The Most VERSATILE Cantrips | 5e Dungeons and Dragons | Web DM

Choosing cantrips can be one of the hardest decisions in D&D character creation, but fear not! Today we're talking about our favorite multitasking cantrips for wizards, clerics, bards, druids, sorcerers, warlocks, and artificers. These are spells that are good in tons of situations, they're mostly underrated and have uses you might not think of.
Support our sponsor! Get Ptolus: The City By the Spire now: www.montecookg...
Did you miss out on our Kickstarter? It's not too late! The Weird Wastelands Pre-Order Store is now Open! weird-wastelan... Backer surveys out now!
GET MORE WEB DM! / webdm We've got a bonus podcast that you can get every single week where we go into way more topics! Over 200 episodes available now. Plus ad-free show audio, and discord and live hangouts for select tiers!
#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg
Facebook - bit.ly/2oGKLOg
Twitter - / webdmshow
Instagram - web_dm
Written & Hosted by Jim Davis and Jonathan Pruitt
Produced and Directed by Emma Lambert
Edited by Brandon Fraley
Web DM was created by Travis Boles, Jonathan Pruitt, and Jim Davis
Background art by Ambrose H Hoilman ambrosehh.com/...
Foreground art by Thomas Tanner thomastannerar...
Music by John Branch -branchoutguita...
Web DM Theme by Kyle Newmaster - kylenewmaster.com

[@WebDM]

Thanks for watching! Get Ptolus: The City By the Spire now: www.montecookgames.com/store/product/ptolus-monte-cooks-city-by-the-spire/ PREORDER our book! weird-wastelands.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders Backer surveys out now! JOIN our Patreon and get over 200 podcast episodes now! www.patreon.com/webdm

[@bradwoodard8289]

I'll send my familiar up in the air, look through its eyes to scout out the terrain, then cast Minor Illusion to create a 3D map for the rest of the party to see the surrounding terrain.

[@Winterheart786]

This is buss level strategy

[@ttprophet]

i have a mute character that i'd describe as "unsettling". no bed side manor... very creepy old lady. She uses minor illusions to warn players of traps by showing an image of them dying in the most horrible of ways. lol

[@dr.z6601]

I'm so going to do this!

[@FirstLast-wk3kc]

As a DM I would ask you for an intelligence check for accuracy. Or not if you have Keen Mind.

[@wuzillah]

@@FirstLast-wk3kc I wouldn't, that's so arbitrary

[@ryanknudsen9677]

Prestidigitation is my favorite cantrip and probably what I would take in real life if I had the choice. No more dishes, no more showers, never lose a deposit on ruined carpet, never stain my clothes. And I can make someone look like they soiled themselves if they annoy me.

[@vilkarmooringstead5346]

Never have to worry about wardrobe choices

[@Bluecho4]

I had an idea for a Tabaxi Wizard a while back that, naturally, didn't want to bathe. So they would just use Prestidigitation to clean their fur.

[@solsystem1342]

I think spare the dying would be the obvious choice. It'd be absurdly good for an emt to show up and just cast spare the dying on someone with a heart attack, poison intake, etc Edit: for real life. I should start having more npcs use it that way though.

[@mussante]

Haha sweet. I'll be a fighter with twice your health and strength and you can be my doorman

[@Bluecho4]

@@mussante That's tough talk coming from someone within Fireball distance.

[@brothertaddeus]

My favorite thing to use Minor Illusion for is to show hologram images of relevant objects to people. Like "hey, we were in this dungeon and saw a weird gizmo, it looked like this" when trying to research or find out info from an NPC, or "hey, the guy the bounty is for looks like this". Not even trying to use it as an illusion so much as the fantasy equivalent of taking a picture on your smartphone and showing it to whoever needs to know about it.

[@DoremiFasolatido1979]

Ditto. Had a Warlock who was a bounty hunter, once. Used it to track his targets. I'd form an image in my mind based on what I knew of the target, showing it around town while I searched, and refine it as I acquired better knowledge, or if I actually spotted him. . I also tended to use Minor Illusion, Devil's Sight, and Darkness to set traps in alleyways for my quarry after setting them up with some carefully-spread rumors. Darkness to keep them blind in the fight, Devil's Sight for obvious reasons, and Minor Illusion to make the exterior of the Darkness zone look "normal". They walk right in, and then can't find their way back because I'm on them before they even finish stepping through.

[@brianmallis2666]

I like using Minor Illusion as the pre break in scene. So person A stands here, the guards walk from here to here, and what not. It was so prevalent in one campaign that the battle master in the group got a small clip board that was permanently enchanted with minor illusion so they could do it as the pre battle briefing.

[@felixrivera895]

I have a kenku in my game and her player took magic initiate Specifically so she could circumvent speech with imagery sometimes.

[@itzybitzyspyder]

Yeah, i would use shape water to make crude 3d animations of what I was seeing through my bat familiar's blindsighted eyes.

[@FirstLast-wk3kc]

I loved to make the Illusions of bushes as a gnome. Guards running here from a corner? Step under window and hide inside "bush", just trying to be quiet.

[@arcticbanana66]

I once had a wizard that retired from adventuring at level 3 thanks to Prestidigitation. We were playing 3.5 Edition, and I put the majority of my skill points into various Craft and Profession skills. When I hit 3rd level, I took the Create Wondrous Item feat, and spent all my adventuring monies I had been saving up to buy a shop and supplies. I then retired from adventuring and sold magic items enchanted with Prestidigitation: plates and bowls that keep food warm, mugs and tankards that keep beverages cool, forks and spoons that flavor food, clothing that cleans itself, door handles that chime when opened, etc. I created a new character, and my wizard became the NPC who bankrolled the party's adventures. Honestly, with Mending and Prestidigitation, I'm surprised more magic users don't just quit adventuring and open laundromats. One time the party broke into a mansion through a third-story window, and my Arcane Trickster used Minor Illusion to cover the broken window with the image of the same window before we broke it so the guards patrolling the grounds wouldn't notice.

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

That's my bardic/druids plan is open a No Name wondrous item shop in the swamp.

[@misterdanny5421]

Mold Earth is great for cover, but I've been using it to make sick ramps when the Artificer jumps his steel mount over enemies and rough terrain.

[@gogeta667]

Mold Earth states it's only good for "loose earth." The terrain you're walking on is most likely not "loose earth." Beyond that, it doesn't state that the earth that gets excavated keeps it's form. You can't make ramps or cover with Mold Earth. You can dig a hole in the ground, maybe.

[@islandofideals6571]

@@gogeta667 Ok, but, Rule of Cool

[@gogeta667]

@@islandofideals6571 "Rule of Cool" still needs to be plausible.

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

I make sticky mud balls to cast light on and throw to try to blind creatures.

[@charlottewalnut3118]

@@gogeta667 Given that they don’t seem to define what loose earth is one can assume that lose earth is dirt just not Stone. You could also make bungee stick traps and other nasty little surprises for people

[@guyfawkes8873]

My table consists purely of engineering students... Real world physics is our campaigns middle name... Got caught out on not having considered fire dynamics and safety in the design of a maritime nation the other week. It became a really pressing matter when our Wildfire Druid set fire to one of the flagships in a fight...

[@knightghaleon]

My sorcerer would mimic the movements of other spells while using minor illusion to bait counter spells from other spellcasters. Subtle Spell was very helpful with that, especially when basically holding a fake fireball spell to negotiate with a caster hunting us. Having them blow a spell slot and their reaction was very helpful.

[@Stonegolem6]

Shape water and others are a 5 foot cube, that is 125 cubic feet, not five cubic feet.

[@nicka3697]

935 gallons or around 3500 litres. That's a lot of wet

[@Leoevans631]

Thank you, that was really bugging me.

[@DaDunge]

@@nicka3697 it's also 3.5 metric tonnes.

[@default7621]

youre being pedantic. they mean (5 feet)^3, which is unambiguous, so just interpret it that way. it's inconvenient to be so precise with language in a game-like setting, where we vary between talking about lengths, areas, and volumes frequently. (e.g. 10 foot range, 15 foot cone, 5 foot cube) i've got a 5 foot cube, its side is a 5 foot square, and its edge is a 5 foot line.

[@Stonegolem6]

@@default7621 We don't all pull out a battle mat for every fight or have the spell effects memorized and some of us deal with volumes in the real world. A five foot cube and five cubic feet simply are not equivalent and someone unfamiliar with the spell may just assume a literal five cubic feet based on this discussion, shortchanging themselves by 25x.

[@StilltheAp0llyon]

My best use of Minor Illusion is hiding from pursuers by creating a Solid Snake cardboard box.

[@dudemcfurgusson7179]

Especially as an illusion wizard, where you can make an image and a sound. Make a box to hide in, with the sound of your own footsteps running in another direction.

[@lo-keyloki9986]

My favorite thing to do with a cantrip is to combine Message with the Actor feat to mess with people's minds.

[@dudemcfurgusson7179]

Actor on a Changeling with Glamoured Studded Leather breaks campaigns. It was funny the first time I watched it happen, and also all the other times, but the DM was visibly frustrated.

[@chandlercutt4634]

This is really twisted. Thank you for giving me this idea.

[@zotaninoron3548]

@@dudemcfurgusson7179 I use actor with my mask of many faces warlock. I need to pick up friends next. Because I realized how hot it would be with disposable faces.

[@Szabla1595]

Every battlefield commander in history would want Thaumaturgy. Make your orders heard over the din of battle. Create strange noises/smells to spook enemy soldiers/horses. Different colored fires for signals. Depending on the setting I'd have every Officer and Senior NCO take that cantrip.

[@Bluecho4]

Sounds like a good reason to promote Tieflings to officer rank. At least those of the standard PHB Tiefling. They get Thaumaturgy for free.

[@alexpocci7196]

Or for hunting; you could use your eyes to signal other hunters silently, similarly you could use tremors for signalling or spooking animals, sounds could be used as signals, spooks, or lures.

[@iksar121]

I've played exactly one druid and used druidcraft to cause a fields of mushrooms to spring up in caves using druid craft. It had no effect on anything but I felt like a druid spreading life. You simply can't do that with prestidigitation or thaumaturgy. Honestly, most of Druidcraft isnt stellar but I would argue that is the most powerful effect of all of them "You instantly make a flower blossom, a seed pod open, or a leaf bud bloom." This is not a harmless effect or illusion, this is life and growth. You got a plant that releases a poisonous pollen when its flowers blossom? Bam poison cloud. I Find it weird they didnt even talk about that aspect of the cantrip.

[@meikahidenori]

Reminds me of Artificers magical tinkering ablity. It doesn't sound that useful, but having an object become a free light source, free noise distraction for patroling guards and using it to mark areas in a Dungeon to stop you going around in circles is really super useful as well as putting puzzle answers into objects as messages to give to other party members incase you've been split up is crazy good. I rarely see players really take advantage of such a useful ablity as they either forget they have it or don't see the value in it because it's not an attack option.

[@Maxx64266]

I was playing a nature cleric in ghosts of saltmarsh. We were in the "haunted house" fighting some human smugglers in the basement. I believe only one of them in the module is carrying a lantern, my human nature cleric cast druidcraft to snuff the flame. So I effectively gave my four other party members the level 9 spell foresight at the cost of a single action cantrip.

[@bronsonkim6652]

I've seen an inclination among some dungeon masters to be protective of the sanctity of the level of spells, being reluctant to allow spells to achieve things that they feel are the domain of stronger spells. For example: not being allowed to ready Silence to drop in the middle of a spellcaster's vocal components because Counterspell is level 3 and Silence is only level 2, or Misty Step not releasing you from being bound by rope because that steps on the toes of Freedom of Movement. This type of dungeon master tends to be reluctant to let Cantrips be very useful outside of offensive spells like Eldritch Blast or spells with very concrete uses like Mage Hand. I've seen so many people argue online that Mold Earth shouldn't be allowed to do most of the interesting things it has the potential for. I feel like cantrips in general are super DM dependant.

[@jameshwren]

Some stuff my players of done with Shape Water/Mold Earth: - Create Frozen Prosthetic limbs when players have lost a leg - Create Frozen Javelins, Spears, and Ammunition that last for an hour - Create Frozen Ice balls that have Alchemist's Fire in them that weigh 5 lbs, that they then use Catapult - Keen Mind + Shape Water to recreate all keys necessary - Create Manacles, Caltrops, Ball Bearings - Create an Ice Sled like to move heavy loot - Torture NPCs with Brain Freeze when Zone of Truth just isn't enough

[@johnnygreenface4195]

My 1e druid had his leg withered up for ages. Recently it got fixed up but that was pretty brutal

[@sriramramesh5318]

Also use shape water to surround an enemy's limb(or hell, their head) in water, then freeze. You can quicken to do ti in one turn if you're a sorc or action surge if you multiclass fighter

[@dmdeign7116]

Your players sound awesome!

[@jameshwren]

@@dmdeign7116 I am pretty luck to have some pretty creative players that like to get themselves into problems that they have to figure out how to get out of.

[@johnnygreenface4195]

I would say the prosthetic limb one seems really short term. Not only does it melt, it also freezes the stump! Lol

[@paulferguson868]

Used to think Guidence was trash. So, so wrong was I.

[@MrDavidKord]

Glad to hear you've learned the way.

[@Bluecho4]

@@MrDavidKord This is the way.

[@IkaikaArnado]

It's the best cantrip imo.

[@zero11010]

Prestidigitation is very useful. Mage hand is outstanding. Minor illusion though. Minor illusion punches WAY above its weight. A hole, a door, a window, a creature, a wall … it can look like a chair for a dumb prank. I’ve used this to lure monsters away to bypass what would have been a combat encounter. I’ve used this to mock a big monster by making a large rock look like a small person (halfling, gnome, dwarf, or adolescent from any race) and watch the big monster slam their face into the rock trying to eat it. The sounds it can generate can be used as a distraction or a scare tactic. This spell also lasts a minute with no concentration. Not super long, but you can cast this in a location and then go do other things and cast other spells in other locations. You can use prestidigitation to give an illusion a scent. A second character who also has minor illusion can use theirs to give a sound to to your visuals. A creature has to examine the illusion to know it’s not real. If they have no reason to examine it closely they’re not really examining it. Being visible isn’t the same as examining a thing.

[@matthewleahy6565]

It's definitely the most DM dependent of the spells, though. Some DMs absolutely do not buy into Illusion magic.

[@zero11010]

@@matthewleahy6565 yes. Generally I suggest new players to avoid illusion magic. It requires effort, imagination, and understanding from both the player and DM. For this reason I usually try to move people away from the Arcane Trickster. I’ve definitely had game masters where you just pretend that the illusion school of magic doesn’t exist. It’s a shame.

[@Bluecho4]

I agree that while a character could examine something to determine it's authenticity, not everything is worth examining.

[@crimfan]

I really wish WotC had just made Prestidigitation, Druidcraft, and Thaumaturgy be class features, and not feat tax them. As to the "can we make X?" kinds of things, just as you guys say that's a very good way to justify a skill check of some sort. You can imagine things, sure, and the spell gives you the ability to act without work, but that doesn't mean you can make what you want. Still, I worry about the implied game world with at will cantrips that can dig ditches or make fire all day. That's more of a "DM/World builder" kind of concern but i really wish that WotC had actually put limits on that. I also find a lot of cantrips are annoyingly spammable, such as Guidance. I'd have much rather had them be Reactions that could be used a limited time per short rest (say 1 in levels 1-4, 2 in levels 5-10, etc.). That would also help otherwise soft cantrips like Blade Ward or Resistance, which few people ever take.

[@CastoCFC]

Any day a Web DM video hits Is a good day.

[@WebDM]

Better late than never!

[@volodymyrfomin8053]

You know, from what you described, a Tiefling Barbarian with Thaumaturgy is really terrifying... I mean, can you imagine a hulking red-skinned horned 6'4" dude coming to you with flaming eyes, huge biceps in Scale Armor, and when he steps you feel a tremor in the ground... Man, now I want to play a Tiefling Barbarian

[@natashasurvivallady8021]

You can go Zariel Tiefling and get a few smites in there when you want them, too!

[@edstevens1503]

The real lesson here is "DM's, reward player creativity" If your players come up with a cool idea, let it work.

[@DougCoughler]

Druid Initiate with Produce Flame and Shillelagh is a great combo for campaigns like Curse of Strahd where many of the enemies have resistance or immunity to mundane weapons.

[@dio52]

A small technical detail... a DND "5 foot cube" and 5 cubic feet aren't the same thing. DND specifies the length of each side of a cube, not the volume. Shape water is 125 cubic feet of water. That's roughly 940 gallons or 3500 liters. Not a trivial volume of water.

[@bronsonkim6652]

Some of the best uses I've gotten out of Minor Illusion have been non-trickery type uses. Casting it to play music, using it to make floating word balloons when I need to communicate silently, and in one crucial scene I replayed audio of a woman we were searching for, the last thing she said to us, the old Professor didn't recognize her from an image or description but when he heard her voice it came flooding back to him and we got to learn a little bit of the main villain's backstory including her real name.

[@Jane_8319]

I’ve been playing a Teifling who has had to deal with lots of prejudice. She leans into the fear to scare people off, and having Thaumaturgy as a racial ability is so much fun. Person being a racist jerk? Make the fire blue and them hear whispers. Someone threatening me when I’m out of spell slots? The ground is shaking and my voice booms. It’s so fun

[@sirlaggzzalot]

Pretideigition is great for low level Assassins. Color and flavor any poison And armies of Magearchies would be well fed and cleaned that hard tack tastes like peaches and cream or jerky and those boots are never forever wet.

[@dudemcfurgusson7179]

It's great for any class that can take it. Sorcerers, you get 4 cantrips. This should always be one of them.

[@Oknaw]

I’m imagining a Rune Knight with 5 levels of Divine Soul Sorcerer: large size with Giants Might, extra height with Great Stature, Huge size with Enlarge/Reduce casted, then Thaumaturgy for intimidation. Just yell in character: “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!”

[@spire1123]

My best minor illusion moment was when my gnome wizard was running from 11 bugbears in a huge house at low level. I ended up in a store room with another door on the other side, so I opened it then curled into a ball next to a pile of crates and made an illustion of a crate around myself. By the grace of luck the bugbears all failed their rolls and ran right past me.

[@UltimateMustacheX]

Mold Earth to make a pit and Minor Illusion to cover the hole. When the enemy falls in, Mold Earth again to cover the hole and trap them inside. It doesn't need to fully crush them, just thick enough to be hard to dig through from below.

[@dungeonmilitia1609]

Love you guys :) can’t wait for Weird Wastelands!!!!

[@WebDM]

Thank you!

[@blcolon]

In one of my home games I went ahead and just allowed the casters to have prestidigitation, thaumaturgy or druid craft and not count against their starting spells. Kind of like was discussed these always seem like the cantrips that would be taught as basic learning before any other schooling and they really don’t unbalance the game. The non-casters were given a trade tool proficiency so they didn’t feel left out.

[@reidosarous]

Do you guys (both web DM guys and audience) think that shape water, mold earth, control fire, minor Illusions should scale in area to the caster level like other cantrips? I'm thinking doubling it at lvl10 & lvl20, but what do you think of using the existing levels (5,11,17) instead?

[@Tanglangfa]

Doubling might be too much, but I think increasing the aoe by 5 at those levels makes sense. A 10 ft minor illusion would be awesome but not necessarily game changing bc it still can’t move.

[@josesanchez5981]

In 9 years of playing D&D, I've only had 2 DM's not be ridiculous about using utility spells, especially cantrips. I've been told: Mold Earth can only move recently dug up soil, Shape Water can't create partial cover by making ice, that cleaning something with prestigitation will be dirty in an hour. I've been told I couldn't make money after rolling an 18 for performance with prestigitation, because it's only a cantrip. That any food flavored with prestigitation spoils after an hour. I've had multiple DM's be upset about my druid using spell slots to feed/water the group with Goodberry and Create Water. Just plain craziness.

[@CitanulsPumpkin]

Honestly a lot of multiclassing I consider when brainstorming new characters stems from which cantrips I want them to have for thematic reasons. Yeah, sure your caster needs one or two damage cantrips, but after that everything is down to utility and flavor. Any character with the entertainer background practically needs thaumaturgy. So my undead warlock ring master whose patron is Jack Skellington needs thaumaturgy, minor illusion, and mage hand for performances and jump scare set ups. Thorn whip and produce flame to replicate soul robber and jack o lantern fireballs from the nightmare before Christmas ps2 game. And mold earth because sometimes you need to dig a grave with the wave of your hand. My reborn fathomless warlock skeletal pirate captain needs druidcraft to be able to predict the weather and say "There's a storm comin'. I feel it in me bones." He also needs control flames, shape water, and mold earth to put out fires on the ship and because sometimes you need to bury or dig up a treasure chest with the wave of your hand. My pyromaniac multiclass of celestial warlock, paladin, and pyromancy sorcerer needs firebolt, sacred flame, light, produce flame, green flame blade, control flames, and dancing lights for obvious reasons. I guess what I'm saying is give me three more non damaging cantrips and access to all the cantrips on the sorcerer and druid spell lists if you want me to stop multiclassing tome warlock with everything.

[@nowthenzen]

discussing subjective effects before hand is key. Nothing more awkward then a player announcing they cast a minor illusion of a 13th level Gnome cleric to dispel the Vampire final boss and doing so with a tone of complete conviction that they just won.

[@canadianjeff223]

Mold earth is responsible for one of my most memorable D&D moments. Our party had just slain the Hill Giant Queen during a night time raid and it nearly cost us our lives, we ran off into the woods to flee from our pursuers but driven on by their rage from the death of their queen the Orc's and goblins under her service would not give up the chase. My party rode our mounts through the night to the point of exhaustion and knowing that pushing them further could lead to their death we were forced to stop. We let the mounts rest and the wizard sent his familiar high in the air to scout for our pursuers and discovered they were still hot on our heels and only around an hour behind us, we chose to stand and fight hoping they would be as exhausted as us. This is when mold earth showed its true potential, we found a clear patch of land and I began turning the earth into difficult terrain creating a football field sized mire of mud, pot holes, and craters. Those of us with bows knocked arrows while our wizard conjured Melph's Minute Meteors overhead. once the orcs and other goblinoids entered the killing field we let loose with our arrangement of missiles as the exhausted pursuers struggled to cross our patch of no mans land. Our Half-Orc Barbarian waited the entire time to smash something with his axe and ended up running into the difficult terrain to fight when it became clear our defenses would hold without him. so yeah mold earth is awesome when you have time to prepare

[@gogeta667]

You can only have two instances of a non-instantaneous effect of Mold Earth active at the same time. That wouldn't have worked.

[@brittlby4016]

My wizard didn’t take “Light” and I had some goon at the table chastising me. I had dark vision, so it sounded like a “your problem” situation, never mind I was legit carrying the party that session. (Which never happens! He had to ruin my rare session of competency!)

[@GaryBoyles342]

DnD can indeed become a city builder style. I do want to create a dnd campaign for that.

[@starcravingmatt]

It's for this reason I take wall of stone whenever possible. Build your castle in a couple of days.

[@LoLotov]

I would rule mage hand to give a wedgie as an attack and not allowed... but I would let you do it with bigby's hand. That troll wearing nothing but a loin cloth is about to have a real bad day, he's wearing something over ONLY THAT for a reason, and no amount of regeneration is gonna fix it.

[@ajparker7575]

level 2 Illusionist Wizard hiding just out of view vs. tired/paranoid guard during the witching hour: *Caaww!* Guard looks up at the trees, sees a Raven staring back him, watching him... still, and silently... Guard eventually looks away, stretches and yawns- *CAAWW!* He looks up and sees two Ravens, just sitting there, seemingly staring straight through the man... He shivers and looks away, muttering to himself that he's just tired and clearly they're just normal Ravens- *CAAWW! CAAAAAWW!* He looks up again.... and almost every visible branch of the tree now has a Raven on it, all sitting, silently, staring... waiting... and suddenly their eyes glow with a shadowy energy, like the Raven Queen herself was watching through their many eyes... DMs out there, what happens next?

[@roosed]

In my last campaign I was playing a Water Genasi Storm Sorcerer and since that character came into the game at a higher level the DM let me pick a few magic items. I picked a Decanter of Endless Water with the Shape Water cantrip which gave me an obscene amount of flexibility with the spell. Like creating a fogger to keep people cool and hydrated while we were force marching through a desert.

[@danielbeshers1689]

Mage Hand Thumb Wrestling Championship

[@frankrobinsjr.1719]

Mage Hand Legerdemain from the Arcane Trickster subclass helps steal the enemy wizard's component pouch and he never knows. ( I love this.) Add prestidigitation to minor illusion and you see and hear the cat chasing through the brush after something. (Yes, I've invaded a couple of castles.)

[@CitanulsPumpkin]

Prestidigitatio, Thaumaturgy, and Druid Craft are all useful for very different reasons that have nothing to do with the classes they are associated with. Prestidigitation is great for utility and slight of hand nonsense, and it's probably the most versatile of them all. Thaumaturgy is all flashy presentation style tricks meant for putting on a show and inspiring awe. Druid craft is for finding out the day's weather in nautical and wilderness exploration campaigns. Honestly these three spells should be on the spell lists for every full caster, and the one you get is dependent on background and character concept instead of class.

[@samuelbroad11]

overwhelming sweet pineapple vape! An artificer delayed a chase with Girallons to use their Magical Tinkering to create a pheromone of a female Girallon in heat in the opposite direction, one of the best snap decisions I've seen at the table.

[@aoiyuureisuru7656]

My first character's a cowardly wizard, and their go to is to mold earth right under their feet and insta bury themselves xD because the movement of the earth isn't strong enough to harm anyone its like sinking into water xD

[@Goblin-King-]

Thats amazing

[@felixrivera895]

Shape Water can control a volume of about 5 ft^3, so thats about 935 or so gallons. In regards to Druidcraft: I personally treat it like Presto in regards to weird Druid things. Replicating animal calls, scents, and most importantly: shaping plants. I basically look to manipulate live plants whenever I have a character with that ability. I also use it to keep fruits and stuff fresh

[@fabnasio]

Prestidigitation is such a fun little cantrip, you could use 3 simultaneous effects to make yourself an illusory cigar or pipe that actually smokes and tastes right for roleplay. Or you could use it to leave an illusory mark on a target, or a thieves cant symbol on the wall, illuminate a room or plunge it into darkness; you can really be the centerpiece of a plan when you can throw so many different switches. Mage hand is another all-star that is endlessly applicable. The Telekinetic feat gives a +1ASI, a great bonus action ranged shove, and an invisible mage hand (+30ft range if you had mage hand before). That is totally nuts on characters that struggle to use their bonus action otherwise (Fighter, Druid, Wizard, Warlock) and gives a big handful of out of combat utility, even if you just use it to make your existing mage hand invisible with extra range.

[@Bluecho4]

Another great roleplay application: a fastidious Wizard appears spotless, even when out in the wilderness. The secret is using Prestidigitation to clean their wardrobe and eliminate odors. The party just got done trudging through a swamp or sewer? The wizard is on point, cleaning himself up (and the other party members, he guesses, if they insist).

[@rustyshackle8000]

Now wanna make a character with the cantrip who's trying to quit smoking, and to do so uses Prestidigitation to do exactly that.

[@xero1134]

I wanted to make not that it says 5 foot cube and NOT 5 cubic feet. The way it reads you are dealing with 125 cubic feet of water (which it sounds like they understood it to be, but just said it wrong)

[@vicentebahamondez196]

In the final of mine of phandelver we scared a lot of enemies with a "Flaming Scull" made with an actual skull, mage hand, control flames and minor ilusion

[@jacobyspurnger8488]

Prestidigitation, minor illusion and thaumaturgy are all great to trick a PC. Druidcraft is great for messing with your dm, much like speak with animals/plants. Also accelerated plant growth can save the world.

[@magenstaffarts]

It's honestly why I'd take a dip into sorcerer as a Trickery Cleric. Clerics may get Thaumaturgy, but bring in Prestidigitation and Minor Illusion from Sorcerer and you have a hilarious trickster who can prank even more than they do.

[@drziegler]

I give my druids druidcraft as a free cantrip because it's so limited and they have so few cantrips.

[@godsamongmen8003]

I never got the chance to do this, but I always wanted to get my hands on a decanter of endless water. Then put it on geyser and freeze water into chunks of ice as it gets shot out of the container.

[@Tanglangfa]

We were explaining to the king why we didn’t achieve some secondary quest. I used Minor Illusion to make a PowerPoint presentation along with the bard’s explanation to make it more convincing. It worked. 😁

[@christophershrimplin1849]

I like pact of the tomb warlock and taking; prestidigitation, thourmatergy, druidcraft.

[@MatthewSchooley94]

Since everyone's talking about their favorite use of Minor Illusion, here's mine. I used it to make a loud fart sound between two guards. The two accused each other of breaking wind, leading to them fighting each other.

[@Chronoson123]

I've always home-ruled that the Cleric can use the eye-changing and the voice-amplification of Thaumaturgy on others, because it can lead to great moments - the Fighter getting to yell "Charge" at full volume before a battle, or the Bard being able to be heard by a whole town if they sing loud enough, can be a real campaign-defining moment without breaking anything, and with the Cleric player still feeling like they've contributed.

[@magenstaffarts]

I like this home rule and I would allow it.

[@mathemagicianTA]

Mold earth to revolutionize the farming industry!

[@meikahidenori]

People tend to forget how handy Magical Tinkering for Artificers is. You can create distractions, free light sources, free verbal messages for Dungeon puzzles to carry around with you ect. It's like carrying free cantraps around.

[@r0zzin]

As a DM I have this Cantrip Versatility As long as you are able you can cast most cantrips without needing to recast after duration is over. Some restrictions apply. Additionally you can use cantrips to flavor others spells. Prestidigitation can alter the smell of say fireball to smell like pizza, and minor illusions can make the flames look like melted cheese. As long as no save or attack is needed it can be done as part of casting the spell. not the same as vid but still think its fun.

[@afreestate8466]

Can I use prestidigitation to make myself smell like the environment to mask my sent. As a DM I'd allow it. I would just require a nature or survival check to see how close you get to matching it.

[@WebDM]

We'd probably do the same

[@wwade7226]

Fire Bolt is a good versatile spell, causing relatively good damage if you need to, but also to light things on fire, start a campfire, etc.

[@squange]

Gandalf (rising up as the shadows in thew room lengthen): "BILBO BAGGINS! Do not take me for some conjuror of cheap tricks!" Bilbo: Uh...well, you're using a cheap-ass zero level Thaumaturgy cantrip, so, If the shoe fits, Cinderella...

[@brassdice929]

I built a tiefling pact of the tome warlock/druid and have somehow ended up with 11 cantrips lol

[@FirstLast-wk3kc]

Anything can be used nicely. Control flames to double the light from torches in the dark? Nice. Make and illusion of a bush or rock to hide in? Yes. 3d model of a person you search? Too. Dig faster for making traps against upcoming enemies (in a few hours). Noice. Make 5-5-5 foot water fly above a door to make it (about a ton, seriously) fall by just gravitation at someone who enters it? Imbalanced tool. To make a lot of cover by ice in about 12 seconds? Oof, that can change the battle. To pull horse strings of the running from you person by mage arm to make his horse slam into a wall? Wow, that's smart! Use Thaumaturgy to shout very far? Surprising. Use Illusion to make suspicious sound just behind an enemy guard to rush him just in time? Gooood.

[@sneekygnome]

Control Flames thoughts: I’m making some assumptions on how control flames works. Since it can adjust the brightness of flames, I’m assuming it can also adjust the heat of flames. Not enough to be used to attack or increase damage done, but enough to regulate the heat of an oven/stove/kiln/forge. I’m also assuming that Mage Hand can be used to rearrange items in an oven/stove/kiln/forge. This combination allows the usage of a makeshift oven/stove/kiln/forge much easier, and may give advantage with tools that use heat as an essential element: Cooking Utensils (stoves, ovens, smokers), Glassblowing Tools (melting glass, annealing finished products), Jewelry Tools (softening metal for mounts), Potter’s Tools (regulating kiln temperature when firing), Smith’s Tools (melting or softening metal in the forge), Tinker’s Tools (softening metal for repair). Prestidigitation thoughts: When ink is applied to parchment with intent such as deliberate writing or scribing, it changes from being ink on the parchment, to becoming part of a document. There is a small window of time before this transformation becomes permanent; this time limit is expressed as the spell DC of the prestidigitation caster in minutes (i.e. a more experienced wizard has a larger window of time that they can use to clean). Before that time limit, it is just ink on parchment and cleanable; afterwards it is part of the document and not cleanable. This also applies to paint and canvases. This allows for shenanigans such as changing the wording of a contract after it's been signed, amount on a letter of credit, etc...

[@andrewhalmo656]

I’m thinking of making a “haunted” cave that adventures had to get something from. It’ll be like a suspenseful thriller. I’ll be playing some scary horror music to set the mood like Halloween sound track. In the game I’ll have spooky sounds, screams, and creepy laughter. I’ll Occasionally have things like glowing eyes, a large spider that just disappears, or a creepy doll that kind of looks like one of the adventures rises up in the air and evaporates into a puff so smoke with a laugh. The party eventually find a pair of arcane tricksters that are scaring people away using prestigitation, minor illusion, and invisible mage hands. By working together they can combine spells to cast combos. The can disappear by hiding in little alcoves in the rocky walls and making it look like the rest of the wall. They can also add things like silent image to make illusions that move and make sound like ghosts. If the figure out some of the illusions they will add some real things so they don’t know what are real or not. It’ll be fun 😏

[@hamstsorkxxor]

The puns in the intro were so vicious, I took 1d4 psychic damage...

[@The482075]

You were so distracted you missed when trying to retaliate.

[@aoiyuureisuru7656]

I feel like making tools with prestidigitation is kinda in the conjurer minor conjuration territory. Kinda feels unfair to conjurors sinse it's their class ability

[@MartyBucholz]

My party Bard uses Thaumaturgy and prestidigitation for Magical Girl style outfit changes

[@Leivve]

Could you maybe do an episode about how to describe and act play out spells? When I play a wizard I often try to have each spell have a unique effect, but I often have bad creativity past 2 or 3 options and thus keep reusing the same descriptions for things.

[@TrueLimeyhoney]

Especially with wizards, consistency in spells is good. But otherwise, look at the components of the spell, and integrate that into how you cast. For example, Control Flame is a purely somatic spell. I flavor this by saying I raise my hand and snap my fingers, with little magical sparks coming out from the snap, then the effect happens.

[@PaulMacQ]

Unlikely to be read but . Cube 5ft by 5ft foot by 5ft is 125cube of dirt depending on type of dirt. That is a very big shovel

[@zdron07]

They need to do the full big map fold outs like waterdeep and undermountain box sets for all the citys and castles in all the settings

[@meikahidenori]

Yes, would love a better map for Sharn!

[@ChurchillGeoff]

here's a trick, minor illusion, had an invisible faerie dragon put fangs on a perfectly orfinary chest. having the meta gaming barbarian attack it, thinking its a mimic and falling down the pit trap right in front of it

[@janfrompolde]

Mold Earth doesn't work on hard stone, everyone always forgets that... (referring to the moving option, not the difficult terrain/visual function, but that much is obvious)

[@ruga-ventoj]

Yeah. I of the option that if a normal shovel can move it, Move Earth can too. If a rock floor is stopping you, just break the floor enough to move the dirt underneath it.

[@michaelbarclay8293]

How would you rule prestidigitation on some glasses and tinting them to assist characters with sunlight sensitivity

[@Blizz3112]

A like just for the intro, you silly man... ;-) Minor Illusion provides much more variable use if you also know Silent Image (and luckily for Level 2 Warlocks, you can also cast that like a Cantrip). Minor Illusion doesn't require concentration, so if you want to add basic sound to your Silent Image, like if you create an image of a lion, you can use Minor Illusion to make it roar loudly... or you could make a copy of yourself or party members and add in the sound of steps as they move around to trick its really you or your allies in a scenario where the enemy is trying to fight/trace you down...

[@seymourfields3613]

The range on Druidcraft, though. 60 feet out? So much more useful.

[@andrewhalverson6974]

Druidcraft is a npc spell. Walking through the field and germinating the cross early to get a bumper crop

[@tonychabis7824]

Now I want to make a watermelon elemental for my pc's to fight.

[@clawlesslawless]

I just noticed that Sorcerers dont have Thaumaturgy on their spell list. WTF is that?

[@michaelgroce966]

It's pitiful who has Thaumaturgy

[@cabalarcana6996]

In one of my first 5e games, we were in a low-magic setting. I ended up using Prestidigitation and Thaumaturgy (Tiefling Sorcerer) to shake the ground and sing loudly in Infernal, and shoot sparks at anybody who got too close. Distracted an entire town long enough for the rest of the party to find the literal skeletons in the Mayor's closet.

[@TheLateleks]

arcane trickster or githyanki get an invisible mage hand

[@bohemianprince7944]

I am the 69th like! BEHOLD MY POWER!! HEED MY MESSAGE!!! Remember to floss :) It is more important than brushing ;)

[@WebDM]

Nice

[@iphidamasfilms1245]

I once used the starfinder version of prestidigitation to wrap myself in glowing toilet paper and be a Scooby doo ghost in a space mall

[@fernandoroque2374]

Oh yes, nothing better than finishing my work week listening to some deeply nerdy stuff, love your content boys!

[@WebDM]

Thank you!

[@Bitsinator]

The most powerful part of minor illusion it's the visuals, it's the sound.

[@The482075]

If I can go full The Last Jedi with Minor Illusion, I will. The Minor Illusion has a duel with a fighter. The fighter is getting puzzled as to why none of their attacks are doing anything. The fighter gets increasingly angry as the illusion won't yield before eventually figuring out that it is just that. An illusion. Meanwhile the rest of the party has had sufficient time to run away.

[@SpidermanandhisAmazingFriends]

Thaumaturgy + Prestidigitation = ENDLESS SHENANIGANS!!!!!

[@EliteWarrior1026]

Haven't watched the video yet, but I wanted to add my own bit. Prestidigitation can not only clean something up, but also heat up/cool down up to three objects for up to one hour! Feeling cold? Warm up your clothes. Trouble sleeping? Cool your pillow. Don't have a microwave? Heat up your food.

[@Akwardave]

I was playing a dwarven sorcerer who'd juuuust broken into tier 3, and between my flexible casting, Wall of Stone, stonecunning feature, Mason's Tools proficency, and Mold Earth, I built the party a small castle. *In just 5 days.* Cantrips were a huge part of making that whole thing work; Mold Earth really is the MVP.

[@shorelineapprentice6563]

Cast goodberry, plant a berry, cast druidcraft, cast plant Growth(8hrs), cast plant Growth (action), cast druidcraft. Plant new "natural" goodberry that wasn't conjured and repeat the process.

[@YotamGalli]

One of the best utility cantrips is actually Firebolt. It's the only attack cantrip that can affect objects and not just creatures. Need to pick a lock? burn the door! Open a chest? destroy the lead! Disarm a trap? Firebolt the mechanism from 120 ft. away - no trap in the game is effective out to 120 ft. Intimidate someone? Firebolt its property! Conversely, are you not sure if a chest is actually a Mimic? Eldritch Blast it! If it works its a creature, otherwise it's an object (Firebolt!). It's kinda funny and sad that the entire functionality of a Rogue can be replaced with Find Familiar and Firebolt...

[@CrashSable]

It would help a lot more to do a video focused on telling players to stop trying to tell the DM their cantrips can produce world-ending effects.

[@florenmage]

Hey Wed DM I would love to hear your opinion on drug use in settings. Not at the table in real life but like for role playing fantasy purposes in your world. Great video love you guys hugz hugz may you experience 1000 rainbow unicorn sex parties bye. :D

[@saice5503]

control flames + create bonfire can be REALLY good for flavor, just the other day i used that for a street performance and got almost 40 gold (i'm playing a character with 5 levels of warlock and 1 of sorcerer)

[@DurandalsFate]

One benefit of _Druidcraft_ over _Prestidigitation_ is that you can extinguish or light small fires (the most common light sources) from 30 feet instead of 10 feet. Getting within 30 feet of a flame as big as a torch is easier than getting within 10 feet. In some situations, like when a campfire or fireplace is the only nearby source of light, this can change the lighting in a decent-sized radius from bright light to darkness immediately (creating a lightly obscured area even for those who do have darkvision, and blinding anyone who doesn't) or vice versa. Blinding your enemies is crazy powerful: they can't target you with many spells, attack rolls against them from the darkness have advantage, and their attacks into the darkness are made with disadvantage. Even being lightly obscured makes it much easier to hide. Granted, this mostly works at low levels, when many creatures don't have darkvision, much less tremorsense or truesight.

[@jerrybeard8995]

only thing Druidcraft has on presd. is range, since you could extinguish someone's torch from 30' instead of 10', but how often would that be a thing?

[@Forewarned76]

Best use of Minor Illusion: Banshee Shriek in the Spellcaster's ear

[@csilkenat]

In my worlds, minor illusions and prestidigitation are very very common. Fake walls to conceal servants passages, performers using them as the basic tools of the trade with a magical flourish to conceal or distract from some prop being moved into position for example. Mostly it is because those are some of the most generally useful spells, and I tend to use cantrips in a few spells per day format as something anyone with a bit of education is capable of casting. They are not as good as dedicated wizards, but at the same time, they don't have to be.

[@timkramar9729]

Would an illusory flare make you react? Maybe not blind you, but you'd react.