Cogwheel Gaming

(Part 1, A-F) (Part 2, G-N)

Planar Binding
Original: a jewel worth at least 1,000 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: a 4-carat diamond, 6-carat emerald, or 15-carat ruby or sapphire, which the spell consumes
(Your DM may allow you to use other kinds of gems. I tried to keep it simple.)

Plane Shift
Original: a forked, metal rod worth at least 250 gp, attuned to a particular plane of existence
Equivalent: a forked rod, weighing 4 pounds if made of gold, 40 pounds if made of silver, or one ton if made of iron, attuned to a particular plane of existence
Revised: a forked iron rod, attuned to a particular plane of existence and inlaid with golden sigils representing that plane, one foot long and one inch in diameter
(According to the Trade Goods table, 250gp will buy you 2500 pounds of iron.)

Programmed Illusion
Original: a bit of fleece and jade dust worth at least 25 gp
Equivalent: a bit of fleece and 225 carats of jade dust

Project Image
Original: a small replica of you made from materials worth at least 5 gp
Equivalent: a small silver replica of you, weighing one pound
(Defining the material makes components much easier to decouple from the economy.)

Raise Dead
Original: a diamond worth at least 500 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: a 2-carat diamond, which the spell consumes

Reincarnate
Original: rare oils and unguents worth at least 1,000 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: five gallons of rare oils and unguents, which the spell consumes
(Another component for which the SRD doesn’t actually provide a price! I will assume that rare oils and unguents – by the way, an unguent is a cream or ointment – have the same price as holy water, which is 25gp per pint.)

Resurrection
Original: a diamond worth at least 1,000 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: a 4-carat diamond, which the spell consumes
(There’s a nice escalation between Revivify, Raise Dead, and Resurrection. I just noticed that.)

Revivify
Original: diamonds worth 300 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: one and a half carats’ worth of diamonds, which the spell consumes

Scrying
Original: a focus worth at least 1,000 gp, such as a crystal ball, a silver mirror, or a font filled with holy water
Revised: a glass or crystal globe eight inches in diameter and inscribed around its circumference with a magic circle, a silver mirror one foot wide and eight inches across with seeing-eye sigils etched around its rim, or a font filled with five gallons of holy water
(I had to do some fudging with the crafting costs. I’m not sure a diviner wants to lug around a 400-pound silver mirror.)

Secret Chest
Original: an exquisite chest, 3 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet, constructed from rare materials worth at least 5,000 gp, and a Tiny replica made from the same materials worth at least 50 gp
Equivalent: an exquisite chest, 3 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet, constructed from gold, ivory, and emeralds, and a replica made at 1:36 scale from the same materials
(These are an incredibly expensive components for a fourth-level spell!)

Sequester
Original: a powder composed of diamond, emerald, ruby, and sapphire dust worth at least 5,000 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: a powder composed of 9 carats each of diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires, which the spell consumes.
(I chose to divide the powder equally between each type of gem. If you’d like, you can make each type’s cost equal instead, which gives 5 carats of diamonds, 8 of emeralds, and 19 each of rubies and sapphires.)

Shapechange
Original: a jade circlet worth at least 1,500 gp, which you must place on your head before you cast the spell
Equivalent: a jade circlet weighing six pounds, which you must place on your head before you cast the spell
Revised: a jade circlet, carved in the shape of multiple animals chasing each other and weighing at least four pounds, which you must place on your head before you cast the spell
(I added some flavor in order to remove some weight. Even a T-rex doesn’t want neck strain.)

Simulacrum
Original: snow or ice in quantities sufficient to made a life-size copy of the duplicated creature; some hair, fingernail clippings, or other piece of that creature’s body placed inside the snow or ice; and powdered ruby worth 1,500 gp, sprinkled over the duplicate and consumed by the spell
Equivalent: …and 30 carats of powdered rubies…
(An aside: It’s interesting to notice the patterns that emerge in what’s required for spell components. Rubies explicitly show up in the original listings for Continual Flame, Forbiddance, Forcecage, and Sequester – spells that involve flame and force. In this case I think it’s metaphorical: the rubies provide the inner fire of animation and the force of personality.)

Stoneskin
Original: diamond dust worth 100 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: a half-carat of powdered diamond, which the spell consumes

Symbol
Original: mercury, phosphorus, and powdered diamond and opal with a total value of at least 1,000 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: 1 ounce of mercury, 1 ounce of phosphorus, 3 carats of powdered diamond, and 3 ounces of powdered opal, which the spell consumes

Teleportation Circle
Original: rare chalks and inks infused with precious gems [worth] 50 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: rare chalks and inks infused with 40 carats of powdered sapphire, which the spell consumes
(Thank goodness, finally a “rare [something]” I don’t have to come up with a price for. I settled on sapphires for this because it’s what Instant Summons uses, so thematically they’re linked to magical movement.)

True Resurrection
Original: a sprinkle of holy water and diamonds worth at least 25,000 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: a sprinkle of holy water and 100 carats of diamonds, which the spell consumes

True Seeing
Original: an ointment for the eyes that costs 25 gp; is made from mushroom powder, saffron, and fat; and is consumed by the spell
Revised: one ounce an ointment made from mushrooms, saffron, and fat, which must be applied to the caster’s eyelids and is consumed by the spell
(Saffron is surprisingly expensive. This is roughly equivalent, but I marked it revised because I changed the wording.)

Warding Bond
Original: a pair of platinum rings worth at least 50 gp each, which you and the target must wear for the duration
Revised: a pair of platinum rings which fit together when pressed together, weighing 1 ounce each, which you and the target must wear for the duration
(As with True Seeing, I changed the wording slightly, so I marked this as Revised rather than Equivalent.)

And that’s it! I have learned two things in this journey through de-economizing the D&D material components:

1. It’s not clear to me that anyone’s actually thought about the costs or consequences of spells’ material components, like, ever. I was going to say “since first edition” but I’m pretty sure Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax just threw some stuff together and called it a day.
2. The idea of a “spell components pouch” is laughable in the face of twenty pounds of powdered iron.

Thanks for reading – see you next time!