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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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Hellfire

Cost: -1 (1 -2)

Requires Seasoned

The power to start and extinguish fires with ease.

Because of your demonic blood you are capable of generating hellfire and using it in combat, the only downside is that generating hellfire costs your own lifeforce Hell fire is pitch black in colouration

Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend an Action. Select a target within 20 feet.

You may start or extinguish a fire as large as a torch's flame at your target. Extinguishing a fire does not cost Exertion. You may create or extinguish fires the size of a lighter or candle flame without Exerting your Mind. When you create a fire, you may choose to maintain Concentration for up to 4 Rounds. As long as you maintain Concentration, the fire you created cannot be extinguished. Afterwards, they require fuel and oxygen in order to continue burning, and can be extinguished as normal.

Lighting a target on fire deals 2 Damage each Round on your turn, starting in the Round after the one in which they caught fire. This Damage is reduced by Armor, but the target’s Armor rating will be shredded by any Damage dealt, destroying material Armor once it reaches 0.

You may extinguish flames as a Reaction. This does not extend to explosives.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see blood leaking from your body and boiling upon contact with the air.

If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.

Extended System

Immortal flames: You must maintain Line of Sight on your target as long as you are Concentrating, and it is obvious you are the source of the flames.
When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
The sacrificial Injury received from activating this Effect cannot be prevented by any means or healed before 1 day has passed. It is shared with all Effects that use sacrifice. This Injury does not requires Stabilization or cause Battle Scars when it becomes Severe.
Your fires may be extinguished with appropriate Actions and materials. Stop, drop, and rolling to extinguish requires spending an Action and making a Dexterity + Athletics roll, with an Outcome of 2 putting out the flames.
If the target is larger than your flame size, the Armor destruction creates a weak point instead of applying to the entire target.
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
Hellfire

Power

Pyromancy

Customize

Cost: -1 (1 -2)

Hellfire

Cost: -1 (1 -2)

Requires Seasoned

The power to start and extinguish fires with ease.

Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend an Action. Select a target within 20 feet.

You may extinguish flames as a Reaction. This does not extend to explosives.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see blood leaking from your body and boiling upon contact with the air.

If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.

Extended System

Immortal flames: You must maintain Line of Sight on your target as long as you are Concentrating, and it is obvious you are the source of the flames.
When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
The sacrificial Injury received from activating this Effect cannot be prevented by any means or healed before 1 day has passed. It is shared with all Effects that use sacrifice. This Injury does not requires Stabilization or cause Battle Scars when it becomes Severe.
Your fires may be extinguished with appropriate Actions and materials. Stop, drop, and rolling to extinguish requires spending an Action and making a Dexterity + Athletics roll, with an Outcome of 2 putting out the flames.
If the target is larger than your flame size, the Armor destruction creates a weak point instead of applying to the entire target.
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: -1

The damage dealt by your fires scales with the Fire Size parameter.

Style

Targeted

Trap (Gift Cost: -1)

Fire Size

Gift Cost: -1