Approximate time to read: 1 minutes.
Material (Core, p130) happens to be one of those elements in the Core Rulebook that probably dropped off every table’s radar before the first session started.
Unlike D&D or Pathfinder, where Material Components for spells matter enough that you probably have whole sub-classes and supplements sculpting around the concept, Symbaroum says they’re optional. Or you can change the suggestion with the Gamemaster’s agreement.
That means, most tables won’t be using them at all or might offer lip service by acknowledging the written suggestion and nothing more. You’ll remember the ones that require melee weapons or holy symbols because the character will have those prepared and ready to hand, but the rest… Not so much.
Making It Strange Again
I wanted to bring some flavour to Materials and make them memorable and individual, or at least provide you with some interesting alternatives that might wet your creativity. That’s Strange Materials.
Over 6-pages, the Free League Workshop released content provides six different suggestions for Material applicable to all the Core Rulebook Mystical Powers that don’t ask for a melee weapon, (un)holy symbol, or animal parts! That’s almost 100 new Materials sourced from real-world folklore, herbology and witchcraft, suited to the type and focus of magic.
In addition, the back of the supplement includes sixty new Curiosities. Introduced in Adventure Pack I, these are atmosphere filler for treasure hoards. Alongside more significant finds and common coins, Curiosities provide strange distractions.
A kind Gamemaster might allow a character to use Loremaster to fathom what these might do—but, then again, it isn’t obvious. I think it’s more fun to make these quirky and impenetrable, open to use without any clear idea of what the outcome might be.
DriveThruRPG
Strange Materials is available as a PDF in the Community store now!
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