Tatoos as permanent magic items... has it been done yet?

[Klaus]

Instead of putting a pair of bracers of armor, you get a tatoo that fills up that slot (and you can't benefit of arm-based items). Has anything like this been done? I know of the expendable tatoos in the FR and XPH books, but I was looking for something a little more permanent.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Thats kind of like what Incarnum is, only they actually create a physical thing that takes up a body slot. You might want to look into that book as a start.

DS

 

[RangerWickett]

Excerpt from the third adventure of the War of the Burning Sky Campaign Saga - Shelter from the Storm:

Tattoomancy
Dimly lit by hundreds of candles in windows and on shelves, the darkly veiled shop Tattoomancy attracts many customers with its mystery. Only open after sunset, the shop offers unique magical creations, courtesy of its owner Tenga Litaranesh (CN female elf sorcerer 12), a dark-skinned elf with short, jagged black hair and delicate, nimble hands. In her rare public appearances, Tenga disguises herself as a dark elf, and wears a cloak that sheds an aura of shadows.

Tenga and the small crew of wizards and clerics who train with her use their magic to craft tattoos that function like magic items, and they take great pride in their art.

New Feat – Tattoomancy [Item Creation]
You can endow tattoos with magical effects.
Prerequisite: Any item creation feat, Craft (tattoo) 6 ranks.
Benefit: When you craft a magic item you possess the proper item creation feat for, instead of making a physical item you can place the magic in a tattoo. The cost to create the item is the same, but inking the tattoo only takes ten minutes for every 1,000 gp of the item’s market value.

The tattoo needs positive energy to hold onto the magic and infuse it into the tattooed creature. In order to do this, the recipient must be at full hit points, and then receive a cure light wounds spell, or some similar magic that can heal at least 5 points of damage, or some form of channeled positive energy, such as a turning attempt. The character must do this for a number of days equal to the market value of the tattoo divided by 1,000. Only once he has does the tattoo finally take effect. If the character misses a day there is no negative effect other than that the tattoo will not provide a benefit yet.

Tattoos can only emulate wondrous items and rings. Tattoos count against the same body slot that a similar item would, though they can be placed anywhere on the body. Tattoos cannot emulate items that do not fill a body slot. The tattoo permanently fills that body slot, preventing other magic items worn in that slot from functioning.

A magic tattoo can be temporarily suppressed with antimagic or dispel magic, but it can only be permanently dispelled by effects that would likewise permanently dispel a magic item. Alternately, if the bearer of the tattoo is willing, a dispel magic targeting a specific tattoo can automatically remove it. Finally, if the actual tattooed flesh is removed, the effect of the tattoo is lost.

For example, a character gets a tattoo on his shoulder of a tiger roaring, granting a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength, the equivalent of a belt of giant strength +4, which has a market value of 16,000 gp. The tattoo costs 8,000 gp to craft in materials, but only requires 160 minutes, a little less than 3 hours. However the character must be fully healed and receive positive energy over the course of 16 days before the tattoo grants him any benefits. As long as he has the tattoo, magic belts he wears would have no effect, since he counts as already having one.

Please note that, while tattoos cannot be lost, broken, or stolen, they cannot be sold either. Characters may come to regret spending money on them if later on they want to replace them.

 

[frankthedm]

Instead of putting a pair of bracers of armor, you get a tatoo that fills up that slot (and you can't benefit of arm-based items). Has anything like this been done? I know of the expendable tatoos in the FR and XPH books, but I was looking for something a little more permanent.

I like the idea, though I'd recommend a 30% upcharge on the price due to they can't be stolen or broken.

Plus if they only cost as much as an item, players would stop getting as muchb treasure off NPCs.

 

[SeRiAlExPeRiMeNtS]

Instead of putting a pair of bracers of armor, you get a tatoo that fills up that slot (and you can't benefit of arm-based items). Has anything like this been done? I know of the expendable tatoos in the FR and XPH books, but I was looking for something a little more permanent.

I would alow it, not only for arm itens but for any one. It is cool because you can give a NPC more magic itens that will not go to the PCs hands after the NPCs death... I think that NPCs with NPCs sugered wealth are very weak anyway.

 

[the Jester]

Hmm, isn't there a Scribe Psionic Tattoo or something like that?

Might be 3.0, I'm at work at dhmbifom.

 

[NCSUCodeMonkey]

Hmm, isn't there a Scribe Psionic Tattoo or something like that?

Might be 3.0, I'm at work at dhmbifom.

Yeah, but they're not permanent. They act like scrolls.

 

[WayneLigon]

Arcana Unearthed kinda has that; there is a ceremonial feat, Hands as Weapons, that lets you enchant your natural weapons like hands and feat with any weapon enhancement, just as if you'd enchanted a weapon. There doesn't have to be a tatoo involved. As far as I know, it doesn't take up a 'slot' and it works on all your unarmed attacks.

Their feat Tattooed Spell is similar, but not quit what you're looking for. Any spell of up to 4th, one per day with no somatic or material components. Can only have up to four tattoos at once (each one requires taking the feat again).

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

One of the core books (the DMG I think) suggests magic tattoos as simply being slotless items-double the price, but don't take up a body slot. I think the idea is that the inability to change/sell/lend them counters the inability to be stolen, so there's no charge beyond the doubling for a slotless item.

 

[JVisgaitis]

Excerpt from the third adventure of the War of the Burning Sky

This is very cool. I just really hate the name..