Underground in Gor: A Kinder, Gentler Counter-Earth?
by Alphaville Herald on 10/06/09 at 10:50 pm
Part 6 in a series
by the Wanderer
“Welcome, stranger.”
I was not in Gor anymore, at least the Gor I'd known.
Maybe it was the kajirae, dressed in their finest silks and not rags. Maybe it was the “wedding” cake they were serving.
Or maybe “welcome” and “stranger” used together, in a world where “stranger” and “enemy” mean the same thing. It seemed that I'd come to town on an auspicious day.
By the time I strolled up, a man and woman had become free companions. From what I have gleaned online, it's probably easier to be a slave-girl on Gor than the free companion of a Gorean male.
The city notes it is a by-the-book region, but the woman was breaking Gorean rules left and right by speaking to other men and being rather bubbly. Their SL profiles showed that they professed love for each other in terms that would make John Norman squirm. In previous cities I'd seen male profiles with a “chain of slaves” listed, like some sort of perverse set of jewelry.
“What may I bring you, Master?” The girl looked up at the rough-clad Wanderer, the only boy with his weapons visible.
“A cup with which to toast their happiness.”
My, that was easy to say. The RP has been getting more and more natural for me. And I was coming to like the beauty of the place itself, a well-rendered town in a park-like setting. I didn't see one implement of confinement or punishment on the sim.
Can you have the Gorean festival without the cruelty? Well, it seems so, at least in sims that follow the spirit, and not the letter, of the books.
Say what the snarky comment-writers will here, but a good game should draw you in. In my previous dispatches from Gor, I got worked up about degradation and cruelty without any recourse to heroics that would fit my–not Gor's–moral code.
Still, as I took cake and wine from a slave, wasn't I still complicit?
Yeah, yeah, it's only a game. But that's the point of “immersion,” isn't it? Think of how involved one gets with a classic board-game played with a bunch of friends or in the best MMOs. Did I forget that SL Gor is not reality? Not for a second, but if there is one interesting thing about Gor so far, it is that I can easily get immersed enough to at least play along.
So when the town Magistrate put me in the company of a kajira who belongs to the town, I kept trying to dig down to the secrets that make Gor work.
“Do you like your status, girl, in this place?”
“Yes, Master. In the forest I was filthy, my hair matted. I had to pick berries and find food.”
Hmmm. . .forest + girl = panther?
“Are you a panther?”
I could almost imagine her odd look at me, as if avatars have a subtle range of emotions. You just have to read how someone types, or watch for the delays when replying, if you want nuance.
“I was not trained to use spear and bow, Master.”
“Don't be coy, girl. You were among them.”
“Yes. The law permits the Panthers to come to market to trade.”
When I heard that, I knew what to say next.
“I want to meet them.”
“I can take you to the edge of the forest. Tell them you come to trade.”
This is more of what I'd expect in a good RPG.
It's amusing to me, as a man who finds the Gorean Way nonsensical, to think of how Gor might evolve into something less masculinist online, when John Norman, that old misogynist, dies and his world falls into other hands.
I hope that his estate doesn't intervene in game-worlds, as Frank Herbert's estate did some time ago in SL.
[...to be continued…]
Melissa
Jun 11th, 2009
I’m really loving this series of articles! As a fairly new member of the sl community (rez date 10/08) I was astonished to find the depth of rp that could be found. And as a medieval fantasy fan, I -was- curious about the whole Gor side of sl. Having gotten deeper into my own rp experiences, I’ve been warned numerous times to not venture into Gor territory. Even made to promise to never go…”You can get really hurt over there if you don’t know what you’re doing”… That’s what I’m told. I’ve since lost the desire to go searching around for such experiences, but the looming presence of Gor is always in the background. Great job on the articles, they’ve got me hooked and always looking for the next installment.
Emperor Norton Hears a who?
Jun 11th, 2009
Perhaps this is a sim that realized that justifying being a jerk by quoting some troll of a cheesy fantasy novel like it was The Bible isn’t a recipe for long term social happiness? It can’t be. The only reason to be on the intertubes to to unleash your nerd rage. This sims with their Gor canon breaking custom are TRUE perverts here.
John Norman weeps when he thinks of you! Do you hear that?
Ari Blackthorne
Jun 11th, 2009
“By the book” not “by the book” – doesn’t matter so much.
I’m surprised you haven’t discovered the “Disney Gor” or “not Disney Gor” line in the sand. Looks like you’re finally starting to see the more common side of the Gorean role play in SL.
As for “spirit of the books” – good choice of words. That’s what people who’ve actually read the books look for.
By the way, a “panther” is a four-legged carnivorous feline large enough to rip you to shreds on Gor just like earth. I think you are referring to “Forest girls” a.k.a. “panther girls” (through ‘girl’ at the end of it.)
Calling a panther girl a “panther” is simply falling in with the typical laziness of onlinism ethos and ‘edumacation’.
Srsly, u know?
yw.
LOL
By the way, I enjoy yor adventure stories – keep ‘em coming.
And it’s not just that ANYTHING is better than Tenshi’s diatribe. Your stuff is actually fun to read.
The Wanderer
Jun 11th, 2009
Ari, I heard about “Disney Gor” right away and poked my nose into some groups that are against it. I also found that the sim where I wrote most of this claims to be “by the book” but doesn’t seem to be, once you scratch the surface.
Good players make a game, and in this sim, they are good players who seem to want to craft a world more than play out a bunch of juvenile power-trips.
Glad you folks enjoyed this. I’ll keep the chapters coming. I have “forest girls” to meet next. What else should I see/do in SL’s Gorean playgrounds? I’d love to see a sea-battle, even if it gets my avatar killed in nasty ways.
Ann Otoole
Jun 12th, 2009
gor is building gor grid. eventually gor will be a part of past sl history like everything else will be. sl is dying a slow strangulated death at the hands of mitch kapor. kiss it goodbye.
Ari Blackthorne
Jun 12th, 2009
@The Wanderer:
“Good players make a game, and in this sim, they are good players who seem to want to craft a world more than play out a bunch of juvenile power-trips.”
EXACTLY.
The claim of “By the book” usually means a good-faith-effort. But it falls apart eventually. I agree it’s about having some FUN. And good players and good story and events and situations are what make that.
I’ll keep looking forward to your stuff.
Emperor Norton hears a who?
Jun 12th, 2009
Ann the Tool @ “gor is building gor grid. eventually gor will be a part of past sl history like everything else will be. sl is dying a slow strangulated death at the hands of mitch kapor. kiss it goodbye.”
You can find this post in every forum for every MMO game out there. There must some some standard forum letter “this game is dying because (insert personal agenda here) is broken and is driving people away. The (game developer or corporate CEO) doesn’t care about the player’s”
If SL is dying so what Anne? Someone else will do another game since SL is clearly a successful format. Games are the only way into most people’s wallets these days and they all can’t Word of Warcraft clones.
Maximus Flacidus, Gorean Master
Jun 12th, 2009
Ann just loves to hate SL
But I don’t argue with her point that it’s not the world it used to me. Still, the Goreans have a way to go making their own grid:
http://thegorgrid.com
Total users: 747. Total Regions: 69. Unique visitors, Last 30 Days: 266.
Online right now: 2.
Send Mitch Kapor there
Tristan Belgar
Jun 14th, 2009
“The city notes it is a by-the-book region, but the woman was breaking Gorean rules left and right by speaking to other men and being rather bubbly. Their SL profiles showed that they professed love for each other in terms that would make John Norman squirm”
I’m not sure that a free woman being bubbly and speaking to other men would necessarily contradict the books. A lot of the freewomen in the books are pretty forbidding and aloof, but at least some certainly let their guard down from time to time.
As for profiles, well, they’re OOC. I might have a friend and roleplay partner that I adore when I’m out of character, but we’re horrible to each other when we’re in character. Likewise someone could play a barbaric and cruel Gorean Master, but that’s just their character. That doesn’t mean that they might not fill their profile with lovey-dovey paens to their kajirae.
On ‘by-the-books’ roleplay, there are 27 books full of thousands upon thousands of tiny details. Tolkien’s world is made up of.. what.. 5-6 books? It’s a huge learning curve to try to roleplay Gor close to the books. Huge. Trust me, I’m still learning a lot after years of Gorean roleplay. You’re never going to be perfect, so ‘by the books’ roleplay is more an aspiration than a finished state. If a sim calls themselves ‘by the books’ then it usually just means they’re trying. Hopefully, anyway.