The Black Sheep Challenge
This is a new challenge, written by me, in which you create a toddler Sim and spoil him through his toddler/child/teen years. Then when he becomes an adult, your job is to redeem him!
The official rules will be kept updated here on this google doc if there are any changes. I like this doc better for easier and prettier formatting, but I've also pasted the rules below.
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The Black Sheep Challenge
REQUIREMENTS
The Sims 4 Parenthood: (for the earned childhood traits)
The Sims 4 Get Famous: (for the reputation system)
TLDR SUMMARY:
Raise a spoiled, rotten, terrible child, but then redeem them in their adulthood.
THE STORY
Note: Your Sim (hereafter called either the Golden Child (childhood) or The Black Sheep (adulthood)) may be any gender, but for the purposes of this document we’ll use he/him pronouns).
The Black Sheep didn’t start out as a bad person. In his early life, he was his parents’ Golden Child. He was born into privilege. He’s never wanted for any toy or object, and all his whims are fulfilled. His parents, world-famous billionaires, are far away most of the time, travelling the world and tending to their businesses and living the jet-set life.
Sadly, this means they are not present in their child’s life. Not to worry! The little tyke isn’t all on his own. He has all the comforts money can buy, including servants and a live-in au pair who will see to his every need. His parents make sure he wants for nothing. Nothing is too good for their baby!
THE SETUP
Note: This challenge occasionally requires cheats. To enable them, hit Ctrl-Shift C (on a PC) to bring up the cheat menu. Type testingcheats on in the cheat window to enable cheats. You may need to repeat it before each cheat, even in the same gaming session.
Step 1: Create two Sims.
A young adult of any gender to be the au pair. Think of them like a maid/nanny you control. They can have any traits and aspiration you desire. Remember: their focus must be caring for the Golden Child throughout his childhood, so you may want to use their traits to help in that regard and not give them an aspiration that will interfere with their primary duty. (“Fabulously Wealthy” will be instantly achieved due to setup and IS allowed.)
A toddler to be the Golden Child. Choose any toddler trait except angelic.
Their relationship should be “roommates” and not family members.
Step 2: The Trust Fund
Give your household as much money as you want. I’d recommend §1,000,000 so your au pair never has to worry about paying bills or buying the Golden Child anything he wants. But if you need more, that’s fine. Use the cheat money 1000000 to give the household a million simoleons.
Step 3: Build or Buy a mansion
The house should be a mansion with all the comforts to fulfill the child’s wants and needs. Go crazy. You can build it yourself, kick an existing family out of a pre-built home, or download one from the gallery. You can use the cheat FreeRealEstate on if you wish.
You may choose any lot traits you wish.
If you have the Seasons pack: You may start in any season. You may make the seasons any length you wish. I prefer 14 days so holidays aren’t constantly coming. If it’s winter when he gets kicked out of the mansion, good luck. 👿
CHALLENGE RULES
General Rules:
Play on any lifespan length. Using potions or other in-game methods to extend their lifespan is allowed.
No mods/cheats that would give an advantage or make the challenge easier
You may use aspiration points as you wish (other than retraiting- see below for information on retraiting rules.)
If your Golden Child/Black Sheep completes one aspiration, he may choose ANY other, even those previously prohibited.
>> PHASE 1: SPOILING THE GOLDEN CHILD <<
When your Golden Child is a toddler/child, the au pair lives in the mansion, taking care of his every need.
For the Golden Child’s childhood years (toddler/child/teen):
Rules specific to toddler/child years:
Rules specific to teen years:
CHILDHOOD TRAIT REQUIREMENTS
Because the Golden Child is indulged and undisciplined his entire young life, before he ages into a young adult, he must:
1) Achieve all five of the negative earned traits (from the Parenthood EP): Bad manners, Irresponsible, Argumentative, Insensitive, and Uncontrolled Emotions. You’ll know you’ve done enough to receive the negative trait in adulthood if the background icon of the trait has a red flare behind it.
2) They must have achieved an Atrocious Reputation (from the Get Famous pack.)
As soon as both of these things are true, you may age up the Golden Child. If you choose to keep him younger for longer, keep an eye on these traits as they can go positive if he does positive things. They MUST be far enough in the red to receive all five negative adulthood traits before he ages up.
>> PHASE 2: THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION <<
At the end of his teen years, word spreads like wildfire about The Golden Child’s horrific reputation and his parents hear about it! They are shocked! (Even worse, his bad reputation is tarnishing their good reputation! The headlines are disastrous!)
They’re so dismayed at his terrible antics that they disinherit him and kick him out of the house to teach him a lesson and distance themselves from his notoriety. No more luxury for him! The Golden Child is now the Black Sheep, shunned and outcast for his abhorrent behavior.
He has to turn his life around, but all of those negative traits will take work to overcome!
CASTING HIM OUT:
Rules for the adult years:
GOALS FOR THE ADULT YEARS:
His focus is trying to make amends to his community for his earlier bad behavior and get back into his parents’ good graces. By doing good and working hard, he can be redeemed and get rid of the bad traits he earned as a child.
OVERCOMING BAD TRAITS
EARNED BAD TRAITS
The traits he earned by being a terror in his childhood (irresponsible, argumentative, bad manners, etc) will make his life incredibly difficult. You’ll find it harder to make friends, to successfully flirt, or ever get promoted. (Like, quite a bit harder.)
However, there are ways to redeem himself (and remove those bad traits.)
Note: You must use cheats to remove these traits, so be sure before you enter any of the cheats below, you type testingcheats on in the cheat window.
ARGUMENTATIVE
To prove he can be kind and make friends, the Black Sheep must become “good friends” with someone who formerly despised him (or an enemy). Note: If by some miracle he got through early life without other Sims hating him or all his enemies are dead, you can substitute the goal of getting 5 new relationships to the “good friend” level.
Remove the trait with the cheat: traits.remove_trait argumentative
BAD MANNERS
To prove he can behave himself in public and maintain his social standing, he must host FIVE prestige social events at a GOLD award level with at least FIVE guests in attendance. No one should pass out, pee themselves, or die at an event for it to count. I mean, seriously.
Remove the trait with the cheat: traits.remove_trait badmanners
UNCONTROLLED EMOTIONS
Prove your Black Sheep has learned to deal with stress in a healthy way by having him get to Level 10 of a calming skill: wellness (from Spa Day), fitness, guitar, violin, piano, pipe organ (from Vampires), fishing, dancing, painting, writing, gardening, or singing. Choose a skill he has no experience or the least experience in at the start of his adult life. Do not choose a skill required for his job or aspiration. (Though if you complete an adult aspiration, the second aspiration can use this skill if you wish.)
Remove the trait with the cheat: traits.remove_trait uncontrolled
IRRESPONSIBLE
To prove he can handle responsibility, he must go to his career job (not an odd job or part time work) on time and having completed all daily tasks EIGHT TIMES (does not have to be consecutive.)
Remove the trait with the cheat: traits.remove_trait irresponsible
UNFEELING/INSENSITIVE
To prove he understands how privileged he was as a child, he must spend some time helping the less fortunate. Have him volunteer at least 10 times.
Remove the trait with the cheat: traits.remove_trait unfeeling
SELECTED BAD TRAITS
When your Black Sheep starts his adult life, he will have three negative traits that you chose from the selected list (jealous, hot-headed, slob, etc). In order to change those bad traits to something good, your Sim must spend aspiration points and buy a potion, but in order to “earn” it, he must first complete the following achievements:
Reach the top of a reputable career
Achieve a positive reputation (in the green)
Achieve his lifetime aspiration
He may retrait ONE negative trait per achievement. Note: The retraiting potions are expensive at a whopping 5,000 points each, so he’ll have to work hard to buy three!
Once he rids himself of all these negative traits, his parents will see how hard he’s worked and welcome him back to reconcile their differences. Maybe they’ll even admit that they should have been around more in his childhood to guide him along a positive path. No doubt he won’t make the same mistakes his parents did! Congratulations! You’ve turned things around for our Black Sheep!
If you do this challenge, please let me know! Please link to these official rules (and if you’re feeling kind, to my Twitter and/or YouTube channel.) If you want to get in touch with me, Twitter is probably going to get a much faster response than anywhere else!
I hope you enjoy the challenge!
The official rules will be kept updated here on this google doc if there are any changes. I like this doc better for easier and prettier formatting, but I've also pasted the rules below.
==============
REQUIREMENTS
The Sims 4 Parenthood: (for the earned childhood traits)
The Sims 4 Get Famous: (for the reputation system)
TLDR SUMMARY:
Raise a spoiled, rotten, terrible child, but then redeem them in their adulthood.
THE STORY
Note: Your Sim (hereafter called either the Golden Child (childhood) or The Black Sheep (adulthood)) may be any gender, but for the purposes of this document we’ll use he/him pronouns).
The Black Sheep didn’t start out as a bad person. In his early life, he was his parents’ Golden Child. He was born into privilege. He’s never wanted for any toy or object, and all his whims are fulfilled. His parents, world-famous billionaires, are far away most of the time, travelling the world and tending to their businesses and living the jet-set life.
Sadly, this means they are not present in their child’s life. Not to worry! The little tyke isn’t all on his own. He has all the comforts money can buy, including servants and a live-in au pair who will see to his every need. His parents make sure he wants for nothing. Nothing is too good for their baby!
THE SETUP
Note: This challenge occasionally requires cheats. To enable them, hit Ctrl-Shift C (on a PC) to bring up the cheat menu. Type testingcheats on in the cheat window to enable cheats. You may need to repeat it before each cheat, even in the same gaming session.
Step 1: Create two Sims.
A young adult of any gender to be the au pair. Think of them like a maid/nanny you control. They can have any traits and aspiration you desire. Remember: their focus must be caring for the Golden Child throughout his childhood, so you may want to use their traits to help in that regard and not give them an aspiration that will interfere with their primary duty. (“Fabulously Wealthy” will be instantly achieved due to setup and IS allowed.)
A toddler to be the Golden Child. Choose any toddler trait except angelic.
Their relationship should be “roommates” and not family members.
Step 2: The Trust Fund
Give your household as much money as you want. I’d recommend §1,000,000 so your au pair never has to worry about paying bills or buying the Golden Child anything he wants. But if you need more, that’s fine. Use the cheat money 1000000 to give the household a million simoleons.
Step 3: Build or Buy a mansion
The house should be a mansion with all the comforts to fulfill the child’s wants and needs. Go crazy. You can build it yourself, kick an existing family out of a pre-built home, or download one from the gallery. You can use the cheat FreeRealEstate on if you wish.
You may choose any lot traits you wish.
If you have the Seasons pack: You may start in any season. You may make the seasons any length you wish. I prefer 14 days so holidays aren’t constantly coming. If it’s winter when he gets kicked out of the mansion, good luck. 👿
CHALLENGE RULES
General Rules:
Play on any lifespan length. Using potions or other in-game methods to extend their lifespan is allowed.
No mods/cheats that would give an advantage or make the challenge easier
You may use aspiration points as you wish (other than retraiting- see below for information on retraiting rules.)
If your Golden Child/Black Sheep completes one aspiration, he may choose ANY other, even those previously prohibited.
When your Golden Child is a toddler/child, the au pair lives in the mansion, taking care of his every need.
For the Golden Child’s childhood years (toddler/child/teen):
- Hiring maids, butlers, gardeners, or caterers is encouraged.
- Money is unlimited. Motherlode your heart out.
- As much as possible, indulge his whims.
- He must not get an A or B in school. Studying is for plebs.
- He must never do homework, extra credit work, or projects. The only exception is if he’s in danger of failing out of elementary school, as failing school as a child can cause him to be taken away.
- He can skip school as much as he likes, especially as a teen.
- He should never do “servant stuff”. No cleaning, gardening, or cooking. (As a teen, he can order pizza, dine out, or hire a caterer.)
- When given the option to give him a trait (starting in childhood through young adulthood), randomize until you get one of the following: LAZY,
SLOB, ERRATIC, HOTHEAD, MEAN, EVIL, or JEALOUS
Rules specific to toddler/child years:
- Choose any child aspiration EXCEPT Whiz Kid (since that requires good grades).
- The au pair must never discipline the child, correct bad behavior, or set a curfew.
- You can age the toddler after they reach at least level 3 in each skill (or keep going to try to max out skills. That part is up to you.)
- You can age up the child to a teen any time after they reach their childhood aspiration.
Rules specific to teen years:
- Once he hits the teen years, the Golden Child whines to his parents that he’s too old for a babysitter. Move the au pair out of the mansion
- using Manage Words/Split Household. (Or kill them if you prefer. You monster.)
- ASPIRATIONS: His parents insist he choose something respectable if he’s going to live on his own. So choose any except: Deviance, Vampire (either one), Bodybuilder, Grilled Cheese, Master Mixologist, Joke Star, Party Animal. If other aspirations are available in other packs, use your judgement about the keeping to the spirit of the challenge.
Special note about the two Fortune Aspirations: These cannot be selected until he leaves the mansion in adulthood. Otherwise it would be instantly fulfilled at the top level because of his parents’ wealth. If you want to use this one for story purposes, give him a different one in his teen years and change it after he moves out and has no money in the household funds. - He should never read books. Nerd.
- He cannot hold a teen job.
- He should prioritize his own wants/needs/whims over anything else.
- You may age him into a young adult as soon as he’s met the trait and reputation requirements below.
CHILDHOOD TRAIT REQUIREMENTS
Because the Golden Child is indulged and undisciplined his entire young life, before he ages into a young adult, he must:
1) Achieve all five of the negative earned traits (from the Parenthood EP): Bad manners, Irresponsible, Argumentative, Insensitive, and Uncontrolled Emotions. You’ll know you’ve done enough to receive the negative trait in adulthood if the background icon of the trait has a red flare behind it.
2) They must have achieved an Atrocious Reputation (from the Get Famous pack.)
As soon as both of these things are true, you may age up the Golden Child. If you choose to keep him younger for longer, keep an eye on these traits as they can go positive if he does positive things. They MUST be far enough in the red to receive all five negative adulthood traits before he ages up.
At the end of his teen years, word spreads like wildfire about The Golden Child’s horrific reputation and his parents hear about it! They are shocked! (Even worse, his bad reputation is tarnishing their good reputation! The headlines are disastrous!)
They’re so dismayed at his terrible antics that they disinherit him and kick him out of the house to teach him a lesson and distance themselves from his notoriety. No more luxury for him! The Golden Child is now the Black Sheep, shunned and outcast for his abhorrent behavior.
He has to turn his life around, but all of those negative traits will take work to overcome!
CASTING HIM OUT:
- Before he moves out, the Black Sheep may sneak one item away with him (in his personal or household inventory), but it must be something a person could realistically carry (no grand pianos, king-sized beds, or hot tubs). It can’t be something bought specifically for homeless life (like a tent or bush to pee in.) He can never sell this item, as it has enormous sentimental significance to him. Suggestions: a skill item like a guitar/violin, decorative objects, a laptop/tablet, etc. But as long as you keep to the spirit of the rules, anything is fine.
- Be sure you fire the maid/gardener and pay any bills due before you move him out, otherwise the workers will come to your empty lot and the bills will come to your new address.
- Move him out of the mansion (leaving all furniture behind) and place him on to an empty lot. Use the money cheat to take away his funds. (money 0)
Rules for the adult years:
- He must learn the value of hard work and should have no servants (exception: hiring workers for party events (like a wedding, dinner party, etc, or at venues).
- He should repair broken items rather than simply replacing them. The exception is if he upgrades to a more expensive option.
- No money cheats are allowed - he has to work for his simoleons!
If he had pets as a child, he must take them with him and provide for their needs.
He may do odd jobs in the beginning to feed himself, but when it comes to choosing a career, he must choose something that will impress his demanding and snobbish parents. Therefore, he cannot be: Criminal, Villain, Freelancer, Internet Personality, Style Influencer, eSport Gamer, Mixologist, or Comedy. If other careers become available in later packs, use your best judgement on what people like his snooty parents would find respectable! - You may choose to own a retail business or restaurant, but it will not fulfill the requirements of completing an “impressive” career.
If he has children, he should be a hands-on parent and try to raise them right and not leave everything to his spouse or other household members. (He doesn’t have to be a stay-at-home parent, but he should be an active part of his child’s life.) - The restriction on reading is lifted. He’s learned that books have a lot to offer!
- He cannot bribe his boss or take up any sketchy opportunity like helping someone launder money. It’s tempting to make some fast cash, but he’s got something to prove to the world and he’s determined to make the right decisions from here on out.
GOALS FOR THE ADULT YEARS:
His focus is trying to make amends to his community for his earlier bad behavior and get back into his parents’ good graces. By doing good and working hard, he can be redeemed and get rid of the bad traits he earned as a child.
OVERCOMING BAD TRAITS
EARNED BAD TRAITS
The traits he earned by being a terror in his childhood (irresponsible, argumentative, bad manners, etc) will make his life incredibly difficult. You’ll find it harder to make friends, to successfully flirt, or ever get promoted. (Like, quite a bit harder.)
However, there are ways to redeem himself (and remove those bad traits.)
Note: You must use cheats to remove these traits, so be sure before you enter any of the cheats below, you type testingcheats on in the cheat window.
ARGUMENTATIVE
To prove he can be kind and make friends, the Black Sheep must become “good friends” with someone who formerly despised him (or an enemy). Note: If by some miracle he got through early life without other Sims hating him or all his enemies are dead, you can substitute the goal of getting 5 new relationships to the “good friend” level.
Remove the trait with the cheat: traits.remove_trait argumentative
BAD MANNERS
To prove he can behave himself in public and maintain his social standing, he must host FIVE prestige social events at a GOLD award level with at least FIVE guests in attendance. No one should pass out, pee themselves, or die at an event for it to count. I mean, seriously.
Remove the trait with the cheat: traits.remove_trait badmanners
UNCONTROLLED EMOTIONS
Prove your Black Sheep has learned to deal with stress in a healthy way by having him get to Level 10 of a calming skill: wellness (from Spa Day), fitness, guitar, violin, piano, pipe organ (from Vampires), fishing, dancing, painting, writing, gardening, or singing. Choose a skill he has no experience or the least experience in at the start of his adult life. Do not choose a skill required for his job or aspiration. (Though if you complete an adult aspiration, the second aspiration can use this skill if you wish.)
Remove the trait with the cheat: traits.remove_trait uncontrolled
IRRESPONSIBLE
To prove he can handle responsibility, he must go to his career job (not an odd job or part time work) on time and having completed all daily tasks EIGHT TIMES (does not have to be consecutive.)
Remove the trait with the cheat: traits.remove_trait irresponsible
UNFEELING/INSENSITIVE
To prove he understands how privileged he was as a child, he must spend some time helping the less fortunate. Have him volunteer at least 10 times.
Remove the trait with the cheat: traits.remove_trait unfeeling
SELECTED BAD TRAITS
When your Black Sheep starts his adult life, he will have three negative traits that you chose from the selected list (jealous, hot-headed, slob, etc). In order to change those bad traits to something good, your Sim must spend aspiration points and buy a potion, but in order to “earn” it, he must first complete the following achievements:
Reach the top of a reputable career
Achieve a positive reputation (in the green)
Achieve his lifetime aspiration
He may retrait ONE negative trait per achievement. Note: The retraiting potions are expensive at a whopping 5,000 points each, so he’ll have to work hard to buy three!
Once he rids himself of all these negative traits, his parents will see how hard he’s worked and welcome him back to reconcile their differences. Maybe they’ll even admit that they should have been around more in his childhood to guide him along a positive path. No doubt he won’t make the same mistakes his parents did! Congratulations! You’ve turned things around for our Black Sheep!
If you do this challenge, please let me know! Please link to these official rules (and if you’re feeling kind, to my Twitter and/or YouTube channel.) If you want to get in touch with me, Twitter is probably going to get a much faster response than anywhere else!
I hope you enjoy the challenge!
