5e Ritual spells are a great resource, that really allows utility spells to shine and be of value.
Basically, any spell with a ritual tag has the option to be cast without consuming a spell slot, as long as you have an extra 10 minutes to cast it.
This makes non-combat utility spells like Identify and Find Familiar not have to compete with a spellcaster’s ability to contribute to combat.
The tradeoff though is it limits many of these spells to be thought of as only usable in non-urgent situations.
With that said, let’s go over the basics so you know the general guidelines before we begin breaking them down further.
What Are 5e Ritual Spells
Well much like mentioned above, The Players Handbook states that Ritual Spells are:
Certain spells have a special tag: ritual. Such a spell can be cast following the normal rules for spellcasting, or the spell can be cast as a ritual. The ritual version of a spell takes 10 minutes longer to cast than normal. It also doesn’t expend a spell slot, which means the ritual version of a spell can’t be cast at a higher level.
When looking into this reading further, we can see what guidelines are set for all ritual spells on what can be done and what can’t be done.
Which translates into 5 restrictions to remember for casting ritual spells.
Ritual Spells 5e Restrictions
There are 5 limitations for ritual casting in 5e.
The first limitation is that ritual spells in 5e are cast following the normal rules for spellcasting.
This means for classes like clerics that know all their spells but can only prepare a few for the day.
They can only cast ritual spells that they have that are prepared for the day.
However, for cases like the bard that have all spells known prepared.
They can cast any of their spells with a ritual tag as a ritual.
But if they do not know the spell they cannot cast the spell.
Moreover, only certain classes can cast ritual spells and even then, they have different stipulations on what can be cast and can’t be cast as rituals.
An example of this would be the warlock.
The warlock cannot ritual cast, but a wizard can ritual cast.
The second restriction is also part of normal rules for spellcasting.
That is, they must have the material components for spellcasting.
An example of this would be the spell illusory script.
It is a ritual spell that uses up 10 gold pieces of lead ink when casting the spell.
Therefore, if you do not have 10 gold pieces of lead ink when casting, you are unable to cast illusory script as a ritual spell.
Another limitation is that you must concentrate for the entire time casting the ritual spells for 5e.
Thus, if you are concentrating on a spell like suggestion which can last 8 hours.
You would lose concentration on the suggestion spell when casting a ritual spell like illusory script.
Time And Level Restrictions
So, we have gone over the requirement for casting the spell itself, which is prepared, components, and concentration.
Now let’s take a look at the other restrictions.
The fourth restriction for ritual spells in 5e, is it takes an additional ten minutes to cast.
This completely makes a ritual casting unworthy of being used in combat since most combats are over in 18-24 seconds.
That said, it really allows utility spells to shine since those spells are used in scenarios where ten minutes won’t kill you.
Additionally, many people are hesitant to use spells out of combat, and for good reasons.
After all, a spellcasters combat ability is through their spells.
Which means using up spells out of combat deplete their combat use.
This allows people to use ritual spells without consuming the spell slot.
Therefore, in exchange for these restrictions, you allow 5e ritual spells to garnish great use for utility.
Letting a spellcaster keep both utility usefulness and combat usefulness.
Now we come to the last restriction.
Which is ritual spells can only be cast at their base level.
So, if you wanted to upcast animal messenger, you must do so with a spell slot and not ritual cast it.
This can limit some of the utility spells have.
For example, let’s go back to animal messenger.
This can be upcast to deliver a message farther away.
That said, by ritual casting it, you limit yourself to one day worth of travel.
So, if your person you are trying to communicate to is over 50 miles away, then the message would fail to deliver unless you cast it as a higher level.
While a few restrictions are there though, the payoff of not using a spell slot is well worth the restrictions in my opinion.
Who can cast 5e Ritual Spells
The first of many things to know is what classes can cast ritual spells and what 5e ritual spells they have access to.
There are four classes that can cast ritual spells Bards, Cleric, Druids, Artificers, and the most famous, Wizards.
Each of them comes with their own degree of ritual casting and variations on what can and can’t be done in rituals.
This can make it quite confusing for many (including myself at one point) and as such is why in the following parts I will go over in detail what can and can’t be done for each of the classes and how strong their ritual casting is in comparison to the other classes that can do this.
The Bard, a class that was considered terrible before 5e.
Now though, well everyone knows it, and you can’t deny the shenanigans they can get in to.
Now bards have an interesting spellcasting rule.
They know all the spells that they have.
This means all spells you know via bard are always prepared.
This is important for ritual casting as The Players Handbook states, “You can cast any bard spell you know as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag.”
This means you always have the same number of ritual spells you have.
But it also means that what they know is what they have.
Bards do not know every spell on the Bardic list and as such if they do not choose to know a certain ritual spell, then they cannot cast it at all, ritual or otherwise.
To help you in your decisions, I have included a list of ritual spells from the player’s handbook with the spell level you can cast it at above them.
I do not go into huge detail as doing so would turn this article into a book that’s over 40 pages.
And frankly, call me lazy for not wanting to do that right now haha
1st level
For the duration, you understand the literal meaning of any spoken language that you hear. You also understand any written language that you see, but you must be touching the surface on which the words are written. It takes about 1 minute to read one page of text.
This spell doesn’t decode secret messages in a text or glyph, such as an arcane sigil, that isn’t part of a written language.
For the duration, you sense the presence of magic within 30 feet of you. If you sense magic in this way, you can use your action to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any.
The spell can penetrate most barriers, but is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
You choose one object that you must touch throughout the casting of the spell. If it is a magic item or some other magic-imbued object, you learn its properties and how to use them, whether it requires attunement to use, and how many charges it has, if any. You learn whether any spells are affecting the item and what they are. If the item was created by a spell, you learn which spell created it.
If you instead touch a creature throughout the casting, you learn what spells, if any, are currently affecting it.
You write on parchment, paper, or some other suitable writing material and imbue it with a potent illusion that lasts for the duration.
To you and any creatures you designate when you cast the spell, the writing appears normal, written in your hand, and conveys whatever meaning you intended when you wrote the text. To all others, the writing appears as if it were written in an unknown or magical script that is unintelligible. Alternatively, you can cause the writing to appear to be an entirely different message, written in a different hand and language, though the language must be one you know.
Should the spell be dispelled, the original script and the illusion both disappear.
A creature with truesight can read the hidden message.
You gain the ability to comprehend and verbally communicate with beasts for the duration. The knowledge and awareness of many beasts is limited by their intelligence, but at minimum, beasts can give you information about nearby locations and monsters, including whatever they can perceive or have perceived within the past day. You might be able to persuade a beast to perform a small favor for you, at the GM’s discretion.
This spell creates an invisible, mindless, shapeless, Medium force that performs simple tasks at your command until the spell ends. The servant springs into existence in an unoccupied space on the ground within range. It has AC 10, 1 hit point, and a Strength of 2, and it can’t attack. If it drops to 0 hit points, the spell ends.
Once on each of your turns as a bonus action, you can mentally command the servant to move up to 15 feet and interact with an object. The servant can perform simple tasks that a human servant could do, such as fetching things, cleaning, mending, folding clothes, lighting fires, serving food, and pouring wine. Once you give the command, the servant performs the task to the best of its ability until it completes the task, then waits for your next command.
If you command the servant to perform a task that would move it more than 60 feet away from you, the spell ends.
2nd level
By means of this spell, you use an animal to deliver a message. Choose a Tiny beast you can see within range, such as a squirrel, a blue jay, or a bat. You specify a location, which you must have visited, and a recipient who matches a general description, such as “a man or woman dressed in the uniform of the town guard” or “a red-haired dwarf wearing a pointed hat.” You also speak a message of up to twenty-five words. The target beast travels for the duration of the spell toward the specified location, covering about 50 miles per 24 hours for a flying messenger, or 25 miles for other animals.
When the messenger arrives, it delivers your message to the creature that you described, replicating the sound of your voice. The messenger speaks only to a creature matching the description you gave. If the messenger doesn’t reach its destination before the spell ends, the message is lost, and the beast makes its way back to where you cast this spell.
Describe or name a specific kind of beast or plant. Concentrating on the voice of nature in your surroundings, you learn the direction and distance to the closest creature or plant of that kind within 5 miles, if any are present.
You implant a message within an object in range, a message that is uttered when a trigger condition is met. Choose an object that you can see and that isn’t being worn or carried by another creature. Then speak the message, which must be 25 words or less, though it can be delivered over as long as 10 minutes. Finally, determine the circumstance that will trigger the spell to deliver your message.
When that circumstance occurs, a magical mouth appears on the object and recites the message in your voice and at the same volume you spoke. If the object you chose has a mouth or something that looks like a mouth (for example, the mouth of a statue), the magical mouth appears there so that the words appear to come from the object’s mouth. When you cast this spell, you can have the spell end after it delivers its message, or it can remain and repeat its message whenever the trigger occurs.
The triggering circumstance can be as general or as detailed as you like, though it must be based on visual or audible conditions that occur within 30 feet of the object. For example, you could instruct the mouth to speak when any creature moves within 30 feet of the object or when a silver bell rings within 30 feet of it.
For the duration, no sound can be created within or pass through a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point you choose within range. Any creature or object entirely inside the sphere is immune to thunder damage, and creatures are deafened while entirely inside it. Casting a spell that includes a verbal component is impossible there.
You cause up to ten words to form in a part of the sky you can see. The words appear to be made of cloud and remain in place for the spell’s duration. The words dissipate when the spell ends. A strong wind can disperse the clouds and end the spell early.
3rd level
You touch a willing creature and put it into a cataleptic state that is indistinguishable from death.
For the spell’s duration, or until you use an action to touch the target and dismiss the spell, the target appears dead to all outward inspection and to spells used to determine the target’s status. The target is blinded and incapacitated, and its speed drops to 0. The target has resistance to all damage except psychic damage. If the target is diseased or poisoned when you cast the spell, or becomes diseased or poisoned while under the spell’s effect, the disease and poison have no effect until the spell ends.
A 10-foot-radius immobile dome of force springs into existence around and above you and remains stationary for the duration. The spell ends if you leave its area.
Nine creatures of Medium size or smaller can fit inside the dome with you. The spell fails if its area includes a larger creature or more than nine creatures. Creatures and objects within the dome when you cast this spell can move through it freely. All other creatures and objects are barred from passing through it. Spells and other magical effects can’t extend through the dome or be cast through it. The atmosphere inside the space is comfortable and dry, regardless of the weather outside.
Until the spell ends, you can command the interior to become dimly lit or dark. The dome is opaque from the outside, of any color you choose, but it is transparent from the inside.
Ritual Spells 5e For Clerics
Clerics are a different breed than bards.
Not only because they are usually more pious than their bardic friends, but because they know every spell known in their list.
This means at level 1; you know every level 1 spell in the cleric’s list.
The difference is though, they can only prepare so many spells a day.
As such, their ritual descriptions states, “You can cast a cleric/druid spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.”
What this translates to, is simply, you must have the spell prepared for the day and it has the ritual tag.
Which is great for utility, as while the bard is stuck with his choices, a cleric just needs to do a long rest and then change his ritual spells to meet what he needs for the day.
For clerics, their list is actually quite extensive and goes all the way to level 6.
Not too shabby of a list to choose from considering you know all of them.
1st Level
You perform a special religious ceremony that is infused with magic. When you cast the spell, choose one of the following rites, the target of which must be within 10 feet of you throughout the casting.
Atonement. You touch one willing creature whose alignment has changed, and you make a DC 20 Wisdom (Insight) check. On a successful check, you restore the target to its original alignment.
Bless Water. You touch one vial of water and cause it to become holy water.
Coming of Age. You touch one humanoid who is a young adult. For the next 24 hours, whenever the target makes an ability check, it can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the ability check. A creature can benefit from this rite only once.
Dedication. You touch one humanoid who wishes to be dedicated to your god’s service. For the next 24 hours, whenever the target makes a saving throw, it can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the save. A creature can benefit from this rite only once.
Funeral Rite. You touch one corpse, and for the next 7 days, the target can’t become undead by any means short of a wish spell.
Wedding. You touch adult humanoids willing to be bonded together in marriage. For the next 7 days, each target gains a +2 bonus to AC while they are within 30 feet of each other. A creature can benefit from this rite again only if widowed.
For the duration, you sense the presence of magic within 30 feet of you. If you sense magic in this way, you can use your action to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any.
The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
For the duration, you can sense the presence and location of poisons, poisonous creatures, and diseases within 30 feet of you. You also identify the kind of poison, poisonous creature, or disease in each case.
The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
All nonmagical food and drink within a 5-foot-radius sphere centered on a point of your choice within range is purified and rendered free of poison and disease.
You choose one object that you must touch throughout the casting of the spell. If it is a magic item or some other magic-imbued object, you learn its Properties and how to use them, whether it requires Attunement to use, and how many Charges it has, if any. You learn whether any Spells are affecting the item and what they are. If the item was created by a spell, you learn which spell created it.
If you instead touch a creature throughout the casting, you learn what Spells, if any, are
2nd Level
By casting gem-inlaid sticks, rolling dragon bones, laying out ornate cards, or employing some other divining tool, you receive an omen from an otherworldly entity about the results of a specific course of action that you plan to take within the next 30 minutes. The DM chooses from the following possible omens:
- Weal, for good results
- Woe, for bad results
- Weal and woe, for both good and bad results
- Nothing, for results that aren’t especially good or bad
The spell doesn’t take into account any possible circumstances that might change the outcome, such as the casting of additional spells or the loss or gain of a companion.
If you cast the spell two or more times before completing your next long rest, there is a cumulative 25 percent chance for each casting after the first that you get a random reading. The DM makes this roll in secret.
You touch a corpse or other remains. For the duration, the target is protected from decay and can’t become undead.
The spell also effectively extends the time limit on raising the target from the dead, since days spent under the influence of this spell don’t count against the time limit of spells such as raise dead.
For the duration, no sound can be created within or pass through a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point you choose within range. Any creature or object entirely inside the sphere is immune to thunder damage, and creatures are deafened while entirely inside it. Casting a spell that includes a verbal component is impossible there.
3rd Level
You touch a willing creature and put it into a cataleptic state that is indistinguishable from death.
For the spell’s duration, or until you use an action to touch the target and dismiss the spell, the target appears dead to all outward inspection and to spells used to determine the target’s status. The target is blinded and incapacitated, and its speed drops to 0. The target has resistance to all damage except psychic damage. If the target is diseased or poisoned when you cast the spell, or becomes diseased or poisoned while under the spell’s effect, the disease and poison have no effect until the spell ends.
You step into a stone object or surface large enough to fully contain your body, melding yourself and all the equipment you carry with the stone for the duration. Using your movement, you step into the stone at a point you can touch. Nothing of your presence remains visible or otherwise detectable by nonmagical senses.
While merged with the stone, you can’t see what occurs outside it, and any Wisdom (Perception) checks you make to hear sounds outside it are made with disadvantage. You remain aware of the passage of time and can cast spells on yourself while merged in the stone. You can use your movement to leave the stone where you entered it, which ends the spell. You otherwise can’t move.
Minor physical damage to the stone doesn’t harm you, but its partial destruction or a change in its shape (to the extent that you no longer fit within it) expels you and deals 6d6 bludgeoning damage to you. The stone’s complete destruction (or transmutation into a different substance) expels you and deals 50 bludgeoning damage to you. If expelled, you fall prone in an unoccupied space closest to where you first entered.
This spell grants the ability to move across any liquid surface–such as water, acid, mud, snow, quicksand, or lava–as if it were harmless solid ground (creatures crossing molten lava can still take damage from the heat). Up to ten willing creatures you can see within range gain this ability for the duration.
If you target a creature submerged in a liquid, the spell carries the target to the surface of the liquid at a rate of 60 feet per round.
4th level
Your magic and an offering put you in contact with a god or a god’s servants. You ask a single question concerning a specific goal, event, or activity to occur within 7 days. The GM offers a truthful reply. The reply might be a short phrase, a cryptic rhyme, or an omen.
The spell doesn’t take into account any possible circumstances that might change the outcome, such as the casting of additional spells or the loss or gain of a companion.
If you cast the spell two or more times before finishing your next long rest, there is a cumulative 25 percent chance for each casting after the first that you get a random reading. The GM makes this roll in secret.
5th level
You contact your deity or a divine proxy and ask up to three questions that can be answered with a yes or no. You must ask your questions before the spell ends. You receive a correct answer for each question.
Divine beings aren’t necessarily omniscient, so you might receive “unclear” as an answer if a question pertains to information that lies beyond the deity’s knowledge. In a case where a one-word answer could be misleading or contrary to the deity’s interests, the GM might offer a short phrase as an answer instead.
If you cast the spell two or more times before finishing your next long rest, there is a cumulative 25 percent chance for each casting after the first that you get no answer. The GM makes this roll in secret.
6th Level
You create a ward against magical travel that protects up to 40,000 square feet of floor space to a height of 30 feet above the floor. For the duration, creatures can’t teleport into the area or use portals, such as those created by the gate spell, to enter the area. The spell proofs the area against planar travel, and therefore prevents creatures from accessing the area by way of the Astral Plane, Ethereal Plane, Feywild, Shadowfell, or the plane shift spell.
In addition, the spell damages types of creatures that you choose when you cast it. Choose one or more of the following: celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. When a chosen creature enters the spell’s area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, the creature takes 5d10 radiant or necrotic damage (your choice when you cast this spell).
When you cast this spell, you can designate a password. A creature that speaks the password as it enters the area takes no damage from the spell.
The spell’s area can’t overlap with the area of another forbiddance spell. If you cast forbiddance every day for 30 days in the same location, the spell lasts until it is dispelled, and the material components are consumed on the last casting.
Ritual Spells 5e For Druids
Meanwhile, the druid’s 5e ritual spell list is also quite extensive and unique.
Going all the way to level 5 and having some spells that are only available for druids that can be ritual cast.
Their list includes:
1st level
For the duration, you sense the presence of magic within 30 feet of you. If you sense magic in this way, you can use your action to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any.
The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
For the duration, you can sense the presence and location of poisons, poisonous creatures, and diseases within 30 feet of you. You also identify the kind of poison, poisonous creature, or disease in each case.
The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
All nonmagical food and drink within a 5-foot-radius sphere centered on a point of your choice within range is purified and rendered free of poison and disease.
You gain the ability to comprehend and verbally communicate with beasts for the duration. The knowledge and awareness of many beasts is limited by their intelligence, but at minimum, beasts can give you information about nearby locations and monsters, including whatever they can perceive or have perceived within the past day. You might be able to persuade a beast to perform a small favor for you, at the GM’s discretion.
2nd level
By means of this spell, you use an animal to deliver a message. Choose a Tiny beast you can see within range, such as a squirrel, a blue jay, or a bat. You specify a location, which you must have visited, and a recipient who matches a general description, such as “a man or woman dressed in the uniform of the town guard” or “a red-haired dwarf wearing a pointed hat.” You also speak a message of up to twenty-five words. The target beast travels for the duration of the spell toward the specified location, covering about 50 miles per 24 hours for a flying messenger, or 25 miles for other animals.
When the messenger arrives, it delivers your message to the creature that you described, replicating the sound of your voice. The messenger speaks only to a creature matching the description you gave. If the messenger doesn’t reach its destination before the spell ends, the message is lost, and the beast makes its way back to where you cast this spell.
You touch a willing beast. For the duration of the spell, you can use your action to see through the beast’s eyes and hear what it hears, and continue to do so until you use your action to return to your normal senses. While perceiving through the beast’s senses, you gain the benefits of any special senses possessed by that creature, though you are blinded and deafened to your own surroundings.
Describe or name a specific kind of beast or plant. Concentrating on the voice of nature in your surroundings, you learn the direction and distance to the closest creature or plant of that kind within 5 miles, if any are present.
You cause up to ten words to form in a part of the sky you can see. The words appear to be made of cloud and remain in place for the spell’s duration. The words dissipate when the spell ends. A strong wind can disperse the clouds and end the spell early.
3rd level
You touch a willing creature and put it into a cataleptic state that is indistinguishable from death.
For the spell’s duration, or until you use an action to touch the target and dismiss the spell, the target appears dead to all outward inspection and to spells used to determine the target’s status. The target is blinded and incapacitated, and its speed drops to 0. The target has resistance to all damage except psychic damage. If the target is diseased or poisoned when you cast the spell, or becomes diseased or poisoned while under the spell’s effect, the disease and poison have no effect until the spell ends.
You step into a stone object or surface large enough to fully contain your body, melding yourself and all the equipment you carry with the stone for the duration. Using your movement, you step into the stone at a point you can touch. Nothing of your presence remains visible or otherwise detectable by nonmagical senses.
While merged with the stone, you can’t see what occurs outside it, and any Wisdom (Perception) checks you make to hear sounds outside it are made with disadvantage. You remain aware of the passage of time and can cast spells on yourself while merged in the stone. You can use your movement to leave the stone where you entered it, which ends the spell. You otherwise can’t move.
Minor physical damage to the stone doesn’t harm you, but its partial destruction or a change in its shape (to the extent that you no longer fit within it) expels you and deals 6d6 bludgeoning damage to you. The stone’s complete destruction (or transmutation into a different substance) expels you and deals 50 bludgeoning damage to you. If expelled, you fall prone in an unoccupied space closest to where you first entered.
This spell grants up to ten willing creatures you can see within range the ability to breathe underwater until the spell ends. Affected creatures also retain their normal mode of respiration.
This spell grants the ability to move across any liquid surface–such as water, acid, mud, snow, quicksand, or lava–as if it were harmless solid ground (creatures crossing molten lava can still take damage from the heat). Up to ten willing creatures you can see within range gain this ability for the duration.
If you target a creature submerged in a liquid, the spell carries the target to the surface of the liquid at a rate of 60 feet per round.
4th level
Your magic and an offering put you in contact with a god or a god’s servants. You ask a single question concerning a specific goal, event, or activity to occur within 7 days. The DM offers a truthful reply. The reply might be a short phrase, a cryptic rhyme, or an omen.
The spell doesn’t take into account any possible circumstances that might change the outcome, such as the casting of additional Spells or the loss or gain of a companion.
If you cast this spell two or more times before finishing your next Long Rest, there is a cumulative 25 percent chance for each casting after the first that you get a random reading. The DM makes this roll in Secret.
5th level
You briefly become one with nature and gain knowledge of the surrounding territory. In the outdoors, the spell gives you knowledge of the land within 3 miles of you. In caves and other natural underground settings, the radius is limited to 300 feet. The spell doesn’t function where nature has been replaced by construction, such as in dungeons and towns.
You instantly gain knowledge of up to three facts of your choice about any of the following subjects as they relate to the area:
- terrain and bodies of water
- prevalent plants, minerals, animals, or peoples
- powerful celestials, fey, fiends, elementals, or undead
- influence from other planes of existence
- buildings
For example, you could determine the location of powerful undead in the area, the location of major sources of safe drinking water, and the location of any nearby towns.
I also want to mention, I know spells known, prepared, and expended can be a confusing subject.
As such, I really recommend The Dungeons and Dragons Spellcasting Cards.
They have all the information such as cost, level, what they do, and ritual tag on them making it easy to keep track of.
As well as making it sort of like a card game for all you strategy card gamers out there.
Well enough of that helpful tidbit.
Let’s go into the new class for ritual spells for 5e, the Artificer.
Ritual Spells 5e for Artificers
Next has the newly released Artificer. Released in the Eberron book, the Artificer is a class not available to everyone, but are a little interesting for ritual casting.
They are the only half caster with access to ritual spellcasting.
Meaning, their list is much smaller, going to only level 3.
However, some of their late game abilities make this an interesting function which can be read on my review of the artificer.
The other interesting point, is that they function much like the cleric and Druid.
They know every single spell on their list meaning after a long rest they can gain the ritual spells they need for the day.
Their list includes:
1st level
You set an alarm against unwanted intrusion. Choose a door, a window, or an area within range that is no larger than a 20-foot cube. Until the spell ends, an alarm alerts you whenever a Tiny or larger creature touches or enters the warded area. When you cast the spell, you can designate creatures that won’t set off the alarm. You also choose whether the alarm is mental or audible.
A mental alarm alerts you with a ping in your mind if you are within 1 mile of the warded area. This ping awakens you if you are sleeping.
An audible alarm produces the sound of a hand bell for 10 seconds within 60 feet.
For the duration, you sense the presence of magic within 30 feet of you. If you sense magic in this way, you can use your action to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any.
The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
You choose one object that you must touch throughout the casting of the spell. If it is a magic item or some other magic-imbued object, you learn its properties and how to use them, whether it requires attunement to use, and how many charges it has, if any. You learn whether any spells are affecting the item and what they are. If the item was created by a spell, you learn which spell created it.
If you instead touch a creature throughout the casting, you learn what spells, if any, are currently affecting it.
All nonmagical food and drink within a 5-foot-radius sphere centered on a point of your choice within range is purified and rendered free of poison and disease.
2nd level
You implant a message within an object in range, a message that is uttered when a trigger condition is met. Choose an object that you can see and that isn’t being worn or carried by another creature. Then speak the message, which must be 25 words or less, though it can be delivered over as long as 10 minutes. Finally, determine the circumstance that will trigger the spell to deliver your message.
When that circumstance occurs, a magical mouth appears on the object and recites the message in your voice and at the same volume you spoke. If the object you chose has a mouth or something that looks like a mouth (for example, the mouth of a statue), the magical mouth appears there so that the words appear to come from the object’s mouth. When you cast this spell, you can have the spell end after it delivers its message, or it can remain and repeat its message whenever the trigger occurs.
The triggering circumstance can be as general or as detailed as you like, though it must be based on visual or audible conditions that occur within 30 feet of the object. For example, you could instruct the mouth to speak when any creature moves within 30 feet of the object or when a silver bell rings within 30 feet of it.
You cause up to ten words to form in a part of the sky you can see. The words appear to be made of cloud and remain in place for the spell’s duration. The words dissipate when the spell ends. A strong wind can disperse the clouds and end the spell early.
3rd level
This spell grants up to ten willing creatures you can see within range the ability to breathe underwater until the spell ends. Affected creatures also retain their normal mode of respiration.
This spell grants the ability to move across any liquid surface–such as water, acid, mud, snow, quicksand, or lava–as if it were harmless solid ground (creatures crossing molten lava can still take damage from the heat). Up to ten willing creatures you can see within range gain this ability for the duration.
If you target a creature submerged in a liquid, the spell carries the target to the surface of the liquid at a rate of 60 feet per round.
Ritual Spells 5e for Wizards
Now comes for the class with the most ritual spells as well as the ones with the strongest ritual casting ability.
These are in a league of their own.
The reason being, The Players Handbook states, “You can cast a wizard spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your spellbook.
You don’t need to have the spell prepared.”
This is extremely strong for two reasons.
One, because a wizard can learn every spell available to wizards, 199 to be exact.
Therefore, unlike the cleric and druid that are limited by the ones prepared, they just need to know the spell and cast it as a ritual.
This means you can effectively never prepare a spell with a ritual tag, but always be able to cast it.
Greatly increasing your utility.
Additionally, Wizards have the largest number of ritual spells they can know with 17 ritual spells, have the most unique to them.
The list goes as follows.
1st level
You set an alarm against unwanted intrusion. Choose a door, a window, or an area within range that is no larger than a 20-foot cube. Until the spell ends, an alarm alerts you whenever a Tiny or larger creature touches or enters the warded area. When you cast the spell, you can designate creatures that won’t set off the alarm. You also choose whether the alarm is mental or audible.
A mental alarm alerts you with a ping in your mind if you are within 1 mile of the warded area. This ping awakens you if you are sleeping.
An audible alarm produces the sound of a hand bell for 10 seconds within 60 feet.
For the duration, you understand the literal meaning of any spoken language that you hear. You also understand any written language that you see, but you must be touching the surface on which the words are written. It takes about 1 minute to read one page of text.
This spell doesn’t decode secret messages in a text or a glyph, such as an arcane sigil, that isn’t part of a written language.
For the duration, you sense the presence of magic within 30 feet of you. If you sense magic in this way, you can use your action to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any.
The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
You gain the service of a familiar, a spirit that takes an animal form you choose: bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, fish (quipper), rat, raven, sea horse, spider, or weasel. Appearing in an unoccupied space within range, the familiar has the statistics of the chosen form, though it is a celestial, fey, or fiend (your choice) instead of a beast.
Your familiar acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat, it rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. A familiar can’t attack, but it can take other actions as normal.
When the familiar drops to 0 hit points, it disappears, leaving behind no physical form. It reappears after you cast this spell again.
While your familiar is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as an action, you can see through your familiar’s eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses.
As an action, you can temporarily dismiss your familiar. It disappears into a pocket dimension where it awaits your summons. Alternatively, you can dismiss it forever. As an action while it is temporarily dismissed, you can cause it to reappear in any unoccupied space within 30 feet of you.
You can’t have more than one familiar at a time. If you cast this spell while you already have a familiar, you instead cause it to adopt a new form. Choose one of the forms from the above list. Your familiar transforms into the chosen creature.
Finally, when you cast a spell with a range of touch, your familiar can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell. Your familiar must be within 100 feet of you, and it must use its reaction to deliver the spell when you cast it. If the spell requires an attack roll, you use your attack modifier for the roll.
For a full review on the list of familiars check out my article on Find Familiars
This spell creates a circular, horizontal plane of force, 3 feet in diameter and 1 inch thick, that floats 3 feet above the ground in an unoccupied space of your choice that you can see within range. The disk remains for the duration, and can hold up to 500 pounds. If more weight is placed on it, the spell ends, and everything on the disk falls to the ground.
The disk is immobile while you are within 20 feet of it. If you move more than 20 feet away from it, the disk follows you so that it remains within 20 feet of you. It can move across uneven terrain, up or down stairs, slopes and the like, but it can’t cross an elevation change of 10 feet or more. For example, the disk can’t move across a 10-foot-deep pit, nor could it leave such a pit if it was created at the bottom.
If you move more than 100 feet from the disk (typically because it can’t move around an obstacle to follow you), the spell ends.
You choose one object that you must touch throughout the casting of the spell. If it is a magic item or some other magic-imbued object, you learn its properties and how to use them, whether it requires attunement to use, and how many charges it has, if any. You learn whether any spells are affecting the item and what they are. If the item was created by a spell, you learn which spell created it.
If you instead touch a creature throughout the casting, you learn what spells, if any, are currently affecting it.
You write on parchment, paper, or some other suitable writing material and imbue it with a potent illusion that lasts for the duration.
To you and any creatures you designate when you cast the spell, the writing appears normal, written in your hand, and conveys whatever meaning you intended when you wrote the text. To all others, the writing appears as if it were written in an unknown or magical script that is unintelligible. Alternatively, you can cause the writing to appear to be an entirely different message, written in a different hand and language, though the language must be one you know.
Should the spell be dispelled, the original script and the illusion both disappear.
A creature with truesight can read the hidden message.
This spell creates a circular, horizontal plane of force, 3 feet in diameter and 1 inch thick, that floats 3 feet above the ground in an unoccupied space of your choice that you can see within range. The disk remains for the duration, and can hold up to 500 pounds. If more weight is placed on it, the spell ends, and everything on the disk falls to the ground.
The disk is immobile while you are within 20 feet of it. If you move more than 20 feet away from it, the disk follows you so that it remains within 20 feet of you. It can move across uneven terrain, up or down stairs, slopes and the like, but it can’t cross an elevation change of 10 feet or more. For example, the disk can’t move across a 10-foot-deep pit, nor could it leave such a pit if it was created at the bottom.
If you move more than 100 feet from the disk (typically because it can’t move around an obstacle to follow you), the spell ends.
This spell creates an invisible, mindless, shapeless, Medium force that performs simple tasks at your command until the spell ends. The servant springs into existence in an unoccupied space on the ground within range. It has AC 10, 1 hit point, and a Strength of 2, and it can’t attack. If it drops to 0 hit points, the spell ends.
Once on each of your turns as a bonus action, you can mentally command the servant to move up to 15 feet and interact with an object. The servant can perform simple tasks that a human servant could do, such as fetching things, cleaning, mending, folding clothes, lighting fires, serving food, and pouring wine. Once you give the command, the servant performs the task to the best of its ability until it completes the task, then waits for your next command.
If you command the servant to perform a task that would move it more than 60 feet away from you, the spell ends.
2nd level
You touch a corpse or other remains. For the duration, the target is protected from decay and can’t become undead.
The spell also effectively extends the time limit on raising the target from the dead, since days spent under the influence of this spell don’t count against the time limit of spells such as raise dead.
You implant a message within an object in range, a message that is uttered when a trigger condition is met. Choose an object that you can see and that isn’t being worn or carried by another creature. Then speak the message, which must be 25 words or less, though it can be delivered over as long as 10 minutes. Finally, determine the circumstance that will trigger the spell to deliver your message.
When that circumstance occurs, a magical mouth appears on the object and recites the message in your voice and at the same volume you spoke. If the object you chose has a mouth or something that looks like a mouth (for example, the mouth of a statue), the magical mouth appears there so that the words appear to come from the object’s mouth. When you cast this spell, you can have the spell end after it delivers its message, or it can remain and repeat its message whenever the trigger occurs.
The triggering circumstance can be as general or as detailed as you like, though it must be based on visual or audible conditions that occur within 30 feet of the object. For example, you could instruct the mouth to speak when any creature moves within 30 feet of the object or when a silver bell rings within 30 feet of it.
You cause up to ten words to form in a part of the sky you can see. The words appear to be made of cloud and remain in place for the spell’s duration. The words dissipate when the spell ends. A strong wind can disperse the clouds and end the spell early.
3rd level
You touch a willing creature and put it into a cataleptic state that is indistinguishable from death.
For the spell’s duration, or until you use an action to touch the target and dismiss the spell, the target appears dead to all outward inspection and to spells used to determine the target’s status. The target is blinded and incapacitated, and its speed drops to 0. The target has resistance to all damage except psychic damage. If the target is diseased or poisoned when you cast the spell, or becomes diseased or poisoned while under the spell’s effect, the disease and poison have no effect until the spell ends.
A 10-foot-radius immobile dome of force springs into existence around and above you and remains stationary for the duration. The spell ends if you leave its area.
Nine creatures of Medium size or smaller can fit inside the dome with you. The spell fails if its area includes a larger creature or more than nine creatures. Creatures and objects within the dome when you cast this spell can move through it freely. All other creatures and objects are barred from passing through it. Spells and other magical effects can’t extend through the dome or be cast through it. The atmosphere inside the space is comfortable and dry, regardless of the weather outside.
Until the spell ends, you can command the interior to become dimly lit or dark. The dome is opaque from the outside, of any color you choose, but it is transparent from the inside.
A Large quasi-real, horselike creature appears on the ground in an unoccupied space of your choice within range. You decide the creature’s appearance, but it is equipped with a saddle, bit, and bridle. Any of the equipment created by the spell vanishes in a puff of smoke if it is carried more than 10 feet away from the steed.
For the duration, you or a creature you choose can ride the steed. The creature uses the statistics for a riding horse, except it has a speed of 100 feet and can travel 10 miles in an hour, or 13 miles at a fast pace. When the spell ends, the steed gradually fades, giving the rider 1 minute to dismount. The spell ends if you use an action to dismiss it or if the steed takes any damage.
This spell grants up to ten willing creatures you can see within range the ability to breathe underwater until the spell ends. Affected creatures also retain their normal mode of respiration.
5th level
You mentally contact a demigod, the spirit of a long- dead sage, or some other mysterious entity from another plane. Contacting this extraplanar intelligence can strain or even break your mind. When you cast this spell, make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw. On a failure, you take 6d6 psychic damage and are insane until you finish a long rest. While insane, you can’t take actions, can’t understand what other creatures say, can’t read, and speak only in gibberish. A greater restoration spell cast on you ends this effect.
On a successful save, you can ask the entity up to five questions. You must ask your questions before the spell ends. The GM answers each question with one word, such as “yes,” “no,” “maybe,” “never,” “irrelevant,” or “unclear” (if the entity doesn’t know the answer to the question). If a one-word answer would be misleading, the GM might instead offer a short phrase as an answer.
You forge a telepathic link among up to eight willing creatures of your choice within range, psychically linking each creature to all the others for the duration. Creatures with Intelligence scores of 2 or less aren’t affected by this spell.
Until the spell ends, the targets can communicate telepathically through the bond whether or not they have a common language. The communication is possible over any distance, though it can’t extend to other planes of existence.
6th level
You touch an object weighing 10 pounds or less whose longest dimension is 6 feet or less. The spell leaves an invisible mark on its surface and invisibly inscribes the name of the item on the sapphire you use as the material component. Each time you cast this spell, you must use a different sapphire.
At any time thereafter, you can use your action to speak the item’s name and crush the sapphire. The item instantly appears in your hand regardless of physical or planar distances, and the spell ends.
If another creature is holding or carrying the item, crushing the sapphire doesn’t transport the item to you, but instead you learn who the creature possessing the object is and roughly where that creature is located at that moment.
Dispel magic or a similar effect successfully applied to the sapphire ends this spell’s effect.
I should also mention, if you are planning on playing a wizard, certain ritual spells become important for each subclass.
As such, understanding each wizard’s subclass playstyle is important and should be understood.
If you want to fully understand which ritual spells are your best choice for your subclass.
Then you should definitely check out Wizards Mastery: A Complete Wizard’s Guide!
Additional Ways To Get Ritual Spells in 5e
Now there are multiple other ways to get ritual spells in 5e.
For example, Barbarians can gain the ritual spells beast sense, speak with animals, and commune with nature.
That said, it depends on the subclass you choose and the same goes with many other ways to get it.
As such, there are two popular ways to gain rituals as the rest are limited at best.
The two ways we will talk about is through the feat “Ritual Caster” and the warlock pact invocation “Book of Ancient Secrets”.
Both are very popular choices and provide lots of flexibility for choosing your 5e ritual spells.
Ritual Caster Feat
The Ritual Caster Feat is by far the most popular way to gain ritual casting in classes that do not have them, or for those that want to add more ritual spells to their list.
The feat states
Ritual Caster Feat: Prerequisite: Intelligence, or Wisdom 13
You have learned a number of spells you can cast as rituals. These spells are written in a ritual book, which you must have on hand when casting one of them. When you gain this feat, choose one of the following classes: bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard. You acquire a ritual book holding two 1st level spells with the ritual tag, which must be on the list of the chosen class. Your casting ability for these rituals are the same as the chosen class (Charisma for bard, sorcerer, or warlock; Wisdom for cleric or druid; Intelligence for wizard).
If you come across a spell in written form, such as a magical scroll or a wizard’s spellbook, you might be able to add it to your ritual book. The spell must be on the spell list for the class you chose, the spell’s level must not be higher than half your level (rounded up), and it must have the ritual tag. The process of copying the spell into your ritual books takes 2 hours per level of the spells and costs 50 gp per level of the spell. This cost represents material components spent on practicing the spell, as well as the fine inks you must use to record it.
Ritual Caster Analysis
Now if you are wondering why I am stating the entire feat, know that it is a very important part, as I will need to break it down to explain it.
The first part to take a look at is the prerequisite.
Now notice the prerequisite states that you must have a 13 in either Intelligence or Wisdom.
It does not state that you need to have the stat match your chosen ritual class.
This means you could choose to have a bardic ritual casting book when you only have an 8 in charisma but a 13 in intelligence.
Useful and makes it very easy to qualify for this feat.
The second part to take a look at is that you choose a class.
It also does not limit yourself to only those classes able to choose ritual spells.
So, you could choose a Sorcerer for your ritual casting subclass.
Therefore, take a look at what ritual spells each class has before declaring that to be your class.
The next part to take a look at for choosing the basics for your ritual caster book is the number of spells you learn.
You only start out with two ritual 1st level spells for that class.
While you can have more, these will be the easiest to obtain so choose your first two 5e ritual spells wisely.
Finally, the last thing to note about the feat is that you gain access to the entire classes list.
You just need to have the gold and time to write them down.
Thus, making them on par with the wizards ritual casting as you do not need to prepare them just know them.
Making this, a powerful and high utility feat for those seeking ritual spells.
Book Of Ancient Secrets
The final and most powerful way to gain ritual spells in 5e is to go three classes into Warlock to gain the Pact, Pact of the Tome.
Then choose the invocation Book of Ancient Secrets.
Now, this is costly as it goes into multiclassing requirements and a minimum of three levels is a hefty cost for any character.
That said, the price can be definitely worth it.
Book of Ancient Secrets states that:
You can now inscribe magical rituals in your Book of Shadows. Choose two 1st-level spells that have the ritual tag from any class’s spell list. The spells appear in the book and don’t count against the number of spells you know. With your Book of Shadows in hand, you can cast the chosen spells as rituals. You can’t cast the spells except as rituals unless you’ve learned them by some other means. You can also cast a warlock spell you know as a ritual if it has the ritual tag.
On your adventures, you can add other ritual spells to your Book of Shadows. When you find such a spell, you can add it to the book if the spell’s level is equal to or less than half your warlock level (rounded up) and if you can spare the time to transcribe the spell. For each level of the spell, the transcription process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp for the rare inks needed to inscribe it.
As you can see, it functions almost identically to The Ritual Caster feat, except there is one additional comment.
You can choose from “any class’s spell list.
This is huge as you now can know every ritual spell in the game giving you ultimate utility over everyone, even wizards.
Ritual Spells 5e Summary
Ritual Spells in 5e are a staple mechanic that greatly changes the way the game is played.
With the ability to make any utility spell useful for situations without using a spell slot, only allowing certain classes to be able to cast rituals, and feats and abilities that change the number of rituals you know.
This is incredibly potent and somewhat complicated.
As such, hopefully, this article explained everything clearly to you.
If so leave a comment on what you liked the most.
If you did not, then let me know why as I am constantly working to make sure my articles are only filled with great content.
And if you enjoyed this one then I highly suggest checking out my article I mentioned above “Best Wizard Spells 5e That We Don’t Think Of.”
It is the most popular article on my website and is filled with great content that can get your creative juices flowing.
Have a fantastic day!
- P.S. Wizard of the Tavern released their first ever book Wizard’s Mastery: A Complete Wizard’s Guide. Going over all ten subclasses and unique ways to make them standout to fit your play style. Don’t be defined by your class, but by your subclass!