D&D 5E Ritual expansion

[overgeeked]

Because of the what you like about each edition thread I started thinking about 4E a bit. One thing I miss is the expanded ritual list. Basically anything not meant to be cast in combat is a ritual. The 5E rituals are kinda neat, but limited. So I was thinking of expanding the list. The easiest way to do it would be make anything with a casting time more than an action into a ritual. Going through the PHB there’s nothing particularly broken or class defining that would suddenly be open to more people. Anyone have constructive criticism or advice on how to implement this?

 

[Charlaquin]

Just to make sure I understand correctly - any spell with a casting time longer than an action becomes a ritual. You need to be capable of casting rituals to cast any such spell, but they don’t use up a spell slot when cast? Is that right?

If so, I like the idea generally. I do wonder what then happens to spells that are currently rituals but have a casting time of only 1 action (detect magic, for example). Do their casting times just become 10 minutes, or can you still use a spell slot to cast them with only an action? I think I prefer the former option, but I’d have to go through and make sure there weren’t any ritual spells that seem important to preserve the option of casting in combat.

 

[overgeeked]

Just to make sure I understand correctly - any spell with a casting time longer than an action becomes a ritual. You need to be capable of casting rituals to cast any such spell, but they don’t use up a spell slot when cast? Is that right?

Sort of. All you do is add the ritual tag to the spell.

If so, I like the idea generally. I do wonder what then happens to spells that are currently rituals but have a casting time of only 1 action (detect magic, for example). Do their casting times just become 10 minutes, or can you still use a spell slot to cast them with only an action? I think I prefer the former option, but I’d have to go through and make sure there weren’t any ritual spells that seem important to preserve the option of casting in combat.

Nothing happens. You can cast it as a ritual and have +10 minute casting time but don’t burn a slot, or cast it as an action and burn the slot.

Take raise dead as an example. It’s a one hour casting time but it not a ritual RAW. This house rule would give it the ritual tag, so it could then be cast as a ritual using the ritual rules, like +10 minute casting time, doesn’t burn a slot, etc.

I wouldn’t want to change the casting times of current ritual spells or make them strictly non-combat spells. That’s too much work. The simpler the better.

 

[Charlaquin]

Sort of. All you do is add the ritual tav to the spell.

Nothing happens. You can cast it as a ritual and have +10 minute casting time but don’t burn a slot, or cast it as an action and burn the slot.

Take raise dead as an example. It’s a one hour casting time but it not a ritual RAW. This house rule would give it the ritual tag, so it could then be cast as a ritual using the ritual rules, like +10 minute casting time, doesn’t burn a slot, etc.

I wouldn’t want to change the casting times of current ritual spells or make them strictly non-combat spells. That’s too much work. The simpler the better.

I see. I’m less keen on that personally, as all it seems to do is allow you to cast spells that you already aren’t going to be casting in combat, without expending a spell slot, for the usually pretty negligible cost of 10 minutes. What specific goals are you trying to achieve with this change?

 

[overgeeked]

I see. I’m less keen on that personally, as all it seems to do is allow you to cast spells that you already aren’t going to be casting in combat, without expending a spell slot, for the usually pretty negligible cost of 10 minutes. What specific goals are you trying to achieve with this change?

Make ritual casting of things like raise dead and various divination spells possible. Not to save casters slots, but to allow non-casters with the ritual caster feat access to more useful spells. To my mind, making more spells available to non-casters helps with utility and ever so fractionally with the LFQW problem. Also solves the cleric’s dead, how do we raise the cleric problem. You could then give everyone ritual caster for free and emulate a high magic setting even easier. But that’s just madness.

 

[cbwjm]

Your idea works as a basic enhancement for more rituals, I'd probably want more nuance, but in a pinch this would do it. 4e rituals were also one of my favourite things about the edition.

I've been thinking of expanding rituals so that anyone with ritual casting has a ritual book and is able to enter any spell with the ritual tag to their ritual book. It frees up certain classes from having to prepare/know ritual spells.

I saw something on the dyson logos site about elementals and how different methods of summoning (staff, device, spell slot, ritual) would summon elementals of different power. I'm thinking if introducing this to 5e and maybe also require ritual implements, something that has a gold piece value which is needed by rituals, maybe even specific items like an emerald for a ritual for summoning elementals.

 

[Ath'kethin]

The only spell that I ever thought should have the ritual tag but doesn't is magic circle, but I really like this idea. And I like it or the same reason you describe: it allows more goodies for non-casters, and particularly helps in low-magic campaigns where casting classes are limited or banned (I may have run such campaigns a time or six).

In fact, magic circle came up when I was playing a character based on John Constantine/Harry D'Amour etc in a Ravenloft Adventurer's League game. The character was a Thief with the Ritual Caster feat, which worked great, but magic circle is such a perfect spell for that setup I was very sad it wasn't available.

Anyway, I like your idea and I'd love to see it's final version/implementation if you write something up.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I have found there certainly is a push-pull with my players who have played spellcasters when it comes to non-combat spellcasting. There often is resistance in using those spells and thus losing those slots for the day, when they believe they might "need" those slots if they get into combat later on. Cast Comprehend Languages now, even though I might need a Shield later? That kind of thing.

And it is something I have wrestled with... whether the Warlock style of casting is actually kind of better-- where a spellcaster has 2-3 "combat spell slots" that they can use during an encounter (and which will usually refresh after it), and then a handful of at-will non-combat spells (IE Invocations) that can let the caster do cool effects without needing to worry about hamstringing themselves in a combat later in the day.

So what is being proposed is something I have thought about myself-- any spell with a casting time longer than 1 Action being able to be cast as a Ritual. I find it an intriguing idea. The only reason I haven't actually tried implementing it yet is because as I look through the entirety of the spell lists, I realize that there are a LOT of spells that only cost 1 Action that are non-combat and thus I'd WANT a caster to be able to use out of combat. But then I'd have to go through and check off which ones are "combat" spells and which ones are "non-combat" spells... and the whole process becomes much bigger than I had intended.

And at that point, my brain says to me "If I make this small change (turn longer than 1 Action spells into Rituals), will the result still feel unsatisfactory and not completely solve my issues with it?" And if the answer is 'Yes'... I just don't bother and go with what I and my players already know.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Well, just from the PHB and a couple other books, you would have the following spells as Rituals:

Level	Spell	School	Casting Time
0	Mending	Transmutation	1 Minute
1	Snare	Abjuration	1 Minute
2	Find Steed	Conjuration	10 Minutes
2	Prayer of Healing	Evocation	10 Minutes
3	Animate Dead	Necromancy	1 Minute
3	Clairvoyance	Divination	10 Minutes
3	Glyph of Warding	Abjuration	1 Hour
3	Magic Circle	Abjuration	1 Minute
3	Tiny Servant	Transmutation	1 Minute
4	Conjure Minor Elementals	Conjuration	1 Minute
4	Fabricate	Transmutation	10 Minutes
4	Find Greater Steed	Conjuration	10 Minutes
4	Hallucinatory Terrain	Illusion	10 Minutes
4	Mordenkainen’s Private Sanctum	Abjuration	10 Minutes
5	Awaken	Transmutation	8 Hours
5	Conjure Elemental	Conjuration	1 Minute
5	Creation	Illusion	1 Minute
5	Dream	Illusion	1 Minute
5	Geas	Enchantment	1 Minute
5	Hallow	Evocation	24 Hours
5	Infernal Calling	Conjuration	1 Minute
5	Legend Lore	Divination	10 Minutes
5	Planar Binding	Abjuration	1 Hour
5	Raise Dead	Necromancy	1 Hour
5	Reincarnate	Transmutation	1 Hour
5	Scrying	Divination	10 Minutes
5	Teleportation Circle	Conjuration	1 Minute
6	Conjure Fey	Conjuration	1 Minute
6	Contingency	Evocation	10 Minutes
6	Create Homunculus	Transmutation	1 Hour
6	Create Undead	Necromancy	1 Minute
6	Druid Grove	Abjuration	10 Minutes
6	Find the Path	Divination	1 Minute
6	Guards and Wards	Abjuration	10 Minutes
6	Heroes’ Feast	Conjuration	10 Minutes
6	Magic Jar	Necromancy	1 Minute
6	Planar Ally	Conjuration	10 Minutes
6	Wind Walk	Transmutation	1 Minute
7	Conjure Celestial	Conjuration	1 Minute
7	Mirage Arcane	Illusion	10 Minutes
7	Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion	Conjuration	1 Minute
7	Regenerate	Transmutation	1 Minute
7	Resurrection	Necromancy	1 Hour
7	Simulacrum	Illusion	12 Hours
7	Symbol	Abjuration	1 Minute
7	Temple of the Gods	Conjuration	1 Hour
8	Antipathy/Sympathy	Enchantment	1 Hour
8	Clone	Necromancy	1 Hour
8	Control Weather	Transmutation	10 Minutes
8	Mighty Fortress	Conjuration	1 Minute
8	Tsunami	Conjuration	1 Minute
9	Astral Projection	Necromancy	1 Hour
9	Foresight	Divination	1 Minute
9	Imprisonment	Abjuration	1 Minute
9	True Resurrection	Necromancy	1 Hour

As you can see, these are mostly level 5 and greater. Many of these spells don't have the ritual tag because of the power they have and the impact they can have on the game even when they cost a spell slot to cast.

Make ritual casting of things like raise dead and various divination spells possible. Not to save casters slots, but to allow non-casters with the ritual caster feat access to more useful spells. To my mind, making more spells available to non-casters helps with utility and ever so fractionally with the LFQW problem. Also solves the cleric’s dead, how do we raise the cleric problem. You could then give everyone ritual caster for free and emulate a high magic setting even easier. But that’s just madness.

Look at the list above there aren't many divination spells IMO. shrug (at least at lower levels at all)

Many (about 40%) of the divination spells are already rituals and there are over 30 ritual spells in the game.

But I see your point. To address this we went a different route. We removed the "one list" restriction from ritual caster. A ritual caster can add any spell with the ritual tag to their ritual spell book (Cleric, Wizard, whatever...). So, instead of having maybe 10-20 spells available, the PC can (if they find them) have over 30 spells.

Second, I added a feature to Wizards in particular called Spellbook Rituals. It allows Wizards to cast spells "directly from their spellbook" (using it as a spellcasting focus) as rituals even if they don't have the ritual tag. But the casting time is 10 minutes PER spell level of the spell and you can't upcast them, just the base level.

As to the cleric death issue, well that is why they should get the best armors and protection IMO and IME.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

There are some important differences in the way rituals were designed between 4e and 5e.

In 4e, rituals were completely different and separated from other "spells" (i.e. powers). So rituals in 4e didn't appear on the list if combat-oriented powers, and vice versa. They were like an add-on for those characters who had this class feature, or took the appropriate feat. Note that rituals in 4e were classified into arcane, divine, and nature (and another I cannot recall at the moment) so classes not associated with a particular power could not access those rituals that would seem inappropriate.

In 5e, however, rituals are just spells you could cast at-will just by taking more time to do so, or cast them more quickly for the cost of one of your available spell slots per day.

D&D has traditionally categorized all magic abilities as "spells" just to make things easy. Being able to cast spells as rituals is now part of the description of the particular spell rather than a class feature or character option. If you wish to make a distinction between the two (which I wholeheartedly approve), there will not likely be a simple solution. It may take some work. Good luck!