Prestidigitation: How This Flexible Cantrip Works

Tags Spell Spotlights author-mikey-karr

Not every spell has to unravel the fabric of the cosmos or reduce your enemies to a smoldering pile of ash. Sometimes, you need a spell to aid you in your everyday life; a spell that can do many different, yet relatively minor things. What if I told you that with a slight gesture and mumbled incantation, you could heat a cup of tea, snuff out a roaring campfire, or even have a shower of silver sparks spell out your name? Prestidigitation offers you all of this and more.

If you've got roleplaying aspirations and want to save those precious spell slots for the heat of battle, prestidigitation might just be your next favorite cantrip.

What Does Prestidigitation Do?

Prestidigitation causes a note to glow with golden sparks

Prestidigitation is a cantrip from the transmutation school. It has a wide range of uses. The fact that you can get so much utility out of a spell that requires no spell slots and only needs verbal and somatic components makes it an extremely valuable and fun tool for the imaginative spellcaster. These uses include:

  • The creation of a harmless sensory effect, such as a puff of wind, a small display of sparks or lights, distant or faint music, or even smells and flavors.
  • Lighting or snuffing out a small flame.
  • Cleaning or dirtying an object less than one cubic foot in size.
  • Chilling, warming, or affecting the flavor of up to a cubic foot of nonliving matter.
  • Having a symbol, colors, or writing appear on the surface of an object for one hour.
  • Creating a nonmagical hand-sized trinket or object that lasts until your next turn.

As you can see, some of the uses of this spell are limited only by your imagination (and what the DM lets you get away with). We address some of the most egregious examples of pushing the spell beyond its limits in our FAQ section.

Prestidigitation vs. Other Cantrips

Prestidigitation has a great deal of range, but it really shines when a spellcaster finds a creative use for one of its many effects and not when used as a replacement for other cantrips. For example, the small campfire you can create with prestidigitation won't immediately harm a creature because that's what create bonfire is meant for. That said, if a creature were to walk into the campfire after it was started, it could certainly do damage. Following a similar vein, minor illusion can create much more complex sensory effects than prestidigitation, be it an intricate sound or detailed illusion. But prestidigitation can create smells, which minor illusion cannot.

You should pick prestidigitation over these other cantrips if you're looking for a spell that increases your utility rather than combat prowess. Like the cleric's cantrip thaumaturgy or the druid's druidcraft, prestidigitation can be used in social and exploration encounters to great effect, though it likely won't move the needle in terms of your damage output.

Who Can Cast Prestidigitation?

Wizards, artificers, bards, warlocks, and sorcerers have the ability to pick up this versatile cantrip at 1st level and whenever their respective class gains a new cantrip. It's also available to various subclasses that gain access to one of these class's spell lists, such as Arcane Tricksters. Beyond this, the ability to cast prestidigitation can be obtained through various magic items, the Magic Initiate, Aberrant Dragon Mark, or Strixhaven Initiate feats, or by choosing a race that grants a free cantrip, like the high elf. 

Why We Love This Spell

Wizard couples from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

We love prestidigitation because it's as powerful and fun as a player's creativity. Need to change the taste of a cup of wine to disguise all that nasty poison you poured into it? Prestidigitation has you covered. What about tricking a shop owner with a fake bag of gold or a shiny ruby that vanishes the moment you've made the exchange? You even could conjure up a fake invitation to a noble's wedding or leave a fake clue that leads right to a trap for that would-be pursuer in a dungeon.

Aside from its practical uses in roleplay, prestidigitation can add a great deal of flavor and color to your game, literally! Imagine improving the taste of an innkeeper's shoddy ale for a night, magically cleaning your boots before entering a divine temple, or silencing a roaring fire as you enter a room, so that everyone turns to see that a powerful spellcaster has just made their presence known. The possibilities are endless, and that's why the spell is just so much fun. Remember though, if you conjure a magical fart for hijinks, the rules of "they who smelled it dealt it" still apply, so be slick about it.

FAQ: Prestidigitation

Can prestidigitation create fire?

Yes! But with some caveats. According to the rules as written (RAW), prestidigitation can light a candle, a torch, or a small fire. Be mindful that unless you're starting a fire in a very dry and flammable place, it's going to take a while for that fire to become significant. When it comes to lighting other surfaces—or enemies!—on fire with prestidigitation,  it's going to be up to your DM's judgment on whether or not you're overextending the power of the spell.

Can prestidigitation cure a hangover?

No, prestidigitation isn't a healing spell. However, you could change the taste of an alcoholic beverage to trick an unknowing NPC into accidental intoxication, right before a battle or a surprise attack. That would be cool. 

Can you use prestidigitation to shave?

Like so many things, this could be the DM's call. As written, prestidigitation can only do small, temporary, sensory changes. The spell might be able to wash your face, but something like a shave would likely take more power than is available in the spell.

Can prestidigitation create a key?

You can certainly use prestidigitation to create a key, though whether that key worked on a lock would be a whole different matter. Some elements your DM might require to make an effective key with prestidigitation would be having an existing copy of the key or having proficiency with thieves' tools.

Can prestidigitation desalinate seawater? 

Though you can warm and cool a beverage or disguise the flavor of seawater so that it tastes fresh, prestidigitation has its limits and cannot turn seawater into drinkable freshwater.

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Michael J. Karr (@mikeyjkarr) is an elvish wizard trapped in the body of a human screenwriter. When they aren't trying to will magic into existence, they're busy creating stories through movie magic. You can often find them traversing the planes with their friends, but barring a very complicated spell of summoning, social media should work just fine.

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