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Tattoo 339 of the Ambivalent Soul

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by

Dale
in
  • Lore: Created by a wandering Isekai mystic who could never decide between the path of the warrior or the scholar, this tattoo resonates with those who exist in a state of perpetual indecision. The ink is infused with shifting quicksilver and crushed grey-matter from feral beasts that exhibit fluctuating behaviors, allowing the magic to stabilize only when the bearer’s intent is unclear.
  • Primary Color: Iridescent Grey (Shifting between silver and charcoal).
  • Cultural Significance: This tattoo is commonly seen among the “Middle-Ground” diplomats and neutral mercenaries of the 73 Island countries who refuse to take sides in political intrigue. In metropolitan skyscrapers, it is a mark of those who thrive in the “grey areas” of law and morality, signaling that their loyalty is as fluid as the magic flow in their circuits.
  • Tier One Stats gained: The avatar receives a +1 bonus to Armor Class while they have not taken an offensive action during the current encounter, representing a defensive hesitation.
  • Skills gained: +5% to Insight and Deception checks, as the ambivalent nature of the tattoo makes the bearer’s true motives impossible to read via the Mind’s Eye of others.
  • Magical Effects:
    • Flickering Intent: While the tattoo is uncovered, the bearer can roll a d6 at the start of their turn; on a 1-3, they gain a +1 bonus to physical tasks, and on a 4-6, they gain a +1 bonus to magical tasks for that turn.
    • Neural Dampening: The tattoo provides a +2 bonus to saves against being Charmed or Frightened, as the bearer’s mind is too conflicted to fully succumb to a single overwhelming emotion.
  • Tags: Ambivalent, Neutrality, Shifting, Iridescent, Mind-Dampening, Tier 1, Common, Dermal-Circuit, Grey-Zone, Quicksilver-Ink, Non-Committal, Hesitant, Indecisive, Flux, Quicksilver, Grey-Matter, Oscillating, Equivalence, Shadow-Silver, Duality, Non-Aligned, Fluid-Will

The recreation of Tattoo 339 of the Ambivalent Soul requires a delicate balance of physical precision and magical stabilization to capture its shifting nature.

  • Ingredients Needed
    • Alchemically Stabilized Quicksilver: This serves as the medium for the iridescent grey color, allowing the ink to shift between silver and charcoal.
    • Crushed Grey-Matter: Harvested from feral beasts known for fluctuating behaviors to infuse the ink with the essence of indecision.
    • Refined Magic Flow: A liquid mana base that powers the shifting iridescent properties and the neural dampening effects.
    • Soot from an Abjuration Hearth: Used to provide the deep charcoal undertones that ground the silver highlights.
  • Tools Required
    • Steam-Powered Etching Stylus: A mechanical tool driven by magic combining elemental water and fire to ensure consistent depth.
    • Magic Power Storage Cell: To maintain a steady flow of energy to the stylus during the long application process.
    • Oscillating Mixing Vials: These keep the quicksilver and grey-matter in constant motion before application to prevent settling.
    • Arcane Focusing Lens: Used by the artist to view the avatar’s magic circuits through their Mind’s Eye during the etch.
  • Skills Needed
    • Magical Crafting: Necessary to enchant the specific neural dampening and flickering intent spells into the ink.
    • Alchemical Knowledge: Required to handle the toxic quicksilver and ensure it remains stabilized within the dermal layer.
    • Steam-Mechanical Operation: Proficiency in managing the rotational power and pressure of the etching equipment.
    • Diplomatic Intuition: An artistic understanding of neutrality to properly shape the iridescent patterns.
  • Preferred Placement
    • Upper Arm or Shoulder: A common location that can be easily covered by clothes to deactivate the tattoo or uncovered to engage its effects.
    • The Sternum: Placed over the center of the body to better resonate with the avatar’s internal magic flow and neural pathways.
    • Forearms: Used by those who want the iridescent grey to be seen during negotiations, granting the +5% bonus to Insight and Deception.
  • Artistic Steps to Install
    • Skin Preparation: The area is cleansed with a mild steam-wash to open the pores and prepare the crystalline cells for the permanent graft.
    • The Neutral Sketch: The artist uses a non-magical charcoal lead to outline a design that lacks a definitive focal point, reinforcing the theme of ambivalence.
    • Ink Calibration: The quicksilver is mixed with the refined magic flow until the liquid begins to oscillate between light and dark shades.
    • The Mechanical Etch: Using the steam stylus, the artist deposits the ink in a series of overlapping patterns that allow the light to refract differently from every angle.
    • Circuit Binding: The artist uses their Mind’s Eye to ensure the magic in the ink binds perfectly to the avatar’s magic circuits.
    • Activation Flare: Upon completion, the tattoo is briefly exposed to helios or a magic power source to confirm the iridescent shift is functioning.

Additional Contextual Data

  • Permanent Allocation: As a permanent dermal graft, this tattoo occupies one of the nineteen total slots available to a Tier 1 avatar.
  • Activation Status: The iridescent grey properties and magical benefits are only active when the tattoo is uncovered and seen by others.
  • Tier Progression: The potency of the Flickering Intent and Neural Dampening grows as the character achieves higher tiers.
  • Avatar Death: Should the avatar perish, the Tattoo of the Ambivalent Soul disappears from the body as it vaporizes into sparks or remains as a corpse, depending on the possession status of the soul.
  • Resting Constraints: It is a fundamental mechanic of the world that avatars gain nothing from a short rest, meaning any mental fatigue caused by the Neural Dampening effect must be managed through full sleep cycles.

Procurement and Economic Environment

  • Market Type: The acquisition of this tattoo occurs within a sellers’ market, where the principle of buyer beware is standard.
  • Sales Environment:
    • These tattoos are primarily sold in Neutral Zones or Grey-Market Bazaars located in the shadows of metropolitan skyscrapers.
    • The parlors are often steam-filled, industrial spaces that utilize rotational power systems to drive the etching equipment.
    • There is no use of computers or internet for booking; all transactions are handled via face-to-face negotiation.
  • Cost and Exchange:
    • There is no set price per item or tier, as costs vary based on the availability of alchemically stabilized quicksilver in different country islands.
    • Payment is often rendered in precious metal coins, though some artists may accept high-value trade goods or magic power storage cells.
    • While suggested values exist in trade ledgers, the final price is determined by the artist’s whim and the avatar’s desperate need for neutrality.

Utility and End Results

  • Diplomatic Intrigue: The +5% bonus to Insight and Deception is used by ambassadors and spies to navigate the political intrigue between the 73 island countries.
  • Combat Versatility:
    • The Flickering Intent mechanic allows an avatar to adapt to the ebbing and flowing magic weather of Saṃsāra.
    • The +1 bonus to Armor Class for hesitant actions is utilized by support characters to remain safe while they analyze the battlefield through their Mind’s Eye.
  • Mental Defense: The Neural Dampening effect is a vital tool for those exploring ruins of old civilizations, where monsters may use magical charms or fear-inducing auras.
  • Social Ambiguity: In high-society settings, the shifting iridescent color serves as a visual signal that the bearer is not currently aligned with any specific guild or monarchy, allowing them to act as impartial mediators.

The following lists the sensory and extra-sensory perceptions of the Tattoo 339 of the Ambivalent Soul as experienced in the world of Saṃsāra.

Standard Sensory Perception

  • Sight
    • Perceived: Shifting iridescent patterns.
    • Description: A fluid design that oscillates between silver and charcoal shades depending on the angle of light and the observer’s perspective.
    • Positives: Grants a +5% bonus to Insight and Deception checks by masking the bearer’s true motives.
    • Negatives: The magical glow makes the bearer easy to spot in low-light environments unless the tattoo is physically covered.
  • Touch
    • Perceived: A mild, oscillating vibration.
    • Description: The skin feels as though it is in constant, subtle motion, mimicking the shifting quicksilver within the ink.
    • Positives: Reinforces the “Neural Dampening” effect, providing a tactile anchor for mental defense.
    • Negatives: The constant movement can be physically fatiguing over long durations, and avatars gain nothing from a short rest to recover from this strain.
  • Hearing
    • Perceived: A faint, metallic hum.
    • Description: A low-frequency sound similar to the rotational power systems used in industrial steam-mechanical factories.
    • Positives: Acts as white noise that assists in achieving the +2 bonus against being Charmed or Frightened.
    • Negatives: May interfere with the bearer’s ability to detect high-frequency sounds or whispers in quiet ruins.
  • Smell
    • Perceived: Metallic tang and ozone.
    • Description: The scent of alchemically stabilized quicksilver mixed with the sharp aroma of magic flow.
    • Positives: Provides a biological warning that the tattoo is active and its magic is flowing through the circuits.
    • Negatives: Can be detected by feral beasts with enhanced olfactory senses, revealing the bearer’s location.
  • Taste
    • Perceived: A cool, aluminum-like flavor.
    • Description: A sympathetic taste on the palate that intensifies when the “Flickering Intent” d6 is rolled.
    • Positives: Offers immediate sensory feedback when the tattoo shifts its bonus toward physical or magical tasks.
    • Negatives: Can lead to a persistent, unpleasant metallic aftertaste during prolonged social engagements.

Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP)

  • Flickering Intent
    • Perceived: A fluctuating tug on the Mind’s Eye.
    • Description: The bearer feels their internal magic flow shift rhythmically between physical and arcane priorities.
    • Positives: Allows for tactical versatility by granting a +1 bonus to either physical or magical tasks each turn.
    • Negatives: The unpredictability of the d6 roll can leave an avatar unoptimized for their current action.
  • Neural Dampening
    • Perceived: A grey, emotional fog.
    • Description: A mental barrier that suppresses overwhelming emotional peaks to maintain a state of ambivalence.
    • Positives: Grants a +2 bonus to saves against being Charmed or Frightened.
    • Negatives: Reduces the bearer’s emotional range, which may hinder genuine social connections or artistic expression.
  • Ambivalent Insight
    • Perceived: Dual-layered social data.
    • Description: The bearer perceives others’ motives through their Mind’s Eye as a series of conflicting iridescent possibilities.
    • Positives: Effectively makes motives impossible to read for others, protecting the bearer’s agenda.
    • Negatives: Can result in analytical paralysis if the bearer becomes too focused on the “grey areas” of a situation.

Mark 339 of Two-Mind Spirit

In the very before-cycles, during the time when the water-fire-breath was newly captured in the brass turning-gears, there walked a soul-stranger upon the land-masses of the seventy-three. This soul-stranger was pushed into the world from the outside-everywhere. In their head-pictures of the before-life, they were a person who swings the heavy iron, but also a person who reads the bound-papers. Upon arriving in the tall stone-trees of the many-people, their magic-flow was confused. The magic moved left and moved right at the exact same moment. They were standing on the first level of the soul-steps, possessing only one meat-vessel.

The soul-stranger went to the fighting-leaders and spoke, saying they would swing the heavy iron for the leaders. But before the Helios-light went down, the soul-stranger went to the book-keepers and spoke, saying they would read the bound-papers for the keepers. The fighting-leaders and the book-keepers became filled with the red anger. They shouted at the soul-stranger that a meat-vessel must choose only one path to walk. The soul-stranger felt the heavy sad in their chest-pump. They deeply desired to be the between-thing, holding neither the red anger nor the bright love.

To solve the heavy sad, the soul-stranger journeyed far from the tall stone-trees into the wild-wood. In the wild-wood live the feral beasts with the awake-minds. The soul-stranger searched until they found the beast of the shifting-face, which is a beast that is sometimes filled with the red anger and sometimes filled with the sleeping-calm. The soul-stranger made the beast into a corpse. They broke the skull-bone and harvested the grey thought-meat from the head. After this, they traveled to the deep-caves to gather the silver metal-blood, which is the heavy water that does not stay still and poisons the flesh. Finally, they took the black ash from the hearth-fires that are built to stop the magic.

The soul-stranger returned to their resting-place. Using the glass-for-seeing of the Eye of the Mind, they looked deeply into their own internal magic-circuits. They constructed a needle-machine that uses the elemental water and the elemental fire to push the rotational power into a sharp silver-thorn. They took a glass-bowl and mixed the grey thought-meat, the silver metal-blood, and the black ash together with the wet-magic-power from a crystal of the first level. They shook the glass-bowl until the liquid began to vibrate between the bright silver light and the dark wood-coal shadow.

The soul-stranger pressed the needle-machine into the skin of their chest-bone. It was a very long pain that lasted for many hours of the sexagesimal-time. The soul-stranger could not stop for a small sleep, because the short-stop gives no healing to the meat-vessel in this world. The needle-machine pushed the oscillating wet-magic into the crystal-cells of the skin. It drew a picture that is not a picture, a fluid shape that lacks a pointing-end.

When the skin-drawing was finished and the blood was cleaned, the soul-stranger felt the grey brain-fog fall over their thoughts. The big feelings of fear from the monsters and the big feelings of charm from the magic-workers became small, quiet feelings. When the fighting-leaders and the book-keepers came again to yell with the red anger, they looked at the bare chest-bone of the soul-stranger. The Eyes of the Mind of the leaders became blind with static. They could not see the true-wantings of the soul-stranger. The skin-drawing gave the soul-stranger the skill of seeing-secrets and telling-not-truths.

When the leaders tried to strike the soul-stranger with their hands, the soul-stranger did not attack back. Because they hesitated and did not make an offensive action, the magic-flow of the skin-drawing hardened their flesh, giving them an invisible hard-skin defense. The soul-stranger simply rolled the six-sided fate-stone in their mind. If the stone landed on the small numbers, their physical muscles grew strong. If the stone landed on the big numbers, their magic-flow grew hot. The leaders were greatly confused by this flickering intent and left the soul-stranger alone in the grey space.

From that cycle until the now-times, the ones who stand in the middle of the seventy-three islands travel to the steam-filled rooms of the ink-smiths. They give their heavy gold to endure the needle-machine and wear the moving-silver mark. They wear the mark so they may walk in the shadows of the tall stone-trees without making promises to the kings or the money-traders, keeping their loyalty as fluid as the silver metal-blood.

The Moral of the Telling: To walk the path of the middle is to carry the heavy weight of the water-metal, for the shield of the grey-mind protects the meat-vessel from the red anger, but it also makes the chest-pump forget how to beat loudly for the bright love.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Unique Name: The Mark of the Indecisive Observer

  • Item Type: Occult Augmentation / Permanent Alteration.
  • Cost: 1D4 Sanity Points and a permanent reduction of 5 points of POW (representing the thinning of the soul’s focus).
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Unreadable Motives: The bearer receives a Bonus Die to all Charm and Fast Talk rolls where appearing neutral or non-threatening is an advantage.
    • Neural Dampening: The bearer receives a Bonus Die to Sanity rolls made to resist being Frightened by mundane or low-level supernatural threats.
    • Oscillating Focus: At the start of an encounter, roll 1d100. On a result of 01-50, the bearer gains a +10% bonus to physical skills for the duration. On a 51-00, the bonus applies to mental or occult skills.
  • Syntax: Active Permanent; requires the tattoo to be uncovered and visible to the target.

Blades in the Dark

Unique Name: Quicksilver Dermal Lattice

  • Unique Item Type: Alchemical Graft (permanently occupies 1 Load).
  • Tier: I (Common).
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Potency: The tattoo provides Potency when you Consort or Sway in situations where you are playing both sides of a conflict.
    • Neural Buffer: You may spend 1 Stress to ignore a Lesser Consequence involving fear, charm, or emotional manipulation.
    • Flickering Intent: When you push yourself for a social or mental action, you may choose to take +1d to the roll or +1 Effect level, representing your shifting focus.
  • Syntax: Permanent Graft. If the wearer dies, the lattice dissolves into non-magical quicksilver.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Unique Name: Tattoo of the Flickering Mind

  • Item Type: Wondrous Item (Tattoo), Common (Requires Attunement).
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Ambivalent Defense: While the tattoo is uncovered and you have not made an attack or cast a harmful spell since the start of your last turn, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
    • Mental Shield: You have advantage on saving throws against being Charmed or Frightened.
    • Unreadable: Other creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks made to discern your intentions or see if you are lying.
    • Shifted Focus: At the start of your turn, roll a d6. On a 1-3, you gain a +1 bonus to weapon attack and damage rolls. On a 4-6, you gain a +1 bonus to spell attack rolls and your spell save DC.
  • Syntax: Produced via a “Special Needle.” Occupies a portion of the limbs or torso.

Knave (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: The Brand of the Grey Path

  • Item Type: Magical Branding.
  • Slots: Permanently occupies 1 Item Slot. It cannot be unequipped or dropped.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Neutral Reaction: When meeting NPCs, you may roll 3d6 for the Reaction Roll and discard the highest and lowest dice, forcing a more neutral starting disposition.
    • Static Mind: You have Advantage on saves against mental magic or fear-based effects.
    • Fluid Might: Each morning, choose between Strength or Intelligence. You gain +1 to rolls using that ability until the next sunrise.
  • Syntax: Permanent. The brand vanishes if the avatar reaches 0 HP and is not possessed.

Fate Core / Condensed

Unique Name: The Mark of Shifting Intent

  • Item Type: Permanent Extra (Costs 1 Refresh).
  • Permissions: Narrative justification of a dermal graft received in a metropolitan skyscraper or grey-market bazaar.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Aspect: Neither One Way Nor The Other. This aspect can be invoked to gain a +2 bonus on social rolls when ambiguity or a lack of clear motive is advantageous.
    • Stunt (Neural Dampening): You gain a +2 bonus to defend against mental or emotional attacks intended to provoke fear or charm.
    • Flickering Intent: Once per scene, you may swap your highest skill bonus with your second-highest skill bonus for a single exchange, representing your oscillating focus.
  • Syntax: Extra; Permanent slot reduction (represented by Refresh cost).

Numenera & Cypher System

Unique Name: Quicksilver Cognitive Lattice

  • Item Type: Artifact (Level 1d6).
  • Depletion: 1 in 20 (rolled when using the Flickering Intent benefit).
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Passive Effect: While the lattice is uncovered, you are Trained in tasks involving Persuasion or Deception when attempting to appear neutral or unaligned.
    • Neural Buffer: You have an asset on Intellect-based defense rolls against mental manipulation or fear.
    • Flickering Intent (Action): Spend 2 points from your Intellect Pool to gain an asset on either a physical task (Might/Speed) or a mental task (Intellect) for one round.
  • Syntax: Artifact; permanent installation; occupies 1 functional equipment slot.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Heart-Sigil of the Ambivalent Soul

  • Item Type: Magical Tattoo, Item 2.
  • Traits: Abjuration, Emotion, Invested, Magical.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Usage: Tattooed on the body; Access: Common in major Saṃsāra trade centers.
    • Ambivalent Defense: While the tattoo is uncovered and you have not used a hostile action since the start of your last turn, you gain a +1 status bonus to AC.
    • Skill Bonus: You gain a +1 item bonus to Deception and Society checks made to hide your true intentions.
    • Flickering Intent (Trigger): At the start of your turn, roll a d6. On a 1-3, you gain a +1 status bonus to physical attack rolls. On a 4-6, you gain a +1 status bonus to spell attack rolls.
  • Syntax: Invested; occupies the Tattoo slot (counting toward the 10-item limit).

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

Unique Name: Iridescent Neutrality Brand

  • Item Type: Permanent Augmentation / Edge.
  • Rank: Novice.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Neural Dampening: The bearer gains the Brave Edge. If they already possess it, the bonus to resist Fear increases to +4.
    • Ambivalent Aura: Opponents suffer a -1 penalty to Notice or Research rolls when trying to determine the bearer’s true faction or loyalty.
    • Flickering Intent: At the beginning of each round, the player may choose to gain a +1 bonus to either Fighting/Athletics rolls or Spellcasting/Weird Science rolls.
  • Syntax: Permanent Augmentation; reduces total available Gear Slots by 1.

Shadowrun (6th Edition)

Unique Name: Fluid-State Dermal Logic

  • Item Type: Bioware (Tattoo) / Cognitive Augmentation.
  • Essence Cost: 0.1 (Permanent reduction).
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Neural Dampening: The bearer receives a +2 dice pool bonus to resist magical or mundane effects that manipulate emotions, such as Fear or Influence.
    • Unreadable Motives: Opponents suffer a -2 dice pool penalty on Judge Intentions tests against the bearer.
    • Flickering Intent: At the start of a combat round, the bearer can shift their internal focus. This provides a +1 bonus to either the Attack Rating of a physical weapon or the bearer’s Mental Defense Rating.
  • Syntax: Permanent installation; occupies one Skin slot.

Starfinder (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: MK 1 Oscillating Neural Graft

  • Item Type: Biotech Augmentation / Magical Tattoo.
  • Level: 2; Price: 1,200 Credits.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Ambivalent Defense: While the tattoo is uncovered and you have not used a hostile action since the start of your last turn, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to AC.
    • Mental Shield: You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Will saves against effects with the emotion or mental traits.
    • Flickering Intent: At the beginning of your turn, roll 1d6. On a 1-3, you gain a +1 status bonus to melee and ranged attack rolls. On a 4-6, you gain a +1 status bonus to spell attack rolls and your spell save DC.
  • Syntax: System: Skin. Permanent; vanishes upon avatar death.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Alchemical Ambivalence Brand

  • Item Type: Biological Augmentation / Rare Artifact.
  • TL (Tech Level): 12.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Grey-Path Insight: The bearer gains DM+1 to all Deception or Insight checks when attempting to appear neutral or non-committal in negotiations.
    • Neural Buffer: The bearer gains DM+2 to any check made to resist fear or psychological manipulation.
    • Oscillating Focus: At the start of each day, the bearer must roll a 2d6. On a 2-7, they gain DM+1 to physical tasks (Strength/Dexterity based). On an 8-12, they gain DM+1 to mental tasks (Intelligence/Education based).
  • Syntax: Permanent; occupies 1 Gear Slot for encumbrance calculations.

Warhammer (Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition)

Unique Name: Sigil of the Grey Wanderer

  • Item Type: Magical Mark / Permanent Social Boon.
  • Cost: 1D5 Corruption points (due to the alchemical quicksilver integration).
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Neutral Disposition: The bearer gains the Secret Identity Talent. If they already possess it, they gain +10 to all Deception tests instead.
    • Dampened Emotions: The bearer gains a +10 bonus to all Cool tests made to resist the effects of Fear or Terror.
    • Ambivalent Guard: If the bearer does not take an offensive Action on their turn, they gain a +10 bonus to all Dodge or Melee tests made to defend themselves until their next turn.
  • Syntax: Permanent modification; reduces the total number of equipment slots the avatar can manage by 1.