Ritual Rules

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Rituals are magical formulae that allow a caster to create a magical effect of their choosing through a combination of chanting, gesturing, and the use of magical focuses and ingredients. While sphere abilities are fueled by spell points and often take no longer than a standard action, rituals may take minutes, hours, or even days to perform, often requiring the use of a magical laboratory or temple and the expenditure of rare components.

All rituals possess the following:

• Base Sphere: Every ritual has an associated sphere, which a caster must possess in order to use the ritual.
• Ritual Level: Every ritual possesses a level which determines the caster level and casting ability score needed to perform it.
• Casting Time: The amount of time the caster must invest in order to use the ritual.
• Save DC: If a ritual calls for a saving throw, the DC is equal to 10 + the ritual’s level + the caster’s casting ability modifier.
• Materials: Every ritual has a material cost, be it special focuses, rare materials, or general alchemical equipment. These items must be present when the ritual is used, and with the exception of focuses (which are designated with an F), these materials are expended when the ritual is cast.

Using a ritual

All rituals require the caster to possess a written copy of the ritual in the form of a Ritual Book, as rituals are too complex to use without some form of written direction.

Deciphering a Ritual

If a caster comes into possession of a ritual, the caster must first decipher the magical writing with either a successful Spellcraft check (DC 20 + the ritual’s level), a read magic ritual, or the basic sense ability from the Divination sphere.

Once a ritual has been deciphered, it needn’t be deciphered again, even if the original written copy is lost and another used in its place.

Ritual Prerequisites

To use a ritual the caster must possess that ritual’s associated base sphere (or must possess the Ritual Caster feat), and their caster level with that sphere must be at least twice the ritual’s level - 1. In addition, their casting ability score must also be at least 10 + twice the ritual’s level.

Ritual Level	Prerequisite Caster Level	Prerequisite Casting Ability Score
0	1	10
1	1	12
2	3	14
3	5	16
4	7	18
5	9	20
6	11	22
7	13	24
8	15	26
9	17	28

Performing a Ritual

If the caster meets all these prerequisites and possesses the ritual’s material components, he may invest the required amount of time and activate the ritual.

Grand Rituals

If the caster's caster level does not meet the prerequisites, the ritual can still be performed with a Grand Ritual.

This involves including secondary casters. Secondary casters must possess that ritual’s associated base sphere (or the Ritual Caster feat) and have a casting ability score of 11 or higher.

A grand ritual's caster level prerequisite is the base ritual's caster level requirement - the combined caster level of all secondary casters.

A grand ritual's casting ability score prerequisite is the base ritual's casting ability score prerequisite - the number of secondary casters.

Multiply the ritual's casting time and cost by (the number of secondary casters) * (base ritual caster level requirement - the primary caster's caster level).

If a ritual includes more secondary casters than what is needed, the time and cost is only increased by the minimum needed.

If the primary caster suffers damage or other disruption while performing a grand ritual, she must make a concentration check as if concentrating on a spell.

Grand Ritual Example: The ritual Midnight is level 5, has 100 gp material component cost, 2 hours casting time, and requires the Darkness sphere. This sets the minimum caster level at 9 and the minimum casting ability score as 20.

The caster has caster level 5 and 16 casting ability score. She decides to perform the ritual as a Grand Ritual. The caster find a secondary caster with the Darkness sphere and casting level 4. This lower the caster level prerequisite to 5 (9 - 4) which is low enough for her, but the casting ability score prerequisite is still 19 (20 - 1). Thus she finds three more secondary caster's with the Darkness sphere and casting level 1. Now the caster level prerequisite to 2 (9 - 4 - 3x1), and the casting ability score prerequisite is now 16 (20 - 4).

The ritual's time and cost is multiplied by 16 = 4 secondary casters * 4 (9 base caster level requirement - primary caster's caster level). Thus it will require 1600 gp material components and 32 hours casting time to complete.

If our primary caster added 10 more secondary casters, it would not change the time and cost, since these extra secondary casters are not actually needed to meet the prerequisites.

Adding and Removing Secondary Casters

Grand Rituals usually take a long time to perform, but they aren’t quite as delicate and exacting as other forms of magic. Secondary casters can pause the ritual for a short time in order to fight, use magic, or take other actions. However, when the incantation is interrupted, the primary caster must make a concentration check equal to 10 + the base ritual's caster level requirement. If the ritual is not resumed before then, the primary caster must make another concentration check with the same DC for every minute that passes. Time spent during the interruption of an incantation does not count toward its casting time.

Alternatively, if the ritual has more secondary casters than what is needed, some may leave the ritual (whether voluntarily or though unconsciousness or other reason), as long as enough remain to meet the grand ritual's prerequisites. Every round that a secondary caster leaves the ritual in this way the primary caster must make a concentration check equal to the base ritual's caster level requirement.

If extra secondary casters join the ritual, the primary caster must also make a concentration equal to the base ritual's caster level requirement on the round that they join.

Grand Ritual Collapse

If a concentration check fails, the primary caster is rendered incapable of continuing the ritual, or a ritual (that is not paused) loses sufficient secondary casters to not meet prerequisites, the ritual starts collapsing. The primary caster may also voluntarily start a collapse as if she had failed concentration check with a DC equal to 10 + the base ritual's caster level requirement.

When the ritual start collapsing, the primary caster suffers a number of wild magic events equal to the ritual's level. If the ritual is level 5 or higher, she also has a chance equal to 10% * the ritual's level to suffer a major event.

If the collapse was due to a failed concentration check, and the primary caster and secondary casters are still able to continue the ritual, the primary caster is allowed to attempt the concentration check again to keep the ritual going. If this second attempt fails, the ritual collapse finishes.

When a grand ritual finishes its collapse, each secondary caster may suffer an effect

1d6	Effect
1-2	Nothing
3	Fatigued
4	Suffers damage equal to level of ritual
5	Fatigued and suffers damage equal to level of ritual
6	Suffers 1d6 damage per level of ritual

When a grand ritual finishes its collapse, the primary caster suffers an effect

1d6	Effect
1	Exhausted
2	Suffers 1 negative level
3	Suffers 1d6 damage per level of ritual
4	Suffers negative levels from 1 to ritual level (Example: 1d3 or 1d4 or 1d5)
5	Terrible non-lethal event appropriate to ritual (up to GM's imagination)
6	Calamitous or lethal event appropriate to ritual (up to GM's imagination)

Creating a Ritual Books

Recording a ritual into a magic book is a process that requires 1 hour per ritual level (0 level rituals take 30 minutes) and requires one page per ritual level (0 level rituals take half a page).

A ritual may be copied from another book, a scroll, or created through independent research.

If a ritual is copied from a scroll, this expends the scroll. In addition, if a ritual is copied from a scroll or another ritual book, a certain amount of magic (in the form of material components) must be expended to create a working written version, according to the following table. This cost does not need to be paid if the ritual was independently researched, as the components were spent during the research itself.

Ritual Level	Writing Cost
0	5 gp
1	10 gp
2	40 gp
3	90 gp

Ritual Scrolls

Instead of being recorded in a permanent Ritual Book, rituals can also be inscribed on one-use Ritual Scrolls. A ritual scroll contains a copy of a ritual that has been mostly cast, with the ritual’s cost and much of its casting time spent earlier during the scroll’s creation.

Deciphering a Ritual Scroll

Ritual scrolls requires deciphering exactly like Ritual Books before they can be used.

Scroll Prerequisites

To use a ritual scroll the caster's caster level must be at least twice the ritual’s level. In addition, their casting ability score must also be at least 10 + the ritual’s level.

If the caster’s caster level isn’t at least twice the ritual’s level, she may still attempt to activate it by making a check (d20 + her caster level vs. a DC equal to the scroll’s caster level + 1) to attempt to use the scroll anyway. If the caster succeeds, the scroll is activated as normal. If this check fails, the scroll is spent and the caster suffers a wild magic event.

Activating a Ritual Scroll

Activating a scroll is the same as using a ritual from a book, except the casting time is short (as noted in the ritual) and there is no material component (as that was supplied earlier). Using a ritual scroll causes the writing on the scroll to disappear, leaving the scroll as nothing but an ordinary blank sheet.

Creating a Ritual Scroll

Creating and using a ritual scroll is handled the same as creating and using a core Pathfinder spell scroll. To create a ritual scroll, a caster must know and be able to use the ritual and must possess the Craft Spell Container feat.

A ritual scroll has a market value equal to the level of the ritual × the creator’s caster level × 25 gp + the ritual’s material cost. When a caster creates a ritual scroll itself, the cost of creation is the level of the ritual x the creator’s caster level x 12.5 gp + the ritual’s material cost. A 0 level ritual is treated as having a level of .5 for this purpose.

Researching Rituals

If a caster possesses a ritual’s prerequisite caster level, sphere, and the Craft Rituals item creation feat, she may choose to research a ritual, allowing her to create a written version of that ritual even if no previously written version exists for her to work from. With GM permission, the caster may even create completely unique and original rituals, similar to creating custom spells in the core Pathfinder magic system.

Once a ritual has been researched, the caster may immediately cast the ritual by spending its material cost. She may also write the ritual down in a magic book at no extra cost, as the required magic components were already used in the research process.

Researching a ritual is similar to creating a magic item; there is a time and material cost, after which the caster must pass a Spellcraft check to determine if she was successful. It takes one week of research per ritual level to create a ritual. At the end of this process, the caster must make a single Spellcraft check. The DC to finish a ritual is 10 + 2x the ritual’s level. Failing this check means that the ritual is not created. Failing this check by 5 or more results in an unintentional effect when the ritual is used, similar to how magic item creation can result in a cursed item. The nature of this unintentional effect is subject to GM discretion.

Ritual Level	Development Cost
0	500 gp
1	1,000 gp
2	2,000 gp
3	4,500 gp

Rituals

• Alteration Rituals
• Conjuration Rituals
• Creation Rituals
• Darkness Rituals
• Death Rituals
• Destruction Rituals
• Divination Rituals
• Enhancement Rituals
• Fate Rituals
• Illusion Rituals
• Life Rituals
• Mind Rituals
• Nature Rituals
• Protection Rituals
• Telekinesis Rituals
• Weather Rituals