Joke Components, etc

[Chronosome]

No, they're not new components for spells in the upcoming Mirth and Mayhem: A Guidebook to Jesters and Clowns. What I'm referring to are those little punny groaners you may find sprinkled throughout D&D accessories. Like...

...I was picking out spells for my wizard and decided on detect thoughts. When I checked out the focus for it, I got a good laugh--pretty subtle.

...I also took a look at mindless rage, over at wizards.com's Spellbook feature. That got a giggle, too.

...I think my favorite silly component of all time has to be for 2nd Edition's taunt, which required you to throw a slug at an opponent in order to make him want to hurt you...talk about redundant!

I know that these little witties show up all over the place--and not just in spells. I can't think of anymore off the top of my head...

Do you guys have any good ones to share?

 

[Gez]

Tasha's Hideous Laughter. Tiny cream tart you must throw...
Sending. Of course it was worse in 2e, when basically you need to have a can at each end of the copper wire.

Those are joke components. Their symbolism is more metagame than anything else. Besides, they're stupid -- OK, so I have a tiny cream tart in my spell component pouch, next to the bat guano; and I had the same tart for years, because only recently I was able to cast THL. If you wondered why we were followed by flies everywhere...

 

[RangerWickett]

In Wild Spellcraft, one of the spells cancelled mind-controlling effects on a target. The spell was named "Free Your Mind," and the material component was a red pill.

Then there was Malcom's Chaos Theory, which let you mildly control probability. To anyone who has seen Jurassic Park, the material component of a few drops of water, which you must sprinkle on your hand, should hopefully make sense.

For Preserve Form, which protects you from transmutation magic, the spell focus is literally a diamond in the rough (a diamond, which you have to keep in a bag or box full of sand).

For Shift Aim, which redirects missiles aimed at you, the component is a bit of moss from a tree, because I'm pretty sure the whole "Moss only grows on the north side of a tree" is just a myth.

The Road Left Untaken lets you be in two places at once (high level spell). It was inspired by a particular cat from physics lore, and the material component is a small container, like a bag or a box, that was filled by someone other than you, and the contents of which you are not aware. When you cast the spell, you open the container, and whatever is inside vanishes just after you see what it is.

Tri'ni's Telepathic Tribulation requires an object with a dozen answers to yes/no questions written on it (a magic 8-ball).

Soliptic Disillusionment lets you disbelieve a real object and thus ignore it. The material component is a fascimile of a pipe. Such as a painting of one, with writing in French.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Don't make me break out Unearthed Arcana!

-Hyp.

(Never picked the Detect Thoughts one. That's fabulous )

 

[Gez]

Soliptic Disillusionment lets you disbelieve a real object and thus ignore it. The material component is a fascimile of a pipe. Such as a painting of one, with writing in French.

Ceci n'est pas une pipe., by Magritte. Image

The thing about that painting is that it's true. This is not a pipe. This is a picture. To people that told him that it was indeed a pipe, Magritte replied that you couldn't hold it in your mouth, fill it with tobacco, and smoke -- so the painting wasn't a pipe, but the painting of a pipe.

 

[Gez]

And you know, these silly components have made me think about it. Why joke components ? Why do they put spells with components that obviously don't have any real magical symbolism ?

Because they don't want you to know how to cast real spells so soon. You have to become 5th level. Then, you will learn what the actual components are. That's why Bill failed.

 

[Chronosome]

Nice... Good stuff, RW. I love this stuff.

 

[Richards]

I don't have my book with me, but feeblemind at least used to have (if it doesn't still have) clay or glass spheres as material components, which disappeared upon casting the spell.

Hidden joke: somebody just "lost their marbles."

Johnathan

 

[Staffan]

Well, lightning bolt uses a glass or amber rod and some cat fur. That's pretty obvious to anyone who has taken low-level physics courses.

Then there's the fleece used in various ______ image spells, to pull the wool over people's eyes.

 

[Magic Missile]

Urban Arcana has a fun one - the Shutdown spell components are the Ctrl, Alt and Del keys from a keyboard...