Trollslayers - Ritual magic (part 2)

Continued from yesterday's post...

Another advantage of Ritual Magic is the ability to draw extra Essence that you can use from certain times and/or locations of spellcasting.  Those attempting Ritual Magic at either midnight or high noon get a half-die (1-3 points) of 'free' Essence that they can draw upon.  Likewise, casting under a full moon also nets an extra half-die of Essence to use.  During a day that is a solstice, equinox, or the beginning of one of the four seasons, the caster can access an addition 2d6 Essence during that 24-hour period.  There are generally few restrictions using said Essence, as long as you don't try something directly counter to the thematic appropriateness of the time in question (attempting a darkness ritual at high noon gains you no extra Essence, and probably nets you a penalty to your spellcasting roll for being stupid).   

Most temples, churches, sacred groves, etc. that have been properly consecrated will have built up a certain amount of ambient Essence over the years.  Those who are attempting a Ritual that is part of the religion's 'canon' can access some of that ambient energy as 'free' Essence, depending on how long the temple has been in use.  A new church that has been around for 1-9 years gives access to a half-dice bonus, 10-99 years or more a full die, 100-999 years 2d6, a 1000+ years 3d6 bonus Essence, and so forth.  This free Essence renews every 24 hours, but is available to the first adherent using it; once someone taps the extra Essence, no one else can use it during that same day.

Battlefields and sites of mass death can also grant extra essence toward necromantic spells, demon summoning, and other dark rituals.  Most such sites will grant an extra full die of Essence; particularly large or historic sites might grant 2d6 extra Essence.

While casting on a ley line grants no extra Essence in and of itself, a site where two or more ley lines cross usually will.  Two ley lines crossing grants an extra 1d6 Essence, three ley lines crossing each other grants 2d6 Essence, four ley lines doing so gives 3d6 Essence, and so forth.  There are generally no restrictions on the use of this Essence.  As with temples and churches, it is available to the first spellcaster using it, so that once someone taps the extra Essence, no one else can use it during that same day.   These ley crossroads are fairly rare (especially the more powerful ones), and most have already been 'claimed'.  Many cities are built upon such crossroads, but the activities of day-to-day city life usually disrupt anyone being able to access the extra Essence.  In more secluded locations, they have already been put to use by a temple or wizard's tower.