Dear friend and countryperson!
What we do
In The Old Forest we recreate J. R. R. Tolkien’s lands long before the events of his books “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”. Here, we re-enact and role-play right in the middle of the First Age1), 351 (solar) years after the very first sunrise. This time period is roughly 12,000 years before the “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”. Our story is based on events in Tolkien’s book “The Silmarillion” – the first eleven chapters.
Copyrights apply, this map is part of the
Tolkien Estate and may not be used for commercial purposes. The map
contains conflicting
information: when the Two Lamps (right) existed, the island in the
middle of the sea (Númenor) did not yet. The map will be updated
soon.
The Silmarillion is a comprehensive book of Tolkien’s writings that comprises the origins of Arda (Middle Earth and Aman), descriptions of Tolkien’s pantheon of one God (Eru Ilúvatar) and numerous Angelic beings (Valar and Maiar), and the awakening of Elves and Men into Middle Earth. In-depth knowledge of the book is not necessary to role-play here, but we do recommend some familiarity with the Tolkien universe. We are happy to teach and are hosting “Book Club” and “Barding” events. Other events include voice readings, sparring/combat practice, OOC (out-of-character) dances, and Elven holiday celebrations. We are happy to include role play and Tolkien classes on an as-needed basis.
We boast five sim-wide levels of role-play plus several separate sky boxes for events. Come and live as an Elf, Human, or Dwarf (other characters on specific agreement only). You can be a ranger, a healer, a craftsman, a bard, or a farmer, or just enjoy our beautiful setting. Natural animals are also welcome, and if you are a Tolkien fan but enjoy the darker side of his imagination, you may wish to investigate the Swamplands (orcs are also “welcome” here).
There are rental units available. We use the Unity Maxim life and combat meter to enhance our role-play. You will information about these in the Boathouse Welcome Center. We would like to ask you to go there and inform yourself. Feel free to read through our auto-running presentation. Appropriate clothing (medieval / elvish) is required.
If you love Tolkien and/or medieval fantasy this may be the place for you! Feel free to →submit an application or an inquiry from within Second Life to
Randir Menelmacar (randirmenelmacar resident), the sim admin, or Yalawë Aldaron (mugen.hamaski), the Captain of the Rangers,
or write an →email to the webmaster. Please be patient, parts of our land are still under development / construction.
There are rules
Nearly all characters who come here do so by boat or ship, frequently by accident due to the turbulent waters surrounding our archipelago. Only the most skilled seafaring mariners, such as experienced Nelyar [=Teleri] elves, are capable of navigating our tempestuous waters. Once here, you will be welcomed first by the elves who at one time were also shipwrecked on these lands and have created this community.
While our main intention is to have fun, we may all wish to agree to certain rules which make our lives on the island easier:
- We ask all visitors to dress in accordance with our fantastic realism, i.e. medieval clothing or elven attire is mandatory. Also, please have a modicum of modesty. Nudity is entirely fine where appropriate (bathing, swimming).
- As has been stated before, our land features a
Tolkien-inspired Medieval-style fantasy theme. Role-play
(RP) is free form: whatever you like! HAVE FUN! Paragraph RP ok!
Short sentence RP ok! Just make it make sense. Please be civil
and patient; understand that English is not everyone’s native
tongue. We encourage newcomers and beginners. Happy to teach!
Otherwise, standard RP rules apply: no godmodding, metagaming or powerplay. No reading minds, no interference with another player’s story… Happy to go over this if it is not understood! We are here to HAVE FUN! - With respect to PG rating, we are what Second Life calls a “Moderate” sim. Sex is allowed in PRIVATE spaces only. Consensual play between adults only allowed. (Please inform yourself about the →maturity ratings of sims and/or the use of Second Life in general.)
- Be respectful of fellow roleplayers’ privacy. Our occupied rental units are the homes of our players. Entering without invitation is unacceptable, even for landlords! Also, abstain from “camming” (directing the camera view) into private residences.
- We understand that there may be occasional fighting
or violence. In order to facilitate this, we
use the Unity Maxim v5.5 combat system. It is available for free and
fairly user
friendly. There are
NPC monsters (“targets”). If you wear the Unity Maxim
HUD, they
will try to kill you! If you are not wearing a fighting HUD or
meter, they cannot harm you.
PvP (person-vs.-person) combat is allowed under standard RP combat rules (at least three lines of RP as fair warning, and the opponent must agree to combat). Do not attack without provocation or an unarmed player! The use of traps is forbidden also.
We are always open to new ideas and suggestions. All rules are subject to change at the owner's (Randir Menelmacar) discretion. Get back to us if you have questions.
Our mythologic background
To tell the story of our colony in The Old Forest, one must go
back to the very beginning.
Our world, Eä is ruled by Eru Ilúvatar, a supreme deity all-father.
Before ever time was counted or even conceived, from the thoughts of
Ilúvatar came the Valar and Maiar. These beings are what one would
refer to as demi-gods or angels, and they are uncounted in number.
Of these beings, the Valar are the most powerful and are served by
the Maiar.
In the story of creation we learn that Eru Ilúvatar called to him an
assembly of all the mighty Valar and Maiar. And he gifted to them a
theme of music and commanded them to sing before him. These angelic
beings began to sing and create a vision through which they came to
know the minds of one another better. It was called the
Music of The Ainur, or
Ainulindalë. The Ainur (or Holy Ones)
then are the Valar and Maiar who sang of the creation of the world
before Eru Ilúvatar.
The music was long and deep and glorious, but for the disruption of
one of the Valar, the mightiest and most clever of all. His name was
Melkor. Within Melkor was the greatest of all the
gifts of the Valar, but he was envious of Eru Ilúvatar, his Master.
Melkor could see the vision of the world perhaps better than any of
his kindred, but he desired to create things for himself alone and
hold dominion over them. Three times during the Music of the Ainur
was Melkor’s disruption and corruption so intense that it confused
the others around him causing them to falter. Some followed him,
some continued unbothered and others stopped singing completely. At
each of these times, Eru Ilúvatar commanded that the music stop;
each time he reset, he chided Melkor which caused Melkor to become
ashamed and angry. When the singing was complete, Eru displayed for
the Ainur a vision of what they had created through song, and they
saw Arda in full bloom.
The Ainur, both Valar and Maiar now were enamored of this vision and desired to create this world. Even Melkor was so impressed that he fooled himself into believing he would assist in this work. Lastly, Ilúvatar revealed to the Ainur that which he had created only in his own mind: the Children of Ilúvatar, Elves and Men. These had not been a part of their song, and when the Ainur beheld them, their desire to make a world for them was even greater than before. Now Eru Ilúvatar ordered them to go and create the world; the Ainur descended from the void to do the work of shaping our world, Eä.
Suggested reading: “The Silmarillion” by J. R. R. Tolkien.
(More timeline coming soon.)
1) Strictly speaking, there are conflicting reports about exactly when the First and Second Age start. For our roleplay we accept that the First Age (of sun years [FA:SY]) begins with the first rise of sun and moon.