Tattoo/Scar Magic

[TheUglyAmerican]

In my campaign I'm trying to develop a type of magic based on magical scars or tattoos, and I'd appreciate any advice on the mechanics of it.

 

The essentials of it are these: tattoos/scars are paid for with character points. The materials necessary for the creation of the scar/tattoo must be gathered by the person who's getting the tattoo, and the difficulty of getting these materials is proportional to the number of Active Points in the power the tattoo/scar grants. The tattoo/scar must be placed on a part of the body related to the power in the magic (i.e. on a leg for Running, torso for Healing, face for senses, etc.) The magic therein is limited to a single effect (i.e. Healing or Running or Force Field, but not Healing AND Running AND Force Field), and is limited to 50 Active Points. The magic in the tattoo has one charge per day, and if the power is Constant it has a duration of either 1 minute (for powers directly involved in combat, such as skill levels or Force Field) or 20 minutes (for Movement, characteristic Aids, etc.). The magic takes 1/2 phase to activate, and requires Gestures (the area of the body must be touched during activation). If the tattoo is marred (more than 1/3 removed or defaced) the magic is lost (along with the character points) and each body part (face, torso, and each limb) may only ever have a single tattoo; if the tattoo on your right arm is destroyed, for example, you may never get another on that arm. While the power of the scar/tattoo is in effect, the scar/tattoo glows, making it obvious that magic is being used.

 

The overall effect I'm trying for is in a way similar to the Runes in the Runequest game -- a way for nonmagical characters to have brief and temporary access to magical powers that can change the course of a fight.

 

Now, the problem I'm having is this: tattoos/scars are kind of but not quite Independent (since the character points are lost if the tattoo/scar is destroyed, but other people can't use it) and kind of but not quite a Focus (since it is is an object after a fashion, but it can't really be taken away without it being destroyed).

 

I would appreciate any suggestions, and thanks.

[nexus]

I would reccomend using a lesser version of Independant (-1 perhaps?).

[SleepyDrug]

I played in a campaign where spells cost mana (equivalent to END) and character's could have a tattoo that was the equivalent to a naked Reduced END advantage for the one spell (and also let the character cast the spell without all the usual incantations and gestures).

[tkdguy]

Welcome to the group, by the way.

[Markdoc]

I agree that independant is inappropriate - unless you can carefully cut the skin off and keep the power intact (I was mostly joking, but it conjures up a great picture of powerful characters decorated with mummified body parts taken from enemies...).

 

I would treat it as an OIF, with the further limitation "power destroyed by damage" - that's worse than an OAF, since you lose the points invested: with an OAF you lose a power if you lose the focus but you can always make a new one. With this power, you lose the points AND the power. So -1 1/2 seems right to me: halfway between truly independant and OAF.

 

Last of all, although like the idea that you can only have one tattoo per body part, I think saying that the tattoo can never be replaced once lost is a bit harsh. If you never do it to players, they essentially get the points break for free. But if you DO do it, then the player loses the power, the points invested AND can't replace it with something else - significantly weakening him compared to other characters. Personally, I think that is a bit rough. I realise you probably want to keep magic restrained, but occasionally scarring and taking away points is probably good enough. There should be some way to overcome that - even if it involves chopping the old limb off and regenerating it!

 

cheers, Mark

[TheUglyAmerican]

I may actually just create another limitation to reflect the exact nature of the type of magic. I think -1-1/2 sounds about right.

 

This type of magic will turn out to be fairly important, since it's pretty much the only kind of combat magic there is. Spell magic, while powerful, is entirely noncombat (the minimum amount of time to cast a spell is 1 minute), and clerical-type magic is very rare and limited to "miracles. So this kind of magic represents a significant edge for powerful characters.

[dstarfire]

I'd say make it an OIF, and allow characters that have lost their tattoos to have them fixed/repaired easier than they are to make. .

 

Otherwise, just go with the standard independent. The reason it's worth so much as a limitation is because characters can lose all the points without getting anythign in return. The fact that it can'ty be used against them doesen't make it worth that much less. It's pretty heinous to have 5-10 pts just disappear forever, just because you got unlucky. That risk is easily worth a -2.