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A '''content familiar''' is a special type of familiar that drops items that may be used to access content (zones, monsters, items, etc.). From 2006 to 2011, these familiars were released every year as the June Item of the Month in [[Mr. Store]], while from 2012 to 2015, they instead appeared in Mr. Store year-round as one of the yearly familiars.

A '''spleen familiar''' is a familiar that provides a way to fill [[spleen]] and gain adventures for it. The content familiars from 2007's Green Pixie to 2010's Rogue Program are also spleen familiars, but in 2011, the previous link between content and spleen familiars was broken, with June 2011's familiar, the [[Li'l Xenomorph]], providing extra zones but no spleen items, and August 2011's [[Pair of Stomping Boots]] providing spleen items without unlocking extra zones. From 2012 to 2015, a spleen familiar, distinct from the content familiar, was also offered in Mr. Store year-round.

==History==
The content familiar trend began in 2006 with the release of the [[Astral Badger]]. This otherwise underwhelming familiar dropped up to five [[astral mushroom|astral mushrooms]] a day, which unlocked a new zone for adventuring: [[A Journey to the Center of Your Mind]]. While on an Astral Trip, as adventuring in the zone was called, players could encounter monsters that dropped useful items, as well as the [[Violet Fog]], a choice-adventure maze that could result in stat gain, a useful consumable item, or a piece of equipment.

In 2007, the [[Green Pixie]] was released. Like the Badger before it, the Pixie dropped "gateway items" that unlocked content-- in this case, {{plural|tiny bottle of absinthe}} that unlocked [[The Worm Wood]]-- but the Pixie had two edges over the Badger. First, it was a full-fledged [[Baby Gravy Fairy|Fairy]] in addition to attacking and unlocking content, giving it use in an ascension context. Secondly, within The Worm Wood, players could acquire {{plural|not-a-pipe}}, consumable items that gave adventures in exchange for usage of their spleens. This second improvement made the spleen, previously damaged mostly by [[Pulverize|wads]] and [[Breathetastic™ Premium Canned Air|canned air]], a third viable option for adventure-gaining consumables.

Once the spleen familiar precedent had been set, there was no turning back, at least not for four years. The Powers That Be, hesitant to give Pixie owners an insurmountable advantage in ascension, released another spleen familiar in 2008, the [[Llama Lama]], thus cementing a [http://forums.kingdomofloathing.com/vb/showpost.php?p=3163482&postcount=36 trend] of releasing spleen item-granting familiars of the month in June. Each year's familiar provides a new interpretation of the theme, but they all drop tradeable "gateway items" that provide access to new content, and they all provide access to consumable spleen items. The PTB broke this trend in June 2011 by releasing the [[Li'l Xenomorph]], whose drops allow access to a new area but contain no way to get spleen items, followed in August 2011 by the [[Pair of Stomping Boots]], which can generate consumable spleen items but does not unlock any new zones.

Since spleen and content familiars had become so important to the yearly lineup of items of the month, starting in 2012, the annual Mr. Store familiars were reworked to be spleen and content familiars, in addition to traditional [[Blood-Faced Volleyball|Volleyball]]/[[Leprechaun]] and [[Baby Gravy Fairy|Fairy]]/[[Leprechaun]] hybrids. The [[Blavious Kloop]] was a Fairy/Leprechaun hybrid that dropped a content unlocker, and the [[Bloovian Groose]] was a Volleyball/Leprechaun hybrid that dropped spleen items. This trend continued through 2015--see the table below.

The cycle of spleen and content familiars ended with the introduction of the 2016 Items-of-the-Year. The [[Rockin' Robin]] familiar is a [[Blood-Faced Volleyball|volleyball]]/[[Baby Gravy Fairy|fairy]] hybrid that drops a non-spleen consumable item. Jick stated "[[Standard restrictions|Standard]] means that we can just phase out turns for spleen being a significant thing," and that he intends for future Mr. Store derived spleen items to be potions with limited daily use rather than a source of adventures. ([http://forums.kingdomofloathing.com/vb/showpost.php?p=4805810&postcount=1 Source]) Further, there was no content unlocking familiar, replaced by the [[Batfellow comic]], a single-use content unlocker sold for one [[Uncle Buck]].

==Table of previous content and spleen familiars==
The following table provides at-a-glance information about the various content and spleen familiars. For more in-depth information, visit the familiars' specific pages.

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1px" style="text-align:center; border-collapse:collapse; margin:1em auto;"
|- | style="background-color: #EFEFEF"
! Year
! Familiar
! Primary function
! Gateway item
! Gateway item acquired by
! Content unlocked
! Spleen item
! Spleen item acquired by
|-
| 2006
| {{StackItem|Astral Badger}}
| [[File:Clobber.gif|link=Familiars by type#Enemy damage]]<br />Attacks like a [[MagiMechTech MicroMechaMech|MicroMechaMech]]
| {{StackItem|astral mushroom}}
| 5/day: Randomly dropped after combat
| [[A Journey to the Center of Your Mind]]
|colspan=2| 
|-
| 2007
| {{StackItem|Green Pixie}}
| [[File:chest2.gif|link=Familiars by type#Increases item drop]] [[File:Clobber.gif|link=Familiars by type#Enemy damage]] <br />Increases item drop like a [[Baby Gravy Fairy|Fairy]], attacks the opponent
| {{StackItem|tiny bottle of absinthe}}
| 5/day: Randomly dropped after combat
| [[The Worm Wood]]
| {{StackItem|not-a-pipe}}
| Adventuring in [[The Worm Wood]]
|-
| 2008
| {{StackItem|Llama Lama}}
| [[File:Familiar12.gif|link=Familiars by type#Stat gain]]<br />Increases stat gain like a half-weight [[Blood-Faced Volleyball|Volleyball]]
| {{StackItem|llama lama gong}}
| 5/day: Randomly dropped after combat
| [[The Gong Has Been Bung]]
| {{StackItem|glimmering roc feather}}
| Fighting in [[Form of...Bird!|bird form]]
|-
| 2009
| {{StackItem|Baby Sandworm}}
| [[File:Familiar18.gif|link=Familiars by type#Stat gain]]<br />Increases stat gain like a [[Hovering Sombrero|Sombrero]]
| {{StackItem|empty agua de vida bottle}}
| Using an [[agua de vida]]
| [[Memories, in the Corners of your Mind]]
| {{StackItem|agua de vida}}
| 5/day: Randomly dropped after combat
|-
| 2010
| {{StackItem|Rogue Program}}
| [[File:Mpoints.gif|link=Familiars by type#Restores MP]]<br />Damages enemy to restore MP like a [[Star Starfish|Starfish]]
| {{StackItem|Game Grid token}}
| 5/day: Randomly dropped after combat
| [[The Game Grid Arcade]]
| {{StackItem|coffee pixie stick}}
| Exchanged for 10 [[Game Grid ticket|Game Grid tickets]] (1 token can be exchanged for 10 tickets)
|- 
| 2011<br /><small>June</small>
| {{StackItem|Li'l Xenomorph}}
| [[File:Familiar12.gif|link=Familiars by type#Stat gain]]<br />Increases stat gains like a [[Blood-Faced Volleyball|volleyball]], increases drops with equipment.
| {{StackItem|transporter transponder}}
| 5/day: Randomly dropped after combat
| [[Dad, I'm in Space!]]
|colspan=2| 
|- 
| 2011<br /><small>August</small>
| {{StackItem|Pair of Stomping Boots}}
| [[File:chest2.gif|link=Familiars by type#Increases item drop]] [[File:Clobber.gif|link=Familiars by type#Enemy damage]]<br />Increases item drop like a [[Baby Gravy Fairy|Fairy]], attacks the opponent, provides free runaways
|colspan=3| 
| [[File:Paste1.gif]]<br />[[Release the Boots|various flavors of paste]]
| Charging and using the [[Release the Boots]] skill on non-boss enemies, up to 7 times a day
|- 
| 2012<br /><small>yearly</small>
| {{StackItem|Bloovian Groose}}
| [[File:Familiar12.gif|link=Familiars by type#Stat gain]] [[File:Meat.gif|link=Familiars by type#Increases meat drop]]<br />Increases stat gains like a [[Blood-Faced Volleyball|volleyball]], increases meat drops like a [[Leprechaun|leprechaun]]
|colspan=3| 
| {{StackItem|groose grease}}
| 5/day: Randomly dropped after combat
|- 
| 2012<br /><small>yearly</small>
| {{StackItem|Blavious Kloop}}
| [[File:chest2.gif|link=Familiars by type#Increases item drop]] [[File:Meat.gif|link=Familiars by type#Increases meat drop]]<br />Increases item drops like a [[Baby Gravy Fairy|fairy]], increases meat drops like a [[Leprechaun|leprechaun]]
| {{StackItem|devilish folio}}
| 5/day: Randomly dropped after combat
| [[The Suburbs of Dis]]
|colspan=2| 
|-
| 2013<br /><small>yearly</small>
| {{StackItem|Unconscious Collective}}
| [[File:Familiar12.gif|link=Familiars by type#Stat gain]] [[File:Meat.gif|link=Familiars by type#Increases meat drop]]<br />Increases stat gains like a [[Blood-Faced Volleyball|volleyball]], increases meat drops like a [[Leprechaun|leprechaun]]
|colspan=3| 
| {{StackItem|Unconscious Collective Dream Jar}}
| 5/day: Randomly dropped after combat
|- 
| 2013<br /><small>yearly</small>
| {{StackItem|Angry Jung Man}}
| [[File:chest2.gif|link=Familiars by type#Increases item drop]] [[File:Meat.gif|link=Familiars by type#Increases meat drop]]<br />Increases item drops like a [[Baby Gravy Fairy|fairy]], increases meat drops like a [[Leprechaun|leprechaun]]
| {{StackItem|psychoanalytic jar}}
| 1/day: Randomly dropped after combat
| Numerous characters' psychoses<br /><small>([[The Captain of the Gourd's Psychoses|1]]-[[The Crackpot Mystic's Psychoses|2]]-[[Jick's Obsessions|3]]-[[The Meatsmith's Brainspace|4]]-[[The Old Man's Past|5]]-[[The Pretentious Artist's Obsession|6]]-[[The Suspicious-Looking Guy's Shady Past|7]])
|colspan=2| 
|-
| 2014<br /><small>yearly</small>
| {{StackItem|Grim Brother}}
| [[File:Familiar12.gif|link=Familiars by type#Stat gain]] [[File:Meat.gif|link=Familiars by type#Increases meat drop]]<br />Increases stat gains like a [[Blood-Faced Volleyball|volleyball]], increases meat drops like a [[Leprechaun|leprechaun]]
|colspan=3| 
| {{StackItem|grim fairy tale}}
| 5/day: Randomly dropped after combat
|- 
| 2014<br /><small>yearly</small>
| {{StackItem|Grimstone Golem}}
| [[File:chest2.gif|link=Familiars by type#Increases item drop]] [[File:Meat.gif|link=Familiars by type#Increases meat drop]]<br />Increases item drops like a [[Baby Gravy Fairy|fairy]], increases meat drops like a [[Leprechaun|leprechaun]]
| {{StackItem|grimstone mask}}
| 1/day: Randomly dropped after combat
| Become the antagonist in different fairy tales
|colspan=2| 
|-
| 2015<br /><small>yearly</small>
| {{StackItem|Golden Monkey}}
| [[File:Familiar12.gif|link=Familiars by type#Stat gain]] [[File:Meat.gif|link=Familiars by type#Increases meat drop]]<br />Increases stat gains like a [[Blood-Faced Volleyball|volleyball]], increases meat drops like a [[Leprechaun|leprechaun]]
|colspan=3| 
| {{StackItem|powdered gold}}
| 5/day: Randomly dropped after combat
|- 
| 2015<br /><small>yearly</small>
| {{StackItem|Adventurous Spelunker}}
| [[File:chest2.gif|link=Familiars by type#Increases item drop]] [[File:Meat.gif|link=Familiars by type#Increases meat drop]]<br />Increases item drops like a [[Baby Gravy Fairy|fairy]], increases meat drops like a [[Leprechaun|leprechaun]]
| {{StackItem|Tales of Spelunking (item)}}
| 1/day: Randomly dropped after combat
| [[Tales of Spelunking (area)|Spelunking]]
|colspan=2| 
|-
|}

[[Category:Familiars]]