Mechanics
The actual range in feet is your primary stat divided by your caster level, with a range minimum of 3 feet. More powerful casters become attuned to the way they shape the world and less capable with instinctive magic. Sorcerers do not have this scaling down problem, their range is their primary stat in feet.
This is a catch-all spell covering the minuscule elements available to the cantrips of the AD&D First Edition Unearthed Arcana (sometimes called "D&D 1.5"). The verbal and somatic components must be Role Played in the scope of casting; it is the entire point of this spell.
Apprentices learn flamboyant magic before they learn the more intricate forms of the Art, and they learn to change the world in small ways before they learn to apply more specific talents. A caster must have, or have had, a mentor at their magical craft in order to be able to learn this spell.
Where the extensibility of Thaumaturgy, Druidcraft, or Prestidigitation focuses the caster upon the very source of the way in which they cast spells, the fluidity of the Apprentice's Cantrip is instead dependent on the creativity and soul of its caster. It is a vivid, real, and permanent, but exceedingly ordinary event made to happen in the space of a moment instead of the longer time or grander burst of energy that such a calling might require. However, the result is not otherwise immune to changes, so calling the duration "permanent" may be considered a stretch by some scholars.
The amount of material hence Conjured, or the amount of relative power applied to make a small physical adjustment, conjuration, or speeding or slowing of natural processes, should be less than the amount of Residuum that would fit between thumb and two fingers, or approximately half the energy required to summon a usable handkerchief for the sneeze one just inflicted, or the illusion of a small white dove, or the amount of non magical human effort that could be applied in a span of ten minutes or less. Critters invoked will have no particular opinion of their environment. Light adjustments may disturb pure conditions but will not notably change the current lighting mechanics for purposes of visibility. Depending on how wild or tame magic is in your locale, the space defined by these limits could vary, so consider well what your Apprenticeship brings you to.
The changes made are real and permanent, but may only be applied once to a single context. An Apprentice's Cantrip may provide a momentary flavor to the otherwise normal use of a Skill, or aid in the placement or usability of a Kit. If the game master deems a Saving Throw is applicable the best of WIS or CON is used for the save, and Person-affecting cantrips have no visible effect on people who have proficiency in either a WIS or a CON saving throw. It is unlikely to affect anyone's Concentration unless it triggers someone's Flaw.
Thereby, at the GM's option, the results of roleplay may allow a circumstantial +1 for a single Action. If cast as a Ritual form, it should be considered to provide Advantage for any context where the results would be enough for the Help Action.
Examples of Use
A common use of the gather effect separates mixed dusts from each other on a work table, for use as various magical components, or perhaps simply to collect the tea leaves back into one's cup without also gathering grime, metal flakes, sugar, or other materials from the tabletop.
The mute effect might shush only a word or two, or make an extraordinarily loud bellow or piercing argument into an ordinary and more comfortably heard shouting.
The view of a two-d'lusion resembles a hologram postcard.
Example cantrips of olden dayes (from the Forgotten Realms wikia entry) that qualify under this
Useful
chill • clean • color • dampen • dry • dust • exterminate • flavor • freshen • gather • polish • salt • shine • spice • sprout • stitch • sweeten • tie • warm • wrap
Reversed
curdle • dirty • dusty • hairy • knot • ravel • sour • spill • tangle • tarnish • untie • wilt
Legerdemain
change • distract • hide • mute • palm • present
Person-Affecting
belch • blink • cough • giggle • nod • scratch • sneeze • twitch • wink • yawn
Personal
bee • bluelight • bug • firefinger • gnats • mouse • smokepuff • spider • tweak • unlock
Haunting
creak • footfall • groan • moan • rattle • tap • thump • whistle
Illusionary
colored lights • dim • haze • mask • mirage • noise • rainbow • two-d'lusion
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Posted Feb 5, 2021too much text and too complicated for only a cantrip...Prestidigitation do many things, but it's far more easy to read that all that text... try to resume it, think what would think a new player if has to read all of this.
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Posted Apr 17, 2021This is not designed for new players. It is designed for older players returning to AD&D from time away and having experience with older editions.
Simpler magics are available as single spells, and for many players the already provided Fluff Cantrips for Druid, Cleric, or Wizard are quite sufficient already. Had I created a spell that said only "this creates a very tiny magic" it would be exceedingly readable but would have been declined as resembling those spells too closely. Those are illusions; this affects the world, so it is a conjuration.
Happy gaming!
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Posted Apr 17, 2021This spell specifically implements what, in older editions, the word "cantrip" meant. Except it implements ALL of them, and GM guidance is provided on how to prevent it from becoming a spell to do all possible things.
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Posted Apr 19, 2021A spell must be made to te actual time, not like the older times, you make a cantrip that can do sooooooooo many things it's boring to read, the players don't need a cantrip that can do anything you want at will, that's why the Wish spell exists, and I must say that you can do many things of this cantrips with other cantrip far easy to read and understand than this one, so this cantrip is garbage, I know you wanted to make a cantrip that remembers the "AD&D First Edition Unearthed Arcana (sometimes called "D&D 1.5")" as you said, but this cantrip meant to be to dnd 5e is boring beacause you must spend like 5 minutes to read, 10 minutes to think and the master must aprove and say what will do, afect, etc.
Prestidigitation is a long cantrip too and can doo many things, but theres things that can't do, so the are more cantrips to doo the same you want to do with that cantrip, it's not balanced at all.
If you wanted to make honor to a forgoten cantrip, try to make one more small and direct cantrip, one that is easy to read and understand, and one that is something new, for example a range lighting cantrip or a force low damage cantrip or if you want some utility, then use your imagination, don't gather all in one cantrip.
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Posted May 7, 2021If you don't like it, don't use it.
This cantrip replaces approximately 10 minutes of human effort or an equivalent tiny bit of magic. Requires: mentor taught you spellcraft.
77 other people like it, you don't have to continue your frustrations by doubling the length of the page.
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Posted May 8, 2021only 21 liked it and 18 not, that's why you have 3 points only.
And I'm not blaming you or anything, it's only that this cantrip needs balance, it' all I was saying, so you don't need to be that defensive =/
If you don't like to be argued, don't post anything, I posted some things and I accepted the critics easyly =/
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Posted May 11, 2021I'm not talking about thumbs-up, I'm speaking of how many added it to their arsenal.
That's INTERESTING, far more than whether it's cute and quick. But don't you fear, I'm not worried if you're bored and others are not. :D
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Posted May 12, 2021if that makes you happy to think, then be it, I really don't care XD
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Posted Apr 18, 2022This spell is very difficult to implement into 5e. This homebrew entry has introduced this spell in a terribly unspecific way. Not only is this spell broken in the sense that it makes prestidigitation type cantrips obsolete, it's terrible vagueness literally breaks the structure of 5e. While this could bring a measure of power to a player to be able to" freely magic stuff", it is a terribly simple and headache inducing solution to a sensitive problem. The reason Prestidigitation and druidcraft are so specific is because spells like this break the game. Allowing other cantrips such as mold earth or thaumaturgy a place to shine is important.
This spell's vagueness does not require nor encourage creativity unlike the other cantrips that this spell is effectively replacing.
The idea behind this spell is great, but it's application as a cantrip in it's current form is incompatible with 5e.
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Posted Nov 8, 2022If anything I intended it to provide the functional equivalent of "I have a sidekick for minor physical work" without the frustrations and stats tracking of a Sidekick sheet. It only has an interesting level of power in a game where time is tracked precisely.
Players vary on how they can abuse what's offered, and game masters vary on how they present such things. If this doesn't work for your world, that's fine. For some GMs "I don't have to touch things to do 10 minutes of hands-on work" is more than adequately covered by Mage Hand and charging the players 10 minutes.
For others, tiny magics are more appealing.
If you want a spell that has no effect but flavor text, as the other respondent was stating, but attempting to push on me, there's the one-per-class colorful effects (Thaumaturgy for mages, for instance). "Oh, it has an effect, I see three bullet points." Which clearly define how they're not supposed to have much effect.
It is well within a GM's scope to tell players this is not allowed to do anything replicated by more powerful spells, because a novice "level 0" mage wouldn't be able to convince arcanic powers to do all that much.