The spell components they use actually are pretty funny and insightful when you stop to think what they are meant to represent. Here are some of the examples I found. Feel free to post any of your own takes or insights for these subtle amusements.
Tasha's Hideous Laughter - tiny tarts and a feather that is waved in the air.
Classic pie in the face and tickling with a feather
Antimagic Field - A pinch of powdered iron or iron filings
Swords vs. Sorcery. Iron is a classic protection against magic.
Illusory Script - a lead-based ink worth at least 10 gp, which the spell consumes
Classically magic can't see through lead (like superman's X-ray vision) Lead ink would keep people from seeing through the illusion
Tasha's Caustic Brew - a bit of rotten rood
Something to make you puke acid vomit in a 30 ft straight line
Gust of Wind - a legume seed
Beans make you fart.
Arcane Eye - A bit of bat fur
Seeing with a sixth sense, like a bat?
Comprehend Languages - A pinch of soot and a few grains of salt
Not sure, I assume something to do with "Take what they say with a grain of salt".
Darkvision - Either a pinch of dried carrot or an agate
Agate - "Cat's Eye". See in the dark like a cat (who, oddly enough doesn't have Darkvision!). Carrots are associated with improved vision. This is actually not really true and was a propaganda thing used by Great Britain during the Second World War.
Minor Illusion -a bit of fleece
Pulling the "wool" over their eyes.
Detect Thoughts - A copper piece
"a penny for your thoughts?"
Disintegrate - A lodestone and a pinch of dust
A lodestone is a magnet. you ever do that thing with a magnet and iron flings on opposite sides of a sheet of paper or glass. The Iron Filings make a magnetic crystalline structure. Now imagine you remove the magnet really fast. The iron filings structure just falls apart back to dust.
Lightning Bolt - a bit of fur and a rod of amber, crystal, or glass
Rubbing fur along a glass rod is a classic static electricity experiment
Displacement - A small strip of leather twisted into a loop
A loop of leather in a mobius strip
Enlarge / Reduce Person - A pinch of powdered iron
Foods with iron (broccoli, etc.), as supposed to make you grow!
False Life - A small amount of alcohol or distilled spirits
Alcohol gives you "false courage", and drinking fills you with "spirits".
Floating Disk - A drop of mercury
Mercury is so dense that a great many things which would sink, in water, will float upon it. I picture the drop of mercury expanding "Magneto Style" into the disc itself.
Foresight - A hummingbird’s feather
Hummingbirds react VERY FAST! So fast it looks to boarder on pre-cognition.
Freedom of Movement - A leather thong, bound around the arm or a similar appendage
Not tied down, the strings have been cut!
Mending - Two loadstones
Loadstones are magnets. The magnets attracting to each other and connecting looks like magical mending.
Haste - A shaving of licorice root
Gives you the "runs", a colloquiallism for diarhea.
Hold Person - A small, straight piece of iron
Iron Bars like a jail cell. Could also be a nail, as in "nail their feet to the floor".
Water Breathing - a short reed or piece of straw
Its a snorkel
Invisibility - An eyelash encased in a bit of gum arabic
When you wake up in the morning, your eyelashes are often stuck together with "sleep", and YOU CAN'T SEE! I loved how Deborah Ann Woll did this on her Gnome character. She put the eyelash in the gum, then chewed it to blow a bubble and when the bubble got big enough to encase her it popped and she was invisible.
Legend Lore -four ivory strips worth at least 50 gp each
Ivory comes from elephants who never forget. Classic material component for divination.
Levitate - Either a small leather loop or a piece of golden wire bent into a cup shape with a long shank on one end
Check out the wire loops they use to dip Easter eggs in the dye.
Unseen Servent - a bit of string and of wood
It's a marionette. Mine would be in the shape of a frog and would complain about the difficulties of its verdant coloration.
Magic Weapon, Greater - Powdered lime and carbon
Lime (quicklime) and carbon are both considered essential to the steel making process in industry.
Melf's Acid Arrow - powdered rhubarb leaf and an adder’s stomach
No idea, rhubarb is poisonous as are adders. Stomachs contain acid.
Enhance Ability - a bit of fur or a feather from a beast
Bears Endurance, Bulls Strength, Cats Grace, etc. Taking on qualities from the animals.
Polymorph - a caterpillar cocoon
Metamorphosis
True Polymorph - a drop of mercury, a dollop of gum arabic, and a wisp of smoke
Ever heard the expression "It's all done with smoke and mirrors"? Mercury and gum arabic on the reverse side of a pane of glass forms a mirror.
Antipathy/Sympathy - either a lump of alum soaked in vinegar for the antipathy effect or a drop of honey for the sympathy effect)
Alum is bitter, and vinegar is sour. Together, they are... repulsive. Honey is sweet and yummy, enough to attract anyone
Rope Trick - Powdered corn extract and a twisted loop of parchment
The corn extract forms a basic glue, and the strip of twisted paper is a Mobius Strip. A mobius strip is a standard example of a surface that is not orientable. It's the epitome of the topological phenomenon of nonorientability. Great to represent an extra-dimensional space or pocket dimension.
Secret Page - Powdered herring scales (this is an older spell not in 5e but was the first time I remember getting the joke as a child)
Red Herring - stinky fish used to throw tracking dogs off the scent.
See Invisibility - A pinch of talc and a small sprinkling of powdered silver
Like throwing a bunch of powder in the air to reveal the invisible man.
Summon Monster - A tiny bag and a small (not necessarily lit) candle
We used to do this as kids on a "Snipe Hunt". Going around with flashlights and bags to catch the elusive snipe.
Flame Blade - leaf of sumac
Google Sumac. It looks like it's on fire with the red berries.
Banishment - an item distasteful to the target
Like showing a Cross to a Vampire.
Flesh to Stone - a pinch of lime, water, and earth
Check out my Disabled & Dragons Youtube Channel for 5e Monster and Player Tactics. Helping the Disabled Community and Players and DM’s (both new and experienced) get into D&D. Plus there is a talking Dragon named Quill.
While Gum Arabic is used in some foods, and I believe possibly chewing gums, it is also used to make adhesives (and watercolors). f I’m not mistaken, the Material components for invisibility are a reference to accidentally gluing one’s eyelids shut with a false eyelash.
Alum is used in pickling to keep the veg crispy, and is extremely tart. The material components for Antipathy/Sympathy are a reference to the adage “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”
The spell components they use actually are pretty funny and insightful when you stop to think what they are meant to represent. Here are some of the examples I found. Feel free to post any of your own takes or insights for these subtle amusements.
Swords vs. Sorcery. Iron is a classic protection against magic.
Classically magic can't see through lead (like superman's X-ray vision) Lead ink would keep people from seeing through the illusion
Something to make you puke acid vomit in a 30 ft straight line
Beans make you fart.
Seeing with a sixth sense, like a bat?
Not sure, I assume something to do with "Take what they say with a grain of salt".
Agate - "Cat's Eye". See in the dark like a cat (who, oddly enough doesn't have Darkvision!). Carrots are associated with improved vision. This is actually not really true and was a propaganda thing used by Great Britain during the Second World War.
Pulling the "wool" over their eyes.
"a penny for your thoughts?"
Rubbing fur along a glass rod is a classic static electricity experiment
A loop of leather in a mobius strip
Foods with iron (broccoli, etc.), as supposed to make you grow!
Alcohol gives you "false courage", and drinking fills you with "spirits".
Mercury is so dense that a great many things which would sink, in water, will float upon it. I picture the drop of mercury expanding "Magneto Style" into the disc itself.
Hummingbirds react VERY FAST! So fast it looks to boarder on pre-cognition.
Not tied down, the strings have been cut!
Loadstones are magnets. The magnets attracting to each other and connecting looks like magical mending.
Gives you the "runs", a colloquiallism for diarhea.
Iron Bars like a jail cell. Could also be a nail, as in "nail their feet to the floor".
Its a snorkel
When you wake up in the morning, your eyelashes are often stuck together with "sleep", and YOU CAN'T SEE!
Ivory comes from elephants who never forget. Classic material component for divination.
Check out the wire loops they use to dip Easter eggs in the dye.
It's a marionette. Mine would be in the shape of a frog and would complain about the difficulties of its verdant coloration.
Lime (quicklime) and carbon are both considered essential to the steel making process in industry.
No idea, rhubarb is poisonous as are adders. Stomachs contain acid.
Bears Endurance, Bulls Strength, Cats Grace, etc. Taking on qualities from the animals.
Metamorphosis
Ever heard the expression "It's all done with smoke and mirrors"? Mercury and gum arabic on the reverse side of a pane of glass forms a mirror.
Alum is bitter, and vinegar is sour. Together, they are... repulsive. Honey is sweet and yummy, enough to attract anyone
The corn extract forms a basic glue, and the strip of twisted paper is a Mobius Strip. A mobius strip is a standard example of a surface that is not orientable. It's the epitome of the topological phenomenon of nonorientability. Great to represent an extra-dimensional space or pocket dimension.
Red Herring - stinky fish used to throw tracking dogs off the scent.
Like throwing a bunch of powder in the air to reveal the invisible man.
We used to do this as kids on a "Snipe Hunt". Going around with flashlights and bags to catch the elusive snipe.
Google Sumac. It looks like it's on fire with the red berries.
Like showing a Cross to a Vampire.
Thats how you make concrete
"Open Sesame"
Check out my Disabled & Dragons Youtube Channel for 5e Monster and Player Tactics. Helping the Disabled Community and Players and DM’s (both new and experienced) get into D&D. Plus there is a talking Dragon named Quill.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPmyTI0tZ6nM-bzY0IG3ww
wow this is a pretty deep dive fun to see how much effort wotc put in to a small portion of the game
Check out my homebrew subclasses spells magic items feats monsters races
i am a sauce priest
help create a world here
While Gum Arabic is used in some foods, and I believe possibly chewing gums, it is also used to make adhesives (and watercolors). f I’m not mistaken, the Material components for invisibility are a reference to accidentally gluing one’s eyelids shut with a false eyelash.
Alum is used in pickling to keep the veg crispy, and is extremely tart. The material components for Antipathy/Sympathy are a reference to the adage “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”
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The toxic component of rhubarb leaf is oxalic acid; dried and powdered, it can be used for cleaning purposes such as rust removal.
I got one too :D
Those could be used for a doll house and you're basically "dreaming up a house" just like kids do when they play with a doll house.