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I am curious....I enjoy playing wizards.....and there is the spell component pouch.
I'm putting this story behind spoilers because I assume not everyone wants to read a wall of text.
Thinking about spell components reminds me of a moment
back in boarding high school.
This was in the late 80s. We, the D&D group were over at our history teacher’s house on a Saturday evening. His name was Mr. Army. Our teachers didn’t have first names.
We had to wear blazers and ties, and stand up when the teacher came into the classroom. I suppose it was little like Hogwarts without the broom sticks and moving stair cases.
We were all seated around a table in Mr. Army’s living room. There were old maps in frames up on the wall and fire crackling merrily in the stone fire place. Some of his kid’s toys were stuffed behind an easy chair. I remember the front end of a Star Wars At At peaking around from behind the chair.
There was also a pair of brightly colored plastic baseball bats. My friend and I grabbed them, and be began “deuling” with the baseball bats, gleefully quoting “hello, My name is Inigo Montoya, You killed my father Prepare to die”. After a minute of two of laugher, Mr army smiled, and said, “The whole party has been plunged into darkness as the fighter and the mage decided to deul with the party torches…..Then Mr. Army asked us to hold up the base ball bats, because those were the “party torches” if we let them down, everyones light would go out.
Mean while, our characters had come to a chasm in the under ground cavern complex they were exploring.
I thought I could have my character, the party mage, cast a spider climb spell, take the rope and climb up the wall, along the ceiling of the under ground chamber, and come down the other wall, on the other side of the Chasm.
So I told Mr. Army “ I have my mage cast Spider Climb” and I begin climbing up the wall, carrying one end of the rope”
Mr Army replied “ all right, you go over to the wall and nothing happens, you are not sticking to the wall. “
Puzzled, I asked Mr. Army “ what happened, my Mage cast the spell didn’t he?”
And Mr. Army replied “ read the last part of your spell description”
I looked at it and exclaimed, “ my character has to eat a live spider?” Mr. Army nodded affirmative. Every one at the table exclaimed “eeeewwww”
My character ate his spider, holding his nose, and we got across the chasm.
I will never forget that moment, and after that, I always remembered to read my spell description, and to take notes on 3x5 cards.
After that experience I became familiar with what my mage's spell's materiel components were, and I would tell the DM that my character was gathering some sand, or a pea, or a bit of wool, or bat guano and sulphur...
But I wonder, does a materiel component pouch run out of well materiel components?
what do you think? Thank you
Spell component pouches don't run out. You can assume that you are restocking used components or whatever, but the pouches don't have any sort of limit or number of uses.
Personally, I believe every single component should be tracked and recorded, but most people don't what that sort of detail. As long as you have a pouch, you have all the non-costly components and focuses you need.
Personally, I believe every single component should be tracked and recorded, but most people don't what that sort of detail.
Who wouldn't want that kind of mind numbing excitement the likes of which can only be found in obscure federal tax code or component tracking? ;)
ElyasRavenwood: If your thing is components, you can have fun with it. Just know, as Jeraa said, it's NOT most people's thing so you might have to have that fun by yourself by adding the components to your own fluff/dialog to describe your casting.
As to the material component pouch, everything in it lasts for all time and in infinite qualities if used for spell casting.
If you wish to MAKE players use/care about material components as a DM, you'll need a shipwreck type situation where the pouches are lost. This could be fun once in awhile but will quickly get old if your high level wizard is sifting the beach for a cp of the correct sand to cast a spell...
It never runs out and having them be tracked would be annoying for the player and the GM in most cases. If it got annoying enough every NPC caster and PC caster would just take eschew materials to avoid the bookkeeping.
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I don't require my players to keep track of their spell components.
For myself all I really do is to mention what material component my character is taking out of his spell component pouch to cast a spell....wether its a pinch of sand, a piece of cured leather, a pinch of fleece, a dried pea, a bit of butter, some sulphur and bat guano, a bit of fur and a glass rod....etc. I don't keep track I guess because the rules don't require me too.
but I guess I just like the idea of spell components.
I was just curious if a spell component pouch ever ran out that's all.
Thank you.
Many 'named' do not (silver bells), others require constant up keep (live spiders). Our group tracks component for the role playing rewards. After an acid 'bath, our Fighter handed me an contingency pouch he bought.
Pouches start with a full compliment for level 1 spells, with reload 'costing' d6 cp for helpers to find or 5 cp. Thia can lead to interesting adventures. Level 2 pouches run about a SP tops and up it goes. At my level, few make 5 to stock shelves and that pouch is filled by scavenging of former opponents.
In our game, you can still cast without components, at -2 DC, and minus the spell's level for each component skipped. My caster does this when DC is hopefully doesn't matter. Hopefully.
A spellcaster with a spell component pouch is assumed to have all the material components and focuses needed for spellcasting, except for those components that have a specific cost, divine focuses, and focuses that wouldn't fit in a pouch.
If the component has no cost, is not a divine focus, and fits, you have as many as you need.
/cevah
A spellcaster with a spell component pouch is assumed to have all the material components and focuses needed for spellcasting, except for those components that have a specific cost, divine focuses, and focuses that wouldn't fit in a pouch.If the component has no cost, is not a divine focus, and fits, you have as many as you need.
/cevah
It's just focuses that check for size. For instance,a Swarm of Fangs requires a lizard tooth: It might be a Colossal one since components of any size fit...