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Wed Jul 1st - Sat Aug 1st

Worldbuilding Summer Camp 2020

31 days, 33 prompts, UNLIMITED INSPIRATION!

Welcome to World Anvil’s WORLDBUILDING SUMMER CAMP!

During Worldbuilding Summer Camp, we challenge you with 33 prompts to get you motivated, inspired, and ready to worldbuild! Take part, grow your world, and win prizes!   Read the rules carefully because this year is a little different and you won’t see all of the prompts on day one - here’s how the challenge works:  
 
How To Enter
Stream Schedule
Prompts
Prizes & Badges
Merch
Rules & FAQ
   
It wouldn't be Summer Camp without our amazing sponsors! Check out the amazing folks that make this possible, and scroll down for the juicy prizes you could win below!

Eldritch Foundry
Website
Create your dream miniature, with stunning art, printed in the highest quality materials!

Kobold Press
Website
Small but fierce, Kobold Press creates stunning Tabletop Gaming supplements and settings!

Tabletop Loot
Website
Dice for days! Get the shiniest math rocks from the nicest people in the industry!
   

How it works:

  • There will be 30 core prompts, and 3 bonus prompts
  • These are split into four tiers of completion and will be released periodically throughout July 2020. They will be shown first on our livestreams along with us unpacking each prompt and giving you writing tips and inspiration for each prompt!
  • Prompts 1 to 10 - Copper Stage - released 1st July
  • Prompts 11 to 20 - Silver Stage - released 10th July
  • Prompts 21 to 30 - Gold Stage - released 20th July
  • Prompts 31 to 33 - Diamond Stage - released 30th July
  • Once the prompts have been revealed on our livestream they will be added to this competition page! You'll need to refresh the page for them to appear.
Complete each prompt (in any order) by clicking the prompt button to create a new worldbuilding article of the correct template type. Then just fill in the template, answering the prompt!   Each article must be at least 300 words, published, and public before you can submit it!   Completing any 10 of the prompts will earn you the Copper Winner badge, completing any 20 of the prompts will earn you the Silver Winner badge and completing any 30 of the prompts will earn you the Gold Winner badge!   This year we’ve added an extra twist to the challenge! If you want to, complete the bonus prompts for a total of all 33 prompts, and earn the extra shiny Diamond Winner badge!  

Join our community!

  One of the best things about Summer Camp is the community support - everyone rallies together on multiple platforms - Twitter, Discord, Facebook - to share ideas and support one another!

How to enter:

Taking part is super easy! Just follow these steps:
  1. Create your World Anvil account (it's free!), or log in if you're already signed up
  2. Create a new world, or select one you've already made
  3. On this page, scroll down to the prompt buttons below, click one to create an article appropriate for that prompt
  4. Write at least 300 words in your article, save it, and make sure that it's published (not a draft!) and public
  5. Uncollapse the Community Challenge panel on the right -hand side (underneath the publishing tools) and you'll now see the SUBMIT button!
  6. Visit your progress page by clicking the "Check your progress" button on this page, to review your completed prompts!
 

  You can complete the prompts in any order you like! Maybe you want to pace yourself by completing one per day, or pull a marathon and do 10 in one go! However many prompts you complete, and however you go about it, the challenge deadline is final.   Read each prompt carefully and make the best use of the different sections of the article template to expand your answer. If you're stuck on a prompt, ask your friends for help, or hop in the World Anvil Discord! It's a great place to get advice.!   Each article must be new (created during July 2020), and created using your own new content. Check the FAQ for more details.   Make sure to read through the rules and FAQ section of this page carefully!  
Rules & FAQ
 
 

Stream Schedule

Tune in to our livestreams on Twitch or YouTube to see the prompts before anyone else! After they're revealed on stream, the competition page will be updated and you will be able to access the juicy new prompts!
 

 

Stream Sponsors

Win prizes from our amazing stream sponsors by attending our live streams!

 


The Prompts

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

Myth

Write about a myth or legend relating to a famous, long-lost item.

Item

Describe a valuable historical or ancient artefact in your world.

Person

Describe an important religious leader in your world. how has their character changed the status quo?

Species

Write about an apex predator in your world. how does it hunt and survive?

Condition

Describe a condition in your world caused by a drug or medicine.

Location

Decribe an important celestial body or constellation in your world.

Ethnicity

Describe a counter-culture in your world, something outside the mainstream culture of the place.

Rank

Write about a rank or title that represents order in your world.

Building

Write about a building that has been reused and repurposed from its original design.

Document

Describe a commonly found document in your world - what's in it and what is it for?

Item

Describe a common item that is used as a secret symbol in your world.

Vehicle

Describe a vehicle in your world that brings joy wherever it arrives.

Ritual

Describe how birthdays are celebrated in a particular culture of your world.

Language

Write about a secret code or cypher in your world: who uses it, and for what purpose?

Formation

Describe an elite or highly specialised military unit in your world.

Material

Write about a material that is considered sacred or culturally crucial in your world.

Myth

Describe a common old wives' tale or consipracy theory from a region of your world. does it hold any truth?

Law

Write about the events of a devastating natural disaster in your world, either past or present.

Location

Describe a location in your world that is brimming with diverse or bizarre flora and fauna.

Organization

Write about an organization in your world that has become so powerful it's above the law.

Profession

Describe a profession in your world that has always been, or recently became, illegal.

Building

Write about the headquarters of an organization in your world.

Settlement

Describe a settlement that is famous for a particular resource, product or item created there.

Organization

Describe a law enforcing organization within your world and how they operate.

Ritual

Write about a food-focussed event in your world and describe how it's celebrated.

Technology

Write about a technology from the history of your world - is it lost to the ages, or did it shape the world today?

Condition

Describe any condition or disease for which a cure has recently been developed.

Settlement

Write about the history of a settlement that was almost entirely wiped out and was then rebuilt.

Species

Write about a species in your world that is bred or farmed for a high-value resource.

Person

Write about an unassuming character who secretly controls things from behind the scenes.

Material

Describe a material in your world that is used as a source of fuel or power.

Document

Write about a famous agreement, contract or treaty that shaped the history of your world.

Militaryconflict

Describe the events of a conflict that started due to unusual or unforseen circumstances.

Join the Race!

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

CREATE YOUR FREE ACCOUNT

COMPLETION BADGES

There are completion badges for all abilities! If you've completed 10 prompts, you're a winner! 20 or more? Also a winner! Finished 30 of them? WINNER. Hungry for more and finished the 3 BONUS PROMPTS on top of all that? Just as much of a winner as the amazing folks who completed 10! Be a proud worldbuilder!

Complete 10 prompts and you've won Summer Camp with a copper badge!

Complete 20 prompts and you've won Summer Camp with a silver badge!

Complete 30 prompts and you've won Summer Camp with a gold badge!

Complete 30 prompts AND the final 3 BONUS PROMTPS and you've won Summer Camp with a diamond badge!

 

PRIZES

There are thousands of dollars of prizes to be won over Summer Camp in our WINNER’S PRIZE DRAW!
 
Each winner tier (Copper, Silver, Gold and Diamond) will have its own prize draw, and the biggest prizes will be in Gold and Diamond. So for a chance to win the shiniest things, make sure you complete as many prompts as possible!   Some of our incredible prizes include:
  • Tabletop Loot - gift cards of up to $100 plus dice for days!
  • Kobold Press - worldbuilding guidebooks and tabletop RPG goodies galore!
  • Eldritch Foundry - MINIATURES, MINIATURES, MINIATURES!
  • Feorh - deluxe art supply bundles
  • Caeora - Stunning art asset packs and Tabletop RPG Settings!
  • DungeonFog - Memberships for Dungeonfog battlemap creator galore!
  • EdRAndrew - one WA Master Tier Membership (available to a Freeman only)
  • Trent Hergenrader - the BEST Worldbuilding book on the market
 

ADDITIONAL BADGES

These are the additional badges that will be awarded in the Summer Camp Awards Ceremony this year! Some will be chosen by the community voice, and others are awarded by Janet and Dimitris, World Anvil's founders.

Most Improved

This will be awarded to someone who has shown great progress with the quality of their worldbuilding!

Most Helpful Camper

This will be awarded to a person who has helped, guided, and encouraged others in the community!

Most Inspiring World

This will be awarded to the world with the most inspiring worldbuilding created in Summer Camp!

Human of the Match

This badge is always awarded to the most 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!
 

MERCH

 
Celebrate in style and treat yourself to some epic Summer Camp merch in our store!

Rules

Timescale

Challenge begins: 1st July 2020 19:00 BST / 11:00 PST
Challenge ends: 1st August 2020 19:00 BST / 11:00 PST

Instructions


You can complete the prompts in any order you like! You can pace yourself by completing one per day, or pull a marathon and do as many as you like in one go! However, the challenge deadline is final.   Read each prompt carefully and make the best use of the article template to expand your worldbuilding. If you are stuck on a prompt, ask your friends for help or hop in the World Anvil Discord! It's a great place to get advice.   To enter, click the prompt button to create the correct article template. Once you have written 300 words or more, you will be able to submit it. Articles must be public and published (not a draft!) in order for the submission button to appear! Click the SUBMIT button (uncollapse the Community Challenge panel on the right side of the edit screen) to submit your article!  

  Each article must be new (created during July 2020), and created using your own new content. Check the FAQ for more details.   Join us on Twitter and Discord where we'll be sharing tips, tricks and inspiration to help you complete the prompts. If you manage to complete the minimum word count for all 33 prompts, you'll have achieved a minimum of 9,900 words of worldbuilding!  

Rules


Entries of eligible prize winners will be checked for spamming before receiving any prizes, and offenders of the stipulations detailed below will be disqualified from all future major competitions  
  • No plagiarism.
All content must be your own new worldbuilding. Please reference any external sources if you use them!  
  • No art theft.
Please use the artist credit fields when uploading images, or consider using CC0/public domain images (or have a go at drawing your own!) Ensure that all parts of your work, both visual and text, are your own original creations. If you have used materials which are owned by other people or companies make certain that you have obtained proper permission or licensing for the use before you place your work online. Breaking this rule will disqualify you from winning prizes and
    • It doesn't matter how you obtained the material, it's still considered copyrighted and you still need permission.
    • It doesn't matter whether or not you've credited the proper owner, it's still considered copyrighted and you still need permission.
    • It doesn't matter if you are not selling it or making a profit, it's still considered copyrighted and you still need permission.
    • It doesn't matter if you can find other people using things without permission, it's still considered copyrighted and you still need permission.
    • It doesn't matter if you've edited it a little bit or made a few alterations, if it's recognizable it's still considered copyrighted and you still need permission.
    • Read licenses carefully to understand the type of permission they provide. For example, there are many versions of the Creative Commons - each giving different permissions.
  If you are found to repeatedly post infringing content, your account will be suspended and serious offenders will have their account banned and deactivated. The copyright owner may also decide to sue you directly if you infringe their copyright in posting content to World Anvil.   Please read our Copyright page carefully on this matter.  
  • The creation and use of multiple accounts to abuse the likes/hearts system will result in disqualification
Use of multiple accounts is prohibited, read our Terms of Service for more information.  
  • Only one account per person may enter. Completing the challenge via multiple accounts will result in disqualification.
 
  • Abusing the site features to increase wordcount will result in disqualification.
 
  • Meta, meme, and non-worldbuilding articles may result in disqualification. This is a worldbuilding competition, after all!
You can still create these kinds of articles, just don't submit them as your entries!  

Questions & Feedback

If you've read through all the rules & checked that handy FAQ section and still have questions or feedback, here are some ways you can reach us!   Email - send us an email!
Twitter - drop us a DM!
Discord - hop into the help or Summer Camp channels!   Voice of the People - at the END of Summer Camp, Janet will give the community some questions and ask for feedback on how the challenge went, and what you'd like to see done differently next time! This will be announced on our social media with instructions on how to submit.  

Resources & Guides

Feeling stuck and need some inspiration? We've got you covered:    

F.A.Q.


  • How do I enter?
Make sure you've created and activated a world, then click one of the prompt buttons to start an article. Once you have written 300 or more words, publish your article so that it's public and not a draft. A button will appear on the side of the edit screen (uncollapse the Community Challenge panel to see it) for you to submit your article.  
  • How do I reset the date of a stub article?
If you have a stub article (article under 50 words) that was 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
    • Edit the article that has a word count of under 50 words
    • Click the ADDITIONAL ACTIONS tab on the right hand side
    • Click the Reset Date button. This process will update the creation date of the article to the current date. You will then be able to fill it in as normal and submit the article.

 
  • Can I enter with articles in different worlds?
Yes! Just select the world you want to build in from the dropdown on the top left, then click on one of the prompt buttons.  
  • Can my co-authors take part?
Yes! This challenge is per-user, not per-world.  
  • Can I write my articles in a different language?
Yes! If you become eligible for a physical or digital prize your work will be checked via translation.  
  • Can I submit old/existing articles?
No. The goal of this challenge is to expand your worldbuilding and push your creativity! Only new articles will be eligible.  
  • Why is there no most liked article, most liked world or highest wordcount badges this year?
After a lot of great feedback from the community, we decided to change our approach this year. We want to encourage you to expand and improve your own worldbuilding, rather than focus on competition with others. We only want you to compete against your past selves!  
  • Where can I promote and share my work?
EVERYWHERE! We recommend sharing your work in a thread of Tweets, posting articles on subReddits, forums and Facebook groups, and of course, hopping into our Discord server. Make sure to read the rules pinned in the challenge channel!  
  • Why must my articles be published and public?
If you become eligible for a digital or physical prize, we will need to check your work to see that you have not broken any rules.  
  • When can I make my submitted articles private?
If you wish to take part in this challenge, your articles will need to remain public until the Summer Camp 2020 Awards Ceremony (to be announced via our Twitter and Discord) which is currently planned to take place on Sunday September 15th. Private articles will result in winners losing their prizes.  
  • When is it safe to delete one of my submitted articles?
After the digital badges have been distributed after the competition closes, it will be safe to delete an entry you've submitted. Doing so before then may result in you receiving either the incorrect badge, or no badge at all, as the system counts the number of prompts you completed.  
  • 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.  
  • 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 you can do whatever you like with your articles!!  
  • Do I have to use the specific prompt templates?
Yes! But you can use them however you like, so if you don't want to fill in all of the different fields, you don't have to. You could add your own worldbuilding information and content in the main article text field.  
  • How do I enter with art in response to the prompts?
Upload your artwork to your image gallery and copy & paste its image bbcode into the article. You will still need to write 300 words to accompany the artwork in order to submit it! Consider describing what you've drawn/painted and how it works!  
  • Are the World Anvil Staff taking part?
Yes! The World Anvil Community Team (Moderators, Enchanters and Core Team) will all try to take part and develop their worlds!  
  • I won a prize! How do I claim it!
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 special blog post which will contain full instructions. You'll need to get your email and postal details to us WITHIN TWO WEEKS if you want to receive your prize. Unclaimed prizes will be redistributed at World Anvil's discretion.  
  • I'd like to become a sponsor for the next major challenge! How do I apply?
Introduce yourself and what you can bring to our community in an email to Janet and Dimitris at [email protected]! We'll contact you when we start preparing the WorldEmber challenge towards the end of the year!