Getting people to use Rituals

[ferratus]

My group has problems with using rituals. The problem is two-fold.

1) When I'm DMing I hand out rituals and the appropriate reagents as treasure, but they just exist as a list on the character's sheet. The players never think about where a ritual might be useful, look into the books to see which rituals might be useful to pick up, or remember their rituals during play. It is so bad that they won't consider their knock ritual when confronted with a door that their thievery check couldn't open, unless I specifically remind them. The only exceptions to this seem to be "Tenser's Floating Disk" for carrying out treasure, and healing rituals. I essentially have to bring things to an impasse that only a ritual can solve, before they will use a ritual. No matter how much I punish (you wouldn't be ambushed if you had used a silence ritual to keep your clandestine conversation from being heard) or encourage (ok, non-healing rituals are free to cast) it just doesn't seem to sink in that rituals are a core part of the game.

2) When I'm playing my wizard, I generally can't get access to rituals. The DM doesn't hand out reagents and rituals because he isn't reminded to by the parcel system, so I generally have to buy them out of pocket. The problem with that is I have difficulty convincing the party to agree to paying for rituals that might have a use in upcoming sessions, though they will shell out for healing rituals. So I'm stuck deciding if I want to buy rituals or if I want to buy magical items or consumables.

So how do I encourage players to use rituals of their own accord? They reach for their skills readily enough, so they aren't just hack n' slash goons, but they don't seem to want to use rituals unless a plot barrier arises that only a ritual can solve, even if there is no cost.

How do I encourage my DM to hand out more ritual-based treasure without nagging about it? He'll give me some ritual treasure if I ask, but he always forgets by the time we play next month.

 

[Henrix]

You might want to hand out ritual cards, just like power cards.

If they have a card with the ritual and all it's text on it they might remember them better.

 

[robconley]

Even if I have to pay out of pocket there are a lot of nice rituals. Some so nice they will be crazy not to use them.

In the past when GMing a new system when players fail to grasp the implication of a subystem I would have run a sequence where they team up or meet a party that uses the subsystem to the max.

Have a party ride in on Phantom Steed. Recall some chests and get supplies, haul stuff out with Floating Disk, and then teleport back to their arcane circle. The player will get the idea soon enough.

 

[ExploderWizard]

A group that won't use free rituals just might not find them useful enough to bother with.

 

[malraux]

You might want to hand out ritual cards, just like power cards.

If they have a card with the ritual and all it's text on it they might remember them better.

I really really wish the CB made ritual cards with the text of the ritual on them. When I'm a player, I greatly enjoy not having to bring anything other than character sheet/powercards. But if I want to use rituals, I have to remember to bring everything associated with those, which ends up being several books.

 

[darjr]

I was running a skill challenge, after another one, that cost them a few surges and hit points. The current skill challenge was navigating a submerged maze. They were going to suffer. They could have done it with thier skills alone but the MU short circuited most of it with Endure Elements and Breath Water. (maybe not exact names)

Also try giving them unique rituals. Have things in the adventure that are keyed to a specific ritual and drop that knowledge on them during play.

Like an evil altar that could only ever really be destroyed by casting the specific making ritual to make that specific altar, backwards. Then they have to find that ritual first. Then they have to cast it at the altar. If the whole point of the adventure revolves around rituals or a specific one they might think of them more often.

 

[darjr]

EW is correct though. If they don't like them then you should consider dropping them.

I like the card idea. I do think they should be on the builder.

 

[Timeboxer]

So how do I encourage players to use rituals of their own accord? They reach for their skills readily enough, so they aren't just hack n' slash goons, but they don't seem to want to use rituals unless a plot barrier arises that only a ritual can solve, even if there is no cost.

My suggestion: Get your bad guys to use rituals. "Wait, how did that guy find out so much information about us?" "Divination, duh." It serves as a useful example of play, while simultaneously making them think about how to shore up their defenses against such magic -- presumably by counter-rituals and so on.

Note that the situation differs depending on the level of play -- at low levels rituals are terribly expensive, but at high levels they're cheap.

 

[jfilesi]

I really really wish the CB made ritual cards with the text of the ritual on them. When I'm a player, I greatly enjoy not having to bring anything other than character sheet/powercards. But if I want to use rituals, I have to remember to bring everything associated with those, which ends up being several books.

To get ritual cards in the CB, choose the option to view basic (i.e. non-magical) equipment. This option makes cards for every item your character carries as well as rituals and reagents. You can choose to hide the other mundane item cards by right-clicking on them so that you don't have to print them out.

 

[malraux]

To get ritual cards in the CB, choose the option to view basic (i.e. non-magical) equipment. This option makes cards for every item your character carries as well as rituals and reagents. You can choose to hide the other mundane item cards by right-clicking on them so that you don't have to print them out.

First, that is obnoxiously complex. Second, unless things have changed recently, that just gives me a card with "Make Whole" or "Secret Page" written at the top, which doesn't do me any good. I know I have those rituals, there's a slot on my character sheet for them. What I don't know is casting time, casting cost, and exactly what the ritual does. Yes I know I can then edit the card and add all that info in to the sheet, but that is compounding both the obnoxiousness and the complexity.