I’ve been meaning to get this clarified for a looooooong time, and am just now finally getting around to it. Bear with me, I like to cover a lot of context/options for maximum comprehension.
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In the 1.3 Ruleset, the Spellcrafting information on rituals included the following fields:
Levels of formals required to spellcraft this ritual:
Cost of spellcrafting ritual in any reagents listed on the scroll:
Duration of spellcrafted ritual:
May ritual be cast at higher level for greater effect?:
Valid target:
Special Notes:
<Incant>
Since the 2.0 Ruleset onward, however, the Spellcrafting information on rituals has included the following fields:
Spellcrafting Difficulty:
Spellcraft Cost:
Spellcraft Duration:
Spellcraft Incant:
You will notice that the “May ritual be cast at higher level for greater effect?” line has been removed, whether intentionally or otherwise. Since this line was removed, does that mean that rituals can now be Spellcrafted at ANY of their Difficulty Tiers for the same Spellcrafting Difficulty/Cost unless specified otherwise by the scroll? Or is it intended that only the Base tier of rituals with more than one tier can be Spellcrafted unless otherwise specified (which, if that is the case, should probably be codified in the rules somewhere)?
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Example 1: Arcane Armor
The Arcane Armor scroll lists the following in its Spellcrafting Information:
Spellcraft Difficulty: 1 for 5 Armor Points (+1 for each 5 point armor value above 5, up to 20 Armor Points maximum)
Spellcraft Cost: 1 for 5 Armor Points (+1 for each 5 point armor value above 5, up to 20 Armor Points maximum)
This text makes it clear what Spellcrafting is able to accomplish, with different Difficulty Tiers costing different amounts. The Arcane Armor scroll is a good scroll with clear rules intentions! Hooray!
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Example 2: Raging Strike
The Raging Strike scroll lists the following in its Spellcrafting Information:
Spellcrafting Difficulty: 1
Spellcraft Cost: 1
The Raging Strike ritual has 3 tiers at which it can be cast: Base tier for 1 charge, second tier for 2 charges, and third tier for 3 charges. When Spellcrafting Raging Strike, can a person obtain 1, 2, or 3 charges, since the Spellcrafting Information doesn’t specify limits for its cost like the Arcane Armor scroll does?
My assumption of intent based on prior rulesets: I assume the intent is that you can only Spellcraft the Base tier (1 charge), but nothing on the scroll or the rulebook actually indicates that.
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Example 3: Summon Elemental (Foundation)
Summoning Rituals were honestly the main reason I wanted to ask this. The Summon Elemental (Foundation) scroll lists the following in its Spellcrafting Information:
Spellcrafting Difficulty: 2
Spellcraft Cost: 2
Spellcraft Duration: 1 Hour
The Summon Elemental (Foundation) ritual has several tiers at which it can be cast, at a very wide range of difficulties and costs. When Spellcrafting Summon Elemental (Foundation), can a person summon an Elemental for 1 hour from ANY tier at the low low price of only two components?
(For example: I need some help for the next hour and Spellcraft my Summon Elemental (Foundation) ritual to summon an Elemental Overlord of Flame! After all, why spend time and resources to cast the ritual for 35 components and a Catalyst when I can summon the fearsome Incendicus Rex, Tyrant of Eternal Burning for an hour for 2 components? Here Incendicus, have some Pyrotis, let’s burn things dooooowwwwwn!)
My assumption of intent based on prior rulesets: I assume the intent is that you can only Spellcraft the Base tier Elemental (as per the 1.3 ruleset, where the scroll specified “May ritual be cast at higher level for greater effect?: No”), but nothing on the scroll or the rulebook actually indicates that. As a game runner, I like to think the Spellcrafting for this kind of ritual is for minor tasks from a minor Elemental.
(For example: I urgently need to deliver a message to an ally and since nobody is available to deliver it, I decide to Spellcraft my Summon Elemental (Foundation) ritual to get a speedy Lightning Elemental to do the job for me! I can only Spellcraft the base tier of the ritual, but for zero casting time and only 2 components, that seems entirely reasonable. I Spellcraft the ritual, Zippy Zap the Bitsy Lightning Shard shows up, I give him a Penna for his trouble, a kindly pat on the head, and send him on his way to deliver my message. He’s a good lil buddy!)
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I’m sure there are other ritual options as well where things get a little iffy as far as the game rules intentions of Spellcrafting, so if we could get this sort of thing clarified/codified in the rules, that’d be great!
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In the 1.3 Ruleset, the Spellcrafting information on rituals included the following fields:
Levels of formals required to spellcraft this ritual:
Cost of spellcrafting ritual in any reagents listed on the scroll:
Duration of spellcrafted ritual:
May ritual be cast at higher level for greater effect?:
Valid target:
Special Notes:
<Incant>
Since the 2.0 Ruleset onward, however, the Spellcrafting information on rituals has included the following fields:
Spellcrafting Difficulty:
Spellcraft Cost:
Spellcraft Duration:
Spellcraft Incant:
You will notice that the “May ritual be cast at higher level for greater effect?” line has been removed, whether intentionally or otherwise. Since this line was removed, does that mean that rituals can now be Spellcrafted at ANY of their Difficulty Tiers for the same Spellcrafting Difficulty/Cost unless specified otherwise by the scroll? Or is it intended that only the Base tier of rituals with more than one tier can be Spellcrafted unless otherwise specified (which, if that is the case, should probably be codified in the rules somewhere)?
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Example 1: Arcane Armor
The Arcane Armor scroll lists the following in its Spellcrafting Information:
Spellcraft Difficulty: 1 for 5 Armor Points (+1 for each 5 point armor value above 5, up to 20 Armor Points maximum)
Spellcraft Cost: 1 for 5 Armor Points (+1 for each 5 point armor value above 5, up to 20 Armor Points maximum)
This text makes it clear what Spellcrafting is able to accomplish, with different Difficulty Tiers costing different amounts. The Arcane Armor scroll is a good scroll with clear rules intentions! Hooray!
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Example 2: Raging Strike
The Raging Strike scroll lists the following in its Spellcrafting Information:
Spellcrafting Difficulty: 1
Spellcraft Cost: 1
The Raging Strike ritual has 3 tiers at which it can be cast: Base tier for 1 charge, second tier for 2 charges, and third tier for 3 charges. When Spellcrafting Raging Strike, can a person obtain 1, 2, or 3 charges, since the Spellcrafting Information doesn’t specify limits for its cost like the Arcane Armor scroll does?
My assumption of intent based on prior rulesets: I assume the intent is that you can only Spellcraft the Base tier (1 charge), but nothing on the scroll or the rulebook actually indicates that.
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Example 3: Summon Elemental (Foundation)
Summoning Rituals were honestly the main reason I wanted to ask this. The Summon Elemental (Foundation) scroll lists the following in its Spellcrafting Information:
Spellcrafting Difficulty: 2
Spellcraft Cost: 2
Spellcraft Duration: 1 Hour
The Summon Elemental (Foundation) ritual has several tiers at which it can be cast, at a very wide range of difficulties and costs. When Spellcrafting Summon Elemental (Foundation), can a person summon an Elemental for 1 hour from ANY tier at the low low price of only two components?
(For example: I need some help for the next hour and Spellcraft my Summon Elemental (Foundation) ritual to summon an Elemental Overlord of Flame! After all, why spend time and resources to cast the ritual for 35 components and a Catalyst when I can summon the fearsome Incendicus Rex, Tyrant of Eternal Burning for an hour for 2 components? Here Incendicus, have some Pyrotis, let’s burn things dooooowwwwwn!)
My assumption of intent based on prior rulesets: I assume the intent is that you can only Spellcraft the Base tier Elemental (as per the 1.3 ruleset, where the scroll specified “May ritual be cast at higher level for greater effect?: No”), but nothing on the scroll or the rulebook actually indicates that. As a game runner, I like to think the Spellcrafting for this kind of ritual is for minor tasks from a minor Elemental.
(For example: I urgently need to deliver a message to an ally and since nobody is available to deliver it, I decide to Spellcraft my Summon Elemental (Foundation) ritual to get a speedy Lightning Elemental to do the job for me! I can only Spellcraft the base tier of the ritual, but for zero casting time and only 2 components, that seems entirely reasonable. I Spellcraft the ritual, Zippy Zap the Bitsy Lightning Shard shows up, I give him a Penna for his trouble, a kindly pat on the head, and send him on his way to deliver my message. He’s a good lil buddy!)
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I’m sure there are other ritual options as well where things get a little iffy as far as the game rules intentions of Spellcrafting, so if we could get this sort of thing clarified/codified in the rules, that’d be great!