[RickySpanish]

When learning to cast a spell with a fetish, what form can fetishes be? is it always a physical object or can it also be a tattoo?

[bdyer]

Since the negative issue with fetishes is not being able to cast the spell when you lose it, for balance purposes you must be able to lose it..

A permant tatto would be a no.  I think a temporary tatto that has to be drawn on you every day would work since it could be taken from you via washing off

[Jack_Spade]

@bdyer
that's not a rule.

Nothing prevents you from getting the fetish implanted or tattooed somewhere.

But of course you shouldn't complain afterwards if someone cuts it out of you to prevent your casting...

[Hobbes]

@bdyer
that's not a rule.

Nothing prevents you from getting the fetish implanted or tattooed somewhere.

But of course you shouldn't complain afterwards if someone cuts it out of you to prevent your casting...

Completely a GM call.  AFAIK only QI foci are explicitly allowed to be tattoos.  But I can't think of a decent in game explanation for other foci/fetishes to not be, but it's not specifically allowed either.  Ask your GM, move on.

A better question on Fetishes are "one per spell, one per school, or one for all?"  I'd love an actual RAW answer. 

[RickySpanish]

Plus considerations on the spell casters magic tradition.

[Marcus Gideon]

@bdyer
that's not a rule.

Nothing prevents you from getting the fetish implanted or tattooed somewhere.

But of course you shouldn't complain afterwards if someone cuts it out of you to prevent your casting...

Completely a GM call.  AFAIK only QI foci are explicitly allowed to be tattoos.  But I can't think of a decent in game explanation for other foci/fetishes to not be, but it's not specifically allowed either.  Ask your GM, move on.

A better question on Fetishes are "one per spell, one per school, or one for all?"  I'd love an actual RAW answer.

Street Grimoire pg 131, Tattoo Magic sidebar

The Tattoo Magic technique can be purchased for 5 Karma and learned in two weeks, after which the magician can keep magic viable through tattooing art. This is not a separate skill, but an enhancement to other skills and metamagics. Using the Artificing skill, the magician can create qi and other foci as tattoos.

Just about any Foci can be made into a tattoo. The only exception I can think of, would be a Weapon Focus. Although... hands count as melee "weapons", right? =)

However, Fetishes are not Foci. And as the other said, the point of using a fetish is that you risk having it taken away. So no, I would say you cannot make a Fetish tattoo.

As far as my reading of Fetishes (which is apparently only from SG pg 212) it just says that you learn to cast spells using the fetish. And if you don't have the fetish, you can't cast the spells. So basically, Harry Potter learned to cast all his magics using his wand as a fetish. And if you take it away, he's completely powerless. Or you have to learn spells twice over, so you can cast them with / without the fetish.

Another thing that seems implied, but not outright said, is that you learned the spells with that very specific and particular fetish in hand. If it gets permanently broken, not only do you need to replace it, but you need to relearn the spells that used to be associated with the old one. Since Mages don't exactly have a limit of how many spells they can possibly learn, that's not a huge dilemma. But it does mean that snapping a wand in half is going to be a very lengthy and costly replacement.

[Mirikon]

A fetish is most typically a physical object of some kind. The exact form of the object depends on the tradition of the talismonger making it, but can be anything from a string of beads, to charms on a charm bracelet, to amulets, to rings, and more. They can look mundane, or they can scream mage to any observers closer than fifty paces.

A fetish is not a focus, however, and tattoo magic wouldn't be applicable without a GM's permission. Honestly, I typically use amulets, charm bracelets, or other 'mundane-looking' jewelry or other personal items as fetishes. So long as they aren't obviously shamanic (beaded tassles on your coat are a giveaway) or covered in (visible) arcane runes, you can sneak them by mundane eyes as long as you look well off enough to have that kind of bling. Remember, geeking the mage first is a legit thing, so don't give the other side reason to think you're a mage before you can ruin their day.