Greywander
2018-11-26, 04:35 AM
I watched Treantmonk's video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk1Up4hXUko) earlier today on what spells you can cast with your hands full, and it got me thinking about spell components in general. I posted a comment on his video about how components feel like they don't have any rhyme or reason as to which spell uses which components, nor is it necessarily obvious on what a component means or what effect it has in-game. So what I thought was that I'd make components simpler and have a clear purpose and effect on the game.
Before I go over the three types of components, let's go quickly talk about the three kinds of spellcasters, each of which has a different preference when it comes to components:
Stealth Caster - These shy nerds don't like drawing attention to themselves. They have no friends, mostly because nobody knows they exist.
Social Casters - These nerds pretend not to be nerds so they can make friends. When this inevitably fails, they use their voodoo magicks to mind control people without anyone noticing.
Battle Casters - These are actually jocks pretending to be nerds (or nerds pretending to be jocks, idc). They think it's acceptable to cast spells while your hands are full of pointy sticks. Just more evidence that every day we stray further from God's light. (Ironically for that last sentence, clerics and paladins are the foremost examples of battle casters.)
Each component acts as a foil to one of the above types of casters, as well as having a specific way to "disarm" the caster and prevent them from using spells with those components. And with that, let's get into the different components.
Verbal
You vocalize. Loudly. Breaks stealth and draws attention toward you. Guards within a certain range (120 feet? 300 feet?) may be inclined to investigate, even if they don't have direct line of sight on you. The vocalizations are themselves innocuous, and people will react to them as if you were just talking really loud.
Verbal components can be prevented by silencing or gagging the caster (or even just covering their mouth), or by otherwise preventing speech. Paralysis prevents all components.
Verbal casting is suitable for social and battle casters. It is not suitable for stealth casters.
Spells that should use verbal components:
Spells that aren't balanced for casting while remaining hidden
Spells that should be uncastable while unable to speak
Abjuration, Enchantment, and Evocation spells?
Alternatives to verbal components:
Maybe you have a character that is mute, or otherwise incapable of normal speech (perhaps they are an alien race that communicates through telepathy). It is possible to replace verbal components with something else that fills the same role. It wouldn't even have to be sound-based, necessarily; it could be a bright flash of light or something. For balance reasons, any substitute for verbal components should have the following traits:
Necessarily breaks stealth
Attracts the attention of nearby people, especially guards
Is blocked by the Silence spell and paralysis condition
Can be prevented as easily and as obviously as covering the caster's mouth
Somatic
You flail around like a madman, working some obviously spooky voodoo. This is the D&D equivalent of pulling out a gun and waving it around. Doing this in public will, at best, get you a stern talk from a guard, and at worst, you'll weigh as much as a duck (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g).
Note: Under this modified version of components, somatic components do not require a free hand. That's not their purpose, see Material components for that.
Somatic components can be prevented by restraining the caster (or just slapping manacles on them). Paralysis prevents all components.
Somatic casting is suitable for stealth and battle casters. It is not suitable for social casters.
Spells that should use somatic components:
Spells that aren't balanced for casting openly in public or in front of the intended target
Spells that should be uncastable while handcuffed
Offensive spells
Conjuration, Evocation, Necromancy spells?
Alternatives to somatic components:
Maybe a character... doesn't have arms? I don't know. This one is pretty straightforward. A substitute for somatic components should have the following traits:
Generally incites an immediate negative reaction (unless in a situation where magic is expected and acceptable): friendly characters will become concerned, neutral characters will become suspicious, and hostile characters will become aggressive
Is vaguely threatening and causes those not familiar with magic to feel like they are in danger
Repeated casting in public is a good way to get arrested
A note on spellcasting in public:
Imagine for a moment that your adventuring party is wandering through the crowded streets, when suddenly a man in a dark robe jumps up onto a crate and begins incanting and waving his arms around while holding a basalisk eye and pouring out a vial of blood. Clearly this is just a street performer doing magic tricks for the kids, right?
Magic is both strange and dangerous, and the average person has even more reason to be cautious and fearful of magic than a party of adventurers. If the setting is low magic, most people will be ignorant of magic, and associate it with witches and boogiemen that carry off infants and put curses on honest folk. They will rightfully view anyone openly casting spells as a potential monster out to eat their children or something. A spellcaster in this setting would need to hide their magic from the public eye, and to build trust with a person before casting a spell in front of them.
In a high magic setting, things are a little better, but not much. The illiterate aren't much different from those in a low magic setting. The average person, however, has a better understanding of magic, and therefore knows how dangerous it can be. Fire bolt is basically a crossbow that sets things on fire, and it can't be taken away. Any spellcaster will always be treated as if they are carrying a weapon, and anyone openly casting a spell will be seen similarly to someone waving around a gun. Sure, maybe the gun shoots flower petals, maybe it's a fake nerf gun, do you think the guards are going to wait to find out? Given how dangerous magic can be, it wouldn't be unusual for magic to be illegal, or require a license to practice in public. Or maybe it's illegal to even be a spellcaster if you aren't part of the ruling class.
Whatever the case, given the amount of harm magic can cause, it's only natural that openly casting a spell in public would generate a negative reaction.
As far as non-somatic components, generally only another spellcaster or a person with a high Arcana or Religion skill would be able to recognize verbal or material components as being related to spellcasting. Even then, it might take them a few spells before they pick up on what's happening right in front of them. This is why verbal and material components are deemed suitable for social casters.
Material
You use a free hand, either to handle the materials or to use your spell focus. That's basically it; you need either an empty hand or a spell focus. If holding a spell focus, you can still use components that are consumed or cost gold, as the important thing here is to occupy a hand.
Technically, being restrained or handcuffed doesn't prevent the use of material components. If you have your wand in your hand, or can reach your component pouch, you're still free to cast those spells. If, however, you're restrained to the point that your hand can't be considered "free" (e.g. you can't grapple, draw a weapon, or retrieve an item), then you also wouldn't be able to use material components (assuming your wand is no longer in your hand). The obvious way to prevent material components from being used is to take away the materials or spell focus. And, of course, paralyzation.
Material casting is suitable for stealth and social casters. It is not suitable for battle casters.
Spells that should use material components:
Spells that aren't balanced for casting while wielding weapons and/or a shield
Spells that should require an empty hand (or spell focus)
Spells that should be uncastable if the item is taken away
Divination, Illusion, Transmutation spells?
Alternatives to material components:
Even more straightforward than somatic casting. An "alternative" already exists in the form of spell foci, and it meets the requirements given below:
Requires a free hand
Relies on an item that can be taken away
TL;DR
Verbal components break stealth and attract guards, can be prevented by silencing/gagging
Somatic components incite a negative reaction from people, can be prevented by restraining/handcuffing
Material components require an empty hand, can be prevented by taking away the item
Now, I don't think this would work to slap it onto the existing magic system as-is. Each spell would need to be re-evaluated to see which components it should use. I recognize that this is likely more work than anyone is willing to do, and mostly I just wanted to present this as a more logical and intuitive way that spell components could work. And who knows, maybe I'll actually go through the spells and redo their components at some point.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on spell components? Can you think of a simpler and more intuitive or elegant way to handle them? Or to make them interesting, making spell choices more important based on the components required?
Before I go over the three types of components, let's go quickly talk about the three kinds of spellcasters, each of which has a different preference when it comes to components:
Stealth Caster - These shy nerds don't like drawing attention to themselves. They have no friends, mostly because nobody knows they exist.
Social Casters - These nerds pretend not to be nerds so they can make friends. When this inevitably fails, they use their voodoo magicks to mind control people without anyone noticing.
Battle Casters - These are actually jocks pretending to be nerds (or nerds pretending to be jocks, idc). They think it's acceptable to cast spells while your hands are full of pointy sticks. Just more evidence that every day we stray further from God's light. (Ironically for that last sentence, clerics and paladins are the foremost examples of battle casters.)
Each component acts as a foil to one of the above types of casters, as well as having a specific way to "disarm" the caster and prevent them from using spells with those components. And with that, let's get into the different components.
Verbal
You vocalize. Loudly. Breaks stealth and draws attention toward you. Guards within a certain range (120 feet? 300 feet?) may be inclined to investigate, even if they don't have direct line of sight on you. The vocalizations are themselves innocuous, and people will react to them as if you were just talking really loud.
Verbal components can be prevented by silencing or gagging the caster (or even just covering their mouth), or by otherwise preventing speech. Paralysis prevents all components.
Verbal casting is suitable for social and battle casters. It is not suitable for stealth casters.
Spells that should use verbal components:
Spells that aren't balanced for casting while remaining hidden
Spells that should be uncastable while unable to speak
Abjuration, Enchantment, and Evocation spells?
Alternatives to verbal components:
Maybe you have a character that is mute, or otherwise incapable of normal speech (perhaps they are an alien race that communicates through telepathy). It is possible to replace verbal components with something else that fills the same role. It wouldn't even have to be sound-based, necessarily; it could be a bright flash of light or something. For balance reasons, any substitute for verbal components should have the following traits:
Necessarily breaks stealth
Attracts the attention of nearby people, especially guards
Is blocked by the Silence spell and paralysis condition
Can be prevented as easily and as obviously as covering the caster's mouth
Somatic
You flail around like a madman, working some obviously spooky voodoo. This is the D&D equivalent of pulling out a gun and waving it around. Doing this in public will, at best, get you a stern talk from a guard, and at worst, you'll weigh as much as a duck (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g).
Note: Under this modified version of components, somatic components do not require a free hand. That's not their purpose, see Material components for that.
Somatic components can be prevented by restraining the caster (or just slapping manacles on them). Paralysis prevents all components.
Somatic casting is suitable for stealth and battle casters. It is not suitable for social casters.
Spells that should use somatic components:
Spells that aren't balanced for casting openly in public or in front of the intended target
Spells that should be uncastable while handcuffed
Offensive spells
Conjuration, Evocation, Necromancy spells?
Alternatives to somatic components:
Maybe a character... doesn't have arms? I don't know. This one is pretty straightforward. A substitute for somatic components should have the following traits:
Generally incites an immediate negative reaction (unless in a situation where magic is expected and acceptable): friendly characters will become concerned, neutral characters will become suspicious, and hostile characters will become aggressive
Is vaguely threatening and causes those not familiar with magic to feel like they are in danger
Repeated casting in public is a good way to get arrested
A note on spellcasting in public:
Imagine for a moment that your adventuring party is wandering through the crowded streets, when suddenly a man in a dark robe jumps up onto a crate and begins incanting and waving his arms around while holding a basalisk eye and pouring out a vial of blood. Clearly this is just a street performer doing magic tricks for the kids, right?
Magic is both strange and dangerous, and the average person has even more reason to be cautious and fearful of magic than a party of adventurers. If the setting is low magic, most people will be ignorant of magic, and associate it with witches and boogiemen that carry off infants and put curses on honest folk. They will rightfully view anyone openly casting spells as a potential monster out to eat their children or something. A spellcaster in this setting would need to hide their magic from the public eye, and to build trust with a person before casting a spell in front of them.
In a high magic setting, things are a little better, but not much. The illiterate aren't much different from those in a low magic setting. The average person, however, has a better understanding of magic, and therefore knows how dangerous it can be. Fire bolt is basically a crossbow that sets things on fire, and it can't be taken away. Any spellcaster will always be treated as if they are carrying a weapon, and anyone openly casting a spell will be seen similarly to someone waving around a gun. Sure, maybe the gun shoots flower petals, maybe it's a fake nerf gun, do you think the guards are going to wait to find out? Given how dangerous magic can be, it wouldn't be unusual for magic to be illegal, or require a license to practice in public. Or maybe it's illegal to even be a spellcaster if you aren't part of the ruling class.
Whatever the case, given the amount of harm magic can cause, it's only natural that openly casting a spell in public would generate a negative reaction.
As far as non-somatic components, generally only another spellcaster or a person with a high Arcana or Religion skill would be able to recognize verbal or material components as being related to spellcasting. Even then, it might take them a few spells before they pick up on what's happening right in front of them. This is why verbal and material components are deemed suitable for social casters.
Material
You use a free hand, either to handle the materials or to use your spell focus. That's basically it; you need either an empty hand or a spell focus. If holding a spell focus, you can still use components that are consumed or cost gold, as the important thing here is to occupy a hand.
Technically, being restrained or handcuffed doesn't prevent the use of material components. If you have your wand in your hand, or can reach your component pouch, you're still free to cast those spells. If, however, you're restrained to the point that your hand can't be considered "free" (e.g. you can't grapple, draw a weapon, or retrieve an item), then you also wouldn't be able to use material components (assuming your wand is no longer in your hand). The obvious way to prevent material components from being used is to take away the materials or spell focus. And, of course, paralyzation.
Material casting is suitable for stealth and social casters. It is not suitable for battle casters.
Spells that should use material components:
Spells that aren't balanced for casting while wielding weapons and/or a shield
Spells that should require an empty hand (or spell focus)
Spells that should be uncastable if the item is taken away
Divination, Illusion, Transmutation spells?
Alternatives to material components:
Even more straightforward than somatic casting. An "alternative" already exists in the form of spell foci, and it meets the requirements given below:
Requires a free hand
Relies on an item that can be taken away
TL;DR
Verbal components break stealth and attract guards, can be prevented by silencing/gagging
Somatic components incite a negative reaction from people, can be prevented by restraining/handcuffing
Material components require an empty hand, can be prevented by taking away the item
Now, I don't think this would work to slap it onto the existing magic system as-is. Each spell would need to be re-evaluated to see which components it should use. I recognize that this is likely more work than anyone is willing to do, and mostly I just wanted to present this as a more logical and intuitive way that spell components could work. And who knows, maybe I'll actually go through the spells and redo their components at some point.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on spell components? Can you think of a simpler and more intuitive or elegant way to handle them? Or to make them interesting, making spell choices more important based on the components required?