Yup, GMud available with scripts from www.gutterstar.net is good for starting off, if you're using Jaws. It's free, and GMud is easily available on the net, but you have to sign up to gutterstar to get the scripts for Jaws. They help and have some useful features like interrupting when certain text appears and ignoring certain other text, but aren't essential. Just unzip GMud to it's own folder and run GMud32.exe, then set screen echo to all with insert + s. Screen echo setting isn't needed with the scripts, and it doesn't interrupt reading game events when you type but I like to turn back on the interruption from the enter key so I can hear what the effects of my last aaction are.

Nothing against monkeyTerm either, the VB script could be handy if you know your way around it, but to begin with GMud is excellent.

Configuration's a breeze in any client too. Give it the address and port number, available from the mud's web site, and that's all it needs. Unfortunately as has come up often there's no way around it if your network blocks the connection, but this is only an issue if you're on a college/university/office network and shouldn't cause problems on home connections.

Yeah, but if you're playing Godwars2 you'll want MonkeyTerm to use the sounds.