In this review we talk about the second edition of Legacy – Life Among the Ruins, a tabletop RPG that allows you to experience the deeds of various Families and their members in a post-apocalyptic world.
Legacy was developed and published in English by UFO Press while in Italy it is localized by MS Edizioni, which we thank for providing us with a review copy. We strongly suggest that you follow both the original authors on their Facebook page and on their official website; we also recommend that you follow the Italian publisher, MS Edizioni, on its Facebook page, Instagram, Youtube and on the official website.
If you are interested in the game, you can buy it in English for 45,07 euros (48.76$) on the official store of UFO Press. Otherwise it is available for 22,53 euros (24,37$) the pdf, always here.
The Structure of the Manual
I want to start this review by talking about the Legacy manual and how splendid it is; The font with which the texts are written is well readable; also the writing style is smooth and simple. Another advantage is the robustness of the manual: you can see that it is made with high quality materials; I carried it around for more than a week in the backpack and it didn’t get a single dent.
The manual is organized into 13 chapters, each linked to a different theme, allowing a quick and effective search for information; on each page there are also side bands that remind us of the chapter in which we are and the topic we are dealing with. Another positive thing is the massive presence of examples; every time a concept is explained, we are given a complete example (placed in a side box, never invasive).
Towards the end of the manual there is a nice chapter with many tips on how to modify the game to have much more freedom; this is definitely an advantage for storytellers who like to create homebrew content. But the real point in favor is the scenario in the last chapter, which allows you to start and try the game in a few moves.
The Artistic Side of this Post-Apocalyptic Work
The artistic side of Legacy deserves a separate section of this review, not only for the images but also for how the graphic aspect is taken care of in its entirety.
We can already see it from the majestic and fascinating cover, which portends something epic. But let’s start with the images: they are many, beautiful and always themed with the setting. Some of these are imposing landscapes, others ruins of the First World, others depict survivors soiled with mud and slime; they are also well distributed in the text, causing a feeling of wonder every time you browse the manual. In short, the choice and use of images is 100 and praise.
The feeling of contentment does not end here, however; the choice of the rust color, dirty and imperfect, both for the font and for the bands on the side, intensifies the post-apocalyptic feeling. All the contours are all more or less serrated (almost ruined) makes it even more immersive.
Review of the Legacy System
Legacy is a particular and elaborate PBTA (Powered by the Apocalypse), but once learnt, it gives great satisfaction. Given this game system, there are therefore various Moves; when you make one, you roll 2d6 add the modifiers of the characteristics (ranging from -1 to +3) and so the result is outlined, which can go from a Full Success to a Failure; for each Move the various achievable results are well explained.
One real peculiarity of Legacy is that we have two booklets: one of the Characters and one of the Family, since the game is divided into two levels; the first is that of the Family, in which you have the opportunity to influence the game world and make moves that modify it. The second level is that of the Character, with whom you go to live the deeds of your character in the first person. This zoom change takes place at the request of the players, who declare when they are most interested in seeing what happens at the Family level or at the Character level.
Another important feature is the management of resources through the Surplus and Necessity mechanism; when we have a surplus of resources in our Family, we will write them under the Surplus, so we can exploit them as we want. If we have a shortage, they should be noted among the Necessities. Surplus and Necessity are given by both some Moves and narration.
The change of Zoom, Surplus and Needs, at the beginning can be strange and complex; for this reason having a good party very cooperative and proactive can be a great help, even just to avoid overloading the master of tasks. In any case, in the manual the mechanics are well explained, also through many examples.
Legacy Setting Review
In Legacy we do not have a precise setting, there are no geographical indications with names and references: everything is left to the players. The assumption is always that you play a post-apocalyptic game, but the system allows you to customize the experience by a lot.
This happens with the choice of tone, facilitated by the fact that each Family and Character presents a tag between Ruins, Echoes, Mirrors. If the table wants to play a post-apocalyptic Mad Max, then you will choose Families and Characters with the Ruins tag. If you want to try an experience more similar to Fallout and Horizon Zero Dawn, you will have to prefer elements with the Echoes tag. In case instead you want to turn towards a post-apocalyptic sci-fi with mutants and time travel, the Mirrors tag is the right one. Obviously the tags are not separate, they can also be combined allowing an incredible variety of situations and cast of Families and Characters.
The setting, therefore, is free and given to the players, who can create it but also observe how it evolves.
A World that Arises and Evolves
A key element of Legacy is the game map, which is created by the players; to do so, they take advantage of the prompts and suggestions available in each of the Families booklets. Being generic, they allow players to take full advantage of their imagination. In addition, if there is a need for inspiration, the manual has a chapter dedicated only to list and illustrate a series of places and dangers that can be located in their own Wastelands or from which to take inspiration.
Another central feature of this role-playing game is the evolution of the world; as we have already said, players can influence the world and when they want to instantly pass many years they can use the “Change of Era” move; it has various effects, but what in my opinion makes it special is that it must be called by all players in agreement, favoring cooperative play. Another way to influence the world is through Wonders, great works (not only buildings but also others) that radically alter the created setting. In the manual there are several examples and it is also explained how to create new ones. An example of player-created Wonders is The Capital, an immense Metropolis that will become the social hub of the Wastelands, with various buildings providing bonuses to the Family that controls them. There is also The Age of Discovery, Total War and many other proposals.
The Families of Belonging
There are 12 Playbooks in the manual and each of them represents a different Family; each Family has its own peculiarities and characteristics, which make it unique. Some are groups of humans who want to bring order to the Wastelands by conquering them, another is formed by anthropomorphic animals intent on surviving and affirming their superiority.
In addition, during the creation phase, the player will have to choose the specific moves of the family and various other characteristics, such as Lifestyle, Doctrine, Traditions and much more.
The degree of freedom of customization is therefore very high and allows players to create their Family in the way they want most, with a wide variety of choices.
Playable Characters
Now, however, let’s increase the zoom and go to analyze the Characters; the manual offers 13 booklets from which to choose, also offering a great variety here.
Each Playbook, like those of the Families, is accompanied by the same Tags so as to help players choose Characters consistent with the tone decided for the session. The booklets cover both the classic post-apocalyptic archetypes (such as the Explorer, the Elder, the Survivor and many others), as well as other more particular ones (including the Machine, the Prometeus and the Mutated One).
In creation, in addition to deciding which Character Moves to start with, we should choose their Role in the family. In fact, the game provides 4 basic Roles, which represent how the Character is seen by his family; these serve to give narrative links and describe the initial situation between the Characters.
Here too, the degree of freedom and customization left to the players is maximum.
The Narrator’s Role
Legacy, as already mentioned, is not an easy RPG to master; it requires commitment and flexibility. Fortunately, the manual has a full chapter with suggestions and ideas, all explained in a simple and immediate way. And, as mentioned earlier, a group of active players helps greatly.
In addition there is a long example of a complete game session and also a pre-made scenario to follow and to be able to open quickly. Two great tools to take the hand with a new game system!
Conclusions of the Legacy Review
In conclusion, I can say that for me Legacy is a great game, able to give an always unique experience for both players and the narrator. The replayability is also very high.
However, this freedom clashes with the need to have a proactive and cooperative group, otherwise for the narrator the task will become burdensome. However, the simple system and the various suggestions and help present in the manual give a great help to appreciate this jewel. So post-apocalypse lovers come forward, this is the game for you!
Love this game