Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Spell Casting Foci and Material Components

It is well known that the arcane focus is an essential for any mage, cleric, or paladin in order to cast their spells without needing material components named in the spell's description, but what is less known is that spells that require material components with a specified cost (i.e. Chromatic Orb, which requires a diamond worth 50gp) are unable to be cast unless the item is present in the player's inventory (PHB, Ch 10: Spellcasting; Components; Material).

The implication here is to include spellcasting foci as wieldable items in-game and introduce components. This gives more powerful spells a necessary balance, and players more awe when they are finally able to cast intensely powerful spells like Chromatic Orb. I can already see how Larian might implement this into gameplay: give players the opportunity to find these valuable (but rare) material components and then decide whether to sell them for gold or use them for magic. Or perhaps players might put all the extra gold they earn to use and purchase these consumable material components from some well-stocked vendor. Either way, I imagine that the mines in the Underdark would be rich with such materials, as required components often include crystals or crystal dust. Some other examples of costly material components are precious metals, special arcane foci, expensive vessels, incense, charcoal, herbs, oils, divinatory tools (such as bones or runes), ink, statues and replicas, jewelry, and ointments (Basic Rules, Ch 11: Spells).

Maybe i remember something wrong, but i have the feeling that Diamond is actualy not consumed in order to cast Chromatic Orb. O_o

https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/535-spell-spotlight-chromatic-orb

Having a casting focus or a component pouch as stand in for material components is mostly a tool focused around roleplay flavour and ease of play; having a casting focus to equip would be nice but equally, having a video game, specifically, not worry about that is no great loss either.

Remember also that a material component is only consumed IF the spell says it is; the pearl for identify is requisite and cannot be substituted with a focus, but it is also not consumed, and one peal is all you need. Similarly, the tiny diamond used in chromatic orb is not consumed either, and one diamond is all you ever need. (on that note, chromatic orb is not really anything particularly special; it's a 1st level spell that deals 3 dice of damage to a single target, with an average damage of ~14, and no damage at all on a miss, and doesn't upcast efficiently (example; at 4th level it deals 6d8, average 27, to a single target, while a 4th level single target damage spell traditionally deals 8d8, average 36, the discrepancy only grows). Chromatic Orb's value lies in its flexibility for damage type, more than anything else, and any spellcaster who wishes to use the spell as a staple will use 50g of their starting gold equipment to ensure they've got the diamond for it from the outset)

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That said - yes, it would be nice to have that degree of flavour present in the world and a valid option to engage with, for players who want to book-keep it that closely; I probably would. It's one of those elements, however, that can be more of a frustration, or simply a disincentive to engage with a large number of spells (this is the failing that other D&D video games faced with restricted spells - people just didn't use them), specifically in the translation of table top to a video game format - so if the option is present it should be a rule that can be set on or off.

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It appears I misremembered that the diamond is not consumed. Otherwise I think we’re more or less in agreement.

Dunno, reading Niara reaction i started to see some simmilarity to regular arrows ...
It would certainly add flavour ... but how to make it so, they are more benefitial than constant anoyance, i have no idea ... and can totally live without it.

To reiterate, yeah - I think it would be nice to HAVE, as an option to enhance the immersion and gameplay experience, and I'd probably enjoy it if it were added properly.... but for a video game, and players who don't want to get hung up on it, it would be best if it was something you could choose not to engage with in the rule settings.

+1

I'm someone who don't want to be bothered with materials BUT I understand those who might want to stick to the D&D rules or just like the challenge.
So yeah, it would be nice to have that as an option or maybe have it linked to the difficulty setting.

In the original BG games, certain options could be toggled on and off even outside of the difficulty slider, which had a core rules setting. It would be nice to see that return if at all possible.

No BG game has ever required material components to cast spells.

They literally add nothing to a video game.