A sprite swashbuckler.

An Overview for New Players

This page is a quick guide to playing Shattered Kingdoms.

Shattered Kingdoms is a Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) game based entirely in text. It is an adventure game wherein different people interact in real time. As each player pretends to be a particular character within the game, we consider this a “role playing” game first and foremost. Many other MUDs have looser role play requirements than SK; however, we find a balance between role play and combat suits our players the best. Characters interact not only with each other, but also with the game environment itself: Pyrathia is an expansive realm with well over 80,000 individual rooms. It is filled with other beings and objects, with administrators constantly working to add and improve upon content.

Your Device

Shattered Kingdoms is a game you can play from any device with a stable internet connection. As the game uses little bandwidth, the game is accessible to nearly any player. We offer a client directly on our page for you to connect, as well as recommend a few clients which may make your gaming experience more enjoyable.

The Imaginary World

SK’s imaginary land is filled with kings and queens, knights and rogues, love and murder, children and demon-beasts. The intrigue and danger of the game is no more real than a book, however the possibilities and pathways through the game are vast. A realm within a book has a fixed format, unchanging landscapes and determined outcomes. Pyrathia is a continuously evolving world that the character you create and control is able to impact. Pit yourself against a thief who steals your coin, fight for your life against scavengers in sewers, defend a city against invaders. Or perhaps your taste lies on the darker side, plotting the downfall of a king, or carrying out an assassination order with meticulous planning. All of this and more is possible.

The Inhabitants

You will run into three main types of beings while exploring SK:

  • PCs: player characters, controlled by other people who have logged into Shattered Kingdoms. There are times when more PCs are available than others, due to the real-life obligations of players. The list of PCs currently online is called the “WHO LIST;” you can see it at any time in the game by simply typing who. Interactions with PCs should be role played in character.
  • NPCs: non-player characters that fill the realm from storefronts and restaurants to castles and quarries. NPCs may, at times, speak to your PC. These interactions can lead to quests or to clues that help you explore the game more in depth. Some NPCs can be hostile, and others may ignore you outright. Interactions with NPCs should be handled with proper role play, just as PCs.
  • IMMORTALS: Though it is rare that you would find yourself in the presence of one of the gods of Pyrathia, they are real entities in Pyrathia and may manifest themselves to your character as they deem fit.  The gods of Shattered Kingdoms are typically fearsome: a force in the world of SK unrivaled by mortals.

Help Files

Within the game, you can find help files for all of the various skills, spells and commands. Additionally, there are kingdom, faction, religion and other help files that you may find helpful as you explore Pyrathia. Typing help in the game with the name of the command/faction/etc for which you’re searching will give a helpful explanation. Using the command without an argument, however, displays a list of common, broad help queries. From there, you may find information suggestions for more granular help files. Help files for kingdoms, religions, people and other in-character matters are “common knowledge.”