How to give a wizard some amenites.

[The Mighty Buzzard]

On piercings, what Richard said.  Even a non-wizard human body will heal up piercings eventually.  It depends on how long it was used regularly for the most part.

[UmbraLux]

I agree with TMB and Richard on piercings.  I'm less sure about tattoos...they do tend to a) fade with time and b) become distorted by changes in body composition, but I don't think they ever fade completely away.  (IRL, there are preserved tattoos allegedly centuries old which still look reasonably good.)  As for tattoos interacting with recovery powers - the tattooing process inserts a foreign substance (ink).  So it would require rejection and not simply healing for the recovery power to erode the tattoo.

[Silverblaze]

 @ umbralux: So recovery powers do not reject bullets or poisons? 

In regards to wizard Con: So wizard constitution + tattoos etc. = fine?

[Haru]

Haru,
I like the idea of the linked crystals.

Thanks

Everyone/Anyone,
I am not familiar enough with the crafting rules.  If I wanted to stat it up how would you do it?  Would it be a thaumaturgic ritual placing 2 aspects of the crystals and a duration?  It seems to simple, but when I tend to over-think things too much and complicate it.

I wouldn't stat it up at all. Let me ask you this: are any of the stats EVER going to come up during play? Most likely not. So it is a mundane effect, and it should be treated as such. A simple "magical heat conductor" aspect on the wizards place should be enough, no numbers or roll needed.

@silverblaze
No, they do not. you still get them, but they heal pretty quick. In fact, it might even be reasonable for a character with a recovery power to say, the wound closes before the bullet is completely gone through him.

As for tattoos and piercings: Piercings should not be a problem, they stay open as long as the piercing is in place. A character with a very high recovery power will probably have problems getting through airport security without the holes closing up. You could however also say, that a recovery power lets the flesh grow over the piercing and "spit" it out. The way it works should be on the players discretion, you should not punish him if he thinks a character with recovery and piercings is cool. little things (the airport security for example) might be fun, and the character might simply not care and push them back in, making new holes that close in a matter of seconds.

Come to think it, it should be the players choice with tattoos as well. Maybe he thinks it would be fun to have new tattoos every 2 weeks, do the power removes them, or he wants them to last, so it doesn't. He would still be able to cut of his skin and have it heal in a matter of moments, if he wanted to remove them.

[UmbraLux]

@ umbralux: So recovery powers do not reject bullets or poisons? 

That's open to interpretation isn't it?    (Specifically, do recovery powers eject foreign objects / material or simply heal wounds?)

I'd probably use the recovery power as a block against creating the tattoo but have the tattoo permanent once created.  That's just one possible answer though...

In regards to wizard Con: So wizard constitution + tattoos etc. = fine?

Wizard constitution is essentially a recovery power...just a very slow one.  So I'd use the answer given above. 

Edited for clarity.

[Silverblaze]

Fair enough. Was just trying to gather a general consensus.  Thanks.

[The Mighty Buzzard]

@Silverblaze: A very, very slow one,  yup.

Rough guestimate?  You'd have to have them touched up twice as often as a plain mortal.  So every five or so years if you want to keep them looking good.  Depends on how much detail there is, what kind of needle was used, which inks were used, your personal metabolism, and several other factors.

[computerking]

Hmm, This brings to mind a thought: The idea of Tatoos as either Focus or Enchanted Items. How would you consider the process of making these, narratively? Would the wizard in question focus their will on the tattoo (repeatedly, for weeks) once it's done, or on the ink beforehand?  And then there's Tattoo potions. Faster to make, but does the tattoo disappear when used? And what does a Tattoo EI look like when used? The ideas just flow....

[chelatek]

Harry notes a few times that it's very easy to make money as a wizard, and that he chose exactly how he lives.  That has to mean that there's a way for wizards to live in modern luxury.  As someone pointed out, at the very least it's easy to heat water without technology or even magic. 

[chelatek]

Hmm, This brings to mind a thought: The idea of Tatoos as either Focus or Enchanted Items. How would you consider the process of making these, narratively? Would the wizard in question focus their will on the tattoo (repeatedly, for weeks) once it's done, or on the ink beforehand?  And then there's Tattoo potions. Faster to make, but does the tattoo disappear when used? And what does a Tattoo EI look like when used? The ideas just flow....

See: Susan's tattoos. It also stands to reason that since you can inscribe quick wards with something like ink or paint, that you could scribble one on your arm and get such an effect. As far as I can remember, the physical inscription doesn't disappear when the energy is used (thinking of the "random scrawlings" in GS that lit up but I don't remember a mention of them vanishing).

When I play other games and make magic users, they usually invoke magical tattoos, which is a relatively common idea.  I would venture that if I ever made a magic-oriented DFRPG char, he would be a magic tattoo scribe and would be able to whip out an enchanted pen and throw down forumlae/symbols instead of casting direct spells.

[The Mighty Buzzard]

Hmm, This brings to mind a thought: The idea of Tatoos as either Focus or Enchanted Items. How would you consider the process of making these, narratively? Would the wizard in question focus their will on the tattoo (repeatedly, for weeks) once it's done, or on the ink beforehand?  And then there's Tattoo potions. Faster to make, but does the tattoo disappear when used? And what does a Tattoo EI look like when used? The ideas just flow....

I think I'd pass on making tattoo focus items.  Remember what happened to Harry's shield bracelet when he overtaxed it and consider that happening to something under your skin.

[Richard_Chilton]

I think I'd pass on making tattoo focus items.  Remember what happened to Harry's shield bracelet when he overtaxed it and consider that happening to something under your skin.

There's a great "tattoo man vs wizard" battle in A Madness of Angels.  Without giving spoilers, it's a way that a wizard using a freestyle magic system (DFRPG, Mage, etc) can neutralise tattoo based magic.

Richard

[chelatek]

I think I'd pass on making tattoo focus items.  Remember what happened to Harry's shield bracelet when he overtaxed it and consider that happening to something under your skin.

In one of the other games I play, with a tatto'd magic user, that actually happens. He has protective tattos and if he gets hit hard enough, they overload and burn him and burn their outline in his clothes.  In a giant battle he actually had his shirt reduced to ashes because he was hit so often.  I think it's both a great side-effect of such a powerful always-on ward and a really cool image.

[razorsmile]

In one of the other games I play, with a tatto'd magic user, that actually happens. He has protective tattos and if he gets hit hard enough, they overload and burn him and burn their outline in his clothes.  In a giant battle he actually had his shirt reduced to ashes because he was hit so often.  I think it's both a great side-effect of such a powerful always-on ward and a really cool image.

Yep, that happens in Larry Correia's Hard Magic too; overloading a regen or durability brand causes it to heat up and burn the bearer. I imagine that's why most wizards stick with foci.