SummerCamp '24 homework

Week 1

Tumultuous times are interesting moments to set stories in, whether they be due to natural disasters, sickness, conflicts, or others. Characters face unusual challenges, infrastructure breaks down, and society as a whole can change. Change can be big and small—from the size of a small community or city to the entire universe—, and it can be positive and negative.

Change

One of my biggest goals in any RPG campaign is to have the world react to the choices of the players as much as possible. I try not to railroad them or have things happen in the world that the players didn't cause in some way. I try to make it as natural and organic as possible, but my goal is to try and balance the idea that these characters are making decisions that will affect the people and organizations around them, while trying not to fall into the video-game-style of RPGs where the Dragonborn has to do literally everything around here. It's a balancing act, but I feel like I've done pretty well with this campaign. And it's in this context that I think about changes in the world.
I've already done quite a bit of noodling on change in Terrathria at this time- though granted only within the context of the current campaign, so really only the eastern continent of Oerik: with the invasion of the Laozi empire into the rest of the eastern continent comes big changes to the spheres of influence and power. Based on what my players achieve during the next year of sessions, there could be quite a shakeup in the Oerik's geopolitical makeup: almost assuredly the players will kick the Laozi out of their home kingdom of Hokkai, but what about beyond? Will the shinobi decide to help the neighboring states throw off the yoke of Laozi oppression? Will they lead revolutions? Will they try to speak those in charge of the Orchid Empire, and try to achieve a diplomatic solution? Will they remain insular, as Hokkai has been for centuries? And even if they do, what might this conflict from without do to the complex web of alliances and grudges among the Hokkaidan imperial clans? I have no idea, but I am excited to find out!

Goals

I'm very new to the platform- having only joined in May- but I really like WorldAnvil as a place to put all my ideas other than a crazy wall of Google Docs strung together in my brain by red thread. I'm still learning a lot about the platform and its capabilties and honestly I think this summer camp is actually a really good way to continue to develop my understanding of the platform and utilize as many features as I can to help me better organize my thoughts for myself and my players (and I suppose anyone who happens to look at this campaign.) Since I have 2 months off for my school's summer vacation, and I don't think I have any plans to travel for an extended period, I imagine that I can devote a good chunk of time to the campaign and its WA pages. I'm perhaps being a little optimistic, but I am shooting for Gold, since in the month I've joined WA, I've already created probably 50 articles (many are stubs, or placeholders for now, and much of the foundation has already been laid in, as I said, a crazy wall of Google Docs,) and that's all from slow days at work. Imagine what I can do when I have FREE TIME!

Categories and Tags

I have experimented with categories and tags, grouping my articles into somewhat generic "people," "Places," "historical events" so that I can find them more easily and (hopefully) link them together, and I like the system so far. Hopefully the prompts will afford me an opportunity to further develop this organizational tool: things such as sub-categories, or putting NPCs in the settlement where they live would probably make things easier for me and my players instead of just having 45 "important characters" to keep track of (although linking in each article does make even this approach work, as long as you're willing to experience my WA page as a digital crazy wall)

Meta

I did a bit of work with this. I understand how it might be helpful for a writer to get down on paper their intended vision and tone and everything, but for me this campaign is so much a part of my creative spirit and character that there's no doubt in my mind what I'm doing. I can see it being useful for other people though- particularly anyone who is coming to look at this for the first time and doesn't have the context my players and I do. I'll continue working on it, mostly for Summer Camp purposes, but I hope people find it helpful.

Week 2

Where do you go when everything around you changes? A refuge can be a literal place (like a building or a city), but it can also be anything that keeps you safe or comforts you. The change someone takes refuge from can also be small in the grand scheme of things—sometimes, small changes can have deep consequences on a specific person or group.

Refuge

Refuge, and refugees, is a sort of underlying theme of this campaign, though I haven't had a chance to delve into it quite yet: what happens to those people displaced by the Laozi conflict? Where can they go? Daiyamondo has already taken some steps to try and help with this issue, by turning the ruins of his ancestral home into an orphanage for children who've lost their parents to the Laozi, the Oni incursions, or the onset of a harsh winter. Now that the Laozi have burned all these villages, where will these people go? Can they really be expected to rebuild, with winter right around the corner? What other options do they have? Perhaps the party will make note of the several manor houses and fortresses that they've wiped clean of Laozi incursion, and offer the displaced Hokkaidan peoples refuge there? Perhaps they will begin to recruit these refugees to their own cause, replenishing the ranks of the shinobi corps? And that's to say nothing of the displaced peoples across the Sea of Zheng He, on the continent. What becomes of Chonsi or Yaguri peoples who do not wish to live under the yoke of the Laozi occupation? Where can they go, and what can they do? Perhaps our party will find out...
The party themselves have been quite lucky that they have a place of refuge during this conflict: the ninja village of Kakureta is by design difficult to find and practically impossible to invade- though the party has foiled a few attempts to do so.

Accountability

My accountability buddies are, in essence, my playgroup: I'm gonna have to write something every couple of weeks for them anyway, so I'll be able have them help me stay honest with my prompts. My partner Jordan is a writer, and so they'll be able to help me edit and condense my thoughts as well.

Styling

I've done some experiments with styling in this article alone, to try them out! I've actually gone and changed the styling of the article pages to Zen, to see if people like it. I've also integrated quotes to show the prompts for each week of homework, so people can tell they're WA's words rather than my own. I'm also experimenting with dropcaps, and I might take a look at the spoiler function to allow people to read into what they want, while leaving information they don't need (at least at that moment) hidden away for better visual comprehension.

Week 3

Religious belief is a foundational element for many cultures, but belief doesn't have to be about religion! Beliefs can be about superstition, urban legends and myths, people you believe in, and more. Essentially, anything and anyone that inspires people, for good or ill.

Belief

The religious and spiritual beliefs of Hokkai in particular are something I've given quite a bit of thought to, because my partner Jordan is playing a priest of the Hokkaidan religion of Shukyo. Everyone in Hokkai- from the lowest peasant to the emperor himself- believe in the kami. These are animist spirits of creation, deeply connected to the four classical elements of fire, water earth and air, which long ago were summoned down from the celestial heavens, to bring Hokkai into being. These spirits still exist, in everything from the tiniest pebble or drop of rain, to the largest mountain or widest sea. I'm also including the idea of venerated ancestors- humans who have done something of note, many of whom have risen to the status of actual kami in their own right- as members of the celestial kingdom that people will offer prayers to, usually at shrines erected in the home, or as free-standing structures with multiple monks or shugenja serving as staff. The gods of Hokkai are very real, especially to the priests who venerate them, known as Shugenja (a term lifted in its entirety, both fluff- and crunch-wise, from the Legend of the Five Rings TCG/RPG.) These priests can speak the language of the gods, and offer prayers to them in a tongue they can actually understand. If the prayer is completed correctly, and with intention, the kami will fulfill the shugenja's request, and impose a fraction of their godlike will onto the world. This is how a mortal casts magic in Hokkai but it also forms the basis of their religion: if a shugenja speaks a prayer to the kami on the behalf of another person, village, country, etc, the gods will act in some way. The more learned and talented the cleric, the grander the scale of the request can be: A low-level shugenja can levitate a single pebble, or start a campfire. A high-level one can divert rivers, move mountains, and call down the wrath of the sun goddess herself to smite an enemy.
For this reason, a shugenja coming through town is often treated with a mix of respect and trepidation- the peasants know that a word from the priest could alter the fate of their whole community for the rest of the season: if the villagers offend the shugenja, they may call down a curse upon the next harvest, or divert the river away from the offending village, calling it a form of divine punishment for mistreating a servant of the kami. However, shugenja are taught not to act in such a selfish and petty manner, but instead are taught to wield this power graciously, and to perform acts of service and succor to the people, to cultivate a healthy and productive citizenry. There are bad actors, to be sure, but most shugenja attempt to be a force for good.

Inspiration

I have a lot of different inspirations for this part of the world in particular, coming mostly from the anime I watched when I was young, but also some classical japanese art and more modern works of fantasy art depicting samurai, yokai and oni. I've spent a lot of time making Spotify playlists of music from other video games, TV shows and movies that share the same vibes as Hokkai to play while I'm writing, some of which I'll include here, but a deeper dive can be found in the world Meta (or just browse my spotify page): Living in the Pacific Northwest, I'm constantly surrounded by enchanting nature scenes. The San Juan Islands and the foothills of the Cascade mountains give me tons of inspiration for the majesty of the natural world, unmolested by human meddling. The efforts of the local indigenous communites- as well as municipal and university staff- to clean and protect the waterways around us and replenish the populations of wild fish inspired me to include these themes of protecting the natural world from corrupting and polluting influences. The classic PS2 game Okami also features this message of conservation and protection of the natural world, and has informed much of the background of this campaign.

Image gallery and maps

I have created a few maps for Hokkai, which believe it or not has been one of the most difficult parts of this project. I'm pretty sure I have a mild form of aphantasia, and it's actually rather difficult for me to create and manipulate space and objects in my mind. I don't really have a good concept of scale or distance in my head, and what that translates to in real life: how long it takes to get somewhere or how far away things are from each other are almost complete mysteries to me. Luckily I subscribe to a really nice mapmaking software called Inkarnate, that has made the process much easier and enjoyable, so I look foward to making more as the campaign continues. I also know an independent artist who I've comissioned to create a coat of arms for the 6 clans of Hokkai, so I'll be uploading those as they are finished. (The Boar Clan one is already finished, as an example)

Week 4

Most things decay over time, but, just like all other themes, decay can be understood in a multitude of ways. There's physical decay, but there's also moral decay—both often go hand-in-hand with old organizations, and physical decay can be used as a metaphor for moral decay. And decay isn't always a bad thing - an evil empire might crumble so something better can flourish. Think about how people in your world try to prevent decay too!

Decay

D ecay is a very natural thing, but something I've always been deeply, existentially afraid of. In many fantasy stories I'm very fond of, decay is an unnatural, evil thing that is breaking down and changing the comforting, established way things are, and is something to be combatted. I write a lot of DnD villains in this manner. They are often someone who is deeply afraid of the world they know decaying, being destroyed or otherwise altered, and so they will do anything, including ally with dark forces (who ironically end up bringing about such decay,) to prevent it from happening: a wizard who devotes their life to knowledge, science and understanding, and would sell their soul for more time to experiment; the widowed/widower who wants nothing more than to bring back their loved one at any cost; the decadent incumbent ruler who sees their kingdom falling apart around them, but will not abdicate to a new one for the betterment of the realm, these are the sorts of people who I tend to make BBEGs. The forces that the players usually encounter are demons, or other harbingers of this chaos and decay that threatens the natural order they are used to: Oni can desecrate the very ground on which they stand, creating a sort of magical radiation that will taint those who are exposed to it. This foul magic changes and decays the person, causing their phyiscal and mental health to wither, and eventually to twist and mutate beyond anything human, into something horrid and alien. These are the things the players fight against, even as some of them might be tempted by the immense power of change that chaos promises...

Optimize your Environment

I've actually done a bit of work to make sure that my writing space is as comfortable and concucive as possible: my partner's computer desk is in a seperate room, while I have rigged together a setup in the living room whereby I can use our TV as a monitor for my laptop, and I've bought a nice desk-pillow sort of thing for the couch so I can raise my keyboard up to an ergonomic position. It's right by the window to our patio, so I can open the door and listen to the sounds of the wind and the trees as I write, or play music through the surround sound speakers our TV is hooked up to. It's a pretty sick little setup. My partner also writes, and so they understand and resepect the time I devote to WorldAnvil- even as I usually try to make sure that I'm writing while they're out of the house so I don't feel like I'm ignoring them to honor my SummerCamp commitmement.