Ritual

A Ritual a type of Ability. They represent an Entity's cumulative efforts to achieve an outcome over time. They take longer to complete than an Action, but rarely result in [Failure]. A Ritual is not a matter of [Success] or [Failure], but of time. Specifically, how much? A [Ritual] is best applied when [Success] is certain, or extremely likely to occur, but the amount of time required is variable, such as breaking into a safe during a heist or attempting to assume a disguise before being discovered by a patrolling security guard. If [Failure] is still a meaningful possibility, a Check or Attack is usually more Appropriate.

Please Note: Invocations are a type of Ritual, and all rules that apply to Rituals also apply to Invocations. However, some rules apply specifically to Invocations and not to Rituals. If an Ability, Item, etc. specifically mentions Invocations, it only affects Invocations, not Rituals. See Invocations for more information.

To perform a Ritual, an Entity performs an Appropriate Skill Check and records its [Total]. The Entity continues to perform Skill Checks, limited by the Interval. Add the [Total] of each Check together. When the combined [Total] equals or exceeds the Severity of the Ritual, the Ritual is completed [Successfully].

To determine the Appropriate Skill for a Ritual, there are two methods. If the Ritual is granted by an Ability, the Ability will specify a Skill. For a custom Ritual, the [GM] determines which Skill is most Appropriate for the [Situation].

The Interval specifies how often the Skill Check can be performed to advance a Ritual. An Entity cannot perform a [Check] to advance a Ritual more often than the Interval allows, even if they have completed the Ritual. An Action-based Ritual can be advanced repeatedly, Action after Action, while a [Turn]-based Ritual can only be advanced once during each of that Entity's [Turns]. See Interval for more information.

A Ritual's Severity represents how difficult, or how much time, the Ritual will take to complete. The greater the Severity, the more difficult the Ritual. A Ritual is completed [Successfully] when the combined [Total] of all Checks equals or exceeds its Severity. See Severity for more information.

If you achieve a [Critical Success] while performing a Check to advance a Ritual, it is treated the same as any other [Critical Success] on a Check. Double all non-D20 [Bonuses] added to the [Check] when calculating its [Total]. The subsequent [Total] is then added to the ongoing [Total] for the Ritual. However, if you suffer a [Critical Failure] while performing a Check to advance a Ritual, the Check [Fails], producing a [Total] of 0, and the entire Ritual [Fails] as well, causing all progress to be lost. This is one of the few ways a Ritual can [Fail].
Once an Entity has started a Ritual, they are preoccupied with it until it is finished or turned into a Project. If they perform another [Action] or suffer any [Damage] while maintaining a Ritual, they must perform a [Multitasking] [Save] or [Fail] the Ritual. A [Multitasking] [Save] is a [Will] [Save]. However, it gains any other [Bonuses] or [Penalties] that an Entity may have to [Multitasking], as Appropriate. See [Multitasking] for more information.

If an [Entity] performs an [Action] while maintaining a [Ritual], the [Difficulty] of the [Multitasking] [Save] is 15. If the [Action] is unusually complex or simple, the [GM] may increase or lower the [Difficulty]. They may also impose [Properties], as [Appropriate].

However, if an [Entity] suffers [Damage], the [Difficulty] of the [Multitasking] [Save] varies. If they suffer enough [Damage] that some remains after [Mitigation], they must perform a [Multitasking] [Save] after the [Damage] is resolved. The [Difficulty] of this [Save] is equal to 10 + the [Unmitigated Damage]. If all of the [Damage] is [Mitigated], they are not required to perform a [Multitasking] [Save].

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Please Note: Certain Rituals, such as Invocations, may have additional outcomes for Failure in this manner, see their page for more information.

Furthermore, Most Rituals can be converted into an ongoing Project, allowing progress to be kept without constant Multitasking Save. See Project for more information.

Rituals are most commonly shown in the format of:

Or when found in text as the following:

Interval is a mechanical term involved in Rituals.

An Interval denotes the Action speed at which you can perform Checks to progress a Ritual.

Severity is a mechanical term involved in Rituals.

Severity denotes the Total required to achieve Success on a Ritual.