Questions tagged [spellcasting-focus]
For questions about items which serve as a focus for in spellcasting. Examples include wands and staves. NOTE: For questions about magic items such as magic wands or staves, use [magic-items] instead.
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Can an Artificer use a Veteran's Cane created with Replicate Magic Item as a Focus after it has changed to a Longsword?
Relevant Text:
Artificer:
TOOLS REQUIRED "...After you gain the Infuse Item feature at 2nd
level, you can also use any item bearing one of your infusions as a
spellcasting focus."
Magic ...
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Can a Circle of Stars Druid wear a star map and simply touch it to use it as a focus?
I am a druid/monk multiclass. Am I able to use my quarterstaff 2 handed and wear the star map, simply touching it to use material components for a spell, or do I need to be holding it? This isn't ...
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Can an Artificer's Infusions act as a spellcasting focus for spells from another class?
I'm specifically looking at the case of a character that starts as an Armorer Artificer, then multiclasses into Wizard for the majority of their career. As I read it, as long as the Artificer has ...
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Can a jewel that's an arcane focus be put on a rod and still count as one?
What an arcane focus can be is listed in the Player's Handbook. If we say the player has a blue jewel and this is his arcane focus and the player put this jewel on a simple rod (not magic - any branch ...
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When using a deck of cards as a spellcasting focus (with Cartomancer), can you flourish a single card (for Hidden Ace) with the hand holding the deck?
The new Cartomancer feat from The Book of Many Things states that "You can use a card deck as your spellcasting focus." It also states that you can "imbue" a spell "into a ...
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Is a holy symbol borne on a shield a discrete object for the purposes of being the target of a spell?
Is the holy symbol that a cleric or paladin can use as a spellcasting focus a discrete object? Does it stop being a discrete object when the player decides to bear it on a shield by inlaying it?
For ...
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As a multiclass Sorcerer Warlock can I use Improved Pact Weapon as spellcasting focus for Sorcerer spells?
Both Warlock and Sorcerer use an arcane focus for their spell casting. Improved Pact Weapon lets the Pact of the Blade Warlock use a summoned weapon as their spellcasting focus.
As a multiclass ...
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Can an Artillerist use their eldritch cannon as a focus?
I'm trying to parse out how to wear a shield, still be able to cast spells, and mitigate the cannon's abysmal walking speed in between encounters. Perhaps a shoulder mount, a la "Predator"?
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Does the Magic Initiate feat require another focus? [duplicate]
Put simply, if say a druid wanted to take the Magic Initiate feat to gain access to sorcerer spells, would that require them to have a component pouch or arcane focus to cast those spells, as it would ...
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Does a spell caster need to hold onto their arcane focus when concentrating on a spell?
The long-short of it is that I want to use the maneuver Disarming Attack to make a mage drop their arcane focus. While I know this will delay their spell casting (as it requires an action to pick up ...
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Can an Artificer cast V,S spells with no free hand
Just seeking to clear up a bit of confusion. There seems to be a lot of points and counter points floating around so I will start at the beginning.
As I understand it a Artificer (RAW but perhaps not ...
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Does a spell have to come from your spellcasting focus?
If I for example use scorching ray does it have to fire out of my focus or can I hold the focus in one hand and fire the spell from the other?
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Can a multiclassed artificer/rogue use Sneak Attack with spells that use a ranged weapon as a spellcasting focus?
So, according to a tweet by Jeremy Crawford, it is possible to Sneak Attack with a magic stone when using a sling, even though it is a ranged spell attack.
That got me thinking: if an artificer imbues ...
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Can a Dhampir Sword Bard use their fangs as a spellcasting focus? [duplicate]
A Dhampir's fanged bite is considered a simple melee weapon,
Vampiric Bite. Your fanged bite is a natural weapon, which counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient.
At level 3, the ...
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Do I need to use the Arcane Grimoire as a spellcasting focus to gain its bonuses?
The description of the arcane grimoire magic item states (TCE, p. 120; emphasis mine):
While you are holding this leather-bound book, you can use it as a
spellcasting focus for your wizard spells, ...
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What balance pitfalls result from permitting an artillerist artificer to use ordinary, non-infused arcane foci for spellcasting?
For reasons of narrative flexibility, my group is considering house-ruling the artificer to permit using ordinary arcane foci (wands, staves, orbs, etc.) in addition to artisan's tools for ...
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Can some Tools be used as a Druidic focus?
While I was thinking about multiclassing Druid with Artificer, I wonder how broad the definition of Druidic Focus is. Might this definition cover some Tools to use the same focus for both Druid and ...
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What is the mechanism for a character swapping their arcane/Druidic focus
As has been pointed out, a Druidic focus and a holy symbol are distinct from an arcane focus, but given they all perform essentially the same function, and the same issues probably apply to all of ...
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Can a wizard dual wield spellbooks and still use somatics while gaining the spellbooks "held" abilities?
I'm playing a wizard who has come across two magical spellbooks. Both spellbooks have abilities/effects that I may choose to activate if I hold them, as well as functioning as spell foci. In the PHB/...
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Do NPC spellcasters need a component pouch or an arcane focus?
By D&D 5e RAW, is it possible for the BBEG (or any NPC) to cast spells without needing material components? Alternatively, is there any powerful magic item (e.g. a ring or pendant) in the ...
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Does wearing a focus keep your hands free?
So the text for the Nature's Mantle in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything states:
while wearing the cloak, you can use it as a focus for your druid and ranger spells." Other foci specify "while ...
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Can a wizard have previously prepared objects as backup arcane focuses?
Could a wizard somehow have already prepped objects (like backup wands, staves, or whatever object) as backup arcane focuses?
For example, say you're a Runesage (which is the class I'm interested in), ...
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Can an Eldritch Knight use a Ruby of the War Mage?
As explained in How does an arcane focus work with an Eldritch Knight?, Eldritch Knights can't use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus.
Ruby of the War Mage (XGtE p. 138), however, states:
Etched ...
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Are Spellcasting Focuses inherently magical? [duplicate]
Im having a bit of a quarrel with my DM about if spellcasting focuses are magical. He believes that they are magical since it seems magical to him that you now dont need actual material components ...
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Can an Armorer Artificer wearing Guardian-model Arcane Armor cast a somatic spell without holding tools or having the Warcaster feat?
The Guardian model described in the Arcane Armor feature of the Armorer Artificer includes "Thunder Gauntlets":
Each of the armor’s gauntlets counts as a simple melee weapon while you aren’...
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Is a bonus for a dedicated spell focus too powerful? [closed]
Would giving a bonus to spell casters via a dedicated spell focus make them too powerful?
Examples:
A dedicated focus for all evocation spells grants a +1 bonus to spell attack rolls and damage. A ...
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Can I use a gauntlet as an arcane focus?
I am creating a Dragonborn warlock character and was just wondering if I could get a crystal arcane focus set into the middle of a gauntlet?
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Can the diamond material component for the Chromatic Orb spell be used as an Arcane Focus?
The Chromatic Orb spell (PHB, p. 221) has a material component of "a diamond worth at least 50 gp".
Meanwhile, the description of the Arcane Focus item says (emphasis mine):
An arcane focus ...
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If a spellcaster's racial trait grants a spell that requires material components, can they use their class' focus to cast that spell?
Based on the answer to this question about non-spellcasters, spells granted by racial traits don't waive the need for material components. However, can spellcasters use their class' allowed focuses ...
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Does Improved Pact Weapon allow casting a spell with somatic and material components using a Heavy-crossbow as the focus?
As stated in the title, I've read about casting spells with somatic component with two-handed weapons here.
The thing is that the Xanathar's warlock invocation [Improved Pact Weapon] says that you can ...
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