Handling overly creative cantrips [3.5]

[Teapot Salty]

Hey guys. So in some of my recent games, my players have been doing things with their cantrips that are odd... For example, a cleric tried to fill an enemy's lungs with water (before I knew the "within a creature rule") or a bard casting light on things to try to get a blinding effect. These things are cool, but I don't want my casters using cantrips to break the game. On another point, I'm finding it very difficult to explain to players that a spell is not used for that etc. I was wondering if you guys had ideas to fix these problems. Thanks, and as always, go nuts.

[Xerlith]

Just use them as written. There's little chance of a cantrip breaking the game. Maybe Prestidigitation, but... Nah. I've got creative players and run unlimited cantrips (PF), but I've never had any problems with them BREAKING the game.

[eggynack]

It seems like you can fairly deny them this on the basis that it's against the rules. Light doesn't blind folks, because it doesn't say that it blinds. Seriously, it sends out torch light. Seems unlikely that that would be blinding. As for create water, I suspect that you already know why it doesn't work, but to put it simply, you don't have line of sight/effect to the inside of someone's lungs. There are already spells that do these things, like blinding light (BoED, 92) and drown (SpC, 74) respectively. Tell your players to use those spells if they want these effects. There's no onus on you to perfectly hold to the rules if you want to reward spell creativity, but there's far less onus to break the rules and make spells even more powerful than they are now if you don't want to.

[Spore]

I am all for creative plays. This let's power struggles between Tiers be secondary and let the good roleplayers really shine. You are the arbiter of an action and how it affects the enemies. As a rule of thumb, a cantrip should have a mild debuff, that you can save against and that duration is "1 round".

1) Blinding with torch light is not possible. Point them to the spell "Daze".
2) "Note: Conjuration spells can't create substances or objects within a creature."

But generally I would go FOR creative play. A curious goblin follows a Dancing Light right into a trap. Ghost Sound could emulate the sound of back-up when your bard bluffes that "the king's knights are just around the corner". Let them be creative but point them to the right spells for that.

[draken50]

These are pretty classic. For the create water thing, I tend to go with the ruling that the water comes from the clerics hands and takes some time to pour.

For using lights to dazzle people, first, there's a spell called flare, and/or daze, or what not plainly implying that the light spell isn't used for that. Generally a gradual increase in light is how I describe that coming up, and while a torch or equivalent could definitely be disorienting were it to come out of nowhere, have you ever been blinded or otherwise incapacitated by a camping lantern being lit/turned on suddenly?

Sometimes, when dming for folks getting creative with spell descriptions it can be tough to say no, but hold your ground, use logic, and if all else fails, you're the dm and as such you're the one in control.

Other ones to watch out for. Players assuming because ale is alcoholic it should go up like a 150 proof liquor. It doesn't and if you want to get all historical, most beers are like 6% and in the olden days they were closer to 1 or 2%.

I have also seen players try to use prestidigitation to instantly freeze a drink. (My ruling was that any temperature change was gradual and wouldn't cause much in the way of molecular change.) I've still had players use the spells creatively and in unorthodox manners.

Lastly, remember some spells don't make sense and won't. They're magic, and that's all you can do about it. How does ray of frost do a small amount of damage that doesn't go away as soon as the area is warmed, and in an incredibly short period of time? ... magic, so no you aren't using it to make a temporary bridge across a river like iceman. Make a drink cold.. sure if the cup survives.

Figure out what limits make sense to you, and stick to your guns unless you have an honest change of heart. If it's just really cool and you want it to happen, sometimes you can justify it by telling the player(s) that it was an extraordinary circumstance that worked in desperation, but not to expect it to work again. Or, there was a magic surge, or the goddess of magic empowered them for that moment, or that they game world would be patched. Though consistency tends to be best.

I played with a doctorate of physics who had some fun ideas with what could be done with the creation of a vacuum caused by instantaneous teleportation.