What BatMUD is
BatMUD is a text-based medieval fantasy massively multiplayer online game that has been in constant development since 1990. Everything happens through words and ASCII characters, like a book you interact with rather than watch. There are no graphics; any images you see exist only to support the text. The realm is large and open, with hundreds of custom zones built over 25 years, a detailed combat system, familiars, mounts, and a deep player-to-player commerce system. You can create, trade, quest, amass wealth and equipment, and build your character over time, including reincarnating to start fresh. Experienced players can craft their own items, including seafaring vessels and even cities. Guilds can fall and races can go extinct, and you can work to nurture them back or establish secret societies around locked races. This store item is a MUD client for playing BatMUD, and the game can also be played online without it.
Playing with your group
BatMUD is a shared online world where you and your friends all exist in the same realm at the same time. You can play alone or alongside hundreds of other players simultaneously, forming parties to explore zones, quest together, and take on combat as a group. The game supports online co-op for working toward common goals and online PvP if your group wants to test itself against other players. Because the world is persistent and open-ended, your group can split up to pursue different crafts or trades, then meet to exchange goods through the player commerce system, pool resources, or coordinate on larger projects like building. Communication happens through text, so your Discord voice channel pairs naturally with the game: talk strategy out loud while typing commands into the world. Roles are not fixed by the game; each of you builds your own character and decides how to contribute.
Before you start
Expect to read and type. BatMUD is pure text with open-ended choices rather than a multiple-choice menu, so the pace is set by how quickly you absorb descriptions and enter commands. There is a learning curve, and the game has decades of accumulated systems, races, guilds, and zones to discover. Player discretion is advised given the text-based nature of the game. Since the world is shared, other players' actions matter: guilds rise and fall, races can go extinct, and commerce means prices and availability shift with the community. Your group should decide early whether you are cooperating, competing in PvP, or both, and whether anyone wants to focus on crafting, trade, or city-building to support the rest.