Shady Falls

It's the 1920s, and you're an immigrant scraping by in the rough-and-tumble town of Shady Falls, Virginia, located a stone's throw from the nation's capitol but a world away from the luxuries of the region's elite. And you're—what?—an Italian butcher, an Irish housewife, a Chinese gangster? Lawyer? Bootlegger? It's your choice in this tight-knit paragraph roleplay community, where allegiances can mean a chance to get ahead (by legitimate means or otherwise), or even to stay alive. But not all is doom and gloom: it's the jazz age, liquor flows freely despite prohibition, and everyone wants a good time.

This community is serious about its roleplay. Visitors are welcome—you can either wear period clothes (some freebies can be grabbed at the landing point) or you can wear the freely offered invisible alpha layer to complete conceal yourself (although be forewarned that that ends up being a bit like trying to walk around in mouselook). And then set off to explore: it's a well designed sim with an evocative skyline. (It's an adult sim, by the way.)

Shady Falls has an accompanying website—shadyfalls.net—that features an introductory film, in depth information about the various communities and ethnic groups, online forums, background history of the 1920s, details on period clothing and even a flapper's dictionary. (Well, if you're going to be a flapper you just might need to know that a Johnnie Walker is a guy who never hires a cab, and that a Jane is a girl who meets you on the stoop.)