Cantrips!

[Inevitability]

So, the lowly cantrips are often underestimated. After all, why waste your actions on making your foes' armor turn purple when you can just blast his head off?

This thread has the goal of finding ways to make cantrips useful in combat. What interesting/silly/funny/flavorful things can YOU come up with?

Some ideas of mine:

-Bonded summoner lets you teleport 2 squares each time you use a conjuration/summoning power. Mage hand can turn this into minor-action teleportation, which can be a huge boost in movement speed with the right items.

-Scare can turn an intimidate check into an arcana check. When arcana modifiers of +60 are not impossible, this can easily scare a big enemy in oblivion every fight.

[Kurald Galain]

So, the lowly cantrips are often underestimated. After all, why waste your actions on making your foes' armor turn purple when you can just blast his head off?

Why not do both? Certain cantrips are a minor action, after all.

Such as Mage Hand. Moving items around is useful in many battlefields. Also, in case of emergency you can move a healing potion to an ally.

[GPuzzle]

Optimization through RAW:
-Mage Hand+Tome Expertise=FREE CA!

Optimization through logic:
-Ghost Sound, if used correctly, can grant a surprise round.

Overall silliness and something I've always wanted to try:
-Mage Hand conjures two hands that pick up the Wizard's teapot and teacup, and imitate the Wizard's hand movements, preapring the tea in mid air, then serving it to him and he turns as if the hands were butlers and says "Thank you."

[Tegu8788]

Cast Light on the Lurker that wants to hide in the shadows.

Or anything that wants to sneak around.

[Inevitability]

Overall silliness and something I've always wanted to try:
-Mage Hand conjures two hands that pick up the Wizard's teapot and teacup, and imitate the Wizard's hand movements, preapring the tea in mid air, then serving it to him and he turns as if the hands were butlers and says "Thank you."

Okay, now I can't stop smiling. Thanks for making me happy, sir. :smallsmile:
Too bad you'd need a staff of spectral hands for that.

[Mandrake]

Prestidigitation as a way to effectively blend into your surroundings, if given two rounds (change the ambient you're hiding in and your own clothing and skin color to match).

Distracting Beasts from combat with strong odors of food put on a rock thrown away. Or strong odors of something they fear put on yourself.

Using Light to create shadowy areas for you to hide.

Using that already placed Mage Hand to drop that Alchemist's Fire it's holding from the ceiling as a free action on top of some Kobolds is a fun idea too. :smallsmile:

[Kane0]

As always, judicious use of ghost soud with prestidigitation and ghost sound can end up scaring opponents to death.

[Kimera757]

My wizard PC used Light for signalling.

[MrUberGr]

I can think of a few uses of mage hand:

Tie a rope around a patroling foe's legs. Would probably fall down, and you'd get surprise round on him. It would require an acrobatics check to not fall, but the dc would be rather high.

Untie a guards weapon sheath! Surprise round for sure, and he'd have to spend time trying to pick it up.

How about emptying a bag of caltrops? Would that be legal?

[Kimera757]

I thought you couldn't manipulate attended objects with Mage Hand. The rope trick sounds like it's rules-legal though.

[Inevitability]

I got another myself:

-Use prestidigidation to conceal the taste of poison.

[MrUberGr]

Now that's an issue we've had come upon a few times. Do poisons really have a taste? Most of the time you add a few drops to a whole plate. And unless someone is a poison expert it could be mistaken for some spice. But, yeah that's a useful utility in any case.


I thought you couldn't manipulate attended objects with Mage Hand. The rope trick sounds like it's rules-legal though.

It doesn't say anything like that neither in the PHB nor at the Errata. I think it was that way in 3.5

[Kurald Galain]

Now that's an issue we've had come upon a few times. Do poisons really have a taste?

In real life? Most certainly. Well, there's probably a number of exceptions as well, but for example it is known that a certain well-known poison smells of almonds...

[MrUberGr]

Well then sprinkle it over some almonds then caramelize them and voila!

[Tegu8788]

I used prestidigidation to inscribe directions on a roof tile, then Mage hand to get them to my allies while scouting ahead. In or wake it looked like a few roof tiles fell off, nothing more.

[docHigh]

Prestidigidation - make a small rock look like gold-coin and throw it into big sacrificial bon-fire. Don't try this at home, since might enrage some fire-elementals. Same could be tried with any other offerings to gods.
Prestidigidation - unbraid the dwarf's beard at night for mocking your strength. NB! Act innocent and claim you only wanted him to look nice.
Prestidigidation - give the taste of juicy-fat-dripping-meat to daily-rations. Sometimes serves as a good bartering item with bugbears/ghouls/goblins. Or make the drinks cold/good to get the extra +2 for Diplomacy check in a bar.
Prestidigidation - make the needed holy symbol (or hide it) on your party clothes. Might get the extra +2 for any skill you need.
Prestidigidation - make the air blow and cape of the party-voice move in the wind like super-heroes do. +2 diplomacy guaranteed (mix it with GhostSound for some vocal effects as well).

Light - cast it on the defender's shield or helmet. Most monsters are attracted to the light.

Mage-hand-high-5 with yourself after a nice Nova/combo.
MageHand all items - you're a wizard, not some dumb fighter. Make the force serve you!
MageHand - open those suspicious doors from 5 feet. Or assist the rogue on lockpick by holidng the tools/showing light.
MageHand - swipe the air to look for the square, where the invisible monster might be (if your perception is low). You can skim the area (5-squares) since Mage Hand can't pass solid objects.

Sneaking next to some guard and then using MageHand is risky - I never want to be close enough for melee. Using MageHand in melee to get CA (throwing sand in air, throwing the cape around its eyes etc) is not possible, since PHB said it can't offer benefits that other powers do.
Similar applies for GhostSound (using it close to enemies), since range 10 is awfully little.

So, if you are the wizard, then do whatever you think might be fun and claim Prestidigidation did it. :) 90% of times the DM rolls with it. :smallsmile: