1890s Creede, Colorado

 

Netera Landar recently checked out a roleplay community, one with a Wild West theme: 1890s Creede, Colorado. It's been only a few years since the territory was officially made a state, and in Creed County, the discovery of silver has led to an influx of people, including some entertainers from Denver as the city has been cracking down on gambling and prostitution. The roleplay has been around for over ten years, has a few SL business in addition to those strictly for the roleplay, and has some lively characters. 

 

Read Netera's article in People. 

 

Announcement: "Goth Darn-It" Masquerade Ball

 

Bliss & Benefit invite you to join us for a

Goth Darn-it Masquerade Ball

This immersive role play experience will include a full dinner with live entertainment. 

Choose the show you would like to attend during your dinner and if you would like to include a spa night with your package. 

General admission tickets will be available for the performances if you would like to opt out of the dinner or spa.

Groups are welcome. 

This event will be held on an adult rated region, no children allowed. 

To book your reservation, please go to https://forms.gle/x2bZ1YQMfkaB4zY36

All proceeds go directly to the American Cancer Society

For questions or more information, contact AveryMae Amore or Epheni Resident 

Bliss & Benefit
https://gracewins.wixsite.com/bliss-benefit/events

 

The Swiftwater City RP Community

 

There's a new urban roleplay community: Swiftwater City. Created by Draven Malakai Hopshire (Nightingale Foxpaws), this new city already has a number of people and has many roles for those interested in joining up. Bixyl Shuftan dropped by and had a chat with it's founder, as well as looking around some at the buildings.

 

 Read the story in Places. 

Announcement: Montecito Bay's Funabashi Station

 

"Huh, what's this? It looks like an alley full of little shops! Don't worry, nothing going on here that isn't- KSSSSSHHHH "

Funabashi Station has a little hideaway... right next to Studio 86! These little mini-stores are perfect for RP and photos! There's many different ones, with different themes and objects, and are just the perfect spot to explore~

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Montecito%20Bay/195/58/23

Come check them out!

Becky Nosferatu

 

Press Release: 2020 SL Renaissance Festival

SL Renaissance Festival Unites Medieval Role Play Communities to Crusade Against Breast Cancer

This September role-players are uniting kingdoms and realms for a new community based event to take up the crusade against breast cancer in support of the American Cancer Society Strides Campaigns in Second Life.

Opening on September 25th and running for 10 days the 1st Annual SL Renaissance Festival will feature merchants, minstrels and entertainment, melees and jousts, and other activities in a 15th century build spanning four regions.  Residents will be invited to take part in Role Play Classes, Jousts, Archery and more.  The Festival will include shoppes and booths for participating merchants, the Minstrel’s Corner entertainment stage, and the Conquer Trail highlighting breast cancer information and a daily King and Queen chosen from breast cancer survivors and caregivers.

The event is being led by former Relay For Life chair Nuala Maracas, who also serves as director of the SL Christmas Expo.  She states, “I am excited to introduce the SL Renaissance Festival to all residents of Second Life. The organizing committee is going above and beyond to make this a fun filled special event.” Nuala leads a team of volunteers from many different guilds who, as she says “have enthusiastically lowered their swords against one another and raised them in a united front against our common enemy - Breast Cancer."
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The SL Renaissance Festival has something for everyone,From the opening Parade of Knights Ceremony though to the closing Royal Gala - Roleplay Classes, Learn To Joust, Best In Helm and Festival Princess contests and lots more, even pony rides for kids.  So polish your armor, saddle your steed and join us, September 25 through October 4th and prepare to stand together with Lords and Ladies and Knights and Squires from the 4 corners of the SL grid.

For sponsorships and merchant registration and information please visit slrenaissancefestival.com.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is the largest network of breast cancer events in the nation. Strides unites communities in the fight against this deadly disease and helps to raise money to help the American Cancer Society fund groundbreaking breast cancer research and provide patient services like free rides to chemo, free places to stay near treatment, and a live 24/7 cancer helpline.

If you or a loved one has questions or needs help with a breast cancer diagnosis call the American Cancer Society 800 227-2345 visit cancer.org or the American Cancer Society region in Second Life.

CONTACT: Nuala Maracas, Festival Director
        nuala@slrenaissancefestival.com

New Sponsor: The Deathlands

The Newser has a new sponsor today: The Deathlands. The place is a roleplay area described as "an isolated post-apocalyptic island community where a handful of hardy survivors desperately cling to what passes for life after the nuclear winter." The place is run by Rebel Wolf (HermitBlue).

All species of visitors are welcomed, though please mind the rules, notably no flying, no laggy gestures and light shows, and above all no child avatars.

For more information, check out the article in Places (August 2019).

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Paradise%20Kingdom/88/35/22

The Deathlands

What would life be like after a cataclysm destroyed life as we know it? What if the life you once knew, or your parents knew, was a distant memory of times of plenty as you yourself just scrape by with few pleasures. That in a nutshell describes the environment of "The Deadlands," a roleplay sim of life after the apocalypse. I recently had a tour of the place from the owner. But not everything was bleak. While there, a party was thrown.

Read the story in Places.

SL Video: "Mac on Trial"

(Click here if the video does not play)

From "TheOtherSideBand InSecondLife in April 20, a video about the justice system in the Tombstone roleplay community, "The arrest and trial of Mac McLeary."

ROMA May Festival Schedule

Saturday, 27th May

10am - Bona Dea Ritual and Maypole Dance
Our festivals begin with a ritual for Bona Dea, "The Good Goddess" - Also known as Fauna, She is the daughter of Faunus, and a goddess of virginity, fertility, and healing. Bona Dea's rites included only women - even paintings or drawings of men or male animals were forbidden - but in our ROMA, the menfolk are welcome to her rites. After the rite, we will have the traditional maypole dance, music, and wine!
Insula, ROMA Insula (221, 100, 21)


12pm - Faunalia Fishing Contest
As Flora is a goddess of green, growing things, so Fauna is a goddess of all who sport fur, feathers, or... scales! Come try your luck in the Faunalia Fishing Contest - catch and collect beautiful pets and have a chance at winning prizes - using the 7Seas Fishing system,  1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners receive cash prizes.
Transtiberim, ROMA Transtiberim (128, 9, 22)


1pm -  Mercuralia Ritual and Treasure Hunt
Mercury isn't just the herald of the Gods - He's also the patron of merchants and commerce! So this Mercuralia, we will be honouring him with a ritual on the roof of Trajan's Market! After the ritual, there will be Mercury's Treasure Hunt - Mercury has dropped his parcels and most of his money while flying home to Olympus! The pouches are now scattered throughout ROMA!  Can you help him find them? But watch out - each pouch will give out only one prize, and then it will disappear. So you will have to be swift to find these elusive pouches before anyone else does!
The Original Ancie, ROMA (184, 41, 26)


*****************************************************

Sunday, 28st May

10am - Fauna's Costume Contest
The Goddess Fauna has been drinking again and has mischievously transformed some of our Citizens into animals! Are you one of them? If so, come to our costume contest and show off your new wild side! This contest theme allows quad, anthro, human/animal hybrids, and human avatars with animated animal props as part of the costume ensemble. Winners will be chosen by popular vote, and prizes will be given for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
ROMA Gardens, ROMA (179, 218, 53)


12pm - The Mercury and Fauna Grand Feast
Our Festival winds down with the Mercury and Fauna Grand Feast - come celebrate the return of Spring with us! Dancing, good conversation, live music by Franklee Anatra and a delicious feast.
Transtiberim, ROMA Transtiberim (199, 194, 29)


1pm - Legio Harpastum
Harpastum, also known as Harpustum, was a form of ball game played in the Roman Empire. We know little about the exact rules of the game, but it appears to bear a remarkable resemblance to American Football and Rugby. In our harpastum game, everyone is welcome to play, and the winning team members will receive a cash prize.
Legio XIII Fort, ROMA Transtiberim (25, 217, 41)

The Wild West Roleplay: Part Three - The Outlaws

By Bixyl Shuftan

Since January, the Newser has been looking at the Wild West Roleplay. The region is a twenty-three sim area of varying terrains from desert to forest to mountain, but all are in the theme of the American Old West  Our first article was about getting started and making some cash. The second was about the Native American/Indian tribes. But while dealing with the Indians could be a little complex for the cowboys and settlers, there was no doubt about where they stood with another classic character of a Western story: the outlaw. Called by other names such as bandit and badman, he was out to rob you plain and simple.

In the Wild West Roleplay, there are some outlaw players. Some are in gangs. Others are usually alone, though may temporarily team up. One I ran into at a saloon was Spin (Spin Stooge). He had first heard about the Wild West Roleplay "'bout three 'n a half years ago. (I) started out in Tombstone (another western roleplay area), I was a lawman of some sorts as an Arizona ranger, then some outlaws from there asked me to come here and be a outlaw with them. So I did and been here ever since." Asking him about his character, he told me, "Well, I decided to be a preacher outlaw, using being a preacher as a front, my character is a conman and wears mask and robs banks. Being a traveling preacher, I can rob banks in every territory." The preacher act was purely just that, an act, "to earn peoples trust before I rob them, or their town I should say."

Spin knew another outlaw whom went about openly while planning robberies in secret, "We have another outlaw. Believe it or not he is a dress maker, and that's his front. He also starts a lot of conspiracy, he will use false documents and post it on mines and such claiming the mine belongs to him. He and I pull off a lot of bank jobs together. When there's a job that takes more then one person to do we team up (A) little of that. (A) little of conning people like selling them property to homestead that someone else already owns. I even tried selling a burning house once that belonged to the district attorney here in Bear River. ... we do 'bout anything to make coins. Then you have just the average scum of outlaws and gangs that ride in as a group and rob banks then return to their hideouts."

When I asked him about any close calls, Spin answered, "Oh I always get found out one way or another there is a witness, that's what makes the RP fun, and adds to it so others can roleplay, because then courts involved and judges, attorneys, and juries. (I) think when I first started here, I was fairy new to RP, and I shot a Federal judge. He wanted to kill his character off, so he decided to die. Then I had a posse of a marshal and five deputies come after me.We had a good shoot out. I got a couple of them, but at the end they shot me down, then healed me up in jail and was going to hang me. Then my old gang back then came and busted me out of jail before they could hang me. (I) think that was one the funnest." I asked what was the funny part. Spin answered, "Oh, I guess the fact they let the marshal and new judge almost hang me before they reacted to free me. They made me sweat it out a bit. (It) was one them last minute rescues. Was funny to them, but not funny at my end."

On another occasion, "I even had talked an Indian maiden into sneaking me a gun threw the jail house bars. She was sweet on me, and I asked her to get me a gun and she did." Other than these, he had never been caught, though there had been close calls, "Marshals and deputies and sheriffs had tried. But except for that one time they have never brought me in unless I let them so they could RP court for a minor charge. Like the time I was cleaning my gun and it discharged, and shot a fancy lady that just got off the stage for a lay over. But they decided it was a accident in court and charges was dismissed. Lady wasn't happy bout it , but so be it."

I asked if his character ever tried to justify his robberies, or just flat out admitted he was a bandit, Spin answered, "Oh when I steal from banks it's justified. I tell folks im just collecting donations from the bank to build a church. That basically that the Wells Fargo money bags on my saddle wasn't stoled they was donated. Just a little fib you know."

Spin concluded, "(I) just hope lot folks read your paper and can see the fun and humor in RPing on a Western sim. It's not always serious. We have lot fun, and hope more people will want come and try it out , and fill up these sims so we can have a lot more roleplay."

Earlier on, Goneigh, the equine owner of Titingham took me to see the "Whiskey Riders," a bandit gang. The one we talked to was Škÿlér (skylercloud), a woman in the gang whom appeared to us in a bunny mask, in front of the gang's hangout. "We mess around RP-ing capturing people and setting things on fire," she told us, saying the group had been around for five years, "I've been off and on here around five years too, and my friends are what keep me around. I love 'em, they family." When asked if while roleplaying she made friends and associates, she agreed, "and enemies (laughter). Rival gangs. We capture and steal from 'em." Leilyna Delvor (Leilyna Resident), whom overheard us from the building, added, "We also rob banks." "Looooots of money." Skyler told us.

I asked Skyler about her mask. She answered, "It's my gang mask, so (the) law can't tell who I am. But I also go by 'Bunny.'" Goneigh remarked he heard a story, "I think she had the name of her last boyfriend tattooed across her forehead. But after she killed him for cheating, she wears a mask to cover his name and her shame." Skyler burst out laughing, complementing the equine on his imagination, then saying "Well I'm adorable and so are bunnies."

As we were talking, the other two bandits inside the building, Harley Buu (HastaLaVista555 Resident) and Twist (sweetsiner99 Resident), had been talking. Suddenly Harley got down on one knee in front of the lady, "Twist, you are the most amazng woman I've ever met., and I want you badly. So....will you make me the happiest man alive and be my wife?" The woman was surprised, stammering a little in her answer, "Ummm, will you be faithful to me, catch me dinner, take care for my girls?" Harley answered, "Of course. You're all the woman I need." She then answered "Yes." Harley went, "Oh my God, I'm so happy." So there was more to being an outlaw than stealing cash, but also sometimes stealing hearts.

That's it for now about the Wild West Roleplay. Until next time, happy trails.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Colorado/190/105/944

Third picture credit: Shyshammie

Bixyl Shuftan

The Wild West Roleplay: Part Two - Meet The Natives

By Bixyl Shuftan

In January, the Newser wrote about the Wild West Roleplay, a twenty-three sim area of connected roleplay sims with Old West themes that ranged from desert to mountain to forested to town. There are a variety of roles one could play, from cowboy, to soldier, to outlaw, to American Indian. The first article dealt with getting started, getting the HUD and a few freebies at the starting point in Colorado, and how one can make a little RP cash by mining and smelting bars, and make a few basic items. But a roleplay is more than just making money and things, and there's more to the place than being a miner or a smith.

It was probably appropriate that the first people of the roleplay I came across after Goneigh, the owner of Titingham or "Indian Wilds," were representing the Old West's original inhabitants: American Indians. The first two people he introduced me to were Grey Wolf (Fairy Randt), and Ipa-Cik-Ala (Spiritkiss Snook) two shamen of the Ogllala Lakota village. They had moved to the sim this month, previously making their home area in the Oregon sim, having created their tribe two and a half years ago.

So what's life like in an Indian village. Usually it's peaceful enough, Ipa-Cik-Ala saying, "As shaman, I do my prayer morning and night. My husband like to go scouting, and I cook." But it turned out earlier things were not typical, "Today we had some action, a stupid pawnee like to make trouble and say bad things. My husband Tashunke Witka and war chief Lone Wolf captured him. We interrogated him and then he got away (TPed out). But I learned a lot. ... I had a feeling who he was." So what would they do next? Ipa-Cik-Ala answered, "The natives have a council every week. They are usually good to go to."

Ipa-Cik-Ala described typical council business as, "matter of events being planed, training, wedding, who is fighting who." I asked how many weddings happen around the place. She answered, "There was one last week in Sonora." Grey Wolf told, "I have done approximately seven weddings." Ipa-Cik-Ala commented, "(We) Oglala, we take our time. There is a ritual you have to go through." ?
"Same with tsa la gi (Cherokee)," Grey Wolf added. Asking what the ritual involved, I was told, by Ipa-Cik-Ala "The weddings are all alike, except the fast way where the chief blesses the wedding by there tepi. I was married in Cherokee, very magical. ... I like helping in the Cherokee way."

I asked about the trading of goods between the tribes. Ipa-Cik-Ala told me, "A Oglala warrior named truc. He travels to all the lands an' trades. He is the best at it. There are also G & S items here." When the question of how many tribes there were in the Wild West Roleplay came up, she answered "Five or six, I think." It turned out some of the tribes down south were what Goneigh called "German-speak" tribes, "It is a bit of a fad in Germany." Ipa-Cik-Ala added, "Yes, I began here with the Germans."

Talk turned to other things about the roleplay. Goneigh commented, "As an animal, I stand on a pasture to eat, and stand on a lake to drink,  and try not to get injured from wild predators." Among the hazards here were what Goneigh called "static predators, bison, boars, gators and rattle snakes..  and active RP predators , wolves, mountain lions, bobcats and jaguars. All things that were around in the wild west days. The HUD allows for health and damage control and the weapons used will register hits on your health. Animals can combat using their teeth and claws, and hooves." Ipa-Cik-Ala remarked, "The wolves respect Goneigh."

Goneigh went on, "The humans will need to mine minerals and gather wood and ingredients to make necessary things. Some things that they make take considerable time to build." "Traps are the hard job," Ipa-Cik-Ala added, "I make them for my husband. He traps an' gives me the meat."

Goneigh reminded, "This is not a shoot-em-up place. (The) roleplay must be consistent with genre. And random attacks are not allowed without some kind of RP first. Once a fight has started properly, it is actually a running shoot-em up. Not uncommon to see several soldiers and several Indians in a mass fight. ... If you register too much damage you fall unconscious for a preset time limit." Ipa-Cik-Ala added, "And you can be captured."Yeah. if you are unconscious, people, friends or foes, can drag you off. If you fall to a wolf pack, they can drag you to their den." "As a healer, I can sneak in an' drag off people to heal them."

Ipa-Cik-Ala went on to say some of the roleplayers were child avies, "There are about six active kids in camp, but some more than others." So how is camp life for the kids, Ipa-Cik-Ala smiled, "They love the family part. We are like a big family and watch out for each other." Grey Wolf spoke up, "It is time for learning and growing." Ipa-Cik-Ala told me, "Grey Wolf has story time here." Grey Wolf went on, "Each tribe raised dinyotli (children) in different ways based on culture. Usually the grandparents did a lot of (the) teaching, parents busy working do their jobs." "All the women were like Mother an' cooked for anyone hungry." "Dinyotli (children) would help depending on their ages." Goneigh added, "Some of the tribes even have story hour each week." "Stories an the elder tell lessons," Ipa-Cik-Ala told. "My daugther Feather, she had school and told native ways. She is on break, but when she comes back we will do school too. ... Many of the months have ceremonies. A good time to dance an' give thanks."

We soon parted ways, and later on Goneigh would take me to a couple American Indian roleplayers of the Cheyenne tribe, also in Indiana Wilds. They were Taigi (moonstonelust) and Uhaya, the chief. Uhaya was the one who would show me the mine area described in the first article. Besides mining, another way to make cash, Taigi explained, "you can shoot rabbits and sell the skins." One would need a knife of course, either making one, as explained in the first article, or purchasing one from an NPC merchant. Uhaya saying, "If you shoot a rabbit, you need a knife to get the flesh for meat. So you make a blade in the forge, then make a knife from it at the workbench. You need wood for the knife too. You gather wood, like outside of this trading post, then make a log out of it, then use the log plus the blade to make a knife. Because a knife has a handle of course, thus the wood. You can also make axes and traps for animals, and so on. You can get a boar with a trap, and get the meat from it. You can use the axe for melee fighting. So all the different things you gather and make sort of cross-reference each other in ways like that."

So where can one find wood?  Uhaya showed me a few places where wood pieces spawned just outside the trading post and a tree not far from it, "wait a few minutes and new wood will appear, which you can also pick up. So you can gather wood until you have 20 (pieces), then go make logs out of that, then come back and get more wood, and eventually you'll have both wood a logs full in your hud. ...  I like to keep my log and wood stores full. You need logs to make sawdust, which is also a component in dynamite, and other things. Some things take more time and effort than others. Other things are more simple."

There were other things near the trading post one could pic off the ground too, an apple, a tomato, some herbs, and, cannabis? Uhaya explained, "Yes, cannabis is used for some medicines and I think rope too." Further away was an apple tree, which more apples spawned at the bottom. There was also a spot in the water, where one could click a few times and eventually the HUD would show you as full.

Eventually, I would part ways with Chief Uhaya and Taigi, and rode off into the virtual sunset. So that's all for now from the Wild West Roleplay. Until next time, happy trails.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Colorado/190/105/944 

Bixyl Shuftan

The Wild West Roleplay: Part One - Getting Started

By Bixyl Shuftan

There's just something about the Old West that has a deep appeal to people, and not just to Americans. Here, a man could make a new start for himself, whether someone from a large family wanting his own farm, an immigrant wanting more than a factory job but his own home, former slaves and freedmen looking for new opportunities not available in their old home, prospectors looking to strike it rich, businessmen looking to make a buck, adventurers looking to make a name for themselves, lawmen trying to bring order and justice to the frontier, and more. But where there are people, there are always opportunists whom would rather rob or con others than work at making their money honestly, and so there were the outlaws or badmen. And the land wasn't empty. The place was the home of American Indian tribes, either whom had been here since the dawn of history or perhaps having moved here after being forced from the east. How to adapt to the changing times, and yet still preserve their traditions and culture?

Becky Shamen had originally wrote in 2016 about the twenty-three sim Wild-West themed roleplay area she simply called "The Wild West Roleplay Lands." I was recently approached by Goneigh, or "Gone" as his friends call him, who usually goes about in a feral horse avatar. He owns one of the sims of the place, Tittingham, or "Indiana Wilds." He told me he was just one of a number of sim owners there, some owning one, some two or three, whom had banded their locations together so their roleplayers had a huge place to roam around in, from the flat prairies of Oklahoma to the dry desert of western Texas and northern Mexico, to the Rockies. "One sim is nothing," Goneigh told me, "but 23 sims offers much adventure. We have green places, snowy places, and red-dirt places." The entire area combined had no official name, though "Wild West Roleplay" would do for now.

While you can find the RP HUD in most sims, it is recommended that new players start at the store area above the Colorado sim at (190/105/944). follow the gold arrows to a cavern. There you will find a few recommended items for purchase, and a few freebie outfits and weapons. Click the stagecoach, select "to join" and then teleport and go down a tunnel, which leads to a board where you can get the RP HUD, an observer tag, and a copy of the rules. Goneigh felt two rules deserved special notation. One was that this was a plot driven roleplay and not just a "shoot-em-up." Anyone whom just went around shooting people would be treated as a threat by everyone. Goneigh did say there were a few examples of attacks by such people that were later talked about "in character" as attacks by unknown lone badmen. Another rule was one that fans of nonhuman avatars would likely dislike. Like a number of other historical RPs, there's a rule about having to look like someone from the time and place, both in appearance and dress. So one is limited to human avatars, wearing styles of clothing that could be seen in the Old West, or feral animal avatars of domestic and North American animals, such as horses. So while furry avatars aren't within the rules, neither are obviously out of the time period styles of clothing such as punk rock outfits and hairstyles.

The HUD is in a box that has to be set down and opened, but fortunately you can do that in the entry area. It has a number of symbols on the top row, a red bar and a green bar in the middle, and more symbols on the bottom row. The red bar is the health meter, and starts out low when first activated, but soon builds up. When hit by bullets, weapons, or animal attacks, it goes down. When it reaches zero as the result of a fight, the player is considered "defeated," and must wait to recover, or be healed. The top buttons are for, food (such as apples and tomatoes), fluids (such as water), plants (such as herbs), tools, objects, components, and medicine. Two smaller bars under those are for hunger and thirst (okay at the start). On the bottom row, the first button brings up the players coins. The second button takes the player in and out of OOC mode. The third button is for putting the player in a melee position. The fifth button can also put the player in melee mode and toggles male/female sounds. The sixth button brings up webpages explaining some things about the game: meter usage, inventory usage, inventory description, and RP Object description. On the very bottom is a button showing how many coins the player has on hand. Over the player will be displayed the player's health and condition, red when low, orange when medium, and green when good.

In the part of the beginner's area where you get the HUD, you will find a list of some of the administrators. If you have some questions, feel free to answer some questions.

So how can one make money in the RP? At Tittingham, there is a mine in the north, center part of the sim. One can reach it, by going along the river next to the mountain, waliing into what at first looks like just a dent in the mountain wall, but turns out to be a hidden cave. There are spots where one can mine coal, iron, tin, copper, silver, and gold. To mine, get the pickaxe in the hand of one skeleton on the ground and wear it. Then sit on the spot you want to mine. Coal doesn't take long to mine, just 15 seconds to break off a chunk. But each metal takes longer, iron 30 seconds, tin 45, copper 60, silver 90, and gold 120. When ore is mined, it's recorded in your HUD.

There is a furnace nearby where you can smelt ores into bars, and forge the bars into items, such as blades and axeheads, and can also be used to make "blanks," which are used to help make certain other items. Items you make in the furnace are also counted in your HUD. There's also a couple tomatoes that spawn here, as well as some plants and a couple peices of wood.

Along the road in the western part of Tittingham, there are a couple shops. The one slightly further away from the road has some NPC merchants and workstations. NPC characters here will buy and sell certain items at a 50/100 percent cash value. For instance, the blacksmith will buy bronze bars you make from the cave furnace for 23 coins. But it takes 46 to buy one off of him. The merchant will buy your gold bars here for 43 coins. So you could make a little cash here as a miner. But you can also use the bars at the mine to forge items like blades and axeheads at a furnace, and use the workstation to make those items into knives and axes. You'll need wood, which besides in the mine spawns in a spot just outside the store. Five wood pieces can be combined into a log, of which you'll need one apiece to make items like knives, axes, and shovels, along with a "blank" which needs one bronze bar and a coal to make 10. Both items will raise your melee strength in a fight.

Should you meet anyone, remember that you're expected to act and behave like someone in the Old West. Any Out of Character chat is recommended to be in parentheses, or otherwise obvious that it is. These people may include cowboys, lawmen, American Indians, or possibly bandits. The latter may leave new players alone out of courtesy, though there's always the chance encountering them may lead to the player being demanded "Stand and deliver."

So there are a few details about getting started. Later on, we'll discuss more about some of the groups of people, and more. For now

"Gotta head out for now, pardners. Happy trails."

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Colorado/190/105/944

Bixyl Shuftan

New Sponsor: Indiana Wilds Wild West Roleplay

The Second Life Newser has a new sponsor, the Indiana Wilds Wild West Roleplay. The region consists of 23 sims representing various places of the late 1860s western US. One can play as a cowboy, lawman, trader, badman, American Indian, or one of the animals that makes the place their home, such as horses. We'll have an article about the place soon. If you can't wait to get there, head on over to Colorado (190/105/944) to learn more about the roleplay (and pick up a few freebie clothes, weapons, and combat and RP HUD).

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Colorado/190/105/944

Coming Soon: Pokemon Sim in Second Life

With the "Pokemon Go" game all the rage, one might ask if there's a place in Second Life where one can play something similar. In the sim of Ravenlock there's a Pokemon game which has been going on for quite some time. The sim and game are run by a team headed by Mindy Runo. Mindy had to work this weekend, so the article will have to wait. For now if you want to try out the game, bead to Ravenlock (128, 127, 144).

Bixyl Shuftan

The Rinaede

Our newest writer, Marijke Biziou, makes her debut article with a look at a unique club: the Rinaede. The venue has a mainly furry crowd, but the owner stresses the club is open to all. Designed with a videogame look, the club has a nearby shopping area, and is near a future RP area.

Read Marijke's article in SL Clubbin'..

SL Video: "The Drax Files - World Makers [Episode 33: Luxembourg 1867] "

(Click here if the video fails to play)

From Draxtor Despress on October 30, 2015, "'Of course every museum should have something like this' says Pit Vinandy, referring to the virtual reality component at Fort Thüngen Museum and the City Museum of Luxembourg.

"There, his team has implemented an immersive way to connect to local history, a method to time travel and experience culture and society as it was hundreds of years ago.

"With the help of two Oculus Rift VR headsets and 10 computers, visitors can role-play 1867, a crucial year not only for tiny Luxembourg: sandwiched between rivals Germany and France, the little country became known due to the "Luxembourg crises", itself a turning point for the whole of Europe at the time and the burning question at the time resonates today: will people of this multi-cultural continent grow closer together and overcome their differences or will the leaders of countries perpetually in conflict continue to let armed response rein supreme?

"Pit Vinandy and team have created a digital simulation of the Fort Thüngen and the Pfaffenthal region of Luxembourg City inside the virtual world of Second Life.

"Accessible from all over the world, at all hours of the day, it quickly became home to a passionate international role-playing community, making the digital structures come alive and truly vibrant.

"Will it replace traditional teaching of history? It certainly won't says Pit. The goal, he explains, is to enable learning history in a playful way, connecting to the inner child that with wide eyed curiosity and free of intellectual restraint simply revels in the joy of exploring the world, no matter if physically real or simply emotionally resonating."

Press Release: Darkwood Castle Turns Five

Editor's Note: Darkwood Castle is an adult-themed roleplay area, with graphic details such as torture and violent death. so prepare yourself for blood if you head here.

DC5B - Darkwood Castle is 5 Years Old

It all started with a small dungeon, which was initially set up as a skybox. Over the past five years, Darkwood Castle has expanded to cover a whole sim,  offering a home to enthusiasts of a special type of role play.

Using the maxim: "5 years of Darkwood Castle - 5 Days Party" we would love to celebrate with the whole SL community! We have rented an additional area on which the event will take place from 21st - 25th October inclusive. This will allow us to showcase some of the historical developments which have led to the Darkwood of today.

There is a varied program, including the following:

▷ Dream, be amazed and chill out at the Darkwood Stage when famous live musicians (including Cyberpiper, Clyde Barrow, Aminius Writer and others) will entertain you;

▷ Dance on the Bunker Stage to an eclectic mix of some of SLs best and most original DJs;

▷ Listen, question and be informed during gripping talks and lectures in the Auditorium;

▷ Watch and experience first hand the two-hour RP-show "The Darkwood Games":

▷ Discover new things in the exhibition, presenting the latest developments by developers of Adult-RP accessories;

▷ Reminisce on the History Walk, experiencing some essential stages in the development of Darkwood Castle;

▷ Enjoy art with in a exhibition of paintings;

▷ Enjoy the DC5B gifts.

Take a peek for yourself, the entire program for the five days is attached!

So!, October 21st - 25th, don't forget! We look forward to greeting you! Bring your friends!
There's more information in the Welcome Area of the DC5B Festival region, or just ask one of the DC5B staff, wearing their red T-shirts.

See you there!

Devils Cave (105, 131 23)

Announcement: Mail-Clockworks Sought for UCPS Steampunk Roleplay

Are you ready to do what it takes to give people faith in the mail?

Are you of a most steady and sure make and model?

Are you good with a side-arm (if you have them) or front arms (if you have no side-arms)?  Do you have arms?  If not, care’ying the mail may be hard.  You may want an other line of work.

If you are a fan of steampunk, role-play, and civil service, the UCPS now seeks workers to staff its post office branches in New Babbage and Mar’kesh.  Please send a note to the Post-Mistress of the UCPS showing you have an int’rest in playing a clockwork mail servant – or that you have questions about doing so.

You are welcome to discuss this further with Nika.  Working with her, you will create a clockwork mail-servant, complete with backstory, purpose – and your own clockwork key.  You will work with Nika to spearhead new and wondrous ways to serve the Steamlands of Second Life – and to improve roleplay for one and all.

To learn more about Nika and the UCPS, please visit http://werksfromtheironroad.com – or just drop her a note.  Thank you for your time – but it’s time to run.  After all, the mail never sleeps, and neither do we.

To inspect the three offices that are now being built are attached below -

The UCPS Head Office:
Ravenwood Forest (70, 246, 25)

The UCPS Branch Office - Mar'kesh:
Mondrago (191, 167, 24)

The UCPS Branch Office, New Babbage:􀀁
Academy of Industry (193, 145, 111)

Work on both branch office structures is slated to be complete on October 18, 2015.

Happy "Talk Like a Pirate Day"

Arrrr! Shiver me timbers! Tis be "Talk Like A Pirate Day." An' time ta takes a look at a few pirate-themed places in Second Life. First, if ye wish ta catch up on yer pirate speak, be checkin' our old article on th' lingo.

In the past, we wrote about a detailed pirate themed area "Morgan Straits." It's no longer around, but there are other places one can engage in a little swashbuckling. One place you'll be wanting to check out is the Blake Sea. This is a HUGE area of water and islands east of the Second Life mainland. To join up with the Blake Sea Battles Group, head to Blake Diego (215, 45, 36)


There, one can get information about the group, in addition to a couple freebie craft, and one demo of a small armed ship. You can also find schedules of events, such as the sea battles.

Typing "Pirates" in Second Life search will get you a number of adult-themed roleplay areas. Near the top of the list were a couple that weren't, Trade Winds (51, 139, 22), and Pirates Destiny at Nassau Stronghold (126, 119, 25). But these places may not be friendly to nonhuman avatars, except merfolk. They have some freebie items, such as clothes, swimmer HUDs, and a merchant at Trade Winds had a freebie vessel, but while they may not mind a furry tourist walking around, being welcome in a combat RP may be another matter. This is too bad, as going about Trade Winds, there was some good scenery. But looking at Blake Sea Battles Group, the charter doesn't say anything about problems with anyone having a tail.

Besides these places, no doubt there will be a lot of venues holding pirate themed events, such as Club Cutlass near the SL Newser office. But to enjoy pirate-themed fun all year round, the best place in terms of volume of water and welcoming of one's looks is the Blake Sea.

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day Mateys.

Bixyl Shuftan

Roleplay Etiquette

Besides her love of the shopping scene, Syndra is also an avid roleplayer. With roleplaying, there are a few "do"s and "don't"s on how to go about one's way. Recently Syndara came across one example of play that she felt wasn't just a newbie mistake but poor behavior.

Read more in People.