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Revision as of 10:17, 3 March 2011

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Date Created: February 18, 2011
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Contents

Rituals

Don't you see? The universe is logical. Rational. Everything is explainable if only you understand how it works. And that's just what I do. My book? These are the formulas needed to make the world move around us. It's simply like a see-saw, you see? Push one side down, the other goes up. Recite this incantation or burn that incense, and one gains the ability to fly.

A gnome checks his thick book, applying a smidgen of lye, pure quartz and a small pinch of faerie dust into the small cauldron that bubbles with no source of heat. Just a few more ingredients he promises, and they would all be able to fly.

Raven. Wolf. Bear. Stag. All of these are the beasts that have seen my ancestors through harsh times, and now they see me. Through them I can face any challenge, and with their help I can break any foe, overcome any obstacle. I make offerings to them, and they listen to my pleas, and help me just as they did for all those of my tribe.

The diary is filled with inane scribbles and incomprehensible marks that cause the mind to blur and a feeling of vertigo. The pale young woman holding the book twitches as she recalls another nightmare. Her material components each represent a part of her dream as she prepares to introduce the madness that dwells within her mind into the real world, drawing it from her psyche and imprinting reality with her mark.

Your body, your beliefs hold power. These tattoos that line my body are webs that stretch farther than simply my being. They connect me to a greater source of power than any could understand. Through them I am able to understand the world better, feel it better, and use that power to influence objects around me. Come, and let me scribe upon your skin as well so that you too may understand what happens here.

A small set of cups holds representations of each of the elements; air as incense, smoke curling to the sky. Earth a precious gem, dug from deep below the soil. Water a precious elixir, distilled from the purest of springs. And last fire, a glowing ember. Within the square a woman calls out to the elemental spirits, beseeching them for aid in a time of need. She only needs to finish her incantation before they respond.

The stars--do they talk to you too?? They whisper things--strange things! That one day, a glorious and terrible force will come from below the sea, that it will sweep away the world, that it will destroy everything! EVERYTHING!! But its time is not here yet--the stars are not yet right for that to come to pass. But the doom of these people--the stars tell me that it's time they die! And so with their power, I shall show my own!

Holy symbols and relics line a soft circle made in sand as a quiet woman in a simple white gown prays within it. Her words flow out as she rocks back and forth on her knees, hands clasped together as she feels power thrum within her. She is a container, a vessel for her god's will. Soon she will fill up to the top, and then will her god's will be made manifest.

Oh great demon of the Abyss! Oh lord of temptation and greed! Hear my call and answer! For it is I, your faithful servant you calls upon you this day! Grant me your power that I might make my enemies rue your existence! Make me into your sword, and strike down those who would turn their ears from your insidious whispers! Bring fire, fire and brimstone upon them, and let the earth shake and the skies rumble with your fury!

What are Rituals?

Rituals are a way of bringing player agency and world-shaping abilities to games that lack spellcasters such as the wizard or cleric. They give such powers to all characters--after all, why should only the spellcasters have the ability to change the world around them? Rather than giving only traditional spellcasters such abilities, this variant grants them to all characters.

Mechanics

Rituals require an amount of time to enact, and duplicate some sort of effect. While many rituals appear in the world, most can only be cast by a character of a certain character level (CL from now on), and that character must have at least 9 Intelligence and Charisma. The following table defines at what CL characters can cast a ritual of what level:

Rituals by Character Level
Character level Ritual Level
1 1
3 2
5 3
7 4
9 5
11 6
13 7
15 8
17 9

Casting a Ritual

There are a number of components to casting a ritual. Depending on the ritual's nature, it has either a short casting time (one minute), medium casting time (ten minutes), or long casting time (one hour).

Rituals require special materials, incense, or other components to cast; this cost is equal to the effective character level x 50. A caster may reduce their effective caster level for the purpose of ritual up to the minimum required to cast said ritual in order to minimize the cost. If the ritual duplicates a spell with expensive material components or an experience cost, the cost of the material compontents must be added into the original ritual cost, as well as 50 gold per experience point that would be spent were the spell cast normally. These components are consumed regardless of whether the ritual succeeds or fails.

Characters require a Charisma check to successfully cast a ritual, made at the end of the ritual's casting time. The DC for this check is equal to 10 + ritual level. If the ritual duplicates a spell, the caster level is equal to the caster's character level. If the ritual duplicates a power, the manifester level is equal to the caster's character level, and the effect is automatically augmented to the character's level as well. Any DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 character level + Charisma modifier. If you cast a ritual from a ritual book that is not yours you take a -5 penalty to the Charisma check.

Rituals may be interrupted at any time, as per the Concentration skill (replace all instances of "spell" with ritual. All rituals are considered to have a somatic and verbal component).

Collecting Rituals

Rituals can be found or researched; either way, recording them requires a ritual book (identical to a spellbook). Alternative materials can be used to record a ritual as per Alternative Spellbooks (Complete Arcane 186). Each ritual requires 100 gp per ritual level in special inks, adhesive dust, or similar material to record, and takes a single page of the ritual book. Each ritual takes at least one hour to copy into a ritual book.

While many rituals are found, they can also be researched. Characters can research rituals that are at least one level lower than the highest-level ritual they can cast, and researching a ritual requires 1,000 gp per ritual level to research as well as three days per level of the ritual.

Characters cannot share ritual books, but grow familiar with certain rituals they cast time and again. A character may have a number of rituals that have been copied to his ritual book that are on his preferred list, and these are his preferred rituals. A character can have up to a number of ritual levels on his preferred list equal to his character level. Thus, a level 10 character could have two third-level rituals and a fourth-level ritual on his preferred list. Upon scribing a new ritual to one's ritual book, a character may add it to his preferred list as well though he must remove a number of rituals from his preferred list to accommodate the new ritual's level.

Preferred rituals have a number of benefits; first of all, one does not need a ritual book on hand to cast them, and one receives a bonus on the Charisma check to cast them equal to one-half one's character level or +5, whichever is higher.

Sample Rituals

Here are a number of sample rituals to get you started. Remember that specific rituals may be missing from a campaign altogether at the DM's discretion. Use the following rituals as guidelines for your own.

First Level Rituals

Animate Rope
Astral Traveler
Augury
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Augury.
Body Equilibrium
  • Casting Time: Medium
  • Effect: Duplicates Body Equilibrium. Range is changed to Touch.
  • Special: If cast as a second-level ritual, you may reduce the casting time to Short.
Call Weaponry
Destroy Warp Anchor
  • Casting Time: Medium
  • Effect: Destroy a Anchor Point you can touch.
Detect Aspect
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Detect Evil except that you may attempt to detect any specific creature type (and subtype where applicable) or alignment.
Detect Magic
Detect Poison
Detect Secret Doors
Detect Snares and Pits
Feather Fall
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Feather Fall, except it applies to the next time one falls at least 10' in the next 10 minutes.
  • Special: If one hangs this ritual, it may be unhung as an immediate action.
Float
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Float.
Ghost Sound
Hold Portal
Identify
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Identify.
Know Direction
Light
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Light.
Mending
  • Casting Time: Medium
  • Effect: Duplicates Mending.
My Light
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates My Light. Range is changed to Touch.
Purify Food and Drink
Read Magic
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Read Magic.
Speak with Animals
Speak with Plants
Synthestate
Status
  • Casting Time: Medium
  • Effect: Duplicates Status.
Undetectable Alignment
Unseen Servant
Ventriloquism
Whispering Wind

Second Level Rituals

Alarm
  • Casting Time: Long
  • Effect: Duplicates Alarm.
Align Weapon
Animal Messenger
Animal Trance
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Animal Trance.
  • Special: One cannot hang this ritual.
Break Enchantment
Commune With Nature
Comprehend Languages
Create Food and Water
Detect Thoughts
Disguise Self
Dispel Magic
Endure Elements
Establish Warp Anchor
  • Casting Time: Long
  • Effect: Creates a Anchor Point at your location.
Find Traps
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Find Traps, except that the bonus to Search is +5 and doesn't change with CL.
  • Special: The ritual may be cast with a medium casting time to increase the bonus to +10, or a long casting time to increase the bonus to +20.
Ghost Touch Weapon
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: A single weapon (or up to 50 pieces of ammunition) gain the Ghost Touch property for one minute per CL.
Hypnotism
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Hypnotism.
  • Special: One cannot hang this ritual.
Knock
  • Casting Time: Medium
  • Effect: Duplicates Knock, except that instead of automatically unlocking the portal it instead reduces the open lock DC by 10.
  • Special: This ritual may be cast with a long casting time to instead reduce the DC by 20. One cannot hang this ritual when used this way.
Misdirection
Scent
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Psionic Scent. Range is changed to Touch.
See Invisibility
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates See Invisibility. Range is changed to Touch.
Sensitivity to Psychic Impressions
Telepathic Bond, Lesser

Third Level Rituals

Arcane Sight
Clairaudience/Clairvoyance
Contact Other Plane
Daylight
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Daylight.
Detect Scrying
Divination
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Divination.
Find the Path
Hypnotic Pattern
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Hypnotic Pattern.
  • Special: One cannot hang this ritual.
Invisibility
Levitate
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Levitate. Range is changed to Touch.
Object Reading
Silence
  • Casting Time: Medium
  • Effect: Duplicates Silence. Range is changed to Touch.
Speak with Dead
Stone Tell
  • Casting Time: Medium
  • Effect: Duplicates Stone Tell.
Suggestion
  • Casting Time: Medium
  • Effect: Duplicates Suggestion. While the suggestion must be decided upon at the start of the ritual, you have one minute upon finishing to cast the ritual to lay the suggestion on someone as a standard action.
Tongues
  • Casting Time: Medium
  • Effect: Duplicates Tongues.
Vision
  • Casting Time: Medium
  • Effect: Duplicates Vision.

Fourth Level Rituals

Air Walk
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Air Walk.
Analyze Dweomer
Arcane Eye
  • Casting Time: Medium
  • Effect: DuplicatesArcane Eye.
Commune
  • Casting Time: Long
  • Effect: Duplicates Commune.
Fly
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Fly.
Locate Object
Pursue Warp
Quintessence
Scrying
  • Casting Time: Long
  • Effect: Duplicates Scrying.
Telepathic Bond
  • Casting Time: Medium
  • Effect: Duplicates Telepathic Bond. Range is changed to Touch.
Warp
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Warp.

Fifth Level Rituals

Animate Dead
  • Casting Time: Long
  • Effect: Duplicates Animate Dead. One cannot hang this ritual.
  • Special: You cannot control more than 2 HD of undead per CL with this ritual.
Animate Objects
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Animate Objects. One cannot hang this ritual.
Animate Plants
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Animate Plants. One cannot hang this ritual.
Astral Caravan
Awaken
  • Casting Time: Long
  • Effect: Duplicates Awaken. One cannot hang this ritual.
Lesser Dimensional Lock
  • Casting Time: Short
  • Effect: Duplicates Dimensional Lock. The duration is changed to one round per level, and the area is changed to a 100' emanation.

Sixth Level Rituals

Arcane Sight, Greater
Guards and Wards
Overland Flight
  • Casting Time: Medium
  • Effect: Duplicates Overland Flight. Range is changed to Touch.
Passage of the Warp
Plane Shift
Prying Eyes

Seventh Level Rituals

Dream Travel
Scrying, Greater
Teleport
  • Casting Time: Long
  • Effect: Duplicates Teleport.
True Seeing
Volcanic Eruption
  • Casting Time: Long
  • Effect: Duplicates Volcano. The volcano does not continue erupting or growing after the initial effect.
  • Special: One cannot hang this ritual.

Eighth Level Rituals

Brain Spider
Dimensional Lock
Discern Location
Gate
  • Casting Time: Long
  • Effect: Duplicates the planar travel version of Gate though with no maximum concentration time.
Imprisonment
  • Casting Time: Long
  • Effect: Duplicates Imprisonment, but the target must either be willing or helpless.
Mind Blank
  • Casting Time: Medium
  • Effect: Duplicates Mind Blank. Range is changed to Touch.
Prying Eyes, Greater

Ninth Level Rituals

Genesis
  • Casting Time: Long
  • Effect: Duplicates Genesis except that if this ritual is cast again the original demiplane is destroyed and creatures within it are expelled where the original Genesis spell was originally cast.
Hypercognition
Metafaculty
Teleportation Circle

Supplemental Rules

Chained Ritual [General] Benefit: Once per day when you finish casting a ritual with a range of touch, you may also touch up to 5 other creatures and have them be affected by the ritual. If a creature attempts to resist the ritual it automatically fails on that creature regardless of any save that would or would not be present. Special: This feat may be taken multiple times. Each time, you may activate a ritual with a lowered casting time an additional time per day.

Dedicated Researcher [General] Benefit: You require only 2 days and 750 gp per ritual level to research a ritual. Special: This feat may be taken a second time. Doing so makes it so that you require only 1 day and 500 gp per ritual level to research a ritual.

Hang Ritual [General] Benefit: Upon successfully casting a ritual you may stop right before the last word. The ritual then "hangs", ready to be used at a later time. A ritual may be activated as a standard action if its activation time is short, a full-round action if its activation time is medium, and a one-round action if its activation is long. Unhanging a ritual provokes an attack of opportunity and may be interrupted as normal. Special: This feat may be taken any number of times. Each time this feat is taken, you may hang another ritual. For example, someone who took this feat three times would be able to hang up to three rituals at a time.

Persistent Ritual [General] Benefit: When you finish casting a ritual with a range of personal or touch at least 1 level lower than the highest-level ritual you can cast, you may designate it as a persistent ritual as long as it has a duration that is not Instantaneous or Permament. The duration of this ritual becomes 24 hours. Special: You may only have one ritual that is under the effect of this feat active at any one time. This feat may be taken multiple times. For every time it is taken, you may have another feat affected by this feat active at one time.

Professional Ritualist [General] Benefit: You gain a +5 bonus to the Charisma check to successfully cast a ritual. Special: This feat may be taken multiple times. Each time the bonus increases by another two. Thus, someone who took this feat three times would gain a +9 bonus to their check.

Quicken Ritual [General] Benefit: Once per day you may cast a ritual with a lowered casting time. Rituals with a short casting time require one round to cast, rituals with a medium casting time require two rounds to cast, and rituals with a long casting time require three rounds to cast. Special: This feat may not be used with rituals that one could not hang. This feat may be taken multiple times. Each time, you may activate a ritual with a lowered casting time an additional time per day.

Ritual Savant [General] Benefit: You may add your level to the total number of ritual levels in your preferred ritual list. Special: This feat may be taken multiple times. Each time, you may add your character level once more to the total number of ritual levels in your preferred ritual list. Thus, a level five character who's taken this feat twice could have up to 15 ritual levels on their preferred ritual list.


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Ghostwheel's Homebrew (311 Articles)
Ghostwheelv
3.5 Classes Berserker, Cosplayer, Daywalker Paragon, Iaijutsu Master, Magus Portalus, Marshal, Rage Mage, Reaper, Sharpshooter, Spellthief, Pathfinder Variant, Thaumaturge, Toxinblade, Trapsmith, Variant, Xenophile
3.5 Feats Access Divine Power, Access Divine Spells, Accomplished, Accurate Opportunist, Acolyte of the Skin, Adaptable Technique, Adjusted Accuracy, Aegis of Health, Tome, Arcane Champion, Assassinate, Augmented Thaumaturge, Barreling Charge, Bladeblast, Blood of Stone, Bolster Technique, Careful Movement, Charismatic Prodigy, Cleave, Grimoire, Close Miss, Combat Reflexes, Greater, Combat Reflexes, Grimoire, Combat Reflexes, Improved, Compensate for Size, Copy Technique, Cross-Style Training, Dabbler, Danger Intuition, Dash, Death From Afar, Defensive Roll, Defensive Strike, Deft Opportunist, Diehard, Grimoire, Distracting Barrage, Divine Stalker, Dragoon Charge, Endurance, Grimoire, Euphoric Blade, Expose Weakness, Extended Psychic Strike, Focused Energy, Fortune's Friend, Furious Blow, Gatecrasher, Gatling Spell, Goad, Greater Spellthief, Greater Spring Attack, Gripping Vise, Heavy Build, Heedful Charge, Hidden Manifestation, Hostile Mind, Improved Charge, Improved Mage Knight, Improved On Your Knees, Improved Wild Talent, Incredible Focus, Intervene, Intimidating Brute, Iron Tide, Know-It-All, Last to Fall, Living Weapon, Mage Knight, Magekiller, Tome, Mana Engine, Master Blaster, Master Creature Killer, Master of Concoctions, Metamana Fuel, Mobile Wall, Mystic Arts Synthesis, Mystic Theurge, On Your Knees, Overwhelming Blow, Penetrating Strike, Phantom Health, Pounce, Power Attack, Grimoire, Power Charge, Precise Marksman, Primal Enchanter, Psyblade, Purple Dragon Knight, Quick Reconnoiter, Ranged Feint, Ranged Flanking, Ranged Threat, Renewed Zealousness, Shadow Pounce, Sharpshooter, Shielded in Life, Short Haft, Skill Trick Mastery, Spell Cascade, Spell Parry, Spell Reflection, Spellcutting Strike, Spellthief... further results
3.5 Traits Ambidextrous, Avenger, Exceptional Luck, Hulking Brute, Mixed Blood, Opportunist, Preacher, Psychic Potential, Radical Upbringing, Raised by Wolves, Sight Without Sight, Skilled, Trapspringer, Unnatural Aura, Unorthodox Tutelage, Versatile, Void Born
3.5 ACFs Barrage Sharpshooter, Grimoire Fighter, Grimoire Paladin, Grimoire Ranger, Grimoire Rogue, Grimoire Soulknife, Grimoire Tenken, Grimoire Totemist, Psychic Soulknife, Trapspringer Bard, Trapspringer Sharpshooter, Wildmagic Thaumaturge
3.5 Variant Rules Alignments by Color, Alternative Iterative Attacks, Background-Based Skills, Balanced Skills, Balanced Wealth, Broken Shields, Capped Modifiers and DCs, Condensed Skills, Custom Weapon Creation, Dual Preparation Casting, E20, Expanded Movement Options, Failure is not the End, Grace Points, Healing Surges, Lengthened Spellcasting, Limited Spell Levels, Magical Focus Implements, Masterwork Variant, Monstrous Player Characters, New Level-Dependent Benefits, Original Race Rebuilding, Prepared Spontaneous Casting, Recharging Magic, Recharging Power Points, Refillable Potions, Rituals, Scaling Item DCs, Simplified Experience, Simplified Races, Simplified Skills, Simplified Social Interaction, Simplified Special Attacks, Stacking Ability Modifiers, Standardized Bonus Types, Taking Stock, The Edge, Turn Undead, Variant Reach, Vow of Poverty, Wounds
3.5 Optimized Builds Arcane Warrior, Basic Blaster Wilder, Basic Combat Rogue Guide, Bladesinger, Clever Critfighter, Dragoon, Eternal Blade of the Revenant, Feral Shifter, Glaive of the Dungeon Crasher, Glaive of the Hellfire Warlock, Grapplemancer, Healing Personified, Hero of Time, Knightly Charger, Low Level Nova, Machine Gun Assassin, Mindspider Infiltrator, Mobile Blender, Mobile Glaive, Nightcrawling Shadowpouncer, Psionic Monk, Righteous Rager, Sacred Fist of the Silver Flame, Shower of Arrows, Sublime Singer, Ubermount, Whirling Eater of Souls
Guide to Roles in the Party (3.5), Talk
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Facts about "Rituals (3.5e Variant Rule)"
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AuthorGhostwheel +
Identifier3.5e Variant Rule +
PrerequisiteNone +
Rated ByMisterSinister + and Foxwarrior +
RatingRating Pending +
SummaryYou can share your rituals with others. +, You are a wealth of knowledge, and can research rituals far faster than your peers. +, You can "hang" a ritual for later use. +, Your rituals last far longer than others'. +, You succeed at casting rituals far more often than your peers. +, You can cast rituals on the fly a small number of times per day. + and Your mind is a repository of rituals that few can challenge in its depth. +
TitleRituals +
TypeGeneral +