How do you handle spell components? Practical DnD.

I've been playing for nearly 12 years now, but I have only been DMing for a year.With that in mind, a question has come up a few times this past year whenever my group does a new campaign or even new edition (we jumped from 4e to 5e with this more recent campaign) and that question is Spell Components... Do we track them?

When I was a kid, magic users lost a percentage of their gold every time they visited a city as a "component tax" and it was assumed that they bought enough components for their spells to last until the next city.

If you lose the gold it would take to buy the components when you cast the spell.This isn't realistic because we all know that the players should not be transmuting gold into diamonds or anything else without a spell that they do not have.Waitaminute!Again, it's simple.

I've begun to see how unbalanced this is, as some spell components can be pretty expensive, and the realism issue comes up from the second example.Do you have players buy and track components?What do you say to players who don't like it?Pick a new class or suck it up?

Any help would be appreciated.I think I'm going to be starting a new campaign in the next year due to some of my players moving away and I would really like to start refining some techniques that I feel I need to work on before that time comes.

I don't understand why spell components need to be a thing when you already have a limiting factor in spells: spell slots.You can't cast a lot of 9th level spells because you have to wait until late level to get a ninth spell slot.I don't use components because of this way.

There are spells that need more restrictions on their use.You could just wait for the fireworks and cast 10,000 glyphs of warding on the toilet seat.That is limited by the component cost.The non-consumed components seem to be most common for the 5th ed Cleric, so I think this is a way of preventing them from being able to use all of their shiny new spells right away.

Do you avoid them all together?How do you deal with the fact that casters spell usually spend a good deal of money on components, whether you use the percentage variant or the "insta spell" variant?You're okay with Spellcasters being richer than normal and possibly having access to more spells by buying them and thus kind of unbalancing their class?

The spells in 5e tell you what you need to do.If it is something that doesn't have a gold value assigned to it, and it's not very expensive, then the component pouch will cover it and you can just tell the caster every so many levels that they need a new pouch.The ones that need expensive components should be purchased by the caster.As long as the caster has that item in there spell component pouch, they should be good to cast that spell over and over again.

I didn't think about the pouch.I think I'll bring this up to my group.Thanks for the reminder!

I always write a component pouch on my character sheets, but never thought that the components were in the pouch.I know that's not how it is, but I can't think of a better way to think about it.

The way thePHB says to me is the way I handle them.I don't think the rules are unreasonable.Spells with more expensive components can be cast at a lower level.

I'm not sure if I said the rules are wrong or not.I started playing with 3.5e when I was 12 years old, and my original leader probably didn't like keeping inventory of everything, or playing NPCs when we needed to purchase new components for new spells.I apologize if I gave off the wrong idea, but I'm just trying to break my bad habit.

Not all spells with expensive components end up consuming them.I think you need a 100gp diamond to cast Chromatic Orb.You don't have to consume or destroy that diamond after casting the spell.If you keep that diamond in your pouch, you can cast that spell.

I didn't take this into account because I was taught that components are best left for accountants.I have to go through my players' spells to see if we can avoid having to replenish because it isn't consumed.I assume each component portion of the spell stated "Consumed X amount of Y substance"?

Are you ignoring them completely with nothing else added in?The spell caster might get a smaller amount of gold from loot to compensate.Or just ignore it and it doesn't really exist?

If the mage players have to think about the recipes required, spellcraft is more interesting.Keep an eye out for other components you need, and have a good idea of the components that you have.

You're skipping a whole aspect of the game if you skip that.Every fighter has a generic'sword'.

I think that is more of a fun aspect of the game than a game mechanic.

I only require my magic users to use a focus in 5e.Money no longer equals power other than just plain old wealth, so I don't see a reason for them to use magic components.

I required my spellcasters to carry around a 3lb pouch of components, and when they reached into the bag, they'd get any of the basic components.I made it possible for them to get those magical items infused into their spellbook or trinket for 10x the cost of the items, because I knew their spells so I told them which items they needed.There is still value in getting the items they need for the spell, and it also reinforces the usefulness of a spellbook being magical itself.They would lose the ability to cast that spell if they lost that item.

I have never tracked components, but I've been doing it for about a year.I think it's a question of what your gaming table sees as fun and what it doesn't.A lot of my players treat combats and dungeon crawls like a game of Munchkin, so they need to fiddle around in shops or even in a pouch to produce, say, a cricket.The idea of the player who wants to feel like magic in this universe is part of a high-order system, and components for spells do add to that flavor.In my experience, it's a group feel thing.

Unless specified, expensive items are not consumed in this edition.The 100gp pearl is now a barrier to entry, not a cost.

The components you need for spells are in the component pouch.Everything is in the pouch.

Unless the spell is so powerful I don't want them to do it all the time.