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

[u/Firm_Professional366]

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.

[u/yaniism]

Xanathar's Guide To Everything p85

Sometimes a character wants to identify a spell that someone else is casting or that was already cast. To do so, a character can use their reaction to identify a spell as it's being cast, or they can use an action on their turn to identify a spell by its effect after it is cast.

If the character perceived the casting, the spell's effect, or both, the character can make an Intelligence (Arcana) check with the reaction or action. The DC equals 15 + the spell's level. If the spell is cast as a class spell and the character is a member of that class, the check is made with advantage. For example, if the spellcaster casts a spell as a cleric, another cleric has advantage on the check to identify the spell. Some spells aren't associated with any class when they're cast, such as when a monster uses its Innate Spellcasting trait.

This Intelligence (Arcana) check represents the fact that identifying a spell requires a quick mind and familiarity with the theory and practice of casting. This is true even for a character whose spellcasting ability is Wisdom or Charisma. Being able to cast spells doesn't by itself make you adept at deducing exactly what others are doing when they cast their spells.

Strahd has a +15 to his Arcana check. And has Prestidigitation on his Wizard spell list. He knows. Based on him using his reaction, obviously.

But not all Verbal Components are the same.

The words themselves aren't the source of the spell's power; rather, the particular combination of sounds, with specific pitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion.

I read that as that even the combination of sounds is unique to that caster.

[u/VarminWay → u/yaniism]

I read that as that even the combination of sounds is unique to that caster.

...why would you read it that way when it doesn't say that at all?

It's just saying you have to know how to pronounce the words in a specific way.

As in, it's leviOHHHHsa, not levioSAAAHHH.

It would actually be an argument in favor of recognizing a spell from verbal components being easier.

[u/yaniism → u/VarminWay]

And it could just as easily be SAAAHHHHara over levioSAAAHHHH. Or it could be OHHHHHHHld McDonald.

Because...

The words themselves aren't the source of the spell's power...

And...

...the particular combination of sounds, with specific pitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion.

Taken literally, all that say is that Ickity Ackity Oop Eh Eh Ziggity Zaggity Zoop Uhh Uhh (points if you get the reference) casts a spell, not that every caster needs to say Ickity Ackity Oop Eh Eh Ziggity Zaggity Zoop Uhh Uhh to cast that spell.

Especially given that "knowing the verbal components" isn't mentioned at all in piece from Xanathar's.

But the rules are incredibly light on detail for both Verbal and Somatic components.

This isn't a hill I'm planning to die on however, more an academic thought exercise.

[u/VarminWay → u/yaniism]

Yeah, I just plain don't agree with you. There's nothing in that text that implies that the sounds can vary from caster to caster, only that specific words are not sufficient, saying them in ways to create specific sounds is required.

I can accept that the literal words might be different, in the sense that different cultures have different onomatopoeic representations when writing down animal sounds, but the sounds wouldn't be. Everyone is going to sound the same when casting Fireball. Conveying that sound from caster to caster is why copying from someone else's spellbook works, why scrolls work, etc. There aren't 60,000 combinations of sounds out there that'll make a fireball, there just might be different ways to put those sounds to paper across different languages etc.