D&D 5E Material components
DND_Reborn
The High Aldwin
You might want to double-check the rules then:
Yes, component pouches and foci can substitute for the need for any mundane material components and we allow them to do so since that is their function--it removes the need to know how many grasshopper hind legs you have, etc.
But for spells with components with a cost, especially those which the spell consumes, you must have them in order to cast the spells. That is what the rules "tell us." Component pouches and foci don't replace those costs and components.
A lot of groups find such bookkeeping tedious, but we find it adds to the verisimilitude of the game. YMMV of course.
ccs
41st lv DM
So that like the Ranger & the Fighter they can do their thing.
Undrave
Legend
Yes, component pouches and foci can substitute for the need for any mundane material components and we allow them to do so since that is their function--it removes the need to know how many grasshopper hind legs you have, etc.
But for spells with components with a cost, especially those which the spell consumes, you must have them in order to cast the spells. That is what the rules "tell us." Component pouches and foci don't replace those costs and components.
A lot of groups find such bookkeeping tedious, but we find it adds to the verisimilitude of the game. YMMV of course.
I think they did a good job with balancing out those mundane components for instantaneous effect you'd use in combat, and the more expensive ones for the spells you would normally cast when you have more time and that usually have longer lasting impact.
I wouldn't bother making people track the mundane components, that's for sure.
Charlaquin
Goblin Queen (She/Her/Hers)
Mostly I run it by the book, which is to say, as long as you have a component pouch or a spellcasting focus, you only have to track components that say they are consumed by the spell or that have a specific cost (or both). I have considered using a house rule to treat a spellcasting focus like a weapon, component pouch like a quiver, and generic “spellcasting components” like ammunition. But, it mostly seems like more trouble than it’s worth for something my players probably wouldn’t find as cool as I do.
Components with a cost are tracked. Its also used as an adventuring hook early on. When your arcane caster takes identify and you have an item with a magic aura and they go to identify it and you ask them if they have a pearl and they say no. Well now you have a quest to find one. Whether it be to find a market or a NPC with a mission that rewards a pearl or simply having them do a shoreline quest and there are oysters nearby and they go diving to find a pearl and run into a Sharktopusses instead to get that pearl to identify that item that had Nystals Aura on it the whole time.
Charlaquin
Goblin Queen (She/Her/Hers)
Because what they can do has orders of magnitude more impact on the game. The fighter can hit stuff for lots of damage and get hit for lots of damage without dying. The ranger can also hit stuff for lots of damage and lets the party ignore most of the mechanics of overland travel. The wizard can teleport the party across the map, consult deities to learn all the campaign’s secrets, raise armies of undead minions, make clones of themselves to cast spells without using their own spell slots, and high enough levels wish for literally anything. Expensive components are a necessary limiting factor on casters’ ability to completely dominate the spotlight and set the tone for the whole campaign.
ccs
41st lv DM
I've always tracked my own components.
Its not hard, its not tedious.
Each of my casters simply has an extra page where I've listed all of their spells that use consumable components & any costs/notes.
I start by stocking 50 uses for each spell.
Or as much as I can afford if costs are involved.
So for ex, it'd be Fireball: 50.
Or Summon Familiar (10gp): 50
After that, as I cast spells i just keep a running tally mark next to each entry. If i hit 50, then I can't cast that spell again until I restock.
The people I play with also track their components/ammo. Each has their own format
Its not harder on them. Its the same as the ranger buying arrows. Or other classes buying the equipment they need for the job.
You track the ammo you use & replenish supplies as possible. Doesnt matter if that ammo is arrows or dried bat guano pellets. You run out of arrows? The bow doesn't fire anymore. You run out of bat poo? No more fireballs.
Of course things like foci, component pouches, some classes, & the Eschew Materials feat (3x/PF) have rendered replacing the zero cost components equal to the fighter losing/replacing his sword - sometimes happens, but not ussually.
On readily available components with a cost. How's this differ from arrows?
Both are often easy enough to get, but they aren't free.
If you think you'll be heading somewhere where replenishment of x will be hard/impossible? Stock up.
On things with expensive & rare components.... 1st, THIS is how you keep those so called quadratic Wizards (and other casters) in check.
Spell x causing you problems? Restrict the ammo flow....
Gathering some of these resources should be an adventure in and of itself!
Seriously, how many 10k gp value diamonds do you think there are? Entire adventuring parties squeal for joy at hoards totaling far less. But would you just automatically assume the caster had such a thing just because they've reached x lv & selected that spell? I dont.
And if those valuable components are consumed in the casting, howd this work? Every time you prep the spell this valuable thing just spawns in your pouch? No, thats silly.
Its not hard, its not tedious.
Each of my casters simply has an extra page where I've listed all of their spells that use consumable components & any costs/notes.
I start by stocking 50 uses for each spell.
Or as much as I can afford if costs are involved.
So for ex, it'd be Fireball: 50.
Or Summon Familiar (10gp): 50
After that, as I cast spells i just keep a running tally mark next to each entry. If i hit 50, then I can't cast that spell again until I restock.
The people I play with also track their components/ammo. Each has their own format
Its not harder on them. Its the same as the ranger buying arrows. Or other classes buying the equipment they need for the job.
You track the ammo you use & replenish supplies as possible. Doesnt matter if that ammo is arrows or dried bat guano pellets. You run out of arrows? The bow doesn't fire anymore. You run out of bat poo? No more fireballs.
Of course things like foci, component pouches, some classes, & the Eschew Materials feat (3x/PF) have rendered replacing the zero cost components equal to the fighter losing/replacing his sword - sometimes happens, but not ussually.
On readily available components with a cost. How's this differ from arrows?
Both are often easy enough to get, but they aren't free.
If you think you'll be heading somewhere where replenishment of x will be hard/impossible? Stock up.
On things with expensive & rare components.... 1st, THIS is how you keep those so called quadratic Wizards (and other casters) in check.
Spell x causing you problems? Restrict the ammo flow....
Gathering some of these resources should be an adventure in and of itself!
Seriously, how many 10k gp value diamonds do you think there are? Entire adventuring parties squeal for joy at hoards totaling far less. But would you just automatically assume the caster had such a thing just because they've reached x lv & selected that spell? I dont.
And if those valuable components are consumed in the casting, howd this work? Every time you prep the spell this valuable thing just spawns in your pouch? No, thats silly.
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