What would a town of Variant Humans with Magic Initiate look like?

[Jakinbandw]

So a town of VH humans exists where all kids are taught a bit of magic. This is represented through them all having Magic Initiate. What combos would be the most common and helpful for townsfolk? Would such a town thrive in a DnD setting?

[Languid_Duck]

Mold Earth and Druidcraft would be huge for farmers, so agriculture could be a strong presence.

Streets would be immaculate thanks to Prestidigitation.

Windows kept tightly shut or otherwise secured due to teenagers with Thaumaturgy.

Or for a darker town, everybody could be completely paranoid due to the prevalence of Friends and/or Minor Illusion.

[Zetakya]

The entire town chooses Druid and takes Goodberry as the once per day level 1 spell and Mending as one of the Cantrips; nobody in the town ever has to work ever again, and everyone lives happily ever after, the end.

[Jakinbandw]

The entire town chooses Druid and takes Goodberry as the once per day level 1 spell and Mending as one of the Cantrips; nobody in the town ever has to work ever again, and everyone lives happily ever after, the end.

Sure, but only one person in ten needs goodberry (one if 5 if we're being safe). People might get tired of eating berries. In such a case Prestidigitation would help out, as it can change the flavor of goodberries. Also neither of those spells cleans things so work still needs to be done.

The more I think about it, the more interesting such an economy would be for a town.

[Nagog]

So essentially a town full of untapped Sorcerers? Could be cool. Depends on the role they fill in their society. As was previously stated, Goodberry and Mending would be a great combo, as would Prestidigitation and Unseen Servant. For town guards or hunters, Hex and Eldritch Blast could be a good combo.

[JackPhoenix]

Smoking ruin, propably, after some envious jerk, anti-magic zealot or simply random evil anus with an army comes along to stop the utopia and give the PCs some tragic backstory and a reason to go after the BBEG. This is D&D we're talking about, after all.

[Nagog]

Smoking ruin, propably, after some envious jerk, anti-magic zealot or simply random evil anus with an army comes along to stop the utopia and give the PCs some tragic backstory and a reason to go after the BBEG. This is D&D we're talking about, after all.

Well if everybody in town has some magic, something makes me think these villagers will be a bit more difficult to steamroll than the typical village.

[JackPhoenix]

Well if everybody in town has some magic, something makes me think these villagers will be a bit more difficult to steamroll than the typical village.

A bit, but not by much. A commoner with Firebolt will still die if anything sneezes in their general direction.

[Jakinbandw]

Probably should have someone around with guidance and... I donno. what would be good cleric spells?

[LordEntrails]

Just as a reality check or sorts... you do know that NPCs generally don't follow the PC creation rules? And that they don't get feats?

Ok, that said, what do you want it to look like? It would be well lit, clean, prosperous, healthy. Assuming that they people are good people. If it were evil (or selfish) then if would be dark, dangerous, and ruled by various gangs or organized crime syndicates.

Magic, imo, is not good or bad, it's just something that gives do things differently.

[Jakinbandw]

Just as a reality check or sorts... you do know that NPCs generally don't follow the PC creation rules? And that they don't get feats?

Ok, that said, what do you want it to look like? It would be well lit, clean, prosperous, healthy. Assuming that they people are good people. If it were evil (or selfish) then if would be dark, dangerous, and ruled by various gangs or organized crime syndicates.

Magic, imo, is not good or bad, it's just something that gives do things differently.

I am aware. I just can't help but keep thinking about it, because it seems like such a neat setting.

[No brains]

From a gamist perspective, a town full of Magic Initiate Vhumans would have to thrive on 'tricks' to survive because they won't have a bonus to any of their casting stats.

Firebolt won't be terribly accurate, but it will hit hard from a long range. Further, the 'Vhillage' could probably prepare fire traps to stop invaders, as creating a fire is a special trait of firebolt.

Entangle may synergize with Firebolt in some places. Having dried hay wrap around a mass of invaders and then catch fire would be effective and tell others to back off.

Sleep is going to be a great choice for a defense spell. No bonus stats needed to incapacitate a bunch of goblins.

Sacred Flame may see a lot of use as a cantrip. While the save won't be hard to beat, its ability to ignore cover entirely means it could be cast through any hole in a wall or through windows that give technical total cover.

The town may be economically disadvantaged because none of the humans would have tool proficiency. They may have wealth generating skills, but I don't think that can be swapped for tool proficiency. The upside of this is that after one failed defense, raiders may not find a lot of loot and deem the town more trouble than its worth on a second go.

Because of the potential to be deadly, spooky, and poor, the town may be regarded as 'haunted' or 'tainted'. Even if the people in the town can live fruitfully, the rest of the world might not see the benefits.

[Chronos]

Create Bonfire would be another good choice (or Produce Flame, if we're sticking to the PHB). Historically, a large fraction of human labor has been spent on gathering fuel for fires. But the Vhillage can heat their homes and cook their non-berry food without need of fuel.

[Jakinbandw]

Create Bonfire would be another good choice (or Produce Flame, if we're sticking to the PHB). Historically, a large fraction of human labor has been spent on gathering fuel for fires. But the Vhillage can heat their homes and cook their non-berry food without need of fuel.

Might be okay for cooking, but one minute increments for heating make it less useful for that. Control flames might be good for that because it can shape fire for an hour at a time, which presumably would allow a fire to keep going even if its fuel burnt out. Also would be good for fighting fires as it can put them out as well.

[No brains]

Might be okay for cooking, but one minute increments for heating make it less useful for that. Control flames might be good for that because it can shape fire for an hour at a time, which presumably would allow a fire to keep going even if its fuel burnt out. Also would be good for fighting fires as it can put them out as well.

It's hard to convert d6s of damage into calories, but a d6 of fire damage is hot enough to severely damage people and objects. Then again, the DMG recommends 1d10 for falling on a bed of hot coals. It's a question of how much heat can Bonfire impart to food over how much time.

[Zetakya]

1 minute fires = the town gets really good at stir-fry cuisine

[Crgaston]

Animal Friendship and Speak With Animals would be good for all sorts of husbandry/farming/hunting purposes. Snare would be highly effective as well, so people wouldn't have to be eating Goodberries all the time.

There would likely be an organized and effective militia/city guard and other civic organizations, i.e. trade guilds, judicial system, etc.

As others have mentioned, access to magic would free up time otherwise spent on mundane survival tasks for these townsfolk to pursue other activities such as art or education. I could see a town with a world-class library, theater, and museum, remarkable because of the size of the town relative to the quality of the art.


Maybe the ability is connected to the town somehow... you have to be born there to receive the feat, and if you're away for more than a couple of days, the ability fades (1 day out you lose the spell, 2 days a cantrip, 3 days the other cantrip). This would prevent the town from aggressively expanding its sphere of influence and also reduce the tendency for people to move there, as there would be an obvious divide between townies and outsiders.

[th3g0dc0mp13x]

So I think it would depend on how the feat is "earned". Is it a natural gift or just a higher capacity for learning these magical secrets that is trained into the population as they come of age.

Personally I find the latter more interesting. So I'll go with that one.

A lot of this is going to depend on what they are being prepared to do.

If you have a swampy area this group could create a Tenochtitlan style city very quickly and have it be very effective.

The farmers would have Mold Earth, Druidcraft, shapewater, mending, Prestidigitation, speak with animals, goodberry and probably a decent chunk would end up with magic missile for defending the town.
Blacksmiths would end up with mending, Prestidigitation, mage hand, control flames, things like that.
There would probably be a Library/Temple with priests/librarians who specialize in translating and preserving knowledge.

Druidcraft: the ability to speed up the germination of seeds can take a decent chunk of time off the beginning of each growing season.
Mold earth: You can change the area a lot, rerouting rivers, creating dams tilling fields, all very quickly and without animal power.
Shape water: Creating 250 cubic feet of ice at any time is very good for keeping meat and things like that fresh.
Mending: all those minor things that break and degrade over time, no issue now.
Minor Illusion: For any kind of performer or shop keep this can be great, for an entertainer you can make yourself a band but just you.
Prestidigitation: other people have touched on but Cleanliness is one of the biggest reasons that we don't have anywhere near as much disease now compared to medieval times. You can have a custom lock that the only time the key exists is when you created with prestidigitation.
Control Flames: Controlled burns, Stopping fires, Well lit taverns, Again entertainers.
Mage Hand: A third hand? always useful for a huge amount of professions.

Firebolt, Chill touch, Eldritch Blast: 120' range and they do decent damage.
Acid Splash: If you had a bunch of goblins attacking and 10 defenders threw 10 acid splashes they would probably die or break and run.


Comprehend languages: Oh hey you need to have a town that does something, what about translating tomes?
Detect Poison and Disease: 1 Person in the market can make sure that the entire town stays clean and disease free.
Find Familiar: The Guards with this or a shopkeeper who is keeping their stuff safe?
Goodberry: In times of famine keep the town alive? Or just make the town's food supplies go way further.
Speak With Animals: Keep your animals happy, feed them their favorite foods, make sure that all of their needs are met.
Magic Missile: Imagine if 1 in 10 people had this spell, in a small town (1000 people) that means that they can do 350 guaranteed damage to a target. Adult dragon who?
Tenser's Floating Disk: Do you need to unload a huge amount or transport a bunch of stuff from a cart to a boat, or vice versa. All places where goods are moved would probably be a standardized 3' high

(sorry for the lack of organization)

[Misterwhisper]

A few things that popped in my head.

Lots of people with minor illusion pulling a Three Amigos.

Sports would be very interesting between things like catapult, thorn whip, expeditious retreat and such.

Hunting for food if you wanted it would be pretty easy with magic missile.

Parents would be much happier thanks to the sleep spell. Oh what I would do if I could cast sleep once a day...

No rats or vermin anywhere between familiars, cantrips, and other spells.

Alarm spells make crime a very bad idea.

The richest person in town is the person crafting magic foci.

Just imagine what a lot of lonely people with familiars they can share senses with and casting minor illusion could figure out to do.

[Tvtyrant]

No limit on food and has unnatural cleanliness? Large. The town would be large. The death rate would be so low compared to their neighbors they could potentially just out-breed everyone around them.

Actually that would be a pretty cool premise; the magic bloodlined humans want to find a safe place from rampaging enemies where they can live in peace and grow to an enormous population.

[SpawnOfMorbo]

So a town of VH humans exists where all kids are taught a bit of magic. This is represented through them all having Magic Initiate. What combos would be the most common and helpful for townsfolk? Would such a town thrive in a DnD setting?

Mini-Tippyverse

A lot of people would have taken Druid as that gives you goodberry. Then you're looking at things like cure wounds for some and create/destroy water for others.

I think the town would stay smallish, not because they wouldn't have the resources, but because they would need to keep it a secret.

[Damon_Tor]

No limit on food and has unnatural cleanliness? Large. The town would be large. The death rate would be so low compared to their neighbors they could potentially just out-breed everyone around them.

Actually that would be a pretty cool premise; the magic bloodlined humans want to find a safe place from rampaging enemies where they can live in peace and grow to an enormous population.

Sounds like Eberron to me. Maybe we just stumbled onto Keith Baker's thought process.

[Nhorianscum]

So a town of VH humans exists where all kids are taught a bit of magic. This is represented through them all having Magic Initiate. What combos would be the most common and helpful for townsfolk? Would such a town thrive in a DnD setting?

Ebberon.

Also yes.

[Bobthewizard]

Since they are NPCs, you don't have to follow the feat exactly. It would be cool to try to make a village using random cantrips and spells. You could give everyone a random cantrip and 1st level spell and then have that tie into their profession. So not much different than a normal village, just a little more magical flavor. The cobbler could have the mending cantrip.

Since it's random, you wouldn't have to worry about everyone taking Goodberry and ruining the farming economy. One or two people would have it and would sell them for healing and workday food, but most people wouldn't eat them daily.

[SkylarkR6]

I think you would have a good solid spread between a few groups but mostly centered around making their jobs easier.

Hunters and city defenders would probably take magic missile because why would you want a spell that can miss? Back it up with fire bolt/green flame blade probably and prestidigitation because who doesn't want to make their food taste good, light a campfire, make little images when telling stories,

Farmers and the like I would presume goodberry, mold earth and mending. Preparing fields would be a snap, you could fix your own tools without having to waste time and money going in town, and you never have to worry about your family going hungry in bad grow seasons.

Artisans/tradespeople I'm leaning towards cleric with Guidance, mending, and either healing word or bless depending on trade and general clumsiness.

[SLOTHRPG95]

Ebberon.

Also yes.

Or just Halruaa, if it's less magitech.

[sithlordnergal]

Just as a reality check or sorts... you do know that NPCs generally don't follow the PC creation rules? And that they don't get feats?

But that's boring, encounters are far more interesting when players and NPCs get full on feats. It makes the Rogue have to worry about things like Alert or Sentinel, that Champion with the Spear might have PAM, and that Great Sword user? Better be careful cause he could have GWM

[Spriteless]

Oh, I like this idea. There is precedent for it in other fiction. Thamasa in Final Fantasy 6 keeps its secrets, mostly by being on an island and making outsiders unwelcome. The first few Xanth books have villagers use their minor talents all together, although the later books become nonsensical puns, extended family trees, belief magic, and liberating the demihumans. Blue Rose has like 5% of the population is minorly psychic and that's okay - reading surface emotions is just as polite as reading faces.

[Monster Manuel]

Are we assuming that the Magic Adept feat is the ONLY magic that this town has access to? Or will there, potentially, be other NPCs with more advanced stat blocks? People might be less inclined to take, say, Detect Magic as their only 1st level spell if there is an NPC wizard in the town who can just cast the spell. There are some really great spells that are less great if you can only cast them once a day, and then they're done; Magic Missile is one of them, I think. You have a blast that can't miss (great!) But once you've cast your 1D4+1 darts once, that's it. 3d4+3 is going to average like 10 HP of damage, which means a hunter would be guaranteed to one-shot a deer, but not an elk. A butcher could use it to one-shot a goat, but not a full-grown pig (using the Boar as an example). So, even if it can't miss, it might not finish the job and you'll have to have another way to deal with it anyway.

I think a minimally proficient town guard firing off an unlimited number of fire bolts does more to add to the town defense than one firing off one magic missile, even if half of the fire bolts miss. I guess it's not mutually exclusive; your guard could have both Magic Missile AND fire bolt, and switch to the less-reliable one after they've used up the one cast. But they might be better off with something like Hex or Mage Armor that will last a while.

One unintended side-effect of this is that, unlike most other spells, cantrips are permanent once chosen. This means that the town would be starkly divided into castes, based on your magical aptitude. The guy who took Hex, Eldritch Blast, and Blade Ward as his spells? Congratulations, you're a guard/soldier now, even if you decide later on that you're really into pottery. It wouldn't have to be some kind of totalitarian distopia, especially if people are able to choose for themselves how to allocate the spells they get from their Magical Aptitude. But you'd be very much set into what you can do once that choice is made, and the culture of the town would reflect that.

The suggestion from earlier that the spells you have would maybe be influenced by the background you take is a good one, but it may be the other way around...the background you have is determined by the spells you can cast.

[GlenSmash!]

Ebberon.

Also yes.

Yup. This is pretty much what I thought.

The town would be prosperous, having a lot of things that would normally take hard labor now being automated through use of every day low level magic.

Essentially it would look more technologically advanced that your typical pseudo medieval D&D town, just with magic replacing industry in task automation.

[Tallytrev813]

It would look the same as now, but people's professions would be enhanced by their magic initiate spells.

Doctors would have Cure Wounds + Spare the Dying.

I'd imagine everyone would make use of the elemental cantrips - Create Bonfire, Shape Water, Mold Earth, Gust, Control Flames, would all be useful

Light would be useful.

Mending, Prestidigitation for essentially laundromats and what not.

[8wGremlin]

Many generations ago our forebears walked in to the great desert. They travelled many days using there magic to sustain them. Until they came to the middle. Here they created the town you see around you. Here they created life. From the oasis which is fed by the water clan, with food from the earth clan. Protected by the fire clan. With scouts from the air clan bound by our healers in the spirit clan.

For 20 generations we have lived this way far from those that wish to destroy our hopes and dreams. We still trade with those that live on the edge of the great desert but we must be wary of the nay sayers and those that wish us harm

[Rukelnikov]

Or just Halruaa, if it's less magitech.

Or just elves

[strake]

I think a few of the townsfolk should grow up to take ritual casting instead of magic initiate. That would give you a group of bookish types who can cover the whole range of rituals but wouldn't have cantrips.

[Jakinbandw]

I think a few of the townsfolk should grow up to take ritual casting instead of magic initiate. That would give you a group of bookish types who can cover the whole range of rituals but wouldn't have cantrips.

Not sure that would work because they likely wouldn't have class levels. Honestly half the fun of this is trying to come up with jobs that fit into two cantrips and a single once a day first level spell.

[Sigreid]

I would assume that combat cantrips would be relatively rare and most cantrips and spells would be learned as part of your apprenticeship for your eventual profession. Mend and control flames would make blacksmithing easier, as would prestidigitation. Shape water and mold earth would make farming a hell of a lot easier. Thaumaturgy would be great for guardsmen with that voice 3x as loud thing, and so on.

[SLOTHRPG95]

I think a few of the townsfolk should grow up to take ritual casting instead of magic initiate. That would give you a group of bookish types who can cover the whole range of rituals but wouldn't have cantrips.


Not sure that would work because they likely wouldn't have class levels.

Just assume that they can only add 1st level rituals to their ritual book. Or if you want to make things somewhat stratified, have that apply to commoners. Slightly more advanced individuals (CR 1/8-1/2) could have up to 2nd level rituals, while greatly more specialized/experienced individuals (CR 1+) can learn up to 3rd level rituals. I'd probably cut it off there, save perhaps for a few unique individuals, e.g. the wizened old Scout who has learned how to Commune w/ Nature, or the senior Knight templar who can predict coming threats with Divination.

[Clistenes]

They would have traditions about what spells and cantrips each member of the family learns... in a typical medieval-ish society women would take spells and cantrips related to cooking and housework, while men would learn spells and cantrips that help at work....

Of course, poor women may need to learn spells to help in the fields and do the housework the old, hard way...

There probably exist a system of professional castes or guilds to ensure enough people learn important spells and cantrips...

[Sigreid]

Just a thought, a 5×5×5 cube of water is nearly 8,000 pounds of water. The ability to move that easily could lead to some really neat basic labor saving machines powered by moving the water around to use its weight.

[Maelynn]

Just imagine what a lot of lonely people with familiars they can share senses with and casting minor illusion could figure out to do.

I was enjoying this thread. You ruined it for me.

[Chronos]

Even if people aren't picking their spells for purposes of defense, they'll still end up with some useful for that purpose. Fire is a useful enough tool that there are going to be a significant number of people with Produce Flame or Create Bonfire, and those are both usable in combat.

Plus, of course, with everyone meeting the necessities of life through magic, it's going to be much easier to both call up mundane militias and to resist sieges.

[Rukelnikov]

If people are choosing them, then we should assume they get the spells thru study and/or training, not as a natural gift. That being the case, the town elders (or whomever runs the town) are the ones that are gonna be deciding what spells are being learned.

If the town has an overabundance of people who knows Shape Water and Find Familiar, well you are likely gonna be taught something else.

[bobofwestgate]

So a town of VH humans exists where all kids are taught a bit of magic. This is represented through them all having Magic Initiate. What combos would be the most common and helpful for townsfolk? Would such a town thrive in a DnD setting?

Kind of reminds me of the Dark Sun setting from 2nd ed and what not. Where everyone in the world had some sort, albeit minor, of psychic powers.

[Story_Optimized]

Once you remove the need for food, lots of things change, but this is several levels of magic more than that.

Why stay in one place? You don't need to farm anymore, and can make an earthen castle-stockade every night. Why use other people's rivers? You can direct water to make your own - either to carry things, or to defend yourself, or whatever. Why collect fuel? You have unlimited magical energy via cantrips. With mending and prestidigitation keeping things useful and clean for generations, you almost never need resources, except for, perhaps, a standard kit for each new person who is added to the population. Throw cure disease in there, and you can have an ever-growing horde that eventually swells to fill the earth (without harvesting much of any of it), or a society that keeps VERY careful restrictions on only having children once a "spot" opens up.

It's an interesting idea!