Howdy all,
I'm working on my homebrew and trying to work out some of the nuances of gnome culture. Since they are the only PHB race with spell like abilities I was trying to figure out how those would impact their culture and daily lives.
I was fine until I got to prestidigitation. It's just so intentionally vauge. It seems that, so long as it effects nothing mechanically and does not approach the power of any other cantrip this spell can do anything.
So I want to compile a list of all the things one could do with this spell. Once again I come to the paizoians for help. Here's what I have so far aside from the spell description's listed uses.
-makeup- this use of the spell can allow you to look your best. Hiding "but not curing" bruises, skin discolorations like acne or rashes, clearing up blood shot eyes, and making your teeth appear brighter, even freshen your breath. Or conversly you could add bruises and impercetions to a clear face, helpful if the visier is going to choose his next bride and your daughter is on the roster. Note: these are all minor illusiary changes that expire with the spells duration.
-anesthetic- this dulls pain to a wound the caster touches. A touch to the temple might ease a headache. The pain does not go away but some of the edge is removed for as long as the caster remains in contact with the ailing body part.
-Amplify- the spell affects the casters voice. His words are augmented in volume as if he were speaking into a megaphone (not the modern electrically powered kind however just the old fashioned funnels)
Maybe this will help. Seems to me it would be more slight of hand stuff than anything else.
I don't think that what Sexi was wanting Tegan...
It's kinda funny that I saw this thread. One of my friends is starting up a game in which I'll be playing a gnome for the first time.
I'm actually looking forward to the spell-like abilities though. As far as prestidigitation goes, I think that it would be used all of the time. ( I personally think that prestiditiation should be at will, not once a day )
Clean your clothes, smudge a "kick me" sign onto the back of another PC, make food taste better, make the font of a letter look fancier/worse, cover up body odor, give someone body odor, the list goes on and on...
My PC uses a heavy crossbow, and I've already thought of ways to use prestidigitation with it. Darken the crossbow and/or bolts so they're harder to see, create small bullseyes for target practise...
I enjoy the flavor of the spell though. It makes getting into character easy plus it can help spark a good rp.
-Kurocyn
Our bard PC uses it to juggle while she's playing the guitar.
My favorite spell. I use this spell for everything with my caster, from enhancing his speeches to making him look more powerful. I also use it just to enhance roleplay.
I don't think that what Sexi was wanting Tegan...
-Kurocyn
Meh, I tried. :o)
Since the Prestidigitation spell "does not approach the power of any other cantrip" then, as Mothman suggested, you could view the cantrips on the Great Net Spell Book (or if you have a copy of it, Unearthed Arcana (2ed, not sure about 3rd ed) also lists cantrips) and use it as a guide to what can & can't be used as prestidigitation.
There's actually a pretty substantial list of things that Prestidigitation can be used for in Tome and Blood. Options include moistening things, drying things, soiling or cleaning them, heating or cooling them, sorting and gathering them (so long as they're lightweight), changing taste, changing (or enhancing) color... it's absolutely the most universally useful spell of sixth level or lower, and some of my group jokingly refer to it as Minor Wish.
|
I always use it after battle to clean the blood from our clothes, get that pesky stomach leavings off of the recently swallowed guy, make the goblin taste like chicken...whatever. If a dude gets hit with some type of slimey attack and you take a minute or so to clean, dry and give him something to wash the taste out of his mouth, then you got a friend forever.
FH
|
One useful application that a DM ruled okay- I had a Necromancer who had a raven familiar and the party thief (a gnome) had a little chick for a pet. During a portion of the adventure, we had to dive down through about 15 feet of water to a submerged shelf. Obviously, we needed a good way to keep them dry. We were barely 2nd level, so we didn't have loads of resources. We combined all of our gear in one backpack, put the birds in the other and cast prestidigitation to 'create' an air bubble within the backpack to keep them dry and safe. We each did a layer to 'double bubble' them. It probably wouldn't have worked if you pushed real physics arguments for it, but since it was expeditios and a good utilization of our abilities (and there wasn't anything nasty waiting in the water) the DM decided it was good enough.
It probably wouldn't have worked if you pushed real physics arguments for it,
Bah! Physics has no place in D&D. I applaud your ingenuity. Besides, if anyone tried to argue the point, you have an unbeatable position: "It's magic."
In order to actually contribute something to the OP's topic, I would be a little more hesitant in the area of changing the appearance of things. That seems to be dangerously close to the Disguise skill or such spells as disguise self and alter self. So, I would be cautious there.
However, I suppose it's okay overall. Certainly, such a use of the spell could allow a check to see through it, as such aforementioned magics would, but would provide no bonuses to the employer of the spell, thus rendering it within the bounds of the cantrip. I'm somehow linking this to the Bluff skill- you shouldn't just roll a die and compare numbers; the player should at least come up with some type of lie, even if it's not good enough to grant any modifiers. Prestidigitation strikes me as the same type of thing; it can't alter any modifiers, but it can force a check (when used in the capacity of altering something appearance/disguising it).
Well, there's my two rusty coppers.
|
|
I think that that is a pretty good angle, Saern, but I also think there are minor "dodges" to it... Since the spell can be used to create crude objects, they caster could create a false cover or cap for an object, making it look more mundane or easier to overlook. Making a hollowed rock shape or jutting flagstone to disguise something could work. It might still force a check depending on how familiar the opponant was with the area. Very situational, but prestidgitation is a very situationally ambiguous type of spell so it's either very useful or completely useless.