Banishment material components

[Houster]

Do you guys play with banishment's material components: "an item distasteful to the target", even though they are not costly?

That's a big requirement for a spell to cast on the fly on some enemy, but also a mighty powerful spell that may be intended to be limited in this fashion.

[MoiMagnus]

The fact that it is costless means that a focus or a component pouch will take care of it.

[And it's far from the most absurd thing you can get out of your component pouch. The worst IMO is "a vial of blood from a humanoid killed within the past 24 hours" for summon greater demon.]

My reading of the spell is that it is not something expected to be specifically disgusting for the person you target (there would be more of an emphases on it in the core of the text if that was a central part of the spell to brandish the worst disgusting nightmare of the person), but more something which captures the idea of repulsion of the target, so which is mostly species-dependent than depending on the personality of the target. In particular, a religious symbol (from a good-aligned deity) should be enough for banishing any undead/demon/devil.

[Millstone85]

In particular, a religious symbol (from a good-aligned deity) should be enough for banishing any undead/demon/devil.Say undead/fiend, otherwise you are missing yugoloths, succubi, night hags and more. :smallsmile:

Similarly, I could see a symbol of nature being used to banish aberrations or, again, the undead.

For elementals, just use the opposite element: fire <--> water, air <--> earth.

Giant and draconic symbols might also each work against the other group.

What about humanoids, though? They can be banished too, if only temporarily. So what would be the best halfling-be-gone component?

[Silly Name]

What about humanoids, though? They can be banished too, if only temporarily. So what would be the best halfling-be-gone component?

I mean, you already have the bat guano for casting fireball...

[Millstone85]

I mean, you already have the bat guano for casting fireball...Good point. Yes, any mundane gross out would do.

[JackPhoenix]

Similarly, I could see a symbol of nature being used to banish aberrations

Elder sign?


So what would be the best halfling-be-gone component?

Diet cookbook?

[Tanarii]

The fact that it is costless means that a focus or a component pouch will take care of it.

[And it's far from the most absurd thing you can get out of your component pouch. The worst IMO is "a vial of blood from a humanoid killed within the past 24 hours" for summon greater demon.]
The component line doesn't say it, but for Summon Greater Demon the spell description it's pretty clear the component is used up during casting. Which means you can't use a focus or component pouch for it.

[Valmark]

It's not costly so any component pouch or arcane focus will do- tipically I prefer component pouches because it's more flavorful, but in this case the arcane focus is usually better since you don't have to come up with an item hated by the enemy (which could be easy just like it could be hard or potentially impossible to know).


The component line doesn't say it, but for Summon Greater Demon the spell description it's pretty clear the component is used up during casting. Which means you can't use a focus or component pouch for it.

Only if you want to make the protective circle- if you just summon the demon you don't consume the component, so you can use a focus/pouch freely.