Glossary of MUD Terms

Every community that has been around long enough invents its own language. MUDs have been around since the late 1970s, and Iron Realms games have been running since 1997, which means there is a fair amount of accumulated vocabulary between you and fluency. This glossary covers the terms you’re most likely to encounter across all five games. For guides on how to play, see the Player Guides hub.

Universal MUD Terms

These terms are common across all Iron Realms games and throughout the MUD genre.

Word or Phrase	In-Game Meaning
Out-Of-Character (OOC)	Related to real life, outside the game world and its fiction. Use OOC channels when you need to speak as yourself rather than your character.
In-Character (IC)	Relating to the game world: its history, language, and characters. When you speak IC, you’re speaking as your character.
Non-Player Character (NPC)	A coded character in the game whose actions are determined by code rather than a player. NPCs may give quests, sell items, or simply inhabit the world.
Denizen	Another term for NPC, commonly used across Iron Realms games.
Mobile / Mob	A type of NPC designed to be fought for experience points, usually described as some kind of creature or enemy. Defeating mobs is one of the primary ways to level up.
In Real Life (IRL)	Used when describing something that happens outside the game, in the real world.
Level	A measure of your character’s overall progression and strength. Higher levels unlock new areas, abilities, and challenges.
Stats	The numerical values that define your character’s capabilities: health, mana, strength, intelligence, and class-specific attributes.
Bashing	Defeating mobs repeatedly to earn experience points and level up. “I’ve been bashing all night” is a phrase you’ll hear.
Grinding / Grind	Extended bashing sessions, usually in the same area. Most players accept it as part of the game.
Balance / Equilibrium	The two cooldown states governing combat timing in Iron Realms games. Most attacks require both balance and equilibrium to be restored before you can act again.
Affliction	A negative status effect applied during combat: paralysis, blindness, various poisons, and dozens more depending on the game. Managing afflictions is the core of PvP.
Curing	The process of removing afflictions. Most players use automated curing systems that track afflictions and apply remedies in priority order.
Player Kill (PK)	When one player’s character kills another player’s character. Whether PK is permitted varies by game and zone.
PKer	A player who frequently kills other players, often applied to those who do so aggressively or without provocation.
Newbie / Newb	A new or inexperienced player. Usually descriptive rather than insulting, especially in Iron Realms communities.
Guild	A player organization centered on a shared identity, class, or purpose. Guilds have their own hierarchy, culture, and often internal quest lines.
City / Faction	A major player-run political organization. In most Iron Realms games, your city is your primary political allegiance.
Artifact	A permanent item providing lasting mechanical benefits, earned through the games’ credit systems.
Credits	Iron Realms’ premium currency, used to purchase artifacts and other items. Credits can also be earned in-game through various means.
AFK	Away from keyboard. Your character is logged in but you’re not at your computer.
Deathsight	A defense that lets you see when other adventurers die.

Achaea Quick Glossary

The world of Achaea is rooted in ancient magic, divine politics, and thousands of years of in-game history. Much of its vocabulary reflects that depth.

Word or Phrase	In-Game Meaning
The Flame of Yggdrasil	Used to travel between Planes of existence and to restore dead bodies to life.
Ugrach	Steward of the Halls of Death. “Visiting Ugrach” is common parlance for dying.
The Logos	Achaea’s creator, Sarapis.
Marque	A seafaring license, required to captain ships of your own.
Quisalis	Contracted assassins designed to resolve interplayer conflicts.
Eidolons	Fuel for the city fonts — wells of power that aid in defence of the homeland.

Aetolia Quick Glossary

The world of Aetolia is one of blood, monsters, and the slow unraveling of divine power. Its vocabulary carries a darker weight.

Word or Phrase	In-Game Meaning
The Howling	The mysterious wolf-howl that occurs at 00:00 GMT each day, often used to mark the passage of time.
Sapience	One of the three continents of the world, where players reside.
Albedos	One of the three continents, ruled by the Drakkenmont Empire.
Vorostra	One of the three continents, a harsh and unforgiving land.
Dia’ruis	The primordial Plane of Life.
The Mirror	A place living adventurers visit upon death, through which they can revive.
Deathsight	A defense that lets you see when other adventurers die.
Delve	A city with generally friendly ties to most of Sapience; one of the few free places on Albedos.
Drakkenmont Empire	A technologically advanced empire ruled by the Dreikathi, a race descended from dragons.
Varian	The former Creator God of Sapience, now fled after losing the Monomachy.
Eschaton	The one true Creator of Aetolia, who won the Monomachy.
Foci	Points of power spawned from the leylines that adventurers fight over to harvest.
Orrery	An ancient astronomical machine that stirs to life periodically, allowing adventurers to fight for control of it.

Lusternia Quick Glossary

Lusternia is built on deep magics, planar science, and the ongoing effort to keep an imprisoned evil god from destroying everything. Its language reflects both its complexity and its age.

Word or Phrase	In-Game Meaning
Aetherwave	Aetheric communication that can cross vast distances, including across planes. Functionally synonymous with “channel” in other games.
Avechna	The God whose presence in Lusternia prevents the evil God Kethuru from destroying the world. Also helps protect those unjustly attacked.
Basin	The Basin of Life, the central region surrounded by the Northern, Razine, Southern, and Avechna’s Teeth mountains. Contains most major areas on the prime material plane.
Demesne	An area of land under the control of a mage or druid, associated with a particular element. Within their demesne, a mage or druid wields great power over the land.
Essence	A measure of power for Demigods and Ascendants, and of offerings made to the Elder Gods. Can be placed into city or commune nexii to strengthen them.
Fates	The Three Sisters: Atropos, Clotho, and Lachesis, who weave the Tapestry of Fate recording Lusternia’s history. They may bring you back if your story is deemed incomplete.
Feats	Particularly impressive magical abilities created by using power.
Power	The aetheric energy used to create particularly impressive magical feats. Personal power requires linking to a nexus; cities and communes can also draw on their nexus power.
Weave	The end of the Weave refers to when the Fates sort through the Tapestry, which happens at 0:00 GMT each day. “A weave” effectively means “a day”.

Starmourn Quick Glossary

Starmourn is a science fiction game spanning a full galaxy. The gods are dead, technology fills the gap they left, and the vocabulary reflects a world run by factions, cybernetics, and corporate politics.

Word or Phrase	In-Game Meaning
The Starmourn Sector	The full galaxy of stars, planets, and stations that make up the traversable world of Starmourn.
Spacer	The identity of player characters in the game. What you are called by other inhabitants of the Sector.
Mindsim / Sim	A cybernetic system built into the player’s body, granting the ability to communicate with others, view stats and abilities, and more. Accessed with the MINDSIM command.
Mindsim Integration Level (MIL)	The player’s level. At MIL 75, players continue leveling but gain Talents instead of additional levels.
Wetwiring	A system for curing, managing health, and handling afflictions in combat, built into all spacers’ physical bodies.
Commsphere / Comms	The various channels players use to communicate with each other.
Faction	Starmourn’s version of Cities. The main player organizations across the Sector. Living outside a Faction means being Factionless.
Dynasty	Player-designated organizations outside of Factions, ranging from tight-knit family groups to loose business collectives.
Cerebral Augment Chamber (CAC)	A Faction feature that grants XP and stat boosts to members. Players earn slivers by completing CAC Tasks and use them to Augment the CAC.
Cryo / Cryosleep	The in-character state when a player logs off. Common sign-offs include “Gonna hit cryo” or “Heading to the ice.”
Sync	The moment when the real-world day resets and in-game dailies refresh. A popular time for players to log in.
HETE	The Hon-En-Tur-Exaltation, an NPC organization responsible for creating the INR device that stores a spacer’s life-data for cloning.
Cloning	The process by which spacers are brought back to life after perishing, provided they have paid the necessary fees and carry an INR device.