Welcome

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A Special Thanks!

A Special Thank You To Phoenyx Trevellion and DikBrah Trilling of Panther Ridge for keeping us alive and well over the past 6 years. Without you and your kindness our band would not be whole.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

An end, and a beginning

Well, I stand corrected, and I'm glad of that. Panther Ridge has run its course, closing after 6 years of operation under various owners, and we of the Pa Ri Tor are grateful to every one of them.
I had once believed if Panther Ridge closed, Pa Ri Tor would cease to be. I'm happy to be wrong on that. We survive, because, as we found out, there's a few people out there who held to our views, and did not want to see such an old tribe die out, so they offered us space. PRT now lives on in Dae'va Draught.
We live on, and we will continue to show by example that the panther girl role can be rich, and creative, and so worth the effort.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Gorean Welcome Wagon? I don't think so...

As much as I hate book thumping, this is something of a sticking point for me. Goreans do not trust strangers. They even use the same word for "stranger" as they do for "enemy".
So why do people come in to the forest, around panther camps (who are also classified as outlaws), and expect a Welcome Wagon? If the roleplay is serious, these panthers will of worked hard to gain the supplies they have, and will not be willing to simply give them away. They most certainly are not going to be willing to allow a stranger, especially a male, in to their camp to rest.
Panther girls, by nature, do not trust outsiders. They're trying not to end up in a collar, so they're not going to assume anyone they come across in the forest is just another forest friend they can sit down to tea with.
Yes, I do roleplay my character as inhospitable, sometimes rude, always cautious. Why? Because I am roleplaying a character that is seen by Gorean society as an outlaw, as in "outside the law". Anyone not part of my band is an outsider, and potential threat to my band's safety. 
The key point in all that is...it is a role I PLAY. Nothing personal is meant by the behavior. It's just me, roleplaying as realistically as I can. I don't mind people roleplaying taking offense, as long as that offense is only in character (IC).

Monday, November 19, 2012

Just sayin'

Pa Ri Tor has existed for about 6 years, through some serious drama. It has survived the typical SL slow times that happen around the holidays. It is very likely to continue to exist as long as Panther Ridge exists, since the two are effectively one. As this blog's main page says, we have Dutch and Phee to thank for keeping the sim going, so the tribe has a strong footing to also keep going.

Pa Ri Tor is alive and well, and we're still strong roleplayers who follow the books as much as possible. In the end, that's all that matters.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Old School, BTB, GE, and Disney Gor

     By far, I prefer (if I must assume a label) to be considered Old School. I do not want to exclude rp possibilities with someone simply because they are either BTB (by the book), or GE (Gor Evolved). Most rp, from either style, can be pretty in depth and interesting, which are features I enjoy in my roleplay.
     As with all things, there's good and bad. BTB goes bad when they forget to actually understand the books they claim to be going by, eliminating pieces that don't fit with their self-image of the bad-ass Gorean man. I suppose that's not too bad, they tend to at least be close.
     GE, however, when it goes bad, goes horribly bad. Too many people interpret "Gor Evolved" as another way of saying "screw it, I don't care what the rp should be based on, I'm going to do what I want to". This is where GE crosses the line in to the fairytale land of Disney. Where anything goes, Gorean or not, you can be Xena the warrior princess if you wish, deftly beating the asses of every male you come across...with a sword even. You can paint your captives, curl their hair, dress them up in pink tu-tus. You can dress like grunge skaters with cigarettes hanging from your lips. Whatever.
     Some people consider this nonsense fun. Good for them. I...don't. I enter in to roleplay situations under the impression I am roleplaying with fellow, mature, adults. It may not seem like fun to onlookers, but I enjoy playing a role seriously. I'm not trying to live out a first-person shooter game.
I'm not trying to perpetuate the bad reputation slapped on some Gorean roles by people who figure they're going to "be creative" and completely toss the basis for the rp out the window.
     I do not find "bratty" slaves entertaining. I do not find amazon she-bitches calling themselves panthers impressive. Men who are clearly under the thumb of their slave and/or FC make me laugh when they try to tell me they're in charge. Pew pew? Oh hell no.
     If Disney Gor is fun for you, by all means, knock yourself out. I'm going to stick to my own guns, and will rp BTB or GE. You can keep your Disney to yourself, tho. Thanks.

Monday, October 29, 2012

IC <~~~~>OOC

People who can't (or won't) separate IC from OOC are a frequent source of both amusement, and drama.
Ok, I will freely admit sometimes I reacte realtime to what is going on with my avatar. It is my humble opinion that anyone claiming they keep both separate 100% are either lying, or have some mental issues. It's normal to have some degree of reaction.
Where the line is crossed occurs in one of two ways. There's those who's emotional attachment to their avatar is so strong that they will become OOCly/rl offended as if whatever transgression was done to them personally in rl.
Then there's those who claim "This is who I am!", as apparently it's an excuse to treat people however they see fit, especially those in the slave role. They claim to be rl dominants/masters, and that this justifies being an asshole. I don't get the connection, honestly. Being a rl dominant has nothing to do with a lack of common courtesy and respect for someone else outside their role.
And, hate to break it you, but if you have to tell people what you are, odds are you're not even close. True dominants don't need to announce it, and are secure enough in their domninance that they do not need to flaunt it over others. They are capable of respecting the difference between someone's ROLE, and how they might be in real life. And if they are assholes, it's just because they're assholes.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

BTB, or "BTB"

     This is a bit of a phenomenon I've noticed, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this observation. Sims that call themselves BTB, yet when going there and seeing them in action, it leaves me wondering which book, or if it was even part of the Gor series.
     Some of the obvious giveaways being the men think just being men means they are invincible, and that women cannot under any circumstances "talk back". And don't even think about beating them in a fight. The FWs seem baffled by "women with weapons", or that resist the collar. Well, even Tarl Cabot was taken captive, and enslaved. His Scarlet status didn't exempt him. And the women with weapons? Those are called panther girls, or talunas. In some rare cases, they were even FWs, like Tarna, or others who hunted animals. They existed, by the books. And no, not every panther taken captive instantly submits, no matter how awesome the man is in his own mind.
     Trades, while they normally occured at specific exchange points in the books, were usually honored, even by outlaws, and even if being conducted with panthers. This was by the books. SL's variant is most cities/villages/etc have "trade points", yet the supposed BTB locations don't honor it, particularly when dealing with panthers. Ok, admittedly some GE sims seem to treat their trade points as more like a way to get people in a group so they can shoot at them. But, while Gor was male-dominated, Mr. Man still held honor above all else.
     I've seen places that have "pet", or "friendly" larls. By the books, a larl cannot be tamed, even if taken as a kitten. It will always eventually turn on its owner, and return to the place of its birth. If they are kept anywhere, it is on chains, and with extreme caution. Larls are also, by the way, huge animals, standing 7 feet at the shoulder, so their kittens are not likely to be mere ankle biters in size.
     Magic...wasn't real, BTB. The magicians were illusionists, just like rl magicians. There was no such thing as real magic on Gor, nor magic potions, etc, etc. What looked like magic, ie. the blue flame, was Priest King technology, and not something they shared.
     All this is to come to one point...if you're going to say you're BTB, be BTB. Otherwise, you're just as GE as the GE people you look down your nose at. Maybe more so.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

The nature of moondancing

So, what does the term "moondance" bring to mind? Oddly enough, for most SL Goreans, it implies something fatal. Yet nothing in the books supports this view.
Some of us have debated this, and come to a few conclusions we think are pretty logical, given context clues in the books.
A moondance serves two purposes. First, it provides a sexual outlet for panther girls, but it's only the first step of the process. The second thing it does, usually, is breaks the captive male, preparing him for slavery.  It's a male, they're supposed to be the stronger ones in Gorean society, so it would take more drastic measures to prove to them they too can be mastered.
Does it always work? Of course not, just as slapping a collar on a panther girl does not always a slave make. Both views are backed up by comments in the books. Tarl himself discusses how "not everyone takes to the collar" in Hunters. Hunters is also where we find the example that not all men break, in the character Rim.  He was clearly captured, bearing the degredation stripe to prove it, yet while he behaves somewhat humbly until freed, it's obvious he's not broken.
A moondance isn't the only outlet, as the books mention how men are kept as slaves until the panthers tire of them, then sell them. So clearly, the moondance itself is not the only sexual outlet for panthers.
I suppose I can see where the concept that it means death for the captive male comes from. In a male-dominated society, being broken and forced to admit you've been bested by women would be a 'death' of your place as a Gorean man. Don't worry though, it's not really fatal...