Magic Tattoos
Blending magic and artistry with ink and needles, magic tattoos imbue their bearers with wondrous effects and abilities. Magic tattoos are initially bound to magic needles, which transfer their magic to a creature. The designs of magic tattoos vary greatly in appearance depending on who created it, but they share general characteristics that hint at the effect of the tattoo.
Tattoos are the Hordes' expression of runes, inscribing magic into the skin rather than into another surface. The Hordes have long believed that the power of the tattoo exceeds that of the rune because the tattoo can draw upon the power of the body upon which is scribed, where runes must be imbued with power from the outside, which the scribe, at the time of the scribing, must channel. This has never been demonstrated true or false in any event.
The tattoos described here can only be forged by Tattoo Adepts or under their close supervision. Many spellcasters have sought to study the art without becoming an adept themselves, particularly artificers, but the skill and dedication required to be able to inscribe the tattoo correctly and (store it within the needle for use) requires levels in that prestige class.
Because of the origin of tattoos with the Hordes, in places where the Hordes are looked upon with suspicion (particularly Dradehalia or Al'Uma), open tattoos are equally suspect and can cause negative reactions from surrounding onlookers. For the same reasons, Tragekia, Yithia and Zhi are quite comfortable with tattoos, and it is quite common to see nonmagical tattoos among the nobility there, which only fuels much of the ongoing hostility between the different groups.
Note that many of the Horde arcanists have discovered that these magical works of art needn’t be limited to just tattoos; they can also be presented as other body modifications such as brands, scarification, birthmarks, patterns of scales, or any other cosmetic skin adornment or alteration. This does not alter the effects or costs of the tattoo in any way. In such cases, the element used to deliver the cosmetic body modification would be something other than a tattoo needle, such as branding irons for brands or scars, or enchanted dragon scales for scale patterns, and so on.
Once inscribed on a creature’s skin, damage or injury doesn’t impair the tattoo’s function, even if the tattoo is defaced.
The rarer a magic tattoo is, the more space it occupies on a creature’s skin. The Magic Tattoo Coverage table offers guidelines for how large a given tattoo is.
Magic Tattoo Coverage
| Tattoo Rarity | Area Covered |
|---|---|
| Common | Up to 6 inches |
| Uncommon | Half a limb or the scalp |
| Rare | One limb |
| Very Rare | Two limbs or the chest or upper back |
| Legendary | Two limbs and the torso |
Two tattoos cannot occupy the same body location, so most creatures are limited to four rare tattoos, or one legendary and two rare tattoos, and so on. A single creature cannot have more than twelve tattoos, regardless of size.
Tatto Attunement. Some tattoos can be found in the wild, in the form of magic needles that can be used to apply the tattoo; this is attuning the tattoo. To attune to this item, you hold the needle to your skin where you want the tattoo to appear, pressing the needle there throughout the attunement process. When the attunement is complete, the needle turns into the ink that becomes the tattoo, which appears on the skin. If you have multiple magic tattoos, they count as a single magic item with regard to the number of magic items you can attune to.
If your attunement to the tattoo ends, the tattoo vanishes, and the needle reappears in the closest unoccupied space to you. You can voluntarily remove the tattoo at any time, which unattunes it.