Why Build a MUD Now?
We are building a new game set in the world and timeline of Zalanthas. Tales of Zalanthas is developed in Evennia. The core staff are Halaster, Eurynomos, Nessalin, and Ursun.
This project shares the world, chronology, and tone of ArmageddonMUD. It is not a revival of ArmageddonMUD. Tales of Zalanthas is being built on a new codebase, with a new structure, and a new design philosophy.
For many of us, ArmageddonMUD was more than just 'another video game'. It was a shared place to tell stories and let your imagination run wild — to make memorable characters who lived and died in a persistent permadeath world with years of history and backdrop. It was a place to collaborate with other people, and to step into a world where imagination mattered more than the chaos outside.
We believe it is worth trying again. Not by recreating the past or the numerous structural problems of ArmageddonMUD, but by building something new — something that carries forward the world, tone, and spirit that made Zalanthas compelling in the first place while approaching it with a different philosophy. It's also a very different time in 2026 than it was in 1999 or even 2010 — the population that engages with MUDs has aged and expects a different quality of life and playability from a RP required game than we did as teenagers or young adults.
Same World. New Foundation.
- The world remains Zalanthas. The harsh desert setting, its history, and its long chronology and player-contributed history will remain intact. The past of the world still exists, and the ruins of earlier ages remain scattered across the wastes.
- The tone remains swords and sorcery. Zalanthas will continue to be a world of peril, ambition, strange magicks, lost civilizations, and desperate survival beneath the harsh red sun of Suk-Krath. We hope to emphasize some themes, such as actual mundane survival, that became obscured in ArmageddonMUD, and keep many of the familiar names and milieu.
- The feel of play remains familiar. The RP commands that ArmageddonMUD was known for and basic interaction patterns that players expect from Armageddon-style gameplay will remain recognizable and accessible. The overall 'feel' of the MUD will be that of ArmageddonMUD, with some additional features and accessibility that was not available (or possible) with DIKU.
- This is a new codebase. Tales of Zalanthas is being built from the ground up in Evennia, a modern Python-based MUD engine. It is no longer a DIKU-derived codebase. This allows us to design systems with far more flexibility and stability (and overall speed) than traditional MUD architecture permits, and to avoid many of the legacy constraints that accumulated over decades of incremental changes.
- Roleplay will be required, but not "intensive". Tales of Zalanthas is not being built around the traditional "RPI" model with strict Find Out In Character expectations. So while permadeath will remain, Tales of Zalanthas will likely align more closely with an RP-Enforced model than a strict RP-Intensive one.
- Helpfiles will be transparent. Our aim is to level the playing field between a veteran player and someone just starting out. Game mechanics will be spelled out in documentation and helpfiles available to everyone.
- The age of empires is over. The old city-state hierarchy is gone. Sponsored roles, templars, and noble houses will not exist. Allanak and Tuluk will exist only as ruins of a distant age; places to eventually explore, plunder, and learn from.
- The world begins much smaller and more focused. The MVP will center on Luir's Outpost and the surrounding desert. Starting small allows us to build meaningful travel, risk, and interaction rather than sprawling empty geography. We will add to the game world over time (and through community-sourced direction).
- The game will follow a frontier model. Instead of large, immortal institutions dominating the world, the desert frontier will be shaped by smaller groups and individual ambition. Scattered outposts, caravan roads, and tribal fiefs will form the backbone of civilization.
- No Request Tool. We will have a ticketing system via Discord and other means of filing bug reports, description changes, item and NPC submissions, original submissions, suggestions and ideas. We will not have a request tool or expect roleplay or in-game plots to be coordinated through Staff. No more TPS reports, leadership reports, etc.
Roleplay, Transparency & Community
Open Communication
Tales of Zalanthas is not being built around the traditional "RPI" model with strict Find Out In Character expectations. Roleplay will still be central to the game, particularly while playing the game. Characters should behave as characters, and the world should feel coherent and immersive. But we are not trying to create a culture where the Players are discouraged from talking openly about the game itself.
We will support both in-game and external OOC spaces where players can discuss mechanics, brainstorm ideas, recruit collaborators for plots and character concepts, and ask questions. These may include OOC and newbie channels in the game that players can opt into (and opt out of), as well as Discord spaces dedicated to mechanics, character ideas, and world discussion more akin to RP communities on Neverwinter Nights or MUSH (as an example).
Our goal is to foster a healthier community where collaboration, transparency, and shared storytelling is encouraged. Mystery should exist within the world itself; it should not come from preventing players from communicating about the game or understanding basic mechanics and code. So while permadeath will remain, Tales of Zalanthas will likely align more closely with an RP-Enforced model than a strict RP-Intensive one.
Transparent Helpfiles
Helpfiles will be transparent and not opaque; our aim is to level the playing field between a veteran player of the game and someone just starting out. Game mechanics will be spelled out in documentation and helpfiles available to everyone. Combat, stealth, and other mechanics that were historically opaque will be documented so that both new and experienced players operate on an even playing field.
No Hidden Notes
There will be no secret "notes" attached to player accounts or characters that linger for the lifetime of that account. Moderation will be transparent — bans will be public with explanations appropriate to the situation.
Secrets vs. Mystery
Mystery belongs in the world. Ancient ruins, lost magicks, hidden agendas, and forgotten histories should be discovered through play. Secrecy about how the game works does not serve the game. Players will have spaces to discuss mechanics, brainstorm character ideas, and collaborate on plots. Alongside more transparency with in-game helpfiles and game mechanics, our hope is this creates an environment of over-the-table fun and discussion, and in-game mystery and discovery.
We intend to support both in-game channels and Discord spaces for questions, discussion, and collaboration.
Stories & Original Submissions
We plan to have spaces where players may share stories about past characters and plots without artificial silence rules. Common sense applies; speaking for your own characters and experiences. One of our key strengths pre-Request Tool (or new websites) was our Original Submissions; we intend to honor that tradition and make submissions of logs, player art, songs, and stories easier to submit and view on the website.
Combat, Conflict & Player Agency
Intentional PvP
Conflict is a natural part of swords-and-sorcery fiction, but the game will not revolve around unchecked player predation. There will be areas where PvP is not possible, areas where it carries clearer risk and consequence, and more dangerous regions where violence may be expected and unrestricted. Player-kills must have clear in-character justification.
More Forgiving PvE
Encounters with creatures or the environment will not always result in the immediate end of a character's story. Danger will remain real, but not every mistake or failure will be fatal. (Still permadeath, better odds, more varied outcomes.)
Player-Shaped Frontier
Rather than serving fixed institutions, players will have increasing influence over the landscape and economy of the desert. Future systems may allow players to establish camps, housing, or small outposts, which is a focus of our efforts and something we would like to see happen.
The goal is a world where player actions — alliances, rivalries, exploration, and trade — create the stories of the setting rather than simply participating in static institutions. That doesn't mean there will not be Staff-Run plots, but it will not be mutually exclusive.
Content Boundaries
ERP will not be supported. The focus of Tales of Zalanthas is swords and sorcery; exploration, ambition, danger, and survival in a harsh world. Intimacy may exist off-screen as part of story, but explicit sexual content or sexual violence will not be part of the game or allowed.
How We're Building It
A Frontier Project
Our aim is that power should emerge from player action rather than descending from immortal institutions. Staff may still have some plots or storylines, but they will be alongside and around player stories and actions, not the main course. The exception to this may be plotlines and stories that revolve around the introduction of new features. As much as we can, we will introduce new features in an In-Character manner.
Small, Focused Staff
We do not intend to recreate a large hierarchical staff structure and intend to keep things small and manageable. We will not have a request tool with leader reports and character reports and 5 day turnarounds; we aim to have bots and ticket systems on Discord for bugs and contact, but otherwise aim to return to a 'Pre-Request Tool' vibe.
Transparent Development
We intend to share direction, surface proposed features, and invite feedback before systems become fixed. We aim to include the community for input on what features they would like to see next and include you as much as we can.
Intentionally Lean MVP
Core systems will be tested and iterated early so they can evolve while they are still flexible.
No Fixed Launch Date
Development will move at a sustainable pace, and beta will be part of the development process rather than a short pre-release phase. At present we've written about 120,000 lines of Python, including 2,200 test cases.
Community Expectations
All of us previously staffed ArmageddonMUD in various capacities. That experience informs this project. However, Tales of Zalanthas is a new venture. When we open ToZ discussion spaces, "attack the idea, not the person" is the rule for both players and staff. We need disagreement, discussion, and critique as we build new systems and content. If you were harmed or slighted by the staff, players, or systems of ArmageddonMUD, ToZ is not a space to re-litigate that. We aim to build a game where players and staff engage with mutual respect, clear expectations, and minimal friction.
What Are Next Steps for Tales of Zalanthas?
We wanted to announce that we are working on Tales of Zalanthas so that we could talk more openly about the project and begin to field questions about it and input.
This announcement will be up on zalanthas.org for the interim and we will eventually add a Newsletter sign up. We'll update further on how things are progressing through that platform and what next steps past these will be.
In Conclusion
We aim for Tales of Zalanthas to be a new, modern approach to a RP-required MUD built on a familiar world and lore.
We are starting with a smaller, focused foundation at Luir's Outpost and the surrounding desert. From there, the world will expand as systems mature and the game develops. Tuluk and Allanak (when we get to that) will be ruins to be explored, and we won't have the power structures/lack of momentum those structures created in place.
Some things will feel familiar. Many things will not. That is intentional.
Our goal is to build a fresh, exciting new version of Zalanthas that is sustainable for a small staffing team, transparent about game mechanics, and capable of evolving over time.