D&D 5E Magic stone (EE/PotA cantrip) doesn't scale with level

[doctorhook]

Thanks for the response, guys. It's pretty insightful.

My player choosing magic stone wants it for the flavour, which is great, but I don't want him to suck for it. His plan never involves him gaining an extra attack. Based on this convo, I'm thinking that magic stone would work just fine for him if its damage did scale up with level, the trade-off being that he could only enchant one such stone at a time.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Thanks for the response, guys. It's pretty insightful.

My player choosing magic stone wants it for the flavour, which is great, but I don't want him to suck for it. His plan never involves him gaining an extra attack. Based on this convo, I'm thinking that magic stone would work just fine for him if its damage did scale up with level, the trade-off being that he could only enchant one such stone at a time.

Yup, that's within spittin' distance of balanced.

 

[doctorhook]

Yup, that's within spittin' distance of balanced.

Outta curiosity, would you muck around with die size? I'm thinking that since the "only one rock" version only adds +ability mod damage once (where multirock would add it to each stone), it ought to use a bigger die: d8? d10?

 

[I'm A Banana]

Outta curiosity, would you muck around with die size? I'm thinking that since the "only one rock" version only adds +ability mod damage once (where multirock would add it to each stone), it ought to use a bigger die: d8? d10?

It's kind of about power/utility trade-off. The big utility that magic stone gets you is that you can give that rock to anyone and they'll make a ranged spell attack just as you would (which means possibly using your higher ability score bonus or more rarely proficiency bonus). The d6 damage is the trade-off for that - so that another character still has a good reason to NOT use your stones every time they want to make a ranged attack (because their STR-based or DEX-based weapon deals more damage, or their cantrips have other effects the like). Raise the damage, and that calculation will change - the best use of the spell might grow to "give this to our STR-focused tank who can't make a ranged attack to save his life, and now he can." Which doesn't seem to be the intent of the cantrip. The stone also works in situations where spells don't (such as in a zone of silence or when restrained or...).

With the damage dice scaling with level, it's already getting pretty good. Improve the damage much more, and it'll risk eclipsing your normal weapons even for your weapon-users.

I'd leave the damage as is and limit them to 1 to do the scaling trade-off.

And if anyone else multiclassed into druid or anything, I'd have them use the non-scaling version.

 

[Scorpio616]

Thanks for the response, guys. It's pretty insightful.

My player choosing magic stone wants it for the flavour, which is great, but I don't want him to suck for it. His plan never involves him gaining an extra attack. Based on this convo, I'm thinking that magic stone would work just fine for him if its damage did scale up with level, the trade-off being that he could only enchant one such stone at a time.

I'd make it a custom Pebble to Boulder cantrip.

 

[77IM]

As a start, I think that magic stone and shillelagh should grant an extra attack at 5th level, worded such that it does not stack with the Extra Attack feature martial classes get.