The Tattoo Summoner [COMPLETED. UNDERGOING REWRITE]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

This story is completed in its current state, but it's also currently undergoing a rewrite for a relaunch.

Follow if this interests you and you want to be notified of the new version!

How’s a tattoo artist supposed to survive the apocalypse?

Tanya Angelo knows how to handle herself—life in London’s East End taught her that much. But gang trouble, crushing debt, and the odd creepy client don’t exactly prepare you for the end of the world.

Now monsters are spilling through portals, Earth-themed magic is awakening in random people, and Tanya’s hearing a voice in her head calling itself The System. It’s chosen her for a powerful Unique Class: Tattoo Summoner.

Not only does it allow her to craft new summonable tattoos, it also brings all her previous designs to life. And she can’t control any of them.

That’s the funny thing about getting a Class in this new world: you can start with control or power, but not both.

What to Expect:

- Mixture of action and crafting magic tattoos

- Tattoo parlour shopkeeping later on (Book 3 which is currently updating)

- Eclectic party with unique Earth-themed classes

- LGBT characters, including a major trans character

- Medium LitRPG crunch with deep dives into ability choices but limited numbers in combat

- Slow burn levelling and plot

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2025
Author: arliewrites

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.4/ 5.0
Followers: 2,390
Views: 536,942

Chapters(149 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

AutonymosRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This looks as though it's going to be great once the ball starts rolling and I'm sure it's going to be a great book. Once it's been going for a while I'll write up an advanced review. I hope that Mrs. Sneer, MC and Botanist get to a safehouse at some point and use their talents towards helping everyone get prepared for dealing with the horrors.
HeatheniaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm really enjoying the story and characters so far. The story is only just starting but the characters already have so much life and personality. The powers are also quite cool and unique. I was wondering at the beginning how they would make Tattoo summoning interesting and viable, and they've done a good job, by giving the powers a lot of versatility. I definitely didn't expect this story be this good, which is my fault lol. I would recommend giving it a go!
J P KoenigRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Tattoo Summoner is one of those rare takes on a genre that manages to bring something new to a well known formula. The story starts off with what seems to be a standard "system arrives"-style apocalypse, but very quickly shows in high style that it is so much more.
The main character, Tanya, is down-on-her-luck tattoo artist from a rough part of London, and she sounds like it. The authenticity in her speaking style can only come from a native, and it gives true flavor. But more than that, it speaks to her motivations. She has real world limitations trapping her in her circumstances, and the whole "system arriving" thing - that's really not very important when a gang is breathing down your neck right here, right now.
From how she has family to deal with, to the grumpy neighbor Mrs. Eceer (who's fast becoming my favorite character), there is a real world edge and emotional depth to this apocalypse that is missing from most tales of this type, and it makes Tanya's decisions so much more impactful.
And that leads into the sheer creativity of the Tattoo Summoner class and how the author has implemented it. It's very unique and flexible, and lends to the alien feel of the System, which feels truly inhuman here as opposed to some random game imposed on the world.
If you're looking for a fresh, unique take on a system apocalypse, I'd strongly recommend giving this one a try!
MJPackardRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Tattoo Summoner is a super fun exploration of creativity in a magic system. I'm a critique partner of this author, and about 10 chapters in, I'm loving the unique flair Tanya's powers bring to the apocalypse setting.
I wasn't a regular of litRPGs before this story, but as a lover of magic systems, the possibilities here are genuinely exciting. Each chapter gets me thinking about what upgrades she could take. Also, as an artist myself, the idea of surviving the apocalypse through the power of sentient tattoos is just too cool haha. I'll be eagerly following this one until the end!
Style:
This one often fades into the background as it's a pretty easy read, but you'll definitely be pleasantly surprised by the creativity of descriptions found in this work. The prose is tasteful and gives breathing room to the characters and the system. If anything, I'd like to see more material description to immerse me in the scene in future chapters.
Story:
Pacing-wise, the story takes it pretty slow. If you understand that up-front, though, the slow-burn aspect works wonders for getting into the system and empathising with the MC. From what I've read so far, there's a nice balance between action and rest. The story also has some interesting surprises up its sleeve to subvert the predictable parts of a system apocalypse story.
Grammar:
I'm nit-picky when it comes to grammar, but this one tripped me up less than most stories on here, so can't complain.
Character:
Characters appear pretty slowly, but I don't mind that at all - the development you get drip-fed for our MC Tanya in particular feels subtle, relatable and realistic. Even with just Tanya largely carrying the early chapters, this is probably my favourite aspect of Tattoo Summoner so far!
kette442Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I went into the story because of the unique sound of it, not many stories focused on Tattoos I guess.
I liked the characters and world building in general, of course some of it could be polished a little but it is such a unique world building with background of how the system got to be etc, really great.
Some reviews said that the pacing is not perfect because there are not many tattoos happening in the beginning. I read the story while it was already complete and just got sucked in and didn't feel this too much.
Could be because I didn't go chapter by chapter though.
Big ending fight was really nice, brought tears to my eyes and had me smiling at the end. Just the way it's supposed to be.
Only minus point in my books would be that it lists as completed where I would've loved this to be more of an introduction arc.
Recommended for reading anyways!
CarrieRinaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a wonderful story - engaging, unexpected, and with characters that have depths and that you want to root for. I'm hooked. This is a rare story where the main character interactions aren't family or lovers (or lone hero saving the world)- but create a cohesive team facing the apocolypse. I highly recommend.
Basilisk578Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
There's no nearly enough tattoo based powers in books. Love to see it. I will cry laughing if you go the way of smol lady with big fuck of gun. Or she gets the ability to imbue her tattoos that aren't things but like rune or something permanent buffs or debuff. And personally I'd make her sleeve match the cover. (Most of this is just to meet the word requirement not full thoughts)
Quentin EddingtonRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
I've been meaning to review this one for a while, and I've finally got to it! I love the premise of RPG skills on a tattoo artist, and the characters themselves are incredible.
There are some issues, though. Though I love the RPG skillsets, the apocalypse itself doesn't feel real, nor does the response to the appearance of magic in the world. It's good for characters to deliberate on the skills they choose, but those scenes often drag.
The main draw of this story is absolutely the characters themselves–they are a lot of fun, and their dynamics are great to see play out! I'm absolutely gonna keep up with these guys!
Polyist's ApostleRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
1. Bad
2. Meh
3. Mid
4. Good
5. Great
6. Excellent
1. Worldbuilding & Mythos
Depth, consistency, and originality of the world; includes lore, mythologies, cultures, and how they're revealed.
3/5
2. Plot & Prose
Narrative strength and flow, twists, stakes; includes quality of prose or dialogue and clarity of storytelling.
4/5
3. Character Development: Complexity, growth, motivations, arcs, and characters' voice. Are they memorable, human, and believable?
3/5
4. Setting & Magic/Tech System
Inventiveness, internal rules, and integration of the world’s speculative or magical elements; how they impact the story.
5/5
5. Impact
Emotional resonance, cultural or social relevance, and lingering thoughts or messages it leaves behind.
4/5
6. Structure & Pacing
Scene/chapter/episode balance, tension flow, and narrative rhythm; avoidance of padding or rush.
3/5
7. Themes & Symbolism
Clarity and sophistication of central themes, use of allegory, subtext, and symbolic resonance.
4/5
8. Innovation & Originality
Creative risks, reimagination of tropes, uniqueness in concept, format, or genre approach.
5/5
9. Execution & Consistency
Cohesion, internal logic, tone management, and adherence to the story’s rules and world—avoiding contradictions or jarring shifts.
4/5
10. Rewatch/Reread Value
Would the work warrant a second look? Are there layers, foreshadowing, or richness worth returning to?
4/5
[Commentary]
3.9/5⭐️
39/50🏮
Out of 5.0
4.5-5.0: 🌟 Masterwork
4.0-4.45: 🔥 Excellent
3.5-3.95: 🎯 Solid✅️
3.0-3.45: 🧩 Flawed but Worthwhile
2.5-2.95: ⚠️ Uneven/Needs Work
<2.5: ❌ Not Recommended
KotikRoyal Road
★★★ 2.5
The worst pacing ive seen in a hot minute... The sheer number of tattoos she pumped out in the 80 or so chapters i read was truly astonishing, in that they could be counted on one hand and included none of the creativity or utility options you'd expect from a class that allows you to pretty much create anything you can imagine. At some point around chapter 40 or so olena walks into the shop and wants a tattoo, by the point i dropped the story, some 40 chapters later, she still doesn't have that tattoo and only one other was made since them it's truly beyond words.
Mc feels pretty bland, the neighbor lady is intentionally written as standoffish (wild choice for a support character with ton of screen time) and the rest dont particularly captured me either.
She makes fairly little power progress, not because she couldn't, but because she refuses to utilize her class utility in any way. it's maddening. Even small things that could elevate the story just dont get done for no apparent reason. She could make a small slime tattoo to help with cleaning, perhaps a tattoo gun so shes not reliant on her electrical one. Or how about a small earth elemental that helps her fix up her smached up shop. The options are limitless but alas we get none of that.
There's no real plot (which isn't unusual for the genre) but at this point i really wonder what the hook for this story is supposed to be. It's not a power fantasy, has no romance, no exceedingly lovable character interactions, nor a focus on action. You can have weaknesses in a lot of fields so long as you nail one core attribute but this doesn't. At any point this could have truned into an excellent story but it didn't, it remained mediocre