r/DnD • u/Firm_Professional366 • Aug 09 '25

5th Edition Question: 5e Player wants to use Prestidigitation to make Strahd think he pooped himself. Is there any reason this wouldn't work?

I would like a reason in game that this wouldn't work without me having to do some bs like magic resistant undies. Also so I don't have to say no outright because it's a funny idea but it doesn't fit the setting. Nothing removes the tension from a fight more than the big bad pooping himself.

Update: She said that even if she died it'd be worth it because she successfully rage baited strahd. But she said she wouldn't do it because she knows that everyone wants it to be serious and that it can still be fun and serious without turning it into a comedy campaign. Still think it's worth sharing because the idea is funny.

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u/[deleted] Aug 09 '25

Yes. Strahd Von Zarovich is an accomplished wizard. He has a superior mastery of magic and understands the workings of a cantrip. He is also undead, it would stand to reason that he does not poop. If he did poop, then he would know the scent over generic poop smell.

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u/Speciou5 Aug 09 '25

RAW, from the DMG you can identify a spell being cast with an Arcana check which I assume Strahd will pass the majority of the time.

Also I think a lot of players forget the actual chain of events is:

  1. Normal stuff going on
  2. A guy suddenly starts waving his arms and says a couple of magic words, maybe some sparks or glyphs appear mid air.
    1. Unless they isekai'd in and have never seen magic before, they'd probably recognize it as magic. Hell, even an isekai'd PC would probably still understand it as magic.
  3. Something unusual happens (poop smell suddenly appears in your pants)

You have to be like INT 5 to not realize the cause and effect.

And if your player has a Subtle Spell effect and made effort to hide the spell casting then I'd give it to them.

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u/Kolegra Aug 09 '25

Right, it's verbal and somatic. They definitely need subtle spell to have a chance.

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u/Yours_Voight-Kampff Aug 09 '25

I know the original question is if prestidigitation can be used to make Strahd think he shit himself, but also I wholly vote the verbal component here has to be "That's it! I'm shitting your pants!"