Legendary Artifact

Caduceus amulet

Created and held by Amanda Kultz.
A silver amulet with the caduceus staff hanging from it.

When activated the amulet glows a lime green and it allows the user to bandage the affected areas and wait a minute. After a minute the bandages can be removed and the affected areas will have been fully healed. The user can’t swear the target to an oath to uphold or the new parts will wither and fall off.


Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend a minute. Select a Living target within arm's reach. You must use up a whole roll of bandages in order to activate this Effect. Select up to four Battle Scars on your target to treat.

The treated Battle Scars heals as you finish activating this Effect. If used on a Battle Scar caused by an Unstabilized Injury, that Injury is Stabilized.

You may specify a specific condition that the patient must adhere to. If they break this condition, the treatment is immediately reversed. Record this regimen as a Condition. Lasts until the end of their next Contract or 1 month for non-Contractors.

After you finish activating this Effect, you cannot move quicker than a walk (max 15 feet per Round) for one minute and suffer a -1 dice penalty for an hour. Exhaustion’s penalty and duration stacks with multiple activations.

  • Exhaustion penalties and duration stack. If you activate this Effect or another Effect with Exhaustion, your penalty will worsen, and the duration is increased by one hour.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Community Artifacts

Papa McDougall

Created and held by Faira Lenora McDougall.
A old fashioned tow truck. (I will explain later)

Left for her by her father, who she believes possesses the truck, the tow truck has been made into her livelihood and home.


This Artifact can be used as a tow truck. It is roughly the same size as a tow truck but can be collapsed into set of keys. and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.

This tow truck has ________. Any roll to pilot this vehicle receives +2 dice.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Drive-By: You may drive or pilot your vehicle as a Free Action, without taking any penalty on other Actions.
  • Jump: If going off a ramp, your jumps bring you twice as far and twice as high. If not, you may Exert your Mind to jump a minimum of 5 feet vertical and 15 feet horizontal.
  • Mind of its Own: This vehicle can move and take Actions without you driving it. It has seven dice for all Drive rolls.

This item is a living thing. When targeted, it counts as a Living Creature in addition to its other target types. If destroyed or abandoned for more than two days, it dies and becomes unusable.

Possession of this Artifact causes the following Trauma to manifest over the course of a day: Nice Guy complex: must make a Self control roll not to stop and help someone who has broken down.. If you lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next month.

  • If there is not enough free space to expand the object, it cannot be expanded. You cannot expand this Object as an attack.

While Route Witches usually only listen to the road, Faira also listens to her truck.


This Artifact cannot be broken.

If this Artifact is lost and in no one’s possession, it finds its way back to its creator during the next Downtime.

Anyone but this Artifact's creator must Exert their Mind to wear this artifact or activate any of its Effects.

This Artifact's creator must have it with them to have restful sleep. They cannot regain Mind or Source while separated from this Artifact.

  • "Cannot be broken" means that damage cannot render the Artifact's Effects unusable, nor can it cease to be used for its primary mundane purpose, if it has one.

Diego's Cartridge

Created and held by MOLL(ⲩ).
A vessel for the brainwave pattern of Diego Alvarez. https://www.thecontractrpg.com/contractor/4751/

The contractor's consciousness at the moment of their death is inscribed upon layers of printed circuits, handily minimised (based on proprietary Maikendo™ technology!) for on-the-go hotswitching via a slot on MOLL(ⲩ)'s Dream Engine.

A contractor's work is, after all, never finished.


You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.

You are permanently transformed into an Engram Cartridge.

You can use any Powers that do not require movement on your own. You must be wielded or equipped to use other Powers. You cannot use Artifacts or Consumables, but if you have transformed into a Legendary Artifact, you may use the other Effects attached to it.

If anyone wields, equips, wears, or uses you while you are transformed, you may take physical actions using their body. Your Action comes directly before theirs in Initiative, and all rolls are made with your stats. You may opt to utilize your Action to "help" your host, allowing them to use your dice pool for their chosen Action.

If you are broken, you cannot take any Actions until you are repaired.

You can perceive your surroundings as normal, and you may control the functioning of the object you have transformed into (for example, opening your doors if you are a car).

Your passive Powers affect anyone who wields you.

  • While being wielded, any Action that would cause self-harm to your host requires a contested Mind roll.
  • If a character is inside of you when you revert to your original form, you take a Severity-5 Injury when they burst from your innards as you shrink.
  • You cannot move in any way the object wouldn't normally be able to move. If you are a feather duster, you cannot float around, etc.

The De'BoosT

Created and held by Allister Wildheart.
A inside jacket liner for a biker jacket. made out of Kevlar with metallic clockwork arms dangling.

the Frikkie De'Boos Extermination Corp. patch on the back begins to burn with a ethereal blue flame, and ghostly rodents crawl through the jacket as the user takes damage. the ghostly rodents attempt to hold the users wounded body together.


You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.

Your Body and Mind Penalties are reduced to 0.

If you are Stunned, asleep, drugged, or otherwise made unconscious for any reason other than being Incapacitated, you may Exert your Mind to wake up. Any penalty which was caused by this condition is removed.

Alister shakes his jacket lose, as he does so tiny ghostly clockwork mice tumble out. These ghostly rodents assist the target in crafting a pice of art. As they do so Alister softly critiques and corrects the work while holding a conversation about their mental state. Afterwards alister hands the craft to the target and makes it clear they must show your heart to the world.

When its just him and the rats, he speaks to them as if his long dead friends can still hear him.

"Frikkie, amber... you there buddies."


Exert your Mind to activate. Select a Living or Animate target within arm's reach. Over the course of one minute, your patient must communicate with you and reveal at least one of their Traumas to you, including the details of those Traumas and the circumstances of how they were acquired. After the full treatment time has elapsed, roll Charisma + Crafts at Difficulty 6.

Your target may Resist. If your treatment is successful, you may remove one of the patient's revealed Traumas without incurring any Experience cost.

Your patient is required to must keep the crafted object on their person and clearly displayed. for the next month. If they violate this rule, your treatment is immediately reversed.

  • The patient is aware of the after-care requirement.
  • The treatment time may be broken up into multiple sessions if necessary.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Alister throws up a metal gear and flutters his jacket back, as he does so a dazzling array of different tools spring forth occasionally ripping parts of Alister as they fling by at break neck speeds. These tools uses the gear as a central point pressing the gear into the object and using the pieces of Allister to imbue shattered pieces of his soul into it. the process of rending pieces of his soul may leave his body thread bare.


Take a Severity-1 Injury and an Action. Select a Inanimate target within arm's reach which could fit inside an SUV (4,000 liters). You must use up Metallic Gear in order to activate this Effect. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means.

Your target will become Animated indefinitely. You may choose to end the effect at will, as a Free Action. This Artifact can maintain a max of 20 animated objects at once.

Animated Objects have the following restrictions and capabilities:

  • Awareness: Animated targets are capable of perceiving the world around them within reasonable limits. They cannot communicate in a clear or coherent way.
  • Movement: Animated targets can use an existing method of locomotion (wheels, etc); otherwise they can move across the ground or hover up to any height in the air at 40 feet per Round.
  • Combat: Animated objects cannot take offensive actions in combat.
  • Artifacts: Animating an Artifact does not grant the animated object access to any Effects built in to that Artifact.
  • Ability Use: If an action requires a roll, Animated objects have a dice pool of 7 when performing a task for which they were designed, and a dice pool of 4 for taking any other actions.
  • Toughness: Animated targets are as easy to destroy as they were prior to being animated. If destroyed, the effect ends.
  • Following Orders: Animated objects are controlled by the GM, and will follow any commands you give them, as long as they don't require problem-solving.

  • A task for which an object was designed might include a broom sweeping, a gun shooting things, a car driving, a towel rubbing up on stuff, etc.
  • Animated objects may be more or less susceptible to certain attacks at GMs discretion. A scarecrow golem would be easily destroyed by a sword (or fire). An animated suit of armor may not fear bullets but could be smashed to bits with a hammer. A full bronze statue is largely indestructible but might have difficulty standing up if toppled.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Phoenix's Embrace

Created and held by blake.
This cloak, imbued with the Phoenix's powers, shimmers with a warm, iridescent glow, resembling the majestic plumage of the legendary bird.

When Blake activates the healing power of his cloak, a radiant aura of fiery light envelops him or his ally. The cloak’s intricate patterns blaze with a golden and crimson glow, casting warm, soothing light. Flames, gentle yet intense, rise from the cloak and wrap around the injured area, weaving through wounds with a comforting heat that mends and restores. The air shimmers with energy, and a subtle hum resonates as the healing power of the Phoenix flows through, closing injuries and revitalizing the body. The sight is both awe-inspiring and serene, as the essence of the legendary Phoenix breathes life back into the wounded.


Expend a point of Battery and spend 15 minutes. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Choose a specific Injury on your target that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Intellect + Occult at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, the Injury is reduced in Severity by your Outcome. If you reduce its Severity to 0, the Injury is fully healed. Otherwise, it is partially healed and will heal the rest of the way at its natural rate.

This counts as a successful Makeshift Stabilization if the Injury was not already Stabilized; any Battle Scars caused by the Injury will remain.

  • Unstabilized wounds do not degenerate during treatment.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

When Blake activates the blink power, flames rapidly engulf him, consuming him in an instant. The fire appears to devour him entirely, leaving only a faint wisp of smoke behind. Simultaneously, at his targeted location, a small fire ignites suddenly. The flames burst forth, and Blake emerges from the inferno, unscathed and ready.


Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend an Action. Select a Location which is at most 125 feet away horizontally or 25 feet away vertically. This Effect cannot be used unless the destination have some fire fuel (grass, papper...) (that doesn't get consumed).

You jump to the chosen location. If the landing is precarious, the GM may call for a roll to land safely. You will never take fall damage from successfully landing a jump made with this Effect.

You may opt to trade your free movement for a Super Leap if you are jumping less than 50 feet or if you are closing a gap to an opponent and spend your Action on an attack.

Instead of physically passing through the air, you are teleported directly to your destination. Does not allow you to go through walls, cages, or grapples.

Anyone who touches this Artifact will notice it warping their mind and may drop it. If they choose to hold or use it, they immediately receive the following Trauma: nightmare. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.

  • If you are Encumbered, the maximum range is cut in half. If Encumbrance has reduced your total movement to 0, you cannot activate this Effect.
  • vertical jump height measures to the bottom of your feet, so your total vertical reach is at least a body length greater.
  • Rolls to land safely will generally be Athletics, but GMs may call for a different roll at their discretion if it makes sense for the specific circumstances.
  • You must be on a surface of some kind in order to activate this Effect; it cannot be activated while in mid-air.
  • You may only use this Effect once per Round of combat, regardless of any Enhancements you have taken.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

The cloak's fabric shimmers with a protective aura, providing armor-like defense. When an enemy strikes Blake from close range, flames ripple out from the point of contact, racing along the attacker's weapon or body, scorching them with the reflected power of their own strike. If an attack manages to penetrate the cloak's defense, the fire of the Phoenix's embrace activates, closing and stabilizing the injury with a warm, golden glow. The flames flicker softly over the wound, sealing it and preventing it from worsening.


You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.

You have 3 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack.

You may spend an Action or Reaction and Exert your Mind to double your Armor rating for one Round.

Your Armor cannot be destroyed, and it always provides a minimum of 2 Armor regardless of any Armor penetration. It cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.

Any Injury received from Damage that was reduced by this Armor is considered makeshift stabilized and will not degrade further. Any Battle Scar received from such an Injury is reduced by 1 level to a minimum of a Minor Battle Scar.

When you take Damage from a source which is within 5 feet, deal back as much Damage as your Armor prevented.

Any time your Armor prevents Damage, your Armor rating is temporarily decreased by 2. Whenever it goes five Rounds without preventing any Damage, it is restored back to its full value.

You may activate or deactivate your armor as a Free Action on your Initiative. As long as your armor is active, your movement speed is halved and you suffer -2 dice to all Dexterity and Perception rolls. While deactivated, it offers no Armor.

  • Armor recharging happens automatically and does not require an Action.

Hammer

Created and held by Dill 'Stupid' Parker.
A beat up shotgun covered in dents and scratch marks from tiny claws

The shotgun almost shudders with anticipation at the thought of spilling rodent blood.


This Artifact can be used as a shotgun. It is roughly the same size as a shotgun and just as difficult to conceal.

Attack by rolling Dexterity + Firearms, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +5 Weapon Damage.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Bane: Injuries dealt to rats and ratlike entities are increased by 2 Severity levels.
  • Infinite Ammo: This weapon never runs out of its standard ammunition.

  • Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used.
  • Rifles are +1 Difficulty to use in melee range. Sniper Rifles are +3 Difficulty to use without a tripod or in melee range. Setting up a tripod takes an Action.

Stock Legendary Artifacts

The Coffin

"The Coffin" is a black, alligator-skin briefcase made to look like its namesake. The interior is coated in red, quilted leather. It is quite a bit larger on the inside, appearing to stretch backwards like a dark passageway.

This Artifact can be used as a container. It is roughly the same size as a alligator-skin briefcase and just as difficult to conceal. Unless you are storing something commonly found in coffins, this Artifact behaves as its mundane counterpart.

Your alligator-skin briefcase holds 5 times what it normally could. Objects stored inside are weightless.

Living things can be stored in your alligator-skin briefcase. They will have access to anything else inside and may attempt to break free, damaging or destroying the alligator-skin briefcase in the process.

If your alligator-skin briefcase is destroyed, things inside may get out, and it will cease to function until it is repaired.

You may change the type of your container between Contracts.

Only you may open and close the container. Others can still destroy it to get at the contents

  • You cannot change the container's type if you are not in possession of it.
  • There is no cost to use your container.

This Effect activates whenever you are submerged in salt water. It does not require an Action or Exertion.

You transform into small for two hours or until you choose to end the Effect. See the Extended System text for stats.

While transformed, you cannot use any equipment (including Artifacts and Consumables), and you cannot use your Active, Direct, or Trap Powers. However, you can use your Passive Powers. Any equipment you are wearing transforms with you.

Injuries and Wound Level are carried over between forms. However, transforming can never kill you; you merely remain Incapacitated until your Injuries are sufficiently healed.

  • When triggered, the Effect activation resolves immediately after the triggering Action. It is not Reaction speed.
  • Creature Stats
    • Medium (large house cat up to human) Body 3. Brawn 1. Dexterity 3. Fall damage reduced by 1.
    All creatures get +3 dice to any non-combat Action that they are naturally adapted for. All creatures Medium and larger may attack by rolling Body, dealing +0 Damage (+1 for “predators”). Gms and Playgroup leaders can apply other bonuses and effects to specific animals.
  • Animals that are quicker than humans (like dogs) have 50 feet of Free Movement. Animals that are very slow (like turtles) have 0 feet of Free Movement.
  • You cannot transform if there is not enough room to do so.

The Skeleton Key

At first glance, this appears to be a standard, modern house key made of ivory. A close observer might compliment its skull-shaped head or usual material. No one would suspect it to be one of the Thief's most prized possessions: The Skeleton Key.

Spend an Action.

You may lock, unlock, and/or open any number of doors, locks, or locked targets within arm's reach of you. Cannot be used on Alien technology.

If you successfully operate a lock, you may choose to destroy it, rendering it inoperable.

  • Any door or restraint that is fastened or shut with a mechanism may be considered locked, at the GM's discretion. Can be used on control panels or other electronic locks, but not computer security systems.
  • If you operate a locking mechanism through this Effect which has some other secondary effect (such as the ignition on a car causing the car to start) you may cause that effect as well.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within within arm's reach. All Sapient targets within 20 feet are affected. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is looking directly into the device with uncovered eyes. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.

If the contested Outcome is positive, the most recent 1 hour from your target’s memory is either replaced with new memories or forgotten entirely. This is recorded as a Condition. The level of detail and completeness of the alteration depends on your Outcome. If you fail, the target realizes that you are attempting to alter their memories.

The period is chosen either by time (i.e. “last Friday night”) or by reference to a specific event (i.e. “when the murder occurred”).

  • You do not gain mind-reading through this effect, so your ability to alter their memory is limited by your knowledge of what they might know.
  • The target's roll to realize their memories have been altered can be made a maximum of one time per day.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

The Bug-out Bag

No hiker would bat an eye if they saw someone wearing this 80 liter backpacking pack in the backcountry. Those who look closer find it's made of a curious mix of modern materials and what appears to be rawhide stitching.

This Artifact can be used as a container. It is roughly the same size as a 80 liter backpacking pack and just as difficult to conceal.

Your 80 liter backpacking pack holds 5 times what it normally could. Objects stored inside are weightless.

Living things can be stored in your 80 liter backpacking pack. They will have access to anything else inside and may attempt to break free, damaging or destroying the 80 liter backpacking pack in the process.

If your 80 liter backpacking pack is destroyed, things inside may get out, and it will cease to function until it is repaired.

Only you may open and close the container. Others can still destroy it to get at the contents

  • There is no cost to use your container.

This Artifact cannot be broken.

This Artifact's creator is always aware of the direction and distance to this Artifact.

  • "Cannot be broken" means that damage cannot render the Artifact's Effects unusable, nor can it cease to be used for its primary mundane purpose, if it has one.