D&D 5E How many spells have costly material components?

[Li Shenron]

I was going through the Basic game list of spells, and I could spot the following spells with costly material components (I might have missed some).

Spells the components of which are consumed per casting:

Arcane Lock (25gp)
Astral Projection (1100gp x person)
Divination (25gp)
Greater Restoration (100gp)
Heroes' Feast (1000gp)
Raise Dead (500gp)
Resurrection (1000gp)
Revivify (300gp)
Stoneskin (100gp)
True Resurrection (25000gp)
True Seeing (25gp)

Spells the components of which are not consumed:

Augury (25gp)
Find the Path (100gp)
Gate (5000gp)
Holy Aura (1000gp)
Identify (100gp)
Imprisonment (500gp x HD of target)
Mordenkainen's Sword (250gp)
Warding Bond (100gp)

I don't mind the second group, but I wonder if it's still a good idea to have spells with a price per casting, in a game where treasure is not supposed to follow a specific pattern...

Can you tell me if the PHB also has a lot of spells with a costly material component? Which ones are in your opinion the most interesting cases, especially if you think that the price tag works as an important balancing factor in your game?

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

In the majority of cases, it does not at all seem that costly component (consumed or otherwise) is intended as a balancing factor, but rather is included for one of two reasons: tradition, or giving the DM a way to limit spells which might be seen as inappropriate for one reason or another (some people are really opposed to characters coming back from the dead at the mere drop of a spell slot, for example) that is "softer" in approach than requiring the DM to outright say "You cannot know/prepare/cast that spell."

 

[Panartias]

I may be wrong, but the material cost for identify (100 gp pearl, owl feather, wine) used to be consumed. If not, that’s another new thing in 5th.

 

[HEEGZ]

Yeah, I thought Identify used up the component. I'll go check...

[edit]
Not any more. A 100gp+ value pearl is required, but no longer consumed. I guess that explains why the NPCs in Adventurer's League only charge 20gp to cast this spell for PCs.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Two other spells off the top of my head:

Forcecage, 7th level, 100' range, 1 hour duration, 1500 gp of ruby dust (not consumed), creates a 20' cage or 10' solid cube of force, anyone inside cannot escape without teleportation or disintegration and teleportation requires a Charisma save. Pretty sweet for a one-time 1500 investment, although from a fluff standpoint the material component baffles me--just what exactly are you doing with the ruby dust? Pouring it from one hand to the other?

Clone, 8th level, requires a 2000 gp container, a 1000 gp diamond (consumed), and a cubic inch of flesh from the creature to be cloned (gross). After 120 days the cloned creature has an extra body which will be inert until it dies, and then its mind/soul will transfer into that body as long as the container + body is still intact. Excellent spell for the price, although it hadn't occurred to me until just now exactly how squicky trying to extract a cubic inch of flesh from yourself might be.

Glyph of warding, 3rd+ level, touch range, 1 hour casting time, lasts until dispelled, 200 gp. Allows you to inscribe an almost-invisible rune (Investigation check to spot) into which you cast a summoning, area-effect, or individually-targetted spell (must be harmful) which will activate when a creature enters the affected area, which must be stationary, or touches the affected object (also stationary). (Or you can just take the built-in 5d8 fire/acide/cold/etc. damage instead of a separate spell.) If it's a summoning spell, the summoned creatures will attack the triggering creature; if area-effect, will be centered on creature. You get to choose the conditions for triggering the spell fairly freely, and the spell lasts for its full normal duration but doesn't require concentration even if it normally would. In short, this spell lets you spend 200 gp to lay a Summon Elemental trap or a Confusion trap or a Hypnotic Pattern trap or a Cloudkill trap or all four on top of each other (800 gp). With the right Epic Boons you could even cast a Meteor Swarm trap. Niche but quite nice in Combat As War campaigns where home ground advantage is a thing.

 

[Leugren]

There is a thread that I created on the WOTC boards which has been migrated over, and which includes a comprehensive list of all spells which require expensive components: A Compilation of Useful Spell Lists. I hope it helps!