MATERIAL COMPONENTS

Some players have asked me about the importance of material components and whether or not I'm big on their use. The answer is a resounding "YES!" but within reason. First of all, I think it's very important for the player of a spell caster to be familiar with their spells and the requirements of those spells. Right away, this helps save the dungeon master time as he needn't make sure that player is doing every little thing correctly, and so he doesn't have to stop the game, read the spell, check the material components, etc., while making all the other players wait. Normally, the player can answer all the DM's questions about the spell should the DM ask - like about saves, duration, casting times, ranges, verbal, somatic, or material components, etc., or whatever the DM needs to know at the moment. And he probably will ask since he hasn't read that spell in awhile - or possibly ever if he's not big on playing spell casters himself, or is a recent player himself - or herself - for I don't want to exclude the lovely ladies.

As DM, though, I practically insist the player have the page number of the spell ready and handy just to be able to cast it, so if there is a question, we can look it up quickly and get on with the game rather than spending a few extra minutes just hunting for the darn thing. Unfortunately with several editions out there, page numbers are not uniform, so it's sometimes a good idea to have most of the spell requirements written down on cards. At the very least, have the spell level ready as even that may help the DM find the spell more quickly in his book if he needs to do so (it does occasionally happen the DM may inaccurately recall the level of a spell and waste a lot of time looking in the wrong area, so help him find it, perhaps even hand him your book open to the right page). At any rate, if the player is familiar with that level of detail about the spells, or is required to keep an eye on such things like material components by the DM, it is a safe bet they are also familiar with the other limitations about that spell as well. Making them take a hard look at their material components will help assure they have taken a hard enough look at the other parameters of the spell.

Spell Cards (A Great Way To Keep Track Of Your Spells Using Inexpensive Index Cards And Taking Little Work)

For the most part, material components are easily obtained, relative cheap, and/or commonly available. If this is so, I believe the DM should assume the characters (professionals in their field) have taken the time to make sure they have them, a few spares and backups (several applications or doses of them) along with them UNLESS there is good reason to believe otherwise.

Examples: They may have them in their pack and may have recently been separated from it; they may carry them in their cloak and took that off to keep it dry (when swimming), clean (when doing something decidedly dirty), or for some other reason left the cloak behind; they may be a prisoner and had their material components and other equipment taken from them. I'm sure there are a variety of reasons and situations WHY a mage or priest might be separated from their material components, so if you have reason to believe this is the case, then the spell caster will be unable to cast their spells that employ material components (spells using just V and/or S are still fine) unless or until they can find new ones or regain their old ones. However, unless such an extraordinary story line is happening, it is best to assume the PCs have what they need (within reason).

Now, some material components are rather expensive or hard to obtain. In 1st edition AD&D, for example, the Wall Of Force spell has 10,000 GP worth of diamond dust as its material component, though 2nd edition AD&D made that only 5,000 GP. (I believe, unfortunately, that 1st edition had extra things like that in the DMG rather than the PHB, so such a thing could easily be missed by the player. Fortunately, 2nd edition. AD&D didn't do that, I think). This sort of material component (diamond dust) has a few problems. One, does it need to be a single stone? I think not. Several stones totaling 5K GP should suffice. Two, how hard is it to "dust" a diamond? Well, pretty hard. It sure isn't the sort of thing you can do in battle, and even doing it in the field may be too difficult as the right equipment may not be handy. Three, talk about expensive!

Naturally, this doesn't even address the realistic concern of how the spell knows the "value" of the diamonds since this is a very subjective thing. It would be better to say the spell takes so many grams of diamond dust and it coincidentally cost about this or that. Many spells are like that, so the DM should assume when "values" are given, what is actually required is a fixed weight of material, and the cost just happens to reflect their world's economics.

This means, naturally, that since worlds range from where money is so abundant it hardly is worth mentioning the cost of anything less than a few thousand gold pieces, to worlds where money is so scarce most PCs have never even seen an actual gold piece (yet) but have heard of such things that nobility may carry around with them, that the book prices should be adjusted accordingly. So if 1 gp is an insulting bribe on one world but you could live like a king for months on one gp in another world, obviously, the DM needs to take a hard look at material components measured in "cost" of this or that. Spells like, for example, Wall of Force should almost uniformly be changed to say "diamond dust" and let the DM decide how much (grams, carats, whatever) AND how much that will cost on their world. A player should never feel shy about asking the DM to "correct" a material component they feel is too expensive for a particular world's economics. However, bringing it to the DM's attention is all you can do, and if they feel that is where they want it, so be it, it is their world. Go with it and play well under it; it is the nature of the game to accept the DM's ruling - or leave the game - rather than argue with him during the game.

Now it's not like one can carry the diamonds around with them and spend them if they need to OR dust them if they need to in a moment's notice. If the spell caster wants that spell ready, those diamonds are dust NOW, and you aren't going to spend diamond dust easily. I do suppose another mage might be interested in buying the diamond dust, but I sure wouldn't give someone 5,000 gp for that but considerably less (unless already a trusted friend). Perhaps half that or maybe just 1/5th of its full value, it just depends, and even then only if the mage were in a position to trust the seller. The point is, for this example, to be sure to tell your DM you have smashed up 5,000 gp worth of diamonds BEFORE you suddenly have them handy in combat. Otherwise, he may rule you never took the opportunity to get such an expensive material component ready. And if you expect to be able to cast this spell more than once, tell the DM how many such "packets" of diamond dust you have made ahead of time or expect to be disappointed. Remember, if you don't give your DM advance warning, it is YOUR fault and not his if he rules you don't have the diamond dust prepared. Wall Of Force is a nice spell, but damned expensive.

Other material components may be so difficult to obtain, even when normally inexpensive, they may require one to roleplay their acquisition. The Scare spell, for example, takes a bit of powdered bone from some specific undead (like a skeleton or something). That isn't exactly something you find in the general store or laying around the yard (I hope). And, of course, actually making the undead yourself just to smash it up has ethical consequences for some, but I won't get into that. The point is, if the material components are hard to obtain or unusual, the spell caster should NOT be able to cast that spell until they get these material components. As for the Scare spell, this would simply be after they killed an undead somewhere and collected the material components. You may even assume they have done this without the need to roleplay it after they had the opportunity. Furthermore, one such creature would probably provide half a life time of the necessary material component for that spell; kept at home in a jar, the powdered femur bone of the undead skeleton served the wizard well for over 50 years. The aging mage was annoyed he ran out and no longer had such a simple thing at his beck and call. "Damn," he thought, "where do I find an undead skeleton on a Tuesday, and at this time of night?"

Apothecaries, Alchemists, and Magic Shops

On my world, I have apothecaries, alchemist, and magic shops. Some DMs dislike these things, so just a few comments about them may be in order.

The apothecaries use Continual Light spells to grow plants, herbs, and spices indoors all year round (mostly for medicinal purposes to help serve the masses; sort of like a drug store), so even in the dead of winter, certain items may still be found by the spell caster for next to no money.

The Apothecaries Of Orlantia (The Apothecary, Why They Are So Important To The Masses)

The alchemist, on the other hand, are always collecting material components from the more intelligent adventurers. These clever, on the ball adventurers may bring the alchemist "items" from their adventures (like a leg bone from an undead creature, a vial of blood from a dragon, harpy feathers, the heart of a lion, etc.), and sell them for a little extra cash (not too much cash, mind you). They may even go on an adventure specifically to quest for certain items the alchemist needs, so that's always a potential story line a DM may use.

Alchemy And Potions (The Art Of Alchemy)

Now, Magic Shops also at times need a stock pile of these things to supply their spell casting customers (especially as they relate to material components for spells rather than materials for the manufacture of potions), but my magic shops do NOT make magic items; they simply deal in used magic items, for sale or trade (assuming they even happen to have an item in which you may be interested), selling at 100% their value, buying at 70% their value, thus making an obscene profit on items that cost thousands of gold pieces. They don't even identify the items themselves, (The Identify spell, by the way, has a harder to obtain, more expensive material component in and of itself, a 100 gp pearl). I could write a whole article on the magic shops, but that's for a different paper. Alchemist shops, on the other hand, DO manufacture potions.

Let's Go Shopping For Magic Items

My point is that, in addition to being able to sell some items of interest at these places, a spell caster may be able to find some hard to obtain material components at them as well. They may even be able to cast Scare without personally trashing a skeleton, getting a small jar of the stuff for a GP or two, and this small amount may easily last them half a life time, assuming they cast that particular spell a lot (otherwise, an entire life time).

To keep things nice and simple, as DM, I assume that the alchemist will always buy any extraordinary item from an adventurer the FIRST time they show up with it if such an item is useful as a material component. If useful in the manufacture of a potion, they may buy the same item from them again at a future date. But if the item is used only for spell components, then they will be assumed to be overstocked on that particular item for the remainder of the run of that campaign (not just the scenario, but as far as your adventurers are concerned, forever. You can only use so much undead bone dust, after all. Besides, other NPCs are bringing in materials as well, so it's not so hard to believe they will continue to be over stocked on many items). However, if a spell specifically calls for "FRESH" components, then they will buy those every time the adventurers show up with them (within reason). I do however make allowances for other things. For example, one time I had two separate groups rushing home to sell a similar item. It became a race as the first group there could sell it, the second one there could not, as the alchemist would have been over stocked. Similarly, I had them race back to an alchemist with "fresh" materials because that was important. So, it was a race against time rather than a race against another group. Both story lines were interesting and fun. From this we see there's always something the DM can do along those lines to add spice to the game, which is particularly true if the material component is a spice ;-)

Handling And Storing Material Components

Sometimes the material components must be properly handled and stored. One may need the brain of a gorgon, for some reason, but how to carry it? Your pocket will prove to be woefully inadequate, I assure you. And that gunnysack you've been toting around just isn't going to cut it. This is why it is important for the clever PC (the harvesters, I call them) to have a few empty glass or crystal vials, a few small jars, or even a big one. Sure, they may be difficult to carry around sometimes, and you'll need to periodically replace them as they break, but when you need them, you need them. Properly packed, if they have beasts of burden to lug their equipment around, this is not a great problem, and fetching a rare item or two may even pay for the animal and its up keep. Anything above that is pure profit. Of course, the incredibly strong warrior types could probably carry these items around for a physically less able individual, but he should get his share for the effort. Some PCs don't or can't be bothered with such things, and they refuse to help harvest items, while others in the same group will make the effort. That's fine, but I say such people who will not help, should also not benefit from the profits of those efforts. But, this is up to the PCs, the group, and other considerations. Just remember, those who come prepared may take home material components worth hundreds if not thousands of GPs (though most are often measured in 10s of GPs), but every bit can help and may be needed, so be prepared.

Properly storing material components is important, but this often simply means keeping them in sealed jars or containers, sometimes in dark rooms, sometimes in cool rooms, sometimes in dry rooms, or some other special condition. It is usually best to assume a spell caster may do this without too much trouble, and that once they have the opportunity to collect a sample (like the bone of an undead skeleton), that their difficulties are over. A lot of items need not be fresh, so dried leaves, grasshoppers, holly berries, or a slew of other possibilities may be dried and stored in sealed glass jars. Even troll blood, problematic since it may regenerate, is probably burned and turned to ash, yet it may retain the essential qualities necessary for a spell or a potion if kept in a sealed jar. All of this may be a problem for a mage with no permanent home, but the DM shall consider this, perhaps making such a wondering mage collect new materials more frequently. And when they do get a home, they may even wish to set up their own Continual Light, Continual Heat indoor gardens for certain fresh ingredients, both for their own cooking, as well as for fresh components for their spells and potions.

Substitute Material Components

Sometimes the DM may allow substitutes for missing material components, but it is assumed those listed have proven to be the absolute best things for the job over the years (so far), and using a substitute, if allowed, will usually also mean a reduction in spell power or duration. The DM will let you know if you ask, but don't expect him to volunteer unsolicited information. Naturally, it may be possible to find a material that works even better, perhaps increasing the power OR the duration of the spell. Such a discovery, in and of itself, would be worth something. A one time finder's fee may be paid by the mage's guild or magic shop if the PC decides to share this information, or they may keep it secret and only they will have the advantage of that knowledge. It may even become apparent to others "HE" has learned something (if a practitioner of spell craft sees him cast that spell), making him the target of spies. Though probably not dangerous, he may eventually have his secret discovered, but that's all something your DM may decide. It is only mentioned here because if substitutes are allowed and usually do not work as well, the possibility they may work as well (and be worth a little), or may work very well (and be worth a lot) should also exist.

Researching Non Material Component Versions Of Spells

Now there are those players who dislike material components so much they may wish to research versions of the same spell that do not use material components. Be careful. Game balance considerations may come into play. For the most part, my policy is to let them, but at a cost. If the components are commonly available and inexpensive to boot, then simply making the spell one level higher may do the trick. If the components are inexpensive but hard to come by, perhaps they are two levels higher. If the components are expensive but easy to find, then the spell will either have to be several levels higher (perhaps 3 or 4), or maybe only 1 or 2 levels higher if they will still use a material component, albeit a more commonly available one as a substitute. And if both rare and expensive, perhaps several levels higher using common, but expensive items, or perhaps using rare, but inexpensive items may fill the bill. Whatever the DM decides, it is extremely UNLIKELY and IMPROPER, I believe, to let a PC have the same spell at the same level after they have eliminated the material components altogether. I sure wouldn't expect my DM to let me get away with that, and you probably shouldn't either.

Examples:

Inexpensive and Common: Grass, sand, rose petals, water, strip of cloth, etc.

Inexpensive and Rare: A blade of fresh spring grass, water collected less than a day ago under a full moon, a live chicken blessed on the high holy day, a banana (if not indigenous to your mage's home continent), etc.

Expensive and Common: A jewel (could be common), holy water, a commissioned work of art, a platinum rod, 100 year old or older elven wine, etc.

Expensive and Rare: An iron meteor fragment, a 5000 gp blue white diamond, a black pearl from the ocean's deepest trench, King Osserick's (long dead these many centuries) finely wrought gold threaded dressing gown, a drop of blood from a god, etc.

Of course when the rarity commands the price (supply and demand) some of these naturally go hand in hand.

Researching Non Consumable Material Component Versions Of Spells

For the player who wishes to research spells that still use material components BUT do not consume them, similar considerations should be followed, and such spells probably will be higher in level. However, this is still better than NO material components at all. Another approach is to use a substitute, but a more expensive one that isn't consumed. So one good way to handle that (one I really like), is to make a version at the same level but with an incredibly hard to obtain or very expensive material component (in comparison to the original) as a substitute. This spell would be at the same level and power and duration, but only the "item" would be required and getting the, albeit commonly available items, would no longer be a hassle. For example, rather than swallowing a live spider and a bit of bitumen (an asphalt like mineral pitch) for the Spider Climb spell, the caster may have a small platinum spider made (materials and workmanship, 100 gp) and smeared with bitumen and spider blood and kept in a small box. Now, as long as he has that item, his new version of the Spider Climb spell can be cast, is the same level, duration, power, etc., but no longer requires a live spider, a bit of bitumen, or actually swallowing them. He has paid for this privilege with an item that cost thousands or hundreds of thousands more than an actual live spider might cost, as well as the research cost for this special version of the Spider Climb spell.

However the DM decides to balance the scales to keep things fair and reasonable, any advantage somewhere should be paid for with a disadvantage somewhere else, and if properly balanced, they should be comparable. So, if you are a DM, I find these guide lines to be useful. And if you are a player, by following these guide lines, you may present something to your DM he may immediately like and accept. Just be aware, since space is limited in one's spell book, you will probably only have that one version, and if you lose the platinum spider (or whatever), you will not be able to cast that spell (even if you have a live spider and a bit of bitumen), until you can have another platinum spider manufactured.

Magic Items To Aid In The Use Of Material Components

Another nice possibility for the DM is to include minor magic items that help in the area of material components. For example, a cloak of components that magically produce one of a list of ten possible items is good. Be aware, however, that using such an item may take a round by itself, and the spell caster may only use the component on the following round. This, of course, depends on the item and what it says (if standard), or what the DM says (if nonstandard). Other fun items may simply allow the spell caster to cast a particular spell without additional components. For example, a crystal rod with the proper enchantment on it may make it possible to cast a normal Lightning Bolt spell without consuming the rod. Such an item would be easily made (just expensive) and not be consumed by casting that spell. It's handy, that's all, and as such would have to be relatively inexpensive. Otherwise, why would anyone make it? Thus, that particular item might cost something like 250 GP. But rather than worrying about making them or selling them, they are most often a nice addition to the game when found or captured from some NPC spell caster.

The major distinction between these nice magic items and, say for example, that platinum spider your character created, is that the ITEM itself makes the normal version of the spell work so a SPECIAL version of the spell need not be researched. Thus, the magic item crystal rod may be used to cast your LB spell, OR you may use the more traditional material components.

The Consumption Of Material Components

The rule states - and I like this rule - that most material components are used up when casting the spell. They are probably consumed at the completion of the spell's casting. This means, at least on my world, that if the spell caster is interrupted and prevented from completing the spell that the material components are not consumed. Thus, they can normally be gathered up and used later (If the spell actually says they break this or that or swallow this or that mid spell, the material components are probably lost or perhaps literally consumed). A priest's holy symbol is never used up in this manner, and many spells say certain items are not consumed in the process, but these are the exceptions and not the rule. This is why you will almost certainly need several "doses" of the material components handy, and that can really run into some serious money for some spells (like Wall Of Force).

Scrolls: You Still Use Material Components When Writing Them

In the manufacture of scrolls, if the spell being scribed uses material components, they are consumed at that time (and NOT when the scroll is read). If the spell ages a caster, this is considered part of the material component, part of his life's force. Some spells, like Permanency, only have a chance they may consume a material component. In that case, the normal 5% chance of a loss of a point of constitution becomes a 100% certainty when putting that spell on a scroll. The reason for this is that sometimes, when cast on oneself, the constitution loss is 100%, so this fact prevents an end run. Of course, this makes Permanency scrolls rather rare.

There is also a chance of failure when writing a scroll. If the scroll fails to be scribed properly, the material components are still used up. This is really a kick in the pants when scribing something like a Wall Of Force, Permanency, or Resurrection, or some other spell with hard to obtain or really expensive material components. Oh well, thems the breaks. Just be sure to use top of line feathers, vellum, ink, or whatever you can to increase your chances of success when scribing such spells. The DM may even allow you to spend twice the normal time required to increase your chance of success, but ask them. DMs are notorious for not volunteering unsolicited information. This is either because they have other things on their minds or perhaps they have never considered it before, but would be open to the possibility when suggested. So ask - it usually doesn't hurt to do so.

Scrolls: Optionally, You May Use Material Components When Reading Them

Though in some cases the DM may rule the component (like a constitution point or other more traditional components) may be supplied by the reader when the scroll is actually read. Thus, a Wall Of Forcescroll, for example, may be nearly worthless without 5,000 GP worth of diamond dust that must still be supplied by the reader. This option has possibilities as lower level mages may read higher level spells if they are willing to supply the material components (even a point of their own constitution, for example, might be the requirement, or a year of their own life). Such scrolls or known as CD scrolls - Component Deficient, or sometimes degenerate scrolls. They are less valuable than normal scrolls (though the price may vary by only the cost of the missing component), and one may not scribe them directly into books (they lack this capacity, so even if a mage has the component, he may not transfer that spell into his book). Part of the reason for this is nothing more than a game trick, allowing the DM to give the PC a one time use scroll without having to also allow them to put it in their spell book. (Even then, owning such a scroll would greatly cut down on the time and money needed while researching that spell, and this wouldn't damage the scroll either).

If such an option is used, both types of scrolls may normally be found (those that already have used the components and have the spell complete, and those CD scrolls that still need material components when read. Your DM, if they allow both kinds, must take extra care and do more work to keep track of which scrolls are CD and which are complete. It would be unfortunate and unfair, for instance, should your character find a CD scroll that needed an expensive material component and then, many sessions later, you just cast it without the component since the DM forgot it was an incomplete CD scroll spell.

Final Thoughts

So finally, when all is said is done, though it will always be an optional rule to even consider such things as material components, I think they add a lot of color to the game, depth to the spell casting characters, and possibilities for numerous scenarios, and to play in a game, or run one, without using the optional material components rule is, in my opinion, a bit of a disservice. They are part of the fun of playing a spell caster.