Do you use material spell components?

[Omegium]

We usually don't really care about components, just use the spell component pouch.
Something I like about some of the spells in Relics and Rituals is that there are spells whose effect is based on the material component you use. There is, iirc, some kind of strength enhancing spell which has the blood of a creature with a certain strength score as a material component. Although no price is given you have of course to collect, and I think this kind of MC usage is rather cool

 

[Chronosome]

IMHO.

A cool thing about the sorcerers-get-Eschew Materials-free-bit
(which I've just inserted into my campaign) is that it's really just
an option. Since modifying a spell via metamagic is a full-round
action for a sorcerer*, there's still a reason for them to have a
component bag around...great flavor, though, and certainly
doesn't give bloodcasters an unfair advantage.



(*for a one action spell, of course...full-rounders take longer.)

 

[mkletch]

Sorcerer a mistake

<rant> I almost think that the Sorcerer class was a mistake for 3E. It seems as if people spend more time twiddling with the class (how do I make it different, how do I change it, whining that it is underpowered because of limited spell selection, it doesn't have the right flavor because of this or that rule) than actually playing the game. Let's focus here, people. </rant>

That being said, if you feel compelled to change the class, I think the GP to XP conversion works best to show the 'inner power' aspect of the class that is so vaguely mentioned in the class description, but people latch onto like a toddler gripping a worn teddy bear. XP cost is minimum of 1XP per spell with any material component. If there is a GP cost, then divide it by 5 for the XP cost. XP costs are handled normally.

-Fletch!

 

[Eryx]

In my games, Bards and Sorcerers don't need components, but Clerics, Druids and Wizards do.

I've had no problems game balance wise with this situation.

 

[BluWolf]

I rewrote my sorcerer class to include Eschew Materials feat at first level up to 50GP. But I won't go in to it here, wrong thread.

To answer the larger question, it really depends on m y players and the sort of campaign.

I prefer to play in and run lower level, deatailed oriented types of games. Wehre record keeping is an important part of that. Rations, ammo, forms of money .... they whole nine yards.
The group I currently play do not like those sorts of games. They prefer fast and loose when it comes to the minutia and the logictics of the games. They want to focus on the big issues, grand adventures and epic concerns.

So I don't pay attention to material components unless it is something big and obvious like 1,000 GP gem encrusted rod or a platinum miniture chest.

I miss the detail players.

 

[Humanophile]

Just a few thoughts off the top of my head...

First, if you want an inner power based caster, use the psion. Yeah, I know they've been hobbled, but you can find fixes aplenty depending on where you look and what you want. I still feel that moodwise, the psion is more of an inner power caster than the sorcerer is, and moreso that than your standard image of a psychic.

Second, if you look at the Blood Magus in T&B, they have a damage for spell cost listing. Using it for your sorcerers may overpower them a little, but I'm sure you could work other things out to balance.

However, put me down as thinking that giving up components wholeheartedly is just a bad idea. Too many powerful spells are limited by the fact that it's just not wise to cast them all the time, and if you take away a good in-game reason for you not to, the casters obviously will.

 

[mkletch]

Based on this thread and others I've seen here at EN and other places, I really am considering dropping the Sorcerer as a class form my campaign altogether. It is not worth the bother and complaint. I originally thought it was a cool variant for arcane spellcasting, but the whining has turned me off.

-Fletch!

 

[uv23]

Based on this thread and others I've seen here at EN and other places, I really am considering dropping the Sorcerer as a class form my campaign altogether. It is not worth the bother and complaint. I originally thought it was a cool variant for arcane spellcasting, but the whining has turned me off.

-Fletch!

Whining? What are you talking about? This thread is about creating a variant sorcerer that better fits into my campaign.

 

[UofMDude]

Based on this thread and others I've seen here at EN and other places, I really am considering dropping the Sorcerer as a class form my campaign altogether. It is not worth the bother and complaint. I originally thought it was a cool variant for arcane spellcasting, but the whining has turned me off.

-Fletch!

Personally I wouldn't characterize this as whining. But even if you do, so what? What does it matter if other DM's whine about something? It should only matter if your players whine about something.

I should know. I tried to do something to wizards that I thought would a) add more flavor and b) make scribing easier but my player whined so I dropped it. Specifically I wanted to change the wizard (before the campaign mind you) so instead of scribing spells (and incurring the scribing cost) the only way to add a spell to your spell book was to cast it off a scroll. I was also going to allow someone to use someone else's spell book WITHOUT LIMIT (even without having "scribed" the spell yourself) as long as they made the easy spellcraft roll.

Like I said, it's only your players whining that matters.

UofMDude

 

[hong]

Actually, I can't remember the last time (ordinary) material components played a significant role in a gaming session. Most of the time they're just part of the background, along with all that preparation/learning/etc jazz. So I guess you could eliminate these sorts of material components and you wouldn't affect balance significantly.

The exception would be for spells that have a significant gp cost for their components. Things like stoneskin are partly balanced by the fact that casting them requires some money on the part of the mage. You would probably want to keep these. It shouldn't be too hard to finesse your handwaving so as to require sorcs to use these components.