Betrayal Legacy Game Rules

In Betrayal Legacy, you play a member of a family exploring a house-a house that seems to invite trouble. At some point during the game, one player triggers what is called the haunt.

At this point, one player usually becomes a traitor bent on defeating the rest of the players. The rest of the players become heroes struggling to survive. From then on, the game is a fight between the traitor and the heroes-often to the death.

Each game will change the house in some way and tell more of its story. At the end of 13 chapters (plus a prologue), you will complete the campaign portion of Betrayal Legacy. From there, you may play the game in "free play" mode. In free play, very few changes will be made to the game.

Components

1 sealed box and 1 sealed envelope
2 haunt books
1 Bleak Journal
1 sticker sheet
1 Folium Infernum
12 tiles (including 4 starting tiles)
1 numbered track
5 plastic family figures
5 colored plastic bases
5 Family cards
20 plastic clips
8 dice
7 Item cards
11 Event cards
1 Traitor card
1 Monster card
2 Legacy decks
1 Purgatory deck
20 tile planks
122 tokens
1 rulebook

Object of the Game

Explore the house and make your family member stronger until the haunt begins. After that, your goal is to complete your side's victory condition first, as either a traitor or a hero.

What is a Legacy Game?

Betrayal Legacy is a legacy game, so some things that happen in one game will carry forward to future games. Sometimes you will add cards or add stickers to materials.

Other times you may destroy components or otherwise permanently alter the game. Each group's journey and history of the house will be unique. Which families will have a penchant for madness? Which tiles will become focuses of evil?

How Does Betrayal Legacy Work?

The campaign is played over a series of chapters, each one a different game. Each chapter, players will play a member of a family. It may be the character who played in the previous chapter (if they lived) or a descendant-perhaps a nephew or child or lost cousin.

Each game is self-contained: it starts mostly the same way and proceeds until there is a winning side. At the end of the game, players will follow instructions to shape the start of the next game (and games beyond that).

Along the way, the house and its environs will change, sometimes outside the players' control.

Key Terms

Everyone: Each player, monster, or other inhabitant of the house.

Figure: The plastic pawn controlled by a player. People/Person: Anyone in the house who isn't a monster.

Traitor: Any player who has turned evil after the haunt has started. Traitors are still players.

Hero: Any player who remains good after the haunt has started. Heroes are still players.

Monster: Large or small Monster tokens during a haunt.

Item/Omen/Object: Things that are carried by players. Items and Omens are cards.

Objects appear in some haunts and are represented by tokens.

Game Elements

Read here all detailed information of the game elements.

Setup

Attach four plastic clips to your character's Family card. Each one should point to one of the starting values for their Speed, Might, Sanity, and Knowledge. The starting values are colored green.
Find the four starting tiles. Place them reasonably far apart on the table to create regions of the house and its environs.
Select a figure to represent you and place it into a base matching the color of your Family card.
(Campaign only) Privately give your character a first name and an age, and write both on the back of your Family card. (You can make up any age you like). This will likely be a new character, but if you survived the previous chapter, you may use the same character again, now older.
(Campaign only) Introduce yourself to the rest of the players, stating your character's name and age.
(Campaign only) Read the top card in the Legacy deck.
(Free play only) Shuffle all card decks separately. Shuffle the tiles to make a stack. Set out any other cards you may have found.
(Free play only) Randomly decide who goes first.

The Families

There are up to five families who will create the history of the house. Each player will play a member of the same family in each game. At the start of each chapter, write the name of your family member on the card, as well as their age.

At the end of each campaign game, record their fate (such as "Vanquished a demon!" or "Died near a well from poison"), whether they died, and whether they were a traitor.

Traits, Dice and Tiles

Traits

Each character has four traits, shown on their Family card: Speed, Might, Sanity, and Knowledge. Speed and Might are physical traits; Sanity and Knowledge are mental traits. Character traits are public knowledge.

Damage, Gaining, Losing, And Healing

Characters can take damage, causing their traits to decrease. Slide the corresponding clips down the track a total number of steps equal to the damage, divided as you choose. The type of damage determines which traits can be lowered.

Physical Damage: Lower Might and/or Speed.
Mental Damage: Lower Knowledge and/or Sanity.
General Damage: Lower any combination of traits.

You may also be instructed to lose from or lower a specific trait directly (such as "Lose 2 Speed"). That counts as taking physical or mental damage, depending on the trait.

If you take "1 die of damage", roll a die and take appropriate damage equal to the result.

If more than one person and/or monster would take damage at the same time, start with the player to the left of the current player and proceeed clockwise.

If you are instructed to gain X in a trait, you may increase that trait X steps (up to its highest step). If you are instructed to heal a trait, you may return that trait to its starting value if it is lower. Do nothing if it is equal to or higher than its starting value.

Critical Traits

When a trait is at its lowest step before the skull, it is critical. Before the haunt begins, no trait can drop below its critical value (if it would, it stays at the critical value instead). Once the haunt begins, traits can drop to the skull. If that happens, you die.

Raising and Lowering from the same Effect

Many effects in the game require you to lose from a trait in order to gain a benefit. You must be able to pay the full "penalty" in order to gain the "reward". If you can't, you do not get the benefit. For example, a tile's effect might say "If you end your turn here, you may lose 2 Might to gain 1 Sanity". If your Might is 1 step above critical, you cannot lose 2 Might, so you cannot gain 1 Sanity.

Dice and Die Rolls

There are 8 dice that come with the game. Each die has faces with 0, 1, or 2 dots. When you make a roll, total the number of dots to get the result. You can never roll more than 8 dice and you can never roll fewer than 1 die.

No result can ever be below 0, no matter how many penalties are applied. Then do what the effect says for that result.

Trait Rolls

You will often be told to make a trait roll based on one of your family's traits (for example, "Make a Might roll"). When that happens, roll dice equal to the number you currently have in that trait.

For example, if you must make a Sanity roll, and you currently have a Sanity of 4, roll 4 dice and total the dots together to get the result. The card's or tile's text will tell you the outcome.

Roll X Dice

Some effects require you to roll a certain number of dice. Pretty straightforward; just roll that many dice and add up the dots. These are not trait rolls and are not subject to anything that affects trait rolls.

Regions and tiles

The house and its environs have four regions: outside, basement, ground floor, and upper floor. Each region is separate from the others. As the house grows, you might start running out of table space. In that case, adjust the tiles as needed to make more space. Do not change how the tiles are connected; move each region as a whole.

Tiles are adjacent if they are both discovered and connected by a doorway or other effect. "Doorway" is used regardless of whether the tile is inside or outside. A doorway that is not connected to another tile is an open doorway.

The Ground Floor Staircase is adjacent to the Upper Landing and the Basement Landing (and vice versa). The Front Steps tile, which is in the outside region, is adjacent to the Entrance Hall (and vice versa).

Game Play

At the start of your turn, do the following in order:

Set any used Items and Omens you are carrying to unused.
Gain moves equal to your current Speed.
Take your turn, using moves and taking actions as you like until you are out of both or choose not to do any more. You can perform actions in between moves, after you are out of moves, or before moving.

Moving

Moves are used most often to travel to an adjacent tile or to discover a new tile. You use 1 move for each tile you leave. No matter how many penalties you have on a turn or how many obstacles you face, you can always move to a tile adjacent to where you started.

Obstacles: Each small obstacle on a tile costs 1 extra move when leaving that tile.

Each large obstacle on a tile costs 2 extra moves when leaving that tile. Also, Small Monster tokens are small obstacles and Large Monster tokens are large obstacles to the heroes.

Whenever you draw a card from the Event, Omen, or Item deck for any reason, you lose any remaining moves you had. You can still take actions.

Secret Passages

The house has secret passages within it. In the prologue, there is one tile with a secret passage (the Crawlspace). As you play, you will find ways to place Secret Passage stickers on tiles.

A tile with a secret passage is adjacent to every other tile with a secret passage.

Discovering a new Tile

When you leave a tile through a doorway not connected to a tile, look at the back of the top tile of the stack. If it has the name of the region you are in (some tiles can go into more than one region), turn it over and connect it by aligning a doorway on the new tile to the doorway you just passed through. Then move into that tile. You have discovered it.

Add each new tile as logically as you can, connecting as many adjacent doorways as you can. Two tiles (the Entrance Hall and Front Steps) have a bump on one side to show that tiles cannot be placed on those sides.

If the top tile can't go on the region you're currently on, bury it. Keep burying tiles until you find one that matches your region.

Most tiles have a symbol on their face-up side, representing an Event, Item, or Omen. When you first discover a tile with one of these symbols, draw a card with the matching symbol. (Tiles with these symbols are called Event tiles, Item tiles, and Omen tiles). Some tiles also have an action on them.

Some tiles have more than one symbol. When discovering such a tile, resolve each symbol from left to right. Players cannot take any actions before or between resolving these symbols.

Players who enter a previously discovered tile do not draw a card when they enter but still are affected by text on the tile and can take any action printed on the tile.

Runestones

Some tiles contain Runestone symbols. You can ignore these unless a card or haunt tells you otherwise.

Ghosts

Most tiles have circles on them showing where ghosts will come to haunt the house. Some tiles start with ghosts on them. Omens harness the energy of ghosts in the house and are more powerful on tiles with ghosts. Some Event cards will be more painful on tiles with ghosts.

Turn Timing when Discovering a Tile

You might be required to do multiple things when discovering a tile. Resolve them in the following order.

Resolve any symbol(s) from left to right, one at a time. You cannot take any actions while resolving Event cards.
If you drew an Omen card and the haunt hasn't started, check to see if the haunt starts. If the haunt starts, your turn is immediately over. Do not resolve any other symbols or effects on the tile. Otherwise, your turn contintues.
You may take any action(s) printed on the tile.
Resolve any text that says "If you end your turn on this tile . . ". If there are multiple "end of turn" effects on a tile, you may resolve them in any order you like.

Infrequent Tile Rules

Discovering multiple tiles in a turn

If you are ever forced to discover a new tile due to a game effect, you draw a card and follow any other text on the tile as if you had discovered it the traditional way. This is true even if you already discovered a tile (and drew a card) this turn.

False Features

If it's impossible to match up all doorways, you instead create a false feature (perhaps a closet or thicket). You can't move through these false features.

No more tiles for that region

If you try to discover a new tile but have run out of tiles for that region, you do not spend a move since you did not enter a new tile. You may continue your turn as if you didn't just try to walk into a closet. Or thicket.

Don't Seal Off a Region

You can't place a tile so that it seals off a region, leaving no unconnected doorways. If the only possible placement of a tile would seal off a region, bury it and draw tiles until you find one that leaves a free doorway. In the unlikely event that all the remaining tiles for a region would seal off the region, rearrange the region until there is are least one unconnected doorway.

Cards

Read here all detailed information about cards.

Actions

Read here all detailed information about actions.

The Haunt

Making A Haunt Roll

Before the haunt starts, each time you draw an Omen card, you might trigger the haunt.

When you discover an Omen tile and draw an Omen card, most of the time you will make a haunt roll (in campaign mode, there may be another way to trigger the haunt, explained by the Legacy deck). To make a haunt roll, roll dice equal to the number of discovered Omen cards (including the one you just drew, any carried by other players, and any that have been dropped onto tiles). During the campaign, look at the PAUSE card to see what result causes the haunt to start.

The player who starts the haunt is the haunt revealer. After the haunt starts, if you discover a tile with an Omen symbol, you still draw and keep an Omen card, but you don't make a haunt roll.

Starting The Haunt

Haunts are usually found in two books: Secrets of Survival (the heroes' book) and the Traitor's Tome (the traitor's book). Some are found only in one book or another (and you will be told when this happens).

Most of the time a haunt has two teams: heroes and a traitor. Both sides read the same haunt number in their books to learn the rules for that haunt. If a haunt's rules and the regular rules conflict, use the rules in the haunt.

If two or more people could be the traitor, draw a random Crest token from tied families to determine the traitor.

Variable Player Count {3p/4p/5p}

Most haunts have different target numbers depending on the number of players. For example, you may need to kill more Rats in the five-player game than the three-player game. Whenever you see braces with three numbers, such as {1/5/7}, this tells you the number you need depending on how many players are in the game. In this case, 1 is for the three-player game, 5 is for the four-player game, and 7 is for the five-player game.

Public Information

At the start of each haunt (in both books) are two pieces of information that all sides should hear (the heroes and traitor should hear this starting information in the other book).

First, thematic entries tell you the story of what is happening. The last italicized paragraph starts "I/ We know this/these things to be true:" followed by one to three statements. These are hints about what the other side is up to. They may be vague, but they are true.

Setup: You might have to put tokens on certain tiles, or adjust traits, or find a tile that hasn't been placed yet. If there's nothing for your side to do, this part will say "None!" Players should do setup together so everyone can see what is being put into play.

Splitting Up

At this point, the groups usually split up. When the haunt starts, one side (heroes or traitor) should take their book and leave the room, far enough away so neither team can hear each other. The traitor usually learns their haunt alone. It's lonely being evil. But often a good time!

Learning The Haunt

After splitting up, each side should read how to win, then all the goals needed to win, listed (where possible) in the order you should complete them.

For example, here's how that looks in Haunt 0 in Secrets of Survival. This is an example haunt to show you how haunts are formatted. It contains no spoilers.

You Win When You Banish The Bride.

You may Find the Bride's Diary.
You may Read the Diary to improve your chances of banishing her.
Banish the Bride to bring her final rest.

Next, facts about the haunt are listed: special rules or other important details that your side needs to know, rather than do.

Resuming Play

When both sides are ready, all players return to the room and take their turns in the following order.

The hero to the left of the traitor takes the first turn.
Play continues to the left, with the traitor going after all heroes have gone.
If there is a monster in the haunt, the monster takes a turn after the traitor. (The haunt will tell you where to put the Monster card to remind everyone when the monster takes a turn).

In haunts where there is no traitor (or the traitor starts hidden or unknown), the haunt will tell you who goes first.

Other than the time when the heroes and traitor separate to learn the haunts, everyone must converse only where everyone at the table can hear them; they can't leave and have side conversations elsewhere.

Moving Past Opponents

After the haunt starts, opponents act as small obstacles. Heroes are opponents to the traitor and monsters, and vice versa.

Hidden Information

Other than what is read aloud at the start of the haunt, all information in the other book is private at the start of the haunt. However, if you don't understand how a goal, reaction, or power works, it is better to ask the other side before doing it so that everyone can agree on the rule. Springing surprises is fun, but it is a tiny issue to reveal information early and get agreement from all players.

Also, when you take an action in a box, the other side can ask you to read the entire text. For example, if a side goal had you make a roll to find a piece of a sacred tablet, once you made that roll, the other side could ask you to read the entire side goal box. When the monster first attacks, the other side may ask about its traits, and so on. You don't have to ask about the other side-some people like to be surprised as they play.

So You're Evil Now

When you become a traitor, you get a wonderful little benefits package, which is summed up on the Traitor card. Traitors will be instructed to take this card at the start of the haunt as a reminder.

As the traitor, you gain these abilities:

You ignore Obstacle tokens (heroes still count as obstacles).
You don't take damage from tile effects.
When taking an action on a tile, you may use a result of 5 instead of making a trait roll.
When you discover an Event tile, you may choose not to draw an Event card (and continue moving if you have moves left). If you draw an Event card, you must resolve it as normal.
You may ignore harmful effects from Ongoing Event cards. If you do so, you do not benefit from any positive effects from those cards.
You are immune to any negative ghost effects on Event cards.

The haunt will state any additional things you can and can't do.

Hidden Traitor

Some haunts feature a hidden traitor, whose identity is secret from the other players. The haunt will tell you how the traitor is determined. Haunts with hidden traitors do not appear in the Traitor's Tome. Instead, the goals and abilities of the traitor are described under the haunt in Secrets of Survival, which everyone reads.

The Traitor

Gray boxes show up in haunts with a hidden or unknown traitor. This information is public, but only relevant to the traitor.

Monsters

Monsters behave differently than players. They take a turn when play reaches the Monster card. Usually this is after the traitor's turn. In rare cases, the monster still takes a turn even if it's dead. The haunt will note this.

Monster Abilities:

Monsters make a Speed roll at the start of their turn to determine their moves (minimum of 1). This applies to all monsters of the same type.
Monsters don't take damage from tile effects.
Monsters can't discover new tiles.
Monsters may use special movement on cards or tiles (the traitor chooses the result if there is a die roll) unless it would allow them to discover a new tile.
Monsters can't carry or STEAL Items, Omens, or Objects.
Monsters don't take actions (including ATTACK) except for what the haunt says they can take.

The haunt will state any additional things monsters can and can't do.

Most monsters can't be killed. If a monster would take damage, it is stunned instead. Flip its token over to the stunned side. A stunned monster's entire next turn is spent getting unstunned. The only thing it does is flip its token back to the unstunned side. Skip all text in the monster box for a stunned monster, even mandatory reaction text. Stunned monsters aren't obstacles.

Small Monster tokens are numbered from 1 to 20. Small monsters always take their turns in number order from lowest to highest.

Each monster moves and takes all its actions before the next one goes, unless the haunt says otherwise. (Some act as a swarm, moving all at once and then attacking as a group).

Monsters act as obstacles depending on their size. Small monsters are small obstacles (they cost 1 extra move to leave) and large monsters are large obstacles (2 extra moves to leave).

If a monster is allowed to carry Items, Omens, or Objects and is stunned, it drops anything it carried. The monster can't pick them up again until it starts a turn unstunned.

Dying

Once the haunt begins, if any of your traits moves to the skull, then you die. Tip over your figure on your tile. DROP all your Items, Omens, and Objects. You are now a corpse.

Even if the traitor dies, as long as the monsters can complete the haunt's goals, the monsters still get their turn (under the traitor's control) and the traitor can still win.

End of the Game

The first side to complete its goals for the haunt wins the game.

During The Campaign

There are three steps you will take at the end of a game during the campaign.

1. Read Chapter Ending

At the end of the game, haunts will direct you to the chapter ending in the Bleak Journal to read more of the story. Use the entry for the side that won the haunt. For example, haunt 72 might tell you to go to entry 800 if the heroes win or entry 666 if the traitor wins. Make sure you go to the correct entry in the Bleak Journal.

The chapter ending will continue the story and tell you which cards from the Purgatory deck to add or intensify (see page 11). There also may be other effects at the end of a chapter.

2. Record your Fate

Write down the fate of your character. This has no game effect and is purely for your narrative amusement. Have fun with it.

3. Return Cards

Return any cards that were put into the box back to their respective decks.

4. Record the history of the house

The back of the Traitor's Tome has three pages where you may record any interesting moments from this chapter so that the history of your house is never forgotten. This has no game effect.

Joining the campaign

You do not have to use the same number of families, or even the same families, for each chapter. You could have the blue, green, and red families in one chapter and then the blue, green, yellow, and purple families in another.

If a family has missed MORE than half of the played chapters, give them three random Items after step 7 of setup and have them keep one. Shuffle the other two back into the Item deck.

The player may heirloom this item if it has a slot available, following usual heirloom rules, except this does NOT count toward the once-per-game limit on making heirlooms.

What if we can't figure out a rule?

Betrayal games mix effects on cards, haunts, rules, and tiles to create interesting combinations. We have tried to make it easy to understand how all these different effects might work together.

However, the nature of the game means that you will inevitably find combinations that create uncertainty. In addition, legacy games create higher stakes since some effects are permanent. Here are a few guidelines when faced with uncertainty:

Rules in haunts trump other rules.

Rules on cards or tiles trump rules in the rulebook.

If you find a single card, rule, or effect that gives you a wildly powerful moment, that probably isn't its intention.

If you find a combination of several cards, rules, and effects that give you an advantage, that probably is the intention.

If an effect seems wildly unfair, that is not the correct interpretation.

Although it is a game of murder, insanity, horror, and other savagery, be mindful of other players' experiences as well. Arguing about rules loopholes isn't horror, it's horrific.