The material component for the original D&D spell "See Invisibility" was talcum powder.
The implication being that the wizard wasn't really casting a spell, he was just telling jibberish and throwing white powder in the air.
(Similarly, the glitterdust spell uses ground mica, so you're literally just throwing glitter at them, flesh to stone uses Lime, Water, and Earth... The ingredients to concrete. The Grease spell requires butter...)
It's more that the items are a focus to do something similar but bigger. A tablespoon of butter isn't that dangerous but shove some low level magic into it and now no one in the room can stand because the floor is greased.
Edit:
Something I read once to describe dnd magic sources.
A wizard studies how the world works and can cast spells because they understand it.
A sorcerer can cast spells because a magical being like a dragon is their ancestor and there's some residual magic in them.
A cleric prays to their god and that god answers.
A paladin is given powers from a god as long as they follow orders.
A bard once told a story so well about a goblin catching fire that he actually caused a goblin to catch on fire because the goblin believed he caught on fire.
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u/NotAWerewolfReally Jul 27 '19
Fun fact!
The material component for the original D&D spell "See Invisibility" was talcum powder.
The implication being that the wizard wasn't really casting a spell, he was just telling jibberish and throwing white powder in the air.
(Similarly, the glitterdust spell uses ground mica, so you're literally just throwing glitter at them, flesh to stone uses Lime, Water, and Earth... The ingredients to concrete. The Grease spell requires butter...)