Can a spell focus be used to replace the Somatic Components of a Spell. It's listed in the Materials section and Implies that it can only replace the Material component but does not directly say.
There is a player in the 5e group I'm in that claims he doesn't need the somatic because of the spell focus. I thought he was wrong but wanted some conformation. He's playing a unicorn (NOT Uniborn) and says his horn does it all.
Uh... Well there is already some homebrew and house ruling going on if he is a unicorn (not an official playable race). So maybe he has an ability that lets him. Unicorns do have innate spellcasting that don't require components, but class spellcasting will still require them.
That's the problem. Unicorns have a few spells they can cast, but only a few. I think that he'd still need to use the other components to cast most spells so somatic spells would be a no go with out hands. Mage Hand would get around that but . . .
If he's playing a Unicorn as in using the stat block from the Monster Manual, it explicitly says that no components are required for them to cast their spells. It doesn't specify a particular type of component, it just says "The unicorn can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components:"
Now, if the player is using some sort of homebrew that makes "Unicorn" a playable race, that's a whole different matter.
Either way....I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around the how & why someone would play a Unicorn.
I think it is ok that the DM review a homebrew more than once if he finds out later that some part of it is causing an issue in his group's game. Balancing homebrew is non-trivial.
Some abilities that NPCs get are too good to give to PCs, like innate casting. I would also be very loathe to give a spellcaster 100% access to his focus anyway. It seems like all of the casting implications for this homebrew race aren't entirely thought out.
On the other hand, what happens when a band of poachers happens across this unicorn and take its horn? Unicorn horn is valuable stuff, after all. Once it's gone, he has no hands to interact with other materials or perform somatic components at all...
On the other hand, what happens when a band of poachers happens across this unicorn and take its horn? Unicorn horn is valuable stuff, after all. Once it's gone, he has no hands to interact with other materials or perform somatic components at all...
I've actually joked about this. My character has a lot of odd contacts and it would almost make sense.
Can a spell focus be used to replace the Somatic Components of a Spell. It's listed in the Materials section and Implies that it can only replace the Material component but does not directly say.
If the rules don’t say then the default answer is no
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If anything it would be a pretty special custom item created by the GM.
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By default, a focus only replaces the material component, but you can perform the somatic component while holding the material component/focus.
If a spell requires a somatic component, but not a material one, you need an empty hand.
There is a player in the 5e group I'm in that claims he doesn't need the somatic because of the spell focus. I thought he was wrong but wanted some conformation. He's playing a unicorn (NOT Uniborn) and says his horn does it all.
Uh... Well there is already some homebrew and house ruling going on if he is a unicorn (not an official playable race). So maybe he has an ability that lets him. Unicorns do have innate spellcasting that don't require components, but class spellcasting will still require them.
That's the problem. Unicorns have a few spells they can cast, but only a few. I think that he'd still need to use the other components to cast most spells so somatic spells would be a no go with out hands. Mage Hand would get around that but . . .
If he's playing a Unicorn as in using the stat block from the Monster Manual, it explicitly says that no components are required for them to cast their spells. It doesn't specify a particular type of component, it just says "The unicorn can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components:"
Now, if the player is using some sort of homebrew that makes "Unicorn" a playable race, that's a whole different matter.
Either way....I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around the how & why someone would play a Unicorn.
Yeah, same. I'm pretty much sticking with my answer of "He needs all components for class spells unless some homebrew specifically says otherwise."
It's a homebrew he found. I'm going to suggest that the DM have him show the group the info on the Homebrew. I know I want to see it.
I think it is ok that the DM review a homebrew more than once if he finds out later that some part of it is causing an issue in his group's game. Balancing homebrew is non-trivial.
Some abilities that NPCs get are too good to give to PCs, like innate casting. I would also be very loathe to give a spellcaster 100% access to his focus anyway. It seems like all of the casting implications for this homebrew race aren't entirely thought out.
On the other hand, what happens when a band of poachers happens across this unicorn and take its horn? Unicorn horn is valuable stuff, after all. Once it's gone, he has no hands to interact with other materials or perform somatic components at all...
Yeah, this doesn't sound like a well-balanced homebrew at all.
Beware here if you use the unicorn and try to cast a spell that uses a "horn" as a material component.
Gonna be hilarious watching how the Unicorn gonna be turned into a normal Horse, heh ??? :)
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Dertinus Tristany // Amilcar Barca // Vicenç Sacrarius // Oriol Deulofeu // Grovtuk