Pondcho (Patreon)

Greetings everyone!

Fernando and I figured out quite early that sometimes we have a bit of a silly streak that runs through us and expressing that in our items is absolutely essential for us. I’m not someone that can take myself overly seriously so expressing that through our items is just perfect for me. This week was a perfect example of it with the Pondcho.

Our patrons get early access to all of these items as well as additional formats that are easily usable in both physical and online play. Additionally they get high-res art exports, easy to use text exports, behind the scenes updates, and a lot more.

If that strikes your fancy, consider becoming a Patron 

Design notes from Matthew:

Really the initial idea I had for this is just something that would let you stick to a wall and that was about it. I realized that we hadn’t done anything with jump mechanics previously and that’s always felt like a space where 5E could use a little help. Sure there’s some jumpy boots, but certainly we could do a lot more.

Balancing jumping is actually a bit harder than you would think. There’s a potential for making some really OP combos if you give someone the ability to move their full movement speed and then jump. You have to somehow pay for that and a bonus action seemed reasonable as it locks out some other options and makes for a conscious choice.

The lilypad was actually a later addition to the item as I wanted it to have something that felt a little “froggy” in it and created some potentially interesting adventuring opportunities. Letting the pad hold a few people presents opportunities for saving people that fall in water and a lot of other interesting inevitabilities in adventuring.

Illustration notes from Fernando:

I love working on every AB item we make, but some are definitely more fun than others and this one was a ton of fun! It started by looking at several different frog species and their unique characteristics, then figuring out if some of those things could be applied to the item.

Aesthetically I drew most of my inspiration from tree frogs, they are beautifully colorful, and they always look like they are happy and smiling.  This started as a cloak but my brain just kept wanting to make a poncho, the folded over and hanging scarf looks like a frog’s tongue and gives it a hilariously clueless look, and the frills on the poncho evoke the fingertips of the tree frog.

I vacillated on whether to give it a slimy look like frogs have or make it more obviously cloth and ended somewhere in the middle, I particularly enjoy the way the eyes turned out.

Putting together something a little out of the box of standard fantasy always feels good. Fernando and I like to be playful in our games and AB has offered us a way to be a little unorthodox while still making really fun items. We do try to offer a number of items from different genres to keep people interested, but sometimes you just have to make something for yourself.

We highly encourage you to join our Discord server where you’ll get access to exclusive channels that have sneak peeks, behind the scenes chatter, and more.

Rewards for Patrons!

Kraken's Kohorts ($3 tier)

Kraken's Kompanions ($6 tier)

Kraken's Kollaborators ($10 Tier)

Hop to it!

- Fernando & Matthew