Prestidigitation: How do you use it?

[EndlessWrath]

I'm not going on about the actual rulebase of the spell. I'm quite familiar with it. I'm looking for the creative ways and uses you, your party members, or your DM's have found to use the spell. It can be as fluffy or as mechanic oriented as you wish... Also, no experience required, how would you use the spell given the freedom to set up a scenario of your liking?
-Wrath

[ryu]

Being followed? Lose your scent. War going on? Change the colors of flags discreetly to cause massive chaos among enemies if there are multiple players. Use the color changing ability to paint targets for slaughter if you've seen through their disguise, hiding spot, or the move erratically in a large group. That last one is mainly for priority targets like spellcasters or people who can cause extra problems if they can go undetected. Naturally it also makes them easier to track by ruining hide checks at relatively close range. Then the simple utilities like making food taste good, and making the barbarian not smell like gully dwarf.

[Darth Stabber]

Hide that "poisony" taste quick and easy.

Get all that "burnt orphanage" smell off your clothes, so the town guard doesn't get the right idea.

Sell crappy wine at top shelf prices.

[Seffbasilisk]

Personally I use it to amuse children with neutral characters that are trying to sell themselves as 'Good'.

I use it to clean off the road-dust, blood, sweat, and other detritus of travel to differentiate myself from the other scruffy ruffians who come wandering in.

I upgrade my water to fine elvish wine. I had a Rakshasha once who disguised as an elf, used prestidigitation to make milk taste like human blood.

Town guard after you? "My cloak was always green. Black? Does it look black to you?"

Don't want to haul wood for a cookfire? Heat it up. Bit too hot? Cool it down a notch (the cooling also works on ale on the trail after a hard day of bandit-slaying.)

With tasteless trail rations? When I play a sorcerer, my companions travel in comfort.

[ZamielVanWeber]

One of my players navigated a dungeon using presdigitaion for infinite free chalk. The fact he was a gnome made it all the more hilarious (racial SLA and all that).

[The Trickster]

1). Shaved off a another persons eyebrow. He was one of those "I am so fabulous and you are all so plain" kinda guys, so I knocked him down a few notches.

2). I've done the "change the flag color" thing as well. It didn't end well for the othet guys.

3). I made a knife, and "stabbed" a party member to convince a bad guy I was on his side.

4). Dampened a gaurds pants to make him look like he peed himself. The gaurd excused himself. We had one less bad guy to fight.

5). Turned my hair black, and my eyes red. Threatened a bunch of thugs that I could consume their souls. They ran away.

6). "Hey, your shoelaces are untied!"

[Alex12]

Seen this happen when I was DMing.
"I prestidigitate the word 'bandits' over the corpses we're leaving behind"

I didn't press him on exactly how.

[Daftendirekt]

Wizards in my group tend to just clean/dry clothing, change colors of things, maybe re-flavor things. Simple little tricks.

[kulosle]

On an evil character, i used it to make dancing lights for kids to follow through the woods so i could abduct them at my leisure.

On another note, what ways are there to get Prestidigitation at will?

[Suin Bahhar]

My dragon knight gish uses it to add little effects to his weapons skills. He adds color to displaced air he slices, giving his strikes luminous arcs of white, blue or red. He further adds sound effects of arcane crackling or sizzling to his blows, making him sound and look like a tekken or soul caliber character.

He uses the dirty or soil trick to make semi-perminent graffiti on nearly any surface to mark dangers and landmarks in the wilds he comes across or claims as his.

He once conjured fake caltrops and used them in conjuction with real caltrops to discourage pursuit.

It's a handy aid for communicating things fast, using the limited 2d illusion for quick conformations of visual facts. You could even invent a silent language with a collection of candle strength lights and shaped in 2d visual symbols for optimal strategic strikes during an ambush.

[MilesTiden]

With the Dead Levels add-on, Hexblades get it, but stupidly late.

[kulosle]

There is also that innate spell feat but that has 3 feat tax and takes up an 8th level spell slot, which that last part isn't too bad, but it means you can't get it till super late.

[karkus]

Ioun Stone of Prestidigitation; 2,000 gps

[kulosle]

oh wow yeah it is only 2k to have an item that can cast 0 level spell at will. oh wow that means you can get an item of cure minor wounds. So much for fast healing.

[Segev]

Actually, at an hour? It's 900 gp for a command-word item of any 0th-level spell, or 1000 gp for it continuous.

[Darth Stabber]

Actually, at an hour? It's 900 gp for a command-word item of any 0th-level spell, or 1000 gp for it continuous.

Ioun stones, being slotless, cost double.

[Drachasor]

Beyond the usual stuff, I use it instead of ink for non-magical writing.

[Psyren]

Note that there are a collection of additional, official uses for ithe spell here. (https://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20010707)

[lsfreak]

On another note, what ways are there to get Prestidigitation at will?

Just a note that most people seem to miss, casting Prestidigitation lets you make those effects for the next hour. A level 1 caster is usually set for a good portion of the day.

[Crasical]

Get a favorite round, smooth river rock. Using prestidigitate: Clean, Polish, Chill, Flavor (Ice Candy), pop into mouth to suck on.

[Krobar]

You hear that? That's my theme music. Every good hero should have some.

[geekintheground]

Get a favorite round, smooth river rock. Using prestidigitate: Clean, Polish, Chill, Flavor (Ice Candy), pop into mouth to suck on.

i would probably put it in boiling water 1st. just because D&D doesnt have rules for germs and stuff (that im aware of) doesnt mean you should act like they just dont exist :smallwink:

[Segev]

Cooling and warming your clothes while you're wearing them can make for a poor man's Endure Elements. Damping a cloth can help keep you from becoming too dehydrated - even if it can't provide more for you to drink (arguable), it can keep your own water from evaporating out of you no matter how dry the air.

[ZamielVanWeber]

i would probably put it in boiling water 1st. just because D&D doesnt have rules for germs and stuff (that im aware of) doesnt mean you should act like they just dont exist :smallwink:

Step 1 of that was clean. Basic sterilization would be implied there.

Also next time my character has access to prestidigitation I am TOTALLY doing the ice candy thing.

[Crasical]

i would probably put it in boiling water 1st. just because D&D doesnt have rules for germs and stuff (that im aware of) doesnt mean you should act like they just dont exist :smallwink:

I choose to believe that the 'clean' use of prestidigitation makes it relatively sterile. :smalltongue:

Edit: Also, Germ Theory is a late 19th century invention. DnD is kind of schizophrenic, but I wouldn't put it at further than Renaissance (14-17th Century) at best. Just because you know that real life has germs and stuff doesn't mean your character should act like they exist. :smallwink:

[ZamielVanWeber]

The germ theory is new: boiling water to make you not sick is as old as tea and alcohol (see: very). People knew how to deal with germs long before they knew germs existed.

[Raven777]

I use it to dust myself before entering a town or inn, and to clean myself in the morning. I also use it to get my hands warm / give myself a pulse (vampire). I also like using it to fetch small things like pens or notes or coins. Pathfinder's Prestidigitation is more limited than 3.5's one. On the other hand, in PF cantrips can be cast an unlimited amount of time per day, so I pretty much have it perma-activated.

I really like the peppermint trick.

[geekintheground]

I choose to believe that the 'clean' use of prestidigitation makes it relatively sterile. :smalltongue:


ah, that makes sense. i was thinking of it in more of a "dust it off" kind of way.

[ArqArturo]

Wine-tasting acid, and blood-tasting holy water.

[intothenight]

We mainly use it to clean equipment at the campground and make our rations taste like steak. Yes, that includes water rations.

[Fyermind]

I always made everything taste like chicken... well, every dead thing. The illusion that the world tasted like chicken was broken when the barbarian bit my familiar.

[Crasical]

We mainly use it to clean equipment at the campground and make our rations taste like steak. Yes, that includes water rations.

The manliest adventuring party.

[zimmerwald1915]

Being followed? Lose your scent.
Huh. I once used prestidigitation to give me a wolf's scent and - with some very lucky rolls - befriend a wolfpack when my group was starving in some tundra somewhere. They ended up sharing their kill with us.

[Lightlawbliss]

It's amazing sometimes how fragile balance is, even with that 1000 lbs rock naturally balancing on top of the cliff. enough force to slowly lift 1 lb is enough to upset it and bring all that rock smack on ... his head/that cave entrance/her house/whatever happens to be below it.

[Manly Man]

I once gave a bad guy a wedgie and kept it up while staying out of sight. That he kept wrestling with his underwear instead of focusing on whatever task was at hand (this was a long time ago, I don't remember much) was both useful and hilarious.

Also, I made everyone's possessions smell like rotten onions. It really helped in keeping folks' noses out of our stuff, though I can't say the same for the bugs...