It is interesting to see the great differences between the Nordic LARP communities and their Anglophone counterparts.
I'll give some answers based on my experiences with the Swedish LARP community, and the views on this issue that are most common here.
- We use very minimal lighting solutions. In-game, if it's dark then it's dark. We usually have tiki torches and oil lamps in our camps, but not much more. Electric lights are rare and usually only used in case of emergency.
- We don't use special lighting for combat in the dark. With us, immersion trumps safety in most cases. Darkness adds a sense of suspense that is impossible to achieve with other means. Sure, accidents happen, but if people play by the rules and act responsibly there are rarely any accidents more serious than can be handled with a short time out and an apology.
- Magic that requires light is so hard to get to look good, so it's rarely used. Some extremely otherworldly things such as demons use LEDs hidden in their masks to create some really cool effects, but work only because its so dark outside that you can't see the props.
Here are some house rules I've used to great effect – based on the writings of many bloggers and forum posters.
Simplify casting times to Short rest and Extended Rest
If casting time is less than 1 hour, make it a short rest instead. If it's longer, make it a extended rest.
Severely cut the casting cost
Cut casting cost by at least 50%. Consider cutting it by 90%, and eliminating the cost completely when less than a threshold, say 10gp.
Make disenchant free and allow residuum to replace material components
By making disenchant free, the residuum component cost can easily be satisfied by those old junk magic times cluttering up their character sheets.
Alternatively: Replace all material component costs with a per-day limit
Instead of having any residuum and material component costs, some GMs are implementing a per-day ritual casting limit: say 3/4/5 for Heroic/Paragon/Epic. Any rituals that are too powerful this way are simply not available to player characters.
Use a skill check to allow casting a ritual above level
I love low-level characters being able to cast rituals/create potions/etc. above their level. Invest the time and the component cost, if any, and roll the appropriate skill check. Difficulty starts at 10 for a ritual/potion one level above you, and goes up by 5 per level higher.
For the inspirations for these house rules, see:
Best Answer
Speak / chant throughout the ritual
Use Latin, Tolkien Elvish, or another foreign or created language. Learn a set of specific phrases that are relevant to the ritual that you can chant over and over, as well as other phrases that should be said at specific action points during the ritual. Chanting is a standard part of many rituals for good reason. Be consistent with your chanting, and consider rehearsing your chants by themselves in addition to with the rest of your ritual.
Build a rhythm
Your chanting and motion should make the ritual feel as though it has a certain rhythm, or beat. This can change over time - speeding up or slowing as the ritual reaches completion - but it is important that everything you do in the ritual follow that same flow.
Use your hands
If you are not using your hands to perform some other action in the ritual, keep them flowing as you "channel" the magic.
Be Active
Move around, using your body as a conduit for the magic that you are building. This is particularly relevant if you have a large ritual area. Dance and move in tune with the rhythm of your ritual.
Use props
Many props can add a feel of authenticity to a ritual. If your game already requires the use of "components," represent them with appropriate ritual props rather than the bare minimum. Use an hourglass instead of a stopwatch. Use as realistic of a scroll rep as you can, if you have scrolls. Cast near, or around a fire. You can use candles to represent the flow of magic, or you can use glow sticks - either tiny, 1" ones, the much larger wand sized ones, or even the normal 6" sticks. Drums and other percussion instruments can help immersion a great deal.
Wear appropriate costuming
Wear appropriate costuming for your ritual. In some rituals, dark, rune-covered robes would be appropriate. In other rituals, it might make more sense for you to wear a fur mantle and a bone necklace. Base this off of your character's culture as well as off of the type of ritual.
Distinguish your Ritual Area
If you need to use a circle, fill it with runes. If you can't use chalk, make or purchase a cloth circle that already has runes embroidered on it. If you are going to be particularly mobile, make sure that the general area that you will be performing your ritual in is still distinct from other areas.
Base the Ritual on the Effect
Base the script for the ritual upon the effect you are attempting to cause. As an example, if you are casting a ritual to render a shield indestructible, role-play that you are magically reinforcing the shield. If you are enhancing your companion and granting him great strength, role-play that you are infusing his muscles with magical power. If you are destroying the magic within an item, role-play pulling the magic out of it and burning it, or destroying it with a hammer that you formed during the ritual.
Use Common Ritual Elements
In most rituals, it makes sense to role-play the act of harnessing magical power, building it up, or storing it in an item. Figure out what makes the most sense to be common for your rituals, and practice these parts the most. If you perform these parts well, the ritual will already be immersive by the time that you start the custom part of each ritual. That said, this does not mean you should begin every ritual the same way - you can have custom elements at the beginning and end and the common elements in the middle.
Practice
If you don't practice, your movement, chants, and other actions may seem unnatural. Practice performing common rituals or any bigger rituals that you might expect to perform.