Role-playing Games Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for gamemasters and players of tabletop, paper-and-pencil role-playing games. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
As the title says... are there any spells that can do simple work, such as pulling on a rope or turning a capstan? The work would be simple and constant, and would require no decisions other than to possibly have the caster cancel the spell when the task is complete.
The lower level the better, and the more work the better.
Please enumerate by caster type and level, and if possible link to a description.
An object can be telekinetically manipulated as if with one hand. For example, a lever or rope can be pulled, a key can be turned, an object rotated, and so on, if the force required is within the weight limitation.
performs simple tasks at your command. It can run and fetch things, open unstuck doors, and hold chairs, as well as clean and mend. The servant can perform only one activity at a time, but it repeats the same activity over and over again if told to do so as long as you remain within range. It can open only normal doors, drawers, lids, and the like. It has an effective Strength score of 2 (so it can lift 20 pounds or drag 100 pounds). It can trigger traps and such, but it can exert only 20 pounds of force...
I can think of a lot of ways to create "work force" with spells, but it's important to know what your resources are and what your wanting to accomplish. So other answers have addressed a few spells. I'll move on to some that haven't been discussed.
Mount - "You summon a light horse or a pony (your choice) to serve you as a mount. The steed serves willingly and well. The mount comes with a bit and bridle and a riding saddle." Switch out the saddle for a work harness and hook it up to a mill wheel. The summoned horse walks in circles pulling/pushing a turn-style - the turn-style operates your equipment. Two (2) hours of work per caster level for a level 1 spell.
Command Undead - Self explanatory - Got zombies? Got labor. Simple labor, but still. One (1) day per caster level helps a lot. Helps to tie them to your work spot, heh.
Bull's Strength - Need stronger summoned horse(s)/zombie(s) then pump up their strength to get more done. The duration sucks, but it'll help get past a bump or something that stops work.
Animate Dead - Use dead enemies for a work force. You didn't find zombies to command? Ok - only 5th or higher level clerics and 7th or higher level wizards will be able to do this. But, if you can, this is an easy way to get a tireless 24/7/365 workforce. You very likely won't be able to use them near town's and cities, but pretty much anywhere you haven't got officials looking over your shoulders, you should be good.
Hope you find these helpful. Edits were for typo's and clarifications.
I offer you an alternative. A reusable one, even!
When paired with the proper engineering, a Decanter of Endless Water can get almost any task of the sort you're looking for done:
Decanter of Endless Water Magic Item (Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5, p. 254)
Price: 9,000 gp Item Level: 12nd Body Slot: — Caster Level: 9th Aura: Moderate; Transmutation Activation: Standard (command) Weight: 2.0 lb.
If the stopper is removed from this ordinary-looking flask and a command word spoken, an amount of fresh or salt water pours out.
Separate command words determine the type as well as the volume and velocity.
"Stream" pours out 1 gallon per round. "Fountain" produces a 5-foot-long stream at 5 gallons per round. "Geyser" produces a 20-foot-long, 1-foot-wide stream at 30 gallons per round. The geyser effect causes considerable back pressure, requiring the holder to make a DC 12 Strength check to avoid being knocked down. The force of the geyser deals 1d4 points of damage but can only affect one target per round.
The command word must be spoken to stop it.
Make the water pour into the proper waterwheel, and you can make an axle turn. The decanter alone in Geyser mode can pour out 240 pounds of water per round. This, when paired with with the proper gear setup, can move quite a bunch of stuff around quite fast - and produce a LOT of water in the process. A big plus for farmers!
For power-on-the-go, I'm sure some gnomish ingenuity can be used to create a device that can provide power on demand - and anihilate excess water - using nothing but this decanter as a "power source".
The classic spell for this is Unseen Servant. The servant is not very strong, but it's only a level 1 spell, it lasts for hours, you can cast multiple if needed, and it has that strong "things move themselves" vibe, because the servant is invisible.
Another practical alternative for free labor, although with less of an enchantment feeling, is Animate Dead (Cleric 3, Socerer Wizard 4).
This spell turns the bones or bodies of dead creatures into undead skeletons or zombies that follow your spoken commands.
This has the added bonus that it works without time limit, as at the cost of 25 gp in onyx per HD, the undead stick around permanently. You have a limit of caster level times 4 HD you you can control, but they are much stronger than unseen servants, and while pretty dumb, should have no issue with simple repetitive tasks.
At the higher end (Sorcerer/Wizard 5), you get Telekinesis
An object can be telekinetically manipulated as if with one hand. For example, a lever or rope can be pulled, a key can be turned, an object rotated, and so on, if the force required is within the weight limitation.
And the limit here is 25 lbs per caster level, so you can excert a significant amount of force; but you must concentrate here, which is likely not what you have in mind.
A souped up version of unseen servant would be an invisible stalker
Invisible stalkers are creatures native to the Elemental Plane of Air. They sometimes serve wizards and sorcerers, who summon them to perform specific tasks. A summoned invisible stalker undertakes whatever task the summoner commands, even if the task sends it hundreds or thousands of miles away.
This requires something like summon monster VI (Cleric, Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard 6) as the stalker is a large elemental, if you only need it for a few rounds, or planar binding (Sorcerer/Wizard 6) with its various other trappings as the stalker has 8 HD. You might also be able to bind other extraplanar creatures that can turn invisible, like an imp, with the lesser version of the spell that is only level 5, if they have 6 or less HD.
I suspect these latter options are too high level for what you have in mind and a bit of overkill for just turning a capstan.
Honorable mention should go to the spell "Haunt Shift", from Libris Mortis. Level 5 spell for Clerics, Sorcerers and Wizards. Turn all those pesky ghosts haunting your abandoned castles into "haunting presences", which you may or may not be able to put to work depending on what the DM thinks.
(A haunting presence usually Animates an object, so a haunted cart that pulls itself would hardly be out of the question).
Note: consult a Cleric before attempting the mass enslavement of the souls of the departed, as this may cause alignment damage.
