Case Study of Gorean Culture in Second Life and RFC

As Second Life continues to grow its population, it affords increasing opportunities for sub-cultures that find obstacles to realization in First Life. Some of those subcultures include communities with Elven themes, "furry" themes and Gorean themes. This is an introductory note on the study of Gorean culture in Second Life, and a request for comment and expansion (or correction) by those more familiar with it.

Gorean culture is controversial in part because it includes legally institutionalized subordination of females and human slavery, both (currently) anathema in Western culture. Both were legally recognized even in the United States as recently as 150 years ago. Despite controversy, a significant number of females and males participate in SL's Gorean culture. Several of the Gorean "player towns" have traffic figures competitive with the most popular camp chair and money ball venues.

In Second Life, participation in such virtual cultures is voluntary, and no resident can be held in a state of subjugation or "slavery" except by his or her own consent. In this regard, there is an intriguing opportunity to study what motivates women (or men who choose to portray themselves as women) to enter a virtual status of subjugation from which they can remove themselves at a keystroke.

The Gorean culture has long been simulated in text-based multi-player worlds. In other virtual worlds, game managers have understandably not focused on the game tools that would facilitate human slavery or the "not appopriate for minors" clothing and behavior customs of Gorean culture. Second Life, with its encouragement of resident-created content and activity and resident-owned virtual land, makes possible a simulation of Gorean culture.

Some background

Gorean culture derives from a series of novels written by John Norman, depicting the adventures of a man from Earth who is transported to a "counter-Earth" called Gor that is undetectable to Earth science. On Gor, a warrior culture exists with strange and dangerous wild beasts partially turned to human purposes by residents of Gor. Warring city-states operate independently, yet merchants travel between the various cities with various trade goods.

Among the trade good are slaves, almost exclusively females, which the novels invariably describe as young, attractive, scantily clad, eager to serve men and hungry for sex. Although they are bought and sold like cattle, their owners seem to quickly fall in love with them and value them; until for whatever reason they sell them and buy another.

The novels introduce other classes of females that were the majority of females in the culture, despite the books' focus on the "slave girls". "Free Women" may own slaves and other property and occupy governmental and administrative positions. Their status as "Free" is anomalous, because their "freedom" can be sacrificed by a number of behaviors that in modern western culture would be regarded as part of the natural rights of women. They must remain modestly clothed and observe cultural norms that would be familiar to middle eastern traditional cultures. Behavior regarded as sufficiently beyond the cultural limits may result in a "Free Woman" being involuntarily enslaved and sold as chattel in the public market.

Reflections

In many respects, "slave girls" have more freedom in Gorean culture than do "Free Women," a subject of several short but unpublished essays I've read in my ongoing exploration of Gorean culture. While their misbehavior may earn them punishment, short of a capital offense, they are already at the "bottom" of the social ladder. They are often able to move and behave more freely than "Free Women."

Some have observed that the only truly free women in Gorean culture are the outlaw and "wild" women, the Taluna and the Panther girls. These are females who dress in animal skins, are heavily armed hunter/warriors who live in forest camps and may conduct raids to capture males or females and either keep them as slaves for their own purposes or sell or ransom them back to their own kind. There do not seem to be any Panther boys in the Gorean fantasy, except the Panthers' male slaves.

One interesting aspect of Gorean culture in Second Life is the high ratio of females to males among its participants. I have yet to do an objective measure, but casual observation suggests that the Gorean realms in Second Life have a roughly equal number presenting as females, and many of those presenting as "slave girls." This phenomenon in itself could be the subject of study in the area of sociology, psychology or gender studies. What motivates a female to enter, even temporarily, a status of "slave girl," "Free Woman," Taluna or Panther girl?

As a study in comparative law and community dynamics, Gorean city-states offer interesting opportunities. Not only is there a divergence in interpretation of the original novels, but also a natural competition between city-states to adapt the novel's virtual world view to the Second Life experience. I will try to add responses to this "seed" message with reflections on various Gorean cities as I come to know them better, and ask that other Observers do likewise.

Gorean Venues in SL

At my last count, over a dozen separately owned and managed Gorean venues existed. Some are multi-sim complexes like Glorious Ar and its surrounds; some are single sim properties such as the Isle of Tyros. Still others are parcels within sims that present as "outposts" of Gor. Visitors frequently travel between Gorean sims, which differ in their architecture, governance and social opportunities. Most have active markets dealing in arms, furniture, clothing and implements appropriate to the Gorean experience. Several have stadiums set up for combat competitions using "scripted" weapons that simulate combat impacts and damage. I have yet to find one with camping chairs, dance halls, casinos or promotional give-aways, yet several show traffic data in the top percentile of SL venues.

Most Gorean cities in Second Life have a separate Scribery building, which can be visited freely by Free Men and Free Women and slaves alike. Several have extensive collections of written works about Gorean culture, local laws, even records of trials and virtual executions for offenses. These are proving a useful resource about the theory of Gorean culture in Second Life. Objective reports of actual experiences within the worlds would be valuable to better understand why and how this "politically incorrect" culture has come to be one of the most popular in Second Life among both men and women.

Follow Up

I will be following up with replies containing observations about the various player towns and outposts that follow Gorean culture in SL, including their ownership structure and relative traffic data. Observers and friends of the Law Society are asked to add their own objective observations and considered thoughts on the Gorean culture in Second Life.

I've been meaning to read one of the books, and tour the Gor sims once I know what sort of behavior is and is not appropriate. Might be fun to convert my alt back into a girl, and dress him/her in cute panther skins...although 'Akira Musashi, the lithe Gorean huntress' somehow doesn't sound entirely credible. Think I'll head over to Glorious Ar, since I've been there a couple of times to help a friend of a friend with some building....

...Okay, I found Glorious Ar very well organized with free clothing, links to the website, a notecard giver for the rules and a 'guest of AR' title box for visitors. The terrain segues into adjacent sims, and building styles vary, but do not clash. No panther huntresses in view, but the girls had cute outfits. And there were two very impressive giant fighting spiders. Huge! At first I thought I was seeing Priest Kings as mentioned here The Priest Kings show up in this excerpt:



Turned out the giant spiders were unwelcome invaders; the rules for visitors specify human form only. The well armed males of the Gorean sim got rid of the interlopers, but I noticed one on an adjacent sim. This illustrates a point that came up during a recent Linden-organized discussion group on group tools, zoning and covenants here.


Apparently confrontations are frequent, and ARs are filed, including ARs by the unwelcome visitor reporting the Goreans. These sims are run as self-contained jurisdictions, and would benefit from having abuse reports originating on their sims funnelled to their own administrations. This interesting point came up during the same Linden sponsored discussion. Here's another excerpt, heavily edited to elide parallel threads of discourse:



If implemented, this new policy would substantially increase the ability of estate owners to enforce their rules/covenants. Enforcement is the missing piece of the governance puzzle, and LL seems to realize that.

A "Find" search on "Places" was run using "Gorean" as a search term during the 1/30/06 window. The following resulted (venues that when visited proved to be shopping malls but not Gorean role playing sites are excluded):

Port Cos......................... 35,958
City of Lydius...................12,462
Ko-ro-ba..........................10,040
Turia................................ 9,602
Glorius Ar..........................8,140
Torvaldsland......................5,649
Eden's Gate.......................5,827
Oblivion Outpost.................4,628
Anango Gorean Jungle........4,132
House of Neruda................3,431
City of Treve.....................2,865
Shivar Nadru.....................2,716
Isle of Tyros - Kasra..........2,538
Port Kar............................2,418
Feral Tarn Outpost.............2,290
Taluna Country (Anango)...1,973
Estate of Master B. Dulce...1,082
House of Guarded Serv........675
City of Tabor.......................668

Other private islands with Gorean names or which are adjacent properties of cities were identified by examination of the large map. Traffic figures were obtained by direct observation:

Western Ar............................75
Southern Ar (4 sections)..~2,400
The Sardar Fair....................291

If I've missed an active role-playing Gorean venue, please let me know and I'll edit the list appropriately.

Tal! Torvaldsland, formerly known as The Wilderness, is also a Gorean land. Magnum Serpentine, First Ambassador of Ar, is a good resource for the up to the minute list of places. Be well

Visitors to Port Cos enter on board a sailing ship at the docks, where they are automatically provided a notecard introducing its customs, with a link to another card with its laws, and a guest titler usable to identify them as "Observers." Observation at the docks suggest that most, but not all, visitors use the Observer titler.

The 65,536 square meter sim was owned by "Port Cos Land" a group founded by Aradon Psaltery. When visited on 1/4/06, it was recently opened. Since then, it has been further developed and become (at this writing) the most frequently trafficked SL sim with Gorean role-playing culture.

Port Cos includes two adjacent sims. The northernmost sim is named Port Cos and includes the municipal structures and the market. The southernmost sim is the the Southern Woods of Port Cos and includes several multi-unit residential structures and an area of rough wooded terrain in which a wilderness camp is found.

Layout of the two sims

The harbor lies on the southeast portion of the north sim, the dock area includes a display of free Gorean clothing for Free Men, Free Women, slave males and slave females. Walls on the two land sides channel foot traffic past the clothing offer and onto footpaths through the town. Flight is disenabled. To facilitate travel to the residential units in the southern sim, a "Tarn Transit" facility enables visitors to climb a tower and get an aerial ride on the back of a tarn, a large, ridable war-bird of Gor, to the residences' tarn tower, and back.

West from the docks is the town center, with a heroic statue of a Gorean warrior astride a tarn. Around the statue and it surrounding open space lies the Physician's clinic and dispensary, the Scribery open to all, slave or Free (above which is the Free Women's lounge), and the tavern (where few respectable Free Women go unescorted).

Northeast from the docks, on the cities edge, lies the market, with stalls under fabric canopies, selling Gor-appropriate clothing, equipment and furniture. On the north edge is the Warrior's Hall, the center of government, where closed meetings are sometimes held on town business. On the northwest corner lies the stadium, south of which are the public baths and the kennels in which slaves are housed and trained to service.

South of the kennels, past another tarn tower, one crosses into the adjoining sim of The Southern Woods of Port Cos, wherein are found three apartment buildings and a free-standing house. Units in the apartments are rented, occupancy rate and typical rental rate to be determined. South of those buildings, beyond the Tarn Transit tower stop, are forested hills in the west, and in the southeastern corner, across a ravine and stream, screened by trees, lies a Panther girl camp of tents surrounding a blazing campfire, with a perimeter fence.

Cultural Situation

The leading Free Woman of Port Cos has reported that she consciously worked to make the city hospitable to Free Women, and as a result, such are plentiful in the city. A Visitor frequently sees Free Women, Free Men, slaves, panther girls and taluna from other Gorean cities visiting to shop, to consult the well-organized and voluminous Scribery library, or to flirt (or more) in the tavern.

Panther girls and taluna are allowed in Port Cos, with their weapons, so long as they do not disrupt city life, and are frequently seen on the streets talking of their affairs, generally ignoring those not of their sub-culture. This privilege seems to be generally observed, even though their camp is only a few hundred meters to the south of the city center.

Citizens and visitors are generally welcoming and tolerant of visitors who are respectful, inconspicuous and not disruptive. A constabulary force of warriors frequent the docks to deal with disrespectful visitors (mostly male) who arrive in various forms of attire or behavior that clashes dramatically with the subdued Gorean culture. If disregarded, warnings may be followed by capture by netting and banishment for sufficiently disruptive behavior.

Traffic among Top Twenty

As there are no camping chairs, casinos, dance floors or money balls in the Chronicles that form the "scripture" of Gorean culture, there are none in Port Cos. Perhaps due to its open, tolerant culture and role playing support, it shows high traffic statistics, recently growing from 8,609 right after New Years 2006 to a recent (1/28/06) traffic count of 30,198, placing it eighth most popular venue on the "Popular Places" leader board.

Conversation overheard in other SL Gorean cities (Lydius) suggest that the high traffic figures result in an influx of tourists who see the sim on the Top Twenty "Popular" sims accessed through the "Find" tool of the SL interface. They also suggest that Gorean culture role-players have experienced non-Gorean tourists asking to have their snapshots taken standing next to the exotically clad (and unclad) Gorean residents.

This may raise some interesting challenges for the governing factions of Port Cos, as they consider the best way to provide control over their lifestyle in the face of a tourist influx. As mentioned in another post, it may also offer the opportunity for jobs for immigration officers to process and control would-be visitors, perhaps even the vending of temporary visas to curious visitors.

Revenue figures from the market or from rental of the apartments is unknown. Citizen census is unknown. I hope to hear in reply posts about these facts from those more familiar with the internal governance of Port Cos.

Technical performance

This is a private island, on which sim technical performance was sufficient to allow this observer to consistently walk about the city without significant time dilation. Only 9787/15000 objects were utilized in Port Cos when visited 1/28/06, and less in Southern Woods, and much of the town is open space with scattered trees, making for good sight lines and fast technical operation with minimal time dilation or "gray-out" of textures.

Traffic notes (from an "About Land" query on site):
Port Cos:
1/04/06........ 8,609
1/23/06........ 25,940
1/28/06........ 30,198
Southern Woods:
1/4/06......... 4,369
1/28/06........ 6,197

Other comments requested

Others' observations about Port Cos are requested. This will be updated at a later date.

Others' comparable observations about other Gorean culture venues are requested in replies to the base message in this thread.

Fascinating reports, Frank. I look forward to reading more about the Goreans and other sub-cultures you investigate.

-Ghoti

Second City of Gorean Culture -- For Now

The City of Lydius is the second most trafficked Gorean culture venue in Second Life as of this writing, but not high enough on the list to make the 20 most popular list. Like Port Cos, this venue includes a city, a residential village and a resident panther tribe. In the case of Lydius, all are contained on one sim of 65,536 square meters owned by the City of Lydius group, founded by Teena Keegan.

Teleporters into the sim that includes the City of Lydius arrive on an 16th century ship at a dock. Upon arrival on the deck of the ship in port, a visitor is automatically presented with a notecard containing the Laws of Lydius and the Sa-Ho-Sorl tribe of panthers, 1/26/06 edition, including a Lydius Observer Titler object to be worn by non-role players.

When first visited on 1/23/06, traffic was 12,399. The sim was laid out with the port entry area in the southwest corner. Directly to the east of the port was a marketplace selling a variety of Gorean appropriate goods. South of the market was an open shed appearing to be an empty storage or customs official area. Inside was found a notecard dispenser and a sign indicating withdrawal of two residents from "the Lydius project." The notecard offered copies of a Gorean themed periodical, of which a current issue was taken. When later visited, the sign and notecard had been removed.

Layout

North of the port, along the north-south running central road, was found what appears to be a two-cell jail flanked by stocks and a chaining post at the foot of a high guard tower more or less in the center of the sim. If one climbs the spiral stair inside the guard tower, at the top is an object that displays the name of each person active in the sim at the moment, with a ball clickable to transport to that person's location. Someone should tell DHS about this. I don't remember it appearing in any of the Chronicles of Gor that I read.

North along the road one finds a scriptorum (library of Gorean lore), a warrior's tavern and an ampitheater for combat sparring. Beyond that was found a multi-story residence cylinder, a physician's office/dispensary and a larger, secure kennel building and a large separate residence that may be the Administrator's residence and offices. To the east of that lay a public bath and garden.

Panther Camp

Dividing the sim roughly into eastern and western halves is a river running north and south. Another divides the eastern half into two. In the northeastern quadrant is the camp of the panthers, behind a steep knife-edge ridgeline. The panthers in Lydius are reputed to be aggressive and hostile to males. Their notecard available at entry to the port suggests that the rules and laws of Gor do not apply in their territory, and that any and all are subject to capture and sale, ransom or disposal.

I have not ventured into the panther's camp, but on my first visit to the city, in the city proper, I walked into the spectator's area of the ampitheater and was netted by a band of panthers who taunted me for a while and then left. Afterwards, the net disappeared on its own. Later, I encountered a group of local males that had captured a panther in a net, exchanging taunts and curses. One wonders what the jail cells are for if not to put miscreants in.

Social activity

When visited, most socialization seemed to happen on the docks themselves. The tavern and scriptorum have seemed typically unoccupied, but this observer visits between 7 AM and 1 PM game time, typically quiet times for most of the Gorean sims. Even at that time, Lydius seemed to typically display about half of the occupants of Port Cos, judging by the data upon mouse-over of the islands on the big map. At the time of my visits, a total of 10 to 12 occupants was observed with a typical distribution being 4-5 chatting by the docks, and scattered pairs in the city, village and panther camp residential units.

Another observer may find a different level of social activity in the later, "prime time" hours after 5 PM game time. If so, I ask that they share their observations.

Technical performance

when visited 2/2/06, 11,621 of 15,000 objects were used. Time dilation was usually 1.00, but Basic FPS ran as low as 1.0 fps when first standing near to active partical displays such as the fountain in the garden behind the slaver's kennel. Walking about the sim was occasionally impeded by slow acquisition and load of textures, even with minimal draw distance of 64 meters. (Commentor has a Dell Dimension 4300 with a 1.6 Ghz Pentium 4 and 512 Meg of RAM).

Recent traffic data:
1/23/06 ........ 12,399
1/29/06 ........ 12,877
2/03/06 ........ 15,511

Other comments requested

Others' observations about the City of Lydius are requested. This will be updated at a later date.

Others' comparable observations about other Gorean culture venues are requested in replies to the base message in this thread.

My innocuous visitor alt has discovered a Gorean island not yet on the list: DeShadow Isle.

This sim has a spacious scribery with a section containing jursidictional laws for quite a number of the Gorean sims. Each is in the form of a notecard-giver book object on the shelf. This resource is located at DeShadow Isle (5, 190) for those who are interested in looking at the differences between published laws of the various Gorean sims. There is also a notecard-giver book recording court proceedings leading to official death of the defendant.

Would it be outside the scope of the study to investigate, "Why Gor?". I wonder why the works of a third rate and turgid writer would spawn so many sims and such high visit activity in SL when, for example, there are many more complete and interesting fantasy worlds with many of the same elements from Edgar Rice Burroughs through to Robert Jordan.

It even raises the question of why a collection of books would be the seed for these successful sims, as opposed to more graphic and recent sources such as Xena. Does a cultural explorer ask "why?" as well as "what?"

The "why" is an inescapable question, when faced with the traffic data. I suggest that it would be worth its own thread in the Law Society Forum ... perhaps you'd seed it, Ferren? I have some emerging theories, but don't want to monopolize the discussion.

Drama erupted on the docks of the Gorean City of Lydius this past Sunday, as city officials clashed with visiting warriors over the documentation of imported property. A crowd of over 20 Free Men, Free Women, Panthers and slaves (and one wandering scribe) gathered as weapons were drawn, threats exchanged, documents examined and legal principles debated before the city Administrator ruled. To protect individual privacy and conform to the T.O.S., I've summarized the events from my contemporaneous log, gathered while sitting on a crate observing.

The Encounter Over Property Rights and a Contract Under Seal

Two warriors arrived on the City of Lydius docks, just off the ship set for teleportation arrivals. Vistors are presented with a notecard that the city is a free capture zone, but no scripted weapons may be used in the dock area.

As they came down the docks with their property (several slaves), they were met at the gangplank by the city Slaver, the official responsible for controlling unowned slaves in town. The Slaver used a scripted capture net to arrest the slave, alleging that her "papers were not in order," explaining that no owner was displayed in her backstory.

The two warriors demanded the release of the slave, insisting that she was the property of one of them. Threats were exchanged, weapons were drawn and a crowd gathered. The visiting warrior heard the Slaver's charge that the slave lacked documentation and produced a document, a contract between the warrior and his Free Companion, a Free Woman alleged to be deceased.

The contract was said to record that all slaves were to be the property of both the deceased and the warrior presenting it. The warrior stated that the document had been executed and sealed by a scribe in Port Cos so that it could not be altered, in the presence of the Administrator of the City of Lydius.

Said Administrator had by that time arrived and was listening to the contentions of the various parties. A discussion was had in which several bystanders objected that there was no domestic property in Gor, and that once a slave's owner had died, anyone could claim the slave as property. The contract in question was alleged to "be like a will."

The Administrator Issues Judgment As Crowd Watches

The Administrator heard the various arguments, and ruled that the slave in question would be removed from the City of Lydius citizen records as the source of controversy, reminded those with weapons that they were in a "safe zone" and directed those not able to keep the activities "in character" to "move along."

Throughout the encounter, the 25-30 individuals gathered commented, flirted and interacted among each other, Panthers taunting the Free or muttering among themselves or disciplining their slaves, the Free Men acting bold and aggressive, the visitors supporting each other and the local citizens backing up their officials, the Free Women watching and quietly whispering private comments. And a scribe quietly sat on a cargo crate, observing and making mental notes as incoming visitors gathered on the bridge of the arrival ship, watching the drama unfold.

Later Commerce on the Docks

Although the tension deflated thereafter, the crowd of 25+ continued on or near the docks, chatting and discussing the encounter and the recent heavy traffic in Lydius. Later, a slave who had submitted herself to the local Panther tribe ("she was shipwrecked and washed up on the shore by our camp, and we captured her" was sold in open outcry auction on the docks. The hammer came down at 6 "silver tarn discs," which was said to equal L$600. The slave was transferred to her new owner by her acceptance of his scripted collar with programmed positions and leash.

The next day, traffic records showed that City of Lydius had risen to over 21,000 traffic units, putting it in the Top Twenty Most Popular sims in SL for the preceding day. Port Cos remained a bit higher, so that without camping chairs, money trees, prizes or gambling, the active role-playing in the Gorean cities had placed two of them among the most popular sims in Second Life on Super Bowl Sunday.

"Why Gor?" Thread

We've suggested a separate thread for "Why Gor?" to explore and discuss theories as to the popularity of Gorean culture in Second Life, and why that particular set of novels instead of some other fantasy world. Watch for it in the Group Forum of the Law Society of Second Life.

Tal Brother , thank you for your report and kind words , it is about time people learnt twhat Gor really is , and what it is about and not just stereotype it as a bdsm branch or a bunch of sickminded individuals , i hope people read this report and learn of gor , i do request a notecard of this report if it is permited , gor sim's do welcome outsiders to view and learn our ways first hand . as long as the laws of the sim and gor are respected , for a copy of our laws just TP to a gorean city , and ull get them on arival , or im me ingame ( Sulph Ash ) and ill drop a copy into your inventory of our city's laws anyway ( Port Cos)
Be Well and Fair Winds
Sulph Ash - Port cos

Tal, I would just like to add that....in this tread He said ", I walked into the spectator's area of the ampitheater and was netted by a band of panthers who taunted me for a while and then left" There are only 3 in the tribe. All new. There is a new tribe in Lydius. Its not Sa-Ho-Sorl. If it was a band of panthers then it was not the tribe of Lydius. Thanks

Tal, I would just like to add that....in this tread He said ", I walked into the spectator's area of the ampitheater and was netted by a band of panthers who taunted me for a while and then left" There are only 3 in the tribe. All new. There is a new tribe in Lydius. Its not Sa-Ho-Sorl. If it was a band of panthers then it was not the tribe of Lydius. Thanks

Port Cos does not charge rent for the apartments, how we control occupancy is determined by participation in the city itself. The most active citizens get apartments. We are going to be expanding the housing also in the near future as we are seeing an increase of active citizens.

The Port Cos Market charges:

6x8 Stall, 25 prims max @ $L150 per week X 31 stalls = $L4650/week
6x12 stall, 40 prims max @ $L240 per week X 12 stalls = $L2880/week
10x10 stall, 50 prims max @ $L300 per week x 4 stalls = $L1200/week
cart, 12 prims max @ $L72 per week X 7 carts = $L504/week

Total per week = $L9234

We currently have 54 active stalls and will bring up 6 more in the near future. Merchants wishing to rent a stall we can put on a waiting list as current merchants move on for various reasons. The current waiting list is just over a dozen merchants.

Now the real question though, do you make money? The answer is no. 2 SIM's per month is $390 per month ($195 per sim). Developers incentive this month was only $95. Even if we were able to sell all the money we made in the market, which we do not as we use that to host events, prizes, and various city expenses.. I would only get $33.17/week (roughly $100/month). That leaves me still in the whole $290/month out of my pocket.

I know of no Gorean sim owner that does this for money, we all have a passion to bring to life.. in our own interpretation, a true gorean experience to our fellow brethern.

We currently have 105 citizens in Port Cos, this number does not include state slaves which are not considered citizens.

I hope these figures will help you.

Aradon Psaltery
Administrator of Port Cos
Member of Caste of Warriors

Hey, if anyone wants to give me a tour of the Wind sim without collaring me, give me a ring.

At the time of this visit, Oblivion was self-described as a Gorean outpost inhabited mostly by "outlaws and bandits" according to the Laws of Oblivion (10-13-05 ed.). On 06 Feb 2006, it was 3rd most trafficked Gorean RP sim in SL (Traffic 9313) and was attached to a second sim to the north, Wind (Traffic 1611), a 64,976 square meter forest sim founded by Duran Templar and intermittently visited by a Panther tribe of Tarna-ta-torvis, which hunts and traps there. Wind has a mysterious "abandoned" castle that floats high above on its central mountain (a caldera with a central lake). A few days later, on 09 Feb 2006, traffic in Oblivion Outpost was 6730, and in Wind, 1183.

Laws presented on arrival

Upon arriving in a shelter in the southeastern corner of the sim, a visiting scribe had a notecard with the "Laws of Oblivion" thrust upon him. It includes rules common to most Gorean sims, with a few exceptions. It makes clear that all rules are subject to the rule of the author of the Notecard, closing with a "Notice to All: Furthermore, there is ONE voice for Oblivion and that voice is MINE and MINE alone. Anyone who has a problem with this can address Myself personally."

Unfortunately, when first received, the note was not signed and the "ONE voice" not otherwise identified. The Notecard indicates that it was created by Lady Belvedere, whose profile identified here as Head Scribe of Oblivion. A later conversation with an individual presenting himself as the Administrator of Oblivion indicated that Zed Night had taken over the role identified in the scroll, which would be updated. A conversation with Zed Night indicated that the sim was still under construction, explaining the un-Gorean permission to fly and the rather substantial building temporarily floating several hundred feet above the stockade.

Posted in the entry shelter are three parchments: "Laws of Oblivion," "Oblivion Slave Rules," and "Oblivion Panther Agreement." The latter appears to be a contract between the outpost and the local panther tribe resident in Wind, the sim to the north, allowing panthers to enter the outpost enclosure if invited and escorted, and designating "the beach" as neutral territory. The sim of Winds is designated as a "full hunting and combat area, excluding the castle."

The entry site lies in the south center of the sim, to its west lies a Gorean shopping mall. Together, they occupy the southwest corner of the sim, a 14,160 square meter parcel owned by Oblivion Vendors Group. Surrounding the oblivion Market" area, lies the remaining 51,344 square meters, owned by the group "Island Oblivion," founder dove Glitterbuck. On 6 Feb 06, 5259 objects of 11,751 available were on the parcel.

Tarn-riding panther captures and releases a wandering scribe

I walked north from the market building (a square two-story box), watching carefully the land ownership, which continued to be that of "Oblivion Vendors" and encountered no warning signs. Still on "Oblivion Vendors" land, I saw a tarn and rider fly out of the panther camp in the northwest corner and circle above me. Moments later, I was trapped in a scripted cage facing a heavily armed panther on the ground before me. Perhaps it was my respectful greeting and question as to whether I had stepped beyond the Vendor land that gained my release, the panther disclaiming interest in enslaving me that day. She declared the safe zone to include only the building and not the land to the north, even though the land was that of "Oblivion Vendors." She released me, flew away and I returned to the built up area.

Exploring Oblivion's lagoon and beach

To the east of the landing area, the southeast corner of Oblivion contained a lagoon with a sea monster, flourescent fish and a floating raft with lounge cushions on it, surrounded by gently sloping grassland. Though it was not labelled as such, this is the only area outside of the panther's territory that could be described as a "beach." Behind the lagoon, a sheer rock face rose, splashed by a waterfall. A stone stairway to the top, lined with flowering shrubs, wound to the top of the cliff. On the summit, an ancient temple with a bathing pool, hammocks and a picnic tempted visitors to linger and enjoy the commanding view over the entire sim from a luxurious spa. Resisting the temptation to strip to the buff and dive into the lagoon directly below, I descended on foot and explore the stockaded area in the center of the sim.

Four private residences overlooked the stockade from the bluffs on the eastern edge of the sim. Several more lined the northern edge, their backsides to the fjord separating the north edge of Oblivion from the forested hills of Wind to the north.

Central Stockade

In the center of the sim, a crude wooden stockade with corner watch towers surrounded a cluster of crude wooden buildings built around the perimeter. Another posting of the Laws of Oblivion was plastered beside an entry gate. The buildings included a smithy, what seemed a barracks for soldiers, a central fire pit and punishment stand. A stadium with crude bleachers and an open-air tavern ran up the center to the north side. A north gate leads over a bridge to the forested Wind sim, designated for unrestricted hunting and battle.

A rough building on the south side of the stockade had scrolls and books in it with documents about Gorean culture and laws, and records about property transactions in Oblivion and municipal administration, and a Jan. 4, 2006 scroll labelled "Citizen Registry" showing 24 citizens and 24 slaves as their property. An application for Citizenship was also found there. A wall dispenser provided a free copy of the "Gorean Spectator" which was a scripted large book of lavishly illustrated advertisements for Gorean theme markets around SL, published using the Thinc Book publishing technology.

Panther camp

On the west side of the sim, outside of the stockade, lies the Panther camp, with terriory perimeter set to automatically warn those who enter that they are subject to capture, enslavement and sale (see below). Or worse. When this scribe visited, there were few in the stockade, but activity by 4-5 individuals was detected on the panther side of the stockade, around their camp area in the northwest corner. On second visit, panthers and their slaves freely moved about the stockade. As noted above, the panthers claim dominion and patrol the western sector north of the mall with armed tarn riders wielding scripted capture nets, despite the lack of warning signs north of the mall.

Wind - the neighbor sim to the north

Due to the possible panther hunt and the low traffic in Wind, only a cursory survey was made. One can fly to Wind, but a guard script requires entry at the fjord bridge on the north end of a tunnel through the mountain that borders Oblivion on its northern border.

An elaborate castle floats high above the island. Although one can fly to it, the winds buffet and toss the visitor. Persistance will gain the flyer a landing on one of the battlements, from whence the the elaborately designed castle can be explored. It includes towers and battlements, inner rooms with simple cots for sleeping and tables and chairs. Labyrithine passages, spiral stairs within towers, and torch-lit dungeons with darkly erotic art decorate its massive stone structures.

This section may be supplemented with later exploration of the forests of Wind. Others more familiar with it may wish to add their description in a reply to this posting.

Technical performance

The sim ran well, without lag, although there were few present at the times I was there. Within the stockade there were few objects and those all stable but for the blazing fire in the center of the enclosure. At the spa, the waterfall and a few fish moved.

Comments are requested from others familiar with Oblivion and Wind and their inhabitants.

Appendices (below) include text of:
LAWS OF OBLIVION (10/13/05)
Rules of Capture and Engagement with the Panther Tribe (1/30/06)
Rules of Capture -- Oblivion/Wind (1/30/06)

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LAWS OF OBLIVION (10/13/05)

1)Welcome to Oblivion. Oblivion is an outpost in the wilderness of Gor. Life is harsh and the laws are simple. Most of those who live in Oblivion are outlaws and bandits. Aall are welcome here but heed the laws or Yyou will be collared or banned or worse. RP is encouraged here, so have fun with it.?

2)Any persons Free or slave coming to Oblivion acting as if they will not be collared are sadly mistaken. Oblivion is a Force Kollar zone. Conduct unbecoming a Free will warrent Kollaring. Conduct unbecoming a slave owned or protected or not will be caged and collared and held until thier owners come to claim them.

3) No guns alowed. The only weapons permitted are hand to hand weapons (eg swords, axes, kinves..) Also, Bows and arrows, crossbows are allowed as well.

3.A) Weapons may be worn but not brandished or carried in hand unless in the arena.

4) Free Women (FW) and slaves are permitted to fight in My arena. Problem with this, Y/you don't have to be here to watch it.

5) Slave Quarters or Kennels are not open to Civilians or to Island Visitors. Only permitted people accepted inside the slave Quarters are: all slaves of Oblivion, Kennelers of Oblivion being Kazrak Wishbringer and Draven Tiger as well as First Sword Mason Edelbrock, or any of the guard.

6) Visitors to Oblivion please wear visitor title provided or Yyou will subject to Oblivoin law or capture by the panther tribe living in the area. If You do not like MY laws or follow them You will be kicked and banned.


RULING ON OBLIVION: Process
-All disputes are to be brought to My attention immediately.
-If I am not online - bring your dispute to the Guard. I will contact both parties at My earliest opportunity when next online.
-Both parties will be given the opportunity to be heard.
-After listening to both parties, I will deliberate for a time then inform each party of My decision.

If Y/you do not like My decision, then Y/you have the right and are encouraged to leave My island, or I can help that also with a swift kick in the arse.

RULES FOR THE kajira OF OBLIVION
- slaves and subs are free to come and go as they wish with permission from a Master of Oblivion; restricted areas will be made known...
- slaves are not restricted sexually, they may lay with whom they choose
- slaves my refuse sexual use from Anyone that tries to force them (eg No "raping" of slaves"
- slaves should bring their issues to Me, Draven or one of the Guard immediately

Slaves are the property of Oblivion and their names are included in the Slave Registry which can be found inside the doors of the Scribery. When a slave finds an Owner they like they will set up a meeting with Me or Draven and that owner. My main concern is for the safety and happiness of all parties involved. slaves are sold to their new Owner or City Representative.

Notice to All:

Furthermore, there is ONE voice for Oblivion and that voice is MINE and MINE alone. Anyone who has a problem with this can address Myself personally.

(notecard was unsigned)
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Rules of Capture and Engagement with the Panther Tribe

(notecard dispensed from scripted signs as one approaches the panther territory labelled "BEWARE: Proceed with caution. You are entering the territory of the Panther tribe Tarna-ta-torvis. Neither slave nor free are safe. YOU ARE WARNED".

Receipt of this notecard indicates that you are entering not only the Outpost of Oblivion, but also home of the Panther Tribe, Tarna-ta-torvis. A dangerous aspect of the Gorean roleplay community. In this area, you are not safe. Not free, not slave whether collared or uncollared, not even unknown Panthers.

Panthers are a fierce tribe of women who have chosen to escape the confines of enslavement or the culture of Gor, even as a Free Woman. They flee from an owner, a free companionship...or to escape the chill of a cold, steel collar. They are not warm and friendly....more than often they are full of arrogance and suspicious of all people. In other words, don't think you can take a friendly stroll up to the gates of the camp and say "Hey, how's it going"?. You will be treated badly, you will be netted (caged) and you will be enslaved. Not always in that order either!

The area past this sign, outside the gates of the Outpost, is Panther territory which extends into Wind, the connecting land. The recognized safe zones (no capture, no kill) are:

The Landing Atrium
The Market
Within the Gates of the Outpost
The Private Residences
The Castle in Wind
The Landing Atrium in Wind
The Spa Above the Waterfall

The Neutral Zone for this sim is:
The Beach

The purpose of a neutral zone is to allow parties to discuss their rp without either side taking action until they leave this zone.

NO UNSHEATHED WEAPONS ARE PERMITTED IN THE SAFE ZONES

All other areas are considered capture/kill zones and follow particular laws of conduct:
(attached: "Rules of Capture - Oblivion/wind" and "Oblivion outpost laws V.2"

KNOW THIS: Before you step one foot further into this territory. If you are not willing to follow the rules of roleplay for this Gorean community, turn back now. You are bombarded with information upon arrival and throughout the sim....ignorance will be no excuse.
/s/
Grace Loudon
Leader, Tarna-ta-torvis

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Rules of Capture -- Oblivion/Wind (1/30/06)

Tribe Tarna-ta-torvis, living within the wilderness of Oblivion Outpost will agree to the terms herewith:

1) Play areas: All surrounding areas are play areas excluding the market and personal residences. Within the village gates is a no combat zone. The sim of Winds is a full hunting and combat area, excluding the castle and telehub.

Panthers are allowed inside the compound with invitation, when the one who invited them leaves they must as well. The beach is a neutral area, no hostile activities from any party may occur there and all may gather.

2.) While in captivity, the captive will do whatever and anything that is told of them to do within RP environment. The captor will be enslaved for 3 days and then their previous status returned.

3) If a slave is unruly...this slave will be banished for 3 days from the play areas, including inside the Outpost gates. 3 DAY CAPTORS WILL NOT BE KILLED.

4) If entering the camp or the village gates, the Warrior or Panther will not carry weapons in their hands. They will be sheathed or placed upon their back. Anything other than this is an act of war and will be treated as such. Within the village gates the tribe is expected to follow the laws already set forth for the Citizens of Oblivion.

4.a) If wanting to discuss trade for a (slave) in the open wilderness, contact will be made and the neutral area of the sim is the beach.

5) When it comes to attempts of capture and fighting, it will be done honorably. Both parties must give acknowledgement that they are ready before the combat begins.

6) Visitors to Oblivion should be wearing visitor titlers. They are non players. But, will respect the laws of Oblivion and this agreement or they will be banned.

If you choose not to wear a visitor's tag on this sim then you are fair game. Ignorance is not an excuse and refusing a tag is the same as agreeing to take part in the RP on the sim.

==END==

Frank,

I am the Foreign Minister of Ar, if you wish to discuss Gorean Culture with me you may do so.

Magnum Serpentine

The Sardar is another Gorean sim. In the books, the Sardar at the foot of the Sardar Mountains was a place of initiates, merchants and for the castes to exchange and share knowledge. The sim is active during the Sardar Fairs which occur four times a year, at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, and summer and winter solstices. The sim is different in that it does not house residents other than the owner and Administrator of the sim and their slaves, and slaves under protection on the Sardar chain. There is frequent activity by people coming to shop at the merchant tents, or practise combat on this low lag sim (fast server, few scripts).

The following information is from the information card given out to all at the telehub.







The coming weekend of March 24 to 26 will see the En'kara Sardar Fair with events throughout the weekend. En'kara is the first month of the Gorean year, with it's New Year marked on the vernal equinox which has just passed.