Okay this weekend there was a heated debate between the GM and myself over the fact that my level 2 bard chose not to have the spell Prestidigitation. He thought I was a total idiot for not taking it at any point as "It's the greatest cantrip any caster can possibly have!"
Now I had read over Prestidigitation and saw no real benefit to it aside from many pulling the odd prank or two. Reading from the PHB it says that all it can really do is make some feel warmer or cooler, color clean or soil an item, or make a crude artificial looking small object. And all of this has to be done within 10 feet of the caster. Now one of our players did chime in about how it's effects are really up to the GM but that can be argued about almost everything in the game, going straight from the books it just seems too worthless to me unless I have nothing else to pick up.
So let the arguments proceed as to the actual worth of Prestidigitation, as well as tell me some stories about how you have personally used it.
Prestidigitation: is it useful or useless?
It depends a lot on the campaign and the flavor. I roll play high combat dungeon crawl probably had no use for it, while a low combat investigation campaign might have a lot of uses.
Don't underestimate how useful cleaning is.
>phoneposter getting autocorrected for roll play vs role play
>being this retarded
No u
Prestidigitation.. my GM house ruled it to make it weaker. basically it allows to make nearly everything other spells don't do...
I once used it to play a prank on a different player. Made some blue glowing smoke come out of his nose and put it in a bottle... told him its his soul...than i smashed the bottle XD
you can clean stuff and hallways look good, you can dry stuff\warm stuff (good after falling in water).. you can make your and other ppls food taste good...
ALL THOSE EFFECTS AT WILL FOR 1 HOUR..
>Clean off the acid thrown at someone before it damages something important
>heat cold food or cool hot food
>change the color of clothing to disguise oneself with the enemies chosen color scheme
Prestidigitation is really powerful for a lot of reasons, and at the same time not worth it for others.
Pros
>Huge variety of effects
>Many effects unique to only this cantrip
>The potential power curve (making copper pieces seem as platinum, selling nearly rotten food flavored to be gourmet, instant camoflauged clothing) is very high for a cantrip
>Roleplay benefits absolutely through the roof
>Stays just as good at all levels of play
Cons
>Many times other obligatory cantrip take its place (detect/read magic, light)
>Action economy makes it nearly worthless in combat
>It's usually obvious that it's cast, making it essential to pre-cast with a plan
That said, as a Bard, presto is a really good option for you.
My character frequently uses it to make a fuckton of bland-tasting, ultra-nutritious paste taste awesome in order to provide healthy and reasonably palatable (can't do much for the texture) for the city's homeless.
Also frequently used it to clean his clothes, of course.
I know some people take it as "you create some sort of magical sensory effect of any kind", which might work in some editions, but 5e is rather specific about what it can (and therefore can't) do.
>copper pieces seem as platinum
Isn't platinum much heavier than copper?
Any merchant fooled by that would have probably been fooled with a nice paint job.
It is the most humanizing and flavorful cantrip.
If used correctly, it gives your character a sense that they're a real person. They can heat up their tea, add a little flavor too it, clean any drops they might spill, and otherwise ensure that they can still enjoy what many dungeon explorers would consider a luxury down in the depths.
While its uses in combat are limited, it's a spell that helps train the imagination, allowing the player to really step into their characters shoes and ask the questions they would be asking. Am I dirty? Does this food taste good? What would make it taste better? When was the last time I took a bath? How much blood did I get soaked with in the last battle? What would happen if I made what that surly dwarf was drinking taste like feet?
While the effects are ultimately up the the DM, it's good to remember that the DM is on your side, and that the purpose of the spell is not to get the biggest advantage you can, but to create the most interesting circumstances. Painting a section of a wall to look like a realistic door or tunnel may be something beyond the spell's ability (at least, without some additional skill check), but some DM's may say it's okay if it's part of an interesting plan.
I definitely recommend at the very least giving the spell a try. It's the sort of thing that may nor may not mesh with your character, but it's definitely a fun spell to try and come up with practical uses for beyond its ability to flesh out your character.
I have used it to make pseudo hot cider.
According to RAW, you can use prestidigation to split atoms.
Do the math.
The different between pain and presto is that presto doesn't change the texture. It's still shiny metal, not paint. If you're trading a bag, the weight difference is obvious. If you're trading one at a time, not so much.
Also, it depends on the system. Pathfinder and 4e both have all coins weight the same. A more realistic game would be different, though.
Care to explain? I'm not seeing anything in the spell that would suggest that.
No, it can only effect objects with up to 1lb of force. Even if you were clever enough to lawyer your way into some effect that would split an atom, there isn't enough energy in the spell to finish the job.
it also notes it can only move them SLOWLY.
so yeah, you don't get the velocity to split any atom
I'm pretty sure anyone that deals in platinum would be able to tell the difference. Especially in a setting where magic is known to exist, pulling out that kind of cash would warrant some investigation.
Prestidigitation has it's uses, but Control Fire/Water/Wind/Earth always seemed super limited.
Like I can think of a few uses for them but not enough to justify picking them over other options, unless I'm rolling a gimmick wizard who carries around a jug of water so he can use Control Water to drown low-level NPCs.
can you use control water to blood bend?
It's saved my bacon a few times in seemingly minor situations. Stuff like getting doused in oil as an enemy prepares to set me on fire next turn. Clean myself with prestidigitation and I'm golden. Cleaning a lever caked with sedement as a boulder rolls towards us so we don't need to risk the strength check to pull it. Flavor a drink so the noble drinking it doesn't notice the taste of poison. Stuff like that is really neat for a minor cantrip. Prestidigitation is pretty much a must have for all my caster characters.
Again, one pound of force limit.
The lever seems a little iffy, I'm not sure if that's within the normal limits. If that worked, I could eaqually reason using it to purify ore. That just seems like a little much.
The other uses sound great though, prefect examples.
>can manipulate reality to a small degree
>within 10 feet of yourself
I would give my left nut for that power.
Cleaning off oil you've been doused in is possible, but it's a bit of a stretch for it to be done in a single round.
It's just a standard action.
The point is that they weigh the same. A gold coin is worth more than a silver coin because one gram of gold is worth more than one gram of silver.
To clean a 1-foot cube each round.
That's barely enough to get your head clean.
Even just for comfort control wind would be pretty nifty. Making a nice breeze on a hot day or slowing the biting wind on a cold one makes things more pleasant. Control fire has uses boyh as a parlor trick and occasionally in combat. Control earth can let you make small statues, maybe make your own chess peices. Control water can pull some nice pranks.
That's a solid volumetric cube, considerably more than the surface area of your head
>Improve Disguise the spell
>Not magnificent
My Bard/Thrallherd wouldn't leave home without it how else is his ever growing circus supposed to impress, invade, and entertain?
The oil will be barely 0.1" layer. When distributed over your surface that 1 cube feet covers 120 square feet. For comparison human body is aprox 24 square ft. You got enough buzz to clearn yourself five times over.
It's pretty useful for certain things, disguising the taste of poison, entertaining child Kings, cleaning up messes etc.
Not the best, that'd be minor illusion or shocking grasp (I am biased) but up there.
Volume vs surface area mate.
It really does depend on whether your campaign is combat focused or roleplay focused.
For instance, my campaign had a general blend of both styles, and we ended up making a killing of of Prestidigitation. We were in a dwarven village, and running short on money because we didn't really go for much gold except our rouge who liked to steal and not share. So there we are, spending close to our last silver on an inn, and we need to get supplies! The night before, I had a full spell slot sheet due to just getting into town that day without combat, so I used it all up on Create/Destroy Water and dumped them into barrels, hoping that our DM wasn't the type to go "No water? Dehydrated and dying."
We wake up the next day and start fretting as to how we get money without resorting to theft. The Rouge turns out to have gotten Magic Initiate, so he suggests we sell our water as flavored fruit juice using Presdigitation. I say sure, and we go for it. He makes them all different flavors, and when the DM asks him to roll for flavor to see if the dwarves end up liking it, he rolls a Nat 20 with added modifiers. It's a hit, we sell all 40 galleons, and make around 60 gold for the day. After that, we ended up giving it the slogan, "Tastes like Nat 20." It became permanent in terms of flavor, and the DM even said it could turn into any flavor the rouge wanted with the same perfect taste replica. We ended up making hundreds of gold.
Mind you he fucked up later by using Presdigitation in the open to impress the king with our drink when the dwarves in this setting are extremely anti-Wizard magic, and had to be bailed out by a crazy good bluff roll to convince the king he was faking it, but it worked out in the end.
I was playing a two man session in 5e as a Warlock and Necromancer duo trying to save a town from cultist/bandits. We lead a crowd of people to the "safe house" by using prestidigitation and minor illusion almost exclusively.
For my sorcerer, it's one of the most useful spells PURELY for it's ability to clean things. Using it to clean wounds or people and clothes after getting covered with blood, or after going through a sewer, swamp, etc. has saved both her life and that of the party members. Avoided a lot of horrible and deadly diseases solely because of that spell.
But naturally, it depends on what kind of DM you have.
I'd personally rule that you're targeting a 1-foot cube, not that you can spread 1 cubic foot of cleaning as you see fit. That walks right into an arbitrary question of how "deep" cleaning needs to be, and the arbitrary surface area you could apply by cleaning only the top most layer.
Why are you letting women's makeup dictate your party decisions?
Fuck god damnit that shit always gets me.
My paladin/sorcerer in 5e uses a halberd with his nation's flag trailing behind it. I took it just to keep the flag in pristine shape after battles.
When life doesn't give you lemons...
>women's
Cis scum.
>It can color, clean, or soil items in a 1-foot cube each round.
>in a 1-foot cube each round
It's right there in the spell. You clean what's in the cube, not beyond it.
in my experience prestidigitation is that spell you are excited to do a million things with and then never cast a single time the whole campaign.
you never actually need to clean anything
you never need to flavor something
you never need to slightly warm or cool something
forcing it on a situation just to use it is more trouble than it is worth
sure roleplay wise you may get some use out of it, but real talk now. Who here has actually played a game where you or anyone bothered to worry about how clean their character was, and not have it feel like a bothersome waste of time and spotlight? How many people have role-played actually eating, beyond maybe some expository talk that just so happens to occur at dinner, with no mention of the actual food after its initial purple prose.?
This breaks my heart to say. Prestidigitation just isn't worth it. grab dancing lights. learn semaphore. you'll do it once the entire campaign, but that's more than zero
You mean aside from all the examples ITT? Like cleaning wounds? Making money with delicious beer? Un-fossilizing a level?
How about standard examples like removing blood from yourself after combat, or a slow sneaky mage hand?
Well in that case the size of the coin would be a problem.
Not this bullshit again. This stupid idea had one of my players screaming at me until he threw his phone across the room. He pretty much explained Prestidigitation as Lesser Wish.
Yeah, that shit never happens.
cleaning a wound. you only risk infection in the most grim dark of games. Otherwise its too much bookkeeping for the DM to bother.
Making money with delicious beer? So many better ways to make money that don't involve fiddling about with coppers like a commoner. Your a bard. Sing for your supper. or your a wizard. do literally anything.
not sure it can unfossilize a lever. that goes quite a bit beyond "cleaning". that feels closer to a mend sort of situation
removing blood after combat? we all have that idea, beyond prestidigitation.
"This will be the game where I really get into the world and I cringe at blood, and fuss over my clothes! This will finally be that game!"
it's never that game
slow sneaky mage hand? just get mage hand
I have seen too much time wasted on that spell, by me and other bright eyed idealists. It never pays off.
Yes. there are things you can use it for. you just won't. and if you do it will be a hollow victory that leaves you with the knowledge that you could have done the same thing better another way more satisfyingly. for example. take craft-brewing.
>He doesn't apply a bit of rouge to his face before going into town
What are you, gay?
This isn't anime, a normal person's blood pressure of 120/80 translates to 2.32/1.55 pounds per square inch. So I don't think someone wouldn't be able to stop someone else's blood flow during the diastolic phase (the 1.55 psi one), which by itself would have some pretty bad consequences
The best use of Prestidigitation I've ever seen was in the climax of a city-wide battle.
Things were pretty chaotic, including a recently un-dominated dragon making its way around the city center, eating easy targets and whatever caught its eye.
The PCs used Prestidigitation to make the enemy leader smell like fresh BBQ.
When the time came for the dragon to choose who to eat in this area, the delicious smell made the decision easy.
I even gave the poor priestess a savings throw.
In my experience, savings throws never work when the players come up with the really off-the-wall plans.
That's when you tell them to get the fuck out.
>roleplay? interesting plans? pfft, that's just an unnecessary waste of time delaying the dm saying "yeah you travel some and then see some enemies, roll for initiative!"
>I'm a shit player, and good players don't exist
Just because you don't give a fuck about your game or character doesn't mean other people don't. Don't blatantly ignore the existence of examples against your stance just because you don't like them.
Lay on your back and out a 1 lb weight on your jugular. It doesn't do anything to you. Also, bloodbending means forcing someones to move like a puppeteer, and as long as that person can resist 1lb of force, it's not working.
Still useful anytime you want to bribe a mook or something.
I wasn't aware that blood bending was puppeteering someone, my mistake. As for the weight/pressure... some research tells me that you need 1.22N on average to pierce human skin (which translates to .274 pounds of force). So I dunno, maybe you could do something with that when applying it to a small enough area (certainly not something like puncture an artery, but still)
>my anecdotal evidence determines how everyone's games go
Motherfucker Prestidigitation is the ONLY spell in the game that can clean shit. I've used to clean up blood several times, because blood is that hard shit to get out. After assassinations to get it off clothes during the escape, and after more ordinary murders to completely wipe out the crime scene. It can disguise the more obvious poisons and provides a quick as fuck change to the color of a flag or uniform. Prestidigitation is a godsend in political intrigue styled games.
In terms of roleplaying, Wizards having their own theme music is possible. I've had eccentric assholes changing their hair color for a while as well. Our group actually does do all the roleplaying you say never happens, so yes I've actually made use of the warm/cool and flavor functions, too.
The only thing this spell isn't useful for is pure combat.
At that point, it might be easier to make a syringe with the minor item creation effect of the spell, but I guess it is possible.
People tend to only bring up that heat/cool effect for food, but you can take iron out of a kiln by hand with it, cooking the metal enough to at least be able to touch it without damage.
>Action economy makes it nearly worthless in combat
So precast it. Duration of 1 hour, and you can have up to 3 active at once.
If you're in the right terrain, you can kick up dust/dirt/sand for free cover.
Free cover that move around at your whim. Good shit.
Literally the very next sentance I say to precast it. Read before you post.
Going strictly by the rules, it's really good for cleaning up blood. Though within my group everyone fudges it a little so the caster can perform basic magic tricks with it. I mean like stuff done in the real world, which proved useful pretty often.
Prestidigitation is my go-to utility cantrip. It's also absolutely amazing for RP, especially in a setting where people are actually impressed with magic. It's a really great quality of life improvement spell.
When it comes to anything being dirty or musty, its more or less Wizard Dry Cleaning
> XD
Please stop.
>XD
My party had to break into what was basically an old folks home for wizards to find an old historian, they disguised themselves as cleaners and used prestidigitation to throw off suspicions.
>Implying nobody would recognize that bullshit with that many wizards around
Half the wizards are wore Prestidigitation instead of clothes
If nothing else, wizards are specialized in giving no fucks
>Bard
>No prestidigitation
>Active adventurer
I bet your PC is a fucking slob who doesn't shave his or her pubes and smells like a ghast's butt.
In my current campaign, I'm playing a Bard, and we're stuck on desert island. Prestidigitation has been amazing for me. I use it to clean myself daily, apply fake tan, coloured my loincloth(things went pretty Tarzan), made gross food taste excellent, cleaned wounds and bites, all very useful in a jungle environment(except the fake tan and loincloth).
It's not actually worth anything.
People are fooled into thinking it is a valuable spell.
If your GM really wants it to be useful, he can force it in the game. Perhaps you get to impress an NPC by heating up their cold food quickly, or something like that.
Unless the GM really goes out of his way to make it useful, it's useless.
>Not taking literally 10 minutes every rest to shine yourself up.
That's all it takes.
checked
>turning plain water into flavoured liquid
Jesus used Cantrip.
>soil an item
>Not using it stealthily against the rude marquess while they give a speech to make it look like they pissed themselves.
All this. Prestidigitation has some niche uses in combat, but it's really a roleplay tool. How magical do you want to present yourself as? How detailed do you want to get with camping, or with interacting with NPCs?