Summer camp 2025 entries

Amateur camper

Summer camp 2025 was my first time entering a contest as a writer. It was a great experience overall and at the same time a great opportunity to expand my world with new ideas as well as solidify concepts that I was already working on.

I started a bit late, so I didn't make a pledge or write my articles in waves. I promised myself to write 24 articles and managed to do it, even though it was a stretch.

In this article you will find my submissions categorized not by wave, but by a different system. This reflects the challenges I faced during SC and the importance of each article for my world building.
Shout out to the wonderful community and all the people that have interacted with my articles. This was the best part of the summer camp experience for me.
Special thanks to my friend, Faernia, who gave invaluable feedback during this time.

Articles I wanted to write (but "couldn't find the time")

The rival powers

The three cities...

Doriande's two largest settlements, Fiorlas and Skarm have been at each other's throats since they were founded. Waygate is quickly becoming the third player in this battle, which has lead to The Triarch Tension.
Since I only had the opportunity to write about two settlements during the camp, I used the Gate of Kherawyn to provide a glimpse into Waygate, as it is one of the (if not the) most important features of the city.

Why is Fiorlas a city everyone wants to visit? Because it's the capital city of Doriande, a place with rich history, the hearth of academic research and a bastion of hope for all Dorians. I really enjoyed fleshing out this city, since I want to create more stories in it. One of those can be found in the anthology I 'm preparing.

Is Skarm a city that has been rebuilt many times? It certainly was in my mind and thanks to this awesome prompt it now is also in writing. Focusing on this aspect of Skarm was a great opportunity to make it really feel lived-in, while also creating story hooks for adventures!

As mentioned before, the Gate was supposed to be a prominent feature of Waygate, which is named after it. It was built in an attempt to defend Doriande from external threats, but also serves as a monument to Dorian heroes that gave their life defending their home.

... and the two organizations

These two groups are not in an immediate conflict with each other, especially since the Eye's existence is unknown to most people.

However, the building tension in the kingdom and the rising power of these organizations are building pressure. Since the guild has it's own agenda and the Eye is watching everything, one can only suppose that they are already tangled.

I have a lot of plans for them, but I am not going to divulge more, because I 'm afraid they are not going to let me get away with it. Controversy though is written all over them.

The guild is a centerpiece of my first campaign in Doriande. I 'm hoping to publish it one day, so that people can adventure in the Whispering Forest. Is it the next superpower? In the eyes of Dorians, yes, of course it is. As the single largest private organization, assigned an institutional role in the organized society, they hold a lot of power, without being on a short leash. Sounds like a bad idea? That's because it is one.

Dolvareth as a world with rich history

Some say it all started here. Who am I to correct them? In any case this mountain stands tall in the middle of the world, it is the birthplace of the Dwarves and its larger area is a tremendous place for adventuring. I 'm hoping to get to write more stories around this place.

But Rolfgar Mountain is most known as the birthplace of the first Kingdom. And what would an ancient kingdom be without a legendary king? One who changed the course of history through his actions, enough to be remembered centuries later?

Following that line of thought, one would wonder who was left behind to remember this ancient king, how did they survive the fall of their kingdom and were did they go after that. This article was very important for my worldbuilding as it provides an explanation for the sudden expansion taking place in the small peninsula that is now the Kingdom of Doriande.

One of my players in the campaign I 'm currently DMing, taking place in this world, decided to play quite a controversial character. This required a lot of out-of-the-box thinking, as I didn't expect it in my first play-test run. He asked me if I could include the term "Softtusk" as a derogatory name for the half-orc species under the boot of Army of Father War. Working with him on his backstory helped me flesh out the abstract threat of the Army and Caleh and that's why I really appreciate the cooperative storytelling that TTRPGs can offer. What social change prompted the creation of this subculture you might ask. It was of course the settling of the nomadic orcs into a single, human-occupied region and subsequent expansion of the half-orc species that it brought.

It's funny that I got to write about the second invasion before writing about the first one. On the other hand it is the most recent event and also what best fitted the prompt I decided to undertake. It was also more easy to write about this conflict as I had already written my first short story, taking place at its start.

Articles that just made sense after that

Love it. Absolutely. Working on fictional languages is one of the most difficult and best aspects of world building. I am a native Greek, therefore I never want to add Greek into the mix because it sound too cliche for me. Latin usually falls into the same category. I am working with a mix of real languages (which I do not speak, to be clear) plus some tricks to create words and phrases for this language. But languages should evolve over time and since this one was spread around the world, its influence should be apparent in the common language as well as others. This prompt helped me figure out the exact way to make this feel organic and not just an afterthought.

And so was born the Grunor, the philosopher, historian, sage and cosmologist of Doriande. Hadn't ever thought to add something like this to my world and now I 'm so proud of this article. Oh how I love summer camp!

Yes a civilization should have roots. Dorians used to be shepherds and gatherers, semi-nomads living each year from what the land supplied. This surely must have left some kind of imprint in their traditions. Great inspiration.

I know, I know... Writing about the constitution of your fictional kingdom in detail can be nerdy stuff. On the other hand, that's not something to be ashamed about. Really proud of this article!

You 've played TTRPGs before, so you know that you need at least one healer. Clerics gotta love their temples, right? And temples can be charities too if they are helping those in need, correct? Am I stretching it? Nah it's good. This was a perfectly within the limits interpretation of the prompt I think.

Happy little accidents

You can bet I came up with the pun and then had to write it into a formidable military unit. You 'd win that bet, that's exactly what happened.

Did it happen a second time? You bet it did! Did I turn it into a unique material? Maybe my favorite of the whole camp.

Love it. I want to write more myths. I like the way this story was told through an article and I 've already written a lyric version in the form of a shanty. Is the fruit a legendary food? Technically. Is the myth really about the fruit? Who knows, I might tell you after summer camp.

A result of the aforementioned myth. All myths are based on real facts. This is the fact, the law that governs tides in Dolvareth.

I love to cook. It is part of how I express myself. I pledge to make this staple in real life, as the inspiration for it was drawn from real life techniques.

Can't deny it, I got the idea for the Farleyn from Greek traditions. Doriande is a southern peninsula with a long maritime history, so they ought to have their own traditional garments for celebrations and festivities.

Don't give away its secret use. I am mainly going to use it to the detriment of any adventurers travelling down the mines of the north.

Ideas that could probably have used a little more time in the oven

One of the last articles I wrote (or was it the last? I don't remember), really close to the deadline. It was either this or a river dam up the Ivaris. I decided on writing this one. It is a building that hasn't been finished. It bears the symbolism. Do I hate it - No. Do I love it though?

Can be used as a condition my players will have to face. Not my best work yet, but I will try to improve upon it after the camp is over. Until then, just don't eat the darn berries.

Summer's over, but it's ok because we had fun

And that's it folks. I enjoyed the camp and I am looking forward to the next thing that will kick me into first gear again, as I 've been idling ever since the deadline passed. Loved every bit of the thrill and I am now focused on completing my reading challenge.