The Immortal Trial

How mortals join the staff: a small, guided project that earns the trust to build Ishar MUD's world.

How it works

Ishar is a passion project — nobody here is paid, so everyone's free time matters. The trial isn't there to stifle creativity; it makes sure work gets finished, fits the larger game, and that we can collaborate without burning each other out.

You start as an Immortal (Trial) with a small, guided project scoped and approved by senior staff — it should complete in about four weeks, with leeway for active communication. Deliver it well, take feedback on board, and you progress to a larger Proven project, then to Artisan: earned autonomy to propose and build passion projects of your own.

Pick a track

Zoner Zone design, writing, lore. Trial: a 3–10 room mini-zone in an underdeveloped area, a quest line using existing mechanics, and an in-game lore book.

Coder Code features, scripting, bug fixes. Trial: fix a small bug, or add / tweak a quality-of-life command.

What we expect

Original work. During the trial, all creative writing — room descriptions, quest dialogue, lore — must be your own. Blatantly copy-pasted AI text is rejected outright; learn the craft before leaning on the tool.

Stay in communication. Missed deadlines happen — silence doesn't work. If life gets in the way, say so.

Respect the scope. The failure modes are few and known: expanding scope beyond the agreed project, ignoring guidance, refusing feedback, or going quiet.

Stay a player. The best builders keep a pulse on the mortal game — what players enjoy, where the friction is, what's missing.

Eligibility

To apply you should have been an active player for at least one full season and reached two remorts on your mortal character. This is a guideline, not a gate — staff review every application on its merits.

Ready to apply? Log in with your game account first.