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Sat Jul 1st - Tue Aug 1st

Worldbuilding Summer Camp 2023

Build your world, achieve your goals, GAIN UNLIMITED INSPIRATION!
This event has ended!
Scroll down to see all submitted entries to each prompt
    During Worldbuilding Summer Camp, we challenge you with 4 waves of worldbuilding prompts to get you motivated, inspired, and ready to worldbuild! Take part, grow your world, and win prizes!   Make sure you read the rules carefully so you know how everything works! To get the prompts before anyone else, get inspired, and win goodies in the raffles, tune in to our livestreams on Twitch every Saturday at 10am Pacific/6pm UK!

The Prompts

Click on a prompt to write your response.
Let the games begin!

Organization

A powerful organization in your world

Sponsored by Dimitris Havlidis and Janet Forbes
Prize: $500 USD
Settlement

A seat of power (of any kind!)

Sponsored by Jester%
Prize: $50 gift card for HeroForge
Material

A resource that provides fuel or power

Sponsored by Tlcassis Polgara | Arrhynsia
Prize: 1 year Basic subscription to Midjourney AI
Species

An animal associated with, or symbolizing, power

Sponsored by Jaime Buckley
Prize: Boundless Journal
Ethnicity

A culture that has suffered under the rule of a stronger nation

Sponsored by TC
Prize: PDF versions of all 6 Possible Worlds RPG
Militaryconflict

A conflict between two unequal powers in your world

Sponsored by Diane Morrison
Prize: Amazon gift card of $30 USD or equivalent
Rank

The title & responsibilities of an important person in your world

Sponsored by Tillerz
Prize: $50 gift card from a variety of online shops (World Anvil Shop, DogMight, The Speechless Bard, Cantrip Candles, Hero Forge, Modiphius, DriveThruRPG, Frog God Games, Paizo, and Kobold Press)
Law

A destructive natural or supernatural event

Sponsored by George Sanders
Prize: $49 gift certificate/code for a Storytelling Collective course
Wild Card
Species

Optional: a species known for its mischievous personality

Sponsored by Jordan Beasley
Prize: A license for Foundry VTT
Wild Card
Ritual

Optional: a popular summer tradition that involves art and creativity

Location

An unclaimed, unregulated, or lawless region in your setting

Sponsored by Olarae & Astaroth Arcaine
Prize: Fullbody character commission by Lujordis
Settlement

A settlement at the limits of the "known" or "civilized" world

Sponsor: Rachel Bentz
Prize: The Winner's choice of a Scarf of Holding (Infinity scarf with a secret pocket) or a Journal set.
Profession

A job that takes its practitioners to remote or faraway places

Sponsor: Denver White
Prize: Any course from DND Skills or any $30 gift card
Species

An animal found in a non-populated area

Sponsor: E. Christopher Clark
Prize: A full set of paperback copies of The Stains of Time, plus a custom illustration of the winning article.
Species

A useful plant found in a wild area of your world

Sponsor: Deleyna Marr
Prize: $70 coupon for one of the classes I teach or $50 World Anvil gift card
Material

A material or natural resource that comes from a dangerous location

Sponsor: Kat Bradbury
Prize: Winners choice between Magical Kitties and No Thank You Evil
Person

A character driven by wanderlust or the desire to explore

Sponsor: LexiCon (WordiGirl)
Prize: $50 credit towards anything in my Ko-Fi shop
Ritual

A cuisine from a sparse, barren or remote region in your world

Sponsor: Chris L
Prize: $50 Gift Certificate to MCDM Productions Shop
Wild Card
Building

An iconic building or landmark representing a location

Wild Card
Document

A letter sent in secret by a well-known person in your world

Sponsor: Emily Armstrong
Prize: Brand/Marketing Assessment & Recommendations OR WorldAnvil CSS Refresh for Winning World (details here)
Ritual

A tradition or behavior considered old fashioned

Sponsor: Lumin
Prize: Two $50 gift cards to the winner's choice of the World Anvil shop, DriveThruRPG, or Kawaii Pen Shop
Item

An item of great cultural or religious significance to a people in your world

Sponsor: Tim de Roos
Prize: Digital illustration of the item
Settlement

An ancient city that is still inhabited today

Sponsor: Dragon
Prize: 6 months Master World Anvil subscription. Something else if the winner already has a subscription).
Person

A historical figure still venerated today, and why

Sponsor: Polina "Line" Arteev
Prize: Custom illustration for the world of the winning article ($200 value)
Profession

A profession that has been rendered obsolete

Sponsor: Travakh
Prize: A Lapham's Quarterly Box Set of the winner's choice ($100).
Myth

A children's tale or song based on a real event

Sponsor: Sapha Burnell
Prize: The full digital catalog (15 books & magazine issues) from Vraeyda Literary & House of Hallowes.
Species

A species now considered extinct

Sponsor: Mochi
Prize: $50 World Anvil gift card and an art piece based on the winning article.
Ethnicity

A historical culture whose influence is still felt today

Sponsor: KajetanWrites
Prize: $30 Amazon gift card (or equivalent) and a piece of flash fiction inspired by the winning article
Wild Card
Ritual

A ceremony that represents a transition or transfer

Wild Card
Law

A rare natural phenomenon that most people look forward to

Vehicle

A method used to carry goods over long distances

Sponsor:
Prize: A full-color illustration of the winning article
Technology

A system to send messages between distant places

Language

A form of silent communication

Sponsor: Ondo
Prize: Winner's choice between Deck of Worlds or Story Engine Deck
Organization

An organization for which recruiting or proselytizing is important

Sponsor: Barron
Prize: $50 World Anvil Giftcard
Species

A species with an unusual form of communication

Person

A character who excels in manipulating others

Sponsor: drunkenpanda951
Prize: Hero Forge/Kobold Press/Norse Foundry gift certificate for $50, and one painted mini of an NPC from my world
Document

An important public announcement that one person addressed to many

Building

A building or landmark used for, or associated with, communication

Sponsor: Michael Chandra
Prize: For two winners, $50 giftcard each for winner’s choice of the World Anvil Shop, DogMight, HeroForge, Modiphius, DriveThruRPG, FrogGodGames, or TheSpeechlessBard
Wild Card
Person

Optional: a character who prefers to lurk in the shadows

Wild Card
Condition

Optional: a "negative" condition that has hidden advantages

Sponsor:
Prize: Stars of Auriga dice (7-piece zinc-alloy set by Norse Foundry)
Wild Card
Organization

An organisation dedicated to keeping a major secret from the public

Wild Card
Myth

A myth or truth about the meaning of your universe

Join the Race!

Do you want to get your worldbuilding skills up to scratch? Join the fun!

CREATE YOUR FREE ACCOUNT

How it works

  • We release 4 waves of prompts! Every Saturday in July at 10am Pacific/6pm UK, new prompts are revealed first on stream then here on the challenge page.- Each prompt wave has 8 themed prompts and 2 Wild Card prompts. Prompts are sponsored and judged by community members. Learn how to become a Community Sponsor!- Click the buttons under the prompts to create articles (min 300 words). Submit prompts (in any order) from the article editing interface.- Win a Copper (any 8 prompts), Silver (any 16 prompts), Gold (any 24 prompts), or Diamond (any 32 prompts) badge at the end of Summer Camp (plus prizes too!)
Read the rules for more details!  

Prizes

Here are the prizes we'll raffle among the Summer Camp winners!     Click to see the badges!
Here's a preview of the completion badges you can get!
Complete 8 prompts and you've won Summer Camp with a copper badge!
Complete 16 prompts and you've won Summer Camp with a silver badge!
Complete 24 prompts and you've won Summer Camp with a gold badge!
Complete 32 prompts and you've won Summer Camp with a diamond badge!

Additional Badges

These are the additional badges that will be awarded in the Summer Camp Awards Ceremony on August 26th! Some will be chosen by the community voice, and others are awarded by Janet and Dimitris, World Anvil's founders.
Most Improved

Awarded to an Anvilite voted as showing great progress with the quality of their worldbuilding!
Most Helpful Camper

Awarded to an Anvilite voted as helping, guiding, and encouraging others in the community!
Most Inspiring World

Awarded to the world votes as the most inspiring worldbuilding during Summer Camp!
Human of the Match

Awarded by World Anvil to an all-round good spirit of Summer Camp — we see you!
Please note that these badges are NOT influenced by wordcount or likes! (Read the FAQ for more info). We encourage you to help others and to only compete against YOURSELF! Grow your world, become a friendly face in the community, and be your best self! Now grab your hammer, and GO WORLDBUILD!
 

Join the community!

One of the best things about Summer Camp is the community support - everyone rallies together on multiple platforms! You can find our community on Facebook, Reddit, and Discord.  
  • Use the hashtag #WASummerCamp to share ideas and find one another!- Want to fly the Summer Camp colours? Download the Summer Camp logos and use them wherever you want!

Rules

Timescale

Challenge begins: 1st July 2023, 7pm UK time/11am Pacific time
Challenge ends: 1st August 2023, 7pm UK time/11am Pacific time  

The Basic Rules

  • Complete the prompts in any order you like. The challenge deadline is final.- You must use the indicated worldbuilding template for each prompt.- Each article must be new (created during July 2023), and created using your own original content.

The Detailed Rules

  • 300 words per article. Articles must have 300 words or more before they can be submitted to a prompt. There is no maximum wordcount.- New original content only. All content must be your own worldbuilding, and articles must be created during July.- No art theft. You must have permission to use any art you post publicly on World Anvil, and all art must be credited using the artist credit fields or in the article footer.- Only one account per person may enter the Summer Camp. Note that the use of multiple accounts is against the World Anvil Terms of Service. There can be multiple submissions from the same world (in collaborative worlds) and you can submit articles from different worlds. - Only worldbuilding is allowed. Meta, blog, meme and other non-worldbuilding content is not elegible for the challenge.- As always, World Anvil claims no ownership over your original work.
 

Questions & Feedback

If you've read through all the rules, checked the FAQ section on the right, and still have questions or feedback, here are some ways you can reach us!  

The Awards Ceremony

In August 26th, we'll throw an AWARDS CEREMONY! If you've won a prize, this is where you'll hear about it. The event will also feature raffles and the traditional Beautiful People event!

Resources & Guides

Feeling stuck and need some inspiration? We've got you covered:     Additionally, if you're looking for ways to get free art or images for your articles, check out these resources:  
 

FAQ

Click on each question to get the answer!   What are Wild Card prompts?
Eight of the prompts in every prompt wave follow a theme, but two of them, marked as Wild Card, don't. You can use these prompts if some of the themed prompts don't fit your world. They will still count for the completion badges, but there isn't a specific badge for them—they are 100% optional!
 
  How can I see my wordcount?
If you're a Guild member, your wordcount will be visible in the metadata of each article. In the edit screen, this is available under Advanted Tools and Options.
 
  How do I reset the date of a stub article?
If you have a stub article (i.e. an article under 50 words) created before Summer Camp, you can reset the date of it using the following method:
  • View your stub articles by going to Articles & Categories, then clicking "Stub Articles"
  • Open a stub article in the edit interface, and expand "Open Advanced Tools & Options" on the right side.
  • Click the "SPECIAL ACTIONS" tab to reveal the Reset Date button. Clicking this will update the creation date of the article to the current date. You can then fill it in and submit as normal.
 




 
  Can I write my articles in a language other than English?
Yes! If you become eligible for a prize, we'll use automatic translation to check that it falls within the guidelines and is eligible for the prize.
 
  Can I submit NSFW articles?
Yes, as long as you mark them as NSFW and follow the Community Etiquette. Keep in mind that, because judges are free to decide how they pick their winner, they can choose not to judge any NSFW entries.
 
  When can I make my submitted articles private? And what if I want to delete them?
If you wish to be eligible for a prizes and badges, your articles will need to remain public until the Summer Camp 2023 Awards Ceremony on August 26th. Private articles will result in winners losing their prizes, as we cannot verify their work falls within the rules.
 
  Can I keep editing my submitted articles?
You may continue editing your submitted articles until the deadline. Edits made after the deadline and before the Summer Camp Awards Ceremony may disqualify you from prizes. Make sure the articles stay over 300 words and public to stay eligible. After the Awards Ceremony (August 26th) you can do whatever you like with your articles!
 
  How do I remove my entry?
Edit your article, and remove it from the challenge the same way that you added it! You can then enter a different article, if you wish.
 
  Do I have to use the specific prompt templates?
Yes! But you can use them however you like! You can write only in the vignette—the main section of the template—if you don't want to answer the different fields on the template.
 
  How do I win in a prompt category?
Prompts are sponsored by community members, who are free to choose their judging method and their prize. World Anvil has vetted the judges and their prizes, but the community judges are the sole responsibles for their decision.
 
  I won a prize! How do I claim it?
On August 26th, tune into the Awards Ceremony on World Anvil's Twitch channel to find out if you won! We'll also be releasing the complete list of winners in a blog post, containing full instructions to claim your prize.
 

How to submit

The submission button will appear once your article is:
  • 300 words or more
  • public (not private)
  • published (not draft)
Uncollapse the Community Challenge panel on the right side of the edit screen to reveal the Summer Camp panel, which includes buttons with eligible prompts for your article. Click your chosen prompt to submit your article!   If you don't see the submit button, check that you have Community Features enabled in your account's Feature Settings!