The Sims 2 Random Legacy Challenge Rules

These are my Random Legacy Challenge rules for The Sims 2. In this challenge, everything is random – from your Sim’s appearance to their career and life path. The objective is to make it through 10 generations in a single family.

I know what you’re thinking. It’s not really much fun to play a single family for several generations in The Sims 2 because no one else in the neighborhood ages! Well, that’s all changed thanks to the new story progression mod by Lazy Duchess. 

Recommended Mods

I recommend using the following mods for this challenge:

• Sims 2 Story Progression – Still in Beta at the time I’m writing this post. 
• Sim Blender – Used to randomize some aspects of personality. 
• No Inheritance when Elder Dies – Increases difficulty, as you’ll no longer get the free money when an elder family member dies. 
• Semester Changes – Shortens University length to 8 days instead of 24.

And don’t forget to check out my Sims 2 recommended mods list for many more mods to improve your gameplay! 

Creating a Founder

The first step is creating your founder Sim, but remember to keep everything random – except life stage. Your founder should start life as an adult. 

Name & Gender

When you open CAS, the gender of your founder is the gender of whatever random Sim populates.

Choose a name for your founder by using a random name generator. I like Namey because it generates a first name and surname (and you can choose common or rare names). Remember, you must take the first name generated. No rerolls! 

Appearance

Now randomize appearance. This isn’t as easy in The Sims 2 as it is in the later games, because we don’t have a randomizer for each separate category. You have a few different options depending on how much effort you want to put in.

• Option #1 – Press the randomize Sim button in CAS once, which randomizes all aspects of your Sim’s appearance (including clothing). Stick with whatever you get. 
• Option #2 – Randomize each individual appearance category by counting how many options you have in your game and rolling a number on random.org to choose. For example, if you have 20 different skin tones, roll a number between 1 – 20 to decide. Do the same for:
  • Fitness/Fatness
  • Head
  • Hair Color
  • Hair Style
  • Full Face
  • Brow
  • Eyes
  • Eye Color
  • Nose
  • Mouth
  • Chin
  • Eyebrows
  • Facial Hair
  • Clothing for all Categories
• Option #3 – Randomize each individual appearance category as outlined above, but choose your Sim’s clothing instead of randomizing it. 

No matter which option you choose, you must accept whatever you get without making any changes. Remember, part of the challenge is working with the random rolls you get. Challenge yourself to make it work. If you roll a very ugly Sim, you can make this a challenge to breed them until they make pretty offspring. 

Personality

To get your founder’s random personality follow these steps:

1. Roll a number between 1 – 6 to choose an aspiration. (Roll 1 – 5 if you don’t have Nightlife.)
2. Roll a number between 1 – 12 to choose a zodiac sign.
3. Roll a number between 1 – 34 to choose your Sim’s first turn-on.
4. Roll a number between 1 – 33 to choose your Sim’s second turn-on.
5. Roll a number between 1- 32 to choose your Sim’s third turn-on. 

Don’t worry about personality points right now. You’ll randomize these in-game using the Sim Blender. Just use the default given by the zodiac sign you roll. 

Moving In

1. Count the number of premade neighborhoods you have in your game. If you have the Ultimate Collection or all expansion packs, you should have six. Roll a number between 1 – 6 to choose the ‘hood you’ll be playing your legacy in. If you’re already playing the neighborhood you rolled and you don’t want to play a legacy family there, no worries! You can make a copy of that neighborhood just for your legacy. 
2. Place an empty 5×6 lot (the largest lot size available) anywhere in the neighborhood.
3. Move your Sim onto the lot, which costs $18,500. They will have $1,500 remaining – which is all they can live on until they earn more. Buy a bed, Sim Blender, and anything else you can afford.

In-Game Randomization

After moving your founder in, use the Sim Blender to randomize their personality points and one true hobby. Click on the Sim Blender and choose:

1. More > Personality > Randomize. This will randomize your Sim’s personality points. 
2. More > Personality > Sync Genetic Personality. Don’t skip this step! It will make your Sim’s new random personality genetic.
3. Traits > Sim Name > Hobbies > The One Hobby > Randomize. This will randomize your Sim’s One True Hobby. 

Interests do not need to be randomized, as they are already 

Earning Money

Now that your Sim is on their own, they’ll need money. Your Sim may take a regular job or begin an alternative means of earning a living. Roll a number between 1 – 37 to choose. Reroll if you get a career from an expansion pack you don’t have. 

1. Adventurer
2. Architecture
3. Artist
4. Athletic
5. Business
6. Criminal
7. Culinary
8. Dance
9. Education
10. Entertainment
11. Gamer
12. Intelligence
13. Journalism
14. Law
15. Law Enforcement
16. Medicine
17. Military
18. Music
19. Natural Scientist
20. Oceanography
21. Paranormal
22. Politics
23. Science
24. Show Business
25. Slacker
26. Self-Employed Painter – Sell paintings you paint with the easel.
27. Self-Employed Sculptor – Sell objects you sculpt with the pottery wheel.
28. Self-Employed Flower Arranger – Sell bouquets you make using the floral workstation.
29. Self-Employed Seamstress – Sell items you sew with the sewing machine.
30. Self-Employed Musician – Play for tips. 
31. Self-Employed Robot Maker – Sell robots made on the robot crafting station.
32. Self-Employed Toy Maker – Sell toys made with the toybench.
33. Self-Employed Gardener – Sell produce grown in garden plots and from orchard trees. 
34. Self-Employed Fisherman – Sell fish caught from a pond.
35. Self-Employed Baker – Sell homemade baked goods.
36. Self-Employed Stargazer – Find undiscovered stars. 
37. Self-Employed Mechanic – Restore and sell junk cars.

If you roll a regular career, use the Sim Blender or any other method you like to give your founder Sim their job. But this is only for your founder. Future generations must get a job from the newspaper or computer, the old-fashioned way. 

Self-Employed Sims may open a home business to sell their goods when they are financially able, or they may sell them through the catalog. 

Play Your Legacy

Now it’s time to play! Your primary objective in every generation is to produce the heir to the next generation (by whatever means necessary). You can use any method you like for choosing an heir – first born, oldest male or female child, etc. I randomize the heir for extra randomness. 

General Rules

• Your family must stay on the same lot for the entire challenge.
• Each generation’s heir will take over the family home, and any spares (brothers and sisters of the heir) must be moved out on their own upon aging up to adults.
• Spares get $20,000 to move into a starter lot, which you may furnish for them if you like. But you cannot play them. After moving them in, immediately return to the legacy lot. Story Progression will take over for the remainder of their lives.

If you use the No20khandout mod: Use the familyfunds cheat to give your spares $20k when they move out. The money does not come from the legacy family, and any money spares take with them should be returned to the legacy family using familyfunds. 

Career Rules

• If your Sim rolls a self-employed career and cannot afford the equipment needed (such as a musical instrument or workbench), you may dig for treasure on the lot to earn enough for the equipment ONLY. After that, you may only earn money from the career. 
• Your Sim may not change careers after becoming an adult.
• When your Sim marries, their partner may keep the job they had upon moving in. If they were unemployed, roll from the career list above to choose a career for them.
• Once your heir ages to an adult, roll from the list to choose a career for them. You can also roll careers for any spares before you move them out, but it’s not required.
• You may roll again for a career if any of your heirs roll the same career as a previous heir.
• After your founder Sim, all other Sims must get a job from the newspaper or computer. No cheating! 
• Teens may get a job if you like, but you must choose randomly. Roll a number between 1 – 25 to choose from the career list above. You may roll again for an adult job once they become adults, or you can choose to keep them in the same career track.

Family Rules

• Your founder and heirs may marry anyone they choose – townies, playables, or NPCs. Once married, they must move the partner onto the legacy lot. You may also move in a single romantic partner without getting married if you choose. No roommates or friends may move in!
• Your founder or heir may remain single and raise the next generation’s heir alone if you choose. But this will make things harder without the extra income. 
• Alien abduction babies are fine and can count as an heir.
• Adoptions are fine and you can use adopted children as heirs if you like.
• Spares who did not go to college have 24 hours after aging to adults before you must move them out. Use this time to cement any romantic relationship you have in mind and find them a job (optional). 

Money Rules

• When your founder and/or heirs get married, the spouse must move onto the legacy lot with them. You may keep any money they bring in.
• If your Sims are given gifts by other Sims, you may keep them or store them in the household inventory. You cannot sell them for simoleons. 
• The career you roll is the only way your Sims can earn money. They may not sell paintings, garden, dig for treasure, etc. to earn money unless they roll that as their career.

Pet Rules

• Your Sims may have pets if they can afford them. 
• Pets may have jobs if you like. Roll a number between 1 – 3 to choose:
  1. Security
  2. Service
  3. Show Biz

Randomization Rules

• When babies age up to toddlers, randomize their one true hobby with the Sim Blender. Hobbies are generated based on personality, so this is more random. If you use my sub-hobby system, roll to choose a random sub-hobby.
• When children age up to teens, randomize their aspiration, turn-ons, and turn-offs. Leave their personality and interests as they are, since the personality is genetic and interests will already be randomized. 
• When your Sims age up, do not change their clothing and hair. It is randomized for you upon age up. Whatever your Sim is wearing is what they must wear for this entire life stage. The only exception is if they roll a want to buy new clothes. Then, you may buy them one new article of clothing of your choice. Make it count!

University Rules

• You may send spares to college on the last day of their teen lifespan and allow story progression to move them through. I roll randomly to decide which spares go to college. 
• Your heir may also attend college, but you must play them the entire time until they graduate, then move them back to the legacy lot. 
• To choose a major for your heir, roll a number between 1 – 11 and select from the following list:
  1. Art
  2. Biology
  3. Drama
  4. Economics
  5. History
  6. Literature
  7. Mathematics
  8. Philosophy
  9. Physics
  10. Politcal Science
  11. Psychology

It doesn’t matter if your Sim’s major does not match the job you rolled for them. This is the Random Legacy, so that’s part of the challenge!