Fiduspawn is a card game on both Alternia and Beforus, of which Tavros and Rufioh Nitram are both players.
Bronze Page ♫ from coloUrs and mayhem: Universe A references a troll TV program named after or relating to fiduspawn, possibly implying the existence of an animated adaptation like Pokémon's. Lyrics relating to a land where friends defend one another (evidently someplace away from Alternia) and to a character who fights for the rights of fairies may in turn relate to the content of fiduspawn or its adaptations.
Concept and creation[]
Fiduspawn draws influence from two radically different sources, being real-life monster collecting games such as Pokémon, and the Alien series of science fiction horror films, whose iconic method of reproduction serves as the main method of summoning and breeding new fiduspawn monsters.
The emergence of fiduspawn from a plush host is also similar to the spawning of Lord English from Doc Scratch, with Scratch himself later being referred to as a “host plush”
.
Etymology[]
Fiduspawn is likely a portmanteau of fīdus, from Latin meaning 'faithful' or 'trustworthy' (as in "command faithful steed") and spawn; it might also be read as a corruption of fetus spawn. Oogonibomb is a portmanteau of oogonium, a kind of cell in the development of certain female fetuses, and bomb.
The game[]
Unlike most card games on Earth, a game of fiduspawn involves actual monsters. A "match" is kickstarted by the dispatch of an oogonibomb, which hatches into a “fidusucker”. This creature attaches itself to a “HOST PLUSH” (and then proceeds to scuttle off), which then explodes open into a monster. This monster then performs spawntechs for the player, and can gain levels and be bred. The “manufacturer recommends that you only hatch some” to avoid having “way too many fiduspawn crawling around”.
Unlike Pokémon, in which a monster is always born in its least developed form (usually called a Baby Pokémon), fiduspawn seem to be spawned at different stages of development; while Tavros is able to spawn a “Horsaroni”, Meenah Peixes instead spawns a “Horsaponi” which must be trained into a Horsaroni. Also unlike Pokémon, more developed forms of fiduspawn “gain no measurable advantages in combat” and change little in appearance, only growing “slightly bigger”. Adversely, and reflective of real-life animals, more developed fiduspawn require more feeding.
Origins[]
In A6I3, Horuss Zahhak calls fiduspawn (or "“Fiddlespoon”") one of the “foreign card games you” (Rufioh) “seem to like”, implying it may be of Alterniasian origin.
Andrew Hussie suggests that fiduspawn is “the game of choice for many brown bloods” with the power of animal communion[1]. This may imply the game helps in the training of roles that involve working with monsters, such as that of a cavalreaper or summoner.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Andrew Hussie. "This, frankly, is a bit gross. How about we just kick off Tavros's intro with a ton of graphically unpleasant gooey alien shit? Why not. It also establishes his animal communion power, which, to be fair, is a pretty good justification for playing Fiduspawn, no matter how lame Vriska thinks it is. Could it be the game of choice for many brown bloods, who also happen to have this ability? No wonder she prefers to pull Tavros into a game that grants her powers a major advantage, rather than his. Wow, she is so smart." Homestuck: Book 5: Act 5 Act 2 Part 1, p.120.