Can a bard cast Identify as a ritual without having the Ritual Caster feat?

Question

Well I'm really confused by how rituals work, and the idea of the Ritual Caster feat/wizard bonus.

If I learn the spell identify, it seems to me I can cast this as a ritual to not spend a spell slot?

If I could, what is the big idea of the Ritual Caster feat (PHB p. 169)? Just the ability to learn 2 more spells?

Answer 1

For a bard, yes. The feat can be taken by other classes though

In order to cast a spell as a ritual a feature must allow you to do so. Bards have Ritual Casting as part of their Spellcasting feature:

You can cast any bard spell you know as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag.

... but not every spellcaster has this. Some examples include Eldritch Knights and Sorcerers. Also, non-casters can take the feat as long as they have the requires ability scores.

Answer 2

Bards can

Not all spellcasters can cast ritually, this is an additional feature some of them have. Look for it in the class description after "spellcasting". Bards have such a feature, so if one were to learn identify, they could cast it (if they have the material component).

The Ritual Caster feat has multiple advantages:

1. The character does not have to be a spellcaster to take it. Even a fighter can choose it and learn spells.
2. If you choose a spellcasting class you have levels in, you can cast all ritual spells you already know as rituals.
3. You can add spells to your ritual book. Most classes only earn spells when they level up, with this you can have more spells.