What would a town of Variant Humans with Magic Initiate look like?

[Tallytrev813]

It would look the same as now, but people's professions would be enhanced by their magic initiate spells.

Doctors would have Cure Wounds + Spare the Dying.

I'd imagine everyone would make use of the elemental cantrips - Create Bonfire, Shape Water, Mold Earth, Gust, Control Flames, would all be useful

Light would be useful.

Mending, Prestidigitation for essentially laundromats and what not.

[8wGremlin]

Many generations ago our forebears walked in to the great desert. They travelled many days using there magic to sustain them. Until they came to the middle. Here they created the town you see around you. Here they created life. From the oasis which is fed by the water clan, with food from the earth clan. Protected by the fire clan. With scouts from the air clan bound by our healers in the spirit clan.

For 20 generations we have lived this way far from those that wish to destroy our hopes and dreams. We still trade with those that live on the edge of the great desert but we must be wary of the nay sayers and those that wish us harm

[Rukelnikov]

Or just Halruaa, if it's less magitech.

Or just elves

[strake]

I think a few of the townsfolk should grow up to take ritual casting instead of magic initiate. That would give you a group of bookish types who can cover the whole range of rituals but wouldn't have cantrips.

[Jakinbandw]

I think a few of the townsfolk should grow up to take ritual casting instead of magic initiate. That would give you a group of bookish types who can cover the whole range of rituals but wouldn't have cantrips.

Not sure that would work because they likely wouldn't have class levels. Honestly half the fun of this is trying to come up with jobs that fit into two cantrips and a single once a day first level spell.

[Sigreid]

I would assume that combat cantrips would be relatively rare and most cantrips and spells would be learned as part of your apprenticeship for your eventual profession. Mend and control flames would make blacksmithing easier, as would prestidigitation. Shape water and mold earth would make farming a hell of a lot easier. Thaumaturgy would be great for guardsmen with that voice 3x as loud thing, and so on.

[SLOTHRPG95]

I think a few of the townsfolk should grow up to take ritual casting instead of magic initiate. That would give you a group of bookish types who can cover the whole range of rituals but wouldn't have cantrips.

Not sure that would work because they likely wouldn't have class levels.

Just assume that they can only add 1st level rituals to their ritual book. Or if you want to make things somewhat stratified, have that apply to commoners. Slightly more advanced individuals (CR 1/8-1/2) could have up to 2nd level rituals, while greatly more specialized/experienced individuals (CR 1+) can learn up to 3rd level rituals. I'd probably cut it off there, save perhaps for a few unique individuals, e.g. the wizened old Scout who has learned how to Commune w/ Nature, or the senior Knight templar who can predict coming threats with Divination.

[Clistenes]

They would have traditions about what spells and cantrips each member of the family learns... in a typical medieval-ish society women would take spells and cantrips related to cooking and housework, while men would learn spells and cantrips that help at work....

Of course, poor women may need to learn spells to help in the fields and do the housework the old, hard way...

There probably exist a system of professional castes or guilds to ensure enough people learn important spells and cantrips...

[Sigreid]

Just a thought, a 5×5×5 cube of water is nearly 8,000 pounds of water. The ability to move that easily could lead to some really neat basic labor saving machines powered by moving the water around to use its weight.

[Maelynn]

Just imagine what a lot of lonely people with familiars they can share senses with and casting minor illusion could figure out to do.

I was enjoying this thread. You ruined it for me.

[Chronos]

Even if people aren't picking their spells for purposes of defense, they'll still end up with some useful for that purpose. Fire is a useful enough tool that there are going to be a significant number of people with Produce Flame or Create Bonfire, and those are both usable in combat.

Plus, of course, with everyone meeting the necessities of life through magic, it's going to be much easier to both call up mundane militias and to resist sieges.

[Rukelnikov]

If people are choosing them, then we should assume they get the spells thru study and/or training, not as a natural gift. That being the case, the town elders (or whomever runs the town) are the ones that are gonna be deciding what spells are being learned.

If the town has an overabundance of people who knows Shape Water and Find Familiar, well you are likely gonna be taught something else.

[bobofwestgate]

So a town of VH humans exists where all kids are taught a bit of magic. This is represented through them all having Magic Initiate. What combos would be the most common and helpful for townsfolk? Would such a town thrive in a DnD setting?

Kind of reminds me of the Dark Sun setting from 2nd ed and what not. Where everyone in the world had some sort, albeit minor, of psychic powers.

[Story_Optimized]

Once you remove the need for food, lots of things change, but this is several levels of magic more than that.

Why stay in one place? You don't need to farm anymore, and can make an earthen castle-stockade every night. Why use other people's rivers? You can direct water to make your own - either to carry things, or to defend yourself, or whatever. Why collect fuel? You have unlimited magical energy via cantrips. With mending and prestidigitation keeping things useful and clean for generations, you almost never need resources, except for, perhaps, a standard kit for each new person who is added to the population. Throw cure disease in there, and you can have an ever-growing horde that eventually swells to fill the earth (without harvesting much of any of it), or a society that keeps VERY careful restrictions on only having children once a "spot" opens up.

It's an interesting idea!