Tempora Heroica

Tempora Heroica is a MUD. It is a text-based, fantasy roleplaying game that is home to a long-standing virtual community of players. The MUD is best known for its descriptive fantasy world, and for having a system of magic derived from the Ars Magica roleplaying game. It is the only surviving Ars Magica based MU* game.

The game takes place in a persistent world where each player creates a hero (also known as a character) to roleplay. The player chooses to be a member of one of the four kiths: the Faerie Kith consisting of brownie, elves, pixies, satyrs, and selkies; the Hominid Kith consisting of humans and halflings; the Jotun Kith consisting of giants, ogres, and trolls; and the Nibelung Kith consisting of dwarves, gnomes, and goblins. With their hero, a player explores the game world, which is centered around the town of Wivernhoe, and battle monsters.

In June 2005, a new combat engine and new skill system was introduced to the MUD. The combat engine uses events, instead of the rounds or turns found in most RPGs, to regulate battles. Heroes are able to queue tactics before and during melee. The skills system arranges skills in a skill tree and skills are improved, when challenged, through use.

Origin of the Name
Tempora Heroica is Latin for "the Heroic Age". The phrase was coined by the Greek poet Hesiod and was one of the five "Ages of Man".

History
The MUD began in 1993 as Archipelago at the University of Essex and is derived from the CircleMUD code. In 1996 it moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The following year the MUD's name was changed to Tempora Heroica. The MUD's code base is still referred to as Archipelago or ArchCode. In 1999, Tempora Heroica moved to its present home at ibiblio where it is the site's only MUD.

Tempora Heroica is also one of the oldest surviving DikuMUDs.