Second life is a vast game, with many different places to explore. It is used for fun, recreation, and even for educational purposes. I remember for one of my classes, I had to build a virtual Harlem. It was a very fun, exciting experience to build something that other people from my university would experience. Yet, my own personal favorite is role playing.

One of the largest role playing themes on SL (Second Life) is Gor. Gor was written by John Norman, and is a world based in fantasy. A world ruled by men. There are free men, and free women, slaves, also known as kajira (female), kajirus (male), bondmaids (female slaves of Torvaldsland, Gor’s equivalent to Scandinavia), thralls, and beasts. There are also the wild women of the forests, the Panther girls, and the brave Taluna of the jungles.

Unfortunately, Gor receives very bad reviews because of SL. Many Gorean sims that claim to be role playing sims are in reality, lifestyle sims. Often people in these sims, have no respect for the players of the characters. They don’t respect player limits, and often spill in character things that are out of character. People also do not understand what the meaning of Gor is. Looking at the real world subjectively, elements of Gor can be seen in different world societies.

For instance, looking at the veiled free women of Southern Gor, and then the veiled free women of the Middle East. Both live under strict rules, and are not allowed to show their face to anyone but their husbands. However, in Northern Gor, free women are not required to cover their faces. They have a bit more leeway in their actions and dress, but they are still required to fully cover their bodies. They hold jobs that pertain to women, sewing and the like, and have bairn (children). They are the Lady of their house, but they are still second to their husbands. Sounds a little like the early 1900s. Doesn’t it?

Many people will judge things by appearances, instead of looking for deeper meanings. I had a professor that taught us one day, that appearances are not always what they seem. We entered class, and went through a small presentation. Several men and women entered. The women were barefoot, and the men were not. The women knelt on the floor and hand fed the men. For all intents and purposes, it would appear that women in the presentation were regarded almost as slaves. The presentation was over, and many of us were very upset and confused. We told our professor that we felt that the women in the presentation were considered low in society, and almost as slaves. He then quickly corrected all of us by telling us that in the society that we just saw, women were actually the most important. That the society believed in Gaia, Mother Earth. Since women gave birth, they were highly regarded, just as Mother Earth gave birth to man and woman. They knelt to be closer to Gaia, for this same reason, they were also barefoot. The women hand fed the men because the men were unfit to touch the food Gaia gave them. This truly has little to do with Gor. However, it serves the purpose of explaining why one should not judge things by appearances.

I cannot speak much for the kajirae of the south. However, with the bondmaids of the north, I have to say that even though they are slaves, they actually can find true freedom within a collar. A little crazy, isn’t it? Being a slave, but being truly free? Yes. Bondmaids are indeed subjected to being the servants of men and women, filling their every need. However, bondmaids are fully expected not to be afraid of their sexuality. They are very sexual creatures. They are also not required to hide their emotions as Free women are. They are not to be ashamed of seeing another naked body.

Others will believe that Gor is all about sex. While sex is, indeed, a part of Gor, it was more about the fight and trials of the characters who were trying to survive in a very harsh world. By the Book, Gor is in no way a Disneyland playground. A simple wish would be for people to understand what the world John Norman wrote was about, before making harsh decisions. It was to accent the evils of our own society. But instead of simply writing about them, he took them and put them into a fantasy world, with fantasy characters. It was to make people think deeper about what the meanings behind the positions the people of Gor held, instead of just glancing at it and saying it was a sexist world.

As I mentioned, many Gorean sims are not “by the book”. They tend to go with whatever they wish, or what makes sense to them. However, I am very happy to have been brought to the sim I play in, by a long time friend of mine, Branwyn. She created the sim to be a “by the book” true Gorean sim. She named it Ironhall, a “Land in Northern Gor”. The sim is heavily based off the Marauders book, and they often refer to it to explain things within the world. I loved the sim the moment I saw it. It is magnificent, nine-sims wide, with a very original Gorean shape and design. I was even more thrilled to meet the people there. Even though the men, or “Jarls”, are hard-asses in RP, they are very nice, respectful people out of character. It really is a lot different than other sims. If there are any problems, Branwyn handles them very swiftly. She always does her best to be fair to all parties involved. With that said, when a severe problem arises, she is always the first to take the harsh road to protect the parties involved. I have known her for three years, from another role playing game she ran, and was very happy to find that she was running another game.

My first day in Ironhall as a bond was rather interesting. I have rped in Gor for four years, the majority of that time playing a Panthergirl, one of the wild, bow-weilding women of the Northern Forest. To my surprise, I ran into one of the old people I had role played with years ago. They battled wits back and forth for a time, and it ended with my character saying something along the lines of “If I was still the Panther you used to know, you wouldn’t be breathing right now.” Needless to say, it ended with my character being whipped.

Ironhall uses the “Nutr-Life System”, or NLS. This system gives a hud attatchement that allows for storage of items that can be made or cooked. It also has a health and hunger meter. It makes the sim more realistic because you can do things that you would normally do in real life. Milking a bosk (a cow like creature), gathering corn, making flower, cooking food, the whole nine yards. It really is a lot of fun.

Once a week, they hold an OOC dance that has random themes. It gives everyone a chance to kick back and relax, and a chance to wear something other than Gorean clothing. It is a great amount of fun, and Branwyn always contracts a great DJ for it. There are also many OOC classes that help in learning about Gor, and a book reading every week. Did I mention the book reading? Yes, I did. The man who does the book reading every week has a really hot accent.

I was able to sit down with Branwyn and ask questions about the sim. My first question was, “What is Gor to you, Branwyn? Everyone seems to have their own idea of what it is about … What are your personal feelings on it?”

She responded, “To answer that question, I have to answer it in context. What is Gor to me in Second Life, is a very different question than what is Gor from a philosophical stand point as a person who has been a lifestyler. Gor, to me in the context of Second Life, is a relatively decent fiction that can be enacted for role-play enjoyment. I do not involve myself in the lifestyle aspect of Gor on Second Life, I do not think Second Life is a safe enough environment to engage in lifestyle activities. I don’t think any online community is, to those who are lifestylers, I think it should be part of our first life, not our second. However with that said … As a fiction, that has a wonderful wide range of cultures and interaction, depth and creativity, it is one of the best “world fictions’ that can be implemented to act as a foundation for creativity. Exactly what role-players are looking for. Gor as a fiction has it all; conflict, kinship, politics, brother-hood, clearly defined roles, variations in religion and belief, but even more so … it offers an option for EPIC role-play that is not restricted to the single ‘hero’ of a story, like Tolkien does.”

I really enjoyed her response. My next statement and question was, “That was very lovely, Branwyn. It seems you feel very passionately about Gor roleplay. What inspired you to make Ironhall, and have it be a Northern village?”

Branwyn responded, “I have always been drawn to two different cultures in fantasy and historic role-play, they are Arabic/Bedouin and Viking/Celtic. I have been playing these two cultures for the better part of 20 years, and enjoy them equally. Interestingly, I find them to have some of the same core philosophies that ‘turn me on’ about role-play. Unity of clan or tribe, deep tradition, strength of
personality, and a deep sense of individual honor. I tried to do a Tahari (Arabic Gor) group, but the interest for it is simply not there. And role-players WANT an audience, and that means drawing enough players to keep them interested. Consequently, when the Tahari group did not get off the ground, moving to Torvaldsland (Viking Gor) was the logical choice for me. Southern (or I should say Middle) Gor is too ‘roman’, too ‘city’ for the kind of close knit community I want to be a part of. For me, it is not just enough to have a tight OOC (out of character) community of friends, but also that the role-play overtones be about kinship and brotherhood. I believe this is one of the great -hearts- of good role-play communities, the kind of place that draws like minded individuals to, to be a part of something greater and larger than themselves. We as humans on earth, are becoming more and more disconnected from our families and villages, I think many of us hunger for that connection. To do this, to offer that kind of home to people, I needed to select a fiction that had this already integral to the world.”

“That’s a very wonderful reason to create a sim like this. I am very happy that you did. I know I personally enjoy it there very thoroughly. With you having said that, what do you believe sets Ironhall apart from other Gorean sims?” I inquired.

Branwyn thought a few moments, before responding, “It would be sheer arrogance to assume that we are so different than other sims in some important way that I could ‘claim’ to have the secret to, so I must then simply mention the various things that I think attribute to the differences. First, I would suggest that Bane and I (the sim owners) come from a strong role-play background outside of Gor. We cut our teeth running role-play communities of very different fictions and precepts. We are, role-players at heart, and while we enjoy some of the philosophical aspects of Gor in our real lives, to us, we approach Gor in Second Life from the point of view of a role-player. That means focusing on ‘Respect’ between role-players, encouraging sportsmanship over ‘winning’. It means treating all of our players equally, regardless of their role in the world of Gor. It means fostering a friendly OOC environment, that encompasses new players who want to learn. Patience and support ooc, combined with brotherhood and unity IC, is what I believe has made Ironhall a place that other role-players wish to be apart of.”

Overall, I was very surprised, pleasantly surprised even, to find Ironhall. It does give a much better prospect and atmosphere to role play in. I do agree fully with Branwyn when she states that Second Life, or any online venue, is not a safe place to practice being a “lifestyler”. However, there is no harm in role playing, and it can even be a lot of fun. Just as you do with anything in real life, online, people must protect themselves, and ensure that they are safe from harm.