Regicide Legacy
Regicide Legacy Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
About the Game
Regicide Legacy is a cooperative game where you work together to defeat powerful enemies across a series of perilous missions. You will control the 40 members of the Golden Blade Syndicate, an up-market, adventurers-for-hire guild, represented by a deck of cards. Each of the 12 missions in the game has its own mission pack that contains new enemies you must defeat and brand new mission rules to keep you on your toes.
Over the course of the game the Golden Blades will grow in size as other characters join their ranks. These new recruits will bring new skills and abilities, granting you and your teammates new paths to victory. However, beware! As your party grows in strength, so too will the challenges that await you!
Upon completing the final mission your legacy campaign will be over. But you'll unlock a new, fresh way to play, allowing you to play with your customised party deck in a new, replayable game mode.
QR codes can be found throughout the game. Scan them for extra info to help you set up and play each mission.
A Note to Players Familiar with Regicide
Regicide Legacy is based on the 2020 game Regicide. The rules for the first mission are very similar to the Regicide you're familiar with, however there are a few changes to be aware of before you begin. Also, it is still worth reading this rulebook all the way through. A strong understanding of the structure of the turns will be essential for when the missions become more complex.
Starting Player. The starting player is the first player to play a card, that is, any player may go first.
Jester. The jester rule has changed, read the new rule on page 20 (page 26 for solo).
Feign Death. When discarding cards to suffer damage, a player may discard a full hand of cards (e.g., 6 cards in a 3 player game) to satisfy damage suffered, even if the total strength of those cards do not add up to the amount of damage to suffer. For a full explanation see Feign Death on page 18.
Enemy Defeated Step. Take special note of the order in which the enemy defeated step is resolved as this order becomes very important in later missions.
If You Lose. The first time you lose a mission, open the pack labeled M.
Communication. Even if you're an experienced player, you should read the communication rules on page 24 before playing your first mission.
"Top quality adventurers for hire, the best that money can buy. Whether you need a little help moving hut or want to clear out a den of wyvern, the Golden Blade Syndicate has got you covered!" — Glamelyn, Head of New Business
Components
- 42 party cards
- 4 player helper cards
- 110 standard sleeves
- 25 corrupted sleeves
- 12 mission boxes
- 5 extra content packs
- 1 token bag
- 12 skull tokens
- 2 tracker tokens
- 1 central playmat
- 4 player playmats
Important! Only open each mission box when you have completed the previous mission. Extra content packs are also included in the game. Only open these when instructed to.
Your Party
Put the 42 party cards into the standard sleeves provided. The 40 cards (not including the 2 jesters) are the members of the Golden Blade Syndicate and will form your starting party. They are made up of 4 classes each with 10 characters, those numbered 2 to 10 and the four animal companions.
As you play new missions some cards will be added to your party and some may be removed. Be sure to keep your party intact between missions, whatever was added or removed should stay that way for your next mission attempt. At times you will also add temporary cards to your reserve deck for your current mission attempt (e.g. jesters). Cards added to your reserve deck this way do not join your permanent party and should be reset correctly after each mission according to the rules for that mission. For example, jesters are added to your reserve deck depending on the number of players. If the number of players change between mission attempts, be sure to update the number of jesters accordingly.
Mission Packs
Open mission pack one now.
When you open a mission pack keep the cards in order. Read each card and resolve any instructions before proceeding to the next card. Unless otherwise instructed, return the resolved cards back to the mission pack. The resolution of each card depends on its type:
Location Cards. These show you the party's journey across Deccaria. On the reverse side is an art piece depicting the setting for the mission. It also contains a QR code which links to a handy FAQ page.
Mission Helper Cards. These summarise mission rules, and can be kept by the players during the mission.
Enemy Cards. These are the enemies you'll face this mission. Sleeve them with the corrupted sleeves.
Story Cards. Read these aloud for all players to hear. Some story cards have a coloured box at the bottom with UPPERCASE text. These are important instructions that must be followed before proceeding. The reverse side contains portraits of featured characters.
Mission Rules Card. These will tell you any extra rules for this mission as well as what to do with each enemy when defeated. Rules on these cards apply only to the current mission.
Enemy Stat Cards. This card shows you all the upcoming enemies in the mission. You can use the skull tokens to cover defeated enemies. Place it on the central play mat in its designated spot.
Party Cards. These are characters which you will add to your party. Put them into standard sleeves as you add them. (Not all missions contain party cards).
Sticker Cards. These contain permanent new rules for the game, read these aloud. Stickers with a blue code should be applied to the rulebook where the code matches. Stickers with a green letter should be applied to each player's helper where the letter matches.
Reward Packs. Each mission also contains a reward pack. Open this only once you have completed the mission successfully. Resolve each card in the reward pack, just like the mission pack.
Setting Up a Mission
Table Setup
Take the large central playmat and place it in the centre of the table. Give each player a player playmat. This is where they will play their own cards to. Give each player a player helper card to sit next to their playmat.
Mission Rules and Rule Summary Cards
Each mission box contains a mission rules card and 4 rule summary cards. Hand each player a summary card to keep beside their personal playmat. These cards help the players remember the unique rules for the mission. Place the enemy stat card in the appropriate position on the central playmat.
Preparing the Enemy Deck
The enemy stat card will list each enemy for the mission. These will be grouped by strength and ordered from the weakest strength group to the strongest strength group. Enemies with the same strength are always randomised together.
Firstly, place the enemies in corrupted sleeves. Then, take the strongest group and shuffle them facedown, placing them facedown in the enemy deck space. Then, shuffle the next weakest enemy group facedown and place them on top. Repeat this for each enemy group until all enemies are stacked into one deck, then turn the top card face up. This is the first enemy you will need to defeat. Set the tracker tokens on the main playmat to the enemy's starting health and strength.
Preparing Your Reserve
At the start of each mission, shuffle together your party and a number of jesters according to the number of players in the game and place them facedown in the reserve deck space. The reserve deck is where cards are drawn from. This is always facedown and players may not look at cards in the reserve deck, however they may count the deck. Now each player draw cards up to their hand size limit.
| Players | Jesters | Hand Size Limit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | 2 | 5 |
The starting player is the first player to play a card (that is, any player may go first).
Setting Up the Play Area
Player Playmat. Each player places a playmat in front of them. They will play their cards here during the game.
Player Helper Card. Each player places a double-sided helper card beside their playmat. It shows you what each icon means and the order in which class abilities are resolved.
Enemy Stat Track. Use the tracker token to keep track of the enemy's remaining health and current strength.
Discard Pile. When a card has to be discarded (such as when a player satisfies damage from an enemy strike), place it here face up. You may look through this at any time.
Enemy Stat Card. This card acts as a quick reference for you to see which enemies are yet to be revealed.
Central Playmat. The shared playmat that holds the enemy deck, mission zone, and reserve deck.
Banished Pile. When a card is banished, place it here face up. You may look through this at any time. (Not used in mission 1)
Enemy Deck. This is where the enemies start. They are always stacked facedown and the current enemy is turned faceup.
Mission Zone. During some missions you will be instructed to place cards in the mission zone. Cards in this zone can change the state of the game. (Not used in mission 1 or 2)
Reserve Deck. The Reserve deck is where players draw cards from. It's also used for some other class abilities.
Card Anatomy
1. Name. Characters have a name at the top of the card. They may also have a race and class descriptor.
2. Strength. This number is the strength of the card. This is how much damage the character will attack for. This is the case for both player characters and enemy characters. The strength is also the value for which a player character's special class ability will resolve.
3. Class. This icon shows the class of the card. Each card has a special class ability that happens when you play them. Enemy characters also have a class icon. They are immune to the class abilities of cards played against them that match their own class icon.
4. Health. Enemy characters have health. Once the players have dealt damage equal to or greater than the enemy's health, the enemy is defeated.
Drawing a Defeated Enemy
In some missions, a defeated enemy could end up in your hand. The strength of the enemy in your hand is applied in the same way as the strength value of any other card in your reserve deck. Their strength is used when either playing them as an attacking card or discarding them from hand to suffer damage. Enemies have class abilities that resolve as normal when played. The health of the enemy has no function when in your hand.
Enemy cards stay with the mission they are a part of. They do not join your party, even if they enter your hand or reserve deck during the game.
"Life flows through the cycles of growth and decay, birth and death. Those who humble themselves to a greater calling will be blessed. Still, gotta make a living!" — Dhonatir, the Emerald Vine Liason
Gameplay Overview
To complete a mission, players must defeat all of the enemies in the enemy deck. Players take turns one at a time and each turn has 4 steps. On their turn players play cards to deal damage to the current enemy in order to defeat it. The strength of the card determines how much damage the attack will do, while the class icon provides a special class ability. The effectiveness of these class abilities is also determined by the strength of the card. The example turns below show how the game flows.
Step 1: Form an Attack. Play cards from your hand to your personal playmat to form an attack.
Step 2: Cast Spells. All cards have a special class ability. Magical classes (e.g. Clerics and Bards) take effect in this step.
Step 3: Deal Damage. Deal damage to the enemy equal to the strength of the attack and check to see if the enemy is defeated.
Step 4a: Suffer Damage. If the enemy is not defeated, they strike back! Discard cards from your hand totalling up to the enemy's strength.
Example Turn Sequence
Andy's Turn. Andy decides he'll go first and plays Herbod to his personal playmat. The number on the card determines the strength of the attack. Herbod is a warrior, so he doesn't do anything special in this step. Don't worry though, warriors deal double damage and we'll get to see that in Step 3!
The current enemy is Letholdus the Justicar; he has 20 health! In this step, Andy states that the class ability of warriors is double damage. Herbod has 4 strength, and 4x2 is 8 so Andy moves the enemy health marker from 20 down to 12.
Since the players haven't dealt enough damage to kill the current enemy yet, Letholdus strikes back! His strength is 10, so Andy must discard cards from his hand to suffer that damage. If he can't, the team loses! Andy discards James and Kowhai faceup to the discard pile.
Ben's Turn. Ben is up next and he plays Tanathil onto his playmat. Tanathil is a paladin, so he doesn't cast any spells. Tanathil's paladin ability will reduce the enemy's strength by 7 later on in Step 4.
Letholdus had 12 health remaining. Ben applies the 7 damage by moving the enemy health marker down and now the enemy has 5 health remaining.
Since Letholdus isn't defeated, he strikes back. Tanathil is a paladin; he reduces the enemy's strength by 7, so the enemy only strikes back for 3. Ben discards Kroz to suffer the damage.
Claire's Turn. Claire is next and chooses to play Snow. Snow is a bard, calling more troops to the fight. The players will draw 8 cards across the team. You will find a detailed explanation on how this works, on page 16.
Letholdus had 5 health remaining and Snow's 8 strength is enough to get the job done. Claire announces the good news — the enemy has been defeated!
Step 4b: Enemy Defeated. Since the enemy is defeated, they don't strike back. Instead of suffering damage, Claire moves to the enemy defeated step. She puts the defeated enemy in the discard pile, along with all the other cards on player mats. The next enemy is revealed and Claire plays again, starting at Step 1: Form an Attack.
Turn Structure & Class Abilities
Each turn has 4 steps, and players complete their whole turn before moving onto the next player. There are four double-sided helper cards which provide a summary of this section.
- Step 1: Form an Attack
- Step 2: Cast Spells
- Step 3: Deal Damage
- Step 4a: Suffer Damage OR Step 4b: Clean Up
Step 1: Form An Attack
Play Cards. An attack is one or more cards in play that are attacking the current enemy. To form an attack, play cards from your hand to your personal playmat (where they will remain until the enemy is defeated). An attack will allow you to deal damage to the enemy as well as activate powerful class abilities. All class abilities are mandatory and cannot be skipped.
There are number of ways to form an attack:
Basic Attack. Play any single card.
Animal Attack. Play an animal companion together with any one other card. Animal companions have a strength of 1.
Kinfolk Attack. Play any number of cards of the same strength as long as the total strength of all cards does not exceed 10. (e.g., 5 + 5; 3 + 3 + 3 etc)
Attack Strength. The attack strength is the total strength of all cards in the attack. The attack strength is what is used to determine how much damage is dealt to the enemy and also how powerful the class abilities are.
Yielding. There may be a time during the game where it is beneficial to not play any cards on your turn. In that case you may yield. When you yield, do not play a card and instead move directly to Step 4a: Suffer damage. You may not yield if each other player yielded on their previous turn. For example, in a three player game, if both other players have yielded in a row, you may not yield and must form an attack. If you cannot yield or play any cards, all players lose the mission.
"Sitting down on the job is generally frowned upon in the syndicate so whenever possible I try to stay in bed." — Sprinkle, Lead Morale Officer
Step 2: Cast Spells
Resolve Magical Class Abilities. In this step the magic-using classes (e.g. clerics and bards) resolve their class abilities. When there are multiple class abilities in the attack resolve them in the order in which they appear in this rulebook and on your player helper card.
Cleric — Heal from discard pile. Shuffle the discard pile then count out a number of cards facedown equal to the attack strength played. Place them under the reserve deck then return the discard pile to the table faceup.
Bard — Draw cards. The current player draws a card. The other players follow in clockwise order, drawing one card at a time until the number of cards drawn equals the attack strength. Players at the hand size limit can't draw cards and are skipped. There is no penalty for failing to draw cards from an empty reserve deck.
"I really love this bat, but I must admit, it hasn't been very helpful for healing my friends. Still, I'm hoping to put it to good use some day!" — James, Deputy Cleric Team Lead
Step 3: Deal Damage
Determine Damage. In this step you will determine the attack damage then deal that amount of damage to the enemy. The initial attack damage is equal to the attack strength (see Attack Strength above). Fighter classes (such as Warrior) can modify the attack damage as detailed below.
Warrior — Double damage. Double the total attack damage. Note that warriors do not change the total attack strength, just the damage dealt. Since each class ability only resolves once per attack, having multiple warriors in an attack won't double the damage multiple times.
Deal Damage to the Enemy. Deal damage to the enemy equal to the attack damage. Move the enemy's health counter down by the damage determined above. If the enemy's health is 0 or less, the enemy is defeated. If the enemy is not defeated, proceed to Step 4a: Suffer Damage. If the enemy has been defeated, instead proceed to Step 4b: Enemy Defeated.
Step 4a: Suffer Damage
Discard Cards to Suffer Damage. If not defeated, the enemy strikes back at you dealing damage equal to its strength (found in the top left corner of the card). Use the tracker tokens to keep track of the enemy's health and strength. During some missions the enemy can gain strength in various ways, and paladins will reduce the enemy's strength (as seen below).
You must now discard cards from your hand with a combined strength at least equal to the damage suffered. These cards must be discarded one at a time and you may not continue to discard after damage has been satisfied. If you cannot discard enough cards to satisfy damage, the mission is lost.
Animal companions have a value of 1 and the jester a value of 0 when discarded. There is no penalty for having an empty hand. In this step the protector classes (e.g. paladin) resolve their class abilities.
Feign Death. When discarding cards to satisfy damage from an enemy strike you can always choose to discard a full hand of cards (e.g., 6 cards in a 3 player game) to satisfy damage, even if the total strength of those cards would not be enough to match or exceed the damage to suffer. You must be at your hand limit to feign death.
Paladin — Reduce enemy strength. At the start of Step 4a, reduce the strength of the enemy by the total attack strength. The shield effect of paladins are cumulative for all paladins played against the current enemy and remain in effect until the enemy is defeated. Move the strength tracker down to reflect the new strength of the enemy. This way players can easily see the amount of damage they need to suffer.
Exact Damage. If the enemy is defeated with exact damage (e.g., 8 damage is dealt to an enemy with 8 health remaining) check the mission rules to see what to do when exact damage is dealt. Follow the exact damage rule as instructed, modifying the steps above as appropriate.
Skull Tokens. When you defeat an enemy, you can use the skull tokens to cover that enemy's icon on the enemy stat card. This way you can keep track of which enemies are yet to be faced.
End of Turn After Suffer Damage. The next player clockwise starts their turn.
"We don't usually work with goblins but on the odd occasion that it has happened, I have found them to be a very useful distraction. They tend to be 'bite-sized' for most of the larger foes we have to deal with" — Kauri, Short-Term Recruitment
Step 4b: Enemy Defeated
If the enemy is defeated, discard all cards in play and reveal a new enemy. If any decisions need to be made during this step, the current player makes them. In some missions the order is important, so take care when performing this step.
- Follow the enemy defeated steps from the mission rules. This will include placing the defeated enemy in the correct pile.
- Gather together all cards played against the enemy and place them on top of the discard pile in any order you wish.
- Turn the next card of the enemy deck face up.
End of Turn After Clean Up. The player who has just defeated the enemy starts a new turn against the enemy just revealed.
Enemy Immunity
Each enemy has a class icon and they are immune to the effects of that class ability. For example, players will not draw cards when a bard is played against an enemy bard (however the strength is still added to the damage total).
Playing the Jester
In Step 1 you may play the jester by itself. When you play the jester place it in a central location, e.g. on the central playmat near the enemy. Any player (including the player of the jester) may then claim the jester and put it on their player playmat. This is done without any talking amongst the players. The player who has claimed the jester has now taken over the current turn, and then forms an attack as normal by playing cards from hand.
This attack is added to the jester and ignores enemy immunity.
All class abilities are resolved even against an enemy that would have normally been immune. The enemy doesn't 'lose immunity' for following turns, only for the attack formed with the jester. A paladin attack that benefits from the power of the jester will continue to reduce the enemy's strength for the following turns, since it's the attack that ignores immunity. Paladins played before or after the jester will not ignore immunity.
Play proceeds clockwise as normal from the person who took the jester.
The jester has a strength of 0.
Jester Example
Ben tosses the jester into the middle of the play area and Claire picks it up, placing it on her playmat. Claire has taken over the turn and forms an attack playing Manuka with Elashor onto the Jester. This entire attack ignores enemy immunity, so if the enemy was a cleric it would still heal cards and if the enemy was a warrior it would still deal double damage. After her turn, the player to Claire's left starts the next turn.
Multi-Class Attacks
In Step 1, you might form an attack with more than one class in it, e.g. a kinfolk attack or an animal attack. Attacks with more than one class get the benefits of all class abilities in the attack. Always resolve the effects of the class abilities in the order in which they appear in this rulebook and on the player helper card. For example, in an attack with both a cleric and a bard, you would heal from the discard pile first before drawing cards.
The ability of each class may only be resolved once per attack.
Animal Attacks
Animal companions can be played on their own, but may also be paired with one other card (except the jester). Animal companions have a strength of 1 and their class ability is also applied.
If you play an animal companion with another card of the same class, you only apply the class ability once.
Animal companions cannot be added to a kinfolk attack; they can only ever be paired with one other card (which could be another animal companion).
Animal Attack Example. Attack strength is 8 (7+1). Deal 16 damage to the enemy (8 doubled) and reduce the enemy's strength by 8.
Kinfolk Attacks
Instead of playing a single card, players can combine cards together in sets of the same strength as long as the combined total of the cards played equals 10 or less. So players can play a pair of 2s, 3s, 4s, or 5s, triple 2s and 3s, or quad/quint 2s. When these cards are played together all class abilities are resolved at the total attack strength.
Kinfolk Attack Example. Attack strength is 9 (3 + 3 + 3). All three class abilities resolve for 9. 9 cards are drawn in Step 2, 18 damage is dealt in Step 3 and if the enemy is still alive, it will have its strength reduced by 9 in Step 4a.
"Quack?" — Duck, a Duck
Relics
(This page is primarily a visual reference in the printed rulebook, illustrated with example relic cards and a QR code linking to further guidance; it carries no additional rules text beyond what is printed on the relic cards themselves.)
Communication
Players may not communicate to the other players any information which may reveal or suggest the contents of their hand. They may however remind other players of any public information such as how many cards they have in their hand. Some examples of allowed communication are: "I have two cards in hand" or "We only have 3 cards left in the reserve deck!" Some examples of prohibited communication are: "I've got a 10 strength warrior", "I hope someone plays a bard soon!" or "I have a small card which could help!"
Talking about general strategy is encouraged - just remember to not hint at, or reveal the contents of your hand.
In some parts of the game (e.g. deciding starting player) any player may act. The usual rules of communication still apply here, so you may only indirectly communicate via the speed at which you play (or don't play).
Since you need to cooperate with other players but can't communicate with them, it's important to trust your teammates. Trust that they are keeping good cards and will be able to bail you out of tight spots. Just make sure you do the same!
"The role of the paladin is three-fold: 1: Protect the innocent 2: Uphold righteousness 3: Get the rich to pay you for it." — Fulrad, Revenue Team Lead
Mission End
Each mission ends when the players win by defeating the last enemy in the enemy deck or when the players lose because a player is unable to satisfy the damage dealt by an enemy strike. The players also lose if any player is unable to play a card or yield on their turn.
Mission Success
When you successfully complete a mission complete the following steps:
- Pack up all cards and reform your party, setting aside any cards that are not a part of your party (e.g., jesters).
- For all other mission cards (e.g. enemy cards, story cards, rule cards) remove any sleeves and return the cards to their mission box.
- Open the reward pack for that mission. Read each card in the order you open them and follow the instructions on the cards.
Some cards will be permanently acquired. When you acquire these cards you will be instructed where to store them - either in your party or in the game box next to your party.
Now that the mission is complete, flip the mission box over and return to the game box so that the mission number is face down. This way you will be able to easily see which missions are complete and which are yet to be completed.
When you are ready, open the next mission pack.
Mission Failure
The first time you fail a mission, open up the pack labelled M, and follow the instructions inside. Each time you fail a mission, reset the game in accordance with the mission overview card and try again.
Game End
Your campaign is finished once you have completed mission 12.
Solo Play
When playing with only one player note the following rule changes:
Set up the game as per usual but place the two jesters to the side. You play with a single hand which has a hand size limit of 8 cards. Play as normal, playing each turn one after the other.
Twice per game, a jester can be played to form an attack on its own instead of playing cards from hand. When a jester is played move it to your personal playmat, then choose one of the four basic classes. It always attacks with a strength of 8 and activates the selected class ability. It may not be played with any other cards. This attack ignores the immunity of the enemy. During the enemy defeated step, remove the jester from play and flip it facedown so it may not be used again during this mission attempt.
Although the jester is played to your playmat, it is never cleaned up to the discard pile (or any other zone specified by the mission rules). It always goes back to the side during the Enemy Defeated step.
"As the newest member of the GBS it can be hard to keep up with all the policies. The 'gnomes are not projectiles' rule really caught me off guard." — Belroth, Newest Recruit
Credits
Game and Narrative Design. Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger and Andy Richdale
Art. DJ Phillips a.k.a Sketchgoblin
Writing. Tim Hickson
Special Thanks. Emma, Nikki, Anna and Katie, your unwavering support over the last 3 years has meant that we can pursue our dreams. Thank you all so much.
A special thanks also to our wonderful children; Lily, Sophie, James, Dash, Ben, Reid, Sylvia, Aidan and Dawn.
Thanks also to all of our amazing play testers. Your generosity with your time and insightful feedback has made the game what it is. We would like to especially mention James Brunskill, Thomas Loosley and Phillip Wood who had to endure some pretty early prototypes! Absolute legends and great friends.
© 2025 Badgers From Mars Limited