Blackwater is a mainly English-speaking old western sim, while we endeavor to include everyone we do encourage non-English visitors to bring a translator to assist them. When you enter the territory you will be entering the era of 1873 this means you will be role-playing a character who acts, dresses, and speaks as a person would in 1873.

Our town acts and promotes the day-to-day lifestyle of the 1870’s, we attempt to make this as realistic as possible within the confined of second life, this includes but is not limited to laws, stores, available items, and the mannerisms of folks, we are not seeking perfection but are looking to be as close historical accuracy as possible.

Blackwater is a town, which means there are many, many avenues of roleplay for you to enjoy, We encourage you to spend a bit of time exploring the town and meeting folks before you decide on your role, we encourage uniqueness providing it is era-appropriate.

Take part in Blackwater with all we have to offer we have the added uniqueness of being completely In Character, we strive to ensure only essential out-of-character chatter is spoken in our town.

A QUICK NOTE

This sim is adult, therefore we do not permit children avatars here, all avatars must roleplay accordingly and the players behind must be over the age of 18, we do not permit teen players at all. This sim also strictly enforces the EULA given by the team at Linden Labs, Failure to adhere to the two can result in automatic removal from the Sim as well as a report made to Linden Labs.

GETTING STARTED

JOIN THE GROUPS BY CLICKING THE RELEVANT BOARD AND ACCEPTING THE GROUP FROM LOCAL CHAT
-Please join the OOC GROUP for any questions you may have about the sim, admins, moderators, and players will help you answer them

OBSERVER TAGS ARE REQUIRED TO BE WORN IF YOU ARE IN AN IC AREA AND NOT ROLEPLAYING.

• An Observer tag will be available in the landing zone, If players do not wish you to observe a scene, be respectful of their wishes and withdraw from the scene.

THIS SIM IS A PARAGRAPH ROLEPLAYING SIM.
-That means one should expect at least a paragraph or more per post, this does not mean one cannot use one-liners but that one-liners should be utilized sparingly, it does not mean take 15 minutes to post either, be relevant to the situation and post accordingly

• Drive-by insults are frowned upon here as is walking away before giving a player to respond if you can not handle the response you may be given then do not speak the insult in the first place.
• Flooding the chat with a series of one-line posts and then getting upset when a player is trying to respond is also discouraged take your time, type everything you want to say then let the player speak on a turn-by-turn style roleplay.

APPLICATION FOR A ROLE
Should you wish to run a business or hold a specific role in Blackwater, please use the application website to apply and we will get back to you, if you have not heard from us within 24 hours please give us a shake as sometimes we do get busy.

CLOTHING REQUIREMENTS

Please note, should you choose to ignore these and teleport down in modern clothing, you will be ejected immediately. Failure to read these rules and warning signs is no excuse for non-compliance.

Store suggestions
Clothing store: Webdew, Junebug, Just Because, Deadwool, Contraption, Timber Creek Outfitters, Delightful Dress Designs
Weaponry Store: Highland Armories, S&P by Genth Saiman, and some of Akira Creations

Things to note:
~ Excessive piercings are not permitted keep it to ears, and if you can prove your heritage, nose.
~ Ear stretching: Unless you are of a culture and fully in that culture that supports this we do not permit it.
~ Fantasy ears and parts must be removed.
~ Skin markings are to be kept to era, tattoos permitted but they must resemble such of the current era, not the modern day.
Remember in the 1800s tattoos were still largely related to criminals and sailors, they did not have curse words, words about America, or large pictures.
~ Breast and Booties: please keep them realistic, we all love a curvy woman but being able to house a small adult under your bust is overdone.

• Child-like faces on grown adults…. No, just…no…

You may be asked to correct things here and there by admins to help keep the sim immersion level up to standard.
You can not claim you are of a half this or half that just to get your way with certain things, you will be asked to roleplay it properly one way or another

If you choose to roleplay items permitted above, you must accept that in-character actions can happen against you and react to these without complaint, for instance, if your ears are stretched and an outlaw uses them to hang you from a ceiling, or if you have piercings and someone rips them from you in a fight,…. it happens, heal and move on.

By Accepting the group tag for Blackwater, you are giving all of the Blackwater Admins permission to review note cards or instances of your Roleplay in local chat. This information and any determination made will be kept private among the Admin Group and the players involved.

***’
SIM INTERACTION NOTICE!

As part of the Western Independence alliance, we encourage all players in the regions listed below to come and develop their stories, or new ones even, in the town of Blackwater and its environs.

Indeed we welcome players to expand their stories from all era-appropriate regions, including the Western Territories however the following caveats must be noted.

We are unfortunately at this time unable to honor any legal warrants issued for crimes committed in the Western Territories by any players there who chose to come here to seek refuge from such crimes, any such roleplay will be deemed void.

Conversely, as we are unable to execute any of our own warrants, or pursue any legal processes within the Western Territories at this time, thus any outlaw activity committed within our independent regions will only be honored so long as the offenders remain within the Jurisdictions of the western independence group of regions to be pursued captured prosecuted etc.

Any infraction of these rules will have the roleplay initially voided, a warning issued, and repeated such infractions will result in exclusion (banning)

Towns that we are currently interacting with:
Blind Horse Creek
Wind River (Non-combat- everything there will be roleplayed only)
Preston Texas
Lost Mesa.

IN CHARACTER BASIC RULES

IMPORTANT: Remember we are here role-playing a character, Keep the In Character and Out of Character separate, Simply because a person’s character is mean, insulting, smelly, or crazy does not mean the person behind the character is that, we all play a role in our own way, Please respect the unique individuality each person brings with there roleplay. If you do feel like you are being targeted or there is a misunderstanding please use Instant messages to clarify this, Nothing in local chat should be aimed at you only your character, that being said if someone is role-playing a hatred of your character then that is between you, if you feel that the remarks directed to you are more of a personal and out of character nature then please your Admins are always here to help.

1:) PUBLIC NUDITY AND SEX ACTS
While this is an adult sim it is also a role-playing sim, players can expect in-character consequences for their actions, Feeling a bit closed in and needing to streak through town, expect the law to chase you down.

OOC Sex acts are to be kept to hotel and saloon rooms only same with nudity. Please keep it IC should you perform these in public places, IE if you get caught you can not declare you are OOC when you are the one exposing yourself.

Anyone using OOC to get out of IC consequences will be subject to those consequences no matter what.

2:) RAPE AND SEXUAL AGGRESSION
Rape is permitted in Blackwater, however, it must be a consented action, meaning you must have the OOC agreement between two players, (this may be asked for to verify by admins should a dispute arise), without this agreement, you may be subject to a ban

2a: Things to note:
Rape is never an out-of-character action, should anyone get into your private messages harassing you, please report it immediately to the admins. Players who do this are subject to a ban.

If you choose to perform this roleplay and the player chooses to FTB the main action, you must respect this (see what FTB means)

If you do decide to rape or sexually assault someone… good luck.

3:) META-GAMING – POWER GAMING – GOD-MODDING
All three are strictly forbidden on the SIM, if you do not know what these are then please ask an Admin for clarification we are more than happy to explain each in detail with you, claiming ignorance is not an excuse for these phrases.

4:) NO OUT OF CHARACTER ON MAIN LEVEL
If you are on the main level of the sim you are In character and expected to act as such at all times, some exceptions to these may be Singers or DJs brought in to cater to events, all citizens and other visitors are expected to continue in a roleplay fashion.

5: ) NON COMBATANTS
Should you choose to remain unarmed in Blackwater, this does not mean you cannot be robbed, beaten, or even shot and it certainly does not mean you can lip off to people without worry, it simply means you can not defend yourself. If you are struck or injured in roleplay you are expected to play it out, non-combatant does not exempt you from roleplay.

In addition to this, Walking around committing acts of aggression such as but not limited to, Hostile actions towards players, Using dynamite, Poisoning players, etc, and then giving the excuse “I am unarmed therefore I can not be punished” or “I am a healer I can not commit false acts” does not fly in Blackwater, If you roleplay out a crime or act of aggression you will be subject to the consequence of that action.

6:) WHAT YOU ARE EXPECTED TO WEAR
Wear the Wild West Meter (WWM) and HUD at all times, If you have questions concerning how your HUD and meter function please ask.

7:) HIRING AND FIRING
Those in charge of departments or businesses can hire and fire at their discretion, we trust there judgment which is why we put them in said positions, If you are removed from a title then find a way in character to earn it back unless you have a clear reason to believe this is for an OUT OF CHARACTER issue.

8:) FEAR OF LIFE (See combat laws for additional information)
You can die in Blackwater (This is not a god mod action) If you are in a situation that is life-threatening and you choose a course of action that leads to a player role-playing killing you, then you are dead for example, If I am being held up and I choose to refuse and return hostiles, the player can react according to their character which could lead to your death.

You will need to role-play your death as per Blackwater rules.

Always remember: Your actions WILL have consequences!

OUT-OF-CHARACTER BASIC RULES

1:) NO DRAMA NO OUT OF CHARACTER NONSENSE – read this one well.
We do our best to provide our members with a safe and comfortable place to roleplay, this means we will not tolerate any out-of-character harassment or drama, If you feel you have witnessed a legitimate out-of-character breach of the rules contact one of the Admins and discuss it with them, however, if someone was just rude to you then handle it in character and shoot them next time you see them.

2:) RESIDENCES
There are private residences and several saloon/hotel rooms in the SIM, stay out of these unless invited in by the owner, if you are role-playing a break-in or theft this is one of the limited times it would be wise to pre-discuss this action beforehand with the owner and gain permission, keep that permission for your logs as Admins may ask for it.

We ask that you respect the sim and do not litter by leaving prims or highly scripted items around, if you are not using it your sex bed does not need to be running.

Rentals are available on the sim website and at the land office, the standard price for a rental here is 3 linden per 1 prim

3:) CRIMES AND CONSEQUENCES
If you do the crime you do the time, the law here is not like other sims we have given them full reign to be however they please, you may come across a corrupt lawman or a nice one, you accept this fact when you roleplay as an outlaw on the sim, should you feel it is extreme or excessive contact an Admin and pause the roleplay, or keep it in character and seek retribution against the lawman through legal or….illegal ways. (Please see combat laws for further information)

4:) DEATHS
If you are hung/killed for any reason, you are dead for 24 hours. Allow folk to drink to you, wring their hands, and when you come back, conveniently everyone’s forgotten about the hanged man being you. You had one too many and blacked out the events of the past few days.

5:) THE BROTHEL
Yes, we have a brothel, yes they’re roleplaying whores, no harassing them OOC. Come on fellas, let the ladies have fun.

6:) OUT OF CHARACTER CHATTER
Please keep OOC chat in the local channel to a minimum. A quick brb or goodnight is fine, but if you wanna have an OOC conversation, just make a group chat. I won’t tolerate OOC arguments in local. Anything in the town is IC, there are no OOC events in Blackwater. There are always ways you can incorporate what you are trying to say into roleplay (want to move? Suggest it in roleplay there is zero need for brackets)

7:) CHARACTER AGE
We only accept avatars that are over 2 weeks old. This is to stop Spam griefers, if you seek an exception to this please contact an administrator with your reasonings.

8: ) CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Maintain continuity. If you are in a roleplay with a character, do NOT switch to another character in the middle of it or try to involve another of your characters in an ongoing roleplay.
If you intend to change the entire look and story of your character it is recommended you do so over time rather than all at once. These actions can create confusion and many other issues including no one ever knowing who the heck you are. Be your character, and let it grow.

Should you choose to play another role especially one that conflicts with your current role, it is recommended you do so on an entirely different Avatar with an entirely different name. We won’t let ‘JoeBob’ be a Sheriff one day and an Outlaw the next. Learn to make changes in your character’s look or demeanor over time if you wish to completely change his/her nature.

Should you roleplay a healer that aids outlaws, expect a bit of distrust from other players, this is not a slight against you but a reaction to your character role.

Should you decide to portray any real historical figures we insist that it be done portraying that character in a realistic and accurate depiction. We will not abide by any defamation or slander regarding historical figures. Be very careful.

9:) YOUR RIGHTS
Everyone has the right to abstain from roleplay with anyone they choose, or of any type they choose. This isn’t a license to go around breaking laws and refusing to RP being arrested or mouthing off to an outlaw and refusing to fight or be captured. That’s not realistic RP and will get you a conversation with the moderators.

10:) LOCATING PEOPLE
If you’re looking for someone who’s not presently in town, you may use the main group chat to post either a telegram-style message looking for them, or a single emoted post that narrates your search. This gives others a chance to see what’s going on and choose to be ‘found’ somewhere in your story. If you still can’t find a doctor, lawman, banker, etc when you need one, IM an Admin about how or when to proceed with the story.

11:) TUMMY TALKERS AND PRIM BABIES
No obnoxious talking attachments. Talking attachments are limited to RP tools that post chat and/or actions under your character’s name, Zoobies and the other ones on the market must also be set to silent.

12: TELEPORTING
No teleporting friends or other RPers into an active roleplay scene for any reason. If they wish to join the scene, they MUST enter the scene appropriately.

Teleporting out of an active roleplay scene or combat is not permitted unless a RL emergent situation arises (or you are in a Roleplay situation where you can not leave the area), plan your time accordingly, excuse yourself, walk away, and then teleport or log off.

13:) YOUR LIMITS VERSUS OUR SIM LAWS
While we understand you have your limits for certain reasons, we have decided to make players’ roleplay more realistic to override some of these.

Players are encouraged to CHECK LIMITS before engaging in “heavy” role-play situations, if you are caught changing your limits to avoid consequences your changes will be ignored.

LIMITS WE WILL RESPECT

• RAPE (we understand this can be a personal RL trauma you do not need to explain)
• Dismemberment or amputations
• Bodily Fluids
• Sex or no sex preference
• FTB preferences
• Real-life cross-over limits

LIMITS WE WILL OVERRIDE

• Death – as death is not permanent on this sim and we are trying to bring back fear for life roleplay you can die in Blackwater.
• FTB (constant) If it is noticed that you are constantly using FTB to avoid consequences denying players you have upset their retribution then you may be overridden.
  -Scars and markings .. If you engage in a role-playing willingly (shoot out, fight, etc) and are injured then you are expected to portray some visual mark of your injuries even if for a “healing time”

14) WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN NOT HEAR.
To assist with meta gaming/god modding issues we have established a few rules for overhearing conversations etc we do ask you to take these examples and apply them to your day-to-day roleplay, if unsure please contact a moderator or Admin.

Hearing through walls or doors: As the walls in the west were mostly wood we have established the “muffle rule” You would hear noises but not enough to determine what one is saying unless the players are emoting using raised voices.

Hearing whispers and mumbles: If you are right next to a player then yes you would hear something, but if you are more than 5 meters away you may hear them make a noise and ask ‘what was that?” but you would not hear what they actually said.

If a player is outside versus you inside at a distance:
Unless you are near an emoted open window or door use the muffle rule, remember if you emote opening the window they could possibly hear you too

Private residences, If you wish to talk OOC keep it to IMs otherwise establish the above rules

Use the sounds around you to muffle your conversation if you choose to, IE at the train station the sound of the departing steam engine could cover your chatter to anyone but the person’s ear you whisper it into.

SHARING OF INFORMATION

• Players are never allowed to give out private information of other players regardless of the reason, This includes outing of alts and or giving out any real-life information, this is strictly against TOS and will be enforced here utilizing warning and then ban if proven.

CHILD AVATARS

Not permitted, due to the latest Linden lab upgrades to their TOS, May 31st 2024, Children avatars are no longer permitted on adult sims at all.

We understand some players may like the “family” roleplay with young children, but after careful consideration, we have decided that there are just not enough children avatars in a constant setting to warrant them being on the sim.

Zoobies and prim babies are the exception but must never be naked.

**’

A FEW COMBAT LAWS TO NOTE

• In Blackwater we want players to have fun but know it can be frustrating when players are constantly getting away with things due to masks, or performing acts when no one else is on the sim, to combat this we have decided that masks will be recognized for two crimes per player only, after this the law will start finding clues, ways to describe you and bring you in, these ways will be monitored by a non-law admin if you have any complaints about it please contact an admin for final verdict.

1: SIM RATIO AND WEAPON LIMITS
This sim follows the below ratio

Anyone that wears weapons are allowed a maximum of one (1) long rifle; two (2) handguns; and two (2) melee weapons.

*** Reloading in a holster will get you ejected from the combat and spoken to, three warnings and you are banned permanently

*** Speak to Harlan or Leilyna if you are uncertain about your weapon choice.

Only WWDS and WWDS RC bullets can be used due to meter restrictions. No other bullet will be permitted here.

2: BINDING AND SEARCHING.
Binding and searching must carry an emote whether it be a single emote or several spread-out emotes, the emote must specify a binding and at least two forms of weapon removal.

IE: Heads over to Harlan having downed him she pulls the cuffs from his belt using his own cuffs to secure both hands behind his back before removing his guns and any knives he carries as well as anything else that could be used to harm or escape from her justice.

It is mandatory that bindings are accepted by the captive. (This must be role-played.)

UN BINDING
Must be emoted by a player or after 15 minutes in binds the downed person can “struggle” from his binds and get free. This promotes fairness so players are not tied up for long periods

Exemptions of this are hostile prisoners where the law role plays keeping binds on for their own safety or the safety of a treating physician.

3: LOCK PICKING AND ESCAPES
If you have been properly searched (and the captor can prove the roleplay) any lock-picking or escape attempts will be ruled invalid, you CAN NOT use an NPC to assist in your escape, if you do not want to do the time, do not do the crime.

4: ROLEPLAY VS METER COMBAT
Your roleplay actions will always overwrite any meter actions given, Your meter combat should simply supplement your roleplay, walking up and just attacking in a griefing manner will not be abided here.

No shooting a man out of the blue, there has to be a reason, even if that is you’re out of your mind or don’t like lawmen, and you have to make a post, not just shoot a man in the back. If you draw in a hold-up or draw on a lawman, expect to be shot. If it’s a fight between two folks for more personal reasons, I expect three lines of rp. There needs only be three lines between the two MAIN participants in the case of an OK Corral sorta situation. Though snappy one-liners are always welcome.

IMPORTANT: The MAIN players in a scenario, the aggressor must write three lines to draw and shoot, the defender does not need to.

5: ENHANCERS
Combat, Speed, Jumping, Aim bots…will all get you banned.

6: DYNAMITE
Is restricted to blowing up doors, safes and buildings alone, if someone is in the building and gets injured that is permitted but simply dropping dynamite in a fight is not permitted. Think sensible here.

7: DON’T BE A DICK
There will be no tolerance for personal embarrassment, forced actions, or inhumane treatment of any kind against a person who is being held prisoner. This is roleplay, not a ticket to degrade anyone.

7a: Being beaten up or acts of physical violence within reason are permitted, this rule more pertains to someone using a player’s sexual preferences against them, extreme torture, etc. Use common sense, when in doubt…go without…

8: INJURIES, BLOWN DOORS AND OTHER STUFF
When wounded, you must find a healer to roleplay medical care. The healer will set an amount of time (a minimum of an hour to put it in the title of the meter) that you must recover before re-entering combat. If you work with a healer that doesn’t give you a time – the default is one hour.
(a) If you go AFK during healing, expect to wake up still injured, if not hurt worse.
(b) If you choose to let your character die of their wounds, they may come back 12 hours later as if the scene in question didn’t happen to you. It happened to somebody else, and nobody remembers their name. This shouldn’t be taken lightly as it in essence ends the storyline for that particular character and they cannot speak of it. Make sure it serves a purpose or don’t do it.

It is not permitted for any Healer, or Player to Heal another injured player, OR repair any damaged Roleplay doors or damaged items during the course of conflict. ONLY when the incident that caused those injuries or damages has concluded may this occur.
Supplemental Healing or Damage Repairs during the course of active roleplay will be considered the same using OOC utilities meant for specific ROLEPLAY purposes to gain an unfair advantage in roleplay.
in other words…Don’t heal someone to keep them from being defeated, and don’t fix a door to keep it from falling either. That’s cheatin’.

9: SAFE ZONES
Clinic and Church

10: FIRES AND PROPERTY DAMAGE
For lag purposes please use touch die fires or the “PFD Torchie”. all buildings except for the Court (this is so the town has a place to shelter in a mass event), anyone who causes property damage is subject to the charges of the discretion of the law, break one window you may get charged for three…

11: FEAR OF LIFE
To kill under the fear of life rule the following must take place.

• A player must have returned hostilities, not limited to but including – Verbal refusal to comply, drawing of weapons, etc.
• You must first down the player in combat against the meter, as per the above combat laws
• You must emote three death lines, these lines can say anything as long as they have the person’s name and method of death for example:

Line one: Having downed the Sheriff for refusing to stand down Isabelle is in a fit of rage drawing her gun to stand over him
Line two Isabelle stares down at the man aiming directly for his heart she fires a single round into his body watching the bullet pierce the flesh
Line Three: Isabelle moves the gun into a different position to aim between his eyes firing off a single round into Harlan’s head ending his life.

• If you are shot or interrupted and do not complete the three lines the player has a chance of survival.
• Players who murder another player are subject to investigation and possibly death as a consequence.
• Players who murder another player must leave a way to continue the role play, we do not deal with masked men who can not be traced or players who do things with no witnesses, be smart in your roleplay and cover your tracks well if you do not intend to get caught.

12:) WIREFRAMING
Yes, our admins know of this bug, and yes we know exactly what to look for when we are watching combat when it comes to folks using wireframe, You will immediately be ejected from any combat situation and prohibited from using any form of weaponry in Blackwater until you can do so without cheating.

13:) HORSES
Horses are only permitted for riding and general roleplay in Blackwater, We do not allow any form of combat from them at all.

13. a) Running from a crime:
If you commit a crime and go to flee on horseback the horse then you are liable to be shot while running, you can not return fire from the horse, TO FLEE YOUR HORSE MUST BE ATTACHED.

If you flee on a horse, you must already have it rezzed, if it is not rezzed already you must ROLEPLAY the arrival of your horse before being able to use it

13.b If you engage in any combat you must dismount before attacking.

14:) If you choose to depart the sim after robbing and committing your crime, you must post 1 leaving emote (shouted) you can pre-write this if need be but it is so the law knows your departure.

14.b) Your departure must include the way and direction IE: Coach to Lost Mesa or train too…

*’
ANIMAL AVATARS

ANIMAL AVATARS ARE RESTRICTED to those found in the region and era respective

ANIMAL AVATARS MUST BE REALISTIC we do not accept 40-foot-high elks dancing in town.

ANIMAL AVATARS ARE EXPECTED TO ACT THE ROLE, While “Taming” can be a part of roleplay it is highly unlikely you would find a huge bear getting cuddles in town, research your chosen avatar habits and act accordingly, you will not find a horse just wandering loose through the town, if this is the case the law may impound you until collection.

ANIMALS IN COMBAT: Is permitted, however, you must be hit first, that said If you deliberately run into combat to be engaged you are considered a hostile animal and become attack on sight in future experiences, consider the fact that most animals will run away from mass gunfire… not towards it. You also count as part of the ratio.

ANIMALS ARE EXPECTED TO BE INDEPENDENT, you have chosen your role do not complain if you adopt an owner and they are too busy for you or do not give you all the attention in the world, child like whining and complaining will not be tolerated.

IF YOU CHOOSE TO ROLEPLAY A FERAL ANIMAL, do so with the above combat laws in mind, understand the law may take action to protect the town against such animals wandering in.

IF YOU CHOOSE TO ROLEPLAY AN ANIMAL AND ATTACK WITHOUT WARNING for example come running into town and just start attacking, the law has the ability to put you to death, please remember this.

== ADMIN ADDENDUM ==

All rules above are subject to the discretion of Moderators and Administrators present on a case-by-case basis. If a staff member believes you are violating the spirit of these laws, if not the letter, with the intent to harm or offend other roleplayers or gain an unfair advantage, disciplinary action may be meted out accordingly.

Beyond that, don’t be a jerk OOC, know that if you’re an asshole IC no one’s gonna like ya. If that’s your cup of tea though, go for it! The world takes all types.

Mind the Ten Commandments and you’ll be just fine. If ya don’t, well the law be with ya shortly.

Murder is a hanging offense. Harassment will get you ‘talked to’ by the Padre, you’ll be seein’ Jesus shortly. Jail sentences can be long, some of them ‘years’, you filthy criminals may need to be rescued by your compadres, note the whole bein’ an asshole IC, you gotta make sure someone wants you out of jail.