Reading the Player’s Guide I’ve got a mixed understanding of how are rituals accessed.
Two alternatives are possible.
• OPTION 1. Are they bought with 10 xp and a skill roll like Battlefileld spells, as per Player’s Guide page 154-155?
• OPTION 2. Are rituals something which is not bought but rather just performed following information in old grimoires? The mention to “Amateur Spellcasters” in Player’s Guide p.156 seems to suggest this second interpretation.
Unfortunately the example on p. 160 (Ritual casting by Dr. Fayomi) does not help in this matter. It describes how the doctor found and studied the old formula, but it does not specify whether he paid or not the 10 xp.
Furthermore, having a look at all the pre-generated characters, I only got more confused, as seen in the following examples.
Examples which suggest that rituals are bought like normal spells:
• Agent Daphne Rogers (Quick trip to France p.36-37), a dabbler whose only spell is a ritual (Healing).
• Doctor Lesley Pyles (Behind Enemy Lines p.158-159), Among his two allowed spells this researcher has one spell (Backlash aura), otherwise unknown in other books (to the limits of my knowledge) which has “Miscast” entry, as in rituals, but misses other normal ritual entries (e.g. Maximum stress and Steps).
Examples which suggest that rituals are something special which are not bought:
• Gemma Janus (Shadows of Atlantis p. 226-227), a researcher which should have 2 spells, but in her spell list there is also a third entry, the Summon Mythos Creature ritual. Is this maybe a bonus ritual awarded by the GM since Gemma has a magic tome?
So, what’s the correct interpretation?
As a third, possible interpretation (which is totally my own), is maybe the expense of 10 xp allowing to perform the ritual without a grimoire or other written formula?
Is it therefore possible to perform a ritual from a grimoire without spending XP to learn it?