Playing With Magic

For some roleplayers, Hogwarts Reborn is enchanting

by Luthien Biziou

A charming classroom

It's 5 minutes until 5pm, SLT. I teleport to Oahu, change into my appropriate avatar, and quickly navigate my 1st year Slytherin through the halls of Hogwarts Castle. I take a seat in the crowded Charms classroom. A 3rd year Ravenclaw behind me says something nasty about Slytherins. The kind 1st year Gryffindor, a friend of my character, tells me to ignore the Ravenclaw. A 3rd year Hufflepuff smiles at me as she comes in and asks about my character's mother, the History of Magic professor. Class begins and it's yet another hour of fabulous roleplaying: the teacher interacting with students, students asking questions, people passing notes, and other typical school activities.

This is a typical roleplaying session at Hogwarts Reborn, the roleplaying community for fans of JK Rowling's popular Harry Potter book series. Like all roleplaying communities within Second Life, it has experienced its share of setbacks and difficulties. The community continues to grow strong despite occasional problems and it thrives under a talented team of staff, volunteers, and dedicated players.

“There is a growing group of interesting characters dedicated to providing a fun role play experience. It runs the gamut from professors and students to shop keepers. There is even a greenhouse ghost. We are off to a great start!" says Wylder Pan, the professor of Herbology and assists with the Hufflepuff house.

Ryshalla Hoorenbeek, who plays Gryffindor named Emily Willowsbrook comments, “I love the sim because it is more interactive than a book or movie. I read a lot of fan fiction to get more HP fixes than JKR can supply me with. This means more to me than the game The Sims. There it is too impersonal, with no real interaction with anyone that is alive. Whether you like or hate a character is irrelevent, it is sill make believe.”

Danton Thirroul, who is the Head Roleplaying Director for the group, hopes to quell the confusion amongst the newer roleplayers regarding in-character and out-of-character interaction by hosting roleplaying seminars. These orientation sessions should alleviate the misconceptions regarding how the more experienced roleplayers in the group portray their characters. “This session is open to players NEW to roleplay (experienced roleplayers will have their own session coming up: 'Advanced Roleplay techniques),” Danton elaborates. “We will treat it like a formal lesson: me talking a lot but there will be a Q&A session involved. Depending upon feedback there may be follow-up sessions.” The first seminar is scheduled for tomorrow at 12pm (noon) SLT.

New characters are encouraged to visit the sim and observe the roleplaying dynamic. Class registration is currently closed until the next term but students are encouraged to roleplay outside of classes as well. The sim itself contains Hogwarts Castle, Wizard Alley, the Quidditch pitch, and a wand park to practice spells. Visitors are encouraged to walk around Wizard Alley and peruse the fanciful shops there. The sim is located on Oahu, an island privately owned by Darcy Rutledge and Rick Langdon: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Oahu/226/137/30

The group also maintains an active group on Yahoo! Groups that all interested parties are encouraged to join: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/PhoenixEstates/

To outsiders, the Hogwarts Reborn sim may seem as unusual as a unicorn dancing with a hippogriff. Students whiz past in particle-emitting brooms, members of rival houses quarrel in the hallways, and professors pass on their knowledge to both the rapt and the bored. To the core roleplayers that live, work, and play in the canon world of Harry Potter, however, the sim is pure magic.

Comments

[Chris]

That's pretty cool, I'll have to check it out.

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[Riko Kamachi]

Wonderful article, Luthien, you really did a good job here :) The Oahu sim is, I think, one of the best places in SL for RP. (Plus, my character takes Herbology, and I'd never seen the greenhouse ghost! XD)

[ryshalla Hoorenbeek]

Actually I am a Ravenclaw, not a Gryffindor. I take no offence in this mistake as I like Luthien and treat her like the little sister I never had. (In rp or out)

[NegroThunder]

thanks to some epic work by yours truly, this sim is now down for at least a few days.

self replicating balls>RP fags.

[Rick Langdon]

The attack on Oahu was in my opinion a Denial of Service attack and as such is a US federal offense. I will be contacting Linden Labs to start investigation into the avatars and accounts used to do the attack and start legal action against the owners.

[Whimsycallie Peger]

Epic? Hardly... selfish, and childish. I will never understand people who cannot make fun for themselves, but feel it neccesary to run around ruining other people's fun.

[mootykips]

"The attack on Oahu was in my opinion a Denial of Service attack"

DoS = malformed SYN/ACT. None of those packets were flying here.

"and as such is a US federal offense. I will be contacting Linden Labs to start investigation into the avatars and accounts used to do the attack and start legal action against the owners."

k gl, considering our ips are somewhere in south korea kekekekeke

[Rick Langdon]

Well...figures that the perpetrators would be allegedly foreign. Just goes to show how honor and respect for other's property is taken so lightly by them. As it is Oahu is back up and restricted access.

Hope the North Koreans pay you people a visit soon.

[Hazim Gazov]

>>The attack on Oahu was in my opinion a Denial of Service attack and as such is a US federal offense. I will be contacting Linden Labs to start investigation into the avatars and accounts used to do the attack and start legal action against the owners.

Rick Langdon<<

Wow... you know there has to be over $5000 US of damage before anyone will look at the case, and even then they rarely care unless you're some huge corporation.

Also, they rarely care about online games. Very rarely.

[NegroThunder]

i should have used eye rape balls. that would have been funnier.

[Anony-Dutch]

"Well...figures that the perpetrators would be allegedly foreign. Just goes to show how honor and respect for other's property is taken so lightly by them. "

O.o

Excuse me?

[Emari]

How does one get in to see this sim? I tried to use the slurl, but wound up in korea (?!?!) My husband is a big Harry Potter fan, and I know he'd love to see this.

[HarryPotterObsessed]

When you downloaded the second life, did your computer get all slow, or did you get any viruses? Because that's the only thing I worry about when downloading.

[caleb]

ilike second life becaose its cool