SirNibbles
2023-03-25, 05:22 PM
The purpose of this thread is to show that the Tattooed Monk is a terrible class in every way: the flavor is nonsensical, the rules are often either ambiguous or render the abilities unusable, and it is woefully underpowered even with the most permissive interpretations.
Waltz over to your bookshelf, grab your copy of Complete Warrior, and turn to page 82. Let us begin by addressing the very first sentence that greets us there:
Certain monastic orders bestow supernatural or spell-like powers on their members by inscribing magic tattoos on their skin.
Complete Warrior, page 82
This raises a near-endless number of questions: If supernatural abilities can be bestowed simply by applying a tattoo, why not just make the tattoos items? Why does this need to be a class, especially when the only class feature is getting tattoos (and advancing monk abilities)? If the tattoos can't just be applied to anyone, then how exactly does it work: how do you learn to use your tattoo? Do you apply the tattoos yourself or does someone else do it? What abilities do they need to create the tattoos? Obviously, it's not an ability you gain as a Tattooed Monk: Tattooed Monks don't gain any abilities besides tattoos!
Part 1: How Tattoos are Made
I am aware of the following methods of creating magic tattoos:
Create Magic Tattoo (spell) - Spell Compendium, page 55
2nd level Sorc/Wiz spell that creates tattoos which last for 24 hours and confer small bonuses to the wearer. Requires at least 1 rank of Craft (drawing), Craft (painting), Craft (calligraphy), or a similar Craft skill. Inscribing a magic tattoo requires a successful Craft check: DC 10/15/20 depending on the tier of the tattoo, with higher tiers being available at higher caster levels. Limit of three tattoos at any one time. Requires a material component: inks costing at least 100 gp.
Monk's Tattoo (Wondrous Item) - Magic of Faerūn, page 163
Caster Level: 7th; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, creator must be a monk of at least 10th level; Market Price: 80,000 gp; Weight:
Uniquely only functions for characters with monk class levels. Follows standard creation rules for Wondrous Items, provides a continuous bonus. Does not use an item slot.
Tattoo Magic (feat) - Lords of Darkness, page 189/Races of Faerūn, page 170
Prerequisites: Craft (calligraphy) 1 rank, Craft (painting) 1 rank, Spellcaster level 3rd
Allows for the creation of single-use tattoos which can be used to store targeted spells of up to 3rd level. The bearer of the tattoo is always the target of the spell. Activating the tattoo is a standard action which does not provoke an attack of opportunity. A magic tattoo occupies a magic item slot based on its location on the body, or can be created to not use a magic item slot for double the normal price. The base price of a tattoo is [Spell Level] x [Caster Level] x [50 gp]. Creating a tattoo requires 1/25 of the base price in XP and raw materials costing half the base price. Creating a tattoo takes one hour.
Scribe Tattoo (feat) - Expanded Psionics Handbook, page 51
Prerequisite: Manifester level 3rd
Functions similarly to Tattoo Magic, with the following differences: tattoos do not use a magic item slot; tattoos can be transferred to another willing living creature or taken from a dead creature as a standard action; activation of a tattoo provokes AoOs; maximum of 17 tattoos- attempting to add more automatically activates all tattoos; creating a tattoo takes one day.
Psionic Tattoo Mastery (feat) - Getting Wired - The Art of Mastering Psionic Tattoos (Web Enhancement)
Prerequisite: Scribe Tattoo
Allows creation of tattoos of psionic powers up to 9th level. It takes 1 day per 1,000 gp of the base price to create a tattoo. You can apply any metaspionic feat(s) you know to your tattoos- they increase the level of the power as normal. Tattoos above third level take up more than one tattoo slot; +2 slots for each level above 3rd, up to 13 slots for a 9th level power (the limit of 17 slots still applies).
I don't see any good reason to separate Psionic Tattoos from Magic Tattoos, and I think it would be worth reworking this system into a single system that allows for psionics and magic, depending on the creator.
The article also introduces 'circuit tattoos': we will be ignoring those for now.
Magical Tattoos (Wondrous Items) - Dragon Magazine #304, page 28
Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item; bark skin and Caster level 2nd (Tattoo of Steel); charm person, cause fear, and Caster Level 2nd (Tattoo of Amity), bull's strength and Caster level 3rd (Tattoo of Pain)
The first two tattoos give small, permanent bonuses. The third tattoo gives 5 uses/day of an ability similar in concept to the Lion tattoo, but activation is a free action (as it should be).
Living Tattoos (Construct) - Denizens of Dread, page 129
Ritual performed by a shaman of the Abber Nomads, requiring 1d8+8 hours, xp cost based on HD or item cost
Essentially functions as a familiar that you can wear.
Thanks to ShurikVch for pointing out that these last two exist.
The first two of the above-listed methods of obtaining magic tattoos share some similarity with the way that a Tattooed Monk's tattoos function: Create Magic Tattoo gives small, continuous bonuses; the Monk's Tattoo is a permanent effect that gives continuous bonuses. Tattoo Magic and Scribe Tattoo can be considered two sides of the same coin, but that coin - single use tattoos that replicate spells/powers - is not very similar to the tattoos of the Tattooed Monk. Nonetheless, those systems are fleshed out to the point that they deserve mentioning. Of the methods of getting tattoos, creating tattoos as Wondrous Items is probably the most logical way to go about it to get as close as possible to the Tattooed Monk's tattoos- if they are slotless, as all Tattooed Monk tattoos are, they cost double.
Having decided that it makes the most sense for similar tattoos to be created as Wondrous Items, the question must be asked: how are non-casters doing it? Naturally, they aren't. Therefore, in order for this class to make any sense, these must be mundane tattoos that somehow become supernatural through the training of the Tattooed Monk. This is bad flavour. It fails to be sufficiently explained or particularly interesting in the way that a class like Runescarred Berserker (Unapproachable East, page 31) is. However, bad flavour isn't the end of the world: at least you get some cool abilities, right?
Part 2: An Analysis of the Tattooed Monk's Tattoos
The Tattooed Monk gets its only class feature, tattoos, at every odd level. There is no capstone ability. I do not know how to further explain that this kind of design is atrocious- I hope others may do it for me in the replies. Many of the abilities you do get are triple-scaling: the duration, power, and number of uses all scale with level. This means at low levels, the power, duration, and number of uses are completely insignificant- many of the abilities don't actually last long enough to be usable: more on that when we analyse individual tattoos.
All tattoos are magical, and the abilities they bestow are supernatural (except for the crescent moon). A tattooed monk in an antimagic field loses all benefits of his tattoos. Unless the effect of a tattoo is continuous, activating a tattoo is a move action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Complete Warrior, page 83
Note: Throughout this section, I will occasionally be shortening 'Tattooed Monk' to 'TM' and 'Tattooed Monk Level' to 'TML'. +Tattoo = an ability gives a bonus equal to the number of tattoos you have; , Tattoo/day = ability is usable a number of times per day equal to the number of tattoos you have; Rd/TML = ability lasts 1 round per Tattooed Monk Level.
Tattoo
Benefit/Description
Analysis
Arrowroot
Move action to heal others by touch, limited to [Wis] x [TML] HP per day
Similar to Lay on Hands but can't be used to heal yourself or damage undead. Move action instead of standard. Still worthless, especially at low levels.
Bamboo
Tattoo/day, +tattoo enhancement bonus to Con, 1 rd/TML
At best, gives you +5 Con enhancement bonus for 10 rounds, 5 times a day. The increase is comparable to Bear's Endurance but with a much shorter duration. For a first level TM, one time per day you can get a +1 enhancement bonus to Con for 1 round: this is for a minimum 6th level character. This is shockingly bad.
Bat
Tattoo/day, +tattoo enhancement bonus to Dex, 1 rd/TML
Same as above, Cat's Grace.
Bellflower
Tattoo/day, +Cha as enhancement bonus to any ability score, 1 rd/TML
Same issues as above but, even worse, the bonus is dependent on Charisma, usually a dump stat for Monks. Possibly exploitable by looping to give a bonus to Charisma, but even so the gain is minimal and short-lived.
Butterfly
Tattoo/day, +tattoo enhancement bonus to Wis, 1 rd/TML
Same as Bamboo/Bat, Owl's Wisdom.
Centipede
Shadow Walk 1/week, minimum 5th level TM
Gets you shadow walk sooner than a Wizard would get it, but only 1/week. No scaling. Somewhat viable, but do you really need shadow walk and is it worth 5 levels of this class?
Chameleon
Tattoo/day, Alter Self 1 hr/TML
Another second level wizard spell a few times a day. Useful for disguise but very little utility otherwise. Somewhat viable, especially given it lasts at least an hour rather than a single round at low levels.
Crab
+Tattoo DR 2/magic, stacks with other sources
DR/magic isn't a good ability. By the time you pick up this tattoo, it will be easily bypassed. By the time it reaches full potential, it will be nearly useless.
Crane
Immunity to nonmagical disease, immunity to poison, immunity to aging
Strangely only scales twice and only if you get it before other tattoos, but the effects are useful nonetheless. Regular monk also gets all of these abilities.
Chrysanthemum*
Heal TML/hour HP while in direct sunlight
Useful at lower levels for healing outside of combat, if you're in an environment with sun. 1 hp/hour at 6th level isn't great.
Dragon
Tattoo/day fire breath as with elixir of fire breath
4d6 single target fire, DC 13 reflex half. Can breathe 3 times per elixir within 1 hour of drinking. Gives you a ranged attack that doesn't need an attack roll. Very low reflex save DC doesn't scale with level or ability score. Possibly viable at lower levels.
Dragonfly
1/day +tattoo dodge bonus to AC 1 rd/TML
Up to +5 dodge to AC once a day for 10 rounds? Or +1/1 round to start? Worthless.
Falcon
Immune to fear, allies within 10 feet gain +[TM's Cha] +[Tattoo] as morale vs fear.
Fear immunity is nice, and increasing your allies' saves is nice. Very similar to 3rd level Paladin ability, but 3 levels of Paladin is better than 3 levels of TM.
Lion
Tattoo/day, +4 attack/+TML damage on a single melee attack
A smite evil that works on any enemy but has a smaller damage bonus. Max is 5/day +10 damage. Remember, this is a single roll and uses a move action. Worthless.
Monkey
+1 competence/Tat to Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Open Lock, Sleight of Hand, and Tumble checks
That's a lot of skills. Unfortunately you need to take 9 levels of TM to max the bonus and some of those skills aren't class skills. Somewhat viable for skill monkeys.
Moon, Crescent
1/day Ethereal Jaunt SLA, minimum 9th level TM
Comes online 1 level after Wizard, same level as Sorcerer. But do you need Ethereal jaunt? Usable.
Moon, Full
Tat/day +2 luck bonus to a single attack roll, skill check, or ability check. Can't be used during daytime.
Requiring a move action to use makes no sense or makes this useless in most cases. Even as a free action, this isn't a good option.
Mountain
Can't move in exchange for untyped +4 con and 4 wis, 1 rd/TML. -20 to Dex skill checks, immunity to trip and bull rush
*casts grease* I don't know what the benefit of this ability is supposed to be.
Nightingale
Heal self or allies x [TML] HP/day.
20 hp of healing per day as a move action at level 15. Worthless.
Ocean
Don't need to eat, sleep, or drink
Convenient, especially at low level, though some DMs ignore eating/drinking as needless bookkeeping. Valuable if imprisoned.
Phoenix
SR 15+TML, minimum 7th level TM
Nice to have, but regular monk gets it around the same level anyhow.
Pine
Remain Conscious
How is this a class feature requiring 2 levels of investment?
Scorpion
Tattoo/day, force opposing attacker to use worst ability score for attack roll
A few times a day you can make your opponent more likely to miss you with an attack. Probably most useful for avoiding ranged touch attacks. Not great. Also can be activated on opponent's turn, but still requires a move action somehow.
Spider
Instead of Stunning Fist, DC 10+TML+Con Poison, initial and secondary 2 Con dmg
If you can stun it, you'd rather stun it than poison it. If you can't stun it, you probably can't poison it. Worthless.
Sun
As full moon, but only during the day.
As bad as full moon, but during the day.
Tiger
Tattoo/day, +1 atk/+1d6 dmg with UAS, 1 rd/TML
Hurts to burn a move action to activate at the start of a fight, and isn't a huge benefit; better off using a wand of Bull's Strength or something. At low level, the duration makes it pretty much unusable.
Tortoise
Tattoo/day, use TML instead of skill rank for a skill check, even if untrained.
Specifically calls out UMD meaning you can use 'trained only' skills that you don't have trained, which could be useful for a skill monkey with no skills, but why would you be that? Possibly useful for fringe skills.
Unicorn
1/day reroll any roll, must take the new result
Not worth 2 levels of investment for a marginal ability.
Wasp
Tattoo/day, haste 1 rd/TML
Haste is nice but the duration is short and there are better ways to get haste
White Mask
+10 bluff, immune to detect thoughts, detect lies, and attempts to magically discern alignment
A convenient, always active ability. A real standout among all of the trash that Tattooed Monk has to offer.
*I know that this tattoo is out of alphabetical order. This is the order in which they are listed. I was not an editor for Complete Warrior.
To summarise, the following tattoos are not worthless: Centipede, Chameleon, Crane, Dragon, Falcon, Monkey, Crescent Moon, Ocean, Phoenix, Tortoise, Wasp, and White Mask. That's 12 of 30 tattoos that are even worth considering taking.
Part 3: Proposed Solutions
1. Condense the class into 5 levels with a tattoo at every level. Halve the minimum class level requirement for all tattoos. This is the easiest solution but also solves the fewest number of problems.
2. Make the knockoff Bear's Endurance-style tattoos just function as SLAs of the spells which they are clearly meant to mimic. 1/4th the bonus for 1/10th the duration is ridiculous. The same bonus for 1/10th the duration is still ridiculous. This is also an easy solution and doesn't fix the core issues of the class.
3. Remove the class entirely and make your own Wondrous Item tattoos with similar effects or make up your own. Set a limit to the number of tattoos a creature can possess.
4. Allow the class to use single use tattoos (see Tattoo Magic, Scribe Tattoo) without them disappearing after every use- options include guaranteed retention of tattoos with a cooldown, a chance for a tattoo to fade with use, and tattoos of a certain level and lower being multi-use.
5. Make the class a partial-casting class, with +1 spellcasting at each even level. This can be combined with other solutions. Not particularly elegant and doesn't fix the base problems, but at least it's a power increase of some kind.
6. Give every tattoo a passive and active component. For example, add the following active ability to Monkey: Branch to Branch (Spell Compendium, page 38) as an SLA a number of times per day equal to the number of tattoos you possess. Add the following passive ability to Mountain: as long as you have moved less than 20 feet in the last round, you gain a +4 bonus to resist trip, overrun, and bull rush attempts.
7. Fix the boring and poorly-explained flavor - if these are mundane tattoos that become magical through meditation and self-discovery, include that somehow. If these start out as magic tattoos, give the class some ability to make magic tattoos.
8. Individually fix the tattoos that are awful to be less so. I've already taken a long time to write this and will never end up posting if I try to come up with variations for each tattoo.
Tattoo
Benefit/Description
Analysis
Arrowroot
Bamboo
Bat
Bellflower
Butterfly
Centipede
Chameleon
Crab
Crane
Chrystanthemum*
Dragon
Dragonfly
Falcon
Lion
Monkey
Moon, Crescent
Moon, Full
Mountain
Nightingale
Ocean
Phoenix
Pine
Scorpion
Spider
Sun
Tiger
Tortoise
Unicorn
Wasp
White Mask
I will continue to add to this list, but, as I said before, at some point I have to post. Thank you to everyone who suffered reading through this.
Waltz over to your bookshelf, grab your copy of Complete Warrior, and turn to page 82. Let us begin by addressing the very first sentence that greets us there:
Certain monastic orders bestow supernatural or spell-like powers on their members by inscribing magic tattoos on their skin.
Complete Warrior, page 82
This raises a near-endless number of questions: If supernatural abilities can be bestowed simply by applying a tattoo, why not just make the tattoos items? Why does this need to be a class, especially when the only class feature is getting tattoos (and advancing monk abilities)? If the tattoos can't just be applied to anyone, then how exactly does it work: how do you learn to use your tattoo? Do you apply the tattoos yourself or does someone else do it? What abilities do they need to create the tattoos? Obviously, it's not an ability you gain as a Tattooed Monk: Tattooed Monks don't gain any abilities besides tattoos!
Part 1: How Tattoos are Made
I am aware of the following methods of creating magic tattoos:
Create Magic Tattoo (spell) - Spell Compendium, page 55
2nd level Sorc/Wiz spell that creates tattoos which last for 24 hours and confer small bonuses to the wearer. Requires at least 1 rank of Craft (drawing), Craft (painting), Craft (calligraphy), or a similar Craft skill. Inscribing a magic tattoo requires a successful Craft check: DC 10/15/20 depending on the tier of the tattoo, with higher tiers being available at higher caster levels. Limit of three tattoos at any one time. Requires a material component: inks costing at least 100 gp.
Monk's Tattoo (Wondrous Item) - Magic of Faerūn, page 163
Caster Level: 7th; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, creator must be a monk of at least 10th level; Market Price: 80,000 gp; Weight:
Uniquely only functions for characters with monk class levels. Follows standard creation rules for Wondrous Items, provides a continuous bonus. Does not use an item slot.
Tattoo Magic (feat) - Lords of Darkness, page 189/Races of Faerūn, page 170
Prerequisites: Craft (calligraphy) 1 rank, Craft (painting) 1 rank, Spellcaster level 3rd
Allows for the creation of single-use tattoos which can be used to store targeted spells of up to 3rd level. The bearer of the tattoo is always the target of the spell. Activating the tattoo is a standard action which does not provoke an attack of opportunity. A magic tattoo occupies a magic item slot based on its location on the body, or can be created to not use a magic item slot for double the normal price. The base price of a tattoo is [Spell Level] x [Caster Level] x [50 gp]. Creating a tattoo requires 1/25 of the base price in XP and raw materials costing half the base price. Creating a tattoo takes one hour.
Scribe Tattoo (feat) - Expanded Psionics Handbook, page 51
Prerequisite: Manifester level 3rd
Functions similarly to Tattoo Magic, with the following differences: tattoos do not use a magic item slot; tattoos can be transferred to another willing living creature or taken from a dead creature as a standard action; activation of a tattoo provokes AoOs; maximum of 17 tattoos- attempting to add more automatically activates all tattoos; creating a tattoo takes one day.
Psionic Tattoo Mastery (feat) - Getting Wired - The Art of Mastering Psionic Tattoos (Web Enhancement)
Prerequisite: Scribe Tattoo
Allows creation of tattoos of psionic powers up to 9th level. It takes 1 day per 1,000 gp of the base price to create a tattoo. You can apply any metaspionic feat(s) you know to your tattoos- they increase the level of the power as normal. Tattoos above third level take up more than one tattoo slot; +2 slots for each level above 3rd, up to 13 slots for a 9th level power (the limit of 17 slots still applies).
I don't see any good reason to separate Psionic Tattoos from Magic Tattoos, and I think it would be worth reworking this system into a single system that allows for psionics and magic, depending on the creator.
The article also introduces 'circuit tattoos': we will be ignoring those for now.
Magical Tattoos (Wondrous Items) - Dragon Magazine #304, page 28
Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item; bark skin and Caster level 2nd (Tattoo of Steel); charm person, cause fear, and Caster Level 2nd (Tattoo of Amity), bull's strength and Caster level 3rd (Tattoo of Pain)
The first two tattoos give small, permanent bonuses. The third tattoo gives 5 uses/day of an ability similar in concept to the Lion tattoo, but activation is a free action (as it should be).
Living Tattoos (Construct) - Denizens of Dread, page 129
Ritual performed by a shaman of the Abber Nomads, requiring 1d8+8 hours, xp cost based on HD or item cost
Essentially functions as a familiar that you can wear.
Thanks to ShurikVch for pointing out that these last two exist.
The first two of the above-listed methods of obtaining magic tattoos share some similarity with the way that a Tattooed Monk's tattoos function: Create Magic Tattoo gives small, continuous bonuses; the Monk's Tattoo is a permanent effect that gives continuous bonuses. Tattoo Magic and Scribe Tattoo can be considered two sides of the same coin, but that coin - single use tattoos that replicate spells/powers - is not very similar to the tattoos of the Tattooed Monk. Nonetheless, those systems are fleshed out to the point that they deserve mentioning. Of the methods of getting tattoos, creating tattoos as Wondrous Items is probably the most logical way to go about it to get as close as possible to the Tattooed Monk's tattoos- if they are slotless, as all Tattooed Monk tattoos are, they cost double.
Having decided that it makes the most sense for similar tattoos to be created as Wondrous Items, the question must be asked: how are non-casters doing it? Naturally, they aren't. Therefore, in order for this class to make any sense, these must be mundane tattoos that somehow become supernatural through the training of the Tattooed Monk. This is bad flavour. It fails to be sufficiently explained or particularly interesting in the way that a class like Runescarred Berserker (Unapproachable East, page 31) is. However, bad flavour isn't the end of the world: at least you get some cool abilities, right?
Part 2: An Analysis of the Tattooed Monk's Tattoos
The Tattooed Monk gets its only class feature, tattoos, at every odd level. There is no capstone ability. I do not know how to further explain that this kind of design is atrocious- I hope others may do it for me in the replies. Many of the abilities you do get are triple-scaling: the duration, power, and number of uses all scale with level. This means at low levels, the power, duration, and number of uses are completely insignificant- many of the abilities don't actually last long enough to be usable: more on that when we analyse individual tattoos.
All tattoos are magical, and the abilities they bestow are supernatural (except for the crescent moon). A tattooed monk in an antimagic field loses all benefits of his tattoos. Unless the effect of a tattoo is continuous, activating a tattoo is a move action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Complete Warrior, page 83
Note: Throughout this section, I will occasionally be shortening 'Tattooed Monk' to 'TM' and 'Tattooed Monk Level' to 'TML'. +Tattoo = an ability gives a bonus equal to the number of tattoos you have; , Tattoo/day = ability is usable a number of times per day equal to the number of tattoos you have; Rd/TML = ability lasts 1 round per Tattooed Monk Level.
Tattoo
Benefit/Description
Analysis
Arrowroot
Move action to heal others by touch, limited to [Wis] x [TML] HP per day
Similar to Lay on Hands but can't be used to heal yourself or damage undead. Move action instead of standard. Still worthless, especially at low levels.
Bamboo
Tattoo/day, +tattoo enhancement bonus to Con, 1 rd/TML
At best, gives you +5 Con enhancement bonus for 10 rounds, 5 times a day. The increase is comparable to Bear's Endurance but with a much shorter duration. For a first level TM, one time per day you can get a +1 enhancement bonus to Con for 1 round: this is for a minimum 6th level character. This is shockingly bad.
Bat
Tattoo/day, +tattoo enhancement bonus to Dex, 1 rd/TML
Same as above, Cat's Grace.
Bellflower
Tattoo/day, +Cha as enhancement bonus to any ability score, 1 rd/TML
Same issues as above but, even worse, the bonus is dependent on Charisma, usually a dump stat for Monks. Possibly exploitable by looping to give a bonus to Charisma, but even so the gain is minimal and short-lived.
Butterfly
Tattoo/day, +tattoo enhancement bonus to Wis, 1 rd/TML
Same as Bamboo/Bat, Owl's Wisdom.
Centipede
Shadow Walk 1/week, minimum 5th level TM
Gets you shadow walk sooner than a Wizard would get it, but only 1/week. No scaling. Somewhat viable, but do you really need shadow walk and is it worth 5 levels of this class?
Chameleon
Tattoo/day, Alter Self 1 hr/TML
Another second level wizard spell a few times a day. Useful for disguise but very little utility otherwise. Somewhat viable, especially given it lasts at least an hour rather than a single round at low levels.
Crab
+Tattoo DR 2/magic, stacks with other sources
DR/magic isn't a good ability. By the time you pick up this tattoo, it will be easily bypassed. By the time it reaches full potential, it will be nearly useless.
Crane
Immunity to nonmagical disease, immunity to poison, immunity to aging
Strangely only scales twice and only if you get it before other tattoos, but the effects are useful nonetheless. Regular monk also gets all of these abilities.
Chrysanthemum*
Heal TML/hour HP while in direct sunlight
Useful at lower levels for healing outside of combat, if you're in an environment with sun. 1 hp/hour at 6th level isn't great.
Dragon
Tattoo/day fire breath as with elixir of fire breath
4d6 single target fire, DC 13 reflex half. Can breathe 3 times per elixir within 1 hour of drinking. Gives you a ranged attack that doesn't need an attack roll. Very low reflex save DC doesn't scale with level or ability score. Possibly viable at lower levels.
Dragonfly
1/day +tattoo dodge bonus to AC 1 rd/TML
Up to +5 dodge to AC once a day for 10 rounds? Or +1/1 round to start? Worthless.
Falcon
Immune to fear, allies within 10 feet gain +[TM's Cha] +[Tattoo] as morale vs fear.
Fear immunity is nice, and increasing your allies' saves is nice. Very similar to 3rd level Paladin ability, but 3 levels of Paladin is better than 3 levels of TM.
Lion
Tattoo/day, +4 attack/+TML damage on a single melee attack
A smite evil that works on any enemy but has a smaller damage bonus. Max is 5/day +10 damage. Remember, this is a single roll and uses a move action. Worthless.
Monkey
+1 competence/Tat to Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Open Lock, Sleight of Hand, and Tumble checks
That's a lot of skills. Unfortunately you need to take 9 levels of TM to max the bonus and some of those skills aren't class skills. Somewhat viable for skill monkeys.
Moon, Crescent
1/day Ethereal Jaunt SLA, minimum 9th level TM
Comes online 1 level after Wizard, same level as Sorcerer. But do you need Ethereal jaunt? Usable.
Moon, Full
Tat/day +2 luck bonus to a single attack roll, skill check, or ability check. Can't be used during daytime.
Requiring a move action to use makes no sense or makes this useless in most cases. Even as a free action, this isn't a good option.
Mountain
Can't move in exchange for untyped +4 con and 4 wis, 1 rd/TML. -20 to Dex skill checks, immunity to trip and bull rush
*casts grease* I don't know what the benefit of this ability is supposed to be.
Nightingale
Heal self or allies x [TML] HP/day.
20 hp of healing per day as a move action at level 15. Worthless.
Ocean
Don't need to eat, sleep, or drink
Convenient, especially at low level, though some DMs ignore eating/drinking as needless bookkeeping. Valuable if imprisoned.
Phoenix
SR 15+TML, minimum 7th level TM
Nice to have, but regular monk gets it around the same level anyhow.
Pine
Remain Conscious
How is this a class feature requiring 2 levels of investment?
Scorpion
Tattoo/day, force opposing attacker to use worst ability score for attack roll
A few times a day you can make your opponent more likely to miss you with an attack. Probably most useful for avoiding ranged touch attacks. Not great. Also can be activated on opponent's turn, but still requires a move action somehow.
Spider
Instead of Stunning Fist, DC 10+TML+Con Poison, initial and secondary 2 Con dmg
If you can stun it, you'd rather stun it than poison it. If you can't stun it, you probably can't poison it. Worthless.
Sun
As full moon, but only during the day.
As bad as full moon, but during the day.
Tiger
Tattoo/day, +1 atk/+1d6 dmg with UAS, 1 rd/TML
Hurts to burn a move action to activate at the start of a fight, and isn't a huge benefit; better off using a wand of Bull's Strength or something. At low level, the duration makes it pretty much unusable.
Tortoise
Tattoo/day, use TML instead of skill rank for a skill check, even if untrained.
Specifically calls out UMD meaning you can use 'trained only' skills that you don't have trained, which could be useful for a skill monkey with no skills, but why would you be that? Possibly useful for fringe skills.
Unicorn
1/day reroll any roll, must take the new result
Not worth 2 levels of investment for a marginal ability.
Wasp
Tattoo/day, haste 1 rd/TML
Haste is nice but the duration is short and there are better ways to get haste
White Mask
+10 bluff, immune to detect thoughts, detect lies, and attempts to magically discern alignment
A convenient, always active ability. A real standout among all of the trash that Tattooed Monk has to offer.
*I know that this tattoo is out of alphabetical order. This is the order in which they are listed. I was not an editor for Complete Warrior.
To summarise, the following tattoos are not worthless: Centipede, Chameleon, Crane, Dragon, Falcon, Monkey, Crescent Moon, Ocean, Phoenix, Tortoise, Wasp, and White Mask. That's 12 of 30 tattoos that are even worth considering taking.
Part 3: Proposed Solutions
1. Condense the class into 5 levels with a tattoo at every level. Halve the minimum class level requirement for all tattoos. This is the easiest solution but also solves the fewest number of problems.
2. Make the knockoff Bear's Endurance-style tattoos just function as SLAs of the spells which they are clearly meant to mimic. 1/4th the bonus for 1/10th the duration is ridiculous. The same bonus for 1/10th the duration is still ridiculous. This is also an easy solution and doesn't fix the core issues of the class.
3. Remove the class entirely and make your own Wondrous Item tattoos with similar effects or make up your own. Set a limit to the number of tattoos a creature can possess.
4. Allow the class to use single use tattoos (see Tattoo Magic, Scribe Tattoo) without them disappearing after every use- options include guaranteed retention of tattoos with a cooldown, a chance for a tattoo to fade with use, and tattoos of a certain level and lower being multi-use.
5. Make the class a partial-casting class, with +1 spellcasting at each even level. This can be combined with other solutions. Not particularly elegant and doesn't fix the base problems, but at least it's a power increase of some kind.
6. Give every tattoo a passive and active component. For example, add the following active ability to Monkey: Branch to Branch (Spell Compendium, page 38) as an SLA a number of times per day equal to the number of tattoos you possess. Add the following passive ability to Mountain: as long as you have moved less than 20 feet in the last round, you gain a +4 bonus to resist trip, overrun, and bull rush attempts.
7. Fix the boring and poorly-explained flavor - if these are mundane tattoos that become magical through meditation and self-discovery, include that somehow. If these start out as magic tattoos, give the class some ability to make magic tattoos.
8. Individually fix the tattoos that are awful to be less so. I've already taken a long time to write this and will never end up posting if I try to come up with variations for each tattoo.
Tattoo
Benefit/Description
Analysis
Arrowroot
Bamboo
Bat
Bellflower
Butterfly
Centipede
Chameleon
Crab
Crane
Chrystanthemum*
Dragon
Dragonfly
Falcon
Lion
Monkey
Moon, Crescent
Moon, Full
Mountain
Nightingale
Ocean
Phoenix
Pine
Scorpion
Spider
Sun
Tiger
Tortoise
Unicorn
Wasp
White Mask
I will continue to add to this list, but, as I said before, at some point I have to post. Thank you to everyone who suffered reading through this.