Prestidigitation
Cantrip · Transmutation
- Utility
Prestidigitation is a transmutation cantrip, sitting on the bard, sorcerer, warlock, and wizard lists. Cast time: Action. Range 10 feet, components V/S, duration up to 1 hour. Effect: You create a magical effect within range.
Stat Block
- Level
- Cantrip
- School
- Transmutation
- Casting Time
- Action
- Range / Area
- 10 feet
- Components
- V, S
- Duration
- Up to 1 Hour
- Ritual
- No
- Concentration
- No
- Classes
- Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
- Material
- —
Description
You create a magical effect within range. Choose the effect from the options below. If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have up to three of its non-instantaneous effects active at a time.
You create an instantaneous, harmless sensory effect, such as a shower of sparks, a puff of wind, faint musical notes, or an odd odor.
You instantaneously light or snuff out a candle, a torch, or a small campfire. Clean or Soil. You instantaneously clean or soil an object no larger than 1 cubic foot.
You chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 cubic foot of nonliving material for 1 Hour.
You make a color, a small mark, or a symbol appear on an object or a surface for 1 Hour.
You create a nonmagical trinket or an illusory image that can fit in your hand. It lasts until the end of your next turn. A trinket can deal no damage and has no monetary worth.
5e (2014) vs 2024 changes
This spell has both a 5e (2014) and 2024 Player's Handbook version. Doungim shows the current 2024 stat block above. Differences between editions typically affect components, range, or scaling — check both source books for the table.
Doungim Lore
School Fit
The Transmutation tradition reshapes matter. Stone becomes mud, mud becomes stone, a humanoid becomes a tyrannosaurus. The school tag on Prestidigitation is earned by the spell rewrites a property of a body, an object, or terrain. The cantrip slot on Prestidigitation means the spell is always castable, regardless of remaining spell slots.
Class Fit
- Bard: Lore Bards reach Magical Secrets at level 6 and 10, which changes the calculus on Prestidigitation: if a non-Bard list has it cheaper, Magical Secrets is the way in. The 10-foot range on Prestidigitation leaves room for the caster to stay in the back line.
- Sorcerer: At tier 1 a Sorcerer's known-spell budget is brutal. Prestidigitation earns its slot only if the build cannot win the next ten sessions without it. At 10 feet, Prestidigitation stays usable from the caster's typical positioning.
- Warlock: On a Warlock sheet, Prestidigitation competes with Hex (the early concentration default) and with whatever upcast pact slot the build prioritises. Prestidigitation reaches 10 feet, which lets the caster stay clear of the front line.
- Wizard: Once Prestidigitation is in the spellbook the cost is gold-and-ritual-time at acquisition; from then on the daily prep decision is free. 10 feet is enough range that Prestidigitation doesn't pull the caster forward.
Tactical play (Doungim editorial)
Cantrip; six concurrent magical sensory effects. Clean a stained tunic, chill a drink, change the colour of cloth.
Related Spells
Frequently Asked Questions about Prestidigitation
- What level spell is Prestidigitation?
- Prestidigitation sits at cantrip in the Transmutation school of magic, prepared by Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard.
- What is the range of Prestidigitation?
- From the caster's position, Prestidigitation reaches 10 feet.
- How long does Prestidigitation last?
- Without concentration, Prestidigitation runs for its full up to 1 hour duration regardless of what else the caster is doing.
- What components and casting time does Prestidigitation need?
- For Prestidigitation: Prestidigitation requires V, S, casting is a normal Action.