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There has been a recent discussion about the frequency and probability of magic users in Golarion and the mathematics suggested it comes out at between 1 and 2%. This is fine, but I often imagine low-level magic to be common enough not to be worthy of remark. Certainly even Barbarian PCs tend not to express alarm when the Sorcerer starts shooting. The administrative systems of the world routinely have some magic, from grand high vizier Wizards in the great cities to a hedge Adept in a little village.
How would a world change with a little more? If, for example about 10-20% of the population had a randomly determined Magical Talent trait (giving a cantrip as an SLA), jobs could be more specialised without power dramatically increasing. As a trait, these cantrips could be used by even very low-level commoners and experts.
Some examples:
- Purify Food and Drink: A slave in service to a merchant lord uses this in her capacity as food taster. Commoner 1.
- Read Magic: A scribe working in the library can catalogue books better. Expert 1.
- Lullaby: A nursemaid helps put the children under her care to bed. Commoner 1.
- Dancing Lights: A watchman creates a semaphore signal every evening to signal the all-clear. Warrior 1.
- Ray of Frost: A blacksmith works faster at cooling and tempering his steel. Expert 1.
I haven't put this in the homebrew section as I just want to know how it would change the world and what applications it would have, not neccesarily use it in a campaign. I think it would go somewhere to explain why people like a 1st level Bard, often seen as just a glorified pub musician has some actually rather sophisticated continual use magics (one can typically cast Prestdigitation, Detect Magic, Ghost Sound and Light for instance all day long at his lowest possible character level. That sort of power amongst 1st level non-casters is astonishing. And this guy just drinks and wenches in the tavern all day long).
While I've not thought about NPCs having a handful of gifts from the Magical Talent trait... it's an interesting idea. Don't forget flare as a way to call for help and spark to light fires and pipes. One thing to note with stuff like magical talent is that the ability is only usable once per day so the utility is neat, but quite limited (if the food taster is given more than one meal in the day, she might be screwed).
I already presume at least in large settlements that there are enough adepts and low level PC-class NPCs who use cantrip services to do things like help provide emergency water or help clean a tainted food supply amongst other things, and that this helps ensure a better quality of life for the people who live in the world than sometimes people want to imagine when they assume the game is in a "medieval" setting (the game is about as medieval as a steam engine, but that's a different discussion). This idea would certainly add to magic helping daily life, which I like. In the world I run, I presume there's LOTS of low level magic running around, but very little high, so you'll see lots of magic lights and various other useful effects, but there's only one guy in the world (besides any PCs that attain the ability) who can cast meteor swarm.
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Yes, perhaps the improved SLA is better, the food taster could check three times a day and be more useful without being any more powerful.
-Stabilize: For ordinary doctors and nurses who currently are pointless in a world with clerics.
- Guidance: a teacher or trainer in any field, or a master craftsman.
Light is incredibly useful for just about everyone.
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Light is indeed useful.
Even allowing the standard limited (and, I think, too few) amount of spellcasters, there should be some ordinary folk with these abilities. As it can be done with an ordinary trait, and as spell casting is universally feared if not respected it should be relatively common.
- Create Water: A stupid boy in a desert caravan is a little prince in his realm.
- Message: An ideal secretary can send a note through a stone or wooden wall to alert her superior if hostile business partners are about to storm the office.
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I personally always like the Trifler trait (prestidigitation 3/day) for flavor. I mean, while most children might learn how to bake cookies from the grandmother, your character can learn how to make everything taste like cookies. A very valuable life skill.
There is other mundane stuff that one could do with prestidigitation too, like cleaning, but mostly the cookie thing.
Of course, on the other hand, I did once find myself arguing that prestidigitation might be the ultimate tool for getting away with murder. The ability to clean blood off of you, and maybe even stain someone else's weapon with it (soiling is one of the spell's abilities) certainly seems valuable. Also, depending on how the change in temperatures work, you could easily change the presumed time of death by cooling the body to room temperature. Changing taste can also be used to hide less subtle poisons. Even using the color change to make your clothes a different color can be used for a quick disguise. the creation of small objects might be nice too, if only to leave a nice little calling card.
Really, getting away with murder is all about the little details, and prestidigitation is the spell to take care of those. The fact that it is an SLA (no verbal or somatic components) makes it even better.
There has been a recent discussion about the frequency and probability of magic users in Golarion and the mathematics suggested it comes out at between 1 and 2%. This is fine, but I often imagine low-level magic to be common enough not to be worthy of remark. Certainly even Barbarian PCs tend not to express alarm when the Sorcerer starts shooting. The administrative systems of the world routinely have some magic, from grand high vizier Wizards in the great cities to a hedge Adept in a little village.
How would a world change with a little more? If, for example about 10-20% of the population had a randomly determined Magical Talent trait (giving a cantrip as an SLA), jobs could be more specialised without power dramatically increasing. As a trait, these cantrips could be used by even very low-level commoners and experts.
Some examples:
- Purify Food and Drink: A slave in service to a merchant lord uses this in her capacity as food taster. Commoner 1.
- Read Magic: A scribe working in the library can catalogue books better. Expert 1.
- Lullaby: A nursemaid helps put the children under her care to bed. Commoner 1.
- Dancing Lights: A watchman creates a semaphore signal every evening to signal the all-clear. Warrior 1.
- Ray of Frost: A blacksmith works faster at cooling and tempering his steel. Expert 1.I haven't put this in the homebrew section as I just want to know how it would change the world and what applications it would have, not neccesarily use it in a campaign. I think it would go somewhere to explain why people like a 1st level Bard, often seen as just a glorified pub musician has some actually rather sophisticated continual use magics (one can typically cast Prestdigitation, Detect Magic, Ghost Sound and Light for instance all day long at his lowest possible character level. That sort of power amongst 1st level non-casters is astonishing. And this guy just drinks and wenches in the tavern all day long).
This was fairly common in Eberron with Dragonmarks.
Well if you're trying to figure out what spells might do for a common man, you also have to figure out the outcome of what those spells might have amongst other spells.
For instance, prestidigitation could be used to create counterfeit coins to pay for things. Give a gold piece to a peasant and he's unlikely to know the difference. Or amongst traveling caravans, they may not immediately spot it Especially when you use a counterfeit coin and get change.
A cleaning lady would have a much easier time on her job. Just snaps her fingers and messes go away. Same thing with a laundry lady, or anyone at all.
Cooking food would also become really easy, well making good tasting food would anyway. A chef could flavor any food to taste like anything he wanted (BAM!) the waiters could subtly walk around refreshing the spells. Then, once the diners leave, the waiter could snap his fingers and clean the plates, no more need for a dishwasher. Also, the chef could pre-cook many meals and keep them at exactly the perfect temperature.
On the reverse side, you might see merchants who have Detect Magic on constantly to look for counterfeit coins. Nobles might examine their meals with Detect Magic because they 'don't want to eat some cheap food that has been magicked to be good'. They may only accept food prepared and cooked by a real chef, not one that relies on magic to make it taste good.
Some Nobles may require cleaners and launders that only do their work by hand, as they'd rather not have that cheap magic touch their stuff.
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With easy access ray of frost, less food would spoil. You'd find food prices might drop as perishables could be preserved longer with ray of frost.
You'd also find the development of cold treats, like ice cream or snow cones. You might find a guy that could cast create water, ray of frost and prestidigitation could be making delicious, fat free, sugar free snow cones for kids. This guy could make the cone at literally 100% profit. He makes the cone itself with prestidigitation, conjures the water with create water, freezes it, and then flavors it. There is no waste product, the water is real, so no health issues of it disappearing mid-digest, and he freezes it himself.
He could just walk around with a bucket (his only initial expense) passing out snow cones to kids.
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Purify food and drink, like ray of frost, would drastically increase the shelf life of food.
As a consequence, farming and farmers may not be very common. You will need less food, because food, theoretically, lasts until consumed.
Mending would reduce expenses for many families. If most anything breaks, it's easy to fix with just a few seconds mumbling. This would mean that once someone purchases something, they may not need to purchase another version for a great while, unless it's irrevocably destroyed (such as in a fire).
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Spells like resistance and stabilize would mean less people die. Resistance is basically a magical version of medicine as it helps you fight off diseases. Stabilize would allow emergency response to stop people from bleeding to death.
Guidance works here too as it could help medical personal better diagnose problems, in addition it would help patients recover from diseases. Between resistance and guidance, a person has a +2 bonus on their saves.
With less people dying, this might counteract the drop in food requirements as more people are surviving, so more food needs to be made.
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Many spells like Dancing Lights, Ghost Sound, Flare, Haunted Fey Aspect, Prestidigitation etc. could be used to enhance performances by entertainers. Things like fireworks in a concert might be a matter of standard procedure at the local bar.
Spells like acid splash would be able to help reduce waste, but breaking down the waste into it's more basic elements.
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Even the inclusion of 0-level spells, can drastically change the world.
Stabilize can be done by anyone. There are some traits (in different sections) that let you stabilize people with a touch. More or less an at will stabilize that might even work in anti-magic zones.
Normally NPCs do not have traits. But they could take the additional traits feat or take some drawback to get a trait.
