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GameMastery Guide / Rewards / PCs Controlling Rewards / Spell Components

Enhanced Components

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 115
An enhanced component is a specialized reagent used to improve a spell. The exact effects of such a component are up to the GM, but may include a small increase to save DC, caster level, damage, range, or duration. Particularly rare enhanced components may even provide the benefits of metamagic feats. In addition, enhanced components used in long-duration spells often make them significantly harder to dispel.

The power of a component is strongly influenced by the means by which it was obtained. For most magic, the most powerful components are those freely given, rather than taken by force, thievery, or magical compulsion. A vial of dragon’s tears wept during a masterful performance may well hold more magic than a vial of blood taken from that same dragon’s ravaged corpse. The same is not true for darker magics. For such spells, components obtained in profane and blasphemous rituals are the most powerful by far.

Symbolism is key in obtaining enhanced components. A wizard seeking the last light of an eclipse to enhance a sunburst might catch the sun’s rays in a mirror, while a druid might gather the nectar of morning glories that bloomed in the day’s light and shut in the darkness of the eclipse for the same spell. Neither is literally the last light of the sun, but the principle of contagion suffices to enhance the spell.

Before introducing enhanced components into your game, consider the implications of allowing casters to increase their abilities without investing in metamagic feats or permanent magic items. To preserve their rare and exotic feel, enhanced components should not be easily obtainable or fixed in price. Finding a source for an enhanced component is an adventure in itself, and the quantities available should be limited to just a few castings. Two examples are as follows:

Dragon’s Tears: These yellowish drops extend the duration of any spell that influences emotion, such as heroism or rage. If the tears are both genuine and freely given, the duration is increased by 50%. If obtained by trickery or magic, the increase is only 20%.

Vampire Dust: The carefully sifted dust of a destroyed vampire enhances spells fueled by negative energy. A single vampire yields only 1d4+1 uses of dust. Spells infused with vampire dust receive a +1 bonus to caster level. If the caster personally slew the vampire, the dust increases save DCs by +1 as well.