Ferrus Carat: The Tattoo Artisans

by Myrias

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Ferrus Carat: The Tattoo Artisans Guild

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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.


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.

Availing of a Tattoo

When a mission starts, your character can tell the DM that they plan to get a tattoo. During this time, your character will venture to Ferrus Carat and get a up to a maximum of two tattoos. This can also be done once more at the end of a session.

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

Tattoo Attunement. A tattoo is applied and attuned to you through the artisan of Ferrus Carat. During this process, you will consciously attune to it if you need to. A visit to the artisan to remove the tattoo for 50gp will also remove attunement.


Upon removal, you will receive a coupon to reapply the tattoo for 50gp. This can be freely traded with other members of the guild.

Absorbing Tattoo

Wondrous item (tattoo), very rare (requires attunement)
Price: 500gp


This tattoo incorporates designs that emphasize one color more than others. While the tattoo is on your skin, you have resistance to a type of damage associated with that color, as shown on the table below. The DM chooses the color or determines it randomly.

Damage Type Color
Acid Green
Cold Blue
Fire Red
Force White
Lightning Yellow
Necrotic Black
Poison Violet
Psychic Silver
Radiant Gold
Thunder Orange

Damage Absorption. When you take damage of the chosen type, you can use your reaction to gain immunity against that instance of the damage, and you regain a number of hit points equal to half the damage you would have taken. Once this reaction is used, it can’t be used again until the next dawn.

Barrier Tattoo

Wondrous item (tattoo), very rare (requires attunement)
Price: 1500gp Protection. While you aren't wearing armor, the tattoo grants you an Armor Class depending on the tattoo's rarity, as shown below. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.

Rarity AC Price
Uncommon 12 + your Dexterity modifier 45gp
Rare 15 + your Dexterity modifier (maximum of +2) 850gp
Very Rare 18 1500gp

Coiling Grasp Tattoo

Wondrous item (tattoo), uncommon (requires attunement)
Price: 500gp


This tattoo has long intertwining designs. While the tattoo is on your skin, you can, as an action, cause the tattoo to extrude into inky tendrils, which reach for a creature you can see within 15 feet of you. The creature must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or take 3d6 force damage and be grappled by you. As an action, the creature can escape the grapple by succeeding on a DC 14 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. The grapple also ends if you halt it (no action required), if the creature is ever more than 15 feet away from you, or if you use this tattoo on a different creature.

Eldritch Claw Tattoo

Wondrous item (tattoo), uncommon (requires attunement)
Price: 700gp


Magical Strikes. While the tattoo is on your skin, your unarmed strikes are considered magical for the purpose of overcoming immunity and resistance to nonmagical attacks, and you gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls with unarmed strikes.


Eldritch Maul. As a bonus action, you can empower the tattoo for 1 minute. For the duration, each of your melee attacks with a weapon or an unarmed strike can reach a target up to 15 feet away from you, as inky tendrils launch toward the target. In addition, your melee attacks deal an extra 1d6 force damage on a hit. Once used, this bonus action can't be used again until the next dawn.

Blood Fury Tattoo

Wondrous item (tattoo), legendary (requires attunement)
Price: 7000gp


Bloodthirsty Strikes. The tattoo has 10 charges, and it regains all expended charges daily at dawn. While this tattoo is on your skin, you gain the following benefits:

  • When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend a charge to deal an extra 4d6 necrotic damage to the target, and you regain a number of hit points equal to the necrotic damage dealt.
  • When a creature you can see damages you, you can expend a charge and use your reaction to make a melee attack against that creature, with advantage on your attack roll.

Illuminator's Tattoo

Wondrous item (tattoo), common (requires attunement)
Price: 50gp


This tattoo contains beautiful calligraphy, images of writing implements, and the like. While this tattoo is on your skin, you can write with your fingertip as if it were an ink pen that never runs out of ink.

As an action, you can touch a piece of writing up to one page in length and speak a creature’s name. The writing becomes invisible to everyone other than you and the named creature for the next 24 hours. Either of you can dismiss the invisibility by touching the script (no action required). Once used, this action can’t be used again until the next dawn.

Lifewell Tattoo

Wondrous item (tattoo), rare (requires attunement)
Price: 700gp


This tattoo comprises symbols of life and rebirth. While this tattoo is on your skin, you have resistance to necrotic damage.


Necrotic Resistance. You have resistance to Necrotic Damage.


Death Ward. When you would be reduced to 0 hit points, you drop to 1 hit point instead. Once used, this benefit can’t be used again until the next dawn.

Ghost Step Tattoo

Wondrous item (tattoo), rare (requires attunement)
Price: 900gp


This tattoo shifts and wavers on the skin, parts of it appearing blurred. The tattoo has 3 charges, and it regains all expended charges daily at dawn.


Ghostly Form. The tattoo has 3 charges, and it regains all expended charges daily at dawn. As a bonus action while the tattoo is on your skin, you can expend 1 of the tattoo's charges to become incorporeal until the end of your next turn. For the duration, you gain the following benefits:

  • You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks.
  • You can't be grappled or restrained.
  • You can move through creatures and solid objects as if they were difficult terrain. If you end your turn in a solid object, you take 1d10 force damage. If the effect ends while you are inside a solid object, you instead are shunted to the nearest unoccupied space, and you take 1d10 force damage for every 5 feet traveled.

Masquerade Tattoo

Wondrous item (tattoo), common (requires attunement)
Price: 400gp


This tattoo appears on your skin as whatever you desire. As a bonus action, you can shape the tattoo into any color or pattern and move it to any area of your skin. Whatever form it takes, it is always obviously a tattoo. It can range in size from no smaller than a copper piece to an intricate work of art that covers all your skin.


Disguise Self. As an action, you can use the tattoo to cast the disguise self spell. Once the spell is cast from the tattoo, it can’t be cast from the tattoo again until the next dawn.

Spellwrought Tattoo

Wondrous item (tattoo), rarity varies


This tattoo contains a single spell of up to 5th level, wrought on your skin by a magic needle. To use the tattoo, you must hold the needle against your skin where you want the tattoo to appear and speak the command word. The needle turns into the ink that becomes the tattoo, which appears on your skin. Once the tattoo is on your skin, you can cast its spell, requiring no material components. The tattoo glows faintly while you cast the spell and for the spell’s duration. Once the spell ends, the tattoo vanishes from your skin.


The level of the spell in the tattoo determines the spell’s saving throw DC, attack bonus, spellcasting ability modifier, and the tattoo’s rarity, as shown in the Spellwrought Tattoo table.

Spellwrought Tattoo

Spell Level Rarity Spellcasting Ability Modifier Save DC Attack Bonus Price
Cantrip Common +3 13 +5 70gp
1st Common +3 13 +5 150gp
2nd Uncommon +3 13 +5 200gp
3rd Uncommon +4 15 +7 450gp
4th Rare +4 15 +7 600gp
5th Rare +5 17 +9 1200gp

Shadowfell Brand Tattoo

Wondrous item (tattoo), very rare (requires attunement)
Price: 1500gp


This tattoo is dark in color and abstract.


Shadow Essence. You gain darkvision with a range of 60 feet, and you have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.


Shadowy Defense. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to become insubstantial for a moment, halving the damage you take. Then the reaction can't be used again until the next sunset.

Armament Tattoo

Wondrous item (tattoo), very rare


This tattoo is a magical weapon imbued upon your skin, and features glyphs of old magic passed down from master to master. Once the tattoo is on your skin, you can invoke the weapon attached to it as an Interaction, causing the ink to lift from your body and physically manifest on your hands.


Weapons of this nature last for 10 minutes, and its attacks are magical. They otherwise share the same statistics as their normal counterparts. At the end of the duration, the weapon fades, and is consumed.

Weapon Price
Club, Dagger, Light Hammer, Sickle 50 gp
Greatclub, Mace, Quarterstaff, Spear 100gp
Javelin, Handaxe, Light Hammer 25gp
Martial Weapon (non-ranged) 150gp
Shield 100gp

Changelog

8 May 2021

  • Reduced price of Absorbing tattoo from 1500gp to 500gp
  • Increased price of Spellwrought Tattoo
  • Barrier Tattoo added

The following have been updated to reflect Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

  • Eldritch Claw Tattoo
  • Ghost Step Tattoo
  • Lifewell Tattoo
  • Blood Fury Tattoo
  • Shadowfell Brand

4 October 2021

  • Added Armament Tattoos
 

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