By far the most daily useful cantrip in real life, in my opinion.
Prestidigitation:
This spell is a minor magical trick that novice spellcasters use for practice. You create one of the following magical effects within range:
You create an instantaneous, harmless sensory effect, such as a shower of sparks, a puff of wind, faint musical notes, or an odd odor.
- so fun at parties, new years, with kids, 4th of July, birthdays
You instantaneously light or snuff out a candle, a torch, or a small campfire.
- No more matches or starter for my grill (I mean its a camp fire in a box), no searching for a lighter when the power goes out or my wife wants to light a scented candle.
You instantaneously clean or soil an object no larger than 1 cubic foot.
- 6 second clean dishes and/or Laundry!!! Chores done. going to take a nap
You chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 cubic foot of nonliving material for 1 hour.
- Drink hot, food cold, and really I am not a good cook... no problem I have a 18 second fix for all 3!
You make a color, a small mark, or a symbol appear on an object or a surface for 1 hour.
- Killjoy was here, fading graffiti, Meeting or lunch in an hour? leave a "sticky" on your friends desk.
You create a nonmagical trinket or an illusory image that can fit in your hand and that lasts until the end of your next turn.
- So your attacked by a mind flare … it looks like this only 6 feet tall instead of 3 inches.
If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have up to three of its non-instantaneous effects active at a time, and you can dismiss such an effect as an action.
Mending is a close second. I mean I break stuff regularly but not daily and some things you just can't fix through normal means.
I have never been within 18 seconds of someone dying from injury though if I went to an emergency room I would love it if they had it.
Mold Earth would actually be handy if your in construction... of course so would a shovel... so there is that. Fancy sand castles would be fun at the beach perhaps.
Mage hand is useful but then most of the time I could … you know just use my own hand. While cool, its mostly useful for being a couch potato so unless I drop my key down a storm drain (which I have never done) I am not really finding it that useful (other than pretending I am Jedi or playing with Brothers kids) when used in real life.
Guidance sounds useful but I in D&D we kind of get to pick this more than the spell actually allows. If I am trying to trouble shoot a problem at work and cast this spell then someone walks by their is a chance it triggers a perception check instead of the work. Also the verbal semantic components of this with no clearly visible result could in a world not normally filled with magic convince people to believe I am losing my mind and have developed a nervous tick speaking in tongues and wiggling my fingers every 10 minuets all day at work when I might be considered to be doing a stressful task that could trigger insanity.
Pretty much everything else is a good way to scare the crap out of people (mainly friend and family) but its novelty will were off after a month or so. With perhaps "the perv cantrip" gust being the sole exception but ... don't do it … just don't. Eventually someone will realize you really are causing that and its going to be more trouble than its worth on top of being just wrong and not really worth it. If you don't know what I am talking about just look up Marilyn Monroe you should run across it.
Real life Magic Initiate: Wizard with Prestidigitation, Mending, and Unseen Servant (Alt 1st level Sleep because it effects you if your in the area and some nights...)
