Once more unto the breach, dear friends...
Welcome Traveller, your sojourn awaits. Only one step remains between you and a realm where your mind can soar, unbound from the fetters of the mundane world.
Let your spirit take shape in one of fifteen races, cast your will into one of nine guilds and begin your journey towards destiny. Forge friendships. Gain power. Vanquish ememies. Work with your allies toward things greater than any individual. Become part of the rich history of adventures who have made their home in a world that is immediately fun and will continue to challenge and stimulate for years to come. Step through the portal, and immerse yourself in the mythical world, Astaria.
What is Astaria?
It is a Multi User Dungeon (MUD), which are text-based games invented before World of Warcraft and all MMORPG that followed. Without the graphics, Astaria shares many similarities with MMORPGs; fighting, exploration, community, questing, the list goes on.
Astaria is so original in the online gaming space that common online terminology is a core part of communication between players, because they became popular at the same time as early online messaging apps like AOL, MSN and ICQ. So, "lol", "afk", "brb" and the like will all have your character communicate those very actions when you type them.
MUD player numbers have dwindled over the years as games have evolved and become more complex and rich with graphics and mechanics which incorporate real life with things like multimedia, social media, and in-app purchases.
The simplicity of Astaria remains available today though - free to play - with no strings attached, no advertising, and no data collection.
Why not give it a try?
Call to Arms: Astaria's 30th Anniversary
Rise up, adventurers. Shake free the rust and gather your weapons. For 30 years we have defended these shores from all manner of monster and beast; from dragons, to gods, to dragon gods! Our land stands imperiled by implacable threats of unknown origin; on a scale that hasn't been seen since the old days. The hard days. The all or nothing days. When it was blood for blood and by the gallon. Astaria needs you now, more than ever.
Three decades have passed since the Harmonic was formed and the realm of Astaria founded on March 18, 1994. Since then, countless adventurers have explored these lands, battled untold evil, quested for glory, and sacrificed for clan and kingdom. Harken now, for the Wizardry beckons you to share this anniversary with us.
The Astarian Wizardry
About Astaria
Multi User Dungeons (MUDs) have been around since the very beginning of the internet. Pre-dating all modern gaming, and an extension of basic text-based Bulletin Boards, MUDs were written in a range of low level programming languages to deliver basic, yet engaging experiences. There's an interesting read on Wikipedia about the origin of MUDs.
Astaria was created in 1994 and used the MudOS driver to compile and operate, which was replaced over time to meet our needs by a fork of the MUM Driver. Since 2021, FluffOS has been the replacement for the Driver behind Astaria
Throughout Astaria's many years of uptime, many thousands of players have been created, explored, battled and adventured with each other, and the simplicity of the gaming experience continues to lend itself to a good time, albeit antiquated. Many Wizards (people who write code and stories for Astaria) have put a great deal of effort and significant depth into the Realm that has always been, and will always be, free to play.
Below is a sample of actual gameplay, a Thief and a Fighter teaming up to relieve a monster of his tyrannical grip over a nearby village...
Different ways to play Astaria
Astaria is a text-based, real-time, multi-player game, and over the years there have been a range of different ways to connect and play. From the antiquated telnet protocol, to basic apps supported on all Operating Systems, to a more modern web app, you can choose which connection type you prefer.
Dedicated apps for playing Multi User Dungeon (MUD) games offer conveniences such as rich text colour, aliases, triggers and mapping to help speed up your game play. You don't need them, but they might save you some pain and increase your enjoyment.
For each of the following ways of connecting, you will need these details:
Address: astaria.net
Port: 5000
Astaria's web app
Best used for a quick trial of the game due to its limited functionality but ease of use, our web app is a good starting point, you can jump right in without installing anything.
Well-known MUD apps
These apps offer a full experience, with automation and configuration options.
- Mudlet (for Windows, OSX, macOS, Linux)
- MUSHclient (for Windows latest versions)
- If you used to play MUDs a long time ago, GMUD and ZMUD are still available for older versions of Windows, or emulators
- Telnet - your Operating System should support this via a Command Line Interface (CLI), best to Google it if this is your preference.
Find your way around
Check out the Astarian Wiki, and more specifically the maps of Astaria, to help find your way around, once you're logged in.