More cantrips !!!!!

[Aaedimus]

I love the idea of cantrips, but after playing 5e for a few years, I feel like the developers erred on the safe side by providing players what feels like supremely restrictive rules for them. I want to motivate my players to make more use of them, to help the story and world feel more natural and magical, and to help them feel... more awesome. Here are my simple ideas for implementing a more varied and magical campaign:

-All players (even non-casters which pick from a select small list) start with an extra 2 cantrips +1 additional bonus cantrip every 4 levels.

-Select non-damaging cantrips can be cast as both action and bonus action (stuff like Thaumaturgy, Druidcraft, message)

I might have a few ideas for adding to the lists too.

What do you think?

[Spacehamster]

I love the idea of cantrips, but after playing 5e for a few years, I feel like the developers erred on the safe side by providing players what feels like supremely restrictive rules for them. I want to motivate my players to make more use of them, to help the story and world feel more natural and magical, and to help them feel... more awesome. Here are my simple ideas for implementing a more varied and magical campaign:

-All players (even non-casters which pick from a select small list) start with an extra 2 cantrips +1 additional bonus cantrip every 4 levels.

-Select non-damaging cantrips can be cast as both action and bonus action (stuff like Thaumaturgy, Druidcraft, message)

I might have a few ideas for adding to the lists too.

What do you think?

Don’t agree on the first one, there is a feat to learn cantrips plus it takes away from casters, plus if everyone and their grandmother can cast cantrips they will feel less not more fantastic in my opinion at least. :)

2nd one I’m not sure what I think as I feel I play casters too little to know how much of an effect it would have.

[Aaedimus]

Some custom cantrips I thought of were:
(These would all be actions)

-touch a character to give them 10 movement speed for 1 turn (or let them move 10 ft as reaction without taking opportunity attacks)
-place an item you touch that can fit in your palm in a pocket dimension for 6 seconds (it resurfaces in your pocket or hand)
-make an item you touch that can fit in your palm invisible for 1 minute
-the opposite of the light cantrip (item emits "non-magical" darkness)
-make a small wand that lets 1 other player cast a specific cantrip you know as an action(limit 1 exist at a time) and disappears after a minute or first use
-cast on a single piece of ammo, it returns if used in the next minute.
-cast on a single item, -you can't lose it for a minute.
- your sight/hearing/smell improves. Add a 1d6 to next investigation/perception check using these senses
-summon a single CR 0 beast tiny or smaller that you must use your action and concentration every turn for. (Max size raises by one step and CR raises to 1/4, 1/2, 1 when other cantrips get stronger) you cannot use its senses or understand its speech but you can give it telepathic orders it understands if it's within 30ft. It can attack.
-add cantrip you know's damage and effect to 1 weapon's next hit
-your voice changes to imitate any voice (overlaps with actor feat)
-animate up to 10ft of one string or rope for 1 minute
-cast a different cantrip, it doesn't take effect for 1 minute or until your concentration breaks
-animate an instrument you can play to play its self as if you were playing it as long as you hold concentration (up to an hour) you can use this to play a duet.
- play an instrument and attract any beast that can hear it (they are not charmed and react naturally)
-trap and record up to 15 seconds of sound in a small vial. When broken or opened it plays once. Limit 1 at a time
-teleport 5ft to a spot you can see and return to where you were at the end of your turn
-hold a 10in by 10in maximum size piece of paper at arms length. It records either an image of what you could see over what it's covering or it takes a selfie.
-get or give advantage on one animal handling check
-sacrifice your action to get 2 potemtial reactions (must be procked separately)
- a tenticle or living rope attaches from you you to another creature, while concentrating you cannot be more than 15ft from eachother. If either of you try to move further you do so with halved movement if succeeding on contested strength. Tenticle has AC of your saving throw, HP of your spell attack mod.
-a 5ft square within 5 ft of you is heavily obscured until the beginning of your next turn
-the next melee attack that misses you lets you take an opportunity attack against the agressor
- waste your action. your target must succeed on a saving throw against your next attack instead of needing to roll to hit them

[KillingTime]

I agree with Spacehamster.
Cantrips are a powerful class feature. Getting additional cantrips is available as a feat, so worth sacrificing an ASI for.
Just splashing cantrips out to every character is really unbalanced, and strongly detracts from the classes that are built to have them.

[Maelynn]

I also agree that it would be too overpowered when just given to characters.

If you want to add more magic, then you could hand it out in the form of magic items. A lot of the examples you've given could be turned into magic arrows, or an enchanted lute, or a necklace that gives benefits while wearing it. This also gives players the ability to swap items with eachother, to lose it, and to make choices when two items would take up the same 'slot' on their body.

[Teaguethebean]

I think both house rules strongly take away from caster especially warlock Pact of the tome. Everyone and their mom will be walking around with Mage hand, Guidance, Light, Mending, Message, Prestidigitation, Minor illusion and Thamaturgy.
Additionally for tactically minded players you change to make no damaging cantrips a bonus action makes Martial characters very strong as they can gust, move earth, minor illusion all as bonus actions and still fight at full power while a wizard will probably lose that benefit as they will want to cast a leveled spell missing out on the benefits you have made.

[CNagy]

Sounds fine for a very high magic world or something like old Netheril. As long as the "open to everyone" list of cantrips is restricted enough, you probably won't devalue the feats too much (or you just add an extra cantrip to the cantrip feats).

But it seems to me that your world has to be designed for omnipresent magic, because I think this would wreck a fairly normal setting.

[Morollan]

I'm not sure about giving the whole world and his dog a shedload of cantrips but I have been toying with the idea of allowing all classes that currently have access to them to know ALL cantrips for that class but have to prepare a number of them after each long rest, similar to the way that clerics and druids know all their class spells but have to prepare the ones they want to use each day.

[Amechra]

If you just want a stupid number of cantrips, you could go:

Celestial Patron Warlock 1/Arcana Cleric 1/ Warlock (Tome) +X

You'll have twelve cantrips by 4th level. Just make sure that the five you pick up from your level in Cleric don't need attack rolls/saves, and you're golden. If you do this, I suggest talking to the DM about whether or not they'll let you apply Eldritch-Blast modifying Invocations to other cantrips - it shouldn't break anything (other than maybe Create Bonfire, but it doesn't stack with Hex, so...)

[Arkhios]

If you just want a stupid number of cantrips, you could go:

Celestial Patron Warlock 1/Arcana Cleric 1/ Warlock (Tome) +X

You'll have twelve cantrips by 4th level. Just make sure that the five you pick up from your level in Cleric don't need attack rolls/saves, and you're golden. If you do this, I suggest talking to the DM about whether or not they'll let you apply Eldritch-Blast modifying Invocations to other cantrips - it shouldn't break anything (other than maybe Create Bonfire, but it doesn't stack with Hex, so...)

Add one level in Sorcerer and you have sixteen cantrips at 5th level.

[Zetakya]

I'd like to see a wider variety of cantrip available for Spellcasters, but not dolling out cantrips to everyone without a feat.

The fact that there are a dozen Evocation Cantrips, roughly the same number of Transmutation ones, nine Conjuration one but only two or three for the rest of the schools is unbalancing for many of the class abilities that work by school, in particular Death Cleric.

[comk59]

In my campaign worlds I usually have extremely widespread cantrip scrolls that anyone can use. A wealthy farmer might have to go into town to pick up a scroll of Mending, an assassin might have a scroll of True Strike or Acid Spray , and an adventurers kit might have a scroll or two of Create Bonfire. It allows for super frequent cantrip use while still letting spellcasters feel special.