D&D 5E Ritual Caster feat: cleric choosing cleric?

shadysjunk · Jan 29, 2016

I'm playing as a cleric right now and I'm finding that spells I prepare with the sole intention of casting as rituals are eating up my "spells prepared" slots. (most times you cast water walk, it seems like the party has 10 minutes to spare) I was thinking about taking the Ritual Caster feat and choosing "cleric" as the class. How would you handle transcribing a prepared cleric spell (with the ritual tag, obviously) into the ritual book?

Rules as written suggest I'd have to find someone else's ritual book to copy it, or find a spell scroll. But I've never even heard of players finding a cleric ritual book among loot because clerics don't have spell books. And have you seriously ever encountered a spell scroll for something like Augury? It's looking like I'll have to do it myself.

So again, rules as written seem to suggest I'd have to final a formula for how to write an Augury spell scroll as loot, which would be a rare to legendary magical item. Then I'd have to spend the time and gold making the scroll. And then finally I could transcribe the scroll I just made into the ritual book, consuming the scroll. Is that the intended method? It seems like requiring a formula for a scroll, and then having the scroll production be so time consuming and costly is probably in large part because scrolls allow non-casters to cast spells. That's not at all my intent, but rules as written I'm not seeing another path. What do you guys think?

I was going to pitch to my DM that transcribing a ritual spell to the book requires half the time and gold of creating an equivalent spell scroll, and doesn't require a formula, but otherwise is treated the same as producing a scroll.

Blue · Jan 29, 2016

If I was running and you wanted to take the feat for a class you already had, I would treat spells known as spells you have in written form so it's normal cost to transcribe. (Don't know if that's cheaper or more expensive than what you describe.)

Really though, the feat grants ritaul casting for the class, which you already have. If you are willing to blow a feat to free up some spells prepared I'll give it to you.

Ath-kethin · Jan 30, 2016

It's interesting that a cleric needs to have a spell prepared to cat it as a ritual, since the wizard doesn't. As a DM I dont think I would enforce that rule.

Other tham that, what Blue said. It makes no sense to me that you would have to find a spell you already know in a written form, written by somebody else, in order to write it down.

Shadowdweller00 · Jan 30, 2016

Ath-kethin said:
It's interesting that a cleric needs to have a spell prepared to cat it as a ritual, since the wizard doesn't. As a DM I dont think I would enforce that rule.

The cleric version is the standard. Bard and Druid ritual casting also works in the same way. The wizard is the exception - probably because the class is strongly associated with books, learning, and an expanded spell repertoire.

steeldragons · Jan 30, 2016

Take a day of downtime. Prepare the spells you want in your ritual book.

Spend the day scribing them into a ritual book for your self.

Day 2. Prepare the spells you want to adventure with. Go adventuring with your prepared spells and newly scribed ritual spells' "Book of Rites." Cast ritual spells, at will, in addition to prepared spells.

Done.

Mouseferatu · Jan 30, 2016

Ath-kethin said:
It's interesting that a cleric needs to have a spell prepared to cat it as a ritual, since the wizard doesn't. As a DM I dont think I would enforce that rule.

If clerics don't have to have the spell prepared, it means they can cast any and every ritual spell in the entire cleric spell list, all the time. There's a reason for the wizards being the only ones who don't have that limitation.

UngeheuerLich · Jan 30, 2016

And clerics have 10 more spells prepared anyway.

Herobizkit · Jan 30, 2016

#realtalk, if your DM is presenting scenarios where your Cleric (or dedicated Ritual Caster) can use your prepared spells as rituals, kudos to your DM. If you have a group of players who are willing to wait ten in-game minutes for you to do so, kudos to your players.

SkidAce · Jan 30, 2016

Ath-kethin said:
It's interesting that a cleric needs to have a spell prepared to cat it as a ritual, since the wizard doesn't. As a DM I dont think I would enforce that rule.

Other tham that, what Blue said. It makes no sense to me that you would have to find a spell you already know in a written form, written by somebody else, in order to write it down.

If they didn't need to prepare rituals, they would ALWAYS have access to ALL cleric rituals.

Which is fine if that's what you are cool with in game. I think it was intentional to somewhat slow/limit the rituals a cleric would use.