not.

Come play its great!