D&D 5E Necromancy Cantrip Idea

[doctorbadwolf]

I think it's a good idea to understand how it would be perceived from a player's POV when they're being attacked by it without getting the specifics of the spell.

If you tell a player "The necromancer summons a wraith and it appears next to you, he makes a melee spell attack and deals this much damage." The first thought that would probably come to mind, and the first action, would be to target the wraith. If they can't do damage, they'll try banishing it.

I don't necessarily think HP is required or even a full statblock. Something like "It has a Charisma and intelligence score of 1, immune to Dex, Strength, and CON saves and has a Wisdom of 10."

But it's already way too complicated for my taste at this rate. It'll probably confuse the mess out of new players and probably won't see much use because of the difficult rules and 1-2d4 damage vs firebolt.

I only laugh emoji at the last line. Tbh, fire bolt is almost never taken by players I know, unless they’re specifically trying to keep a spellcaster as simple as they possibly can, and/or the ranged attack capability is secondary to what else they do (like an EK).

 

[Dausuul]

I only laugh emoji at the last line. Tbh, fire bolt is almost never taken by players I know, unless they’re specifically trying to keep a spellcaster as simple as they possibly can, and/or the ranged attack capability is secondary to what else they do (like an EK).

Really? Huh. I find fire bolt an extremely useful spell. To me, the spell description reads as follows: "As an action, set an unattended object on fire from up to 120 feet away. Also, some attack stuff you can use if you really want to."

(Arson aside, I do like to have a secondary attack cantrip in case the enemy is resistant or immune to toll the dead. The number of monsters that have resistance to both fire and necrotic is vanishingly small.)

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Another one for you, taken from my own little head:

Evade the Dead
Necromancy
Range: 120 ft
1 Action
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes.

Choose one creature within the spell range. Until you lose concentration or end this spell as a free action, the target has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) check against Undead creatures, and Perception check made against the target by Undead creatures are made with disadvantage.

The number of target increases by 1 at level 5, 11 and 17.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Really? Huh. I find fire bolt an extremely useful spell. To me, the spell description reads as follows: "As an action, set an unattended object on fire from up to 120 feet away. Also, some attack stuff you can use if you really want to."

(Arson aside, I do like to have a secondary attack cantrip in case the enemy is resistant or immune to toll the dead. The number of monsters that have resistance to both fire and necrotic is vanishingly small.)

Yeah I do see it as a backup cantrip a decent amount, though most players IME don't worry too much about commonality of a given resistance or immunity beyond "do multiple types of damage" as a general advice.
My alchemist/tinker rogue does like to fill hollow arrows up with lamp oil and cover enemy fortifications, weapons, ships, etc, with flammable oil and then have the Eldritch Knight set it on fire with Fire Bolt or by hitting a few enemies with Scorching Ray, though.

Another one for you, taken from my own little head:

Evade the Dead
Necromancy
Range: 120 ft
1 Action
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes.

Choose one creature within the spell range. Until you lose concentration or end this spell as a free action, the target has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) check against Undead creatures, and Perception check made against the target by Undead creatures are made with disadvantage.

The number of target increases by 1 at level 5, 11 and 17.

 

[Mistwell]

Not a fan of a 1 min duration concentration cantrip. Feels wonky.

 

[ChameleonX]

Psychic Wraith
Necromancy Cantrip

Casting Time. 1 action
Range. 60ft
Components. V, S
Duration. Instantaneous

You bury a shard of shadow magic in the soul of one creature you can see within range, causing it's shadow to lash out like a vengeful spirit. Make a melee spell attack against one creature within 5ft of the target; on a hit, both the target and that creature take 1d6 necrotic damage.

The damage to the initial target increases by 1d6 at 5th, 11th, and 17th level. Starting at 11th level, you can also add your spellcasting ability modifier to the damage dealt to the secondary target.