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The Illumination
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Building Custom Gifts

"Gifts are why we sign The Contract"

Each session of The Contract, the Players' Contractors are invited to risk their lives in a deadly mission. Those who succeed are rewarded with a Gift Credit that can be spent here in exchange for extraordinary Artifacts or incredible Powers.

No two Contractors are alike. Each Contractor's Gifts are a unique expression of their concept, and any character concept can be realized by building custom Gifts.

Each Gift's system is automatically generated during creation. These systems are simple but specific. While such precise systems can be verbose, they focus gameplay on creatively using Gifts rather than interpreting them, and they ensure your Contractor plays the same no matter who is acting as GM.

Building Custom Gifts is Easy

Form an idea of what you want your Contractor to be able to do.
Describe your concept to this Gift-Building webpage. Select a Gift Type and Effect, then customize its modifiers until it matches your idea.
Apply flavor to your Gift by adding a description, name, and tagline.

You can also start by customizing a premade Stock Gift.

Watch the video tutorial

Further instructions are available at the bottom of this initial "Select Gift Type" page, and many elements can be tapped on hovered over for more information.

Gift Type: Powers

"Everything in life comes and goes. Everything but Powers."

Powers are a Contractor's bread and butter. They may be obvious or subtle, arcane or technological, actively called upon or passively empowering. Powers are the only Gift Type that doesn't always require equipment, making them the most reliable.

Powers include:

Any superpower
Magical spells and divine invocations
Cybernetic implants and other bodily augmentations
Supernaturally honed Abilities
Mythical Brawn, Dexterity, Intellect, Perception, or Charisma
Beneficial effects stemming from your Contractor's otherworldly nature

If your idea for a Gift isn't obviously one of the other Gift Types, it's probably a Power.

Gift Type: Legendary Artifacts

"I sure hope no one steals this."

Legendary Artifacts are high-risk and high-reward. These one-of-a-kind items are far more powerful than Powers or crafted items. However, they can be lost, destroyed, or even stolen by other Contractors. While there are ways to protect Legendary Artifacts, some risk always remains.

As your Contractor progresses, you may invest multiple Gifts and Improvements into a single Legendary Artifact, granting it multiple activated and passive Effects. Just remember, your Legendary Artifacts can be used by anyone, whether or not you're still alive.

Legendary Artifacts Include:

Unique alien technology
Mythical relics
Family heirlooms
One-of-a-kind creations

Any extraordinary equipment your Contractor did not create themselves is a Legendary Artifact.

Gift Type: Artifact Crafting

"Sure, I'll make you one. If you provide the proper incentive."

Artifact Crafting turns your Contractor into the golden goose. No Gift Type demands more sacrifice, nor a higher price. However, those Contractors who invest in Artifact Crafting create equipment that rivals the Gifts of the Harbingers. And make no mistake: most Contractors' loyalty can be bought.

Any Contractor who takes a crafting Gift can craft. When you craft with an Artifact Crafting Gift, you can either create a new Artifact with that Gift's Effect or add its Effect to another Artifact you've created.

Investing a Gift Credit or Improvement into an Artifact Crafting Gift lets you craft it once for free. After that, crafting with the Gift costs Experience equal to its Gift Cost + 1.

Crafted Artifacts Include:

Extraordinary weapons and armor
Skunkworks prototype devices
Spellbooks
Alien technology
Super-suits for your team

If you're looking to rival Hephaestus or Stark, you want Artifact Crafting.

Gift Type: Consumable Crafting

"Everybody take one. Use it if you get into trouble."

Consumables are single-use items that are easy to share and trade.

Any Contractor who takes a crafting Gift can craft. Each Downtime between Contracts, Contractors can craft one of each of their Consumables for free. Investing a Gift Credit or Improvement into a Consumable Gift grants an extra one for free. Additional Consumables may be crafted at a cost of 1 Exp each.

Crafted Consumables Include:

Potions
Specialty ammunition
Settable traps
Deployable super-tech
Magic makeup
Energy drinks that turn you into a mongoose

If it's supernatural, single-use items your Contractor makes, it's Consumable Crafting.

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Psionic Circuit SmashingHack targets subtly from a distance

Cost: 1

The power to issue commands to technological devices.

Watchdog must directly contact the target with his eyes for one minute. At the end of the duration, he may psionically direct the target with a single command.

Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. Select a Computer within 20 feet. Does not work on Alien technology. Roll Intellect + Technology, with the Difficulty set by the GM depending on the security of the system you are hacking. Sapient targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you may issue a single command to the targeted system. This command must have a specific outcome or be a request for specific login credentials. The command you issue must be within the machine's current capabilities. For example, you cannot order a standard security camera to grow legs and walk around.

This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is staring at the target. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.

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.

Extended System

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 cannot hack things outside of your range over remote connections such as the internet. The system you are affecting must be physically within range.
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.

Gift Example

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Editing Gift
Psionic Circuit Smashing

Power

Hack

Customize

Cost: 1

Psionic Circuit SmashingHack targets subtly from a distance

Cost: 1

The power to issue commands to technological devices.

Watchdog must directly contact the target with his eyes for one minute. At the end of the duration, he may psionically direct the target with a single command.

Extended System

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 cannot hack things outside of your range over remote connections such as the internet. The system you are affecting must be physically within range.
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.

Customize System

Customize your Gift's behavior.

When you're satisfied, scroll down to flavor and finish.

Tap this button any time to preview your Gift:

Cost: 1

Style

Targeted

Trap (Gift Cost: -1)

Hacking Roll

Range

Cast Time

Enhancements

Gift Cost: +1

Alien Tech (You may use this Power on Alien technology.)

Cantrip (Activating this Effect has no Exertion cost, but it can have no more than 3 Drawbacks and its Gift Cost can never be increased above 2.)

Circuit Scrambler (You may issue a "self-destruct" command that leaves the hacked system's hardware inoperable, even if that machine had no such functionality previously. Only works on Computers. )

Concealed (Using this Effect is not obvious. Choose a Tell that occurs only when you use the Effect; if-- and only if-- someone suspects that a Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.)

Tell:

Daemon (Your command does not have to take effect immediately. Instead, upon a successful Hack, you may specify a condition under which the specified command is issued or simply suspend the Command until you desire to activate it.)

Easy (When you activate this Effect, flip a coin. If you win, its Exertion cost is refunded.)

Interface (If your command does not require bypassing the security of the target (for example, typing on a computer that is unlocked), you do not need to Exert your Mind to activate this Effect, and activation only takes a single Action.)

Lockout (Your Hack cannot be reversed through mundane means for a number of hours equal to your Outcome.)

Old School (You may issue commands to any Device, allowing you to operate switches, buttons, dials, levers, and latches.)

Without a Trace (Your hack cannot be discovered by system administrators or firewall software for a number of hours equal to your Outcome on the initial roll.)

Seasoned Enhancements

Conditionally Costless (This Effect does not require Exertion in certain circumstances. The condition should be balanced such that it has an activation cost the majority of the time you are able to use it.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Long-Distance Relationship (After successfully using this Effect, you may choose to add the target to your own personal "network." You may use this Effect on any target on your network at any range. You can have up to 3 targets on your network.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Drawbacks

Gift Cost: -1

Calling Card (Every hack you make leaves a personal "calling card" that informs anyone who uses the system that the hack occurred. This calling card is the same for all Hacks you make.)

Conditional (This Effect is only available when a certain condition is met. This condition must be severe enough that this Gift is unusable the majority of the time.)

Critical Failure (Roll a single D10 when you activate this Effect. If you roll a 1, you critically fail in a way that is extraordinarily dangerous. Failure should cause at least a Severity-4 Injury, a Major Battle Scar, or an effect counter to its purpose.)

Disfiguring (Possession of this Gift grants a minor Battle Scar that can only be cured by buying off this Drawback.)

Disturbing (Witnessing this Effect's Activation is extremely disturbing and/or morally abhorrent to the average person. Anyone who witnesses its activation will almost certainly be repulsed, outraged, and think differently of you from that moment on.)

Cannot be taken with Concealed

Exhausting (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.)

Focus (Using this Effect requires a specific kind of item.)

Cannot be taken with Concealed

Fuel (Using this Effect consumes some material good in addition to its other costs.)

Cannot be taken with Concealed

Maddening (Possession of this Gift causes a Trauma that cannot be cured by any means. The chosen Trauma must be likely to come up on a Contract.)

Once per Day (You may only use this Effect once per day.)

Sacrifice (Instead of Exerting your Mind or expending Source, activating this Effect gives a Severity-1 Injury that worsens by 1 Severity each time you use an Effect with Sacrifice. This Injury cannot be prevented by any means or healed before 1 day has passed.)

Traumatic (You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. If you fail or Botch, you receive one Mind Damage and a new Trauma.)

Customize Flavor and Finish

Gift Name

Tagline

(Optional) Introduce the Gift in a flavorful way.

Visual Description

A concise description of what this Gift looks like when it is used. What do participants and observers experience? This will be referenced by GMs at game-time to help them narrate.

Activating this Effect is not obvious. The only sign you are using an Effect is staring at the target.

Extended Description

(Optional) Wax poetic about this Gift's background, metaphysics, etc.

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Editing Gift Psionic Circuit Smashing

Editing Gift Psionic Circuit Smashing

Psionic Circuit SmashingHack targets subtly from a distance

Customize System

Style

Hacking Roll

Range

Cast Time

Enhancements

Seasoned Enhancements

Drawbacks

Customize Flavor and Finish

Visual Description

Extended Description

Editing Gift
Psionic Circuit Smashing

Editing Gift
Psionic Circuit Smashing