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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Four new druid cantrips!



Magus Clash
2014-10-14, 02:21 PM
Why? Because I'm playing a level 1 druid right now, so I think about basic druid spells a lot.

Bee Sting
Conjuration cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
Several flying, stinging insects appear in your hand to attack and distract one creature within range.
Make a ranged spell attack. On a hit, the target takes 1d4 piercing damage and suffers disadvantage on its next attack or check before your next turn.
This spell’s damage increases by 1d4 when you reach 5th level (2d4), 11th level (3d4), and 17th level (4d4).

Endure Elements
Abjuration cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (20-foot radius)
Components: V, S
Duration: 8 hours
The forces of nature accommodate you, cancelling all unwanted weather conditions within 20 feet of you. Until the spell ends, the sphere moves with you, centered on you.
For the duration, the inside of the sphere is protected from any heat and cold not extreme enough to deal damage, as well as any wind short of a hurricane, rain, snow, hail and sandstorms.

Know Direction
Divination cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
You become one with the grid. You instantly know which direction is north from your current location, provided "north" has any meaning where you are.
Alternatively, the spell can tell you the direction of any place you've physically been to and can clearly visualize, unless that place is protected from scrying.

Magic Stone
Transmutation cantrip
Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 minute
You touch up to five small stones and imbue them with the power of nature. Until the spell ends, the stones can be used as sling bullets.
When used this way or as improvised thrown weapons, the stones grant a +1 bonus to the attack roll, deal 2 extra damage, and are considered magical.
This extra damage increases to 3 at 5th level, 4 at 11th level, and 5 at 17th level.

Strill
2015-03-07, 04:23 PM
Know Direction
Divination cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
You become one with the grid. You instantly know which direction is north from your current location, provided "north" has any meaning where you are.
Alternatively, the spell can tell you the direction of any place you've physically been to and can clearly visualize, unless that place is protected from scrying.

I think this cantrip is perfectly fine, but there happens to be a 6th level spell "Find the Path" that does the same thing.

PotatoGolem
2015-03-07, 08:52 PM
Magic Stone is too strong. Magic Weapon (which druids can't even get) is a 2nd-level spell and only gives a +1 to damage. Given how game-changing magic weapons can be in terms of negating resistance, at-will Magic Weapon is way too good.

bloodshed343
2015-03-07, 09:22 PM
For magic stone: let the stones be treated as magical darts, essentially (1d4 bludgeoning damage, all else the same) that lose the magical property after being thrown or otherwise taken more than 15' from you. Also limit it to 3 at a time.

This would make it a situational cantrip to give your martial types a ranged option to bypass resistance or if they just run out of arrows or whatever.

Strill
2015-03-08, 05:42 AM
Magic Stone is too strong. Magic Weapon (which druids can't even get) is a 2nd-level spell and only gives a +1 to damage. Given how game-changing magic weapons can be in terms of negating resistance, at-will Magic Weapon is way too good.

They're improvised weapons. You don't get your proficiency bonus, unless you spend a feat, and even then they're still decidedly mediocre. On top of that, this is a CANTRIP. There are already plenty of cantrips that can bypass resistance.

Amnoriath
2015-03-08, 08:51 AM
What you should allow instead is that no matter how small or what they are made out of when using them you are proficient with them and at base deal 1d4 damage that is considered magical with a range of 40/100 while having the Finesse property. Then when you gain levels it increases to 1d6 at level 5, 1d8 at 11, and 1d10 at 17.

Amnoriath
2015-03-08, 08:57 AM
As for you other cantrips Bee Sting is pretty much a better version of Vicious Mockery. Endure Elements should at least be concentration based since it pretty much auto-succeeds about half of your Survival checks. I also have the same feeling about Know Direction as Strill

Strill
2015-03-08, 01:12 PM
What you should allow instead is that no matter how small or what they are made out of when using them you are proficient with them and at base deal 1d4 damage that is considered magical with a range of 40/100 while having the Finesse property. Then when you gain levels it increases to 1d6 at level 5, 1d8 at 11, and 1d10 at 17.

Please explain to me why any druid would bother using that over a real cantrip like Produce Flame.

JNAProductions
2015-03-08, 01:19 PM
For stealth.

Amnoriath
2015-03-08, 01:38 PM
Please explain to me why any druid would bother using that over a real cantrip like Produce Flame.

Similar reasons to why they would choose to use Shillelagh except for ranged combat.

Strill
2015-03-08, 04:57 PM
Similar reasons to why they would choose to use Shillelagh except for ranged combat.

Because they're a Life cleric and get bonuses to melee combat, such that it scales on par with cantrips?


For stealth.

Mechanically, it makes no difference for stealth whether you use a spell attack or a ranged attack unless you have the Skulker feat.

JNAProductions
2015-03-08, 05:02 PM
As a DM, there's a hell of a lot of difference between throwing a pebble and shooting a blast of bright flame.

RAW it might not matter. Rules as most DMs are going to see it? There is a difference.

Amnoriath
2015-03-08, 05:39 PM
Because they're a Life cleric and get bonuses to melee combat, such that it scales on par with cantrips?



Mechanically, it makes no difference for stealth whether you use a spell attack or a ranged attack unless you have the Skulker feat.

1. Or that they multiclass to gain another attack as well as bonus and/or gain a bonus action attack through a feat..etc.
2. I wouldn't say that too quickly Produce Flame requires all the components which means they need to talk and/or make noise each time. So with 5e spirit ruling it stands to reason they wouldn't be able to use Stealth as effectively.

Strill
2015-03-08, 05:40 PM
1. Or that they multiclass to gain another attack as well as bonus and/or gain a bonus action attack through a feat..etc.In which case they're better off using almost any other weapon.

Amnoriath
2015-03-08, 06:21 PM
In which case they're better off using almost any other weapon.

That they can use at range? At high levels it deals a Heavy Crossbow worth of damage without the feat tax as well as have another damage type.

Strill
2015-03-08, 08:18 PM
That they can use at range? At high levels it deals a Heavy Crossbow worth of damage without the feat tax as well as have another damage type.

First, I see absolutely no problem with that. If you can't come up with any better option by that level, then you obviously haven't tried.

Second, you'd lose your proficiency bonus for attacking with an improvised weapon.

JNAProductions
2015-03-08, 08:35 PM
What you should allow instead is that no matter how small or what they are made out of when using them you are proficient with them and at base deal 1d4 damage that is considered magical with a range of 40/100 while having the Finesse property. Then when you gain levels it increases to 1d6 at level 5, 1d8 at 11, and 1d10 at 17.

Bold mine, for clarity.

As for you, name a better option. Try for us.

Strill
2015-03-08, 08:51 PM
As for you, name a better option. Try for us.

An actual magic crossbow.

JNAProductions
2015-03-08, 09:03 PM
Something you can do within the rules, if you please. You still need an entire feat to gain two attacks with that.

Strill
2015-03-08, 10:21 PM
A magic longbow then.

JNAProductions
2015-03-08, 10:28 PM
Requires attunement, and that's a pretty big oppurtunity cost.

In addition, the only objectively superior weapons are +2 or higher, and there is no guarantee of you getting one since magic items are totally DM dependent.

Can you think of an option that the player can do, without needing to luck out when the DM rolls on the random treasure tables or just plain be generous? And does not feature a massive oppurtunity cost like the heavy crossbow.

Amnoriath
2015-03-08, 11:01 PM
An actual magic crossbow.

Which does piercing damage which is more likely to be resistant against and least likely to have vulnerability. I highly doubt that you would have a slew of boxing glove arrows. Additionally it is handy in which you can always create them for the most part. Besides magic weapons should have an advantage weapon over beginners casting.

Amnoriath
2015-03-08, 11:02 PM
Requires attunement, and that's a pretty big oppurtunity cost.


To be fair simple magical weapons with just a flat bonus don't require attunement.

JNAProductions
2015-03-08, 11:04 PM
My bad on that. Still DM-dependent, so it's not really something you can try on. You just have to have that kind of DM.