In this segment we take a closer look at Generations in our Rebels and Reapers section!
Generations is This room is based loosely on the Sons of Anarchy series. This is the next generation. The kids of the older (role play) characters. The room is set years in the future. All the offspring are adults now, struggling to find themselves and see how they fit into a lifestyle they knew as a kid, now as an adult. Today I sit down with the amazing Kitten, to discuss this amazing room. 

……..

The Interview

Describe your room, ie: the concept and main theme?
Kitten: It’s set in the Sutter-verse of Sons of Anarchy, but in the future. We don’t go into detail about what the exact year is. Many of the characters are the offspring of our characters from previous rooms, some are part of the club while others are just trying to find their way. It’s based in the Pacific Northwest in a small town Kaliko and I made up called Nowhere, Idaho. It’s not club based room, anyone is welcome to join and play. We have of course the club members, dancers at a local bikini dance club (idaho is strict on nudity), waitresses, cops, an attendant at the laundromat… Anyone is welcome.

What kind of storylines go on? Also, can anyone get involved?
Kitten: Anything really can go on in the room. It’s a small town, so it’s got its quirks. One storyline is a returning daughter to the club, a guy who’s trying to find out what happened to his father, and we have a serial killer that the local detectives are just learning and finding the bodies.

Are character sheets required?
Kitten: We do ask if your character is going to be staying in the room that you give a small sheet. It just asks basics, and you’re not required to have a massive bio. Other characters such as those playing their chars from other Sons rooms but in their older versions don’t have to fill out a sheet unless they’re going to make the room their elder versions home.

What do you do when you have a newbie come into the room? How do you help them learn about the world you’ve created? Is it easy for them to jump into storylines?
Kitten: The room is basically contemporary. There are no powers, no hierarchy. It’s self-explanatory if in your real world you approach someone that has a patch on their back, how would you respond to them? A cop? Ordering at a local diner? We’re happy to give a hand in helping someone learn what they need and help them figure what they’re looking to play within the room.

How many various character types are in your room?
Kitten: A lot lol. You’re not going to find a movie star or the next Bezos unless they’re vacationing. The location is literally bumfuck nowhere, the population maybe a little close to 1000.

Is there a set structure for powers, or is it free form?
Kitten: No powers. I mean you can play a wiccan character, but it’s got to be as it is in real time, you’re not going to have lasers shooting from your fingers while you hover in the air.

What is the main thing you want everyone to know about your room?
Kitten: Come in have fun. If you play SOA this gives you a chance to give a character an “epilogue” without having it affect your play in another room.

Digital Playground Mayl Edition by Rivers

A Long, Strange Trip

By Rivers

When I was a kid my grandparents had a Super Nintendo – and that thing was the shit. That is, until my grandfather retired and discovered the Tetris / Dr Mario combination game. Three rounds of pick-your-poison and this guy would beat literally everyone literally every single time. Witchcraft, I tell you! And upon whooping your ass, while you stared at the TV in confused disbelief he’d cackle behind you “skunked ya!”

I was ‘skunked’ many times. Every week I gnawed on bitter defeat until I finally honed my skills and unleashed with my first victory. It became personal. And it’s still personal. Tetris and Dr Mario. Every once in a while during a holiday dinner someone will say “oh we should get out the video game” and every single time I take the liberty of destroying my entire family, my child included, in honor of how my grandfather used to torture me.

This said, you can imagine my incredible delight to find Tetris Effect: Connected on Xbox Live. I sat down all smug, chose expert, decided I’d have the entire game beat in a weekend and abruptly got my ass handed to me. This Tetris is not 90s Tetris – and it is not designed for those that are easily distracted. I found out that I am easily distracted! 

The game is beautiful. The colors are stunning the music is great, the things that happen in the background are so pretty. The themes are gorgeous and sparkly and my controller batteries died SO many times from the bass of the music being pulsed through it. While the pieces and premise of the game was simple and exactly how I remember it, there were new challenges in how the pieces spun (to distract you) and how the backgrounds evolved in these crazy light shows (to distract you) and how the music was like Cirque du Soleil (to distract you) and how the speeds arbitrarily change (to fuck you while you’re distracted).

While the game does still have the multiplayer competition that I once reveled in, it’s honestly more enjoyable playing solo and going through the journey. You kind of get lost in the music and imagery, and it’s interestingly soothing despite the intense frustration at certain levels. Nothing is ever as satisfying as a series of ‘Tetrises’ and clearing a level you get stuck on is absolutely gratifying. 

Eventually, I found the end of the long, strange trip with a 90 point achievement for defeating all the levels. I was kind of sad, and stared at the screen in disbelief for a few moments. My only complaint is that it seemed there should have been more levels. 

I can imagine this wouldn’t be a game that everyone would be intent to play, especially start-to-finish. It certainly doesn’t have the action or complexity of games we normally talk about. For me, however, every time I played it brought me back to my grandfather’s living room and furiously pounding buttons only to get my ass kicked. It was a direct connection to one of my fondest childhood memories and I love how a reimagined classic game can have such beauty and interest and still stir up all that nostalgia. 10/10.

Revealing Roleplayers By Smurfy

In this segment, we will be interviewing roleplayers at random. This is a way to get to know the roleplay community, find out what makes them tick, and delve a little into the raw meat of what makes roleplay special to them

For this interview, we will be delving into the mind of none other than the corgi girl herself- Detta

………………………………..

THE INTERVIEW

Smurfy: 

How long have you been roleplaying?

Detta: 

I feel old with this question. I started when I was eleven, good ol’ AOL Chatrooms were good for something! Who knew it’d lead me down this path. So almost fifteen years. 

Smurfy: 

What’s your favorite Genre?

Detta: 

 Honestly, I’ve not yet found one that I don’t like. However, picking one thing from a Genre would have to be Star Trek. Great show, chaotic to rp. 

Smurfy:

What’s your favorite storyline you’ve ever done?

Detta: 

Honestly, I have been around for too long, with too many great writers to have just one favorite storyline. It feels like a disservice to those that I’ve played without throughout my ‘career’ to just choose one. 

Smurfy:

What makes a good roleplay partner?

Detta: 

 Ooooh lordie, this is hard. Honestly, there are a number of things that I find to be good, but sites like ReVo, are relatively new to me. I’ve only been here like maybe a year, I came from a whole different series of places that I’ve played, and the things there, do not seem to be the same valued things here, if that makes sense. In my long ‘career’, I’ve liked, and favored, someone who can write more than a sentence or two. I know there are people out there who can write and do like and enjoy writing one liners, as they’re called, but for me, it seems inadequate. There is no content, nothing to really grab my attention and make me feel the character or the scene. I personally like the details you can put into a scene. Telling me something as trivial as they the character is biting their nails nervously, makes me question, why’re they nervous? So it creates this whole additional rabbit hole of curiosity based on the character and the scene, and it can really bring out so many amazing things. 

Smurfy:

If you could bring any character back from the dead, who would it be and why?

Detta: 

Honestly, I don’t know. Players out of retirement, would be more apt, there are a ton. Like my husband…

Smurfy:

The most important question to a roleplayer of course… Who is your all-time favorite character you’ve ever played, or watched someone else play?

Detta: 

Again, too many favorites, however, my favorite to ever play and watch someone play was… Pain. A character of my husbands who was twisted and would do the most horrible things, and got off on it. I can still think back to some of the scenes that he wrote, that I read, and shudder. They say everyone in this world has a place in their mind, a truly dark and evil place where the worst of us hides, and this is where he holds Pain… it’s truly beautiful in a frightening way, and now I sound coo coo for cocoa puffs. 

Hang Around: SoA

Interviews with Tatiana

This month I sit down with Addiction to discuss his two SOA characters, Kaleb and Tyler who are members of the new SOA room, Vegas.  He talks about what will be happening there, where his chars were born and something about a Suck Bang Blow bar.  It’s hard to concentrate when Kaleb is so damn hot!  fans myself  Don’t forget to check out Sons of Anarchy:  Vegas when you have some free time and maybe bring a char to play there.

Until then, enjoy the interview!

1.)  What exciting things are you expecting from the new SOA room, Sons of Anarchy:  Vegas?

A return home. Vegas has been a staple of SOA roleplay for some time, and became the home for both of the guys after they started in Long Beach. We’re looking forward to rebuilding the club after it was all but decimated, other factions moved into the strip, and new blood taking over from the old. There’s some lineage there, and it’s all going to come into play.

2.)  Tell us about your two main characters Kaleb and Tyler  Give a brief history of both.

Oye. Trying to sum up over a decade of Rp on both.

Kaleb was born into the club in Scotland , the son of the President. As a young man He wasn’t sure that he wanted to be there, but He had to do what He did growing up in the club and on the streets. The Club’s issues with other factions and the war with a sister club in Ireland put him into the fray. Growing up He learned the ins and outs of the club and stuck with it until the girl he fell in love with was caught in the crossfire and killed. From there He took up the call to head overseas to Long Beach and the States where He’s been ever since. He’s traveled across the states, through various charters He’s filled multiple roles and been through multiple encounters with various factions and now has heeded the call back to Vegas.

Tyler Stevens grew up learning about the club in the west coast through racing. Drag racing. Then motorcycles. His family owned the Suck Bang Blow bar in Long Beach that’s been through hell and back where He sang with his band for years as his passion. Never a famous artist or performer himself, He was known for writing quite a few hits for famous artists, never giving up his passion even though He decided to take on a different life. Once patched in, He became a road captain in Long Beach and traveled with Kaleb and others through various charters. He was the first to greet Kaleb when He arrived from Scotland and the two have been inseparable ever since.

3.)  Your two main chars are heading out on a road trip, where would they travel?

California. Up the Coast. Which is where they went after eventually returning to Long Beach and the OC (Orange County) which got decimated. They weren’t sure if they would retire, go nomad, or what was going on. They just needed a break after what felt like a lifetime of bullshit. Best choice they ever made. The west coast is where Ty was born and raised and Kaleb was always fond of, where both of them found their heart and their soul.

4.)  If your characters could have 3 songs to describe their personalities, what 3 songs would that be?

Tyler Stevens:

Shinedown – Sounds of Madness’

Kid Rock – Cocky

Nickelback – Next Contestant

Kaleb O’ Farrell:

Shinedown – Simple Man

The Heavy – How you like Me now?

Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven

5.)  What year was it when you were introduced to SOA rp? Who introduced you and what room/site was it at?

Oh, man I can’t remember the year, but it was damn near a decade ago. I first walked into SOA following Slick and a few others brought me over into the original Long Beach years ago.

6.)  Who was your very first SOA character? Do you still rp him/her today?

Tyler “Hollywood” Stevens was my first original SOA character and I still play him to this day. Which in hindsight is interesting because SOA was one of my “secondary” roleplays way back when and has become my longest running character.

7.)  Did you watch the tv series ‘Sons of Anarchy’ before rping SOA?

It was actually about the same time, maybe towards the end of season one. It had just began getting popular (I mean season one I felt was pretty slow) but everyone was jumping onto it even though there were only a few rooms open at the time. Long Beach was one of the first  and we all kind of navigated there.

8.)  Someone is interested in rping in the Rebels and Reapers section, what advice do you have?

Just do it. Jump in there. Don’t be afraid. You don’t have to be a patched member, a sweetbutt, or anything else. You can be anyone it is that your heart desires, and just have fun. Though it’s often seen as ‘difficult’ to get into because most people think that its just about the “guys” and the club. But it’s not. It’s about so much more than that. Anyone and everyone can get involved, and they should.

9.)  Are you looking forward to participating in the rally this summer?

Yes, absolutely. Every year, it’s everyone getting together and just having fun and letting loose, which is what it should be about. I love the rally because we can just let loose and have fun, be “ourselves” but also just not worry about things, meet new people and roll with things.

10.)  If you could change one thing about the Rebels and Reapers section, what would that be?

That we communicate more, work with the chapters and charters, to get together and do more interroom roleplay.

Storytime with the Smurf – By Smurfy

In this segment you the reader will get a chance to mail in questions to Smurfy. She will take those questions, and respond with the most ridiculous answers imaginable. “It is my belief that laughter is everything – so, why not share a little silliness with others along the way?” – Smurf

Please send all questions to Smurfy’s pm.

(Please note: Revo does not necessarily agree with the words and opinions of Smurfy. In fact, we reserve the right to deny association with her at all.)

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Question Submitted by Shy

What if aliens are searching for us too, but… then we’re aliens also!?

Response by Smurf

There would be double penetration anal probing going on, and I’m just not down for that much ass sex. So, of course that would start a war between who gets to stick the probe in whose ass causing mass amounts of destruction, and casualties … I’m in. May the one with the biggest kink win. 

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Question Submitted by Anonymous-

What’s your favorite thing to do?

Response by Smurf

Poop. 

That’s British:The TV edition – with Russ

Sometimes our TV gets a hard time compared to US, you have high quality actors (and when you don’t, you pay ours boatloads more to come to your shores and don an American Accent), Production values and the streaming services give access to even shows that we’d never have seen here otherwise. I love a good TV show, be it a comedy (I love Arrested Development and Scrubs) a Drama (The Wire, Breaking bad) or anything else. But there are some cracking British TV shows, in the past we’ve had Fawlty Towers, Monty Python, and plenty of Dramas that aren’t coming to me as I write this. But lately we’ve had some really good shows too. So this week I’m highlighting a few I really like, if you can track them down, give me a comment and let me know what you think. 

I have not included some shows that are highly rated, but I am yet to see such as Fleabag, the crown, Downton Abbey and Line of Duty, but I have these to watch and if off interest to people I will do a review of them. 

Honourable Historical Mentions:

Brassed Eye

Red Dwarf

Doctor Who

Mighty Boosh

The Trip

Gavin and Stacy

The Inbetweeners

The Office

Only Fools and Horses

Sherlock

Spaced

Catastrophe:

What happens when a recovering Alcoholic American and a dysfunctional Irishwoman have a one-night stand, get pregnant and end up spending the rest of their lives together? TV Gold that’s what, this show is poignant at times, very dark and always very, very funny. It also features Carrie Fisher’s last role (she filmed this after Star Wars, I believe) and has a lovely tribute for her. 

Luthor:

Idris Elba’s break out role. As detective John Luther who ends up joining forces with a psychopath serial killer to catch some truly horrific killers. A true anti-hero, Luthor is always on the verge of a breakdown and the show is truly scary and intense (I’ll never get a night bus again) and the twists are always hard to predict. 

Planet Earth:

David Attenborough is a national treasure and this series of Natural History, is stunningly filmed showcasing just how beautiful and huge this world is. It is truly eye-opening to the impact we have on the world, and it is captivating TV. 

Peep Show:

A brilliant comedy looking at a dysfunctional friendship of two flat mates. So far so predictable right. The beauty is its shot with the inner monologues of the characters and the camera perspective is always through the eyes of one of the characters. It really is like you are spying on their lives. And it redefined how comedy was shot here. The two main characters are brilliant and has a truly great supporting cast too. 

The Thick of IT

Before he was Dr Who, Peter Capadli was Malcolm Tucker, spin doctor and foul mouther machine of the Government trying to keep the clusterfuck of ministers and civil servants from constant fuck up. It’s so well written and seems so implausible, but it really does show the flaws of the government here. It’s full of memorable characters and remains one of my favourite shows and a show that still feels current. 

This is England 

If you do not know who Shane Meadows is, you should. A brilliant filmmaker, this series picks up where the film left off, looking as life for a group of characters between 1986 and 1990. Think Trainspotting in England. It will make you laugh, make you cry and challenge you, it tackles all the social issues and is utterly gripping because of it. Not just one of the best British Shows created, I’d argue it’s one of the best series ever. Period and very, very underrated. 

The Great British Bake off

Literal, a show of people baking cakes. It shouldn’t work, but it does. You root for people, you get invested and suddenly think you are an expert on baking. It’s great escapist TV. 

Black Mirror

Full disclosure; I love Charlie Brooker. Since he was a columnist and an hilarious one at that. He is angry, ranty and cutting. He’s how I wish I was. This show is similar to the twilight zone, with five seasons now but a different cast and plot each series and some great casts. It’s proof that Britain can do deep, thought-provoking and engaging sci-fi, even lacking the US budgets of shows. 

The Wizard of Oz

[A candid peek behind the curtain Q & A with the Administrator of ReVo]

Hello Everyone, and welcome to the Emerald City! This will be a candid, behind the scenes, one of a kind look at how things are run here on ReVo and just what goes into the day to day and everything that we do, and we’re going to kick this segment off this month. Each month (or more than once a month depending on how we adjust things later) I will be fielding questions sent in by you guys either to myself (on the forums) or the ReVo account (also on the forums) or directly to Smurfy or Rivers to pass on, and attempt to offer as much insight into things that I can, as candidly as I can. 

While it is that I may not be able to answer every single question that is floated in my direction, I will attempt to address each one that comes across in some fashion. We do after all, have to keep some tricks of the trade behind closed doors. 

So without further ado, lets go ahead and jump into fielding some questions and get candid.

Q:  Now that you’re back to work, how does that change the time constraints, do you ever feel like it’s a second job?

A:   Yes, because it is. It always has been. But moreover while that sounds like a complaint, it’s not, because it’s a labor of love. A passion project if you will, and there’s an old saying, ‘love what you do, and you’ll never work a day’. As far as time constraints goes, it definitely changes things, but that’s why we have a team. We try and provide as much around the clock coverage for everything that we can, though it does slow down the turnaround time on some things. Some things are a little more involved and can’t be done on the side or on my phone, or everyone’s at work, so it gets taken care of when we’re available or at home.

Q:   Following up to that, how does that affect your roleplay time?

A:    What roleplay time? *laughs It does a lot, and that isn’t an excuse not to do it, but there are some days when things are really busy that you just wanna go somewhere where NOONE knows your name *snickers* Its like Murphy’s Law, where it never fails, getting out and involved into some roleplay or just chillin and something happens that needs to be fixed. It comes with the territory though, and is what we signed up for, so its kinda like knowing what you’re getting into from the very beginning. Even when in a room or chilling and rping there’s usually multiple discord messages being passed and things being worked on behind the scenes, being updated, etc. 

Q:   Have you ever went with a chatter suggestion or put something into the site that you didn’t necessarily agree with or think would work?

A:    This might be my favorite question for this month, and makes me chuckle, because the answer is absolutely yes. From site rules to room innovations, we’ve pushed a lot of boundaries over the years. Though it’s not often when an idea is brought up to Cabinet that it gets veto’d, especially when we know its something that the chatters want (if its something that can actually be done), but sometimes we might feel it might not work in the long run, or its a little redundant, but if its for the greater good, we do it. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t, sometimes they get iterated on again and again and turn into something completely new or are tweaked and then ‘BAM’, you have that ‘huh, should’ve thought about that earlier’ moment, which is always cool.

Q:   How do you guys decide when to run drives for the site?

A:    We’ve had this question before, (not here in the blog) but the answer isn’t too complicated.

Whenever we want!

>.>

<.<

Ok not really. We usually try and run them twice a year, sometimes it could be three. Sometimes this can coincide with holidays, site events, or something else, but we usually try and have it spread out over the course of the year to assist in financing the site when it’s needed. This usually coincides with like ‘springtime’ and then maybe something in the summer, and then around the time of our Anniversary in November, though we will often try and tie that one in with something for the holidays since they’re so close. The site of course costs funds to run and is solely funded by the memberships and purchases that come into the site. We do these drives in order to finance the site in chunks just in case something were to happen out of the ordinary so that we can ensure that we stay operating (like the pandemic, etc). 

Q:  How much time actually went into coding? Because sometimes the ways the rooms work amaze me

A:   Allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the hours. *laughs* I’m not a coder. I dabble. I know some things. But when Q started ReVo the chat software that we purchased (the same pretty much everyone else uses) was already old and antiquated (which we’re working on fixing), at least in the way it looked. But we wanted it to look sharper. The old rooms didn’t do what we’d wanted them to, and so we started with the layout. Many hours of testing on a private copy of the whochat for a couple of weeks straight just to get the layout and look right, then taking what was learned and applying it towards other little things and touches in the room. Some things came later, but never really easily, such as the file manager and the code’s manager, connecting them to all the rooms, adding previews, etc. The little touches were something we were very excited about, and worked on the coding for the site before we even initially launched for almost a month straight. Work during the day. Meetings during the evening. Coding all night long. Then after that, it was a few more months of adding things in phases, constant testing so it didn’t break anything. There were many nights of staying up all hours of the night until I was finally able to run into Q’s office at 5am and yell I DID IT! I figured it out! Only to see her eyes light up with joy, then summarily tell me she broke the site. That’s when the coffee came in. But there’s a lot of little things out there and available in the rooms that a lot of people don’t even realize, and its fun when they find them out (I’m looking at you, revo world, zenpad, and other things).

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So that’s another sneak peek behind the curtain for our second installment of The Wizard of Oz and hopefully (surely), there’s plenty more questions that people might come up with, or thoughts and things that they’d like me to expound upon in upcoming segments. I’m also open to taking suggestions and feedback for this format and willing to branch things off and talk about my thoughts on other things you guys would like to hear about. 

Until Then. 

A Tour of Gor … 

In this segment, Unwritten will take you on a journey through Gor. Find out the latest happenings, what it means to play in Gor, and other amazing tidbits surrounding the genre. 

 This month I wanted to gain insight from two Gorean roleplayers on opposite ends of the spectrum – a long time player and a newer player returning to the realm after a long absence.  We’ll be talking to Addiction and Daz.  Sit back and enjoy the read!

——————————————————By Unwritten

Daz, I understand that you played on Gor a long time ago and then left, but recently you’ve made a return.  I’m curious about this choice and I think the readers will be too!

Do you recall what made you step away from the realm years ago?

You know how it goes – people come and go, room popularity wanes, etc.  The people I played with moved on, the room went unused, I made some new non-Gorean friends online so I tried out some other genres of roleplaying and opened a medieval fantasy roleplay room.  I never really forgot about it or had anything against returning to Gor…just never had the opportunity really.  With Calista (who I knew from my time on Gor and before), I was even co-leader of The House on Landon Lake / The Talendar Society on Imaginechat, a D/s roleplay room with ties to Gor.  It definitely influenced me during my “early years” online! 

What is it about Gor that lured you back in?

Some of my favorite people play in Minus and I wanted to be able to play with them!   Gor was also the first “roleplaying” experience I had – I followed some people to Gor from general BDSM chat rooms.  So, when I was thinking of making a character for Minus, part of the appeal was “returning” to Gor now that I have all this roleplaying experience under my belt. 

Would you like to tell us about your Gorean character?

Sure!  Camilla belongs to the caste of Cloth-Workers.  She is originally from Vonda, where her parents arranged a Companionship for her to someone she considers unsuitable.  So, she fled Vonda and travelled to Minus because The House of Lar-Torvis  advertised for a seamstress, and she thought she could escape the unwanted Companionship, earn some coin, and prove she can make it on her own.  She enjoys creating elaborate gowns and would one day like to open her own dress-making shop, but for now she is resigned to boring, simple work.  She is beginning to settle into Minus, meeting new people, obtaining an introductory job, etc.  But she hasn’t yet been able to shake the worry that her old life in Vonda (parents/intended Companion) will come looking for her. 

What are you hoping to get out of this roleplay with your Gorean character?

Nothing in particular – I made her just so I could hang out in Minus.  I did write the backstory of fleeing an unwanted Companionship to leave Templar an opening if he ever wanted to make a char for Minus, so he could be the Companion come to claim her and take her home. 

Have you encountered any pitfalls or stumbling points in your return so far?

It’s been slow getting started and roleplaying out all the “introductory” stuff, but that just takes time.  Soon, I will have “met” all the people in Minus and the real fun can begin.    It’s also been interesting (and tough) because I am starting in a new place I know only very basic information about.  This is different than just making a new character for Marvel because, even though it’s a new character, I have intimate knowledge of the genre, setting, and system. 

What is the best or most exciting thing that has happened involving your character so far?

She was “detained” during the Sardar Fair by an unsavory character and questioned about some silly meteorite (The Star of Ar) that she knows nothing about!

How do you find the realm of Gor as compared to other realms you’ve played in?

It isn’t better or worse than other types of rooms: it’s the players that make or break a room.  But one of the most interesting things to me is that because Gor is a whole world, there’s lots of potential for cross-room roleplay, where most rooms in other realms are self-contained.  I wouldn’t be able to take Dazzler to play in an LKH room (or even another Marvel room and keep her “room history” intact) but I could travel around with Camilla to other places on Gor.  That’s both an advantage and disadvantage though.  The downfall is that with so many other rooms, the actual players are scattered across them and if you don’t have a reason to travel, you miss out on interacting with them. 

Have you read any of the Gorean novels by John Norman or do you have plans to?

I read nearly all of them long ago during my first time on Gor, so I only remember basic things.  But I don’t really plan to read them again.  Heh, that sounds sort of snobby, but I didn’t enjoy them that much the first time around, and I already have a dozen books going unread at this very moment. 

Do you have any advice for someone else who might want to either try Gor for the first time or make a return like you did?

It is a lot easier if you have some pre-existing knowledge of Gor and how things work.  Even with my previous exposure, I find myself worried that I will make a roleplay faux-pas (what kind of shoes do Free Women wear?  Are there spoons on Gor?) so I try to be as generalized as possible for now and scrutinize other posts until I find my footing.  And for your first time, definitely make a character that will fit your OOC personality and any knowledge you do have.   For example, don’t make your character a seamstress if you know nothing about sewing (*coughcough*).  You will have a lot more fun if you aren’t worrying about all the little details. 

If you could change something about the realm for your personal benefit or for the good of Gor as a whole – what would it be?

Haha, and risk stepping on people’s toes?  No, thanks… though actually, I will mention one thing I recently thought about:  The Sardar Fair.  I noticed that there’s a Fair room on Revo and there was one open on PoD – in fact, we thought about doing the “tent detainment” roleplay at the fair room on PoD but didn’t.  So my thought was, “What if the different sites (are there other sites besides those 2 anymore?  I have no idea) each took a turn to host the Fair and everyone had to congregate in one room for its duration?”   I’m sure it’s been tried before, and rivalries exist for good reasons, etc.  But it was just a thought I had. 

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Addiction, you’ve been playing in the Gorean realm longer than I have.  That’s really saying something!  Let’s dig into what it is that has kept your interest for so long!

When did you first start to roleplay in Gor?

The cretaceous period? It’s really hard to remember. I was having a conversation with a friend about this as I was answering these questions and realized it was right about the time I had graduated from High School or right thereafter. 97? 98? It was pretty much during the “heyday” of all things Gorean.

Would you like to tell us about your Gorean character?

Would it give things away if I did? Likely not. Dephyrius Talon, the son of the same. Though to be fair I have a couple of characters now (what a long way we’ve come!) that I play. The Son of the character that I played for almost a decade was roleplayed years ago having been sent to Ar with his sister to be raised behind those 7 walls to become an educated swordsman and garner an education to build a lifestyle for himself well away from the confines of the life that his father lived as an Outlaw. He was given a different name that He lived by for years, forgoing his family name until one day while traveling to Viktel Aria, where He was confronted by a man from Port Kar whom he had business dealings with in his travels and had long ago recognized him. The man laid his namesake’s weapons on the table of the tavern in front of him and explained his past to him, who He was, a dangerous secret that could undo all He’d worked towards if it were to be revealed. He then left Ar after earning his robes as a member of the merchant’s caste and joining the vosk league a couple of years later to seek out his heritage in Port Kar.  It was there that he confronted the ghosts of his past and made the choice to embrace them, spending the better part of his early adult years embracing and learning everything of his fathers legacy and building a steely determination to carry on that legacy.

What is it that attracted you to the realm to begin with?

Naked women, big titties, slave girls, and swords. I was an 18-year-old with a head full of wonder, already into writing, but was basically told there was a world out there where I could be Conan and all these chicks would bang me. I was sold from that moment on.

What keeps you interested in Gor after all of these years?

That very same thing that attracted me all those years ago. The wonder. The excitement. The stories that you can tell and that carry us through the years. The fact that almost everyone in Gor still to this day have been around for a while and there’s history there. There are threads, tendrils of things in the past that can still be played upon, and yet new stories to be made anew. The thought of power, of glory, the revenge in the feeling of defeat. The fact that no matter where you’re at, what you’re doing, whenever someone walks into the room you never know what’s going to happen. What they’re there for. There’s an edge to it that’s indescribable.

Can you recall an event or roleplay situation you were involved in that got your heart pumping the most?

Oh man. Quite a few. So many.

Raids with Viktel Arian Lair. MSR. Every time they came into a room somewhere, you knew some shit was gonna happen and go down. Had to be immediately ready. But turning the tables, and raiding THEM in return, was intense.

Confronting the Rencers in a massively crazy open combat situation where everyone just went ham on one another.

The tournament fights back in the day, the brackets, waiting post for post while sparring with someone, and then the anticipation of the judge’s judgement the next day.

Sitting in that Tavern that day that Devon Maddock came down and open fired on me in open combat. Being so confident in not having lost in open combat, and then knowing as the tables were turned, that the fate of your character that you’d had for a decade was in the hands of the judges. (p.s. My slave was still in the way of that bolt you slimy bastard).

Fighting Cimber. Every. Goddamned. Time. Sparring in general, but there’s something about a really good opponent and the thought of going writing for writing in combat that gets the blood pumping.

What is the funniest thing you’ve encountered during your time on Gor?

Besides Dillinger being killed like 4 times by myself and resurrecting every time, along with 3,481 times by everyone else?

My first day on Gor. I showed up to Kassar on Chatro, and Raggs and Garr were at the gates. What my buddy failed to tell me, is that while its “Conan and shit”, there’s no magic on Gor. I threw lightning bolts at them for an hour. That of course, was after being booted twice after being killed and coming back flying on the back of a dragon. They thought I was trolling. I had absolutely no idea.  It was later that night (what a long night that was) after I got a re-education to things, that BLADES gave me a trial membership, pending I learned some shit, of 30 days. Man those were the days. I had a chance to meet them years later on in life, and it was still laughed at years later.

Do you have any regrets about your past or present roleplay on Gor?

No regrets on the past, absolutely not. I’ll remember those stories, the people that were involved, the time that we shared, the stories we had, until I’m old and gray. Most presently? Not really a regret, but to have more time for it amongst this thing that we call life that we all grew up into.

Do you miss the “old days” when the realm was more populated and busy?  Why or why not?

The “old days”? That COULD be a loaded question, but talking on population? Absolutely. I do miss it. It was intriguing to look at the whochat and see who was where, see a bunch of people in the crossroads, or the stadium, wondering what was going on and popping in there just to see. To see people in all the rooms and thinking if I wasn’t in my own home at that time “hrmmm where can I take a journey to tonight?” What can we build? Can we raid? Do they have enough? Are they going to raid us?

I think it’s fair to say that anyone would miss it in their realm but even if its through my own nostalgia tinted glasses I don’t believe there’s any other realm where it held and still holds that kind of wonder.

What sort of advice might you have for someone new to the realm or someone curious about trying it out?

“Do it”. Get in there. Talk with people. Explore. A MAJORITY of us started out without reading the books, learned as we went, took our lumps and had a hell of a lot of fun doing it, but like in any genre, don’t be afraid. There’s a metric ton of information out there and shit to learn but its not the begin all and end all. If you have a story that you want to tell, talk with people. Find a room or a “location” in Gor that speaks with you and go with it. Just like in any realm its easy to get intimidated by the most mundane things but if you talk with people, you can find a place, and make some magic happen.

Do you have any words of wisdom for Gorean players that have been around a while and can feel that the intensity of newness has worn off?

Get daring. Get brazen. Explore a different path. Throw a rock at someone’s head. Make an “oops” moment. Add humor. Think about where it is that your character might go, what they might do, or even dare to reinvent them. Take on a different role. Create a secondary character (if your room allows it) and challenge yourself and those around you.

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There you have it.  Two vastly different people and perspectives.  Though this is just a drop in the bucket of what is Gor, of who plays on Gor, I think it shows nicely how exciting and intriguing the realm can be.  So…are you waiting to take that plunge on a new beginning or a spectacular return?  Stop waiting!  Come play with us!

In this segment we take a closer look at University of Wizardry in our Fantasy Envisioned section!
University of Wizardry takes us on a journey through the world of The Harry Potter Universe, with some dark twisted turns along the way. Today I sit down with none other than the Brit himself – Russ, to discuss this amazing room. 

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The Interview

Smurfy

Describe your room, ie: the concept and main theme?

Russ:

The room is based on the Harry Potter Verse. It’s set 15 years after the film. We explore the concept of what comes after, in a couple of ways. First what came after Voldermort, how does the world change. Secondly, what comes after school in the HP realm. But the HP cannon is only a starting point, we have grown and expanded, to have vampires, secret societies, new threats. We also have explored the idea of the Salem witch trails and based the University in an area steeped in history with Witchcraft. 

Smurfy

What kind of storylines go on? Also, can anyone get involved?

Russ:

Absolutely, anyone can get involved. We have a big storyline involving an evil Vampire and A werewolf dating back to the witchcraft trails and their attempts to rule the world and restore the pureblood ways. We have the idea of the Inquisition existing and taking a holy war to witchcraft, dating back 100s of years. And we have a university with Quidditch, relationships and lessons. It’s a vast world limited only by peoples imaginations. If you are new to the world we will of course happily discuss with you and find ways to help you bring ideas to life or jump into the existing stories. 

Smurfy

Are character sheets required?

Russ:

Yes but we have very much simplified the form, it just allows us to ensure that people do understand the magic powers at play and no one is looking to make overpowered characters. 

Smurfy

What do you do when you have a newbie come into the room? How do you help them learn about the world you’ve created? Is it easy for them to jump into storylines?

Russ: 

I hope it’s easy! But yes we welcome them in, point to the forum where there is a lot of information on the world of HP, and we are all too happy to help people come in and be involved. We have a range of people who are avid fans too much more casual fans of the world. 

Smurfy

How many various character types are in your room? 

Russ:

We have, a variety of Characters, a lot conform to the know types of Fantasy; Wizards, Witches, Werewolves, Vampires. We have staff, students and non university staff and a variety of HP type chars, Animagus for example. It’s a very broad universe and anyone interested in playing just needs to talk to me or Smurfy to discuss, and we will do our best to fit your idea in. 

Smurfy

Is there a set structure for powers, or is it free form?

Russ:

It’s reasonably free form, if you know the spells used in Harry Potter we base it off there. It’s more about the story than the winner. We don’t do God mode and the other person will always have a right to reply. Characters can die, but only at the typist’s agreement. 

Smurfy

What is the main thing you want everyone to know about your room?

Russ:

We are a small room, but passionate about the world we’ve created. Just pop in and say hi if interested! 

That’s British: with Russ

May Day

We love a bank holiday in Britain. Any excuse for a day off. Maybe it’s because we don’t have huge public holidays; Thanksgiving is not a thing here, for example. So Queen’s birthday, yup will be happy to put our feet up thank you very much.

I’ve touch on our quaint British customs before, but May Day has some of the weirdest and quirkiest, as well as one even us Brits poke fun at; Dancing round the May pole with Morris dancers.

To the best of my knowledge Morris dancers are older men who want an excuse to sit in the sun and drink real ale. And not the new hipster stuff I’m a fan of, the stuff they brew in their cellar and seem to ferment in socks. Fair enough, each to their own, who doesn’t love a bit of day drinking? Why in means you get kitted out all in white, tie bells to your legs, and “dance” while waving a hanky, that’s the bit I don’t get. Here is an example of it:

Alongside this a May Queen is crowed; which is in essence a personification of the springtime. She will ride or walk at the front of a parade. Her duty is to being the May Day celebrations.

In Oxford, it is a centuries-old tradition for May Morning revelers to gather below the Great Tower of Magdalen College at 6 am to listen to the college choir sing traditional madrigals as a conclusion to the previous night’s celebrations. Since the 1980s some people then jump off Magdalen Bridge into the River Cherwell. For some years, the bridge has been closed on 1 May to prevent people from jumping, as the water under the bridge is only 2 feet (61 cm) deep and jumping from the bridge has resulted in serious injury in the past. There are still people who climb the barriers and leap into the water, causing themselves injury

Padstow in Cornwall holds its annual Obby-Oss (Hobby Horse) day of festivities. This is believed to be one of the oldest fertility rites in the UK; revelers dance with the Oss through the streets of the town and even though the private gardens of the citizens, accompanied by accordion players and followers dressed in white with red or blue sashes who sing the traditional “May Day” song. The whole town is decorated with springtime greenery, and every year thousands of onlookers attend. Before the 19th century, distinctive May Day celebrations were widespread throughout West Cornwall, and are being revived in St. Ives and Penzance.

Kingsand, Cawsand and Millbrook in Cornwall celebrate Flower Boat Ritual on the May Day bank holiday. A model of the ship The Black Prince is covered in flowers and is taken in a procession from the Quay at Millbrook to the beach at Cawsand where it is cast adrift. The houses in the villages are decorated with flowers and people traditionally wear red and white clothes. There are further celebrations in Cawsand Square with Morris dancing and May pole dancing.

As much as I mock these rituals, I love our little traditions, quirks and folklore. To me the more the world becomes homogenized, the more these little differences in our country can remind us off our identity. The country has an uneasy history with the Empire, so it’s nice to have these little events to look back on and see how they shape and define us.

Russ Old English word of the blog:

‘hugger-muggery’ (16th century): secretive, clandestine behavior for the purposes of deception.