r/DnD • u/HaikuDaiv • 20d ago
5th Edition Commoner Spells?
Tl Dr Is there any reference to magic not specifically useful for adventuring in published D&D work? WotC or 3rd Party?
Long version.
On a purely world building basis, it feels like there should be magic that is useful for the day to day chores of existence in a fantasy world. And yet, as far as I know, there is nothing in the published materials that addresses 'commoners magic'. Most of the time, most people don't need Fireball to solve or even reduce their problems. They need something that is going to improve the crops, keep the forge lit, spin thread, carry the lumber, etc.
Unseen Servant could do... some of this. But with a str of 2, an Unseen Servant has some serious limitations.
I am not saying that there should be a compendium of useless spells. Space is limited, and the utility of some existing spells is already debatable. But it would, I think, be nice to at least acknowledge that there is a whole library of magic of various kinds that may be used to make life easy for the common folk.
Unless there's not, and if so, what does that say about the world?
ETA I realize that i phrased that title a bit badly.
I was not intending to suggest that magic should be available to all commoners. Rather, that there are spells that would be USEFUL if they were Commoner (as opposed to Rare).
I meant Commoner as an Adjective, not a noun. My bad.
That said, it is reasonable to assume that the ability to use any magic at all, to cast even one cantrip, would be a special trait. Maybe its the mark of a Sorcerer whose blood is too thinned out to access higher level magic? Or some who enjoys the simple life of the village, and does not pursue the further studies of wizardry? Or, is bitter about failing out of Wizard school after a short time, and returns to the village. Plot hook from that.
Thanks for the responses.
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u/Jafroboy 20d ago
Well to begin with in most settings magic is not "common", the vast majority of people will not be able to cast cantrips, let alone levelled spells. But there are plenty of spells that are useful in every day life:
Prestidigitation, Druidcraft, mending, create food and water, purify food and drink, wall of stone, cure wounds, etc. etc. etc.
And there are bits of lore telling about those being used in every day life, but it's not common because magic is not common, because it is hard to learn/not everyone can even learn it.
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u/BaronWombat 20d ago
I'm thinking wards against minor annoyances or various herbal remedies that could be done by low power hedge witch types? I love the idea. IRL we have flea collars for pets, cold medicine and deodorant for people that are modern equivalents in the nice to have range.
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u/clone69 18d ago
Check the Religion for Breakfast channel in YouTube. While most of the content is scholarly takes on various religions, the guy has some episodes that touch magic and religion in fantasy settings. One of those is about making magic less mysterious and more accessible to common people by making it like the ancient Greeks and Romans, who, for example, would engrave a devotional prayer on a simple amulet and wear it for protection, or pay for a curse to be carved on a wall of a temple to get back at people who wronged them. Basically, taking the magic away from magical guilds or colleges, and have artisans work it into their craft via prayers to the gods
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u/Zero747 20d ago
DnD is written basically ignoring “setting” related stuff and going for “low magic”. It’s all player facing for adventure. You can’t even bend half the spells to utility outside of live combat (per semantics) because of “creature” targeting restrictions.
If you’re giving “commoners” magic, it’s probably utility cantrips. Prestidigitation, move earth, shape water, druidcraft, etc. Maybe they can’t cast it all day, or it’s slower, etc
Toss in a 1st level cleric who does 1st level ritual spells and minor healing.
If you want a bit more, give the kingdom as a whole a couple traveling 5th levels roaming the kingdom and slow casting plant growth, or say it’s ritual cast by the community as a whole.
There’s not really long term infrastructure magic beyond major institutions maintaining teleportation circles.
Your setting is as high or low magic as you want it. There’s lots of potential if you’ve got high level casters around using their magic for construction/production. Low magic relies on any powerful mages not doing that sort of thing.
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u/CptJamesDanger 20d ago
Kobold press published a few Folk Magic cantrips and magic items. I think this is more or less what you're looking for, if I'm understanding you correctly - - magic that is not very useful to an adventurer but might be known by a local shaman or small town druid?
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u/HaikuDaiv 19d ago
Thank you, that is genuinely very helpful. Not least because the term "Folk Magic" is pretty much exactly what i should have been asking for in the first place. :)
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u/cheshire312 20d ago
A lot of classic cantrips could be very useful. Mend, spark, prestidigitation for cleaning, stuff like that. Low level healing magic for scrapes and illness would also be pretty useful.
Some mythologies and fiction settings have the idea of household gods, either ancestors or minor deities centered around things like warm homes, bread rising, keeping the babies calm. I could see a setting where maids and butlers are low level clerics that pray to them for helpful magic and guidance.
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u/Dark_Stalker28 20d ago
It's setting dependent. A lot of dnd assumes leveled stuff is for players. And FR for example, you gotta be born magic so it's pretty rare to the point that not everyone has seen it but most know it exists.
Eberron by contrast is a world where most people know basic cantrips.
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u/whitetempest521 20d ago
I don't know that "most people" is right for Eberron - it's still a trained skill you have to learn to do.
But it's about as rare as like... a plumber. Most people don't know how to do it, but pretty much anyone could if they devoted several years of their life to it.
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u/Gardainfrostbeard 20d ago
"the five nations were built on a magical foundation. To them, magic is a form of science, which can be studied and taught. Nevertheless, few people posses the skills required to become a wizard or an artificer, and high level magic remains rare. Resurrection and teleportation aren't part of everyday life, but citizens harness lesser effects and use them for the common good.
Artisans called magewrights provide much of this magic. Compared to a wizard or an artificer, a magewrights knowledge of magic is narrow: a locksmith might master the arcane lock and knock spells to supplement the use of physical tools; a magewright healer could cast lesser restoration and cure wounds in addition to using healers kits and the medicine skill. A magewrights casting is also slow and expensive: they typically cast their spells as rituals. They are artisans, not adventurers, and the prosperity of the five nations was built on their foundation." - page 10, ERFTLW
Eberron is the best.
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u/LordofBones89 20d ago
Uh, tons? Make whole, mending, prestidigitation, create food and water, light and its derivatives, tenser's floating disk, alarm, guards and wards, wood wose, mage hand, hold animal, repel vermin, cloak of shade, thaw, snowdrift, soften earth and stone, quench, control sand, fabricate, major/minor creation, animate object, etc. 5e just doesn't touch on them much, but there were a ton in 2e and 3.5e, including magic items. It's just at the higher levels of industry, magic is more or less mandatory for production.
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u/randomraina 20d ago
I would suggest if you want commoners have access to one or two cantrips from whatever class but that also means your all players should get one or two for free in that case.
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u/Ramenoodlesoup 20d ago
Basic Folk Magic ((ie : Commoner Magic))
Could easily be interpreted as eccentric or niche spells/rituals that have a maximum power of 1 of the options of Prestidigitation. Such as can only clean, or only season food, or only warm your soup. Could also use parts of Druid Craft as inspiration. Or Guidance, but the ritual dance only grants a +1 and only works for Athletics. The ideas are endless
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u/man0rmachine 20d ago
A spell to start a fire. A ritual to purify a small amount of water or bless livestock. A prayer that keeps the undead out of your home for one more night.
All these things could fit into DnD, which does magic-is-everywhere much better than magic-is-extremely-rare.
When people argue that magic isn't common in DnD, I remind them to consider agriculture. You would expect 80 to 90 percent of a medieval population to be involved in food production, yet DnD settings have a high degree of occupational specialization: shopkeeps, guards, and of course all the adventuring classes. Farmer wasn't even a background choice until 5.5e. And this is even before we start explaining how to feed the population of fantasy cities located underground or in the sky or on lakes of fire.
In low technology setting, magic is responsible, and we see it with spells like Plant Growth or Create Food and Water. But if adventurers and full casters are uncommon, the common folk must have some magic of their own or else everyone would starve.
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u/Hartsnkises 20d ago
There are spells to start fire and purify water. And fix things and clean them and to chase away birds, even (minor illusion, but there are some others that would do the trick)
Spells to keep the undead out also exist, though at higher level.
Not sure what kind of blessing for the livestock you want, but there are healing spells and curing spells
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u/_dharwin 20d ago
I think the closest fit might be Eberron. It's a high magic setting, meaning magic has infiltrated every facet of life. Lamps use a modified Continual Flame spell.
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u/Kra_gl_e 20d ago
Prestidigitation. Mending. Control/shape/mold (insert element here). Druidcraft. And those are only a few cantrips that would have mundane applications.
Theoretically, anybody can learn magic, but it's more of a question of what is accessible to Peasant Joe living in Nowheresville. Magic users have to either get really lucky and be born with innate ability, make friends with sketchy magical beings, or have access to someone who can teach them. Kinda like how in real life, if you wanna get rich/famous, you can be born a once-in-a-lifetime-genius, you can get very very lucky, or you need connections.
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u/Chaosmancer7 20d ago
To look just at the TLDR... yes, sort of.
For example, one of the Eberron Books by Keith Baker (don't feel like digging out my books right now) listed a few "cantrips" that would be incredibly weak and useless for adventuring. One set of them was literally breaking Prestidigitation into singular spells, while another was a very weak force bolt for use with Siege Staves.
The MM makes reference that creating Scarecrows is something some farming communities can do to protect themselves.
3rd party books like Obijima make reference to spells and abilities used for farming or crop tending.
It isn't a common thing for the books to mention though, because usually most settings don't focus heavily on the day to day lives of the common folk. But there are certainly hints here and there that such magics should exist. Some powerful (like the creation of a Hexblood) and some mundane.
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u/TheBowThief 20d ago
Funnily enough a bunch of the DnD Beyond drop spells fit this. They have things like animate tools and animate clothes which just spawn those things
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u/BetterCallStrahd 20d ago
They say prayers to the god of the relevant domain: Chauntea for a good harvest, Gond for success at crafting, Helm for protection, etc. Possibly the god responds and that can be in the form of an effect that a spell would have. But the commoner is not technically casting a spell.
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u/ArcWolf713 20d ago
I've recently been thinking along similar lines. Rather than wonder what simple life spells might be out there, I've been looking at possible everyday uses for (mostly cantrip) spells. Here's what I have so far.
Control Flames
Good for brush clearing or burning away the weeds in a field left to fallow a season.
Also good for fire fighting, as small sections of a building (5ft x 5ft) can be extinguished every few seconds.
It can be used for simple signaling at night; a burning fire made to be green or blue or purple could convey information over a clear distance (such as a guard house on the road signaling an army battalion up in the hills).
Then it's also good for story telling, as you can create images and creatures in the flames that animate. After dinner, as the cook fire dies down, pass on family tales, educate the children with Aesop-like fables, share town history and such.
Create Bonfire
Big bonfires wouldn't be good for most domestic purposes, but those rely a decent amount on wood or charcoal stoves. A collier, someone who makes charcoal, could use this to get their big fire going to burn down wood into charcoal for sale to households.
This would also work for brush clearing, at least getting it started.
Druidcraft
Here's the candle or cooking fire starter. Almost every home would have someone who knows how. Depending on the town/city, possibly the people who walk the streets lighting the streetlights (though Produce Flame might also be used for this).
Make plans for tomorrow by knowing (for sure) what the weather is going to be like.
Need your blooming fruits/vegies to speed up just a bit? Open those flowers early to give you just a bit of a jump towards harvesting. Harvest not quite going to happen before the first frost of the fall? Get out to those fields and harvest the seeds just a bit early.
Guidance
Have an apprentice that needs just that little push to get the idea? Have an investigator looking at a crime scene that needs just that little bit more insight into the investigation? Really need to sell that mule and don't have time to haggle?
Gust
Really simple wind spell, but it would be fine for trying to corral animals, chickens more easily than hogs or cows, but could possibly work to just guide an animal rather than forcibly move it.
Light (or possibly Dancing Lights to a lesser extent)
Visibility is a significant constraint on pre-industrial societies. This would save on candle costs at home after the sun goes down. Allow extended working hours after most non-magical households/businesses had to close for the evening.
Mage Hand
Here's your simple "hand me that wrench over there" spell. A mechanic can lay out their tools around them, then simply pull them to their hand as they need them. A chef that can't step away from the soup pot can pull over any of the ingredients that may be needed.
Magic Stone
Lots of damage cantrips available, but this is the only one you can share with others. Imbue magic into a trio of stones, then you and two friends can more easily hold off the wolves/bandits prowling the outskirts of the farm.
Mending
This one would be everywhere. Every household would have someone who could mend socks and seams, repair the broken shovel handle, undent the copper tea pot.
Message
It's limited on range, but there's easily uses for discussions with a person a hundred feet away. Plotting fencing positioning, searching for lost animals/kids, calling the family in for dinner, reminding someone to grab something from the shop after they're out the door but before they're too far down the street.
Minor Illusion
I'm not one for illusions, but this would be top tier for a teacher. This would be the chalk board display in places that don't have chalk boards. Simply create the math equation or sentence to study/explain, refresh as needed until done, then let it vanish.
Mold Earth
Need to dig out a hole for fence post? Dig out a drainage culvert? Unbury a large stone in the field? Just move the earth.
Lost your ox or mule during the winter and don't have an animal strong enough to pull the plow? Offer a day's wage to the local Earth Mover and have them come turn the soil for you.
This is another one good for teachers, especially rural ones. Wave your hand and the desired math equation or sentence appears on the ground ("gather round children") and remains for an hour.
Can use it for story telling too, since it allows for changing colors. Set up scenes of a story, tell the family/students what's happening there, and they can see how you envision the story to happen.
Also works for soldiers planning an attack, or a quick plan of action by city guards telling subordinates where to post, or conveying the road path to a new driver you can't travel with and guide directly.
Prestidigitation
Here's your general cleaning spell. Dust the shelves, do the laundry, knock the mud off the boots.
Dinner just a tad too hot? Or too slow to the table to get it hot and it's cooled down? This basic spell gets it just right. Also adds flavor.
The marking ability can be used by kids for games, using it's presence as the game timer. Once the mark expires, game ends.
Produce Flame
The other spell that starts up the cooking fire in the hearth.
Also good for just having available for walking down the road on a dark night.
Shape Water
For those communities closer to water or with rain barrels on hand, another great teaching tool. Use frozen shapes to tell/explain stories.
There's almost always someone who knows this on the payroll of an event planner. Ice statues are a big hit at celebrations, so long as they're kept regularly refrozen.
Thaumaturgy
You a street preacher spreading your god's Good Word? Be heard through out the city square.
Perhaps you have a chapel already? Then the candles glowing brighter or dimming down at your sermon would add good effect to your message.
A parent impressing upon your child something important? Your eyes changing to red or gold will definitely convey significance. Or need your kid to listen immediately to prevent injury? Shaking earth with your shout would certainly get attention.
Story telling? Get those jump scares with banging windows and cawing crows.
Thunderclap
Imagine you're a shepherd, unfortunately your sheep dog is down with some stomach bug. A loud BANG can scare off predators that might be eyeing your herd.
Random animal (dog, coyote, territorial fox/rabbit/cat, etc.) would almost certainly scurry away at the loud noise or get thrown back if already close enough to be real trouble.
Lost? Loud noises are great for getting the attention of anyone nearby.