Sims 4 Legacy
Challenge Rules –
Succession Laws
Last Updated November 9, 2022
It is a sad fact…but part of the challenge’s design is
that your founder will eventually die. Even if you
care for them perfectly, the march of time and old
age will eventually take them from you. But worry
not, death is not a failure state. When your founder
eventually dies, you will need to determine who
among their children will become the next heir, the
Leader of the family for the second generation.
The title of heir has many important implications
that will be explained as we go along. How your
family handles succession is actually quite
customizable. Just as a Sim’s personality is made
up of three traits, your succession law is made up
of three components. Think of the succession law
as the “personality” of your family. Choose wisely,
as you must abide by this succession law for your
entire challenge and cannot change it part-way
through.
Not sure which laws to choose? Check out this list
of succession laws ranked by di!culty/complexity!
Gender Law
The first component is Gender. You must pick one
of the following options:
Matriarchy: The Founder must be female.
Only girls are eligible to be named heir unless
there are no female children, at which point
boys become eligible for that generation.
Strict Matriarchy: The Founder must be
female. Only girls are eligible to be named
heir. Male children cannot, under any
circumstance, ever be the heir to the next
generation.
Patriarchy: The Founder must be male. Only
boys are eligible to be named heir unless
there are no male children, at which point girls
become eligible for that generation.
Strict Patriarchy: The Founder must be male.
Only boys are eligible to be named heir.
Female children cannot, under any
circumstance, ever be the heir to the next
generation.
Equality: The Founder may be of either
gender. Both boys and girls are eligible for the
title of heir.
Strict Equality: The founder may be of either
gender. However, only children of the opposite
gender to the founder are eligible to be
named heir. This repeats itself for the next
generation (the next heir must be a di"erent
gender than the previous heir) so that each
generation will have alternating-genders as
heirs.
Bloodline Law
The Second Component is Bloodline law. You must
pick from one of these options:
Strict Traditional : To be eligible to be named
heir, a child must be naturally born from their
previous-generation parents and be able to
trace an unbroken bloodline back to the
founder. Adopted children may never be
named heir.
Traditional: Children who are naturally born
from the previous generation are eligible to be
named heir. Adopted children are ineligible to
be named heir unless there are no naturally
born children, at which point they become
eligible for that generation.
Modern: Both Naturally born and adopted
children are eligible to be named heir.
Foster: Children who are adopted are eligible
to be named heir. Naturally born children are
not eligible to be named heir unless there are
no adopted children, at which point they
become eligible for that generation.
Strict Foster: Only Children who are adopted
are eligible for the title of heir. Naturally born
children may never be heir.
The Gender Law and Bloodline Law serve as a sort
of ‘qualifying’ round. If either law names a child as
ineligible, then they cannot gain the title of heir.
However, just because a child is eligible to be
named heir according to Gender and Bloodline
laws, doesn’t mean they WILL be the heir. The third
category actually picks the heir.
Heir Law
The third Category is the Heir Selection Law. You
must choose from the following options:
First Born: The oldest, by order of joining the
family, eligible living child is named heir.
Last Born: The youngest, by order of joining
the family, eligible living child is named heir.
Living Will: The eligible child with the highest
friendly relationship score with their previous-
generation’s parent will be named heir.
Merit: The child with the most fully completed
aspirations will be named heir. If there is a tie,
the child with the highest level in a single skill
will become heir from among the children who
are tied.
Strength: The first born eligible child becomes
heir by default… but the tile can be forcefully
taken from them if an eligible sibling beats
them in a fight. That sibling may have their
title taken, (or taken back) if they lose a fight
to another eligible sibling.
Random: The title of heir is randomly selected
from the pool of all eligible children. Every
time the eligible pool changes size, The heir
must be re-rolled using the new pool.
Exemplar: At the beginning of the challenge,
name a single trait. This trait must be one of
your founder’s three traits.. Any eligible heir
that has this trait will gain the title of heir. If a
single generation has no children with this
trait follow the First Born rule. If more than
one child has the Exemplar trait then the
oldest child WITH the trait will be the heir.
Democracy: This rule may be used if you are
displaying your Legacy Challenge in some
public way. Either via Let’s Play, Livestream,
blog or other format where people can leave
comment. The heir is chosen by your
viewers/readers from among the pool of
eligible heirs.
Magical Bloodline: Choose the heir by
whoever has the strongest magical bloodline
trait. If there is no magical bloodline trait (ie in
the earlier generations) then the law defaults
to first born until magic is introduced to the
family. If multiple potential heirs have the
same level of magical trait, choose the oldest
one.
Magical Strength: Similar to the Strength law
above, this one requires two or more potential
heirs to have a magical duel. Whoever wins
the duel, is the new heir.
Species Law
This law is only for those of you that have The Sims
4 Get to Work. If you have already started your
Legacy prior to GTW’s release you may add this to
your Legacy. It is optional though.
Xenoarchy – Heirs must alternate between
human and alien
Xenophobic – Heirs cannot be a di"erent
species from the founder
Brood – Heirs must be carried in a pregnancy
by the previous heir, regardless of the heir’s
gender
Tolerant – The species of the child has no
impact on their eligibility for heir status
There are several laws that can change who the
heir is mid-generation. The title of heir can
continue shifting until one of two conditions are
met: 1. The previous-generation heir dies or 2. The
current heir brings in an eligible child for the next
generation. Once one of these two events happen,
the title of heir is ‘locked in’ on whomever currently
holds it and will not change.
Up next is the Gameplay Rules of the challenge.
332 comments
Generation 0: Part 1 | Gray Family Legacy
September 5, 2014 Reply
[…] and welcome to my Sims 4 legacy… Quick
house keeping, I didn’t read through any of the
Sims 4 legacy rules until after starting, so I’m
considering this generation Gen 0 when Gen 1 heir
takes over […]
Ty
September 5, 2014 Reply
yay so excited! think I’m starting tonight. I will
definitely blog this. thanks so much for posting the
rules. I’m ready
Drey
September 13, 2014 Reply
can you post the link to the blog?
Hot Sauce Gaming » The Hot Sauce Sims 4
Legacy Challenge
September 6, 2014 Reply
[…] Next up it’s time to choose your Succession
Laws! For a full list of laws check out the sims
legacy challenge page here […]
grace
September 6, 2014 Reply
where are the succession laws located in the
game?
ImaginingMystic
September 6, 2014 Reply
They aren’t in the game. The laws are only for the
challenge and not an o!cial part of the game.
Freida
October 11, 2014 Reply
So if the laws are not in the game, how is one to
keep track and know that you are still within the
challenge? I am a bit confused and have had to
restart the legacy challenge too many times to try
to figure this out?
ImaginingMystic
October 12, 2014 Reply
You can keep track of everything via the website
and one of the scoresheets that we posted
(https://simslegacychallenge.com/sims-4-legacy-
challenge-scoresheets/). This isn’t an o!cial game
challenge, it’s just something that Pinstar came up
with to add another layer of di!culty to the game.
lukas11xxf
September 7, 2014 Reply
hey am new to this legacy challenge, i wanna ask
what “heir” stands by? and by saying “named heir”
means i have to remain my sim or just call his/her
name like that?
Pinstar Legacy
September 7, 2014 Reply
An “Heir” is the one sim who will continue the
family line down the next generation. So if your
founder has two children, let’s call them Bob and
Sue, only one of them can bring in the 3rd
generation. The Succession laws deal with which
child will be your heir. Siblings who are not heir
commonly have the nickname “Spares” Because if
something terrible happens to the heir and they
die unexpectedly, you’ll still have a backup child
who can continue the family line.
So by “Named Heir” I mean a person is designated
as the heir of their generation.
Ander15fire
October 21, 2014 Reply
when you said only one child can bring in the 3rd
generation do you mean that if my sim has 4
children the heir is the only child that is allowed to
have children period? can children move out of the
household and have their own children?
Pinstar Legacy
October 22, 2014 Reply
Your other children besides the heir (known as
spares) are allowed to have children, but those
children aren’t factored in to determining the heir
of the 3rd generation, only the children of the heir.
Juniper
September 7, 2014 Reply
Question: for the Merit Heir Law do we determine
this based on their aspirations and skills as
children or as teenagers?
ImaginingMystic
September 7, 2014 Reply
I believe it’s both.
jalode
September 7, 2014 Reply
So I’m having issue understanding this part. I’ve
chosen strict equality and strict traditional. For the
Heir Law. If I choose first born. It’ll be the first born
that is of the opposite sex that was birth by their
heir or the heirs spouse if heir is male. Correct?
ImaginingMystic
September 7, 2014 Reply
Yup, sounds right!
Neisa
September 7, 2014 Reply
Can’t wait to give it a try…I’m currently making up a
few pages for me to print o" and keep track of
things as I go a long. (A checklist if you will) If
anyone is interested in a copy please reply and give
me a way to contact you and I’ll send you a copy. I’ll
post it on Mod the Sims when I’m completely done!
You can find me on Mod the Sims under the name
Neisa. I don’t have any downloads there yet but
this will be there soon!
Neisa
Lauren
September 10, 2014 Reply
Hey Neisa,
if you could make me one of the checklists that
would be awesome :)) if not, thats cool
[email protected] my email
Jessica
September 11, 2014 Reply
Indra
September 22, 2014 Reply
Mary
September 24, 2014 Reply
If you could send me a copy, would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you. Mary
[email protected] Danielle
September 24, 2014 Reply
Hey Neisa! I would like a copy too please!
[email protected], thank you!!!!
Sara
September 27, 2014 Reply
Can u send me a copy 2??
[email protected] Roseann
September 30, 2014 Reply
Could you please sent me a copy to so i can get
started..my email is
[email protected] Katie Sutli!e-Dunn
October 1, 2014 Reply
I would also love a checklist please and thank you.
Neisa
October 2, 2014 Reply
Hi Katie! I’d love to send you one but I need your
email address. Or you can go to this link and
download it.
http://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=533430
Ti!any
October 1, 2014 Reply
Just decided I was going to try this challenge!
Could you send me a copy? I couldn’t find your
post on Mod the Sims. My email is
[email protected] Neisa
October 2, 2014 Reply
Thank you everyone who has requested my
checklist and info page! You can download it at the
modthesims.info page:
http://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=533430
If you want anything added or changed please let
me know!
~Neisa
Mary
October 2, 2014 Reply
Please send me your list as well. I tried
downloading them from Mod The Sims but
couldn’t because of cookies, I guess. I am
interested in getting started in the legacy
challenge.
Mary
October 2, 2014 Reply
my email is [email protected]
Katya
October 4, 2014 Reply
I would also love a checklist please and thank you.
[email protected] Autumn
October 27, 2014 Reply
me too please.
[email protected]
Maddie
September 7, 2014 Reply
If I choose the Living Will option, at what time
would I determine the heir? Would I check the
relationships the moment the eldest child becomes
YA, the moment the youngest child becomes YA or
some other time?
Pinstar Legacy
September 7, 2014 Reply
The living will option is actually a pretty fluid
designation. The heir is constantly shifting based
on who the previous gen heir likes the most.
However, if a child is, for the moment, named heir,
and they quickly get a spouse and produce the
next generation, then they lock in their status as
heir even if their parent later favors a di"erent
sibling. The death of the parent will also leave the
title of heir to whomever was last holding it.
Arizona
September 7, 2014 Reply
Hi! I’m doing translation of your challenge rules for
mixei.ru site. Could you please clarify what do you
mean by “single skill” in Living Will rule in Heir Law
category?
ImaginingMystic
September 8, 2014 Reply
From Pinstar at work:
The rule only considers the highest level skill. So if
child A has a 6 in cooking and a 5 skill in
EVERYTHING else…but child B has a 7 in Piano and
NO other skills, child B would still get the title
because the 7 beats their sibling’s 6, even though
they are far less skilled when you look at total skill
points.
In the event that you have two tied skills (say, a
level 10 skill for each sibling) then you consider
their next highest skill, and so on until the tie is
broken.
FyreFlyeRush
September 8, 2014 Reply
If I do a Strict Matriarch, and the first born is Male,
does that immediately break the Challenge? Or,
would it become First Born Female?
(Forgive duplicate posts, my IE just went wonky)
Pinstar Legacy
September 8, 2014 Reply
Not at all. Strict matriarchy would only care about
the girls, so you could have, say, 5 boys and then 1
girl and that 1 girl would be your heir. The only way
the challenge would break is if your sim grows too
old to bear children and is unable to produce a girl
at all.
Charity
September 8, 2014 Reply
I’m puzzling over this potential scenario. My rules
are matriarchy, strict traditional, exemplar (geek).
Say that in gen 2, I have two girls. G2D1 is not a
geek. G2D2 is a geek. G2D2 is heir at this point.
The founder dies. G2D2 is locked in as heir. G2D2
has a son. This is the heir presumptive. Then G2D1
has a daughter. G2D2’s son is still heir because
G2D1’s line was locked out of the succession as
soon as the founder died, right?
Pinstar Legacy
September 8, 2014 Reply
Bingo! You have it exactly correct.
Laura
September 15, 2014 Reply
I’m doing the same rules as Charity and I’m
curious… My sim has 3 boys, one which has the
geek trait, and has another one on the way. IF my
sim has a girl, is the girl the heir or would the
rightful heir still be the boy with the geek trait?
Which law trumps the other? lol Sorry if this has
already been asked. Thanks for your help!
Pinstar Legacy
September 18, 2014 Reply
Think of gender and bloodline law as the qualifying
rounds and the heir law the final round.
If you are going Matriarchy, the MOMENT a girl hits
the scene, the three boys are no longer qualified to
be heirs, thus the fact that one is a geek isn’t even
considered because he is not eligible. If there
wasn’t a girl in that generation, then all three boys
would be eligible and the Geek would get the title
due to the exemplar law.
Virchu
March 23, 2018
Pinstar Legacy you say: “The third category actually
picks the heir”and “the heir law the final round”
So, in this case, the geek trait trumps over the
gender law, because matriarchy is a lew of gender.
Then the boy who has the geek trait trumps over
the girl. Am I wrong?
Meet our founder: Anemone Wol! | The Wol!
Legacy
September 8, 2014 Reply
[…] Just a couple business matters to address
before we get started. Namely, our rules of
succession! […]
Carrie
September 9, 2014 Reply
I was trying for a son to carry on the family line
and after two tries resulting with girls I tried again
and BAM triplets. Thank goodness one of those
was a boy. I swear at least one of them was crying
24/7. I was wondering though, when my heir
became a young adult and moved in his girlfriend,
once she had their first child can his sisters have
kids of their own while in the household?
Lulu
September 10, 2014 Reply
Hello,
I am not sure if I totally understood the rules.
I am about to make a family where the rules are:
Strict Patriarchy – Strict Traditional – First born.
My question: if I get a boy who could become the
heir but he dies before it happens, can the second
born boy be the heir?
ImaginingMystic
September 10, 2014 Reply
Yes. The next boy in line would be set to inherit if
the first dies. If you have, say, 3 boys, and the first
dies, then the second son would claim the title as
heir, not the third son. That way it ensures that the
first born always inherits.
Lala
September 11, 2014 Reply
I’m really curious about the Strength Heir. For
siblings to get to the point of fighting, can we
safely assume that they would have to hate each
other?
ImaginingMystic
September 12, 2014 Reply
From Pinstar at work:
