Somehow I just don't find it likely that Heortlings would be so precise and encyclopedic in their approach to something as personal as tattoos. There is nothing to suggest at the moment that tattoos are particularly tied to any magic, which suggests that their primary function is identification and as a form of boasting.
Obviously tatoos that are really meant for identification, like a clan tattoo, need to be fairly standard.
In general though I see most tattoos as being a cross between a memory aid and a silent boast. Something along the line of "That boar on my chest? I had that put on after the tusk riders killed your uncle Havart--you don't recall him. He was protecting the herds, and kept the tuskers busy long enough for the short call to get there and drive off the dirty bastards. Havart and I grew up together, I had this tattoo done to remind me of him. Oh, did I kill any of the tusk riders? Well, one with my javeling, one with my sword, and I wrestled their leader off his great stinking hog and snapped his neck. I was a little upset, you see."
Now, the speaker may well, when getting ready for combat, call upon Orlanth to guide his hand just like he did in that combat commemorated by the tattoo, but it is a personal thing, not a strict "you killed three tusk riders so you get the following tattoo." It is "This was a significant event in my life and I want to commemorate it." The form of the tattoo would largely be chosen by the tattoo-ee, but with consultation and guidance from the godtalkers and other probably.
Like boasting, if you overdo a small thing, it can rebound and look worse for you, so someone who is heavily tattooed probably has gone through a lot.
Just my take on it.....but I think this is probably one of those "do what works best for your game" type things.
--Bryan
I'm minded of traditional
> Russian criminal tattoos which adopt this approach - for example, a
> big Russian church tattooed on the back to show that you have been
> sent to prison, with an additional onion-dome for extra extra
> conviction. Or a pack of cards to show successful armed robberies,
> with a new card added for each.
>
> Unsubtle people...
>
> So maybe a particular tattoo shows, say, a Storm affinity, but if a
> devotee learns the Thundering Grumble feat mentioned in his clan's
> histories, then he gets a particular extra twist or detail added.
>
> Mark
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