[.11] Escape Act and Spell stores.

Hmm.

I really want it to keep the verbal.

Unlike Trap Avoidance, which is going to be used during a hold, Escape Act will be used in live combat.

A player just “walking away” from a Confine/Bind will probably cause holds from players yelling that the victim got hit by a thing, and the player yelling back that that they Escaped it. It’s going to be a mess. “Elemental Release” is fine. It can’t be stored, clearly describes what’s going on, and doesn’t cause any issues with being under the effects of Bind/Confine (you can also use Elemental/Magic Augmentation while under Bind/Confine).

Edit: Should I actually use the ritual, I’ll probably use the verbal “Escape Act!” voluntarily, to be honest.
 
On a personal note, I feel it's a touch on the strange for it to specify that it affect you as though you had drunk a Potion rather than a simple Spell Release as though touchcasted and accepted, but I understand the purpose.

As for the call, I think it should be "Activate Escape Act, Release", for two reasons: first, it clearly states what's happening, both the source of the effect and the resulting Release, and second, as long as you're speaking at a more or less reasonable pace, it should take about 2-3 seconds to say, which is thematically similar to a Rip Count (which I feel this mimics closely enough for me to feel comfortable making that comparison).
 
Why not just keep it simple and make the verbal "I break free!" That way it's clear you broke out of the restriction, it's easy to understand by new players, and nobody has to call a hold to figure out what's going on? And as per the usual RAW, cards can be checked after combat should disputes arise?
 
I can see two reasons for not using "I break free" as the verbal:

1) It doesn't actually communicate to new players what's going on; if they don't already know that Escape Act exists and that it uses that call, they may think it's simply some ability everyone has, or perhaps a skill they overlooked, or they may call a hold anyway just to find out what the heck you just did (particularly in the case of a new NPC).

2) It doesn't use what I'm going to call the "standard magic item verbal"; many magic items that have a verbal component to announce their activation require you to say "Activate" before you use them, and those that don't usually have you either say the name of the Ritual itself (Trap Avoidance comes to mind, even though that's during a hold) or a specific word or phrase that explains exactly what just happened in clear and concise manner ("Absorbed" for Spell Store), all of which make it quite clear that a magic item is being used and exactly what the effect of that magic is. "I break free" uses neither of the first two conventions, but it also falls short of the third convention by not clearly identifying that a magic item is being used; "Activate, I break free" is only marginally better, but at that point you might as well just make the verbal be "Escape Act".

On a tangential note, even monsters don't use "I break free" to escape Binding effects (and most monsters can rip from at least some of them), so if we were going to use it, the verbal would likely end up being "I rip from [Effect]" on a 1-count rather than create a whole new call for this magic item, but that also has the potential for confusion noted in point 1 unless you include "Activate", at which point once again you might as well just make the call "Escape Act" and save the time.

Not to toot my own horn too loudly, but "Activate Escape Act, Release" is short, easy to say and remember, follows the usual verbals for activating magic items, and clearly explains what effect took place. It's not perfect, but I would consider it on par with the "Elemental Release" call suggested by Draven (although I feel I should note here that if the intent of the Ritual is that it affects you the same way a Potion does, the Qualifier should technically be Spell, not Elemental, although I also understand why Elemental would likely be a preferable Qualifier over Spell for this, and I also feel that it should require "Activate" as part of the verbal).
 
It was switched to Elemental to avoid the effect being storeable.

I’ve got no opinion on “Activate” being part of the verbal.
 
Note that we explicitly want to avoid "Activate" as part of the verbal. This is because the Activate keyword cannot be used while Silenced or - more pertinent in this case - physically gagged.

With the options available (and we talked through a lot, each with their pros and cons) this was determined to be the one which best embodies the intent of the Ritual without needing to create additional exceptions to the rules.

-Bryan Gregory
ARC
 
“I escape!” should be a good verbal, then. It’s along the lines of Spirit Recall “I Recall one, I Recall 2, I Recall 3,” which is explicitly an OOG verbal that can be used while Silenced.

I hope there are plenty of opportunities to test it to confirm that it’ll cause holds.
 
It can’t be stored, clearly describes what’s going on, and doesn’t cause any issues with being under the effects of Bind/Confine (you can also use Elemental/Magic Augmentation while under Bind/Confine).

I was not aware that an Elemental or Magically augmented spell could be cast while bound. Why is this? I have never seen it mentioned in the 1.3 or 2.0 rulebook nor in-game. I was under the assumption that this would still require the use of hands and a packet.
 
That post only explains the verbal portion, but we have always played both Elemental and Magic augments still require packet in hand. The only difference from a regular incant and the augments is the shortened verbal. Otherwise, you still have to follow the casting rules.
 
That post only explains the verbal portion, but we have always played both Elemental and Magic augments still require packet in hand. The only difference from a regular incant and the augments is the shortened verbal. Otherwise, you still have to follow the casting rules.

It also explains

1) that you can use Magic/Elemental <X> while silenced

2) You can activate a Magic Item while unable to normally cast, assuming you can speak.

This is the most relevant marshal ruling; if further clarification is required, please create the question on ARC.
 
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