For Sale, The Best Castle In SL

There are some things in SL that you see and want to own really badly, buildings are something that rarely make me feel that way, but I have just seen a truly awesome castle, not just any castle, but a study of how a Medieval castle would have been in the Middle Ages. This amazing structure with all it’s furniture, fixtures and fittings is going on the market for just L$5000 and, if only I had the land, I would, without a doubt be buying it!

Fitting nicely into any Medieval sim, the possibilities for role play, renting out parts of it to tenants, or even just having the luxury of the whole thing as your home are endless. It would suit a King and Queen with its opulent throne room and guarded doors. A Gorean Master or Mistress would relish in the layout, even using the dungeons where they could keep their slaves and prisoners. Dare I mention it? yes I will, even BDSM fans will have plenty of room to add their instruments of torture too! It’s easy to get lost when you tour the buildings, there are so many passages and walkways leading off into different rooms, trap doors with staircases going down to the next level and each room looking like you stepped right back into the 14th Century.

I met the creator Johnnytreadlightly Nightfire who is still in the process of adding a few finishing touches and I asked him some questions about his excellent castle. I wanted to know how many rooms there were overall, he told me “I'm counting 14 above ground. Some are very, very large, like the castle master bedroom, and the main castle floor. That's not counting the outside areas like the market and the streets. Johnny is still completing the master bedroom, but told me “There's one 'barracks' room, a guest bedroom, three apartments, and a two story keep. Any of these could be deemed liveable.”

I asked Johnny what is included in the L$5000 and he said “That's everything, and there's going to be a lot more than what you see now. I'm also selling each piece separately, and packs. Say you liked the castle furniture, but aren't fond of the castle. You could buy that pack.” Johnny continued “I'm going to put up a beta version for sale. Anyone who purchases will be entitled to the completed version when it is finished as well. It is fully functional now though, and I have a LOT more planned. Hence the beta version. I just wanted to release it to the public. It’s a lot of fun to play in and I've had a lot requests for the release.” Johnny passed me the list showing the prices for each individual piece of furniture and fittings, and these would suit the pocket of any avatar, an example is the luxurious four poster bed, which is just L$300, complete with full cuddle, erotic and single poses, you also have the bonus of it only being 3 prims. Everything on the list is very affordable and is made to the highest quality.

I wanted to know about the specifications that people would need to know about before purchasing the castle. Johnny explained “611 (prims) for the whole building. That's the walls, tavern, 2 story keep, 3 apartments, market area, stable, well, common area, barracks, two levels of dungeon (lots of passages and it covers the whole build), and a 4 story main castle. I think that's it. The building is approximately 50x60x50 high. It was designed to fit on a 4096 sq M plot. Furnishings do vary. I got a little carried away with it, but it is all very low prim. I used a lot of sculpties. Fully packed (that’s a lot of furniture), I'm at 1250 right now.”

Johnny told me “I am still working on this. Let me just say, I have some big plans. I know it’s vague, but I don't want to ruin any surprises either. I am in a very fortunate position building wise. I've made buildings, furniture, armour, weapons, and gadgets all in the past. I've toyed with the idea of some hidden gems inside (unique freebies for your guests). I'm a firm believer in rewarding the adventurous. Sl is about exploring and everyone likes good freebies :-)”

I went into the large communal area of the castle with Johnny and he told me that the items are all scripted, for sitting, cooking, even the drinking vessels set out on the counter are animated, taking a tankard of beer from the counter and drinking, I could see my avatar was getting a little tipsy, as we stood chatting. Johnny has not based this on any particular real life castle, but he has read a great many books on the subject and admits Medieval times have always fascinated him, he says it’s “Great stimulus for your imagination.” In respect of the furniture, although he has studied museum pieces, he has made everything with his original touch.

Going back to the castle next day to take photographs, I met a couple of people who were looking around and already considering buying it, Cajundarlin and Krypton were exploring the rooms with great excitement. Cajundarlin clearly loved it and Krypton said it had “damn good textures and (was) a hell of a build.” Krypton told me “Johnny does good work, I have a lot of his stuff.”

Later on friends Drax Ember, Hibiscus Hastings and Ed Follet joined me and we enjoyed another tour. I still found areas that I had missed before and we all agreed how fantastic the whole thing is.

Johnny’s store, JTL Designs also sells all the items anyone could wish for, for their own personal needs, an array of weapons, armour, clothing and much, much more! If you want the very best castle in the whole of SL this is the one! Contact Johnnytreadlightly Nightfire in-world for details.

Janey Bracken