You have to be able to manipulate the focus, not just touch it. Of course this is hard to do without it being seen.
PS: I am not accounting for feats that might allow you to bypass this.
Well tongues are quite good at manipulating small objects, aren't they? This really does fall outside the scope of the rules though. As a GM I'd probably rule that it works, but with a chance of spell failure.
|
That would be the same tongue you're using to speak the verbal component?
You must manipulate a focus component in the same way as a material component. This usually requires a hand, which can be the same hand that you use to perform a somatic component, but doesn't necessarily require showing the focus to others.
Focus (F): A focus component is a prop of some sort. Unlike a material component, a focus is not consumed when the spell is cast and can be reused. As with material components, the cost for a focus is negligible unless a price is given. Assume that focus components of negligible cost are in your spell component pouch.
Divine Focus (DF): A divine focus component is an item of spiritual significance. The divine focus for a cleric or a paladin is a holy symbol appropriate to the character's faith. The divine focus for a druid or a ranger is a sprig of holly, or some other sacred plant.
If the Components line includes F/DF or M/DF, the arcane version of the spell has a focus component or a material component (the abbreviation before the slash) and the divine version has a divine focus component (the abbreviation after the slash).
I would treat it as a material component that does not get consumed.
Does a material component need to be manipulated by a "hand"? Maybe.
/cevah
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Since Cevah quoted everything else I'll just add this for completion's sake:
Material (M): A material component consists of one or more physical substances or objects that are annihilated by the spell energies in the casting process. Unless a cost is given for a material component, the cost is negligible. Don't bother to keep track of material components with negligible cost. Assume you have all you need as long as you have your spell component pouch.
(using Cevah's link above).
Hmmmm... oh here we go:
First you must choose which spell to cast. If you're a cleric, druid, experienced paladin, experienced ranger, or wizard, you select from among spells prepared earlier in the day and not yet cast (see Preparing Wizard Spells and Preparing Divine Spells).
If you're a bard or sorcerer, you can select any spell you know, provided you are capable of casting spells of that level or higher.
To cast a spell, you must be able to speak (if the spell has a verbal component), gesture (if it has a somatic component), and manipulate the material components or focus (if any). Additionally, you must concentrate to cast a spell.
As far as I know the game doesn't give a definition of what "manipulate" means, but there are some clues.
1. If you cast a spell with Somatic components the rules specifically say you need a free hand to use that spell. There is no such language in the Material components section. This is somewhat undermined by my above quote ("manipulate"), but the language is unclear at best.
2. There are a number of spells with both somatic and material components, or both somatic and focus components. It's not against the rules to cast these spells with one hand. Therefore whatever it means to "manipulate" the M/F component has to be easy enough that it can be done with the same hand that performs the somatic components.
3. The Grappled and Pinned conditions give restrictions on somatic components, but say nothing about Material Components.
Honestly I'm not sure where I land on this one, but that's all the relevant information I could think of ... I'll let my brain process for a bit and see if I come up with a conclusion.