How NarutoMUD works.

01 / what is a MUD

A MUD is a text-based RPG.

An RPG where the world is described in words instead of rendered in 3D. You type what you want to do: look, north, say hi, attack the guard. You play with other people in real time. NarutoMUD has been running this way since 2004.

It looks like text. It plays like an MMO. It feels like a chat-room where the chat-room is a hidden ninja village. Most players say they got the hang of it in their first half-hour, but it helps to see it before you start typing.

*** Welcome to NarutoMUD. Connected to narutofor.us 4545 ***
You step into the Newbie Academy.

<Health (40/40) Chakra (20/20) Stamina (50/50)> <#01> look
Newbie Academy                          -  N  -
-<----------------------->-             -<-(*)->-
                                        -  S  -

Sunlight filters through tall windows of the registry  |
hall. Headbands of every origin village line a glass   |
case. A wooden practice post stands by the south wall, |
scarred from years of kunai work. A bulletin board     |
lists open missions.                                   |
_______________________________________________________|

Exits:
North - Shinobi Registry Office
South - Time Village
A Chuunin Instructor is here, sorting mission scrolls.

<Health (40/40) Chakra (20/20) Stamina (50/50)> <#02> say good morning, sensei
You say, "good morning, sensei."
A Chuunin Instructor looks up. "First day?
Try practice. That'll show you what you
already know."

<Health (40/40) Chakra (20/20) Stamina (50/50)> <#03> practice
You have practiced these skills:
  henge      1%    punch     45%
  kick      20%    dodge     30%
You have 25 practice sessions remaining.

<Health (40/40) Chakra (20/20) Stamina (50/50)> <#04> ooc any tips?
(OOC) You: any tips?
(OOC) Hikari: south takes you to Time Village.
(OOC) Hikari: rabbits in the forest southeast are good practice.

<Health (40/40) Chakra (20/20) Stamina (50/50)> <#05> _

02 / the setting

Hidden Time, in Cosmos Country.

NarutoMUD takes place in Hidden Time, a village at the heart of Cosmos Country. Cosmos Country is a young land, formed when feudal lords joined their territory, named for the view of the cosmos from its low plains. The first Uchuukage founded Hidden Time to defend it. Original areas, original lore, original mechanics. The game opened in 2004 and has been continuously developed since by a small group of folks who keep showing up.

Your character can't be a Hidden Time native. You pick one of six origin villages (Leaf, Sand, Mist, Cloud, Stone, Sound) and arrive on loan from your home. The great villages send their hopeful Genin to train under the Uchuukage and bolster Cosmos Country's defenses. You inherit your origin's politics, chakra natures, and rivalries, but you'll spend your career here. Player-run clans, hundreds of NPC factions, a world that has accumulated personality over twenty-two years of play.

The map shows Cosmos Country at the center of the continent, with the Hidden Village of Time near its heart, founded by the first Uchuukage to defend it. Surrounding Cosmos Country are the great hidden villages: Hidden Leaf, Hidden Sand, Hidden Mist, Hidden Cloud, Hidden Stone, and Hidden Sound. Between them all: borderlands, training grounds, factional outposts, and the wilds in between.

pick your origin village

Six villages send their hopefuls. Each has its own clan roster, chakra natures, and politics. That origin shapes who your character is, even after you arrive in Hidden Time. Pick where you came from.

Hidden Leaf

Diplomatic. Clan-rich. A common origin; easy to find village-mates already training in Hidden Time.

Hidden Sand

Wind discipline. Honor-bound. Survival over politics.

Hidden Mist

Water nature. Bloodline-feared. A village still rebuilding its trust.

Hidden Cloud

Lightning specialists. Mercantile. Always recruiting outsiders.

Hidden Stone

Earth-jutsu heavy. Insular. Slow to trust; slower to forget.

Hidden Sound

Experimental. Politically isolated. PvP-heavy for players who want friction.

NarutoMUD is a community-run fan project. The Naruto name and likeness are property of their respective owners; all in-game content is original. Twenty-two years and counting.

03 / gameplay

Real-time, real consequences.

Combat resolves in real time. You don't take turns; you commit to actions and watch them play out. Channels carry village politics across the map. The game is closer to a chatroom with a fight system underneath than a turn-based RPG.

• Real-time fights. Mold chakra, throw a jutsu, watch them Kawarimi out at the last second, Shunshin to close again. Reads matter.
• The build you carry is the build you trained. Practices, weekly missions, evenings of drill. No XP-grind, no quick respec; the slow build is the point.
• Built for groups, soloable on solo nights. Channels, clans, raids, PvP arenas. Drop in for an hour or stay for the campaign.

04 / first session

Your first thirty minutes.

You don't need to read the wiki first. The first session is designed to teach itself. Five steps, about half an hour, and you'll have the shape of the game.

1. 

   Pick a name.

   Character creation is fast. At the login prompt, type your character name and then your password. If you don't have a character yet, type new instead and the academy walks you through making one.

2. 

   Pick a village.

   You'll inherit its starting clan, chakra alignment, and starting area. Browse the village descriptions before you commit. They're meaningfully different.

3. 

   Step into the academy.

   You spawn in the Newbie Academy, the tutorial area just south of Hidden Time where every new shinobi starts out. Try look, look <object>, and movement commands like north and south. Walk around. Read the room descriptions. When you're ready, head north into Hidden Time proper.

4. 

   Try your first jutsu.

   Every starting character knows a handful of basic techniques. Type practice (no arguments) to see what you've already learned and your current proficiency. Type slist to see what skills your village will teach you. Most skills are triggered by typing the skill name with a target, e.g. punch guard.

5. 

   Say hello on OOC.

   Type ooc hi to introduce yourself on the Out-of-Character channel. OOC is where everyone hangs out between fights — questions, plans, jokes, raid calls. Someone usually answers in under a minute.

05 / help

If you get stuck, ask.

Three ways to get unstuck, in roughly the order most new players use them.