D&D 5E Warlock Book of Ancient Secrets

[Riley37]

Do I understand correctly, that if a Warlock takes Pact of the Tome and then Book of Ancient Secrets, she can inscribe ritual spells from any and all classes into her spellbook, subject only to level requirements, and finding someone from whom to copy the spell?

Are there written rituals, copyable into a Book of Shadows, for spells known only to classes which don't use spellbooks?

Here's the level 1-3 spells with the Ritual tag which are NOT wizard spells, which presumably one learns from a bard, cleric, druid or ranger:
Animal Messenger
Augury
Beast Sense
Locate Animals or Plants
Silence
Meld into Stone
Water Walk


And here's the full list of level 1-3 spells with the Ritual tag, both wiz and nonwiz. In terms of spending a mere 50 GP and 2 hours, for *the ability to cast magic without expending spell slots*, which of these are top-tier high priorities, which are second-tier, and which are barely worth the ink?

Alarm
Comprehend Languages
Detect Magic
Detect Poison and Disease
Find Familiar
Identify
Illusory Script
Purify Food and Drink
Speak with Animals
Tenser's Floating Disk
Unseen Servant


Animal Messenger
Augury
Beast Sense
Gentle Repose
Locate Animals or Plants
Magic Mouth
Silence


Feign Death
Leomund's Tiny Hut
Meld into Stone
Phantom Steed
Water Breathing
Water Walk

 

[Shadowdweller00]

One might be able to find scrolls from non-spellbook-using casters or get a non-spellbook-using caster to directly teach the Warlock the spell so the warlock can write it down.

 

[Riley37]

Next: a Warlock asks their Barbarian (Totem) ally to spend 20 days and 500 GP to create a scroll of Beast Sense, so that the Warlock can add Beast Sense to the Book of Shadows.

 

[TheCelric]

As a warlock with the ability to cast "free" spells from any class, I would say the same thing to you that I said to one of my players: Collect them all. You know the old saying "Better to have something and not need it, than need it and not have it?"

To answer your question directly though, the spells I would consider the "best" are:
Alarm, Comprehend Languages, Purify Food and Drink, Speak with Animals, Tenser's Floating Disk
Unseen Servant, Animal Messenger, Augury, Beast Sense, Gentle Repose, Leomund's Tiny Hut, Phantom Steed, Water Breathing, Water Walk

YMMV, of course, but the detect spells I find the most useless in ritual form. "Hmm... I wonder if the baron is poisoning my drink...? I'll just surreptitiously cast this 10 minute spell before drinking it!"

I would also say that, depending upon your pact, it'll be easier (or not) to get some of the rituals for your book. Fey Pact? Heck, get your patron to give you those after completing a mission for them.

 

[Riley37]

YMMV, of course, but the detect spells I find the most useless in ritual form. "Hmm... I wonder if the baron is poisoning my drink...? I'll just surreptitiously cast this 10 minute spell before drinking it!"

Thanks for the recommendations.
Dinner with the baron is in the Social pillar, and ritual casting isn't very Social; here's examples in the Exploration pillar, which is often on the minutes or hours timescale, rather than in combat rounds or realtime RP.

You walk into an ancient temple, your boots making the first footprints in centuries. Nothing has stirred here in a long time, and it probably won't stir in the next ten minutes; if anything IS stirring, then it's NOT time to go charging in without Detect Magic active.
Hey, look, some ancient runes on the temple wall. They're not going anywhere. I'll take ten minutes, to learn what was written ten generations ago.

Imagine if Hercules had taken ten minutes, in between writing thank-you letters for his wedding gifts, to cast Detect Poison. Woulda saved him a world of hurt.

As you say, YMMV!

 

[TwistedFaith]

Next: a Warlock asks their Barbarian (Totem) ally to spend 20 days and 500 GP to create a scroll of Beast Sense, so that the Warlock can add Beast Sense to the Book of Shadows.

I think you might have misread what Book of Ancient Secrets actually allows. Basically any spell of the Ritual Casting type can be added if found for the mere cost of (2 hours*Spell Level)+(50 gold*Spell Level) so maximum of 18 hours and 450 gold

 

[Riley37]

Yes, "if found". Let's say that again: "if found". The Totem Barbarian does not have a spellbook, so his knowlege of Beast Sense cannot be "found" in a spellbook. If the Barbarian creates a scroll, then a *written* form of the Beast Sense spell now exists, and can be "found".

 

[PnPgamer]

I wanna be the very best,
Like no-one ever was,
To write them is my real test,
To cast them is my cause!

I will travel across the land
Searching far and wide
Each ritual to understand
You better watch your sorry hide!

Rituals, (gotta write them all!) just the book and me
I know its my destiny
Rituals, no slots to pretend
In a world we must defend!

Rituals, a focus so true
Our somatics will pull us through
You teach me and i cast you
(Ri-tu-als) gotta write them all!

 

[Kirk Gray]

"Best" is always a judgement. Don't disagree with much in this post, BUT I'm not sure how Find Familiar isn't on the list. Seems like possibly the best on the list. It all depends on your DM and your character concept.

 

[jgsugden]

... and do not forget that in home games, there may be additional home-brew rituals.

Another ritual that s often overlooked due to source is Skywrite. Being able to write a message that an entire city can see can be a huge ability.

Contact Other plane (if you have a decent Int) and Telepathic Bond can be huge. A warlock in my game keeps a headband of intellect just to done for using contact other plane. It is a powerful tool.

Silence is the only real combat ritual - you need to time it so that you finish casting it at the start of combat, but I've seen it used.