MeTheGameGuy
2008-06-21, 06:16 PM
Fighters hit stuff with a sword. As they level, they hit stuff with a sword better. Wizards begin by tossing Magic Missiles. As they level, they learn to toss Fireballs, bend the fundamental fabric of reality with Wish, and stop time with, surprisingly, Time Stop. Wizards are overpowered.
Here's a solution! Go through every single spell which will be in your campaign. If your campaign will have metamagic, go through the metamagic feats too. Think up a material component or focus for it. A few suggestions:
Telekinesis - A glove.
Weird - A Book of Vile Darkness.
Symbol - A pencil.
Still Spell - A straitjacket.
Shield Other - A miniature golden shield.
Prismatic Spray - Three silver prisms.
Teleport - A map with your destination on it.
Maximize Spell - A magnifying glass.
Silent Spell - A ventriloquist's dummy.
All spells you consider overpowered must have some material component. All usable metamagics should have a material component. Metamagic components are used when preparing the spell, not when casting. For a Still Spell, all components are used at time of preparation, so you can actually use the Still Spell without needing to manipulate components.
Then take away component pouches. That's right. Every single material component (what the heck is a bat guano?) must be found somewhere. Your wizard can still Fireball-spam, but only if he can find lots and lots of bat guano and sulfur.
Another option is to keep the pouches, but have them be empty. The PCs must fill the component pouches. In this case, the pouch simply becomes convenient storage for those components you can find.
Here's a solution! Go through every single spell which will be in your campaign. If your campaign will have metamagic, go through the metamagic feats too. Think up a material component or focus for it. A few suggestions:
Telekinesis - A glove.
Weird - A Book of Vile Darkness.
Symbol - A pencil.
Still Spell - A straitjacket.
Shield Other - A miniature golden shield.
Prismatic Spray - Three silver prisms.
Teleport - A map with your destination on it.
Maximize Spell - A magnifying glass.
Silent Spell - A ventriloquist's dummy.
All spells you consider overpowered must have some material component. All usable metamagics should have a material component. Metamagic components are used when preparing the spell, not when casting. For a Still Spell, all components are used at time of preparation, so you can actually use the Still Spell without needing to manipulate components.
Then take away component pouches. That's right. Every single material component (what the heck is a bat guano?) must be found somewhere. Your wizard can still Fireball-spam, but only if he can find lots and lots of bat guano and sulfur.
Another option is to keep the pouches, but have them be empty. The PCs must fill the component pouches. In this case, the pouch simply becomes convenient storage for those components you can find.