D&D 5E Spell components. Anyone have a DM actually enforce them?

[Harzel]

Spell components generally come in two varieties:
1) Components that exist solely for the sake of flavor
2) Components that are intended to balance a spell with some kind of significant cost (often a significant gp cost)

Unless I'm running a setting where I care about the flavor, I ignore the first type and only care about the second type. For example, right now I'm running my group through PotA in FR. I haven't been using the flavor components. However, I am transitioning the group from FR to my homebrew setting of Tenesia. As part of that transition, I will be implementing the flavor components.

One of the huge flavor components my players may run into is that human(oid) sacrifice is required to bring back the dead. The gods jealously guard the souls they collect, and if you want one back you have to give one in return. And it can't just be any soul. If the gods don't approve of the trade, you aren't getting the soul you want in return. But, you might get an entirely different soul. Consequently, attempts to raise the dead often require sacrificing virgins or the incredibly pious.

Ouch! Seems like any PCs that are good aligned are going to have a hard time getting a rez.

 

[MechaPilot]

Ouch! Seems like any PCs that are good aligned are going to have a hard time getting a rez.

If you think that's bad, elves and other fey creatures can't ever be raised from the dead. When they die their souls return to nature. You can no more separate them back out than you can pour a glass of water in an ocean and then get those exact same droplets back out of the ocean.

And yeah, for good guys getting a rez is pretty hard. You generally have to bribe or convince someone to be a willing sacrifice. But, I also allow players to bring in new characters at the same level as the rest of the group. So even if they can't get a rez they aren't in horrible shape.

 

[SirGrotius]

I would encourage my magic users to bring spell components to the table for story-telling purposes, but in terms of enforcing them in the rules only in rare cases as others have mentioned. Not for the daily activities which would be needlessly bog down the game, akin to asking bards to buy new lute strings.

 

[Simonb1]

Hi all,

My GM's enforce Expensive or one shot components, else they are usually ignored.

In one campaign, where I can learn revivify, I have not due to lack of money and diamonds.

Simon

Ps I also want the other players to provide their own diamonds. I can't cast these spells on myself after all.