How do you deal with Components

[dellanx]

I just realized that my new group being pretty much all casters has no Eschew Materials feat. I am thinking it would be fun to have them use components, it makes sense why it takes a Standard action to cast spells. Imagine casting a sleep spell and pulling out a live cricket to cast the spell. If one is in a Whirlwind (Ex) of an Air Elemental than a concentration check takes on a whole new meaning, when one lets go of one's component. How do you guys deal with components? How long does a jar of crickets last? Imagine a Seeker Sorceress trying to catch crickets? I can. Also is our inventory large enough? Perhaps organize in a component Waterproof Bag?

[similarly]

I allow my players to follow the spellcasting focus rules (focus can stand in for a material component as long as it doesn't have a gp value). However, I have a house rule that they can choose to allow the focus to replace either the material, the somatic or the vocal component.

[superteddy57]

Played a campaign where my caster's 'had' the material components as long as they had the coin. So to cast spells, they had to pay for them. Was interesting.

[LordEntrails]

Tracking components (as player or DM) wouldn't be fun for me.

[similarly]

Tracking components (as player or DM) wouldn't be fun for me.

I know! Thanks to the coronavirus lockdown, I was brought back to D&D after not having played for 25 years! The last time I played, AD&D 2nd ed was still fresh! Back then, we never bothered with components. We just said "You're a wizard. I'm assuming you keep components." We weren't interested in keeping inventory either. That's why I like the spell focus rules.

[Griogre]

The default implementation in 5E is that the component pouch that holds the anything not special (ie ingredients that costs gold). I've found it's a pretty good compromise to minimize inventory management on most spells while making them keep track of diamond dust, pearls and other unique items. And it can add to some prisoner scenarios since they can't cast stuff with components without the component pouch. That's about as far as I will go on spell component management and you can use it as some kind of hook to start a scenario.

Wizards don't have a lot to spend gold on other than spells and components.

[dellanx]

My wife will be playing in my campaign, I want to see her character gathering live Grasshoppers. After that the party will buy spell component pouches. ��

[GavinRuneblade]

I use the component pouch usually. In any scene where the players are (for whatever reason) stripped of equipment, they have to find components locally. It makes for much more interesting jail break scenes and goes some way to explaining why wizards don't rule the world.

[mhossom]

I have always hand waved components in my games, other than those that cost big time gold (~500+ gp). Thematically cool, tedious in practice to track components.

[Ampersandrew]

Thematically cool, tedious in practice to track components.

This, totally this.