[Release][Loyalty] The Crane and Trout Inn - First Loyalty Reward!

tl;dr: If you've been supporting me continuously for more than 6 months you can claim an extra map pack, here

Hi everyone!

Yes - this time I'm talking to all of you. This is a public post, because something pretty important is happening here. I have finally finished working on The Crane and Trout Inn.

And I'm happy for several reasons. I'm happy that it's finally done. I'm incredibly happy with how beautiful this location turned out. But most importantly, I'm happy because Patrons who have been supporting me for more than six months are finally going to receive something tangible in return for all that time they've spent on this adventure with me.

But let's take it from the beginning.

The Enduring Circle

As some of you probably already know, since almost the beginning of this year there has been a special place on my website called The Enduring Circle.

It's where I honor the most enduring of the enduring: veterans of our adventure, regulars of our taverns, and even a few Patron legends who have been here almost since the very beginning. Until now, it has mostly been an honorable mention.

Now, however... there is going to be a little more to it.

The First 6-Month Reward

To my wonderful long-term Patrons: I'm putting a pretty hefty location pack into your hands.

The Crane and Trout Inn was designed as a location that can easily find a home in many different campaigns and settings. And, as usual, I've split the content according to the Patreon tiers:

• Local Heroes receive the Static Maps.

• Heroes of the Realm receive the Animated Maps together with Static POV maps.

• Champions receive everything from the previous tiers, plus Animated POV maps and Cinematics.

And yes, this thing grew much, much bigger than I originally planned.

A few important things about how the Loyalty Reward system works:

• You qualify after more than six continuous months of paid support.

• The six months are counted by your calendar anniversary, not as a fixed number of days. So if you became a Patron on the 10th, your six-month milestone falls on the 10th six months later (and at the exact hour you've joined). For dates at the very end of a month, the system automatically adjusts to the last available day.

• Annual memberships qualify too, but the reward still unlocks only after six months of continuous support. Paying for a full year in advance does not unlock the 6-month reward immediately - the system still waits until your actual six-month anniversary.

• Your Patreon membership needs to be active and your latest payment successfully completed.

• Free trials and gifted memberships do not count toward Loyalty Rewards.

• Your reward is based on your current membership tier.

• The system checks your Patreon membership automatically when you open the reward page.

• If you've already passed your six-month anniversary, your reward should be waiting for you there.

• If you haven't reached it yet, the page will show you when your reward becomes available.

• Reward downloads are tied directly to your account, so there is no need to wait for me to manually send anything.

• The Foundry module is still being prepared and will be added separately.

This is the first bonus of its kind on my Patreon, but definitely not the last.

As I mentioned before, over the coming months I want to expand the Loyalty Reward system further, with rewards for 1 year, 2 years and 3 years of support.

The longer you're part of this strange little adventure of ours, the more I want there to be waiting for you.

The Crane and Trout Inn - A Few Words About the Lore

Of course, you can use this location however you want. Nothing stops you from dropping the interiors into the middle of a busy city and simply treating it as any other inn you need.

But whenever I build a map, a story tends to build itself alongside it.

In my version of the world, The Crane and Trout Inn is the last proper building on the northern edge of Bukovina, a small principality bordering the ancient Myridian Empire - an empire that has long since become a shadow of its former greatness.

The border follows the Srebrna River. Beyond it begin the old northern marches. Once, imperial roads, watchtowers and fortified settlements stretched far into those lands. Today, many of them are ruins.

The Empire simply grew too vast. At the height of its power, its borders reached farther than its rulers could ever realistically control. And as its strength faded, entire provinces were slowly abandoned.

Now the northern wilderness is filled with forgotten roads, ruined fortresses, isolated settlements, wild clans and tribes of creatures that have reclaimed lands once marked on imperial maps.

And right at the edge of that world stands the Crane and Trout. But the Inn is more than simply a place to eat, drink and sleep.

It's also an important river stop.

Goods travelling downstream are unloaded and transferred here before continuing deeper into Bukovina and the imperial lands. The Crane and Trout is also small river port that operates beside the Inn, where merchants, messengers and travellers can leave the dangerous northern roads behind and board comfortable riverboats heading south.

Which also means that sooner or later, almost everyone travelling between the civilized lands and the northern frontier ends up passing through its doors.

And I'm sure nothing bad could possibly happen in a place like that.

And Finally - Thank You

To everyone who has supported Dransky's Battlemaps for six months or longer:

Thank you. Trully and seriously.

Six months on Patreon is a long time. A year is even longer. And some of you have been here for several years now. You've watched this project grow, change, improve, occasionally explode, and somehow continue moving forward.

The Crane and Trout Inn exists specifically because I wanted the first Loyalty Reward to feel like an actual reward - not just another map thrown into a download folder.

Something substantial, evergreen, useful. Something made specifically for the people who decided to stay.

So if you're already part of the Enduring Circle... Your table is waiting.

Welcome to The Crane and Trout Inn.

Cheers!
~dransky

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