Ritual Magic

[DMMike]

In my low-magic campaign world, it takes a really special individual to be able to cast spells without the help of others or without somehow using excess resources: like one's soul or blood.

Of particular concern to me is the method of ritual magic: casting spells with the help of ceremony and other participants. This is the method that a low-level caster would utilize in order to be able to cast spells of level 3 or higher. So for example, Raise Dead can be cast by a low level priest, but it would require significant time and resources to do so.

Does anyone have a recommendation on what the numbers for this would look like? Have you seen a system already designed for this sort of thing? How many casters, gold pieces, and minutes should it require to cast spells of a higher level than your class allows?

[nijineko]

circle magic comes to mind, as does the epic spell requirements - dial them down a notch or 50, and it might scale.

circle magic is specifically designed for boosting caster level and such-like to enable higher or more powerful spells. There are four sources of Circle Magic: Halruaan Elder PrC [ShS], Hathran PrC [PGtF], Red Wizard PrC [DMG], and the Circle Magic feat [Gh]. if the caster level is not the only thing you are after, then a few simple modifications to how it works in your campaign should be sufficient.

see also the ritual magic rules... phb2 i think?

[fmitchell]

There's also the incantations system originally created for d20 Modern, or its spiritual successor Rituals in 4e.

Zombie Sky Press has a couple of PDFs building on Incantations.

[DMMike]

Snap! fmitchell that is perfect. And it's at my favorite d20 website! Let the nefarious activities begin...

[nijineko]

=p


^^