# Gifts

**Anything (Gift-Related) that requires Seasoned, no longer does, and any that require Veteran, now instead require Professional.**

**All Contractors begin with a free Gift: this stacks ontop of Gifted, and Charon-Coin. The Giftless Liability now instead "suppresses" starting Gifts, though you may still gain new Gifts.**

**Gifts may have up to a intuitive "gift-point" of "flavor-power"**

# OOC

**You may have a maximum of 3 Contractors in Newbie**

**You do not heal your Downtime Healing (2 Severity Levels, 4 w/ Bounceback) until your Contractor is actaully present at their next contract (Or Month/Healing)... additionally, if you have a Present Loose End, you may not heal until it is ran or you are informed otherwise**

# Mechanics

**Grappling**

https://www.thecontractrpg.com/guide/rules/#grappling-and-choking

To Grapple a target you roll Brawn + Brawl, they dodge defend or clash as normal.

- You contest all actions they take this round with this.

- Contested Outcome must be equal, or greater to, the target's Brawn.

Once a target is grappled: they can only escape by rolling Brawn or Dex + Brawl... or similar ability (Not Athletics.)

- Their escape uses the contested outcome of the original roll as a "DC".

- You may contest any psychical action they take as a Reaction.

 - Any successful attempt to maintain the grapple, counts as an unarmed "Choke" attack.

   - May be made as a standard attack as well, does not suffer the normal -2 damage decrease.

If a grappled target uses a weapon or similar: you may clash them and force them into using Brawn + Brawl. 

**Climbing / "Difficult" Movement.**

Typically an action that only allows movement in increments of 5 feet * Outcome.

**Mobs**

Mobs no longer take +3 damage from AOE attacks, it only removes the "Half Damage" defense.

"Easier" movements may not require an action. (IE: Easy ladder, slow "wade" water).

**Source-Exerts**

Contractors may use Source in lieu of exerting Mind. 

**Traumas & Disorders**

Exerting on a Trauma does not result in an automatic success.

Exerting on a Disorder (Condition) does result in an automatic success... you may Exert, even on a potential failure. 

**Ballistic Bonus**

All Ballistic Armor provides +1 Armor against it's intended bullet rating and smaller. 

(Kevlar = 2, +1 against pistols)

(Plate Carriers = 3, +1 against Rifles.)

**Called Shots**

Called Shots require 1 less Outcome to hit, respectively.

- 5 for a tiny target (Head, Heart, ETC), 3 for a small target (Arm, Leg, etc)

 - With point control / etc: 3, and 1, respectively.

**Secondary Difficulty**

Secondary Abilities lower the difficulty of covered-combats by 1.

They named that time The Illumination, and it was by the flash of a camera phone.

The year was 2004. Until that point the Earth was as we had always known her. We filled her cruel vastness with legends, superstitions, and rumors. Warlocks, monsters, and gods lurked on the edge of the collective consciousness, always a possibility but never more. We lacked evidence. That evidence came as humanity filled its pockets with technology equipped to capture and transmit.

An iPhone found on High School senior Nate Klienman’s mangled corpse held a video of his girlfriend’s bone-snapping transformation into a monstrous wolf creature. A Brazilian widow documented a series of conversations with the misty figure of her late husband. A Chinese fishing boat caught a mermaid in a net and put it on display in the Beijing aquarium.

Each week brought a new revelation that we were not alone. Superstitions reversed their slow death overnight. Salem held their first witch trial in a century. The jury rendered a verdict of “guilty on all charges” and sentenced Maxibelle Horux to death. A week after her lethal injection, half the jury died from a tainted batch of flu vaccine. A fearful, populist movement arose to rid humanity of the creatures lurking in its ranks. Suspects are forcibly subjected to bizarre tests of their humanity, and the results are often open to interpretation. A mob’s justice is swift.

Yet the paranormal is not merely relegated to a persecuted class. Where some see monsters, some see sentience, and others see opportunity. If a vampire can sustain themselves on cloned blood and work the graveyard shift, why not legalize and tax? Politicians and Aristocrats employ odd-looking individuals as "advisors" or "protection." Entertainment magazines publish revelations every week about which celebrities shed their human skins at home. Charlatans of all stripes, from palmistry mediums to televangelists, have flourished despite the risks. The treatment of the paranormal varies from place to place, person to person.

Long have cabals, cults, and secret societies thrived in the shadows. Their roots run deeply through humanity’s oldest systems of power. Machinations are challenged, and sleeping dangers awaken. The world is changing, forcing long-dormant powers into desperate action. And it is in the midst of this great period of change that The Powers That Be have once again turned their attention to the blue marble. For the first time in two hundred years, Harbingers approach worthy individuals with an offer they won't refuse.

The Games have returned, and a new generation of Contractors are being forged.