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Two questions I'm hoping to get second opinions on about the operation of prestidigitation. The DM and I have different opinions on this and I want to know if he's right or if I just accept it as a ruling for his game but am right in its operation in other games.
1) It can clean objects in a 1 foot cube I took this to mean if an object is outside that area you clean the part that's in the cube, DM says if any part of the object is outside that area you can't clean it or soil/flavour etc.
2) Can you create scents in the same way you make tastes e.g. Making a branch smell like aniseed.
1.) That is silly. You just clean everything in the cube.
I mean, think about it- how could you clean floors otherwise? Doesn't that seem like a basic menial task you would relegate to a cantrip? But the floor is definitely outside of a single cube.
No, you just work 1 cube at a time, but you can spend turn after turn doing it.
2.) Maybe not directly, but you do have a 'soil' function. Cover yourself in who knows what. Or maybe flavor the who knows what. The whole thing was left delightfully vague enough that you can probably do it. You probably can't do delicate perfumes...but you can smell like you took a dive into the industrial chemicals for lemon scented soap. You know- the kind of chemical where a spoon full will make your entire house smell like lemons.
The rule of thumb with presti is that it can do anything roleplay, and nothing mechanical. Wanna have a pleasant tune with your meal? Sure! Wanna copy the playing of Vivaldi to catch the noble's attention? Nope! Wanna cover up the stench of walking through the sewage? Sure! Wanna try to copy the veiled seducer's perfume? Nope!
^Arguably, the stench of having gone through sewage is serious enough to have consequences that go beyond mere fluff (anything from a circumstance penalty on Diplomacy to the risk of disease). Also, even in terms of fluff, it seems too much that a mere cantrip would be enough to get rid of sewage taint. A cantrip or orison shouldn't be enough to fix this, but a higher level version of it should. Unfortunately, neither D&D nor Pathfinder offer a spell like this in between Prestidigitation and Limited Wish, so Prestidigitation gets shoehorned into being deemed suitable for tasks that are above its level but closer to it than to Limited Wish.
+1 on being able to clean parts of an object at a time, though -- as long as the filth isn't too tough for Prestidigitation to clean at all.
I meant cover the smell from the caster's nose, not from other characters. Like you said, hiding it from others is definitely mechanical.
As for the resin, the spell mentions cleaning of specifically, so it should be assumed that it does a good job of it. Imho there should be no penalty.
The spell cannot do anything covered by another spell.
Make some pretty lights? No. That is Dancing Lights.
Make an object glow like a candle? Sure. Light does it much more.
/cevah
I wish that Prestidigitation was just the lowest in a series of ranked Wish spells. So here's a copy and paste of part of an old post of mine about scaling of spells. Prestidigitation is Wish N, and would only be able to remove minor soiling. Higher level Wishes would be needed to remove more serious contamination.
Wish actually has most of the mechanics already built in to keep it in line with what should be possible at Level 1, PROVIDED THAT you only make other spells available at Level 1 when they can be scaled or tiered, like the Summon Monster and Summon Nature's Ally series -- that is, you get access to the Summon Monster or Summon Nature's Ally series at Level 1, but you need to scale up to summon the really powerful stuff (although I like the idea posted above from D&D 2.5 to allow you to push the limits at some risk). Now, think of what Wish does, with just a little bit of rewording using the scaling suggested by the relation of Wish (Spell Level 9) to Limited Wish (Spell Level 7) to convert it into a Wish series.
Duplicate any Sorcerer/Wizard spell of at least 1 Level lower, provided the spell does not belong to one of your opposition schools.
Duplicate any non-Sorcerer/Wizard spell of at least 2 Levels lower, provided the spell does not belong to one of your opposition schools.
Duplicate any Sorcerer/Wizard spell of at least 2 Levels lower, even if it belongs to one of your opposition schools.
Duplicate any non-Sorcerer/Wizard spell of at least 3 Levels lower, even if it belongs to one of your opposition schools.
Undo the harmful effects of many other spells, such as Geas/Quest or Insanity, as long as they are at least 2 Levels lower.
High Level Wishes may grant a creature a +1 Inherent Bonus to an ability score. Two to five Wish spells cast in immediate succession can grant a creature a +2 to +5 inherent bonus to an ability score (two wishes for a +2 Inherent Bonus, three wishes for a +3 inherent bonus, and so on). Inherent Bonuses are instantaneous, so they cannot be dispelled. Note: An inherent bonus may not exceed 4 Levels below that of the lowest Level Wish spell for a single ability score (so a minimum of Wish V is required for this application), and inherent bonuses to a particular ability score do not stack, so only the best one applies.
Remove injuries and afflictions, provided that they are caused by a phenomenon equivalent to or less than a spell at least 3 Levels below that of the Wish. A single Wish can aid one creature per Caster Level, and all subjects are cured of the same kind of affliction. For example, you could heal all the damage you and your companions have taken, or remove all poison effects from everyone in the party, but not do both with the same Wish. (Might want to incorporate a Caster Level check mechanic into this application.)
Revive the dead. A Wish can bring a dead creature back to life by duplicating a life-restoring spell of at least 2 Levels lower, or at least 3 Levels lower if such spells belong to one of your opposition schools.
Transport travelers. (Redacted due to Teleport rework -- see below.)
Undo misfortune. A Wish can undo a single recent event, provided that the event was equivalent to a spell at least 3 Levels below that of the Wish. The Wish forces a reroll of any roll made within the last round (including your last turn). Reality reshapes itself to accommodate the new result. For example, a Wish could undo an opponent's successful save, a foe's successful critical hit (either the attack roll or the critical roll), a friend's failed save, and so on. The re-roll, however, may be as bad as or worse than the original roll. An unwilling target gets a Will save to negate the effect, and Spell Resistance (if any) applies. (Might want to incorporate a Caster Level check mechanic into this application.)
Now add a scaling of cost so that Wish 0 has no material component, and Wish I through IX (and even beyond) scales in a way such that characters capable of casting without using the D&D 2.5 Level-pushing mechanic would have a reasonable probability of being able to afford the material component, but generally not want to except in an emergency. Wish 0 would be the more prosaic name for Prestidigitation; Wish I would be a powered-up Prestidigitation and be able to duplicate a variety of Cantrips in case of emergency; higher Levels of Wish would go up from there according to the rules Paraphrased and Tweaked above. Note that this would work just fine for Spell Levels > 9 as well -- nothing breaks as long as the balance of other spells (including other ranked Spells such as the Summon Monster and Summon Nature's Ally series) is kept in line with their Level.
That's the issue here, the party was exposed to strong smelling resin and the odour is providing penalties after the resin was cleaned off including no enemy perception checks to notice us due to the odour.
That's pretty poor GMing right there.
Automatic success on perception checks for all enemies is a VERY powerful effect.
I would have my character stop adventuring completely until a solution was found, that is one powerful curse you got hit with.
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it does seem like Prestidigitation could be used offensively by a caster who has an animal companion with Scent! ;) (unless I'm reading too much into the "flavor" or "soil" part...)
(i.e. cast it on the enemy wizard or rogue and sick your pet on them; see them squirm when invisibility/stealth is of no use! ;) )
^That is the kind of thing that should need a higher level spell than the Cantrip/Orison version of Wish/Miracle.