In the top MUD that I play, there are sects called Houses, that are affiliated with citys, that players may join. They are like cities, in that they are player run. Each one, accepts differen’t classes, and each one follows a different goal or belief. There are 25 Houses spread across the realm of Achaea. I will list them when we get into Influence.

One of my favourite Houses so far that I’v experienced, are the Sentaari. They are based in Shallam and seek the advancement of Creation and Growth, and the Good and Light. In the Sentaari you live by Benevolence, Wisdom, or Perseverance. But each person varries, you may like The Ashura, based in the opposite in Ashtan. They are a combat orientated House that seeks to build the best warriors around. We often find their mighty warriors on our doorstep, they indeed are well trained.

Houses have very many pros and cons. One big pro is a House Icon. When your House has one of these, it can be tuned to give members of that House a boost whether its regeneration to stats, experience boost, increased damage, reduced damage, one plus point of strength, constitution, intelligence, or dexterity, its the Houses choice. But if your Icon falls, then you obviously lose these benefits. You must gather and strengthen your Icon with iconic shards, and keep it strong so if your enemies try and tear it down, you can keep it strong. Many Houses have had Icons, and many have lost them. Currently a fair amount of Houses have them, but not all of them.

Houses also are ranked in Influence. Influence is judged off of how many active members you have in your House from your affiliated city, if you have an Icon and what % it stands at, and many other unknown factors. Having high Influence is an honor and something that does not go unnoticed. The current influences stand as so:

 495  The Occultists
 342  The Arcane Kindred
 311  The Sentinels of Nature
 292  The Mojushai
 249  The Wardens of the Cerulean Spire
 224  The Warlocks of the Rising Phoenix
 221  The Sylvanic Fellowship
 221  The Crystalline Circle
 217  The Merchants of the Crown
 206  The Shadowsnakes
 202  The Ashura
 187  The Cult of the Serpent Lords
 166  The Templars
 156  The Empyreal Assembly
 146  The Maldaathi
 144  The Spirit Walkers
 143  The Sect of the Black Lotus
 139  The Sentaari
 123  The Naga
 119  The Ebon Fist
 109  The Blood Congregation
  94  The Dawnstriders
  56  Ty Beirdd

All Houses have some type of political Government. Most are either Autocracy or Dictatorship, but there are a few various other governments to choose from. One, if they so desire, may challenge the leader for an election for the House head. If you are challenged in a dictatorship, you may reject and continue until your set term is up, or accept and step down and let the next dictator run the House. In Autocracy, if you accept there is an election held and others may join in, if you decline, the same happens.

So Houses are a very great way to get immersed into MUDS with competition, roleplay, and political power.