Dungeons and Dragons tattoo: ideas?

[Summer-Knight925]

I'm turning 20 in July, I have been playing since I was 6 years old. 14 years of gaming means it has seen me through the best of times and the worst of times, it gave me strength when I was weak and gave me direction when I was lost.

Dungeons and Dragons has saved my life. A few times.
And it is something I will do my entire life, something I will teach my theoretical children. I want to write tabletop RPGs, whether adventures in a current system, a setting for a game, or an entire game, any. I want to own a game store, do I really need to go on?

Above should be enough for you to understand why I want to get a tattoo to explain my love for this incredible game. I have thought about getting a full back tattoo of the AD&D Player's Handbook, the one with the two men stealing the gems from the idol's eyes and the rest of the party dealing with the dead lizardmen.

I am asking if any of you either think this is a good idea or think there is a better piece or artwork to do.


I did think about a d20 before, but I feel it wouldn't represent my love of it as much as dedicating my entire back.


--thanks for reading.
-Summer Knight

 

[GX.Sigma]

If it were me, I'd get this bad boy on a shoulder:

You can google "D&D tattoo" for some ideas. My favorite is this: http://bijlefeld.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/jared.jpg

 

[was]

One of the red dragons from the original books or boxes.

 

[Jester David]

If you want something simple, like a logo, one of the dragon ampersands would be the way to go. The 2e one is pretty distinct. Or you could go with the 4e one (or pair the two).

A d20 might also work. There's a fun image of a hand holding a d20 that might look nice. Or you could do a full set of dice.
(Suddenly I want a d20 on each wrist, one with a 1 and the other with a 20)

If you want a larger scene, something more artistic, you might go with the Red Box. Or maybe Gygax's face.

 

[Li Shenron]

I have thought about getting a full back tattoo of the AD&D Player's Handbook

This might become uncomfortable or painful when people turn the pages.

 

[Unwise]

[MENTION=1465]Li Shenron[/MENTION] - Hehe I got a chuckle.

If I might offer an opinion, here are a few points to consider:

1) Remember that you are deciding now something that your future partner is going to have to look at every day for the rest of their life. Sure, you might love it until the day you die, but you are making them look at it all the time too. Most women (and men if that is your thing) won't be thrilled at the prospect of a huge D&D tattoo on their loved one.

2) I personally would avoid any tattoo of a persons face. I have just seen way too many horrible tattoos where one wrong line makes somebody have an odd expression or look deformed. This goes doubly for any picture of a particular persons face.

3) Life takes strange turns, you might picture yourself running a gaming store, but you may end up anywhere, even in the corporate world. I wouldn't want to have to have a conversation about my hobby every time somebody sees my tattoo. This is not even taking into account the prejudice against roleplayers and D&D in particular, which is alive and well in many places.

4) You might think that your future partner must be somebody that loves RPGs too, but that is most likely not the case. A lot of non-gamers would be turned off when seeing a huge billboard to a hobby on your skin and first impressions count. Would you be a bit put off by a woman (or man) with a huge back tattoo of their favorite Country and Western album There is nothing wrong with it, but if it is not something you are into, it makes an incompatible first impression.

5) Your hobby can't see or care about any act of dedication to it. I sometimes feel that I owe a great deal to my hobbies, but in fact I don't owe them anything as they are not an entity.

6) Excuse me if I am out of line here, but the tone of the OP sounded like you might have battled with depression. If that is the case, please be very sure that when you make the decision about the tattoo it is when you are feeling OK. Neither low nor high. Speaking from some experience here.

Sorry to sound like a downer, I'm not saying you shouldn't do what you want, just some food for thought.

 

[Dwimmerlied]

This might become uncomfortable or painful when people turn the pages.

muahahahaha!

 

[Dwimmerlied]

I want to second pretty much everything that Unwise has posted, I don't think I could express this any more clearly or succinctly.

The one thing I will add; I'd suggest, even if it was the best tattoo ever, please think about it for at least a year, if not longer. If you can't do that, it may be an indication that its a bad idea. If you still feel the same in a year or two about the tattoo, well at least a lot of thought will have gone into it!

I hope this is good to reflect on!

 

[Ramaster]

I want to second pretty much everything that Unwise has posted, I don't think I could express this any more clearly or succinctly.

The one thing I will add; I'd suggest, even if it was the best tattoo ever, please think about it for at least a year, if not longer. If you can't do that, it may be an indication that its a bad idea. If you still feel the same in a year or two about the tattoo, well at least a lot of thought will have gone into it!

I hope this is good to reflect on!

I did this exact same thing (think about it for a full year) with my Magic: The Gathering tattoo. I got the 5 mana symbols tattooed on my right shoulder.

When the year was through, I wanted the tattoo EVEN more! My significant other, who is not into MTG by the way, loves it too since it's quite colorful and artistic.

I would actually advice against the full-on back tattoo for reasons stated earlier on the discussion... but the dragon ampersand? I might just get that myself! I would wait until 5ed comes out, so as to check out it's logo and make the decision.

 

[Jester David]

I want to second pretty much everything that Unwise has posted, I don't think I could express this any more clearly or succinctly.

The one thing I will add; I'd suggest, even if it was the best tattoo ever, please think about it for at least a year, if not longer. If you can't do that, it may be an indication that its a bad idea. If you still feel the same in a year or two about the tattoo, well at least a lot of thought will have gone into it!

I hope this is good to reflect on!

This almost goes without saying.

Think about the tattoo. Get it drawn and designed. Find out where you want it on your body. Then wait a year. One full year.
Which also gives you time to save and make an appointment at a good tattoo parlour, which often have long waiting lists.