Viking MUD is a so-called "Multi-User Dungeon" (MUD) game. This means that there are several users (also known as players) who are a part of the same game at the same time. Unlike EverQuest, Viking MUD is not a game with fancy graphics, but a traditional text-based MUD.
Viking MUD is a volunteer non-profit organization, with an independent in-game hierarchical administrative structure. See The Administration for in-MUD organization.
In order to play, you need to connect to our MUD server via telnet. Before connecting, you should really read our game rules.
Don't use the "telnet" command! Some versions have serious bugs that make connecting difficult. Instead, download
software such as PuTTY.
See also our brief document on connecting with PuTTY.
Viking MUD is running on connect.vikingmud.org (194.63.250.163) port
2001. If you want to play, use a specialized MUD client, or open a telnet connection directly.
Knubo has made a java client to connect, which requires java 9+. The client can
be downloaded from Github or directly from Knubo's website.
Then you run it either by double-clicking on the .jar file, or running the command java -jar VikingMudApp.jar
Assuming you have connected, you should read the document on creating a character. (You can skip this step if you have created MUD characters on several MUDs before.)
For the experienced LPMUDder, Viking looks very much like old Genesis, the first LPMUD. We have not changed the layout of the backbone area, mostly for nostalgic reasons. However, other things are very different from the 2.4.5 mudlib we started evolving from in February 1991, such as the various areas that have been added.
VikingMUD is a rather social MUD. Communicating with other players (the commands tell, shout and chat) cost no spell points.
Playerkilling is allowed under very special circumstances, such as areas designe with that in mind, but in general, you may not attack other players. (See the rules.)
There are several so-called guilds on VikingMUD.
In addition to the guilds, there are two clubs for the players to join. The Bastard Batallion and The Eagle Club
Viking's "official" opening date was the 7th of February 1991, so we're definitely one of the oldest MUDs still around. Except for two longer (more than a week) periods of downtime in 1992 and 1993, Viking MUD has been running almost continuously since the first startup (even since the testing began in the autumn of 1990).
Viking is based on a top-down power and responsibility structure, and is not a democracy.
| Position | Description |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Main authority, Boss, God, whatever. The buck stops here. |
| Arch Wizard | Person responsible for administrating a particular area of expertise. |
| Jr Arch Wizard | Arch Wizard in training, inexperienced arch wizard, or arch wizard with smaller responsibility. |
Here's an illustration of the department hierarchy.
Documentation is something that both driver, mudlib, QC, server and web people deal with, while the QC and law departments tend to cooperate on related issues. If there are no specific arches with responsibility within a department, that responsibility defaults to the administrators.
| Title | Name | Departments |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | Drake | Law, Mudlib, QC |
| Administrator | Kralk | Law,QC |
| Administrator | Moreldir | Docs, Law, Mudlib, Web |
| Arch Wizard | Gaia | QC |
| Arch Wizard | Iomi | QC |
| Arch Wizard | Knubo | Docs, Mudlib, QC |
| Arch Wizard | Postkasse | Docs, Law, QC |
| Retired Arch Wizard | Dios | (Server, Web) |
The main page shows an image of a tree, with the letters "Viking MUD" at its roots. The tree is Yggdrasil -- the world tree of Norse mythology. The picture was made by Jan Ingvoldstad (Dios). A smaller version appears near the top left on each (more recently updated) page on this site, linking back to the main page.
Viking MUD primarily runs under some kind of a Unix system. For more details, look at our system information page.