Cantrip shenanigans

[TheNerfGuy]

I'm wanting to know what sorts of shenanigans I can do with the various cantrips.

I also want to know if some tricks with cantrips my character knows are possible.

My character is a Tiefling Wizard 6 right now. I was also allowed to take Cantrip Formulas, so I can trade out cantrips one at a time per long rest.

Cantrips:
Prestidigitation
Fire Bolt
Ray of Frost
Mold Earth

Being a Tiefling grants me Thaumaturgy.


I think I might know a few tricks for Mold Earth already, but I'd like to make sure.
Could I lower an enemy into a pit by moving the dirt from underneath them?
Is it possible to move an excavated pile back on top of a person in the pit in order to trap them?
And could I mold piles of dirt so as to count it as difficult terrain without using the 1 hour thing?

[Segev]

Mold Earth is explicitly too slow to drop or trap people, but you can change the elevation under them.

A combination trick I recently started trying is Catapult to hurl a flask of oil, and then using Fireball on whoever got hit. Because coating someone in oil makes them take +5 damage from sources of fire damage for the next minute, and using Catapult to fling it means you're getting a first level spell's damage in that round, rather than none.

Prestidigitation can alter or remove odors, which has potentially niche uses when dealing with trackers that use scent.

If you have darkvision and a gloomstalker, Prestidigitation can also put out one fire at a time and maybe plunge an area into darkness for the gloomstalker's benefit.

With a generous DM, Shape Water can make the water get up and walk due to the "simple shapes" bullet point. Failing that, you can put it into a shape or just freeze it and have it move around on a floating disk so you can have a big block of water with you for other shenanigans.

[animorte]

First note, my favorite cantrip is definitely mage hand, but that's not what you're asking about. :smalltongue:

Prestidigitation: I have used this many times as some sort of distraction, such as luring a guard to look away from the gate. Minor magic tricks that appeal to simple townsfolk. I even had a character at one point that was such a germaphobe, if something died near him in combat, he would actually waste a turn just to clean himself up. That, of course isn't optimal, but sometimes addressing the danger was more imminent than the mess.

Fire Bolt: You can light a campfire, lantern, torch, curtains, brush, what-have-you on fire from an exceptional distance. It's more useful out of combat than given credit for.

Ray of Frost: A reliable bit of control, especially compared to most damage cantrips. This is one that I prefer over most, especially if I'm a squishy back-liner. Pair that with some mobility and you're grand. (Though irrelevant and more prerequisites Eldritch Blast/Repelling Blast is a clear winner for damage/control cantrip.)

Mold Earth: In combat, you could disrupt some ground between an opponent and their target that would force them to either go around the difficult terrain or through it, conditionally applying a similar effect to that of ray of frost. If you know something's about to go down and have a minute to prepare, you can disrupt a certain area to use as your advantage. ALSO, the range allows it to be used as a reliable communication method. You can prepare color-coded signals or write things in the dirt for allies (or even enemies) to perceive as you so desire. This same effect is logical for marking directions to keep from getting lost, or guiding somebody to your location. I've used it while travelling through tunnels to make it slower travel for any potential stalkers. Extremely versatile cantrip.

[Sorinth]

Prestidigitation has a Verbal component so I'm not sure it will work all that well as a distraction or snuffing out lights while maintaining stealth. Minor Illusion and Control Flames on the other hand don't have a Verbal component so should work much better for those uses. But as always check with your DM.

Thunderclap can work as a good distraction so long as you are the distraction who stays behind. Do it when nobody is looking and act dumfounded at what just happened when a crowd inevitably shows up to investigate the noise.

Sapping Sting is a weak cantrip but has a niche against flyers.

Not what your asking but for arcane villains with Legendary Actions I like cast a Cantrip then Chill Touch is amazing since it stops pop-up healing in it's tracks and even stabilizing via Spare the Dying/Healer's Kit to stabilize aren't all that great because they can and will be destabilized again. As a PC you can still find good uses against creatures that regenerate.

[animorte]

Prestidigitation has a Verbal component so I'm not sure it will work all that well as a distraction or snuffing out lights while maintaining stealth. Minor Illusion and Control Flames on the other hand don't have a Verbal component so should work much better for those uses. But as always check with your DM.
I completely agree that other cantrips are more reliable for distraction, but it can get interesting (granted you do mention that some ideas might require the caster being part of said distraction):
“It’s on fire!” Create the smell of smoke.
“The thief went that way!” Sound of footsteps. (might be more minor illusion)
“Here’s the King’s sigil.” Make the symbol on a paper.
“Ew gross!” Soil some random guy’s breeches.

It can also be used to touch up that crap food for the party so it’s warm and yummy, cool some beverage for greater refreshment. Same concept, cover up traces of poison in a drink or food.

[TheNerfGuy]

But is there anything in particular I can use Mold Earth for during a battle?

[animorte]

But is there anything in particular I can use Mold Earth for during a battle?
- You could remove some loose earth beneath the feet of a person on the edge of a cliff.
- Set up a pit trap (or several) before hand and remove the earth from above it when a bad guy crosses over.
- Create difficult terrain between somebody and their intended direction (or directly beneath them).
- Make an image on the ground if something that they might be afraid of.
- Escape the fight beneath a fence.
- Remove enough loose terrain from beneath a tree/pillar/wall so that it falls over.

I’m not sure your exact intentions, but you can’t really do damage without preparing beforehand (like a pitfall) or convenient environmental awareness. I keep going back to the thoughts about creating difficult terrain wherever you want. I suppose you could also toss the earth in somebody’s square to make them dirty, be annoying.

[Sandeman]

Prestidigitation can be used to clean clothes from blood.
Can be quite useful.

[tiornys]

Mold Earth can create cover for two people at once (one person in the hole, one behind the mound of earth).

[Tanarii]

But is there anything in particular I can use Mold Earth for during a battle?
By far the best use is when you know a battle is coming and have a bit of time to prepare. It can rapidly build some basic defensive works in the right terrain.


Fire Bolt: You can light a campfire, lantern, torch, curtains, brush, what-have-you on fire from an exceptional distance. It's more useful out of combat than given credit for.I once had a PC's missed Firebolt set an area on fire. Not something I'd ever recommend a DM do to a player regularly, since the spell doesn't say "Drawback: misses might start forest fires!" But it turned the aftermath of that particular encounter into a memorable experience for the party.

Side note: I do enjoy describing the effects of ranged attack (hit or miss) when there's a tank engaged with the enemy being targeted. IMO it adds to the experience of trying to hack on something with your battle axe when your allies are firing bolts of fire and ice at the damn thing!

[Segev]

I once had a PC's missed Firebolt set an area on fire. Not something I'd ever recommend a DM do to a player regularly, since the spell doesn't say "Drawback: misses might start forest fires!" But it turned the aftermath of that particular encounter into a memorable experience for the party.

It can definitely be frustrating to players if it feels like they're being punished for using their abilities. That said, if it can happen on a miss, expect your players to line up shots so that, if they miss, they still get a secondary effect to their advantage. For instance, if firebolt lights things on fire on a miss, they may aim from above to catch the ground around the target on fire if they miss.

[Chronos]

Quoth Tanarii:

By far the best use is when you know a battle is coming and have a bit of time to prepare. It can rapidly build some basic defensive works in the right terrain.
Exactly what I was going to say. For a great deal of the history of warfare (heck, it's still being used in Ukraine), the most common sort of "fortification" was just a ditch with the excavated dirt piled up on one side of it. You can make such a fortification with a platoon of soldiers slinging shovels all day... or with a caster with Mold Earth and a few minutes of prep time.

[solidork]

Prestidigitation can help out in extreme environments by allowing you to warm or cool your clothing for an hour at a time.

Minor Illusion is useful in situations whenever you're trying to describe something you saw; show a miniature of the bandit camp layout for planning purposes, or a bust of the murderer who got away. Don't share a language? Minor Illusion can bridge that gap handily.

[Tanarii]

Minor Illusion is useful in situations whenever you're trying to describe something you saw; show a miniature of the bandit camp layout for planning purposes, or a bust of the murderer who got away. Don't share a language? Minor Illusion can bridge that gap handily.While I concede this is within even a fairly strict reading of the cantrip, it always feels like an anchronism to me. Like trying to bring modern firearms into the game.

[Segev]

While I concede this is within even a fairly strict reading of the cantrip, it always feels like an anchronism to me. Like trying to bring modern firearms into the game.

I'm not sure why; battle maps have been a thing for millennia. Using rocks and twigs and lines drawn in the dust, if nothing else.

[Chronos]

I've also used Minor Illusion for silent communications, when the party is trying to sneak in somewhere. If you want to tell your teammates something, put an illusion of a sign on a surface that isn't visible to the enemy.

[Stattick]

Minor Illusion - The enemy commander screams, "RETREAT!"
Mold Earth - Hide the bodies
Prestidigitation - remove the bloodstains
Minor Illusion - Put a bullseye target on someone's back\
Thaumaturgy - Cause all the doors and windows to explosively open: that's the signal to assault the place.
Minor Illusion + Prestidigitation - severed head & smells like blood.
Minor Illusion - Make a 5' crate. Since you know it's an illusion, you can hide in it, and shoot from within it, or from the other side of it. It should also give you cover, making it harder for the enemy to shoot you.
Minor Illusion - cover a hall with oil or grease; hide it with the illusion of a clean floor.
Minor Illusion - hide the window, making it look like a solid wall.
Minor Illusion - make a small, fake secret door (or not so secret). Watch the enemy go crazy trying to figure out how to open it.

[TheNerfGuy]

These are all really good tricks I can use.

Thank you!

Will definitely consider Minor Illusion as a trade-out via Cantrip Formulas.