Ritual Magic
Ancient form of magic, rituals empowered by older gods. Mostly by human pantheons, used to empower all followers. Less popular today for various reasons.
- Requires a teacher to perform it properly, very exacting
- Long "casting time" compared to traditional magic, untenable unless defending a spot or you know it's coming.
- Generally passive, no real direct uses against a foe.
- Occasionally awkward or blatant requirements (though this can sometimes be worked around)
- Generally cannot defend against mortals
- Rituals hedge out or strike against either a specific type of spiritual entity or all spiritual entities, not by alignment
Benefits compared to traditional protection magics:
- Lack of knowledge works both ways — many modern outsiders simply aren't taught about these and don't know to watch for them.
- Can be performed by anyone, even those with no magical talent at all.
- While requirements might be precise, they can at times be easier to obtain than the equivalent for spells.
Ritual magic usually restricted to mimicking effects from Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, or Necromancy. Rituals cannot be used to cause damage directly, though some can be used to expel spiritual entities. Similarly, rituals cannot be used to heal.
Because rituals are specifically patterns of behavior empowered by deities on behalf of their followers, new rituals cannot be created by mortals. However, a person does not have to follow a deity to use one of their rituals — though it does help.
Spells appropriate for ritual form
- Animate Dead
- Arcane Sight (all)
- Atonement
- Augury
- Banishment
- Bestow Curse
- Blasphemy/Dictum/Holy Word/Word of Chaos
- Bless
- Bless Water/Curse Water
- Bless Weapon/"Curse Weapon"
- Break Enchantment
- Cloak of Chaos/Holy Aura/Shield of Law/Unholy Aura
- Commune
- Consecrate/Desecrate
- Contact Other Plane
- Create Undead
- Create Greater Undead
- Detect Magic
- Detect Undead
- Dimensional Anchor
- Dimensional Lock
- Discern Location
- Dismissal
- Dispel (i.e., C/E/G/L)
- Dispel Magic
- Divination
- Dream
- Ethereal Jaunt
- Forbiddance
- Gate
- Globe of Invulnerability (all)
- Glyph of Warding
- Hallow/Unhallow
- Magic Circle (i.e., against C/E/G/L)
- Magic Jar
- Mark of Justice
- Mind Blank
- Planar Ally (all)
- Planar Binding (all)
- Protection (i.e., from C/E/G/L)
- Scrying (all)
- Speak With Dead
- Spell Immunity
- Spell Resistance
- Spell Turning
- Soul Bind
- Symbol (any)
- Trap the Soul
- Undeath to Death
General Mechanical Information
No player starts with knowing rituals unless they are a follower of a deity listed as knowing one. Uncovering a ritual without help from such a follower requires a DC 35+spell level K:Religion check. Performing a ritual requires one or more successful skill checks; a failed ritual holds no penalty or backfire, it simply does nothing. Similarly, if a ritual is interrupted mid-performance, it holds no penalty, although it must be resumed from the beginning. Some components may be lost, such as paint or ink, while others may be reused, such as powder or salt; use discretion and common sense if unclear. In spellcasting terms, all components are considered as focuses unless otherwise listed.
In general, ritual versions of spells with a casting time of one standard or full round action will require at least 10 minutes to cast, while spells with longer casting times will require at least ten times as long. However, performing a ritual can require as many as multiple days; rituals requiring multiple days' worth of actions require the usual checks for fatigue as the performer must forgo sleep.
