okay I love the ideas of rituals, I think they have been a long time coming. That said, some things that are rituals now... should they be? I ask this partly because of time restraints. Lets look at a perfectly paired example.
Arcane Lock, and Knock.
Neither of these can be used quickly, 10 minutes to cast from a book, and 5 from a scroll. It is no longer possible to lock a door from the things chasing you quickly and use that to help you either rest or get some extra distance.
another often time important example
Comprehend Language
is that "raving whateverthingy" going to sit around and let you preform a 10 minute ritual so you can begin to understand it? It seems somewhat less useful now.
anyone else agree, disagree?
I would agree they're less useful now, but perhaps that is sort of the point?
I think the idea was to move away from the "magic can solve anything" school of thought. This has its ups and downs, really, but overall I like it. It was the magic is the key that fits any lock that led to spellcasters dominating the game so much in earlier editions. I've yet to see how this edition really holds up over a campaign, but I think all characters will be equally effective in most situations now.
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I would agree they're less useful now, but perhaps that is sort of the point?
That's exactly the point.
Now you have to figure out what to do about the rampaging horde following you. Maybe the thief can quickly lock a door, or the fighter can try to spike it.
Now you have to figure out how to do the hand jive with the lost race.
Now you have to figure out if the Innkeeper is evil or not by talking to him, rather then the Paladin just seeing his "glow".
I think these are some changes that will increase RP opportunites.
But still these spells have uses. If you find a safe room and want to camp in it, you can arcane lock it. In fact you can even put a "free pass" on there for certain people.
If you find some lost runes that you can't puzzle out, you have a ritual to help you with them.
Etc.
I think in a world where the rituals exist they'll be used differently. The jabbering whatsit will probably understand what the ritual is and pace frustratedly until the ritual is complete, or if its message is urgent enough might wave away the ritualist and try to convey the idea in drawings or pantomime.
Knock will be used more for safecracking and less for breach and clear operations.
Arcane lock will be a security measure far in advance of trouble--or at least with friends standing guard.
I don't think the rituals have problems, they are just a different kind of tool for a different kind of job.
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I would agree they're less useful now, but perhaps that is sort of the point?
I agree that was the point. They're not "deus ex machina" anymore (solving the situation out of thin air, without drawbacks), but rather game elements that bring their share of advantages vs. flaws (tactical considerations to be able to use them) to the game table instead.
I see the change as an opportunity for a more nuanced tactical game play here, not a failing.
What a great idea of a skills encounter\Team goal.
Encounter A:
A Scouting part of Goblins has been taken down however 1 got away you can hear the rallied troops on their way now. The Scouting party was way to strong there is no way you can take out a full squad. however in the Room is a Iron door strong enough to hold them back as you example however the lock is well beyond broken. The Wizard need 5min to can the ritual and lock the door, 1 player can help, the others need to distract\trap\delay the squad on it;s way until the ritual can be cast. Very Free form encounter the wizard would need to make arcane checks i would speed up or slow down the ritual based on the checks, the "assistant" would do the same maybe with differnt kinds of checks getting the door set to close at the right second ect... everyone else would need to distract them Either with A fire arrow shot into a tree to set it on fire liquid, or Some kind of distraction sound or a a quick and dirty trap ect...
Encounter B:
an NPC ally is locked in the room, the wizard knows that it has an arcane lock cast on it. The Room is filling with a strange liquid, you can see via a small window (that some how is very strong) that you don;t have long. Can the Rogue disble the trap? can the Wizard cast Knock in time, or can the fighter bash in the window that seems much stronger than it should... The Ritual could be cast in time with a rushed casting (house rule just for situations like this) with the right arana checks...
I agree that was the point. They're not "deus ex machina" anymore (solving the situation out of thin air, without drawbacks), but rather game elements that bring their share of advantages vs. flaws (tactical considerations to be able to use them) to the game table instead.
I see the change as an opportunity for a more nuanced tactical game play here, not a failing.
so magic use and options aren't tactical?
Well it certianly seems new. It might need to be house ruled in a few cases but I'll try the rules as is for a while first. It certianly sounds as if it might make for a better story some of the time.
As a rule I generally like the model that they are going with that makes gaining access to information more difficult or harder. One of my gripes with some of the older editions was that easy access to too much information gathering magic meant that a lot of neat stories could not really be told. I think some of these elements were essentially hold overs from 1st edition with its 'explore the 30 level dungeon' mentality and had not really caught up with the much more story orientated style of gaming that was increasingly popular from the 2nd edition era on.
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One of my gripes with some of the older editions was that easy access to too much information gathering magic meant that a lot of neat stories could not really be told.
And this is a totally understandable point of view. I actually share it.
What I really think would have been great is a "High Level Handbook" that would have decrypted all the pitfalls of high level and not-so-high-level spells to be able to create adventures that fit the D&D paradigm of Third Ed.
It never happened. That's more than a missed opportunity. That's dumb to have missed such an opportunity for a valuable product.