Summer Camp 2023 Pledge & Homework

Week One – Power

Political and social power and maneuvering is really at the heart of everything that I think is interesting about my world. There's so much of it that I just keep in my head, to the point where I know what the penultimate campaign I want to run in this world to be, what everything will lead to, but I don't write about it. Partially because of spoilers, but also because I don't think I can write about it yet without horrendously word-vomiting.
So in the meantime, I think I will write about things that I can get out in a less emetic fashion. They aren't published yet, but I've been reworking my world map and expanding on some new nations and revolutions, and one of my favorite things about history and revolutions is that there often end up being people who become symbols of broad ideals, the pinnacles of freedom, justice, what have you, but they aren't ideals, they're people, and idealized people often disappoint.
I also made myself a mini power-themed playlist (see sidebar) to hopefully help keep myself in the right mindset. I'm not sure if I'll do it for all the themes, but I'll certainly try!
Possible article ideas:

• (Leaders of the) Sanguine Revolution. Possible article types: character, organization, conflict.
• Citérielle, predecessor to the Commonwealth of Aigua. Organization.
• Administrant position in the Principality of Mahid. Rank.

Week Two – Frontiers

This will be a difficult one. See meme in sidebar. There are very few frontiers in my setting that I'm interested in writing about and haven't already written about, especially after last year's discovery and expanse themes. I have some vague ideas, but nothing really concrete yet. I think I'll be relying on seeing the prompts themselves to hopefully spark something this time around!
I did manage to make another mini playlist though! A little shorter than the last, but I may add more to it later on.
Possible article ideas:

• Tensions in the Tamque Region
• Also mining towns in Tamque Region, how company towns interact with the local Jendaiari people, etc. Possible article types: settlement, organization, ethnicity.
• Marquis or equivalent position, an overseer of a frontier area. Possible article types: character, rank.
• Ascension to divinity?? Gotta figure out how to write enough detail to be satisfying, without just laying it out like a boring manual. Possible article types: ritual, technology.
• Intradimensional spaces as a new frontier in the field of arcane studies (might be stubby?? unsure if I could write 300 words about it). Technology.

Week Three – Relics

My useless anthropology degree and my time accessioning donations at a museum have readied me for this moment. As much as I love the idea of legendary items of awesome magical power, currently my ninth longest article is just me rambling about a painting, along with its historical context and significance, and I can't say I'd mind doing the same thing over again. I love material culture and the way that some objects are envisioned and constructed with ingrained meaning attached to them, and others find meaning to someone at some point during their existence.
Usual themed playlist is on the sidebar. When I made it, I was mostly thinking about how relics in fantasy/adventure themed world are often intrinsically connected to desires; desire for money, for power, for change, for whatever it may be even if it comes with negative consequences. I was also thinking about how sometimes people, chosen ones, are treated a lot like relics, and how that can come with its own set of desires: desiring to not be wanted, or to finally be wanted for the right reasons.
Possible article ideas:

• More paintings. Possible article types: document, item, character.
• Ceramics from literally anywhere just as an excuse to research geology. Possible article types: technology, item.
• Some secret Jendaiari stuff :eyes: Possible article types: ritual, technology.
• Lizdah era deity stuff because I should actually do stuff that benefits my world's plot and not just museum nerd things. Possible article types: landmark, item, document, myth, species, spell, geography.

Week Four – Comms

"Communication" would've made the header two lines which would bother me endlessly, so comms it is.
This is another week that I think I'm going to struggle to come up with interesting ideas for until the actual prompts come out and I can mull over them for a bit. Most issues dealing with communication that will come up in D&D can be solved with either Comprehend Languages, Sending, or hiring a translator on top of the fact that radios, telephones, and regular mail services exist in my world, none of which make for super fun articles, so I think I'll have to go a little more tangential with my articles. I've listed some vague article ideas down below.
Playlist this week focused more on interpersonal communication than anything else because I tend to find that's where communication successes– and failures– become fun and interesting. Also songs with fun summer vibes because it's been warm and sunny lately, and we in the PNW are starved for vitamin D and serotonin.
Possible article ideas:

• Using Taités like messenger pigeons within a city, but maybe being like a common trope for exchanging love letters in stories/plays? Like comedic scenes of stealthily passing your secret lover a whole ass itty bitty parrot in public so they can send you one singular letter later? Wild. Romantic. Slightly impractical. Whether it's something people actually do in real life is up for debate. Possible article types: ritual, character, document, prose.
• Fumiye Hisakawa, a Hitomin historical figure who helped end a war by impersonating her violent, war-mongering husband by stealing and intercepting his mail. I've written a little summary about her on the Hitomin article, but haven't properly given her her own yet. Character.
• Maybe work on the Jendaiari language? I've got no particularly interesting thoughts on it but I could try to tie it in with the aforementioned Secrets for the relic theme. Language.

by World Anvil

I've realized during the course of doing homework for this summer camp that it may be helpful to have a special subscriber tier for those who may be interested in my world, but not necessarily in playing in one of my campaigns, so I have made a special subscriber group: Keepers of Secrets! This will allow me to write up some of my world's secrets without worrying about potentially spoiling campaigns for my players. It's still quite new, but I'm hoping to add to it during summer camp, and in the meantime, you can get a peak at some secrets at Brad, Chad, & Thad's Magic Item Emporium, as well as Ambrosius of the House Theion.

To my beloved players: I know none of you would ever do anything sneaky, but also I will know if you join the group so don't even try <3

Spooky Shenanigans by Haly, the Moonlight Bard

I'm always down for spooky vibes so I'm definitely gonna try going for this badge!