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General Tabletop Discussion
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Prestidigitation: What is it good for?
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<blockquote data-quote="Greenfield" data-source="post: 7270591" data-attributes="member: 6669384"><p>For a while there was the generic spell "Cantrip", which covered pretty much all of them.</p><p></p><p>I think Change was my favorite though. Why use Knock? "Change Locks to Bagels" did the job nine times out of ten.</p><p></p><p>The big thing on all versions though is the caveat, "Can't duplicate the effects of any other spell.". Since there are spells to cover pretty much everything (limited Wish, Miracle and Wish included), technically no version of Prestidigitation should ever work. Everything it can do can be accomplished with another spell.</p><p></p><p>It even lists some: You can, slowly, raise a weight of up to a pound, it says. Duplicating the effects of Mage Hand, another Cantrip, and Telekinesis. </p><p></p><p>I like to think of it as the general purpose "I'm a Mage" spell, handling all sorts of minor functions, a convenience.</p><p></p><p>In one game I had a low level caster who needed money. (Don't they all?) He cast Prestidigitation (which lasts an hour), then went into a bar and ordered a jug of the absolute worst rot-gut the man had. He then made a show of popping the cork, humming a tune, and blowing a note in the open jug. </p><p></p><p>Meanwhile he was using the Prestidigitation to change the color, taste and aroma of the contents. When the bartender saw him pour out a beautiful amber liquid that smelled like top shelf stuff, my character answered the unasked question, "It's a gift of the Fey, that we can make foul things fair, and a meager meal into a feast.", after which he poured a second shot for the man.</p><p></p><p>We ended up with a deal: I'd "enchant" a jug of the bad stuff, he'd sell it at top shelf prices, and we'd split the excess profit.</p><p></p><p>And as long as the customers drank it down within that first hour, it went down smooth and sweet. It wasn't until the next morning, when hangover time came, that they even had a clue what had happened.</p><p></p><p>The other players in the game were wondering how I'd done that. I told them that the Spellcraft DC was 25 or so. They hadn't seen the spell cast, so they never observed any verbal, somatic or material components. Each missing component adds 5 to the DC, so if the base is 10 plus spell level ...</p><p></p><p>They thought my character had these weird Fey powers, and wondered how the DM had let me get away with that.</p><p></p><p>I worked to maintain that illusion for a long time. Good fun.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Greenfield, post: 7270591, member: 6669384"] For a while there was the generic spell "Cantrip", which covered pretty much all of them. I think Change was my favorite though. Why use Knock? "Change Locks to Bagels" did the job nine times out of ten. The big thing on all versions though is the caveat, "Can't duplicate the effects of any other spell.". Since there are spells to cover pretty much everything (limited Wish, Miracle and Wish included), technically no version of Prestidigitation should ever work. Everything it can do can be accomplished with another spell. It even lists some: You can, slowly, raise a weight of up to a pound, it says. Duplicating the effects of Mage Hand, another Cantrip, and Telekinesis. I like to think of it as the general purpose "I'm a Mage" spell, handling all sorts of minor functions, a convenience. In one game I had a low level caster who needed money. (Don't they all?) He cast Prestidigitation (which lasts an hour), then went into a bar and ordered a jug of the absolute worst rot-gut the man had. He then made a show of popping the cork, humming a tune, and blowing a note in the open jug. Meanwhile he was using the Prestidigitation to change the color, taste and aroma of the contents. When the bartender saw him pour out a beautiful amber liquid that smelled like top shelf stuff, my character answered the unasked question, "It's a gift of the Fey, that we can make foul things fair, and a meager meal into a feast.", after which he poured a second shot for the man. We ended up with a deal: I'd "enchant" a jug of the bad stuff, he'd sell it at top shelf prices, and we'd split the excess profit. And as long as the customers drank it down within that first hour, it went down smooth and sweet. It wasn't until the next morning, when hangover time came, that they even had a clue what had happened. The other players in the game were wondering how I'd done that. I told them that the Spellcraft DC was 25 or so. They hadn't seen the spell cast, so they never observed any verbal, somatic or material components. Each missing component adds 5 to the DC, so if the base is 10 plus spell level ... They thought my character had these weird Fey powers, and wondered how the DM had let me get away with that. I worked to maintain that illusion for a long time. Good fun. [/QUOTE]
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