Can you ritual cast the Phantom Steed spell multiple times and in practice just re-summon them while you are traveling? So for example, could a Wizard ritual summon a horse, three times in a row. And then just focus on re-summoning them while he's riding one of them. The spell lasts 1 hour, ritual casting it 3 times would take 33 minutes. So he should have more than enough time to summon new horses for himself and his party before any of the individual horses disappear. Is this correct?
-
\$\begingroup\$ This might be considered two questions, but I'll let others express views on that. \$\endgroup\$– NotArchJul 14, 2019 at 13:48
-
\$\begingroup\$ I think it could be rendered/considered as a single question if its wording were tweaked to ask about the ability for the caster to summon and maintain one or more steeds simultaneously while traveling mounted. \$\endgroup\$– RykaraAug 5, 2020 at 19:26
1 Answer
There is no rule stopping you from doing this
The relevant aspects of phantom steed are a casting time of 1 minute, the ritual tag, the duration of 1 hour and absence of a concentration requirement.
Ritual casting a spell means the casting time increases by 10 minutes, to 11, with no other requirements added.
Certain spells have a special tag: ritual. Such a spell can be cast following the normal rules for spellcasting, or the spell can be cast as a ritual. The ritual version of a spell takes 10 minutes longer to cast than normal. It also doesn't expend a spell slot, which means the ritual version of a spell can't be cast at a higher level.
— Player's Handbook, p. 201
Note that casting a spell with a casting time of more than 1 action requires your concentration; fortunately we don't need our concentration to maintain phantom steed and so can use it on the new instance.
There is also no rule saying you can't have the same spell cast multiple times, or said another way the rule on combining magical effects does not apply as it reads:
The effects of different spells add together while the durations of those spells overlap. The effects of the same spell cast multiple times don't combine, however. Instead, the most potent effect—such as the highest bonus—from those castings applies while their durations overlap.
— Player's Handbook, p. 205
However we are not trying to combine the effects, but rather have them benefit separate creatures, or the same creature at different points in time. (If you are trying to ride two horses simultaneously, or heavens forbid stack them, you might get a problem with this rule)
There are also no rules in the spellcasting (PHB 201), ritual casting (PHB 201), or Mounted Combat (PHB 198) sections of the PHB which prevent ritual spellcasting while mounted. The only exception would be if your DM decided that riding on a mount qualified as a sufficient environmental phenomena to threaten your concentration (PHB 204).
So, with multiple castings you can have up to 5 steeds active at the same time, giving yourself a 5 minute break every hour to relax and of course switch to your new phantom steed.
-
3\$\begingroup\$ This evokes a high fantasy version of The Pony Express the way you describe this. \$\endgroup\$ Jul 14, 2019 at 21:26
-
\$\begingroup\$ You address all of the OP's questions except one subtle one. I agree that a caster could summon multiple steeds at a time as you describe. However, the OP says "And then just focus on re-summoning them while he's riding one of them". This to me is an important distinction. Can all of the Somatic gestures of an 11 minute ritual be correctly performed WHILE RIDING, or would the caster have to dismount and forgo 11 minutes of travel to make the next steed, limiting travel time? \$\endgroup\$– KirtAug 5, 2020 at 18:23
-
\$\begingroup\$ @Kirt Cheers, added that there aren't rules which stop that either \$\endgroup\$– Someone_Evil ♦Aug 5, 2020 at 18:47
-
\$\begingroup\$ @Kirt if you are looking for a real world experience the answer is yes. Riding is all leg signals. Only inexperienced riders use reins. And after a while it becomes 2nd nature like walking. So you could easily perform sign language or play string instrument while riding. And melee combat is more complicated but can be done as well. (I have done all those things) so I'm certain the spell gestures would be easy enough. \$\endgroup\$ Aug 6, 2020 at 2:52
-
\$\begingroup\$ @SamLacrumb I don't doubt that an experienced rider could concentrate while riding, even at 13 mph. My question is more about whether the Somatic gestures themselves can be performed while riding, or even mounted but unmoving. This is an eleven-minute ritual - do I need to draw a circle on the ground first in which the steed will appear? Do I need to hop on one foot? Is it sympathetic magic where I sculpt the horse out of air, and need to bend to the ground to shape everything from hock to hoof? Most people would agree I can't do the "S" part with hands tied, are there other restrictions? \$\endgroup\$– KirtAug 6, 2020 at 15:23