With the conversations surrounding the new Strixhaven spells, and similar conversations about content from every other publication, it seems like there should be an Official optional ruleset to support playtesting. For example, if the spell Silvery Barbs had an optional material component with a trivial, but stated, cost, then the DM would have a direct way to regulate the spell in game, without worrying about the mechanics of the spell itself.
"Shard of Limbo" (1sp)
These small fragments of the plane of chaos can be found randomly across the material plane and are often mistaken for strangely shaped stones. Most folk have no use for them, but enthusiasts and arcane researchers sometimes collect them for their unique magical signatures.
With something like this the DM could make them available in shops, or let the caster find them along their travels. As the group becomes more comfortable with the content, the material component becomes more common.
Each new publication could have a handful of suggestions for thematically appropriate "control components" that the DM could use.
With the conversations surrounding the new Strixhaven spells, and similar conversations about content from every other publication, it seems like there should be an Official optional ruleset to support playtesting. For example, if the spell Silvery Barbs had an optional material component with a trivial, but stated, cost, then the DM would have a direct way to regulate the spell in game, without worrying about the mechanics of the spell itself.
With something like this the DM could make them available in shops, or let the caster find them along their travels. As the group becomes more comfortable with the content, the material component becomes more common.
Each new publication could have a handful of suggestions for thematically appropriate "control components" that the DM could use.
Thoughts?