What are Ritual Spells in E5?

What are Ritual Spells in E5?

In the game worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, the popular perception of spellcasting often gravitates toward the dramatic, combat-oriented abilities such as Fireball or Lightning Bolt. While a significant portion of the game's rules indeed focuses on these direct encounters, not all spell casting is designed for battle. During periods of rest, exploration, or between encounters, there are many very useful spells, and Ritual spells offer invaluable utility. These spells possess unique advantages, particularly for classes like the Wizard, providing storytelling depth and problem-solving capabilities outside the demands of initiative. Let's delve into the mechanics and benefits of ritual casting.

What Exactly Are Ritual Spells?

In Dungeons & Dragons, Ritual spells are identifiable by the "Ritual" tag included in their casting time. This keyword signifies an alternative method of spellcasting: instead of expending a spell slot, you can cast the spell as a ritual. The trade-off for conserving a valuable spell slot is time; casting a ritual takes an additional 10 minutes beyond its normal casting time, and this process must remain uninterrupted. During this extended casting period, your character performs the intricate steps required to weave the magic. It's important to note that all other spell requirements, including any material components, must still be met.

Wizards possess a unique advantage when it comes to ritual casting: they can cast any ritual spell from their spellbook without having it prepared. This flexibility makes their spellbook an even more potent tool for utility outside of combat. Other spellcasters who have the ritual casting feature must prepare the ritual spell as they normally would after a long rest. However, like Wizards, these classes also benefit from not expending a spell slot when casting a spell as a ritual.

Who Can Cast Rituals in 5E?

In Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, several spellcasting classes inherently possess the ability to cast spells as rituals. These include Wizards, Bards, Clerics, Druids, Paladins, Rangers, Sorcerers, and Warlocks. Each of these classes gives them access to spell casting, allowing them to utilize the ritual tag on applicable spells from their respective spell lists.

For characters not belonging to these classes, or for those who wish to expand their ritual casting options, the Ritual Caster Feat provides a powerful avenue. This feat, accessible to any character with an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma score of 13 or higher and above level 4. This bestows the ability to learn and cast ritual spells and gives you +1 to one of the above-mentioned Ability Scores. Upon selecting this feat, a character gains a number of 1st-level ritual spells based on their proficiency bonus and a dedicated ritual book. Furthermore, the feat enables the character to copy other ritual spells found in written form (such as spell scrolls or other spellbooks) into their ritual book, provided the spell is from the chosen class's list and meets the level requirements. If you are already a spellcaster, you now have Quick Ritual, which lets you do the ritual using the original casting time without using a spell slot. This significantly broadens a character's non-combat utility, regardless of their primary class.

Spells with Long Casting Times: Are They Rituals?

You might notice other spells on various spell lists with casting times of 10 minutes or longer and wonder if they, too, function as rituals. While their lengthy casting times and often non-combat applications might suggest a ritualistic nature, they are distinct. For a spell to be cast as a ritual, it must explicitly have the "ritual" keyword in its casting time. Without this keyword, even a spell with a casting time of an hour or more still behaves like a normal spell: it must be prepared (if your class requires it) and, critically, it consumes a spell slot upon casting.

This distinction is a deliberate design choice by Wizards of the Coast, likely an effort to maintain game balance. Many of these extended-casting-time spells, despite not dealing damage in combat, offer incredibly potent effects. They can provide significant long-term bonuses, create valuable resources, or even establish powerful protective wards against formidable entities. As spellcasters gain higher levels, their capacity to influence the game world dramatically increases. Limiting the number of times they can cast these spells each day feels to me a way for the game designers to keep their power in line with the other character classes. As you'll see in the list of ritual spells from the 2025 Player’s Handbook, none are of a level higher than 6th, which I think reinforces the idea of game balance.

What if you want to do more with rituals?

In our book Xarnon's Codex of Combined Magic, are are introducing rules for Greater Rituals which you can bring to your tabletop. Requiring the coordinated effort of multiple casters, these greater rituals provide a way to achieve grand, sometimes permanent magical effects, truly reshaping what's possible in your D&D campaign.

The book brings along with it some optional rules for combining magic, which include ritual spells. Who knows what can happen when players start to mix things together? Check back soon, we should have it ready by late August 2025 or join our mailing list for updates and links to more content like this.

Thanks and Happy Gaming!

Bard Ritual Spell List

Name Level School Casting Time Duration Components Page
Animal Messenger 2 Enchantment Action 24 hours V, S, M 240
Comprehend Languages 1 Divination Action 1 hour V, S, M 252
Detect Magic 1 Divination Action 10 minute V, S 262
Feign Death 3 Necromancy Action 1 hour V, S, M 271
Identify 1 Divination 1 minute Instant V, S, M 287
Illusory Script 1 Illusion 1 minute 10 days S, M 288
Leomund's Tiny Hut 3 Evocation 1 minute 8 hours V, S, M 291
Locate Animals or Plants 2 Divination Action Instant V, S, M 292
Magic Mouth 2 Illusion 1 minute Until Dispelled V, S, M 295
Rary's Telepathic Bond 5 Divination Action 1 hour V, S, M 311
Silence 2 Illusion Action 10 minutes V, S 316
Speak with Animals 1 Divination Action 10 minutes V, S 318
Unseen Servant 1 Conjuration Action 1 hour V, S, M 336

 

Cleric Ritual Spell List

Name Level School Casting Time Duration Components Page
Augury 2 Divination 1 minute Instant V, S, M 244
Commune 5 Divination 1 minute 1 minute V, S, M 252
Detect Magic 1 Divination Action 10 minute V, S 262
Detect Poison and Disease 1 Divination Action 10 minute V, S, M 262
Divination 4 Divination Action Instant V, S, M 264
Feign Death 3 Necromancy Action 1 hour V, S, M 271
Forbiddance 6 Abjuration 10 minutes 1 day V, S, M 276
Gentle Repose 2 Necromancy Action 10 days V, S, M 278
Meld into Stone 3 Transmutation Action 8 hours V, S 296
Purify Food and Drink 1 Transmutation Action Instant V, S 310
Silence 2 Illusion Action 10 minutes V, S 316
Water Walk 3 Transmutation Action 1 hour V, S, M 340

 

Druid Ritual Spell List

Name Level School Casting Time Duration Components Page
Animal Messenger 2 Enchantment Action 24 hours V, S, M 240
Augury 2 Divination 1 minute Instant V, S, M 244
Beast Sense 2 Divination Action 1 hour S 245
Commune with Nature 5 Divination 1 minute Instant V, S 252
Detect Magic 1 Divination Action 10 minute V, S 262
Detect Poison and Disease 1 Divination Action 10 minute V, S, M 262
Divination 4 Divination Action Instant V, S, M 264
Feign Death 3 Necromancy Action 1 hour V, S, M 271
Locate Animals or Plants 2 Divination Action Instant V, S, M 292
Meld into Stone 3 Transmutation Action 8 hours V, S 296
Purify Food and Drink 1 Transmutation Action Instant V, S 310
Speak with Animals 1 Divination Action 10 minutes V, S 318
Water Breathing 3 Transmutation Action 24 hours V, S, M 340
Water Walk 3 Transmutation Action 1 hour V, S, M 340

 

Paladin Ritual Spell List

Name Level School Casting Time Duration Components Page
Detect Magic 1 Divination Action 10 minute V, S 262
Detect Poison and Disease 1 Divination Action 10 minute V, S, M 262
Gentle Repose 2 Necromancy Action 10 days V, S, M 278
Purify Food and Drink 1 Transmutation Action Instant V, S 310

 

Ranger Ritual Spell List

Name Level School Casting Time Duration Components Page
Alarm 1 Abjuration 1 minute 8 hours V, S, M 239
Animal Messenger 2 Enchantment Action 24 hours V, S, M 240
Beast Sense 2 Divination Action 1 hour S 245
Commune with Nature 5 Divination 1 minute Instant V, S 252
Detect Magic 1 Divination Action 10 minute V, S 262
Detect Poison and Disease 1 Divination Action 10 minute V, S, M 262
Locate Animals or Plants 2 Divination Action Instant V, S, M 292
Meld into Stone 3 Transmutation Action 8 hours V, S 296
Silence 2 Illusion Action 10 minutes V, S 316
Speak with Animals 1 Divination Action 10 minutes V, S 318
Water Breathing 3 Transmutation Action 24 hours V, S, M 340
Water Walk 3 Transmutation Action 1 hour V, S, M 340

 

Sorcerer Ritual Spell List

Name Level School Casting Time Duration Components Page
Comprehend Languages 1 Divination Action 1 hour V, S, M 252
Detect Magic 1 Divination Action 10 minute V, S 262
Water Breathing 3 Transmutation Action 24 hours V, S, M 340
Water Walk 3 Transmutation Action 1 hour V, S, M 340

 

Warlock Ritual Spell List

Name Level School Casting Time Duration Components Page
Comprehend Languages 1 Divination Action 1 hour V, S, M 252
Contact Other Plane 5 Divination 1 minute 1 minute V 255
Detect Magic 1 Divination Action 10 minute V, S 262
Illusory Script 1 Illusion 1 minute 10 days S, M 288
Speak with Animals 1 Divination Action 10 minutes V, S 318
Unseen Servant 1 Conjuration Action 1 hour V, S, M 336

 

Wizard Ritual Spell List

Name Level School Casting Time Duration Components Page
Alarm 1 Abjuration 1 minute 8 hours V, S, M 239
Augury 2 Divination 1 minute Instant V, S, M 244
Comprehend Languages 1 Divination Action 1 hour V, S, M 252
Contact Other Plane 5 Divination 1 minute 1 minute V 255
Detect Magic 1 Divination Action 10 minute V, S 262
Divination 4 Divination Action Instant V, S, M 264
Drawmij's Instant Summons 6 Conjuration 1 minute Until Dispelled V, S, M 266
Feign Death 3 Necromancy Action 1 hour V, S, M 271
Find Familiar 1 Conjuration 1 hour Instant V, S, M 272
Gentle Repose 2 Necromancy Action 10 days V, S, M 278
Identify 1 Divination 1 minute Instant V, S, M 287
Illusory Script 1 Illusion 1 minute 10 days S, M 288
Leomund's Tiny Hut 3 Evocation 1 minute 8 hours V, S, M 291
Magic Mouth 2 Illusion 1 minute Until Dispelled V, S, M 295
Phantom Steed 3 Illusion 1 minute 1 hour V, S 304
Rary's Telepathic Bond 5 Divination Action 1 hour V, S, M 311
Tenser's Floating Disk 1 Conjuration Action 1 hour V, S, M 332
Unseen Servant 1 Conjuration Action 1 hour V, S, M 336
Water Breathing 3 Transmutation Action 24 hours V, S, M 340

 

 

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