SUMMERCAMP2024 IS HERE!

GUYS! ITS ALMOST ONE OF THOSE AWESOME TIMES OF THE YEAR! No, not summer, well, sort of summer, but as someone who suffers from allergies to basically most pollen, summer is by far my least favorite season. Having your eyes feel constantly like someone put weak pepper juice in them for months on end is no fun. SummerCamp on WA however... IS AWESOME!

Like, I feel I am even more hyped that usual for this, maybe because I feel like I have fallen a bit behind on worldbuilding this year. i mean the ideas are all there, but the getting of them from the brain to the paper (or digital equivalent) has not been happening.

Homework the 1st - Change

Luckily some changes are already planned for Kohtalo. They even physically exist. well, some of them do... on sticky notes, don't judge too hard. Sticky notes have been a DMs best friend for longer than I have been alive. Also, they are readily available at work.

There may be some restructuring of the various vampire cabals, some things with the Fae may be changing... the world map may be changing. We will see where things go.

As for goals, I tend to say That I am in the Silver is Sufficient crowd, then the last two years ( I think...

this ramble has been interrupted as I am now checking my badges

ah, good times... wait, no distractions, homework


yes, so anyway, I think at this point I can firmly say that my goal is Diamond or Die. (no death will actually be involved, part of being an adult is realising that sometimes life happens, and that is okay)

as per usual I will continue to refuse any attempt to organize my world into categories etc. So we will go ahead and put a checkmark in that box as being complete.

And I can even say I have looked at my meta recently... as part of the aforementioned changes even. Which honestly i should do way more often. Also I am working on a list of 5e spells banned in my world, for reasons having to do with the Fall of The Storm Giant Empire. Which may also be getting expanded upon. We will have to see what the prompts allow   I may, and I stress may take the leap and do some streams this year, because last year I realized how much i missed tuning in to other peoples SC streams and honestly, I am awake and enough of a non-standard time (for the western hemisphere anyway) that maybe I will organize a stream that the people in Europe can wake up to. (very very large maybe)   So yea, that is the homework for the week. No I'm not going to spellcheck this yet, or even include the pledge document (yet) I have been awake entirely too long subsisting solely on Camp Feral energy that Strixxline has been kind enough to let me borrow while off at a LARP.

Week the 2^nd

Okay, so I fell a bit behind. apparently living a bit like a modern day hermit by being on night shift means you don't participate in the "sharing is caring" part of a late flu season, and as your prize you get to pick up an extra shift here and there, and also there too...

If only there were some place one could be safe from the ravages of disease and the slow decay of the world, a refuge if you will....     Okay, I stretched a bit there (though the extra shifts thing was real... I should probably take a vacation soon) but I had so much fun with quotes and fun headers last year, which I didn't remember until I read last years prep article (seen here).   But the second theme is refuge. Having been thinking about ways to "gamify" more the central crux of my world (caught in a war between the Fae Courts and Vampire Clans) This is actually strangely applicable. Unlike in some other worlds, after centuries the Fae would probably try to work more closely with clergy and religious orders, whose temples are protected from incursion by the undead and who's symbols are anathema to vampires.   Likewise, vampires, historically already the heads of trading empires (at least the smart ones) would lean into armor and metal, but focused on iron and steel instead of things like gold silver, or more magical metals like mithril. A blacksmiths forge would make a good meeting place or dead drop as most fae would avoid it.   But then again, both forces also use mortal proxies to get things done in the world, whether through thralldom or being oath-bound, so neither of these would be an impenetrable refuge. Also there are the places where some of the missing god's are hiding (or being held). One of them made an appearance... last SC? I dont think it was WE, so yes, last SC one of them made an appearace. Soudns right. Lots of things to think (and probably eventually write) about.
 

Accountabili-buddies

Oof, right in the "port brief." Oh well. I will be relying a bit on several groups. The Camp Feral folks, not just because I need the extra energy, although it always helps. Line is awesome for starting that community last year. Line also writes awesome stuff and makes cool art. 12/10 all around good bean. (Line's pledge can be found here Malkora is as awesome as its creator and I highly recommend giving it a follow.
  Discord in general is also good for this, although with my schedule I am mostly on the Australia/Pacific Island schedule. Still, DMs are basically always open.
  I shall also probably rely a bit on the Chris Council (known better as Kitoypoy and ECCBooks, although there may be others of whom I am unaware, not being a member myself) at the very least for awesome articles to read when I need a break from article writing. But if either wants to call me out as I inevetibly fall behind and start to word-vomit all over the internet in panic they are more than welcome to. As a matter of fact, so can you, yup YOU faceless internet reader (or person who I have met at one of the various meetups). Believe it or not YOu are a vital part of my community. Congrats, you have been adopted as an Accountabili-buddy. Read, like, comment to your heart's content. Send me a message on discord or twitch saying sleep is important and I probably dont really need to be awake for stream.  
Also there is some styling and css stuff mentioned in the homework. checkbox checked. I promise at some point I will maybe probably do fancy Sage/GM things with my world... but there is something to be said for just using the simple stuff that everyone can use. I mean sure, a variant human/custom lineage paladin/hexblade multi-classes with an assassin rogue dip can be fun to play, but there is something equally compelling about playing a mountain dwarf grave cleric.

 

Week 3

They are not mad. Ther're trained to believe, not to know. Belief can be manipulated. Only knowledge is dangerous.

— Frank Herbert, Dune Messiah

I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen. 'When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.

— Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

Ha, I already mentioned gods. well, missing gods. And things people believe about Fae and Vampires, and didnt even get to Thresholds or running water or the Rules of Hospitality. Look at me being ahead of things on accident. I have also played with some cool urban legends in the past. The Drunkard's Lighthouse comes to mind as something THAT NO ONE WANTED TO INVESTIGATE. CAUSE THAT SIDEQUEST WOULDN'T HAVE HAD COOL LOOT... *ahem.   One for the Road was another one that I think people liked the idea of. I enjoyed writing it, and I think it is an overall good example of fun harmless worldbuilding that is still quite information dense.  

Map

 

Homework 4: Decay

Well, lets see, you got necromancy and the Necromancer wars, several necropoli (necropolises? eh, not really worth looking up) vampires, not to mention pages to add to The Book of the Unquiet Dead. Also, mushrooms, cant forget about mushrooms. Mushrooms are cool. Will it taste good, will it kill you, will it get you high, will it transport you to the fae realm where you will barter away your firstborn for the mere chance of returning to the mortal world, Who knows? Better take a bite and find out.

My environment... well at work (where I shall be all to often during summer camp) there isnt much I can do. On the bright side, I get a nifty 3 screen setup and basically unlimited water and other beverages. But I do have to make sure everyone's cat videos stay safe, so there will be distractions.   But at home, well, it depends on if I am up in my nerd-haven office area (picture forthcoming) or down in the living room. Both are set up well. I have food, and beverages. No "Do Not Disturb" sign, but since I live alone and generally stay on my night-shift sleep schedule even on days off, it would be more awkward if someone did inturrupt me... wait, lets go back. I should make homemade ramen broth (and tare). That is what I shall do on my next day off. I have some chicken bones, lots of garlic, some other stock aromatics. I should probably pick up some new ginger and check on the soy sauce and mirin supply. I have plenty for ramen toppings, and fresh vegetables are easy enought on grab on the way home from work. May need to stop by the butcher for pig/cow bones to get a really nice broth, but we will see how motivated we are feeling.   Did minor updates to my author page. We will see what else work allows for. but for now I am calling this years homework Completed.