Armageddons setting began with a heavy influence from
Dark Sun,
Dune, and other
fantasy and
science fiction sources, such as
The Morgaine Stories by
C. J. Cherryh, and
Robert Asprin's ''
Thieves' World'', but had since grown and evolved. While some of these elements were still part of the campaign, development was not focused on maintaining a commitment to those influences due to a prior conflict with
Wizards of the Coast over source material. Some conflicting material, such as the existence of kanks, a creature considered intellectual property by Wizards of the Coast, was removed as a result. The game world had two
city-states called Allanak and Tuluk. Allanak had been accessible to players for the entirety of the game's existence, whereas Tuluk had been frequently closed and re-opened throughout the game's history. The city populaces comprised commoners trying to live from day to day, nobles working to rise in power, and templars, civic officials who enforced the will of the cities' Sorcerer-Kings.
City-States Allanak Allanak was the setting's original city-state, and was a class-based society with a long and decadent history. It once ruled the known world, but had 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 were typical of Allanak, with the templars exercising power with near impunity.
Tuluk The other city-state of Tuluk was 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 made Tuluk a center of political maneuvering. Tuluk was ruled with silent oppression, with people who broke 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 survived to the game's end. The nobility and the common caste often operatied closely together, though social boundaries such as a taboo against sexual contact between the castes remained. Despite Tuluk's player-led history, staff unanimously decided that Tuluk would be closed to players on April 27, 2015, which caused a massive exodus of players who quit the game. It was then reopened in July 2021.
Outposts and Tribes Smaller outposts and safe havens existed in Zalanthas. They generally struggled to remain independent from the city-states. These communities provided sanctuary from the dangers of the wastes and from the deadly politics and tyranny of Allanak and Tuluk, but typically had harsh and unforgiving local law enforcement. Nomadic tribes had a precarious existence in the wastes, working to survive while fending off beasts, raiders and magickers.
Magickers Magickers, those who use arcane powers, were seen with dread, hatred and loathing. Tuluk banned them, while Allanak subjugated their elementalists with gemmed collars; sorcerers were killed mercilessly by either city-state. To survive, magickers mastered their respective elements, or in the case of sorcerers, their inherently tremendous well of power. The magick system in
Armageddon used to feature eight distinct magick
classes, seven based on elementalism and the eighth on sorcery. However, these classes were changed into subclasses, allowing players to play characters with primarily non-magical skills as well as spells. It featured fifteen elementalist subclasses across six elements, with one previously playable element no longer available. The subclasses divided each element's available spells. There were also four sorcery subclasses, each with roughly a quarter of the original sorcerer's spell list.
Muls Armageddon included the
mul race of human-
dwarf crossbreeds found in the
Dark Sun setting. They were primarily bred by noble houses as gladiatorial slaves for the arenas of Allanak and Tuluk. Roleplaying guidelines from
Armageddon suggested that muls, being sterile, often suffered from a sense of meaninglessness. ==Game characteristics==