Rituals too easy and cheap?

[bert1000]

Eh, you'd be surprised how quickly they add up, especially at heroic level.

Yeah, now looking at low level magic item pricing I may have to take back my initial statement on pricing until I see it in play.

Really dependant on level which is fine.

Traveler's Feast seems to trump the nature skill for starvation, but if you use it all the time at 4th it gets expensive. Buy the ritual and use it 20 times = a 4th level magic weapon.

Now, at 8th level, it's basically use it 100x = a 8th level weapon.

On the other hand, how many times are you really stuck without food, unable to understand a critical bit of language/writing, etc.

I guess that is the real worry. Not that you can use the rituals at will (maybe pricing prevents this), but that you can fairly cheaply use them when you need them so that skills/equipment become less valuable.

Now that we have less, broader skills and skill challenges this is less of a worry. Still, I'd hate to think that surviving in the wilderness through the Nature skill is obsolete at 4th level. It at least should be valid through heroic tier. (I know I'm over simplifying as the ritual needs your book and components, which you might not have, but still...)

Not sure I can make this call until I playtest it.

 

[Spatula]

Abusable? It's a magical porter. Oh noes, the party can carry their stuff! What can we do to fix this travesty???

Unless you're really paying attention to encumberance, it will never be used (which is why some have not seen it used much in previous editions). If you do pay attention to encumberance, it's useful... until you get access to bags of holding (500g I think) or handy haversacks (1000g).

Of all the things to complain about...

 

[frankthedm]

Look at the phanton steed's big limits

*One hit wonder. If yours takes any damage then the party is back down to your footspeed
*Only thing it does is serves as a mount. They don't do anything unless ridden so you have to leave extras behind where you cast the ritual.

The real question though is "Is the ritual underpriced or are flesh and blood mounts OVERprided to discourage their use?"

 

[Kraydak]

Abusable? It's a magical porter. Oh noes, the party can carry their stuff! What can we do to fix this travesty???

Unless you're really paying attention to encumberance, it will never be used (which is why some have not seen it used much in previous editions). If you do pay attention to encumberance, it's useful... until you get access to bags of holding (500g I think) or handy haversacks (1000g).

Of all the things to complain about...

As a porter, it is useful. As the support for a large wooden box that the wizard sits in and uses for superior cover, it becomes more than merely useful (remember, the wizard can more or less convert his move actions to disk move actions)

 

[Traken]

Abusable? It's a magical porter. Oh noes, the party can carry their stuff! What can we do to fix this travesty???

Unless you're really paying attention to encumberance, it will never be used (which is why some have not seen it used much in previous editions). If you do pay attention to encumberance, it's useful... until you get access to bags of holding (500g I think) or handy haversacks (1000g).

Of all the things to complain about...

BoH is 1,000g while Triple-H is 5,000g.

I don't think Rituals will see much use at my table. Cost and time required are a bit steep for my players' tastes. 10 minutes (and material costs) to find a secret door that probably isn't there...

I'm actually trying to think of a way to decrease the time required. Perhaps each person helping reduces the time by 1/4 (minimum of 1 minute)... but they have to be trained in the skill required... or something.

 

[DreamChaser]

The real question though is "Is the ritual underpriced or are flesh and blood mounts OVERprided to discourage their use?"

Yeah, like in past editions where a riding horse (the cheapest) cost about 2 years wages for a commoner...I know they were an investment but good lord! A farmer's draft horse better never die....of course, this explains why my campaigns had all plows pulled by oxen or dwarves.

DC

 

[Spatula]

As a porter, it is useful. As the support for a large wooden box that the wizard sits in and uses for superior cover, it becomes more than merely useful (remember, the wizard can more or less convert his move actions to disk move actions)

Yeah, it would be super-hard to shove an unanchored wooden box (along with the wizard trapped inside of it) off a smooth platform that floats a foot off the ground... Doesn't really sound like a good idea to me.

 

[Kraydak]

Yeah, it would be super-hard to shove an unanchored wooden box (along with the wizard trapped inside of it) off a smooth platform that floats a foot off the ground... Doesn't really sound like a good idea to me.

So you anchor the box. Please. A 3' diameter, 1 inch depression in the floor of the box which to disk fits into, with places for bars across the bottom should suffice.

 

[glass]

I think on the whole I would be far happier integrating Rituals into the 'action economy' of 4e.

The trouble with that is, the action matters in combat (or other encounters). If you count the whole day in actions, there are 2592000 of them -making it an effectively unlimited resource.


glass.

 

[greatamericanfolkher]

Yeah, it would be super-hard to shove an unanchored wooden box (along with the wizard trapped inside of it) off a smooth platform that floats a foot off the ground... Doesn't really sound like a good idea to me.

I’m sure that if you were going to design a war gondola to attach to it, you would find some way to strap it securely to the disk. Decently strong belts in an X-shape come to mind. Your only real problem at that point is worrying about dispel effects and fitting it through doors.