The Complete Guide to Creating an Alpha Training Camp

Disclaimer:

Yes, I've left Animal Jam and have stopped officially writing the blog (and yes, I agree that my grammar in the old posts was horrendous). I've been gone for a while (even though it's been about a year since I've left Animal Jam) but out of curiosity I looked in the drafts today and found a few things I had already written. I thought I'd post them because there's no point letting them rot, eh? ^_^

Hey guys!

I've noticed a dire need for a new version of the Alpha Training Camp post. One more clear and concise, with less roleplaying. One that entirely equips you for making your own Alpha Training Camp. Time to fill that need! I'll go over the basic information first, and then I'll dive right into leading the camp and share my experiences. I'll tell you exactly how my camp is run and you can make your own version from there, if you like. Firstly, I'd like to introduce Juno (also known as Daredevil Arcticbrave). She is my other Arctic Wolf and is used primarily for the camp.

The Trainer of the Camp

She is pictured right next to the Juno statue. Juno is canonically the Arctic Wolf Alpha (or, at least we assume she is) and her statue can be found at the AJ Birthday Party along with the busts of all the other Diamond Shop animals. I modeled my wolf (and named her) after the statue in order to stay accurate to Animal Jam's lore (and avoid people saying 'But there's a bust of another Arctic Wolf alpha and she has a different name!! You can't be her!). I've created a personality and backstory for this wolf that she displays whilst roleplaying. It helps get the students into character and makes the whole affair more organic and enjoyable for everyone. She has a tendency to speak in Old English using words like 'thou', 'thee', 'hither' and other such words to give her some age. Her (fake) history is that she was one of the first alphas appointed by Mira and all the alphas went through her camp, were teachers in it, or otherwise were involved in it. I tend to make up little stories like 'Greely was my hardest student to train. His magic was rather unstable and he scared everyone else. I helped him perfect it' (protip: there is always someone who calls themselves the daughter/niece/sister of Greely so that always makes them happy) in order to be entertaining. Feel free to make up your own character (you can even steal Juno, since she's just a bust and no one really owns her). I suggest that your trainer is very wise, very strong (and tends to beat all the annoying people who say 'KNOCKS SWORD OUT OF HAND NO MISS') and has 0 tolerance for troublemakers. Also, give your character some skill at magic, particularly healing all the angsty injured people and breaking up fights. Talking to Mira's spirit and having flashbacks is optional.

Setting Up

Do start out your camp with a gameplan for how you plan to run it, as well as one or more dens already decorated for it!

The first den is a volcano 'waiting room' with cushions, a firepit, ponds covering up the lava and a feast table. I use the Night Sky wallpaper and Stone Flooring (it is supposed to look like a secluded cave). The edges and the entrance is covered with plants and trees in order to make it look overgrown (and increasing the seclusion). In roleplay it's a place where the young trainees rest and eat after a long journey to reach it (many of them being attacked by phantoms on the way).

While it's difficult to tell by the picture, the second den is a Restaurant den (with the kitchen and lights tastefully covered up by plants, trees and ponds). It has the same Stone Floor and Night Sky Wallpaper as the Volcano, but it has the Sarepia Forest music. In roleplay it's an obstacle course and an initiation into the camp. Trainees have to balance and walk along a fence, swim through the pond, climb a tree and leap from the tree and through the fountains. Right next to the hamock in the bottom left is a Crystal Firepit. I wait there for them to finish the obstacle course. It's a great way to see the natural roleplayers, the troublemakers, and those who have 'magical powers'. It's also a great way to weed out the people who are there just for kicks and would only be a hindrance when the camp actually begins.

The third and primary den (a Crystal Palace) is too large to picture and is fairly self-explanatory. Above is the room where everyone sleeps. The wallpaper is either the Sky Wallpaper or the Night Sky Wallpaper, depending on the time of day, and the flooring is indeed the Stone Flooring (but it looks different). The music is the Ocean Adventure Base Camp music (not entirely sure if it can be used in Land Dens, I'm able to use it in mine...?) for dramatic effect at the beginning but it changes around. It's the Diamond Shop music at night and the Adventure Base Camp music or The Hidden Falls theme during the day. I also use the Sarepia Forest and Temple of Zios themes, in order to break up the music so it doesn't get old. Besides the bedroom you can see above there is also a dining hall, lots of plants in the yard and a few, filler areas for relaxation with bookshelves, couches and a fireplace. In the caves down below I have several phantom cages, a Zios fountain and a boomseed tree (for training to fight phantoms) and I put a Sigurd bust as a figurehead on the boat. It doesn't take any fancy decorating, really, just use alpha statues and make it neat (the more epic, the better)!

Summary of the Camp:

Introducing myself in the Waiting Den

Testing at the Restaurant Den

Showing everyone around the Crystal Palace

'Lights Out' for night

Swordfighting/Archery training

Swimming/Boating

Free Time/Dinner

Sleeping

(I usually go and sneak away to a different part of the den and talk to a Mira statue or something along those lines. The trainees always follow me and roleplay sneaking around. Do be careful if you do mysterious things at night, though, because they often think you're evil and if you have an annoyingly overpowered student they might try to destroy you - it's happened).

 Storytime 

(I tell the Legend of Jamaa by the fireplace and explain how important it is to be an alpha)

Phantom-Fighting

Optional (if everything is going smoothly):

Search and Rescue

Additional Training 

Optional Additional Night/Dinner

Camp Draws to a Close:

I log onto an alternate account dressed as Peck or Greely, OR I change into an eagle dressed as Mira and appoint my trainees as alphas. 

Peck/Greely/Mira gives everyone roles, like 'Blossom, you must use your shadow powers to protect jammers and guide them on journeys into the Hive.' or 'Shadow, your role as an alpha is to fight at the front lines in the Battle for the Beacon). I may also encourage trainees to help New Jammers, fight scammers or resolve conflicts, or to protect from evil clans in Sarepia Forest.

Peck/Greely/Mira leaves, I bid farewell to the new alphas and lock the den.

And that is all! If you want to roleplay something fun feel free to try it out. It takes time, planning and lots of roleplaying (or you could roleplay less and let the students do most of the roleplaying, depending on your preferences). Not every session is perfect - I've done it a little under 10 times and you deal an awful lot with aggravating people, but when it goes well it's quite pleasing.

Have fun!