Sex in The Land

Thank you all.

I knew that headline would draw your attention (pardon the pun - Viagra), but of course I'm not talking about the physical, sweaty type; I'm talking about the male/female personae your are playing.

No. Before you *qq, please read on ...

Have you ever wondered why there are different sexes in the land ...?

I am who I am

OK, this is probably the most obvious reason why there are different sexes in The Land. We all know that when we start a new persona we are asked what sex we would like to be. I am pretty sure that each and every one of us has a persona that reflects our RL (Real Life) sex.

There is nothing wrong in this whatsoever, in fact most, if not all, newbies will start off with the sex they are in RL. It is the easiest and simplest way of establishing what you are. (Not who you are).

Once the game has been played a few times, some of us question whether the sex we have chosen is the correct one for the game. Could we do better if we were the opposite sex?

Changing Sex

Create a new persona in that sex

This is an easy way of changing sex, but most regular players already have two personae on the go - and we always like to keep the third on standby for the sorcerer wars/quests/anything else that might arise out of the blue.

If you are a newbie, and have only one persona on the go at the moment, then creating a persona number two of the opposite sex is not a problem.

If you fall into this category, then a word of advice; try and keep both your personae of the same level. There is nothing worse than having a superhero and a swordsman and loosing the superhero. - Trust me. Been there, done that, suffered the consequences.

Use what's in The Land

There are various objects in The Land which can make you change sex. I'm not going to tell you what they are as those of you who are regulars will know what they are. And for those of you newbies, it will be fun finding them out.

Wish

The third way is to wish to be another sex, this can be done at any time by anyone, providing there is a wizard about. (Providing there is a wizard about and they are willing to participate, that is). You will soon know if you have been successful by typing who, and if your persona comes up as the opposite sex, then you have achieved your aim.

If you change sex by this method and find that you don't like it - don't ask to be changed back. Wizzes don't mind helping with the odd wish, but be warned, once made if the consequences aren't to your liking, you will have to live with it (Or die with it). That is a clue.

Female Personae and the Player Killer

There is a train of thought that the best way of avoiding the player killers, (Pk, Pkers), is by having a female persona.

It is a well known fact that most of the pkers in The Land are of the male orientation. (There are fewer female ones, and they always seem to do better for some reason). So some players believe that playing a female persona will save them from being attacked.

Whilst this may be true at the lower levels, as you gain higher levels your value will increase, and that, ultimately, will make you fair game in the eyes of the pker.

Remember, the pker is not interested in your sex, or your conversation, they are only interested in your total of points if killed score. This, ultimately, does not improve your game play either. There used to be a saying on MUD that I haven't heard/seen in print for a number of years, and it is this;

YOU HAVEN'T LIVED UNTIL YOU'VE DIED IN MUD.

This is absolutely true. You will find that you will learn more from The Land by dying than you will from achieving first time around.

I know it sounds silly - but the more you die - the more you learn. (Trust me - I've learnt loads).

The Male Persona and Strength

Another train of thought, (especially by newbies), is that if you have a male persona, you will have an advantage in strength. Believe me, THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Both the male and female personae have the same strength at the same levels. You will come to realise, that to survive The Land depends upon a lot of other things, dexterity, magic, knowledge of The Land, experience, what you have at the time - and the odd bit of help from a friendly wizard.

Strength is only one link in a chain of links that you will require to survive The Land. Whilst strength is important, experience will be the ultimate source of enlightenment on your path to wizdom.

So Why Have Different Sexes

Why not. - I mean, there are many players who feel better playing their own sex than playing the other sex. This is a land that is, by its own making, diverse in every sense. A multi-sex, multicultural, multi-creature land, where a female can play a male personae, go n and k the female dwarf with a gaily coloured ribbon if they so wish.

So what's in it for a sex change

Speaking as a male. To tell you the truth, I see nothing other than curiosity for a female to play as a male. (Unless there is a secretive motive).

However, from a male perspective, there is one reason to play a female personae. One can always go up to the nearest female personae and ask;