Simple Spell Component Butchering

Simple Spell Component Butchering

Simple Spell Components from Pyramid #3/113 by Peter Dell'Orto is one of my favorite Pyramid articles. It is only two pages long, but it provides an elegant solution to the material component problem. Many people love material components, but they usually create a bookkeeping nightmare, and this article simplifies that greatly. However, since this is a DF article, it does not describe a way to obtain these components, except for buying them.

What comes to the rescue is another DF book - GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 19: Incantation Magic. While I do not like the magic system itself that much (but I still like it better than RPM), it has a new skill - Professional Skill (Dungeon Butcher). This skill allows the user to butcher a dead creature for magic components to use for spellcasting. The first three gradations of incantation components have identical prices to those from Pyramid #3/113 (weights are different though), so it should be easy to adapt that skill for non-incantation magic. However, since there's fewer component gradations, I will have to adjust the penalties.

Thus, to gather spell components, make a skill roll. Succeeding by 0 results in one single-spell component; for better rolls, the player may choose how to divide up and “spend” the margin of success:

- 1 point of margin for each single-spell components.

- 3 points of margin for each college component.

- 6 points of margin for each general component.

On a critical success, triple the effective margin.

Of course, the components should be thematically appropriate, see the list of examples in Pyramid #3/113 for inspiration.

Also, why use Professional Skill (Dungeon Butcher)? I would rather use Occultism. This is a practical application of magical knowledge after all.