Summer Camp 2024

Week 1: Get Yourself Organized!

THIS WEEK'S THEME: CHANGE

Assignment 1

Consider what kind of changes would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

"Change" is a very prominent theme within Wyrring, and is one that I've felt should be fleshed out further. Up until now, Wyrring has been a fairly traditional fantasy setting, and despite some notes and brief development of more advanced technology using Kinetic Engines, the larger effects haven't really been considered. See some potential ideas below.   The development of Kinetic Engines has resulted in a boom of new technology. In addition to direct changes caused by the invention of this new technology, it has had several indirect effects.   1. New technology types, such as weapons, transportation, and domestic.

• Trains (The Iron Rivers and The Kingsroad), Planes (Seagull Wing-back and The Estalia Triumphant), and Automobiles
• At what point should electricity be added? I think it should be left out for as long as possible to keep the fantasy aesthetic
• Somehow I've forgotten to add guns

2. How do people use these technology? What organizations have been formed surrounding them?

• Estalia has turned to additional regulations, with the creation of The Enginist Trades Houses of Estalia.

3. How do religious and magical groups stay relevant in this new age? Have they adopted the new technology, or are they fighting against it? What new areas of study have they opened up?

• Study of Mechanics at The Grand College

4. How has an increased ease of travel changed the populations? How has wealth been increased?

• Increased travel could have concentrated populations in major population centers, potentially leading to overcrowded condtions, civil unrest, and a changing culture.

5. Ease of travel has shifted the geopolitical positioning of those in power.

• How has increased trade with the Dwemni Empire affected the continent? What information has been gathered? What exotic goods and items have become staples?
• The construction of The Iron Rivers would allow Estalia to deploy troops quickly to multiple fronts. Combined with increased hostilities at Sime, will another war erupt, and if so, how strong will the The Pact of Gold be?
• The long amount of time since The Second Estalian-Disorganized War has dulled the pain of war, allowing for the rise of New Age Silverism; a more militaristic version of Silverism, which not only sees Estalia as a beacon of civilization, but directly blames the inferior surrounding states and their involvement in the Second Estalian-Disorganized War for Estalia's problems.

PREPARE YOURSELF: SET YOUR GOAL

Assignment 2

Based on this, decide how many prompts you'll go for during Summer Camp. Then, download the pledge document and fill it accordingly!

Last year I planned on going for the Gold Badge, but ran out of steam halfway through and only achieved Silver. Obviously I haven't learned anything and am hoping for >24 articles this year!

PREPARE YOUR WORLD: CATEGORIES & TAGS

Assignment 3

Get your categories and tags organized!

I don't think that my categories and/or tags system needs to be overhauled, but I've double-checked that no previous articles are uncategorized or untagged!  

FOR THE OLDER WORLDS: UPDATE THE META

Assignment 4

Take a look at your meta, primer, and any other high-level document and update it according to the current state of your world.

The meta has been updated!  

Week 2: 8th June 2024

THIS WEEK'S THEME: REFUGE

Assignment 1 Consider what kinds of refuge would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

"Refuge" is less of a common theme in Wyrring, but let's see what ideas we can have!   1. As suggested on the challenge page, "Refuge" could be considered an opposing/neutralizing force to "Change". In my notes from last week's assignment 1, I had mentioned some potential conflicting forces to change, which could be fleshed out this week!

• Areas where technology (or the study of) is banned. Either for ancient traditions, security, or unwillingness?
• The rise of extremist cults in direct response to both the fall of magical influence and the rise of technology.

2. We have some physical refuges which can also be fleshed out:

• Outlook - A refugee camp for elves seeking to leave the Estalian side of the Clarenware Woods.
• Aedan and Estalia - Many people seek refuge in Aedan from the strict, caste system of Estalia. Similarly, those seeking to escape the corruption and lack of responsibilities of Aedan travel north to Estalia.
• Angel's Harbour and Ostrangard - Not necessarily refugee camps, but both are excellent places to disappear to. Particularly those unhappy with both Aedan and Estalia, or those travelling from the Dwemni Empire.

3. There are a couple other, more generalized ideas for Refuges/Shelters that I'd be remiss not listing:

• Convents and Monasteries
• Homeless Shelters, shelters for abuse victims, and orphanages.
• Natural disaster shelters, and shelters from monsters and wildlife.

PREPARE YOURSELF: FIND AN ACCOUNTABILITY BUDDY

Assignment 2

Find a community - whether that's our Discord server, Facebook Group, your RPG or friend group, or something else.

No thanks!  

PREPARE YOUR WORLD: STYLING

Assignment 3

Find ways to improve styling and layout in your world!

I updated my styling/layout a couple months ago, and am still happy with it.  

FOR THE OLDER WORLDS: ANY CSS UPGRADES?

Assignment 4

If you’re a CSS wizard, maybe take the time now to give it a polish!

No thanks!  

Week 3: 15th June 2024

THIS WEEK'S THEME: BELIEF

Assignment 1

Consider what kind of beliefs would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

Until recently, the pantheon for the world was adopted directly from the Sword Coast. Seeking to distance myself from the existing IP, so that I can potentially add my own spin, I recently renamed many of them. This week may be a great opportunity to flesh them out further, and to further differentiate them from other exisiting pantheons! At the moment they're basically just names with domains, so some ideas can be: 1. Basic Information, such as nicknames, appearance, followers, etc. 2. Organizations/people who followed them, or were directly inspired by them. Include organizations which worship one primary god. Potentially tie into "Refuge" theme of the previous week. 3. Totems are still fairly developed, but we could write about their impact on the world as a whole. What historic events have totems participated in? What are they actively working on currently? 4. Traditions, Ceremonies, and Holidays!  

PREPARE YOURSELF: FIND YOUR INSPIRATIONS IRL

Assignment 2

Create a bank of inspirations! Quotes, music, description of experiences and shower thoughts, etc.

I have a Google Keeps note which is a living bank of inspirations. As well, I have kept notes for some of my previous writing challenges (February 2023 Beastiary; Summer Camp 2023, etc.), which I use as backups. For the most part, I think I'll mostly rely on the individual lists I've provided for each theme.  

PREPARE YOUR WORLD: IMAGES GALLERY AND MAPS

Assignment 3

Find art and pictures that inspire you, and grab a map if you don't have one (and need one).

I love my map, and unfortunately I ran out of time beforehand to find art/pictures/media.  

FOR THE OLDER WORLDS: REVIEW YOUR INSPIRATIONS

Assignment 4

Check your inspirations again. Are they still relevant? Can you find any that better represent the current state of your project?

My inspirations are still relevant.  

Week 4: 22ND JUNE 2024

THIS WEEK’S THEME: DECAY

Assignment 1

Consider what kind of changes would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

"Decay" may also be a bit more of an indirect theme for me, but let's give it a shot! 1. An idea that I've had a couple times (which has no articles for) is the recent loss of magic. Shortly after the invention of the Kinetic Engine, mages started to notice not only that traditional magic was unpopular to study, but traditional magic was becoming more difficult to cast. Over the years, this effect has gotten worse and worse, with less and less students and mages. 2. The natural dilution of societal values caused by immigration - and the conflict it can bring.  

PREPARE YOURSELF: OPTIMIZE YOUR ENVIRONMENT

Assignment 2

If you like special tea when you write, stock up for a month. Tidy your office, make a “do not disturb” sign, and think about any other last-minute strategies to optimize your writing space and time!

I do most of my writing while on the bus heading to and from work, and unfortunately I don't have the power to clean up the transit system.   I think my biggest prep will be re-reading what I've written in this homework, as I tend to forget my previous ideas, and it feels like I'm finding inspiration from scratch.  

PREPARE YOUR WORLD: REVIEW YOUR HOMEPAGE

Assignment 3

Review your world homepage to hook potential readers!

Homepage is good!  

FOR THE OLDER WORLDS: UPDATE YOUR INTRO & AUTHOR PAGE

Assignment 4

Take a look at your author profile and pillar articles on your world and polish them!

My pillar articles have been updated, but I don't really wish to provide information for myself.  

Summer Camp Articles!

1. A TUMULTUOUS REGION PRONE TO NATURAL DISASTERS (Location) - The Roil
2. AN ENVIRONMENTAL OR OTHER LARGE-SCALE NATURAL DISASTER (Law) - The Night of The Second Sun
3. A CHARACTER WHO GOES THROUGH A GREAT CHANGE OR METAMORPHOSIS (Person)
4. A SICKNESS THAT CAUSED SOCIETAL UPHEAVAL (Condition) - Bracialcitis
5. A DOCUMENT THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY (Document)
6. A DISPLACED PEOPLE IN YOUR WORLD (Ethnicity) - Arrivals Quarter
7. A CONFLICT THAT INVOLVED A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT (Military Conflict)
8. A VEHICLE THAT, WHEN INTRODUCED, CAUSED SOCIAL UPHEAVAL (Vehicle) - Stoutheart Engines
9. A MYTH ABOUT FOOD (Myth)
10. A BUILDING ASSOCIATED WITH JOY AND FUN (Building)
11. A SETTLEMENT CONSIDERED A REFUGE (Settlement) - Outlook
12. A TECHNOLOGY USED FOR DEFENSE OR PROTECTION (Technology) - Quickbow
13. A NATURALLY SHELTERED PLACE (Location)
14. A BUILDING CONSIDERED A REFUGE AGAINST THE WORLD (Building)
15. A UNIT DEDICATED TO GUARDING SOMEONE OR SOMETHING (Formation)
16. A PERSONAL ITEM THAT KEEPS YOU SAFE (Item)
17. A TRADITION THAT GIVES COMFORT (Ritual)
18. A SPECIES WITH PROTECTIVE ANATOMY (Species)
19. A SUB-CULTURE CONSIDERED LARGER-THAN-LIFE BY SOME (Ethnicity)
20. A CHARITY OR OTHER ORGANIZATION FOCUSED AROUND DOING GOOD (Organization)
21. A FACTION OF AN ORGANIZATION BUILT AROUND BELIEF (Organization)
22. A MYTH, URBAN LEGEND OR CONSPIRACY THEORY BELIEVED BY MANY TO BE TRUE (Myth)
23. AN EVIL SPIRIT OR DIVINE ANTAGONIST (Person)
24. A DOCUMENT OF SPURIOUS OR CONTROVERSIAL ATTRIBUTION (Document)
25. A RELIC OR SYMBOL OF BELIEF (Item)
26. SLANG OR A LANGUAGE ASSOCIATED WITH A RELIGION OR BELIEF (Language)
27. A LEADER OR HIGH-RANKING PERSON IN AN ORGANIZATION (Rank)
28. THE PRACTICES AND CEREMONIES OF WORSHIP (Ritual)
29. A SETTLEMENT THAT'S KNOWN AS A PARTY TOWN OR PLEASURE CITY (Settlement)
30. A HYBRID SPECIES INTENTIONALLY BRED (Species)
31. A MYTH OR PROPHECY ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD (Myth)
32. A MATERIAL THAT IS RESISTANT TO DECAY (Material)
33. A PROFESSION THAT IS CONSIDERED DIRTY (Profession)
34. AN ORGANIZATION FIGHTING CORRUPTION (Organization)
35. A TRADITION THAT REPRESENTS MORAL DECAY (Ritual)
36. AN ANIMAL OR PLANT THAT FEEDS ON DECAY (Species)
37. A DEGENERATIVE DISEASE (Condition)
38. A PIECE OF TECH THAT PREVENTS DECAY (Technology)
39. A STORYTELLER, AUTHOR OR BARD IN YOUR WORLD (Person)
40. A GEOGRAPHICAL REGION THAT IS EXPANDING (Location)
41. FOOD OFTEN EATEN BY TRAVELLERS (Item)
42. A BUILDING THAT WAS MEANT TO BE TEMPORARY (Building)