"It's so peaceful here... the Force permeates everything"
— Nomi Sunrider
Ossus is a Star Wars planet. The above quote is from Canon, but it is the ethos of the location in Second Life also.
On Second Life, the Brazos sim hosted a Jedi Praxeum inhabited by the Jedi Guardians of the Peace (formerly known as Jedi Master), and is by some margin the oldest of the current Star Wars locations in the Galaxy, having been founded in May 2006. It was a peaceful community of Jedi who band together to share ideas and to learn from another in a generous spirited manner. Whilst there is some roleplaying in the sim, this is not the main function of about half the sim. The Jedi Guardians of the Peace ceased to operate in June 2009, and the abandoned buildings began to fall into disrepair...
The sim[]
Brazos sim relief map
The sim is divided in a mainland and two islands, the mainland being the only place the rules allow combatants to fight (using RCS). The smaller of the two islands hosts the Great Library which contains knowledge about Star Wars in general and on Second Life. The larger island contained the Praxeum, the home of the Jedi Guardians of the Peace.
Construction of the sim began in May 2006, and initially was limited to the central island of the sim - the only part owned by Leo Mission at the time. The construction was carried out by a team of builders of varying experience levels from the genius of Darth Aridian and Bliss Darrow to the talented but green skills of Odenviscar Knight and Hans Melnitz. Later additions included the mainland roleplaying area and the Great Library of Ossus by Master Marcus Moreau. Linking all of these talents together has been the work of Leo Mission who has acted as a creative director for the sim, blending styles together, adding immersive multimedia effects and in his own right building the Amphitheatre and the basic superstructure of the space station "The Life Star".
Ossus Praxeum (larger island) - light RP (no combat) and OOC[]
Ossus Praxeum is the original part of the sim, and forms the core of the Academy of the Jedi Guardians of the Peace.
Sky Plaza[]
The main builders of the sky plaza being the ironically named Jedi Master "Darth Aridian" and his partner Bliss Darrow (who later became a Master in her own right). The concept of the Sky Plaza was Future "Tranquil", i.e. a futuristic place full of peace and tranquillity. Centred around Bliss' serene garden, the Plaza contains relaxation areas, a sandbox, a shopping mall (which uniquely in SL SWRP does not charge for vendors to be placed but invites the best merchants from SWRP to place their wares for free), a giant obelisk, a small gallery of art and the piece de resistance, the magnificent Aridian Hall, named after the Founder of the Order. Underneath this was added a small spaceport area constructed by Odenviscar Knight (later a Master).
JGP Council / Archives / Tower of Testing / Underwater Spheres[]
The ground build of the central island was made by Odenviscar Knight and Hans Melniz (the latter also becoming a Master in due course) and consists of the circular Council building and the JGP Archives (members only) below it. Behind this is the Tower of Testing and the Underwater Spheres far below, both ideal places for individual meditation.
Meditation Garden[]
The Meditation Garden was created by Bliss Darrow, the creator of the garden in the Sky Plaza. Group meditation sessions are regularly held here and attended by members of the Jedi Guardians of the Peace.
Great Library of Ossus (smaller island) - light roleplay (no combat)[]
- Main article: Great Library#Ossus
The Great Library of Ossus was a later addition to the sim. After the acquisition of the land by Leo Mission, the library itself was built by renowned Galactic Scholar and famous Jedi Master Marcus Moreau, who moved his collection of works from the Great Library of Anoth.
Ossus Roleplaying Area (mainland) - full roleplay including combat (RCS)[]
The mainland area of the sim was also a later addition to Ossus. This area is full roleplay including combat. The combat meter in use in Ossus is RCS. Rules are dispensed on arrival in the space station.
Ossus Ruins[]
The ground part of the roleplaying area is the Ossus Ruins, mainly built by Leo Mission and Odenviscar Knight. This part of the sim represents the classical image of Ossus Praxeum from the Canon, and is meant to be thousands of years old. The iconic temple was built by Odenviscar Knight and the stunning Amphitheatre and environs by Leo Mission. Older SWRPers will remember the Amphitheatre used to be all by itself in a different sim, and was called Taris (nothing to do with the more famous Taris by Furia Freeloader which came much later). The reason for this seemingly strange choice of name was that Taris had a duelling ring. When the mainland area of the sim was built, Leo Mission brought the Taris duelling ring over to Ossus and it has been the location of some memorable duels.
The Life Star[]
The Life Star is a non-Canon addition to the sim. it is based on the Praxeum ships like the Chuunthor, and is an integral part of the RP story behind the sim. Once part of the Open Circle Armada, the Life Star was one of the capital ships that Luke Skywalker used to transport the Jedi Order from Yavin IV when he moved its base to the newly Vongformed Ossus. While the Jedi settled into the reclaimed but ancient world of Ossus, the Life Star remained in orbit around the planet to provide logistics and support. Given its role in nourishing and education, it was named the Life Star as a mirror to Wilhulm Tarkin's world-destroying Death Stars. It remains as the crucial centre of the Ossus Orbital Defence and is therefore a key RP target for any invading forces. The Life Star has only been captured successfully once - by the Sith Empire of Vjun - but that occupation lasted a mere hours until forces lead by Master Oden, of the Jedi Guardians of the Peace recaptured their planetary defence.
Interesting facts[]
Force confusion![]
The original central island of Ossus Praxeum was originally the main store for the Midichlorian Masters who made many products, including the well-known Force Elements force power system. This was very confusing for later customers of the system because the notecards pointed to a defunct location which also happened to be a Star Wars themed place but which had no connection to Force Elements, and instead was the home location of the scripter who made a rival product, Master of the Force / Force Prophecies!!
Oldest SWRP sim[]
The Ossus build was taken down in August 2014. Until then parts of the central island build were the oldest in existence in SWRP (although by no means the first ever SWRP location).
Leonardis 15:31, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
References[]
- Ossus on Wookiepedia