TRIGGER WARNING: Long as hell for no reason

I started this save file just adding my favorite characters and trying to make the weirdest pairings for fun. Somewhere along the way it turned into a geopolitical drama with rival factions. I use the phrases “kingdoms” and “courts” but they can be any opposing forces, really.. Rivaling crime families, angels vs demons, or in my case Greek gods vs a Wonderland and Wizard of Oz joint venture by marriage. It’s less of a traditional legacy challenge and more of a storytelling sandbox with structure.

Businesses and Hobbies, Get Together, and MCCC required. The more neighborhoods available the better. May or may not break your computer.

The Sims Rivaling Kingdoms Challenge.

Two rival kingdoms compete to spread their bloodline and expand their territories across the save file. Neither will stop until the world is theirs.

The Set Up

◦ Build your world- populate your save with multiple households across multiple neighborhoods. Each neighborhood should have a distinct identity and expression. I like to use characters I already know and love.
◦ [OPTIONAL SWITZERLAND] A completely neutralized neighborhood exempt from recruitment, containing an orphanage for unwanted children. Mostly operates as a narrative device.

Choose your rivaling Kingdoms
◦ The Ruling House- Expansionist Court. Power radiates outward. The leader (king or queen) and their court do not pair among themselves. Their bloodlines are meant to spread into the world, not stay contained within it. Commingling is of no advantage. Every romantic connection is a diplomatic foothold in new territory. The court’s strength is reach. The members of court of The Ruling House can never move out of their designated neighborhood- their descendants can only live in the kingdom or where their other biological parent is from.

◦ The Rising House- Insular Order. Power consolidates inward. This Empire grows through loyalty, repetition, and internal bonds. They pair within their circle first, deepen what they have before they extend outward. Their bloodline is a closed system that only opens when it’s strategic. The cult expands through absorption. With the exception of the leader and the herald, the members of The Rising House have freedom of movement as their families expand, not fitting in their small town anymore.

Both kingdoms should have a court of at least 7 sims.
Both courts have a designated leader, and a designated Herald/messenger.
Both courts have specific set of skills they are expected to practice.
Both kingdoms have an institution/lot where the legacy children can learn and practice their skills passively via clubs (boarding school, boot camp, training grounds, youth club, use your imagination). Both kingdoms have a place where they hold their social events (can be the main residence/castle or a grand hall or a strip club).
Both kingdoms have a business that is owned by the leader. No one who is not a member of the court lives in the kingdom.

Alternating Turn Structure

The challenge is played in alternating turns. Complete your full checklist then switch kingdoms. Each turn involves three active sim plays, moments where you directly control a specific sim for a specific objective, and three group activities that can run more freely.

Turn Checklist:
◦ Play as the leader (king/queen) of the Kingdom. Do a full shift at the owned business. Must level up 1 skill and become friends with 1 new sim as the leader before ending turn.

◦ Play as the herald. Travel outside of the kingdom and become acquaintances with 3 sims. Bring at least 1 sim back to introduce to the court. You cannot actively pursue relationships or woohoo as the herald- that is not your mission, but they are allowed autonomously. Relay any information to the leader.

◦ Play as a member of the court to advance 1 already established romantic pairing. Go on a date, ask to be partner, get engaged, or get married. A romance dynamic must already be established before the turn to be eligible.

◦ Start a club gathering of the court to build designated skills. Passive

◦ Start a club gathering of the children of the court to build designated skills. Passive.

◦ Host a social event. It can be any kind of event for any reason- wedding, funeral, a dinner party, a dance party, even a sex party BUT…

EACH COURT IS ONLY ALLOWED 3 WOOHOOS OR WICKEDWHIMS PER TURN. NO CHEATING TO ENSURE PREGNANCY, (unless it fits your story of course), if it doesn’t happen it doesn’t happen! Where or where will your resources go?? A gold star social event will reward you 2 extra woohoos for that turn. Success is sexy.

Claiming Territories!

A neighborhood is claimed by a kingdom when they have established genuine presence there. All three conditions must be met:
 
• 3 descendants (members’ of the court biological children or grandchildren living in that neighborhood, teenage or older).
• 5 allies (sims from that neighborhood with maxed or near-maxed friendship with your court leader or Herald).
• 1 owned lot or business in that neighborhood, Owned by a member of the court or a descendant.  

The Council Event

Once a kingdom claims 3 neighborhoods they may call a Council, a grand gathering where all allies from all controlled territories are summoned to the kingdom’s home base. Host it as a proper party or club gathering. Every confirmed ally must be invited.
 
Each kingdom can only call one Council per 5 turns. It is a statement, not a regular occurrence.
 
What the Council Does
 
• Allegiance test: every confirmed ally must actually show up. Anyone who does not attend loses confirmed ally status and returns to neutral.

• Kingdom-specific boon: each kingdom unlocks something unique when they successfully call a Council. A spellcaster within the court receives a free skill advancement, OR a new magical sim joins the court from neutral territory without requiring a Herald mission. OR you can poach an ally from the rival kingdom dramatically (if you have a higher relationship score with the target at the moment).

• Legacy titles assigned: all current descendants are formally titled at the Council. This is the moment the bloodline becomes history. See Legacy Titles below.

First born heir: Crown Prince or Crown Princess
• Child born in a newly claimed neighborhood: Duke or Duchess of [neighborhood name]
• Child of a Herald: The Messenger's Son or Daughter
• Child whose parentage is unknown or complicated: The Unnamed / The Question
• Child raised in the Orphanage who chooses a court: The Returned
• Child raised in the Orphanage who declares independence: The Free

MAY THE MOST TERRITORIES CLAIMED WIN!
Though some wars span space and time.

The white fritillaries are a main plot point for Nate and Cassie and just phonetically it makes me think of white fragility. I’m wondering if this is what they were trying to get at? White fragility specifically refers to white people’s discomfort or inability to address racism, so it doesn’t exactly line up just yet.. but it might be getting there.

When I looked up the flower I read “Listed as endangered; threatened by climate change, extreme weather, and foot traffic.” That made me think of really all of the characters in their precarious/dangerous situations, but I’m sure there are lots of endangered plants out there- why white fritillaries specifically?

I could see how Cassie and Nate’s storyline would have the theme of white fragility.. I mean Cassie is the quintessential self victimizing white woman, and her extreme focus on status and appearances is very waspy of her. I saw someone else’s post about Nate’s manipulative and conman behaviors are having consequences now that he’s in the real world.. like what is the world like when he doesn’t have daddy’s money and reputation to fall back on anymore. But he has the confidence of a white man so he just keeps scamming, avoiding the reality and thinking he can manipulate his way out of it. The same way his father completely avoided accountability with Jules “oh I like em young, who wants to fuck an old person?” Like it’s a mere inconvenience to have a criminal record.

Cassie and Nate seem like they’re about to lose a lot of privileges and enter the real world, and neither of them seem equipped to do so.. like could you even imagine Cassie actually having to work at all- let alone in a strip club? Maybe Maddy will start like a Bop House by teaming up with Alamo and have Cassie be the face of it.

There’s Juana, Nate and Cassie’s housekeeper, who both Nate and Cassie treat poorly.. Nate literally snapping at her in the first episode, as if she was the dog when Cassie is right there playing pretend as one. And racism has obviously been introduced as a theme. The conversation at Laurie’s about racism really threw me off tbh- “it’s not black and white, it’s cowboys and Indians, the civilized vs the savages” Okay so now Bishop is racist about Native Americans? What is happening.. it was racism inception.

Anyways.. I might be totally off about the white fragility thing just my thoughts.