0-level spells?

[gribble]

Sneak attack damage is always the same type of damage as the original attack. The only exception is ability score damage, in which case the sneak attack damage is negative energy damage.

...

When I get a chance, I'll dig up the exact reference for you.

Thats cool - I'll trust you!

Thanks for claryifying.

 

[gribble]

Why? The spell only did 1d3 (+50%) damage.

The remaining damage came from a 9th-level class ability (plus some minor stuff), not from the spell.

Just goes to show, I guess: it's not the spells you know that matter, it's the class features you can stack on top of them!

 

[DestroyYouAlot]

Oh, sure, 0th lvl spells are great. Let's see...

Detect and read magic: No explanation necessary.
Cure minor wounds: Instant combat medic.
Ray of frost and/or acid splash: Ready for spellcasting disruption.
Mage hand: Come on. It's freakin' telekinesis! Could you get more useful-er?
Prestidigitation: The bard in my campaign prepares this like clerics prepare bull's strength. It's, what, an hour per level? Having the ability to, at any given point during the day, say "I do some wacky #$@^ with sparks or maknig apples appear out of thin air or pull a coin out from behind the king's ear" or whatever is insanely useful when you remember that you can do it, and use it right.
Mending: Has a million and one applications - and is a great way to short-circuit "plot ticket" games, when you just fix the thing that's supposed to be broken and forcing you to go the long way around. (Or whatever.) (As a side note, has anyone else had to make a ruling on whether this spell actually reconstructs matter, and if the matter is necessarily in the same configuration as when it was made? I carefully constructed this prop, it was the burned fragments of a hand-written note from hencman to BBEG. My party tried to mend the pieces and have me read the thing to them verbatim, rather than puzzle over the scraps I gave them. No go, guys. )
Resistance, guidance, daze, they're all winners - and you can't beat the price!

 

[awayfarer]

Prestidigitation: The bard in my campaign prepares this like clerics prepare bull's strength. It's, what, an hour per level? Having the ability to, at any given point during the day, say "I do some wacky #$@^ with sparks or maknig apples appear out of thin air or pull a coin out from behind the king's ear" or whatever is insanely useful when you remember that you can do it, and use it right.

Yeah, Prestidigitation is the single most awesome spell in D&D. The reason I love it is for it's incredible versatility. Prestidigitate a stain in the shorts of that snotty rogue. Make everyones beer taste like wine. Tattoo "Vecna is my daddy!" on back of that uppity monk. Theres really no limit on the mischief you can cause with this.

 

[Pbartender]

Just goes to show, I guess: it's not the spells you know that matter, it's the class features you can stack on top of them!

But that's kind of the point...

The ray of frost by itself deals very little damage in comparison to five dice worth of sneak attack damage, but the spell is also giving that sneak attack damage the benefit of a ranged touch attack and the cold descriptor, making the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Detect magic, mage hand, open/close and mending. Mage hand and mendng has proved very useful on several ocasions.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Unless the DM has NPCs react to everything PCs say to one another in combat as they should, the spell is not worth it. My players have saved thier lives with it, but sadly many games seem to give free telepathy to PCs.

Sorry Frank, I misread your sentence in my original reply. The point you are making is that if DMs don't allow NPCs to react to non-whispered conversation in combat, then a spell that enables you to whisper to each other in combat isn't so useful, yes?

 

[greywulf]

IMC, no self respecting Wizard will go out without first casting Prestidigitation so that his cloak billows in just the right way, flowers form underneath his feet, etc. It's a sign of who you are, and cast with pride.

Sorcerers on the other hand so not use such gaudy displays of their magical prowess, and are therefore not to be trusted.

0-level spells are for role-players I'd say we've used them more than any other level of spells in the game.

Oh, and in the one and only d20 Modern Urban Arcana game I've played, Mending and Prestidigitation are Evil Incarnate if you're playing a CSI Forensic Scientist. Goodbye evidence.

 

[JEL]

Check out the spell - it is whispered conversation, not spoken out loud (it specifically mentions that someone might be able to read your lips... it wouldn't have to mention that if it was normally audible.

So from the plain text of the spell and the clear inference too, you would be being unfair if you allowed NPCs to react to everything that the PCs communicated to each other via message spell, without having them read lips successfully.

I don't think you read his comment correctly. Seems to me he was talking about how DMs handle communication without the spell.

 

[was]

detect magic and read magic are pretty useful at that level