D&D 5E (2014) Ritual casting question

[daddystabz]

Wizards have Ritual Casting meaning they can cast any spell tagged as a ritual as long as it is in their spellbook. Does this mean that by casting a ritual spell it will not use a spell slot at all?

 

[Beleriphon]

That is correct. If the ritual is in the spell book, wizards don't use the appropriate spell slot to cast it as a ritual.

 

[HobbitFan]

That was my understanding as well.

 

[Syntallah]

From the Basic Rules [page 78]:

"Certain spells have a special tag: ritual. Such a spell can be cast following the normal rules for spellcasting, or the spell can be cast as a ritual. The ritual version of a spell takes 10 minutes longer to cast than normal. It also doesn’t expend a spell slot, which means the ritual version of a spell can’t be cast at a higher level."