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theVoidWatches
2019-05-18, 09:24 AM
Here's a suite of weapon-attack cantrips to go with Green-Flame Blade and Booming Blade!

ACIDIC BLADE
Transmutation Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5 feet
Components: V, M (a weapon)
Duration: 1 round
As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within the spell's range, otherwise the spell fails. On a hit, the target suffers the attack's normal effects, and its armor is briefly weakened by acid. The next attack roll made against it before the beginning of your next turn is made with advantage.
This spell's damage increases when you reach higher levels. At 5th level, the melee attack deals an extra 1d8 acid damage to the target. The extra damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 11th level (2d8) and 17th level (3d8).

BLACK-ICE BLADE
Enchantment Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5 feet
Components: V, M (a weapon)
Duration: 1 round
As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within the spell's range, otherwise the spell fails. On a hit, the target suffers the attack's normal effects, and black frost covers it until the beginning of your next turn. Until then, the target's speed is reduced by half.
This spell's damage increases when you reach higher levels. At 5th level, the melee attack deals an extra 1d8 cold damage to the target. The extra damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 11th level (2d8) and 17th level (3d8).

GREEN-FLAME BLADE
as written

FORCEFUL BLADE
Evocation Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5 feet
Components: V, M (a weapon)
Duration: Instantaneous
As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within the spell's range, otherwise the spell fails. On a hit, the target suffers the attack's normal effects, and it is pushed 10 feet away from you.
This spell's damage increases when you reach higher levels. At 5th level, the melee attack deals an extra 1d6 force damage to the target. The extra damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 11th level (2d6) and 17th level (3d6).

SPARKBLADE
Evocation Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5 feet
Components: V, M (a weapon)
Duration: Instantaneous
As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within the spell's range, otherwise the spell fails. On a hit, the target suffers the attacks normal effects, and electrical energy leaps from the target to a different creature that you can see within 10 feet of it. The second creature takes lightning damage equal to your spellcasting ability.
This spell's damage increases when you reach higher levels. At 5th level, the melee attack deals an extra 1d6 lightning damage to the target, and the lightning damage to the second creature increases to 1d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier. Both damage rolls increase by 1d6 when you reach 11th level (+2d6, 2d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier) and 17th level (+3d6, 3d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier).

GRAVE-TOUCHED BLADE
Necromancy Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5 feet
Components: V, M (a weapon)
Duration: 1 round
As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within the spell's range, otherwise the spell fails. On a hit, the target suffers the attack's normal effects, and feels the chill of death settle into its spine. The next time it takes damage before the beginning of your next turn, it takes an additional 1d6 necrotic damage.
This spell's damage increases when you reach higher levels. At 5th level, the melee attack deals an extra 1d6 necrotic damage to the target, and the additional necrotic damage increases to 2d6. Both damage rolls increase by 1d6 when you reach 11th level (+2d6) and 17th level (+3d6).

VENOMOUS BLADE
Transmutation Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5 feet
Components: V, M (a weapon)
Duration: 1 round
As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within the spell's range, otherwise the spell fails. On a hit, the target suffers the attack's normal effects, and it suffers from the poisoned condition until after the next time it makes an attack check or ability check.
This spell's damage increases when you reach higher levels. At 5th level, the melee attack deals an extra 1d8 poison damage to the target. The extra damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 11th level (2d8) and 17th level (3d8).

PSYCHIC BLADE
Enchantment Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5 feet
Components: V, M (a weapon)
Duration: 1 round
As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within the spell's range, otherwise the spell fails. On a hit, the target suffers the attack's normal effects, and psionic energy surrounds it until the start of your next turn. If the target makes an attack roll before then, it does so at disadvantage.
This spell's damage increases when you reach higher levels. At 5th level, the melee attack deals an extra 1d6 psychic damage to the target. The extra damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 11th level (2d6) and 17th level (3d6).

SHINING BLADE
Evocation Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5 feet
Components: V, M (a weapon)
Duration: 1 round
As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within the spell's range, otherwise the spell fails. On a hit, the target suffers the attack's normal effects, and you or another creature within 5 feet of you gains temporary hit points equal to your spellcasting ability modifier, which expire at the beginning of your next turn.
This spell's effects increase when you reach higher levels. At 5th level, the melee attack deals an extra 1d6 radiant damage to the target, and the second creature gains an additional 1d6 temporary hit points. Both rolls increase by 1d6 when you reach 11th level (+2d6, +2d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier) and 17th level (+3d6, +3d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier).

BOOMING BLADE
as written

Grek
2019-05-18, 10:04 AM
Acidic Blade is currently listed as doing cold damage and Venomous Blade is listed as doing psychic. Shining Blade should probably list a duration for those hit points. Otherwise, it looks great and I would allow any of these in one of my games. It manages to capture the feel of each element without too much rules complexity.

It would be nice to have some non-evocation options, though. What would an phantasmal blade look like? Or divination guided one, or an abjuration-focused cantrip (maybe it could protect an ally?)

LibraryOgre
2019-05-18, 10:11 AM
Some of the damage types might also want to come down from d8; Force is particularly good, as I understand it.

Zhorn
2019-05-18, 10:30 AM
I've been musing about a similar thing for a while, although from a slightly different angle.

Rather than having ALL weapon cantrips for a 5 ft melee range, have a variety of different weapon cantrips that use different weapon groups

Melee: as exists
Reach: replicate Deathpact Angel's scythe attack (at the very least something that doesn't require spell sniper to work)
shield: reaction style shockwave (think cap's shield in mcu)
Thrown: Hurling thunderbolts and frost spears
Ranged: Legend of Zelda style light arrows

theVoidWatches
2019-05-18, 10:47 AM
Fixed typos and brought Forceful Blade down to d6 damage.

I'll leave it to someone else to come up with versions for other schools of magic - I just wanted to get some more damage types in there.

Grod_The_Giant
2019-05-18, 11:24 AM
Black Ice Blade should probably reduce the target's speed by half, for simplicity.
I'm not a big fan of Sparkblade being the same as Green Flame Blade...maybe instead it keeps them from taking reactions, like Shocking Grasp?
Grave-Touched Blade seems a bit too good-- it's the same setup as Booming Blade, but a lot easier to trigger.
Venomous Blade inflicting poison is probably too strong. Psychic Blade gives disadvantage on ONE attack; this gives it on all attacks, and also on all ability checks.
Shining Blade is hella strong at low levels.

Composer99
2019-05-21, 09:03 AM
It seems like Sparkblade does a lot more damage than the other cantrips of this set as damage scales.

theVoidWatches
2019-05-21, 10:42 AM
Sparkblade does more damage because its bonus effect is "deal damage to a second target", like Green-Flame Blade. Most of them don't have that as their extra effect.

Reworded Black-Ice Blade as suggested. Bumped the damage of Grave-Touched Blade down to d6s to account for it triggering more easily than Booming Blade. Venomous Blade no longer leaves the target poisoned for as long, only until they make an attack roll or ability check that it would effect - I'm okay with it affecting either where Psychic Blade only effects one, because a lot of creatures are immune to poison or the poisoned condition. Shining Blade now has a duration of only 1 round.