Armageddon (MUD)
Encyclopedia
Armageddon, frequently abbreviated Arm, is a low fantasy
MUD
— a text-based online role-playing game — set in a desert world called Zalanthas. It was founded in 1991 by Dan Brumleve, Nasri Hajj, and Santiago Zorzopulos in Urbana, Illinois
. It requires its players to focus on role-playing
, and is a seminal example of the Roleplay Intensive MUD, or RPIMUD, style of game.
, Dune
, and other fantasy
and science fiction
sources, such as The Morgaine Stories
by C. J. Cherryh
, and Robert Asprin
's Thieves' World, but has since grown and evolved. While some of these elements are still part of the campaign, ongoing development is not focused on maintaining a commitment to those influences.
The game world has two city-state
s called Allanak and Tuluk. The city populaces comprise commoners trying to live from day to day, nobles working to rise in power, and templars, civic officials who enforce the will of the cities' Sorcerer-Kings.
During the occupation of Tuluk, the nobles survived by relying on the common caste to hide them. This developed a closeness between castes that survives to the present, with the nobility and the common caste often operating closely together, though social boundaries such as a taboo against sexual contact between the castes remain.
Nomadic tribes have a precarious existence in the wastes, working to survive while fending off beasts, raiders and magickers.
, seven based on elementalism and the eighth on sorcery. Each class employs its respective competency through numerous spells. As the setting is low fantasy
, the intention is that it should be rare to encounter magickers.
crossbreeds found in the Dark Sun
setting. They are primarily bred by templars as gladiatorial slaves for the arenas of Allanak and Tuluk. Roleplaying guidelines from Armageddon suggest that muls, being sterile, often suffer from a sense of meaninglessness.
to be gained in Armageddon; a player character
's fighting prowess, like his ability at woodcrafting or bartering, is measured by skills which rise through use, with no explicit statistical measurement provided to the player. "Perma-death
" is another major game element; when a player character dies in Armageddon, it is a one-time, permanent matter. These factors are seen as helping players focus on roleplaying realistically through giving them a true fear of death and a greater concern for their character's interaction with the world than with a numerical skill percentage.
Players are allowed only one character at a time, with each successive one being tied to a single player account. The account then becomes a sort of personal record, storing staff comments about the player as well as a general measurement of trust called "karma". Karma allows a player to create a character using restricted classes and races, such as magickers and muls.
Players are expected to provide a detailed description for their characters. In a departure from how, in many aspects, Armageddon works to have the game heavily model characters and their interactions rather than relying on human interpretation, descriptions are "flat" text and "their effects are not regulated algorithmically".
Armageddon is unusual in having
As a result of internal controversy, the MUD has developed player conduct rules regarding cybersex
that require prior consent for anyone to roleplay sexual interaction with another player character.
, and is written mainly in C
, with elements of JavaScript
. It is unusual in being based on a DikuMUD infrastructure rather than one of the MU* systems more typically used for roleplaying-focused MUDs.
sessions at National Capital Freenet
.
The MUD's staff take pride in having a mission statement that describes administrators' accountability and priorities, which include stability, game balance, consistency, and a "Gee-Whiz Factor".
A major contributor to, and evangelist for, Armageddon has been science fiction and fantasy writer Cat "Sanvean" Rambo
.
Low fantasy
Low fantasy is a term used to describe a variety of works within the sub-genres of fantasy fiction. Low fantasy places relatively less emphasis on typical elements associated with fantasy, setting a narrative in real-world environments with only vague elements of the fantastical, sometimes just...
MUD
MUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
— a text-based online role-playing game — set in a desert world called Zalanthas. It was founded in 1991 by Dan Brumleve, Nasri Hajj, and Santiago Zorzopulos in Urbana, Illinois
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
. It requires its players to focus on role-playing
Role-playing
Role-playing refers to the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role...
, and is a seminal example of the Roleplay Intensive MUD, or RPIMUD, style of game.
Setting
Armageddons setting began with a heavy influence from Dark SunDark Sun
Dark Sun is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting featuring the fictional desert world of Athas. The original Dark Sun Boxed Set campaign setting was released in 1991....
, Dune
Dune (novel)
Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, published in 1965. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel...
, and other fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
sources, such as The Morgaine Stories
The Morgaine Stories
The Morgaine Stories, also known as The Morgaine Cycle, are a series of science fantasy novels by science fiction and fantasy writer C. J. Cherryh, published by DAW Books...
by C. J. Cherryh
C. J. Cherryh
Carolyn Janice Cherry , better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is a United States science fiction and fantasy author...
, and Robert Asprin
Robert Asprin
Robert Lynn Asprin was an American science fiction and fantasy author and active fan, best known for his humorous MythAdventures and Phule's Company series.- Background :...
's Thieves' World, but has since grown and evolved. While some of these elements are still part of the campaign, ongoing development is not focused on maintaining a commitment to those influences.
The game world has two city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
s called Allanak and Tuluk. The city populaces comprise commoners trying to live from day to day, nobles working to rise in power, and templars, civic officials who enforce the will of the cities' Sorcerer-Kings.
Allanak
Allanak is the setting's original city-state, and is a class-based society with a long and decadent history. It once ruled the known world, but has since retreated back to its own borders. Allanak's expansion was orchestrated by the game's players, as was the subsequent loss of these territories. For many within Allanak, this collapse went unnoticed amid a self-absorbed orgy of violence and pleasure. Public displays of torture, violent and bloody arena matches, and tremendous indulgences of depravity are typical of Allanak, with the templars exercising power with near impunity.Tuluk
The other city-state of Tuluk is a young, energetic caste-based society. Player-influenced events led to the people of Tuluk throwing off the yoke of Allanak's oppression, bringing a sense of growth, expansion, and opportunity that makes Tuluk a center of political maneuvering. Tuluk is ruled with silent oppression, with people who break the law simply disappearing, fostering a secretive and distrustful atmosphere.During the occupation of Tuluk, the nobles survived by relying on the common caste to hide them. This developed a closeness between castes that survives to the present, with the nobility and the common caste often operating closely together, though social boundaries such as a taboo against sexual contact between the castes remain.
Outposts and Tribes
Smaller outposts and safe havens exist in Zalanthas, generally struggling to remain independent from the city-states. These communities provide sanctuary from the dangers of the wastes and from the deadly politics and tyranny of Allanak and Tuluk, but typically have harsh and unforgiving local law enforcement.Nomadic tribes have a precarious existence in the wastes, working to survive while fending off beasts, raiders and magickers.
Magickers
Magickers, those who use arcane powers, are seen with dread, hatred and loathing. Tuluk bans them, while Allanak subjugates their elementalists with gemmed collars; sorcerers are killed mercilessly by either city-state. To survive, magickers must master their respective elements, or in the case of sorcerers, their inherently tremendous well of power. The magick system in Armageddon is robust and extensive, featuring eight distinct magick classesCharacter class
In role-playing games, a common method of arbitrating the capabilities of different game characters is to assign each one to a character class. A character class aggregates several abilities and aptitudes, and may also sometimes detail aspects of background and social standing or impose behaviour...
, seven based on elementalism and the eighth on sorcery. Each class employs its respective competency through numerous spells. As the setting is low fantasy
Low fantasy
Low fantasy is a term used to describe a variety of works within the sub-genres of fantasy fiction. Low fantasy places relatively less emphasis on typical elements associated with fantasy, setting a narrative in real-world environments with only vague elements of the fantastical, sometimes just...
, the intention is that it should be rare to encounter magickers.
Muls
Armageddon includes the mul race of human-dwarfDwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters...
crossbreeds found in the Dark Sun
Dark Sun
Dark Sun is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting featuring the fictional desert world of Athas. The original Dark Sun Boxed Set campaign setting was released in 1991....
setting. They are primarily bred by templars as gladiatorial slaves for the arenas of Allanak and Tuluk. Roleplaying guidelines from Armageddon suggest that muls, being sterile, often suffer from a sense of meaninglessness.
Game characteristics
In a departure from genre convention, there are no levelsExperience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
to be gained in Armageddon; a player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
's fighting prowess, like his ability at woodcrafting or bartering, is measured by skills which rise through use, with no explicit statistical measurement provided to the player. "Perma-death
Permanent death
In role-playing video games , permanent death is a situation in which player characters die permanently and are removed from the game...
" is another major game element; when a player character dies in Armageddon, it is a one-time, permanent matter. These factors are seen as helping players focus on roleplaying realistically through giving them a true fear of death and a greater concern for their character's interaction with the world than with a numerical skill percentage.
Players are allowed only one character at a time, with each successive one being tied to a single player account. The account then becomes a sort of personal record, storing staff comments about the player as well as a general measurement of trust called "karma". Karma allows a player to create a character using restricted classes and races, such as magickers and muls.
Players are expected to provide a detailed description for their characters. In a departure from how, in many aspects, Armageddon works to have the game heavily model characters and their interactions rather than relying on human interpretation, descriptions are "flat" text and "their effects are not regulated algorithmically".
Armageddon is unusual in having
think and feel commands, which allow one to silently express the thoughts and feelings of their characters without broadcasting them to everyone in the room.As a result of internal controversy, the MUD has developed player conduct rules regarding cybersex
Cybersex
Cybersex, also called computer sex, Internet sex, netsex, mudsex, TinySex and, colloquially, cybering, is a virtual sex encounter in which two or more persons connected remotely via computer network send each other sexually explicit messages describing a sexual experience...
that require prior consent for anyone to roleplay sexual interaction with another player character.
Technical infrastructure
Armageddon is based on DikuMUDDikuMUD
DikuMUD is a multiplayer text-based role-playing game, which is a type of MUD. It was written in 1990 and 1991 by Sebastian Hammer, Tom Madsen, Katja Nyboe, Michael Seifert, and Hans Henrik Staerfeldt at DIKU —the department of computer science at the University of Copenhagen in Copenhagen,...
, and is written mainly in C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
, with elements of JavaScript
JavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
. It is unusual in being based on a DikuMUD infrastructure rather than one of the MU* systems more typically used for roleplaying-focused MUDs.
Reception
Armageddon has been praised as a "complex and professional" MUD that facilitates "high caliber role playing".Points of interest
In 1994, Armageddon was found to be one of the top 20 destinations for telnetTELNET
Telnet is a network protocol used on the Internet or local area networks to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communications facility using a virtual terminal connection...
sessions at National Capital Freenet
National Capital Freenet
Founded in September 1992 by people affiliated with Carleton University, National Capital Freenet , is a non-profit community organization internet service provider, with the goal of linking people in Canada's capital of Ottawa.NCF was the second free-net set up worldwide and was patterned after...
.
The MUD's staff take pride in having a mission statement that describes administrators' accountability and priorities, which include stability, game balance, consistency, and a "Gee-Whiz Factor".
A major contributor to, and evangelist for, Armageddon has been science fiction and fantasy writer Cat "Sanvean" Rambo
Cat Rambo
Cat Rambo is a science fiction and fantasy writer and editor who lives in the Pacific Northwest. She has been the co-editor of Fantasy Magazine since 2007. She collaborated with Jeff VanderMeer on The Surgeon's Tale and Other Stories, published in 2007...
.