Can Prestidigitation start a fire?
Peter Meilinger
do?" but I'm just interested in starting fires right now. I'm going
to be playing a Fighter/Sorceror in an online game, and the cantrips
I gave him were Light, Mage Hand, Mending and Prestidigitation. The
first three are pretty simple, but prestidigitation is very broad
in its applications. One thing I'd like to be able to do is light
a fire without flint and steel when the need arises. The spell
description says prestidigitation can't mimic any other spell,
which makes sense, and I can't find a 0 level spell like flame
finger used to be, so I thought I was on firm ground, but I
figured I'd ask here.
And in case anyone was wondering, yes, I like to type the word
prestidigitation.
Prestidigitation, prestidigitation, prestidigitation...
Okay, I'm done now.
Pete
Reginald Blue
news:amn9sd$5n4$1...@news3.bu.edu...
> Actually, a better question might be, "What exactly can prestidigitation
> do?" but I'm just interested in starting fires right now. I'm going
> to be playing a Fighter/Sorceror in an online game, and the cantrips
> I gave him were Light, Mage Hand, Mending and Prestidigitation. The
> first three are pretty simple, but prestidigitation is very broad
> in its applications. One thing I'd like to be able to do is light
> a fire without flint and steel when the need arises. The spell
> description says prestidigitation can't mimic any other spell,
> which makes sense, and I can't find a 0 level spell like flame
> finger used to be, so I thought I was on firm ground, but I
> figured I'd ask here.
GM's call. If I were the GM: Yes, you could light a fire given everything
you needed except the flint and steel. (You'd still need tinder...you can't
start a fire with a hunk of wood.) You could also light a candle, a torch,
or a lantern.
Kershek
> Actually, a better question might be, "What exactly can prestidigitation
> do?" but I'm just interested in starting fires right now. I'm going
> to be playing a Fighter/Sorceror in an online game, and the cantrips
> I gave him were Light, Mage Hand, Mending and Prestidigitation. The
> first three are pretty simple, but prestidigitation is very broad
> in its applications. One thing I'd like to be able to do is light
> a fire without flint and steel when the need arises. The spell
> description says prestidigitation can't mimic any other spell,
> which makes sense, and I can't find a 0 level spell like flame
> finger used to be, so I thought I was on firm ground, but I
> figured I'd ask here.
I would say, as a DM call, that I would allow to light on fire something
small, like a tindertwig, that was specially prepared to be lighted. A
torch or a molotov cocktail would be too large to light.
Werebat
Even this is WAY too powerful -- a total game-breaker. Why would anyone
play anything BUT a mage or sorceror with Prestidigitation if this were
allowed?
You have to consider game balance when thinking about these things.
- Ron ^*^
Peter Meilinger
>Kershek wrote:
>> I would say, as a DM call, that I would allow to light on fire something
>> small, like a tindertwig, that was specially prepared to be lighted. A
>> torch or a molotov cocktail would be too large to light.
>Even this is WAY too powerful -- a total game-breaker. Why would anyone
>play anything BUT a mage or sorceror with Prestidigitation if this were
>allowed?
>You have to consider game balance when thinking about these things.
Someone in another reply recommended that I check out Tome And Blood
for its description of Prestidigitation, and the book clearly
states that it can be used to produce a Finger Of Flame effect. You
can light at torch as a standard or free action, I forget which,
whereas you need to take at least a full round with flint and
steel.
Reading the description in T&B, it looks pretty obvious to
me that Prestidigitation is meant to replace the Cantrip spell
from second edition, and it can do pretty much anything that
isn't specifically done by another 0 level spell. Hell, it
can lift objects of up to 1 pound, which encroaches on Mage
Hand's territory.
I think I have to agree that Prestidigitation is at least a
bit too powerful for a 0 level spell, but I also think it's
important for mages to have some versatility. It's not powerful
enough to warrant being moved to 1st level, and in my opinion
it doesn't really matter if every wizard or sorceror is going
to want to take it. Most of them take Detect Magic, Read Magic
and Magic Missile, too, right?
Pete
Sir Bob
news:3D9014...@earthlink.net...
It's "unbalancing" to let a wizard/sorcerer blow a spell slot to make up for
the fact that he forgot to pack flint and steel this morning?
- Sir Bob.
Agamemnon
>>> I would say, as a DM call, that I would allow to light on fire
>>> something small, like a tindertwig, that was specially prepared to be
>>> lighted. A torch or a molotov cocktail would be too large to light.
>>Even this is WAY too powerful -- a total game-breaker. Why would
>>anyone play anything BUT a mage or sorceror with Prestidigitation if
>>this were allowed?
>
>>You have to consider game balance when thinking about these things.
>I think I have to agree that Prestidigitation is at least a
>bit too powerful for a 0 level spell, but I also think it's
>important for mages to have some versatility. It's not powerful
>enough to warrant being moved to 1st level, and in my opinion
>it doesn't really matter if every wizard or sorceror is going
>to want to take it. Most of them take Detect Magic, Read Magic
>and Magic Missile, too, right?
You DO realize you're talking to Ron, dontcha?
Brad Prentice
something
> >> small, like a tindertwig, that was specially prepared to be lighted. A
> >> torch or a molotov cocktail would be too large to light.
>
> >Even this is WAY too powerful -- a total game-breaker. Why would anyone
> >play anything BUT a mage or sorceror with Prestidigitation if this were
> >allowed?
>
> >You have to consider game balance when thinking about these things.
>
> to want to take it. Most of them take Detect Magic, Read Magic
> and Magic Missile, too, right?
>
Brad P
Reginald Blue
news:ampult$res$1...@panther.uwo.ca...
I remember a quote from a computer game:
"Concentrate. Learn to distinguish between actual helpful advice, and mere
sarcasm."
Loren Pechtel
wrote:
>> I would say, as a DM call, that I would allow to light on fire something
>> small, like a tindertwig, that was specially prepared to be lighted. A
>> torch or a molotov cocktail would be too large to light.
>
>Even this is WAY too powerful -- a total game-breaker. Why would anyone
>play anything BUT a mage or sorceror with Prestidigitation if this were
>allowed?
>
>You have to consider game balance when thinking about these things.
What's the game breaker? So, they can light a fire easily. So
what?
R. Scott Rogers
Too small to light? Take a real life example: I use an old-fashioned
handheld lantern filled with mosquito-repellant oil when I walk my puppy at
night. (Yes, Hong, I know you're walking your puppy RIGHT NOW etc. etc.) I
also cook chicken on a Weber Kettle a couple of nights each week. One of
these combustible things is a tiny, handheld device with a 3/4-inch wick;
the other is a half-sphere with a 27-inch diameter filled with fuel. I light
both with the same matches. I can light each with a single match. Why, then,
should Prestidigitation light one and not the other when a simple match can
light both equally well?
Cheers,
Scott
--
R. Scott Rogers
srogers at mindspring.com
Visit the General Taylor Inn:
http://srogers.home.mindspring.com/dnd/main.html
Stephenls
> Too small to light? Take a real life example: I use an old-fashioned
> handheld lantern filled with mosquito-repellant oil when I walk my
> puppy at night. (Yes, Hong, I know you're walking your puppy RIGHT
> NOW etc. etc.) I also cook chicken on a Weber Kettle a couple of
> nights each week. One of these combustible things is a tiny, handheld
> device with a 3/4-inch wick; the other is a half-sphere with a
> 27-inch diameter filled with fuel. I light both with the same
> matches. I can light each with a single match. Why, then, should
> Prestidigitation light one and not the other when a simple match can
> light both equally well?
"Game balance." In other words, a GM who worries that if he gives his
players an inch, they'll take a mile, and therefor never gives so much
as an inch.
--
Stephenls
Geek
I have the coolest Hell in gaming. -Geoffrey C. Grabowski
Kershek
> "Game balance." In other words, a GM who worries that if he gives his
> players an inch, they'll take a mile, and therefor never gives so much
> as an inch.
Exactly. Using real world examples in a fantasy game can easily lead to
incorrect assumptions.
Mad Hamish
<sro...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>From the letters of Kershek (9/23/02 4:45 PM):
>
>> In article <amn9sd$5n4$1...@news3.bu.edu>, mell...@bu.edu says...
>>> Actually, a better question might be, "What exactly can prestidigitation
>>> do?" but I'm just interested in starting fires right now. I'm going
>>> to be playing a Fighter/Sorceror in an online game, and the cantrips
>>> I gave him were Light, Mage Hand, Mending and Prestidigitation. The
>>> first three are pretty simple, but prestidigitation is very broad
>>> in its applications. One thing I'd like to be able to do is light
>>> a fire without flint and steel when the need arises. The spell
>>> description says prestidigitation can't mimic any other spell,
>>> which makes sense, and I can't find a 0 level spell like flame
>>> finger used to be, so I thought I was on firm ground, but I
>>> figured I'd ask here.
>>
>> I would say, as a DM call, that I would allow to light on fire something
>> small, like a tindertwig, that was specially prepared to be lighted. A
>> torch or a molotov cocktail would be too large to light.
>
>Too small to light? Take a real life example: I use an old-fashioned
>handheld lantern filled with mosquito-repellant oil when I walk my puppy at
>night. (Yes, Hong, I know you're walking your puppy RIGHT NOW etc. etc.) I
>also cook chicken on a Weber Kettle a couple of nights each week.
and you're cooking your chicken RIGHT NOW ...
--
"Hope is replaced by fear and dreams by survival, most of us get by."
Stuart Adamson 1958-2001
Mad Hamish
Hamish Laws
h_l...@bigpond.com