Your best Cantrip Shenanigans? - help with ideas

[OctaviOz]

Hi Playgrounders!

I am playing a level 1 vhuman cleric with magic initiate (Find Familiar) and looking for fun ideas on how to use my cantrips in cool/fun combinations. Both in combat and out.

Would love to hear how you have used them in your games for maximum effect or general hilarity :)

From Magic initiate I have
- Mage Hand
- Minor illusion

From Cleric I currenly have (happpy to swap out)
- Light
- Thamaturgy
- Sacred Flame

Thanks!

[BloodSnake'sCha]

I used presigidition(how do you write it???)

To color traps.
To cheat in a race(if the other can't find their objective because someone made the markers disappear).

I used minor illusion to make a door before opening a door.
To make a dust cloud so the enemy caster will not be able to target me(need an action to break the illusion and I was a Sorcerer with quicken).


Mold earth to hide what left from the prisoner after the rogue talked with him alone.

Mold earth to dig under the enemy field and get out of the kill zone of the archers.

Mold earth for cover.

Mold earth for pit falls

Wow I used mold earth a lot and just now noticed.


Mage hand to throw a rope without missing.
Mage hand to catch a rat and force him into a bag(how to get a pet with no Wisdom for the ability check).

[solidork]

Probably my favorite cantrip use has been Message. I use it to do spy stuff all the time. For example, I snuck invisibly into a camp of potential enemies, located the leader and a good place to hide near him, conducted a whispered conversation with him and snuck out without being spotted by anyone.

I also love using Minor Illusion every time we have to explain to an NPC what something looked like. An evil NPC we saw, the layout of a fortress, etc.

[Pex]

When there are two orc or goblin guards you need to get past or at least distract use Mage Hand to slap one of them upside the head to make him think the other one did it and let them fight it out.

When you need to be stealthy in an area that has distinct noise use Minor Illusion to exaggerate the noise in hopes of giving you Advantage on the check.

[Keravath]

Probably my favorite cantrip use has been Message. I use it to do spy stuff all the time. For example, I snuck invisibly into a camp of potential enemies, located the leader and a good place to hide near him, conducted a whispered conversation with him and snuck out without being spotted by anyone.

I also love using Minor Illusion every time we have to explain to an NPC what something looked like. An evil NPC we saw, the layout of a fortress, etc.

Cool story :) but unfortunately you lose your invisibility when you cast message unless you were using a cloak of invisibility. So if you were well hidden then you could use message and re-cast invisibility to leave but you couldn't keep it up.

[solidork]

Cool story :) but unfortunately you lose your invisibility when you cast message unless you were using a cloak of invisibility. So if you were well hidden then you could use message and re-cast invisibility to leave but you couldn't keep it up.

Yup! I found an unoccupied hut to hide in while we had our little chat, and then recast it.

[firelistener]

When there are two orc or goblin guards you need to get past or at least distract use Mage Hand to slap one of them upside the head to make him think the other one did it and let them fight it out.

LOL that one's hilarious.

I had a dragonborn paladinparty member that was always trying to intimidate people for information, so I'd use prestidigitation to make smoke and sparks around his head or snuff out candles in the room while he was puffing his own flame to make him seem scarier. DM usually gave him advantage on the intimidation checks after that.

[Keravath]

Use prestidigitation to keep warm in cold climates or cool in hot climates. Use it on your clothes/armor.

"You chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 cubic foot of nonliving material for 1 hour." If your clothes stay warm or cold then YOU can't get cold or warm except through exposed surfaces.

A cubic foot is actually alot of clothing.

Use prestidigitation to keep yourself and your party members clean and presentable through the worst of your adventures.

Prestidigitation is also good to put out candles/torches/watch fires if you want to sneak past a watch post of folks who don't have darkvision.

Use minor illusion to create objects to hide behind, to cover where a door is so that folks don't notice it or alternatively create an image of a door so that when you open it, it isn't obvious that the door was opened, at least if it opens towards you. You can also place the illusion a few feet in front of the door so you can open it and have folks on the other side of the illusion still think it is closed.

Use minor illusion to cover a hole in the floor so that when folks chasing you run by they have a good chance to fall in.

The arcane trickster invisible mage hand is an amazing tool :) ... so much that you can do in social situations with an invisible hand and good sleight of hand skills.

Even regular mage hand is extremely useful, opening anything that could be trapped from a distance, turning switches/pulling knobs/dropping coins in fountains, a bard can also use mage hand as part of a show with entertainment.

Thaumaturgy is amazing at opening doors though it is not stealthy. Need a 20 strength check to open a door? As long as it isn't locked - Thaumaturgy!
"You instantaneously cause an unlocked door or window to fly open or slam shut."

Thaumaturgy only requires the door not be locked. If it is jammed, being held by creatures or somehow otherwise secured but not locked then RAW, Thaumaturgy will open it.

I haven't found many other uses for Thaumaturgy since the effects seem to act mostly on your appearance/voice rather than the things around you which has some role playing usefulness but less practical usefulness. Unfortunately, Thaumaturgy can't affect fires in the same way as Prestidigitation or Druidcraft.

[GlenSmash!]

I used presigidition(how do you write it???)

To color traps.
To cheat in a race(if the other can't find their objective because someone made the markers disappear).

I used minor illusion to make a door before opening a door.
To make a dust cloud so the enemy caster will not be able to target me(need an action to break the illusion and I was a Sorcerer with quicken).


Mold earth to hide what left from the prisoner after the rogue talked with him alone.

Mold earth to dig under the enemy field and get out of the kill zone of the archers.

Mold earth for cover.

Mold earth for pit falls

Wow I used mold earth a lot and just now noticed.


Mage hand to throw a rope without missing.
Mage hand to catch a rat and force him into a bag(how to get a pet with no Wisdom for the ability check).

Mold Earth is my favorite cantrip.

[KorvinStarmast]

I also love using Minor Illusion every time we have to explain to an NPC what something looked like. An evil NPC we saw, the layout of a fortress, etc. Our bard used Minor Illusion to show a tribe of goblins what we had done to eliminate the undead in their area. It was pretty cool. (Sort of like a slide show or a very good Powerpoint Presentation)

[crustacean]

My sorlock tends to use cantrips to act like a petty jerk. He just feels better when he makes others feel inferior, I guess.

When our group decided to help a poor merchant get his cart out of a ditch, I, uh, contributed, using Mage Hand to pull 10 pounds of the weight. I also used Mage Hand to shove a rude gesture into a bandit's face from 30 feet away. And once when our ranger rolled a really good athletics check to climb down a rope, she described how she would perform some sweet cinematic moves on the way down. As she landed I used Minor Illusion to produce a huge fart noise just to embarass her.

This is of course the same guy who, once he was told the local peasants would be wearing their finest rags when welcoming the parade of their liege, used his Disguise Self invocation to look like he was a foot taller and wearing impossibly elaborate ceremonial robes. Imagine the pope walking around in full regalia among the dirt farmers.

[Tallytrev813]

I've become a big fan of Clerics taking Magic Initiate (Druid) to steal Shillelagh+Cantrip and Goodberry.


Otherwise, i just really like the elemental cantrips. Shape water and Mold Earth in particular.

[Eldariel]

Minor Illusion:
To create a small white orb behind our face's head to make him appear like "the chosen one" (prophecy and all that, yadda yadda yadda).
For a wall to break off a Blood Hawk attack.
Mimicking sounds to signal my party when to move.
As a dog barking as if to announce a burglar in an alleyway to distract some guards.
To create an illusion of a closed door in the place of one I opened while sneaking into a building and a guard patrolling nearby.
To mimic enemy commander's voice after subduing said commander to tell the troops to leave their positions and chase after the "attackers".

This was over the course of one session. I think about a third of my actions are probably "cast Minor Illusion".

[Pex]

I haven't found many other uses for Thaumaturgy since the effects seem to act mostly on your appearance/voice rather than the things around you which has some role playing usefulness but less practical usefulness. Unfortunately, Thaumaturgy can't affect fires in the same way as Prestidigitation or Druidcraft.

Situational, but in one game the DM mentioned flavor text of people who were charmed by a cult had red opaque eyes. We needed a way in, so Thaumaturgy to color my eyes was all I needed for a disguise.

[Crucius]

I think I read on this forum that someone used Minor Illusion to make a holographic map of the place he just scouted with his familiar. That must have been the single most awesome thing I've read here ever!

So prestidigitation can flavor things. I always thought this has a lot of potential: from obscuring the flavor of poisons to persuading people by handing out food with mind blowingly incredible flavors. In Dutch we have an expression: The love of man goes through the stomach.

[Hilary]

In a game I recently played, I wrapped up an animated armor with a rope using Mage Hand. It worked because the animated armor only reacted to situations (people in a certain range) and didn't have agency.

And I think the GM was being generous in rewarding out of the box ideas.

[Hilary]

I would like to see multiple Cantrips used together. use Thaumatology to create ground shakes and Minor Illusion for scary sounds - simulating something really really dangerous.

[Misterwhisper]

Some odd things:

Sorcerer subtle spell is solid gold.

At a fancy high society ball, followed a target into the washroom, when they were busy cast prestidigitation to soil their clothes.

Target just hid in the bathroom and cried the rest of the night.

Minor illusion to have my own theme song and entrance music. Prestidigitation for a little fancy pyro when entering somewhere cool.

Thaum, to give a very loud speech.

Druidcraft for absentminded whittling.

Dancing lights in the form of a glowing person to peak around corners for me.

Vine whip in the liquor store.

Prestidigitation clean used as a dry cleaning and weapon cleaning.

Made a person trying to be stealthy have their clothes glow or have an arrow over their head.

Made one guard leave a post by illusionist the sound of another guard snoring around the corner.

Chill touch or firebolt to heat food and chill drinks.

Eldritch blast is the ultimate mimic check, it can’t target objects only creatures.

[Nagog]

There's always the amazingly fun and potentially game-ruining shenanigans generated by combining Friends with any sort of disguise (magical or not)

[ImproperJustice]

Mold Earth to build a roman camp.

Mold Earth and tenser’s disk full of loose dirt to block passages / build stairs.

Mold Earth for quick burials.

Shape Water to clear puddles or make passage over water barriers.

Minor Illusion for sound effects.

Yes, second Keen Mind + Minor Illusion to provide perfect audio and video recordings of areas scouted by familiars.

Light cast on arrows and pebbles for water exploration or to find the depth of pits.

Mage Hand + end or rope or grappling hook to grab things our of reach that weigh more than 5lbs.

[Laserlight]

Last night the AT rogue found a door that was not just locked but barred.
He temporarily dismissed his familiar and reappeared it behind the door, then saw through his familiar's eyes and used mage hand to work the mechanism and remove the bar.

[NNescio]

Yes, second Keen Mind + Minor Illusion to provide perfect audio and video recordings of areas scouted by familiars.

Can't have more than one MI active ("The illusion also ends if you dismiss it as an action or cast this spell again"), unless you're using a second caster. Also you have to carefully phrase the visual part of MI as objects ("paintings", "architecture models", "figurines"). And the 'video' is going to have a very crappy FPS of 1 frame per six seconds, without audio (unless you are an Illusionist, but even then syncing the sound/image every 6s is going to be a major headache). You can stagger in sounds between frames, but it's not going to be worth your time since it'll make the 'video' even choppier.

Use Silent Image + Minor Illusion instead.


Last night the AT rogue found a door that was not just locked but barred.
He temporarily dismissed his familiar and reappeared it behind the door, then saw through his familiar's eyes and used mage hand to work the mechanism and remove the bar.

Can't cast Mage Hand through a door even if you have vision. No clear path to the target (or in 3.X terms, no "line of effect").


There's always the amazingly fun and potentially game-ruining shenanigans generated by combining Friends with any sort of disguise (magical or not)

Technically speaking it's hostile to "you" (the caster), not whoever the caster is disguised as.

I mean, sure, it does make sense to rule it otherwise, but this will lead to all sorts of at-will shenanigans that will derail NPC interactions, so it's best for the DM to take a more restrictive, literal reading of RAW and nip this in the bud. Handwave it as magic.


(...) Vine whip in the liquor store. (...)

Chill touch or firebolt to heat food and chill drinks. (...)

Eldritch blast is the ultimate mimic check, it can’t target objects only creatures.

Thorn whip can't target creatures. Neither can Chill Touch (which doesn't deal cold damage anyway, despite its name). Sure, some DMs can be lenient about this, but you are relying on the exact same technicality (and a bit of metagaming, depending on how DMs rule character awareness of targeting rules) to detect mimics, riiiight?



When there are two orc or goblin guards you need to get past or at least distract use Mage Hand to slap one of them upside the head to make him think the other one did it and let them fight it out.

When you need to be stealthy in an area that has distinct noise use Minor Illusion to exaggerate the noise in hopes of giving you Advantage on the check.

Mage Hand is visible, and you can't (directly) interact with creatures with it.

That said, an AT can make the Hand invisible, and interact indirectly with creatures by dropping objects or by pickpocketing an item from one of the guards and then making it look like the other one stole it.

[Misterwhisper]

Can't have more than one MI active, unless you're using a second caster. Also you have to carefully phrase the visual part of MI as objects ("paintings", "architecture models", "figurines"). And the video is going to have a very crappy FPS of 1 frame per six seconds, without audio (unless you are an Illusionist, but even then syncing the sound/image every 6s is going to be a major headache). You can stagger in sounds between frames, but it's not going to be worth your time since it'll make the 'video' even choppier.

Use Silent Image + Minor Illusion instead.



Can't cast Mage Hand through a door even if you have vision. No clear path to the target (or in 3.X terms, no "line of effect").



Technically speaking it's hostile to "you" (the caster), not whoever the caster is disguised as.

I mean, sure, it does make sense to rule it otherwise, but this will lead to all sorts of at-will shenanigans that will derail NPC interactions, so it's best for the DM to take a more restrictive, literal reading of RAW and nip this in the bud. Handwave it as magic.



Thorn whip can't target creatures. Neither can Chill Touch (which doesn't deal cold damage anyway, despite its name). Sure, some DMs can be lenient about this, but you are relying on the exact same technicality (and a bit of metagaming, depending on how DMs rule character awareness of targeting rules) to detect mimics, riiiight?




Mage Hand is visible, and you can't (directly) interact with creatures with it.

That said, an AT can make the Hand invisible, and interact indirectly with creatures by dropping objects or by pickpocketing an item from one of the guards and then making it look like the other one stole it.

It is more that I used eldritch blasts all the time on inanimate objects out of paranoia.

Great for finding cloakers, Ropers, treants, certain giants, mimics, etc. it can’t damage objects but will critters.

Forgot chill touch, meant ray of frost.

[NNescio]

It is more that I used eldritch blasts all the time on inanimate objects out of paranoia.

Great for finding cloakers, Ropers, treants, certain giants, mimics, etc. it can’t damage objects but will critters.

Forgot chill touch, meant ray of frost.

Can't target objects either. Same technicality as Eldritch Blast.

[Misterwhisper]

Can't target objects either. Same technicality as Eldritch Blast.

That is the point.

Try to blast a funny looking rock and nothing happens, just a rock.

Try to blast a rock and it goes off, it is a monster.

No different than casting hold person on a suspected demon to check.

[NNescio]

That is the point.

Try to blast a funny looking rock and nothing happens, just a rock.

Try to blast a rock and it goes off, it is a monster.

No different than casting hold person on a suspected demon to check.

My point is that you can't Thorn Whip bottles or Ray of Frost drinks because they can't target objects either, exactly like Eldritch Blast. So, if the DM rules that "nothing happens" for invalid targets (which is RAW), "nothing happens" too when you try to Thorn Whip or Ray of Frost objects.

[Misterwhisper]

My point is that you can't Thorn Whip bottles or Ray of Frost drinks because they can't target objects either, exactly like Eldritch Blast. So, if the DM rules that "nothing happens" for invalid targets (which is RAW), "nothing happens" too when you try to Thorn Whip or Ray of Frost objects.

The eldritch blast has game effects that matter, the ray of frost and thorn whip are just thematic fluff so it didn’t really matter.

[Particle_Man]

If you can use Thorn Whip to grab a McGuffin that a BBEG just dropped, it suddenly matters.

Anyhow this thread is making me think about playing either an AT or one of those multiclass builds that go for as many cantrips as possible.

[Misterwhisper]

If you can use Thorn Whip to grab a McGuffin that a BBEG just dropped, it suddenly matters.

Anyhow this thread is making me think about playing either an AT or one of those multiclass builds that go for as many cantrips as possible.

Arcana cleric is an amazingly fun build to run.
Play variant human and take magic initiate Druid to go with it for shillelagh, some other cantrip you like and gooseberry.

I played one as the laziest caster ever, he just cast spells to do everything and never did any physical work.

Had to multiclass a little to pull off the true laziness.

[Aprender]

Y'all have remarkably clean minds. I am proud of y'all for that.

Mage hand, at our table, is known as "the stranger" for one particular use that it has.

[Sariel Vailo]

Asked my DM if prestidigitation can be used to help make styling hair for the day faster. They said yes started doing hair and makeup for a week to buy a health potion.

[ImproperJustice]

Asked my DM if prestidigitation can be used to help make styling hair for the day faster. They said yes started doing hair and makeup for a week to buy a health potion.

Prestidigitation as a cleaning service or as a tool for parents on the go with messy toddlers would make it the most valuable cantrip in the world.

[Laserlight]

Y'all have remarkably clean minds. I am proud of y'all for that.

Mage hand, at our table, is known as "the stranger" for one particular use that it has.

Some uses of Mage Hand, Unseen Servant, etc, go without saying. Let the barbarian spend all her gold on dockyard hussies; a wizard doesn't need to.

[NNescio]

Some uses of Mage Hand, Unseen Servant, etc, go without saying. Let the barbarian spend all her gold on dockyard hussies; a wizard doesn't need to.

Why else would Bigby have such a fixation on Hand spells, hem-hem?

(Though strictly speaking Mage Hand and Unseen Servant won't work for that particular purpose, since they can only interact with objects. Even Bigby's Hand might not work unless one fluffs it as being part of the "grapple" option.

Now Tiny Servant, on the other hand...)

[Eldariel]

One great thing about Minor Image is also being able to cast it every round of overland travel at the cost of halving your speed. Have no long duration spell you need to concentrate on and want some coverage? Move at half speed and cast Minor Image every turn.

Options include creating a 5' block/wall approximately 15' in front of you (one turn's travel) to constantly deny vision of you from the front, a fog bank/wooden crate/whatever in your square to essentially start every encounter with total concealment, creating an image of some other creature (some native teleporter is good to be less likely to betray its nature) 30' ahead of you to draw fire, etc.

You can also use Prestidigitation every turn to e.g. recolour your clothes and alter your facial grooming so as to mask your true identity when need be. Nobody will know precisely whom to look for. Doubly efficient, if you're almost entirely concealed with e.g. a mask.


Once you get the free 1st level spell use, Silent Image is a much more potent version of it, both in size and in the fact that it can move, so it's believable even to extended observation and it can provide much greater concealment.

[NNescio]

One great thing about Minor Image is also being able to cast it every round of overland travel at the cost of halving your speed. Have no long duration spell you need to concentrate on and want some coverage? Move at half speed and cast Minor Image every turn.

Even better; Minor Illusion doesn't require concentration.



Options include creating a 5' block/wall approximately 15' in front of you (one turn's travel) to constantly deny vision of you from the front, a fog bank/wooden crate/whatever in your square to essentially start every encounter with total concealment, creating an image of some other creature (some native teleporter is good to be less likely to betray its nature) 30' ahead of you to draw fire, etc.

Fog banks aren't objects. Neither are creatures (but you can sort of substitute with a mannequin/wax statue of a creature, though it will remain static with frozen expressions/poses). Usually the trick here is to describe some kind of object that looks like a ghost (which also explains why it's silent), like a life-sized 'doll' made from a translucent 'bedsheet' draped over a (hard-to-see) frame or something.



You can also use Prestidigitation every turn to e.g. recolour your clothes and alter your facial grooming so as to mask your true identity when need be. Nobody will know precisely whom to look for. Doubly efficient, if you're almost entirely concealed with e.g. a mask.

Can't make mustaches/beards with Presti. Also "make a color... appear" might not necessarily be able to recolor entire clothes. Both are also sort of hedging on Disguise Self's territory.



Once you get the free 1st level spell use, Silent Image is a much more potent version of it, both in size and in the fact that it can move, so it's believable even to extended observation and it can provide much greater concealment.

It's quite good, but usually I'd prefer at-will Shield instead, unless I'm playing an Illusionist.

[Sariel Vailo]

Prestidigitation as a cleaning service or as a tool for parents on the go with messy toddlers would make it the most valuable cantrip in the world.

Ok now I wish magic was real.

[Fable Wright]

It's quite good, but usually I'd prefer at-will Shield instead, unless I'm playing an Illusionist.

But why? Do you really face 5+ rounds of melee attacks per day?

I can think of a lot of circumstances when as many Silent Images as I want would be very useful. I'm having a hard time doing the same for Shield.

To steal from another thread, though:

1. Shape Water + a waterskin full of torn up newspapers = Pykrete on demand. Make any wooden object you like, at will.
2. Shape Water + an object you dislike = freeze, thaw, repeat. You can wear down mountains this way.
3. Shape Water + a lock = get the water to press the pins appropriately.
4. Shape Water + a waterwheel = perpetual motion waterwheel by changing the water's flow for an hour.
5. Prestidigitation for a wax key, try it in the lock, and take it out within 6 seconds. Then you can Prestidigitate up a real key to match your imprint.

[Eldariel]

Even better; Minor Illusion doesn't require concentration.

Indeed, I somehow always get the restriction mixed up with Silent Image and suffer as a consequence. Well, all the better, then. Of course, the Ghost Sounds half of it is also quite potent as a constant misdirection though it's even more of a dead giveaway to potential hostiles that something is afoot.


Fog banks aren't objects. Neither are creatures (but you can sort of substitute with a mannequin/wax statue of a creature, though it will remain static with frozen expressions/poses). Usually the trick here is to describe some kind of object that looks like a ghost (which also explains why it's silent), like a life-sized 'doll' made from a translucent 'bedsheet' draped over a (hard-to-see) frame or something.

Well, creature and apparation of a creature, one and the same; it can't move in either case so it's identical for the purposes of what the spell does. As far as a fog bank goes, it's definitely down to DM whether a cloud is an object or not. But of course, you can achieve much the same in any number of ways so it doesn't really matter. Good point on the ghost, I'll have to abuse that one a little more.


Can't make mustaches/beards with Presti. Also "make a color... appear" might not necessarily be able to recolor entire clothes. Both are also sort of hedging on Disguise Self's territory.

Well, that was my point with the mask: if you've got facial wear, a fake moustache, or anything of the sort, you have a little more room to reconfigure it. "Small mark or symbol" allows you to do basically anything with them; make it look right and you've restyled your mustache/beard/whatever every round. But you can also go from blonde to black to viking red or whatever. I'd argue "face" is also a "surface" but of course that might not fly with every DM, hence the use of some artificial equipment just to be on the safe side. You can also use makeshift wind to make your clothes/hair flutter, sparks to alter the light you appear in, and things of that nature.

Disguise Self can do a holistic change and assume the likeness of another person so I think it's completely different; here we're using Prestidigitation to hide our identity or distinguishing features (3 changes is plenty) instead of looking like a particular person/creature type/whatever. Disguise Self is a hundred times more potent so I don't think this is problematic, and it's certainly within the power of Prestidigitation.


It's quite good, but usually I'd prefer at-will Shield instead, unless I'm playing an Illusionist.

That's fair, and Shield is a very strong pick but I have a dislike for simply numbers and prefer more open-ended stuff instead. I rarely take many attacks when playing a Wizard so prepared Shields are usually sufficient. It of course depends on how you play too; I do prefer avoiding fights to just having the numbers to trounce them and Silent Image does a lot to that end.

[Derpldorf]

Shape Water is truly fantastic in a "realistic" setting. You can pull water vapor in the air together to refill your water skins, its a perfect towel, its a mobile shower, it helps in cooking and cleaning, and that's just off the top of my head.


Mold Earth is great for camp making. Carry around a sack full of sacks for instant sandbags. Dig ditches and latrines in seconds.

[1Pirate]

Tasted a sample of the most expensive Ale at the tavern, then bought a cask of the cheapest. Presti to flavor it like the most expensive. Drinks all around to the tight-lipped miners about what was really happening in those caves.

[Seclora]

on to have my own theme song and entrance music. Prestidigitation for a little fancy pyro when entering somewhere cool.

I had a Bard who did this, with varied levels of illusions, for his whole team during a tournament. He wasn't much for fighting, but he was a heck of a promoter.

Same character, weirdly enough, also used Prestidigitation's heat/cool function, Mercury, and a lot of light, sturdy metal to build a Stirling Engine. Being a bit of a wanker, he used it to make a Motorcycle, instead of trying to generate power or something beneficial to the community.

[Xetheral]

Also you have to carefully phrase the visual part of MI as objects ("paintings", "architecture models", "figurines").

"Diorama" and "Model" are both suitable objects that work for displaying scouting information with Minor Illusion.

[CorporateSlave]

An AT can use Invisible Mage Hand to carry and pour out flasks of oil somewhere sneaky (say, under an occupied chair across the table from you), then have the same Mage Hand come back for a candle...a few seconds and one quick Prestidigitation later to light the candle directly in contact with the oil...*FWOMP*