<s>
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
MUD	B-Application
,	O
a	O
text-based	O
online	O
role-playing	O
game	O
set	O
in	O
a	O
medieval	O
fantasy	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
was	O
founded	O
in	O
1990	O
by	O
Michael	O
"	O
Almior	O
"	O
Rice	O
and	O
several	O
associates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
distinguished	O
itself	O
early	O
on	O
with	O
software	O
features	O
,	O
then	O
innovative	O
among	O
MUDs	B-Application
(	O
and	O
still	O
less	O
than	O
ubiquitous	O
)	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
an	O
overland-map-style	O
environment	O
,	O
realistic	O
combat	O
,	O
a	O
language	O
barrier	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
limb	O
model	O
for	O
characters	O
supporting	O
anatomies	O
significantly	O
different	O
from	O
that	O
of	O
humans	O
,	O
that	O
earned	O
it	O
positive	O
critical	O
response	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequent	O
developments	O
have	O
included	O
the	O
atman	O
(	O
an	O
account	O
system	O
through	O
which	O
players	O
can	O
manage	O
multiple	O
characters	O
,	O
improving	O
on	O
the	O
typical	O
MUD	B-Application
arrangement	O
where	O
the	O
character	O
is	O
the	O
account	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
detailed	O
model	O
of	O
the	O
physical	O
makeup	O
of	O
objects	O
and	O
the	O
organs	O
of	O
living	O
beings	O
,	O
a	O
3D	O
evolution	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
overland	O
map	O
"	O
allowing	O
free	O
flight	O
across	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
use	O
of	O
A*	B-Protocol
search	I-Protocol
for	O
pathfinding	O
(	O
and	O
publishing	O
the	O
code	O
for	O
doing	O
so	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
detailed	O
skill	O
model	O
,	O
an	O
innovative	O
system	O
for	O
psychic	O
wild	O
talents	O
,	O
accessibility	O
support	O
for	O
vision-impaired	O
players	O
using	O
screen	O
reader	O
software	O
,	O
and	O
character	O
development	O
through	O
exploration	O
rather	O
than	O
combat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
was	O
an	O
early	O
mover	O
into	O
the	O
Web	O
among	O
MUDs	B-Application
,	O
registering	O
its	O
domain	O
lostsouls.org	O
in	O
April	O
1995	O
,	O
after	O
previously	O
maintaining	O
a	O
Web	O
presence	O
at	O
lostsouls.desertmoon.com	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
four	O
sites	O
cited	O
in	O
the	O
LPMud	B-Application
FAQ	O
(	O
now	O
a	O
frozen	O
document	O
)	O
,	O
only	O
two	O
of	O
which	O
are	O
still	O
online	O
and	O
MUD-related	O
(	O
the	O
other	O
being	O
BatMUD	B-Protocol
's	O
site	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
of	O
2019	O
,	O
Matthew	O
"	O
Chaos	O
"	O
Sheahan	O
retired	O
from	O
his	O
position	O
as	O
owner	O
and	O
lead	O
developer	O
of	O
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
,	O
passing	O
the	O
responsibilities	O
to	O
Wesley	O
"	O
Starhound	O
"	O
Reid	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
,	O
as	O
typical	O
for	O
MUDs	B-Application
,	O
is	O
accessed	O
through	O
a	O
telnet	B-Protocol
client	O
or	O
specialized	O
MUD	B-Application
client	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
interface	O
is	O
text-based	O
,	O
in	O
what	O
is	O
often	O
thought	O
of	O
as	O
the	O
Zork	B-Application
style	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
skill	O
system	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
value	O
assigned	O
to	O
each	O
of	O
the	O
character	O
's	O
attributes	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
strength	O
,	O
agility	O
,	O
and	O
ego	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
many	O
MUDs	B-Application
,	O
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
is	O
heavily	O
influenced	O
by	O
popular	O
fantasy	O
literature	O
,	O
with	O
much	O
content	O
being	O
visibly	O
an	O
adaptation	O
of	O
material	O
from	O
these	O
sources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
these	O
efforts	O
,	O
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
retains	O
the	O
stamp	O
of	O
many	O
literary	O
and	O
gaming	O
influences	O
,	O
the	O
most	O
marked	O
being	O
Roger	O
Zelazny	O
's	O
Chronicles	O
of	O
Amber	O
,	O
J.R.R.	O
</s>
<s>
Where	O
the	O
forces	O
of	O
chaos	O
tend	O
to	O
be	O
grim	O
and	O
demonic	O
in	O
many	O
fantasy	O
settings	O
,	O
in	O
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
they	O
often	O
wear	O
the	O
face	O
of	O
Discordianism	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
appears	O
that	O
Discordianism	O
's	O
influence	O
on	O
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
has	O
led	O
,	O
through	O
no	O
particular	O
intention	O
,	O
to	O
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
being	O
an	O
influence	O
on	O
Discordianism	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MudlibLost	O
Souls	O
's	O
core	O
technical	O
resource	O
is	O
its	O
mudlib	O
,	O
the	O
collection	O
of	O
LPC-language	B-Application
support	O
functionality	O
that	O
forms	O
the	O
framework	O
on	O
which	O
its	O
content	O
is	O
built	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
mudlib	O
was	O
originally	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
LSLib	O
,	O
later	O
being	O
rechristened	O
as	O
Ain	O
Soph	O
,	O
referring	O
to	O
the	O
Kabbalistic	O
concept	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
early	O
technical	O
innovations	O
,	O
until	O
c	O
.	O
1994	O
,	O
were	O
primarily	O
the	O
work	O
of	O
Rebecca	O
"	O
Bectile	B-Protocol
"	O
Willey	O
,	O
with	O
work	O
after	O
her	O
retirement	O
being	O
driven	O
mainly	O
by	O
Matthew	O
"	O
Chaos	O
"	O
Sheahan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Ain	O
Soph	O
mudlib	O
has	O
not	O
,	O
to	O
date	O
,	O
been	O
publicly	O
released	O
,	O
but	O
other	O
MUDs	B-Application
have	O
been	O
started	O
using	O
it	O
,	O
either	O
through	O
private	O
agreement	O
or	O
through	O
theft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ain	O
Soph	O
MUDs	B-Application
started	O
by	O
private	O
agreement	O
include	O
Costello	O
,	O
an	O
English-language	O
teaching	O
environment	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
now-defunct	O
MUD	B-Application
Lost	O
Dawning	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
originally	O
a	O
tutorial-oriented	O
"	O
sister	O
MUD	B-Application
"	O
to	O
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
but	O
later	O
separated	O
completely	O
in	O
a	O
politically	O
driven	O
project	B-Application
fork	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
the	O
Ain	O
Soph	O
mudlib	O
is	O
not	O
public	O
,	O
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
developers	O
do	O
make	O
efforts	O
to	O
contribute	O
to	O
the	O
MUD	B-Application
and	O
general	O
programming	O
communities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
Lost	B-Protocol
Souls	I-Protocol
Grimoire	O
"	O
contains	O
several	O
such	O
publications	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
Lost	O
Souls''	O
LPC	B-Application
code	O
is	O
also	O
occasionally	O
released	O
into	O
the	O
public	O
domain	O
via	O
.	O
</s>
