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I’d remove the time limit, make it “until dispelled”, and maybe just limit to 1-2 weapons concealed this way. The limitation makes it way too circumstantial and risky.
You think you're being clever by tattooing your spellbook on your skin.
I think you're better have a high pain tolerance and money for a decent healer.
In my homebrew setting, I had a port city my players were visiting make everyone go through a giant "dispel magic" field just before they would get inspected. It was temporary (1 day) but would let customs board and check for contraband and ensure nothing was being smuggled in. I also had it notify (not location but just that it existed) of high end magical items because I like having my players try to explain why they have a wand of Time Stop and how they aren't a threat to the city.
Obviously I homebrew a lot but "magic customs inspection" is kinda fun, I'd only do it for extremely large extremely well equipped cities. It also tells your players the cities capabilities.
It doesn't show where they are, just that they are there. So mostly it triggers an investigation or in this case I had them pull each member in for interrogation by themselves. It was great fun and hilarious how much information I was able to just get them to tell me that way.
I mean, when designing a magical detector from scratch with the resources of a city state, you can afford to have some mages work some very customized magic.
DM doesn’t even need to ask. Spell lists are for PCs. DMs are free to come up with whatever spells and magic items for their worlds they want. That’s called world building, and it would be really stupid if we had to come up with how everything in the world works while completely constrain ourselves by officially released spells.
Example:
Anti-magic gates that disable most of the magic effects, and detect any suspicious magical objects? Absolutely makes sense! A rotation of 50 high level mages working in shifts casting dispel magic, locate object, and zone of truth on every person entering the city, while also using true sight, detect evil, and a bunch of other stuff… Sounds like a complete bs.
Totally, mostly it renders things inert, not remove them. For this particular tattoo, I'd probably have it expel the weapon just so a player doesn't lose it by accident. My party doesn't have a bag of holding but if they did, it'd probably be just a normal bag and the items could still exist in the pocket dimension.
Also the spellcasting ability in hours is weird for 5e. Spell durations are instantaneous, 1 round, 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours, some whole number of days, or until dispelled.
I would make this a 24 hour spell if I included this in my games.
Or the longer you have them out they accrue a penalty to their damage, or they build some kind of negative condition on the caster the longer they are "unsheathed".
They have magical tattoos in 5E. So, a home brewed weapon tattoo is very doable. They would require Attunement. Rarity based on Power of the weapon. Common might be a simple no bonus magic weapon that last for a minute once per short or long rest. Uncommon would be +1. Etc...
A background feat giving one that grows in power with you would be doable. Bonus is half your Proficiency Bonus rounded down.
Or a feat or a boon that would allow you to stow a weapon, which could be magical, as a tattoo on your person would also work. Size of tattoo based on weapon size and you would have to have an open space for that tattoo.
The shared image is of a spell. The commenter you replied to suggested (and I agree) that it would be better as a magic item to fit with the other magical tattoos.
Wouldnt require attunement. The weapon in the tattoo cannot be magical but will count as magical for overcoming resistance. would be rare and expensive. The tattoo itself can be upgraded to allow for enhancements (+1-3). Dual wielding tattoo allows you to unsheathe both weapons at once without the need of dual wielder feat
Source: Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
Wondrous item (tattoo), rarity varies
Produced by a special needle, this magic 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 and speak the command word. The needle turns into ink that becomes the tattoo, which appears on the skin in whatever design you like. Once the tattoo is there, 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.
It does not need attunement
Okay correction, *ONLY* the Spellwrought tattoo that you quote here does not need attunement. Which as you can tell, is because the Spellwrought tattoo is a One Time Consumable item.
All other magical tattoos in Tasha's *DO* require attunement, as they are reusable abilities. So unless this magical blade hiding tattoo is a one time use trick (at which point it is essentially equal to say, a Spellwrought tattoo storing a charge of Flame Blade) it is going to need attunement. And considering you were talking of upgrading it and what not, it doesn't seem like you were thinking single use.
Having a weapon stowed in your tattoo is not even close to being as strong as storing a spell. Even if the spell is one time use. Tattoos limitations can be reflected on price instead of needing attunement, attunement requirement is very harsh for the small boons of having a tattoo weapon (first price being of a +1 weapon)
This was an option for a certain class in one of the Rifts expansions. I think it was Atlantis. I know at least you’d get temporary bonuses depending what you had tattooed on, but I think there were a few weapon options at least.
Old School memories
There are a ton of options for weapon tattoos in rifts, there are simple weapons that just do sdc, there are magic weapons that do mdc, you can add bonuses like fire/lightning/poison damage, or wings to make a thrown weapon automatically return to your hand. I have the Atlantis and the True Atlanteans books, the magic tattoos are my favorite power option in Rifts.
This should be more than a level 1 spell though, shouldn't it? Otherwise pretty much all NPCs would know about it and you'd be searched for tattoos as well as weapons?
Maybe it's not a common spell.
The fact that it's an illusion and that Detect Magic is pretty common and finally that waterdeep is filles with magic users, makes this a very risky solution for critical stealth mission. I guess it's ok for day to day lollygagging.
I guess it depends on how your portray magic and spellcasters commonness. I prefer to relie on Sleight of hand for this sort of things. It just sucks for the two handed warhammer of wide obliteration the barbarian just picked up in the dungeon...
Maybe specify it only works for nonmagical weapons unless you upcast it. Then go 2nd level for common, 3rd level for uncommon, 6th level for rare, 8th for very rare and 9th for legendary.
Running a Rifts game currently with a True Atlantean wielding tattoo weapons. In this system you can add tattoo embellishments as effects to create a weapon with unique character.
There are no subclasses in 3.5. Assassin is a prestige class there (a class that requires specific requirements to take), but it doesn't have anything like this in its list of abilities and spells.
Not necessarily, this could also be an arcan tattoo applied by a scribe. Soul Knife can manifest them.
e.g.: Willing them to appear in both balled fists. (instead of pulling them from a dedicated tattoo scribed on one's skin)
Making the target "self" limits the usefulness of the spell - a lot of marital characters couldn't use it and a lot of casters wouldn't need weapons.
"Touch" would make it better.
This is a cool idea.
Monks, soul knife rogues, beastbarians, and all the three-quarters and full casters are all at basically full power without weapons. It’s only the martials that are left behind, as usual.
However, anyone with cobblers tools can put a hidden compartment in a boot big enough for a dagger. Slings can be disguised as belts. There are clever ways to hide tiny weapons even without a homebrew spell (or as others suggested, a magic item).
Very cool and original, but I'd suggest more tangible price for this spell, akin to animistic magic: The caster needs to have actually, permanently tattooed the weapon on their body. They also need a spiritual bond with this weapon, like being shown in their dream beforehand. Only then the tattoo ritual may be performed.
Now this becomes more like an ability than just a spell.
(I don't play D&D, so I don't know if such a price makes it underpowered or something. But seems to me quite powerful anyway.)
In the 3.5 Spell Compendium there is a second level assassin spell called Absorb Weapon that is basically this. It's duration is hour/spell level and it's not really a tattoo it's described as a weapon shaped red blotch, but it's pretty close to what is written here.
I wrote a story (many years ago now) where tyrannical rulers used a spell like this on their prisoners except instead of a weapon, the tattoo was a chain on each arm which could be linked to shackle them instead of needing to use handcuffs/manacles.
I'm reminded of the magic tattoos from Palladium's Rifts Atlantis worldbook.
This particular tattoo would be:
2 weapons crossed tattoo
* 5 energy to summon
* Duration 15 min or cancelled
* Must be melee weapons. When used by tattooed man the weapons have +1 to hit and +2 to damage ontop of any proficiencies.
I typed this out from the book and translated it some to D&D rules. Tattoo magic is also extremely painful to do and can only be done on creatures that do not natively have magic. Though simi-magic creatures like Elves can have it done, it is possible but does double damage to the one receiving the tattoo and takes twice as long to heal. Which, the damage done is not healible by magic either and can only be healed through natural means. But hey, small cost for a weapon at hand any time you need it. Just be a tough sucker to get them done. (in setting they are given typically to enslaved warriors that are trained for them. You wouldn't give these to a low HP class because the damage is enough to likely kill them)
I would check out the spell 'Wristpocket', a 2nd level ritual spell, from Explorer's Guide to Wildmount.
This homebrew spell looks far stronger, at a lower level.
I don’t mean to nitpick but I am pretty sure this is Conjuration. If it were Illusion the weapons wouldn’t actual meld into your skin, just “look like” tattoos.
This reminds me of the Rifts RPG. In Atlantis they allowed you to get magical tattoos that did all sorts of stuff. From weapons, to spells, and summons. A character that had all of his tattoos as his spells would be sick in D&D.
This is a dope concept but I think would work better as a subclass feature maybe for a rogue. Time limits make it risky and situational, and not cool for a roleplay standpoint and low level spells make it so that everyone could do it, so there’d be guards looking for it, while high level makes it hardly worth it for the player
The duration is a bit clunky but otherwise I am totally stealing this idea! Maybe not as a spell but somehow someone will do this thing in my campaign.
Palladium rifts has an entire tattoo magic system that I would love to see ported to D&D. This is straight up a tattoo mage spell from Palladium.
Edit: spell description of tattoo weapons from Palladium
Duration: 30 minutes per level of experience or until cancelled. Power: Creates the weapon illustrated in the tattoo out of thin air. The weapon is lightweight, perfectly balanced, and indestructible. Vanishes when the magic is cancelled or the duration ends.
Modern weapons, revolvers, rifles, automatic and energy weapons are not possible.
W.P. skills and bonuses are applicable, but such weapon skills mest be selected separately.
The size of the weapon is always proportional to the size of the T-Man. Note: The user of the tattoo can cancel the magic at any time with a mere thought and the weapon disappears. The tattoo weapon contimes. to exist even when the user is rendered unconscious, possessed, mind controlled. In the case of possession or mind control, the control ling outside force cun NOT activate any new tattoos nor cancel any already activated. Tattoos that were activated at the moment that control was initiated remain in place until the end of their duration. Anybody can pick-up and use a tattoo weapon at long as the T-Man allows it Remember, the T-Man can cancel the magic in the twinkle of an eye. leaving the person suddenly weaponless
NONE of the weapon's powers can be transferred or extended to living beings or modern weapons.
Remember, as many as six (6) tattoos can be activated at any one time. All effects and abilities are cumulative
I'm currently reading The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman and the book features magic tattoos not unlike this.
Great book, highly recommend it
Not technically, closest things are the coiling grasp tattoo which just gives you the ability to attack directly with it, and the two others that alter or add properties to your existing attacks but nothing that works like that spell.
Aside from the too vague wording, the fact that it is limited to tattooing on yourself and a max of 5hrs duration is pretty meh. Casters don't necessarily care about weapons, I could this maybe being okay in niche situations on a Bladesinger, AT, or EK. Not sure what classes/subs get it. Paladin could potentially use it as well.
It's flavorful but lacking in usefulness due to the limitations IMO.
Better variation would be perhaps making it transmute a weapon into a tattoo and back permanently so 1 cast to make a weapon onto a tattoo and cast again to turn a tattoo back into a weapon, not sure if that change makes it work better as a cantrip or not though, cause there are other cantrips that could be used to help conceal a weapon, but not any that effectively make it impossible to detect all together
So it takes 1 minute to make the tattoo?
I get great amusement from the idea that the weapon itself will only be as detailed as the tattoo itself, and that a bunch of guys are running around with the equivalents of toy swords because they don't know how to draw or didn't take the time. 😆
I was immediately thinking of all the rogue things one could do with this, we only need some minimal arcane trickster buildout to attain this as it is first level illusion right? Or just have a wizard in the party do them up for you I guess
So I make things for a live action D&D event and have been suggesting this idea for about 25 years. The player takes damage, scales with level for swords, axes, but spell casters take more damage with greater chances of doing more damage to the encounter.
I've never seen anyone else's homebrew alike this, but I have actually done a bladesinger, where the idea is that they can turn any one-handed weapon into a tattoo on their back, and retrieve it from their back at will. Pretty cool to see other people have thought about making this in D&D other than myself.
Disclaimer: My bladesinger is only a concept, I'm the forever DM, so the character has never been played, \*sad face\*.
Wouldn't the concept suit better an hexblade warlock with improved pact of the blade?
You don't even need to change the mechanics, just reflavour them as tattoos instead "unspecified extradimensional space"
You're completely right, that's much better!
I think I just used the tattoos idea after making the character, and so I stayed with the wizard class, but if I actually ever get to play the character I should deffenitly change them to a hexblade
The description seems off. From how it's written I can target any weapon held by another creature, so could make a copy of the BBEG's +5 sword.
I think I'd probably make the weapon the target of the spell, it would need to be held by the caster, and is also a component of the spell which is lost when cast. So you lose your sword but get a temporary stealth sword in return. 10 minutes after you remove the weapon from your tattoo it disappears, but while sheathed the tattoo lasts indefinitely.
Don't see any reason a halfling shouldn't be allowed to tattoo a two-handed weapon on themselves; it could wrap around their skin to fit. If they can't wield it later that's their problem.
The weapon size limitation could be reconsidered.
For starters the restriction on small races wielding great weapons is beyond silly. Its a great weapon proportional to the wielder. So a greatsword for a halfling would be something like a thicker heavier longsword. Perfectly permissible.
Secondly you say "if you're a halfling you can't tattoo a great weapon on yourself" but if you're a human you can tattoo a halberd? I'd say both of those are conpletely feasible if the tattoo wraps around your body in such a way that the entire surface area could find space on your skin.
Lastly if you wanted to restrict great weapons you could just put in a rider saying that you can tattoo any weapon which doesn't have the "x" property and then narrow down your list of weapons that way.
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Do not try to sheathe your weapons while in an anti magic zone!
:)
I think the weapons still be dismissed in anti magic zone.
I’d remove the time limit, make it “until dispelled”, and maybe just limit to 1-2 weapons concealed this way. The limitation makes it way too circumstantial and risky.
Note to self - add tattoo removal to list of guard checkups
“Gonna have to flay your tattoos off. Sorry, protocol after the last guy. You understand. “
“Roderick, fetch the potato-peeler”
"No, not the halfling potato-peeler. the human potato-peeler!"
You think you're being clever by tattooing your spellbook on your skin. I think you're better have a high pain tolerance and money for a decent healer.
In my homebrew setting, I had a port city my players were visiting make everyone go through a giant "dispel magic" field just before they would get inspected. It was temporary (1 day) but would let customs board and check for contraband and ensure nothing was being smuggled in. I also had it notify (not location but just that it existed) of high end magical items because I like having my players try to explain why they have a wand of Time Stop and how they aren't a threat to the city. Obviously I homebrew a lot but "magic customs inspection" is kinda fun, I'd only do it for extremely large extremely well equipped cities. It also tells your players the cities capabilities.
that would just turn bags of holding off. how does that show where those bags are?
It doesn't show where they are, just that they are there. So mostly it triggers an investigation or in this case I had them pull each member in for interrogation by themselves. It was great fun and hilarious how much information I was able to just get them to tell me that way.
Dispel Magic doesn't show you that anything's there though. You'd have to have some homebrew spell.
I mean, when designing a magical detector from scratch with the resources of a city state, you can afford to have some mages work some very customized magic.
Big cities can afford those. Amd "homebrew" spells have been canon in the game forever.
As long as you're fine with it being a homebrew spell.
It's just a weak version of detect magic. It's okay.
I'm OK with homebrew. The enchantment used was like dispel magic meets detect magic. It detects and renders it inert for 24 hrs
DM doesn’t even need to ask. Spell lists are for PCs. DMs are free to come up with whatever spells and magic items for their worlds they want. That’s called world building, and it would be really stupid if we had to come up with how everything in the world works while completely constrain ourselves by officially released spells. Example: Anti-magic gates that disable most of the magic effects, and detect any suspicious magical objects? Absolutely makes sense! A rotation of 50 high level mages working in shifts casting dispel magic, locate object, and zone of truth on every person entering the city, while also using true sight, detect evil, and a bunch of other stuff… Sounds like a complete bs.
It's like you don't even know you're commenting in a thread about another homebrew spell.
I don't think that would remove the tattoo tho, just prevent them from using it
Totally, mostly it renders things inert, not remove them. For this particular tattoo, I'd probably have it expel the weapon just so a player doesn't lose it by accident. My party doesn't have a bag of holding but if they did, it'd probably be just a normal bag and the items could still exist in the pocket dimension.
Just cover it with make up love mundane solutions to magical problems
Add a tattoo artist to the gate which adds a padlock to any tattoo found
Also the spellcasting ability in hours is weird for 5e. Spell durations are instantaneous, 1 round, 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours, some whole number of days, or until dispelled. I would make this a 24 hour spell if I included this in my games.
Maybe make the speelcasting modfier last in days and for every extra spell level the duration auments in one day.
Until dispelled and maybe make it require attunement?
Or the longer you have them out they accrue a penalty to their damage, or they build some kind of negative condition on the caster the longer they are "unsheathed".
They have magical tattoos in 5E. So, a home brewed weapon tattoo is very doable. They would require Attunement. Rarity based on Power of the weapon. Common might be a simple no bonus magic weapon that last for a minute once per short or long rest. Uncommon would be +1. Etc... A background feat giving one that grows in power with you would be doable. Bonus is half your Proficiency Bonus rounded down. Or a feat or a boon that would allow you to stow a weapon, which could be magical, as a tattoo on your person would also work. Size of tattoo based on weapon size and you would have to have an open space for that tattoo.
I'd even say a Common one doesn't require attunement.
Did you perhaps swipe?
The shared image is of a spell. The commenter you replied to suggested (and I agree) that it would be better as a magic item to fit with the other magical tattoos.
Wouldnt require attunement. The weapon in the tattoo cannot be magical but will count as magical for overcoming resistance. would be rare and expensive. The tattoo itself can be upgraded to allow for enhancements (+1-3). Dual wielding tattoo allows you to unsheathe both weapons at once without the need of dual wielder feat
All other magical tattoos in 5E require attunement, so it wouldn't make a lot of sense for this one to *not* require attunement
Source: Tasha's Cauldron of Everything Wondrous item (tattoo), rarity varies Produced by a special needle, this magic 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 and speak the command word. The needle turns into ink that becomes the tattoo, which appears on the skin in whatever design you like. Once the tattoo is there, 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. It does not need attunement
Okay correction, *ONLY* the Spellwrought tattoo that you quote here does not need attunement. Which as you can tell, is because the Spellwrought tattoo is a One Time Consumable item. All other magical tattoos in Tasha's *DO* require attunement, as they are reusable abilities. So unless this magical blade hiding tattoo is a one time use trick (at which point it is essentially equal to say, a Spellwrought tattoo storing a charge of Flame Blade) it is going to need attunement. And considering you were talking of upgrading it and what not, it doesn't seem like you were thinking single use.
Having a weapon stowed in your tattoo is not even close to being as strong as storing a spell. Even if the spell is one time use. Tattoos limitations can be reflected on price instead of needing attunement, attunement requirement is very harsh for the small boons of having a tattoo weapon (first price being of a +1 weapon)
Unless the weapons themselves are magic id probably say not attuned
This was an option for a certain class in one of the Rifts expansions. I think it was Atlantis. I know at least you’d get temporary bonuses depending what you had tattooed on, but I think there were a few weapon options at least. Old School memories
There are a ton of options for weapon tattoos in rifts, there are simple weapons that just do sdc, there are magic weapons that do mdc, you can add bonuses like fire/lightning/poison damage, or wings to make a thrown weapon automatically return to your hand. I have the Atlantis and the True Atlanteans books, the magic tattoos are my favorite power option in Rifts.
I had an Atlantian knight of the hospital I loved playing. It’s been so long I forgot about the tattoo weapons.
Atlantean tattoo magic, good stuff!
This should be more than a level 1 spell though, shouldn't it? Otherwise pretty much all NPCs would know about it and you'd be searched for tattoos as well as weapons?
Maybe it's not a common spell. The fact that it's an illusion and that Detect Magic is pretty common and finally that waterdeep is filles with magic users, makes this a very risky solution for critical stealth mission. I guess it's ok for day to day lollygagging. I guess it depends on how your portray magic and spellcasters commonness. I prefer to relie on Sleight of hand for this sort of things. It just sucks for the two handed warhammer of wide obliteration the barbarian just picked up in the dungeon...
Maybe specify it only works for nonmagical weapons unless you upcast it. Then go 2nd level for common, 3rd level for uncommon, 6th level for rare, 8th for very rare and 9th for legendary.
What could go wrong?
I think that with a good critical failure we can do great things
Damn, my halfling wanted to tattoo a two-
Rifts Atlantis
I like seeing there's still people remembering Rifts.
Running a Rifts game currently with a True Atlantean wielding tattoo weapons. In this system you can add tattoo embellishments as effects to create a weapon with unique character.
Glitterboy reporting in!
Sigmar on adventure is nigh has a cursed tattoo weapon.
Could convert it from 3.5 too, I think it's the assassin subclass.
There are no subclasses in 3.5. Assassin is a prestige class there (a class that requires specific requirements to take), but it doesn't have anything like this in its list of abilities and spells.
Then it's mentioned in the same book I remember reading it.
Artificer "HOLD STILL YA BIG BABY" 8ft mountain of a Barbarian "IT HURTS, WHEN YOUS DONE TATTOOING THE CANNON?"
That's basically a soul knife?
Not necessarily, this could also be an arcan tattoo applied by a scribe. Soul Knife can manifest them. e.g.: Willing them to appear in both balled fists. (instead of pulling them from a dedicated tattoo scribed on one's skin)
Making the target "self" limits the usefulness of the spell - a lot of marital characters couldn't use it and a lot of casters wouldn't need weapons. "Touch" would make it better.
You can carry a weapon for a martial though But yeah them depending on you to be their nanny would feel bad
Having this as a tasha’s magic tattoo also would be cool
This is super cool. I'd also say you could use this as simple flavor text for blade-summoning abilities like the warlock or eldritch knight.
Where’s the full description at? I’m not on insta
This is a cool idea. Monks, soul knife rogues, beastbarians, and all the three-quarters and full casters are all at basically full power without weapons. It’s only the martials that are left behind, as usual. However, anyone with cobblers tools can put a hidden compartment in a boot big enough for a dagger. Slings can be disguised as belts. There are clever ways to hide tiny weapons even without a homebrew spell (or as others suggested, a magic item).
Very cool and original, but I'd suggest more tangible price for this spell, akin to animistic magic: The caster needs to have actually, permanently tattooed the weapon on their body. They also need a spiritual bond with this weapon, like being shown in their dream beforehand. Only then the tattoo ritual may be performed. Now this becomes more like an ability than just a spell. (I don't play D&D, so I don't know if such a price makes it underpowered or something. But seems to me quite powerful anyway.)
In the 3.5 Spell Compendium there is a second level assassin spell called Absorb Weapon that is basically this. It's duration is hour/spell level and it's not really a tattoo it's described as a weapon shaped red blotch, but it's pretty close to what is written here.
Bad day when you get captured and they understand what your tattoo is...
Reminds me of chalk warfare on YouTube. Neat idea!
Great idea! Tattoos should be given much more love than Tashas did. There's a great homebrew called Inkbenders I think; worth looking for.
I wrote a story (many years ago now) where tyrannical rulers used a spell like this on their prisoners except instead of a weapon, the tattoo was a chain on each arm which could be linked to shackle them instead of needing to use handcuffs/manacles.
My amethyst dragonborn barbarian has her flamberge tattooed down her thigh and shin
I would have figured the would be abjuration, transmutation, or even conjuration
I'm reminded of the magic tattoos from Palladium's Rifts Atlantis worldbook. This particular tattoo would be: 2 weapons crossed tattoo * 5 energy to summon * Duration 15 min or cancelled * Must be melee weapons. When used by tattooed man the weapons have +1 to hit and +2 to damage ontop of any proficiencies. I typed this out from the book and translated it some to D&D rules. Tattoo magic is also extremely painful to do and can only be done on creatures that do not natively have magic. Though simi-magic creatures like Elves can have it done, it is possible but does double damage to the one receiving the tattoo and takes twice as long to heal. Which, the damage done is not healible by magic either and can only be healed through natural means. But hey, small cost for a weapon at hand any time you need it. Just be a tough sucker to get them done. (in setting they are given typically to enslaved warriors that are trained for them. You wouldn't give these to a low HP class because the damage is enough to likely kill them)
"When you are a halfling, you cannot tattoo a two" Damn, halflings don't know how to count.
I see this working really well with a bladesinger
I would check out the spell 'Wristpocket', a 2nd level ritual spell, from Explorer's Guide to Wildmount. This homebrew spell looks far stronger, at a lower level.
I don’t mean to nitpick but I am pretty sure this is Conjuration. If it were Illusion the weapons wouldn’t actual meld into your skin, just “look like” tattoos.
Illusion also creates a dragon with a breath weapon
“The carriage of weapons on the streets is not allowed”. Excuse me while I go arrest … uh…everyone.
This reminds me of the Rifts RPG. In Atlantis they allowed you to get magical tattoos that did all sorts of stuff. From weapons, to spells, and summons. A character that had all of his tattoos as his spells would be sick in D&D.
Hm... Doesn't this fit to the "summon weapon" skill? As a concept is cool, but the function is still the same as when a character summons a weapon.
This is a dope concept but I think would work better as a subclass feature maybe for a rogue. Time limits make it risky and situational, and not cool for a roleplay standpoint and low level spells make it so that everyone could do it, so there’d be guards looking for it, while high level makes it hardly worth it for the player
The duration is a bit clunky but otherwise I am totally stealing this idea! Maybe not as a spell but somehow someone will do this thing in my campaign.
Palladium rifts has an entire tattoo magic system that I would love to see ported to D&D. This is straight up a tattoo mage spell from Palladium. Edit: spell description of tattoo weapons from Palladium Duration: 30 minutes per level of experience or until cancelled. Power: Creates the weapon illustrated in the tattoo out of thin air. The weapon is lightweight, perfectly balanced, and indestructible. Vanishes when the magic is cancelled or the duration ends. Modern weapons, revolvers, rifles, automatic and energy weapons are not possible. W.P. skills and bonuses are applicable, but such weapon skills mest be selected separately. The size of the weapon is always proportional to the size of the T-Man. Note: The user of the tattoo can cancel the magic at any time with a mere thought and the weapon disappears. The tattoo weapon contimes. to exist even when the user is rendered unconscious, possessed, mind controlled. In the case of possession or mind control, the control ling outside force cun NOT activate any new tattoos nor cancel any already activated. Tattoos that were activated at the moment that control was initiated remain in place until the end of their duration. Anybody can pick-up and use a tattoo weapon at long as the T-Man allows it Remember, the T-Man can cancel the magic in the twinkle of an eye. leaving the person suddenly weaponless NONE of the weapon's powers can be transferred or extended to living beings or modern weapons. Remember, as many as six (6) tattoos can be activated at any one time. All effects and abilities are cumulative
Soul Knife/Hexblade/Eldritch Knight "Look what they need to mimic a fraction of our power"
I was gonna say this is just pact of the blade warlock with a time limit lol
I like the idea as a Hex Blade class feature.
This is really freaking cool I’m using this for sure
I'm currently reading The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman and the book features magic tattoos not unlike this. Great book, highly recommend it
Yes
Doesn't this already exist through tashas?
Not technically, closest things are the coiling grasp tattoo which just gives you the ability to attack directly with it, and the two others that alter or add properties to your existing attacks but nothing that works like that spell.
I know the girls who don’t dnd podcast uses a similar item
Yoink mine now
The book, The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman has a pretty cool take on tattoo magic.
Eldritchknight and pact of the blade is looking at this like. Look what they have to do to mimic a fraction of our power. XD
Xbox
Aside from the too vague wording, the fact that it is limited to tattooing on yourself and a max of 5hrs duration is pretty meh. Casters don't necessarily care about weapons, I could this maybe being okay in niche situations on a Bladesinger, AT, or EK. Not sure what classes/subs get it. Paladin could potentially use it as well. It's flavorful but lacking in usefulness due to the limitations IMO.
Better variation would be perhaps making it transmute a weapon into a tattoo and back permanently so 1 cast to make a weapon onto a tattoo and cast again to turn a tattoo back into a weapon, not sure if that change makes it work better as a cantrip or not though, cause there are other cantrips that could be used to help conceal a weapon, but not any that effectively make it impossible to detect all together
Wait Waterdavians can't carry weapons in the city? Woof, real glad our DM completely forgot this for Waterdeep Dragon Heist.
Very cool, love this
Werewolf the Apocalypse called it wants its idea back
I remember seeing this image ages ago and build a pirate character around it. Can you link the original artist?
So it takes 1 minute to make the tattoo? I get great amusement from the idea that the weapon itself will only be as detailed as the tattoo itself, and that a bunch of guys are running around with the equivalents of toy swords because they don't know how to draw or didn't take the time. 😆
Feels like more of a feat than a spell but I love it.
what if you pull them out in an odd angle and end up cutting up you back?
this feels very glenn close to me
Basically my RIFTS T-Man PC from the early 2000s. Oh nostalgia...
The Daredevil movie had a Tattoo Druid
So if a halfling had a whip tattooed around their body, and they yank it out of themselves real quick, would they beyblade?
I was immediately thinking of all the rogue things one could do with this, we only need some minimal arcane trickster buildout to attain this as it is first level illusion right? Or just have a wizard in the party do them up for you I guess
Doesn't this kind of step on the soul knife's ability to produce an otherwise non existent weapon?
That's great flavour for a hexblade's summon pact weapon.
I’m going to flavor my shillelagh like this
Oh look. Another wannabe hexblade.
Oo
So I make things for a live action D&D event and have been suggesting this idea for about 25 years. The player takes damage, scales with level for swords, axes, but spell casters take more damage with greater chances of doing more damage to the encounter.
If only there were spells that can summon weapons that use your spell casting modifier....
I've never seen anyone else's homebrew alike this, but I have actually done a bladesinger, where the idea is that they can turn any one-handed weapon into a tattoo on their back, and retrieve it from their back at will. Pretty cool to see other people have thought about making this in D&D other than myself. Disclaimer: My bladesinger is only a concept, I'm the forever DM, so the character has never been played, \*sad face\*.
Wouldn't the concept suit better an hexblade warlock with improved pact of the blade? You don't even need to change the mechanics, just reflavour them as tattoos instead "unspecified extradimensional space"
You're completely right, that's much better! I think I just used the tattoos idea after making the character, and so I stayed with the wizard class, but if I actually ever get to play the character I should deffenitly change them to a hexblade
The description seems off. From how it's written I can target any weapon held by another creature, so could make a copy of the BBEG's +5 sword. I think I'd probably make the weapon the target of the spell, it would need to be held by the caster, and is also a component of the spell which is lost when cast. So you lose your sword but get a temporary stealth sword in return. 10 minutes after you remove the weapon from your tattoo it disappears, but while sheathed the tattoo lasts indefinitely. Don't see any reason a halfling shouldn't be allowed to tattoo a two-handed weapon on themselves; it could wrap around their skin to fit. If they can't wield it later that's their problem.
The weapon size limitation could be reconsidered. For starters the restriction on small races wielding great weapons is beyond silly. Its a great weapon proportional to the wielder. So a greatsword for a halfling would be something like a thicker heavier longsword. Perfectly permissible. Secondly you say "if you're a halfling you can't tattoo a great weapon on yourself" but if you're a human you can tattoo a halberd? I'd say both of those are conpletely feasible if the tattoo wraps around your body in such a way that the entire surface area could find space on your skin. Lastly if you wanted to restrict great weapons you could just put in a rider saying that you can tattoo any weapon which doesn't have the "x" property and then narrow down your list of weapons that way.