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The Split Inheritance Challenge!

Posted: July 24th, 2019, 1:49 am
by cynicalbadger
This is a new challenge I came up with when my mind was wandering at 5am one morning. I don't know if it will work yet, but in theory I think it should be fun. It's a challenge where you compete against yourself. You'll have to forgive my knowledge, it's been a while since I played TS2 but this game is probably the best way to play the challenge due to unaging households while playing others (similar to BACC). However you can attempt it in TS3 with turn aging OFF or there may be mods to help get the same effect.

The Split Inheritance Challenge!


You have an elder sim who wants nothing more than have their children and grandchildren prosper. That is why, when writing their will, everything is to be split between the future generations. But the elder doesn't want to just hand his children everything and not have them know the value of money, so, to test their abilities they won't get a penny until the elder's death.

But a thought has occured to the offspring - if they themselves have KIDS and MORE KIDS then they're household will get more of the money.

At the same time, is the elder going to work hard to make the payout even bigger? Or are they going to spend it frivolously?


Goal:

By playing each child's household an even amount, see who can attain the most funds (lot value + cash in hand + inheritance share) by the end of the challenge (the death of the elder). This is designed to be a short challenge, but I'm sure you'll find ways to make it longer if you enjoy.

Set up:
Spoiler:
Create a household with ONE ELDER and at least TWO YOUNG ADULT / ADULTs with the relationship set as children to the elder. For more of a challenge / fun, you can have up to SEVEN children for the elder of any age (including teens, children, toddlers but that will increase the difficulty for that child by putting them at a disadvantage)

Move the family into a lot and immediately move out all adult / YA offspring that can be moved out - this includes sending them off to university.

Motherlode the elder at least once (but hey, you decide how much the jackpot to be split is, you don't have to stop at one. Make a note of how many times you motherlode) and make a note of how much the elder's property and cash on hand they have so it can be split on their death. Have fun with the money, make a house if you like or move them to a pre-made build.
How to play:
Spoiler:
  • To make it fair, gameplay is similar to that of the BACC challenge where you play each household for one week then rotate to the next. The order you play the households is completely up to you, the only restriction is that the elder must always be last in the rotation and you must keep the same order throughout the entire challenge.
  • The offspring can be moved to any size lot (the bigger the better / harder the challenge). Legacy style starts are encouraged.
  • Children of the elder can go to university, they can get jobs, they can marry immediately or never, it's completely up to you how you play with them! As long as you play each household an even amount - including the elder.
  • Spouses and partners of the offspring or elser do not receive a share of the inheritance.
  • When playing the elder, they can not have a job or own a business. If they want to, they can make extra money through skills (like writing, painting etc.)
  • When playing the elder you can try and make more money for the challenge or be risky with it. Hey, you can't take it with you.
  • Try to play fair! We all have our favourites, I know, but it will probably be more enjoyable if you yourself don't favour one of the offspring. Use dice or a yes or no random spinner online if you feel yourself being biased.
Expansion Packs
Life States / The Occult
  • Your elder is not allowed to be any kind of occult, only a human. Male elders can be abducted for alien babies (if that is possible?)
  • Offspring are able to change from human to any occult type.
  • Servos are eligible for a share of the inheritance provided that the elder made them and they maintain a high relationship (over 80 and best friends) with the elder at time of death (or as close as possible, potentially one to make note of). If a servo enters a romantic relationship with the elder the inheritance is forfeit.
  • Bigfoot does not count as offspring and will not get a share of the inheritance.
Open for Business
  • Offspring can own businesses! They can only visit their business twice a week.
  • The elder can not own a business.
Pets
  • As cute as they are, they do not count as offspring or are unable to get any share of the inheritance

University
  • Try to move teens to university at the beginning of their household's rotation and play the university household at the end of rotation after the elder. This way, when they graduate they will be able to slot into the household's rotation easily without double play.
  • To make it a little fairer, you can play 2 terms of university in every 1 rotation so they aren't there forever or left behind. First uni rotation Freshman + Sophomore, second uni rotation Junior + Senior.
  • Try to keep one offspring per household to track money easier. Or if you prefer you can do an even split of the money if there were two sims. On graduating buy items to put in the inventory to be sold when moving back home.
  • BONUS: The elder has a little secret nest egg for every offspring that graduates university, the prize money varies based on their GPA. This is invisible money purely for the end monetary value and is not to be added to cash in hand. Summa cum Laude (4.0 GPA) receive $10,000 x number of motherlodes at start.Magna cum Laude (3.9 GPA) receive $5,000 x number of motherlodes at start. Cum Laude (3.7~3.8 GPA) receive $2,500 x number of motherlodes at start.
End of challenge:
Spoiler:
  • The instant your elder dies, the challenge is over. Do not complete the rotation of households. In TS2 you can wait a few moments to gain the in game inheritance (and grieve).
  • Every child and grandchild of the elder is to be taken into account when splitting the elder's inheritance - which is the elder's lot value and cash in hand when you last recorded it (hopefully close to their death)
  • As you've been playing a rotation of households, the household at the time of death is that offspring's 'team' - if you have four descendants in one home then that household receives four shares of the inheritance.
  • The offspring household with the most cash in hand + lot value (+university prize, if applicable) + share of the inheritance is the winner. This hopefully gives enough flexibility to play in a number of ways with the monetary goal at the end. See twists and extras for more.
  • You can track each offspring's monetary value as you go or wait till the end.
  • If the elder is living with offspring they will only receive their share of the cash in hand + lot value so it is encouraged to move them out ASAP for them to have a fighting chance of winning. Offspring born, adopted, or made in game do not have to live with the elder throughout their childhood - they can move out with another adult provided it's not weird (don't move in random townies to move out with a child. However, if the other biological parent moved out with the child that is acceptable)
Example; Say your elder has 5 kids and a lump sum of £50,000 - this would be split between the 5 at £10,000 a pop at the death of the elder. However, say one of those 5 children had kids of their own and it was twins. This means the £50,000 is now split seven ways at £7,143 with the parent to the twins receiving £21,429 if the twins still live at home. The rivalry is between households, so depending on how long your elder lives if a grandchild of the elder moves out and becomes their own household they will no longer count towards their parents household.

Of course, having all the kids might be an advantage, but it's not the only thing that counts. The final monetary score between the rival siblings is their cash on hand + lot value meaning they could win this challenge by marrying rich, working on their career, or some more sinister ways.
Suggested tracker:
Spoiler:
You can tally your score at the end or track throughout the challenge however you like. I imagine it will be easier to navigate if chapters are similar to the BACC except using first names instead of surnames and nominating one person to represent that household. I've devised a tracker and layout that should hopefully cover everything but feel free to ignore or tweak. For example, if our Elder is Sven and he has two daughters, Elise and Mauve then the layout could be:

Rotation One: Mauve | Elise | Elder Sven

ELDER SVEN
Number of offspring: 5
Inheritance: $106,000
Share value: $21,200

MAUVE'S HOUSEHOLD
Mauve, Luna, and Gregg = $63,600
University prize? N
Household worth:$14,755
Total: $78,355

ELISE'S HOUSEHOLD
Elise and Nova = $42,400
University prize? Y, $20,000
Household worth: $23,900
Total: $86,300

Code: Select all

[b]ELDER[/b]
Number of offspring: 
Inheritance: $(lot value + cash in hand)
Share value: $(lot value + cash in hand / number of offspring)

[b]OFFSPRING's HOUSEHOLD[/b]
[i](list eligible recipients of inheritance)[/i] = (share value x number of sims)
University prize? Y/N (if Y then +$prize)
Household worth: $(lot value + cash in hand)
Total: 
Twists and extras:
Spoiler:
  • The More the Merrier! You want the elder to have / adopt more kids? Go for it. Move the new offspring out of the house as soon as they are able (Adult) or as soon as you want to (sending a teen to university) or with an older sibling or biological parent (any age). Children born in game or adopted by the elder are eligible for a share of the inheritance. Servos, if created by the elder, are also eligible. If the elder marries, that sim does not receive anything in the will (they forgot to update to include a spouse)
  • Eliminate the competition! If you want to try and kill a rival sibling to get a bigger payload then I guess you'll want to murder your Sims. It has to at least LOOK like an accident. Deleting pool ladders and trapping them in doorless rooms is too calculated and the elder will forfeit the inheritance from their murderer child. However, if it's a fire and the calculating Sims is also in some kind of danger then the elder won't suspect a thing.
  • I Want My Money Now! Similar to the above, if you want to get that sweet inheritance quicker then I guess you'll be trying to murder the elder. Again, it has to at least look like an accident, it won't hold up in court that there weren't pool ladders but I'm sure the jury will be sympathetic about you forgetting to mop before influencing the elder to do repairs. Offspring only has three attempts before the elder will catch on and their share of the inheritance is forfeit.
  • Who Wants to Live Forever! Alternatively, if you're enjoying playing your elder you can make them live for as long as you would like. Do not make them immortal but you can extend their life through potions.
  • We love the head of the family! The game has an inbuilt inheritance that will act as a bonus for having a good relationship with the elder. After the elder passes, give it a moment to cash into the household so it can count toward the final score.
  • Legacy style! If you wanted to continue this beyond your elder's death then you can! Pick your favourite offspring that is human and play them (or age them) to an elder. As long as they have at least two children you can restart the challenge. Do not use motherlode again, instead use the final score of the offspring's household at the time of the first elder's death (plus any additional household and cash funds gained in the window between the first elder's death and their turn to elderhood) to be your new inheritance.
Hopefully this should be a short but fun challenge. If there are any obstacles you encounter let me know and if anyone attempts this post below :toast:

Re: The Split Inheritance Challenge!

Posted: August 8th, 2019, 9:01 am
by simsterlyrock
This sounds like a fun challenge! I might have to try it at some point. :)