Piercings & Tattoos for D&D 4e
Lightning has just struck my brain…
While up late last night, battling my head cold to a stalemate, I was scanning through the D&D 4e posts on various boards, when I saw someone asking about Tattoos and Piercings in 4e.
I had to chuckle a little bit, thinking to myself how much popular culture seeps into our gaming experience. Depictions of D&D Characters tend to follow the social and cultural trends of our real, if mundane, society, which is only natural as D&D Characters are just a reflection of the minds of the Players. If you go find some of the original D&D artwork done back in the “old days”, you don’t see a lot of tattoos and piercings on the Character portraits, or even on book covers. There was some out there, like on the cover of Curse of the Azure Bonds, but almost none back when D&D first hit the shelves in the late 70’s.
But the trend definitely picked up in 3rd Edition, especially when ever I saw a Character Portrait of Half-Elves. In 3rd Edition, Half-Elves were seen as the edgy rebels, outsiders to both Elven and Human cultures. So why shouldn’t a Half-elf look as though they could be dropped into any rave and blend right in? It made sense for the way the race was defined, and matched the real world culture and social trends.
So that got me thinking –
Should Tattooing and Piercings be available everywhere in a fantasy world?
And if so, then why can’t Tattoos and Piercings be used as viable magic item slots in D&D 4e?
Tacky or Classy?
I think one of the first things you have to decide, both DMs and Players alike, is how tattoos and piercings are perceived by the within a typical geographical area, by the local populace, and by any given race.
Clearly, not every locale will offer the services of tattooing and piercing. In some areas, piercing may be quite fashionable but not tattooing, and vice versa. Large cities and other population centers are most likely to offer these services, but who is to say that adventurers don’t run across a tribe of Lizardfolk in some far-flung swamp who enjoy ritual piercings and tattooing, and might be persuaded to offer there services to the Characters?
And even in some heavily populated areas, body modification might be seen as unsightly or frightening. I recall a scene from a movie called “Le Pacte des Loups” which illustrates this concept pretty well. The movie is set in 18th century France, and a Frenchman and his Indian friend “from the Americas” are wenching it up at the local brothel. One of the ladies entertaining the Native American fellow began screaming hysterically, and it was eventually revealed that she had been shocked and terrified by the tattoos sported by the “savage”. My point being that it should be carefully considered, whether or not in certain civilized circles, if piercings and tattoos are to be seen negatively, and whether they may cause prejudice against the bearer.
Editors Note: if you have never seen Le Pacte des Loups, I can recommend the film as a very classy historical fantasy movie. I saw it subtitled, but I’m sure there is a dubbed version out there somewhere for those who find subtitles annoying.
And what about the racial view? How does a particular race feel about piercings and tattoos?
Might eladrin feel that tattoos and piercings are an affront to the natural beauty of the body, or just the opposite, as an enhancement? Perhaps dwarves view piercings as a great way to show off their wealth, but think tattoos are a waste of good money?
These are important questions for DMs and Players to ask themselves, before any decisions are made about tattoos and piercings in a campaign. My personal preference is to take an eclectic view, much as our modern society does about tattoos and piercings.
They work for some folks, and not for others. Some people think they are classy, and some think they are trashy. And you never know until you ask someone or interact with them, how they feel about it.
Where can I get one like that?!
Mundane Tattoos and Piercings
Tattoos and Piercings should be considered luxury items and should not be too cheap. The old adage of “you get what you pay for” should definitely apply to the pricing of a piercing or tattoo. Anyone can stick a needle into you, but obviously you want to make sure that they know what they are doing or you could have a real mess on your hands!
Given the costs of certain mundane luxury items in the Player’s Handbook, I’ve come up with the following pricing:
Piercing: from 5 sp to 20 gp (depending on what you want pierced) + Cost of the Jewelry
Tattoos: from 25gp to 150gp (possibly more, depending on the artist)
If piercings and tattooing are acceptable in the locale, there may be several businesses in a city that cater to the art, much like any modern city of our mundane world. Some tattoo artists are famous for their skill and talent, and can command a higher price than given above, but such tattoos can be seen as status symbols in certain circles, creating favorable role-playing opportunities between PCs and NPCs.
Magical Tattoos and Piercings
There is no reason that Tattoos and Piercings cannot be magical in nature, so long as a few simple rules are followed to maintain balance in the campaign:
Location- Enchanted Tattoos and Piercings take up the same area locations as all other magical items. Moving an Enchanted Piercing to a new Slot will cause it to stop functioning. Enchanted Piercings and Tattoos are not “new” slots!
Example: A lebret, eyebrow, or ear piercing would take up the Head Slot. A tattoo on your wrist would take up the Arm Slot, or on the calf would take up the Feet Slot.
Moving an Enchanted Eyebrow ring (Head Slot) down to your navel will cause it to deactivate, as the navel would be considered a Waist Slot. And yes, all points “south” of the navel are most likely a Waist Slot as well, if you’re into that sort of thing – I don’t judge.
Optional: Generous DMs might consider allowing one earring piercing to take up one Ring Slot, or perhaps a facial piercing count as a Neck Slot, for the sake of flavor.
Proprties – Enchanted Tattoos and Piercings must take only magical properties based upon their location. Properties cannot break rules designated by the Slot they are in.
Example: An Enchanted Tattoo on your wrist is considered an Arm Slot, and can have any property that a magic item for the Arm Slot has. But that same Enchanted Tattoo on your wrist cannot have the same property as a magic boot.
Stacking – An Enchanted Tattoo or Piercing cannot occupy the same place as another magic item, and both work. Enchanted Tattoos and Piercings will stop functioning temporarily if another magic item is worn over or near them in that slot.
Example: A magical boot worn will temporarily negate the powers of an Enchanted Tattoo on your calf – only the powers of the boot may be activated. Once the boot is removed, the Enchanted Tattoo may again be activated normally.
Likewise an Enchanted facial piercing and an Enchanted Tattoo on your scalp cannot work at the same time, and it should be the removable item that should be ascendant. (ie. Your Enchanted Lebret cancels out the Enchanted Tattoo on your scalp until it is taken off.)
If multiple Enchanted piercings are put on, it is the most recent one donned that takes ascendance. A new Enchanted Tattoo in the same Slot as a previous Enchanted Tattoo will cancel the old tattoo!
Enchantment Rituals
Enchanted Piercings: The Enchant Magic Item (PHB) and Transfer Enchantment (AV) Rituals will work for any Enchanted Piercing. Once the requisite jewelry is obtained, the Rituals listed above will function as written to make an Enchanted Piercing.
Enchanted Tattoos: Due to the permanent nature of tattoos, the enchanting ritual and cost of enchantments should be a little different than that of Enchanted Piercings:
Enchant Tattoo
Magical energies flow from your hands and into the pigments of the tattoo, enchanting it with great power.Level: 5
Component Cost: Special
Category: Creation
Market Price: 250 gp
Time: 1 hour
Key Skill: Arcana (no check)
Duration: PermanentYou touch a mundane tattoo, drawn on a living and willing creature’s skin, and infuse it with the powers of a magical item of your level or lower. The cost of the Ritual is 110% of the price of a magical item possessing the same power as you imbue the tattoo. The Enchanted Tattoo is activated in the same fashion as a magic item of the same type.
At the time of the Ritual, you can choose to make the Enchanted Tattoo morphic at no additional cost. This makes the Enchanted Tattoo capable of slight movements and other animations at the mental command of the bearer. A morphic Enchanted Tattoo cannot move from its Slot location, but can change its placement on that Slot at the will of the bearer.
Once a Character has an Enchanted Tattoo, per the Ritual above, it can be utilized in a Transfer Enchantment Ritual (AV) just as any magic item can. Note that it is up to DMs to decide if transferring the Enchantment from an Enchanted Tattoo to an magic item will cause the tattoo to fade, or just be rendered non-magical.
Final Thoughts
Enchanted Tattoos and Piercings can add a lot of flavor to a campaign and allow Players to express individuality and personal choice over their Characters appearance and style. But like any magic item, Enchanted Tattoos and Piercings can be used and abused, and can unbalance a game if not used reasonably by Player and DM alike.
So until next blog, I wish you Happy Gaming!
About The Author
[...] thought train this morning was put into motion by the Tattoo’s and Piercing’s article over here. My first ‘visual’ was one of the demons that escaped from Hell in the TV Show Reaper [...]
I like that assassin idea… I’ll have to use something like that in my game. Saw another comment about the article, suggesting you could go really “high fantasy” art with characters wearing a little armor and covered in magical tattoos and piercings rather than gear… kinda like those Conan covers from the 70s that Boris did… could be awesomely hot!
The second book in Karen Chance’s Cassandra Palmer series, _Claimed by Shadow_, offers up a unique look on tattoos as magical wards that readers might be interested in.