Tag: Pack Tactics

In the first article in this series, I mentioned that some material components have a crafted portion in addition to the raw materials. I neglected to mention that the caster can perform the crafting themselves if they’re proficient in the tools necessary to create the component; to do so takes a cumulative number of hours equal to the level of the spell being cast squared – from 1 hour for a level 1 spell up to 81 hours for a level 9 spell – unless your DM says otherwise.

Gate
Original: a diamond worth at least 5,000 gp
Equivalent: a 20-carat diamond
Revised: four 5-carat diamonds, placed in a T shape; the portal aligns along the crossbar and the front is in the direction indicated by the foot, and the diamonds can be picked up without interrupting the spell
(We’ve established in Clone that diamonds are roughly 250gp per carat. In the real world, the price isn’t linear, since larger diamonds are more rare, but we’ll stick to the pattern here.)

Glyph of Warding
Original: incense and powdered diamond worth at least 200 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: 4 oz of incense and 3/4 of a carat of powdered diamond, which the spell consumes
(Again, let’s not let this be a huge amount of incense and a sprinkling of powdered diamonds.)

Greater Restoration
Original: diamond dust worth at least 100 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: 2/5 carat of powdered diamond, which the spell consumes
(Again, standardizing on “powdered diamond”.)

Guards and Wards
Original: burning incense, a small measure of brimstone and oil, a knotted string, a small amount of umber hulk blood, and a small silver rod worth at least 10 gp
Equivalent: …and a silver rod 1/2” in diameter and 7” long
(10 gp is 100sp, and 50 coins to a pound. A silver rod of these dimensions weighs about two pounds.)

Hallow
Original: herbs, oils, and incense worth at least 1,000 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: 75 pounds in combination of herbs, oils, and incense, which the spell consumes
Revised: one pound each of herbs, oils, and incense, soaked in holy water for the full casting time, all of which the spell consumes
(This is an enormous amount of herbs, oils, and incense even in the original – especially since, again, no prices are listed for any of these items. 1000gp will buy you five gallons of holy water… which has inspired the revised component.)

Heroes’ Feast
Original: a gem-encrusted bowl worth at least 1,000 gp, which the spell consumes
Revised: a cornucopia made of wood, eight inches long and four across at the mouth, traced with 8oz of gold and filled with 3 carats of diamonds, 5 carats of emeralds, or 10 carats of rubies and sapphires, all of which the spell consumes
(Being a little more specific limits the caster’s options a little, but adds flavor to the spell.)

Holy Aura
Original: a tiny reliquary worth at least 1,000 gp containing a sacred relic, such as a scrap of cloth from a saint’s robe or a piece of parchment from a religious text
Equivalent: a reliquary made of at least two pounds of platinum, containing a sacred relic…
(Real-world reliquaries are often gold. Platinum allows the reliquary to be smaller and lighter while retaining the cost equivalency.)

Identify
Original: a pearl worth at least 100 gp and an owl feather
Equivalent: a 110-carat pearl and an owl feather
(Rounding down for the sake of round numbers.)

Illusory Script
Original: a lead-based ink worth at least 10 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: a 1oz vial of lead-based ink, which the spell consumes

Imprisonment
Original: a small mithral orb, a fine chain of precious metal, a miniature representation of the prison made of jade, a large transparent gemstone, or rare soporific herbs, worth at least 500gp per hit die of the target
Equivalent:

• • a mithral orb weighing one pound per hit die of the target
  • a fine platinum chain weighing one pound per hit die of the target
  • a jade miniature of the prison weighing two pounds per hit die of the target
  • a diamond weighing two carats per hit die of the target
  • 4 oz of rare soporific herbs per hit die of the target

(I had to guess on the herbs, but then, the DM’s going to be making a number up anyway. Jade is currently wildly inflated in the real world; I’ve used the value from before the bubble started.)

Instant Summons
Original: a sapphire worth 1,000 gp
Equivalent: a 675-carat sapphire
(Sapphire comes out to about 2 carats per 3gp at the low end. The DM may allow you to substitute a smaller sapphire of higher quality. 675 carats is a little over 5 ounces.)

Legend Lore
Original: incense worth at least 250 gp, which the spell consumes, and four ivory strips worth at least 50 gp each
Equivalent: 25 pounds of incense, which the spell consumes, and four ivory blocks weighing four pounds each
Revised: a block of incense, carved by the caster into a miniature replica of the person or object to be investigated, which the spell consumes, and four ivory blocks weighing four pounds each, placed around the incense, one facing each cardinal direction
(This is the spell that actually got me thinking about this topic in the first place: “how much incense can 250gp buy?”. It turns out the answer is “a lot”: 10gp per pound seemed reasonable for Find Familiar, but that leads us to 25 pounds of incense here, which seems ridiculous. I have to assume that the spellcasting simply destroys most of the incense rather than burning it. I’ve set the price of ivory at about 1gp per ounce, which was roughly its price in the real world before the global ivory ban. If you prefer the current value, cut the amount of ivory per strip/block in half.)

Magic Circle
Original: holy water or powdered silver and iron worth at least 100 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: half a gallon of holy water or 20lbs of powdered silver and iron, which the spell consumes
(Given the choice of four pounds of water or 20 pounds of metal powder, I know which I’d choose.)

Magic Jar
Original: a gem, crystal, reliquary, or some other ornamental container worth at least 500 gp
Equivalent: a 2-carat diamond, a 10-carat ruby, a 350-carat sapphire, a finely-decorated 8-pound gold container, or a finely-decorated 13-ounce platinum container
(The decorations account for about 20% of the cost of the reliquaries.)

Magic Mouth
Original: a small bit of honeycomb and jade dust worth at least 10 gp, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: a small bit of honeycomb and 90 carats of jade dust, which the spell consumes
(I’m not actually sure jade is measured in carats, but it’s useful here since it needs to be a fraction of an ounce to make the prices match.)

Magnificent Mansion
Original: a miniature portal carved from ivory, a small piece of polished marble, and a tiny silver spoon, each item worth at least 5 gp
Equivalent: a miniature portal carved from ivory and weighing 5 ounces, eight ounces of polished marble, and an intricately-wrought silver spoon weighing 4 ounces
(I’m fudging the marble price here, and the crafting cost is most of the cost of the spoon. What I’m learning with this series is that D&D prices could stand to be revisited, and that if something appears in a material component list with a price next to it, it should have a price listed in the SRD. I have resisted the urge to provide a revised version of this spell’s components; it’s already so specific that I feel greedy changing it further. (Besides, one of my characters had this as a signature spell and I don’t want to tempt my DM, who also happens to run this website.))

Nondetection
Original: a pinch of diamond dust worth 25 gp sprinkled over the target, which the spell consumes
Equivalent: 1/10 carat of powdered diamond, which the spell consumes, sprinkled over the target
(I think this is the smallest unit I’ve run into yet. Diamonds are expensive!)

Next up: P-Z! (Well, P-W. Zone of Truth doesn’t have a material component.)