The purpose of this ritual is to place a trigger on another spell so that it will go off when the trigger conditions are met. This is most often used to create a magical trap.
The trigger ritual is cast upon an object and the conditions of the trigger are set. Then the other spell (known as the Trigger Spell) is woven into the trigger object. The mage must make a cast roll for both the Trigger Ritual and the spell that is being triggered. A Ritual of Preparation can be cast prior to starting the ritual but the bonus from the ritual (+3 per hour, +30 max) applies only once. The mage can choose to apply it to the Trigger Ritual, the Trigger Spell or split it between the two (i.e., +10 for the ritual, +20 for the spell, or maybe +15 for each).
The complexity and duration of the trigger are dependant on the caster's rank with this ritual, as indicated in the table below.
Rank | Trigger Complexity | Trigger Duration | Max Beneficial |
1-3 | Very simple (ex: if trigger object is touched, the spell triggers). | 2 days per rank | 0 |
4-7 | Simple (ex: if trigger object is touched by a living creature, the spell triggers) | 5 days per rank | 0 |
8-10 | Moderate (ex: if an attempt is made to open the trigger object, the spell triggers) | 10 days per rank | 1 |
11-14 | Complex (ex: if an attempt is made to open the trigger object, the spell triggers unless the object is opened by a specific means, e.g., a key - which would also include a simulating a key by picking the lock). | 1 month per rank | 2 |
15-20 | Very Complex - The GM will arbitrate this but it should cover most types of situations with some if-then decision points. | 6 months per rank | 3 |
21 | Extremely Complex - The GM will arbitrate but should allow a very high level of complexity. | 25 years | 4 |
22 | Absurdly Complex - Just about anything is possible at this level. | Permanent, until triggered | 5 |
Just about any spell can be used as the Trigger Spell but it will always have a range of 0 and affect the person who triggered it.
As a general rule, an object cannot have more than one trigger on it at one time though, if the mage rolls critical or grievous success with the ritual, he may cast 2 or 3 Trigger Spells, respectively, into the object.
A mage may work with a cleric to have a clerical spell set as the Trigger Spell. The cleric must be present for the full casting time of the ritual, which generally takes one hour, but can take longer if a Ritual of Preparation is caster prior to the Trigger Ritual.
The primary intent of this spell is to create magical traps. However, the mage can have a limited number of beneficial trigger objects equal to the number in the Max Beneficial column above. This could be an object with a Trigger Spell of Cure Serious Wounds set to trigger when the person carrying it falls to the ground or utters a command word (Moderate), the person goes unconscious (Complex) or any other trigger that falls within the mage's maximum complexity for the trigger. If the mage attempts to create a beneficial trigger object, but is already at his maximum, the oldest beneficial trigger object created by the mage will lose the trigger and the trigger will take effect on the new object. |