Summer Camp Prep 2024

'So it begins'

WEEK 1

Assignment 1

META revised
Upcoming articles revised
New region map created
New landscapes generated
Changes in Ganu
Natural:

Ganu once was an icy wasteland where the water dragons lived. When Jomril lifted the Mogeth plateau, the mountains blocked the cold north winds and even the clouds from the region's western part. The region warmed up and the ice melted away. Close to nothing stayed alive in this climate. After the dragons left, Narmiraen sent satyrs to the desert, to use her magic and bring life to every part of it. Today's flora is the result of their work. Wildfires and tidal waves are the worst that the Segaii suffer from nature.

Conflicts:

Segaii are hot-headed and strong people. Every day brings some level of conflict in their lives. Tribal wars and conquest over Bugit tribes are widespread, almost a tradition for them. The Army of the United Nations closed its borders from the west and kept strongholds there to watch over any suspicious motion. For a long time, the Tribes of Vangrakath were a common rule amongst them, but a new sect rises now, questioning the way of their lives.

Assignment 2

Pledge document made
My thoughts about summer camp

If I recall correctly, this will be my fifth Summer Camp. The last years were great challenges, because of my growing family and high expectations of myself. I’m getting more comfortable with writing in a foreign language, so I try my best and write most of my articles in English. Aiming for a diamond, but I will be fine if my articles are shorter than usual (so maybe 3-5-800 words instead of 2-5000). Ganu is a nice region to use. I have a lot of ideas and drafts since I already had a campaign there. I planned to write Ganu right after Nehalenor, and I’m close to finishing the northern vale’s lore, so everything is on schedule.

Assignment 3

Checking categories on both the English and Hungarian side
New tag list made

• #Ganu
• #Segai
• #Bugit
• #Vangrakath
• #Jurkirud
• #ENS/AUN (Army of the United Nations )
• #tribename

Checking short articles for later use

Assignment 4

Ganu mini-meta
Ganu is located on the eastern shores of Utea. This land suffered a lot even before the Segai ships arrived from Damus. Ganu is a perfect place to run higher-level adventures or desert and savannah survival games on Utea. It has a nice lore, many secrets, and plenty of danger around. In my first campaign, I planned to run the game around level 10 there, but my players were faster. They got genuinely upset when they challenged a god and it wiped them out from its realm… Adding more details to Ganu’s plains, I hope I can reach out to more readers and game masters who are looking for a different kind of tribal setting - at least different from Nehalenor, which I almost finished by this time.
Segaii are strong and brutal. The harsh land makes their life harder. Only a few outsiders can prove themselves worthy of living between them. Ganu’s everyday life mixes a kind of native american/Winnetou and WoW orcs genre. I loved the book ‘Durotan’ too. Ganu is a harsh, hot, and dangerous place with giant creatures and mostly unfriendly locals. They have their unique customs and traditions and do not tolerate it well if somebody violates them.
Segai characters can have a naturally greater agency if it comes to tribes and politics, but any adventurer and scholar can make their life’s greatest work here, locating and exploring forgotten ruins and world wonders, solving legends and ancient mysteries.
Ganu has a naturally darker tone than most of Utea, maybe the same level as Zililon. Characters need to be alert all the time, death comes easy. From the desert to the savannah, nature has many dangers from weather conditions to lurking creatures. The Segaii own this land and they protect it at all costs. Some tribes are enemies, and wars between them are common.

Recent changes in religion and power relations aroused suspicion among the allied tribes.
My favorite focus points:

• History of Ganu
• Politics and religion
• Segai traditions and customs

Current drama:

• New high-chieftain rules from Vrikdarok
• The new sect refuses Vangrakath teachings and the Segai traditions
• People started missing from the central part of Ganu
• Bugit tribes rise all around and the hunters have similar equipment to the Army of the United Nations

Review any lore I already have

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WEEK 2

Assignment 1

Refuges in Ganu
Places
Ganu is a hot and mostly dry region, with the eastern part occasionally swept by great storms. The creatures have grown huge, so they are more dangerous than elsewhere.

The walls and the hunters of the villages and towns of the Segai tribes protect against monsters, although this is primarily for their community. Along the wasteland’s trade route, in the ports of Prigka and Vrikdarok, the Ganu Foreign Trade Office, an outsiders-runned Trade Guild employing Segai and Bugit mercenaries, maintains camps and protected houses and warehouses for their caravans and goods arriving by ship.

The Leadership of Ganu is aware that this external relationship is the only one that ensures continuous traffic from the other regions of the continent. Since little food is grown in the desert and savanna, the goods brought in by GFT and AUN are vitally important to the tribes.
In Ganu, sacred places such as shrines are not shelters in the usual sense. The Tribes of Vangrakath value that only the Strongest survive.
The caves of the mountains, river valleys, and hollows in the rocky ground can offer protection from storms and heat to those trapped in the wilderness. However, it is important to note that these usually have "residents" as well.

Other

If someone hides from the tribes, their best chance is at the AUN bases. If someone is on the run from the law of the Western states, their best chance is in Vrikdarok. Ganu's tribes are not in legal treaty with the other states of Utea, so they do not pursue fugitives. At the same time, they do not mind the bounty hunters either, they can also operate freely as long as they do not violate the interests and rules of the tribes. The chieftain of the given tribe passes judgment on the strangers, if they are the wronged parties, they can challenge the culprit based on the law of Vangrakath. In Vrikdarok, the current high chieftain fulfills this role, he can only transfer this right at the request of the head of another tribe.
The art of the Segaii is not significant in the eyes of other folks. They are justifiably proud of their handicrafts, but they rarely produce anything that is made for purely aesthetic reasons. Segai frescoes serve to record and teach their history, statues are usually not erected. Their music, poetry, and literature (if you can even call it that) are performances woven around religious parables, legends, and educational tales. Their plays also bring these to life but do not contain any artistic abstraction or poetic exaggeration.

Their religion plays a central role in their lives. Vangrakath's teachings strengthen his followers to face the difficulties of everyday life. Plants* that affect the visitors are often burned in the sanctuaries dedicated to him.
New Psychotic Plants:

• Bone grass - grows in the desert, a kind of succulent.
• Elephant cap - a savanna mushroom reminiscent of elephant poop. (I just can't be serious all the time...)
• Spider flower(tea) - a poisonous jungle creeper with black leaves and red flowers.

Assignment 2

My Circle
I'm still too shy to join actively any international group, so I keep at with my lovely Coven of TTRPG Moms I usually play with, and my dear friend and padawan, Misu (kenomajas420), who maybe take the challenge too, as he started building his original world earlier this year. I need to thank all my lovely Readers/Followers here who look after my work and occasionally comment on it. It means a lot and keeps me on track.

Assignment 3

Make it pretty!
I already have my "signature layout" for Evera, so I didn't intend to change it. I learned how to make tagged lists from Janet (Thank You for the video tutorial) and how to use tooltips, so I might add more of those in my articles. I am eager to learn how to add a table of contents to my longer articles because I have a lot of those. I still have problems with my heavily styled articles (like this), sometimes rows slip, and formatting gets lost when I reopen something for an edition. Making custom article templates would be fun, but I didn't need them for Evera yet. I try to keep everything simple and useful, TTRPG system-free.

Assignment 4

Experimenting /w CSS
Maybe last year - I can't remember well - I tried to make my own CSS for Evera, but it was a complete disaster. However, I kept some bits and pieces I liked from my first try: the background and some of the font colors. Last year I started learning basic HTML and CSS, but I'm still far from that level to do it again.

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WEEK 3

Assignment 1

Tribes of Vangrakath
Vangrakath, lord of the Beastman
Jurkirud the Greedy

Beliefs about the Segaii

• All Segaii are equally big, dumb, and easily angered. (False. They vary not just in appearance, but in size too. Most of them are intelligent like an average Human. If they are left alone, they likely avoid strangers.)
• Segaii craftsmanship is a reliable, high-quality product. (True. Segai weapons, armor, and tools are made from different materials, and are all masterworks.)
• The Segaii live like animals. (Mostly false. Some choose the wilderness, but those exiles and shamans avoid trade routes and villages.)
• The Segaii are good sailors. (Mostly true. After the Battle of the East, the AUN forced the Segaii to burn the remaining ships. Some fishing boats and rafts serve as tools for the fishing trade. Many Segai work on foreign trading ships because they are strong and hard-working.)
• Segaii bearing the looks of "less dangerous animals" are less violent or even weaker than the others. (False. The Tibe of the Gazelle chased another tribe away from their land not long ago.)
• The Segaii do not engage in agriculture. (Mostly false. Ganu's heat is bad for crops, but they cultivate small gardens and orchards near the villages and towns, and animal husbandry is common practice.)
• You can't negotiate with Segaii. (Mostly true. The tradition makes them believe, that the strong is right and the weak is wrong. You only can speak yourself out from a situation, if you look/act stronger.)
• The Segaii tribes hate each other. (Mostly false. Tribes have common rules and laws, most tribal wars last only a few months.)
• The Segaii are not loyal. (Depends on the person. Some only follow the stronger, or they own hearth.)

Beliefs about the Bugits

• Bugits are stupid and greedy. (False. Bugits are as intelligent as any Human or Segaii. As small folk, they had fewer resources and suffered a lot from the wars of the big folks. All they want is to survive. Most of the things they collecting are going to the shrine of Jurkirud, their creator god.)
• All Bugits are thieves. (False. Most Bugits have different roles in their tribe's lives. Some of them hunting, others crafting or looking after the cubs. They only took things from the big folks when an opportunity arose, and most Bugits never met any of them. Those "findings" were meant for Jurkirud, not for personal use or wealth.)
• Bugits lay eggs. (Partially true. Some Bugits lay eggs, those bear reptiles, insects, or amphibian marks - like Damus' frog-bugits.)
• Bugits are easy to deal with. (False. Bugits have keen senses, they hear and smell better than most Segaii. They are equally good in fight and flight, and in numbers, they are a great threat.)

Legends of Ganu

• Battle of the East
• Sea battle off the northern coast of Mogeth (Segaii vs Narmiron navy) and the fate of the Segai fleet
• The Lost Kingdom of the Ice Dragons
• Ganu before the arrival of Jomril

"When the Dragons rule"

I think of the ancient Dragon-kingdom as 'Atlantis onshore'. Ice dragons built their empire from ice and stone, after the ice was gone, the stone structures remained only. They waiting for explorers beneath the sand and deep in the mountains. Ice dragons had a highly developed civilization and a great sense of magic. Most of them relocated to the Elemental Plane of Water, while others remained in the Core and established the Order of the First Dragon to protect Evera. Two of the most powerful Ice dragons are Abbot Lavanyt, the leader of the Order, and General Irdan ShuThur, a 7,000 years old strategist and member of the Order.

Assignment 2

Playlist
Personal favorite from the newly found music, not sure if it perfectly fits, but I love its momentum.
From the traditional and folk music I collected for this project, I loved this one:
Literature&Video Games

• Christie Golden: Warcraft: Durotan
• World of Warcraft (continent of Kalimdor)
• I had less time to read because of the many projects I have working on simultaneously.

Assignment 3

Art gallery
Map

Ganu

Open full size

Assignment 4

Project Ganu (Upcoming articles! )

WEEK 4

Assignment 1

Decay in/on Ganu
Climate change

• Jomril recreated Utea's geography, resulting in critical changes on the eastern shores of the continent.
• New sea currents appeared in the Second Era to the north of the continent.
• Satyr druids planted forests in areas that seemed suitable and created jungles.

 Migration in Ganu

• When the ice was gone, the Ice dragons moved from the area. Their mystical empire collapsed over a decade.
• After Jomril drowned the continent of Damus in volcanic ash and smoke, most of the Segaii fled from the doomed land, and around half of them landed on Ganu.
• In the aftermath of the Battle of the East, AUN bases, and new keeps were built on the border, to keep the Segaii in check. Humans, Dwarves, and Elves live there.
• Segai tribes often wage war against each other. The names of some fallen tribes are also lost in the past. (Like the eagle-segai Nash tribe:)

 Religious changes in Ganu

• The Church of the Eternal Flame is beginning to gain ground among the followers of the previously unified Tribes of Vangrakath.

Power changes in Ganu

• The AUN rapidly loses its former glory and financial support as new dangers threaten the founder countries. 

Assignment 2

Haha, I just did this last week... Reorganized my whole desk (do not ask how my craft storage looks now behind me, but it has at least closed doors). I bought a new keyboard and mouse, that connects to my PC, tablet, and even my smartphone, so I can write anytime and everywhere. (It was a long-delayed purchase, not specifically related to Summer Camp, but I'm glad I'm over it.)
When I work, like my full-time job or on some project, I like to use Forest. It's a nice app on my phone, and perfect for scheduling deep-focused work time with regular breaks. I often find myself working without eating or drinking for half a day, because of my Asperger. (Forest has nice and changeable background sounds too!)

Assignment 3

I've added some pictures to the homepage.

Assignment 4

The article Wonderful World of Evera had some typos, I hope I found all of them. Writing in a foreign language that has plenty of grammatical rules just the opposite of my native language is still hard, but I become better with it every day. I just reached the 300-day mark on Duolingo!

Summary

This year I try to work with the barren region of Ganu, on the continent of Utea. For the past two years, I have been more efficient by working in a designated smaller area than by bouncing around my entire extended world trying to solve the task.
 There are some predetermined points of the area, as my players visited it for a short adventure - a side quest. Having geographic and administrative maps, and knowing little pieces of information about the tribes and much more about the Segai culture and religion makes my work easier compared to what I had in 2018 when I created Evera from scratch.
I'm looking forward to the Summer Camp, and I wish luck and fun to all the participants around me.

(Did my homework give you new ideas? If so, please leave a comment. I am happy if I did help - with a good or a bad example.)

Ready to use