Winter Wonderland

Fall is upon us, which means it's time to shop for winterwear!  Yay!  and UGH!  Finding winterwear can be harder than just about anything else at times.  Since SL can be perpetual summer, many designers just don't think of that... or don't make things approprate.  Dont' forget the horrors of players not wanting to cover themselves properly for the weather, which is just annoying.  Furs, leather, wool, all those warm things are completely neglected by both designers and roleplayers, but it's very important to keep things feeling as real as possible.

I have lately been on my quest for the perfect winter gear... it has been a rough road.  Even finding a cloak was a challenge.  I bought alot of things... very few are appropriate and none are exactly what I was looking for.  Some I was unable to make fit, some weren't what they were advertized to be, and some are perfectly nice but not what I wanted.  The quest continues for the perfect winter outfit.

So... what am I looking for?  I am looking for something nice, warm and silver or white.  Something like this, only not this color.

It has the look of leathers, pants with an over skirt or long jacket.  The collar and detailing are fabulous, though the dark color hides much of that.  This is a new winter outfit from Ripped, one of my favorite stores, since everything fits me.  The boots are wonderful furry masterpieces that would be fabulous for the snow.

However, as I said... it is the wrong color.  As is the outfit I love from *noe*... a wonderful purple wool one, warm and cuddly... though with a bit more leg showing than I would prefer.  Also comes with nummy warm boots... this one has a lovely scarf as well.

This is fabulous and I love it... again, wrong color.  I will probably put on some tights and wear it anyway though... I'm an elf, I can get away with it, though this is, in general, innappropriate for a human, unlike the Ripped outfit, which would work well on a human female warrior.

The following outfit is what't I've decided for my fall choice.  I found a cloak at NiX... I was terrified when I opened the box and tried it on, oh dear, it was HUGE.  Absolutely frightening... I could have fit three of me in it.  So, I hopped on a pose stand, crossed my fingers and edited edited edited.  Luckily, the creator is a genius and I was able to make it fit myself perfectly.  Under it is a lovely sheath dress... though, I would not reccomend Wunderlich to anyone.  She ruins her lovely, unparalleled texture work by using **shudders** skirt clothing layers.  The saddest thing ever.


I'm fairly happy with it... and the hair was a wonderful find.  I got it as a Red Queen group gift, though the color was a tad odd, the strawberry blond above.  Lovely, but not my colors.  So, I picked it up in white.  The hair binders are texture change with a hud.  It's absolutely perfect.

During my rambles through stores and blogs and xstreet, I stumbled upon a fantastic wonderful fabulous store that is terribly addictive and made me wish I was playing a human so I had a reason to wear the fabulous conctions I found there.  A Touch of Irish is my new favorite store, even though most of it is not stuff I can wear... I did get a couple things... and ther eis one more I think I need....

The texturing on the sweater is lovely, making it look so cuddly cozy... However, again, it's not what I was looking for. The autumn dress below is too cute for words, and again, the designer is my hero and made the skirt moddable in such a way that IT FITS! with just a bit of shrinking.


Shopping List:
Image 1-3:
Skins: :[P]:-Lionheart-Myth-Bare The Plastik

Lashes: Miamai_NoAlpha Lashes_N07 Miamai

Hair: [rQ]Prime~HONEYmoon [rQ]

Clothing: Rugged - Brown [SplitVendor] Ripped Mainstore

Image 4:

clothing - *noe* Elska Violett *noe*

Hair - ploom - Benten - Almond ploom
Images 5-7:

Facial Scarring: AQ face tattoo *Broken* SL 2.0 box AQ face tattoo

Hair: [rQPrime~Sterling [rQ]

Eyes: Tacky Star: Across the Universe Eye Set Tacky Star

Clothing: Dress - Wunderlich's Velvet Chains dress - Silver Wunderlich's
Cloak - [NZ] Medieval Cloak - DoubleCloak - Silverfox NiX at Celtic Rose

Images 8-9:

clothing: Music Sweater Skirt Set Touch of Ireland

Hair: [rQ]Prime~Sterling*LOCKs@o2 [rQ]

Image 10:

Clothing: Samhain Festival Dress Touch of Ireland

To be or not to be.... human

Humans in role play sometimes seem like the rare mythical beast.  You rarely see them, and even when you do, you don't always know that's what you are seeing.  In a way, humans are very much the norm from which everything else springs.  They have no great strengths, special powers, epic weaknesses... they are simply humans.  Many people do not play a human because "Why should I role play a human, I'm a human every day!"  But playing a human can be quite challenging.  They are the closest to real world medieval history.  In my opinion, human females get the best clothing.  It is best not to discount the seemingly simple, whether you are an experienced rper or new to the game.  I have never played a human... but there are times when I wish I had.

Human is the easiest race to make an avatar for, for most of us.  A majority, though not all, role players are human outside of roleplay.  They are human before they arrive in whatever world they choose to join.  That means, they have appropriate shape, skin, and hair before they even start.  It is very easy to find human freebies as well.  You don't need wings or horns or ears or special skins.  So, those in a financial bind should give it serious thought.

The biggest mistake I see in humans in RP is a complete disregard for propriety.  Men are overdressed, women are under dressed... The things that other races can completely ignore, such as modesty, are very much a part of medieval history.  No medieval woman, be her peasant or lady, would ever show as much skin as many in role play do.  I can understand the want to be lovely and sexy.... but that does not necessitate the showing of improper amounts of skin.  Modesty is the byword of the medieval female.

Her legs should be covered, her belly as well, though cleavage and even shoulders are acceptable.  Shoes should be worn except by the very poorest.  The proper human woman wears a full length dress, complete with a corset (though that would not always show, sometimes only being worn under the clothing).  A human has round ears, as well as natural hair and eye color.  Ideal hair is long and natural seeming, or a simple updo.  Wild modern hair styles and short hair is generally not acceptable.  Any jewelry worn should fit the class of the woman, meaning, a lower class woman would not wear expensive diamonds.

A lady would wear more ornate gowns, rather than simple peasant dresses.  Finer fabric such as velvet are appropriate here, as well as ornate and expensive appearing jewelry.  A lady can have more ornate hair as well, though still of a natural color and style.  Nail color would not be overly correct, though not particularly frowned upon.  A lady would wear delicate slippers and likely not be found traipsing alone through the woods, she would be escorted.  Any human woman would likely be rather scandalized by the skin shown by various other races, such as elves or fae.  Don't confuse immodest with sexy.  It is more that possible to retain your sexuality even when mostly covered.  It's all in how you play your character.

Shopping List:

Skins: :[P]:-Lionheart-Myth-Bare  The Plastik

Eyes: [Plastik]-VaeCollection-AegisPurple  The Plastik

Image 1 clothing - *noe* Elska Violett *noe*

Hair - ploom - Benten - Sahara ploom

Images 2 and 4 clothing - [NZ] Abnoba Blue - roleplay clothing by NiX
Shoes - [NZ] Ballerina CLightBrownSuede NiX at Celtic Rose

Image 3 clothing - *EC* Cariad Gown - Forest *Evie's Closet*

So, you want to be a medieval roleplayer...

But where does one begin?  You come into SecondLife... you waddle like a noob, you type like a noob, you look like a noob.... but you want to roleplay like a seasoned professional.  So... how does one even BEGIN?  There are a few tips I like to give to those new to roleplay in SL, because, frankly, it's not truly like any other roleplay.  It is in many ways live action roleplay and text based roleplay combined with a healthy dash of video game combat thrown into the mix.



1) Visit roleplay sims.  There are alot of them with just as many themes.  Do you want medieval??  Fantasy?  Gor?  Urban?  Urban fantasy?  Do you want to be a furry?  A neko?  Each sim, or set of sims, will have its very own theme, rules, requirements, preferred look and time period, race requirements... the list goes on.  So, visit sims and find one that suits you.  While visiting, make sure you are polite and wear whatever tag, object, or neon sign is required.  Be unobtrusive; don't wear your giant dragon avi and sit in the middle of a packed rp.  They will invite you to leave and not come back if you are disruptive, however, don't be afraid to IM people if you have questions.  While visiting you are in a unique position of an observer.  You can go anywhere, watch anything, and learn alot... all without actually "existing" in their world.  Keep in mind as a observer that you ARE NOT THERE as far as the characters are concerned, though the players might say hi.



2)  Once you have picked your sim, then is a time to figure out how to join it.  MOST roleplay sims will have some kind of welcome area where you can find all the pertinent information, such as sim rules, requirements, as well as some freebies to help you fit in.  At this point, it will be assumed that you read the rules of the sim you've chosen... now is the time to find out what races are allowed, but NOT the time to pick your race.  You want to know your options, and perhaps talk to a mentor or an old player about the various races and factions/guilds.  This will be important when you do actually pick your race.  Check out the race bases, have a peek at the various environs available.





The environ can be integral to the type of roleplay engaged in, as well as the overall look of participants.  It is always a good thing to keep in mind.  This is also a good time to have a look at other players to see what the "norms" are, whether you stick to those or forge a new path.





3)  Now is the time to consider your character.  What kind of character do you want to be?  Stalwart warrior?  Gentle healer?  Rogue?  Bad or good or neutral?  These are important considerations, and really should be considered before a race is chosen.  Too many people, in my opinion, pick a race because they think the avatar is cool, rather than based on the type of character they wish to play.  I don't really approve of that.  Yes, you can be a "good" drow, but as one, you will be constantly fighting your true nature.  Yes, you can be an evil elf... again, that is not the norm for elves and needs to be addressed in character.  Various races tend towards certain main archetypes and these must be considered and kept in mind even if you are taking your own path.  This means, read the race cards!  This is how you know what is the normal portrayal of a racial template.

4)  NOW is the time to pick your race.  You know what is normal, both behavior and look, so now you can choose your race and design your avatar.  More important than you avatar, however, is developing your character.  Keep in mind that nothing you do is set in stone, once the race is set.  Your history can change, your behavior can change, you look can change.  Everyone has their own unique take on a race, so don't be afraid to be creative, unless there are specific requirements.  Use your imagination, create your own lore or expand on what the sim provides.  However, no matter how creative you want to be, keep in mind the racial traits of your chosen race.  Elves have pointed ears, drow have dark skin, orcs are large and green, faun/satyr have hooves and horns.... the list goes on.  These are important, no matter what you look like, as they identify you.



Do keep in mind, when coming up with your particular character history, that you do not have to have an epic sob story or a goal.  You do generally need to know why you are there now, but it does not have to be special.  "I came of age and want to travel the world" is just as valid, and possibly more interesting in the long run, as "drow killed my family and I'm out for blood."  To be honest, the sob stories can get rather trite... you tend to hear alot of the very same story over and over. There is absolutely no reason that you can't have had a happy childhood and have decided to travel now.

5)  Yay!  You have your character... you are now ready to roleplay.  Remember to keep in character and out of character separate and you will be able to have a long enjoyable time in your chosen sim.  The rules are there to help, not hinder.  Be polite out of character... and most importantly, have fun!  If it's not fun, it's time to move on or take a break.


roleplay.  All the preceding images were taken using the Bristol Windlight settings.  The first image is my home, all the following images were taken in Ambrea, the roleplay sim which I spend most of my time in.  If you would like a tour or more information about it, please feel free to contact me in world, I would love to help you more.