By Bixyl Shuftan
Second Life has a number of combat areas. And there's no shortage of places offering adult action. The Island of Lost Dreams combines both, but there's a lot more to the place as well.
The Island of Lost Dreams is a "Capture / Roleplay" or CARP sim, or a "slave hunt" sim as the group calls itself. The players are in three groups, Preys, Hunters, and Amazons. Preys are the more submissive players, armed only with slings with stones, and can only shoot back when attacked. Mostly made up of females, the girls are pursued by the Hunters, and the guys by the Amazons. The Hunters are male players armed with bows whom try to capture female prey or hunters. The Amazons are female hunters, armed with bows and melee weapons, whom protect prey girls and fight the Hunters. Players are required to wear a combat GM meter and hud, with Preys also needing a collar.
In one on one combat, the participants fight one another until one runs out of hit points and falls unconscious. A victorious hunter can capture and bind Preys and Amazons he bests. Amazons can also capture hunters.
According to the notecard, outfits were to be Fantasy Medieval or Gorean-themed. The rules stated only humans, elves, and possibly demons could be active participants. Child and four-footed avatars are absolutely not allowed.
I was invited to get a look at the island, by the leader of the role-play Lisa Salvadori. The LM provided takes one to a platform high over the sim, where one can get notecards explaining the place and weapons appropriate for the role you join. We used the teleporter to drop down to ground level near the village. The main building there is the tavern, which is considered a safe or neutral zone, and is the main social spot. She then led me to one of the tunnels there, "We have several tunnels here, leading to different places." There was one point in which the wooden walkway we were on was interrupted with an underground stream under the gap, "Have to jump up here." While she made it, yours truly missed and took a bath, getting some girlish giggles in response, "Ha ha! You could have also went down underwater. Just have to find the secrets (laughter)." At least one of the tunnels offers a secret entrance to the castle dungeon.
Lisa soon had to go, so one of the Amazons, Raven, took me around. The scenery was very good once rezzed. Besides the village and the tunnels, there were waterfalls, hills, and the castle in the distance. Sometimes one needs to jump to get to a spot without taking a long way around, but Raven loved it, "running and jumping I love sooo much. (grin)"
We went up to one spot in the hills for a picturesque view, "This is my favorite spot to sit and look at the water." For traveling over the water, there's a boat, "it's fun to ride in, but we found it can't hold a lot of people (laughter), it will sink!" The boat can hold a driver, two "holding" and a fourth. At one point, we passed a hammock, "you can lay in solo or with a partner." With 58 animations, it didn't take much imagination to figure out what a couple could be doing there. In another part of the sim were ruins one could hide in, or fight from behind a wall. And there were more tunnels. Raven used some to get away from Hunters when outgunned or when her hitpoints were low.
In the main field there was a dummy for combat practice. To keep one from being ambushed while distracted, the location it was in was considered a safe zone. Once activated, it could move around and return fire on one attacking it. It had adjustable settings so beginners could start low and work their way up.
Back at the tavern, Raven introduced me to one of the hunters, Keven, whom was dressed in a modern hunter's camo outfit. The conversation soon got to some friendly bickering, "Lisa a Miss, since when?" "(laughter) Careful, you know if she hears you, she's going to spank you." "(chuckle) More like she gets spanked." "(raspberries)." Looking to me, Raven told, "Keven here put an arrow in my (behind) earlier." "Poor Raven, I make her blush, and it makes me feel so damn good." "Hee-hee. … I'll get you yet, Sir, you can count on that." They described earlier that he had captured her and taken him to his home, locking her up. But when he had to leave she escaped, after getting her bow and dagger. She explained for melee weapons, Amazons could use "swords, whips, hammers" or most anything that could be easily used in one hand inland to hand combat and could reasonably be found in this kind of setting.
Keven explained given patience, most anyone could learn how to fight here, "a newcomer … would need to learn fast as some of these Amazons are hard to take down." Raven stated fights could be over in less than five minutes or go on for a half hour. At one point, Keven and Raven demonstrated a capture, with Raven letting him win a fight, the combat meter declaring her unconscious, and Keven tying her up. While unconscious, one could be aided by someone on their side. But once captured, the captive could be taken away, "Once she is leashed, I can drag her over the sim." "Like this, I can't run, unless he loosens my legs, and if he doesn't leash me when he loosens my legs, I can run."
Recorded damage slowly healed over time. Unless reset, a combat meter takes up to thirty minutes to fully heal wounds. While there was an option for "arena mode," it wasn't used normally as once someone was beating, it was soon reset. It wasn't good for the CARP fighting, only PvP combat in which the only objective was how many wins. It was also mentioned that "splash" damage arrows were active at the moment, which Raven disliked as it made for easier ambushes and captures.
They got along well, though there was no shortage of rivalry and scheming, albeit in a friendly way, Keven himself saying, "One thing to remember is never trust a Hunter, they are evil." "Or an Amazon," Raven quipped, grinning evilly. Keven smirked, "Its good we are friends." At one point, Raven accidentally activated a music gesture, singing "Bad to the Bone." Keven chuckled, "See, if you tickle her good, she will sing all happy like." "(laughter and raspberries) I am the one here you will find just randomly dancing (laughter)." "Yea, I remember not too long ago she was dancing and captured me. (laughter) But I do have to say, her (behind) looked good." There were more chuckles, Keven saying, "Well, you know most of the girls chase me, only one can really catch me, and I'm not pointing her out," then he looked at Raven and grinned.
Soon we were joined by another Hunter, Kairos, "one of our Russian Hunters." "We have Hunters all over the world," Raven told. Then came a scantily clad Amazon, "Sweet Honey Pot." Raven spoke of her, "Sweet started as Prey, then learned to pick up a bow. Now she's my sister. (smile)" We were then joined by another, Olivia Direwytch, also lacking much cover, "Darn, lost my skirt again." Raven remarked, "As you can see, we all dress differently, but we chicks are hotties." Keven drooled, "Hot hell, I melt any time I'm around any of ays." Looking to me, Raven warned, "Don't let any of these girls fool you, we all love a good fight." One of the girls looked at me, openly wondering what it would be like to go after foxboy prey.
Over time, there have been some crazy happenings. Raven described one time in which some Amazons had captured a hunter, and after tying him to a pole were having fun with him by taking turns spanking his behind.
Besides the CARP action, there are also "Capture the flag" battles. The usual roles of hunter vs prey and Hunter vs Amazon are cast aside for "Red vs Blue." Here the normally submissive players are free to attack as they please, and only one item counts as a capture: the opposing team's flag. Whoever swipes the opposing player's flag and can bring it back to base wins.
On some weekends, there's music parties at the tavern or castle, with either a DJ or live musician. Raven commented, "There's also 'Spin the Bottle' up in the castle for naughty times - shhhhhh!" The parties can take all sorts of fun, "We have fun, one night we got all these bouncy balls and were bouncin' all over the place and hidin' in the bushes!" Sweet commented, "A couple weeks ago, we had a love concert, er live concert in the castle ballroom." She giggled, "The love concert came after."
Most of the houses and other buildings in the Village are available for rent, with a 50 prim limit available for 360 Lindens a week, 75 for 575L and 100 for 680. One could be rented for a home, or a store. There were already stores in the area where one could get clothing, furniture, weapons, and a few adult items.
Finally, there are the roleplaying classes. The ILD Roleplayers group is ranked "Mature" and not adult. These are taught by Rayah Marenwolf at 2PM on Wednesdays in the Tavern. There's also RP practice in the Tavern on Sundays at announced times. Once a month is the "Virtual Live Band," with four people from four different countries.
The builder behind the Island of Lost Dreams was Jenne Dibou, whom is also known for her Steampunk designs and builds.
With the adult themes in mind, the main objective was for everyone to have fun, with the rule book on occasion getting tossed aside when everyone desired. Sweet told, "The best thing about this sim is the people. Everyone I've met is very open and friendly and willing to help." "A sense of humor helps too," Olivia added.
The entrance is at Lost Dreams Island, (
129, 82, 3506). For more information, there's also a Island of Lost Dreams Blog at
http://islandoflostdreamscarpsim.blogspot.com/ .
Bixyl Shuftan
The 12th of March is
an important date in a very tiny part of the world, often overlooked by
many but still significant for those residing there.
For those who are wondering, on 12 March 1968 Mauritius gained its independence from the British Empire, becoming a democracy.
Usually, as many residents have never heard of Mauritius, we get asked all sorts of questions.
Hence, through this post, you can learn a bit more about us. 
We’re the third smallest country in Africa and also among the most developed countries in the region.
We rely on tourism, ICT and the financial sector.
We’re also known because of the Dodo which originates from our country.
We speak French and English and Creole is our mother tongue.
We’re a multicultural state with people originating from Europe, Africa
and Asia and we respect each and every culture.
Sega is our national traditional dance.
The traditional sega is very popular, even today though there are some musicians who have added a little modern twist to it.
As internet has become more accessible, there are more people discovering the internet.
Social media is a common favourite by most people.
Gamers seem more rare, at least in Second Life.
I have met a few fellow Mauritians in 2016 and it was a pleasant surprise.
The fact that SL is so huge makes it so amazing.
It’s really a chance meeting if I do actually meet another Mauritian.
The Mauritius sim does not exist anymore but maybe in the future
someone may reproduce Mauritius with its popular landmarks to give Second Life a
better idea of Mauritian Culture.
