To Ragnarok! (A Big Thank You To Several of My Patrons)

When I made the changeover to a monthly charge instead of a per-item basis over on Patreon, I had to come up with new tiers to try to get folks invested and involved. And like most folks who've been on the platform for a while, I made the first tier the $1 level (essentially just a way for folks to leave me a tip as a thank you). The second was the $5 tier, and that's where you actually get some kind of reward (free copies of my latest supplements when I get giveaway links). At $10 you get a shout out (thanks very much to Phillip Litherland and Tracy), and at $15 I'll put out a monthly query asking your opinion on future posts. There's a few more above that, but most folks have ignored those so far.

I put the $50 a month tier in mostly as a joke, because I didn't expect anyone to go that hard. But for both Joy Von Holle and Brenton Ayres, I salute you! When I find myself upon the field of Ragnarok, know that my battle charge shall be in dedication to your aid!

I will see you there, at the end of the cycle.

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

Any Other Takers?

I really cannot overemphasize how surprised I was when someone stepped up to the Ragnarok tier... but I figured I'd at least ask... do we have anyone else interested in that einherjar-level support?

Because I know I emphasize this fairly often, but my Patreon really has been a huge boon to me for the past decade or so I've been on the platform. And though there have been ups and downs, over the past several years I've come to depend on it for food and expenses during the month. I've never been well-funded enough that it was rent money... but hey, I can dream can't I?

It would be nice, not gonna lie.

I just wanted to take a moment to remind folks that the changeover has been rough, but I feel like I'm finally getting back on my feet a little bit thanks to the generosity of some of my patrons. If you're a regular reader who wants to help, though, consider tossing me an extra $1 a month or so... or if you want some free swag, $5 is my recommended amount. Heck, if everyone currently on my free subscription converted to that level, I really would be making rent money...

As always, don't go into debt to support me as a creator. I know money is tighter than ever for a lot of folks out there. But if you do have a bit spare, I can promise you that I'll be paying bills and buying tacos with it. No funny business over here... just fuel for the brain so I can keep the lights on and the wheels turning!

Also, If You Enjoy Free Stuff, Check Out This Channel

Regular readers already know this, but if you enjoy all the free stuff I'm putting out (and you're looking for more gaming and gaming-related entertainment on a budget) I'd highly recommend checking out the YouTube channel The A.L.I.C.E. Files! An ongoing fiction channel I launched with Alice Liddell a little while back, it tells the story of a young woman given a job by the mysterious Carroll Institute... but in between installments of that story, we get tales of alternate dimensions where you hear about weird west card sharps, literal avenging angels, deals with devils, and more!

And if you're wondering how those two plot lines merge, check out the first episode below... and if you want to help me keep this project going, please subscribe to The A.L.I.C.E. Files, and watch the videos we're putting up. We need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 view hours, but at time of writing we've got 271 people, and about 205 hours.

It's a long way to go, but you could help us get there!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my additional audio dramas over on The A.L.I.C.E. Files! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

My First Patreon Shout Out (And A Big Thanks For All The Help!)

February has been a busy month so far, and unfortunately it doesn't look like that's going to change any time soon. I was at Capricon this past weekend (my first time there since 2020, now that they're in a more accessible location), and now that I'm back I've got dozens of projects to pick back up.

However, it's also the first time I've posted in a new month since my Patreon page shifted to a monthly tier system, instead of a per-post system. And since I promised to give a shout out to my supporters who have moved to at least the $10 a month level, I wanted to take a moment to do that.

To Phillip Litherland and Tracy Bailey-Matthews, my thanks for putting yourselves on this level!

Seriously, thank you!

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

All Support Is Welcome (And Very Much Needed At This Point)

For folks who don't get all of my updates on their For You Page, at the start of the year I officially transitioned my Patreon from a per-item account (where followers were charged for every blog I wrote) to a monthly account (where it's a flat fee every month). I have the full details in my recent post Improved Initiative's Patreon is Now Monthly (And I Could Really Use Your Help), but the short and sweet of it is that I made this transition because there had been rumblings that soon there would be limitations placed on the per-item account option and I wanted to get ahead of that as a creator.

The issue I've run into is that Patreon just left everyone at whatever their previous amount was... the issue for me is that instead of someone paying $1 per blog I put up (so $10 to $12 a month), it's now $1 a month. So my Patreon has gone from earning between $180 to $200 a month (which was my grocery and utility money) to about $65 a month.

So in addition to shouting out the folks who have stepped up to help in this time of transition, I wanted to take a moment to ask others out there to help me get back on my feet. Whether you're already a paid patron who hasn't upgraded their tier yet, or you're someone who wants to toss your coin in the cup, I definitely need all the help I can get right about now.

Any and all help is appreciated!

While this is a new step on a new path, it's also proving to be a treacherous one full of spikes! Which is why I wanted to ask those reading this a couple of questions:

- Do you find any of the current tiers on my Patreon appealing?

- Is there something else I could offer as a creator that would get your interest?

- What is stopping you from supporting me as a patron?

There are no wrong answers to any of these questions, I'm just trying to get a sense of where my audience is at, and if there is anything I could do to make my blogs (and other projects) even more appealing and/or helpful and useful for my readers!

As I've said more times than I can count, creators live and die based on audience support. So if you're here and supporting me, in whatever form that takes, thank you. I'm going to keep pushing on, and I hope you'll come on this new journey with me!

On a final note, those who want to give me a one-time tip rather than committing to becoming a monthly patron, please consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi! Thank you.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Improved Initiative's Patreon Is Now Monthly (And I Could Use Your Help!)

It was last summer when I first announced that the Literary Mercenary's Patreon page, which is where folks support both Improved Initiative as well as my writing blog The Literary Mercenary, was going to transition from a per-item rate to a per-month rate for membership. Well, between then and now there were several delays and miscommunications, but the change finally went through.

Which is why, this month, I wanted to ask for help from all my regular readers and old patrons alike. Because there's already growing pains, and I'm hoping to get past them.

Seriously, folks... if you've been thinking about pledging, now is the time!

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

What Led To This Change

I've been on Patreon for over 15 years now, and there are some folks who've been supporting me on there for the entire time my account has been active. And when I first signed up I chose the per-item payment option because that way I felt that my readers would get what they were paying for. If I didn't write a blog that month, well, they wouldn't have to pay for it. Not only that, but my Monday posts on this blog were always free-of-charge, because I wanted to make sure I didn't overcharge folks.

And, generally speaking, I was pretty happy with this setup. However, in the summer of 2025 there was some chicanery that rocked the boat.

We have altered the bargain. Pray it is not altered further.

As I understand it, Apple's payment platform was threatening to no longer support the per-item rates on Patreon. I don't know the full story behind that, but Patreon issued an announcement that as of Fall 2025 those who were using that payment structure would no longer be able to grow their audience. I thought it over for a week or so, and decided that I should make the change. So I sent an email, and asked to start migrating my account from a per-item payment structure to a monthly membership structure.

There was some miscommunication, though, and Patreon didn't actually put through my request at the time. Then the site went back on the warning, stating that per-item accounts were going to be allowed to go forward, and no changes would be made. The problem was that I'd already made my decision, and put some things in-place to try to make the jump. So during the Fall of 2025, once I noticed the transition hadn't taken place, I reached back out to Patreon support. This time a date was set for January 5th for the transition to go through.

So, new year, new account style, but the same old content on the same schedule everyone has come to expect!

Here's Where The Problem Comes In...

Ideally, this would have been a simple sidestep... but there's a bit of an issue with the migration. It's one I knew about, and tried to prepare for, but I can only do so much.

To really smooth out this rough road, I need the help of all the folks reading this. Because, in short, Patreon basically put everyone down in the $1 a month pledge and expects you all to up yourself to a new tier if that's what you intend to do.

Seriously, every pledge, post, and tip helps.

In terms of hard numbers, what this means is that I go from making between $180 - $220 a month (since some months had more paid blog installments than others) to making about $45 a month or so. That is a massive change in my personal finances, and it's not a hit I can just tank. That's "pay my utilities" money, and more than once it's been "cover the rent" money. I cannot overstate how important my Patreon patrons are to me, and to my ability to keep doing what I do.

That's why I wanted to ask all my current patrons to please check out my new Patreon, have a look at the tiers, and consider choosing something above the $1 a month level if you're able to. And if you're someone who isn't currently one of my patrons (or is a free patron) I'd appreciate any help you can give while I get my feet back under me after this change! And if you're someone who wants to help, but doesn't know if you can commit to the full Patreon sign up, feel free to leave me a tip by buying me a Ko-Fi... those little gifts go a long way, as well, I can tell you that as a fact.

However, if you don't have the spare dosh lying around, but you still want to help, then please consider doing the following (all of which cost you no money):

- Read Articles in my Vocal Archive (I earn 1 cent per every 3 articles read)

- Follow My Facebook

- Follow My Blue Sky

- Follow My LinkTree

- Sign Up For My Weekly Newsletter

- Subscribe to The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

All of these things help, and honestly the more people that subscribe, read, watch, etc., the more likely it is I'll be able to beat the algorithm, and actually make some progress. Give how restrictive the algorithm as been of-late, though, it's been tough to even reach my actual subscribers... so if anyone reading this likes my work, and wants to see my blogs keep going forward, I'd appreciate any help you could give!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Improved Initiative Needs Your Help!

I regret to interrupt your regularly scheduled blog post, but this is a pretty important announcement.

Improved Initiative Needs Your Help!

Got your attention? Good.

Not quite what I meant, but you get the idea

First of all, hi! My name is Neal Litherland, and I'm the fellow who runs Improved Initiative. I'm a freelance writer and author, but most of you probably know me as the guy who provides interesting content on character builds, obscure rules, and roleplaying flavor. It's been my privilege and sincere pleasure to create content that makes your games better. I fully intend to keep doing that, but there's a slight problem.

You see, my monthly income just took a sucker punch in the face.

What Happened?

I'm glad you asked that bold, italic text. Some of you may have heard of Yahoo! Voices, but if you haven't it's a huge network that pays contributors $2 for every 1,000 hits their content gets. Some of you may have seen my Avengers character builds there. Recently my page views at Yahoo! have provided me with enough royalties that I thought I would be able to relax a bit, start saving, and focus more on blogging and writing a novel.

So, of course, Yahoo! Voices is slamming its doors closed forever August 2014.

Hold onto your nappies, it gets worse.

What This Means For You

When August comes around it means that all of my content (400+ articles at last count) is going to be deleted off of Yahoo's system. I'm currently running helter skelter to try and save the articles that are worth saving. You'll likely see my Avengers articles, as well as my Gotham Knights series (Batman, Robin, Huntress, etc.) showing up on here in the next few months. I'll also keep creating new content and trying to offer shiny, new ideas for your next campaign.

That said, the fact remains that I'm losing a big chunk of income from Yahoo's up-front payments, in addition to losing the royalty check that comes at the end of the month.

What I'm Asking

I need help, and before you start telling me you don't have any loose change, you don't need any. Here's a list of all the ways you can help, and I'm not asking anyone to do more than they're able.

Divine intervention is welcome, if you have a solid track record.

# 1: Become a Patron

Maybe you don't have any cash laying around, but maybe you're one of those folks who has a secure day job to support your gaming habit. If that's the case, and you'd be comfortable donating as little as $1 a month to keep the gaming articles flowing, the stop by my Patreon page by clicking right here and becoming a patron. It's pretty simple; you pledge a certain amount per blog (say $1), and then when I update my Patreon page it will charge you that $1. You can also set your maximum donation per month so that even if I updated this blog every day you'd only ever spend that single Washington on my behalf.

Make sense?

For those who choose to become a patron, you all have my sincere thanks. Since I know those aren't worth very much, I'll also throw in one of my ebook titles for free to sweeten the pot. Lastly, while I will be moving my articles from Yahoo! over to Improved Initiative, all the transfers will be done free of charge! Woo, more content for everyone!

#2: Leave a One-Time Donation

Maybe you never noticed it before, but on the upper right hand side of the page there's a little box titled "Bribe the DM". That tip jar connects directly to my Paypal, and you can choose to drop some spare in there whenever you have it. So if you've got a couple bucks this month, but you don't want to commit to a regular thing, I'll gladly accept any and all donations left in my virtual glass.

#3: Tell Your Family, Tell Your Friends, Tell Your Table!

This one gets an exclamation mark because it's the best way to help, and it requires nothing but your time.

Improved Initiative, like any blog that uses Google AdSense, makes money based on its ad clicks. When someone clicks an ad, that earns a fee. So the more traffic this blog receives, the bigger the chances are that my readers will see an ad that interests them. Also the more traffic I manage to get the better my page ranking will be, the easier the blog will be to find... you get the idea. If your website becomes popular then that very popularity has a way of sustaining itself.

What I'm asking you to do, valiant readers, is to help spread the word. If you see an entry you like, don't be afraid to share it on your Facebook or your Tumblr page. Hell, throw it up on Reddit if you feel compelled to do so. If you have friends looking for advice, send them over this way. Don't be afraid to dig through my archive to see what topics I've covered, and to share those too. In short there's no such thing as bad traffic.

Lastly, don't be afraid to submit your email on the top right and get my updates on the regular. The more followers Blogger says I have, the better I look, the more people see me... you get the idea.

What Do You Get Out of This?

I don't expect something for nothing.

That's why I'm a really shitty bank robber.

First and foremost, you get my sincerest thanks. Since I know precisely what that's worth, you also get my pledge to keep creating great content for your enjoyment and use. If I can manage 10 new patrons I will also do my best to increase my updates to 3 times per week with a Moon Pope Monday feature, a character build conversion, and one of my other features (Crunch, Fluff, or a Table Talk story on a rotating cycle) to fill in the rest of the week.

I think that about wraps it up. Thanks very much for your patience, and I hope next week to return you to your regularly scheduled awesome.