Magic Tattoos For Everyone!

[Maerok]

Here is a tattoo system I've been working on for a while. It might look a little messy, but it's a work in progress.

Tattoos

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Spellbook Quality (pg. 187 of CArc)
-Cost: 200 gp/page
-Requirements: Inks (cost)
-DC: 20+SL (Self), 15+SL (Other)
-Time: 24 hours + 8 hours/SL

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Mundane Tattoos take up one page equivalent (see Spellbook Quality tattoos above)

Mundane (Black)
-10 gp
-Black Inks (above)
-16 (Self), 12 (Other)

Mundane (Colored)
-25 gp
-Colored Inks (above)
-18 (Self), 14 (Other)

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Magic tattoos require the expenditure of a spell(s) and a successful Spellcraft check at DC 15+SL per spell.
Time: 24 hours + 8 hours/SL

Format -
Tattoo Name (Basic Quality) Space required
-Cost
-Requirements (spells are expended)
-DC of Craft (tattooing)
::Example

Magic (Fine Quality) One page
-50 gp
-Magical Inks (above); silent image
-20 (Self), 16 (Other)
::A simple but magically bound tattoo (an eye)

Magic (Mood) One page
-150 gp
-Magical Inks (above); minor image
-22 (Self), 18 (Other)
::Shifts slightly based on the user's mindset (an eye whose pupil changes)

Magic (Animated) Two pages
-400 gp
-Magical Inks (above); major image
-24 (Self), 20 (Other)
::Has maybe two or three states, which it switches back and forth between (a blinking eye); can change appearance but must still maintain the overall shape and design of its original

Magic (Animated, Responsive) Three pages
-1000 gp
-Magical Inks (above); persistent image
-26 (Self), 22 (Other)
::Can receive sensory input and respond accordingly (an eye that blinks when poked); can change form in limited ways as determined by the crafter, but must still be related to the original by a majority of the form

Magic ('Living' Tattoo) Four pages
-2500 gp
-Magical Inks (above); programmed image
-28 (Self), 24 (Other)
::Capable of movement across the skin on the wearer, functions as if it were a simple creature (Int 2) and has a few complex responses (an eye that patrols the body and will reside next to areas of damage or cover unsightly blemishes); can change the majority of its form, as intended by the crafter

Magic (Sentient Tattoo) Five pages
-5500 gp base (add Intelligent Item qualities; add any spell-like abilities to the spell requirement list)
-Magical Inks (above); permanent image; animate object
-34 (Self), 30 (Other)
::Can move between people with contact, though it requires the current wearer and the intended wearer to fail an opposed Ego check (an eye tattoo that can think and act as if it were a true creature, despite its shape); can change its appearance at will, without the planning of the crafter, but must feature some aspect of its original form, however trace it may be; such as that the eye finally attains a head to encompass it

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Special Modifiers (Mundane/Spellbook/Magic):

Braille Tattoo (Mundane/Spellbook)
-Cost: +100 gp
-This tattoo features prominent ridges to allow for reading by touch. With a DC 15 Search check as a standard action, the wearer can read this tattoo via touch.

Dimensional (Magic)
-Cost: +200 gp
-The tattoo is capable of standing up off the skin and may hover up to six inches away from the skin (but it is still anchored to that point should the tattoo be affected by anything). This has no in-game effect.

Enforced (Magic)
-Base Cost x 1.5
-Requires permanency (add to requirements, needs the Spellcraft check)
-Increases the DC to alter by its highest base spell's level (ex: those listed in the base tattoo description, not from any Special Modifiers). The DC to repair from damage is reduced by 6.

Luminescent (Magic)
-Cost: +20 gp
-Requires ghostly lights (add to requirements, needs the Spellcraft check)
-Tattoo will glow in the dark, so that it may be read in mundane darkness (from ten feet away at the most)

Soulbound (Magic)
-Base Cost x 2
-Requires soulbind spell (add to requirements, needs the Spellcraft check)
-Tattoo remains in place, even if the limb is removed. Inhabits any body the soul is currently occupying, shifting accordingly. Is destroyed if soul is destroyed.

Spellholding (Magic)
-Cost: +1000 gp per SL (up to 3; minimum of 1)
-+1 page equivalent per SL
-Requires contingency
-This tattoo is only partially complete until a spell (up to the noted spell level) is cast within it (as normal); the tattoo will fill itself in, as it has been properly charged. As a standard action, the wearer may unleash the effect as if the spell had been cast (with any modifiers at that instance) by that spellcaster. The spell can only be held for 24 hours.

Torch Ink (Magic)
-Cost: +200 gp
-Requires continual flame
-Can be read even in magical darkness (from ten feet away at most)

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Removal (wearer gets to roll the save, unless a sentient tattoo has a higher save):

Erase
-Magic/Spellbook Tattoos: Requires a DC 10+SL (of spell used or recorded) caster level check (and Will saving throw) to remove
-Mundane Tattoos: Saving throw

Secret Page
-Magic/Spellbook/Mundane Tattoos: Hide it from anyone but the wearer (requires a Will saving throw)

Dispel (any such spell)
-Magic Tattoos: Requires a DC 10+SL dispel check
-Mundane/Spellbook Tattoos: Does not work

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To Repair a Tattoo:
Mend
Make Whole

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Damage:

Removing a limb that carries part of or all of a tattoo negates its magical properties (unless Living or Sentient). Reattaching the limb via regeneration or magic will fix the tattoo entirely. Surgical procedures (such as via Heal) will require another Craft check and 8 hours to restore a tattoo of any kind. Living and Sentient tattoos can travel across flesh, so it is possible to hold the limb to oneself so that the tattoo may transfer over unharmed (even between people with Sentient tattoos).

Soulbound tattoos do not suffer damage, even with limb removal.

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Circumstance Bonuses when using Craft (Tattoo):
+1 to check for every size the crafter is below the receiver (allows for finer detail)

[Matthew]

Are Magic Tatoos a new idea or is their precedent in D&D 3.x?

[Callix]

I think they are in FR, but... I'm not sure of either rules or effectivenes... so I can't really comment on the quality, but it looks pretty good, though the sentient tattoo is a bit of an odd one.

[Binary Stars]

It's a bit confusing and messy, and could do with the afformentioned clean-up, but I like it. I can imagine a spellholding tattoo of a wizard shooting a fireball, that lost the fireball when discharged.

[Maerok]

I had a section on spellstoring tattoos but I chose to not include it yet.

[CabbageTheif]

magical tatoos ARE in 3.5. one of the completes (adventurer, warrior, or arcana) has a pestige class that chooses a new tatoo every couple of levels and they have diffeent effects. there is a second time they appeared, but i cannot remember anything about them aside from that they exist.

[Demented]

Aren't there also tattoos in psionics?