Summercamp 2024 - Prep Document

I need to buy a keyboard somewhere! Summercamp is starting and I have nothing but my IPad!

— Me on my first day of vacation

My Situation

I might have mistook the actual Summercamp event with the prep month... But that is good news, I don't have to write daily articles while on Bali. Maybe half as much will suffice. I'll be on vacation until the 11th of Juli so either way, my IPad will have to do.

Anyways... Week 1 Prep!

Assignments

I will primarily work on my world "Ignotas" again this year, so the theme of change comes in quite handy thematically. Also, since my players are currently at the start of their first real act and more information is released I will expand on the more mysterious side as well. Lastly, even though it is a bit of a stretch, I also think a change in political landscapes or the introduction of political unrest could also be really interesting in a tiny world such as Ignotas.

On the Subject of Time

I think that, for reasons discussed in the introduction, I won't have that much time the first 11 to 12 days. After that however, I have lots of freedom before starting uni in September. I will still try to shoot for diamond this year, but realistically, if I get 20/31 I will also not be upset with me. As such...

Uhm...

Okay, I have to admit: I never really got into Tags. I know, I know, but I am always very unsure of what to group my articles into, like tag wise. But maybe now after a good 4 years on this site, I will go ahead and really put my nose into Tags. here couldn't be a better time anyways so... yeah.

Regarding Meta

My meta is pretty much still good. The world isn't too old and I am trying to keep the articles along the roadmap of my meta. I am happy that this time around, the "staying on meta" part of my worldbuilding is leagues better than with Cathrea, my first world, which as a first world, was way too big and complex. I had no real structure or limitations, even my meta did not really have "hard lines". You could dance around that line all you wanted basically. So yeah, if anyone is reading this: Don't scare away from thematical hard lines.

Brainstorming Ideas

How to introduce political intrigue

Why are people fighting for power? For money, control, individual goals, influence, love
What makes sense in Ignotas? Money always makes sense, especially when expansion and new inventions are so present in a world. Which could go hand in hand with influence... But there could also be influence not of land but of an industry. or influence on decisions of the world, either economically, expansion wise, policy wise, in research, etc. Individual goals that could be sought after could include: finding a way out of this world, saving the old world, keeping the world as is, making the world a better place, helping people, becoming the best at something, etc. Now for the control side of things, this will be more of a side effect of either one of the previously mentioned things. Control is needed to make lots of money, for example by being the leading merchant for some export, control is needed for individual goals, namely to change something in the world according to your will. And influence obviously needs control, because without control over political happenings or just immense tyranical strength, it would be hard to gain influence. Now love falls slightly out of line. People would do anything for true love, and as such, the strongest pull towards political power could come with the prospect of love... Political Power could bring love in a more fictional way, but it could also help a person already in love gain the necessary influence, control, or money to help/save/whatever that loved one.
Considering all this, what could happen in Ignotas?
People could fight for newly uncovered patches of land, due to new ressources and such. How are patches of land even handled? Do they belong to the ROX, is there a lottery, are they unoccupied?

People could strive for influence to control where the development of Ingotas goes. Some will want to find a way home, some will like to stay and build this new world, some will stay and want to keep the world as it is natural. Since the ROX are basically the dominant force in decisionmaking, and they are pro-expansion, it would either need an extreme uprising or a slow change of powers.

I will also need an established power grid, detailling some organizations that rule certain areas of economy. Who is the leading armory export, who controls the policies at the ROX Academy, who is in charge of harvesting and collecting ressources in the world?

What about the cities other than Vaporio? What are their purpose, who controls them and what are the relationships between these other cities and Vaporio? More concrete: who for example runs Fort Expo, and by extension, who runs the Expo Raids?

Week 2 Homework!

At this point, if the prompts this year only somewhat resemble these homework themes, i could even go for all 40. The subject of refuge is a theme that is a constant throughout all of Ignotas world. The entire concept of the world is one big shelter from the horrors outside the Worlds Edge. But while this is a huge point that can be expanded upon, I will point out some refugees that are more concrete.

In Ignotas, and especially in Vaporio, there are many people living extremely poor. The Rox Academics are the central hub for people to get meaning in a world where everything is different from home. Many people need purpose, and school is a big haven for those, and it is provided to them for free.

But that is already established. A new type of refuge that I wanted to set up was a sort of integration center for sentient species found in the Fog. Since very recently, species have emerged from the unknown that are not mindless killing machines, and currently it is being debated if they should be treated like any other species from outside, or if they are to be welcomed in Ignotas the same way the inhabitants are.

The world is still small, and I intend to keep it that way as to not overwhelm myself, but I am sure new refuge ideas will sprout once the prompts are released.

I not so recently joined the Seven Tomes chapter, and although my activity was not that huge there, I plan to keep myself accountable through that support system specifically. I've seen great results the last years in the challenges channels on discord as well and lastly, at least one of my IRL friends also plans on participating this year. So there are a lot of people helping me this time around.

As for styling, I am way ahead of this assignment. Well, not too far, but I've created another world in which I test out new css in form of sections and containers. I've already had great help from the community on some issues there, and I plan on getting more out of my grandmaster subscription little by little.

Now About Belief

Ignotas does not have any set Pantheons/Deities etc. Although the people live without a designated church or belief-system, there are a few groups that have formed around certain belief principles... The general idea of the people of this world is, that there are no gods. These people believe in the expansion of the known world for one of three reasons:

1. Finding Clues on how to return to the old world
2. Paving the way for the next generation to live in this world
3. Expanding for the sake of exploring an entirely new world

While this belief system accounts for about 70% of the peoples opinions, there are others thinking differently.

Aside from self-centered people thinking of this world as a new opportunity to make bank, there is the Shadowbound, an organization that believes the gods are not gone. They believe either this world is a challenge, bestowed upon them by the gods, or they believe in a set of entirely new gods that want to see humanity adapt, and not destroy the natural world around them. They live entirely in the Fog and want to stop the general public from conquering more land.

There is one more group of people believing in a totally different world view. The people that have conquered the Rahvka Rooms further than the first two levels believe a prophecy that details the demise of the old world in a few years time. They spand the known world because they want to find a way of saving the old world, not by returning to it, but by luring everyone into this new world before the disaster happens.

I am way ahead of the game

when it comes to inspiration. Since I am not home and travelling asia right now, I've been keeping a notebook close to me at most times and am actively gathering inspo whenever I can. Once I find time, I will digitalize them for SC2024.

As for Images and Maps

I've been putting off making an extensive map for my magic school, but I think now's the time to make use of that Inkarnate subscription. Art-wise, I think I'm all set for now, since I have a clear image on what my world should feel like, but I have so many opportunities for maps, that I should definitely go back into those.

A State of Slow Decay

(If you got the MCR reference, your music taste is immaculate)

Of course this last week is the most difficult one. Decay is something I never really concerned myself with this world since it is almost brand new, in in-world historical terms.

What could change...

Since the nature of my world lies on progress there is constant change, in perception of the world, more effective machinery, new weapons, better education etc. but that is not the question here. Decay is something falling apart and rebuilding it, like tearing an old hut down and building a hot spring over it. I think one thing that can definitely decay is the initial "thought of progress" that the world is built upon. With the world ever expanding, more people will be fueled by greed and the prospect of wealth in the newfound land that slowly, the will for profit will outweigh the will for progress and working together. With the things uncovered in the Rahvka Rooms, the people will need to be kept together in order to conquer what the future has in store. I honestly see more small-scale political intrigue that shapes the world more diversly and makes for more interesting plotlines.

The thing about my working space is...

that as I've said, I have no way of doing so since I am on vacation until physicaly the 11th of July, and practically the 13th or 14th until my jetlag is outjetlagged.

My Homepage

took some major upgrades these last few months but is not nearly there where I want it to be. I have a new world where I exclusively experiment with custom CSS, containers and sections and will probably try to prototype a more aesthetic layout there. This will probably not finish until this years SC but we are in no rush at all. I'd rather want things done right than fast.

Summercamp Recap