[3.5] Yakuza Wizard

[Crasical]

I'm planning on playing an Oriental Wizard in an upcoming DnD game (DM bought the book on the cheap so we're going to play some of Worlds Largest Dungeon), but I'm unsure how to properly represent him. My original idea was a wizard working with a group of Yakuza, giving them a magical edge in their scuffles with other criminals and the law, so I was planning on giving him spells and powers based on battlefield control and buffing. I got the idea from the Magic Tattoo spell from the spell compendium, as well as the tattoo spellbook from the Complete Arcane, picturing a wizened man carefully scribing elaborate tattoos onto criminal soldiers before they went into battle.

Are there any cool tattoo based abilities from other sourcebooks? Are there any specific spell that are great for team support, or appropriately flavored prestige classes I should shoot for? I've heard there's an alternate version of the Brew Potion feat that allows one to craft magic tattoos, does anyone know what book it's in? Am I going to have trouble getting my adventuring party to be cool with laying down and letting me stick needles in them?

Any help appreciated.

[AslanCross]

The Red Wizard sounds perfect for this.

[Crasical]

The problems that I can see are

1. It's 3e Durp, there's a version in my DMG.

2. It's forgotten-realms specific

3. It looks like the tattoo ability only works on other thayan spellcasters, which the party probably won't be.

[AslanCross]

The fluff is easily changed. That's why they actually put it in the DMG--it's considered a core PrC. As for the other problems...well, you're right. I guess it's at least something you can use as a basis and work on it with your DM.

[arguskos]

From Lords of Darkness and Races of Faerun (I forget the newest source) we get the Tattoo Magic feat. It lets you scribe one-shot magic tattoos.

It is in a Faerun source, but it's easily scrubbed of any setting ties and can be quickly adapted to any character. I highly suggest it for this character concept.

[Attilargh]

You could convince your DM into refluffing the Brew Potion feat into Scribe Tattoo, which is exactly what Wizards did when they realized the concept of psionic potions might be kinda silly an idea.

Or you could play a Psion, pick said feat and rename power points "ki points" for added oriental appeal.

[avr]

How attached are you to the wizard class? Psionic types have their own versions of tattoos - including, via the Craft Universal Item feat, crawling tattoos, which are literally creepy attacks.

[Crasical]

Ah, it's from a Faerun book. All right.

EDIT:

How attached are you to the wizard class? Psionic types have their own versions of tattoos - including, via the Craft Universal Item feat, crawling tattoos, which are literally creepy attacks.

I largely don't play psionicists for the same reason that I don't play classes from the Tome of Battle, I.E. It's a new rule system to learn. I do have a friend that has a massive hard-on for all things psionic, and wilders specifically, though.

Regardless, losing the Wizard loses me the Tattoo spellbook, which is what lets me be colorfully inked and gives me a definite tie to my past profession at 1st level.


I mean, technically I could roll Sorcerer and take all the DRAGONS DRAGONS DRAGONS spells and feats and metamagic and flavor them as oriental dragons instead of western, but then I also have to wait for 3rd level before my character can scribe magic tattoos, ostensibly what he was supposed to have been doing in his backstory all along.

[Crasical]

Arise, old thread. I have use of you once more....


Anyway, I was slapped upside the head seven or eight times when people I knew IRL saw the post above this one (DON'T LOOK AT IT. IT MAKES ME LOOK LIKE A WHINER) and I've been being manhandled into looking at some alternate stuff. Anyway...

How would an Artificer work for this concept? Either waiting until level 3 and taking or convincing my DM to swap Brew potion for Races of Faerun's Tattoo magic feat. Do tattoo'd magical enhancers fall under Wonderous items? Can artificers function outside of eberron?