[RPG] Does the Githyanki’s racial spellcasting ignore all spell components, or only the material components

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The githyanki playable racial option has the Githyanki Psionics trait, which permits limited casting of a few spells. It is similar to the spellcasting granted to several other racial options, but unlike most other options, this feature also specifies that the spellcasting components are not required:

You know the mage hand cantrip, and the hand is invisible when you cast the cantrip with this trait.

When you reach 3rd level, you can cast jump once with this trait, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the misty step spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest.

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells. When you cast them with this trait, they don't require components.

Githyanki, Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, pg. 96

Does this mean that the verbal and somatic components for these spells are ignored as well as the material components? Or are just the material components ignored, like those required for the jump spell?

Best Answer

None of the Components—Verbal, Somatic, nor Material—are required for these spells

In the Player's Handbook, in Chapter 10, Spell Components are explicitly described as encompassing the Verbal, Somatic, and Material costs:

A spell's components are the physical requirements you must meet in order to cast it. Each spell's description indicates whether it requires verbal (V), somatic (S), or material (M) components. If you can't provide one or more of a spell's components, you are unable to cast the spell.

Components, Player's Handbook, pg. 203

So if a feature, like the Githyanki Psionics feature, grants the ability to cast a spell without requiring components (with no further stipulation on which components being specified), that means no components are required; it does not merely remove the Material Components.

This means that such a character would be able to at-will cast mage hand with this feature without verbal or somatic components, and once per day cast jump with no components, and once per day cast misty step without its verbal components.

This only applies to spells cast through this feature; if a Githyanki Wizard had already cast jump through their racial spellcasting, and then tried to cast jump through their Wizard spellcasting, that second casting would still require all the normal components as expected.

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