Best use of an Animal Tattoo

[Mack]

I was perusing the various magical tattoos and was thinking about how a character doesn't need more than one or two of the animal tattoos. Get a dog or wolf that you can use for as a sentry, and maybe a horse that can be used as a beast of burden (but keep in mind you don't get a saddle/harness) and that's pretty much it.

Which lead me to thinking that there's got to be more uses for an animal tattoo...

The Challenge!
What's the best use for an animal tattoo that you can think of?


My entry: A Spider Monkey! With it's climbing ability and prehensile hands, it would have a variety of mundane uses (get this, carry that, bring me that...).

And then I had a few pseudo-combat thoughts little fella:
1) "See this grenade pin? Those guys over there have a bunch on their chests... go get the pins."
2) Or you could make a little suicide vest for him. Yes, you'd take Hit Point damage when he dies, but it may very well be worth it.

[Nekira Sudacne]

I actually like simple guard dogs. Why? because they have all the normal abilities of dogs, and dogs in rifts have the innate ability to see the invisible and detect evil supernatural beings.

[glitterboy2098]

would the tattoo ones have that ability though? its not mentioned in the animal stats in the book of magic.
also, per monsters and animals (where that shows up, its not mentioned in rifts specifically, AFAIK), all animals have that supernatural sensing ability, not just canines.

a wolf would be preferable over a dog, because wolves share a dogs senses but are more combat capable. and IMO, a tiger would be preferable over either. their senses aren't quite as acute, but no one would mess with a tiger.

[Nekira Sudacne]

would the tattoo ones have that ability though? its not mentioned in the animal stats in the book of magic.
also, per monsters and animals (where that shows up, its not mentioned in rifts specifically, AFAIK), all animals have that supernatural sensing ability, not just canines.

a wolf would be preferable over a dog, because wolves share a dogs senses but are more combat capable. and IMO, a tiger would be preferable over either. their senses aren't quite as acute, but no one would mess with a tiger.

The book however clearly says that the abilities listed are only quick combat stats for those who don't have the monsters & animals book, so having it is not completely necessary to make use of animal tattoos. it does however refer you to it for the full writeup and says that they have all natural abilities of each creature. the fact that quick stat blocks left out a useful ability does not mean that tattoo lacks that ability, it just means they didn't have space to reprint the entire entry.

[Mack]

While I understand glitterboy's comment about a tiger, the problem is that it's still an SDC tiger and wouldn't be all that useful in combat (especially considering that the T-man is quite likely to be MDC himself). That's why I'm looking for new/unique uses for an animal tattoo.

[Mack]

While I understand glitterboy's comment about a tiger, the problem is that it's still an SDC tiger and wouldn't be all that useful in combat (especially considering that the T-man is quite likely to be MDC himself). That's why I'm looking for new/unique uses for an animal tattoo.

What about a Jason Richards tattoo?

My Splugorth master said it was "too gross."

[Shark_Force]

hrmmm... presumably a beaver could build watertight structures. with the right friend, those structures could be MDC.

but really, if you're looking for crazy stuff, try a search of cracked.com i'd say. i mean, i'd give you a link, but i'm fairly certain we're not supposed to link to sites inappropriate for a general audience, and well... cracked is not particularly appropriate for kids

but yeah, there's good odds that some of the articles there will give you some ideas

[glitterboy2098]

Elephant?
can be used as both a mount for several people and a pack animal, the trunk can be used to pick up large objects, and it has enough SDC to possibly survive one hit by a light MDC weapon.

[Incriptus]

One idea is the Venomous animals, Spiders, Scorpions, Toads as a means to poison SDC foes.

Another idea is an animal, perhaps the skunk itself, that can plant overwhelming scents. Any other animal that would cause even trained canines to be less effective.

A mouse to chase off anyone's elephat tatoo?

You can ride a dolphin right

[Mack]

Hehe... a skunk would make for good practical jokes.

[Shark_Force]

actually, just had another thought. do you ever get a chance to talk with chuck walton? crazy things that animals can do is, as far as i can tell, one of his interests he may have some pretty awesome ideas for you ^^

[ZorValachan]

Bird and Bat for flight scouting. mouse/ant/fly for getting into spaces and not being seen scouting. Horse/camel for riding. Mule/donkey for hauling. Spider for making people spaz out and do the dance.

[Eashamahel]

Elephant?
can be used as both a mount for several people and a pack animal, the trunk can be used to pick up large objects, and it has enough SDC to possibly survive one hit by a light MDC weapon.

Elephant is a good choice, always usefull to be able to summon an animal that can pull your vehichle out if it's stuck.

Birds are a great choice, especially ones large enough to carry something. They are also a great choice for gathering food. A hawk or other such large predatory bird can always kill a few rabbits for you when you are otherwise occupied or don't feel like hunting yourself, or when you just aren't having much luck. Anything that can provide you with food is worthwhile.

Next up is something to help you swim. Dolphin maybe for this choice? Getting across a river or lake made easier, as well as helping someone else do it as well.

[The Galactus Kid]

Thunderduck

[Alrik Vas]

A skunk is awesome, i think. Makes your target incredibly easy to track. And they might spend an action dodging it's spray in a fight, giving you a small advantage.

I mean, think about it realistically. You're a tough guy, you're going to beat up another tough guy...when suddenly a skunk appears and it looks like he wants to give you a hug. Tell me most people wouldn't go "Oh @#*(%!" and run, go ahead.

[Eashamahel]

Would the 'scent' ability of the skunk remain after the skunk 'creation' was cancelled? Similarly, what about the poisons of created snakes and insects?

If 'yes' then milking poisonous insects for their venom has potential, as you could do it to the most poisonous creatures with little to no danger to yourself, and by re-summoning at a far faster rate than if you were doing it in a captive environment. For that matter, having a milk cow as a tatoo would be a great idea!

That being said, anything the 'creation' itself creates should probably disappear as soon as the duration ends, with the possible exception of venom, as someone already poisoned could still be said to have taken the 'damage' previously, but would surely recover soon after as the poison is no longer inside of them.

[Greyaxe]

Gorilla or Chimp because they can use your weapon tattoos.

[nilgravity]

I don't know how tattoo magic works but here are some of my ideas:

Platypus: Amphibious, Poisonous and can sense neurological activity.

Horse: If all animals can't sense supernatural Lone Star specifically says horse have that ability. They are riding animals. And You could sell it to someone for a lot of money (and recall it/unsummon it when safely away)

Rattlesnake: sense heat, poisonous, subtle alarm for entire party

Elephant: for already mentioned purposes plus long range communication (though only with other elephants or low frequency user) and as a recording device (though kind of a stretch)

Vulture: Finding dead bodies is a useful ability. Projectile vomit could probably horrify anyone

Raven/Crows: Flying thieves. Plus they are super smart.

[Incriptus]

Another idea would be a parrot or any other animal capable of vocalization.

[Mack]

Bird and Bat for flight scouting. mouse/ant/fly for getting into spaces and not being seen scouting.

I don't see those as useful because the animals are not capable of communicating with you. At best you could say that since they came back alive, nothing killed them.

[say652]

a cat because they are great animals. love my Thor and my Pancake Mix

[nilgravity]

Bird and Bat for flight scouting. mouse/ant/fly for getting into spaces and not being seen scouting.

I don't see those as useful because the animals are not capable of communicating with you. At best you could say that since they came back alive, nothing killed them.

If you have tiny cameras they are effectively drones (or have telepathy)

[Eashamahel]

Would Telepathy even work on them? They aren't actually alive, but magical constructs.

[ShadowLogan]

Some animals are used in pollination process, so an individual with animal tattoos could involve himself in agriculture if he/she has the correct animals.

If one is not limited to the list of animals in the Tattoo section, but can also select D-Bee animals... A Land Ray Tat. Animal could be potent (found in Psycape, has Psychic powers) for extra support. Granted getting into D-Bee animals may boarder on the Monster Tats (or is it SDC = Animal, MDC = Monster?)

[Eashamahel]

It's generally SDC = Animal, MDC = Monster, which is a strange distinction, but probably the only way they could make it work.

Also, never considered animals with psychic powers before. Closest I'v ever come is natural magic abilities (made most of the Monsters out of the back of the RMB over the years).

[Khord - Lizard Mage]

Eye Killer was one of my favorite monster tattoos. I had a wolf and a tiger as my two animal tattoos on my undead slayer back in the day. A bear would also be a good sdc animal.

[Tor]

having a milk cow as a tatoo would be a great idea!

Assuming our tattoo animals can produce milk, wouldn't it possible vanish along with their bodies once it got dispelled?

[Shark_Force]

personally, i think some of the animals that have natural contact poisons (very strong ones, at that), would be very interesting =S

one thing that would definitely be interesting, though, is to see some more animals from other dimensions

[nilgravity]

So disappointed that Sharkforce didn't say shark. Giant Squid might be a better choice though

[Shark_Force]

actually, if we're talking aquatic creatures i prefer an octopus.

why, you ask?

well, some kinds of octopus have mad skills when it comes to hiding. as in, they can change not just their colour, but also their shape and texture. it's kinda terrifying.

also, some kinds of octopus can actually run around on land for a brief period of time.

also there happens to be a remarkably poisonous type of octopus. it's small, unobtrusive, stealthy, and it's bite can paralyze someone (including their lungs, requiring external breathing assistance and also requiring that someone recognize what needs to be done) and has no currently known antidote.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-ringed_octopus

in theory, if the paralysis can affect MDC creatures (obviously, you would need to pierce the skin first, for example by envenoming the tip of a vibro-blade), you could even potentially subdue or kill MDC creatures with the venom, since death comes by paralysis of the lungs, and even the biggest, nastiest dinosaur needs to breathe =S

also, being such a small creature, it most likely won't take much PPE to summon.

[ShadowLogan]

Use natural fliers or climbers to string rope for you to climb.

Other uses in general:
-plant/retrieve evidence
-set traps
-Acquire small items
-create diversions or act as decoys
-part of a performance act (Circus, Magic, etc)

[Eashamahel]

having a milk cow as a tatoo would be a great idea!

Assuming our tattoo animals can produce milk, wouldn't it possible vanish along with their bodies once it got dispelled?

Yeah, it REALLY shouldn't work to allow you to get anything permanent from summoned creatures who themselves are not flesh and blood, but solid magical energy. I actually posted this as well:

"Would the 'scent' ability of the skunk remain after the skunk 'creation' was cancelled? Similarly, what about the poisons of created snakes and insects?

If 'yes' then milking poisonous insects for their venom has potential, as you could do it to the most poisonous creatures with little to no danger to yourself, and by re-summoning at a far faster rate than if you were doing it in a captive environment. For that matter, having a milk cow as a tatoo would be a great idea!

That being said, anything the 'creation' itself creates should probably disappear as soon as the duration ends, with the possible exception of venom, as someone already poisoned could still be said to have taken the 'damage' previously, but would surely recover soon after as the poison is no longer inside of them."

[Tor]

Assuming tattooed animals produce poison at all (do we have any example of NPCs with tats where it goes out of its way to specify poisonous like it matters?) I kinda like the idea that if you kill the snake, the poison vanishes with it, as a way of saving someone who got bit.

[Incriptus]

Assuming tattooed animals produce poison at all (do we have any example of NPCs with tats where it goes out of its way to specify poisonous like it matters?) I kinda like the idea that if you kill the snake, the poison vanishes with it, as a way of saving someone who got bit.

Well the Spider (Poisonous) & Snake Poisonous) are options printed in my version of the book. They list the poison as just doing 4d6 damage. I'm guessing the damage wouldn't go away when the time is up, but if you want a non-damage effect it would be time to negotiate with the GM.

[Shark_Force]

the description of animal tattoos also goes out of it's way to mention poison and stuff like that, iirc.

[Greyaxe]

the description of animal tattoos also goes out of it's way to mention poison and stuff like that, iirc.

Atlantis PG 90 Scorpion: The same size as a common scorpion, it behaves as a living
scorpion would, its sting is poisonous.

If we infer a scorpion can be poisonous then a cow should have milk. and it would not disappear at death.

[glitterboy2098]

hmm.. would whales count as animals or monsters?

[glitterboy2098]

so if your in ocean campaigns often, a whale tattoo might be worth trying. certainly would make for an interesting mount.

[Shark_Force]

i'm not sure a whale would count as either in rifts earth. aren't they intelligent, to the point of having developed their own style of magic? and the smaller types of whales (by which i mean, killer whales) are capable of using specially designed vehicles that are almost like a power armour suit...

[Eashamahel]

the description of animal tattoos also goes out of it's way to mention poison and stuff like that, iirc.

Atlantis PG 90 Scorpion: The same size as a common scorpion, it behaves as a living
scorpion would, its sting is poisonous.

If we infer a scorpion can be poisonous then a cow should have milk. and it would not disappear at death.

This is a terrible road to go down. It's best to just assume that the 'poison' has done it's damage and dissapears with the creature when the time elapses, otherwise you may find yourslef in a situation where someone's Monster Tatoo is just summoned to have a horn/claw/whatever knocked off of it and then sold to alchemists, used by necromancers, or other ridiculousness.

[Nightmask]

the description of animal tattoos also goes out of it's way to mention poison and stuff like that, iirc.

Atlantis PG 90 Scorpion: The same size as a common scorpion, it behaves as a living
scorpion would, its sting is poisonous.

If we infer a scorpion can be poisonous then a cow should have milk. and it would not disappear at death.

This is a terrible road to go down. It's best to just assume that the 'poison' has done it's damage and dissapears with the creature when the time elapses, otherwise you may find yourslef in a situation where someone's Monster Tatoo is just summoned to have a horn/claw/whatever knocked off of it and then sold to alchemists, used by necromancers, or other ridiculousness.

Not really, while the creature itself is a construct of pure energy (making harvesting body parts impossible) there's no reason why it couldn't have secretions (like poisons or milk) that are matter and permanent. It could operate in a fashion similar to how Create Wood gathers random loose atoms to fabricate actual wood, with the magical animal construct gathering loose atoms to fabricate secretions common to the animal in question.

[ShadowLogan]

Other uses for animal tattoos:
-construction (some animals do build nests)
-hunting/gathering/fishing

Both of the above can be done while the Tat. man does something else, while he dispatches the appropriate animal(s) to those tasks.

[Tor]

while the creature itself is a construct of pure energy (making harvesting body parts impossible) there's no reason why it couldn't have secretions (like poisons or milk) that are matter and permanent. It could operate in a fashion similar to how Create Wood gathers random loose atoms to fabricate actual wood, with the magical animal construct gathering loose atoms to fabricate secretions common to the animal in question.

This begs the question, if there were some means to keep an animal tattoo active for a long enough duration (perhaps a permanency ward? not sure if that works on tats like it does spells) could it procreate with other animals of its species?

[Eashamahel]

A terrible road to go down.

[Dog_O_War]

-DISCLAIMER-
I don't know jack about magic tattoos.

So here's my theory; you have two animal tattoos, almost identical, except one is male and the other is female...

you breed them together, and in a single animal birthing cycle, BOOM! Free magic tattoo.

[Shark_Force]

-DISCLAIMER-
I don't know jack about magic tattoos.

So here's my theory; you have two animal tattoos, almost identical, except one is male and the other is female...

you breed them together, and in a single animal birthing cycle, BOOM! Free magic tattoo.

nah. just start off with a tattoo of a pregnant female animal that is very far along

[Tor]

A terrible road to go down.

That's a subjective issue. If I have a Simple Animal: Dog Tattoo and that Hound Mistress from Pg 73 of Dead Reign comes along and wants to borrow it for some special training exercises, who am I to judge?

you have two animal tattoos, almost identical, except one is male and the other is female...

you breed them together, and in a single animal birthing cycle, BOOM! Free magic tattoo.

Well no, the offspring would just be a normal animal. Plus it wouldn't be free, because even if magic animals don't need food, a developing fetus inside the mother would need food, so you'd have to pay for the food.

just start off with a tattoo of a pregnant female animal that is very far along

That would give you an animal that looked pregnant, not one that was. Also I don't think you can specialize magic tattoos to that degree. It's stretch enough that you can summon a 'silver knife' as a simple non-magic weapon.

[Akashic Soldier]

Could you have a sea anenome tattoo. I think they are hard to classify as plant or animal? Certainly it would make a good distraction. Keep using it a lot and the CS will start to think a rift opened nearby ("What the hell is that?"). Or they may open fire thus using up valuable E-clips against your ever returning Anenome (It'd be like 2 P.P.E. a pop. They shoot one, summon again).

I like the way you think.

[Tor]

they may open fire thus using up valuable E-clips against your ever returning Anenome (It'd be like 2 P.P.E. a pop. They shoot one, summon again).

The minimum PPE for summoning animals is 10, where did you get 2?

[Mlp7029]

Lesser Ugglies from Phase World. Can actually eat through MDC materials. Talos Mind Worm depending on your GM who might say the book says no pwoers can be transferred to the T-man so you can't get the psionic powers from the worm. Probably require a little lead time to allow it to burrow under the skin but could be worth it.