D&D (2024) Why is Ritual Caster gated?

[Undrave]

Instead, this feat allows you to broaden your spell choices by being able to select 1st-level ritual spells from any spell list and add them to your prepared spells, allowing you to cast them as rituals or using spell slots. Plus you get to cast one ritual per day quickly, regardless of level.

AUGH.

Just more toys for caster. I thought the point of Ritual Caster was to grant Ritual Casting to ANYBODY! Including martial characters who wanted the utility of rituals without the baggage of slot based casting or making their character into a battle spellcaster! Gating it behind being able to do spellcasting already is stupid. But of course, 2024 DnD doesn't actually want people to play non-caster.

AUGH!

 

[Undrave]

I liked the old Ritual Caster letting you use a spellbook for Rituals. It is useful to everyone, even a Wizard (since they'd be able to add druid and cleric rituals to their spellbook). It also lets groups without a spellcaster use important rituals. Seems like basic magic in a magical world to me.

EXACTLY! why did it need changing into this stupid version?!

 

[Kobold Stew]

Just more toys for caster. I thought the point of Ritual Caster was to grant Ritual Casting to ANYBODY! Including martial characters who wanted the utility of rituals without the baggage of slot based casting or making their character into a battle spellcaster!

I think this is mistaken.

A non-caster can take this feat, and take PB first-level rituals, and have them from any list. Additionally, they can swift-cast one of them per long rest. That's strong, and add in the +1 ASI, it's good.

A caster can also take this feat. For them, the two free spells will matter less (esp. if they are a wizard; they can have them copied in their books anyways), but they still might choose the feat (a) to get spells on another list, and (b) to get the swift-caster ability.

This is a better feat for non-casters than for casters, in my opinion.

BUT! One thing it doesn't do is let you have that 2014 did is upper-level rituals, so (as far as I've seen in the previews and reveals) the only way to get Phantom Steed (for example) as a ritual is to have 5 levels of Wizard or 6 as Lore bard. (People with the book -- please correct me if I'm wrong!). But that's, I think, what Ritual caster loses in 2024.

(The Tomelock gets cantrips and any two level-1 rituals each time the book is summoned; and so fewer rits available at any time, but a broader range available if you can plan your day. But still no upper-level rituals.)

 

[Mistwell]

AUGH.

Just more toys for caster. I thought the point of Ritual Caster was to grant Ritual Casting to ANYBODY! Including martial characters who wanted the utility of rituals without the baggage of slot based casting or making their character into a battle spellcaster! Gating it behind being able to do spellcasting already is stupid. But of course, 2024 DnD doesn't actually want people to play non-caster.

AUGH!

They made the monk so good it's better than many spellcasrers. Some say it's better than most spellcasters. And you think 2024 doesn't want people to play non-casters?

The made the Barbarian and Fighter much more powerful as well, and reduced the power of wizard. I think you're barking up the wrong tree on that complaint about this version of 5e. The martial-caster divide is more reduced now than at any other time of 5e, or any other time of 3e or 3.5e for that matter.

 

[Mistwell]

I think this is mistaken.

A non-caster can take this feat, and take PB first-level rituals, and have them from any list. Additionally, they can swift-cast one of them per long rest. That's strong, and add in the +1 ASI, it's good.

What does PB stand for in than sentence? Because this feat doesn't give you the Ritual Caster ability with it. Having rituals prepared doesn't let you actually cast those spells as a ritual, unless you have the Ritual Caster ability from your class, right? Or did I miss something, and now any class can use a ritual spell they have prepared, and having it prepared is all that's necessary for to essentially have the benefits of the old Ritual Caster ability?

 

[MarkB]

What does PB stand for in than sentence?

Proficiency Bonus. You gain a number of ritual spells equal to your proficiency bonus, and additional ones as it increases.

Because this feat doesn't give you the Ritual Caster ability with it. Having rituals prepared doesn't let you actually cast those spells as a ritual, unless you have the Ritual Caster ability from your class, right? Or did I miss something, and now any class can use a ritual spell they have prepared, and having it prepared is all that's necessary for to essentially have the benefits of the old Ritual Caster ability?

There is no Ritual Caster ability. If you have a ritual spell prepared, you can cast it as a ritual.

 

[Kobold Stew]

What does PB stand for in than sentence? Because this feat doesn't give you the Ritual Caster ability with it. Having rituals prepared doesn't let you actually cast those spells as a ritual, unless you have the Ritual Caster ability from your class, right?

PB= proficiency bonus.

I had thought you don't need a spell slot now to cast a ritual -- wasn't that the point of removing the "can cast rituals" ability? Do you have a reason to believe that they've kept it this way?

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Tremendously silly to gate Ritual Caster behind being a caster. I've never seen a caster take it - in either 4E or 5E (even though some 5E casters don't have it), but I have seen several non-casters.

A non-caster can take this feat

The 2024 Ritual Caster feat is gated to level 4 and requires spell casting or pact magic to take it.

I don't think these can both be true. I'd go to one of the videos of the PHB and check but has dementedly forced those to be deleted (despite basically every other RPG book in existence having similar flipthroughs, including many WotC ones, or certainly for years and years they did, though perhaps people have taken the WotC ones down out of an abundance of caution), so we need someone who has seen the actual wording to say which is true.

 

[Mistwell]

Proficiency Bonus. You gain a number of ritual spells equal to your proficiency bonus, and additional ones as it increases.

There is no Ritual Caster ability. If you have a ritual spell prepared, you can cast it as a ritual.

PB= proficiency bonus.

I had thought you don't need a spell slot now to cast a ritual -- wasn't that the point of removing the "can cast rituals" ability? Do you have a reason to believe that they've kept it this way?

You are correct, it's a change I was not aware of:

Ritual: If you have a spell prepared that has the Ritual tag, you can cast that spell 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.

So yes, this does grab the ability to a non-caster to cast those ritual spells.

 

[ECMO3]

I don't think it can be. Casting Level 1 spells at will is pretty far above what I would be willing to consider an "origin". If you need that much power as a background, starting to group at level 4 is a better option than raising the power of level 1.

I think casting a level 1 spell at will as a ritual is already available through magic initiate (assuming you pick a ritual spell).