Snare has a material component of 25 feet of rope. 25 feet of rope doesn't have a cost on its own, but 50 feet does. Since the materials are consumed, I can't think of any effect that cares off hand (you can't use a spell component pouch or spellcasting focus but there may be class features or other effects that I am not thinking of right now). However, I am curious whether most people consider this a material component with a cost.
Well, it's true that you can technically consider it not a costed component, but since it's consumed, as you said, you still need to provide the material component. Also, it's used in the spell's effect, so IMO it's needed anyway.
There's a few edge cases on the Material components, though. For the Summon Lesser Demons and Summon Greater Demon spells, the material component is "blood from a humanoid killed in the last 24 hours", and while it's not listed as consumed in the material description, the blood can be poured in a circle around yourself to protect you from what you summon. By RAW you can cast the spell with a focus, but most DMs would require you to have specifically acquired the blood if you want to make the circle. There's also Protection from Evil and Good which causes headaches as it calls for "holy water or powdered silver and iron, which the spell consumes", but doesn't give a gp value of the materials. This gets a lot of debate over whether it can be covered by a focus or component pouch, and if not what the cost should be. I think there was an SA saying to go with the holy water list price, but 25 gp per cast on a first level spell is not exactly a popular take.
Official ruling differ from your interpretation of the rule that if a material component is consumed by the spell, the caster must provide this component for each casting of the spell.
Few spells carrying no speficied cost consumed component that i know include Create Homunculus consumes clay, ash and mandrake root, Snare consumes 25 feet of rope, Druid Grove consumes a mistletoe harvested with a golden sickle under the light of a full moon, Protection From Evil And Good consumes holy water or powdered silver and iron, Summon Greater Demon consumes blood from a humanoid killed within the past 24 hours as written in the spell description.
Snare has a material component of 25 feet of rope. 25 feet of rope doesn't have a cost on its own, but 50 feet does.
I would be amazed to play in such a game where I go to a shop and request two sections of 25 feet of rope instead of one 50 foot rope, because the 25 foot sections are free.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Snare has a material component of 25 feet of rope. 25 feet of rope doesn't have a cost on its own, but 50 feet does.
I would be amazed to play in such a game where I go to a shop and request two sections of 25 feet of rope instead of one 50 foot rope, because the 25 foot sections are free.
If the material component was 25 feet of vines, would that change your opinion?
Some spells the material component is also kind of the target as I think someone was alluding to above. So whether it has a cost you need it for the spell to function. I'm not sure that is technically true in this case, it is closer to being just a component than say leomunds secret chest. As once the spell is cast the rope is not what is grabbing and snaring them its just a magical force. But if the spell actively controlled the 25 feet of rope tying up the enemy and pulling them into the air, then yeah its not just the component it is also a target of the spell and would always be needed. In this case I think it does have a cost and it is consumed. 25 feet of rope isn't free even if its not in the PH. Otherwise you could stock up on piles of 49 foot ropes and claim it is free. Not that I'd consider that some game breaking hack, but on a logical level it would have a cost it is a manufactured item. 25 feet of vines as someone suggests is something you could in theory just dig up and find in the woods or in your neighbors yard in their bed if ivy so it would be closer to the need a spider which you swallow style component.
That being said I'd 100% allow it to be cast with a focus or component pouch in my games. Snare is not game breaking and if you have to carry hundreds of feet of rope on you so you can cast it a few times it just gets put in the never used pile of spells. And if someone needs RAW on either all or almost all other spells with component costs will mention it in the little blurb under the spell and also say if the item is consumed. So in theory it could be musty old rope that is falling apart that is worthless but 25 feet of it as it did not assign a minimum value. Like I think it is intended to have a cost, but I can RAW an argument that it does not. And it happens to git how I think it should be written. But it is consumed RAW so oh well.
Some spells the material component is also kind of the target as I think someone was alluding to above.
And in other cases, material components are jokes.
I am just curious, being that 25 feet of rope isn't technically an item, even if it can be made by cutting 50 feet of rope in half, whether it is considered a material component with a cost. Similarly, the holy water or powdered silver and iron material component that TarodNet quoted via Plaguescarred has a stated cost for the holy water, but not for the powdered silver and iron.
A Material component is a particular material used in a spell’s casting, as specified in parentheses in the Components entry. These materials aren’t consumed by the spell unless the spell’s description states otherwise. The spellcaster must have a hand free to access them, but it can be the same hand used to perform Somatic components, if any.
If a spell doesn’t consume its materials and doesn’t specify a cost for them, a spellcaster can use a Component Pouch (see “Equipment”) instead of providing the materials specified in the spell, or the spellcaster can substitute a Spellcasting Focus if the caster has a feature that allows that substitution. To use a Component Pouch, you must have a hand free to reach into it, and to use a Spellcasting Focus, you must hold it unless its description says otherwise (see “Equipment” for descriptions).
The bolded text suggests that the important thing is that the spell description specifies the cost and not whether the component has a known cost. The context is slightly different, of course, but might still be relevant.
Secondarily, I am curious if there is a scenario where it does matter, but I don't think so (other than bookkeeping).
Secondarily, I am curious if there is a scenario where it does matter, but I don't think so (other than bookkeeping).
This is my question too.
RAW, it is not a spell with a specified cost so any rope from any origin should suffice to cast it - even something conjured/crafted temporarily should work assuming no other rule gets in the way.
Also RAW, it is definitely a component which is consumed by the spell, so a component pouch or focus can't officially be used. That said, I would also hand wave that away and allow the pouch/focus, since the real purpose of that rule is to ensure exotic components like fresh humanoid blood (for demon summoning) or full moon mistletoe (for Druid's Grove) are harvested in game.
There might be other effects which care if a spell has a component with a cost versus if the spell has a consumed component, but I can't think what they might be and where this might genuinely matter.
Snare has a material component of 25 feet of rope. 25 feet of rope doesn't have a cost on its own, but 50 feet does. Since the materials are consumed, I can't think of any effect that cares off hand (you can't use a spell component pouch or spellcasting focus but there may be class features or other effects that I am not thinking of right now). However, I am curious whether most people consider this a material component with a cost.
No Snare doesn’t specify a cost for the 25 feet of rope, none is noted its description as Sage Advice Compendium further explain.
If a spell’s Material components are consumed, can a Spellcasting Focus still be used in place of the consumed component?
No. A Spellcasting Focus can be used in place of a Material component only if that component has no cost noted in the spell’s description and if that component isn’t consumed.
Snare has a material component of 25 feet of rope. 25 feet of rope doesn't have a cost on its own, but 50 feet does. Since the materials are consumed, I can't think of any effect that cares off hand (you can't use a spell component pouch or spellcasting focus but there may be class features or other effects that I am not thinking of right now). However, I am curious whether most people consider this a material component with a cost.
No Snare doesn’t specify a cost for the 25 feet of rope, none is noted its description as Sage Advice Compendium further explain.
If a spell’s Material components are consumed, can a Spellcasting Focus still be used in place of the consumed component?
No. A Spellcasting Focus can be used in place of a Material component only if that component has no cost noted in the spell’s description and if that component isn’t consumed.
The Sage Advice isn't relevant because the material is consumed so either way, you can't use a spellcasting focus.
Are you saying that, in your opinion, that a material cost of 25 feet of rope is free and that you do not have to pay 1 GP to be able to cast the spell twice?
The Sage Advice isn't relevant because the material is consumed so either way, you can't use a spellcasting focus.
Are you saying that, in your opinion, that a material cost of 25 feet of rope is free and that you do not have to pay 1 GP to be able to cast the spell twice?
25 feet of rope can be sold or it can be free if found or given but since it's consumed by the spell, you somehow need to get one for each casting.
The relevant point from Sage Advice is that Snare doesn't note in its description the 25 feet of rope worth 1+ GP, which is what the Material rules mean when saying If a spell doesn’t consume its materials and doesn’t specify a cost for them.
The bolded text suggests that the important thing is that the spell description specifies the cost and not whether the component has a known cost.
Yup, this is the correct answer. The rule for being able to use a spellcasting focus doesn't actually care if a material component has a cost. It only cares about whether or not the spell description specifies a cost for that material component.
For example, a DM might set up some scenario where the spellcasting foci and component pouches of everyone in the party are stolen. At a nearby town, such things are unavailable for sale, but some specific individual spell components are for sale for a certain price. Just because the character might have had to pay for these individual material components doesn't actually change anything about the requirements for casting the spell later on when they do acquire a spellcasting focus.
Snare has a material component of 25 feet of rope. 25 feet of rope doesn't have a cost on its own, but 50 feet does.
I would be amazed to play in such a game where I go to a shop and request two sections of 25 feet of rope instead of one 50 foot rope, because the 25 foot sections are free.
If the material component was 25 feet of vines, would that change your opinion?
Does the spell say vine?
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Maybe a tricky comparison can be made between Snare and the 2014 Gentle Repose spell, discussed at least in the following thread (from 2020!, I'm quoting the answer I agree with hehe):
The copper coin specified in the components is not a costed component, otherwise it'd be worded the same as other costed components, ie "A copper coin worth 1 cp" As such it's not consumed.
Worth noting the 2024 Gentle Repose version has different Components: "2 Copper Pieces, which the spell consumes".
Snare has a material component of 25 feet of rope. 25 feet of rope doesn't have a cost on its own, but 50 feet does.
I would be amazed to play in such a game where I go to a shop and request two sections of 25 feet of rope instead of one 50 foot rope, because the 25 foot sections are free.
If the material component was 25 feet of vines, would that change your opinion?
Does the spell say vine?
It's not really relevant to the hypothetical. If you are unwilling to participate in the thought exercise, that's fine.
If the 25-feet sections of rope for the spell casting are free, I would not expect them to be usable outside of the spell's casting. Essentially, do you consider this a consumable that you have to track or another case of D&D material components are jokes (a penny for your thoughts to cast Detect Thoughts, a bell and wire for Alarm, bark for Barkskin, etc.)
Actually, Alarm is a great parallel. We know the cost of a bell, but the spell doesn't specify a cost and the material is not consumed so you can replace the material component with a Spell Component Pouch and Spellcasting Focus.
Even better is Cordon of Arrows which requires four or more arrows or bolts as a material component. You can use a Spell Component Pouch or Spellcasting Focus instead. So, you have a material component that is a subset of an entry in the equipment chapter (4 or more arrows or bolts out of 20). The only difference with Snare is that the material component is consumed. I am leaning towards the equipment chapter cost doesn't matter and the 25 feet of rope is free and weightless. The only purpose is to give flavor and require a free hand.
While RAW spells such as Rope Trick, Cordon of Arrows or Gentle Repose don't consume their material components and thus can technically be substituted by Spellcasting Focus or Component Pouch, their effect require manipulating them somehow like touching a rope, putting coins on a corpse's eyes or planting a number of arrows or bolts in the ground.
So i guess when substituted this way, such portion of those spell's effect isn't really accomplished.
Off topic - Gentle Repose does have a cost. Two copper coins are by definition 2 cp, same with Detect Thoughts - a copper coin is 1cp. If your campaign has copper coins worth other values, that's a homebrew decision, but RAW a copper coin is interchangeable with 1cp.
As for the original topic, a material component can only be replaced by a component pouch or casting focus if it meets 2 requirements:
1. The material component is not consumed by the casting of the spell, and 2. There is no cost for the material component
So, in this case, since 25 ft of rope is consumed - it fails the first step of the test and cannot be replaced by spell component pouch or a focus. A caster must have 25 ft of rope (or more) in order to cast the spell.
It's possible being self-explanatory they intended the material components of Gentle Repose to specify a cost and for Cordon of Arrows to be destroyed (consumed) and thus be required in the casting regardless. Especially the latter inflict damage with the arrow or bolt specifically.
Off topic - Gentle Repose does have a cost. Two copper coins are by definition 2 cp, same with Detect Thoughts - a copper coin is 1cp. If your campaign has copper coins worth other values, that's a homebrew decision, but RAW a copper coin is interchangeable with 1cp.
I would say that it's on topic as a similar spell.
A copper coin or two copper coins are not technically material components with a cost. However, gentle repose specifies a "copper piece" which can be seen as specifying a cost. For example, an antique copper Netherese coin could be valued at more than a copper piece and a copper coin you stamped out for kids to play pirates with could be worth less, but either would fulfill a "copper coin" material component.
The 2014 version of Gentle doesn't consume the component while the 2024 version does so the distinction is minor.
Regarding Cordon of Arrows, given that it specifically tags the items in Beyond, you’re really stretching RAW as well as RAI to say that a Component Pouch or Focus will spontaneously produce them.
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Snare has a material component of 25 feet of rope. 25 feet of rope doesn't have a cost on its own, but 50 feet does. Since the materials are consumed, I can't think of any effect that cares off hand (you can't use a spell component pouch or spellcasting focus but there may be class features or other effects that I am not thinking of right now). However, I am curious whether most people consider this a material component with a cost.
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
Well, it's true that you can technically consider it not a costed component, but since it's consumed, as you said, you still need to provide the material component. Also, it's used in the spell's effect, so IMO it's needed anyway.
From the thread Material components for spells, a couple of replies were interesting to me at the moment:
I would be amazed to play in such a game where I go to a shop and request two sections of 25 feet of rope instead of one 50 foot rope, because the 25 foot sections are free.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
If the material component was 25 feet of vines, would that change your opinion?
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
Some spells the material component is also kind of the target as I think someone was alluding to above. So whether it has a cost you need it for the spell to function. I'm not sure that is technically true in this case, it is closer to being just a component than say leomunds secret chest. As once the spell is cast the rope is not what is grabbing and snaring them its just a magical force. But if the spell actively controlled the 25 feet of rope tying up the enemy and pulling them into the air, then yeah its not just the component it is also a target of the spell and would always be needed. In this case I think it does have a cost and it is consumed. 25 feet of rope isn't free even if its not in the PH. Otherwise you could stock up on piles of 49 foot ropes and claim it is free. Not that I'd consider that some game breaking hack, but on a logical level it would have a cost it is a manufactured item. 25 feet of vines as someone suggests is something you could in theory just dig up and find in the woods or in your neighbors yard in their bed if ivy so it would be closer to the need a spider which you swallow style component.
That being said I'd 100% allow it to be cast with a focus or component pouch in my games. Snare is not game breaking and if you have to carry hundreds of feet of rope on you so you can cast it a few times it just gets put in the never used pile of spells. And if someone needs RAW on either all or almost all other spells with component costs will mention it in the little blurb under the spell and also say if the item is consumed. So in theory it could be musty old rope that is falling apart that is worthless but 25 feet of it as it did not assign a minimum value. Like I think it is intended to have a cost, but I can RAW an argument that it does not. And it happens to git how I think it should be written. But it is consumed RAW so oh well.
And in other cases, material components are jokes.
I am just curious, being that 25 feet of rope isn't technically an item, even if it can be made by cutting 50 feet of rope in half, whether it is considered a material component with a cost. Similarly, the holy water or powdered silver and iron material component that TarodNet quoted via Plaguescarred has a stated cost for the holy water, but not for the powdered silver and iron.
The Material Components section even says:
The bolded text suggests that the important thing is that the spell description specifies the cost and not whether the component has a known cost. The context is slightly different, of course, but might still be relevant.
Secondarily, I am curious if there is a scenario where it does matter, but I don't think so (other than bookkeeping).
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
This is my question too.
RAW, it is not a spell with a specified cost so any rope from any origin should suffice to cast it - even something conjured/crafted temporarily should work assuming no other rule gets in the way.
Also RAW, it is definitely a component which is consumed by the spell, so a component pouch or focus can't officially be used. That said, I would also hand wave that away and allow the pouch/focus, since the real purpose of that rule is to ensure exotic components like fresh humanoid blood (for demon summoning) or full moon mistletoe (for Druid's Grove) are harvested in game.
There might be other effects which care if a spell has a component with a cost versus if the spell has a consumed component, but I can't think what they might be and where this might genuinely matter.
No Snare doesn’t specify a cost for the 25 feet of rope, none is noted its description as Sage Advice Compendium further explain.
The Sage Advice isn't relevant because the material is consumed so either way, you can't use a spellcasting focus.
Are you saying that, in your opinion, that a material cost of 25 feet of rope is free and that you do not have to pay 1 GP to be able to cast the spell twice?
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
25 feet of rope can be sold or it can be free if found or given but since it's consumed by the spell, you somehow need to get one for each casting.
The relevant point from Sage Advice is that Snare doesn't note in its description the 25 feet of rope worth 1+ GP, which is what the Material rules mean when saying If a spell doesn’t consume its materials and doesn’t specify a cost for them.
So the answer to the Poll is
Does Snare Have A Material Component With A Cost? NO
Yup, this is the correct answer. The rule for being able to use a spellcasting focus doesn't actually care if a material component has a cost. It only cares about whether or not the spell description specifies a cost for that material component.
For example, a DM might set up some scenario where the spellcasting foci and component pouches of everyone in the party are stolen. At a nearby town, such things are unavailable for sale, but some specific individual spell components are for sale for a certain price. Just because the character might have had to pay for these individual material components doesn't actually change anything about the requirements for casting the spell later on when they do acquire a spellcasting focus.
Does the spell say vine?
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Maybe a tricky comparison can be made between Snare and the 2014 Gentle Repose spell, discussed at least in the following thread (from 2020!, I'm quoting the answer I agree with hehe):
Worth noting the 2024 Gentle Repose version has different Components: "2 Copper Pieces, which the spell consumes".
It's not really relevant to the hypothetical. If you are unwilling to participate in the thought exercise, that's fine.
If the 25-feet sections of rope for the spell casting are free, I would not expect them to be usable outside of the spell's casting. Essentially, do you consider this a consumable that you have to track or another case of D&D material components are jokes (a penny for your thoughts to cast Detect Thoughts, a bell and wire for Alarm, bark for Barkskin, etc.)
Actually, Alarm is a great parallel. We know the cost of a bell, but the spell doesn't specify a cost and the material is not consumed so you can replace the material component with a Spell Component Pouch and Spellcasting Focus.
Even better is Cordon of Arrows which requires four or more arrows or bolts as a material component. You can use a Spell Component Pouch or Spellcasting Focus instead. So, you have a material component that is a subset of an entry in the equipment chapter (4 or more arrows or bolts out of 20). The only difference with Snare is that the material component is consumed. I am leaning towards the equipment chapter cost doesn't matter and the 25 feet of rope is free and weightless. The only purpose is to give flavor and require a free hand.
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
While RAW spells such as Rope Trick, Cordon of Arrows or Gentle Repose don't consume their material components and thus can technically be substituted by Spellcasting Focus or Component Pouch, their effect require manipulating them somehow like touching a rope, putting coins on a corpse's eyes or planting a number of arrows or bolts in the ground.
So i guess when substituted this way, such portion of those spell's effect isn't really accomplished.
Off topic - Gentle Repose does have a cost. Two copper coins are by definition 2 cp, same with Detect Thoughts - a copper coin is 1cp. If your campaign has copper coins worth other values, that's a homebrew decision, but RAW a copper coin is interchangeable with 1cp.
As for the original topic, a material component can only be replaced by a component pouch or casting focus if it meets 2 requirements:
1. The material component is not consumed by the casting of the spell, and
2. There is no cost for the material component
So, in this case, since 25 ft of rope is consumed - it fails the first step of the test and cannot be replaced by spell component pouch or a focus. A caster must have 25 ft of rope (or more) in order to cast the spell.
Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (original Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
It's possible being self-explanatory they intended the material components of Gentle Repose to specify a cost and for Cordon of Arrows to be destroyed (consumed) and thus be required in the casting regardless. Especially the latter inflict damage with the arrow or bolt specifically.
But strict RAW suggest differently.
I would say that it's on topic as a similar spell.
A copper coin or two copper coins are not technically material components with a cost. However, gentle repose specifies a "copper piece" which can be seen as specifying a cost. For example, an antique copper Netherese coin could be valued at more than a copper piece and a copper coin you stamped out for kids to play pirates with could be worth less, but either would fulfill a "copper coin" material component.
The 2014 version of Gentle doesn't consume the component while the 2024 version does so the distinction is minor.
This part is not actually what I am looking for. I don't care if can be replaced with a component pouch or focus. I only care if it costs anything.
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
Regarding Cordon of Arrows, given that it specifically tags the items in Beyond, you’re really stretching RAW as well as RAI to say that a Component Pouch or Focus will spontaneously produce them.