How subtle is casting a ritual

[Taran]

What it says.  Let's go with 2 categories

1 when complexity is equal to lore

2 when complexity is greater than lore.


Could you do it quietly?  Could it be done inconspicuously?

I have my own opinion on the matter but I'd like to hear others.

[Haru]

There's no good answer here, I believe. As we've seen, a ritual can be done entirely in your head, which would make no sound whatsoever.

The more important question would be, how does the caster see it? Has he been taught to chant an ancient song to gather power? Or stomp their feet in a steady rhythm? Would the desired effect make it reasonable to have something loud or otherwise overt while casting the spell? Do they usually have to do certain gestures? Draw something? And so on.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that yes, it is possible, given the right circumstances. If you are trying to keep all those things in your head only, so nobody around you notices them, that's going to make the spell all the more difficult. And if you start to imagine the things in your head, people around you might notice you concentration, even if they don't know what exactly you are doing.

So for case (1), it should not be a problem, as long as the casters style provides it. If it doesn't, I would require a description or an aspect as to what he's doing different in that situation, so nobody notices.

Case (2) is a lot harder. You not only have to cast the spell, but you have to use the components for the spell, too. It all comes down to "can you describe to me how you are doing that without anyone noticing", I think. If you are sitting in a busy restaurant and want to cast something, doodling on your napkin could account for some ritual components, and few people would see anything other than some doodles.

[Sanctaphrax]

The book doesn't make it clear, but I generally assume that anyone with a decent Lore skill will notice the build-up of magical energy if they're nearby. How nearby they have to be depends on how big the ritual is.

[Taran]

I always assumed the "doing it in your head" was more if the complexity was lower than your Lore.  Hence, no reason to make declarations.  That doesn't necessarily mean it's quiet, though.

[UmbraLux]

Thaumaturgy is as subtle or blatant as the declarations and tools used. 

Creating a "Circle of Fire" out of gasoline soaked rope is far less subtle than pacing out a "Circle of Beaten Grass" for example. 

Personally, I like the aspects to make sense in context with the spell construct's intent.  So the circles mentioned above probably wouldn't be useful for the same spell.  Initiating and controlling the Great Fire of London probably wouldn't be done with subtle aspects while creating the concealment for a hidden valley probably wouldn't be done with blatant aspects.  They need to fit the result.