[3.5e] Can Prestidigitation create sounds?

[Santana]

I was wonder if Prestidigitation can greater noises or sound effects. The description is as follows...

"Prestidigitations are minor tricks that novice spellcasters use for practice. Once cast, a prestidigitation spell enables you to perform simple magical effects for 1 hour. The effects are minor and have severe limitations. A prestidigitation can slowly lift 1 pound of material. It can color, clean, or soil items in a 1-foot cube each round. It can chill, warm, or flavor 1 pound of nonliving material. It cannot deal damage or affect the concentration of spellcasters. Prestidigitation can create small objects, but they look crude and artificial. The materials created by a prestidigitation spell are extremely fragile, and they cannot be used as tools, weapons, or spell components. Finally, a prestidigitation lacks the power to duplicate any other spell effects. Any actual change to an object (beyond just moving, cleaning, or soiling it) persists only 1 hour."

I don't see anything about sounds but I keep hearing cases where people have cast it to make sound effects or simple music. Is this just up to your DM?

[Deophaun]

By RAW, it cannot directly produce sound, as that would fall under "the power to duplicate any other spell effects," namely ghost sound. So a DM that allows it is definitely house ruling.

[IAmTehDave]

RAW, no it can't. The sound could be produced by a Ghost Sound spell, though.

Anyone using Prestidigitation to create music is using some sort of house rule.

Edit: Legerdemain'ed

[Gemini476]

They call it Least Wish for a reason, you know. There's been a bunch of different uses printed over the years (Tome and Blood, Dragon Magazine, etc.), and it's the go-to spell for minor magical effects due to how broad it already is.

But yeah, it's mostly just houserules.

[TheMonocleRogue]

The spell itself has been debated by GM's since its inception which is why house ruling seems to be the best available solution. Ask your DM how it could be done and he may point you in the right direction.

On the limitations of prestidigitation, it states that it cannot duplicate the effects of other spells, even other cantrips. Ghost sound produces minor sound from a location designated by you so that's out of the question. You could make something vibrate using prestigitation, or maybe pluck a string within the spell range, or create sound through mundane means requiring motion of some sort.

[Barstro]

By RAW, it cannot directly produce sound, as that would fall under "the power to duplicate any other spell effects," namely ghost sound. So a DM that allows it is definitely house ruling.

Perhaps the worst spell description ever. I'm not sure there is anything that Prestidigitation can do that cannot be done by any other spell. The fact that it is often called Least Wish points out the fact that it cannot do anything that Wish cannot do better.

IMHO, a better description would be "the power to duplicate any other spell's maximum effect" or some variant of that.

Ghost Sound can produce a lot of noise (up to twenty human's worth). I don't think it's too out of line to allow Prestidigitation to create very minor sounds (creaking floor, mosquito buzz) or alter sounds the way it can be used to alter visuals (add a stronger melody to music).

Unfortunately, it's a slippery slope.

[Deophaun]

Ghost Sound can produce a lot of noise (up to twenty human's worth). I don't think it's too out of line to allow Prestidigitation to create very minor sounds (creaking floor, mosquito buzz) or alter sounds the way it can be used to alter visuals (add a stronger melody to music).

Unfortunately, it's a slippery slope.
I'd agree if there was anything remotely like producing sound in the spell description or its expanded uses found in Tome and Blood, but the rules' silence is deafening.

And as there is a cantrip that already exists with that exact purpose, I don't see any reason to allow prestidigitation to infringe on its role in the slightest.

[Killer Angel]

Of course it can. Lift that pound of material, let the object fall, here's your sound. It's certainly sufficient to distract a sentinel. :smallwink:

Anyway, on a more serious note:

By RAW, it cannot directly produce sound, as that would fall under "the power to duplicate any other spell effects," namely ghost sound. So a DM that allows it is definitely house ruling.

With GS, you produce as much noise as four normal humans per caster level.
Prestidigitation cannot obtain that volume, but if you mimic a whistle, I don't see why you couldn't.



And as there is a cantrip that already exists with that exact purpose, I don't see any reason to allow prestidigitation to infringe on its role in the slightest.

Mage hand can lift 5 pounds of material, and yet prestidigitation can do the same, albeit only 1 pound. I'd say that prestidigitation infringes its own rules.

That said, I agree that by RAW, sound effects are not mentioned in the text, you can only extrapolate them under "simple magical effects"...