Inscribe Magical Tattoo
Zach has given me permission to take this feat, which is a very interesting addition to the crafting options. I've been studying it, and the potential items that can be made with it.
Here's how it works.
You can make a magical tattoo that basically mimics the function of ANY magic item, though worn items make the most sense. Tattoos CAN be expended, given the Spell Tattoo is basically a scroll, so you could do feather tokens if wanted. Magic tattoos go in what should be called magic tattoo slots, and DO STACK with other worn magic items in similar slots. So, even though you have two ring slots and two ring tattoo slots, you are NOT limited to only two items in those four slots. You can have two rings and two tattoos on your ring (or other) fingers.
The tradeoff is that tattoos are usually twice as expensive as the original item they are based off of. If I make a ring of protection +1, the market value is 2000 and the cost I pay to craft it is 1000. If I make a tattoo of protection +1 the market value is 4000 and the cost paid to craft it i 2000. However, the tattoo occupies a tattoo slot, NOT a ring slot.
With the 1st level spell "Transfer Tattoo," it becomes possible to move tattoo items from slot to slot and from person to person. This means that the inconvinience of being tattooed every day for three months while your robe of stars tattoo is made is only mine. I can tattoo it in any open spot I have and then transfer it to you when it's done, and then, btw, you can freely enter and leave the astral plane.
Since the creation of magic tattoos is actually creating *new* items, there is some wiggle room to make appropriate changes. Here is a tattoo I've designed based on Rod of Withering.
Tattoo of Withering Touch
Price 25,000 gp; Aura strong necromancy; CL 13th
The bearer of a Tattoo of Withering Touch gains a melee touch attack that deals 1d4 points of Strength damage and 1d4 points of Constitution damage. If she scores a critical hit, the damage from that hit is permanent ability drain. In either case, the defender negates the effect with a DC 17 Fortitude save. Though this effect is generated by a magical item, it is compatible with any ability that interacts with melee touch attacks, such as the Conductive weapon special ability. The bearer may suppress the effect or resume it as a free action.
The price listed is for crafting the tattoo. Normally, a rod of withering functions as a +1 light mace that does no damage on a normal hit, but can be used to make melee touch attacks to deal the listed attribute damage. Normally, it is not necessary to be able to suppress the effect or resume it as a free action, because you can just put the damn rod away. You can't really put the tattoo away. I'm planning to add in the ability to suppress or resume tattoo effects pretty much all the time, since some of them could be annoying. Like if we do a tattoo of water walking, and we're having an underwater adventure, we need to either turn off the tattoo, destroy it, or transfer it to a random cat, and hope we can find the cat later. Especially for items that are intended to be wielded and put away, I find this to be fair.
All of this is, of course, at Zach's discretion, but he's been very encouraging so far.
So, what this means for the players is that they'll need to come up with wish lists.
It is also important to note that you have 11 tattoo slots, and any of them can hold ANY tattoo, even if that tattoo is based on an item that occupies a specific slot. That means you can have your tattoo of protection on your head, or elsewhere. The double cost of tattoos is because they are functionally "slotless" even though they share a slot economy with each other.
Also, there are a couple special tattoos given in the book. I'm planning to get at least one of these:
Reservoir Tattoo
Aura moderate transmutation; CL 7th
Slot none; Price 10,000 gp
DESCRIPTION
Once per day as a standard action, the bearer can transfer
into the tattoo an ongoing single-target spell (of up to 3rd
level). The spell must be one the bearer cast on itself. While
stored in the tattoo, the spell’s effects are suppressed, and
the spell’s duration is similarly suspended. As a standard
action, the bearer can bring the spell back into effect on itself.
Spells stored in reservoir tattoos are lost when the bearer next
prepares spells.
CONSTRUCTION
Requirements Inscribe Magical Tattoo; Cost 5,000 gp
Which seems weird at first, until you realize that it means that you can use the entire duration of some of your combat buffs without having to cast them multiple times. For example, after a battle, you could put a shield in your reservoir, and at the next fight, bring it back out. Or if you are using Invisibility, instead of breaking the spell to attack, you could just put it away, and use it again later if you need to. Putting spells away and bringing them back out is a standard action, which enters the same action economy as casting spells in the first place, but Mage Armor and Shield will always be important, and will always be eligible, and memming a ton of them eats up room for the rest of your spells. I was thinking I might get two reservoirs, but I'd want one to start with and see how it goes. ANY spellcaster can use a reservoir tattoo, so if you want one, put it on your list.
Here's the list of tattoo slots, so you know how totally covered your character would look. For an idea of what they might look like, take a look at Seoni the tattooed sorceror from any pathfinder book. She is used as the example of the process.
Tattoos may be inscribed on the following slots: belt, body, chest, feet, hands, head, neck, shoulder, ring (up to two), or wrist.
They cannot be inscribed on armor, eye, headband, or shield slots.
Keep in mind that tattoos can be designed from any magic item, even if it is normally made in a forbidden slot. So, if you want a headband of vast intellect tattoo, it's no problem, it just won't go in the non-existant headband tattoo slot. It can go somewhere else.
It would be better and cheaper to put permanently useful items in tattoo slots, and save your real slots for stuff that will change often. A ring of protection or amulet of Nat AC, for example, can be changed out periodically for better models, but a ring of evasion is ALWAYS worth having. This means that you could also get a tattoo of sustenance, and be able to actually use some of the neat treasure we might find for those slots.
Finally, it is important to note that tattoos CAN be taken away from you. They are slightly more permanent magic items. They cannot be stolen from you, save by the use of that spell which you receive a save against. They can be destroyed by dealing acid or fire damage to them deliberately, and they can be subjected to the dispel magic and erase spells, but you do get saves for them. They are always attended magic items. However, it is equally important to note that they are much more permanent than most normal magic items. I look at them as a way of adding whole new types of functionality to a character. One use or limited use items, except for one or two spell tattoos for emergencies, seem like an expensive way to go, since they go away when finished.
Again, this is all subject to Zach approval, but he's been very encouraging so far. The reason I bring it up now is that I can only work on one tattoo at a time, they can be pricey, and I get the feat next level. During travel and downtime, I kinda plan to be inking for a while.
Using the downtime rules, we can somewhat mitigate the higher cost of tattoos. More on that another time.
Moderator: adam