Criteria for components and casting time

[sfedi]

What do you think it's the criteria behind assigning a casting time to a spell?
And what about the various components a spell can have (S, V, M, DF)

The XP component is clearly to limit how frequently the spell is used.
The gold xomponent serves to limit (little) the frequency of use, plus it puts the spell in line with items similar to the spell (the Glyph of Warding spell comes to mind, a battlefield-cretion-of-one-use-attacking-"item")

But what about other components?
Opinions? Guesses? Personal tastes? Insights from insiders? Revelations from God?

 

[sfedi]

Anyone? Any comments?

 

[Planesdragon]

Anyone? Any comments?

Spell design in D&D is a very, very far cry from anything systematic. You've got the only real hard rules down already; don't worry too much about the exact balance, just make some spells that are neither better nor worse than all the other spells of a given level.

Now, if you ARE looking for a more fleshed-out setting, give me a buzz off enworld at Planesdragon@gmail.com

 

[Crothian]

What do you think it's the criteria behind assigning a casting time to a spell?
And what about the various components a spell can have (S, V, M, DF)

The componets for the spell answer the following question: What sounded good at the time it was created?

 

[argo]

Generally speaking the question of casting time is about limitinghow usefull a spell is in combat. For example; summoning spells are prety powerful (you get more actions per round than normal and free HP to boot) so they are cast as full-round actions. Spell components are about limiting some of the things you can do with a spell: you can't cast a spell with a V component in secret (at least not without spending a feat), a S component imposes an arcane spell failure chance for wearing armor, a M component requires you have at least one hand free (not holding a weapon or sheild) as does a F/DF and a spell with both M and F/DF requires you to have two hands free.

But as others have said there really are no hard and fast rules for this sort of thing, just compare your spell with others of its level and go with your gut instinct.

Hope that helps.

 

[the Jester]

I think, by default, a spell's components are V, S.

You add xp or costly M or F components to limit/balance it; you add non-costly M components for flavor. Xp components really serve to limit a spell more than anything else, simply because pcs are very reluctant to burn their xps.

You subtract V or S components for a combination of flavor and/or to shore up a spell that's otherwise weak for it's level.

By "you", of course, I mean "imho one should."