Has anyone seen this sandbox mmo using the old morrowind/Oblivion engine? Looks like it might be worth checking out - especially for RP fans, you can build up your own communities from farms to whole cities with your own laws etc... This is from the F.A.Q:
Dawntide is a Massively Multuplayer Online Roll Playing Game (MMORPG) created by Working As Intended. There are many types of MMORPG, and Dawntide is classed as sandbox game due to its free form play mechanisms that allow players to use the tools of the game to create their own content within the game. Dawntide aims to offer a world of options and choices, allowing players to play against each other as well as the world. Players are free to be peaceful or aggressive, and to choose any path they wish with as few boundaries as possible. They can band together to build a small farming community or even a mighty empire with its’ own laws and allegiences.
Dawntide is a co-operative game where no one person is a master of everything, and learning to co-operate can be the greatest skill in the game. Players can manufacture all sorts of items, from brewing their own Troll Brew to building great galleons that can sail the world. There are unique creatures to hunt and remote islands to find and explore, rare resources to gather and sell. Traders, crafters, warriors and practitioners of magic will all find their place in the world. Everyone has their part to play whether a humble trader or a fear evoking king.
http://www.dawntide.net/