[Update] A Finale

All things come to an end.

This news is both surprising, yet expected. After almost 4 years of creating 5e homebrew for Aripockily, I've made the tough decision to hang up the cram-wow. For years, the amount of work required for every compendium steadily increased (every compendium post somehow opens with how I plan to write less next month). When I took on a new job last year and decreased production, I also hoped it would make my time manageable. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, partially due to the new promise of item cards and reckless ambition to make use of the "extra time." As proud as I am of the product, my already-high page count doubled!

Combined with my current job (in 5e content), I've been working up to 70 hours per week with little time for much else and stayed up unhealthily late. Work normally performed by a small team of 3-5 (writing, art, editing, arranging, publishing) in this time frame is hard to do with just one. It has become unsustainable due to increasing stress, increasingly busy job, and low monetary return. I have realized that any Aripockily deadline, no matter how small, adds pressure to my work load.

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What's Happening?

At the end of this month (after the Cosmos compendium releases), there will be no more scheduled content. I will continue to make 5e content, but much more sporadically.

I don't feel comfortable continuing to take money from patrons for this non-work, so tiers will undergo changes to ensure it's all voluntary.

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What is Changing?

• Cosmos Theme

  • This theme's content will continue to release throughout September as scheduled.

  • If you support Aripockily for the month of September, you will receive all upcoming items, subclasses, and the Aryka's Guide to the Cosmos book.

  • The book underwent some major changes and is taking longer than usual. The book will not release in September (likely October). However, when it's complete, I will message the book to every patron that supported throughout the month of September.

• Tier & Benefit Changes

  • All existing tiers have been unpublished. Members can no longer make new pledges at those tiers. Existing patrons should cancel their pledges — AFTER September billing if you still want access to the Cosmos theme.

    • Edit: The Very Rare+ tier remains open until end of September for members seeking final access to the Archive.

  • A new Adventurous Support $5 tier has been published for those who just want to support Aripockily with no expectations. Supporting at this tier also grants access to all 5e content except compendiums.

  • At the end of September, billing will be paused to grant existing patrons more time to cancel pledges. When billing resumes, I'll continue to refund patrons for a couple more months just to make sure they're aware of the situation.

• Content Access Changes

  • With all existing pledges unpublished, the only way to access old Aripockily content will be to retain your pledge or pledge at the new tier.

  • Pledging at the Adventurous Support tier grants access to all 5e content except compendiums.

  • Most compendiums will be available via one-time purchases, either from the Patreon shop or via DriveThruRPG.

  • Very Rare+ Patrons with access to The Archive can still access the Archive's contents via the Google Drive permalinks while they are pledged. Before canceling your pledge, make sure to save the Google Drive folder links so you retain access to them.

  • Very Rare+ Patrons with a limited use license to use my artwork will retain the same rights from September 1st on. No more need for continued support; you've supported me this long so you can keep using them (with the same guidelines). Although it'd still be nice if you volunteered donations via the Adventurous Support tier!

  • Patrons should take the time to download any content available to them, if they haven't already.

• Future Content?

  • There will be no scheduled content; no weekly or monthly releases.

  • To respect the most recent poll, any new content that does appear here will be Giant-themed.

  • Old themes' tarot item cards will continue to release sporadically until all themes have tarot cards.

  • Existing content will be added to Collections for ease of use.

  • Old posts and content will receive sporadic updates as I review and revise them (to modern standards).

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TL;DR - What Should I Do?

You should prepare to cancel your pledge. If you want the rest of the Cosmos content (and the compendium PDF), cancel after you are billed in September (you'll have time to do it in October). You'll receive the PDF in a DM later.

Make sure to save any content you have access to before you cancel your pledge!

If you have questions, just reach out or comment on this post.

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What does "Aripockily" mean anyways?

It's a completely made-up word with no meaning.

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Last Words

Ending it on the Cosmos book, my proudest work, is fitting. I'm looking forward to spending more time on other personal projects. Thank you so much for your support — none of this content would be possible without all of your initial and continued support. I am eternally grateful and wish you all the most fun of games.

This is an end, but not good bye! I'm leaving one final item for the wonderful patrons.

 Check out the Horn of Finales here.

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Thank you everyone. How wonderful it has been!