What's after High Tide?
Added 2024-05-27 14:06:36 +0000 UTCI have decided to make this post since I have just posted the start of the final arc in High Tide. All together, there are just five chapters left in the story and it will finish by mid-July at the earliest so the question now is where do we go next, especially for those of you who are subscribed?
So some of you already know this from what I've said on the Discord on other sites, but my next story is slated to be an Aegon the Conqueror SI (or rather transmigrator since like Corlys, Aegon SI isn't me the author). I've been thinking and planning one for years and am currently trying to finalize my plans and outlines for it while also doing the last chapters of High Tide.
It would be very easy for me to just switch to posting the Aegon story for the Patreon tiers in place of HT chapters once HT finishes (and the tiers will likely get renamed for the new story at some point and how I'm doing that is something I'm also thinking on). The issue is that the freedom of time that has allowed me to write HT so consistently is soon to end.
I finished my schooling for A Levels in June last year which is when I came back to writing HT regularly and the bulk of the story has been written in that time on a near infallible weekly basis. However I am going to pursue further studies near the end of September and it will be away from home too. Before I go I'd have to pack, prepare, all that stuff, and then adjust to a new life and ofc focus on studies too.
As you might imagine, the update rate would suffer tremendously for that. Weekly updates wouldn't be possible anymore and depending on how my schedule and timing is, monthly or every two months would be the best we could do.
So what do you all think? How do you guys want me to manage the Patreon and the tiers to account for this shift in the update rate down the line for the new story? Now that Patreon allows us to change the price of tiers with subscribers on them, I could reduce the prices once I can no longer update as consistently in order to make up for it and make it more affordable and worth it and then whenever I have more time to update more regularly like during semester breaks, the prices can go back up to what they are now (like hotel adjustable rates lol).
Alternatively another idea I am playing with is to double the rewards offered. So whatever Tide Guard is renamed to would get six chapters, whatever Velaryon Knight is renamed to would get four chapters, whatever Driftmark Marine is renamed to would get two chapters, and perhaps even the general support tier Spicetown Watch could get one chapter. This would avoid the hassle and confusion of changing tier prices back and forth and depending on the update pace, those on the highest tier could be six months ahead of the public releases if not longer.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments on this post or over on the patron-chat channel in the Discord server.
Comments
Why does it feel rushed? See here's the trap. When you deal with wars involving dragons and magic, thinking alliances, population and so forth play a secondary role and they're meaningless if you lose the dragon war. Dragons are nukes. The Targaryens tried fighting a conventional war and using dragons tactically, the Velaryons knew that this was a nuclear war and fought strategically, going in for the kill. That's why they won in one day, that's what cemented their place in history because if they had fought the way the Targaryens wanted, they'd have straight up lost. Magic didn't wax anything in this story. Magic knowledge increased but magic as a force has always been around at the same level in High Tide. The Citadel's four glass candles have been actively used by the Maesters the whole story because they never went off but the Maesters aren't exactly very good at using them and just like canon the Targaryens paid no heed to it until it was too late. Keeping it secret was thus essential because it would be so so easy for the Targaryens to come to their senses, get their hands on glass candles of their own, and the war winning strategy would be bust, dead in the water. I personally disagree. Dragons are more interesting to me above near all else. A good writer and one who knows what they are doing doesn't come up with BS to nerf them but rather works around them and uses them efficiently, which I have done in High Tide. The story was never about the Dance itself which was a mere five chapters, it was about the road that led to the Dance which made up the 69 chapters prior. The Dance was simply the culmination of everything that came before it, the climax of the Targaryen-Velaryon feud built up since the beginning.
Tertius711
2024-07-05 01:56:29 +0000 UTCDragons are a tool of war and the fact the Velaryons used them as efficiently as they did makes them good at war. An effective bureaucracy and thus logistics and so forth and the ability to delegate to trustworthy and capable officers also makes you good at war.
Tertius711
2024-07-05 01:50:23 +0000 UTCDragons went all over the continent to war what are you talking about. Ice magic is the purview of the Others not the local Westerosi (so not really relevant unless you want to do an Others plotline, which I do not). The Storming of the Dragonpit was completely BS in canon and you're not ever gonna see me writing anything like it. Unfortunately for Dorne they threw out all their water magic and don't have anything more. There's no evidence suggesting skinchangers with no dragonblood can possess dragons because dragons are magical creatures beyond anything most skinchangers have even attempted.
Tertius711
2024-07-05 01:49:36 +0000 UTCHigh Tide ended up feeling rushed to a conclusion after a 60 chapter build up. Dragons and fire magic were the only relevant things in your war. Alliances, populations, skill, state craft all pushed aside. When magic waxes the Obisdion candles were lit, the citadel has candles and the Conclave of Maesters would.have told at least the Hightowers. So that being kept secret doesn't make sense either. I think engaging in a story is important. To look at a story and say, YES AND? Dragons have always been the less interesting part of ASOIAF. The intrigue, moves and counter moves make it fascinating.
JohnnyNott
2024-07-04 18:29:04 +0000 UTCTargaryens aren't particularly skilled in war, neither were the Valaryons in High Tide. Almost everything they achieve comes down to flying on dragons. The effective bureaucracy made the Valaryons effective in your story.
JohnnyNott
2024-07-04 18:22:15 +0000 UTCThe Valyrions required many dragons to drive out the Rhyonar. Water magic can kill them. Bran proved in GOT that you can warg into intelligent creatures. Perhaps a warg steals a young dragon and raises it (Eragon).
JohnnyNott
2024-07-04 18:19:27 +0000 UTCThere's a counter and it involves other people's magic works too. Example in Westros Dragons aren't native, and didn't come to mainland Westros until the conquest. Even then they don't really go anywhere in Westros but Dorne to war. Dragons are afraid of the wall, no dragon will cross and Dragons are fire. The constant cold probably effects them deeply. If they prefer the warmth that means temperature effects them. Dragons were also killed by regular people in the dragonpit. No special swords required.
JohnnyNott
2024-07-04 18:16:36 +0000 UTCOn one hand I do agree but on the other I really don't lol. Dragons and magic are OP for a reason and nerfing them gets us the bad writing in canon and is frankly very annoying to see in stories. I think something interesting is exploring the angle of how people find ways around the fact that dragons are nigh unkillable on the battlefield. Something I think Martin was trying to do with canon Maegor and the First Dornish War but wasn't quite hitting.
Tertius711
2024-07-04 16:28:00 +0000 UTCI'll be honest, the OP dragons and magic when no one else has anything makes the stories un interesting. People finding ways to overcome and kill the dragons and makes would be far more intriguing
JohnnyNott
2024-07-04 16:24:11 +0000 UTCI’m glad you liked 74. Stay tuned for the epilogue, I can tell you you’re going to love it based on what you’ve said here. As for the pricing, yeah I have a feeling it’s gonna drop. Inevitable ofc but it will be painful.
Tertius711
2024-07-01 04:50:31 +0000 UTCLoved the most recent (74) Chapter looking forward to the epilogue. Though I imagine it will be a fresh start which is probably for the best, a part of me is hoping that this new story will have Corlys & Viserra as the SI just to see them go from dying to the Targaryens to becoming THE Targaryens. Whatever you write I'm sure it'll be good. As for the pricing I imagine a lot more people are going to drop memberships and maybe once every couple months pick it up and drop it again to get new chapters, but thats fine you should focus on your studies & future.
Gizzit
2024-07-01 04:38:18 +0000 UTCGranted not that many have replied to this post but those that have seem to indicate they want doubled rewards rather than reduced prices. I’ll maybe look into making a poll down the line perhaps. I don’t see a need to keep chapters like that or suspend the higher tiers though. If people want to pay for the higher tiers despite less regular updates they’ll stay or maybe they’ll drop it entirely or downgrade to a lower tier if I go through with the doubled rewards. If I suspend the higher tiers entirely it’s just removing the chance to get any higher income whatsoever and locking me out of updating more regularly if I want. I appreciate the sentiment but I don’t think I agree with it.
Tertius711
2024-06-03 13:07:30 +0000 UTCNot saying don't work on the story, by all means do so please!! Just that it seems people are skeptical about your pricing to chapters structure/ration and if you had a lot of chapters already done then you would be able to release them at a consistent clip to where those who complain if you dont and are they are still paying at your highest tiers would be getting chapters at consistent rate and you wouldn’t feel too pressured.
NJ
2024-06-03 08:49:56 +0000 UTCWhat is the reason for this hiatus? If I don’t put time management skills to use to work on the story, I will never work on it. I’m going to uni.
Tertius711
2024-06-03 08:27:51 +0000 UTCMy suggestions are to probably cancel all but maybe your cheapest tier and take a long hiatus to focus on school and life and when you can work on your Aegon SI story and once you have say about 15-20 chapters already done begin to ramp back up to see how much interest the initial chapters are generating and then try again with a tiered subscriber plan
NJ
2024-06-03 07:34:59 +0000 UTCGlad you think Aegon story sounds promising and yeah deffo. Wdyt of the IRL update schedule and tier price suggestions? Any thoughts?
Tertius711
2024-05-30 04:45:12 +0000 UTCEverything that's good must eventually come to an end. Aegon story sounds promising. Maybe he can keep both sisters alive, and have a better influence on his cruel son.
Revan
2024-05-30 02:36:24 +0000 UTCNoted. Thanks for lmk!
Tertius711
2024-05-29 19:09:25 +0000 UTCI’d also prefer that
SteveH
2024-05-29 18:31:27 +0000 UTCThanks for the support and a fair point. What kind of price or rewards would make the cost/value ratio worth it in your opinion then?
Tertius711
2024-05-28 08:57:07 +0000 UTCHonestly your price is way too high regardless. I have supported in the past but only did so as a means of supporting, not accessing any chapters, the cost/value ratio just isn't there. 2 advance chapters for the cost of a full book just isn't it.
C C
2024-05-28 04:14:57 +0000 UTCShould hopefully be only a week between the last chapter of HT and the first chapter of the Aegon story but depending on how much time I need for outlining and planning it may be longer for chapters after the first. As for total time, I really don’t know. Hunker down for years I guess
Tertius711
2024-05-27 20:31:05 +0000 UTCBoth
Omar
2024-05-27 20:05:31 +0000 UTCWdym how long would the Aegon SI fanfic be released? As in how long it would take before it comes out or how long will it last in terms of chapters and time to completion? Ehh I think it's OOC for the Westerosi kings to hire mages given you know... that being said Faceless Men makes sense, as does skinchanger opposition. I need to plan it all out properly.
Tertius711
2024-05-27 19:20:29 +0000 UTCOnce you’re finished with High Tide, how long would the Aegon Si fanfic be released? Also as for Aegon facing off against a true threat, you could bring in the mages of Asshai. perhaps one of the kings of Westeros hired them for help. Or maybe even the red faith. I could only guess how difficult it is, to deal with mages that are perhaps hundreds of years old. Hell, maybe the three eyed Raven could get involved. Probably because how much Aegon messed up the time line perhaps?
Omar
2024-05-27 19:16:16 +0000 UTCTbf none of y'all have seen it yet so makes sense. Will likely need to build a new base for the new story.
Tertius711
2024-05-27 15:56:07 +0000 UTCUnfortunately I will likely cancel my subscription once High Tide concludes. I am interested in the Aegon SI and will read it, but not as Interested as I was in High Tide. Not enough to pay money for it in any case
Explicit Content
2024-05-27 15:39:44 +0000 UTCBut no dragons lel. Idk. Tbch I have lamented what Aegon the Conk did for so long so this is my 'fine I'll do it myself' to finally fix it for myself and hopefully for the readers of the story as well. I do get your concerns on meaningful opposition and I do have plans on fixing that, basically since Aegon is conquering more comprehensively and without being afraid of rocking the boat like in canon, he will end up facing all of the revolts Aenys and Maegor faced during his own reign if not during the conquest itself. Plus magical enemies like Faceless Men and so forth. I actually have never played any of those games so I couldn't possibly write a story for them though the second option after Aegon SI with the HP idea scrapped would be Star Wars, Anakin Skywalker (Transmigrator/SI)
Tertius711
2024-05-27 14:40:42 +0000 UTCMakes sense. I suppose the subscriptions might be a lot more spread out this way instead of basically everyone being in the highest tier like they are now.
Tertius711
2024-05-27 14:37:44 +0000 UTCSo you'd prefer the double rewards eh? Alright then. Thanks. Noted.
Tertius711
2024-05-27 14:37:19 +0000 UTCPersonally, the second option would be nice. You could pre-make chapters ahead of time whenever you get the chance to (i.e breaks and whatnot) while maintaining the same prices. I can’t really say much more since I’m not a writer and can’t really advise you on that regard.
Skruffy
2024-05-27 14:33:42 +0000 UTCJust double the rewards then. If some of the other patrons don't feel like paying the same amount for a longer wait they can just downsize their own subscription option. It really only takes a minute.
Thomas Terracciano
2024-05-27 14:32:50 +0000 UTCYeah I'm a bit bummed out by it as well but studies are a priority. Which option would be preferable to you personally? Personally the double rewards would be less hassle to me than changing the prices tbch but I'm worried that a pretty high price and a single update a month even if six chapters ahead of public release would put off a lot of people. Thanks a lot! Stay tuned for the ending of High Tide! I hope I do indeed have a great time in uni.
Tertius711
2024-05-27 14:28:25 +0000 UTCWhich one would be preferable to you personally?
Tertius711
2024-05-27 14:26:51 +0000 UTCI guess it’s more or less up to you and your schedule. If you are busy irl you can scale down the patreon prizes and tiers to match your schedule. Alternatively you can do the more prizes part if you can manage. All in all, it’s more or less up to you, as long as writing the stories doesn’t impact your studies.
Skruffy
2024-05-27 14:17:22 +0000 UTCA sad prospect. I don't look forward to having to wait entire months for your excellent work. In terms of price reductions you should choose the option that would create a lesser hassle for you. Anyways I look forward to your final chapters of High Tide as well as the new Argon fanfic. All the best to you and I hope you have a great first year at uni.
Thomas Terracciano
2024-05-27 14:15:45 +0000 UTCBlackfriar rebellion if we talk about Asiof. For example son of Daemon Blackfire. Your dynasty just lost major battle, you are refugees in Free Cities and there is creepy mage who wants you dead. Perfect plot for our guy to fight and overcome. I would also like to read about Dragon Age, Mass Effect or Halo universe. There is a lot of possibilities for empire building stories
Tom Tat
2024-05-27 14:15:43 +0000 UTCSadge. Fair enough. Maybe you'll see the public releases and change your mind down the line. What kind of story would you personally prefer I write instead?
Tertius711
2024-05-27 14:11:33 +0000 UTCFor me sadly this does not matter. I would probably stop my subscription after HT is over. I don't really that interested in Aegon the Conqueror story, for the basic reason that he is a boring character with too much power at his hand. Balerion is too powerful for any meaningful opposition and kingdom building after HT won't be that interesting.
Tom Tat
2024-05-27 14:10:30 +0000 UTCYes that's the plan. Next story will be Aegon SI for sure 100%, that's not the question. The question is how should I manage the Patreon for y'all since I'm going to uni in a few months and will not be able to update the story as consistently as I have High Tide the past year.
Tertius711
2024-05-27 14:10:26 +0000 UTCI’d say that you can push on with the Aegon SI since you have been planning for it for months now, and it would be much better than the Harry Potter one.
Skruffy
2024-05-27 14:09:24 +0000 UTC
