Shrapp Hamnier
Explorer
There is a never ending debate over what the difference between a component pouch and an arcane focus is. The feelings range from "this is crucial for the creation of my character" to "who *bleeping* cares". The general consensus is that there is no reall difference, rather it is a fluffy matter of taste and preference.
But what if the difference is what they can supply? Both can only support a single school of magic, but while you can buy a new component pouch for another school and combine them, the focus is only ever good for the one (maybe more for more valuable focuses). This would again mostly be for flavor, as someone with a focus for illusions can still use their component pouch for everything else, but it gives them a functional difference, and can add a collection aspect depending on how difficult the DM decides to make it to find the specific focus or pouch you want.
The first focus and/or pouch you get are of the schools of your choice, but after that, your DM would decide what type of focus or pouch something is, either by rolling 1d8, or simply by choosing (the "staff of illusion" is a focus for illusion spells)."
It could also be that if you have both the component pouch and the focus of the appropriate school, it can add +X to a roll. This would be an interesting motivation for magic wielders to carry multiple fucuses. I've personally always thought it would be awesome to be one of those mages with 3 staffs and a handfull of wands or whatnot, each contributing a different effect to your combat or skills. But mechanically there is no reason for that, aside from things with very specific effects that typically need attunement, and you can only be attuned to 3 of those at a time. One or more of these attuned items can be a focus, but just a focus shouldn't need attunement.
But what if the difference is what they can supply? Both can only support a single school of magic, but while you can buy a new component pouch for another school and combine them, the focus is only ever good for the one (maybe more for more valuable focuses). This would again mostly be for flavor, as someone with a focus for illusions can still use their component pouch for everything else, but it gives them a functional difference, and can add a collection aspect depending on how difficult the DM decides to make it to find the specific focus or pouch you want.
The first focus and/or pouch you get are of the schools of your choice, but after that, your DM would decide what type of focus or pouch something is, either by rolling 1d8, or simply by choosing (the "staff of illusion" is a focus for illusion spells)."
It could also be that if you have both the component pouch and the focus of the appropriate school, it can add +X to a roll. This would be an interesting motivation for magic wielders to carry multiple fucuses. I've personally always thought it would be awesome to be one of those mages with 3 staffs and a handfull of wands or whatnot, each contributing a different effect to your combat or skills. But mechanically there is no reason for that, aside from things with very specific effects that typically need attunement, and you can only be attuned to 3 of those at a time. One or more of these attuned items can be a focus, but just a focus shouldn't need attunement.
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