Orisons and Rituals
Grammarsalad
Member Posts: 2,582
I have added Orisons to the title to denote a separate idea for special spells for clerics similar to cantrips (found eg in scales of balance).
They will be at will spells that will be (hopefully) useful no matter the clerics level but still less powerful than first level spells. Each kit should have unique orisons as well. In some cases they will replace weak low level spells
I've been kicking around an idea for a mod that includes the concept of ritual casting for divine casters for a while now, and I figured that I would ask for some feedback/advice.
Right now the idea is that the cleric (and possibly others) will get 'ritual' versions of certain spells that are more powerful than regular cleric spells but that require some sort of cost or investment.
So, lets take the spell Bless. The player has the option of memorizing the spell as a regular spell, or as a ritual (or both within slot limits). The regular spell would be unaffected by this potential mod. The ritual version might have a much longer casting time and pause the cleric so he couldn't do anything else, making the spell unfeasable during combat, and it might have a gold/health/stamina/other cost that the cleric would have to make, but the spell might have (say) a much longer duration and/or stronger effects.
Things that are pretty much set in stone:
- Longer casting time. Rituals take time to cast, and they should not be cast during combat. (Though I can be talked out of anything)
-That is pretty much it
Topics of discussion
The spells
The main question here is: Should rituals be modifications of spells the cleric already knows, completely unique spells, combination spells, something else, or some combination of these suggestions? Also, if so, what about the details? It seems natural to think of ritual spells as being stronger than regular spells of the same level, but that that additional power should come at a cost of some sort (e.g. the ritual might exhaust the caster and/or cause damage where he/she may actually collapse from the effort). However, perhaps rituals should (eg) just have longer lasting effects that are both a) weaker than the original spell and b) do not stack with the effects of the original spell. Also, combination approaches are also possible (eg some spells are stronger overall, but cause exhaustion, while others are weaker but last longer)
Some clarification below:
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Benefits:
Modifications: By this I mean that the spells would be modified versions of existing spells. As for exact implementation, the possibilities that I can imagine (feel free to suggest others) are: longer duration; stronger effects; additional effects; weaker effects; shorter duration; cost to the caster in terms of health, gold, save or attack penalties; removed effects.
Longer Duration: Ritual spells have an increased duration. For example, bless cast by a first level cleric lasts 6 rounds whereas the Ritual version might last twice or even ten times as long (the details must, of course, depend on the cost).
Stronger Effects: Rituals spells have stronger effects and give larger bonuses/deal more damage/heal more hp, etc. For example, the standard Bless grants a +1 to saves and attack rolls. The ritual bless might give a +2 bonus.
Additional Effects:Very closely related to the Combination approach below ritual spells have additional effects. For example, the ritual bless spell might grant bonus hit points to the party.
Unique Spells: At least some rituals are completely unique spells. Let your imagination run wild!
Combination Spells: Rituals are actually combinations of other existing spells. For example, there might be a ritual that not only blesses your party, but heals them as cure light wounds.
Some combination of these:Rituals are some combination of Modification/Unique/Combination Spells. Not to be confused with the suggestion above (I should use a different word!), this might manifest as (eg) Rituals that are combinations(as Combination) of extra powerful versions(Modifications). For example, a ritual bless might both have a much longer duration and cure as cure light wounds, but stronger than the CLW spell, and have some unique effect besides.
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Costs: No ritual should have a cost without some benefit, of course. The longer casting time alone is also something of a cost, so it is possible that some/most/all rituals might not have a cost beyond that.
Weaker Effects and/or Removed Effects:Ritual effects are (always/often/sometimes) weaker in that the bonuses/benefits they grant are smaller or reduced in scope, or they do not grant as many effects as the original. For example, while a ritual bless might last a lot longer than a regular bless, it only grants a +1 bonus to saves and no attack bonus.
Shorter Duration: Ritual spells are (always/often/sometimes) of a shorter duration. I'm less thrilled by this one, as the casting time (in a sense) reduces utility in this direction already, but it might work for some spells.
Eg a chant spell might last for 1/2 as long but give more bonuses
Other Cost: Rituals cost the caster in some other way. This one seems to have a lot of potential both in terms of balancing effects and adding to the flavor of rituals. It seems reasonable to think that rituals could cost the caster in terms
They will be at will spells that will be (hopefully) useful no matter the clerics level but still less powerful than first level spells. Each kit should have unique orisons as well. In some cases they will replace weak low level spells
I've been kicking around an idea for a mod that includes the concept of ritual casting for divine casters for a while now, and I figured that I would ask for some feedback/advice.
Right now the idea is that the cleric (and possibly others) will get 'ritual' versions of certain spells that are more powerful than regular cleric spells but that require some sort of cost or investment.
So, lets take the spell Bless. The player has the option of memorizing the spell as a regular spell, or as a ritual (or both within slot limits). The regular spell would be unaffected by this potential mod. The ritual version might have a much longer casting time and pause the cleric so he couldn't do anything else, making the spell unfeasable during combat, and it might have a gold/health/stamina/other cost that the cleric would have to make, but the spell might have (say) a much longer duration and/or stronger effects.
Things that are pretty much set in stone:
- Longer casting time. Rituals take time to cast, and they should not be cast during combat. (Though I can be talked out of anything)
-That is pretty much it
Topics of discussion
The spells
The main question here is: Should rituals be modifications of spells the cleric already knows, completely unique spells, combination spells, something else, or some combination of these suggestions? Also, if so, what about the details? It seems natural to think of ritual spells as being stronger than regular spells of the same level, but that that additional power should come at a cost of some sort (e.g. the ritual might exhaust the caster and/or cause damage where he/she may actually collapse from the effort). However, perhaps rituals should (eg) just have longer lasting effects that are both a) weaker than the original spell and b) do not stack with the effects of the original spell. Also, combination approaches are also possible (eg some spells are stronger overall, but cause exhaustion, while others are weaker but last longer)
Some clarification below:
-------------------------------------------------------
Benefits:
Modifications: By this I mean that the spells would be modified versions of existing spells. As for exact implementation, the possibilities that I can imagine (feel free to suggest others) are: longer duration; stronger effects; additional effects; weaker effects; shorter duration; cost to the caster in terms of health, gold, save or attack penalties; removed effects.
Longer Duration: Ritual spells have an increased duration. For example, bless cast by a first level cleric lasts 6 rounds whereas the Ritual version might last twice or even ten times as long (the details must, of course, depend on the cost).
Stronger Effects: Rituals spells have stronger effects and give larger bonuses/deal more damage/heal more hp, etc. For example, the standard Bless grants a +1 to saves and attack rolls. The ritual bless might give a +2 bonus.
Additional Effects:Very closely related to the Combination approach below ritual spells have additional effects. For example, the ritual bless spell might grant bonus hit points to the party.
Unique Spells: At least some rituals are completely unique spells. Let your imagination run wild!
Combination Spells: Rituals are actually combinations of other existing spells. For example, there might be a ritual that not only blesses your party, but heals them as cure light wounds.
Some combination of these:Rituals are some combination of Modification/Unique/Combination Spells. Not to be confused with the suggestion above (I should use a different word!), this might manifest as (eg) Rituals that are combinations(as Combination) of extra powerful versions(Modifications). For example, a ritual bless might both have a much longer duration and cure as cure light wounds, but stronger than the CLW spell, and have some unique effect besides.
-------------------------------------------------------
Costs: No ritual should have a cost without some benefit, of course. The longer casting time alone is also something of a cost, so it is possible that some/most/all rituals might not have a cost beyond that.
Weaker Effects and/or Removed Effects:Ritual effects are (always/often/sometimes) weaker in that the bonuses/benefits they grant are smaller or reduced in scope, or they do not grant as many effects as the original. For example, while a ritual bless might last a lot longer than a regular bless, it only grants a +1 bonus to saves and no attack bonus.
Shorter Duration: Ritual spells are (always/often/sometimes) of a shorter duration. I'm less thrilled by this one, as the casting time (in a sense) reduces utility in this direction already, but it might work for some spells.
Eg a chant spell might last for 1/2 as long but give more bonuses
Other Cost: Rituals cost the caster in some other way. This one seems to have a lot of potential both in terms of balancing effects and adding to the flavor of rituals. It seems reasonable to think that rituals could cost the caster in terms
Post edited by Grammarsalad on
5
Comments
If I where to do it I would probably go big, like 1-2 casts per playthrough big. Like a ritual that takes 5 minutes, 5,000gp, one unique component(ancient magic scroll?), three pearls and a yeti hide to cast, and gives you something like 10-ft radius protection from evil, chaotic comments and 1d12hp bounus for 3 hours, or immunity to physical damage to a single character for 1 hour. Crazy stuff.
Oh, and Are you thinking IWD or bg?
That actually sounds like a fun idea. I would have to think about implementation.
Edit: Rituals could take many forms. Some may be more mundane in that they are simple 'memorize and cast' while others require unique exhaustible items that (perhaps) the cleric must construct from exotic items... I might be able to do something like allow the cleric to create this unique scroll if she has the items and gold, and then use the scroll to cast a lengthy, but powerful ritual. As for casting time, I wouldn't want to make the casting time too long as that would get a bit boring
Edit 2: so no 5 min casting times.
IWD or Bg.: both, of course!