Illicit Magic Tattoo Parlors(GNEverse/Others) Random Rolls

[taalismn]

The following fits best in the GNEverse material, thanks to omegasgundam’s play having tattoo magic becoming acquired by my Greater New England, but it can fit into any setting where tattoo magic has become more common/open source.
My thanks to omegasgundam for giving me an excuse to bust out another set of tables.

Illicit Magic Tattoo Parlors(GNEverse)

“Power to the People, for the People!”
---Slogan at the door of ‘Arcane Authur’s Mystic Inks’.

“Well, the cat’s out of the bag with all these magic tat places opening up and the ‘Atlantean Bromance’ is going to take a nose-dive as a result.”
----Prediction by Professor-Oracular Lyll ‘Doubting’ Thamas, Lazlo University

“The proliferation of ‘magic tattoo’ emporiums has lowered the mystique of the practice to that of the regular seedy backstreet tattoo parlors.”

“Hackwork, pure hackwork. It’s the Mark of the Market Beast.”

“Nice skin-work, Natasha! Where’d you get it done?”
“That new place down by the old millworks! And it’s more than just epi-paint; you won’t believe what it ALSO does!”

“---does for magic tattoos what the xeroxed pop-off magic scroll did for inscribed applied arcana.”

Revelations of Greater New England coming into possession of Tattoo Magic and its dissemination through that polity have rocked the magic world, who thought the practice once the sole province of the True Atlanteans and the Splugorth who stole it from them(certain Scottish druid cults would disagree with that assessment). That a n art considered core to their traditional culture was being practiced by yet ANOTHER group of outsiders has upset many of the more conservative Atlanteans, but with the tremors of the Aerihman Reveal and the Sunaj Conspiracy sending much Atlantean attitude reeling, there isn’t much they can do. However, arguably another bad turn was to be made...

With the spread of magic tattoo knowledge through officially-sanctioned circles. there has been, despite the best of efforts, an UNofficial spread of the knowledge through less scrupulous parts of society. Arguably, this dissemination began much earlier with the escape of many ex-slaves and defection of Minions during the great ZOT Smackdown of Atlantis and subsequent Great Exodus, but the open adoption of Magic Tattoos by the GNE in the wake of making several big discoveries/contacts of Atlanteans has suddenly kickstarted wider interest. A window of opportunity for legitimate Magic Tattooists, less-legimate practitioners, and out and out charlatans has opened up to capitalize on the interest...and take advantage of the gullible before more detailed precautionary knowledge becomes more common.

Places of Interest in the New Tattoo Trade:
-Greater New England---Some point to the GNE as to where the current craze started, but that isn’t entirely true. The GNE recognizes the potential power of magic tattoos and tries its best, as with most magic under its purview, to regulate what goes on in its territories, but the authorities can’t be everywhere at once. Especially with all the current boom activity in the GNE, there’s still the potential for opportunists to set up(at least temporary) shop in places like Bedford Port and the Cambridge Jungle border villages and do some business before the authorities become aware and come to do inspections.

-The Relic---The free market in this sprawling trade center has made it a natural place for illicit magic tattoo businesses to set up shop, provided one pays or avoids the various local black market entanglements. Currently the Relic is the biggest center of the off-street magic tattoo trade on the East Coast.

-Queenstown---Second only to the Relic, Queenstown is gaining its share of the backroom magic tat business. However, the price of selling bad merchandise is steeper in Queenstown where enough dissatisfied customers can lead to a mage-tat artist being run out of town in short order.

-MercTown---Soldiers of fortune and bounty hunters looking for an edge are likely to be interested in the latest new thing in the form of magic tattoos, and at least one practitioner has set up shop in the City of Hired Guns, and others are sure to follow. However, there’ s considerable risk in doing business in MercTown as once a reputation is established, and more mercs get knowledgeable about magic tattoos, a poor performer is going to find themselves out business very quickly. A bad or lethal performer is going to be facing angry and well-armed survivors out for more than just refunds.

-”City” of Char---This community on the edge of the Dinosaur Swap has seen local gang interest in magic on the rise since the Minion War, and several gangs have started looking at magic as an addition to their arsenal. That in turn has attracted the attention of several magic tattooists of varying proficiency to set up shop in Char.

-The Coalition States---Despite the not inconsiderable dangers of setting up shop in the violently magic-phobic Coalition States, there’s just enough greed-motivated courage to do just that. Never mind that the Dog Boys will very likely sniff out magic tats and bring the Deadboys down on those who possess them, there are enough people desperate for an edge that they’ll put down good money to acquire magic tattoos.

-Japan---Recent interest in Japan in magic tattoos has drawn inquiries from the newly contacted island nations, and that has in turn attracted would-be profiteers to offer their services. The GNE has tried to inform their Japanese allies as to the specific risks and dangers of tattoo magic, but that hasn’t curbed organizations like Otomo and the Yakuza from seeking to acquire the knowledge.

-Europe--While the New German Republic has tried to impose its vision of industrialized magic on the (scant) magic culture in its territories, that hasn’t flown with everybody, and in fact has engendered a cultural backlash of sorts among the magic communities. Rogue magic tattooists have found fertile ground in sympathetic communities...at least until the failures become too great to ignore.

A. Proprietors
“Screw Aerihza. He wrecked our reputations but good....I’m not keeping any clan ‘secrets’ for him and his circle any more. He wants to kill me? Fine, not like he hasn’t killed everything I already held sacred. At least this way, I get SOMETHING out of it.”

Who runs the shop?

01-05% Chiang-Ku Trainee----This is a magic tattoo artist trained(at least partially) by the originators of Tattoo Magic, and has decided to strike out on their own. Whatever their motives, be they altruistic or entirely selfish, at least they got their knowledge from the source. +15% to Skill Level, -15% to Success/Failure Rate and -15% to Hygiene
06-15% True Atlantean or True Atlantean-Trained---This could be a rogue Atlantean journeyman or disgruntled clansman(the fall of Clan Aerihman has produced a LOT of these) looking to make a quick profit, or a more mundane trainee or apprentice striking out on their own. At least they know something about how it’s supposed to be done; there’s not a lot of wiggle room for nontraditional experimentation. +10% to Skill Level , -20% to Method and -15% to Hygiene
16- 50% Ex-slave or Minion--A refugee from Splugorth Atlantis who acquired enough knowledge of magic tattooing to try going at it on their own. Without the fear of Sunaj assassins being sent to slay them, they can operate more openly in using their stolen knowledge. +5% to Skill Level,
51- 75% GNE Dropout---Somebody who lived in Greater New England just long enough to gain some magic knowledge and either decided to run with it or who couldn’t cut it in the GNE(too much pressure, too many regulations and ethics, etc...). They might be smart enough to travel far away from the GNE to avoid the mage-regulators coming after them, or they might have set up ship just across the border where they can take advantage of the ‘halo effect’ of the GNE’s boom-time successes. Too bad they didn’t stay for the full education.
76-00% Improvisational Artist---A borderline mage or psychic who knows just enough magic to be dangerous, who’s decided to jump on the latest fad to make a name and a credit or two for themselves. They’re effectively flying by the seat of their pants, much to the detriment of their potential customers. - 20% to Skill Level, +20 % to Method

B. Method
“Can’t get hold of azure ghost-blue ecto-ink; just have to use diluted silver tincture in denatured dragonsaurus plasma....that carries a magic charge almost as well.”

What is the method being used?

01-50%Traditional--Tried and true Atlantean methodologies, or at least as close to them as the practitioner can get. -10% to Success/Failure Rate and -15% to Hygiene.
51-80% Substitution---The practitioner either didn’t get far enough to learn all the steps of traditional Atlantean tattooing, couldn’t get hold of the right materials, or they’re taking a cheaper shortcut. They’ve made some substitutions and improvised some tweaks to the original procedures. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. +10% to Success/Failure Rate, and Side Effects
81-00% Unorthodox--Whether it’s an improvised kludge or what might be a new breakthrough, this owes little to tried and true Atlantean methods. Or if it does, it perverts them in such a fashion as to be almost unrecognizable or abhorrent. This might be the implant of patches of magic circuitry just just under the skin, or skin grafts harvested from dead/unwilling donors. +15% to Success/Failure Rate and Side Effects.

C. Skill Level
“Hey, stone age primitives could tattoo! How difficult can it be? And I got a really good book on it; ‘Mystic Epidemarotica for Morons!’ Spells everything out nice and simple! With pictures! I’m on my way to having a big-paying CAREER!”

How skilled is the practitioner in applying their knowledge of magic tattooing?

01-15% Dangerous Dilettante---This is either an overly zealous hobbyist with more enthusiasm than skill, or a sociopath who doesn’t give a damn about either quality of work or the well-being of clients. +20% to Success/Failure Rates.
16-60% Rank Amateur--- This is effectively a beginner in the art who could really do with more professional supervision. There are holes in their knowledge and clumsiness in their steps. The art is sloppy and procedures are either slapdash or excruciatingly long as the mage-tattooist fumbles with their notes. +10% to Success/Failure Rates.
61-90% Journeyman---This is a fairly competent technical practitioner. Could be better with more experience, but still capable of satisfactory, even good, results. No penalties.
91-00% Skilled Artist--- This is a practiced professional who has done the procedures many times and is well-versed in doing inkwork. The tattoos themselves are works of exquisite art. -20 % to Success/Failure Rates.

D. Cost
“Ask yourself; how much is having an extra edge really worth to you? Is the money more important than your life?”

What with the new market in magic tattooing being in a flux currently, the charge for the service can be very flexible. Some practitioners charge as much as the market can bear for the new ‘hot thing’, while others offer magic skin-marks for astonishingly low prices, either hoping to rope in customers before prices stabilize or to fleece as many suckers as they can before moving on.

01-20% Cut-rate--- As much as 50% below average
21-50% Discounted---- This is 10-20% below the market average.
51-85% Market Average
86-00% Shirt-Stealing----The tattooist may as well be taking your shirt off and keeping it; they charge 1d4x over the market asking price(which the PCs might not know). This is especially common in areas where magic tattoos are relatively unknown and the suppliers can thus set the ‘market price’.

E. Hygiene
“Don’t worry about the couch being in the middle of a butcher’s abattoir; the death energy keeps the psi-sniffers off the track. I got the table and gear properly exorcised, so the necros are kept off us. Now, ready to get your tat?”

Paranormal hygiene is important to the process of magic tattooing. The operating area must be properly swept clear of corrupting influences, the inks purified by alchemistic means, and the instruments sterilized appropriately before they touch living skin. The magic tattoo parlor might be spanking clean and antiseptic by normal sanitary standards, but by magic ones it could be a dangerous festering mess, queering the outcome of a tattooing.

01-30% Magically Pristine---- The tattooing area is properly warded, the materials purified. No penalties.
31-80% Mystically Impure----Could do with a few passes of a Cleanse spell, Negate Magic casting or a good exorcism to remove residual negative bad vibes. +10% to Success/Failure Rate and Side Effects.
81-00% Magic Cesspool---Bad feng shui, karmic contamination, residual dark energies. +15% to Success/Failure Rate and Side Effects.


F. Success/Failure Rate
“My success rate? I haven’t had any complaints.”

Dealing with an illicit magic tattoo parlor as opposed to a sanctioned studio carries a strong risk that the magic aspects of the tattoo process might not take.

01-40% Success---The tattoo has taken and is ready to be used after the 24-hour recovery period.
41-55% Success, but with Complications----The recipient can use the tattoo, but recovery is longer than it should be and painful; -1 on initiative, strike, dodge, and parry, and -5% to skills for 3d6 days as residual swelling and irritation subsides.
56-70% Failure----Partial; the tattoo works, but the recipient gets a Side Effect
71-85% Failure----Botched; the tattoo took, but recovery is twice as long, and the recipient is hit with TWO Side Effects.
86-95% Failure----Un-powered----The recipient just got a very expensive tattoo and nothing else.
96-00% Failure----Disaster; not only does the tattoo NOT work, the recipient gets hit with TWO Side Effects.

G. Side Effects
“If I hadn’t lost that arm to the laser blast in combat, I probably would have tried cutting my arm off myself! That damn ink job felt like it was rotting me from the inside! Damn that crooked little bastard who sold me on that ‘power mark’!!!”

On a Failure roll, what side effects are there?

01-10% PPE Tag---The magic tattoos radiate unchecked magic energies, making the person 50% more likely to be detected by the magic-sensitive.
11-20% Scarring----Infection sets in, leaving the tattoo blurred/distorted and the recipient scarred; -1d4 P.B.
21-30% Inefficient---The tattoo costs 1-4x AGAIN what it should in PPE to activate, If rolled with Failure----Disaster from the previous table, the victim recovers their PPE TWICE as slow as normal .
31-40% Painful Activation---Activating the tattoo is accompanied by a sharp spike of pain that can disorient the user; roll to save versus magic or lose initiate and 1 APM for 1 melee round. If rolled with Failure----Disaster from the previous table, the area of the tattoo is acutely sensitive, and flares up with pain if touched, same as if it was being activated.
41-50% Low Activation Threshold---The tattoo actually costs 50% LESS PPE to activate, but is also prone to accidental activation. Any time the recipient uses another magic power or psychic ability, they must roll to save versus magic; on a failure, the tattoo activates, eating up PPE even if it can’t activate fully. If rolled with Failure----Disaster from the previous table, the victim permanently loses 2d6 PPE .
51-70% Chronic Pain----The discomfort that the recipient normally feels recovering from the tattooing process never goes away, and becomes established as a perpetual annoyance and drain on the person’s well-being; -1 on initiative, and -5% to physical skills and those requiring good dexterity.
71-85% Fading Magic---The ink might be virtually forever, but the magic is less than permanent and begins fading away after 2d4 months. The recipient gets another 2d4 months of use at HALF range, damage/duration, but same PPE cost, before the tats become useless. If rolled with Failure----Disaster from the previous table, the victim cannot attempt to get another magic tattoo until 4d4 months have elapsed.
86-96% Skin Infection----The recipient acquires a magic skin infection and has become magically sensitized; saves versus magic at -1d4.
97-00% Chink in the Soul---However said that magic tattoos ae etched down to the person’s spiritual core turned out to be right in this case, unfortunately. The tattoo application is so botched that it has become a conduit for malign influences to the person’s soul. -1d4 to save versus psionics, mind control, and possession.