2023 Updates and Changes

Happy new year! (can I still say that this late into January?)  I have lots of changes to announce to kick off the new year and new content to announce. This is a long post so bear with me - or reach out on Discord if you have questions!

New Tiers

As I approach 2 years as a content creator, it was time to revisit my patron tiers and pricing and evolve them to better align with what I offer.  These tiers haven't been updated since I first started Tych Maps and offered just a couple maps to patrons - it was time. The new tiers are live and the old ones have been delisted.

The new tiers are:

• Adventurer - replaces Explorer tier (+ monthly poll access)
• Mapmaker - replaces Cartographer tier (+ monthly poll access)
• Inventor (new!) - Foundry module access - more on this below
• Merchant (new!) - Commercial use of assets
• Noble - replaces Champion tier (+ custom asset or room mapped + map suggestions)

Current patrons - your tiers and benefits will continue to exist (Explorers get access to map packs, Cartographers get access to asset packs and DD map files).  You have a choice - you can stick with the current tier or move to a new one that fits your needs or offers additional perks (such as voting in polls).  For Foundry Module access - all existing Patrons will get access to the Foundry Modules until the end of February - after which time these posts will be locked down to the Inventor tier and above.

Foundry Modules

For the 194 of you (thanks for sticking around!) who were my Patrons last January when I said I was making Foundry modules , now over a year later, they are ready to go! (oops! turned into a bit of a wild year for me...) 

Starting Monday and over the next couple weeks, the modules will release as paid posts, in the order voted on last year:

• WDH - Spring - releases Monday Jan 23
• WDH - Summer - releases Friday Jan 27
• WDH - Autumn - releases Monday Jan 30
• WDH - Winter - releases Friday Feb 3

Once DOTMM Level 10 map is released I also plan to offer a DOTMM Level 1-10 Module, which will be updated again when the adventure is complete.

Foundry Module Access will be available to Inventor and higher tier Patrons going forwards.  All existing Patrons will get access to the Foundry Modules until the end of February - after which time these posts will be locked down to the Inventor tier and above.

Again, I want to highlight these will release as paid posts and you will be charged your pledge amount as they represent considerable time to create.  My apologies to Roll20 users, I wish I had a good way to package these up for you.

File Share Access

Access to my file share is changing slightly.  I am moving to Dropbox as my provider, and access will be granted monthly to active patrons.  A new post will release around the start of each month with an updated link and the old link will expire.

Original Content Maps, Patron Only Polls, and #OpenDnD

I will still be creating maps for published adventures, let's make that clear up front.  Waterdeep Dragon Heist is complete, Dungeon of the Mad Mage is in progress and will continue and after that we shall see what the licensing landscape (battlefield?) looks like.  But in the interest of not putting all my eggs in one (WotC) basket, I will be creating a map each month that is not tied to a specific adventure, setting, or licensed content.  

I've been following the OGL discussion as closely as I can - I am not a lawyer but as far as I can tell, the Fan Content Policy, which I use for the majority of my content has me covered, although Foundry modules quickly get me into a grey area.  Despite that, as a creator, it is concerning to read the proposed OGL changes and feel confident in my future.  If you haven't been following OGL and #OpenDnD I suggest you read up on it and provide your feedback to WotC.

Champion and Noble Patrons will be able to offer map suggestions on Discord - which will then roll into monthly polls for everyone to vote on.  Expect these to appear in the next couple months as I solicit ideas and get the polls and timelines established.  Eventually this privilege will exist only for Nobles but I want to reward my longstanding Champions for a while first.

Thank you

Thank you, as ever, for supporting my work and allowing me to make these maps for your game.  I hope these changes allow exciting new content to continue well into the future.

Ian // Tych Maps