Line #53 TabletopGame/TheSpoils


1	''The Spoils'' is a CollectibleCardGame created by Tenacious Games and released in November 2006.
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3	The game borrows heavily from ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' in terms of gameplay, with a few changes here and there to streamline the gameplay. For instance, all players begin the game with two resources in play to avoid Mana Screw.
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5	The game is, like [[TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering MtG]], divided between five different colors, or trades, each of whom uses its own type of resource:
6	* Arcanists - Magicians and cultists. Uses Obsession as a resource.
7	* Bankers - As the name suggests, these guys utilize money to get their way. Uses Greed, fittingly.
8	* Gearsmiths - Engineers and creators of the fantastic and weird. Speak in [[LeetLingo 1337]]. Uses Elitism.
9	* Rogues - [[ProfessionalGambler Gamblers]], scoundrels and [[ConMan con men]], Rogues rely on quick wit and reflexes to survive. Uses Deception.
10	* Warlords - Soldiers, berserkers and knights, Warlords rely on brute strenght. Uses Rage.
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12	The story is this: Sometime in the future, [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the universe spontaneously resets]]; the stars shift positions in the sky, the laws of physics are rewritten and the great works of man disappear, leaving the world a blank slate. Several millenia later, life has returned to the earth, now known as [[http://www.thespoils.com/spoils/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/map-poster-small.jpg Luridia]], in the form of the [[FunnyAnimal the Mau]], the [[OurElvesAreDifferent 31v35]], and humanity. The story begins with 1st Ed. which takes place 150 years after the fall of the Marmothan Empire. The Seed Cycle, the first expansion set, serves as a prequel taking place during the fall of the Marmothan Empire.
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14	The game is also notable for the heavy amount of Memetic Mutations cited in its flavor texts, with references to/from ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{SpongeBob SquarePants}}'', ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'', the Music/BeastieBoys and so on.
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16	Tenacious sadly went under in early 2008, but the rights to the game were picked up by Arcane Tinmen, who are currently working on the fourth expansion to the game.
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18	!!This game contains examples of:
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20	* AbnormalAmmo - [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1ED/Bask%20Bomb.full.jpg Bask Bomb]]. An artillery battery that fires dragons.
21	* AlienSky - The north and south poles are giant mountains hovering above the planet, with a large asteroid belt circling the rest of the planet.
22	* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The game's resource system was specifically designed to address the problems inherent with the one in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering,'' placing further emphasis on skill, rather than luck.
23	* ArmyOfThievesAndWhores: The Rogues.
24	* {{BFG}} - [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1ED/Kettinger.full.jpg This]] and [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1E2/Splattergun.full.jpg This]].
25	* {{BFS}} - The impracticality of this trope is illustrated with this rather [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/SCL/Heavy%20Sword.full.jpg heavy sword]].
26	* TheBerserker - 1st edition Warlords are this combined with TheBrute.
27	* BloodierAndGorier - Compared to MtG.
28	* BloodyHilarious: Seems to be the designers' intention--the more [[{{Gorn}} gruesome]] cards often have sardonic one-liners for their flavor text.
29	* ColdSniper - [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1ED/Hidden%20Sniper.full.jpg "1050... 1051... 1052..."]]
30	* DenserAndWackier: Compared to ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering.'' ''The Spoils'' was created by ''Magic'' pros as a sort of ''"Magic 2.0,"'' with many rules either streamlined or deliberately altered to minimize variance. The world of ''The Spoils'' is deliberately wackier than any shown in ''Magic,'' but the game itself is denser by coincidence. ''The Spoils'' was launched in 2006. ''Magic's'' 2007 set, ''Time Spiral'' was so overwhelmingly complex that it led to a ground-up policy change in regards to complexity, particularly in Common cards. ''The Spoils'' did not follow suit, meaning that its Commons and Uncommons tend to have a wall of text in their rules box while most ''Magic'' Commons tend to only have one or two words.
31	* EldritchAbomination - [[http://spoilsinventory.com/pics/1ED/Lugubrian%20Octopod.full.jpg Quite]] [[http://spoilsinventory.com/pics/SCL/Living%20God%20of%20Thabbash.full.jpg a]] [[http://spoilsinventory.com/pics/SCL/Horrendous%20Behemoth.full.jpg few]].
32	* TheEmpire - The Marmothan Empire. A relatively benign example, for a change; it was ruled over by Emperor Padamose.
33	* EyeScream - [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1ED/Eye%20Gouge.full.jpg "Ach! My eyes! The goggles, they do nothing!"]]
34	* FlavorText: Every card gets some on top, and those with shorter rules text get some more on the bottom. The only exceptions are Staple Resources (which have no text except for their name) and invitational cards which list their designer on top and tend to have too much rules text for their to room on the bottom.
35	* ForGreatJustice - The [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/SCL/Adriel,%20Defender%20of%20Marduun.full.jpg Seven]] [[http://www.thespoils.com/spoils/attachment.php?attachmentid=951&d=1296081890 Swords]] [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/SGR/Athalamund%20Mangod,%20The%20Iron%20Fist.full.jpg of]] [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/SCL/Gideon,%20the%20Ultimate%20Warrior.full.jpg Great]] [[http://www.thespoils.com/spoils/attachment.php?attachmentid=891&d=1293613207 Justice]], headquartered in their [[http://www.thespoils.com/spoils/view.php?pg=article_seed_factions Hall]](scroll down the page) really just fight for Emperor Padamose and the Marmothoan Empire.
36	* FunnyAnimal - The Mau, Great Mau, and Shrievers resemble bipedal domestic cats, predatory cats, and dragons respectively.
37	* HotterAndSexier: Zigzagged. Cards like Erotic Assassin lampoon the game being sexy, but the Staple Resources are all pretty {{Stripperiffic}}.
38	* ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty: Subverted, but not in the usual way. 31V35 live for centuries and spend most of them at the same age, but as ''teenagers,'' rather than young adults.
39	* KillItWithFire
40	* KnightInShiningArmor - Seed Warlords are this. It doesn't last...
41	* KnightInSourArmor - What Warlords haven't completely lost their way between the Seed Cycle and 1st Ed. are this.
42	* {{Magitek}} - The Gearsmiths produce a lot of this.
43	* MemeticMutation - The source of a majority of the games flavor text.
44	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast - [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1ED/Bladefist%20Doomwing.full.jpg Bladefist Doomwing]], [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1E2/Wyrmfang%20Deathskull.full.jpg Wyrmfang Deathskull]], and [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1E2/Dethmurderbludgeon,%20the%20Craghammer.full.jpg Dethmurderbludgeon]], from the Warlord faction.
45	* OurDragonsAreDifferent - [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1ED/Raging%20Bask.full.jpg Basks]] are mindless lizards, the [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1E2/Really%20Big%20Barduse.full.jpg Barduse]] are intelligent and evil, the [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/SCL/Godwing%20Thunderhoof.full.jpg Seraphim]] are intelligent and good, and the [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/SCL/Dragon%20Archer.full.jpg Shrievers]] are anthromorphic.
46	* [[OurElvesAreDifferent Our 31v35 Are Different]] - They're still the longest lived race, as per usual, but the vast majority of their life is spent as a juvenile. They speak in 1337, are naturally drawn to technology, and all but the youngest live on the distant continent of Nidia. Oh, and they created humans.
47	* OurVampiresAreDifferent - Sarcophyles. The true vampires were exterminated long ago, with the Sarcophyles inheriting their associated culture. The reason the Sarcophyles are allowed to continue existing is because they can't controll peoples minds and creating more of them requires drinking copious amounts of their tainted blood over a long period of time. Also, extended life as a Sarcophyle may turn you into [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1ED/Hyperphagic%20Sarcophyle.full.jpg this]].
48	* PsychoSerum - The bodily fluids of Barduse are [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1ED/Dragon%20Catheter.full.jpg collected]] and used as [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1ED/Dragon%20Juice.full.jpg Dragon Juice]]. Turns [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1ED/Sleeping%20Guard.full.jpg this]] into [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1ED/Menacing%20Mauler.full.jpg this]].
49	* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld - 31v35 (male ones at least) don't mature beyond what humans would consider puberty until a few dozen years before their death. They often live for thousands of years.
50	* RefugeInAudacity - Oh yes. In this world, dragons are routinely fired from cannons, magic is fueled by twisting doorknobs and smashing extracted teeth, and the entire world is orbited by inhabited, floating chunks of itself.
51	* SchizoTech - The 31v35 can create AI if they feel like it, but their aversion to mass-production means that most of their creations remain one-of-a-kind affairs. Ergo, no such things as television or radios exist, because noone wants to build them.
52	* ShatteredWorld - Luridia is the core of a planet the 31v35 blew up eons ago. One can still reach the pieces floating above it by airship.
53	* {{Stripperiffic}}: All five Staple Resources feature women in some pretty revealing outfits.
54	* SuperpowerLottery - Extensive exposure to voidal science can grant abilities ranging from the useful (telekinesis, telepathy) to the profoundly useless (spontanous combustion).
55	* TronLines - Quite a few Gearsmith creations have these. Here's an [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/SCL/Runic%20Whale.full.jpg example]].
56	* UndeadLaborers: Called Necromorphs, reanimated corpses of debtors reduced to eternal indentured servitude are common among the Banker trade. They are used for the menial labor common to this trope, but also for jobs that are seen as too dangerous or just too outright boring for the living. One card in particular likens bureaucratic undead to an automated phone system ("Can I please speak to a ''living'' person?").
57	* {{Unobtainium}} - Voidal Humour, the stuff that makes magic go, is extremely rare and valuable. It can only be obtained through [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1ED/Ritual%20of%20the%20Shattering%20Teeth.full.jpg Quotidian]] [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1E2/Ritual%20of%20the%20Knob%20&%20Pull.full.jpg Rituals]].
58	* WeHaveReserves - Just ask [[http://www.spoilsinventory.com/pics/1E2/Murderous%20Commander.full.jpg this]] graduate from the [[{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} Zapp Branigan]] school of warfare.
59	* WorldOfPun: Pick five cards at random, and there's a pretty high chance that at least ''one'' involves at least one pun.

Context TabletopGame / TheSpoils