Spell components are an important part of the magic system in all editions of Dungeons and Dragons. Requiring that your players have the proper spell components is how you can limit the adventurer’s ability to use magic to steamroll everything in your dungeon. Yet most dungeon masters ignore spell components. And more than a few dungeon masters find that their adventurers seem all overpowered in some ways. They assume that it is the acquisition of magical items that have made their characters too powerful. And to some extent this is often true. But the magic inherent to a magic user is often the real culprit. At low levels the magic users, wizards, sorcerers, illusionists or whatever tend to be far weaker than the fighter types they adventure with. At higher levels the casters often take over the group.
Spell Components in 1st and 2nd Edition
This is just a complete list of spell components taken from the 1st and 2nd edition players handbooks. The purpose of making this list was to provide potential treasure to adventurers in my campaigns that does not really appear to be treasure at all. The adventurers come upon a big pile of dung. Obviously they are going to walk right by it and ignore it. But the magic user might need some of that for certain spells that they want to use. Placing some of these things in your dungeons gives you some dungeon dressing as well as offering some treasure that your adventurers may or may not discover.
Acid crystals Acorns
Adder stomach
Agate Alcohol
Alkaline Amber, powdered
Amber rod
Amethyst, crushed (worth more than 500 gp)
Aster seed
Aventurine feldsapar (sunstone) Bag
Bar magnets, tiny
Bark chips, small
Bark, from an oak Basil
Bat fur Bat hairs
Beads, glass or crystal Beeswax
Bell, tiny Bell without a clapper
Bitumen Black opal, powdered and worth more than 5000 gp
Black pearl, crushed (worth more than 1000 gp in value)
Blood
Black dragon’s Blood
Bones, mammal
Bones, human or humanoid
Bones from undead such as skeletons, zombies, ghouls, ghast or mummy
Brain of a newt
Brandy
Brass dust
Brass, powdered
Brazier
Bromine salts
Bucket, tiny
Burrs
Butter
Candle, small
Candles
Carbon, black
Carbon, powdered
Carrot
Carrot, dried, essence
Carp, powdered
miniature Caterpillar cocoon
Catnip
Chains, miniature, made of special iron or silver or nickel
Chalk
Chamomile
Charcoal
Charcoal, stick
Cherry juice, tart
Clay
Clay tablet
Small Cloth
Fine Club, oaken
Citric acid
Citrine, powdered
Coal
Cone, crystal or glass
Cone, small, made from a bull or ram’s horn
Copper
Copper piece
Copper, small piece drawn fine
Cork
Corn extract, powdered
Crickets, live
Crushed pearl worth more than 100 gp (or the pearl itself)
Crystal Crystal bead, small
Crystal rod
Crystal rod filled with phosphorescent material
Crystal sheet
Tthin Cylinders, two, tiny, with one open end and connected by copper wire Dart Device made of four rings joined to form a slightly curved line with an “I” upon which the bottoms of the rings rests, and fashioned out of copper and zinc
Diamond, crushed
Diamond dust Diamond (worth more than 1000 gp)
Diamond, powdered
Diamond or clear gem sphere
Digestive juice from giant slug
Disc, bronze
Dish
Displacer beast hide
Dirt
Divination counters (bones, ivory, sticks, carved runes)
Down, piece of
Dragon blood, various colored dragons
Dragon Bones
Drum, small
Dung
Dung from strong animal such as ape, bear, ox
Dust
Earth
Egg, rotten
Egg shell
Emerald, powdered
Evergreen, sprig
Eye of a hawk or eagle or a rok
Eyelash
Eyelash, from a basilisk
Eyelash of ogre magi, kirin or a spell using creature
Fan, tiny
Fat
Feather
Feathers, from a Coutl Feather from an exotic bird or creature (rok, griffin, hippogriff, other)
Feather, white Feather from a wing of a bird
Feather, chicken
Firefly, live
Firefly, tail portions
Fleece
Flint
Flour, white
Flower petal
Font
Food
Fur
Garlic, bud
Garlic, crushed
Gauze
Gem, various, worth more than 5000 gp
Gem inlaid sticks
Glass, small piece
Glass or mica or crystal, tinted yellow
Glass rod Glove
Glove, leather
Glove, snake skin
Glowworm
Gold dust
Golden wire
Grain
Granite dust
Grass, blades
Grasshopper hind legs
Graveyard dirt
Grease
Gum arabic
Gum arabic in a sphere
Gut
Strands of Hair, from a titan
Heart of a hen
Hemp, twisted
Herring scales, powdered
Hickory nut oil
Holly
Holly berries
Holly leaves
Holy/Unholy Symbols Holy/Unholy water
Honey
Honey, specially fermented from bee larvae destined for royalty
Honeycomb
Hoof, from an animal, powdered
Hops
Horn, carved into a crescent shape
Humus
Iodine crystals
Incense
Ink
Ink, fine (composed of rare substances and worth more than 200 gp)
Ink, from squid
Ink, lead based and prepared by an alchemist
Iron bar (nail or spike)
Iron bars, magnetized
small Iron blade
Iron filings
Iron, powdered
Iron pyrite
Iron rod, small
Iron, sheet, small
Ivory plaque (worth more than 100 gp)
Ivory, strips formed into a rectangle
Ivory baton
Jade circlet (worth more than 5000 gp)
Jailbird’s tongue
Juice made from dried plums boiled in spring water
Kirin horn
Kirin, hair from it’s tail
Lampblack
Lard
Leaf
Leaf, powdered, from poison ivy or oak or sumac
Leather, finely cured and blessed by a cleric
Leather loop
small Leaves
Ash Leaves
Green Leaves
Oak Leaves
Leek, whole and crushed
Legume seed
Lemon balm
Licorice root, shaving
Lime, crushed
Lime, powdered
Linen, white
Loam
Lodestone
Luckstone
Magnets, small
Mandrake root
Marble, polished, piece of
Marigold flowers, crushed
Melatonin
Mercury
Mercuric-nitric acid crystals
Metal bar, small
Metal rod, small
Metal rod, small and forked
Meteorite
Mica, chip
Milk fat, solidified
Mineral spheres – clay, glass or crystal
Minute tort
Mirror, silver, highly polished and valuable (1000 gp or more)
Mistletoe
Mistletoe, greater
Mithril plate, small
Model of a ziggurat made of clay
Mud
Mushroom spores
Needle, magnetized
Needle, tiny and golden
Nettle leaves, stinging, crushed (seven of them needed)
Nitre
Nitric acid
Numbered wheel
Nut shells
Oak leaf, dead
Oak leaves
Oil, drop of
Oil made from beans of a castor plant
Ointment made from mushroom powder, saffron and fat (or the adventurers might just find these individual components and make their own ointment)
Ointment made from oil, poppy dust and pink orchid essence (or the individual components themselves might be found)
Opalescent feldspar (moonstone)
Owl feather
Parchment
Parchment, cone of
Parchment, loop, twisted
Passion fruit
Peas, powdered
Pearl Pearls, crushed (worth more than 1000 gp)
Pen (special and expensive)
Phosphorus
Pigments
Pigments, specially prepared, worth more than 1000 gp each
Pine, sprig
Pine tar
Pinecone
Pineal gland, powdered (from human or humanoid)
Pin made of ivory or silver
Pitch
Pole
Polluted Water
Portal, miniature, made of ivory
Pork rind
Powdered Diamond worth 2000 gp (or the diamond itself)
Powder or sand colored red, yellow and blue
Prayer beads
Prayer book
Prayer device
Prayer wheel
Prism, crystal
Quartz
Quartz, smoky
Quiver, miniature
Quicksilver
Raisins
Reed
Resin
Resin from a camphor tree, lump of
Rhubarb leaf, powdered
Rock
Rock crystal
Rock salt
Rod made of glass, amber or crystal
Rope
Rose petals
Rosemary, sprig
Ruby, powdered (and worth more than 5000 gp before crushed)
Sacrificial creature (lamb perhaps)
Salt
Saltpeter
Sand
Sapphire dust
Sapphire, white (worth more than 1000 gp)
Scale, from a devil
Scrapings from beneath a dung pile
Seashell
Seeds from a moonseed plant
Sesame seeds
Shamrock, leaf
Shell, tortoise
Shell, turtle
Shovel, miniature
Silk, black
Silk, small square piece
Silk braided so as to form a miniature whip
Silk, multi-colored
Silver dust
Silver pins
Silver, powdered
Silver horn, small (worth more than 100 gp)
Silver whistle, tiny
Silver wire, fine
Sinew, from a strong animal
Skunk cabbage leaves
Small silver mirror
Small, straight piece of iron
Smoke, bottled
Snake scales
Snake skin
Snake tongue
Soot
Spectre, essence of
Spiders, live
Spider web
Split dried peas
Spoon, silver
Stalactites, tiny
Stalks from an amaryllis
Statuettes, canine (ivory and ebony)
Steel, small piece
Stick
Stone
Straw
String
String, knotted
Stone, square chip of
Stylus
Sugar
Sulphur
Sumac leaf
Sweet oil
Sword, platinum, miniature (with a copper and zinc pommel)
Talc
Tallow
Tea
Tea leaves
Tentacle from giant squid or octopus
Thistledown
Thorns, sharp
Thread
Topaz, powdered
Topaz, powdered, oriental
Tube, hollow and minute, made of gold
Treacle
Tree sap
Tryptophan
Twig
Twig, from a tree
Twigs,sharpened
Umber hulk blood
Unguent
Valerian root
Vampire, dust of
Vellum (special and expensive)
Vermillion
Vestment
Vine
Vinegar
Walnut oil
War hammer
Water
Wax, lump
Wet leaves of an infusion
White cloth strip
Whitewash, dram
Willow, bent
Wood, flexible
Wood, small piece
Wood, splinters
Wooden paddle, tiny
Wool
Wytchwood
Zinc
Note – these items are taken directly from the spell descriptions of various cleric, magic user, druid and illusionist spells in the 1st and 2nd edition player’s handbooks.
If you allow home brewed spells in your game you might also consider the following possibilities for material components:
Acid
Arrow, silver, bent and etched, less than 3 inches long worth 500 gp
Ash, volcanic
Antennae, from an ankheg
Balance, miniature, made of gold (scale)
Ball, lead
Balloon, small, not inflated
Bat wings
Beads, glass, various colors
Bee wing
Bell, small, golden
Blood, animal
Book, small, containing numero-logical formulae and notes
Bone, hollow, from a vulture wing (and carved into a whistle)
Bottle, glass, stoppered
Box, small
Bows, small, made of silver, worth 100 gp each
Brain, from a lizard
Bust, of a human head
Small Cage, made of silver wire
Small Caltrop, made of gold
Candelabra, silver, miniature
Centipede legs
Chain, made with five gold links worth more than 1000 gp
Chalice, worth more than 1000 gp
Circles, concentric, made of bronze or silver
Circles, concentric, made of gold or platinum
Claw, from a black or grey cat
Claw, from an umber holk
Cloth taken from a priest’s robe
Coffee beans
Coins, iron
Coins or dice specially made from platinum and worth 1000 gp
Corn, kernal
Crozier, from a priest (or a religious standard or staff)
Crystal box, tiny, worth more than 1500 gp
Cube, made of cast iron
Cube, iron, one inch by one inch
Cube, made of sugar and milk thickened
Cylinder, brass, small
Cylinder, obsidian, small
Dice, silver
Die, bronze
Die, cubic
Die, small, unmarked
Dirt or earth, from a grave
Dirt, taken from a dragon’s footprint
Discs, made of polished bone with number runes engraved on them
Doppleganger blood
Dust, from a mummy’s corpse
Dust, from a wizard’s tomb
Eelskin, piece
Egg yolk
Eye, from a cyclops
Eye of newt
Eyes, from a beholder
Feather, from a cockatrice
Feather, from an eagle
Feathers, from a harpy
Fingernails, from ghouls or ghasts
Four leaf clover
Frog’s leg, dried
Fur, from a bloodhound
Fur, from a cat
Glove, made of black silk
Graphite, powdered
Hand, miniature, made of clay
Hand, miniature, carved from stone
Hand lens, small
Hair, from a skunk
Hair, human
Hair, from an infant (human or humanoid)
Hair, from a jackalwere
Hair, lock, from a female elf
Horn, from a gorgon
Horn, from a unicorn
Horseshoe
Hourglass, miniature
Iron hinge, rusty, squeaks
Key, silver
Leaf, dry
Linen cloth with threads of gold in its weave
Log
Lotus blossom
Manticore spikes
Marble, black, chunk
Mesh of fine threads
Metal cube, perfect
Millipede legs
Mirror, broken
Mirror, silver, smaller than 3 inches in diameter
Mirror, made of platinum, tiny, worth more than 500 gp
Mirror, made of silver, but worth at least 10000 gp
Molasses
Mortar, powdered
Nose ring, from a minataur
Oar, small, carved and decorated with aquamarines worth 500 gp
Obsidian
Page, from a calendar
Paint, pots
Paintbrush, small
Parchment map, scrap, at least 100 years old
Paper
Pebbles
Pennants or standards from the local kingdom
Pendant, made of precious metal with a circle fashioned inside of a square
Petal, apple blossom
Petals, from a giant venus flytrap or man trap
Petal, from a rose
Philosopher’s egg
Philosopher’s stone
Phony emerald, ruby or diamond
Pillow tickling, scrap of
Pitch, pot of
Plank
Plumb bob, tiny, with the plumb line made of platinum and the bob being made from a gem worth more than 1000 gp
Pouch, small
Quartz, powdered
Rain water, gathered during a thunderstorm, in a vial
Ribbon, colored
Rod, iron, broken
Ruby, crushed, worth more than 200 gp
Sapphire, crushed
Scales, from fish
Scales, from various colored dragons
Scales, from a dark naga
Shell, turtle, fragment
Sheet of platinum worth 500 gp
Shoe leather
Siege engine model, miniature
Skin, preserved, from a creature with natural magic resistance
Skull fragments, from a demi-lich
Skull fragments, from a lich
Silk bag, small, studded with black opals worth at least 5000 gp
Silk cord
Silk handkerchief
Silk streamer
Silk veil
Silver, sheet, hammered
Silver coin, polished
Soap
Sphere, obsidian
Spinner, brass
Sponge, small
Staff, from an ash tree
Staff, made of oak
Steel dust
Stinger, from a catoblepas
Stinger, from a purple worm
Stones
Table of numeroligical formulae, inscribed on an ivory plaque
Tentacle from a creature that feeds off of carrion
Tentacle from a flayer of minds
Tail, from a Kirin
Tissue, made of gold and worth more than 5 gp
Tissue, made of platinum worth more than 15 gp
Toad stools
Tube, glass, small
Venom, from the snakes on a medusa’s head
Walnut shell
Wand, cut from a 100 year old oak tree
Wax, white, square
Weeds
Whiff of the ethereal plane, bottled
Whisker, from a mouse
Whisker, from a rodent
Whiskers, from a were-rat or were-wolf
Whistle, small, made of bone
Wing, piece, from a Lammasu
Wire, gold, loop
Wire, platinum, woven
Wire, silver, coiled
Wood, sliver, scorched
Wool, uncarded
These suggested components come from later editions of the game or from third party sources.
This list gives you plenty of material to fill out the next wizard lab that your players find. Imagine the dismay of the adventurers when they find all of this stuff. They will have no idea of the value. They will probably just trash the place and leave disgusted with finding nothing good. But they actually found a valuable hoard of treasure!
Want a complete list in a PDF? Download my Tome of Treasure:
