Anyone else miss real cantrips?

[boothbey]

Cantrip Story...

Our party had been banished to Dark Sun as punishment for some rather serious crimes. That is a long story in itself, but anyway...

We ran across some revolutionaries who were attempting to overthrow one of the dragon kings (powerful wizard/psionicist that becomes a nasty dragon as it goes up in level). The king wears a guise of a normal human and we attack him in the gladiatorial arena of his city.

At the time we thought Dragon King was just a title...not a description. The king reveals himself in all his scaly glory. We open a portal to bring in the revolutionaries to help. They didn't know it was a real dragon either and they retreated back through the portal.

Our party is rather quickly incapacitated, except for the Chaotic Neutral Bard/Thief/Fighter. Held aloft by the feet in the claw of the dragon, he gets an idea. Not a terribly good idea. He casts Sneeze.

The dragon king has a ton of magic resistance...which he fails. And an awesome saving throw...which he rolls a one on. The dragon looked quite perterbed. Don't remember what all happened next, most of us don't. We were too busy rolling on the floor laughing.

Story would not be nearly amusing if he had to cast prestidigitation on the dragon. I miss real cantrips.

 

[Emiricol]

0 level spells pretty much are cantrips. I don't think any flavor has been lost.

 

[rounser]

it just doesn't have the same feel saying I am going to memorize Prestidigitation instead of sneeze or itch, what have you.

Feel and flavour? Bah!

Actually, this example captures rather eloquently one of the flavour trade-offs that 3E has made...it stands in stark contrast to Hackmaster, which added lashings of rules-based flavour rather than taking it away.

In the red corner we have nearly unlimited in-game options, but BYO inspiration and flavour.

In the blue corner we have rules-based flavour stuff which fires the imagination, but restricts the options.

I doubt either approach has a monopoly on fun gameplay.

 

[Olive]

well given that they actually get used now... no, no i don't.

 

[Storm Raven]

Nothing quite gives you that "Ain't I a stinker?" feeling like deliberately memorizing and using a Sneeze spell.

Memorize daze instead. It accomplishes much the same thing, and has similar feel.

 

[zouron]

hmm good old cantrips.... think my favorite was called "bee" basically summoned this small annoying bee, now that spell had potential when having to sneak past guards etc hehe.

sure a few wolves makes them defensive, but a bee hehe much more effective.