Across the Realms future plans

Hello everyone!

Across the Realms is going to be 3 years old in just a few days and I think this is the perfect opportunity to revamp and revitalize the entire model.

When I first started I was mostly interested in doing fantasy miniatures with the goal of fleshing out the signature DnD world of the Forgotten Realms with miniatures and adventures. The name “Across the Realms” was actually a reference to the Forgotten Realms.I was also under the impression that I could deliver 15+ miniatures every month consistently and in time. After 3 years of running Across the Realms I have gone through several different ideas and it is also safe to say that my personal preferences and goals have shifted. That is not to say that fantasy is suddenly out of the door - not at all.

I want to share with you my thoughts on how I would like to move forward with Across the Realms. My intent is to make the entire release model more flexible across the board.

Themed releases are certainly cool looking but they have more shortcomings than they have benefits. The most egregious of the shortcomings is the fact that unless a certain theme can justify a minimum number of miniatures it will simply not get made. There have been tons of cool suggestions for minis over the years and many simply get axed from the get go because they are a single mini suggestion. I feel that with themed releases there are several minis that get made that are filler content. Furthermore, I have the urge to make more miniatures than I can afford each month timewise because I feel that this will be my only chance to touch the subject. This leads to delays to the standard schedule and also prevents me from pursuing other projects that I have in the backlog.

My suggestion

The monthly releases only make sense because of how billing works and patrons and tribes members rightfully expect a bang for their buck during the month they are billed. If one doesn't care about next month’s release they can safely unsubscribe. However what I am noticing is that a good chunk of you stay subscribed regardless of the content - with the confidence that something that is worth it will come soon enough.

So, instead of a monthly themed release I would like to suggest a more flexible way of delivering minis. The source of inspiration for these minis will essentially come from two sources.

1. Firstly, I would like to be able to sculpt the minis that I am personally more interested in, for the simple fact that when I am personally motivated about a miniature I perform better. Lady Leontis from this month is a perfect example of this. If I had to fit her in a themed release, by the time I could get around to it I might have lost all motivation to sculpt her.
2. Your suggestions in discord (and other platforms if you prefer) are also a constant source of inspiration and it is important that you get to see your suggestions sooner than later - even if at all. Under this model, your inspiring suggestions can be turned into miniatures almost immediately instead of having to go through the cumbersome process we’ve had so far.

The miniatures will still be delivered in the exact same way. For patrons, you will find the minis released this month in the current release post and you will receive periodic MMF redeem invitations and updates ensuring that all the miniatures end up in your MMF library. For tribes members the process is even more streamlined since you automatically have the models added in your library.

The main difference under this new system is that you - as much as I - wont know exactly what is going to be released for next month. It will all depend on everyone’s whims, with my whims having a stronger impact of course.

Transition Date

This transition - the details of which are still brewing in my head - will take place the month after the current release schedule is delivered. For next month, Patrons will receive the WW2 pulp heroes while Tribesmembers will receive the Legions of Excess. Beginning in April 2023 Patreon and Tribes will finally have syncrhonised releases under the new system.  Tribesmembers will also receive the WW2 pulp heroes in addition to whatever we end up doing for April.

That’s pretty much it. I look forward to hearing your insights, suggestions and criticisms on this plan.