Alternative to Ritual Components

[Aulirophile]

Body parts of monsters. Dragon hide > magical armor. Dragon entrails > scrying ritual.

Just keep the cost the same, and decide how much you want x to be worth for casting the ritual (level 1 hide armor, 1/2 a dragon hide is worth 360 gp, i.e., enough for 2 level 1 armors). For minor rituals you can even let them carry around tiny magical beasts to "expend" as needed. Create Campsite (which is 10g)? You make an "offering" to nature for the assistance of the sprites in the form of a rat (or other natural predator that will eat the pixies who set up the camp).

 

[The Little Raven]

Issue with that is it brings me back to my RP complaint. I can't really see how that would work visually. I can't roleplay someone using healing surges to power a ritual. Visualization is a big thing i'm looking for.

Have the "roleplaying" effect be aging. After casting the ritual, the character has streaks of grey running through his hair, and lines are forming on his face. The Druids in the Shannara series suffer this fate when they draw on their druid fire (one ages himself dramatically after a fight with a powerful demon).

 

[FireLance]

I've been considering the possibility of using daily utility powers to fuel rituals. Something along the lines of: expending a daily utility power while casting a ritual is worth [power level x character level x 10] gp of residuum. So, a 6th-level daily utility power from a 9th-level character is worth 540 gp of residuum. Any excess is wasted - a utility power cannot be used to fuel more than one ritual.

 

[fba827]

chalk me up as another to add: make ritual components be some of the treasure found...

are the raiding an ancient temple? there is probably some incense or religious offerings scattered about somewhere that count as xgp worth of religious components...
a strange fairy mushroom ring of 10 mushrooms? each mushroom counts as xgp worth of nature components.
slay the dragon? his heart is the equivalent of xgp worth of arcane components