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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Cartographist" data-source="post: 4659748" data-attributes="member: 57114">So I’ve been thinking a lot about Rituals lately. I like the mechanic and how they are inherently different from spells for use in combat. Is there a way to benefit martial characters in the same way that rituals can benefit those that are ritual casters? What I mean is that, a spell is a one-off for use in combat whereas a ritual takes longer to cast and can have much greater effects. Why not something similar for the martial characters, where they spend a much longer period of time conducting a ritual and get a longer-term benefit out of it.  I know that, as written, rituals are all magical in nature. But does that have to be the way? I’ve envisioned a whole series of rituals to be used by martial characters that have very little to do with magic. In the current rule set, I think that they would all have to be in the Exploration category, but I’d rather create a new category: Martial (Athletics, Dungeoneering, or Endurance): These rituals aid the martial combatant in preparing for battle. Without going into full write-ups, some examples: Sharpen My BladeWith stone and oil, you polish your blade, honing its edge to razor sharpness.Level: 1Time: 30 minutesDuration: SpecialComponent Cost: 20gpKey Skill: Dungeoneering This ritual allows you to temporarily increase the sharpness of any bladed weapon. Your Dungeoneering check determines how sharp your blade becomes, as a bonus to damage to each successful attack from this weapon.  Dungeoneering Check Result Damage Modifier19 or lower +1 hp per attack20 – 29 +2 hp per attack30 – 39 +3 hp per attack40 or higher +4 hp per attack [I have a couple of different ideas on how to handle duration. Most simplest would be a straight period of time. Perhaps most complex would be a system that tracks the amount of bonus damage that the character does with the weapon, and the bonus decreases every X number of hp dealt—this would probably be the most realistic, as any blade slowly dulls during repeated use.] Dance With My SwordYou practice your movements with your sword, swinging, feinting, and ducking, in preparation for the upcoming battle.Level: 1Time: 30 minutesDuration: 6 hoursComponent Cost: ?Key Skill: Athletics This ritual allows you to focus your mind and hone your connection to your blade. You Athletics check determines the level of concentration that you achieve with your sword, as a special power bonus to your attack rolls when using that specific weapon. Athletics Check Result Attack Bonus25 or lower +1 power bonus26 – 35 +2 power bonus36 or higher +3 power bonus [Anybody that has seen Conan the Barbarian and watched Arnold practicing with his sword should be able to picture this.] Inspirational ConcentrationYou meditate in preparation for your next battle, concentrating on your allies and their fighting styles and how you might best assist each on the battlefield.Level: 1Time: 30 minutesDuration: 6 hoursComponent Cost: ?Key Skill: Endurance This ritual affects your ability to inspire your compatriots on the battlefield. Completion of the ritual increases your ability to grant bonuses to attacks or defenses based upon the exploits that you use. At the time that you conduct this ritual, you must decide whether the bonus that you will grant is in support of your allies attack or defense rolls. Your Endurance check result determines the power bonus you grant. For example, if you use an exploit that grants a power bonus to attacks, this ritual grants an additional bonus equal to the result from the Endurance check. Likewise, for those exploits that grant a power bonus to defenses, this ritual grants an additional bonus equal to the result from the Endurance check. Endurance Check Result Power Bonus to Attack or Defense25 or lower +126 – 35 +236 or higher +3 Those are just a few examples, but even in that group, possible problems become apparent. Issues that I see: 1. Component cost is a way that the PHB controls the use of magical rituals. Except for some minor cases, most martial rituals won’t have component costs. They will have a time cost, which in some gaming groups will count for something but in others will just be ignored. How can these be controlled to prevent them from becoming too powerful or becoming completely normal for the characters? [One way might be to state that only the benefits of one martial ritual are available to a character at any given time, so that the character can only get one given bonus at a time. This would force the martial character to decide which one he wants for a given period of adventuring.] 2. DnD’s inherent math assumptions could be severely broken by the use of these rituals, especially at epic levels. What restrictions could be put in place to prevent (or at least minimize) this?3. The Ritual Caster feat probably wouldn't apply here, as these are not magical rituals. I suppose a new feat would have to be created, similar to Ritual Caster but designed specifically to account for this new class of rituals. Does anyone have ideas for other rituals of this type?Can anyone offer ideas for how these can be done without breaking the game?</blockquote>

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