drnuncheon
Explorer
I think the most-used use of prestidigitation in our games is to clean the blood, gore, ichor, sewer water, and assorted other foul liquids off of our clothes.
J
J
Is Presdigitation too powerful?
- Thread starter Tonguez
- Start date
Squire James
Explorer
I'm pretty liberal with what Prestidigitation can do if it has no important game effect, and isn't used to try to replace another spell. I imagine those "fireworks" that flew out the back of Gandalf's cart was created with such a spell. If it had a chance of blinding the children, well, that's too much like Pyrotechnics for me to allow it.
Gez
First Post
Is a dagger too powerful?
If a dagger can be used as a big steak knife, as a cheap shortsword, or a frail crowbar to break open a chest, then is it too powerful?
Power of spell levels is totally arbitrary. The designers have used a number of milestones, that is, upper limits. For example, prestidigitation is the upper limit of versatile cantrips. Magic missile is the upper limit of 1st-level damage-dealing spells. They are milestones, thresholds, limits. Anything weaker is same level or below, anything higher is a higher level.
So, it is pointless to ask whether prestidigitation is too powerful. It can't be too powerful, because it is the definition of the power of a cantrip. Other cantrips are defined with regards to it, not the other way around.
Prestidigitation is. That's all.
You'll notice that while its effect may imitate some other cantrips, it's always merely an ersatz. You can make a tiny flame to lit a fire, but it won't be enough to deal even 1 point of damage to anyone. You can lift small items, but it's closer to bending spoons or levitating forks than an actual mage hand. And so on. In fact, if cantrips are level 0.5 spells, prestidigitation let you cast any level 0.1 spell.
If a dagger can be used as a big steak knife, as a cheap shortsword, or a frail crowbar to break open a chest, then is it too powerful?
Power of spell levels is totally arbitrary. The designers have used a number of milestones, that is, upper limits. For example, prestidigitation is the upper limit of versatile cantrips. Magic missile is the upper limit of 1st-level damage-dealing spells. They are milestones, thresholds, limits. Anything weaker is same level or below, anything higher is a higher level.
So, it is pointless to ask whether prestidigitation is too powerful. It can't be too powerful, because it is the definition of the power of a cantrip. Other cantrips are defined with regards to it, not the other way around.
Prestidigitation is. That's all.
You'll notice that while its effect may imitate some other cantrips, it's always merely an ersatz. You can make a tiny flame to lit a fire, but it won't be enough to deal even 1 point of damage to anyone. You can lift small items, but it's closer to bending spoons or levitating forks than an actual mage hand. And so on. In fact, if cantrips are level 0.5 spells, prestidigitation let you cast any level 0.1 spell.
