While some OSRS inspired tattoos are expected because they represent iconic items, skills, or bosses, other OSRS tattoos are unexpected either because they represent deeper aspects of the game, or because of their location or interesting reinterpretation of various aspects of the game.
Vengeance tattoo
This tattoo is a detailed, medium-sized piece located on the forearm. It features the word “Vengeance” in a bold, stylized font, accompanied by a richly colored red skull, which is the icon of the vengeance spell in Old School RuneScape. The overall aesthetic blends gothic elements with a touch of modern tattoo techniques, emphasizing sharp contrasts between the dark outlines and lighter shades. Various decorative elements, including a godsword, are also part of the final composition. The color palette is primarily black and gray with a striking red highlight on the skull, enhancing the visual impact. The execution shows proficient use of shading and line work, indicating a professional level of tattooing skill.
You might like
Genie tattoo
This forearm tattoo features the OSRS Genie. It uses a palette of blue, purple, and orange, executed with bold outlines and solid color fills typical of the new school style, known for its vibrant, cartoon-like aesthetic. Measuring medium in size, it effectively utilizes the forearm’s flat space for a clear display. The execution is crisp and vivid, showcasing the artist’s skill in creating a copy of the in game NPC. I believe it’s one of those tattoos meant to bring happiness, since the genie is one of the few special events RuneScape players enjoy for the free and effortless XP.
Pets tattoo
This forearm tattoo showcases a geometrically styled series of RuneScape pets: the chaos elemental pet from the Chaos elemental boss, the squirrel pet from Agility, and the blue version of the Phoenix from Wintertodt, each rendered in a modern polygonal art style. The tattoo uses vibrant shades of blue, grey, orange, and yellow, emphasizing the crystalline, angular design. They most likely represent the pets this scaper owns or desperately wants.
Abyssal demon tattoo
This tattoo is a black ink representation of an abyssal demon. It is located on the upper arm. The design is sizable, occupying a substantial portion of the arm, suggesting boldness and visibility. It employs a blackwork tattoo style, characterized by deep black shading and the absence of color. The monster itself is rendered with sharp, angular lines and elongated limbs. This tattoo focuses on details and shading to bring to life the OSRS slayer monsters. The execution is clean and precise, with smooth gradients in shading that suggest volume and dimension to the aby demon’s body and legs. The tattoo doesn’t fully fit If you’re interested in seeing other slayer tattoos feel free to check these out.
Zaros symbol tattoo
This Zaros symbol is placed centrally on the back of the neck which alongside the colouring and precise technique make the visual effect purely stunning. It combines a dark purple and pink color scheme that blends seamlessly into the skin. The emblem itself is a fusion of shapes, creating a dynamic interplay of geometry and symbolism, likely personal or inspired by a cultural or fictional reference. The tattoo is medium in size, fitting nicely into the curvature of the neck, making it both subtle and striking. The execution involves a watercolor technique, where the colors softly bleed into one another, giving it a fluid, ethereal appearance.
Elysian Spirit Shield and Arcane Spirit Shield tattoo
This tattoo features two of the best shields in OSRS: the Elysian Spirit Shield and the Arcane Spirit Shield inked in solid black and grey on the forearm. The minimalist style emphasizes clear, bold outlines. Positioned on the forearm, the design is compact and visibly striking. The execution is straightforward and uses sharp contrasts in the black ink to make a strong graphic impact. There’s also an interesting story behind this tattoo as the tattoo is not inked on a scaper’s body, but on their mom’s who wanted to add on her skin something important to her adult child, as the scaper confesses “My mom asked me to pick something out that means something to me and what better than Runescape something I’ve loved and played for 15+ years”.
Lesser demon tattoo
This tattoo blends an OSRS lesser demon with a traditional Japanese Hannya mask, located on the upper arm. The tattoo is realised with bold colours, such as vibrant red for the demon’s face and black used for outlines and shading. Yellow accents the eyes, giving them a piercing look, while white and grey highlights add depth. The tattoo captures the menacing expression and sharp horns typical of a Hannya mask, integrating the OSRS demon’s distinct features. This tattoo is unexpected both through the blending of a Hannya mask with an Old School RuneScape monster, and because most players who chose to tattoo a monster chose a boss not a monster, so you’d naturally expect another boss tattoo.
Penguin tattoo
This tattoo on the upper leg represents a simple, monochrome depiction of the OSRS penguin you can disguise into during and after the Cold War quest. The design is rendered in a minimalist style, using solid black ink for the body with natural, uninked spaces to highlight the penguin’s white belly and face. The artwork is characterized by clean lines and a lack of intricate details, focusing on the basic shape and posture of the penguin. This choice might reflect a personal affinity for penguins or symbolize traits associated with them, such as resilience or adaptability. The execution is straightforward and effective, making it a subtle yet charming body art piece.
Taste Vengeance tattoo
This tattoo, positioned on the thigh, features a detailed skull enclosed within a barbed wire halo, with the words “TASTE” and “VENGEANCE” above and below the skull, respectively. The design is executed in a traditional black and gray style, using fine lines for the skull’s shading and bold, dark lines for the barbed wire and lettering. The contrast between the detailed texture of the skull and the simplicity of the words adds to the visual impact. The choice of imagery and words suggests themes of retribution and perhaps a dark humor or irony. The tattoo’s size and placement make it a prominent and striking piece, with skilled line work and shading enhancing its menacing yet intriguing aesthetic.
There’s no place like home tattoo
Many players chose to allude to their player owned house by having the runes used to cast the teleport to house spell inked on their bodies. This scaper took it one tick further and has a finely detailed sketch of the poh loading screen, including the iconic “There’s no place like home” text. The design uses a dotwork and line art style, creating a texture similar to pencil or ink sketches, giving it a hand-drawn, intimate feel. The house is detailed with visible shingles and window panes, surrounded by a light stippling effect that emulates shading. The placement on the forearm ensures the artwork is both personal and visible, while the monochrome black ink highlights the detailed line work and textural depth of the design.
Ancestral frogs tattoo
An even more unexpected tattoo is this OSRS inspired peace that features both the frogs, the ancestral and a few other runescapy items such as the Twisted Bow. The design includes geometric patterns and bold, thick lines that emphasize the decorative elements, such as a the ancestral hat and weaponry. This style is characterized by its use of black ink and clear, angular lines to create a stark, powerful image. Its placement on the forearm makes it a prominent statement piece, visible and striking.
Penguin ship tattoo
This calf tattoo showcases two penguins disguised as a sheep which is a very subtle hint about OSRS that only players will recognize. The tattoo is rendered in a whimsical cartoon style and the sheep’s fleece is detailed with swirling blue and orange patterns, giving it a playful and artistic look. The outlines are bold and black, enhancing the bright colors and making the image pop against the skin. Inspired by the two penguins disguised as a sheep in Lumbridge, this colourful tattoo was done to celebrate this scaper’s stream subscribers goal.
Dampe tattoo
This tattoo on the calf features an intricate depiction of one of Old School RuneScape NPCs, Dampe. You can find him at the entrance of the Shade Catacombs in Morytania and he will upgrade your coffin to hold more shades if you bring him a lock. That peace of content is not loved by many, but it can be a great source of income. This scaper must love it, since they chose to wear this fine line tattoo with Dampe on their calf. The design is executed in a detailed blackwork style, using fine lines and cross-hatching techniques to create texture and depth.
OSRS tattoo
Unexpected through the unusual placement, his unique tattoo is inked on the inside of the lower lip, displaying the text “OSRS”. Rendered in plain black ink, the tattoo is straightforward, using a simple, bold font to clearly convey the acronym. This placement is unusual and often chosen for tattoos that are meant to be more private or surprising, as it is not visible during normal interactions. Lower lip tattoos can fade or blur faster than those on other parts of the body due to the moist environment and frequent movement within the mouth. This tattoo represents a playful and personal expression of a passion, hidden away inside the mouth.
