Summercamp 2023
Summercamp 2023 pledge by World Anvil
So, here we go!
Summercamp is coming! I love this challenge. It really helps me expand a world or two. Normally, I spread myself thin over several worlds but this time I'm going to focus on one...
The Prep and Warming Up
As always, there's homework, or what I like to think of as a 'warmup' to this mental exercise. Step one is this article, which will be a hub and prep work. In this case the broad themes for the prompts.
While I'm aiming high, even if I don't make the challenge goal, this will give me a nice roadmap for Summerdark, which it has badly needed for some time.
First prep item for me beyond the prompts, is a map. At least a basic world map with nothing in it. If nothing else, it's a reference point. Pins might go on here as the prompts get answered.
Unofficial Challenges I'm Aiming For
While I am going for SummerCamp, I thought I'd try for the following along the way. No pressure. If I manage it, great! But if not, that's ok, too!
Read more about the other Challenges!
Summer Camp Camp Chill Badge
by
Rin Garnett
A custom badge made in honor of Annie Stein's Camp Chill.
Remember the prompts are suggestions, not requirements.
Write what you're passionate about, leave what you aren't.
Relax when you feel tired.
Fight off any pesky brain-squitos trying to make you doubt your work.
Don't abandon your non-summercamp goals! Write that article you're itching to write, even if it doesn't fit any prompts.
(Shared with permission from Annie Stein. Read her thoughts on 'Camp Chill' on her Camp Pledge.) If you'd like to repost this badge, add [imgblock:4574878] or [img:4574878] to your article.
If you'd like to repost the guidelines, Amy Winters-Voss made a block version you can use by adding [block:1050823] to your article.
Nnie's Camp Chill Guidelines
(Shared with permission from Annie Stein. Read her thoughts on 'Camp Chill' on her Camp Pledge.) If you'd like to repost this badge, add [imgblock:4574878] or [img:4574878] to your article.
If you'd like to repost the guidelines, Amy Winters-Voss made a block version you can use by adding [block:1050823] to your article.
Dewy Diamonds Badge
Dewy Diamonds Badge
by
Strixxline
What is Dewy Diamonds?
Dewy Diamonds is a little goal-oriented initiative geared towards those who strive specifically for the Diamond badge in SummerCamp, but are aiming to maintain a Camp Chill mindset. DIAMOND OR DIE was a common mantra among more die-hard SummerCampers for years and, while it can be fun, that can put pressure on certain users! Annie Stein came up with Camp Chill, and it is the perfect little set of guidelines to help you have a relaxed and fun SummerCamp experience. Adding a specific goal (in this case, diamond) just requires a little extra work and some added support... which Dewy Diamonds should strive to give each other!Becoming a Dewy Diamond
It's really as easy as popping the badge on your pledge or your SummerCamp submissions. You don't even need to use it if you don't want to, but hey it's all fun! [img:4576815]Some simple rules, so we know what we're about:
- Strive for Diamond!
It's okay if you don't get there in the end, but it should be the goal you're working towards!
- Support your fellow dewdrops!
We can all use a little support when we're aiming for big goals.
- Bring love to the community!
Engage with the community, leave likes and comments whenever you can!
- Make time for self care.
It is so easy to burn out during big events. Big hype can turn into overwhelm. Be a chill camper!
Where it Began!
This silly little camp for chill dewdrops of WorldAnvil was created during prep month for SummerCamp 2023, and introduced in this pledge & homework article here! Come by and check it out to see what was cooking in Strixxline's bird brain!
Spooky Shenanigans Challenge Badge
Spooky Shenanigans
by
Haly, the Moonlight Bard
Summer camp days are full of riding, hiking, and fishing. Laughing with friends, swimming in the lake, walking in the woods. They're full of sunshine, fresh air, butterflies, and bird calls.
But summer camp nights are an experience all their own. The ever-present cascade of crickets and frogs on the thick night air. Fireflies sprinkled through the underbrush sparkle like bioluminescent glitter clinging to the cloying aroma of honeysuckle on the moist air.And late in the night, after all the scardy-cats have gone to bed, we gather. Drenched in the smell of wood-smoke and half-hidden in the long-legged, dancing shadows of the low campfire flames, we tell our tales of the spooky, the cryptic, the haunted and possessed.
Are YOU Afraid of the Dark?
If you're like me, then you look for any excuse you can to work a little bit of the spooky, the creepy, the mysterious and unexplained into your world. After all, everybody loves a good story about a monster under the bed, things that go bump in the night, or that weird thing that disappeared into the bushes.
The Challenge: Spooky Shenanigans
Claim this badge when you submit one (or more) Summer Camp eligible article that also features information about:
- a ghost/haunted house/cursed object, OR
- a cryptozoological mystery, OR
- a legendary true crime.
This is an honor-system badge, I won't be checking. But I think it's a fun little extra challenge, especially if you're building a spooky world or just like telling ghost stories.
Tracking sheet by Graylion!
Scorecard
Copper Theme: Power
Silver Theme: Frontier
Gold Theme: Relics
Diamond Theme: Communication
All Articles
Copper Theme: Power
8 Prompts
0 Wild Card Prompts
Theme Description
Which are the powerful organizations within your world setting? Who are the powerful individuals? What kinds of power do they wield and what are their weaknesses and needs?
My Goal
Power. Most want it, yet no one knows what to do with it. This would be interesting for Summerdark, as this is a world just coming out of a dark, bloody age to start a new one. This would be a time ripe for power dynamics as organizations and people are going to be dealing with the aftermath of the previous age and the destruction that marked its end.
Just to quote the teaser intro...
The Betrayer War came to a deadly end. Pact Iron forces had overrun the dark fortress of Oz Malid and defeated the Gorgon Lord Yir’vass. His Dread Scourge, legions of skarn tribal warriors, had vanished into the Wraith Swamps beyond the Blue Mountains.It was the bloody end of the Third Age, and the start to the Age of Rising Light. Also called the Fourth Age of Summerdark.It’s been fifteen years since the fall of Oz Malid and the defeat of Yir’vass. The Free Peoples have breathed a well-earned sigh of relief. Cities have rebuilt and trade renewed. The Free Peoples of Summerdark looked to what was beyond the known lands with curiosity and hope.But the Dark Fire of the Shadow Council still burns in the Midnight Forge of Oz Malid. Quiet whispers tell of lights in the ancient fortress. That the Gorgon Lord wasn’t destroyed but imprisoned. He looks to lose his chains, escape his prison and infect his evil on the world. To scour the land and make himself master of Summerdark to reshape it according to his dark designs…
That's some fertile ground there, especially since Summerdark isn't a seasoned world. It's pretty wide open with a fresh voice all its own. I can easily go into the organizations and see where that takes me.
Silver Theme: Frontier
8 Prompts
0 Wild Card Prompts
Theme Description
Where are the frontiers in your worldsetting? And why would anyone want to go there?! What about metaphorical frontiers, like the “frontier of medicine” or space, the “final frontier”?
My Goal
Frontiers. This is a good one. It could be geographical, like with borders. But it could be the frontier of what is known in magic, science, tech, or other knowledge.
For Summerdark, that could be any of the above. This setting has entered a new age after a dark one. So 'frontier' could easily be geographical, but also could be the 'cultural frontier' as the people of Summerdark are learning to work together and rebuild. I might see if I can work in both. That could be interesting.
The teaser summary for Summerdark even hints at 'frontier' in several ways. Lands and places that aren't well known to people. There might even be a chance for a 'frontier of knowledge', too!
Gold Theme: Relics
8 Prompts
0 Wild Card Prompts
Theme Description
What aspects of the past are revered today in your world setting? Which peoples are remembered? And which are forgotten, and why?
My Goal
This one should be right up my alley for Summerdark. It's a world with a people coming out of a tragic age with a long history. As the byline says, "Tales of an Antique Land". There is the Midnight Forge and the dark forces it commands. Ancient weapons ( isn't there always? ) Lost relics of a bygone age that could bring miracles, curses, or great disasters.
I always find items to be one of those 'gateway' concepts that lead to the heart of really interesting worldbuilding. History, real history, is shaped by people and what they do. This in turn leads to cultures, and then the crafts, items and more they create. Relics and items open that door to those cultures and the people that were or are a part of them.
Diamond Theme: Communication
8 Prompts
0 Wild Card Prompts
Theme Description
How do people and organizations from different backgrounds or cultures communicate with each other? How does communication happen over short and long distances? Who in your setting communicates secretly or carefully, and how?
My Goal
How do people communicate? That's a huge question. First, there is the written word. But what if the languages differ? What about dialects? Then there is the question about communicating if a person has disabilities, such as someone who is tone deaf but their native languages require precise hearing of tones.
In Summerdark, the new age brings in a thirst to recover lost records. Documents and writing from earlier times with lost knowledge. At the same time, far lands are reaching out to rebuild bridges, but with different languages. A tough hurdle to cross.
Then, behind the scenes, there is the threat of the Shadow Council and their hunters, the Moorstalkers. Countering them is the secretive Gray Company headed by such mysterious figures as the powerful Sagecaster, Friwind, and their network of Veilstrider rangers and bards. Both groups communicate using secret methods, sign language, and more.
Prompts
Copper Theme: Power
Prompt 1
Organization
Prompt 2
Settlement
Prompt 3
Material
Prompt 4
Natural Law
Prompt 5
Military Conflict
Prompt 6
Species
Prompt 7
Select Article Type
Prompt 8
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Silver Theme: Frontier
Prompt 1
Geography/Location
Prompt 2
Species
Prompt 3
Species
Prompt 4
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Prompt 5
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Prompt 6
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Prompt 7
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Prompt 8
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Gold Theme: Relics
Prompt 1
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Prompt 2
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Prompt 3
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Prompt 4
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Prompt 5
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Prompt 6
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Prompt 7
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Prompt 8
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Diamond Theme: Communication
Prompt 1
Language
Prompt 2
Select Article Type
Prompt 3
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Prompt 4
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Prompt 5
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Prompt 6
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Prompt 7
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Prompt 8
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Tracking Statblock by Graylion
What an awesome pledge page! Good luck on your quest for the diamond badge - you've got this :D Are you hoping for any particular kind of prompts to show up in the mix this year?
Thanks! :D This year? I'm hoping for prompts that can lead me into geography, ethnicity, and some items. Something to really dig into the people that live in this world.