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??

 

[kigmatzomat]

Try produce flame/create bonfire to melt the snow, then shape water to animate the liquid water to a spot off the path.

Bonus points for using the "simple shape" plus "freeze" option to make it something useful, like a hitching post. (The freeze will "melt" in an hour except its below freezing so it shouldn't.)

Keep in mind, snow is less dense than water. Clear a 100ft long, 10ft wide path with 1ft deep fluffy snow (1,000 cf) and you only have 100cf of water (which is smaller than a 125cf 5' cube) so you won't have as much ice as you do snow.

"Fluffy" snow is 1/10th as dense as water, "packed" snow is about 1/5 as dense, and wet/icy snow is 3/4 as dense. Ice is 9/10th as dense as water (which is why it floats).

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Not available to druids, but friends and a shovel is an option.

 

[Peter BOSCO'S]

Snow is insulation and cover from predators for all the little animals who scurry around under it. If you move it away they will freeze more and get eaten more. I think a Druid is going to be the last caster who should meddle with nature like this. Getting rid of snow for human convenience is more like what a Wizard would do.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Snow is insulation and cover from predators for all the little animals who scurry around under it. If you move it away they will freeze more and get eaten more. I think a Druid is going to be the last caster who should mettle with nature like this. Getting rid of snow for human convenience is more like what a Wizard would do.

If you move it off paths, they will be stomped by people less!

 

[Stormonu]

Out of curiosity, using which benefit?:

• You instantaneously clean or soil an object no larger than 1 cubic foot.
• You chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 cubic foot of nonliving material for 1 hour.

I am guessing the warming benefit?

I was thinking clean for prestidigitation (essentially sweeping it away or removing it as you would a dirty spot), though I could see warming the snow to melt it away working if the air temperature isn't Rime of the Frostmaiden levels of cold.

 

[aco175]

Out of curiosity, using which benefit?:

• You instantaneously clean or soil an object no larger than 1 cubic foot.
• You chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 cubic foot of nonliving material for 1 hour.

I am guessing the warming benefit?

I was thinking that Druidcraft had something but that spell looks a bit lame in 5e. I was still picturing the bramble spirit with a broom or something like Mickey and the mops.

I can see prestidigitation doing a broom sweeping off the walkway for a couple inches of snow or warming the cobbles to melt it. might take a while to warm 1 square foot, then the next. Depends on how warm things get and depending on how long to cool off, you could melt the walkway in 10-15 minutes.

A shovel might be just as easy. I had a friend make a plow for his radio-controlled truck so he could plow his driveway from his living room. It was like a 2ft truck with a 6 inch plow that seemed to do a decent job.

 

[Oofta]

The obvious answer is to use Shape Water to make simple animated snow shovels that can shovel snow for an entire hour.