Wizards get only 8 hours, cause they end up paying for it. Druids get it for free, but it takes 3x as long. As far as interruptions, nothing. They can't eat, they can't sleep, nothing. They need to keep going for 24 hours until it's done. And as far as I can tell, there's no stigma against having her party with her, so they could guard her as she prayed.
You're the GM, it's really up to you. Why is the player upset enough to fight over this?
The book says 24 hours uninterrupted. Sleeping/resting would definitely be an interruption. Sitting down for a meal would be an interruption. Depending on your viewpoint, maybe nibbling on some bread and sipping some water while still praying might not be an interruption (me, I would allow it; this doesn't seem like the kind of thing that requires sacrifice or deprivation on the part of the druid/ranger, so they should be able to sustain themselves - and they probably can take a quick potty break from time to time, too).
But having friends nearby shouldn't be an interruption unless those friends are deliberately interrupting the druid - hopefully his friends aren't jerks though.
Essentially, I read "uninterrupted" to mean that the druid cannot do other activities during that time, like adventuring, crafting items, researching spells, traveling, etc., but that he can take care of basic bodily needs except maybe sleep since sleeping is definitely an interruption - but anyone can stay up for 24 hours if they need to.
What I can't figure out is why your player has a problem with this, unless he thinks you're going to mess with him - are you going to have him get attacked every day and interrupt his efforts? Is there something else he needs to do instead?
Otherwise, in my games, it usually goes like this:
Druid: I head out into the forest and spend a day looking for a wolf.
Fighter: I go with him to watch over him in case there's trouble.
Rogue: I go into town and case some joints - I might make a little cash on the side while we're waiting a day for the druid.
Wizard: I stay at the inn and scribe a few scrolls that day.
Me: OK, the day passes uneventfully. Druid has a new wolf, fighter is tired and ready for a long nap, rogue has 40gp of newly stolen goods, wizard has some new scrolls. What's your plan for today?
The ritual is left unspecified. It could include any number of practices, including dancing, chanting, music, hunting, ceremonial eating and drinking, or partaking of various mind-altering substances and passing out to speak with spirit animals in dreams. All of these are types of prayer with real-world backing.
I would not presume what the ritual is, so I leave it to the druid so long as it's appropriate to the character. Sleep, food, or drink may or may not be part of the ritual. Assaulting a kobold camp or crafting a new staff is basically out--unless the player is exceptionally creative and produces a consistent and believable ritual including those behaviors, and even then it'd be up to me what constitutes interruption.
Another common type of ritual might be fasting and sleep deprivation. I vaguely remember that it is sometimes used when trying to do thing like communicating with spirit animals.
It also seems like enough of a simple and un-flashy ritual that you could see a ranger do it. You could even explain it in character as not so much a ritual as a stack out in the woods and slow attempt at wild empathy. The fact that it is in fact a ritual might be lost of a ranger.
I am mostly going with this idea since it seems like enough of a thematic punishment for a whiny player. Punishing a player is usually not a good idea... but I think DM_Blake showed us the oh so torturous process involved with the ritual.
But blahper's explanation bring to mind of a ranger in full armor yodeling and flapping his arms like a chicken for hours on end. So part of me wants to go with that.
Another common type of ritual might be fasting and sleep deprivation. I vaguely remember that it is sometimes used when trying to do thing like communicating with spirit animals.
It also seems like enough of a simple and un-flashy ritual that you could see a ranger do it. You could even explain it in character as not so much a ritual as a stack out in the woods and slow attempt at wild empathy. The fact that it is in fact a ritual might be lost of a ranger.
I am mostly going with this idea since it seems like enough of a thematic punishment for a whiny player. Punishing a player is usually not a good idea... but I think DM_Blake showed us the oh so torturous process involved with the ritual.
But blahper's explanation bring to mind of a ranger in full armor yodeling and flapping his arms like a chicken for hours on end. So part of me wants to go with that.
Yup, fasting and sleep deprivation is also very reasonable. As for complaints: So they lose a day of time, and at worst, they might be fatigued until they sleep again (which will probably be right after the ritual).
O First Chicken, hear my prayer and invocation! BAWWWK! Send thy servant to aid our war against nature's enemies! BA-KAWWWK!
PLEASE learn to spell. I have no idea what the hell you're trying to say.
Hollo,
Rangers use the Druid rules for Animal Companions except for exceptions provided in the Ranger description such as level-3 and the restricted selection of animals. Thus, Rangers need 24 hours of uninterrupted prayer just like Druids.
However, I agree with you that you can have your companions present guarding you. Uninterrupted essentially means you cannot act other than to meditate during this period of time. However, there may be a debate if combat occurs around you on whether or not you are interrupted.
As a GM I would say you are interrupted if the following happens:
1) You perform an action other than prayer.
2) If you are damaged I might call for something like a concentration check to not screw it up. However, since this is not in the rules I would go easy on you.
The RAI appears to be that when the a player wants to acquire an animal companion it takes 24 hours. While this is hand-waived at level 1 for Druids I would not hand-waive it for later acquisitions, not even the Ranger's first pet at level 4.
However, I am also pretty easy going about acquiring that pet provided you are in the proper scenery. I even allow people to go get the pet-to-be and bring it back to a safer location but that is more into house-rule territory.
There's no rule about how long it takes to get your first animal companion, only how long it takes to replace. Since it's a class feature, I'd rule that you can get it immediately upon leveling up, same as any other ability PCs mysteriously wake up one morning with. However, I'd suggest to my player that they roleplay the experience simply because it's more fun that way.
Definitely.
It might also depends on which diety the ranger whorships. What is prayer for one may be nothing to another.
If any.
Really, all this rule says is 'you have to take a day off of adventuring to do it'. After that, anything else is fluff text. Describe it as you will.
Chaoskin, this is the Rules Forum. There are no Rules stating that 'uninterrupted' means 'no noise and few people'.
As a result you are asking for a consensus opinion and the consensus in this thread has been that you are being overzealous in your interpretation.
Take it for whatever that is worth but you opened this line of questioning, not your player.
In the future I suggest working with your players to find a common ground rather than against them.