When building a caster sometimes you can take an arcane focus instead of a component pouch. Does that mean you don't need to use spell components if you have one? Is it just a flavorful item to have for your character? What's the deal?
When building a caster sometimes you can take an arcane focus instead of a component pouch. Does that mean you don't need to use spell components if you have one? Is it just a flavorful item to have for your character? What's the deal?
For spells with a Material component, you need to hold that component in your hand. If the component listed in the spell does not have a cost listed, you can use a Component Pouch or a Spell Focus instead of the specific component listed(for a spell like Identify, which lists a material component with a cost, you need to acquire and use that exact component). Using a Pouch or Focus is basically a simple way to avoid having to track the mundane material components listed for most spells.
Some suggest that the pouch is actually the more versatile choice, since you can just interact with it as you need instead of having a hand continuously occupied by a, say, staff.
You still need an empty hand to use the pouch, so it doesn't really alter hand availability. The various types of foci are largely just cosmetic, although the Emblem for Clerics and Paladins does allow you to turn a shield into a focus. Component pouches are really only advantageous/necessary in two situations: if you've multiclassed in a way that uses different foci, then a component pouch covers all of your non-priced or consumed M components regardless of class when you otherwise would need to track which focus you're holding at the moment, or if you've obtained a spell with an M component from a source besides a class feature, since by RAW foci only work for spells learned as a part of the associated class.
You still need an empty hand to use the pouch, so it doesn't really alter hand availability. The various types of foci are largely just cosmetic, although the Emblem for Clerics and Paladins does allow you to turn a shield into a focus. Component pouches are really only advantageous/necessary in two situations: if you've multiclassed in a way that uses different foci, then a component pouch covers all of your non-priced or consumed M components regardless of class when you otherwise would need to track which focus you're holding at the moment, or if you've obtained a spell with an M component from a source besides a class feature, since by RAW foci only work for spells learned as a part of the associated class.
Oh it sure does make a difference. If you are a druid wearing a shield and want to cast any V,S or S spells, you could need that free hand that might be occupied by a staff. Or you could just have your component pouch on your person not occupying a hand when not in use.
You still need an empty hand to use the pouch, so it doesn't really alter hand availability. The various types of foci are largely just cosmetic, although the Emblem for Clerics and Paladins does allow you to turn a shield into a focus. Component pouches are really only advantageous/necessary in two situations: if you've multiclassed in a way that uses different foci, then a component pouch covers all of your non-priced or consumed M components regardless of class when you otherwise would need to track which focus you're holding at the moment, or if you've obtained a spell with an M component from a source besides a class feature, since by RAW foci only work for spells learned as a part of the associated class.
Oh it sure does make a difference. If you are a druid wearing a shield and want to cast any V,S or S spells, you could need that free hand that might be occupied by a staff. Or you could just have your component pouch on your person not occupying a hand when not in use.
Stowing the focus is a free interaction, so you’d still be able to perform any niche activity that calls for an Action with a free hand just as well, and the only reaction spell one is likely to use in combat has a gp component, so you’d arguably need the hand free in any case. There’s no real, practical benefit to one over the other as a single class caster.
You wouldn’t be able to do any combinations of actions that require you to stow the focus and draw any other item.
Such as? It’s hypothetically a handicap, but in reality the instance where this will occur has, in my personal experience and from everything I’ve seen and heard about combat been so low as to be a negligible factor in terms of design and balance.
There are subclasses of warlock and druid that are expected to be weapon using and can use a shield. Unless your weapon is your focus, you could not, for example, switch between casting a spell and making an attack on the next turn regularly. It takes a stow and a draw to swap, so two interactions per turn.
And again, the point is simply that using a component pouch makes the problem moot. Your hand is not occupied by the focus.
While wielding a shield, you can always just freely drop a held arcane focus or component pouch, cast a spell with somatic component and pick it up after using your free item interaction.
There are subclasses of warlock and druid that are expected to be weapon using and can use a shield. Unless your weapon is your focus, you could not, for example, switch between casting a spell and making an attack on the next turn regularly. It takes a stow and a draw to swap, so two interactions per turn.
Not sure what subclass of Druid is supposed to be a weapon user, and Warlocks can make their Pact Weapon a focus, so yet again these scenarios are already non-issues.
Several casting classes are given proficiency with shields and are oriented toward weapon attacks in either the class itself or the subclass without a way to make their weapon or shield a focus. Valor bard, Spores druid (the one you forgot about), hexblade. Of course you can avoid the problem with resources: Warcaster, ruby of the war mage, invocations, choice of a focus that can be used as a weapon innately. Or you can even throw your stuff on the ground like Plaguescarred suggests. Or you don’t have to worry about any of those things with a pouch.
Just because you don’t think it is a big deal doesn’t mean the problem of item interaction collision doesn’t exist. I am only pointing out that the problem exists, yet a component pouch avoids it.
Several casting classes are given proficiency with shields and are oriented toward weapon attacks in either the class itself or the subclass without a way to make their weapon or shield a focus. Valor bard, Spores druid (the one you forgot about), hexblade. Of course you can avoid the problem with resources: Warcaster, ruby of the war mage, invocations, choice of a focus that can be used as a weapon innately. Or you can even throw your stuff on the ground like Plaguescarred suggests. Or you don’t have to worry about any of those things with a pouch.
Just because you don’t think it is a big deal doesn’t mean the problem of item interaction collision doesn’t exist. I am only pointing out that the problem exists, yet a component pouch avoids it.
Hexblade is absolutely going to take Improved Pact Weapon to make their weapon a +1 as well as a focus so there’s no issue. Spores can just use a staff focus that they Shillelagh as their weapon on the slim chance the melee option gets used. Valor Bard I’ll grant, but a whole 1 instance of a subclass where a full caster getting use of a shield creates a problem with casting is arguably a balance point, not a flaw.
If it were a balance point, then every other case where it occurs seems out of balance. For example, the swords bard gets their weapon as a focus. What is the balance take there?
The material component rules are arbitrary and baffling and don’t add to gameplay. This is just another example of by the book they work in a way that is counterintuitive and counterproductive for just a very few use cases with so many ways around the problem that (and I agree on this) it is effectively not a problem.
It just makes those few edge cases all the more annoying. A valor bard can’t use his spells and weapon as effectively as a swords bard? Seems like oversight more than intentional design.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
When building a caster sometimes you can take an arcane focus instead of a component pouch. Does that mean you don't need to use spell components if you have one? Is it just a flavorful item to have for your character? What's the deal?
For spells with a Material component, you need to hold that component in your hand. If the component listed in the spell does not have a cost listed, you can use a Component Pouch or a Spell Focus instead of the specific component listed(for a spell like Identify, which lists a material component with a cost, you need to acquire and use that exact component). Using a Pouch or Focus is basically a simple way to avoid having to track the mundane material components listed for most spells.
Some suggest that the pouch is actually the more versatile choice, since you can just interact with it as you need instead of having a hand continuously occupied by a, say, staff.
You still need an empty hand to use the pouch, so it doesn't really alter hand availability. The various types of foci are largely just cosmetic, although the Emblem for Clerics and Paladins does allow you to turn a shield into a focus. Component pouches are really only advantageous/necessary in two situations: if you've multiclassed in a way that uses different foci, then a component pouch covers all of your non-priced or consumed M components regardless of class when you otherwise would need to track which focus you're holding at the moment, or if you've obtained a spell with an M component from a source besides a class feature, since by RAW foci only work for spells learned as a part of the associated class.
Oh it sure does make a difference. If you are a druid wearing a shield and want to cast any V,S or S spells, you could need that free hand that might be occupied by a staff. Or you could just have your component pouch on your person not occupying a hand when not in use.
Stowing the focus is a free interaction, so you’d still be able to perform any niche activity that calls for an Action with a free hand just as well, and the only reaction spell one is likely to use in combat has a gp component, so you’d arguably need the hand free in any case. There’s no real, practical benefit to one over the other as a single class caster.
You wouldn’t be able to do any combinations of actions that require you to stow the focus and draw any other item.
Such as? It’s hypothetically a handicap, but in reality the instance where this will occur has, in my personal experience and from everything I’ve seen and heard about combat been so low as to be a negligible factor in terms of design and balance.
There are subclasses of warlock and druid that are expected to be weapon using and can use a shield. Unless your weapon is your focus, you could not, for example, switch between casting a spell and making an attack on the next turn regularly. It takes a stow and a draw to swap, so two interactions per turn.
And again, the point is simply that using a component pouch makes the problem moot. Your hand is not occupied by the focus.
While wielding a shield, you can always just freely drop a held arcane focus or component pouch, cast a spell with somatic component and pick it up after using your free item interaction.
Not sure what subclass of Druid is supposed to be a weapon user, and Warlocks can make their Pact Weapon a focus, so yet again these scenarios are already non-issues.
Several casting classes are given proficiency with shields and are oriented toward weapon attacks in either the class itself or the subclass without a way to make their weapon or shield a focus. Valor bard, Spores druid (the one you forgot about), hexblade. Of course you can avoid the problem with resources: Warcaster, ruby of the war mage, invocations, choice of a focus that can be used as a weapon innately. Or you can even throw your stuff on the ground like Plaguescarred suggests. Or you don’t have to worry about any of those things with a pouch.
Just because you don’t think it is a big deal doesn’t mean the problem of item interaction collision doesn’t exist. I am only pointing out that the problem exists, yet a component pouch avoids it.
Hexblade is absolutely going to take Improved Pact Weapon to make their weapon a +1 as well as a focus so there’s no issue. Spores can just use a staff focus that they Shillelagh as their weapon on the slim chance the melee option gets used. Valor Bard I’ll grant, but a whole 1 instance of a subclass where a full caster getting use of a shield creates a problem with casting is arguably a balance point, not a flaw.
If it were a balance point, then every other case where it occurs seems out of balance. For example, the swords bard gets their weapon as a focus. What is the balance take there?
The material component rules are arbitrary and baffling and don’t add to gameplay. This is just another example of by the book they work in a way that is counterintuitive and counterproductive for just a very few use cases with so many ways around the problem that (and I agree on this) it is effectively not a problem.
It just makes those few edge cases all the more annoying. A valor bard can’t use his spells and weapon as effectively as a swords bard? Seems like oversight more than intentional design.