Eldritch Invocations: Book of Ancient Secrets – What Spell Should You Choose?

Apr 10

If your Warlock took the Pact of the Tome as their Pact Boon in 5e, then they can select Book of Ancient Secrets as an invocation to augment the pact. This unlocks the ability of Ritual Casting which is not available to Warlocks in Dungeons & Dragons.

Any Warlock spells that have the ritual tag can now be cast as rituals. This list includes:

1st Level:

Comprehend Languages

Illusory Script

Unseen Servant

2nd Level:

Silence (The Fathomless)

3rd Level:

Meld into Stone (The Genie (Dao))

5th Level:

Contact Other Planes

Not an impressive or extensive list, but when playing a Warlock every spell slot counts and spells cast ritually don’t cost a spell slot. If you plan on taking the Pact of the Tome, it is worth your while to maximize its effectiveness by taking ritual spells when you can.

The part of this Invocation is that you get to choose two 1st level spells with the ritual tag from any spell list and they don’t have to be from the same one. Here is the list of 1st level spells with the ritual tag:

Alarm
Comprehend Languages*
Detect Magic
Detect Poison and Disease
Find Familiar
Identify
Illusory Script*
Purify Food and Drink
Speak with Animals
Tenser’s Floating Disk
Unseen Servant*
Ceremony

*Already available on the Warlock spell list

This is a great way to expand your Warlock’s abilities and fill in holes that your party may have. Here is my tier list:

S Tier

Alarm – A great spell to warn you when your room at the inn or your campsite is being invaded.

Detect Magic – Always useful to know what is and is not magical.

Detect Poison and Disease – Stay healthy and avoid the poison condition when you can.

Find Familiar – Your familiar may not be as fancy as the Pact of the Chain familiar, but it is still a familiar.

Identify – Find out what your loot does and use it immediately.

A Tier

Comprehend Languages – Being able to communicate is good (and eavesdropping on your opponents is even better).

Purify Food and Drink – Make it safe for you and your compatriots to eat and drink.

Speak with Animals – Our furry friends usually have the dirt on our enemies if asked the right questions.

Tenser’s Floating Disk – Get as much treasure out of the dungeon as you can.

Unseen Servant – I had a player that came up with the most ingenious ways of using this spell, so use your imagination.

B Tier

Ceremony – You can perform weddings! It is a bit niche, but still a fun choice for your Warlock.

Illusory Script – Can be useful in the right campaign.

Choose the two that work best for your character and party. Another nice feature of this Invocation is that you can add other spells with the ritual tag at a cost of 50 gp and two hours of time for each level of the spell.

Here is a list of spells to keep an eye out for as you adventure:

2nd Level:

Animal Messenger

Augury

Beast Sense

Gentle Repose

Locate Animals and Plants

Magic Mouth

Silence

Skywrite

Wristpocket

3rd Level:

Feign Death

Leomund’s Tiny Hut

Meld into Stone

Phantom Steed

Water Breathing

Water Walk

4th Level:

Divination

5th Level:

Commune

Commune with Nature

Contact Other Plane

Rary’s Telepathic Bond

6th Level:

Drawmij’s Instant Summons

Forbiddance

Book of Ancient Secrets is a nice addition to Pact of the Tome. It is very useful especially if the Warlock is the party’s main spellcaster. It is a bit dependent on finding ritual tagged spells while adventuring, but there are plenty of scrolls and spellbooks out there to discover. What ritual spells do you find useful? Let me know in the comments down below.

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