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Description

"It is not that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better." - Sir Francis Drake, Sea Captain

So many stories and campaigns center themselves around a ship. Sci-fi weaves grand voyages through space, while in fantasy or history we sail the waves and battle sea monsters, or brave storms and dragons in the air on skyships and dirigibles. It's time to explore ships of sky or sea in your world. Tell of us about a unique and extraordinary ship (or a class of ship), what amazing things it's done, and take us on a tour inside! We've teamed up with DungeonFog to run a challenge that will help you plan out an entire ship in your world. As such, you'll need to include a map of the layout of your ship in order to win. The layout map of the ship must be included somewhere in the article - either as an embedded image or as an embedded interactive map. Your ship can travel with any means of propulsion, and in any medium (land, sea, space, air, or time, just to name a few!) It can be of any size and capacity - massive generational space ships, or tiny smuggler skiffs. Remember: the special rule for this challenge is that we want to see a map of the layout of your ship! You can still take part in the challenge without a map, but you will not be considered to win unless you have one!

Standard League Winner
Tillerz

Premier League Winner
Amélie I. S. Debruyne

Prizes

All participants will receive the challenge participation badge. The winners will receive an extra shiny badge, have their article featured, and will be shouted out on the weekly World Anvil update stream and on official World Anvil social media accounts. They will also get a live article read on a World Anvil stream.
The Winners of the Premier and Regular league will receive a DungeonFog membership! Check out DungeonFog here! World Building Magazine Feature!
In addition to the amazing prizes already on the table, the winners of the leagues will have a chance to be featured in the Worldbuilding Magazine! This not only includes having your work published, but also a professional edit from the folks at WBM! Premier League Features
Every week following the winners announcement, a Premier League entrant who made the shortlist will be featured on World Anvil for a week! We'll shout out and showcase these fantastic entries on the weekly update stream!

The Brief

DungeonFog and World Anvil want to hear all about a ship in your world. Who pilots it, and who owns it? What does it carry? When and why was it made, and how has it changed or been upgraded? All you'll need is a World Anvil account, and a fresh vehicle template article to work with. We recommend you make the layout map of your ship with DungeonFog (it's an AMAZING battle map software, and you can make a free account here!) but you can use anything else you like too! Dig deep into the technical and cultural meaning of your ship. What mechanisms does it run on, and what fuel does it need? What are its major rooms? How many people does it need to crew it, and where do those people live? What purpose does it serve in the greater void that it works in? Give us details of the appearance - does it bear armour or decorations? Does it have a certain shape to better traverse its void? If the ship is important to a story in your setting, describe how the ship plays a part in your project. Is it the center point of an adventure, perhaps, or the lair of a main villain? If you are looking for inspiration, make sure to check out the resources section!

What to include in your article

The Physical

Tell us about your ship - what was it designed to do? Does it prioritise speed, or armour, carrying capacity or something else? Where does it travel? How large is it, and what is it made from? Who built it and how does the build stand out from other designs. Does it have any unique markings both outside or in? Does it carry any weapons or armour?

The History

Most ships that have sailed have a story to tell. What grand adventures has your ship taken part in? Has it carried, battled or evaded any famous people? Has it weathered storms, or fought monsters in the vast abyss? Are there any rumours, myths or songs about the ship?

The Map

Whenever we get to team up with amazing the folks at DungeonFog, you know we have to have a map! We want to see the layout of your ship. The map can be of any size of level of detail that you want as long as it covers the entirety of your ship! You can use any tool set or medium to create the design, but we recommend DungeonFog!

The Rules

How to Enter

Firstly, all competitors will need a World Anvil account (don’t worry, it’s free!) to get started. Once you’ve logged in and created your first world, you’re ready to enter the competition. Write your entry using the Vehicle template on World Anvil. Once you've finished your entry and are ready to submit it, make sure that your article is not a draft (i.e. published) and public (not private) and then click the button on the right-hand side to submit it to the challenge. You will also have to include a layout map of your ship somewhere in the article. You can use any medium you like, but we recommend using DungeonFog, where you can create a free account and map out your ship!

Adjudication Criteria and Process

A shortlist of the top twenty entries (as ranked by community likes - ten from each league) will be compiled by the Master of Games. The Judges will choose the winner. The winner will be announced by the World Anvil Team on Friday October 29th on a World Anvil community stream. Entries will be judged on a number of criteria, including originality, presentation, and thoroughness. Entries without a layout map of the ship will not be considered for adjudication.

Timeline	Event
September 4th - October 2nd	Competition is active and opened!
October 2nd - October 9th	Sharing period, give feedback, make minor edits.
October 9th - October 23rd	Adjudication and Judging
October 29th	Winner Announcement Date!

Other Rules

Articles for Submission must use the Vehicle Template
Articles must be submitted before the closing time to be eligible
Articles must include a layout map of the ship described
Articles will be taken from a shortlist of likes, the top ten from each league will be judged by the Master of Games or a guest judge.
You will be able to submit your article only if it is public!
Only one article may be submitted per author (this does not mean one article per world, in cases where multiple authors work on a single world)
Articles will have a week-long period after the deadline to make small edits, share, and get feedback from the community. This period will end when the shortlist is compiled. The purpose of this deadline is to let people focus on writing and sharing separately.
Articles can be no longer than 2500 words in length!
Word Count will be counted by copying all words present in the article's body and sidebar into a word counter. The Timeline will also be added in the word counter. BBCode does not impact word count, attached articles do not impact word count, and will also not be considered during adjudication.
As always, World Anvil claims no ownership over your original work.

For any further questions or clarifications about this challenge, message the Master of Games, Barron, on the World Anvil Discord!

Social media sharing

Because community likes are an important metric in the competition, competitors may wish to share their entries on social media to garner more interest from the community. Posts tagged with #WAShipChallenge which mention @WorldAnvil may be shared by World Anvil's official social media accounts!

Leagues

There are two leagues that will be independently judged, the Regular and the Premier League. The Premier League consists of all the authors who have previously won a competition. Winning a competition in the Regular league will promote you to the Premier League for future challenges.

Useful Resources

Make sure to check out our codex article about using maps!

Maps

Generic article | Mar 1, 2024

Learn how to create an interactive map on World Anvil.

And here is a codex article all about using BBCode

BBCode Tags

Generic article | Jan 25, 2024

This article lists most BBCode tags with an example on World Anvil.

Make sure to check out Guy's video all about creating useful ship maps!

Looking for inspiration or seeking some ideas? Make sure to stop by the World Anvil Discord for worldbuilding conversation and inspiration!

Timeline

September's Competition will open on the 4th of September at 19:30 London Time and close on October 2nd at 19:30 London Time. The Shortlist will be compiled on October 9th!

The Shipwright Challenge