Prestidigitation: An Alternative

To a wizard there are few greater rewards than the thrill of finding a new spell. With this variant such rewards are more in reach than ever. This is an intended replacement for the spell prestidigitation which should be removed.

At first level a wizard who would normally choose prestidigitation can give up one cantrip slot to instead learn 3 of the following demi-cantrips. On their adventures they can learn more of these minor magics (without giving up any of their other cantrips) should the opportunity arise. They are learned in a manner similar to copying spells from another wizard's spellbook. They cost no gold to transcribe over the course of one hour and are so minor they can inhabit the margins and page-breaks between more formal spells. The chances of finding such simple magics in a scroll are close to zero, so you’ll often have to find someone willing to teach you in person or sneak them from another mages spellbook.

Such spells act as a cantrip in that they are always prepared and do not require a spell-slot to cast. Unless otherwise stated all of these demi-cantrips can affect or create nothing greater than a 5 foot square no more than 20 feet away. All of these spells have verbal and somatic components and take one action to cast. To make them easier to remember I've included some suggested incantations with any suggested somatic componants noted in parenthesis.

Lux/Nux

A spell to light or snuff a candle or small campfire

Schmetz!

A spell to clean and freshen clothes

Vzgyada

A spell to leave a rune, symbol or short sentence on a surface which disappears once read

Kelal-sofya (chanted while combing hair through fingers)

A spell to change one’s hair color

Alakazam!

A spell to create a clearly illusory display of fireworks, confetti or smoke in any shape or color

Molovniat (marking an X with two fingers)

A spell to perfume oneself or an object with your personal fragrance for eight hours. The scent is reflective of your personality and cannot be willingly changed.

Domovolnoro (pointing to and fro)

A spell to tidy things which are messy or out of place. Both the object and its resting place must be within 30 feet, and this spell does not clean grime or filth.

Pokodorovi

A spell to scrub and scour things as though with soapy water and a stiff-bristled brush

Vrigidia

A spell to chill objects (such as drinks) and freeze small amounts of water into ice

The Sweetwater Spring Chant

A spell chanted over a gallon of seawater to make it fresh

Khem-Shakar!

A spell to evaporate one gallon of water from where it isn’t wanted.

Awakening the Lust of Mars

A wordy spell to enchant a needle to always point north

Vanastalam

A spell to adjust clothes to suit a mage’s taste, local fashion, or size. This spell only uses the cloth already available in the garment and does not affect metal armor or enchanted cloth

Meadaigh

A spell to encourage a single plant to sprout or otherwise grow healthily.

Forto Bruccia (with three fingers on the throat)

A spell to greatly amplify one’s voice

Mikhal's Legerdemain

A spell to conjure a simple trinket that can fit in your hand. This apparition disappears within seconds of leaving your hand and it is very clearly a magical creation

Beda-Bedil-Bedek-Bedon (as though tying with cord)

A spell to bind two things together without rope or glue. A DC15 Athletics (Strength) check is required to seperate them

Tu'ar-na-Haimseir

A spell to predict the weather in your location for the next 24 hours

Sfuze Tinteria (as though sprinkling a pinch of salt)

A spell to conjure a fine pigment powder in any color imaginable. Powders last for 2 hours and can be mixed with water to become a thin inky paint. Such paint reacts...poorly when attempting to use it to copy spells but otherwise remains colorfast and bright until disappearing.

Teplo

A spell to instantly heat a tub of water to perfect bathing temperature

Abeles-Kobeles (chanted thrice over folded hands)

A spell to drain the flavor of a plate of food or goblet of drink, thus storing it to override the flavor of a different food or drink. To use one of your “stored” meals you need only focus on your original memory of the meal while incanting.

Nunc-se-vides, Nunc-ne-vides

A spell to make one small object invisible provided it doesn’t move and isn’t touched.

Znakimya

A spell which traces your personal rune into a surface and infuses it with a simple sensory effect (the scent of a breeze, the faint cry of a hawk, a red glow etc) when read or touched. The rune and sensory effect are unique to you and reflect your personality. The rune can never be changed, but the sensory effect can be nudged towards a specific sense.

Luxalta

A spell to summon a mote of bluish-white light which floats just over your head and gives enough light to read by.

Welestempi (making an arc over head)

A spell to keep the rain and snow from falling on you

Pyotr's Legerdemain

A spell to vanish one object that can fit in the palm of your hand. Only one object can be “vanished” at a time. Casting the spell again causes the object to reappear, still in your hand. If the object is not made to reappear within an hour, it reappears anyway in the most inconvenient possible spot within 30 feet of you.

Rashpaldelohkt (pressing into with gnarled claw)

A spell which soils, tarnishes or rusts a single small object. The filth gathered is equivalent to being buried in loam for one year. This spell has no effect on living beings or corpses and magical items are always warded against such minor wear and tear.

Tasha's Ten-Thousand Tweasers

A spell to quickly and painlessly shave one's facial or body hair.

Zhech Uhkzet Dym-Strela

A spell which forces a piece of something to point to its greater whole. This consumes the piece.

Iachus (whispered to a secret rune traced over the food)

A spell to prevent food from spoiling for one week

Winselaech Ladir Dainagean (as though oiling the wood)

A spell to change the hardness of a single piece of wood. The wood can be made as flexible as willow sprig or as hard as ironwood heart and anywhere in between. The presence of any metal driven into the wood nullifies this spell’s effects.

Deblah-Deblah Disaco! (as though cleaning a window)

A spell which polishes any flat surface (no matter how improbable) to a mirror-finish for one minute.

Festus Excrementus!

A spell to reveal the punchline of a recently set-up joke in a booming voice from thin air.

Ventnusolum!

A spell to disrobe a person. This spell has no effect on armor or enchanted clothing and unwilling targets must make a Strength or Dexterity saving throw to keep their clothes on their bodies. For whatever reason, this spell also peels potatoes.

Aimsir (as though opening a book)

A spell to reveal the current time of day and moon phase.

Mulbeane-Mebaine-Mem (tapping animal's forehead)

A spell to ensure a farm animal returns to its paddock or barn at sundown

Orosol Cherogal (sung while twisting the wool into shape)

A spell to spin thread from wool or flax without a spindel

Quorequemportis

A spell to help divide something perfectly in half. If the target is a pile of objects they divide themselves into two equal piles with any remainder left in the center. If the target is a single object the mage learns the exact center line and any tool they wield to divide it (such as a knife or chisel) becomes perfectly aligned to do so.

Menchegelix

A spell to copy non-magical writing. Paper and a pen (but no ink) must be provided, and the mage must trace their finger beneath the chosen text at an appropriate writing speed.

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Not just for wizards

While the rules on the previous page describe a spellbook, this variant is intended as a replacement for prestidigitation in general. A high-elf maid is likely to know a few round-the-house spells and a short incantation is trivially easy for a bard to memorize.

If it fits your player's character, this variant could even be extended to spells like druidcraft or thaumaturgy. A druid who works as a village's midwife (and witch) is likely to pick up all kinds of minor magics, and a cleric of knowlege may love nothing better than to squirrel away obscure niche spells