Creations For a Cause

 

By Gemma Cleanslate

 

What a delightful time I had visiting the region, Creations Park. Originally I went over to view the Dreamscapes exhibit featuring some exquisite art by five SL artists in the elegant Gallery . The pieces were all lovely and represent the artist’s images of what is Dreamscape to them. Be sure to view them during August and September. There will be a new theme for the following months. When I said I was going to Creations, someone said to me that the region was lovely and to explore it. I set out from the Gallery on foot and picked up a notecard telling me about the purpose of the sim and landmarks not to miss. 

 

The mission of the sim in SL is to support the Team Fox founded by actor Michael J. Fox, whose mission is raising funds for research into Parkinson disease. The founder and owner of the sim, Barbie Alchemi, relates her feelings, “After 2 years in Second Life, my brother and I felt a desire to give meaning and purpose to the hours we spent in-world. Our Dad died with Parkinson's and our Mother has it now. To quote her "I may have Parkinson's, but it does not have me." At 85 years young, she has entered Second Life and is thrilled to see herself running and dancing again.  This sim was created for everyone to enjoy. Those of us in Second Life can have fun while knowing we are making a difference in the real world. Those who are affected by Parkinson's can learn about SL, a world where they can be free of physical limitations.“

 

I picked up a demo horse and took a ride along the paths and over the brick bridges that connect the areas. There is a marvelous beach with a water slide, relaxing beach chairs, cozy cabanas and cuddles. Under the waters you will find a gorgeous underworld mermaid paradise. I happened upon a party of mermaids dancing while I was there. Around the dance area the underwater decor is lovely, including an Atlantis setting . 

 

Back on dry land, I wandered along to the village of shops where I ended up purchasing some fall outfits . All or half of the money you pay for the items goes to Team Fox. It is nice to buy something and know that part of the money goes to a good cause. There are two lovely shopping areas there with some well known fashionistas  involved. While I was there a summer hunt was going on so I picked up some nice gifts. 

 

I visited the towering Castle filled with interesting secret rooms.One teleport took me to a snowy winter wonderland with midsummer ice skating, skiing, balloon ride and more available and it was a frosty treat! Some dazzling Christmas trees were displayed in gingerbread  houses around the skating area. There are activities going on during the week at various places around the sim so you are invited to join the group to be informed, or join the subscribo for information.  

 

A teleport board  is placed all around the areas giving the option of getting to the numerous venues easily . There are more places to visit than I talked about and you will find them there for your pleasure to explore. I will definitely be back for more!  This entrance will put you near the tp board , or near a demo horse to rezz to start your travels.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Creations%20Park/192/68/22 

 

Gemma Cleanslate

Castle Quest - Looking For Love in All the Strong Places

 By Becky Shamen

I've showed you where to buy your own castle. Now we go on an adventure to find some really cool ones.

Annon, The Gate           and 3 other sims

secondlife://ANNON/126/27/23

Turn your sound up and set draw distance to at least 250, to get the full effect of the castles in this 4 sim area. The magnificent structures, atop these rocky islands, must surely be the homes of ancient gods. You can let them tell their full story at http://fallengodsinc.blogspot.com/2010/07/path-wishing-on-cure.html . 

Annon is the Northern sim in the 4 sim collective, which also includes Athan, Aear and Selidor.

You can fly or rez a boat, to travel to the various buildings. Take notes and collect clues along the way. There seems to be a mystery to solve. The builders are big on RFL and also have shops, in world and on Marketplace. There is a lot here that I could tell you about, but I had so much fun finding it, I don't want to spoil it for you. Besides that, I have many more castles to tell you about.

 Blarney Castle

secondlife://WILDE/150/108/33

Blarney Castle, Cork, Ireland  1446   According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab, great eloquence, or skill at flattery.

'Tis there's the stone that whoever kisses

He never misses to grow eloquent:

'Tis he may clamber to a lady's chamber,

Or become a member of Parlament.

"A noble spouter he'll sure turn out, or

An out and outer to be let alone:

Don't try to hinder him, or to bewilder him,

For he is a pilgrim from the Blarney stone."

I have heard of this legend, all my life, but never saw a picture of the castle from which it comes. I had seen some pictures of people trying to kiss the stone. To do so, requires the kisser to lay on their back and bend over backwards, into a lower area, in order to lay lips upon it. For these reasons, I went there to see some big famous castle and get a picture of myself, in this awkward position, for the article. Being there was not the fun I had hoped for. The LM puts you in the middle of a small square room. The texture on one wall is made from an actual photo of the real wall. Looking around for a pose ball, the only one there takes one to a spot on the hill, facing a small tower, on top of the hill, seemingly all that's left of this 567 year old castle. Entering the door of the tower, I found myself in the same room I started at. So much for a photo op. A sign informed that, in a shop in the village, I could buy a certificate, proof that I had kissed the stone, for $1.97. Not wanting to buy this lie, I could, at least, get a look at it and see how they could make it cost some fraction of whole Linden dollars. Alas, after wandering the streets of the village, I never did find the shop. In fact, none of the shops had anything in them. Their interiors were just painted on textures. Always looking for the silver lining, I did learn a valuable lesson. Don't believe everything you read in the destination guide. This advice goes right up there with the likes of, "when dreaming that you have had too much beer or coffee, it is better to wake up and find the solution, than to let the solution, warm and wet, wake you up", or "no matter how ugly you think you are, you are still cuter than a bunny rabbit....that has just met a hawk". On to our next castle.

Nydia Tungsten's Mouse Manor

Sunlight Bay

No story about great castles would be complete, without mentioning the home of Nydia Tungsten and her partner, Brandi Streusel. In my search for great castles, I remembered having gone inside this castle, when noboby was around. I sent Nydia an IM, asking if it would be alright to talk of it in this article. As I logged in, next morning, her reply was waiting. "Of course' come any time, for a guided tour" she said. I asked if I should make an appointment or was she free then. She sent a TP, as soon as she finished getting dressed. I was greeted at the front door by Nydia and Brandi. Brandi always reminds me of a favorite Texas colloquialism; "cuter than dimples on a bunny rabbit". Our first stop was the outside deck, with it's comfortable seating, made for relaxation and connversation. She said they had many such gathering places, throughout the castle, because chat was an important part of SL. I strongly agreed, pointing out that I had written an article on the Priciple of Oneness and it's importance in SL. She explained that, like mine, her home is open to all, as long as they show respect for it and those that reside there.

Going inside, we toured room after room, most of which were bigger than my whole house. We even went through a secret passage, hidden behind a bookshelf. It's still a secret, to you, because the castle has as many books as the public library. Nydia explained that she was so bad at decorating that even a blind man would find it distasteful, leaving it all up to Brandi, who has a good eye for these things. The girls have a lot of irons in the fire and a huge office to handle everything from. The Theater/Family Room could entertain an army, with a hundred movies in stock. It's an amazing place to visit and I'm sure to return to see even more.

Enscharys

secondlife://ENSCHARYS/126/188/28

This castle is more a work of art than of defense. I had to look up the word castle, in the dictionary, to see if it could even fit the category. TPs allow one to go to various rooms in the towers, giving a great view. The castle is part of a 3 sim group, home to Elves. The entire area has an open, ethereal, peaceful ambience. The plant life is out of this world. They have furnishings, plants and other products for sale, but blended in, so not a distraction. They even have a selection of beautiful swords, but, for the life of me, I could not figure out what they needed them for. Perhaps these Elves only fight on other people's sims.

There are countless castles in SL, to view and even live in. I can't tell you about all of them here. A castle or cathedral found in my travels always gets my attention, Those given, in this article, are the latest to snare me in.

Becky "Sha" Shamen

Play Knight - Medieval RP in SL

By Becky Shamen

I had mentioned finding a shop at Mont Saint Michel, in my previous article, that sells great medieval armor and how I just had to buy some. When I finished my explorations there, I went home, unpacked my souvenir and put on my shiny new armor. It's nearly perfect, but for one small problem. I was now faced with the age old dilemma of being "all dressed up with no place to go.. In my many adventures, I had been in a few medieval sims, but never crossed paths with any Chevaliers [French for Knights]. Perhaps, I thought, there would be RP sims where knights gain fame and honor, by kickin' canned cans. By now you know, my next move was a visit to the second life destination guide.

A word of warning, before we take one more step here. In the last month, secondlife.com has become more scary than any sim inworld. They now are filled with pop-up adds, that will infect your computer with a host of malware. DO NOT GO THERE without protection. OK, public service announcement done, let's move on.

I did a search of places, using the keyword "knight". That produced a list of about four dozen locations. Of those, the majority seemed to be places to shop. I trimmed the list down to eight places to explore. Two of them actually said they were for role play, with the remaining ones being of questionable value. One was called, AKK Horse Ranch. When playing chess in Texas, the knight is often called a horse, so if I'm looking for knights I better check out horses while I'm at it. Having opened that can of dogfood, I might as well start with discussing horses first.

About  AKK Horse Ranch horses, unlike "breedables" these horses do not require feeding. Knowing that I would not be engaging in any actual RP, just reporting on it, I was only here to see how they looked and how much they cost. Most of the horses come with either a western or English saddle and cost L$2000. They also had a group, called EZ Start Horse, for $500. Their most expensive horse was a skeleton (literally), for $4000.

Next, you'll need the armor, sold separately, ranging in price from $600 to $3600 for beautiful, ornate unicorn armor. They had a floor model that you could sit on, which I did for the included photograph. The sign says it can be resized to even fit tiny avis and the cost of this ready made war horse was a mere $3500 (ouch) and it only came in the one color combination shown. I confess, although I promised myself, after having bought armor, not to spend another penny on this theme, I did return, several more times to drool over it. I saw a free demo, one to customer, good for five uses, which I got and tested. Still in sticker shock, I went back to the marketplace and got demos for four other brands of horse, the working models of which ranged in price from $475 to $1,999. Ultimately, kicking myself in the butt all the way, I returned to AKK Ranch and bought, separately, the AKK '09, in white, for $2000 and Silver chainmail tack for $750. I saved $750 and got the colors I wanted. I figure I got three horses for the price of one, given that I can make copies and have one with armor, one with western saddle and one bareback, which will be handy when I go riding on my property in the Everglades, heehee. Enough about my spending habits. Let's get back on the topic of RP sims.

First of all, when you find a RP sim that sounds good, in most cases, the LM won't take you directly there. Your first stop will be a "Gateway" or welcome area. Clicking signs there, you will get notecards, explaining their history, the rules of play, the type of battle meter required, if any, ie, , , etc. and most will require you to wear a visitor or observer tag, provided free, to be worn until you are a member of their group. Finding only a few good sims to explore, I returned to the destination guide, this time searching "Medieval RP". That search provided many more locations to round out my perspective of this genre.

Our first stop is "The White Armory." This is a large shop with clothing and weapons, which is the gateway to the RP areas. Don't be tempted to use the TP on the right of the entry, labeled "Knight Life Portal". That will only take you to a lame skybox with a horse ride, on a horse that won't follow directions and a carriage ride to a beautiful ballroom that has no dance balls. Instead, walk about the shop, check out the merchandise and look for TP discs on the floor. These discs allow you to select from a list of areas, including; Tipping (jousting), Battlefield, Arena, Cathedral, 99L and Armory. Some of the areas can only be selected by members. They don't sell horses here, so you will need to bring your own. The combat arenas are typical of most other RP sims, with seating for spectators and a scoreboard, showing standings of the contestants as they progress up the levels, as in many sporting events.

Our next stop is called "Usk Medieval Market / Role Play" at Realm of USK (5, 166, 501). These guys are strict about your playing by their rules, so be sure to get and read the notecard. Pay attention to it's governors, the Earl, Elders and Knights. Events and training include Jousting, Archery and Sword. To enter the RP area, you must dress and chat in character and click that you agree to follow the rules. By the way, this realm is humans only, with no Gor, Slavery or flying. I guess that's why I didn't see any of my friends there (grin).

Moving on, we come to "Avilion Nexus: Medieval Fantasy Role Play Community" found at Avilion Nexus (128, 128, 251). To combat here, you will need a combat meter, either Spell Fire, or ACS Avilion Combat system. Both meters are available, for free. You can compete without if it is with a friend and you agree, before hand to do so. Combat areas include a sword fight arena, archery range, mage arena and jousting arena. They also sell weapons, including some mesh ones.

I explored many other sims, but I think I have already given a good picture of this genre, so will close with one last location, for the benefit of my furry friends: Drekiheim - Medieval Fantasy Roleplay (furry friendly) at Turquoise Island (86, 130, 1255). Most of my research is done between midnight and 5am, so it isn't often I meet the locals. At Drekiheim, somebody I never got to see face to face sent me an IM welcoming me as a new face at the sim. I took advantage to ask questions, clarifying things I read in the notecard. This sim has a Nordic, Viking flavor to it. They are "free form" combat, anything goes, provided it fits the historic period (no guns or light sabers please). Battles can take place anywhere but in the Gypsy camp. There are two opposing camps you can join, but that isn't required. However, to get in on the head bashing, you do need to fill out a "Character Sheet" and put it in the dropbox at the welcome center and get approved. A sample sheet can be obtained, to help in creating yours.

If the medieval thing gets you hooked, you might find yourself wanting to live in your very own castle. There are quite a few places that sell them, but I'll just mention two, briefly here. One is Skye Castle Showroom Prefab Castles. These castles are very ornate, have many prims and are expensive. You probably won't want to buy one, but they are worth looking at. The smallest ones start at $2950 and are made from 200 to 300 prims. The other end of the scale cost more than I can count to, are big enough to take up most of a sim and use most of it's prims. My favorite castle showroom is
CASTLE Q Castles: HALF PRICE Birthday Sale Medieval and Gothic. In the past, I bought and lived in both the Q1 and Q2 models. I really liked the two I lived in.

You are not likely to see me engaged in combat, at any of these sims, as I'm a peace loving hippy at heart. But, if you see a cute girl, in silver armor, riding a white stallion, by all means, come chat.

Becky "Sha" Shamen