Gang Legacies
Updated: 2026-02-26
Gangs rise and fall in Sump Sink-17, but the Sink remembers. Every campaign tells stories - the gang that held the Sump against all odds, the leader who walked out of the Seep twice, the fighter who just would not die. The Legacy system is how those stories leave a mark on the campaign, rewarding longevity and notable achievement with small but meaningful advantages that can outlast the gang that earned them.
Overview
At the end of each Narrative Arc (every 5 Cycles), the Arbitrator reviews the arc record and awards Legacy Bonuses to any gang that has earned one. Each bonus is drawn from the Legacy Table below, tied to a specific measurable milestone achieved during that arc (or cumulatively, for some entries).
Legacy Bonuses confer a small material benefit to a successor gang - extra credits, a starting skill, a stat boost, a territory advantage, or a free fighter. They are not rewards for the current gang; they are investments in what comes next. A gang earns them through play and banks them for the day they fall.
A gang may hold a maximum of 3 Legacy Bonuses at any time.
Awarding Legacy Bonuses
At each arc boundary, before the new arc begins:
- The Arbitrator reviews the campaign record for the arc just completed
- For each gang, check the Legacy Table - any milestone met during the arc (or cumulatively to date) qualifies that gang for the corresponding bonus
- If a gang qualifies for a bonus they do not already hold, the Arbitrator awards it
- If the gang already holds that bonus, it is not awarded again - each bonus can only be held once at a time
- If the award would give a gang a fourth bonus, the gang’s controlling player chooses which bonus to drop - the incoming one or one already held. Dropped bonuses are gone permanently; they cannot be passed on
Eligibility: A gang must have played at least one battle during the arc to be eligible for arc-based awards. Cumulative milestones (such as Seep-Touched) are reviewed regardless.
The 3-Bonus Cap
A gang may never hold more than 3 Legacy Bonuses simultaneously. This forces meaningful choices as campaigns mature - a long-running gang accumulates options and must decide which parts of their legacy to carry forward and which to let go.
When a fourth bonus is offered:
- The player reviews all four bonuses (the three held and the one incoming)
- They choose one to drop permanently
- The remaining three are the gang’s active legacy
There is no way to recover a dropped bonus. Choose carefully.
The Legacy Table
Bonuses are awarded by the Arbitrator at each arc boundary. Each bonus can only be held once at a time. “Arc” means the arc just completed unless otherwise noted.
| Name | Milestone | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Veteran of the Sink | Gang survives a full arc without losing a territory | +100 credits added to the successor gang’s stash at the start of their first arc |
| Apex Predator | Gang finishes an arc with the highest gang rating | The successor gang’s leader gains +1 XP at the start of their first arc |
| Scourge of the Deep | Gang wins at least one battle fought in the Sump during the arc | The successor gang’s leader begins with the Fearsome skill (no XP cost, does not count as an advance) |
| Seep-Touched | The gang’s leader has survived 5 or more battles fought in the Sump (cumulative across all arcs) | The successor gang’s leader begins with +1 Leadership |
| Arc Victor | Gang wins the arc climax scenario | The successor gang begins with +1 starting territory (drawn from the Sprawl pool) |
| Iron Hold | Gang holds the same Sump territory at the end of two consecutive arcs | The successor gang begins with a free claim on that territory - if it is unclaimed when the successor is founded, they take it without a battle |
| The Undying | Gang has at least one fighter with 10 or more battles on their record | That fighter becomes Legendary - if they are killed in a future battle, the killer’s gang gains no XP from the kill. If the fighter is still alive when the gang is retired or succeeded, the successor gang may keep them as a free starting fighter (they do not count toward the starting credits limit) |
| Notorious | Gang reaches the Most Wanted bounty tier at any point during a Tidal Cycle | The successor gang begins with +1 Reputation |
| Blood of the Sink | Gang plays at least one battle in every Cycle of an arc (no Cycles skipped or in Lockdown) | The successor gang may re-roll one result on the Lasting Injury table once during their first arc (must accept the re-roll result) |
| Relic Hunters | Gang holds a Relic Territory at any point | The successor gang draws D3+1 starting territories instead of D3 |
| The Long Game | Gang has been continuously active for 3 or more consecutive arcs | The successor gang begins with one free Hanger-On of the player’s choice (no credits cost) |
| Tunnel Saints | Complete at least one rescue objective in two different Cycles of the same arc | Once in their first arc, the successor gang may ignore one failed Bottle test |
| Black Ledger | Sell or trade with at least three distinct factions or contacts over an arc | The successor gang gets a one-time 20-credit discount on a Rare Trade purchase after their first battle |
| Floodline Cartographers | Fight in three different zones during one arc | The successor gang may re-roll one territory draw when founded |
A full Tidal Cycle is the whole of Flood Tide as well as the whole of Ebb Tide.
Relic Territories are unique named territories discovered through play - arc climax rewards, special Cycle Events, or Arbitrator-introduced locations. The first is Vault Primus-IX, accessible via the Arc III climax. Others will emerge as the campaign develops.
Gang Succession
Gangs die. Leaders fall. Warbands are scattered into the tunnels. But the Sink remembers who they were.
When a gang is wiped out (all fighters taken permanently Out of Action or sold off) or formally retired by its controlling player, that player may start a new gang as a direct narrative successor. To qualify:
- The player must provide a narrative justification the Arbitrator accepts - a splinter faction, a surviving juve who rebuilt from nothing, a family member taking up the colours, an inheritor clan, a sworn avenger. The connection must make sense in the setting
- The Arbitrator has final say on whether the succession is valid
- Successor gangs can themself be succeeded by future gangs, so legacies could last several generations.
What Carries Over
A direct successor gang inherits up to 2 Legacy Bonuses of the player’s choice from the predecessor’s current holdings. These apply immediately when the new gang is founded. Any bonuses not inherited are lost.
Bonuses that reference “successor gang” in their benefit text trigger at the moment the successor gang is founded, regardless of when they were earned.
What Does Not Carry Over
- Credits, equipment, and fighters (except via The Undying)
- Reputation and bounty status
- Territory holdings
- Any dropped Legacy Bonuses
Keeping the Record
The Arbitrator maintains the campaign’s Legacy record externally - alongside the gang rating history, territory map, and Cycle Event log. At minimum, record:
- Which bonuses each gang currently holds
- Which bonuses have been dropped (and by whom, and when)
- The succession chain for any gang that has been succeeded