greg kaye
Explorer
So, the druid, sorcerer and wizard cantrip, Mold Earth has a range of 30 ft, three options of effects on "a portion of dirt or stone that you can see within range and that fits within a 5-foot cube" and a first option that, "If you target an area of loose earth, you can instantaneously excavate it, move it along the ground, and deposit it up to 5 feet away."
The cantrip's second and third options don't present a requirement for loose earth and can be interpreted to have a wider context for function:
Stone buildings are typically formed on foundations, but what if you could repeatedly use the cantrip to rapidly excavate soil away from the perimeters? What if the structure was built on a slope or, worse, a motte? And then there's the other way that structures might be threatened by the cantrip wielders. In what circumstances could it be used to construct ramparts against buildings?
Could a 5ft cube of soil ever be loose? Personally, I'd consider that this might be difficult if the soil was damp as it could have a tendency to get squished altogether toward the bottom.
However, when we consider the possibilities of moving loose earth, the implications are tremendous. Feasibly, it would be possible to successively excavate areas into successive 5 ft depths. You'd just need to keep excavating cubes from within a leveled area and then keep moving cubes along to fill in the gaps. If the area had a natural slope, however, the situation would be a whole lot easier. You'd just need to keep undermining a slope and let gravity do the rest.
Personally, though, I neither think that mold earth has the potential to move settled soil or necessarily even the potential to loosen it. The second and third functions of the cantrip allow the caster to temporarily: "... cause shapes, ... to appear on the dirt or stone" or to temporarily "cause it to become difficult terrain" or "Alternatively, ... normal terrain." The definition of mold is to "form (an object) out of malleable material" and I think that this is more immediately suggestive of squishing materials together rather than pulling bits apart. DM's discretion might be needed regarding the third use of mold earth as to any extent that it could be used for a function such as plowing. Could this function of the spell be used to loosen the top few inches of soil? That could depend on DM interpretation.
Ramping up from trench warfare.
The greatest worldbuilding effect that I can think of regarding mold earth would be its potential for assembling earthen ramparts during sieges. All it would take would be for a behind cover position to be secured say about 50 ft from a wall so as to allow a potential troop of first-level druids, sorcerers and wizards to begin piling up quantities of loose earth to a distance of say 20 ft from the wall. If the Romans were able to use ramps effectively with dry Judean rock in the siege of Masada, I'd imagine that similar techniques might find parallel usage in the worlds of D&D.
The cantrip's second and third options don't present a requirement for loose earth and can be interpreted to have a wider context for function:
- You cause shapes, colors, or both to appear on the dirt or stone, spelling out words, creating images, or shaping patterns. The changes last for 1 hour.
- If the dirt or stone you target is on the ground, you cause it to become difficult terrain. Alternatively, you can cause the ground to become normal terrain if it is already difficult terrain. This change lasts for 1 hour.
Stone buildings are typically formed on foundations, but what if you could repeatedly use the cantrip to rapidly excavate soil away from the perimeters? What if the structure was built on a slope or, worse, a motte? And then there's the other way that structures might be threatened by the cantrip wielders. In what circumstances could it be used to construct ramparts against buildings?
Could a 5ft cube of soil ever be loose? Personally, I'd consider that this might be difficult if the soil was damp as it could have a tendency to get squished altogether toward the bottom.
However, when we consider the possibilities of moving loose earth, the implications are tremendous. Feasibly, it would be possible to successively excavate areas into successive 5 ft depths. You'd just need to keep excavating cubes from within a leveled area and then keep moving cubes along to fill in the gaps. If the area had a natural slope, however, the situation would be a whole lot easier. You'd just need to keep undermining a slope and let gravity do the rest.
Personally, though, I neither think that mold earth has the potential to move settled soil or necessarily even the potential to loosen it. The second and third functions of the cantrip allow the caster to temporarily: "... cause shapes, ... to appear on the dirt or stone" or to temporarily "cause it to become difficult terrain" or "Alternatively, ... normal terrain." The definition of mold is to "form (an object) out of malleable material" and I think that this is more immediately suggestive of squishing materials together rather than pulling bits apart. DM's discretion might be needed regarding the third use of mold earth as to any extent that it could be used for a function such as plowing. Could this function of the spell be used to loosen the top few inches of soil? That could depend on DM interpretation.
Ramping up from trench warfare.
The greatest worldbuilding effect that I can think of regarding mold earth would be its potential for assembling earthen ramparts during sieges. All it would take would be for a behind cover position to be secured say about 50 ft from a wall so as to allow a potential troop of first-level druids, sorcerers and wizards to begin piling up quantities of loose earth to a distance of say 20 ft from the wall. If the Romans were able to use ramps effectively with dry Judean rock in the siege of Masada, I'd imagine that similar techniques might find parallel usage in the worlds of D&D.