An arcane focus is a special item that arcane spellcasters, such as sorcerers, warlocks, and wizards, can use to aid in casting their spells. These items can take the shape of a crystal, orb, staff, or wand, and allow casters to cast spells with an inexpensive material component without providing that material. Arcane focuses are essential in DnD 5e spellcasters’ tool kit, reducing the need for costly material components and channeling powerful arcane energies.
Classes such as Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus. These classes can choose from an orb, crystal, rod, specially constructed staff, or wand-like length of wood. An arcane focus is a critical item in a DnD 5e spellcasters’ tool kit, reducing the need for costly material components and channeling powerful arcane energies.
A spell focus is used in place of the material component of a spell, provided the spell doesn’t consume the material. First-level wizards begin play with an arcane focus or a component pouch. They cannot cast spells through the sword, but a spellcasting focus can replace material components for any spell, as long as that component doesn’t have a GP value.
The only time a focus is needed is when a character wants to cast a spell with a material component and doesn’t have the component. The only time a focus is needed is when the character needs to cast a spell with a material component and doesn’t have the component.
📹 Handbooker Helper: Spell Components
Dani Carr is here to charm you with the basics of using spellcasting components and focuses in D&D 5e. Featuring doodles by our …
Can you use an arcane focus and a shield?
It is possible to place an arcane and druidic focus on a shield, although this is ultimately at the discretion of the Dungeon Master. A spell is comprised of three components: verbal, somatic, and material. Verbal components do not necessitate the use of the hands, whereas the execution of somatic components typically requires the use of a free hand. Please be advised that JavaScript may be disabled or blocked by extensions, and that your browser does not support cookies.
Is Arcane Focus one time use?
It should be noted that the arcane focus will never be depleted; however, certain spells do require the expenditure of their designated material components, as indicated in their respective descriptions. The spell “Protection from Evil and Good” requires the consumption of components through the casting process. It should be noted that JavaScript may be disabled or blocked by an extension, and that your browser does not support cookies.
What can an arcane focus replace?
A spell focus is a powerful tool that allows a wizard to relinquish their spellbook and use it as their material components. This is particularly useful when casting spells, as spellbooks are often heavy and susceptible to theft. Foci are a convenient solution, as they can be carried in a pouch or pocket. The spell focus is available in various colors, including opal, ruby, divination, amethyst, evocation, illusion, and obsidian. To use a spell focus, a character must have at least one level of wizarding and cast arcane spells.
What spells can use an arcane focus?
In the 2024 DnD 5e rules, multiclass characters can use an Arcane Focus if they have levels as a Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard. However, this focus applies only to the spells of the relevant class. For example, a Warlock/Bard would use an Arcane Focus for Warlock spells and a musical instrument for Bard spells. Multiclass characters can also use an Arcane Focus if they have adopted one of the new 2024 subclasses, such as the Eldritch Knight subclass or the Rogue-Bard subclass.
Druids cannot use an Arcane Focus, but they use a separate feature called Druidic Focus, which serves a similar function as an Arcane Focus but is tailored specifically to their connection to nature. Druidic Focus can consist of various items, such as mistletoe, holly, wood, a living tree staff, or a totem object incorporating sacred animal elements.
Can a tattoo be an Arcane Focus?
Tattoos can be used as an arcane focus for casting wizard spells. Starting at 2nd level, you gain an Enhancer tattoo, which can be placed on different parts of your body to gain specific benefits. These include proficiency in one Wisdom or Intelligence-based skill, temporary hit points equal to 5 + your Intelligence modifier, increased movement speed by 10 feet, and an increase in the range of your wizard spells by 5 feet.
What counts as an arcane spell?
Arcane is a spell type, a subtype exclusively seen on instants and sorceries, introduced in the Kamigawa block. It marks spells cast by the numerous spirits of that plane and was a precursor to tribal spells. Arcane is similar to a creature type as it does not affect the casting of the spell. However, several cards interact with Arcane cards, particularly those with Splice and Spiritcraft. Arcane spells represent magic woven by kami, and the art typically depicts mortals being enlightened or influenced by the spirits. As Arcane was a parasitic part of the “Splice onto Arcane” mechanic, its return is unlikely.
Do warlocks need an Arcane Focus?
An arcane focus is a tool utilized by practitioners of sorcery, warlockry, or wizardry to channel the power of arcane spells. Such an item may be employed as a spellcasting focus. It should be noted, however, that JavaScript may be disabled or blocked by extensions, and cookies may not be supported.
What does an Arcane Focus cover?
An arcane focus is a substitute for non-monetary material components in a spell, such as a diamond with an intrinsic value of 300 gold pieces. In the event that the sorcerer has the requisite components or the spell does not necessitate their inclusion, they are able to cast the spell.
Do all spells need a spellcasting focus?
In the context of the 5th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, proficiency status is exclusively granted to arcane focus swords. This is due to the fact that a spell focus effectively replaces the material component cost of a spell, while the verbal and somatic requirements do not necessitate the use of a focus.
Can Arcane Focus be anything?
An arcane focus is a singular item, such as an orb, crystal, rod, or staff, utilized by sorcerers, warlocks, or wizards to direct the energy of arcane spells. It serves as a conduit for spellcasting, as elucidated in chapter 10.
Why is magic banned in Arcane?
Magic, also known as arcane, is considered dangerous in Piltover and Zaun, leading to its ban in the Academy. However, when Jayce gains a seat on the Council and develops Hextech, the ban is lifted. Councillor Bolbok explains that his race was nearly wiped out due to arcane power. Piltover was founded to escape warmongering of mages, and arcane can be found in raw gemstones and harnessed by refined crystals created by Jayce and Viktor.
📹 Material Components – Breaking Down Spell Casting in D&D 5e
From Eye of Newt to Sulphur and Brimstone, ingredients in spell casting are a common trope in fiction. We take a look at how D&D …
My favorite Requires Material Components example is the Mending cantrip for my College of Swords Bard. Since his weapons count as his spell focus, they replace the lodestones. So when my bard casts Mending he’s using his daggers to fix tears in clothing. I just picture him using them like knitting needles.
The benefit of an Arcane Focus is simplicity, and possibly associating such a Focus with your character…a Wizard with an “Entertainer” background, for instance, could style his Focus as a conductor’s baton, or cane. But as Caleb Widowgast has shown in marvelous ways, the use of components can add fun descriptive layers to gameplay…sticking a licorice root in his jaw for an added introduction to “Haste”, or a puff of powdered iron for “Slow”, or (personal favorite) a “smooshing” of phosphorous for a “Wall of Fire”…. Personally, I love the use of a hot pepper for the spell, “Dragon’s Breath”…yeah, YOU could use it, but giving it to a party member is funny as hell… “Eat the pepper!” “Ah…no thanks..” “It is LITERALLY a matter of life and death!” “Um…” “Our friends are DYING!” “Oh, jeez…alright…” (shoves hot pepper into their mouth as LIGHTNING explodes from their esophagus)
Dani did an excellent job explaining the mechanics of this. Gotta say, I love how Liam has roleplayed the use of spell components, really breathing life into this and making it part of Caleb’s character. There are even certain epic moments from the Mighty Nein’s campaign (SPOILERS), like his wall of fire on Avantika’s ship, where I always always always envision exactly how Caleb’s casting the spell whenever I think of that moment.
If keeping track of components is too busy for you: Talk to your DM. I have a player with terrible, and i mean, terrible remembering skills, forgetting what he needs for certain spells and that he has to buy them. Long story short: He can buy a Component bag with X uses, means he can use X spells that would require stuff (not counting expensive shit like gems, diamonds and so on). Its a nice solution for that, i calc the price of all his current spell materials and just use 3/4 of that price for the bag. Sometimes its more/less depening on how nice the merchant is.
this was pretty good and i like how they are separating the spell info into sections such as Components article, spell slot article, etc, but 1 point of feedback for noobs, maybe have an overarching title such as Spells #1: Spell Components, Spells #2: Spell Slots. So that ppl know that all the “Spell Vids” are sectional and which they are missing (abliet #) as opposed to thinking that arbitrary spell article is all the need or is the last article they need to know. You dont have to have a cap on the articles (2/7) but a simple “Handbooker Helper: Spells Vol 1 – Spell Components” goes a LOOONG way and takes care of any retroactive confusion cause u can continue to build on the volumes in the future.
My DM and I worked out a wizard whose arcane focus replaces the Somatic part of spells, rather than the Material. He’s got the component pouch as well as a quartz crystal necklace, since his hands are busy with his prototype Bracers of Defense (it’s a small shield on each arm – I deliberately designed it so his hands are required to hold them in place, but when he takes Warcaster he’ll spend some gold to smith them up into “hands no longer required” – he’s proficient with smith’s tools from his background, and BoD is a bit strong for a Level 1 character to possess, thus the disadvantageous design).
Little note regarding the talk of focuses: BARDS DO NOT ALWAYS NEED TO USE MUSIC. I cannot stress this enough. A Bard is an artist of some sort, and art comes in a variety of forms. In place of a song, it could be a sort of dance or chant that allows you to cast yours spells. Don’t feel restricted into one form of art here, people!!!
In the old rules that all of baldurs gate and neverwinter nights article games spell components were not a thing but since I started the playing table top version for the first time with my friends that had 5e rules and started last month. I gotta say there is a freakishly amount of changes from the old rules to the new rules to memorize in my forgetful big head of mine sheesh.
I used to gleefully run spellcasters out of components s DM in original and 2nd Edition D&D Note that spellcaster focuses did not exist, except the few cleric spells where the holy symbol was needed. I never let a caster use just one pouch… they have to have a bunch of little pouches to keep their components separate. One reason for high Int or Wis was so the caster could keep track of which stuff was in which pouch.
Love that the new rules for 5e Artificer allows you to choose ANY artisan’s tools as a focus. Which means…. MAGIC PAINTBRUSH! Serious question to the community: have you ever tried to house rule spell casting to allow for handicapped PCs? Like a deaf player wanted to play as a deaf wizard, so the DM allowed her to adjust her spell requirements to be more Somatic than Verbal since she would “speak” with her hands.
It should be clarified that if a spell requires both material and somatic components, you can use the same hand for both. It means that one free hand can be used to both access the material component and make the somatic component, or alternatively a hand that holds a spell focus can be used to make the somatic component. The reason behind this is that if the spell is focused through a material component, then the somatic gestures are less complex and can be made when you access the material component or by waving your spell focus with the corresponding gesture. HOWEVER, and that’s where some people get it wrong, if a spell requires a somatic component but not a material component, then you MUST have a free hand. This means that if you are holding a spell focus with one hand, this hand is not considered free for the purpose of supplying the somatic component of a spell which doesn’t have a material component.
Lol, please read your spells thoroughly. What everyone wishes their spell casters did but never happens a lot of the time. People forget spells are concentration, that they might actually lack a spell focus at the time, or their spell’s casting time. While I know a lot of these hints, always amusing to hear them again as a refresher since playing a lot of random games with different house rules, sometimes it is easy to forget the core.
This article doesn’t touch on it, but one of the most important facets of spell components is the need for a free hand. If your spell has either a somatic or material component, you must have a free hand and use your object interaction part of your turn to take out and use your focus or component pouch. This means that if you are sword and boarding or dual wielding, no Burning Hands or Shield for you! Also important to note that classes like Ranger or Eldritch Knight Fighter, or classes with the Magic Initiate feat do not receive the ability to use foci as it is a class feature under spellcasting. the Notable exceptions to this rule apply. If you are using a 2 handed weapon like a greatsword, you are only using both hands when you attack so you may cast a spell. Clerics and Paladins may inscribe their holy symbol on a shield, which allows them to cast spells with materials or somatic AND materials with their shield hand. If you want to cast a spell with only somatic components, you will need to sheath your weapon OR take the Warcaster feat to cast somatic components with your hand full. The only other way to get around this is by using a weapon that is a focus, like a staff for a wizard or druid, or by using a Ruby of the Warmage to make any weapon your focus (but keep in mind this only let’s you cast material or material AND somatic component spells, not spells with only somatic) Given all that, you can always free action drop your sword, cast a spell, and then use your object interaction to pick it back up, but that is gamey AF (and also prevents you from casting Reaction spells).
As much as this helpful, my dm let me cast witch bolt without the stick from a tree struck by lightning. So I came up with one. Since I’m a Tabaxi arcane trickster, I make it so I use the base level of magic in my hands ans rub my fur, it’s helped kill solders that my party was with that were turned Into werewolves and kill a zombie Minotaur after it nearly filled/killed our femboy fish man bard, in a gauntlet of zombie enemies to meet this necromancer that has an item important to our quest. I am planning on casting friends on her to get it and we run.
I have a question. The arcane focus need to be something that i have to grab with one hand? can it be a neclake, a tatto or something like that?. And if the answer is a yes, do i have to grab the focus while casting the spell, or its optional? This question is because of cleric, paladins or multiclass characters that cant change easily between focuses
the component pouch was mentioned to have a majority of components needed for spells instead of having to keep track of all the components a caster currently has. But are items consumed from that pouch when used in a spell? If so then what’s even the point of it? Couldn’t a caster just put all their components in their backpack and have it be the same thing as a component pouch?
Yeah kinda learned spells weren’t easy today. Had a two hour text argument going with the DM, his brother and myself lmao all bitching about, “this is how it works!” “No! This is how it works!” So if your using magic for the first time, do a session zero with the DM to organize all your shit. Put it all in a bag, get it together. I don’t care if you take it some where. Just get it together! Get your sssssShit, together.
I run a Rogue Tiefling and picked the Arcane trickster subclass. I’m not a big fan of magic so I wanted to try it out. On D&DBeyond when you pick your Focuse it gives you 4 options and then the option Arcane Focus. I picked arcane focus because I really don’t like the other options and now my tiefling uses his gloves as Arcane Focus and my DM is ok with this. Is that how the Arcane Focus option works in the game? Or am I cheatting? This would anser a question for my next character aswell. Thank you for your time
My sons and I are new to DnD and components just seems to zap the fun out of playing a magic user. Where am I supposed to find a bag of components or ruby dust or a diamond worth 500 gp? Am I expected to scan for lizards 🦎 everywhere I go so I can collect it’s tail? Please help me on this as all my sons want to be some sort if magic user. This does not feel like the same DnD I played in the 80’s unless my memory is faded due to age.
soooooooooooo, do you need to be able to speak, do or give all of the components to cast a spell? as the handbook says that the spell fails if ONE OR MORE of the components cannot be achieved. i take that to mean that if a spell has V, S, M components needed that you only need to do one. am i wrong in thinking this?
I…. my dm has us required to have the components regardless of our focus or not and all casting components are consumed if you don’t have a focus, meaning a component pouch is pointless other than to carry such things. I just thought for the longest time that playing a spellcaster was a complete pain in the ass and a night mare to keep track of shit, i talked to him about this and he said it was so the martial classes could keep up with the spell casters??? in my opinion this just makes spell casters feel, well, not as cool as some dude with a sward… idk am I in the wrong in thinking my DM is being a tad harsh towards spell casters, or are the raw rules actually better. cause all i know is that from my experience its a lot easier to play a martial class than it is a caster with how he rules it.
5th editions spell focus and its general approch to magic being shorter lasting and mostly non stackable. Unless multiple people are casting spells is a step in the wrong direction. Everytime a new edition comes out this idea of balancing continues to alter everything. Magic and non magical characters will never be balanced. Stop trying to balance them. Some classes can do things. Other classes cant do those things. There is nothing wrong with that. Also, holy shite are pcs hard to kill after level 3 in 5th edition. You have to go out of your way to die in most 5th edition settings and modules Ive seen. For gods sake, remove revivify from your spell lists. Stop coddling your players. Make traps that will kill them. Did their character die? Well then they need to learn from that experience, not be told they are special snowflakes. Think about your setting. If its a medieval sword and sorcery… do you have any idea how cheap life is, the further back in time you go? Most people aint making it past 30 or 40.
I definitely want my players to keep track of whether they have the necessary materials for their spells, and I do so as a player as well. I don’t make these materials hard to come by (unless they overly rely on them, such as with diamonds and diamond dust), but playing a caster means playing with power – if you want it that much, you should be expected to also pay attention on your requirements. In my next campaign though, I am going to have a much smaller economy, meaning that getting rich is hard, and they won’t so easily be able to get a 50gp diamond for chromatic orb, let alone 300gp worth of diamonds for revivify without it being a major economic decision for the party.
My last PC (alien drow ranger with virtual spirit of dwarf and literal rifle) used her dancing lights as a part of her praying. I kinda forgot that it required material component, and then decided just to put it aside, as I didn’t have any interesting ideas about it. I feel a bit disappointed now, as I understand I could introduce some gloving fungus paste that looks potentially toxic and definitely alien. Her goddess is the goddess of life and artificial light, and (pretty respected) god of death in her world is also god of fungus, so it would work well together. (DM didn’t like the campaign and we eventually decided to start a new one, so she died in a lab she tried to rob, if nothing worse happened to her.)
Hi there Rules and Rulings. Thank You so much for your Excellent articles on Dungeons and Dragons. I am just starting out in Dungeons & Dragons 5e, and I am playing a High Elf Wizard. What is the difference between a known spell and a prepared spell? I would like to know exactly how many cantrips, first level spells, and second level spells does a second level wizard have as known spells. I think that it is 3 cantrips, 6 first level spells, and 2 second level spells. Then with each additional level the amount of spells increases by 2. How many prepared spells does a second level wizard have available to her–is it 2 + spellcasting ability modifier? Can I at any time swap known spells on the Wizard full list of spells if I feel a spell is not a good spell. Please respond with your answer, and Thank You.
I want to know who it is that is going around getting red dragon scales for component pouches so Wizards and Sorcerers can cast Aganazzar’s Scorcher. On a similar note with pouches I want to know where the petrified newt eyes or bag of colored sand come from if a player ever decides to multiclass between wizard and warlock and picks up Hex or Color Spray. Maybe a better example would be with Cleric and Wizard since things like rods and staffs that are associated with arcane magic could copy over for warlocks, but cleric would need to do stuff with a holy symbol of some kind so you need that, I don’t know, just feels weird to have a wizard multiclass to cleric and be like “let me cast bless real quick” because I mean where the holy water come from? And just saying it is in your component pouch doesn’t make sense because wouldn’t your pouch start off with things for being a wizard. Then again I suppose just having bat guano in the bag seems weird or suddenly show up at 5th level. I get the appeal of the pouches for multiclassing but still feels weird that some materials just show up when it feels like some materials seem more difficult to come by than others. Again Aganazzar’s Scorcher, a level 2 spell, uses a red dragon scale while Fireball, a level 3 spell, uses a bit of sulfur and bat guano. Imagine though if the bat guano and the red dragon scale were swapped, like going into a cave to get some bat droppings seems like a much easier than going to volcano for some sulfur and fighting a young red dragon nearby for it’s scale.