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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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nuke projectboom

Cost: 9

Requires Seasoned

The power to set traps that cause a destructive blast of damage in an area when triggered.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action to trap a region of any shape that contains your current location and fits entirely within 65 feet. This trap lasts until triggered or disarmed. Choose a type of being that could trigger the trap. Roll Intellect + Alertness at Difficulty 6. Record your Outcome when the trap is placed.

The trap looks like red orb. Only those who have seen this trap before can identify it as a trap. Anyone who is aware of the trap may intuitively avoid or destroy it.

When setting the trap, specify the condition under which it will trigger. The trap can trigger against a target in the trapped region.

If the Outcome is positive, your blast hits everything within 50 feet of the trap with Damage equal to your Outcome + 8. Affected targets may Dodge or Defend to reduce incoming Damage by their Outcome.

Damage spreads to targets beyond the edge of the initial radius, decreasing by 2 Damage for every 5 feet traveled. For the next 3 Rounds following the initial blast, this Effect will deal a new blast of damage to any targets remaining within range of the trap. The damage decays by 2 each Round.

If you successfully hit your target, the value of any Armor they are wearing is reduced by 2. For material armor, this penalty lasts until it is repaired. For intrinsic armor, it lasts until the end of Combat and any relevant wound is healed.

Extended System

Anyone who witnesses you place the trap learns about this type of trap and can avoid it at will.
Any visual cues from the initial blast which indicate imminent danger will remain in place during the following three waves of new blasts.
Multiple traps cannot be placed in the exact same location or be triggered by the same single Action. Nor can one trap triggering cause another to trigger.
Trap can only be spotted by someone who has witnessed this particular trap before, has been informed, or possesses relevant supernatural abilities. They must achieve an Outcome of 4 or higher on a Perception + Alertness roll to do so.
The trap's triggering condition, once set, is final. The trap cannot be manually triggered or made to fire on a selected target at will.

Gift Example

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Editing Gift
nuke project

Power

Blast

Customize

Cost: 9

nuke projectboom

Cost: 9

Requires Seasoned

The power to set traps that cause a destructive blast of damage in an area when triggered.

The trap looks like red orb. Only those who have seen this trap before can identify it as a trap. Anyone who is aware of the trap may intuitively avoid or destroy it.

When setting the trap, specify the condition under which it will trigger. The trap can trigger against a target in the trapped region.

Extended System

Anyone who witnesses you place the trap learns about this type of trap and can avoid it at will.
Any visual cues from the initial blast which indicate imminent danger will remain in place during the following three waves of new blasts.
Multiple traps cannot be placed in the exact same location or be triggered by the same single Action. Nor can one trap triggering cause another to trigger.
Trap can only be spotted by someone who has witnessed this particular trap before, has been informed, or possesses relevant supernatural abilities. They must achieve an Outcome of 4 or higher on a Perception + Alertness roll to do so.
The trap's triggering condition, once set, is final. The trap cannot be manually triggered or made to fire on a selected target at will.

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: 9

Style

Targeted

Trap (Gift Cost: -1)

Trap Appearance

What does the trap look like when set?

Blast Roll

Range

Radius

Gift Cost: +1

Damage

Gift Cost: +2

Enhancements

Gift Cost: +6

Deflagration (Any flammable Objects within the radius during the blast will catch fire, and any being who takes at least 4 Damage will catch fire. Starting the Round after they caught fire, flaming targets take 2 Damage per Round until the fire is extinguished.)

Detonation (Damage spreads to targets beyond the edge of the initial radius, decreasing by 2 Damage for every 5 feet traveled.)

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

Quick n Dirty (Placing a trap takes only a single Action.)

Set it and Forget it (Your traps last indefinitely. They can still be disarmed.)

Shredder (If you successfully hit your target, the value of any Armor they are wearing is reduced by 2. For material armor, this penalty lasts until it is repaired. For intrinsic armor, it lasts until the end of Combat and any relevant wound is healed.)

Specialized Snare (When setting the trap, you determine the condition under which it triggers.)

Seasoned Enhancements

No Friendly Fire (When activating this Effect, you may specify one species or equivalent type of animate being that is immune to its Damage.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Overpressure (Anyone who takes damage from this Effect is knocked back away from the target location by a distance equal to the radius. They must succeed a Body roll, Difficulty 9, or be stunned for 1 round.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Voodoo Doll (This Effect has unlimited range, but you must use up a token of your target to do so. One activation per target per day. The chosen token must be an object that the target actively created or that was in the target’s possession for at least 24 hours.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Waves of Carnage (For the next 3 Rounds following the initial blast, this Effect will deal a new blast of damage to any targets remaining in the same radius, decaying by 2 damage each round. Any visual cues indicating imminent danger remain during this time.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Veteran Enhancements

Annihilate (Any object destroyed or individual killed in your blast turns to dust. Any parts of structures within your blast radius are destroyed and cannot bear a load or block movement. Your blast leaves a 15 foot deep crater in the ground and deals +1 Damage.)

Requires Veteran status.

Drawbacks

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.)

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

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.)

Fickle Traps (Your traps last only an hour once placed.)

Cannot be taken with Set it and Forget it

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.)

Sabotage Item (Instead of placing a trap at a fixed location, you may sabotage an object that can be carried or moved. The trap's trigger is using the object instead of entering the proximity of the trap. Ideal for poisons, trapping vehicles, cursing clothes, etc.)

Cannot be taken with Set it and Forget it

Cannot be taken with Specialized Snare

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.)

Unreliable (When you activate this Effect, roll a single d10, Difficulty 4. If you fail or botch, the Effect fails and you cannot activate it again for an hour.)

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.

The trap looks like red orb. It can only be spotted as a trap by those with preexisting knowledge of such traps.

Extended Description

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

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Editing Gift nuke project

Editing Gift nuke project

nuke projectboom

Customize System

Style

Trap Appearance

Blast Roll

Range

Radius

Damage

Enhancements

Seasoned Enhancements

Veteran Enhancements

Drawbacks

Customize Flavor and Finish

Visual Description

Extended Description

Editing Gift
nuke project

Editing Gift
nuke project