Rituals

[Khuxan]

I'm not sure I follow. Would more scrolls be used as the components for other scrolls? I think I'm just really tired and missing something, heh.

Sorry, I wasn't very clear. My suggestion is:

a) Keep vanilla components.
b) Make scrolls free/cheap.
c) Add a new reqiurement to each ritual, that is specific to that ritual. For example, for Detect Secret Doors this could be the eye of a basilisk (or whatever). That eye would cost 125gp (what the scroll normally would cost).

This way, the idea of flavourful components are kept, but it's no harder than keeping track of a bunch of scrolls.

 

[Spatula]

I'm sure this can be cleared up by someone who's actually seen the entire 4e book, but what's the difference between the scroll and the book?

From what I can tell in the Excerpt on WOTC's site, they cost the same. When a scroll is used, it is expended. But the casting time is halved. That can't be the only difference, time is money, but not that much money. Can anyone enlighten me?

That's about it, really. You can't copy a scroll into your spellbook, so the DM can hand out scrolls of rituals and control the player's access to them that way, if the DM so chooses.

And from the perspective of the prospective ritual-seller, I would imagine that he might prefer to sell you a one-use scroll rather than teach the ritual to you at the same price... (with a markup, since the cost of making a scroll is the same as its market price)

 

[fuindordm]

My first thought on reading this article was: "Make Whole now takes 10 minutes? What if our party is on an unstable platform and needs that spell to save its life?"

After mulling it over, I realize why they all have long casting times, even if they could be useful in combat situations.

It's to protect the skills. One of the big problems with 3e was that so many skills became irrelevant very early in the game. Now skills are always relevant: people can do most things faster and cheaper than magic. This also helps encourage a low-magic setting. Why bother learning ancient languages if a spell to do the same thing costs nothing?

In 3e, you imagine a scene where the party finds itself on a rapidly sinking ship. Then you leave it up to them to have the right spells (Make Whole, Water Walking, etc.) or ditch their armor and swim.

In 4e, a scene like this would be represented by a skill challenge. Perhaps a very tough one, but you would have every single player scrambling to work the pump, make crude repairs, and so forth. There is a slim chance that by working together and having creative ideas they can save the ship, which ultimately is much more satisfying than hearing the cleric say "Good thing I prepared water walking today... let her go down!".

Or even worse: "Why didn't you prepare Make Whole instead of Spiritual Weapon?"

 

[Aenghus]

Generic components make sense to me. Few campaigns kept track of specific material components, and WotC's market research found that. In my experience, in those campaigns that do, only a minority of the group have any interest in the matter, and it can be a subject of disagreements.

If deliberately or accidentally leaving out certain needed material components prevents certain rituals being cast, problems can arise.

So better to keep it generic for the average campaign. If enough people are interested in a spell component subgame, and noone is bored silly by it go ahead and make one for your campaign.

 

[Jack Colby]

Raise Dead... I don't see why there is a special heal component. Why would a salve raise the dead? "New moisturizer from Oil of Olay, rejuvenate your skin, and bring yourself back from the dead, now with shea butter."
The flavor text actually states that you pray to the gods to return your friend, so I think it would be a much better religion ritual, or even arcana. The whole ritual thing doesn't fit very well with the power sources either. What source is heal from, exactly?

I don't know about Heal as a source, but the rest sounds a lot like the ritual that happens in the movie Conan the Barbarian.

 

[vagabundo]

I don't know about Heal as a source, but the rest sounds a lot like the ritual that happens in the movie Conan the Barbarian.

Snap!!

I was just about to post that. The PCs should also have to make strength checks to keep the Shadowfell spirits from taking the body!!

 

[Noinarap]

Cure Disease: I like that it's Cure and not remove. Oh, nostalgia. More importantly, Cure Disease is not something every cleric and paladin ought to be running from village to village casting on every sore-encrusted peasant in sight. When it was a spell with no material component, it sort of nagged at my mind as something the good guys should be running around giving away for free.

Now there is a reason for disease to still exist and be feared. Further, miraculous cures that don't rely on rituals will seem, well, miraculous. The new diseases-as-scary notion is nice in the PoL setting, since any town could be wiped out by an incurable plague. Players will no longer come upon the dead in the streets and say, "Geez, didn't this burgh have a 5th level cleric?"

Non-specific components: Pretty glorious. One of my 3.5 players suggested that I allow this a few years back. It was nice that he could have, say, a 500 gp scroll-making kit that could be used in the field. It saved us the trouble of excessive downtime whenever the group hit a major city.

Nice excerpt all around. They saved some of the best news for last.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

This is OK. I'd like to see more rituals ... though I'd have to go look at an older PHB to see how many spells really translate.

What form does magic item poop residuum take, anyway? Do you carry it around in a bottle?

 

[hong]

This is OK. I'd like to see more rituals ... though I'd have to go look at an older PHB to see how many spells really translate.

What form does magic item poop residuum take, anyway? Do you carry it around in a bottle?

It's the stuff dreams are made of.

It contains the secret to happiness.

It's a little droid carrying the plans to a battle station.

 

[WhatGravitas]

It's the stuff dreams are made of.

It contains the secret to happiness.

It's a little droid carrying the plans to a battle station.

I totally see it as magic essence captured in crystals, which can be powdered. And ingested to boost your spells (which can be covered by the rules, if you create one-shot items with the right price).

This way, residuum-addicted mad mages explain the high price of magic items!

Cheers, LT.