D&D 5E Snow-Sweeping/Clearing Cantrip

[rgoodbb]

A 1st level druid for RotFM starting in a snow-sweeping job, keeping the paths clear either between ten-towns or within one of them.



Which one of the elemental cantrips seems the most appropriate to accomplish this to you?



Mold Earth (would snow count)

Shape Water?

Control Flames (+ fire source)

Gust??

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Summon Kids

 

[rgoodbb]

Any of the cantrips I mentioned?

 

[Ferrousbones]

I would guess Shape Water. One of the options is to freeze, and another is to move. The option to freeze lists no prohibition from using other options afterward, so it seems you could freeze first, move second. But, it would be DM's call on using the 'move' option alone with otherwise frozen water.

Gust could also maybe work, but it would also be DM's call, since an option specifies "capable of moving one object...no more than 5 pounds.", and a patch of snow could either be 1 object (but more than 5 pounds), or many, which could violate the 'one object' aspect.

Control Flames would likely not work due to the need for fuel, and snow isn't really 'earth', so Mold Earth wouldn't really work either.

 

[Ferrousbones]

Also, you could consider Create Bonfire or Fire Bolt.

Both of those ignite flammable things, so maybe they produce a lot of heat, which could melt the snow.

Also, Create Bonfire lasts for up to a minute, so if it would work, you could target a space, keep the effect there until everything is melted, then move to the next space.

 

[rgoodbb]

I quite like the idea of thunderclap, but it would be a little loud for the towns!

 

[Longspeak]

I agree with the one who sets off airport metal detectors.

Of the options presented, Shape Water.

That said, as a GM, I might just ask for an Arcana check (or Nature because Druid?) and allow a simple effect to sweep the snow aside. It'd be a pretty simple check, and you'd need concentration to maintain it as you wandered the street.

I would also not play it out unless something is coming...

 

[GMMichael]

Upvoted Shape Water. But really, why can't you make a new spell? Move Snow.

 

[aco175]

I recall working at a shopping mall back in 2015 when we had a ton of snow and some roofs in the area were collapsing. One of the ideas was to take the hot water pressure washer up there and it would melt the snow. Someone thought it was going to work like magic, but it was terrible and just seemed to add more weight by the water getting soaked up in the snow more than it melted.

danddwiki has this spell below, that seems a modified version of mold earth. This is more what I was thinking. Frostburn has some 6th level spells that allows you to use the snow to make an elemental or move 750 square feet to modify a battlefield.

 

[nevin]

Yeah Move snow/water seems like the way to go. then you just limit it to how many pounds of snow you can move and how far you can move it.