Prestidigitation to blind a monster?

[tylermo]

It's me again. A player of mine is trying to change the color of the liquid in a minotaur's eye (to black) to blind him. I'M very skeptical, but the player claims it's possible. Yes? No?

[kreider204]

Absolutely not. Prestidigitation shouldn't be used to duplicate another spell, especially not a higher level one. Cause Blindness is cleric level 3 / illusionist level 2.

[Arduin]

It's me again. A player of mine is trying to change the color of the liquid in a minotaur's eye (to black) to blind him. I'M very skeptical, but the player claims it's possible. Yes? No?

It can't even disrupt a spell caster, much less blind someone: "This spell can never inflict damage or
disrupt the casting of other spellcasters."

Your player is drunk. Send him home.

[Treebore]

LOL! You may actually be right about the player being drunk.

[DeadReborn]

Your player is drunk. Send him home.

That made my day.

[Rigon]

I don't know, drunk players can be fun. Just ask Troll Steve.

[Treebore]

I don't know, drunk players can be fun. Just ask Troll Steve.

Yeah, but that has nothing to do with the actual gaming.

[Rigon]

I don't know, drunk players can be fun. Just ask Troll Steve.

Yeah, but that has nothing to do with the actual gaming.

R-

[Arduin]

tylermo, In the past when I've had the misfortune of GMing a munchkin like this I have listened to what they want to do with the spell and let them cast it. I just inform the player that the intended result didn't happen and they just burned a spell and now it's the monster's turn. (I only do this for obvious abuse like the example you brought to us here).

If the player persists in trying to ask me why rather than read the spell description, I tell them that the PC will have to research the answer when they get back to base/town/home... (It is a real penalty if the PC consults and pays for a sage/wizard to help them only to have the pertinent part of the Spell description pointed out to them. )

[tylermo]

The player soon realized that it was an incorrect use of the spell.

[Lurker]

Not to disagree, but to chase the rabbit a little, ... the spell may not blind something, but could it be used to distract the monster?

[Arduin]

Not to disagree, but to chase the rabbit a little, ... the spell may not blind something, but could it be used to distract the monster?

Anything can possibly distract. Using it to make a puff of smoke within the spell range...

[Lord Dynel]

Everyone pretty much answered the question. I'm in agreement. Prestidigitation, not surprisingly in my opinion, has had these types of questions surrounding it for quite some time. I won't say that your players are trying to break the game by doing something they can't do with it, but I've seen more questions around this spell in the past 10-15 years than any other spell.

Like previously stated, I ask myself these questions (as a GM) when a player wants to use prestidigitation:

a) does the effect replicate another spell?
b) does the effect cause any damage or cause disruption of a task (not just spell casting?
c) is the effect more powerful than a "simple magical effect" like the ones described in the spell description?

If the answer to these questions is "no" then I'm usually okay with it.

When in doubt I use this list. I'm not opposed to players being creative but in the end, I try to keep things very minor.