Is this a valid use of Prestidignation / Mage Hand?

[Name of Doom]

So I currently have a 4th level wizard who is going to become an arcane trickster later on. I was thinking of some creative ways to open chests/bypass traps for my ever so cunning wizard to employ. I was trying to think if there is a way that I could make a drill to be able to drill open a hole in chests, and then use a grain of sand with light cast on it so that I could see the contents of the chest without opening it. This would allow me to see what is in the chest, and also would show me where objects were so I could see where it would be safe to saw open the chest. The trouble with a drill would be having a spinning power source that is portable.

So my thought was that I could use prestidigitation to create a drill bit, to show a gnome engineer, have the gnome produce a drill bit for me (since the prestidigitation drill bit is too weak to use as a tool) and then use Mage Hand's 5-pound telekinesis to spin the drill bit from a distance, safely drilling a hole into the chest.

I might also create a tiny mirror on a stick with prestidigitation to get an even better look at the insides of the chest.

What do you guys think? Is this a legitimate use of these skills? Do you think it is an effective way of opening chests?

[Cuup]

Unless the chest is magical or made of tougher stuff, I would just spam Acid Splash on the lock/hinges. Mage Hand provides 5 lb telekinesis. This would certainly be able to lift a drill bit, but try thinking of the spell in this way: for every action, there's an equal/opposite reaction, so 5 lb lifting power is really just the ability to apply 5 lbs of pressure upwards. To apply this to drilling open a chest, you're really only doing the equivalent of placing 5 lbs on top of the chest. Sure, it's spinning, but to make it spin, you need to apply force in the direction of the spin, which takes away from the downward force. Regardless of spinning speed and downward force, you can only apply a cumulative 5 lbs of force in total; that's the spells limit.

So in short, no; as a DM, I would not allow my players to use the spell like that. Yours may rule otherwise, though - it is still quite creative, and some DM's favor flavor.

[El Baron de los Banditos]

Drills exist in Ultimate Equipment, though using Mage Hand to drill through wood sounds kinda unlikely (though this is pretty much up to DM variance, so seconding the "ask your DM now" idea.)

[Mojorat]

There's several issues here though the base idea is fine it just clashes with the fact that most drills in this era will be two hands, the amount of pressure the hand csn apply, and speed.

Even if you solve issues 1 and 2 your character would likely die of old age before yoir done.

[Owly]

It's not a terrible idea, but if I were a wizard bent on becoming an arcane trickster, I would learn and make use of Unseen Servant, a spell designed so that mundane tasks can be carried out over extended periods of time and save the wizard time and money (and blisters!).

Prestidigitation specifically states that materials created are "crude" and "fragile", hardly precision tools for important work. Mage Hand is handy, but its designed to "lift and move". Surely many apprentices grew frustrated at the limitations of these two spells in doing their chores.

So...I suggest buying a quality hand drill from an enterprising gnome (they used to be hand-powered, you know), and keep this in your tool kit. Have an unseen servant set to the task of drilling holes in things for you. Mirrors and periscopes and prisms and light stones will all come in handy thereby.

Your GM will love you for always having Unseen Servant up and going. Trust me.

[blackbloodtroll]

Adamantine Wire Saw, and the Durable Adamantine Arrow, are my favorite tools.

[Name of Doom]

Thanks for the ideas guys, I appreciate it.

My thought was to have the drill bit be on the top of the chest vertically, and then apply 2.5 pounds of force away from me on the left side and then 2.5 pounds towards me on the right side, but I see what you're saying about it not being enough force. I would have nothing but gravity giving the drill downwards force, and so it wouldn't bore through the wood but simply sit there.

Hm... I didn't realize that drills were in the APG. Using unseen servant with that is a great idea. I didn't realize how diverse that spell is. Once I'm a higher level that is definitely going to be up all the time.

If I wanted to avoid using a level one spell (since I'm only level four, and those are quite valuable right now), what if I used a heavier drill bit? If drilled like I explained above, but used a heavy bit, like ten pounds, would you guys think it would have enough force to dig a hole through a wooden chest?

[Tels]

Have you ever used a drill in real life? Not even just a power drill, but a hand drill? You have to put significant force behind those drills to get through wood.

I could see someone manipulating a drill with telekinesis, as you get some real power behind that. So if you wanted to do this at a higher level, make sure to puck up a Ring of Telekinesis.