What happens if you turn a spell component pouch inside out?

[Extra Anchovies]

A spellcaster with a spell component pouch is assumed to have all the material components and focuses needed for spellcasting, except for those components that have a specific cost, divine focuses, and focuses that wouldn’t fit in a pouch.

all the material components and focuses
feel free to be serious and/or silly

[Feddlefew]

It would be empty, obviously, since the inside is now the outside. However, were you to reach into what was once the outside of the pouch, you would discover that you can still withdraw any material component or focus you need.

This brings us to a little know but fascinating property of material component pouches: they are 100% reversible, allowing the use to choose between a soft leather or luxurious silken exterior.

[AmberVael]

Have you ever held a keyboard upside down? (https://xkcd.com/237/)

Now imagine instead of tiny gross bits and pieces, it contained bat poop, rotting fingers, eyeballs, and pointy metal objects.
Seriously, how do spellcasters even put their hands in these things without contracting five diseases and taking piercing damage?

[Extra Anchovies]

Of particular note is that the material component for Fire in the Blood (Heroes of Horror) is "A drop of your own blood", which means that your spell component pouch contains an infinite number of drops of your blood (or it creates a new drop every time you remove one?), which means that if you turned a component pouch upside down over a sieve, you'd slowly flood the entire material plane with your blood (along with all the other liquid material components, which I think includes mercury).

[FocusWolf413]

Of particular note is that the material component for Fire in the Blood (Heroes of Horror) is "A drop of your own blood", which means that your spell component pouch contains an infinite number of drops of your blood (or it creates a new drop every time you remove one?), which means that if you turned a component pouch upside down over a sieve, you'd slowly flood the entire material plane with your blood (along with all the other liquid material components, which I think includes mercury).

It doesn't contain your blood. It's implied that you're supposed to prick your finger.

[Extra Anchovies]

It doesn't contain your blood. It's implied that you're supposed to prick your finger.

Ah, but that spell doesn't require any blood to be shed until after the spell is cast. I suppose "implied" was the wrong word, though.

Nonetheless, filling the material plane with mercury is probably even worse.

[Uncle Pine]

It doesn't contain your blood. It's implied that you're supposed to prick your finger.
This is irrelevant: by RAW, if something is simply implied it could as well not be there at all. See Niven's Law, 5.


Of particular note is that the material component for Fire in the Blood (Heroes of Horror) is "A drop of your own blood", which means that your spell component pouch contains an infinite number of drops of your blood (or it creates a new drop every time you remove one?), which means that if you turned a component pouch upside down over a sieve, you'd slowly flood the entire material plane with your blood (along with all the other liquid material components, which I think includes mercury).
That's not even one of the craziest things: Ambient Song (Song and Silence) lists "a small bit of whatever naturally makes the sound you're trying to mimic" as a material component. Yes, you read it right. Your spell component pouch is assumed to contain a small bit of every object that can make a sound*. Note that the vast majority of everything makes sound when you drop it to the ground and/or throw against a wall. Be creative.

EDIT: *Assuming it doesn't have a specific cost. I don't remember "a small bit of the page of the BBEG's diary in which he carefully details his evil plan" having a specific cost.

[ben-zayb]

But by RAW, then there can never be more than one pouch, because a single pouch already contains ALL nonexpensive material components. As in, there should and can only be one pouch holding monopoly of all nonexpensive material components!

That's like some Highlander ****.

[Uncle Pine]

But by RAW, then there can never be more than one pouch, because a single pouch already contains ALL nonexpensive material components. As in, there should and can only be one pouch holding monopoly of all nonexpensive material components!

That's like some Highlander ****.

Containing an endless supply of something doesn't mean containing all of that something that exist in the multiverse. I'm no mathematician, but it should have something to do with the two categories being infinites of different sizes.

[ben-zayb]

Containing an endless supply of something doesn't mean containing all of that something that exist in the multiverse. I'm no mathematician, but it should have something to do with the two categories being infinites of different sizes.

Yup, the text isn't "an endless supply of every material components..", it is "all the material components and focuses needed for spellcasting" without any specification for whose spellcasting in particular.

[Extra Anchovies]

Yup, the text isn't "an endless supply of every material components..", it is "all the material components and focuses needed for spellcasting" without any specification for whose spellcasting in particular.

So in addition to containing a drop of your blood, it contains a drop of blood of anyone who could ever cast or learn to cast Fire in the Blood (i.e. everyone with blood)? Sweet. We now have RAW support for Ice Assassin shenanigans (i.e. replicating a creature without having to chop off its toe).

[ben-zayb]

So in addition to containing a drop of your blood, it contains a drop of blood of anyone who could ever cast or learn to cast Fire in the Blood (i.e. everyone with blood)? Sweet. We now have RAW support for Ice Assassin shenanigans (i.e. replicating a creature without having to chop off its toe).
It's actually worse. Since its set contains all sets of each components, it should contain Every Single Drop of Blood.

[Uncle Pine]

It's actually worse. Since its set contains all sets of each components, it should contain Every Single Drop of Blood.

But so does every other spell component pouch. Thus, every spell component pouch contains all the material components that don't have a specified cost, which includes (but isn't limited to) the corpses of every creature that ever existed. As well as an infinite amount of their blood, of course. And many other things!

EDIT: Back to the original question, I think that turning a spell component pouch inside out you wouldn't accomplish anything significant: in fact, even if it's easier (and thus common) to say that "a spell component pouch contains...", by RAW a spell component pouch doesn't contain anything. It simply bestowes its holder all the material components and focuses needed for spellcasting (except a few), due to the fact that he is assumed to have all of them until he retains its possesion.

[Extra Anchovies]

EDIT: Back to the original question, I think that turning a spell component pouch inside out you wouldn't accomplish anything significant: in fact, even if it's easier (and thus common) to say that "a spell component pouch contains...", by RAW a spell component pouch doesn't contain anything. It simply bestows its holder all the material components and focuses needed for spellcasting (except a few), due to the fact that he is assumed to have all of them until he retains its possession.

Huh. That's a pretty good catch, actually. Looking at the RAW again, it doesn't even say that the components are drawn from the pouch. Maybe your wizard can pull bat guano, blood, and gum arabic from his ear as long as he's got the pouch on his person somewhere.

[OldTrees1]

Nothing. A spell component pouch contains nothing more than an assumption and the assumption is on the interior not side A or side B. So inverting the spell component pouch merely reverses side A and side B without changing the function of the pouch.

[Eldan]

But by RAW, then there can never be more than one pouch, because a single pouch already contains ALL nonexpensive material components. As in, there should and can only be one pouch holding monopoly of all nonexpensive material components!

That's like some Highlander ****.

Obviously, all spell component pouches connect to the same pocket dimension, where an army of super-quick component faeries march out into the multiverse and collect what the caster needs.

[Tvtyrant]

Obviously, all spell component pouches connect to the same pocket dimension, where an army of super-quick component faeries march out into the multiverse and collect what the caster needs.

I now believe the pouches were made by Tippy. Each one is an Ice Assassin Zodar which simply wishes for the component when you try to reach for one.

[Dgrin]

Obviously, if you turn a spell component pouch inside out, the Sphere of Annihilation that was inside instantly sucks you and other stuff from it into the void

[Flickerdart]

I now believe the pouches were made by Tippy. Each one is an Ice Assassin Zodar which simply wishes for the component when you try to reach for one.

Isn't there some nonsense where magically created objects can't be used for material components?

[Tvtyrant]

Isn't there some nonsense where magically created objects can't be used for material components?

Is that a general rule? I thought that was specific to true creation and the like.

[Hrugner]

Infinite butter for the grease spell, may as well just fill barrels with butter. I bet there's something that needs silver shavings, you could make a fortune.

edit, there it is "see invisible" powdered silver.