What Spells Would a Commoner Want?

[Dannyalcatraz]

Continual Light more than Light, too.

 

[steenan]

Prestidigitation, for sure - it has many fun uses, but instant cleaning is the most important. It takes a lot of time and effort to keep the house, clothes, dishes and everything else clean, even with modern technology. Doing it with a single word and gesture would be great.

Invisible Servant - for all the chores that Prestidigitation doesn't handle.

Remove Disease and Cure X Wounds - to keep oneself and their family healthy.

That seems the basic set to me. I think everybody would be very interested in having these spells available.


Then, depending on what given person does for living, you could go in various directions.

Charm Person and Discern Lies to ensure friendly and honest social interactions.

Fabricate for instant crafting (and Minor/Major Creation for items that you don't need for long).

Fly/Teleport for quick and safe travel.

Speak with Animals and Charm Animal for better animal handling.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Some ideas for making everyday life easier that I don't think have been mentioned yet...

-Plant Growth (Enrichment version)
-Wall of Stone/Stone Shape/Soften Earth and Stone/Wood Shape
-Message/Sending
-Appraising Touch
-Rooftop Strider/Sea Legs/Walk The Mountain Path
-Divine Insight/Wieldskill/Loresong/Master's Touch/Magecraft
-Ice Skate
-Comprehend Languages/Tongues
-Speak With Dead
-Commune With City
-Neutralize Poison/Remove Poison
-Spiritual Advisor
-Locate Object
-Detect Evil
-Discern Location/Know Direction/Find The Path
-Water Walk
-Feather Fall
-Animate Rope

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I read about very poor peasant farmers who had to work for wealthier peasants, because they had less than an acre or two and so could not support their families with the plots they had... before we talk about taxes, labor requirements, and so forth. So I'm thinking Plant Growth (or subtler spells that make the soil richer) would be popular.

Spells that control smells. Imaging working in the leather industry in those days. Also spells that make jobs safer; the death rate for miners was probably very high.

 

[Hand of Evil]

• Health Care - healing, purifying, and dental
• Creature Comforts - Cold drinks. Warm house in the winter, cool in the summer. Animated toilets that empties themselves. Fast reliable mail service.

 

[Samloyal23]

It is surprising to me there are no domains for things as basic as Fertility, Wealth, Health (as distinct from Healing), Birth, and Work. These are the things religion usually helps people with. The focus on magic that only helps adventurers or villains plays havoc with the authenticity of the settings people play in...

 

[gamerprinter]

I read about very poor peasant farmers who had to work for wealthier peasants, because they had less than an acre or two and so could not support their families with the plots they had... before we talk about taxes, labor requirements, and so forth. So I'm thinking Plant Growth (or subtler spells that make the soil richer) would be popular.

Spells that control smells. Imaging working in the leather industry in those days. Also spells that make jobs safer; the death rate for miners was probably very high.

Kaidan (for example) has many commoner farmers who indeed are only allowed small plots of rice farmland and very high taxes (as much as 40%). So unless the total harvest is worth a substantial amount, using a 3rd level spell is probably too expensive compared to the return on investment.

Then again, the taxes are not only high, but the taxed amount is fixed for each plot of land, so if a harvest is particularly poor, taxes are still owed, and that amount could exceed the harvest. Not paying your taxes is grounds for imprisonment or worse. Real world Japan (and Kaidan) have examples of farmers selling their daughters (presumably as prostitutes) to the Yakuza to meet their tax debt. So despite the cost of using a 3rd level spell, not doing so could have an extremely high cost, making using such magic a matter of family survival.

 

[Dandu]

If you're under such oppressive rule, then I submit Fireball would be more useful.

 

[Nytmare]

The above and charm person. Especially handy for merchants hawking their wares.

I've always assumed that a society in which actual, honest to goodness mind control was present, would have all kinds of rules and laws about using said mind control on people, with incredibly grave consequences.

 

[Samloyal23]

I've always assumed that a society in which actual, honest to goodness mind control was present, would have all kinds of rules and laws about using said mind control on people, with incredibly grave consequences.

Yes, but only if you get caught. Which brings up another topic, how do you tell if someone has been charmed or otherwise influenced through magic?