Hi there! You are currently browsing as a guest. Why not create an account? Then you get less ads, can thank creators, post feedback, keep a list of your favourites, and more!
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#1 Old 3rd Jan 2019 at 12:47 PM
Default How do you play convents/nunneries?
People who play convents/nunneries, what are your rules?
I should warn you, my head nun is MEAN.
In my medieval game, my convent can hold up to 30 girls, with 30 bedrooms, 30 dining spaces and 30 places at pews. There are three ways to be sent to the convent.
Grounds for being sent to the convent:
As a child as young as 5, or unmarried teenager or adult, if your family is strapped for cash, they can send you to the convent for a compensation fee of 5000 simoleans, where you will be raised to become a nun. You have no choice in the matter, unfortunately.
As a teenager/adult, you can sign up willingly to become a nun. You'll be sent to the convent and usually, these girls are very obedient and pious.
If you are an unmarried girl, teen or adult, who has 'fallen from grace' - that is to say, is pregnant, and the father does not marry you as quickly as possible - you'll be sent to the nunnery to give birth there. Your baby will live there until it becomes a toddler, at which point it is sent away to be adopted. You can either be sent away to live in shame at this point or if you were particularly well-behaved, you can stay on at the convent. Most girls are sent away.
On occasion, a particularly well-behaved baby girl may be kept on at the convent to become a nun when she grows up.
Life in the convent:
Your day begins at 6 am. Morning mass is the first thing you have to endure. You sit at the pews for two hours and listen to the head nun drone on about her love for the Harvest Goddess. There are no servants. After the morning mass, each girl is given a job to do. The little ones tidy up, some of the teenagers/adults cook, some of them sew, and some of them tend to the babies in the ward.
Breakfast, at 10:00, is a dull affair, mere plain porridge, not even with sugar. On special days, like Christmas, the head nun will allow the girls to flavour their porridge with cloves, oranges and other things like cinnamon. After breakfast, the girls are left to their own devices. The unwed mothers usually rush off to see their babies. The children play simple games out in the yard - no running or violence permitted. The pious, religious girls usually read or pray to the statue of the Harvest Goddess out in the front yard. Then, at around 1 pm, afternoon mass.
3pm, mass is over and it is lunchtime, usually hard, tough bread and greasy stew. At the end of lunch, the older girls have to teach the younger girls their reading and writing (i use the 'read to...' interaction for this). The mothers are once again allowed to go and see their children, as often they are from poorer households and thus never learned how to read themselves.
This ends at around 6pm, at which point it is time for dinner, which ends at 8. Then, the girls have evening mass at 8-10. The girls must all now go directly to bed, and are not allowed to leave their rooms (most of them just end up not listening and having sleepovers in eachother's rooms.

Attire:
My head nun wears black, head-to-toe, with a traditional nun's habit.
The youngest girls wear light blue, in the image of the Harvest goddess. Their hair does not need to be covered, but it does need to be tidy and tied up.
The girls who signed up themselves wear darker blue, and a proper nun's habit. This is to show that they are good, obedient girls and thus get treated well and with proper respect.
The mothers wear dark red to show that they are 'fallen from grace' and thus they must stand out (I admit, this is so I can tell the difference ). Their hair is hacked short, to remove all sources of vanity.

I think this is all?

Tell me about yours!

You can call me Diddy (or Eve, if you want to go by my real name) :)
My Simblr is simping-simmer. Come and join me there for a chat!
You can also find me on the MTS or PBK Discord servers under the name 'Evenfall'.
Want to know the latest news in Carregffynon? Click here!
Advertisement
Mad Poster
#2 Old 3rd Jan 2019 at 2:28 PM
Well, it does sound pretty complete to me..I once ran a convent, and there were only 8 girls who could fit into the place (you must have a hack to increase the number) who had an outside job as nuns in addition to being cloistered. They earned the keep for their stay and a very small profit to the nunnery itself.

But: they were only there until there came a man who would be willing to wed 'tainted goods' and so the nunnery encouraged, and even sponsored visits from men to encourage them to relieve the nunnery of their charges. All children had been given up for adoption previously, so the girl in question did not have any external "baggage" to speak of.

As for activities-they read, pray, do simple chores, play chess or darts and gossip among themselves. The visiting hours end at 9 pm, and there is absolutely NO hanky-panky available in the nunnery. This is not a secular convent! ACR only does the matchup-and only very mild flirtations are allowed.
Everyone goes to bed at 11pm sharp. There will be no stragglers!

(and I made one lot template so either friars or nuns could live there. Same layout and accommodations. Religious life is a set of very repetitious rules.)

Receptacle Refugee & Resident Polar Bear
"Get out of my way, young'un, I'm a ninja!"
Grave Matters: The funeral podium is available here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/e6tj...albits.zip/file
My other downloads are here: https://app.mediafire.com/myfiles
Scholar
#3 Old 3rd Jan 2019 at 6:34 PM Last edited by BlueAlien : 4th Jan 2019 at 7:01 PM.
I had a secular convent, for knowledge aspiration women who didn't want to marry. By living together in community, they were able to pool whatever funds they brought with them from home, so nobody needed to go to work. I turned free will off and micromanaged them so that everybody, as far as possible, was filling a learning want without them getting in each other's way, and there were no fights over bathroom rights. They ate communally; whoever completed a skill just as a meal was due would do the cooking, and whoever was last to finish eating did the dishes. There was one nun who changed her mind and left to get married, and was given a large share of the convent's funds so that she wouldn't have to give up her studies, but most stayed for life. I also had a monastery in the same hood, which had fewer adults but did acquire several alien children as the men spent a lot of their nights stargazing. The alien girls moved to the convent when they became teens, before moving on to university.

In a Roman-themed hood, I had a community of Vestal virgins. The girls were chosen as children, but remained with their families until they reached their teens, at which point the High Priestess would come to collect them, leaving the family twenty thousand simoleons better off. The girls were allowed to attend university (which secular girls were not), but they had their own private accommodation, surrounded by a high wall and locked gates, and they were required to wear veils and full-length dresses. No male visitors were allowed at the campus house on pain of death; fathers and brothers were allowed to visit at the main house.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#4 Old 3rd Jan 2019 at 10:55 PM
I use nunneries and monasteries for sims I don't want to 'breed' No real rules except of course they live celebrate lives and they do have to go to chapel once a day. The monks grow and make the hoods wine while the nuns make clothes.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Field Researcher
#5 Old 4th Jan 2019 at 12:25 AM
Religion is too complicated for me But, I admire the dedication!
Scholar
#6 Old 4th Jan 2019 at 12:39 AM
I have a monastery for the religion of Psuedotyr in the community (everyone lived on the same lot, but there was strict gender separation for the sleeping and bathing areas), as well as gender-separately training convents at the university. I hope this is close enough for inclusion in this thread.

Joining the System

There are only two ways to join the system. One is to willingly sign up. Nobody below university age was acceptable for this method, because teenagers and younger are considered to be unable to make the strict and binding vows expected. For that matter, all university students signing up for the convent are required to have passed at least one semester of study, and shown evidence of vocation, before being allowed to move into a training convent... ...and vows could not be taken until junior year. (No senior who had not taken their vows was permitted to remain at the university, but no student has ever "failed" at that particular hurdle.

The other option is to be adopted into the monastery. It's been rarer since the secular orphanage opened and got such a great reputation, but adoption and care for the adopted is considered an important rite in the life of the monastery. If a child is old enough to make the choice (child or above), and objects to living in the monastery, their choice is respected. Expectations for babies, toddlers and children are comparable to those of families elsewhere in SimHampton, but teenagers are expected to follow the monastery's special rules to an increasing extent, though this is flexible to the needs and abilities of each teen. A teen who cannot adapt to the life, or one who decides it's not a career choice they wish to make, are carefully integrated into the household of a family that is a better fit for them, or sent to university. There is no particular expectation that any adopted child will spend their entire lives cloistered, but it does happen occasionally. (More often, children who intend to become Cleric-Brothers or Cleric-Sisters spend some time in a regular dorm, if only to take advantage of their excellent educations).

It is illegal to send anyone to the monastery against their will (unless the adoption of a child who may be too young to fully understand what is happening and object simply because it's change counts). There is also zero repercussions for anyone having children out of wedlock in SimHampton. Besides, the monastery leaders would consider anyone motivated by shame to be deficient in self-esteem and thus in need of something short of binding vows (such as providing moral support, or small-group study).

Rhythms of daily ritual

Everyone wakes up at 7 am, unless they were awake earlier (often the case for children, and for those who enjoy their company). It is compulsory for adults to wash every morning, whether they need it or not, and showers are provided for this purpose. Elders are excused from washing at the ritual hour if they feel it will cause them discomfort or make them late for devotions, but are expected to wash at some point during the day. Children and young teens usually wash in the afternoon or evening, and don't necessarily wash every day.

After dressing appropriately (see "Attire"), everyone ensures the monastery is fit to receive visitors (even if the lead Cleric-Brother has not sanctioned any to visit on that particular day), then daily devotions are attended. This must start at 9 am sharp. The lead Cleric-Sister gives a sermon not less than 30 minutes in length. The record for a daily devotion (as distinct from a "special occasion devotion") is slightly over 3 hours. Savvy Cleric-Sisters include opportunities to sing, or occasionally for other members of the community to take the lectern, to aid attention.

Worshippers are allowed to read suitably edifying written works for the duration. Visitors are expected to attend the start of the devotion, but not necessarily to remain for the entire sermon. Children are expected to miss devotions unless they are actually interested in it and also willing to observe appropriate silence and stillness for the duration (also, often they are at school - homeschooling is restricted to teenagers who express a preference for wholly religious instruction). Teenagers are excused on a rota to ensure that the younger children are safe and happy; otherwise the adults and elders will take it in turns to mind the children. In the latter case, the lead Cleric-Sister is exempt from leading devotions if it is her turn; either a junior Cleric-Sister, or the lead Cleric-Brother, takes over the sermon duty in this case. Students are required to attend unless they are first-year students, even if this means missing classes or exams.

After daily devotions, everyone eats a meal. A Cleric-Brother cooks this, and it is required to be a simple meal. However, it generally is fancier than the fare @didyouevenmakeasound's nuns eat (see "Food"). Sims often linger here for quite some time after the meal is eaten, discussing monastery business. If it is a feast day, a special guest will be invited to listen to an afternoon sermon about the feast in question straight after this meal. Depending on the feast, the Cleric-Sister may give the lectern to any member of the faith community, or to the special guest.

After this, the work of the monastery can begin. Studying for the young, physical training for Cleric-Brothers, sermon preparation for Cleric-Sisters, and work to further the faith for all.

Visitors must leave after the evening meal (which may vary in timing according to the complexity of the meal). Relaxing is permitted then, but the monastery does not have electricity. Reading is considered a noble pursuit, as are community games such as Myshuno. Nobody is permitted to be in the common area after 10 pm, and only community members may be in the sleep or bathing areas.

Attire

Toddlers, children and first-year students always have at least one chothing option that is predominantly blue and suitable for appearances at special events. However, their other clothing is a free choice.

Teenagers and second-year students are expected to wear blue or predominantly blue clothing at all times, but this can be cut or styled however the teen/second-year student wishes. The loophole for a "cloistered" teen going to university is deliberate, so that someone who wishes to experiment with living a less strict lifestyle has a pre-scheduled opportunity to do so without anyone in the faith community needing to be the least bit surprised.

Third/fourth-year students, adults and elders carry the full expectations of attire, which are:

-Cleric-Brothers-
Blue or predominantly blue everyday clothing that is visibly practical for manual labour.
Shoulders and knees must be covered, except when doing fitness training or in the sleep/bathing chambers.
Formal suit must be blue and cover arms and legs.
No sheer or over-ornamented items.
Blue lipstick. No other makeup allowed except when doing fitness training or on guard duty, in which case a blue face mask may be worn to conceal identity.
Shaved or bald head. The only headgear permitted is for protective purposes (such as a hard hat if a Cleric-Brother is performing building repairs), and must be approved by the head Cleric-Brother before being worn.
Blue-jewelled ear studs and a simple watch permitted.

-Cleric-Sisters-
Blue or predominantly blue everyday outfit that covers the shoulders and knees. Revealing ankles is permitted but controversial.
Formal dress must be blue and cover elbows and knees. Again, revealing ankles is permitted but controversial.
Shoulders and knees must be covered, except when doing fitness training or in the sleep/bathing chambers.
No sheer or over-ornamented items.
Blue blush and eyeshadow required, blue lipstick permitted. No other makeup allowed.
Hair must be dyed completely blue. It should not be excessively restrained (practical fastenings permitted), gelled or manipulated in vain fashion, but may otherwise be cut to the Cleric-Sister's preference. Veils or modest headgear (the latter preferably blue) are recommended on formal occasions, but never obligatory.

Food

All novel dish propositions must be submitted to the proper religious authorities to assess whether the meal is compatible with the cloistered life before consumption. A standard recipe will be provided if the meal is permitted, along with suggestions for variations should the monastery/convent ever find itself short of a key ingredient.

-Formally permitted-

All juices made with only one fruit or vegetable, as well as the following mixed juices: orangeade, pepper punch and veggie cocktail
Cereal
Mac and Cheese
Chef Salad
Soup (any kind)
Muffins
Toaster Pastries
Lunch Meat Sandwich
Hot Dogs
Pancakes
Omelettes
Crepes Suzette
Cake (the one that can be baked or birthday cakes that can be bought)

-Allowed only on special occasions-

Baked Alaska - permitted on Christmas, Turner's Day and on any feast days celebrated on the last (D'End) or first (Turner) months of the year
Salmon - permitted on Fridays (feast day or not)
Chilli Con Carne - permitted on feast days in the third (Marich) or fourth (Appel) months of the year
Strawberry Lemonade - permitted on feast days on the eighth (Offmonth) and ninth (Setenbarr) months of the year
Crepes Suzette - permitted on feast days that are in none of the above categories

-Banned-

Encourages gluttony: Lobster thermidor, Rainbow cake, Bass with squash, Blackened Catfish, Stuffed Trout, grilled cheese sandwiches
Encorages laziness: Canned meals, jelly, takeaways of any description
Associated with romance: Beauty cocktail, Cheesecake
A rule that goes back donkey's years; takes too long to cook using traditional cooking methods: Roast meat, hamburgers, pureed boot
Not shareable: TV Dinner, Cup O'Ramen, any food from food stands
Too messy: Spaghetti, Berry pie
From a rival faith tradition: Santa cookies

Behaviour

All community members are required to be chaste. In particular, Cleric-Brothers and Cleric-Sisters should never have romantic interactions with each other, lest they tempt each other off the path of righteousness.
Rude and inconsiderate actions are forbidden.
Violence may not be used against any other member of the community, either in word or deed. These are to be reserved for trespassers and evildoers.
Nobody may use the fridge unless they are doing so as part of their assigned meal-cooking duty, or providing alms in the form of leftovers, or providing a bottle to a young community member.
No stealing food from other people's plates, even if they have granted permission.
No primping, for this encourages vanity.
Mirrors are only to be used when dressing in the morning, or to correct a breach of the attire rules.
One plate of food per meal, unless sick.
All assigned tasks must be completed.
No adult may go to bed during the hours of daylight (7 am - 7 pm). Elders are excused if they are tired. It is assumed that children may need sleep, or simply to rest, at any time. Teenagers are encouraged to avoid their beds during daylight hours.
Nobody may go into the opposite gender's sleep/bathing area.
Visitors go to the common area only and must be chaperoned.
No visiting community lots without permission from the head Cleric-Brother or Cleric-Sister.

Penance

A Sim who breaks the rules in a minor way may be forgiven, required to make amends on the spot, or to confess their faults publically at the next devotions (in increasing order of severity).
If none of these are sufficient to cover the offence, a Sim is required to perform penance. Unless they are sick, in which case it is assumed the illness caused the deviance and the Sim is simply sent to bed or fed Grandma's Comfort Soup.

The Sim must remove any and all makeup worn, paint a brightly-coloured non-blue face mask on themselves (creativity encouraged) and don non-blue clothing. Then, they must allow themselves to be locked out of the monastery building, in the outdoor preaching area. They must remain there until the penalty is considered complete. During this time, they are not to speak to any member of the community unless spoken to (and this is discouraged). Food is left for the penitent from each meal, lest they become hungry.

After penance is completed, the Sim must re-apply their usual makeup, complete a ritual bath and put their usual clothing back on before rejoining their fellows.

Refusal to perform penance when not sick, or Sims who do not learn their lesson after penance, are thrown out of the monastery or fed to the cowplant, depending on whether their actions are merely incompatible with the monastic life, or outright evil.
Field Researcher
#7 Old 4th Jan 2019 at 1:50 PM
Now this is a strange coincidence... the same day I start planning for the convent-type things I'll be adding to my game soon, this thread comes up! Time to ramble on about my ideas, I guess!

I should point out here that my world of Kulo Seeri is a matriarchal fantasy hood, so there's no social penalty for children out of wedlock (only the mother's identity matters) and my Sims don't really concern themselves with things like chastity. Why, then, am I planning on having three different convent/monastery-like orders? Well, firstly because the Nuidya pantheon of gods/ancestors is developing more ritual and formality now that Kulo Seeri is moving from hunter-gatherer tribe to small medieval-fantasy village, and secondly because the population is currently at 77 Sims and growing, and I have to keep it in check somehow because I loathe building.

As I said, there are three orders that I'm planning to introduce into my game - two female, one male. I don't have any formal rules for them yet, but will once I start playing. They are:

The Vedraloga, whose name, in the language I created for Kulo Seeri, means "followers of Vedrafe". Vedrafe, like the rest of the Nuidya pantheon, is a deified hero of her people, and the most recent addition to the pantheon. She's now the goddess of battle and protection against evil forces. The Vedraloga are an elite order of warrior-nuns who defend the village from external threats and offer combat training as well as spiritual guidance. They are discouraged, not forbidden, from having children - most daughters born to Vedraloga mothers will be raised to join the order themselves. They also train hunting dogs and keep herb gardens. Their clothes will probably be red.

The Scaled Sisterhood, who serve Sena Yuleng, founding mother of the Nuidya nation and first ancestor of most of it, who is continually reborn as either a Sim or a sacred cat. She's currently on incarnation number 6, a five-year-old girl who will grow up to be the high priestess of the village. Scaled Sisters are sort of like Vestal Virgins, they are not supposed to have any contact with men at all, and they are a more peaceful and contemplative group. They might also act as teachers to the young girls of Kulo Seeri. Also, they keep a lot of cats around, because cats are sacred to my Sims. I plan on giving them green clothes (Sena Yuleng was a lizard-plantsim hybrid).

Finally: The Brothers of Ace, dedicated to the god of history and lore (whose name is pronounced /AT chay/ and has nothing to do with playing cards, tennis or flying). Unsurprisingly, the Brothers act as historians, keepers of oral and written traditions, and probably teachers to the boys of Kulo Seeri. They also perform death rites and might keep livestock and/or grow some food. I have yet to decide what they're going to wear.

Once I've played them a bit I might come back to ramble about the lifestyle and rules for each of the three, but for now... more building.

simblr
Home of my Kulo Seeri Test of Time and a lot of worldbuilder rambling. You have been warned.
Lab Assistant
#8 Old 28th Apr 2021 at 3:20 PM
Default How I'll (maybe) Play my Convents/Monasteries
I've been in the process of setting up my convents/monasteries in the past few rounds of my game. The way I think I'll have it set up is to have "Orders" set up according to sims' aspirations, since I play a wants based game, and the orders will be founded by a particularly wealthy elder sim who has either passed away and can act as a holy "example" for younger sims to live by. They'll likely earn money through selling hobby crafts or foodstuffs (thank you Plumbob Keep for all your amazing agricultural sets!), depending on what each sim enjoys doing in their freetime. Each aspiration based order will have different roles in the local community:

Family: Raise orphaned sims or sims given up for adoption. Money earned goes to caring for orphans, maintaining social services, and providing additional funds to widows or families in need.

Knowledge: Focus on the pursuit of any and all knowledge, learning every skill there is to learn. Money earned goes to funding young Sims’ educations through scholarships, and providing skill building objects on community lots.

Fortune: Focus on the accumulation of wealth by any means above all else. Money earned goes to financing new community lots.

Popularity: Focus on improving community relations above all else. Money earned goes to building social gathering spaces, and throwing parties to help sims become closer and get along. Specializes in Relationship Counseling.

Romance/Pleasure: Focus on free love and pleasure above all else. Money earned goes to leisure activities and objects on community lots (particularly spaces for woohoo). Members are encouraged to participate in spreading romance and pleasure far and wide, if they so desire. This one feels more like a hippy camp than a convent or monastery and I might make it co-ed.

Grilled Cheese: Focuses on the making, consumption of, and praise of, grilled cheese. Money earned goes to promoting the Grilled Cheese anywhere and everywhere, serving it on community lots and at parties. Free Grilled Cheese for the needy.

The only question left is how to make sims join them "willingly," given my wants based system, to which I'm open to suggestions. I was thinking one good way is a sim who doesn't want a job or generally have direction (maybe they dropped out or failed university?) can go to the mirror and try on the required hair or headdress for their order, and if they react positively they may join the order.
Mad Poster
#9 Old 28th Apr 2021 at 5:40 PM
MHS0501, your neighbourhood sounds a wonderful place to live, with the various religious orders -- even the hippy one -- really contributing to the wellbeing and happiness of the community.

All Sims are beautiful -- even the ugly ones.
My Simblr ~~ My LJ
Sims' lives matter!
The Veronaville kids are alright.
Top Secret Researcher
#10 Old 13th May 2021 at 1:10 AM
I have a monastery/nunnery in my medieval hood for sons/daughters who are not heirs (I don't want them to breed, so I can keep the population down). They must remain chaste. They do various tasks during the day such as gardening, and crafts which are sold to help support them. The attached church is open to the public but the rest is out of bounds to visitors. Orphans or wards may be cared for for a short time but the child is not expected to stay as they grow up.
Back to top