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The Illumination
GameMaster's Manual
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Setting: The Illumination
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Building Custom Gifts
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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.

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Cost: 3

This Artifact grants you the power to learn new information about the area you are in.

This device can find any unusual energy in an area.

Expend a point of Battery and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 500 feet At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Investigation at Difficulty 6.

You learn the following information about the area:

You can locate the source of any Alien energy or the presence of any Alien effects on the area. Specific information about the function of these effects beyond their general type is not forthcoming.
You learn how heavily trafficked the area is, what sorts of Animate beings have moved through the area and when.

The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

Anyone who touches this Artifact will notice it warping their mind and may drop it. If they choose to hold or use it, they immediately receive the following Trauma: compulsion to never leave a teammate behind or harm a teammate. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.

You may only use this Effect once per day.

You cannot investigate the same area more than once per day.

Extended System

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
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Artifact Crafting

Investigate Area

Customize

Cost: 3

You will be able to craft this Effect onto Artifacts.

Electronic Scanner

Cost: 3

This Artifact grants you the power to learn new information about the area you are in.

This device can find any unusual energy in an area.

Expend a point of Battery and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 500 feet At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Investigation at Difficulty 6.

You learn the following information about the area:

You can locate the source of any Alien energy or the presence of any Alien effects on the area. Specific information about the function of these effects beyond their general type is not forthcoming.
You learn how heavily trafficked the area is, what sorts of Animate beings have moved through the area and when.

The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

You may only use this Effect once per day.

You cannot investigate the same area more than once per day.

Extended System

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: 3

The number of information-revealing Enhancements attached to this Gift is limited to 2 for Novices, 4 for Seasoned Contractors, and 7 for Veteran Contractors. You may still take any number of other, non-informational Enhancements.

Investigation roll

Cast Time

Radius

Gift Cost: +1

Enhancements

Gift Cost: +3

Battery-operated (Instead of Exerting Mind to activate this Power, it has its own 3-point Source pool. The Source regenerates at the rate of one point per day and cannot be raised with Experience.)

Cantrip (Activating this Effect has no Exertion cost, but it can have no more than 3 Drawbacks and its Gift Cost can never be increased above 2.)

Cannot be taken with Battery-operated

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

Cannot be taken with Battery-operated

Information: Borders (You can tell which entities lay claim to each part of the area and how these borders have shifted over time.)

Information: Census (You learn where exactly creatures and people live within the area, and what sorts of creatures they are.)

Information: Ceremony of the Cut Ribbon (You can tell the age of any structure or natural formation in the area.)

Information: Death Stench (You can tell how many living things have died in this area, what they were, and roughly when the deaths occurred.)

Information: Ley Lines (You can locate the source of any Alien energy or the presence of any Alien effects on the area. Specific information about the function of these effects beyond their general type is not forthcoming.)

Information: Other (You learn some other specific information about the area.)

Information: Traffic (You learn how heavily trafficked the area is, what sorts of Animate beings have moved through the area and when.)

Seasoned Enhancements

Conditionally Costless (This Effect does not require Exertion in certain circumstances. The condition should be balanced such that it has an activation cost the majority of the time you are able to use it.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Cannot be taken with Battery-operated

Information: Got a bad feeling about this place (You learn about any traps or ambushes in the area. Using this power does not trigger said traps or ambushes.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Information: Time Walk (You receive a vision of the last time an event of a particular type occurred. One type of event per activation.)

Requires Seasoned status.

Drawbacks

Gift Cost: -2

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.)

Disturbing (Witnessing this Effect's Activation is extremely disturbing and/or morally abhorrent to the average person. Anyone who witnesses its activation will almost certainly be repulsed, outraged, and think differently of you from that moment on.)

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.)

Familiar Terrain (This Power only works in a particular environment.)

Focused Investigation (You learn only one type of information about the target per use.)

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.)

Once per Day (You may only use this Effect once per day.)

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.)

Cannot be taken with Battery-operated

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.

During Effect activation, you are obviously investigating the area. You must obviously use this Artifact to activate this Effect. When activating this Effect, this Artifact 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.

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Editing Gift Electronic Scanner

Editing Gift Electronic Scanner

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Customize System

Investigation roll

Cast Time

Radius

Enhancements

Seasoned Enhancements

Drawbacks

Customize Flavor and Finish

Visual Description

Extended Description

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

Editing Gift
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Editing Gift
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