Dandoleon's First Summer Camp: 2025

Week 1: Nourishment

Ferryknoll by Jackal

Assignment 1

Currently, I'm at a loss for how to justify my ideas as nourishment; nonetheless, I have a lot of anticipation for the prompts yet to come. Since I'm trying to utilize my entomology and botany knowledge for this world (my second one ever), there should be plenty of opportunities. The above image is one that I may be able to use: a semi-sentient plant species. There isn't much substance for it at the moment, not even a name, but I hope to find inspiration from the various prompts. Ideally, I'll be able to use various pieces of art I've commissioned over time to enhance my articles and guide my content. As for my main interpretation of nourishment, I'd like to investigate how the various peoples in my world sustain their bodies and cultures in the uncanny conditions of the Summer and Winter planes. I have a few ideas, including tales that inspire perseverance, magic that perpetuates fecundity, and ecosystem-exploiting phenomena that sustain entire kingdoms.

Assignment 2

My plan is to achieve the gold badge, though this alone may be enthusiastic as I'll be taking part in a few more responsibilities than I'm used to this time of year; with one of these being a field botany course, I can likely find extra inspiration throughout the month. With any luck, I'll be taking part more in the livestreams and general community reading compared to competitions on my previous world. As for the aspect of the world I'd like to work on, I'm hoping to develop the old mythos and contemporary civilizations. I want the lines between nature and society to be clear as I progress throughout the articles, with several references to how plants, creatures, and natural structures contribute to subsistence or infrastructure. Since the world is intended to be a higher fantasy reflection of our natural world, there should be plenty of unique opportunities along the way. Of course, this is a fairly broad focus, but since the world is so young, there aren't any broader areas for me to exploit yet.

Assignment 3

My world is young, so revisiting the entirety should be easy. I have twenty-four articles, several of which I'm already satisfied with. I do need a refresher, though, especially as I begin focusing on the primer and introduction of my world for those who come to read it. With life getting busy in the past couple of months, I've already forgotten several details. The world will definitely be used for D&D eventually, so there are several hyper-specific ideas, but I need to return to the broad strokes for a while (a mistake I made with my first world).

Week 2: Roots

Assignment 1

I'm still in the process of establishing solid foundations for each of the cultures in my world, particularly the different Hymendia peoples that will dominate Summer. I look forward to intertwining their ancient culture with the biological concepts that determined their way of life, while highlighting how unique struggles defined the various descending lineages as they're known today— from being separated on distant islands and frozen wastelands to Faustian bargains from interplanar invaders.

Assignment 2

There's a lot of work to be done on my homepage, particularly regarding my hook and primer. I'm currently in the process of working outward from "The Breaking of Dandoleon" article, which serves as the base explanation for how the world functions while providing some essential history that crafted the plane as it exists today. My main struggle is that the process by which the world entered its current state is far less important than what actively occurs in the world: the activities of its people and the structure of its civilizations. The gods are intended to be external players, yet their role is so essential to the laws of the universe that they must be mentioned. I hope to improve the primer by focusing more on how the people of Dandoleon respond to the Breaking, rather than the event itself. This also aligns more with Dandoleon's themes of exploitation.

Birdtower by Anggitha Nathania of Whiteghoul Studio

Assignment 3

My first official world-building project is the world of "Laminarum," also present on World Anvil. I've put plenty of work into Laminarum and plan to continue that work going into the future since it's the focus of my D&D campaigns. However, I've made plenty of mistakes, from an overly detailed timeline to a lack of focus and direction. While that world is currently undergoing its own overhaul, I hope to avoid those problems altogether in Dandoleon. One of my main desires is to move away from my typical "informational" writing style. I want my worlds to have a decent amount of informational text, but I'd like to experiment with more creative writing that I've receded from in recent years. Alongside that correction, I'd love to integrate the litany of "creature" ideas from over the years.

Week 3: metamorphosis

Instar Aeterna by Studio3.2D

Assignment 1

Metamorphosis is potentially the most setting-appropriate theme so far, and a fantastic way to develop the essential foundations of my world. Given my world seeks to explore magical-speculative biology, both individuals and societies have undergone metamorphosis as defined in its origin myth. In the present era, societies must adapt to their own growing populations, be it through environmental exploitation or resource wars. I have several plans for conflicts, groups, tools, and organisms that the prompts will let me elaborate on.

Assignment 2

My greatest barrier to creativity lately has been motivation: there are several pieces of media I've wanted to explore that I've been avoiding because of the time commitment. I've particularly wanted to explore thriller/horror films and cosmic/Lovecraftian horror books. Investing in cosmic horror has been a struggle, particularly since I've heard Lovecraft lacked quality prose, which becomes distracting. The film genre has generally disinterested me in the past, but setting aside time for the classics has been on my to-do list for years. Cosmic horror is a valuable genre to read for worldbuilding. I'd imagine that quality description becomes even more vital to describe futility and conflict caused by the unimaginable, which could help in a world of superstition and magical influence.

Assignment 3

I've been frequenting the discovery tab more often lately. Surprisingly, I've even found other worlds while googling folklore when there were limited answers to my questions. While I've taken a bit of an absence in the last few weeks, I've come across this article that I particularly enjoyed: "Travel Log: Entry 47 – Broyoto, Jewel of the North" by "GreyTailZA." Being a travel log, it utilizes an epistolary format that I've always had a natural inclination toward. It has great prose, one of the things I wish to work on, while also functioning as a standalone piece that leaves you wanting to know more about the world. It never doddles or goes into extraneous detail, which makes it work as a standalone piece while making you want to explore the world further. Perhaps my greatest issue in worldbuilding has always been overindulgence in sharing as many details as possible in each article, which I largely do to ensure readers don't have to pull up different pages. However, I think this is to my detriment, as ideally, a reader walks away wanting to investigate further. I think this is the main skill (or willingness) that I need to learn, and this article was a great lesson therein.

Week 4: Tomorrow

Assignment 1

This is the theme I'll struggle with the most during Summer Camp, but luckily, I'll have the most time to prepare for it. The future of my world is the least fleshed out, as I'm currently concerned with establishing its roots (not to mention the clinical side of organization, revision, etc.), but I do have confidence in the present and those who operate to manipulate the future. To hit the theme more directly, I'd like to explore prophecy and revelations and how they impact different cultures, while also exploring some of these apocalypses that have come to pass.

Assignment 2

My schedule is tenuous, but at the very least, I know I'll have time to write; there are plenty of gaps between my responsibilities, and I'll need to fill the time somehow. Until now, I've filled that time with some of what I claimed I would do last week (reading Lovecraft), but there's plenty left to fill. I don't need much out of my writing space, aside from coffee, which is what usually motivates me to get past this week's tagline: "Tomorrow." I've started exploring more music for my D&D campaigns, which will help deliver an assortment of "vibes" I might want to explore in my writing. My botany course also began last week, which has already given me several ideas for the "material" side of the writing. Shy of anything unexpected, I'm optimistic that I'll achieve the gold badge.

Assignment 3

I don't have much in the form of accountability assurance when it comes to my writing plans, but I've maintained motivation every year until now. With Dandoleon being my second world, I'm enthusiastic to finish its base and rectify a few mistakes from my previous one. It's currently the day before Summer Camp begins, and I plan to be up and ready during the stream. I'd like to learn the prompts early and make the best use of my time before work; potentially, the sense of urgency alone can help motivate me to complete the prompts I'll be exploring in the next several weeks. I look forward to exploring articles in each category in my down time, and very much hope to be more active in the community as both a writer and reader than I have been in the last few months.