Sorcerers w/o Material Components

[Shawn_Kehoe]

Hey all,

In your campaign, do sorcerers need material components to cast spells? I'm considering giving all sorcerers in my game the Eschew Materials feat as a bonus at 1st level. While I realise that certain spells require a material component for balance reasons, I think that this better differentiates wizards from sorcerers.

This isn't a new idea, so does anyone have experience on the matter?

Thanks,
Shawn

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

I do it, too, but I take away their ability to summon a familiar as a class feature. (They can take it as a feat, if they wish.)

I also give them Draconic Heritage.

 

[jerichothebard]

Hey all,

In your campaign, do sorcerers need material components to cast spells? I'm considering giving all sorcerers in my game the Eschew Materials feat as a bonus at 1st level. While I realise that certain spells require a material component for balance reasons, I think that this better differentiates wizards from sorcerers.

This isn't a new idea, so does anyone have experience on the matter?

Thanks,
Shawn

I did exactly that. It has had only one effect on the game at all, and that is just due to a technicality in a house rule regarding the way metamagic feats work. Otherwise, it has had no effect at all. I will say, however, that there are no wizards in my party - it isn't a class PCs are allowed to take. YMMV. But i would also say, personally, that the idea of magic spell components, other than the rare/expensive ones for specific spells, is dumb anyway.

 

[LordBOB]

in the campaign i play in our DM doesnt make us use materials for the spells. Though no one has yet to reach the higher level spells that require XP and bigger stuff like that. Im sure if we ever reach that place than we will probably have to pay at least the XP cost for the spells

 

[Tetsubo]

This is how I handled Sorcerers in my first 3.0 FR campaign:

Sorcerers

Sorcerers have a D6 for hit dice rather than a D4.

Sorcerers do not normally require spell components. In their place the Sorcerer has in their possession a magical spell focus known as a Fetish. The Fetish may be any small physical object. Most often it is an item that the Sorcerer associates with the first manifestation of their power. Once acquired the Sorcerer suffers a temporary CN lose of 1 point. This reflects the life force that the Sorcerer is investing into the Fetish. Each time the Sorcerer gains a new spell level they suffer another such lose. This spell component substitution is similar to the Eschew Material Component Feat. The Sorcerer needs no components for a spell requiring components that cost less than 1 sp (note I am running a silver-based campaign). If the spell requires components that cost more than 1 sp they have two options. One is to acquire the needed component(s). The second is to expend 1 xp for each sp value of the component(s). A Sorcerer can not spend enough xp to lower themselves below their current class level. This has no effect on the level of the spell.
There are consequences if the Sorcerer looses their Fetish however. All spells cast without a Fetish are considered one spell level higher (i.e. 0-level spells are now considered 1st level). All spells cast without a Fetish cause the Sorcerer to take 1 hp of damage for each spell level of the dwoemer. Without the Fetish the Sorcerer literally begins to consume their own body to channel their magic. If the Fetish is recovered within 1 day per Sorcerer level (plus the CH bonus if any) all ill effects vanish. Though hit points must be recovered normally. If the Fetish can not be recovered or the time limit elapses a new Fetish can be fashioned. Again the Fetish can be any small physical object. Once chosen the Sorcerer invests one temporary CN point into it for each spell level the caster has based on character level. The Sorcerer may choose to invest a limited number of CN points at a time. The new Fetish will allow the Sorcerer to cast spells normally up to the level equal to the amount of CN invested. Example: an 18th level Sorcerer looses his Fetish. He could chose to invest 5 points of CN and be able to cast up to 4th level spells. The additional CN could be invested at a later date to allow the full range of all nine-spell levels. Temporarily lost CN points are recovered at the rate of one per day.
Obviously Sorcerers protect their Fetish at all costs. They are often disguised as jewelry or a mundane item. To function a Fetish must be in physical contact with the Sorcerers naked skin. The Fetish does not count against the magic item “slots” available to the character.
Knowledge (Arcana) is no longer a Class Skill for Sorcerers. Sorcerers do not over think their spellcasting, it is purely intuitive. The Sorcerer may choose another IN based skill to replace Knowledge (Arcana). They may of course learn Knowledge (Arcana) as a non-class skill if they choose.
Sorcerers may “upgrade” to a more powerful version of a spell as they gain levels. For example: If the Sorcerer had Monster Summoning II and wanted to acquire Monster Summoning III, by doing so they would “absorb” the lower level version freeing up that spell slot for another spell choice. They would no longer have access to the lower spell that had been “absorbed”. They can of course ignore this option if they choose.

Optional Rule: Many Sorcerers possess a physical manifestation of their magical abilities. This manifestation appears as some form of minor physical oddity. It could be an oddly colored hair, eyes, skin or enlarged canines, extra digits, bony ridges or a reflection that isn’t backwards. This is an entirely option feature of playing a Sorcerer.

 

[Thanee]

Answered in the general forum already.

But so I have something to write here, too... My sorcerer house rules (short version):

Sorcerers gain Eschew Materials as a bonus feat at 1st level and have 4 skill points per level with Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (the planes) and Use Magic Device as additional class skills.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Nonlethal Force]

I have found that some players really enjoy roleplaying the whole spell component thing. For those players, I let them roleplay it of course.

But, to make my life easier - I have a houserule that every time they enter a town after casting a reasonable amount of spells (like half their daily alotment or more) I make them subtract 1 gp. That 1 gp automatically assumes they went to the market and bought the spell components.

Now, spells with significant spell components still need them, but Eschew Materials won't help those spells either, I do believe.

For those casters who don't care to keep track of spell components and the whole roleplaying thing, I still take away 1 gp when they visit towns. It seems a reasonable compromise to me. Now, those who take Eschew materials don't pay the 1 gp per town because their feat negates the need for simple spell components.

I should note that this houserule does change the game a wee bit, but in my opinion the effect this has on the game is nice on account of the paperwork saved.

 

[ARandomGod]

I do more than that to differentiate between the two.

But in my campaign they don't need material components.... and any spells that require expensive material components have a lesser version that can be cast without those components. One day a sorc found out that using certain things as a focus intensified the power of some spells, and expensive material component spells were created (IE they CAN use the material components if they want, and they can have the spell known and cast it without the components for a much lesser effect).

Additionally, in my campaign, wizards came from sorcs. One day someone with intelligence but no charisma managed to "memorize" and cast a spell, after much teaching and coaching from a sorc (who knew the poor lad would never amount to anything as an apprentice, really... and was quite surprised by this new casting method).

 

[IndyPendant]

Here are my changes to the sorceror. Been playtested for almost a year now, and my players like it. I've also gotten generally good feedback from the people here at ENWorld. It's become firm canon in all my campaigns.

So yes, as you can see, my sorcs don't need material components. : )

Sorceror:
The sorcerer’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge: Arcana (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Familiar:
The sorceror no longer gains a familiar as a class feature.

Eschew Materials:
Sorcerers gain their spells from innate, inborn power. Because of this, they have no need to worry about material components—they are, in essence, their own material components. A character with one sorceror level gains the feat Eschew Materials when casting sorceror spells. If a spell has more costly material components, the sorceror still does not need to obtain the material component; if he chooses, he may instead pay a price in experience points for casting the spell. The sorcerer then pays 1/25th of the gold-piece cost of the component in XP (minimum loss of 1 XP). Thus, if a sorcerer casts stoneskin, but does not possess the required 250 gp worth of diamond dust, the sorcerer instead pays 10 XP (250 divided by 25 is 10). Spells that already require an expenditure of experience points are handled normally, in addition to this ability. The sorceror chooses whether to use a material component or spend xp at the time each spell is cast, and any spells cast using this ability are not considered metamagically enhanced. If the sorceror has selected the Eschew Materials feat prior to gaining this ability, he may replace that selection with a different feat.

Bonus Feats:
At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th sorceror levels, the sorceror gains a bonus feat. This feat must be a metamagic feat. When casting sorceror spells enhanced with one of these chosen feats, the sorceror does not need to take extra time to cast due to the spontaneous casting penalty. If the sorceror has already selected a metamagic feat that he would like to apply this ability to, he may do so; he would then choose a new metamagic feat that would suffer the spontaneous casting penalty as normal.

Metamagic feats and rods:
Note that certain feats (i.e. Cooperative Spell*, Dual Spell*, Quicken Spell, Rapid Spell*, Sudden [Metamagic]) and all metamagic rods (and similar magic items) can by used by spontaneous casters without increasing the casting time of the spell. If a feat has this ability, this will be indicated in the feat’s description in my Feats file. This change applies to all spontaneous casters, including Clerics and Druids when substituting Cure and Summon spells, but is detailed here since Sorcerors gain the most benefit.

 

[Thanee]

Another Variant Sorcerer

Bye
Thanee