Level Up (A5E) Cantrips, pros and cons

PJ Coffey

PJ Coffey

PJ Coffey (they/them)
I was doing some thinking about cantrips and how I liked them. So I did my usual thing which was make a table. Then I looked at how they're distributed amongst the classes. And then I looked at where the "holes" might be and how the rare versions stacked up.

Probably interesting if you're looking at frequency of use in a game as important which I do.

homebrewandhacking.com

The True Cost of Cantrips

How do cantrips stack up to each other? Is there anything interesting we can learn from this?
homebrewandhacking.com homebrewandhacking.com

OBVIOUSLY this is just my personal opinion, it being my blog and all. I do not work for EN Publishing etc. I was just a bit surprised that bards and clerics caught it in the shorts so hard.
 

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Distracted DM

Distracted DM

Distracted DM
Supporter
I was just having a discussion about the Message spell (a few minutes ago!) so I was interested to see where you'd rank it, but when I saw it as A-tier I was curious. You may have missed an important note: It has a verbal component. You need to make your magical gestures with your material component or spell focus while speaking the magic words in a clear voice, and THEN you can whisper your message (and receive a whispered reply).

I don't really understand the use of 5e's version of the Message spell, it's weird. In earlier editions it was more useful, but you had limited spells- whether it was a cantrip in 3e or a 1st level in AD&D.
With 5e... 120ft range ok, someone you're pointing at far off through a window can hear you. The "pointing at" part is also strange.

From the 3.5 SRD, check out the most important part: the duration
1715971878019.png

Or maybe you didn't miss it and I'm just missing the useful part :(
It came up in the conversation I was having because one player suggested using it as a discreet way to get advantage on Insight via help.

Edit: It can target someone in another room, so I guess if you're separated but know that they're in the next room, that can be useful. Still pretty niche.
 
Last edited:

Tonguez

Tonguez

A suffusion of yellow
other than presdigitation your ranking seem to be fair, though they do seem to be favouring damage over utility - presdigitation is a highly versatile utility spell.

I still cant work out why chill touch has a 120ft range but ray of frost only gets 60, I'd much rather they both act like Produce Flame and just be touch attacks or thrown 30ft
 

PJ Coffey

PJ Coffey

PJ Coffey (they/them)
Here's a small article on my opinion of the ranking of the various cantrips in A5e and where there's space for more.

Obviously you may have a different opinion and that's fine but I hope by seeing mine it might spark some ideas and help people interested in making characters make good decisions.

homebrewandhacking.com

The True Cost of Cantrips

How do cantrips stack up to each other? Is there anything interesting we can learn from this?
homebrewandhacking.com homebrewandhacking.com
 






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