[DnD 3.5] Ignoring Spell Components

[theonesin]

I kind of want to play an arcane caster, but the whole thing with spell components is putting me off. Not the cheap ones that a spell component pouch can have, but the more expensive, specific ones you have to keep track of. I'm already iffy on the bookkeeping involved with spells themselves, but I'd rather not have to keep track of components as well(for the record, I'm not talking about XP-costly spells. I just avoid those altogether).

Are there any ways to ignore spell components(feats, classes, PrC, etc)? Or are there any similar casters that don't have to worry about spell components? I know Druids and Clerics don't, but they also don't have the kind of big damage spells I like(I also know Warlocks don't use components, but I already played one of those recently, so I don't want to use one again).

Thanks

[Cog]

I kinda feel bad for bringing it up, but there is the spell-to-power (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070629a) Erudite...

[Veyr]

There are very few spells (relatively speaking) that require costly components. You can just ignore them. The only Arcane one that comes up all that often is Identify, and you can obviate that with the (excellent) Artificer's Monocle in the Magic Item Compendium which lets you gain the effects of Identify while studying an item while using Detect Magic.

[Aron Times]

Note that most spells do not have expensive material or focus components, so you really only need to keep track of the handful of spells that you can cast that need them.

If you're a sorcerer who has carefully chosen his spells, you can get away with only a spell component pouch to cast everything. If you're a wizard, then just grab a writing implement and some paper to keep track of your expensive material and focus components.

[Seth62]

if your DM allows out of source books, try The sorc variant from sword and sorcerys Book of Eldritch Might (song and souls of power) is cool no material components XP instead!

[Cog]

if your DM allows out of source books, try The sorc variant from sword and sorcerys Book of Eldritch Might (song and souls of power) is cool no material components XP instead!
XP may be a river, but character wealth is the elemental plane of water. :smalltongue:

[theForce017]

There is a feat in Player's Handbook I called Eschew Materials that lets you ignore spell components if they cost 1gp or less.

[Ravens_cry]

Not to mention the super cheap, undispelable magic item with a small portal to the Plane of Junk, id est the spell component pouch.

[Ashram]

There is a feat in Player's Handbook I called Eschew Materials that lets you ignore spell components if they cost 1gp or less.

OP isn't worried about the inexpensive components; he's worried about the expensive stuff.

Honestly OP, I agree with the other sentiments of the thread. There are very few spells in Core that require expensive material components or foci. Granted, the further you go from Core the more foci there are, but it's part of being a wizard.

Just grab Eschew Materials, wait until epic levels and grab Ignore Material Components. :P

[Rejakor]

Most of the spells with expensive components you will seriously never cast.

Either write 'Spell Component Pouch... X 5' on your character sheet and just put up with the fact that you're eating a live spider every time you cast Spider Climb, or take the Eschew Materials feat and just don't take any spell that requires a costly material component or focus. If you want to use one that does, just put up with keeping track of it.

There's ways around this but holy **** they are totally not worth it. Dweomerkeeping mantled spell to power erudites, oh my.

Unless you're like level 20. At which point we can talk.

[Telonius]

Forcecage, Contingency, and Legend Lore are the only ones I can think of that are cast with any sort of regularity. Unless you're animating hordes of undead, I've really never found it to be a big issue.

And honestly, unless it's something that's super-easy for the DM to remember you're supposed to do (resurrecting means you have to have diamonds, for example), nobody's going to check. Material components are, literally, a joke; few people pay any attention to them.

[Veyr]

I'd definitely make players pay for Contingency, personally.

Assuming I didn't just ban it.

[ILM]

I kind of want to play an arcane caster, but the whole thing with spell components is putting me off. Not the cheap ones that a spell component pouch can have, but the more expensive, specific ones you have to keep track of. I'm already iffy on the bookkeeping involved with spells themselves, but I'd rather not have to keep track of components as well(for the record, I'm not talking about XP-costly spells. I just avoid those altogether).
Have you spoken to your DM about it? There are so few spells requiring foci and they generally represent an almost negligible fraction of your WBL at the level you get access to the spell in question; you could just work out some kind of deal where as long as you have a spell component pouch, you're also considered to have the foci you need. Maybe pay some kind of gp tax (like 2,000 tops at higher levels) at each level up and be done with it. (note that I'm excluding expensive components here)

[El Dorado]

Stoneskin uses 250 gp worth of diamond dust per shot. Small price for phenomenal cosmic power. :smallwink:

[tyckspoon]

Unless your DM is unusually detail oriented you can probably get away with recording "1,000 gp Expensive Spell Components" and just mark down that number as you cast relevant spells. Specifically what they are is only likely to come up if the DM wants to place some as treasure- if you run into a pouch of ruby dust somewhere, you're probably expected to cast Forcecage with it.

[Rejakor]

I wouldn't waste a slot casting stoneskin.

[Rei_Jin]

My DM in the past has allowed me to simply burn gold to cast spells with expensive material components... so if I want to cast Stoneskin, I burn 250gp and it is assumed that I had bought the components previously.

The only exception to this is when plot steps in, and he tells me so.

Your DM may be willing to do this for you.

[ericgrau]

Besides nice DMs who help you save pointless book-keeping like the above post, most expensive spell components are gem or precious metal dust which most shops accept as readily as gold. So you simply convert most of your unspent money into the desired substance. Often multiple related spells share the same compound. Diamond dust is common for a variety of spells, illusions tend to use jade dust, etc. But ya spells with expensive components are rare so often you're only worried about the component for 1 particular spell anyway.

Stoneskin is one of the best pre-dungeon (long lasting) buffs ever btw. For me it's a matter of when I'm high enough level to have the spare change to afford multiple uses of the material component.