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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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divine enhancmenttap tap click ur buffed now

Cost: 2

The power to enhance your tools beyond mundane limits.

lornn puts his plate down and hits it 3 time with his hammer with is tap some souls come out of the plate flying around before they explode after that a red orb flys to the target before he gets upgraded he could also put two objects and hit them together to form a stronger version with the combined power of two

Exert your Mind and spend 1 Action. Select a non-Alien Device within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use iron plate to activate this Effect. 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. Can be used on Armor.

Lasts the next two hours. Your target receives 2 extra dice to all actions taken for its intended use. Attacking with an upgraded weapon grants +2 Weapon Damage instead of additional dice. If it is a piece of Armor, it instead receives half that amount as bonus armor rating, rounded up. If an upgraded shield and armor are both worn, the upgrade bonus does not stack with itself.

Upgraded weapons count as any material your opponent might be particularly vulnerable to. Upgraded Armor cannot be circumvented by called shots. Upgraded Devices do not run out of fuel or energy.

You may choose a second valid Device target while activating this Effect and splice both targets into a single new Device. The newly created item has the same size as the larger of the two initial targets, and can be used to perform the same actions as either of the original items. It receives 2 to those actions for the next two hours.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation or for its duration will almost certainly be disturbed to see souls come out of the plate as lornn hit it with his hammer.

Extended System

When Splicing, you must be in possession of both devices. The resulting object behaves exactly as if both devices occupy the same space and do not gain any new functionality at all.
When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used. The same is true for extra dice.
Extra dice from this Effect do not apply to Gift activation rolls.
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
divine enhancment

Power

Upgrade

Customize

Cost: 2

divine enhancmenttap tap click ur buffed now

Cost: 2

The power to enhance your tools beyond mundane limits.

Upgraded weapons count as any material your opponent might be particularly vulnerable to. Upgraded Armor cannot be circumvented by called shots. Upgraded Devices do not run out of fuel or energy.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation or for its duration will almost certainly be disturbed to see souls come out of the plate as lornn hit it with his hammer.

Extended System

When Splicing, you must be in possession of both devices. The resulting object behaves exactly as if both devices occupy the same space and do not gain any new functionality at all.
When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used. The same is true for extra dice.
Extra dice from this Effect do not apply to Gift activation rolls.
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

Duration

Cast Time

Gift Cost: +1

Extra Dice

Enhancements

Gift Cost: +3

Armorer (You may Upgrade a piece of Armor, increasing its Armor rating by half the extra dice amount. If an upgraded shield and armor are both worn, the upgrade bonus does not stack with itself.)

Compact (When calculating Encumbrance, the upgraded item weighs half its normal weight. If you are upgrading a piece of Armor with the Armorer Enhancement, its Penalty is reduced by 1 to a minimum of 0.)

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

Enchant (Upgraded weapons count as any material your opponent might be particularly vulnerable to. Upgraded Armor cannot be circumvented by called shots. Upgraded Devices do not run out of fuel or energy.)

Reinforce (Upgraded objects cannot be destroyed. If you can upgrade Armor, it is shredded by half the normal amount.)

Splice (You may splice two Devices together into one single Device when activating this Effect. The resulting object is the size of the larger Device and can be used to take any action you could take with either Device. Upgrade's dice bonus applies.)

Willful End (You may end this Effect before its duration has elapsed as a Free Action.)

Seasoned Enhancements

Magic Wrench (You may Upgrade Alien Devices. This does not add bonus dice to any rolls related to the Device’s passive or activated Effects.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Relocate (You may choose not to pay this Effect’s activation cost. When you activate this Effect, if it is active from a previous activation where you didn’t pay, that Effect ends.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Requires: Willful End

Veteran Enhancements

Arm and Equip (You may upgrade any number of Objects within a 10 foot radius of your target.)

Requires Veteran status.

Drawbacks

Gift Cost: -3

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 is disturbing and/or morally abhorrent to the average person. Anyone who witnesses you during its activation or for its duration will be repulsed, outraged, and will likely think differently of you from that moment on.)

Disturbing aspect:

Equal and Opposite (After the Effect ends, any upgraded targets suffer a dice penalty equal to the Upgrade bonus they received, which lasts until they are either repaired or upgraded again.)

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.)

Object:

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

Cannot be taken with Focus

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.)

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.)

Specialized (Only affects a certain type of Object. )

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.

Anyone who witnesses you activate this Effect or for its duration is very likely to be disturbed to see souls come out of the plate as lornn hit it with his hammer. You must actively and obviously be using iron plate.

Extended Description

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

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Editing Gift divine enhancment

Editing Gift divine enhancment

divine enhancmenttap tap click ur buffed now

Customize System

Duration

Cast Time

Extra Dice

Enhancements

Seasoned Enhancements

Veteran Enhancements

Drawbacks

Customize Flavor and Finish

Visual Description

Extended Description

Editing Gift
divine enhancment

Editing Gift
divine enhancment