Mythology & Cosmology checklist for MUDs

Verify new players encounter the creation myth during character generation or mandatory tutorial sequences, not just external wikis.

Confirm at least three distinct game mechanics (spells, skills, or racial bonuses) explicitly reference creation events in their helpfile descriptions.

Test that players can discover the world's origin story through in-game books, NPC dialogue, or area descriptions without leaving the game client.

Audit that quest NPCs, room descriptions, and helpfiles use identical temporal references (e.g., 'since the Sundering') without contradictory dates.

Check for annual or triggered in-game events that replay or reference creation myths through automated scripts or immortal-run scenarios.

Verify every deity's documented portfolio (e.g., storms, healing) matches the spell schools or skill trees granted to their clerics/paladins.

Cross-reference deity helpfiles against class ability descriptions to ensure identical terminology for divine sources (e.g., 'the Moonmother' not 'Luna' in one and 'Selene' in another).

Confirm that class alignment restrictions logically derive from deity portfolios documented in the pantheon codex, not arbitrary tables.

Verify that temples or holy sites mentioned in deity lore exist as actual room objects with corresponding VNUMs and not just placeholder descriptions.

Ensure immortal 'god echo' commands or automated divine interventions log to a reviewable audit trail to detect lore drift over time.

Audit that all references to planes, realms, or dimensions use identical naming conventions across spell messages, death sequences, and portal room descriptions.

Verify that character death routes players to cosmetically appropriate rooms (limbo, hell, valhalla) that match their alignment, class, or documented soul-binding contracts.

Test that teleport, recall, and portal spells reference destination planes using the same topological framework as manual travel methods (walking, sailing).

Confirm that 'help cosmology' or equivalent returns a structured list of planes with explicit parent-child relationships (e.g., Material -> Ethereal -> Astral).

Verify that anti-teleport zones or summon-blocking effects reference specific cosmological barriers (ley lines, warded thresholds) mentioned in lore.

Verify every major questline (level 30+) incorporates at least one mythological element (artifact from creation era, banished god's prison) as a physical game object.

Check that high-level clerical spells include emotes or echoes referencing specific myths (e.g., 'You invoke the Hammer of Thor' not generic 'You cast heal').

Confirm that class abilities unlock through IC religious progression (prayers, offerings) rather than purely mechanical level thresholds.

Verify that mana, faith, or piety pools reference cosmological sources (ley lines, divine attention) in their regeneration messages and depletion effects.

Test that documented prophecies trigger actual game events (mob spawns, area repop changes) rather than remaining static lore entries.

Verify that forced religious conversion RP requires explicit OOC consent or is mechanically impossible without player opt-in flags.

Confirm that deity true names, weaknesses, or secret rites are restricted behind IC discovery mechanics (scrying, rare books) not public helpfiles.

Test that players can opt out of religious class paths without mechanical penalty, accessing equivalent power through arcane or nature-based alternatives.

Verify that in-character blasphemy or heresy triggers mechanical consequences (divine disfavor) only when performed in sanctified rooms or before religious NPCs.

Check that PvP or RP conflict between religious orders follows documented inquisitorial rules rather than generic PK mechanics.

Verify that the death screen and corpse recovery process explicitly reference the game's documented afterlife model (soul travel, psychopomp retrieval).

Confirm that raise dead or resurrection spells reference specific cosmological barriers (soul degradation, thread severing) that explain mechanical failure chances.

Test that ghosts or wraith forms can interact with the living only through documented cosmological channels (mediums, haunted objects, thin places).

Verify that if reincarnation exists, it follows the documented cyclical cosmology and preserves or appropriately alters character memories per lore.

Confirm that permadeath triggers reference ultimate cosmological destinations (oblivion, god absorption) consistent with the character's documented soul status.