Prestidigitation vs Gaze Attacks


Rules Questions


Can prestidigitation be used to create a temporary mirror, and if so, can that mirror be used to avoid a gaze attack from a medusa, basilisk, or other such monster?


darth_borehd wrote:
Can prestidigitation be used to create a temporary mirror, and if so, can that mirror be used to avoid a gaze attack from a medusa, basilisk, or other such monster?

No.. Prestidigitation can not give you meaningful game effects. This would qualify as one.


darth_borehd wrote:
Can prestidigitation be used to create a temporary mirror, and if so, can that mirror be used to avoid a gaze attack from a medusa, basilisk, or other such monster?

Objects created by Prestidigitation are crude and can't be used as tools. That would put a functional mirror out of its power. Making something to hold over your eyes would work, of course, but your arm could do that anyway.


"Prestidigitation can create small objects" "they cannot be used as tools, weapons, or spell components".

Lets see...
Is a mirror a tool? No, it's adventuring equipment, offers no skill bonuses and isn't used in any skill.
Is it a weapon? No
Is it being used as a spell component? No

Look good to me. As it's "crude and artificial" I'd expect it to be inferior to a normal mirror.

As to the other two that have said it's a tool, I'd say it's in the sentence about it being "extremely fragile". An "extremely fragile" mirror still works and isn't directly used for a check.

That said, it's only inferred so a GM could rule it's a tool. For myself, I wouldn't count it a mirror as a tool for thing like the Traveler's Any-Tool either. As long as the ruling is consistent, it's fine.

Overall we're talking about a cantrip being able to simulate an object that costs silver pieces at most. [a 1 gp Grooming kit comes with a comb, scissors, a nail file, a sponge, a hairbrush, a miniature mirror, soap, a chewing stick, and tooth powder]

Drahliana Moonrunner wrote:
darth_borehd wrote:
Can prestidigitation be used to create a temporary mirror, and if so, can that mirror be used to avoid a gaze attack from a medusa, basilisk, or other such monster?
No.. Prestidigitation can not give you meaningful game effects. This would qualify as one.

I wouldn't say that. The ability to clean and soil could easily add or subtract from charisma based checks. I've also given bonuses on fort checks for quickly cleaning up after being in muck for diseases. It could also add/enhance to some perform, craft and profession checks. Heck, you could even color your equipment to better blend into the terrain for stealth or use it to improve a diguise. The spell is more useful than a lot of people give it credit for. It really depends on how often the DM is willing to add in favorable conditions as circumstance bonus.


As much as I'm looking forward to gaining Prestidigitation (all it takes is a couple thousand gold pieces), this would be I think borderline. I'd probably say it's not a good mirror in the 'see well with it' sense, but you could as mentioned make a blindfold ON YOURSELF. (Putting it on another would be out of line, I'd say.)


No, prestidigitation cannot be used to create a mirror of sufficient functionality to provide meaningful effects like this.

It's already a flexible 0th level cantrip. Having it be able to create useful items on the fly is way out the power range for a 0th level spell.

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