Tattoo Supplies
Since ancient times, tattoos have been used to honor and dishonor, to ease pain, and to display accomplishments. Warriors may count those they have defeated, thieves might be branded on the forehead, and healers may apply spiritual symbols to ease the pain in a body. Tattoos are used for a variety of reasons, and the artists who create them spread the traditions and values of their societies.
Tattoo Supplies
Tattoo supplies include bone needles, various inks, strips of cloth, charcoal powder, small dagger, and parchment.
Tattoo supplies weigh 3 lbs and cost 20 gp.
Tattooing
Tattooing a piece of art requires that you have access to your tattoo supplies and whoever you are planning to tattoo, which could be yourself. While most tattoos don't require massive quantity of materials, certain creations may require you to use strange and esoteric materials, like the charcoal left behind from a fire elemental or the acid of a black dragon.
When creating a tattoo, you must succeed on a Dexterity (Tattoo Supplies) check, adding your proficiency bonus if you are proficient with the tools.
Creating the Tattoo
Tattooing is a lengthy process that requires ample prep time, a design to create, and a subject to apply it to. Even small, simple tattoos take at least an hour to apply, and the time commitment increases depending on how large the tattoo is.
Tattooing can be defined into two broad categories: Coverage and Complexity.
Coverage
The coverage of tattooing effects how long it takes to apply a tattoo and the amount of ink and skin required. There are three categories for coverage: Small, Medium, and Large.
- Small coverage is anything that takes up one hand, foot, or less for the artwork. For magical tattoos, this would be enough to cover for a common tattoo. It typically takes half an hour to apply a tattoo of this size, in addition to it's complexity.
- Medium coverage requires at least half a limb, the full scalp, or the entirety of a limb for the artwork. For magical tattoos, this would be enough to cover for an uncommon or rare tattoo. It typically takes 8 hours to apply a tattoo of this size, in addition to it's complexity.
- Large coverage requires at least two limbs, the chest, the back, or the entire torso for the artwork. For magical tattoos, this would be enough to cover for a very rare or legendary tattoo. It typically takes 24 hours to apply a tattoo of this size, in addition to it's complexity.
All coverage represents the minimum space for each application, and at the DM's discretion may take up more. Non-magical tattoos can be placed next to each other or next to magical tattoos, but magical tattoos can not be near each other without their magic failing.
Complexity
The complexity of a tattoo effects the length of time to apply it, as well as the detail of your creation. There are three categories for the complexity of your tattoo: Simple, Moderate, and Intricate.
- Simple tattoos require at least half an hour to apply, in addition to the time required for its coverage. A simple tattoo might be a line drawing or a few symbols, like a set of runes or sigils.
- Moderate tattoos requires at least 8 hours to apply, in addition to the time required for its coverage. A moderate tattoo could be a caricature or a basic portrait of someone, or a simple tattoo with some intricate elements to small parts of it, or it may require different colored inks.
- Intricate tattoos require at least 24 hours to apply, in addition to the time required for its coverage. An intricate tattoo may have hidden code etched into it or feature highly detailed elements that require multiple passes and lots of different colored ink.
All times represent the minimum amount of time required to apply a tattoo of its complexity, and at the DM's discretion, may take longer.
Application
Once a tattooist begins, they need at least an hour of work to make progress, and once they complete the tattoo or have spent 8 hours of work, whichever comes first, the tattooist must succeed on a Dexterity (Tattoo Supplies) check. If they succeed, they make progress on their creation or the tattoo is finished and is accurate to their idea of the project. On a failed check, they make no progress on their tattoo, but they are able to catch themselves from making any gregarious mistakes, instead they waste time trying to best approach it.
The DC for creating a tattoo is depending on the Coverage and Complexity of the tattoo.
- DC starts at 8 and then adds in Coverage and Complexity.
- Coverage modifier A Small coverage adds +1, Medium +3, and Large +5 to the DC.
- Complexity modifier A Simple complexity adds +1, Moderate +3, and Intricate +5 to the DC.
The DM may decide that certain situations or materials may raise or lower the DC.
Materials
Tattoos require only a few materials to create a tattoo. Certain exotic materials might be substituted in creating a tattoo, per the DM's discretion.
Basic Materials
| Material | Cost | Weight | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ink (1 ounce bottle) | 10 gp | - | Common |
| Bone Needle | 5 cp | - | Common |
| Parchment | 2 cp | - | Common |
Example Tattoos
| Type | Coverage | Complexity | Time to Apply | DC | Number of Checks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A single rune on a finger | Small | Simple | 1 hour | 10 | 1 |
| Dragon on the back | Large | Intricate | 48 hours+ | 18 | 6 |
| Patterned lines on an arm | Medium | Simple | 9 hours | 12 | 2 |
| The queen's face on the chest | Medium | Moderate | 16 hours | 14 | 2 |
Magical Tattoos
If a spellcaster, or a tattoo artist with a spellcaster at their service, wishes too, they can provide minor boons on their tattoos by expending spell slots while creating a tattoo. Once a tattoo is turned magical, damage or injury doesn't impair the tattoo's magical functions, though the tattoo itself can still be defaced. The following tattoo effects do not require attunement, but there might be more powerful effects a tattoo artist can create that will.
Expended Spells
A magical tattoo requires spell slots to be expended in order to create it. Each tattoo specifies what level of spell slot it requires. A spell must be expended once for each 8 hours of work a tattoo artist works on the tattoo, failure to do so means that the tattoo is no longer magical and does not gain the effect.
Maximum Number of Effects
A tattoo can be given only a number of tattoo effects equal to the tattoo artist's proficiency bonus. These tattoo effects can be multiples of the same type, like if someone wanted their tattoo to have different animations, but a spell slot of an appropriate level must be expended for each tattoo effect for each 8 hour increment.
Animate
- 1st-level spell slot
The tattoo animates and follows a specific animation that the artist embedded into the tattoo at the time of its creation. As a bonus action, the wearer of the tattoo can give a mental command to the tattoo, in which case it animates for 6 seconds before reverting back to its original form. This is typically a very short and simple action, like the image of a sailor making a rude gesture or a black cat arcing its back and hissing.
Multiple Effects. If multiple animations are added to a single tattoo, the wearer can only animate the tattoo once per turn, selecting only one of its animations at a time.
Hide
- 2nd-level spell slot
As a bonus action, the wearer of the tattoo can give a mental command to the tattoo, in which case it turns invisible. It can still be seen by someone with true seeing, or felt if it is a recently created tattoo and the skin is swollen.
Morph
- 1st-level spell slot
The tattoo morphs into a new tattoo, though the new form of the tattoo occupies the same space it did before. Both of these tattoos must have been created at the same time by the same tattooist and of the same complexity and coverage. As a bonus action, the wearer of the tattoo can give a mental command to the tattoos, and they morph from one form to the next over the course of 6 seconds.
Multiple Effects. If multiple tattoos are created at the same time, with the same complexity and coverage, at the same location on the individual, the wearer can morph the tattoo to additional forms.
Project
- 2nd-level spell slot
The tattoo can cast an illusion of itself on to the floor in an empty space within 5 feet of the wearer. It can fill up to a 5-foot cube and appears as a semi-solid illusion, any physical interaction or close inspection by someone within 10 feet of the image reveals it to be an illusion.
Sing
- 2nd-level spell slot
The tattoo is given a simple tune it can whistle, hum, or sing in the wearer's voice that lasts up to 1 minute long. As a bonus action, the wearer can mentally command the tattoo to produce the noise, wherein all creatures within 30 feet can hear the noise, though it can be muffled by placing a cloth over the tattoo. This noise must be chosen at the time of creation of the tattoo and the tattoo, once it begins, can not be stopped until it finishes.
Multiple Effects. If multiple songs are added to a single tattoo, the wearer can only command one noise, tune, or song to begin. That single noise continues until it is finished, and only then can the wearer command a new sound.