Ritual Seeds: A More Flexible and Freeform Alternative to Rituals

[FireLance]

This is basically an attempt at developing a more flexible and freeform magic system as an alternative to 4e's rituals. I'm not really a fan of the current ritual system for non-combat magic. I think that many of the rituals are not attractive enough because they are too specific and require too much accounting, and I think that a more skill-like system would work better with 4e's skill challenge framework for resolving non-combat challenges.

Basic Concepts and Mechanics

Each ritual seed is a feat that allows a character to create magical effects related to a specific theme. A character must have the Ritual Caster feat to select ritual seed feats.

Using a ritual seed is physically and mentally tiring: a character must spend a healing surge as a free action to gain the ability to create magical effects related to the ritual seed for five minutes or until the end of the encounter.

Creating an effect is normally a standard action. A list of standard effects will be provided, but the DM should allow the player a certain amount of flexibility in coming up with creative uses for his ritual seed. The DM may require the player to make a successful skill check, and should use his judgment to determine the DC needed.

 

[FireLance]

The following is an example of a ritual seed.

Ritual Seed: Force
Prerequisites: Int 13, Ritual Caster, trained in Arcana, access to a power with the Force keyword
Benefit: You may spend a healing surge as a free action to gain the ability to create magical force effects for five minutes or until the end of the encounter. Some sample effects are as follows:

Force Enhancement (At-Will * Arcane): Free Action. You may use an Arcana check in place of a Athletics check, or an Intelligence check in place of a Strength check.

Force Aid (At-Will * Arcane): Standard Action. Choose a target within 5 squares and make a DC 15 Arcana check. If you succeed, choose one ally. That ally gets a +2 bonus to his or her next attack roll against the target, or to all defenses against against the target's next attack. This bonus ends if it is not used by the end of your next turn.

Force Push (At-Will * Arcane, Implement): Standard Action. Choose a target within 5 squares. Make an Intelligence attack vs. Fortitude. If you hit, you push the target 1 square.

Force Grab (At-Will * Arcane, Implement): Standard Action. Choose a target within 5 squares. Make an Intelligence attack vs. Reflex. If you hit, the target is immobilized until it escapes or you end the grab. You can sustain this effect as a minor action, and end it as a free action.
The target can attempt to escape on its turn. If it attempts to escape, the effect uses your Fortitude or Reflex defense. The effect also ends if the distance between you and the target exceeds 5 squares.

Force Move (At-Will * Arcane, Implement): Standard Action. Choose a target affected by your force grab. Make an Intelligence attack vs. Fortitude. If you hit, slide the target 3 squares. If the distance between you and the target exceeds 5 squares, your force grab effect ends.

Force Construct (At-Will * Arcane): Standard Action. Make a DC 15 Arcana check. If you succeed, you can create a force construct within 10 squares. The force construct lasts until the end of your next turn. In subsequent rounds, you may create additional force constructs, but the Arcana check DC increases by 2 for every force construct you have already created. You may sustain all the foce constructs you have created as a minor action, and dismiss a force construct as a free action. You may choose from the following force constructs. Your DM may also allow you to create additional types of force constructs, at his discretion.
Force Obstacle: You create a 1-square high obstacle that completely blocks a square. You cannot create a force obstacle in an occupied square.
Force Platform: You create a sturdy platform in one square. It negates difficult terrain and (at the DM's discretion) certain types of challenging and hindering terrain.
Force Ladder: You create a 1-square high ladder in one square. In subsequent rounds, you may increase the height of the ladder by 1 square by creating an additional force ladder on top of it.

Force Hand (At-Will * Arcane): Standard Action. Make a DC 15 Arcana check. If you succeed, you may use the mage hand wizard cantrip.​

In addition, a player may be able to find creative ways to use force effects to earn successes in a skill challenge.

A player may also attempt more complicated effects with the force ritual seed. The DM may run these as skill challenges, and may allow the other characters to help contribute successes. For example, the DM may allow the PC to replicate the effects of the Tenser's Floating Disk ritual by spending a healing surge and succeeding at a Level 1, Complexity 1 skill challenge. If the challenge is failed, the healing surge is expended to no effect.​

Thoughts?

 

[erf_beto]

Looking at the example seed, at first I thought it was overpowered. Then I realised you have to spend a surge to activate any of the effects - so you need two healing surges to slide a target!

I think most combat uses are too expensive to be usefull (like spending a surge to Aid Another), but the non combat uses are the point of taking these feats (as intended). That said, I believe there's no need to charge "twice" for some effects - like mage hand requiring a healing surge and an Arcana check.

Anyway, I love the idea!
Force Enhancement and Force Construct are my favorites! (though I think you could base the number of squares and/or duration of the effect on the result of the Arcana check for the obstacle and plataforms)

 

[FireLance]

Glad you liked it!

I should clarify, however, that you only need to spend a healing surge once every five minutes (effectively making it one healing surge per encounter). After you've spent the healing surge, you can use the effects at will for the rest of the encounter. Would this shift it back into overpowered territory for you?

 

[erf_beto]

Oh, just one surge and effects become At will for the encounter? Hmmm... now all those Arcana checks make sense...

Well, I think your intentions will blur the line between power and ritual, so I guess the main problem now is the feat offers power-like abilities with a lot of the versatility that 4e seems to leave to rituals.

Bottomline: is it enough of a cost to allow a wizard to perform the "fighters job" with one healing surge? I mean, he can lift gates, grab and throw enemies, climb and help his allies climb, protect them with walls of force... and still do all his wizardly stuff. At 1st level. It might not even be overpowered but I would take this feat "just in case", it sounds better than "channel divinity" (wich also "gives" you a power).

Of course, this is just one example of a seed. The idea behind it is fine.


Some random thoughts on different costs (any approach would need to review the seed as is, anyway)...
What about if instead of healing surge, you spend an encounter or magic item daily power to use any effect as long as you sustain the seed with a standard action? Maybe the level of the power spent grants access to extra powers.
I guess this way it would look like those multiclass only classes (wich is also another way to look into these freeform magic effects).
Or, you could bring a little of vancian magic back, "storing" up to three or more healing surges into a seed after an extended rest to gain its effect or be able to use its powers throughout the day.
Or, make it like a reserve feat from 3.5, as long as you have a daily/encounter power with the force keyword, you can use the seed.
You could perhaps turn the seed into a ritual itself that required some costy reagents to learn but also be cast every morning in order to use its effect - basically a consumable item, with a feat pre-req.

 

[77IM]

I would separate this from the Ritual system. One of the things I love about rituals is that they are totally useless in combat (which is why they are balanced with time and money rather than feat slots and actions). Since this feat has really nothing to do with the actual Ritual system, I would rename it. Maybe "Improvised Magic: Force" or "Arcana Mastery: Force" or something.

The feat itself looks really good (I like the way you wrote it up like item powers) but very overpowered compared to any other low-level wizard feat. I would make it per-encounter: once per encounter, you can do one of those things. That sounds harsh but even with that restriction it's still better than, what, Expanded Spellbook?

-- 77IM

 

[FireLance]

How about if we siloed the benefits further? Spending a healing surge grants access to mostly non-combat uses, e.g. Force Enhancement, Force Construct and Force Hand, but in order to use Force Aid, Force Push, Force Grab and Force Move, you need to expend an encounter attack power (for a single use) or a daily attack power (to use them until the end of the encounter).