Ritual

A ritual is a structured process in order to complete a task. It often has cultural or religious purposes, like acknowledgement of an individual's development within a community or a way to cook or eat food or dress in a costume. This normally not an instinctive process, nor can it be completed quickly. It may even take a bit of preparation and involve multiple people and resources.

[hide][top]Domain actions as rituals

Various domain actions can be thought of as rituals (or involve rituals), especially when they relate to large events with a single core purpose. Because of the preparation and costs involved, they are regarded as rituals that last a month, even if the main event may only take one or two days.

Ceremony (domain action)
Investiture (a type of ceremony)
Diplomacy (an action that may involve various rituals)

[hide][top]Magical rituals

Some spells are complex to perform or use. As such, they may take longer than standard magic. This is especially true for realm magic (cf. Cast Realm Spell domain action). As such, they are regarded as magical rituals. This is often indicated in the spell description along with the length of time they require.

Some versions of D&D (like D&D 5e) also sometimes have options for a character to perform a spell as a action in turn or round, or as a longer ritual. In such a case the outcome of the spell may differ.