Okay, so recently, I wanted to join the Secret Society. Got the three friends, and became part of it. Gladly, I liked how "nice" they were when taking me there. But when I got there, I saw something odd, and very off. A phone that can call the Grim Reaper. And that I can hack grades.

NOW. What does that phone do? When you call the Grim Reaper does he kill the person that called him? Or does he kill someone the Sim hates? I mean seriously, that is actually a scary thought, that you can call death himself >.<

That's the Resurrect-o-Nomitron Phone - you call Grim to ask him to bring your friends back from the dead. He charges for this service and the more you pay him, and the better your relationship with the dead sim, the less likely you are to get a zombie, or a reverse-personality version, of him.

No, the thing to be afraid of on the Secret Society lot is the cowplant!

As long as you don't try to take the cake it puts out for bait the cowplant is harmless. If you keep it fed it won't even put out it's lure. I find them quite cute actually and a few of my Sims keep the strictly as pets of a sort.

As for the grade hacking you have to be careful because you can be caught. They come and take away your computer. If you just watch the meter that pops up and cancel out of the action when it becomes high risk you can usually get away with it.

I used to have most of my Sims get into the society but after their initial visit to the house I would never end up sending them back. Other than gaining access to the house funds or if you really want to use some of the career items you find there I could never see the advantage of being a member. Even the grade hacking is kind of pointless as it takes just as long to hack as it does to just have them complete assignments.

I pretty much don't bother with it anymore.

I'd only want to hack grades for characterization purposes.

You're quite sure the cowplant's okay as long as it's fed? I've got a naturalist with access to the career reward in the House of Fallen Trees, and if there was ever a house that cried out for it...

You know, they should either fail the semester or be kicked out altogether if caught. That's the teacher in me speaking, of course. I thoroughly disapprove. <sigh>

That would be a good one for the morality thread. Would I use that feature? Well, I have used it with particular characters (and NOT often) but there are dire consequences.

<hmmmmph>

I like the cowplant too. Cute really, 'specially how it waves its tail.

You could easily make it a rule of your university that anybody apprehended in hacking grades is summarily expelled, and have certain sims who you considered to be of the lazy, short-sighted, and/or straightforwardly criminal types do it instead of the necessary skilling. That way, if they get caught, they have to move back to neighborhood immediately (you can always do that, right?), and even if they don't get caught, they get the later-life penalty of not having necessary skills and having to learn everything the hard way, without the faster-skilling benefits of being at University. Students who got away with cheating would also be more prone to take short-cuts in later life, always choosing the lazier option on chance cards, calling in sick to work a lot, and so on.

The cowplant is "dormant" for a time, after it's fed, but the problem is that you have to remember to feed it regularly to keep it that way. Surrounding it with a fence, or a fence with a locked gate, is far safer.

Grade-hacking isn't something I have my sims do a whole lot, but it's funny. I'm not terribly good at making them stop when it gets risky (I just have to push it a couple more seconds!), so they usually get caught.

ETA: Also, the cow plant will remain dormant indefinitely if you allow it to eat someone, then never milk it.

My Sims do keep them in a small enclosed area that is locked to all Sims until feeding time. I don't keep them dormant because I like the feeding interaction. Plus my naturalist would never get to interact with her cowplant if she didn't feed it.

As for the hacking of grades I find the whole sleep with your professor to get better grades much more reprehensible. My romance Sims don't even go there, although I will admit it's a combination of it offending my sensibilities and the desire to not befriend any of the annoying professors.

As for the secret society it would be more useful if it gave you advantages later in life. For example if you met someone and did the secret handshake and it gave you temporary friend status. As it is you only get a minor boost for it on the relationship scale.

Soo what exactly does the cow plant do?
Does it eat and kill a sim or is it possible the sim could come back to life?

After several years of playing this is the first time I ever made a sim join the Secret Society xD

The cowplant eats and kills the sim, and the Sim that dies ghost is a light green. I never had a cowplant in my game, so I don't know if you can use the resurrect-O-Nomitron phone on Cowplant victims.

As I understand it (I haven't done this), the cowplant eats a sim and can then be milked for a substance similar to the Elixir of Life. The sim in question is dead and can be resurrected with the phone just as with any other death.

This is the source of the want "Drink $Neighbor," the sim in the $Neighbor field being someone the sim is enemies with, or at least furious at.

Secret society is a bit overrated IMO. You can use familyfunds to give your Sims more money or unlockcareerrewards for the nifty little doodads.

Hack grades? Nope, my Sims work for their good grades.

Oh I don't, I have to say. Cheating is much more damaging to a far greater number of people than trying to emotionally manipulate your way to a good mark. Cheating is despicable in my opinion: it damages the profession, the university's reputation and student prospects (and I don't mean the student who cheated, I mean everyone else). Vile. See, I told you I thoroughly disapproved. Students sleeping with lecturers for better grades might be personally objectionable (on one or both sides) and deeply unprofessional (on the lecturer's side) but it's nothing like as damaging and, at the end of the day, they're both adults. Sorry - subject about which I have very strong professional views, obviously.

Thank you guys so much. I was like...That is uhm...Pretty damn freaky.

And I did have a Cowplant in my house, but...After reading on it, I got rid of it, and now I have to go through that Career once again >.> But I rather not get the plant, and I am glad that you brought that up, anyway. Because I have two females, (Parents to their four daughters) and they both wanted to drink the fireman, and I was like:

"Thats uhm...weird" >.>

I like to have a sim feed the cowplant too, but the fence is really good to have in case I forget.

FYI, for those who don't know, cowplant ghosts are pretty safe for keeping on residential lots with a cowplant, because they're too busy tormenting the cowplant with ghost meat to scare residents at night.

About grade hacking: I totally understand why you're passionately against it in-game, Maxon, being a teacher and all. Huge hot button for you. It's funny, though, that while cheating is something I'm hugely against irl as well, it doesn't bother me at all in the game. Not sure why that is. I haven't had many sims sleep with their professors, but that doesn't bother me either, although in real life I find the notion completely... just no.

I will not hack my grades, I like doing the work for myself. Even if all of the girls want different majors, in which is a bit taxing. One wants Art, one wants Literature, one wants Physics, and one wants Drama. I was like...Uh huh, you couldn't want the same degree! But hey its fun that way, I actually like the new idea of having different majors. Its makes it interesting.

And to the cow plant, NO, I will never have it again. That's all I need is it to want to eat my Sim's wife -.-"

OH, speaking of the Secret Society, when you graduate from College, can you go to the Secret Society still, or not? I mean is there other Secret Societies, out there? o.O

I don't mind my Sims making friends with the professors to fill up the bar, but for me, sleeping with them is a huge no-no, and so's hacking grades. When my Sims talk to their professors I imagine they're being tutored.

I noticed that at the secret society lots cowplants are walled in so your Sim can't feed them or grab the cake. Of course, one CAN go into Buy/Build Mode while at the lot....

Really? You can go into Buy/Build Mode? I was just there, and I didn't even notice -.-" Almost like when I didn't notice that my tree was on fire due to lightning -.-" But I am not letting the evil cow plant out, it can stay there >.>

Oh yeah, and the almost $40K your Sims have while there...it doesn't matter if you have two Sims in the society, it's not $40K per Sim. Just buy stuff while your Sim is there and stick it in their inventory.

(What irks me is, even if you have two Sims in the same household in a secret society, you can only send one at a time.)

What in the world?! Really? That's freaking lame. Its alright:

"Jessica, you will go today. And...Barbra, you go tomorrow. GAME PLAN SIMS GAME PLAN!"

I would so say something like that. I am so going to do that the next time I go to the lot ^.^

No, you can't go back, but your sim can still do the secret handshake.

That reminds me, for some reason "Play...Secret Handshake" also pops up when you click on a baby or toddler, when the Sim being controlled is a secret society member. I found it rather weird.

Really? Oh boy, I'm totally having Jim Spitzig (my only secret society member) do that!

I know I am late to reply. Are there any other secret societies out in the Sims 2 or is it just the one in the University? o.O

Well, there's the hobby lots, the witch castles and the hidden vacation lots. They're limited access and you need a sort of "secret pass" to those too.