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<blockquote data-quote="Staffan" data-source="post: 8785385" data-attributes="member: 907"><p>Rituals are class-independent and handle almost all utility magic. So there are no cleric rituals, wizard rituals, or druid rituals, they're all just rituals (although they use four different skills: Arcana, Religion, Nature, and Heal). Performing a ritual takes 10 minutes or more, usually requires a skill check, and has a component cost in either alchemical reagents, mystic salves, rare herbs, or sanctified incense (depending on which skill it's based on). There's also residuum which can be used for any type of ritual, but the only source is disenchanting magic items. Any character can take the Ritual Caster feat, but certain classes get it for free. You record rituals in your ritual book, and learning one costs money.</p><p></p><p>So, for example, if a 5e wizard wants to cast <em>knock</em>, they just spend a 2nd level slot to cast it, and open any lock that isn't magically locked and has a pretty good chance of opening one of those as well. They do need to spend a daily resource to do it (the 2nd level slot), and there's the loud knock sound that was added in 5e that makes it less than subtle, but it's pretty much a definite solution to any locked door or chest.</p><p></p><p>In 4e instead, casting it takes 10 minutes and costs 35 gp worth of alchemical reagents, plus a healing surge (a daily resource that can otherwise heal 25% of your hp on a short rest or sometimes mid-combat – sort of like a 5e hit die, but instead of having an increasing number of fixed-potency heals you have a fixed number of increasing-potency heals). You then roll Arcana against each thing holding the target closed (so if the door has three locks, you roll three checks), with a pretty hefty bonus. If you succeed on all the checks, the thing is now unlocked.</p><p></p><p>One particularly good effect of rituals is that long-term healing/condition relief is also the domain of rituals: Cure Disease, Raise Dead, and Remove Affliction (curses, petrification, etc.). That means you don't need a dedicated healer in the party to deal with that kind of thing – a wizard with the Heal skill will do just fine, or a ritual-casting Warlord or any other class. Even without that, there are a lot more rituals in 4e than in 5e: by my count 5e has 35, and 4e has about 50 in the PHB alone, with more in supplements (the main things that are rituals in 4e that aren't in 5e are healing, travel, and exploration magic).</p><p></p><p>Also, since most rituals normally requires a skill check, they are less certain than spells. Knock, from the example above, is good at opening things, but it's not a certain thing. If you perform a Sending ritual, the range depends on your skill check (or alternately, the DC depends on the range to the target). They also always come with a monetary cost – it might be an insignificant one at higher levels, but spending 35 gp and an hour to feed a party of five with a Traveler's Feast each day adds up.</p><p></p><p>TL;DR: In 5e, rituals are a way to bypass the spell slot cost of a spell by spending time on it. In 4e, rituals were an entirely different ballgame, both more and less accessible, and definitely more exciting. Plus they removed the need for a dedicated healer class.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Staffan, post: 8785385, member: 907"] Rituals are class-independent and handle almost all utility magic. So there are no cleric rituals, wizard rituals, or druid rituals, they're all just rituals (although they use four different skills: Arcana, Religion, Nature, and Heal). Performing a ritual takes 10 minutes or more, usually requires a skill check, and has a component cost in either alchemical reagents, mystic salves, rare herbs, or sanctified incense (depending on which skill it's based on). There's also residuum which can be used for any type of ritual, but the only source is disenchanting magic items. Any character can take the Ritual Caster feat, but certain classes get it for free. You record rituals in your ritual book, and learning one costs money. So, for example, if a 5e wizard wants to cast [I]knock[/I], they just spend a 2nd level slot to cast it, and open any lock that isn't magically locked and has a pretty good chance of opening one of those as well. They do need to spend a daily resource to do it (the 2nd level slot), and there's the loud knock sound that was added in 5e that makes it less than subtle, but it's pretty much a definite solution to any locked door or chest. In 4e instead, casting it takes 10 minutes and costs 35 gp worth of alchemical reagents, plus a healing surge (a daily resource that can otherwise heal 25% of your hp on a short rest or sometimes mid-combat – sort of like a 5e hit die, but instead of having an increasing number of fixed-potency heals you have a fixed number of increasing-potency heals). You then roll Arcana against each thing holding the target closed (so if the door has three locks, you roll three checks), with a pretty hefty bonus. If you succeed on all the checks, the thing is now unlocked. One particularly good effect of rituals is that long-term healing/condition relief is also the domain of rituals: Cure Disease, Raise Dead, and Remove Affliction (curses, petrification, etc.). That means you don't need a dedicated healer in the party to deal with that kind of thing – a wizard with the Heal skill will do just fine, or a ritual-casting Warlord or any other class. Even without that, there are a lot more rituals in 4e than in 5e: by my count 5e has 35, and 4e has about 50 in the PHB alone, with more in supplements (the main things that are rituals in 4e that aren't in 5e are healing, travel, and exploration magic). Also, since most rituals normally requires a skill check, they are less certain than spells. Knock, from the example above, is good at opening things, but it's not a certain thing. If you perform a Sending ritual, the range depends on your skill check (or alternately, the DC depends on the range to the target). They also always come with a monetary cost – it might be an insignificant one at higher levels, but spending 35 gp and an hour to feed a party of five with a Traveler's Feast each day adds up. TL;DR: In 5e, rituals are a way to bypass the spell slot cost of a spell by spending time on it. In 4e, rituals were an entirely different ballgame, both more and less accessible, and definitely more exciting. Plus they removed the need for a dedicated healer class. [/QUOTE]
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