Stakes of disrupting magic rituals · Game Master's Laboratory

Jul 1 • Advice

Stakes of disrupting magic rituals

Hi all, I'm looking for some input about how you great people think about magic in RPGs.

I'm about to run the final session of Dragons of Stormwreck Isle (D&D introductory adventure) but the question applies in any game involving magic, I think. Basically my players need to stop a ritual being conducted by the bbeg (young dragon who wants huge power) who is drawing magic from this island steeped in arcane power, from the Dragon Star reaching its zenith, and from ancient incantations. The cap is the sacrifice of a young, good dragon the PC's are trying to rescue.

The setup is great: approaching midnight on a rocky spire jutting out of the ocean, an array of dragon statues and bones are carefully arrayed in a detailed pattern around the victim hidden in a stone pit. I see it as lit by torches at first, but as the ritual starts and the bbeg gathers power into the circle, there will be glows and crackles of lightning and arcane energy bursting all around.

A ritual caster has to gather and control power for some time before releasing it into their spell. The rules in d&d are lacklustre about stopping a ritual, though: "if the ritual is disrupted, the spell that is being cast fails". Hardly dramatic. Of course, now they would have a frustrated bbeg mad at them, but - - meh.

My feeling is that with a bunch of power being manipulated in a big ritual, interrupting it should be dangerous for everybody involved, not just the caster but also the disruptor, victim, bystanders,.... And the danger should increase the longer the ritual goes on before it's broken.

So I'm wondering if anyone has handled things like this or if you have ideas about it. I'm thinking about possible mechanics for determining outcomes, wild magic effects, damage spread - anything to make this more clutch, dramatic and fun.

PS I've already laid the groundwork with a smaller ritual used to destroy a cursed object earlier in the adventure, so the players will be expecting this.

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