Venatus Maps Website

Hello everyone!

We are here--the 2-year anniversary of this Patreon’s original inception! Last month I teased a secret project that I’d been working on for a good while, and as you can probably tell from this post’s image, that project is our very own standalone website!

Venatusmaps.com is something I’ve been dreaming about, brainstorming over, and working on for the last several months. It is something I am happy-proud of (I’ve never built a website before!) while also knowing there is still much improvement that can be done. I am making this post not just to share this website’s launch with you all (any social media sharing you can do today would be greatly appreciated), but also to detail its purpose, explain how it may impact our Patreon page, and answer questions any of you may have. 

Please note, while I’ll do my best to provide context below for those of you interested, the biggest takeaway from today is this: despite the changes that this brings I have arduously structured and planned this launch in such a way that it will not impact your patreon experience whatsoever. You could literally not read this post, continue to be a patron here, and it would be like the website never happened. No pricing changes, no alteration in the type of content I produce, no decrease in quantity of maps each month, nothing.

That being said, read on below for more information:

Why my own website?

While Patreon offers a great deal of amazing advantages and has been completely transformative thanks to all of your support, it does at times have a few drawbacks. While a monthly subscription is incredibly helpful for me in having consistent, dependable finances, that can at times be a deterrent to those who like my maps, but would rather be able to purchase them by more orthodox means. This website is my attempt to cater to those individuals, thereby expanding the audience for the maps and giving more DMs access to quality content. 

Secondly, having a website separate from the Patreon page helps to make access to my content more stable and less dependent on the whims of Patreon corporate. Those of you who have been supporting me for a long time can likely remember the handful of patreon-snafus over the years that rocked the boat and occasionally had a negative impact on your patron experience. With the launching of my own, separate website I have comfort in knowing that if something were to happen on Patreon’s side as a whole that the resulting transition of my content would not be as jarring.

Changes to the Patreon.

Let me reiterate my earlier statement that the launching of this website will have no noticeable impact on your month-to-month patron experience. However, with the introduction of the new site, there are some changes that will be going into effect to allow it and the patreon page to cohabitate while allowing both to feel different and specific to their respective purposes.

As of right now, current and new supporters have access to my entire library of maps since the inception of the patreon. This 2-year collection of maps contains more than 130+ maps in various types and made for different content like my own setting, patron-commissioned maps, and for WotC modules. Patrons never have to pay for that past content and are able to access it instantaneously upon signing up and well before they are charged for the first time (I even go through the trouble of collecting it to make it easy to download it all at the same time!).

This is not changing. Patrons will continue to always have access to the 2 past years of content here, but I will now be creating a ‘window’ of time where after a map has become older than 2 years it will ‘expire’ and no longer be available for download via Patreon. This is going to be the single biggest change to the Patreon, but I will continue to collect maps via the master-collection for group download and will make monthly reminder posts on which maps are expiring so that they can still be downloaded before they go away. So long as you download the maps as they’re released over the course of your support here you will never lose out on anything and your experience will be no different than it was before. 

As a result of this new ‘expiration’ system for older posts, those maps will eventually become exclusively available on the website. You can read the last section below on a monthly ‘coupon’ system I am developing to assist with continual access to those old posts for patrons. As a trade-off for this new expiration system the new website will not have access to any of the maps released during the most recent six months. My most current content will always and continue to be exclusive to my invaluable, consistent supporters here on patreon.

Patreon-Exclusives.

With the introduction of a new site by which to access my content, it’s important that we strive to clarify what’s special about the Patreon page and what perks you will continue to enjoy over the course of your patronage:

• Exclusive access to the most recent maps released in the last 6 months, those maps not being made available on the new site.
• Continual access to the newest content for the lowest price of $1/map. When you visit the new site you will notice that most maps are listed from $1.50-2.00. Your continued support of each released map entitles you to a lower consistent cost.
• Continued access to maps made for WotC modules--those maps will not expire like other maps, instead being permanently accessible for patrons.
• Polls used to allow patrons to influence the direction, themes, and types of maps and assets I create. Your feedback and preferences communicated through polls is always helpful to me and I will continue to rely on them and offer those to you.
• The monthly newsletter that gets sent out to patrons detailing the previous month’s release, reminding you of ongoing projects, and giving sneak-peeks into upcoming content.
• Photoshop files of the maps themselves will continue to be exclusively available to $3+ supporters.
• The ability to request personalized maps as a reward for repeated patronage will continue to be exclusively available to $5 supporters.

Patron Coupon Codes

With the implementation of old maps expiring and becoming exclusively available on the new site, it only makes sense that you as patrons should still have some way of continuing to access those maps. As patrons, starting next month in April, you will receive monthly coupon codes that you will be able to redeem on the new site, granting you access to one free map each month. This will enable you as patrons to continue to access the older content you may want even after it has expired from the Patreon page. More information to come on this later on in March.

And that’s all for now! If you’ve read all of this, thank you for your continued interest in the trajectory of Venatus Maps and your support of my content. As I touched on in the original ‘secret project’ post last month your combined support has been career-changing for me and enabled me to focus on maps and fantasy content in a way I never thought I’d be able to. While I have been anxious at times at the thought of introducing an x-factor in the form of this new site, I am confident that your collective enthusiasm, support, and feedback will continue to help me find success. Thank you so, so much.

I will always be available for questions, but will specifically be paying more attention today to respond if you care to leave a comment on this post or want to send me a private message.

Cheers!