The 7th Citadel · Serious Poulp · 4-Player Campaign Variant
Legacy Mode converts your group's accomplishments in a completed Threat into a limited budget of Legacy Marks, spent from a curated menu to carry capped advantages into the next Threat. You still take a new Citadel Leaflet, reset your Action Decks, and play "A New Beginning" — but a few hard-won skills persist, a building or two stands ready, and your Chronicle records the story. Anti-snowball controls ensure each Threat remains dangerous. Three difficulty variants let you dial the system to your table.
| Element | Official Rule |
|---|---|
| Citadel Leaflet | Archive old leaflet. Start a new one. |
| Action Decks | Return all cards to default starting state. |
| Advanced / Reflex Skills | Return to supply. |
| Purse cards | Return all. |
| Quest Items / Hope Reborn | Return all. |
| Buildings | None. Fresh leaflet. |
| Community scores | Reset to 0. |
| Destiny page | None. Fresh leaflet. |
| Side quests | All cleared. |
| Map / Terrain cards | Return all to box. Empty World Map. |
| Banished cards | Return to original decks. |
| Past | Return to Adventure Deck. |
| Starting scenario | Play "A New Beginning" from the new Threat booklet. |
Each Threat is designed as a self-contained arc. The only thing that persists is what's in your head — map knowledge, puzzle solutions, system mastery. Designers intended this implicit carryover to be the only advantage.
After completing a Threat, tally your group's Legacy Marks using the calculator below. These are a shared group resource, not per-player.
The categories reward breadth (balanced scores, many side quests) over depth (maxing one track). This encourages the behaviors that make the game fun—exploring widely, engaging with side content—without rewarding hyper-optimization of a single axis. The cap means even a perfect run can't buy everything on the menu, forcing meaningful choices.
Before dismantling anything, write a Chronicle entry. Zero mechanical effect — pure narrative continuity. Use the Chronicle Builder below, or write freeform.
Spend your Legacy Marks on the bonuses below. All choices are made as a group. Items marked PERSISTENT last the entire Threat. Items marked SCENARIO 1 apply only to the first scenario, then expire.
Veteran Skill / Reflex Memory (2 marks, cap 3 total): Even one extra skill is significant. Capping at 3 across 4 players means someone goes without, creating a drafting decision.
Foundation Stone (3 marks, cap 2, no Academy/Guild): Per-scenario stat bonuses compound. The high cost (25% of budget) and exclusion of progression-accelerating buildings keeps this in check.
Community Standing (2 marks, decaying): Starting a score at 3 gives a modest head start, but decay erases it by Scenario 4.
Heirloom (2 marks, cap 2): A character's signature weapon — flavorful but limited by weight.
Scenario 1 boons (1 mark each): Cheap because temporary. Smooth early scarcity without affecting mid/late power.
Unfinished Business (free): Pure narrative. Acknowledges that side quests can't be completed in one Threat without granting mechanical shortcuts.
You may spend marks in at most 4 different categories. This forces prioritization: you can't have everything.
| Element | Action | Balance Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Character cards | KEEP Same characters, same player assignments. | None. |
| Action Decks | FULL RESET Return to default 15-card starting decks. | Critical. #1 snowball vector. |
| Advanced Skills | LEGACY MENU Up to 3 total via Veteran Skill / Reflex Memory. | Moderate. Capped. |
| Discard Piles | FULL RESET | None. |
| Skill cards in hand | FULL RESET | None. |
| Purse / Equipment | LEGACY MENU Up to 2 total via Heirloom. | Low–moderate. |
| Quest Items | FULL RESET Including Hope Reborn cards. | High. Hope Reborn IS Destiny currency. |
| Citadel Leaflet | NEW LEAFLET Archive old one. | Required. |
| Buildings | LEGACY MENU Up to 2 via Foundation Stone. | Moderate–high. |
| Community scores | LEGACY MENU Up to 2 scores start at (decaying). | Moderate. |
| Destiny page | FULL RESET | Critical. The Destiny page IS the progression system. |
| Map / Terrain | FULL RESET Return all. Empty World Map. | High. Player memory is already powerful. |
| Banished cards | FULL RESET | Critical. Missing cards break puzzles. |
| Past cards | FULL RESET | Required. |
| Side quests | RECORD Earn marks for completed. Log incomplete ones. | Low. Narrative only. |
| Groundshiver | FULL RESET | None. |
| Life points | FULL RESET | Survivor's Grit adds +5 LP for Sc.1 if purchased. |
| Narrative memory | CHRONICLE | None. Emotional core of the system. |
Elements that define the power curve (Action Decks, Destiny page, banished cards) must reset — carrying them is the proven path to trivializing later Threats. Elements with bounded impact (a single skill, one building) can safely convert through the Legacy Menu at controlled prices. Narrative elements carry for free because they have zero mechanical weight.
Never more than 12 Legacy Marks per transition, regardless of how many you earned.
| Transition | Burden Tax | Effective Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Threat 1 → 2 | 0 | |
| Threat 2 → 3 | 2 | |
| Threat 3 → 4 | 4 | |
| Threat 4 → 5+ | 6 |
At most 4 different menu categories per transition.
Community Standing decays by 1/scenario. Scenario-1 boons expire after Scenario 1. By midgame, legacy advantages dissolve into normal play.
A player may never start a Threat with more than 2 legacy skill cards in their deck (combined across all prior Threats).
If the next Threat feels too easy after 2–3 scenarios:
Do these in order. Estimated time: 15–20 minutes.
Closest to official balance.
Meaningful continuity, controlled power.
More power, still controlled.
| Purchase | Cost | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 2× Veteran Skill | 4 | Two players keep their most-valued Advanced Skill. The other two start clean. |
| 1× Foundation Stone | 3 | Pre-build Tavern (unlocks side quests early) or Watchtower (+1 Influence/scenario). |
| 1× Trailblazer | 1 | Smooths Scenario 1 exploration. Cheap, temporary. |
| 1× Survivor's Grit | 1 | +5 LP buffer for Scenario 1. |
| Total | 9 | Leaves 1–3 marks unspent. |
Scenario 1: ~5–10% easier (all bonuses active). Scenarios 2–3: ~3–5% easier (boons gone, building is +1 stat, 2 skills in 2 of 4 decks). Mid-to-late: ~0% (natural progression eclipses legacy bonuses — 2 skills are lost in decks of 30+).
| Risk | Likelihood | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Veteran Skill too strong | Medium | 1-per-player cap. Exclude skills granting free draws if dominant. |
| Foundation Stone (Tavern) unlocks quests too early | Low–Med | Quests still require completion. Swap to Watchtower if wrong. |
| Map memory + Trailblazer trivializes Sc.1 | Low | Trailblazer saves ~1 draw per flip for one scenario. Drop if needed. |
| Generous: Academy accelerates progression | High | Excluded from Standard for this reason. |
| Heirloom unexpectedly powerful | Low | Weight limits prevent stacking. "Damaged in transit" escape valve. |
| Burden tax feels punitive by Threat 4+ | Medium | Intentional plateau. Reduce by 1/tier if too tight. |
Potentially too generous: Foundation Stone at 3 marks may be underpriced (per-scenario +1 stat for entire Threat). Community Standing at 3 could unlock score-gated events in Sc.1 that were meant to be earned.
Potentially too stingy: Only 3 skills across 4 players (one player gets nothing — by design, counter with Heirloom). Full Destiny reset is the harshest rule (necessary, but Chronicle honors that work). No map carryover (handwritten notes are the compromise).
If too easy: Switch to Survival recovery. Remove 1 legacy skill/player. Erase 1 Foundation Stone building. Reduce starting LP by 5/player. Next transition: switch to Conservative.
If too punishing: Switch to Story recovery. Grant each player 1 free Advanced Skill after Sc.2. Add 1 bonus mark to next budget. Next transition: switch to Generous.
Use the "Print Quick Ref" button above to print only this section.
| Bonus | Cost | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Veteran Skill (1 Adv. Skill → deck) | 2 | 1/player, 3 total |
| Reflex Memory (1 Reflex → deck) | 2 | Shares cap w/ above |
| Foundation Stone (pre-build 1 building) | 3 | Max 2. No Academy/Guild. |
| Community Standing (1 score @ ) | 2 | Max 2. Decays. |
| Heirloom (1 Purse card) | 2 | 1/player, 2 total |
| Trailblazer (−1 explore, Sc.1) | 1 | Once. |
| Survivor's Grit (+5 LP, Sc.1) | 1 | Once. |
| Alchemist's Insight (+1 Recovery, Sc.1) | 1 | Once. |
| Unfinished Business (record 3 quests) | 0 | Narrative. |
Fill in the fields below, then hit Print Chronicle for a clean one-page record.
Continuity: Your group's identity, choices, and accomplishments should echo forward.
Earned progress: Players who explored deeply should feel rewarded.
Character identity: Keep the same characters. They grew. Honor that.
Challenge: The next Threat must remain tense, resource-scarce, and dangerous.
Freshness: Discovery, exploration, and uncertainty must be preserved.
Low bookkeeping: 15–20 minutes, not an hour of accounting.
No runaway power curve. A player who carried everything forward reported "absolutely overkilling" by mid-Threat 2 with 50+ Skill cards.
No trivializing early survival. Opening scenarios are designed around resource scarcity.
No breaking Threat setup. Banished cards and certain map states are load-bearing.
No skipping gated content. High community scores could bypass designed-to-be-earned story branches.
No spoiler contamination. Carryover decisions must not require knowledge of future Threats.
No excessive bookkeeping. If it takes longer than shuffling, it's too complex.