Channel Updates - 2022 (Patreon)

Hey everyone! Since Jan is a 5-Monday month, there is no release this upcoming Monday, so that I can take some time off for the New Year. Typically today, I would post up the sneak peek for Monday, so I thought instead it would be a good time to reflect on the year and talk about 2023. 

DM Andy Maps Community

First and foremost, I thank everyone who supports this channel and has supported my work in other avenues. Whether it's a Reddit upvote, a comment, an Instagram like, or engagement here on Patreon, I see it, and it means so much to me. I know there are tons of content creators out there, and the feeling of always needing to engage can get overwhelming, so I appreciate your efforts! I never in a million years would have thought there would be so much love for my maps, and this community has been uplifting, supportive, and, most of all, inspiring. Your drive and passion as DMs to bring the best game to your players proves that this is not only the best hobby in the world but also has some of the most passionate and caring individuals I've ever seen! 

With your support, I've been able to take the time to improve my map-making skills, purchase better tools and monthly subs for resources that allow me to be a better artist, and provide the best quality maps I can for you all. From the bottom of both my wife's and my heart, we thank you SO much and look forward to making maps for you in the coming year! 

A Reflection on the Last Year

This last year has gone by so fast! I know that sounds cliche, but it really has! It has been a big year for our household in that my wife and I relocated to Los Angeles so she could pursue her higher education and do meaningful work with her Native American community members. I have been working 6-7 days and 40-60 hours+ on maps weekly in addition to my primary day job, so as you can imagine, things here move pretty quickly. But more importantly, we are happy. Busy, but happy. I watched Pyram King's recent video and loved his question: Am I still passionate about this project? I must echo his sentiments when I say a resounding "yes!". With each map, I feel I improve my skills just a bit, and this makes me so excited to be able to bring you the best maps I can make. 

In the last year, I've nearly mapped out nearly all of Barovia in addition to the Interactive Tome of Strahd module and that, in itself, is a massive feat! I've been mapping out CoS maps for nearly two years now and never thought how many maps a single module could have. From recreations of existing maps in the book to new Dark Fantasy-themed locations, there should be something for every CoS DM to throw your players at. But does this mean I'm done? Heck no! I'll cover more about this below. 

Additionally, I've partnered with Lunch Break Heroes in their series of short, horror-themed adventures to create battle maps and release them here. Last year LBH made ten adventures, and I've created tons of maps to support those, all available to you here on my page. 

You might have also noticed my map releases are getting a bit more polished as of late. This year I've implemented better night maps with deeper, darker blues (dark yet light enough to see) and even created more potent lighting effects specific to night maps. Rain maps include puddles on the ground, splashes in those puddles, and water drips from trees and rooftops with a subtle greyscale to set the overcast sky and moody atmosphere, then finished in Photoshop with a rain overlay that allows me to cut out interior locations easily, so you don't see rain indoors. I aim to make the weather variants feel like they represent the weather or time of day. Speaking of Photoshop, with my last few releases, I've been practicing enhancing my maps' tone, mood, and color to make them pop even more. From the start, my focus has always been the mood and detail of maps, and I feel this helps me tweak the maps just enough to capture the gritty and moody feel of a Dark Fantasy setting.   

Where are we going in 2023? 

Now that I've rambled enough about last year let's talk about what the future holds! 

First, I need to finish the last few lingering projects, Castle Ravenloft & The Interactive Tome of Strahd. Once those projects are complete, I will revisit the module and hit certain areas that I missed, along with adding popular third-party alternates to my maps from key content creators such as Pyram King, Lunch Break Heroes, MandyMod, and DragnaCarta. 

I also plan on re-doing the older maps I released when I first started, such as my Gothic Village map (Which you can use for the Village of Barovia), my Gates to the Mist map, and other older maps around Tsolenka Pass, Berez and more! These will be my V2.0 series, bringing my older work up to today's standards. 

Pyram King and I will also be collaborating on a few notable locations. One of these will be the Pillars of Ravenloft, which will provide an alternative way to enter the castle from the depths below and make your way through the ancient ruins on which the castle is built on. Additionally, we will work together to flush out the Mad Mage encounter with a set of maps to support it! 

Of course, the work Lunch Break Heroes and I are doing will continue with the goal of one new original horror-themed adventure once a month. And the most exciting news? LBH will be printing these adventures in a brand new physical book that will be Kickstarted soon! You can sign up for the Kickstarter alert here. 

And speaking of important news, for the first time since I started this channel, I will be introducing a new adventure outside of CoS! That's right; Pyram King will expand his "Legends" series into the briny waters of Saltmarsh. Like he's done for Barovia, he'll be doing a deep dive into the locations of Saltmarsh, adding new adventures, NPCs, and tons of extra goodies for you all to enjoy! So you can look forward to maps to support this adventure coming in 2023. 

But fear not! My goal has always been Dark Fantasy, so even if I create a map on a more bright coastline, my goal is to create a "Dark Fantasy" variant so you can easily use these maps in your campaigns. 

Closing Thoughts

I always fear the more I say it, the less meaningful it may sound, but I mean it when I say Thank you. Thank you for being on this journey with me, for being patient with me while I take time to work on maps (such as Ravenloft), and for your continued support. I hope you will join me in 2023 as we sail the endless abyss, hunt vampire spawn, drink Red Dragon Crush, and bring light to the dark worlds we've created. Whether it's here on Patreon, upvoting and commenting on Reddit, engaging on Instagram or Facebook, or simply telling your fellow DMs about my work, your support helps this channel succeed and helps keep the lights on so I can continue making more amazing battlemaps for you, the hard-working DM. 

I hope everyone has a safe and very Happy New Year! I look forward to showing you all my next sneak peek of Castle Ravenloft: The Larders of Ill Omen, and I'll talk to you all in 2023! 

Cheers,

DM Andy