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In a recent game, one of my players (Warlock, Celestial Patron) taken Pact of the Tome. Whilst we were in a dungeon, he ritually cast Unseen Servant.

We were unsure if this was possible and so consulted the PHB. The glossary stated:

If you have a spell prepared that has the Ritual tag, you can cast that spell 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. See also chapter 7.

When we looked at Chapter 7, it states:

Rituals. Certain spells have the Ritual tag in the Casting Time entry [...] To cast a spell as a Ritual, a spellcaster must have it prepared.

This was not very clear to me, so now I am just checking, as Pact of the Tome states:

Cantrips and Rituals. [...] and choose two level 1 spells that have the Ritual tag [...] you have the chosen spells prepared, and they function as Warlock spells for you.

There is nothing on the Warlock page that outright says they can ritually cast any spell with the ritual tag, though Chapter 7 and the Glossary would. As such I am looking to mainly confirm: Can Warlocks cast spells as a Ritual with Pact of the Tome?

Moreover, due to the wording of Chapter 7 and the Glossary: Can any spell caster cast any ritual spell as a ritual?

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Yes

All spellcasters can cast Ritual spells ritually as long as the spell is prepared.

The relevant rules are in the Chapter 7: Spells (emphasis mine):

Rituals. Certain spells have the Ritual tag in the Casting Time entry. Such a spell can be cast following the normal rules for spellcasting, or it can be cast as a Ritual. The Ritual version of a spell takes 10 minutes longer to cast than normal, but it doesn’t expend a spell slot. To cast a spell as a Ritual, a spellcaster must have it prepared.

And in the Rules Glossary (emphasis mine):

Ritual

If you have a spell prepared that has the Ritual tag, you can cast that spell 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. See also chapter 7.

The Wizard is a special case, as it gains the ability to cast from their book thanks to the Level 1: Ritual Adept feature:

You can cast any spell as a Ritual if that spell has the Ritual tag and the spell is in your spellbook. You needn’t have the spell prepared, but you must read from the book to cast a spell in this way.

Comparison with the 2014 PHB

This was different in the 2014 PHB, where only certain classes with the Ritual Caster feature had this possibility. Alternatively, you needed to take something like the Ritual Caster feat or be a Warlock with the Book of Ancient Secrets.

Resource explaining the intent

The intent can also be found in the pre-release article 2024 Wizard vs. 2014 Wizard: What’s New:

Ritual Casting has been removed from Spellcasting. Classes can now cast any prepared spells with the Ritual tag as a Ritual.

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Yes, it directly says that in the PHB you quoted for the definition of Ritual:

If you have a spell prepared that has the Ritual tag, you can cast that spell as a Ritual

So any spell caster can cast any ritual spell that they have prepared.

This is a shift from 2014 where each spellcasting ability is accompanied with the Ritual feature, which a 2014 Ranger doesn't have, for example. But in 2024 everyone follows the same rule, any spell they prepare that has Ritual tag, can be cast ritually. (except for Wizards, which has extra feature named Ritual Adept that they can cast any ritual spells in their spellbook ritually, even if not prepared)

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Just looking to clarify, WotC rulings and writings can be pretty vague. As you stated, it use to say that certain classes could ritual cast. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Mar 26 at 1:52

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