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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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Cost: 0 (1 -1)

You possess an ability to hide from sight.

The suit makes others feel relieved and forget about the person wearing it. People think that such a nice looking person won't cause trouble.

You gain the following benefits at all times. You must actively and obviously be using 2-piece suit to gain the benefits of this Effect.

You and everything you are carrying is obscured in one of the following manners. You may Spend an Action to change the way in which you're concealed.

CHOOSE AT LEAST ONE OBSCURED FROM ENHANCEMENT

While this Effect is active, any Effect that would obscure you or your equipment specifically from other, additional senses fails automatically.

If someone discovers you, this Effect will not help you hide from them for the next minute. This Effect does not end early when you activate an obvious Effect, attack, or receive an Injury.

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Compulsion to attack people who make a joke at their expense.

Extended System

GMs should use their discretion when determining the exact impacts of this Effect, particularly in conjunction with environmental factors. Standing still against a complex background may render you impossible to detect, and footprints in snow may make it easy. A chance to detect you is not guaranteed.

Gift Example

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Power

Obscure

Customize

Cost: 0 (1 -1)

Blending in"Looking fine, sir" - random security guard

Cost: 0 (1 -1)

You possess an ability to hide from sight.

The suit makes others feel relieved and forget about the person wearing it. People think that such a nice looking person won't cause trouble.

You gain the following benefits at all times. You must actively and obviously be using 2-piece suit to gain the benefits of this Effect.

You and everything you are carrying is obscured in one of the following manners. You may Spend an Action to change the way in which you're concealed.

CHOOSE AT LEAST ONE OBSCURED FROM ENHANCEMENT

While this Effect is active, any Effect that would obscure you or your equipment specifically from other, additional senses fails automatically.

If someone discovers you, this Effect will not help you hide from them for the next minute. This Effect does not end early when you activate an obvious Effect, attack, or receive an Injury.

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Compulsion to attack people who make a joke at their expense.

Extended System

GMs should use their discretion when determining the exact impacts of this Effect, particularly in conjunction with environmental factors. Standing still against a complex background may render you impossible to detect, and footprints in snow may make it easy. A chance to detect you is not guaranteed.

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: 0

Style

Activated (Gift Cost: -1)

Passive

Enhancements

Gift Cost: +1

Combat Stealth (This Effect does not end early when you activate an obvious Effect, attack, or receive an Injury.)

Obscured From: Hearing (You are completely obscured from hearing. You produce no sounds while this Effect is active. All attempts to detect you via hearing fail. Attempts via other senses where hearing would assist are rolled at -2 dice.)

Obscured From: Other (You are obscured from two senses that are uncommon to humans such as thermal vision, electroreception, radar, echolocation, aura-sight, or something else.)

Obscured From: Sight (You are partially obscured from being noticed by sight. All attempts to detect you using sight are rolled at a -3 dice penalty, and all attempts to detect you where sight would assist are rolled at -1 penalty.)

Obscured From: Smell and Taste (You are completely obscured from smell and taste. You do not leave scent trails while this Effect is active. All attempts to detect you via smell or taste fail. Attempts via other senses where smell or taste would assist are rolled at -2 dice.)

Switch (You may turn this Effect on and off during its duration.)

Seasoned Enhancements

Invisibility (You are completely obscured from sight. All attempts to detect you via sight fail. Attempts via other senses where sight would assist are rolled at -2 dice.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Requires: Sight

Cannot be taken with Combat Stealth

Obscured From: Arcane (You are partially obscured from being noticed by all senses, natural and supernatural. All attempts to notice you are rolled at -3 dice. Attempts to recall identifying information about you require a Mind roll at Difficulty 8.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Drawbacks

Gift Cost: -2

Camo (Obscurity is only effective when you are standing still.)

Cannot be taken with Combat Stealth

Chameleon Skin (This Power does not affect your clothes or equipment.)

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.)

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

Object:

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.)

Trauma:

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.

You must actively and obviously be using 2-piece suit.

Extended Description

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

Gift incomplete

Gifts must cost a minimum of one Gift Credit
This Gift requires at least 1 Obscured From Enhancement

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Customize System

Style

Enhancements

Seasoned Enhancements

Drawbacks

Customize Flavor and Finish

Visual Description

Extended Description

Gift incomplete

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