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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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You will be able to craft this Effect onto Artifacts.

Hunter's Toolkit: Elephant Buster

Cost: 1

An extraordinary heavy sniper rifle.

With effort, and time, Hudson can create a special rifle bullet which tears the flesh much more than is standard. In addition to bypassing armor as a regular round does, it shreds it as well, leaving gaping wounds in the armor of targets....and if a target finds themselves soft and unprotected, they are quickly destroyed. Cherry Rounds are visually similar to the .950 JDJ, only made by Hudson in a custom press and

This Artifact can be used as a heavy sniper rifle. It is roughly at least twice as large as a heavy sniper rifle and cannot be concealed on your person or disassembled for storage.Unless on a failure you suffer a Severity-3 Injury, or a Severity-4 on a Botch, you succeed on a Difficulty 7 Brawn + Firearms roll to fire it (Difficulty 5 with a stand), and you load a round of .950 Cherry, each taking around 2 hours to craft with hand tools or with an appropriate machine time varies, typically less than an hour, but costing $50 in raw materials, this Artifact behaves as its mundane counterpart.

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

You also gain the following effects:

Any Injury inflicted is considered Unstabilized no matter its Severity. The roll required to Stabilize it is treated as though it is a minimum of Severity 6. These wounds do not heal naturally, though Effects may still be used to heal them.
Bane: Injuries dealt to targets without Armor value are increased by 2 Severity levels.
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.
Virtuoso's Vessel: When using this Device for its primary purpose, you always roll a minimum of 8 dice. Excludes Effect activation rolls.

Extended System

This Artifact cannot be disguised or morphed with other Effects like Shape-Changing object.
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.

Gift Example

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Editing Gift
Hunter's Toolkit: Elephant Buster

Artifact Crafting

Special Firearm

Customize

Cost: 1

You will be able to craft this Effect onto Artifacts.

Hunter's Toolkit: Elephant Buster

Cost: 1

An extraordinary heavy sniper rifle.

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

You also gain the following effects:

Any Injury inflicted is considered Unstabilized no matter its Severity. The roll required to Stabilize it is treated as though it is a minimum of Severity 6. These wounds do not heal naturally, though Effects may still be used to heal them.
Bane: Injuries dealt to targets without Armor value are increased by 2 Severity levels.
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.
Virtuoso's Vessel: When using this Device for its primary purpose, you always roll a minimum of 8 dice. Excludes Effect activation rolls.

Extended System

This Artifact cannot be disguised or morphed with other Effects like Shape-Changing object.
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.

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

Base Weapon

Select a starting point for size, damage, etc.

Bonus Damage

Enhancements

Gift Cost: +4

Accursed Wounds (Any Injury inflicted is considered Unstabilized no matter its Severity. The roll required to Stabilize it is treated as though it is a minimum of Severity 6. These wounds do not heal naturally, though Effects may still be used to heal them.)

Bane (When this weapon injures a specific type of being, the Injury it causes is increased by 2 Severity levels)

Type of being:

Compact (This item can collapse to the size of a lighter. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action. You cannot expand this Object as an attack.)

Cannot be taken with Buster

Infinite Ammo (This weapon never runs out of its standard ammunition.)

Keyhole (Any bullet that kills your target tumbles through their body and may strike a target in a 90 degree angle behind them. Any damage beyond that needed for the kill is applied to the secondary target.)

Morph Gun (You may spend a Quick Action to change this firearm's base stats into those of any other basic firearm.)

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.)

Silencer (The report of any shots you fire may be made silent at will.)

Cannot be taken with Buster

Silent Killer (If your shot would kill or incapacitate your target, they make no sound, even incidentally, for the next Round.)

Requires: Silencer

Virtuoso's Vessel (When using this Device for its primary purpose, you always roll a minimum of 8 dice. Excludes Effect activation rolls.)

Seasoned Enhancements

Curve the Bullet (You suffer no penalties for attacking targets behind cover.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Drawbacks

Gift Cost: -4

Buster (This item is large, flamboyant, and impossible to conceal. It weighs the same as its mundane counterpart but is at least twice as large.)

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.)

Condition:

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.)

Condition:

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.)

Condition:

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.)

It's Alive! (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.)

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.)

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.

When actively using this Artifact in any way that exceeds what a mundane counterpart could do, it is obviously Alien and cannot be concealed under your clothes or similar.

Extended Description

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

How will my edits affect things I've already crafted?

Adjustments: Only editing text fields will automatically update any items that have been crafted this Downtime to use the new text.
Revisions or Improvements: will refund all items that have been crafted this Downtime.
Major Revisions: will refund all items that have been crafted this Downtime and put a marker on all previously crafted items signifying that the Gift used to craft them has since undergone a major revision.