D&D 5E Magic missile as a cantrip

[Bacon Bits]

So, I've thought about this one for awhile now. Magic missile is a pretty iconic spell in D&D, but the first level equivalent in 5e is not. Back in the day, casting magic missile to do 5d4+5 (17.5) was a significant chunk of damage when Llolth only had 66 hp. Not so anymore. The spell is so iconic, that I'd almost rather it were a cantrip than a first level spell. And the scaling of cantrips so elegantly matches the scaling of magic missile that it feels like a waste.

So, what would a cantrip magic missile look like?

The obvious version would seem to be just mashing the current 1st level spell version together with eldritch blast and firebolt:

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Magic Missile
Cantrip evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Components: V S
Duration: Instantaneous
Classes: Sorcerer, Wizard
You create a glowing dart of magical force. The dart hits a creature of your choice that you can see within range. A dart deals 1d4+1 force damage to its target. The darts all strike simultaneously, and you can direct them to hit one creature or several.

The spell creates more than one dart when you reach higher levels: two darts at 5th level, three darts at 11th level, and four darts at 17th level. You can direct the darts at the same target or at different ones.

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My instincts tell me that 1d4+1 (3.5) damage is a bit too high and that a flat 1d4 would be better, but I think it's closer than it appears. A 50% chance of 1d10 (5.5) damage is equivalent to a 100% chance of 2.75 damage, and if we include crits it's just above 3 damage. And you're often going to have a greater than 50% chance to hit by mid level.

Force is a "good" damage type, but personal experience has taught me that firebolt and chill touch are extremely useful due to their rider effects, and that most combats are not decided by damage type at all. Fire and acid are the only common exceptions, and fire can go both ways. Firebolt's ability to just light things on fire in particular is extremely useful.

I also wonder if the range should be reduced. Perhaps to the range of an actual dart (60).

 

[5ekyu]

So, I've thought about this one for awhile now. Magic missile is a pretty iconic spell in D&D, but the first level equivalent in 5e is not. Back in the day, casting magic missile to do 5d4+5 (17.5) was a significant chunk of damage when Llolth only had 66 hp. Not so anymore. The spell is so iconic, that I'd almost rather it were a cantrip than a first level spell. And the scaling of cantrips so elegantly matches the scaling of magic missile that it feels like a waste.

So, what would a cantrip magic missile look like?

The obvious version would seem to be just mashing the current 1st level spell version together with eldritch blast and firebolt:

---

Magic Missile
Cantrip evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Components: V S
Duration: Instantaneous
Classes: Sorcerer, Wizard
You create a glowing dart of magical force. The dart hits a creature of your choice that you can see within range. A dart deals 1d4+1 force damage to its target. The darts all strike simultaneously, and you can direct them to hit one creature or several.

The spell creates more than one dart when you reach higher levels: two darts at 5th level, three darts at 11th level, and four darts at 17th level. You can direct the darts at the same target or at different ones.

---

My instincts tell me that 1d4+1 (3.5) damage is a bit too high and that a flat 1d4 would be better, but I think it's closer than it appears. A 50% chance of 1d10 (5.5) damage is equivalent to a 100% chance of 2.75 damage, and if we include crits it's just above 3 damage. And you're often going to have a greater than 50% chance to hit by mid level.

Force is a "good" damage type, but personal experience has taught me that firebolt and chill touch are extremely useful due to their rider effects, and that most combats are not decided by damage type at all. Fire and acid are the only common exceptions, and fire can go both ways. Firebolt's ability to just light things on fire in particular is extremely useful.

I also wonder if the range should be reduced. Perhaps to the range of an actual dart (60).

Guaranteed damage is it's own rider effect. The attack cantrips are divided between need hit and needs save. Each comes with not just the chsnce of fail but frankly a common set of "bad for this case".

Auto hit for same expected yield is not equal to fortune tested with additional bad cases.

To have "reliable" attack cantrips, I ned to take an attack one and a save one. Given cantrip slots are relatively few, getting one attack always reliable would be a no-brainer.

So, I would see this as violating my own "new spell rule 0" - no neexdpell should be the new "must have" that practically everyone takes.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Magic missile is iconic in the sense that it saw a lot of use, but it's also an extremely boring spell. No need to bring it back imo.

 

[Salthorae]

I'm with @5ekyu here.

I do like where you're coming from, but an auto-hit cantrip just means I'm never taking a different cantrip if I have this as an option.

I mean magic missile is already great at 1st level spell... 10.5 points of force damage that can't miss? I'm on board for that!

On average MM at 3d4+3 is dealing more damage (10.5 force) than a 3d8 Chromatic Orb because it has an attack roll. Standard expected damage on it is going to be 8.775 including crit chances with standard to-hit probabilities. That goes up like all attacks if you have advantage, etc.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Math-wise, it's fine, but some people might find it kind of boring.

I would consider it akin to taking average damage for monster attacks. It doesn't break anything, but some people really like randomness, and want any degree of certainty to stay far away from them.

 

[Undrave]

Magic Missile was an At-Will power in 4e... but it also had an attack roll and people grumbled about it.

 

[Don Durito]

I remember back in 2e days taking Magic Missile off the spell list to make magic users less boring.

Iconic is not necessarily a good thing.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Magic Missile was an At-Will power in 4e... but it also had an attack roll and people grumbled about it.

Nha, it did not. It did pitiful force damage, but was a guaranteed hit.

 

[Don Durito]

Nha, it did not. It did pitiful force damage, but was a guaranteed hit.

It was both. Essentials changed it from the first to the second.

 

[Shiroiken]

Magic Missile suffers from the same problem most low level combat spells suffer from: they become much less useful at higher levels. One change we made that kept MM more viable is to make each missile force a concentration check. This makes them very useful against spellcasters, which then also makes shield more useful for them as a counter.