Challenge Instructions

I have designed a new challenge to play in the Sims 3.  I'm calling it:  A Medieval Legacy- From Outlaw to King.  But I will be play testing this as I write this blog, so I may change certain parts as I go along.  I'll also post the changes as comments to this posting, so they'll be easier to find.  The Challenge:  To take a sim family living as worthless, penniless outlaws in a medieval world, and through accomplishing several stages, gradually raise the families status in the society until one of my original sim’s descendants are crowned King of this land.

I have The Sims 3, plus All expansion packs, though if you wanted to play along, you'd only need to have The Sims 3, plus one  of either: World Adventures, Generations, or Island Paradise, because these have tents or sleeping bags, necessary for the homeless stages of the game.  Also, my game has the NRAAS: Master Controller Mod, which I use to keep track of the family I deem Royalty.  It may be possible to figure out a way to play without it, but at present, it is necessary.  You can find that mod here:  http://nraas.wikispaces.com/MasterController                

My Family:

I’ll start with a married pair of young adults, male and female, and buy them an empty lot.  Which lot won’t matter because for the first stage my Sims will be virtually homeless.  I’ll buy the couple a pair of sleeping bags, a fire pit, and some chairs to place around it.  This avoids the whole chair appearing out of nowhere phenomenon.  Then I’ll use cheat codes to get rid of all of their money. 

Royalty:

I will be creating a young couple for this neighborhood and calling them Royals.  I will use NRAAS Master Controller to keep an eye on this family’s tree and each generation name one child the King of the land.  I will also use it to see what this Ruler’s traits are, because the current ruler’s traits will potentially enact unique Laws that will affect my sims through the challenge.  If the King has a daughter, she will only inherit the throne when she has no brothers, and the throne automatically goes to her Husband when she marries.  If the king has no children, I may find a brother, or if necessary a brother in law, to inherit the throne.  If no relations exist to inherit the throne, I will remake another noble pair and place them in the town, and as Invading Nobles, they will be treated as the King and Queen.  Also, until my sims reach the status of a Noble, they may not marry the King, or any of his children.  They may marry a niece or nephew of the current king, or more distant relations who are giving up their right to the throne.  When I create the King, or any Invading Nobles, I will randomly choose his traits.  I may throughout the challenge use Master Controller to change the Royal Family’s clothing, but I will not change their traits.

A new king may inherit the throne either when the old king dies, or when there is a legal heir at the age of young adult or older, at the player's choice.  The new king must be a son or son-in-law to the old king for him to inherit the throne before the previous king's death.  

The Town: 

The exact design of the town is not important.  I will use a custom world of medieval design.  At minimum this world must have the following rabbit holes:  City Hall, Military Base, School, and Grocery Store.  Also recommended is:  a Subway Station and bar venues with stages and musical instruments, consignment store and Equestrian Center.  But all other rabbit holes and lot types are allowed.  I’d also recommend adding a couple community lots with cribs, as it will make raising children in the first couple of stages easier.  Another change I’d make would be to add a community lot that is either an Island Paradise Resort, or a community lot built with beds as an inn.

I’ll also modify, or add a special community lot to add a dungeon to the town.  This dungeon can be on any community lot.  It must contain at least one “cell.”  This cell must be completely enclosed by walls or fence, accessible by a single door or gate.  Inside it I will furnish it with only a few basic essentials.  It may only have these Items:  a single bed, a bench, a table and chair, a toilet, a sink, and a bathtub.  It will not have any skill building items. 

I will need a couple of lots labeled as either “Campgrounds” or “Fishing Holes” in the world too.  These lots must be minimally built on.  I’d allow the following:  Plants, rocks, trees, Ponds, spawners, lighting, miscellaneous deco, benches, toilets, sinks, and any build mode items.  No other buy mode items are allowed.

I will also need to have at least one mansion or castle type home in the neighborhood.  It must be modified so it has a distinguishable servant’s quarters.  A Kitchen and a laundry room may be attached too, as part of the servant’s quarters.  I may also add a horse stable and a garden to this home because they would allow me to earn extra points at a certain stage.

The Law of the Land:

Remember that lot I’ve added a dungeon to above.  If any of my sims break one of the “Laws of the Land” I must have a sim in my family spend time in one of these cells.   It doesn’t matter which sim broke the law, someone in the family must go to jail.  Once per 24 hour day, a single family member of a prisoner may visit.  They may enter the cell, and socialize with the prisoner.   At this time food or other items may be passed between the visitor and the prisoner.  Items may not be passed into the prisoner's inventory at any other time while they are in jail.

Infant and Toddler sims may not be arrested, and are exempt from all laws.  Child and teen sims are not, except where specified.  A child or teen sim may also be imprisoned for a crime, and if so, they must skip school for that day.  The prison lot may also contain a crib, located outside of the cells.  If a parent caring for an infant or toddler is arrested, they may place the child in the crib or on the ground prior to entering a cell.  When the child has a pressing need, causing a negative moodlet, the parent may leave their cell to care for the child, and only to care for the child.  Then they must go back to their cell.

The following laws are enacted for the whole challenge:

·        No Outlaws Allowed- Any Outlaw caught on City Property during the daylight will be spending 24 hours in jail.  Also any Outlaw caught raiding people’s trash or sleeping on the same lot 2 days / nights in a row will spend 24 hours in jail. A family member of an outlaw may only visit the outlaw prisoner after dark, when there are more lenient guards on duty.  See the Outlaw section for more information.
·        Servant’s may not eat their master’s food, drink his nectar, or use their personal property.  Any servant who does so will spend 24 hours in jail.

·        Any Peasant not paying their lord his portion of earnings by the end of the week, must have a family member spend 24 hours in jail

·        Any Merchant-Noble who doesn’t pay taxes by the end of the week must have a family member spend 24 hours in jail.  See each stages description for the exact amount owed.

These other laws become enacted if the current king has the associated Trait.   If I break any of these laws, my sim goes to jail for 24 hours.  I will however only worry about my controllable sims, I will ignore all other sims in town in regards to these laws.  These laws are considered enacted only for the lifetime of the king who has the associated trait.  Once that King dies the laws are considered revoked, and that king’s heir’s traits are considered law. 

For laws having to do with the requirements to move up or down a social ladder: If your sims family meets the requirement under a king with an adjusted trait, they can move on, even if the king dies the next day and the requirements increase.  If when a king dies the requirement is lowered to a point where you have already achieved, either by the death of a stricter king, or the crowning of an easier one, you can now move on to the next status.  If you almost achieved a status requirement, but then a king died and the new law was more difficult to achieve, you now need to achieve the more difficult requirement.

Absent Minded- Now where did that key to the city go?  Famine has struck due to poor management of goods, no more than 1 meal may be cooked per household for peasants-Merchants. Gentry are the first who may cook more than one meal a day.  Servants may only prepare food if a member of their noble family has the hungry, very hungry, or starving moodlet, and they may only eat the leftovers of their noble family’s meal.

Animal Lover- Sim families who own a pet (dog, cat, horse, or small critter in proper cage) may pay $100 less each week in taxes for each pet type owned. A sim family may pay up to $400 less, if they own at least 1 of each pet type.  Example:  A family with 2 dogs pays $100 less each week, a family with a dog and a cat pays $200 less each week. 

Bookworm- All Children, and Teens must have after school activities

Brave- A brave king means that the kingdom has gone to war, knighthood is easier to obtain.  In order to become a knight, a squire need only get 5 skill points in each required skill.

Can’t Stand Art- No selling of paintings, or sculptures.

Cat Person- Any family that owns a cat may pay $100 less in taxes each week, per cat that is owned.

Childish- King doesn’t like vegetables.  No growing any vegetables

Vegetables are the following:  Tomatoes, Lettuce, Onion, Bell Pepper, Garlic, Carrot, Ghost Chili, and Pumpkin

If an unknown seed turns out to be a vegetable you have 24 hours to dispose of it before the authorities get wind, but no harvesting the vegetables during that time.

You may grow fruits of any kind in your garden.

Coward- The Kingdom doesn’t go to war because of the king’s cowardice.  Thus becoming a knight is harder.  To become a Knight, a squire must earn 7 skill points in each required skill.

Dislikes Children- Children must go home After School, May not leave the home lot except for school.

Dog Person- Any family owning a dog may pay $100 less in taxes each week per dog owned.

Eco- Friendly- Everyone servant and up must buy a recycling bin.  Any family who owns a windmill may pay $100 less in taxes each week.

Equestrian- Any sim family owning a horse may pay $100 less taxes each week per horse that is owned.

Evil- No law and order, Break laws as you wish, no one goes to jail.

Family Oriented- Families with 5 members or more pay $100 less tax each week.

Frugal- Lower Taxes for the entire Kingdom.  Every family may pay $100 less tax each week.

Good- Peasants give less crops/earnings to their lords.  Instead of $5000 a week, pay 2,500 a week.

Hot-Headed- Longer Stays in Dungeon. All 24 hour sentences are increased to 48 hours, or 2 days.

Hydrophobic- One Shower per day per family.  No showering on community lots.  No swimming.  Servants are treated like a unique family, and are limited to one shower/day, no matter what their noble family does.

Insane- Every, Young Adult and older, Noble and Royal must change clothes to a ridiculous costume when in public.  After all, you must do as the king does.

Lucky- business is better, thus: Merchant is easier to obtain, I must own 4 level 1 star businesses to progress.

Mean Spirited- Peasants must give extra crops/earnings to their lords.  Instead of giving $5000 a week, I must pay $7,500 a week.

Mooch- Higher Taxes for the entire Kingdom.  Each family must pay an extra $100 each week in taxes.

Neurotic- King is paranoid about the written word.  The Library and bookstore are off limits.  Anyone reading is sent to prison, anyone writing books is sent to prison.

No Sense of Humor- Any sim telling jokes or any other “Comedic” interactions will be sent to jail.

Party Animal- Nectar, bar, or barista drinks must be consumed each day for every Young Adult and older Sims who are at Craftsman and above status.  Servants must serve nectar, or other such bar or barista drinks with the daily meal in order to earn the point for that meal.

Technophobe- Must Sell all of Electronics in the household. Must not use electronics on community lots, or go to jail.

Unlucky- business is worse, thus: Merchant is harder to obtain, all 5 businesses must be level 2 stars to progress.

Vegetarian- May not Eat or cook with Meat or Fish, May not Go Fishing.  Outlaws are the only ones who are exempt from this law because they live in secret, and no one knows or cares what they eat.  Outlaws may still fish, and may cook whatever food they get over an open fire.

Reproduction:

At any stage in the game, my sims may marry and have children with whomever they wish, except the Royal Family, which I cannot marry until we are Nobles, as is described in the "Royalty" section above.  During the initial stages, my sims will be homeless, and will not own cribs.  I've play tested raising infants and toddlers without cribs before.  Basically, I'd put them on the ground, and when they get tired enough, they will sleep there, but not until they are very tired.  I also will be putting cribs on a few community lots, although sims in the Outlaw stage, described below, will still be restricted from using the crib during daylight hours.  Cribs, for this challenge, are not considered a bed.  They are free to use on any community lot, by any sim.

School is free to all children and teens of all social classes.  Outlaw children are allowed to go to school, despite the daylight hours rule for the Outlaw stage.  They may only use the rabbithole, and only for their regular classes.  This means outlaw children cannot attend After School Activities, or Field trips.

Stage 1:  Outlaw

In the first stage of my challenge my Sims will be considered outlaws.  The authorities are after them, and they must not be caught.  They “own” a lot, but for this challenge, they are virtually homeless.  In order to avoid the authorities, my sims will only enter community lots after dark.

·        I’m given two sleeping bags and a fire pit in the beginning, I may purchase additional sleeping bags, or upgrade to tents, as I get the money and a bigger family.  I may also purchase 1 toy that can be carried in the inventory for toddler and child sims to play with. 

·        I may not enter any Community Lots, except for Fishing Holes, or camp grounds, during daylight hours.  These lots are remote enough that no one will notice me there.

·        During the day I may also enter lots that are completely bulldozed, or lots with uninhabited residential homes on them.

·        Only after dark (7pm-6am) may I enter community lots.  Once on a lot I may use any business option available, except that I may not sleep on any beds on community lots because the inn keepers won’t take that risk.  I must be off the lot by 6am or be arrested.

·        In order to avoid the authorities, I may not sleep on the same lot two days/ nights in a row. Once I sleep on a lot, there must be roughly 48 hours before I sleep there again.  Moving around frequently helps keep the authorities off your back.

·        I am not expected to follow any Laws of the Land, except to be off of the community lots by daylight.  If I’m on any community lot after dawn a sim in my family must spend 24 hours in the dungeon.

·        After dark I may go through trash on residential lots, but if anyone comes out and yells at me, I go to jail as if caught on a community lot.

·        I may enter the homes of sims I am friends with, or higher, but I may not sleep in any of their beds, because they won’t take that kind of risk either.
.    Pregnant outlaws must either give birth on their "home" lot, or in the hospital, where the nun's take pity on her.  Outlaw husband's however, may not take their wives to the hospital, nor follow her there.  She must make it there and back on her own.  She must leave the hospital lot, with her child, right after giving birth.

·        I may earn money by collecting rocks, insects, ex. and by fishing.  I may sell these items from the inventory, or I may wait until after dark to sell them via the science center and grocery store.

·        During this stage I must somehow earn enough money to pay off my debts/Bribe city officials in order to lose the “Outlaw” status. I must pay back $20,000.  Once I have the money I will delete it via cheat codes.

Stage 2: Minstrel

Once I’ve been able to pay off enough people to lose the “Outlaw” status I’m still not out of the woods.   I don’t own any land, nor do I have much money left.  But my sims are now able to enter any community lots at any time of the day, and they may sleep in any Inns, if I can pay for them.  From this point forward ANY bed on a community lot is considered an Inn.  To sleep at an inn it costs $100 a day/night, per double bed or $50 a day/night per single bed used, deducted with cheat codes.  However, if the bed is a part of an Island Paradise Resort type lot, I will not need to pay this money, only the cost applied by the resort.  My sims may also sleep on the beds at friend’s homes.  

I may also buy any items from buy mode that are portable, and can be taken with my sims in their personal inventory, like the musical instruments. 

My goal is to become a Minstrel.

·        I must have a sim in my family top a skill level in any instrument and the Self Employed Band profession, this is why I recommend a subway station. Only sims in my family, or who are married in to my family are allowed to join said band.

Once a sim in my family does this, they have impressed a noble family enough to be invited to become servants in their household.  At this point I will move my sims in with another family, into one of the Castles I’ve built for the town, and move on to my next stage.  I’ll do this through Edit town, and the Merge Household’s Option, but if necessary I may leave behind family members.

Stage 3:  Servant

At this stage I’m living in a castle, and working for a noble or royal class family.  I must do certain chores each day.  I must live in a small section of the castle that’s been set aside as the servant’s quarters, along with the castle Kitchen, and various workshops and stables. I may not sleep, eat, or use recreation items outside of this area.  I may have the adults in the Noble family become employed, in order that the house doesn’t run out of money, I may have them adopt pets and I may have them reproduce if I desire them to.  Other than this, I am not allowed to control any of the noble family.  I may purchase new goods, either from buy mode, or from businesses around town, but anything I purchase is to be considered the lord’s property.  All of the money we have is considered the lord’s property too.

Chores:

In order to move on from this stage, I will need to earn points.  I will earn a point for each chore type that I’ve done that day.  For example If I did the laundry, cooked 2 meals, and cleaned 2 toilets in one day, I’d earn 3 points, one for the laundry, one for the food, and one for the toilets.  I do not earn a point for every meal cooked or toilet cleaned, just for every day that I do that chore.  The following is a list of those chores:

·        Do the Laundry

·        Cooking at least 1 meal daily, and serving it in the formal dining room.  I’ll use the “Call to Meal” interaction on the food, then cancel out my sims eating interaction. 

o   Under most King’s laws, my sims are only able to eat after the noble family has finished eating, and that’s in the servant’s areas of the castle.  I may either eat the leftovers from the noble family’s meal or cook my own meal, but only after first cooking for the nobles. 

o   If the King is absent minded, I may only prepare the meal when a noble family member has the hungry, very hungry or starving moodlet, and I may only eat the leftovers from that meal that the noble family doesn’t eat.  I may not make my own meals.

·        Serving any nectar, Coffee, or bar drinks, but these are only for the noble family. 

o   I will earn a point if I do this, but no penalty if I don’t unless a king is a party animal, where I will go to jail if I don’t.

·        Feeding any pets that the family owns.

·        Training any pets that the family owns

·        Cleaning a sink or toilet that has become dirty.

·        Feeding or changing the diaper of any infant or toddler sims who are children of the noble family. 

Repair a household appliance
Smoke, Clean, and Feed a Beehive (Only if all 3 are done in that day)
Lighting a Fireplace in the lord's living areas.
Tutoring the lord's children, either spend time teaching a toddler a skill, or help a child with their homework.

I can earn a total of 5 points for throwing a party for noble guests, but you must cook a homemade meal for the party, serve drinks, and entertain with music, all during the party.

Other chores I earn the point for them only if there done completely, if every bed is made by noon, or if by midnight the lot is clean from trash and dirty dishes.  Following is a list of those chores: 

·        I earn a point if, by midnight, every dish is washed, and the lot is clean from trash.

·        I earn a point if, by noon, all beds of the noble family’s living quarters are made.

·        I earn a point if, by midnight, no garden plants are in need of weeding or watering.

o   I can only earn this point if there is a garden with at least 3 plants growing in it.  For every additional 3 plants in the garden, I can earn 1 more point.

o   Any products harvested are to be considered the lord’s property, and may either be sold, or used in the castle kitchen. 

After I’ve proved myself as a servant I will be granted land to live on as a serf (or peasant) farmer.  I must earn 150 total points to move on.

Stage 4: Peasant Farmer

At this point I’ll move my sims out into an empty lot in town.  Once I buy the lot I must use cheat codes to get rid of money so I only have $20,000, with which I may build my peasant farmhouse.  After this I must Garden or Fish to earn my living. I must have a self employed gardener do all selling of produce, and another family member be self employed Angler do all selling of fish.

I’ll have more freedom at this stage, but I’m still not considered a citizen, and technically I don’t own the land I’m on either.  My noble class lord owns the property, and expects a portion of my crops to feed his belly.  I must use cheat codes to get rid of this money each week.  The total amount I owe my lord, under a normal king’s law is $5,000. If I don’t have the money to pay the total amount due by midnight of that day, I will need to send one family member to the dungeon for 24 hours.

If the king has the good trait, I only need to pay $2,500 per week to the lord.  If the king has the mean-spirited trait I must pay $7,500 a week to the lord.

I must earn enough money to pay the fees necessary to buy my citizenship.  The cost for citizenship is $50,000.  This $50,000 doesn’t include the fees paid to the noble lord each week.  Once I earn citizenship I may consider all sims in my family a Freeman, and I may stop paying the noble lord the weekly amount.

Stage 5: Step 1: Apprentice

Once I have my peasant farmers buy their citizenship I will choose a family member that is a child or younger.  This family member will be moved in with another family in town that I will then turn into Merchants.  I will pick a craft, and make them self employed in that craft.  My sim child is an apprentice here.  I may not Control the craftsman’s family except in the ways I could control the Noble family in the Servant stage.  I may also have them pay bills, cook meals, and make money with the chosen craft, and I may use monetary cheats so they don’t run out of money.  I may not purchase anything except the needed skill building objects and a cheap bed for my apprentice.  I may use any items in the house at this stage.  My sim must master one of the following skills as they age up:  Alchemy, Painting, Inventing, Writing, Pottery, or Nectar Making.  Once this skill is mastered, and my sim has become a young adult, he may marry and move into any other Middle Class home, worth no more than $30,000, or empty lot.  I must bring my money back down to zero then.  If I go with an empty lot I may build with $30,000 of the money, then I must bring my funds down to zero, getting rid of what I haven’t spent on the house.

 

Stage 5: Step 2:  Craftsman

I must become a self employed artisan of whatever craft I mastered as an apprentice.  With that craft I must then make money to purchase a community lot.  Once I own a community lot I may call myself a Merchant.

At this stage (Craftsman) I must also begin paying Taxes to the king, in addition to my usual mailbox bills.  Craftsman must pay an additional $500 each week through cheat codes.  Failure to pay, whether for lack of money or because I simply forgot will result in a day spent in prison for one of my family members.

Stage 5: Step 3: Merchant

Using both earnings as an artisan, and proceeds from owned businesses I must purchase 5 community lots, and update them to reach a level 1 star.  Once my family owns a large enough tract of land, I am finally in the Gentry class, and my sim children may now be trained to become knights.

At this stage (Merchant), once I own atleast one additional property, my sims must pay $750 each week in taxes.

Stage 6: Knighthood Step 1: Page

For this stage I will move a son in my family into a home with a richer class townsperson, who may be the same nobles we were servant’s to.  I may build a poorer quality bedroom for this sim, though I won’t be as limited as I was in the servant stage to what in the home I may interact with.  I may use any of the household items.

My Sim is now a Page.  He is a servant to a knight, and will hopefully learn enough to eventually become knighted one day too.  As a Page, by the time this child ages up into a teenager, he must fulfill certain criteria.  If he doesn’t I must return him to the original family’s homestead, have him marry, and try again with his sons.  While a Page, my sim child must attempt to do all chores available in the house, that a child can do, and I won’t be able to control the other knights except for the ways I could control the craftsmen in the apprentice stage.  The criteria:

·        Earn A’s in school

·        Have an Afterschool Activity, Reach Level 3 in it.

As I am only a child in this stage, I do not need to pay taxes, but I may have the family pay any mailbox bills that come.

Stage 6: Knighthood Step 2: Squire

When aging into a teen, my sim, is now a squire.  The rules are the same, don’t control the knights, except where noted above, and do any chores where available.  Except, now that he is a little older, he has the added pressure to prove himself.  After all, he doesn’t have the long line of noble blood that the other squires do.  In this stage, before aging up to Young Adult, he must:

·        Reach Level 6 Athletic skill

·        Reach Level 6 Horseback Riding skill

·        Reach Level 6 Logic skill

If the current King is brave, I may progress with only 5 skill points in each category, but If the current king is a coward, I will need to earn 7 points in each category to progress.

As I am only a teen in this stage I still don’t need to pay taxes.

Stage 6: Knighthood Step 3: Knight

After completing the Squire step, and aging up to a young Adult, my sim is now considered a Knight.

At this point my sim may marry and move into a large empty lot, worth building a castle on.  He will get a job in the Military field.  He may bring a total of $50,000 from the knight’s household to begin building with.  In this stage, this knight, or one of his sons must reach level 10 of the Military Career. 

Each week my sims at this stage will need to pay $1000 in taxes.  He may go all out at this point in building his castle, because this will be my sims home for the rest of the challenge.

Stage 7: Nobility

Once my sim reaches Level 10 in the Military career, he has impressed the king in order to earn a title.  I may change the family’s name, via the City Hall Rabbithole, at this point to include a title such as: Duke, Baron, or Earl.  I may also use the Motherlode cheat once at this time, because becoming a Noble often comes with such wealth.  I also may now move in non family members to work as controllable servants, or hire maids and butlers via the cell phone.  Before this point I am unable to hire anyone except for a repairman via the phone.  At this point I must attempt to marry a family member into the Royal Family, to the next in line to the throne, if possible. 

At this stage my sims will need to pay $1500 in taxes

Stage 8: Royalty, Step 1: Prince

Once I manage to get a sim child with royal blood, but who is not yet King, he is considered Prince, or she is considered a Princess.  At this point I may buy the lifetime reward to have No Bills Ever, and I may stop subtracting taxes each week, because the Royal Blood means my family members no longer need to pay taxes. 

Stage 8 Royalty, Step 2: King

·        If the Current King has only daughters when he dies, and my male sim marries the eldest daughter, he will inherit the throne, thus ending the challenge.

·        If the Current King has any Sons when he dies, and my female sim marries the eldest son, the challenge will end when their blood descendant inherits the throne.