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The Illumination
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Setting: 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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NanoHealing"The Bugs'll Fix Ya! Ya'in't Gonna Like It Though!"

Cost: 2

The power to heal wounds.

Beneath the patient’s skin, the nanobots swarm like a legion of ravenous insects, their mandibles gnashing and grinding as they devour wounded tissue. Each tiny machine emits a high-pitched, metallic shriek that reverberates through the patient's bones. These microscopic invaders burrow deeper, their needle-like appendages injecting searing disinfectant chemicals into the bloodstream, igniting a fiery agony that pulses through every vein. The nanobots communicate in a cacophony of alien squeals and clicks, a nightmarish symphony that plays relentlessly inside the patient's skull. As their grotesque work nears completion, the nanobots begin to dissolve, their exoskeletons melting into a viscous, oily sludge. This foul liquid seeps from every pore, coating the patient in a greasy, nauseating film that reeks of decay. The patient left shivering and drenched, haunted by the invasive, mechanical horrors that had violated their body in the name of healing.

Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. Select a Living or Animate target within arm's reach. Choose a specific Injury on your target that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Perception + Technology 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.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see lots of nano bugs.

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

When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
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.
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.

Gift Example

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Editing Gift
NanoHealing

Power

Heal Wound

Customize

Cost: 2

NanoHealing"The Bugs'll Fix Ya! Ya'in't Gonna Like It Though!"

Cost: 2

The power to heal wounds.

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

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see lots of nano bugs.

Extended System

When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
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.
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.

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: 2

Style

Activated (Gift Cost: -1)

Targeted

Healing Roll

Healing Difficulty

Gift Cost: +1

Cast Time

Gift Cost: +1

Enhancements

Gift Cost: +1

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.)

Cannot be taken with Disturbing

Mechanic (This Effect can be used on any Animate targets)

Strict Regimen (Upon treatment, you may specify a clearly-defined behavior that the patient must adhere to. If they violate the rule, the treatment is immediately reversed. Lasts until the end of their next Contract or 1 month for non-Contractors.)

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.

Holistic Care (If your Outcome is greater than the Severity of the Injury you were attempting to treat, you may apply any excess Outcome to other Injuries on the same patient.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Just a few Stitches (You may treat Severity 1 Injuries without making a roll or paying the Exertion cost, so long as they were not self-inflicted as an activation cost for an Effect.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Lazarus (You may attempt to heal an Injury on a Dead target, as long as you begin less than a minute after their death. If the target has their Wound Level restored to a non-lethal level, they return to life.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Veteran Enhancements

Heroes Never Die (Exert your Mind an additional time when activating this Effect. You may treat an Injury on every target within 30 feet.)

Requires Veteran status.

Drawbacks

Gift Cost: -2

After-care Instructions (All of your treatments place the same, specific restriction on the patient. The restriction lasts a month (until the end of their next Contract for Contractors), and if they ever break it, the treatment is immediately reversed.)

Beyond My Skills (You cannot heal Injuries of Severity level 4 or higher. Using this Effect still stabilizes them.)

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.)

Disturbing aspect:

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.)

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

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.)

Scarring (When you Activate this Effect, roll a single d10. If the result is 5 or lower, your target receives a Minor Battle Scar.)

Selfless (You cannot target yourself.)

Sympathetic Cost (Your target must also Exert their Mind to activate this Effect.)

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.)

Traumatizing (Your target must make a Trauma roll to reap the benefits of this Effect. They may choose to Resist the Effect and not make the roll.)

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.

Anyone who witnesses you activate this Effect is very likely to be disturbed to see lots of nano bugs.

Extended Description

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

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Editing Gift NanoHealing

Editing Gift NanoHealing

NanoHealing"The Bugs'll Fix Ya! Ya'in't Gonna Like It Though!"

Customize System

Style

Healing Roll

Healing Difficulty

Cast Time

Enhancements

Seasoned Enhancements

Veteran Enhancements

Drawbacks

Customize Flavor and Finish

Visual Description

Extended Description

Editing Gift
NanoHealing

Editing Gift
NanoHealing